A Highlander in a Pickup (Highland Georgia, #2) by Laura Trentham – Review

Tags

5 stars, Book Review, Contemporary Romance, highlander, Laura Trentham, series

About A Highlander in a Pickup by Laura Trentham

When a gorgeous new man—in a kilt—comes to town, life in Highland, Georgia will never be the same…

Iain Connors is the poster boy for the strong and silent type. Growing up a loner at Cairndow Castle in Scotland with only the cliffs and moors for company, it’s understood Iain will assume the mantle of Cairndow groundskeeper when his father is ready to relinquish it. But his stint in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces has opened up a whole new world—and now, rather than settle down, he accepts an invitation to travel to the States to take charge of the Highland Games. After all, he’s led men into battle, how hard can planning a party be?

Anna Maitland is ready to step up for her best friend Isabel Blackmoor, who can’t run the Games in their hometown this year. Surely Anna, a dance instructor with boundless energy, spirit, and charm, is up for the challenge? What she doesn’t anticipate is a man in a kilt who turns up claiming he’s the one in charge. What’s worse about this Iain? He’s so infuriatingly handsome that she can’t help but fantasize about him whispering sweet-nothings in her ear in his rumbly, sexy brogue. . .

**********************

Review of A Highlander in a Pickup

Delving back into the world of contemporary romance (because I just had to read the follow up to A Highlander Walks into a Bar), I flew through the pages of A Highlander in a Pickup.

Iain Connor’s natural charm belies his shyness.  Except where Anna is concerned.  With her, he never says the right thing.  Anna is bound and determined to run the festival and relegate Iain to the job of pooper-scooper.  Here’s the problem.  Attraction.

I enjoyed the snappy dialog between Anna and Iain that often quickly went from antagonistic to helpful to charming to……you know.  This is a wonderful couple (or will be by the end of the book).  And Iain – strong, quiet, animal lover with a brogue – need I say more?

A secondary story line about one of the dancers in Anna’s dance class brought tears to my eyes – in a good way!

I absolutely adored this second book in the Highland Georgia series.  Down-to-earth characters, a small town setting, a little bit of humor and a delightful romance make A Highlander in a Pickup an enchanting read.

Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

**********************

Links

Add A Highlander in a Pickup to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase A Highlander in a Pickup:

 

**********************

 

 

A Hint of Hope (Towers of the Earth Prequel) by Nita Round – Review

Tags

5 stars, airship, Book Review, fantasy, lgbtq, Nita Round, paranormal, pirates, prequel, series, Steampunk

About A Hint of Hope by Nita Round

Friends. Pirates. Slavers. Who can they trust? Their lives will depend upon it.

A notorious slaver has acquired the latest in airship design, an Imperial Condor Class transporter. This is a ship designed to change the world and if the slaver transforms it into a warship then no one will be safe. Anywhere.

Magda and Ascara have travelled the world as pirates. An attempt on their lives brings into question who can be trusted. Who is a friend? And who are their foes? With only themselves to rely upon they set out on a daring mission. They join forces with the pirates to stop the largest sale of slaves and gifted ones.

Can they rescue the slaves? Will they stop the creation of a super warship? And will their friendship be enough to survive against the odds?

This is the second prequel in the Towers of the Earth Fantasy series. It brings together many of the characters who are a part of the Towers series and fills in the details of how they come together.

**********************

Review of A Hint of Hope

A Hint of Hope continues the adventures of Magda and Ascara.  As of the end of A Pinch of Salt, they had hooked up with some unusual pirates.  In this new prequel, they’ve been with the pirates for a while.  “Pirates” may not be the best term to use, since they really do all aim for a greater good…..though their method of doing so may be a bit piratical.

The story starts with betrayal and quickly moves to a critical mission to save and free slaves and prevent a war.  The relationship of Magda and Ascara is strengthened and we learn more about both of them.  And the flirting continues.  But most importantly, we learn about the origin of that fabulous airship that graces the pages of the Raven, Fire and Ice, book 1 in this series (to be re-released in March as A Touch of Truth).  I love airships in my steampunk and this ship is one of the best!

A Hint of Hope is a prequel novella that is a complete story that stands on its own, but is even better as a part of the entire series.

The novella was a freebie for the subscribers of Nita Round’s newsletters.  I love this series, so I was thrilled to download this story and share my unbiased review.

**********************

Links

Add A Hint of Hope to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase A Hint of Hope:

 

**********************

 

 

Skycircus (The Cogheart Adventures, #3) by Peter Bunzl – Review

Tags

5 stars, Book Review, childrens, circus, clockwork, middle grade, Peter Bunzl, series, Steampunk

Note: Animated cover downloaded from Peter Bunzl’s author website.

About Skycircus by Peter Bunzl

When a travelling skycircus arrives in Brackenbridge, Lily and Robert can’t wait to step aboard… But there’s something sinister about the hybrid children who appear as part of the act. And before Lily and Robert can do anything, they’re captured by shadowy figures and whisked off in the mysterious flying circus to somewhere far, far away…

Treachery, tight-ropes and trickery combine in this incredible third Cogheart adventure.

**********************

Review of Skycircus

The third installment in the Cogheart series is even more adventurous that the first two.  In Skycircus, Lily is mysteriously presented with a ticket for her and her friends to get into the exciting travelling Skycircus and maybe even meet Miss Angelique, the girl with wings.  Now, any adult would have been suspicious.  But on her birthday, Lily was feeling neglected, so off she went with Robert and Malkin.  They were sure they could make it home before Papa even missed them.

Of course, the Skycircus is a trap set especially for Lily.  And this is where things get a little dark.  The main circus attractions are hybrid children.  Children who have been used as experimentation subjects and then sold to the circus.  Most notably is the headliner, Angelique, the flying girl.  But they want Lily to become the new main attraction.

Shall I state the obvious?  The circus owners are evil!  Lily, Robert and Malkin are not going to make it home before Papa misses them.

As I said, Skycircus is a bit dark, more so that the first two books in the series.  We are talking about human experimentation, kidnapping and imprisonment of innocent children.  But our adventurers never give up, so you know things are going to be okay in the end.  The bad guys will be brought to justice. I can’t say this was my favorite in the series, but I still enjoyed it very much.  This adventure, written for middle grade ages, also entertains adults.

Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

**********************

Links

Add Skycircus to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase Skycircus:

 

**********************