Review - - Christmas Beach Wedding

Christmas Beach Wedding

by Lori Wilde and Susan Sands

Publisher: Epiphany Orchards Press

Release Date: October 30, 2023

Reviewed by PJ

 

The Christmas magic of the season sparks hope for lost love in this heartwarming holiday tale.

It's been twenty-five long years since Jane Lafitte's heart was broken by her college sweetheart Trevor Gardner. She never imagined she'd see him again—until their adult children announce their own Christmas engagement!

Thrown together amidst cozy holiday celebrations in Christmas Beach, Louisiana, the old flames can't deny the warm embers that still smolder between them. But with painful memories and practical concerns conspiring against them, can Jane and Trevor set aside the past and rekindle their romance in time for the holidays?

PJ's Thoughts:

This may be a novella (133 pages) but it packs the emotional satisfaction of a much longer story. It's humorous, charming, and heart-tugging with the depth that accompanies an unexpected second chance romance twenty-five years after a heartbreaking split. Even though the story length is short, the authors take the time to properly address what happened in the past and give this couple the necessary time to make their reunion journey realistic and relatable. I loved watching them navigate forgiveness, healing, and falling in love a second time, all while also navigating a potentially awkward family situation that affects them both. 

Characters, primary and secondary, are well developed and integral to the story. Settings (both New Orleans and the beach) are vividly depicted, creating an atmosphere that's as important to the overall story as the individual characters. And Henry, the hero's dog, manages to steal not only every scene in which he appears but everyone's hearts as well, including mine. 

This quick read is a great choice for a heartwarming romance fix during the busy holidays ahead. I may even read it again. (I'm kidding. I pre-ordered a copy of my own because I will definitely read it again). 

 

Review - - Cowboy, It's Cold Outside

Cowboy, It's Cold Outside

By Lori Wilde

Twilight, Texas series

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: October 31, 2017
Reviewed by Hellie

  

Paige MacGregor has a job to do: keep everyone out of the building until it’s time for the charity event. Dressed as she is in an elf outfit, looking every bit of a Santa Baby, it’s no wonder the big handsome male who keeps insisting he’s allowed in won’t take her seriously. Oh, the things one does when one must pay off the bills your slimy ex ran up in your name. How was she to know that Mr. Cocky Cowboy is actually the main-star attraction for said charity event?

Cash Colton has spent the last year in Peru nursing a broken heart after a very public breakup with his band, as his fiancé (who he sang with) hooked up with his best friend (the other member of the band). He is by no means looking for love...anywhere, let alone in this teeny tiny town in Texas. He is here to do a favor for a friend and maybe spend some time among people so he doesn’t feel so lonely. He does hope to keep a low profile--after all, with his love life as tabloid fodder for the last year, he isn’t keen to be immediately recognized and mobbed--but the cute and sassy Santa Baby doesn’t seem to recognize him at all. How novel.

Once Paige figures out who she actually banned from the building, she is quick to apologize, but she is no more interested in going out with the charming cowboy than she was before. (Ignoring the fact that every time she’s in his presence her heart beats faster and her Spandex nearly melts off.) She’s had enough charm for a lifetime. Still, there is something compelling about the cowboy with the hurt and longing in his eyes; and he’s certainly determined to spend time around her. I mean, could it hurt to have a no strings attached Christmas fling?

Every time Cash is with her, words come back to him. After a horrible drought in his songwriting, being with Paige has renewed his fraught relationship with his muse. He’s ready to step out in the stoplight again, move on, and sing a new song--and not necessarily one that suggests he’s still hung up on his ex. How else can he keep his muse going when it seems Paige is the divining rod who centers his muse? Could there be a possibility of a real relationship? How would it work?

But things get complicated. Paige isn’t keen to have a real relationship with a man who is in the spotlight, and certainly not when her bad penny ex might show up and cause more trouble; and Cash knows love is not for him. After all, his mother told him when he was a boy that he would only be successful so long as he kept his heart untangled. However, stubborn hearts in Twilight never hold out for long, and eventually Paige allows her cowboy to come in out of the cold.

For fans of Lori Wilde and her Twilight series, this is a comfortable sexy read to get you in the mood for Christmas. For those who have not invested in the series, readers might be a little frustrated by some of the motivations of Cash--and even Paige, but the characters around them are so compelling and likable, you buy into the romance.

