This is a tour stop for BETWEEN THE SHEETS by Molly O'Keefe with an excerpt and a giveaway. This is the third book in the Boys of Bishop series.

  Book Summary:

My review can be found here

  Excerpt:

“We’ve been back for a week and he’s been in the office almost every day,” Colleen said, lifting her own mug—no cats to be seen—from the hot plate. “Fighting, mouthy, stealing from classmates.” She turned her giant chair back around to face the door and the computer, her kingdom. “And his father is a piece of work, clearly the apple doesn’t fall far from that particular tree. Mark my words: that boy is nothing but trouble.”

Mrs. Jordal taught fifth grade and had for about a hundred years. There wasn’t a problem or a type of kid she hadn’t seen a dozen times before. And Shelby really liked the fact that her class, no matter how many handful kids she had, was always calm. The kids were respectful.

It was tough at the beginning of every new year because something happened to kids between fourth and fifth grade. Some hormonal surge that made them all short-circuit. But by Thanksgiving, Mrs. Jordal had those kids in line.

Christmas break, however, caused some regression. Shelby took a deep breath, girding her loins, before she walked in.

“Hello, class,” she said as she entered the room. All the kids looked up from the free reading they’d been doing and some of them answered her. Some waved. Scott and John whispered behind their hands. One boy in the back with shaggy red hair blinked, slowly and worried-seeming.

Oh no, his expression said, before he schooled it into a predictable but ill-fitting sneer, not another new thing.

His whole vibe screamed “new kid.”

Mrs. Jordal stood from behind her desk and walked over, limped actually. She needed hip replacement surgery but was being stubborn about it. “Hello, Ms. Monroe,” she said. “Welcome back.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Jordal. Anything exciting in the fifth grade in the new year?”

“We have a new student.” “That’s what I heard.” “Casey?”

The redhead waved with one flip of his hand. Funny, that hormonal surge inspired all of the kids to walk that line between being respectful and being sent to the principal’s office to varying degrees. Even the good kids started fifth grade with a little attitude.

This kid was really trying hard to seem like a badass. “Nice to meet you, Casey.” Shelby set down her coffee and bag beside Mrs. Jordal’s desk, in front of the Regions of America bulletin board. “I thought, in honor of our new student . . .” Every eye in the classroom went to Casey and he shrank down in his seat, glowering. “We’re going to start on a new project today and it’s going to last for the next three weeks. It’s called Things About Me.” From her bag she took the stapled packets of paper and began to hand them out. “You get three images, but no words, to convey what you know to be true about yourself.”

“About anything?” Jessica Adams asked. She honestly looked terrified at the idea. Jessica was a girl who needed to be told what to draw. Most of the kids did, but that was the fun part of fifth grade—they were just beginning to realize they had ideas of their own. Largely inappropriate, but the ideas were tied more to identity than ever before.

“Anything.”

“Like I know this is lame?” Scott Maxwell said, and John James high-fived him.

“If you think that’s true, sure.” She gave Scott the packet of papers and then stood next to him for a moment, her hand on his shoulder. Scott had been in her summer art camp for three years in a row and was doing an after-school class on Thursdays, working in clay. He was a good kid and she liked him as much as she imagined he liked her. The poor kid was just short- circuiting. “But you have to figure out how to draw it. How to convey it without using any words.”

A couple of the kids started to groan, realizing how hard this was going to be.

She took out two examples and taped them to the blackboard with masking tape.

“What do you think these mean?” she asked.

One was a picture she’d drawn in the manner of Van Gogh’s Starry Night. She stood in a field surrounded by beautiful swirls and explosions of color and texture. The other was a picture of her Art Barn, filled with kids who were part human, part foxes, all mischief.

“Is that me?” Scott asked, pointing to one of the kids in her picture.

She squinted at the picture. “You know, I do see a resemblance.”

“Are you saying we’re all animals?” “Not exactly.”

“She’s saying you’re all foxes,” Casey said.

She smiled at Casey, who beamed at her attention before he remembered he had a sneer he was trying to make stick.

I’m on to you, she thought, and felt that surge of affection she always felt when she saw past the too big veneer of the “problem kids.”

“Why do you think I picked foxes?” “Why do you think you picked foxes?”

Shelby blinked, not at his tone, but the way he’d re- phrased the question. She wondered if Casey with the shaggy red hair and freckles, slouching in his chair as if at the advanced age of eleven he’d seen it all, had spent some time with a psychiatrist.

“Because you’re all sly and mischievous and looking for trouble,” she answered. “But you’re still cute.”

