Category: book tour

October 5, 2021

A Reckless Match Book Review

A Reckless Match is the first in a new regency romance series by Kate Bateman about two feuding families, and reunited childhood enemies whose hatred turns to love.

About A Reckless Match

Madeline Montgomery grew up despising––and secretly loving––the roguish Gryffud “Gryff” Davies. Their families have been bitter rivals for hundreds of years, but even if her feelings once crossed the line between love and hate, she’s certain Gryff never felt the same. Now, she’s too busy saving her family from ruin to think about Gryff and the other “devilish” Davies siblings. Since he’s off being scandalous in London, it’s not like she’ll ever see him again.

As the new Earl of Powys, Gryff Davies planned on spending his post-war life enjoying the pleasures of London. But when an illegal duel forces him to retreat to his family’s Welsh castle, he realizes the only exciting thing in the dull countryside will be seeing the fiery Maddie Montgomery. Thoughts of his nemesis sustained Gryff throughout the war; but the girl he loved to tease has grown into a gorgeous, headstrong woman – who loathes him just as much as she ever did. Will secret tunnels, dangerous smugglers, and meddling from their feuding families be enough to make Maddie and Gryff realize that their animosity is really attraction…and maybe even love?

A Reckless Match is the first in a new regency romance series by Kate Bateman about two feuding families, and reunited childhood enemies whose hatred turns to love.

My Thoughts

In A Reckless Match, we have a young man and woman from two feuding families – sworn to hate each other but both whom are very much attracted to each other and trying to hide these feelings.

Madeline will do everything she can to save her family, she is strong, smart and will not give up. I loved her character and her strength and determination. She is not your typical female character from this type period, not feeling any urgency to marry nor to conform to societal norms. She is a beautiful, free spirit that will not let others tell her what to do. That was until she learned of her father’s debt and the impact this could have on her life – now she must make some serious decisions to ensure not only her security but her family as well. Enter what sounds like her childhood crush (also her sworn family enemy) and we have instant chemistry.

Together the duo stumble upon secret tunnels, a smuggling business hidden right under their feet and the start of them both acknowledging their feelings for each other. I loved both the seriousness of the situation and the flirty romance that begins between the pair. You can feel the spark between the two of them and how well they would fit together but will it work? Can they move past their family history? And can they overcome what is happening underneath their lands in order to have some sort of future together? The path that the two of them embark upon is full of ups and downs but it is perfect for their story. I loved every moment of this fun romance.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 4.5/5

About the Author

Kate Bateman, (also writing as K. C. Bateman), is the #1 bestselling author of historical romances, including her RITA® nominated Renaissance romp, The Devil To Pay, the Bow Street Bachelors series This Earl of Mine, To Catch an Earl, and The Princess and the Rogue, along with the novels in the Secrets & Spies series To Steal a Heart, A Raven’s Heart, and A Counterfeit Heart. When not writing novels that feature feisty, intelligent heroines and sexy, snarky heroes you want to both strangle and kiss, Kate works as a fine art appraiser and on-screen antiques expert for several popular TV shows in the UK. She splits her time between Illinois and her native England. Follow her on Twitter to learn more.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

October 4, 2021

Chipper Makes Merry

Chipper Makes Merry takes you on Chipper’s arctic quest filled with lessons of love, kindness and determination.

About Chipper Makes Merry

Tip toe, tip toe, crackle, crunch!

Chipper the Fox sneaks through the forest to spread cheer to his weary friends. Will his merry making be a success? Or will a smelly fish disaster and a log pile tumble ruin his plans?

“Chipper Makes Merry” takes you on Chipper’s arctic quest filled with lessons of love, kindness and determination.

Our Thoughts

Small acts of kindness go a long way, especially now as we face uncertainty, and it can be hard to find the good each day.

Chipper the Fox is a kind-hearted little critter who just wants to help his friends find happiness at a very difficult time in the Arctic. All of his friends are sad for different reasons and he wants to add just that tiny bit of sunshine to their lives. Does he makes little mistakes during his adventure? He sure does – but his kindness and good spirit shines through.

This is an adorable children’s book for an important message to young children. It is so important to teach young children that kindness, thoughtfulness and giving to others goes a long way. We never know what is going on in someone’s life – it is always best to treat all with kindness. If you see someone having a bad day, week or even month, it is a small gesture that could make a difference in their life. And if you can do it together as friends, even better! It is also important for them to understand that sometimes our kindness doesn’t work out quite the way we wanted it too but that doesn’t mean it was wrong or bad, just different.

The illustrations are lovely and bring to life the compassion and warmth of the story. The story itself is easy to read with a young child, we loved the way the story flowed together. This will be a great addition to your home library for all year round.

You can purchase a copy on Kimber Fox Morgan and Amazon.

