Bea Reviews Holiday With A Twist by Shannon Stacey

Publisher: Carina Press
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: November 21st, 2016
Challenges: NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge | Ho Ho Ho Read-A-Thon 
Buying Links: Amazon* | ARe* | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

After a messy breakup, Leigh Holloway is ready to start her life over. Until her parents put the family home on the market and call her back for one final, memory-making Christmas. The last thing she wants to do is deprive her mom of the perfect holiday, so she'll lie her way through the visit and worry about her future in the New Year. Too bad the only bar in town is owned by a guy she seriously wronged in high school.

Leigh's best friend broke Croy Dawson's heart, and Croy knows it was Leigh's fault. They've never liked each other, but Croy isn't cruel: he'd never turn away a pretty woman in need of some family-Christmas fortification. He doesn't expect her to drink just enough candy-cane martinis to tell him her secrets—and he definitely doesn't expect to get caught up in her holiday madness.

Despite the surprising love and laughter, Croy and Leigh can't escape the truth: he can't walk away from his family obligations and she has a life and career to reboot. But anything is possible if your holiday comes with a twist.

Review & Giveaway: Cat Got Your Diamonds by Julie Chase

Series: Kitty Couture Mystery #1
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: November 8th, 2006
Challenges: NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | OmniLit* | BAM! |  IndieBound | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Grandeur and opulence are everything in the famed New Orleans Garden District where pets are family and no bling is too big. Opening Furry Godmother, pet boutique and organic treat bakery, is Lacy Marie Crocker’s dream come true--until the glitter gun used to make her Shih Tzu tutus becomes a murder weapon. And Lacy becomes public enemy #1.

Now Detective Jack Oliver is hounding Lacy, and her Furry Godmother investor wants out before his name is tarnished by association. To make matters worse, a string of jewel heists with suspicious ties to the murder case has New Orleans residents on edge. To save her dream, Lacy must take a stand, put her keen eyes to work, and unravel what really happened at her shop that night. But can Lacy sniff out the killer cat burglar in time to get her tail-raising designs on the catwalk?

Witty and whimsical, Cat Got Your Diamonds, the first in a new cozy series by Julie Chase, will be the cat's meow for fans of Rita Mae Brown and Miranda James.

Bea Reviews The Dollmaker by Mary Burton

Series: The Forgotten Files #2
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: November 15th 2016
Challenges: NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Dr. Tessa McGowan had never seen anything quite like it. But the mutilated bodies on her exam table tell a stunningly macabre tale: someone with a twisted mind is kidnapping women and altering their faces to resemble real, life-size dolls. As a forensic pathologist, it’s her job to aid the agent leading the case—even if that agent is her estranged husband.
Twelve years ago an unspeakable tragedy destroyed Dakota Sharp’s world. Haunted by the ghosts of his past, he’s devoted himself to capturing killers. His only regret is that it cost him Tessa. Now, as the Dollmaker case brings them together—and raises his suspicions that he’s crossed paths with this deranged psychopath before—they may just have their second chance. But it seems Dakota’s not the only one who wants to make Tessa his own…
She may be the Dollmaker’s next target, but Tessa has no intention of winding up as another toy on his shelf. Can she and Dakota stop this ghastly killer before his next deadly playdate?

Bea Reviews The Rogue Vows Series by Kendra Elliot & Melinda Leigh

Series: Rogue Vows #1
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: October 25th, 2016
Challenges: Finishing the Series Reading Challenge |
NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

In the first Rogue Vows novella, Zane and Stevie are about to get an unexpected wedding present…and it’s a deadly one.

It should be the happiest weekend of Officer Stevie Taylor’s life. She’s finally going to marry Police Chief Zane Duncan and live happily ever after in Solitude, Oregon. But all wedding plans grind to a halt when a dead body is found at a nearby campground. A vacationing A-list TV actor has been murdered…and all hell is about to break loose.