“What about the other one?” Jessica asked.

The room was silent and Shelby turned to look at the picture again. The figure in the middle was clearly her, even though she’d drawn herself from the back. The blue tee shirt she wore said Art Barn across the shoulders, and any kid who took a class out at the barn got the exact same shirt.

“Art is everywhere?” Jessica asked, giving it her best shot.

“You need to get your eyes checked?” Scott said.

She bent forward, to look him in the eye. “Do we need to have a conversation in the hallway?” she whispered, and he blanched, shaking his head.

BETWEEN THE SHEETS Buy Links

Purchase the second book in the series - NEVER BEEN KISSED

Purchase the first book in the series - WILD CHILD 

Molly O'Keefe has always known she wanted to be a writer (except when she wanted to be a florist or a chef and the brief period of time when she considered being a cowgirl). And once she got her hands on some romances, she knew exactly what she wanted to write.

She published her first Harlequin romance at age 25 and hasn't looked back. She loves exploring every character's road towards happily ever after.

Originally from a small town outside of Chicago, she went to university in St. Louis where she met and fell in love with the editor of her school newspaper. They followed each other around the world for several years and finally got married and settled down in Toronto, Ontario. They welcomed their son into their family in 2006, and their daughter in 2008. When she's not at the park or cleaning up the toy room, Molly is working hard on her next novel, trying to exercise, stalking Tina Fey on the internet and dreaming of the day she can finish a cup of coffee without interruption.

Social Links:

Giveaway 

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sometimes I buy a book to read for pleasure, but I end up enjoying it enough that I just can't put it aside without reviewing it. Never Been Kissed was one of those. It's not perfect, but I did enjoy it quite a bit.

Things get off to a rather action-packed start in this novel. Bodyguard Brody Baxter is working at a job, when he finds himself confronted by Harrison Montgomery, polished politician and son of a wealthy political family who employed him ten years before. Harrison has come to Brody with a job that requires some skill and discretion - rescuing his sister Ashley from Somali pirates and keeping things quiet. After all, Brody has kept Montgomery family secrets in the past, so Harrison figures he's the perfect one for this task, too.

And so Brody finds himself going off in search of Ashley, the black sheep of the Montgomery family. Instead of hosting fundraisers and working for the family machine, Ashley has spent her time abroad as a relief worker. Her current predicament has left her very shaken and since it would bring up questions and issues no one wants to confront in the middle of her brother's campaign, Ashley needs a place to lay low. So, Brody takes her home to Bishop, Arkansas.

Before you roll your eyes and think, "Oh no, not another small town romance," give this one a chance. O'Keefe writes wonderful dialogue and I found myself starting to really grow fond of her characters as I watched their interactions. Ashley can be a little bit of a Pollyanna sometimes and Brody has a giant chip on his shoulder, but there's a certain decency to them that shines through. The interesting secondary characters help in this regard, too. I found the sometimes tortured relationship between Brody and his brother at least as interesting as his budding relationship with Ashley.

This is a partial review. You can find the complete text at All About Romance.

Some months you know are going to be great. This July ROCKED, not just because it's summer, but because readers were able to catch up with the Molly O’Keefe’s Boys of Bishop in not one, but TWO books!

First of all, if you haven’t yet read the first book in the series, Wild Child, you should grab it now. No, it’s not necessary to read this series in order as these are stand-alone titles, but you should. You. Really. Should. I loved Wild Child when I read it last fall (see my review) and have been counting first the months, then weeks, then days till these two titles were published.

In Wild Child, I’ll admit I fell in love with Bishop, Arkansas and Molly’s writing (I’d never read any of her books before). Coming from a town that also saw its economy devastated when its only major employer pulled out, I emphasized with the citizens of Bishop who seemed like they’d try anything to get a new employer in town. I worried about them. Really. I. Did. So I’m so glad to be able to catch up with what’s been happening in book two, Never Been Kissed, and book three, Between the Sheets.

When I opened Never Been Kissed, I thought perhaps I had the wrong book as the setting wasn’t Bishop, but Cook’s Bay, Moorea, in the Polynesian Islands. (I actually double checked the title to make sure.) But of course it was correct and in this first chapter we learn a bit more about the rather enigmatic Brody Baxter. Remember him?In Wild Child  he had popped in to Bishop in order to help his brother Luke prepare Pour, the family bar Pour, for service.

Brody is an ex-Marine, invalided out, and now guarding a corrupt politician and his mistress at a vacation hideaway. His discontent with his life emanates from the page and captured my attention and concern.

