Mini Review: All Is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker

All Is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker

Published July 12, 2016

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Rating: 3/5

Synopsis

In the small, affluent town of Fairview, Connecticut everything seems picture perfect.

Until one night when young Jenny Kramer is attacked at a local party. In the hours immediately after, she is given a controversial drug to medically erase her memory of the violent assault. But, in the weeks and months that follow, as she heals from her physical wounds, and with no factual recall of the attack, Jenny struggles with her raging emotional memory. Her father, Tom, becomes obsessed with his inability to find her attacker and seek justice while her mother, Charlotte, prefers to pretend this horrific event did not touch her perfect country club world.

As they seek help for their daughter, the fault lines within their marriage and their close-knit community emerge from the shadows where they have been hidden for years, and the relentless quest to find the monster who invaded their town - or perhaps lives among them - drive this psychological thriller to a shocking and unexpected conclusion.

My Thoughts

This is one of those books that I’m really on the fence about. This is a brutally honest look about Jenny and following a night out partying she is raped. What we see is the aftermath of what happens. We are told the story through a person we don’t know at first but eventually, it is revealed who they are.

What I liked about this tale while it is very honest it can be hard to read at times. What I didn’t like was that we don’t know who is telling the tale and that really got on my nerves. I just couldn’t get into the story and to be honest, I was ready to give up on it a few chapters in. However,I give it a chance and the pace did pick up but by then I kind of checked out mentally.

I gave it 3 stars mainly because I liked the storyline more than I didn’t like it. Maybe in time I will revisit this read again and feel different one way or another. 

Mini Review: So Close by Emma McLaughlin & Emma Kraus

So Close by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus

Published: June 7, 2016

Published: Sparkpress

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

Amanda Beth Luker has spent her whole life desperately looking for someone who can show her the way out of her trailer park Florida town. And then, finally, help arrives in the form of Tom Davis, a successful lawyer with political aspirations who grew up just a few towns over from Amanda. But it's his wife, Lindsay, who really captures Amanda's imagination. Strong, smart, and determined, she gives Amanda something she's never had: a role model. Meanwhile, Amanda is introduced to the wealthy, charismatic, and deeply troubled Pax Westerbrook. He clearly desires Amanda, but if she gives in will that move her closer to the life she's always dreamed of or make it impossible?

Amanda rides Davis's political success all the way to Washington, where he becomes Senator and will later be tapped for president and even makes a bid for the White House. But when Amanda starts to suspect, and later confirms, his moral indiscretions, her loyalty is tested. Will a girl from a trailer park even be believed if she goes public with damning information? Will she be willing to risk losing everything she's gained?

My Thoughts

So Close is the relatable tale of Amanda who hails from a small town and leaves for the chance of bigger and better things in life. Amanda meets the successful Tom Davis and in doing so lives the life she has always wanted for herself. She soon finds herself thrown into the political world and is soon introduced the mysterious Pax who has fallen for Amanda from the start. While she finds herself attracted she doesn’t want to mess up her new life and surely doesn’t want to go back to the trailer park so she doesn’t want to go there with him. She is enjoying this life but little does she know that privilege will ultimately come at a price. She soon finds out some info on Tom Davis but doesn’t want to lose this life that has basically fallen into her lap. She is torn by doing what’s right or keeping the life she has always wanted and has finally gotten.

So Close is the story of doing just about anything to achieve your goals and wanting a better life. And while we think we would do anything to achieve that sometimes we are put to the test and are pressured to decide what is more important to us, do we live life right or do we sacrifice our morals for the life of luxury. I love how Amanda is so relatable we all can know how it feels to want more in life. Even if you never lived in a small town we all know that desire to want a bigger life than the one we have. This is one read that can give you hope and one that shows us despite everything we can decide how our lives play out. We can be given opportunities it’s what we do with them that makes us who we are.

Review: The Choices We Make by Karma Brown

The Choices We Make by Karma Brown

Published: July 12, 2016

Publisher: MIRA

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

Hannah and Kate became friends in the fifth grade when Hannah hit a boy for looking up Kate's skirt with a mirror. While they've been close as sisters ever since, Hannah can't help but feel envious of the little family Kate and her husband, David, have created—complete with two perfect little girls.

She and Ben have been trying for years to have a baby, so when they receive the news that she will likely never get pregnant, Hannah's heartbreak is overwhelming. But just as they begin to tentatively explore the other options; it's Kate's turn to do the rescuing. Not only does she offer to be Hannah's surrogate, but Kate is willing to use her own eggs to do so.