About the Author

Morgan is a fun wife, and imperfect mom of 3 crazy kiddos and 2 little lemon (problematic) dogs. She tries to live her strengths the best she can. She likes to say she is creative, not crafty. Morgan is a homemade Halloween costume type of mom. She lets her kids mix the play doh. She bakes fun birthday cakes (cutely, but far from perfection). She loves a homemade valentine and a school project. Chipper the Fox is an extension of Morgan’s creative strength. Originally designed as character to create merry during the holiday season, Chipper has grown and developed into a story of determination and love.

You can connect with her on her website, Instagram and Facebook.

The Giveaway!

Enter to win a signed copy of the book here.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

October 4, 2021

Culture Ignited: 5 Disciplines for Adaptive Leadership

In Culture Ignited: 5 Disciplines for Adaptive Leadership, culture change strategist Jason Richmond and coauthors Jeanne Kerr and Malcolm J. Nicholl reveal how companies whose leaders ignite their culture are able to weather any storm and get ahead of the competition.

About Culture Ignited: 5 Disciplines for Adaptive Leadership

Corporate leaders need to be prepared for any crisis and have a plan in place to act quickly, decisively, and empathetically. In Culture Ignited: 5 Disciplines for Adaptive Leadership, culture change strategist Jason Richmond and coauthors Jeanne Kerr and Malcolm J. Nicholl reveal how companies whose leaders ignite their culture are able to weather any storm and get ahead of the competition.

Based on hands-on experience helping senior corporate executives navigate the turbulence of the 2020-2021 pandemic, the authors distill their findings into five key disciplines.

They share how to:

Inspire and communicate a shared purpose
Build trust and authenticity
Hone your performance management skills
Develop your talent
Create belonging through diversity and inclusion.

The authors also explore how a crisis can be turned into opportunity and how to lead an organization in overcoming challenges never taught in business school.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon, B&N and Kobo.

About the Authors

Jason Richmond is an authoritative culture change strategist whose work over the past twenty-plus years has helped companies build strong, sustained revenue growth by empowering their employees and developing energizing office cultures. As President/CEO and Chief Culture Officer for Ideal Outcomes, Inc., he has worked closely with established Fortune 100 companies to create Leadership Development Journeys, and he has guided numerous start-ups on the path to become noted industry leaders. He has also provided thought leadership and innovative consulting services to a wide range of midsize companies.

Jeanne Kerr is the Director of Organizational Development and Culture Consulting for Ideal Outcomes, Inc. She also has been a Senior Faculty Partner with the Human Capital Institute since 2012. With over twenty years of organizational development and talent management strategy in a variety of industries, her expertise includes culture strategy, strategic workforce planning, leadership development, team building, and assessment solutions.

Malcolm J. Nicholl is a former award-winning international journalist whose career includes a two-year stint as Belfast Bureau Chief for London’s Daily Mirror. He has authored or coauthored seven books published in nine languages by international giants such as Random House, Bantam Doubleday Dell, Ballantine Books, and St. Martin’s Press and ghostwritten more than thirty books.

Connect with the authors on their website and Twitter.

The Giveaway

Enter to win a signed copy here.

Disclosure: This is a spotlight tour, I did not receive compensation for this post. All opinions expressed are my own.

September 27, 2021

Dad: A Novel

Dad: A Novel chronicles the sacred legacy of fatherhood following three generations of Dads.

About Dad: A Novel

Three generations of dads, playing traditional roles in each other’s lives, arrive simultaneously at significant crossroads. The decisions they make and the actions they take will directly – and eternally – affect each other.

After a life of hard work and raising children, Robert is enjoying his well-deserved retirement when he discovers that he has an illness he might not be able to beat. At 19, Jonah is sprinting across the threshold of adulthood when he learns, stunningly, that he’s going to become a father. And Oliver – Robert’s son and Jonah’s dad – has entered middle age and is paying its demanding price. While reconciling the time and effort it has taken him to reach an unfulfilling career and an even less satisfying marriage, he realizes that it’s imperative that he keep it all together for the two men who mean everything to him.

When different perspectives lead to misunderstandings that remain unspoken – sometimes for years – it takes great strength and even more love to travel beyond the resentment.

My Thoughts

When I first started to read this novel, I am not sure what I expected but by the mid-point in this novel, I could not put it down and found myself in tears. I lost myself in Robert, Oliver and Jonah’s stories – finding a bit (or a lot) of my own stories in there.

