ItaPixie's Book Corner

  Synopsis: Meet the newest expansion team--The Portland Icehawks. They're a group of guys with chips on their shoulders out to make their former teams regret letting them go. They won't stop until they win it all, but what they haven't counted on is love being part of that equation. As a thirty-five-year-old hockey player, I've learned a hard lesson in loyalty. I was supposed to be a lifer for the Chicago Tigers, but the team left me out in the cold, choosing to protect younger players in the expansion draft. The next thing I know, I'm in a strange city with a fledgling team, and my estranged wife has served me with divorce papers. Not the best way to start a new chapter in my career. As the team struggles to find its identity and win games, I struggle with my role as team captain, proving I'm not too old to play at a high level, and getting beyond my failed marriage. All this is complicated by an undeniable attraction to the owner's granddaughter. As the t...

  Synopsis: Three estranged sisters. Six months to come back together. When  G eorgie,  I ris and  N ola's mother died and their father disappeared into his grief, the sisters made a pact: they would always be there for one another, no matter what. Now, decades later, they haven't spoken for years and can barely stand to be in the same room. As his health declines, their father comes up with a plan to bring them back to one another. In his will, he states that before they can claim their inheritance, they must spend six months living together in their childhood home in the village of Ballycove, Ireland, and try to repair their broken relationships. As the months progress, old resentments boil over, new secrets threaten to come out and each sister must decide what matters more: their pride, or their family. Can they overcome their past and find a way to love each other once more? Review: Georgie, Iris, and Nola are three irish sisters, they live in London now, but the...

  Synopsis: Can a chance meeting open a grieving heart to love? Widow Missy Hanford buried her heart with her Marine husband. She spends her time baking cupcakes, rescuing animals, and staying out of jail. When abandoned kittens bring a handsome sheriff’s deputy into her life, Missy’s friends tell her to give love a second chance. But she’d rather help the four women deal with their issues. Nell’s dating the wrong guy to keep her mom from meddling; Selena’s dividing her time between friends in her hometown and her husband in Seattle; Bria’s piecing together the secrets she’s uncovered, and Juliet’s trying to forge a life on her own. Now, more than ever, the Cupcake Posse will need to rely on their friendship to support each other. As answers only bring more questions, they must face hard truths about life, family, and love as they work to save their beloved small town bakery. Review: Kittens & Kisses is another great story in the Berry Lake Cupcake Posse series by Melissa McClo...

  Synopsis: Theo Duncan is just an ordinary student. Except he also happens to be the son of the Prime Minister, Will Duncan. When the parliamentary mace is stolen from inside the Houses of Parliament, Theo is determined to help his dad get it back. But he can’t do it alone. And when help is offered, there’s a problem. It comes from the new girl at school, Sammy Jhor, who’s a supporter of the opposition party. Theo and Sammy form an unlikely team to spy on government officials, sneak through the corridors of Downing Street and pursue the thief through the Palace of Westminster. But when the evidence points to suspects at the highest levels of government, finding the thief could threaten Will Duncan’s leadership. Can Theo and Sammy put aside their differences to find the mace – and the thief – before the government is brought to its knees? Review: Mystery in the Palace of Westminster was a good, quick read, with a well thought mystery that keeps the interest of the reader throughout...

  Synopsis: Welcome to the Happy Hartes Bookshop in Micklewick Bay on the beautiful North Yorkshire Coast! The Happy Hartes Bookshop has been a part of bookworm Florrie Appleton’s life as far back as she can remember. From the evocative smell of the books, to working alongside her beloved Mr H and his black Labrador, Gerty, there’s no wonder she calls it her happy place. Living in a town she loves, with her family and group of close-knit friends around her, life is sweet. Until one dreadful Monday morning, when everything is turned upside down and things are changed forever. Devastated, Florrie finds herself thrown into an unexpected situation with handsome stranger, Ed Harte, owner of a pair of twinkly navy-blue eyes and a smile that has the knack of making mischief with her insides. Despite herself, Florrie quickly finds herself falling for him, but she’s torn, reluctant to give her heart to someone who seems intent on not sticking around. While her heart’s doing battle with her ...

  Synopsis: Her life is just beginning. His ended before it began. Isabel Gardner knows two things for certain. One, she fought like hell to scrape together a life worth living. Two, nothing good will come of her best friend’s brother crashing on their couch after being released from prison. Her crush on the cocky party boy was bad enough in high school. After four years in a state penitentiary, who knows what chaos his dangerous charm will bring? If only she could hate him as much as she wants him. Tristan Haverford loved being Suncrest Valley’s notorious bad boy—until a tragic accident tore his life apart. He may have changed, but the world he left doesn’t want him back. Even worse, the forbidden sparks with Isabel have become an untamed blaze he’ll have to control more than ever. Because Tristan also knows one thing for certain: Their painful story may be built on lies, but it’s the devastating truth that will break them. Review: This series expertly written by Aly Stiles called...