Full of renewed hope, excitement and gratitude, these two families embark on an incredible journey toward parenthood…until a devastating tragedy puts everything these women have worked toward at risk of falling apart. Poignant and refreshingly honest, The Choices We Make is a powerful tale of an incredible friendship and the risks we take to make our dreams come true.

My Thoughts

The Choices We Make is a heart-wrenching tale of the great lengths friends would do in the name of love. We met Hannah who desperately wants to have a baby with her husband Ben but are told it is simply impossible. Kate her best friend has two little girls and would do anything for her best friend to experience what it is like to be a mother.

After some time Kate comes up with the idea of carrying Ben and Hannah’s baby but what they thought would be a simple act of love turns out to be something way more complicated than any of them could’ve ever imagined. First, there is trying to convince Kate’s husband, he doesn’t think this is a good idea and doesn’t believe that Kate could just walk away after months of carrying the baby. Then there is the legal side of it, they never thought there would be mounds of papers and lawyers, they all have to be represented god forbid something would happen.

When Kate becomes pregnant on the first try everyone is over the moon and can’t wait for the arrival of the baby but after a few months, the unbelievable happens. I won’t give anything away because I truly believe this is a story that demands to be read. The events that happen next will break your heart and have you looking at all sides of the story. There were times I was mad and upset at certain people and other times I wanted to hug these people and say everything will be okay.

Karma Brown gives us a book that should be sold with a box of tissues; don’t say I didn’t warn you! It shows us the strength of friendships and the undying love people can have for one another. This will make you look at love, life and how unselfish human beings can be and how we as people can still do good things in this world. The Choices We Make is a stellar novel that will touch your soul beyond anything imaginable.

Mini Review: You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott

You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott

Expected Publication: July 26, 2016

Publisher: Little Brown

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

Katie and Eric Knox have dedicated their lives to their fifteen-year-old daughter Devon, a gymnastics prodigy and Olympic hopeful. But when a violent death rocks their close-knit gymnastics community just weeks before an all-important competition, everything the Knoxes have worked so hard for feels suddenly at risk. As rumors swirl among the other parents, revealing hidden plots and allegiances, Katie tries frantically to hold her family together while also finding herself drawn, irresistibly, to the crime itself, and the dark corners it threatens to illuminate.

My Thoughts

I’m a newbie when it comes to Megan Abbott books but after this one, I will seek out her previous novels. She gives us a look into the competitive world of gymnastics and its one that is breathtakingly amazing and one that it will make your head spin.

We meet Katie and Eric parents who have devoted their lives to making sure that their daughter Devon dreams will come true. In a world where years of hard work and dedication are determined in a matter of seconds, every competition is life or death. Their world is hit hard when an unspeakable death makes everyone if their community a suspect and we are shown that the unthinkable has happened. Could someone really kill another all in the name of competition?

Megan Abbott gives us a story that will draw you in and at the same time equally make you want you to turn away. I like the suspense of the read and how it is definitely a page turner. This is a who done it that will stay with you long after the last page is turned. It’s honest, mesmerizing and unlike anything I have read before, this is one read that belongs on everyone’s must read list.

Virtual Tour + Giveaway: To Have and to Hold by Lauren Layne

Sex and the City meets The Wedding Planner in The Wedding Belles!

TO HAVE AND TO HOLD

The Wedding Belles #1

Lauren Layne

Releasing July 26th, 2016

Pocket Books

Sex and the City meets The Wedding Planner in The Wedding Belles, her sizzling brand new contemporary romance series about three ambitious wedding planners who can make any bride’s dream come true…but their own.

Discovering her fiancé is an international conman just moments before they exchange vows devastates celebrity wedding planner Brooke Burke’s business—and breaks her heart. Now a pariah in Los Angeles, she seeks a fresh start in New York City and thinks she’s found it with her first bridal client, a sweet, if slightly spoiled, hotel heiress. Then she meets the uptight businessman who’s holding the purse springs.

Seth Tyler wishes he could write a blank check and be done with his sister’s fancy-pants wedding. Unfortunately, micromanaging the event is his only chance at proving Maya’s fiancé is a liar. Standing directly in his way is the stunning blonde wedding planner whose practiced smiles and sassy comebacks both irritate and arouse him. He needs Brooke’s help. But can he persuade a wedding planner on a comeback mission to unplan a wedding? And more importantly, how will he convince her that the wedding she should be planning…is theirs?