Robert reminds me very much of my own Grandfather – the protector and the provider. Always present on the sidelines but not quite in the thick of things. He is firm in his beliefs and is a strict disciplinary figure, he loves his child but shows his love in a different way. While the extremes of this type of discipline at that time can be argued with, his beliefs on family, hard work and sacrifice are to be applauded. Especially as he works so hard to pass these on to his own son, Ollie. Like so many of us, Ollie uses his own childhood experiences to guide his own journey in fatherhood and adulthood. He disciplines his son in a new way, encouraging him to show feelings and provides for his son so that life isn’t so hard. Does this backfire on him? Maybe, maybe not. Jonah is a young man on the brink of becoming an adult and trying to find his own way in the world. What appears on the outside as him being lazy, is perhaps him trying to understand his own place in a world that is constantly changing.

It is a sudden illness and the realization that time is not limitless, that each of the men in this story are able to open up about their experiences, their memories, ask for forgiveness and to understand where each individual is coming from in order to move forward. Our childhood experiences may guide our adult actions and the relationships we have, but it is important to understand and appreciate that our parents did (and do) everything they can for us and in the moment, truly do believe that what they are doing is for the best. While each generation strives to get better at parenting and raising responsible, bright, moral young adults – we will make mistakes, our children will find faults in our actions and perhaps we will even find understanding in the actions of our parents as we learn more about them, their history and their childhood.

This is a very touching book, I found myself crying several times through the last quarter of the novel. The relationship that we have with our Father (and father figures) is so important and equally important for us to understand, to forgive and to be patient. Time is not endless (and given all that has happened in the last two years this should hit home) and it is so important to say I love you, to talk about what has hurt us and to forgive and move forward. Dad: A Novel is a must read story that you will not put down.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Steven Manchester is the author of the #1 bestsellers Twelve Months, The Rockin’ Chair, Pressed Pennies, and Gooseberry Island, the national bestseller Ashes, and the novels Goodnight, Brian and The Changing Season. His work has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, CBS’s The Early Show, CNN’s American Morning, and BET’s Nightly News.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

September 27, 2021

Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo

Join the fun as the two lead authors and 50 other contributors offer their humorous take on how the workplace really operates in Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo. With almost 600 diabolical definitions to enjoy, you’re sure to find plenty to smile about.

About Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo

Need a laugh to get through your workday? You’ve come to the right place. Ambrose Bierce’s classic The Devil’s Dictionary took on life in general. Now a century later, it’s time to lampoon the business world. There’s no richer target than being told to think outside the box by leaders spouting off about synergy, teamwork, and innovation while at the same time exhorting you to stay in your swim lane. If as famed business guru Peter Drucker writes, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” then we’ve been asked to eat a dog’s breakfast at work for far too long! A little truth in every joke. Join the fun as the two lead authors and 50 other contributors offer their humorous take on how the workplace really operates. With almost 600 diabolical definitions to enjoy, you’re sure to find plenty to smile about.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon .

About the Authors

Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books, including Emotionomics, which was an Advertising Age top 10 must-read selection and features a foreword by Sam Simon, co-creator of The Simpsons. In 1998, Dan founded Sensory Logic, Inc. whose clients represent over 50% of the world’s top 100 advertisers. Besides having spoken to audiences in over 25 countries, Dan has had media appearances ranging from ABC’s “Good Morning, America” to NBC’s “The Today Shows,” CNN, Fox, MSNBC, ESPN, and the Tennis Channel. Dan was also a regular guest on PBS’s “Mental Engineering” show, hailed by Bill Moyers as “the most interesting weekly half hour of social commentary and criticism on television.” In print, Dan has received front-page coverage in the New York Times for his work in pro and NCAA Division 1 sports and was a non-partisan columnist for Reuters during the 2016 presidential race. Nowadays he hosts the podcast “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight,” which appears on the New Books Network (NBN), the world’s largest book review platform with over 1.7 million downloads monthly. Dan was educated at St. Olaf College, Oxford University, Brown University, and Rutgers University.

Howard Moskowitz is a legendary product market researcher, experiential psychologist, and inventor of world-class market research technologies used by virtually every company that matters. Howard earned his PhD in experimental psychology from Harvard University. In 2004, he was the subject of a New Yorker article by Malcolm Gladwell, “The Ketchup Conundrum,” which became the basis for Gladwell’s TED talk entitled “Choice, Happiness, and Spaghetti Sauce.” In 2014, Howard founded Mind Genomics Associates to investigate how people think about aspects of their daily lives. In addition to over 400 scientific articles about the minds of consumers, Howard has written/edited 28 books, a roster that features the very popular book Selling Blue Elephants.

Connect with them on their website, Twitter and Facebook.

The Giveaway!

Grand Prize: Signed copy of Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo + a copy also of my other recent book Famous Faces Decoded: A Guidebook for Reading Others.(one winner)

Runner-Up Prize: a signed copy of Blah, Blah, Blah (one winner) (USA only) (ends Oct 12)

Enter this giveaway here.

Disclosure: This is a spotlight tour, I did not receive compensation for this post. All opinions expressed are my own.