Review - - Love of the Game

Love of the Game

By Lori Wilde

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: April 26, 2016

Axel Richmond is a pitcher for the Dallas Gunslingers, an expansion team. He is vital to the team’s success, and his record with the Gunslingers is vital to Axel’s realizing his dream of pitching for the New York Yankees. His dream is threatened by a potentially career-ending shoulder injury. Not even the most intense efforts of the driven pitcher and his team have produced the healing for which they all are hoping. In fact, the damage to his shoulder has worsened. The time has come to make a difficult decision.

Kasha Carlyle is two weeks into the three-month probationary period as physical therapist with the Gunslingers. Even though she was recommended by Rowdy Blanton, field manager of the team and husband of Kasha’s sister Breeanne, she still has to prove herself. Success is important because the job comes with a higher salary and improved insurance coverage, both necessities since Kasha plans to assume legal guardianship of Emma, her recently-discovered half-sister, who has Down Syndrome. Still, Kasha can’t keep silent when her professional opinion is at odds with that of the team physician and others who want Axel to undergo radical surgery that has had mixed results. She also disapproves of Axel’s own rigorous approach. If her less invasive, gentler methods fail, she could lose her job before the probationary period ends.

The attraction between the pitcher and the physical therapist is explosive, but both Axel and Kasha have heavy baggage that makes them leery of emotional involvement. Axel’s boyhood dream of playing for the Yankees became obsessive after the death of his young son. It is the thought of accomplishing the goal in memory of Dylan that drives Axel past the pain and discouragement. Kasha’s defenses are more entrenched. Although she was adopted by loving parents when she was seven, the horror she endured before then has shaped her into the person she is, a woman who makes calmness and peace priorities and fears the consequences of passion.  Thus, in addition to the ethical concerns of involvement with a patient, Kasha has compelling personal reasons to resist the powerful feelings she has for Axel. Can Axel persuade her to open herself to the passionate love he offers?

This is the third book in Wilde’s Stardust, Texas series, following Back in the Game and Rules of the Game. There is much to like in this book. The lead characters, particularly Kasha, are interesting, layered, and sympathetic. The relationship between Kasha and Emma is tender and moving, and yet Wilde also shows the reality of assuming responsibility for a child in an adult’s body. Axel is definitely an alpha, as befits his status as a major league pitcher, but readers know from early in the book that this alpha has heart. Readers who enjoyed the earlier books will be pleased to see Kasha’s adoptive family in secondary roles.  

However, the insta-lust is so heavy and hits so soon (in the opening pages) that I was turned off the book before I finished the first chapter. Although I give full marks to the author for a complex, emotional story, had I not been reading the novel for review, I probably would not have read far enough to appreciate the merits of the story. I do understand that some readers will see the early chapters as a plus, but I can give the book only a qualified recommendation.

~Janga

Review Tour & Giveaway - - I'll Be Home for Christmas

I’ll Be Home for Christmas

By Lori Wilde

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: October 27, 2015

Twilight, Texas is a town that does Christmas the old-fashioned way:

Workmen strung Christmas lights on all four corners of the square while teams of town folk decorated themed trees. . . . Performers in Dickensian costumes strolled the sidewalks. Gabi spied Miss Havisham in her wedding dress and one sad shoe. Scrooge hoisted Tiny Tim up on his shoulders. Artful Dodger led a group of soot-faced children as they pulled faux swag from participants’ pockets. Horse-drawn carriages picked up and dropped off visitors. “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” poured from outdoor speakers. A light dusting of snow had started to fall, putting smiles on faces and making everything look like a snow globe world.      

 Bedford Falls from IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE had nothing on this town.      

It is exactly what Gabi Preston has longed for since the Christmas Eve she was six years old when her older brother gave her a snow globe with a tiny, perfect Christmas village inside and promised they would find it one day. He died the next day, and Gabi knew she had failed to fulfill the purpose for which she was born. Seventeen years later, people pleaser Gabi has dropped out of law school, left her home in Los Angeles, and set in motion a plan to switch homes and lives temporarily with Katie Cheek, a Pinterest friend who has her own reasons for agreeing to The Holiday style exchange. Gabi hopes time away from her parents and her life pattern of living to please others will give her a chance to discover who she is as well as allowing her to experience a Christmas-card holiday. She picks up Katie’s Camry at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport without even a pang for her BMW that Katie is driving, but she is not sure she is prepared for life in Katie’s yurt or for Katie’s sexy, Christmas tree-farmer brother whose smile is enough to melt snow--and other things.