  Synopsis: Wallflower Rosemary Fillmore has never endeavored anything more than a good book, a cool glass of sweet tea, and a cat to curl up in her lap after a long day of teaching teenagers how to dissect literary masterpieces. Dowdy and shy, hardly anyone in her quaint southern town of Vallantine, Georgia, knows she exists, and the only time she has an ounce of confidence is if the world is a fictional one. So, when three of her star students suddenly start to show an interest in her personal life, or lack thereof, she wonders what on earth the girls are after. Or why. And how it involves a certain town librarian. Because she hasn’t exactly agreed with how he’s been running the beautiful landmark into the ground since taking over, and frankly, she’s been more than a little upset about it. Besides, he is probably the sole person more awkward than herself, despite how kind or understatedly handsome he may be. As the only living descendant of the original town founders, saving the ...

  Synopsis: It’s the most embarrassing night of my life. Not only did I literally run into the hottest guy I’ve ever laid eyes on in a hotel lobby, but the ice-cold water and whipped cream I’m carrying (don't ask) end up all over me. If that wasn’t enough, that same guy -- the hottest one of all time -- donates twenty-five thousand pounds during a charity auction... to win a date with me. Things must be looking up, right? After all, a crazy-gorgeous guy just bid a ton of money on dinner with me. But when I see him sit down right next to my father, I know he's not interested in me. He just wants to do business with my dad. FML. I’m determined to make the situation work. If he really wants to impress my father, the handsome stranger can marry me... for three months. It’s all I need to get access to the trust fund so I can fund my charity. Tristan will be able to get what he wants from my dad, and my father will stop hounding me about getting a life. Everyone wins. Soon it will be...

  Synopsis: London 1776: Lord Worth is busying himself restoring his family fortunes and burying any feelings he still harbours for the woman who rejected his proposal. The fact that the lady in question—Lady Rebecca Fairing—happens to be his sister’s best friend, his niece’s godmother, and present at every Societal gathering of consequence is… unfortunate. Meanwhile Rebecca fears she made the wrong decision in rejecting James Worth, but when he assures her he won’t be renewing his proposal, she is forced to accept her choice. It doesn’t take long for the eligible Lord Worth to attract other suitors, among them Lady Sophia, daughter to Society’s most notorious gossip, Lady Goring. Rebecca knows she must step aside and allow James to find happiness, but when she senses all is not as it seems in the Goring family, she can’t help but intervene. As James and Rebecca work together to unearth Societal secrets, deal with scheming matriarchs, and face villainous highwaymen, they find thems...

  Synopsis: Mackenzie Morris, newest recruit at the Little Duck Pond Café, is the perfect addition to the team. But beneath her smiles, Kenzie is hiding a dark secret. It’s the reason she fled to Sunnybrook, desperate for a fresh start that would help to lay the ghosts that haunt her. The challenge of turning her hobby into a business is a welcome distraction, and to her relief, she finds that her range of quirky pottery mugs and vases appear to be in demand. Alone and scared when she arrived, she’s slowly making friends and starting to feel as if she belongs. Meeting a lovely guy called Aidan seems to confirm this and it looks as if love might be on the horizon. But then Kenzie makes a devastating discovery that threatens to crush her new-found happiness. Aidan is the one person she yearns to confide in. He’s also the one person who can never know the truth . . . Review: Jingle Bells in June wasn't the story I expected, but Rosie Green has already proved she can write whatever she...

  Synopsis: Falling for the wrong cowboy never felt so good . . . Samantha Baker is a high-flying movie producer living in New York City. She loves her shoes, drinking cosmopolitans, and wouldn’t trade the comforts of city life for anything in the world. But when her job is put on the line, Samantha has no other choice than to move to the middle of nowhere to straighten out the filming of her latest romantic comedy blockbuster. Her new country home has no Starbucks, no Pilates, and the one pub in town has never heard of appletinis—only serves beer and whiskey neat. On the plus side, the views are scenic. And not just for the aerial shots, as the local eye-candy provides a welcome distraction. At least until Samantha discovers a native cowboy, Travis Hunt, is the source of all her troubles... And the battle begins. Each has something the other wants, but as Samantha and Travis go head to head, they might discover the endgame has changed. When hate turns to heat, all becomes fair in ...

  May was a slow reading month for me, most of the nights after work I was too tired to read, fortunately there were weekends and I could read till I was satisfied. On May I've read 7 books:        - Wild At Heart by Stacy Gold  🐞 🐞 🐞 🐞 🐞 - Wild About You by Rebecca Jenshak  🐞 🐞 🐞 🐞 - A Real Cowboy Always Comes Home by Stephanie Rowe  🐞 🐞 🐞 🐞 - Sweet Love And Country Roads by Camilla Isley  🐞 🐞 🐞 🐞 - Lord Of Worth by Philippa Jane Keyworth  🐞 🐞 🐞 🐞 - A Thousans Moments by Kelly Moran  🐞 🐞 🐞 🐞 🐞 - Jingle Bells In June by Rosie Green  🐞 🐞 🐞 🐞 🐞        Wild At Heart by Stacy Gold is my Book Of The Month because I adored the naturalist trip through the Pacific Crest Trail.       For the Neverending NetGalley Challenge with the Must Read prompt I've read two excellent ARCs: - Wild At Heart by Stacy Gold -A Thousands Moments by Kelly Moran Let me know if you have r...