It’s not as though Brooke had meant to start dating a con man. She certainly didn’t intend to get engaged to one.

But that’s the thing about con mans. The good ones were good at, well . . . the con.

And Clay Battaglia had been a good one. The best, actually, if you took the word of the FBI agent who’d debriefed Brooke and her family—while she was still in her wedding dress.

Turns out that while Brooke had been happily building her wedding-planning company, Clay had been quietly and competently been getting away with every white-collar crime in the book. While she’d been planning their wedding, he’d apparently been knee-deep in yet another Ponzi scheme.

Brooke hadn’t even known what a Ponzi scheme was when the FBI had told her.

She did now.

Following Clay’s arrest, she spent weeks researching white-collar crime. Wanting to know what he’d been up to all those times he’d quietly kissed her forehead late at night and told her he needed to make some phone calls for “work.” Wanting to know what her life would have been like if the FBI hadn’t taken him down before they’d exchanged vows.

Still, while Brooke would be ever grateful that she’d learned the truth before she’d become Mrs. Clay Battaglia, she’d be lying if she didn’t admit that the timing of it had stung just a little bit.

If they’d only taken him down a day before. Heck, even an hour before.

But no.

Just moments after Brooke kissed her father’s cheek and prepared to marry the man she loved at the wedding she’d poured her heart into, the FBI stormed—yes, stormed—the church.

Clay was in handcuffs before she even registered what was happening.

Numbly she watched as he listened to his Miranda rights at the precise moment he should have been listening to the vows she’d spent months writing.

And as reality slowly sunk in, Brooke waited. Waited for him to look at her. To look at her and say that it was all a lie. All one big misunderstanding, and that they’d be on their way to Bermuda as planned by tomorrow.

He didn’t.

He didn’t even apologize.

No, the man she’d loved for two years with every fiber of her being merely smiled at her and then shrugged.

There’d been plenty of photos taken that day, but that was the one that made it onto the front page of every major newspaper on the West Coast.

“The Greatest Con of All.” “Arrested by Love.” And her personal favorite, courtesy of her very own LA Times: “White-Collar Bride.”

The stories all read pretty much like you’d expect. About Clay, mostly, and the litany of accusations against him, but also about Brooke.

The papers had stopped short of defamation, but the implications were there. She was clueless and ditzy at best, a potentially overlooked accomplice at worst. Completely oblivious to the fact that she’d been sharing a roof with the most nefarious white-collar criminal in a generation—or pretending to be.

None of that had bothered her. What had bothered her was that she’d been a fool. Self-absorbed, naive, and downright blind.

Brooke had been dodging dumb-blonde jokes for most of her life, but the debacle with Clay was the first time she thought she might really, truly be deserving of the title.

She hadn’t been surprised when new clients had stopped calling. Hadn’t been surprised when current clients canceled. Nobody wanted to hire that wedding planner.

Brooke had even been relieved, at first. In those first weeks after Clay’s arrest, she hadn’t been able to handle any talk of weddings. Not her own, and not other people’s.

But the worst part of all of this, the part that kept her up long into the lonely nights, wasn’t the negative effect on her career. No, the worst part was that sometimes, in the very darkest corner of her soul, she feared that she might still love Clay, at least a little. Sure, her brain knew that all the things she’d loved about Clay had been a lie. Her brain understood that his name wasn’t even Clay.

But her heart? Her heart was having a harder time forgetting the way he always let her be the little spoon and tuck her cold feet against his warm calves. Or the way he’d brought her coffee in bed every morning. Or the way she’d come home after a long day with the worst sort of bridezilla and Clay would make them cocktails and sit on the deck with her, and watch the sunset and laugh.

She’d imagined that all their nights would be like that. All the nights for the rest of her life, with maybe with a couple of kids thrown into the mix eventually.

Brooke swallowed.

There wouldn’t be any more nights on the patio watching the sunset with Clay. Wouldn’t be any patio at all, because Brooke’s real estate broker had made it quite clear that she should be counting herself lucky to get a dishwasher in New York—a patio was out of the question.

So no patio. No Clay, or whatever his real name was.

No man at all, really.

No falling in love.

Not ever again.

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Lauren lives in New York City with her husband (who was her high school sweetheart--cute, right?!) and plus-sized Pomeranian. 

Five years ago, she ditched her corporate career in Seattle to pursue a full-time writing career in Manhattan.