When it comes to a celebrity murder, everyone has a motive—and everyone wants a piece of the action. As news media and paparazzi swarm their sleepy town, Stevie and Zane must dig deep to untangle a web of lies, dirty little secrets, and betrayals—and uncover the killer. But the closer they get to the truth, the deadlier their investigation becomes. And if they don’t act quickly, ’Til death do us part may come sooner than they thought. 

Excerpt, Review & Giveaway: One Snowy Night by Jill Shalvis

Series: Heartbreaker Bay #2.5 
Publisher: Avon Impulse
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: November 8th, 2016
Challenges: Finishing the Series Reading Challenge |  NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | ARe* | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis returns to Heartbreaker Bay with a fun and festive holiday novella!

It’s Christmas Eve and Rory Andrews is desperate to get home to the family she hasn’t seen in years. Problem is, her only ride to Lake Tahoe comes in the form of the annoyingly handsome Max Stranton, and his big, goofy, lovable dog Carl.

Hours stuck in a truck with the dead sexy Max sounds like a fate worse than death (not), but Rory’s out of options. She’s had a crush on Max since high school and she knows he’s attracted to her, too. But they have history… and Max is the only one who knows why it went south.

They’ve done a good job of ignoring their chemistry so far, but a long road trip in a massive blizzard might be just what they need to face their past… and one steamy, snowy night is all it takes to bring Max and Rory together at last.

Q is for Questions and Q is for Quiz - Learn About Bea!

I saw this at View From My Books Blog. I've done similar memes on my personal Facebook page and thought it might be fun to do on here. I don't know who to credit for this meme so if any of you know, please tell me in the comments and I'll update the post to give credit.

Buy A Book, Give A Book - Pledge to Give Books

For the fifth year, Chronicle Books is running their Buy A Book, Give A Book campaign in conjunction with First Book. It's simple: Use the hashtag #GiveBooks on social media to share your pledge that you are giving a book; each use counts as a new book in the hands of a child so share as many times as you want. For every pledge, Chronicle Books will donate a book to First Book (up to 30,000 books).

And for the first time ever, every order you place on chroniclebooks.com will be matched with a donation to First Book. To get started, take 35% off (that's their best discount of the year) with the code GIVEBOOKS.

If you're reading my blog, you're a reader, you appreciate books. How about sharing your love of reading with a child? Millions of children lack access to age-appropriate reading material and educational resources. As a teacher and a reader, that saddens me. Books are important for learning, for dreaming, for traveling without ever leaving home, for giving hope and inspiration. This campaign is a simple way to help combat the lack of books. So please, go, buy a book, and donate a book. Want more info? Go here. And come back some time during the next few months and share what book you gave.

Bea Reviews Rejected Princesses: Tales of History’s Boldest Heroines, Hellions, and Heretics by Jason Porath

Publisher: Dey Street Books
Source: pr firm in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: October 25th, 2016
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | OmniLit* | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Blending the iconoclastic feminism of The Notorious RBG and the confident irreverence of Go the F**ck to Sleep, a brazen and empowering illustrated collection that celebrates inspirational badass women throughout history, based on the popular Tumblr blog.

Well-behaved women seldom make history. Good thing these women are far from well behaved . . .

Illustrated in a contemporary animation style, Rejected Princesses turns the ubiquitous "pretty pink princess" stereotype portrayed in movies, and on endless toys, books, and tutus on its head, paying homage instead to an awesome collection of strong, fierce, and yes, sometimes weird, women: warrior queens, soldiers, villains, spies, revolutionaries, and more who refused to behave and meekly accept their place.

An entertaining mix of biography, imagery, and humor written in a fresh, young, and riotous voice, this thoroughly researched exploration salutes these awesome women drawn from both historical and fantastical realms, including real life, literature, mythology, and folklore. Each profile features an eye-catching image of both heroic and villainous women in command from across history and around the world, from a princess-cum-pirate in fifth century Denmark, to a rebel preacher in 1630s Boston, to a bloodthirsty Hungarian countess, and a former prostitute who commanded a fleet of more than 70,000 men on China’s seas.