Susan's Review of Forever With You by Barb Curtis (Sapphire Springs #1)

From debut author, Barb Curtis, a heartwarming small-town romance about high school sweethearts who return home and discover that first love sometimes gets a second chance. . .

Jay Wynter wants to be successful on his own merit. That's why he left Sapphire Springs and his family's winery to build a career from scratch. But now that he's successor to Wynter Estate, Jay must return to his small hometown to face everything, and everyone, he left behind-especially his high school sweetheart, who happens to be his stunning new business partner . . .

Leyna Milan knows family legacies come with strings attached, but she's determined to prove that she can run her family's restaurant. Of course, Leyna never expected that honoring her grandfather's wishes meant opening a second location on her ex's property-or having to ignore Jay's sexy grin and guard the heart he shattered years before. But as they work closely together, she begins to discover that maybe first loves deserve a second chance .

Forever with You is an engaging second chance love story set in the Niagara Falls wine country. I was intrigued by the second chance romance between vintner Jason “Jay” Wynter and restaurateur Leyna Milan and adored this dynamic couple.

The friendship between Stefan Wynter and his best friend Joe Leone plays a central role in Forever With You. Prior to Joe’s passing, they had committed to building a restaurant at Wynter Estates, the family’s vineyard. These plans put their grandchildren; former high school sweethearts Jason Wynter and Leyna Milan in an uneasy partnership. Jay has plans to for the property-he envisions growing grapes for syrah wine while Leyna wants to focus on Rosalia’s, the family’s Italian bistro.

Loved the author’s descriptive writing and dialogue! I could feel the joy and excitement in Jay’s voice when he spoke of his love for the vineyard—the soil, vines, grapes and his crew. He was immersed in his work and enjoyed every aspect of the winemaking process. Layna’s mission is to keep her family’s business out of debt. I could hear the worry in her voice when she realized that her financially responsible grandfather left her with outstanding bills. Loved the friendship between Leyna and her friend Emily—their conversations shared over Emily’s cupcakes were honest, poignant and funny.

The author effortlessly blends the romance between Jason and Leyna with family and business intrigue. The chemistry between Jay and Layna bubbled up immediately. I enjoyed reading their perfectly paced slow burn romance. I loved that the author included wine making process thread through the novel. Barb Curtis created fabulous secondary characters-Emily, Tim, Danielle, Cass and Mark- each one added to the storyline.

I highly recommend Forever With You by Barb Curtis!!! It has all the feels- an engaging couple, gorgeous setting and a heartfelt second chance at love. I can’t wait for the next book in the Sapphire Springs series!!

Reviewed by Susan Gorman

ARC provided by the publisher

A happily-ever-after-crafter at heart, Barb Curtis’ love for writing began with a quick-witted style column, and her background in marketing led to stints writing print and web copy, newsletters, and grant proposals. The switch to fiction came with the decision to pair her creativity with her love for words, and crafting characters and settings she could truly get lost in. Barb happily lives in a bubble in rural New Brunswick with her husband, daughter, and dog. You’ll find her restoring the century-old family homestead, weeding the garden, and no doubt whistling the same song all day long.

Susan's Review of A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem by Manda Collins

An intrepid female reporter matches wits with a serious, sexy detective in award-winning author Manda Collins' fun and flirty historical rom-com!

England, 1865 : As one of England's most notorious newspaper columnists, Lady Katherine Bascomb believes knowledge is power. And she's determined to inform and educate the ladies of London on the nefarious-and deadly-criminals who are praying on the fairer sex. When her reporting leads to the arrest of a notorious killer, however, Katherine flees to a country house party to escape her newfound notoriety-only to witness a murder on her very first night. And when the lead detective accuses Katherine of inflaming-rather than informing-the public with her column, she vows to prove him wrong.

Detective Inspector Andrew Eversham's refusal to compromise his investigations nearly cost him his own career, and he blames Katherine. To avoid bad publicity, his superiors are pressuring him to solve cases quickly rather than correctly. When he discovers she's the key witness in a new crime, he's determined to prevent the beautiful widow from once again wreaking havoc on his case. Yet as Katherine proves surprisingly insightful and Andrew impresses Katherine with his lethal competency, both are forced to admit the fire between them is more flirtatious than furious. But to explore the passion between them, they'll need to catch a killer. 

The connection between strong willed newspaper owner and columnist Lady Katherine and the serious, determined detective Andrew Eversham drew me into A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem immediately. Katherine authored an article about the “Commandments Killer” citing new information. This article contained an interview with a witness that the police overlooked. The newpaper article ruined the lead detective, Andrew Eversham's career. Andrew and Katherine meet at a crowded assembly announcing that the Commandments Killer had been caught. Andrew rescues her from the crush and sees her to safety.

I adored this delightful whodunit which takes place at a house party at a country estate. The storyline reminded me of Clue, one of my favorite board games. The cast of characters was fabulous! The guest list includes an American businessman and his daughter, an ex-prize fighter, the Earl and Countess of Eggleston and Reeve Thompson. Lots of different personalities that added to my enjoyment of the novel.

Andrew and Katherine are reunited when a murder occurs at the house party. Loved the initial conflict between these two characters and how their relationship changed as they learned to work together to solve the murders. The attraction between Andrew and Katherine intensified with every murder and the author crafted fabulous dialogue for them—witty, serious and passionate.

The focus of the storyline was solving the mystery— which appealed to me. Enjoyed that the author added in several red herring clues which added intrigue and a sense of uneasiness to the novel. I loved trying to figure out the killer’s identity and when he or she might strike again.

A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem is well written, the romance between Andrew and Katherine is engaging and the unmasking of the killer totally surprised me!

Well done Manda Collins--I fell for one of the red herring clues and believed another character was the murderer!

Reviewed by Susan Gorman

ARC provided by the Publisher

The Secret: Dare to Dream - Movie Review

The Secret:

Dare to Dream

Movie Review

☆☆☆☆☆

Miranda is struggling through her life, day to day,

convinced only bad things will happen. She has so 

much to be thankful for. But the bad things keep coming. 

Which leads Miranda to believe nothing but bad things

will ever happen. She digs up more patience and continues

to push through.

When the big storm of the season hits her little beach town,

she wakes in the night to a tree crashing through her kitchen

ceiling. Typical Miranda, when the kids ask what they will do,

she replies to get the cereal out and lets drink the milk before

it goes bad. 

The night before the storm, a mysterious man finds himself

sitting at a stop sign and being smashed into from behind. 

The story will warm your heart. It is a lovely lesson.

If you think only bad things will happen, perhaps you will

only see bad things happening around you. Which might

just cause you to miss all the miracles and wonderful things

happening all around you. 

Watch a wonderful, inspiring, fun, sweet movie. 

Just to give yourself a break.

The Secret is available to stream and rent all over.

Review by Lisa Hutson