Joe Cheek, the youngest son in a large and loving family, left his most recent landing place in Florida and came home to Twilight when his grandfather’s health issues made it mandatory that someone else run the farm. Ever since his youthful marriage failed, Joe has been a wanderer with a few months the maximum commitment he has been willing to make to a place or to a woman. He figures he can stay in Twilight until Gramps is able to return to the farm, but he believes it is just not in his nature to put down permanent roots. That’s reason enough to avoid Gabi Preston, no matter how irresistible he finds her.

It doesn’t take long for Gabi to fall in love with Twilight, its citizens, and its traditions, and—no matter how often she reminds herself that she will be leaving in a matter of weeks—it takes even less time for her to fall for a certain charming farmer whose ways are a match for his name. And Joe’s pre-New Year’s resolutions to stay away from Gabi are broken almost as soon as he makes them. The two eventually stop fighting the attraction and enjoy the moment, knowing that their feelings are more than lust but frightened of admitting just how all-consuming they are. Then Joe’s ex turns up with heavy problems and with the eight-year-old daughter that Joe thinks of as his own in every way except biology. Will the added complications combined with the doubts that plague both Gabi and Joe mean their first Christmas together is also their last?

Wilde takes readers back to Twilight for a seventh novel and a fourth Christmas visit to this picturesque town. Gabi and Joe are likeable characters, and their relationship, although it develops quickly, is based on a connection that is deeper than physical attraction. Gabi centers Joe, and he helps her spread her wings. They offer each other respect and acceptance without imposing expectations. Of course, for Gabi, Joe’s welcoming family is a plus. Fans of the series will enjoy the appearance of characters from other books in the series, and even readers who cannot remember them all (I could not) will doubtless enjoy the warmth and holiday cheer that define the interactions of family and friends. I thought Gabi and Joe’s baking Kismet cookies with his daughter was a wonderful touch.

Some may find that conflicts, real and potential, are resolved with too little angst and anguish, but many will be willing to accept that Twilight and Christmas have worked their magic and given characters their hearts’ desire and readers a heartwarming story that is perfect for the holiday. If you are looking for another Christmas reading treat, I recommend this one.

 ~Janga

I’ll Be Home for Christmas

A Twilight, Texas Novel

By Lori Wilde

Avon Romance

October 27^th, 2015

Mass-Market ISBN: 9780062311412 * $7.99

E-ISBN 9780062311429 * $5.99

About the Book

Nothing says Christmas like New York Times bestselling author Lori Wilde and Twilight, TX, and now Lori returns to Twilight for a brand new heartwarming holiday tale. The matchmaking members of the Cookie Club are up to their old tricks again!

Christmas in Twilight, Texas, is all merriment and mistletoe. The Cookie Club is whipping up their most festive sweets, the townspeople are scrambling to get their holiday shopping done, and Joe-a hometown guy with a restless heart-is dreaming about the woman he wants to kiss most…

…And who happens to be staying at his sister’s place over the holidays, while Joe’s sister is away. But Joe isn’t quite sure he wants to be a living Christmas present to runaway law student Gabi Preston.

Joe thinks the sassy sweetheart he nicknames “Trouble” won’t inconvenience anything but his healthy sex drive. But when he discovers the reasons Gabi escaped from her life, he aches to give her everything she’s never had. As the magic of the season draws them together, the gift of love is the only one worth giving…

Purchase Here:

I’LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS –

Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo

Connect with Lori Wilde

Website - http://loriwilde.com/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/loriwilde

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/LoriWildeBooks/

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/38217.Lori_Wilde

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Guest Review - - The Christmas Cookie Collection

The Christmas Cookie Collection

By Lori Wilde

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: October 29, 2013

The Christmas Cookie Collection is a quartet of stories set in Twilight, Texas, the setting of Lori Wilde’s earlier quartet: The Sweethearts’ Knitting Club (2009), The True Love Quilting Club (2010), The First Love Cookie Club (2010), and The Welcome Home Garden Club (2011). All of the protagonists from the Christmas collection appear in the earlier books. Readers familiar with the series will remember the legend of reunited lovers and happily ever afters that is central to Twilight’s identity. There's another legend in Twilight, Texas that says if on Christmas you sleep with kismet cookies under your pillow and dream of your one true love, he will be your destiny.

Carrie, Raylene, Christine, and Flynn are all members of the Christmas Cookie Club, and this Christmas their dreams will come true.