She writes smart romantic comedies with just enough sexy-times to make your mother blush, and in her ideal world, every stiletto-wearing, Kate Spade wielding woman would carry a Kindle stocked with Lauren Layne books.

When not bringing The Sexy, she likes to blog about her Instagram addiction, and why mean girls are the worst.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Instagram

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Release Day: Broken Pieces by Kathleen Long

Broken Pieces by Kathleen Long
Release Day: July 19
Genre: Women's Fiction

About the Book
Destiny Jones is doing just fine on her own, thanks. From her thriving one-woman carpentry business to the loving support of her small-town community, Destiny has constructed a life as sturdy and polished as her best cabinets. Twenty years ago, Destiny’s world collapsed when her mother died and her father, Albert, abandoned his daughter to pursue acting in New York. His devastating exit taught Destiny a lesson in self-reliance that has kept her safe—and alone—ever since.

Now Albert Jones is back, begging for a second chance. Destiny suspects he’s simply staging another performance, starring himself as the prodigal father. Should she act on her misgivings? Or listen to her inner child, who still yearns for a family? When Albert divulges a shocking secret, Destiny’s life will again be turned upside down.

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Kathleen Long’s warm, wise novel reveals the armor that has protected us in the past is often the very thing we must shed to fully live and love.

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Author Bio

Kathleen Long is a USA TODAY bestselling author of sixteen novels in the genres of Women’s Fiction, Suspense, and Contemporary Romance. She divides her time between suburban Philadelphia and the Jersey Shore. When she’s not on deadline or teaching creative writing, Kathleen spends her time bribing her tween to pick up her room and begging her dog to heel. Please look for BROKEN PIECES, available July 19th from Lake Union Publishing.

Links
Amazon / Website / Twitter / FB / Goodreads

Blog Tour: Falling by Jane Green

Falling by Jane Green

Expected Publication: July 19, 2016

Publisher: Berkley

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

When Emma Montague left the strict confines of upper-crust British life for New York, she felt sure it would make her happy. Away from her parents and expectations, she felt liberated, throwing herself into Manhattan life replete with a high-paying job, a gorgeous apartment, and a string of successful boyfriends. But the cutthroat world of finance and relentless pursuit of more began to take its toll. This wasn’t the life she wanted either.

On the move again, Emma settles in the picturesque waterfront town of Westport, Connecticut, a world apart from both England and Manhattan. It is here that she begins to confront what it is she really wants from her life. With no job, and knowing only one person in town, she channels her passion for creating beautiful spaces into remaking the dilapidated cottage she rents from Dominic, a local handyman who lives next door with his six-year-old son.

Unlike any man Emma has ever known, Dominic is confident, grounded, and committed to being present for his son whose mother fled shortly after he was born. They become friends, and slowly much more, as Emma finds herself feeling at home in a way she never has before.

But just as they start to imagine a life together as a family, fate intervenes in the most shocking of ways. For the first time, Emma has to stay and fight for what she loves, for the truth she has discovered about herself, or risk losing it all.

In a novel of changing seasons, shifting lives, and selfless love, a story unfolds—of one woman’s far-reaching journey to discover who she is truly meant to be.

My Thoughts

I honestly loved just about everything in Falling, it has many layers in the story but nothing felt overwhelming nor did it feel confusing and that’s what I love about Jane Green novels. We meet Emma who has recently quit her fast paced and high paying job and is now hoping to follow her dreams and become an interior designer. She meets Dom who will soon be her landlord and at first, things are strictly innocent but over time sparks fly and the chemistry is undeniable.

Emma and Dom are true opposites but like they say opposites attract and that’s exactly what happens. Dom is a single dad who is trying to do the best he can ever since his ex walked out as soon as their son was born. She was a party girl who loved it more than her son and Dom. Emma has never been around kids but there is something about Dom’s son that you can’t help but love. Everything is fine until Dom and Emma decide to give it a try as a couple. While his son liked Emma before, it’s a different story when he sees her as a fixture in his home. There are a few bumps in the road in their relationship but both Dom and Emma are determine to fight for their love and not let anything or anyone break them apart.

Everything is going great until one day their lives are changed forever. I won’t spoil it for anyone because this is a story that you have to read. When I came to this point in the story I was left with my mouth open. I couldn’t believe it, I mean I went into reading this story thinking it was about one thing but then I realize this story had a whole other meaning. Falling is the perfect title for this read because it can mean so many things. I understood it as love but love itself has many definitions. It can mean passion and understanding but it can also mean something else so innocent also. Sometimes in life people are brought into our lives for a purpose and reason and I believe Dom as brought into Emma’s not only to love her but to give her something she never expected and those surprises are the best gifts anyone can receive.

