Winter has come to East Anglia. Good weather for bundling under blankets with a cup of tea and a book. COYER Winter Edition sign ups start mid-November, and the challenge starts in mid-December. And I have been working my way through the SBTB GR Oct-Dec challenge. I'm going to participate in the festive holiday game here on BL with MbD and TA hosting. All this plus meeting my BL/GR reading challenge (just one more book)!

Here is what I hope to read in November....

1. Fall of Poppies: Stories of Love and the Great War by Various Authors

    Will use for Pop Sugar Challenge, just don't know where yet. Can also use the book to fill the prompt "veterans' day" in the SBTB GR challenge.

2. Bloom: Finding Beauty in the Unexpected by Kelle Hampton

    Pop Sugar prompt: By/About a Person with a disability (memoir about motherhood and raising a child with Down's Syndrome)

3. Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly

    I have already seen (and loved) the movie, but I wanted to read the book for the Pop Sugar prompt 2017 movie adaptions.

4. A Gentleman's Game (Romancing the Turf #1) by Theresa Romain

    To be used in the SBTB GR challenge prompt "game day"

5. The Unyielding (Call of Crows #3) by Shelly Laurenston

     To be used in the SBTB GR challenge prompt "give thanks" 

6. Death of a Christmas Caterer by Lee Hollis

    To be used in the SBTB GR challenge prompt "food coma"

Recently divorced Carissa Blackwell returns to her hometown and reconnects with her first love Jasper Dumont, while the ubiquitous Bayside Blogger reports their every move for the town newspaper in this delightful & playful novel by award-winning romance author Kerri Carpenter.

About Bidding on the Bachelor:

Title: Bidding on the Bachelor
Author: Kerri Carpenter
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: October 1, 2017
Publisher: Harlequin Special Edition
Series: Saved by the Blog #2
Format: Print/Digital
Print ISBN: 9780373623792
Digital ISBN: 9781488079146

Another roll of the dice

Big news, fair readers! Bayside High's favorite It Girl is back. Would you have bet Clarissa Blackwell would ever return? Ten years ago, she crushed Jasper Dumont's heart under her Jimmy Choos and left town for a bigger, better life. Her return raises one question: What is she running from (or is it to) now?

Perhaps Jasper knows? One look at Carissa and he fell in the bay! (Rich, single and devastatingly handsome, Jasper's our catch of the day.) That icy plunge should have brought him to his senses, yet "Casper" has been spotted together all over town. Does this mean Bayside's legendary couple may reunite? The stakes are high, but the Bayside Blogger's money is riding on love!

Add to your TBR list: Goodreads

Available: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks

Excerpt:

“I’m back in town.”

“For how long?” he asked quickly, too quickly. In fact, if she wasn’t mistaken, anger laced his question. She must have reacted to it because his features softened. “Sorry, it’s none of my business. And I do remember that today is your birthday. So, happy birthday, Carissa.”

“Thanks,” she said, and meant it. She decided to offer an olive branch because the truth was that she’d dumped him and she hadn’t been kind about it. This icy reception she was receiving was well deserved. While she knew the reasons behind her decision, she’d never let Jasper in on it. She’d been a bratty, selfish teenager, not capable of understanding her emotions. Unwilling to admit that Jasper had always reminded her of her father and that summer her dad had dropped a bombshell on her.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be in town. I’m sort of in a transition period right now.” He waited patiently. After another long drink of beer, she finished. “I just got divorced.” Saying the words out loud left an awful taste in her mouth. An acidic aftertaste of yuckiness.

First, shock flashed on his face. Then, true concern shone in his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said.

And that might have been her undoing. Because he had every reason to be stiff and awkward with her. Instead, any kind of compassion from him loosened her lips.

“Today is my twenty-ninth birthday. I’m having a beer next to my ex-boyfriend, who hates my guts, in a dive bar in the town I swore I would never step foot in again. An ex-boyfriend I should really apologize to because I was an evil witch to him.” The words were flying now. She gripped her hand tightly around her glass. “I’m not even thirty and already I’ve been married and divorced. And I got divorced because he freaking cheated on me.”

She couldn’t miss the way Jasper’s eyes narrowed, his hands curled into fists, and there was a definite tic in his clenched jaw. “He cheated on you?”

“Yep. Apparently, the fact that I was homecoming queen, prom queen and head cheerleader did nothing to impress him. Or keep his pants zipped up when anyone wearing a skirt in the Central Time Zone walked by. That probably makes your whole day, doesn’t it?”

He slammed his hand on the bar and she jumped. But she just as quickly composed herself. “What? You have every right to revel in my misery after the way I broke up with you. I got divorced. You win.”

His eyes narrowed. “I don’t want to win at that game. And I certainly don’t want to hear that some idiot cheated on you. I’m sorry you’re getting divorced.”

“That makes one of us.”

Copyright © 2017 Bidding on the Bachelor by Kerri Carpenter

Bidding on the Bachelor by Kerri Carpenter
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is book #2, in the Saved By The Blog series. This book can be read as a standalone novel. For reader enjoyment and understanding, I recommend reading this series in order.

Jasper finds out that his high school sweetheart who dumped him is back in town. He cannot help but be attracted to the even better looking beauty. Even to the detriment of all his dating.