 “The Christmas Cookie Chronicles: Carrie”

Eight years ago, on Christmas, Carrie MacGregor and Mark Leland, high school sweethearts, eloped to Las Vegas. When they returned home to Twilight, Mark’s parents and Carrie’s older sister persuaded the teenagers that they should annul their marriage. Carrie threw more pennies than she could count into the legendary fountain that was supposed to assure her a happy ending with Mark, but she has never heard from him since the day they parted.

But that’s about to change. Mark, now host of a reality, myth-bursting show Fact or Fiction, is returning to Twilight to check out the facts of the town’s greatest legend. Will the hometown hero destroy the town? An even more important question may be whether the legend’s power will work for the hero and his heroine. The chemistry between Mark and Carrie is as explosive as ever, but can an L. A. star and a small-town girl really reunite for Christmas and for their own HEA?

“The Christmas Cookie Chronicles: Raylene”

Raylene Pringle has made Elvis’s “Blue Christmas” the most played Christmas song at the Horny Toad Tavern, which she has been running alone since Earl, her high school sweetheart and husband of thirty-five years left her a year ago. He left after Raylene revealed that before their marriage, during the last time she and Earl split, she had had a fling with a Dallas Cowboy quarterback, given birth to a daughter from that affair, and given the child to the wealthy parents of her lover. Earl can’t forgive Raylene for keeping that information from him, and he leaves. Raylene hasn’t heard from him in a year, and now she has two losses to keep her blue: the daughter she never knew and the love of her life who has disappeared.

Earl may not have contacted Raylene, but he has contacted Shannon Dugan, who shows up incognito in Twilight, still reeling from the shocks she received Christmas a year ago: her grandfather died, her husband turned out to be a crook who stole her money, and Earl Pringle brought her the news that her birth mother could be found in Twilight, Texas. Shannon comes to Twilight looking for answers, and she finds them. In fact, she finds more than she thought possible in retired Navy SEAL, Nate Devers. In a season of love and grace, is there enough of both to reconcile a mother and daughter and two older lovers who have lost their way?

“The Christmas Cookie Chronicles: Christine”

Christine Noble may bake the most delectable Christmas cookies that the citizens of Twilight have ever tasted, but that’s not much consolation when she thinks of all that’s lacking in her life, big things like true love and a family. The accident that ended Christine’s dreams becoming an Olympic sprinter also left her unable to bear children, and every man in whom she has developed an interest has disappeared when Christine shared that news with him. Christine knows she has a lot to be thankful for, but that knowledge doesn’t help her with the self-pity and envy when she sees all her friends with the children in their lives.

Widower Eli Borden drives over from Jubilee to order what he has been assured is the best birthday cake available for his teenage daughter Sierra. He doesn’t know that the baker is Christine with whom he shared an unforgettable kiss when they were only a bit older than his daughter. Seeing Christine again has him feeling emotions he hasn’t felt since his wife died. But he doubts that a widower with four kids is the stuff of romantic dreams. Of course he doesn’t know Christine remembers him as the best kisser in her life or that he is exactly the man to fulfill her dreams of the perfect Christmas and maybe a happily ever after.

“The Christmas Cookie Chronicles: Grace”

Flynn and Jesse Calloway, who were the heroine and hero of the first Twilight, Texas, book, are getting ready to welcome their first child. They have just completed a Christmas delivery that leaves them feeling filled with the joy of the season when Jesse’s past separates them again. It’s a brief separation, but it’s long enough for Flynn to run into danger. But Jesse’s love, a mysterious stray dog, and a Christmas miracle brings them safely past the danger. They name their Christmas miracle “Grace.”

These stories are short and predictable, and they won’t win any awards for originality or complexity. Nevertheless, they are guaranteed to evoke lots of smiles and a tear or two, and the recurring themes of forgiveness and love seem particularly appropriate in holiday stories. Readers who have enjoyed Wilde’s other Twilight books will appreciate the community feel, the familiar characters, and the unabashed sentiment of these novellas. Readers new to Wilde may well find that these sweet bites with a touch of spice will inspire them to feast on the other books in the series.

The first three stories were published in 2011 by Avon Impulse, a digital only imprint. This year Avon has released them in print with a fourth story added. For readers who purchased the Christmas Cookie Chronicles last year, the fourth story “Grace” is available as a digital single.