       About Jane

Jane Green is the author of seventeen novels, including sixteen New York Times Bestsellers, including her latest,  Summer Secrets. Previous novels have included The Beach House, Second Chance,Jemima J, and Tempting Fate. Together with writing books and blogs, she contributes to various publications, both online and print, including anthologies and novellas, and features for The Huffington Post, The Sunday Times, Cosmopolitan and Self. She lives in Westport, Connecticut with her husband and their blended family. 

Connect with Jane

Website / Twitter / FB / Instagram

Review: Untethered by Julie Lawson TImmer

Untethered by Julie Lawson Timmer

Published: June 7, 2016

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Rating: 3/5

Synopsis

Char Hawthorn, college professor, wife and stepmother to a spirited fifteen-year-old daughter, loves her family and the joyful rhythms of work and parenting. But when her husband dies in a car accident, the “step” in Char’s title suddenly matters a great deal. In the eyes of the law, all rights to daughter Allie belong to Lindy, Allie’s self-absorbed biological mother, who wants the girl to move to her home in California.

While Allie begins to struggle in school and tensions mount between her and Char, Allie’s connection to young Morgan, a ten-year-old-girl she tutors, seems to keep her grounded. But then Morgan, who was adopted out of foster care, suddenly disappears, and Char is left to wonder about a possible future without Allie and what to do about Morgan, a child caught up in a terrible crack in the system.

My Thoughts

In Untethered we get to know Char who has recently lost her husband and finds herself in limbo when it comes to her relationship with her stepdaughter Allie. You see Char’s husband had full custody of Allie but now that he is dead she doesn’t know her role in Allie’s life. She loves her but has never been the one to disciple her, she was the nice and fun stepmom but now neither Char nor Allie knows how things will play out. Allie’s mom lives in L.A. and is solely focused on her job and rarely has played a role in Allie’s life but comes back to get Allie and take her away from everyone and everything she has ever known. Allie and Char clash not knowing what the other one wants and that causes some misunderstandings that sets off a set of circumstances that neither saw coming.

I really enjoyed the story between Allie and Char it felt very true to life and anyone who has ever had step children could really identify with. The struggles between these two and adjusting to life after the death of the one person who bonded them together were heartbreaking. The only thing I really didn’t enjoy was the second storyline of Morgan, the young girl that Allie tutors. Though her story was touching I didn’t find myself connected or invested in it. I really just wanted more of Char and Allie.

Untethered is a story of finding who you are and where you stand after the death of a loved one. It’s about redefining relationships and making a new way of life. But most importantly it’s all about family and knowing no matter what happens those bonds are way stronger than one person, that love is something that only gets stronger with time.

Monthly Wrap Up: June

June has been a quite one for me. Sadly, I didn’t read as much as I had wanted to but I have been just relaxing and watch some movies and TV shows. I took a few days off and went to Galveston with the family and it was fun. It was nice having the whole family together in the sun and just talking, laughing and catching up with one another. Well enough about me here’s how my month went bookish wise.

Books Read

28. Barefoot Beach by Toby Devens

* 27. Here’s to Us by Elin Hilderbrand

   26. The Sweetheart Deal by Polly Dugan

*=Super Faves

Books Received via Publishers

Here’s to Us by Elin Hilderbrand

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon [blog tour]

Once Upon a Wine by Beth Kendrick

Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven [for blog tour]

The Bourbon Thief by Tiffany Reisz

Barefoot Beach by Toby Devens

The Girl from the Savoy by Hazel Gaynor

If I Could Turn Back Time by Beth Harrison

Little Girl Gone by Gerry Schmitt

Thank you so much to the following amazing publishers: Nal, Berkley, St. Martin’s Press, William Morrow, MIRA, Knopf, and Hachette Audio

Arcs via NetGalley/Edelweiss

Sweet Carolina Morning by Susan Schild [for blog tour]

Falling by Jane Green [for blog tour]

The Girls by Emma Cline

 Purchased

P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han

NonBookish things

Netflix

Orange is the New Black

OMG like always I watched non-stop for like 2 days. This season was a good one I thought but I was left in shock when I found out what happened towards the end. I won't say anything but I’m still recovering from it.

The League

I’ve been waiting for this final season to post so when I got the alert I was so excited! I’m sad my fantasy football series has come to an end but it was funny and the ending had me in stitches!