“The world issued an open invitation to humanity to fail itself. To be selfish and small. Mean, even evil at times. And most people, in Brody’s experience, found it impossible to turn down that invitation.” (page 8)

Oh my. My heart cracked when I read this. With three sentences Molly O’Keefe encapsulated the isolation and emptiness of Brody and made me just want to comfort him. Yes, in many ways he’s an alpha hero, but he’s one that I have a feeling will do the unexpected as we journey with him in this story. Soon he’s off to rescue the sister of another politician from Somali pirates. It’s clear from Brody’s reaction to the news that Harrison, her brother brings, that Ashley Montgomery is someone with whom Brody had a past. But what that past involved isn’t clear - except it didn't seem good.

When Brody rescues Ashley, it’s not a guns-blazing scenario. But the scene shows not only the depravity of the kidnappers, but also the desperation of the marginalized people who shelter them. O’Keefe doesn’t excuse them for their actions. To the contrary. But one of the many reasons I love reading her books is her ability to convey the story not just in black in white, but in all the many shades in between.

She also writes some of the most vivid and passionate love scenes - again in a way that “takes you there.” Yes, from the moment of Ash’s rescue, it’s clear that whatever transpired between Brody and Ash in the past was also very alive in the present. Their chemistry sizzles off the page.

Ash is someone I’d love to know. While it’s clear that she’s been constricted by pressures from her family and, indeed, herself, she’s one of the amazingly kind, trusting, and faithful people I've read about. Really, you’d want her as your best friend. Plus she’s fun! Even when battered and fearful from her ordeal as a hostage, she remains positive and hopeful.

My heart bled for her though when she arrived at her grandmother’s (now her own) luxurious Manhattan apartment and found her picture-perfect mother there. The quintessential politician’s wife, it’s clear that Patty (don't call her Mom) doesn’t see who Ashley is. When her mother offers her soup (a standard mother thing to do), Ashley’s reaction made me cry.

“And weakened as Ashley was, she had a vision, lovely and strange, of Patty actually heating up the soup. Standing over a stove, stirring a pot. Magically, Patty would be wearing an apron. For her. If her mother would actually do that … so much would be forgiven. That’s how little pride Ashley had left.” (p 40-41)

Of course, Patty doesn’t make the soup, but delegates Brody to the kitchen to do so as though he were her servant. (As he probably is in her eyes.) Yet, from this brief passage, O’Keefe clearly lets us know the demons that Ash has faced all her life.

In addition to Brody and Ash, Luke and Bishop cafe owner Cora’s prickly friendship is equally engaging. I adored Luke, who like a puppy dog, seemed to have boundless enthusiasm and optimism as he struggles to make Pour a going concern. (Such a contrast to his adopted brother, Brody.) He can’t cook? Well he’ll still have a chili night, even if the chili is inedible. And he’ll smile - a lot. Cora is a street savvy kitchen magician, whose cafe is constantly filled. Their spiky interactions, then mutually accepted ceasefire is so much fun to read.

Luke and Brody’s father just made me smile with his exterior gruffness that camouflages a tender heart. There’s humor threaded throughout this story and it’s added in at just the right time for the reader to chuckle a bit and relax. Molly O’Keefe has perfect timing with this - as she does with the more serious scenes.

So what happens with Brody and Ash, these two very interesting yet wounded souls? If you guess they make their way to Bishop, Arkansas, you’re right. Their journey, not measured in miles, but trust, faith, love, hope is one I’ll remember - and reread many times. If I hadn’t already added Molly O’Keefe to my must-read, auto-buy list before this, I would after reading Never Been Kissed.

I admit to crying when I was reading Wild Child  especially during the oh-so-public meltdown of art teacher and Bishop saint Shelby Monroe. In Between the Sheets we get to see what has happened to Shelby a year after her cracker fling turned ugly.

Now dealing with the day-in, day-out ever constant and debilitating life with a parent, her mother, slipping further into the shadow world of dementia, Shelby is an island in Bishop. It’s clear that she doesn’t ask for help, really I wonder if she even knows how.

But the same woman who had that fling rears her head early on when reacting to the late night noise emanating from her new neighbors garage. I had wondered if Wyatt or Ty, a tall, good looking, biker-dude briefly seen in Never Been Kissed as Brody’s new assistant, would have a role in a future book. (I sure hoped he would. And he does!) Yes, Tye is the hero of Between the Sheets and he and his newly discovered son just ran away with my heart.

I’ll admit to suffering and sympathizing with Shelby with each devolving encounter she had with her mother, with each time her chin raised as she outstared someone who thought of the words broadcast about her on national TV, and with each time she crawled back into her shell after trying her wings. I understood Shelby all too well.