~Janga
http://justjanga.blogspot.com

Guest Review - - Love at First Sight

Love at First Sight

By Lori Wilde

Publisher: Avon

Release Date: May 28, 2013

Cupid, Texas is a town created by legends woven around the stalagmite in the shape of the arrow-shooting son of Venus discovered in a cavern near the town. During the post-Civil War era, a prayer to Cupid saved a charming rogue charged as a horse thief from hanging when one of the town’s spinsters married him; a letter left at the feet of the image gave Millie Greenwood, the heroine’s great-grandmother an HEA against all odds; and this Cupid’s powers even played a role in the abdication of Edward VIII. Later, the town placed a Cupid statue fountain in the botanical gardens with an official “Letters to Cupid” box, and visitors seeking help from Cupid made tourism the town’s major industry.

Part of the tradition involves the female descendants of Millie Greenwood writing answers to Cupid’s letters. As the eldest daughter of the eldest daughter of the eldest daughter in a direct line from Millie, Natalie McCleary bears a particular responsibility. That role added to the tragic loss of her parents that what she feels is a charge from them to care for her younger sister Zoey. As the owner of a B & B, she has obligations to her guests. Natalie is defined by the responsibilities she bears.

Her responsibilities and the injury she suffered in the plane crash that killed her parents have limited her life. At 29, she is less experienced than many women a decade younger. Although she has had a few boyfriends, she is essentially untouched physically and emotionally by passion. In fact, she is beginning to doubt her ability to answer Cupid’s letters, to give advice on love when she has never been in love. Although she is surrounded by extended family and friends who love her, Natalie is fundamentally lonely.

Dade Vega is a rough, tough former Navy SEAL who comes to Cupid after he receives a text from Red Daggett, his foster brother and closest friend, signaling him that he needs help. With a history of neglect and abuse and independence at an early age, Dade is wary of people. Red is the only person he trusts, and Red has disappeared. Dade knows that it’s possible that Red had a PTSD episode, neglected to take his medications, and is lying dead somewhere, but his instincts tell him there’s something rotten in wholesome Cupid. Dade plans to investigate until he finds some answers, and then he plans to leave town. He’s not cut out for community and relationships and the kind of connected life that is common in Cupid.

Everything changes when Natalie and Dade are struck by Cupid’s arrow, but they both fight the change. Natalie is frightened by the power of what she feels from her first glimpse of Dade:

Just one look and all the mysteries of the universe were answered. Every nerve ending in her body tingled to life as if she’d been asleep for a hundred years and was awakening for the very first time.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

It struck her like a fever, hot and rushed, an emotion so sudden and sweet that her brain fumbled and stupidly came up with the word “love.”

Dade is just as frightened because he knows how much he wants this, how different these feelings are from anything he has ever known, but he feels unworthy of love.

Honestly, he was half hoping that she was a hallucination because that would rightly explain the berserk push-pull between his head and his heart. He felt a rushing need to go after her, spill his guts, tell her who he was and how he felt. One look in her enigmatic sky blue eyes and he felt as if love beckoned him with open arms, while his soul had dug in its heels and jerked back, too guilty of damage and sin to believe anything so good could be true.

Both Natalie and Dade will have to replace fear with trust in themselves and in one another before they can accept the love they want, the union they need.

Love at First Sight is the first book in Lori Wilde’s third Texas series, following her Twilight Club books and her Jubilee cowboy novels. Readers who liked the Twilight, Texas stories will enjoy a visit to Cupid. There is the same focus on legend and the traditions that spring up around it, the same small-town ambience, the same tangled family connections and quirky characters.

Natalie and Dade are likeable, and they are surprisingly complex. It is easy to root for them to find their HEA together. Although their lives have been very different, they are both among the walking wounded, misfits who never quite belong to the groups that define them—her family and community for Natalie and the SEALs for Dade. A couple of scenes between them (the bar and the shoes scenes) are as poignant as they are steamy.

Despite all the things I liked about the book, there were a few things that kept it from being the book I felt it could have been. First, I would like to have seen less mental lusting and more real development of the relationship. These are two people with complicated histories, and I wanted to see more of their working out those complications. I have a low tolerance for repetitions of “He/She is so hot. I want him/her so much.”  The second problem is related to the first. I’m a tough sale when it comes to love at first sight. Attraction I can buy, and I know there was supposed to be something mystical and destined about Cupid’s strike in this town, but it took me to the end before I really believed that Natalie and Dade felt more than a strong sexual attraction. Finally, I really disliked Natalie’s sister. She impressed me as a spoiled, self-centered brat, and I thought she was mean to Natalie. Some of her actions seemed more the behavior of a sixteen-year-old than a twenty-two-year-old. I look for her to be the heroine of a later book, but it will be an uphill battle for me to see her as heroine material. In summary, I recommend this one, but with some reservations.