Carissa just wants to start over. She has gone back to her hometown with her tail between her legs following a divorce. Now all she wants to do is start her own business.

Sweet and funny story. The characters are easy to relate to. It is also kind of frustrating since the blogger could not have been in some places without being seen. Is the author trying to tell us something?


***This early copy was given in exchange for an honest review only.

View all my reviews

Rafflecopter for Bidding on the Bachelor Blitz Giveaway:

Kerri is offering one (1) lucky Grand Prize winner a $50 Amazon Gift Card and three (3) Runner-Up winners with an eCopy of one of Falling for the Right Brother (Saved by the Blog #1)! To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b050ef29428/?

Other Books in the Saved by the Blog series:

Falling for the Right Brother

Saved by the blog!

This just in, fair readers! Chic and stunning, that gorgeous new woman about town is none other than our very own little Ellie--now Elle--Owens. She's a far cry from the frumpy, bookish student we used to know, but then, living in Italy will do that to a girl! Still, this blogger can't forget the infamous video that caused her to leave!

Apparently Miss Elle has been spotted with yummy contractor Cam Dumont...but we thought her heart belonged to his little brother. Are Cam and Elle a new couple? They were seen cooling their passions in the bay...in April! If this is love, let's hope she's swimming with the right brother. The Bayside Blogger will keep you posted.

Available at: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks

About Kerri Carpenter:

Award-winning romance author Kerri Carpenter writes contemporary romances that are sweet, sexy, and sparkly. When she’s not writing, Kerri enjoys reading, cooking, watching movies, taking Zumba classes, rooting for Pittsburgh sports teams, and anything sparkly. Kerri lives in Northern Virginia with her adorable (and mischievous) rescued poodle mix, Harry. Visit Kerri at her website, on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or subscribe to her newsletter.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

FOUR HEARTS--

'I've watched you sleep a thousand times.'

New-to-me Laura Lascarso is fairly new in the MM romance department. And she made an impression after reading novella, Andre in Flight.

I'm not sure how exactly to categorize it, probably contemporary new adult with a twist. The twist is everything that makes this story move. I'll try my hardest not give it away.

Set in Miami, twenty-something artist Martin works as a waiter in a Cuban fusion restaurant. His circle of friends is small, his love life is nonexistent. Other than a closeted co-worker who takes out his frustration on Martin since Martin refused him, he has no action. One day, he sees the new dishwasher, eighteen year old Andre who is full of youth and beauty. Martin's muse is captures. and there is something about the boy that captivates him. Is it his muse only? Or is it more?

The story is told in Martin's 1st POV but the reader definitely gets an equal sense of both main characters. Andre is essentially homeless, living in the worst neighborhood by exchanging sexual favors. Triggers: Past abuse, mentions of homophobic bashing. Martin takes the teen in his studio apartment...as a friend. It trips both of them out.

This is a period that I enjoy in reading budding romances, that getting to know the other person period. Hell I enjoy it in real life. Andre is a character and embodies eighteen. He's legally an adult, but sadly he's been through some rough things in his life. Sometimes he acted older than his years and then in the next page, he does something so damn eighteen!

Reading Andre and Martin move from roommates to more was great. I enjoyed the author's tone a lot. And even with the serious topics introduced, the story didn't read angst heavy. It was closer to realistic...for the most part.

Things I enjoyed:

Main Characters : both were men of color, Andre - African American and Martin - Cuban-American. And both men described a view of their world with a sense of their self. Andre, more so than Martin, he was young, black and gay in small town Alabama, where homophobia drove him away from home. Both men were characters and not caricatures with pretty skin tone.

The Twist : was not expecting it in the least though there were hints in the blurb. There's a point when it comes to ahead and I was shocked. That doesn't happen too often.

Things that weren't as strong for me:

Melissa : I'm unsure what side of the coin she's supposed to fall on. She's too ambiguous for me. (also, if Martin and Andre are subjects in this...game(?) What exactly is her story? How? I can see the why, though I think it could've went deeper.

Last 20-25% : The story gets the job done. It slowly unfurls with giving enough crumbs to move the pace along. But the last 20-25%, seemed like it could have been pushed further. Finding out the motive behind the story's villain(?) Why the main players? Will it happen again? Is there some mission? Ulterior motive? And the way one character just went away for a few weeks with no contact when they really seemed to be the puppet mater, just struck me as a  little odd. I think I quibble because I wish this story was slightly longer.

Overall, the story is certainly different. It sort of has paranormal elements but ...not quite. Is there sex? Yes, but it's overly detailed and doesn't need to be. It's more about Andre and Martin's connections. There are miscommunication issues, so if you're a reader who gets easily frustrated with that plot device, it doesn't overtake the entire book. Keep in mind it's New Adult, so expect the characters to act as such.

I think Andre in Flight read like a current snapshot of working class new adults who become friends into something more. It felt as close to real life as it could get.

Recommended? Yes. A sort of sweet, low angst glimpse at relationship that seems to stand the test of time. It has a HFN ending, which I think works for this age range.

But it's up for interpretation, sort of like Martin's artwork.

I'll be keeping my eye open for more MM from Ms. Lascarso in the future. I want to read what other ideas she has brewing.

P.S. This cover? Nom nom nom!



A copy provided for an honest review.