"And she couldn't help it - she just gave up holding onto who she was. She just dropped every jagged edge she'd been clinging to and she let her world fall away. All of her pretenses." (page 99)

Once again, Molly O’Keefe explodes the traditional trope and creates characters that breathe. Ty is no typical bad boy, even if he rode into town on a bike, and Shelby is not a downtrodden heroine in need of rescue. Their passion-filled matings are flat-out steamy, but oh-so-revealing about what is said and what is silent.

"Volatile energy poured off her and he was surprised the light bulbs overhead didn't shatter as she walked under them. As she got closer, her energy, like a virus, spread to him and he felt the hot coil of need in his belly." (page 101)

I’ll admit to tears. Again. And yes, this story was emotionally draining AND at the same time uplifting. Between the Sheets did what great books should do and let me live beside these people of Bishop and come to care about them. A Lot. I think tears and Molly O’Keefe books are like weeping eyes when peeling onions, with both layers and layers are revealed and tears are expected … with each turn of the page or stroke of the knife.

The only thing I'll complain about is that the book ended. I wanted to keep reading about Ty and Shelby, Luke and Cora, Brody and Ash, Monica and Jackson. So, I'll be looking forward to reading Molly O’Keefe’s next Boys of Bishop title, Indecent Proposal (pub date 30 Sep 2014), that will focus on Ashley’s rising politician brother, Harrison Montgomery, and his mysterious and unexpected marriage to Ryan.

So if you’ve been searching for an author who captures your imagination and your heart with characters and stories that resonate with the real choices and situations we all face, add Molly O’Keefe to your must-buy list too. Really. Do. Her stories stand-out. Her storytelling voice is exceptional. Her love scenes are passionate, gritty, moving, and tender. In reality she’s become one of my favorite authors whose stories will be on my bookshelf for as long as I’ll be reading.

From the Publisher The Boys of Bishop, Book 2

Never Been Kissed (The Boys of Bishop) by Molly O'Keefe

Bantam Dell (Random House Publishing Group) ⎜ ISBN (ISBN13: 9780345549013 ⎜ Price $7.99 ⎜ Pub Date Jul 1 2014

As the daughter of a wealthy politician, Ashley Montgomery has had enough of her parents’ expectations for her future and is going her own way, volunteering to work at a refugee camp in Africa. But her act of charity turns dangerous when she takes a boat trip and is abducted by Somali pirates. Enter Brody Baxter, who was a bodyguard for the Montgomery family ten years ago and doesn’t think twice about coming to Ashley’s rescue. Handsome and tough, Brody has always done what needed to be done. So he swoops in, saves Ashley, and brings her to a place where she can rest and recuperate without the glare of the press and her demanding family: Brody’s small hometown of Bishop, Arkansas. But Ashley soon realizes that she’s not the only one in need of healing. Holed up with Ashley in a tiny apartment over his brother’s bar in Bishop, Brody is tempted and torn in ways he never anticipated. Beautiful Ashley, vibrant despite her ordeal, fearless enough to love him beyond his wall of self-punishment, is now determined to save him. But with a little faith and a lot of love, they just may find happiness in each others’ arms.

The Boys of Bishop, Book 3

Between the Sheets by Molly O'Keefe

Bantam Dell (Random House Publishing Group) ⎜ ISBN 9780345549037 ⎜ Price $7.99 ⎜ Pub Date Jul 29 2014

After years of running, Wyatt Svenson has now parked himself in Bishop, Arkansas, trying to do the right thing and parent a son he didn’t even know he had until recently. Over six feet tall and packed with muscles and power, Ty likes to get his hands dirty, fixing his motorcycle at night and keeping his mind away from the mistakes he’s made. Then his pretty neighbor shows up on his driveway, doesn’t bother to introduce herself, and complains about the noise. First impression? She should loosen up. Funny that she turns out to be his son’s elementary school art teacher—and the only one willing to help his troubled boy. Ty needs her. In more ways than one. Though Shelby Monroe is safe in her structured life, she is drawn to Ty’s bad-boy edge and rugged sexuality. What if she just lets it all go: her worries about her mother, her fear of heartbreak, and her tight self control? What if she grabs Ty and takes a ride on the wild side? “What if” becomes reality—intense, exhilarating . . . and addictive. But Ty wants more than a secret affair. He wants it all with Shelby. But will she take a chance and open her heart? Ty is determined to convince Shelby to take the biggest risk of her life: on him.