~Janga
http://justjanga.blogspot.com

Today's Special - - Lori Wilde

It's our pleasure to welcome New York Times bestselling author, Lori Wilde back to The Romance Dish!  I've been a fan of Lori's books since back when she was writing romantic comedy for Harlequin Duets and Gannon and I have both been enjoying her new Twilight, Texas contemporary series.  You can read reviews of Lori's books posted at The Romance Dish here:  The First Love Cookie Club, The True Love Quilting Club (guest review) and The Welcome Home Garden Club.  Click here to read Gannon and Lori's interview from April, 2011.  Please welcome Lori as she joins us today to talk about those special Christmas stories we all love and her Christmas present to her readers: three new ebook Christmas novellas from Twilight, Texas! 

Ah Christmas! Who doesn’t love a great Christmas story? When Avon asked me if I wanted to write three ebook novellas set during the Christmas holidays, based on my successful Twilight, Texas series, I jumped at the chance. Writing The Christmas Cookie Chronicles was such fun!

There’s just something magical about Christmas stories that speak to us all. From A Christmas Carol to The Night Before Christmas to The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, tales of forgiveness and redemption, hope and miracles stir something in everyone. This time of year, everything takes on a merrier glow.

I love Christmas movies too. From Miracle on 34th Street to It’s a Wonderful Life. These evergreen classics warm our hearts year after year. One of my family traditions is to hold a tree decorating party. We drink hot chocolate, put up the tree, string popcorn garlands and bake cookies. Afterwards we curl up on the couch to watch A Christmas Story. Yes, my favorite holiday movie of all time is a comedy. I can’t imagine a Christmas without Ralphie and his Red Rider b.b. gun. It’s such a perfect holiday movie.

And we can’t forget Christmas music. Here’s my pick of the top ten Christmas Songs

1)White Christmas (I love the do-whop sound of The Drifters version)
2) Blue Christmas by Elvis
3) Happy Christmas by John and Yoko
4) Santa Baby by Eartha Kitt
5) Silver Bells by Johnny Mathis
6) Please Come Home For Christmas by the Eagles
7) Rocking Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee
8) Pachelbel Christmas Canon by Trans-Siberian Orchestra
9) Holly Jolly Christmas by Burl Ives
10) Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms

What about you? What are your favorite Christmas books, movies or songs? Do you have a special holiday tradition?

Nov. 15, 2011 
Avon Impulse
$1.99


Come join a meeting of the First Love Cookie Club!  

“On Christmas Eve, if you sleep with kismet cookies under your pillow and dream of your own true love, he will be your destiny.”

Carrie MacGregor doesn’t believe this—not one bit. She might be a “paid up” member of the Cookie Club and the local Sweethearts Knitting Club, but she’s not about to give in to the forced ho-ho-ho of the season. And why? Mark Leland. When he left town he broke Carrie’s heart. Now, the local-guy-made good is back, hosting the reality show “Fact or Fantasy.”

Fact: Mark broke her heart. Fantasy: her friends think they’ll be getting back together. But could the magic of a Twilight, Texas Christmas make Carrie’s secret dreams come true?

November 29, 2011
Avon Impulse
$1.99


Come join a meeting of the First Love Cookie Club!

“On Christmas Eve, if you sleep with kismet cookies under your pillow and dream of your own true love, he will be your destiny.” 

It’s Christmas time at the Horny Toad Tavern, located in the heart of Twilight, TX. Elvis is on the jukebox, the lights twinkle outside…and inside, Raylene Pringle is wondering if it’s going to be another “Blue Christmas” without her true love, Earl.

But things are about to change—because ‘tis the season for unexpected romance and a surprise mother/daughter reunion…reminding Raylene that you should never disbelieve the legend of the kismet cookies!

December 20, 2011
Avon Impulse
$1.99


Come join a meeting of the First Love Cookie Club!

“On Christmas Eve, if you sleep with kismet cookies under your pillow and dream of your own true love, he will be your destiny.” 

Everyone in Twilight, TX knows that Christine Noble can mix up the most delectable concoctions and turn them into amazing Christmas cookies. And the whole town also knows she can’t seem to find the ingredients for finding true love. Then through the doors of her shops strides Eli Borden—the man she still thinks of as “the best kisser ever.”