Upcoming Reads

Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand

The Girls by Emma Cline

The Dinner Party by Brenda Janowitz

Well, that’s my month how was yours? Please feel free to link up yours I love to see all things bookish!

Virtual Tour + Giveaway: Happy Ever After in Christmas by Debbie Mason

It's beginning to look a lot like love . . .

HAPPY EVER AFTER IN CHRISTMAS

Christmas, Colorado #7

Debbie Mason

Released: June 28, 2016

Forever Romance

It's beginning to look a lot like love . . .

As her thirtieth birthday approaches, Deputy Jill Flaherty decides it's time to live a little. When she walks into Sawyer Anderson's bar in her sexiest dress, she's not thinking that he's her brother's best friend or about the many women he dated during his years as a pro hockey player. All she's thinking is that it's finally time to confess to her longtime crush how she truly feels.

Sawyer is done being a player on and off the ice. Yet no one in the small town of Christmas seems to believe he's ready to settle down, not Jill, and certainly not Jack, who is determined to keep Sawyer from breaking his little sister's heart. But as Sawyer and Jill's relationship heats up, can he prove that he's her happy ever after?

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Don't miss ANY of the Christmas, Colorado Romances!

Debbie Mason is USA Today bestselling author of the Christmas, Colorado series. Her books have been praised for their "likable characters, clever dialogue and juicy plots" (RT Book Reviews). She also writes historical paranormals as Debbie Mazzuca. Her MacLeod series has received several nominations for best paranormal as well as a Holt Medallion Award of Merit. When she isn't writing or reading, Debbie enjoys spending time with her very own real-life hero, their four wonderful children, an adorable grandbaby, and a yappy Yorkie named Bella.

 Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads 

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EXCERPT:

Sawyer smiled that slow easy smile of his. Even after last night, it still managed to cause Jill’s toes to curl like it always did. "So, how many more weeks do you have to put in before Gage lets you off for good behavior?"

"One." There was a part of her that would miss coming to the nursing home every day, but she could use the extra sleep.

Sawyer glanced at the older men and women as they wandered off to hunt for the knife. He rubbed his hand over his chiseled jaw and manly stubble. "Why exactly do you have them looking for a knife?"

"Murder mystery game. It keeps them active. Makes them use their brains." Relaxing now that Mrs. Sharp was focused on the hunt, Jill called out encouragement, "You're getting warmer, Mrs. Sharp. Real warm." Jill noticed Mr. Applebee looking up at the Aspen trees that bordered a steep slope on the edge of the property. "Mr. Applebee, buddy, you're not even close. Get back here."

The older man turned and shouted at her, "Maybe if you weren't talking about your boyfriend for the last ten minutes, we would have found the murder weapon by now."

Danger, danger. Jill turned to Sawyer and faked a smile. "Better get going or you'll miss the National Anthem. I know how much you like to sing along."

He crossed his arms over his broad chest, the movement putting his biceps on sigh-inducing display. Show-off.  He raised an eyebrow. "What boyfriend is he talking about?"

"Don't listen to him. He's losing it." She gave him a light shove. "Nice seeing you. Say hi to coach for me."

"Her lumbersexual. He sounds wonderful, doesn't he, Alice?" Mrs. Lynn looked to Mrs. Sharp for confirmation, then turned to Sawyer and said loud enough for the entire town of Christmas to hear, "We're so happy she has a beau. We thought she was a lesbian, you know."

Jill blinked. Seriously? She stared straight ahead, refusing to look at Sawyer. No doubt the interrogation would begin once he stopped silently laughing his ass off.

Movement near the statue drew her attention to Mr. Applebee. The older man stuck his hand in the statue's mouth and triumphantly pulled out the plastic knife. There is a God. Jill pumped her fist. "Way to go, Mr. Applebee! Time to celebrate the man of the hour, folks."

Sawyer leaned into her, his warm, spearmint-scented breath caressing her cheek. "You're not getting off the hook that easily, Shortstop," he said, then gently tugged on her ponytail before walking away.

She glanced over her shoulder, following his loose-limbed stride. He pulled his cell phone from the front pocket of his jeans. "Hey Jack, heard something interesting. Jill has a boyfriend. Yeah, I was thinking the same . . ."

Fan-flipping-tastic. Sawyer and her brother wouldn't let up until they knew every last detail. Every last detail about her fake boyfriend.

She needed a real one. Fast.