Synopsis:

With his chiseled jaw and his thick blond hair, Harrison Montgomery was born to lead. Four generations of Montgomery men have served the state of Georgia and now he’s next in line. Harrison, though, is driven to right wrongs: namely to clean up the political mess left by his father’s greed and corruption. But Harrison must first win his congressional bid, and nothing can get in his way—not even an angel who served him whiskey and gave him a shoulder to lean on and a body to love for a night. Problem is, she’s pregnant. Scandal is brewing and there is only one solution: marriage.
Damage control? Ryan Kaminski can’t believe that a cold, calculating political animal now inhabits the body of the emotionally vulnerable stranger who’d given her the most unforgettable night of her life. Really, she doesn’t want anything from Harrison, except to be left alone to have her baby in peace. But Ryan is broke, jobless, and essentially blackmailed by Harrison’s desperate family to accept this crazy marriage deal. For two years, she will have to act the role of caring, supportive wife. But what is Ryan supposed to do when she realizes that, deep in her heart, she’s falling in love.

My thoughts

This is the fourth book in the Boys if Bishop series, but it can easily be read as a standalone. This book does not take place in Bishop Arkansas , but is just as great as the other books before this one.
This is the third book by Molly O'Keefe I read and I can say she is really starting to be one of my favorite authors.
I loved this book and its characters, well most of them. The ones I didn’t care for were his parents but they were meant to be disliked. So a job well done. I loved Ryan , is was such a strong , smart , witty character. They were times I felt really sad for her, and her struggles but she never gave up and she grew a lot in this book.
Harrison was also a great character and I think he grew even more in the book than she did, he seemed to learn more about himself and what he really is all about.
This book has all kind of moments, love, heartbreak, a painful past, and some steamy sexy time scenes. I really enjoyed this book a lot and look forward to more books by Molly O'Keefe.
I rate this book at 4 ½ ★ and recommend it to anyone who likes contemporary romance.

*I received a free ARC copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Will be available November 25th 2014

Synopsis:

As the daughter of a wealthy politician, Ashley Montgomery has had enough of her parents’ expectations for her future and is going her own way, volunteering to work at a refugee camp in Africa. But her act of charity turns dangerous when she takes a boat trip and is abducted by Somali pirates. Enter Brody Baxter, who was a bodyguard for the Montgomery family ten years ago and doesn’t think twice about coming to Ashley’s rescue. Handsome and tough, Brody has always done what needed to be done. So he swoops in, saves Ashley, and brings her to a place where she can rest and recuperate without the glare of the press and her demanding family: Brody’s small hometown of Bishop, Arkansas. But Ashley soon realizes that she’s not the only one in need of healing.

Holed up with Ashley in a tiny apartment over his brother’s bar in Bishop, Brody is tempted and torn in ways he never anticipated. Beautiful Ashley, vibrant despite her ordeal, fearless enough to love him beyond his wall of self-punishment, is now determined to save him. But with a little faith and a lot of love, they just may find happiness in each other’s arms.

My thoughts:

This is the second book I read by Molly O’Keefe and I have to say she is beginning to be one of my favorite authors.

I actually read the books out of order by accident and read Between the Sheets first, but it didn't really spoil this book. I figured they have the HEA since it is a romance book after all.They also make a good standalone book , if you have not or want to read the other books.

I love that most of her charters are never perfect and have a deep emotional scars or issues of some kind that they have to overcome.

This was the same with this book… an intense and emotional story that I found hard to put down. I found myself a few times all teary eyed which doesn't happen a lot with books

Both Ashley and Brody had their past and their inner demons to deal with. To top it off is their current situation of being in hiding from the public eye. Falling in love and lusting after each other isn’t helping ether, in fact in just makes it so much more difficult for them and that Brody has a severe case of abandonment issue doesn’t help either.

It was a great story jam packed with rollercoaster ride emotions throughout the book.

I also enjoyed the fact that it was not just concentrated on the main characters Brody and Ashly but also had a great story about other people living in of Bishop ,Arkansas. Like the side story of Sean and Cora .. I really enjoyed that. It added a nice touch to it without taking away from Brody and Ashley. Add to that the relationship Brody has to his brother Sean and how Sean wont give up on Brody made the book so great.

Another think I liked about this book was that the interracial relationships were not made a big deal and never mentioned to be an issue by them or people around them. That’s the way it should be.

And the cherry on top are the steamy sex scenes we get to live through them, detailed but not in dirty slimy way …

Overall I liked this book A LOT and give it 4 ½ ★

*I received a free ARC copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

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