To her surprise, Eli asks her on a date…and to her greater surprise she accepts. Maybe it’s the mistletoe, or the season, or even the cookies…but suddenly something magical happens. But the dreams that Christine thought she’d given up on are suddenly coming true—and it all begins with another kiss from Eli.

~PJ

Coming Attractions

November is one of my favorite months. Not just because the leaves are in full display of jewel tone colors and the air has a clean crisp feel, but because we celebrate Thanksgiving and my husband’s birthday. Speaking of celebrations, November is a great month here at The Romance Dish because we kick off the month with our anniversary celebration extravaganza. In addition to our party, we have lots of reviews, guest authors, and fun things in store for the month.



The Romance Dish is celebrating our 2nd anniversary in bloggerland. Wow, we can’t believe it has been 2 years!!! Our anniversary celebration extravaganza begins Monday, October 31, and runs through Friday, November 4. We have a lot planned for the week, including games, highlights, and a special guest. Then on Saturday, November 5, we will announce all of our winners … and there will be a lot of winners. We even have three special giveaways just for our international readers. So make sure you stop by every day for your chance to win!


Are you looking for a ready to print shopping list of the new releases for November? Well, we have got you covered! On November 7, Andrea provides you with such a list in her New Releases blog.


On Tuesday, November 8, guest reviewer Janga interviews Rita Award winning author Molly O’Keefe.


Trish Milburn/Trisha Mills shares the latest in YA news on Thursday, November 10. Anyone looking forward to the Breaking Dawn – Part 1 movie?


Get a sneak peak of the December new releases on Friday, November 11, with Andrea’s Make Your Reservations blog.


Even though the weather is getting colder here in the United States, The Romance Dish sizzles on Tuesday, November 15, when Buffie shares her latest Hot Dish.


New York Times Bestselling author Lori Wilde guest blogs with us on Thursday, November 17.


On Saturday, November 19, we share several reviews at one time with our Stock Up Saturday Reviews.


On Monday, November 21, debut author Joan Swan stops by The Romance Dish on her Journey of a Debut Author blog tour. Joan is a triple RWA Golden Heart finalist as well as a double Daphne Du Maurier finalist and her debut FEVER releases February 28, 2012. Joan is bringing a special guest with her, and I think you will like who it is!


Anna Campbell returns on Thursday, November 24, with her latest review. No matter what book Anna is reviewing, it is bound to be one to add to your TBR list.


We hope to see you frequently during the month of November!!

~ Buffie

Lori Wilde Winners

The two winners of a copy of The Welcome Home Garden Club by Lori Wilde are:


June M.

and

MsHellion


Congratulations, ladies! Please send your full name and mailing address to

theromancedishATgmailDOTcom

I'll get your book in the mail to you ASAP. Thank you to everyone who commented!

Today's Special -- Interview with Lori Wilde

We are so pleased to welcome New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lori Wilde to The Romance Dish today. Lori has written more than 56 novels for four major publishing houses. She's a RITA finalist, winner of the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award, the Holt Medallion, the National Readers' Choice, and the Booksellers Best. A former nurse, Lori now is lucky to write full time the books her readers love to read. Her latest book, The Welcome Home Garden Club, book 4 in the Twilight Texas Series, was released March 29th. If you haven't read this heartwarming series, you're missing a delightful time. Lori lives in Texas with her husband and their menagerie of pets. Please give a warm welcome to Lori.


Gannon: Hi, Lori! Thank you so much for being our guest at The Romance Dish. I read in your bio that you wrote your first story when you were eight years old about your "as yet, unborn, baby sister." Did your parents keep that story or any of your early "work"?

Lori: They did save them, but unfortunately, my parents' house burned down when I was in college and almost all my early writings were lost. I do have a few pieces I wrote in high school.

Gannon: Oh, that's so sad. It's nice you have a few things, though. Obviously you were bitten by the writing bug early, but your dad encouraged you to find a career that paid better money, so you went to nursing school. How long did you practice nursing before you were able to quit your day job and pursue writing full time?

Lori: Twenty-two years. I went to LVN (LPN) school at age 17 and then worked to put myself through RN school for six years. I didn't write during those years. As soon as I got out of college I started writing again. I messed around, writing on and off for seven years. Then finally in 1990, I drew a line in the sand and told myself I was going to do this or die trying.

Gannon: That's what I call perseverance. You have written in so many different sub-genres (romantic adventure comedy, hot and sexy, small town romance). Is there a particular one that you prefer or find easier to write?

Lori: I really like romantic adventure comedy, but it just didn't sell well for me. However, the small town romances suit my voice. I'm a country girl at heart and always will be.

Gannon: I'm a big fan of your Twilight, Texas series. I guess I can relate to it having grown up in a small town. *g* What made you want to write about small town life and romance?

Lori: I've lived in small towns my whole life. It's what I know best. I've worked in small town hospitals and have a feel for the sense of community that comes from that experience.

Gannon: Was this meant to be a series all along? How many books do you have planned for the Twilight series?

Lori: Yes, it was always a series. I hope to be able to write more books set in Twilight. It all depends on how the series does whether my publisher will allow me to set more books there. Right now, I have a new series I'm working on about cutting horse cowboys. That was a natural for me as well since I live in the Cutting Horse Capital of the World.

Gannon: I certainly hope there are many more books in Twilight, and I love the sound of those cowboys! *g* I know that writing your many books keeps you busy, but you are also an instructor for a company who provides online community education for more than 2100 colleges and universities. Can you tell us more about that and how you got involved?

Lori: The company I work for is the largest supplier of adult education in the world. I took a class from them, enjoyed it and then noticed they didn't offer a course on romance writing. I applied and got accepted to develop my own course for them.

Gannon: I'll have to check that out---sounds like fun. I also read that you volunteer as a sexual assault first responder for a shelter for battered women. What led you to do this?

Lori: I felt the need to get out and help my community. Since I was a nurse, that volunteer position was a good fit. I was also getting a certificate in forensic nursing and it helped augment my education.

Gannon: Lori, you are an amazing lady....and an incredibly busy one! What's up next for you?

Lori: Those cutting horse cowboys from Avon. It's currently a three book series, with all three books scheduled for release in 2012. I also still write sexy romances for Harlequin Blaze.

Gannon: I'm looking forward to reading your new series---who doesn't love a sexy cowboy?!--- and of course, those hot Blaze books. Thank you so much for spending time with us. It's been a delight.

Lori: Thanks for inviting me. This was fun!


Tell us readers, do you like small town romances? Or do you prefer to read about life in the big city?

Lori has generously provided two copies of The Welcome Home Garden Club for a giveaway (U.S. and Canadian residents only, please) to two random commenters today.

Guest Review - - The True Love Quilting Club

The True Love Quilting Club
By Lori Wilde
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: April 13, 2010

Actress Emma Parks thinks she’s hit rock bottom when she becomes scandal bait, her roommates kick her out of their New York apartment, and $250 is all that stands between her and destitution. Then she’s arrested and booked on assault charges brought by the lecherous Broadway producer whom she hits where it hurts most. To her surprise, she’s released and offered a job that takes her back to Twilight, Texas, the only place that ever felt like home. Emma spent her fourteenth year in the little town back when she was Trixie Lynn Parks, and her memories of the town and Sam Cheek, her first love, are warm and vivid even after sixteen years.

She’s not the only one who remembers. Sam Cheek is now Twilight’s veterinarian, a widower with a troubled young son and a Border Collie named Patches, but Trixie Lynn and the year they shared as best friends and sweethearts remain a part of him.

Add Emma and Sam’s history to Twilight’s history, its Sweetheart Tree, and Sam’s matchmaking aunt and other members of Twilight’s quilting club, and the conclusion of this story cannot be in doubt. But the journey to the HEA, like the proverbial path to true love, is anything but smooth. Old wounds require healing, and separate dreams must be reconciled. With Twilight and its endearing cast of characters in supporting roles, The True Love Quilting Club is a story with a great deal of sweetness and some surprising sizzle.

Wilde’s first Twilight, Texas novel, The Sweetheart’s Knitting Club, won a host of fans. Not only do many of the characters from the first novel make an appearance in the second book, but the centrality of the town to the story and the reunion and second-chance-at-love themes also link the two books. Fans of the first book and other readers who like small-town stories, quirky characters, and reunited lovers will likely be charmed by this book.

I enjoyed the book. I found Sam with his beta steadiness an appealing hero. I also liked the blend of humor rooted in reality, such as Emma/Trixie Lynn’s fear of dogs, with the genuinely poignant moments, such as those with Charlie, Sam’s son. I would have liked for the story to have been less predictable, and I was bothered by Wilde’s occasional lapse into prose that in my eyes at least shaded into purple. For these reasons, I awarded it three and a half stars.

~Janga