GIRL WITH PEN

INTRODUCTION

Hi everyone My name is Victoria Zumbrum, 40 years old, married 14 years with 1 son. This is my very first blog. So bear with me. I have always wanted to have my own blog. I have always loved to read. I enjoy getting lost in a good book.
I love becoming part of the story and characters. I am hoping to bring my love of books to my readers.

I love reading different genres such as paranormal, young adult, romance, romantic suspense, mystery, Christian fiction, some horror, etc. The list goes on. I started reviewing books a couple of years ago and have done reviews for different blogs and even some authors. I really have enjoyed reviewing books and I will continue to do so. If anyone is interested in me reviewing a book for them, please contact me. I still have a lot to learn regarding my own blog so bear with me. I welcome and appreciate all followers.

Thursday, January 28, 2021

The Hero I Need by Nicole Snow Book Blitz

The Hero I Need: A Small Town Romance
Nicole Snow
Publication date: January 22nd 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Thriller

Wall Street Journal bestselling author Nicole Snow returns with a hilariously intense small-town love story where two star-crossed hearts and one snarly tiger ignite a romance up-roar.

He knew I was trouble the instant I showed up with a stolen Bengal tiger.
But Grady McKnight didn’t flinch like a sane person—he took us in.
Bruce the tiger found shelter. I met a hero grump. And Grady got a hot mess.
Namely, me.
Born-to-sizzle single dads and rogue zoologists don’t play nice.

So freaking what if I said I’m his nanny?
We needed a story when his two sweet daughters barged in.
Hiding a contraband tiger isn’t easy.
Neither is pretending he isn’t sending my pulse to pitter-patter heaven.

Cupid, you sneaky little nugget.
There’s only room for one hulking, growly, mesmerizing beast in my life.
I don’t belong at warm family dinners, or in the fortress of his arms.
Saving Bruce is my mission—not falling in love.

This won’t end well.
The longer I stay, the more he grins.
Walls come crashing down.
And my heart becomes willing prey for his carnivorous eyes.
I must resist Grady flipping McKnight.
Even if a scared, aching part of me knows I’m already his.
Even if I know he’s the hero I need…

Full-length romance thriller with the growliest Happily Ever After. It’s claws and effect when a wounded single dad saves a firestarter—along with her tiger, his girls, and his own beat-up heart.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

“Car trouble?” a deep voice booms behind me.

The back of my head smacks the steering wheel in my rush to get up. Ow.

Pressing a hand against the stinging pain, I stand up, close my eyes, and say a quick prayer in my head.

The gruff voice isn’t Niles or Priscilla Foss’, but only God knows who they’d send after me if they’ve figured out Bruce the tiger is gone.

“Lady? You okay?” the stranger thunders again, this time closer.

“Yes! Never better,” I strangle out. Not easily with my heart pounding in my throat.

“Funny kind of better,” the voice growls to my back. “Looks more like you could use a hand.”

Hoping it’ll help, I gather my hair in one hand and lift it off the back of my neck, which is slicked with sweat in the humid night air, and finally turn around.

Holy Ohio.

I have to release my hair in order to tilt my head back far enough to see more than a massive chest covered with a black t-shirt sporting a picture of a purple bob cat. Mouth open. Teeth showing.

And it turns out that slab of a chest is attached to a mountain with arms and legs.

He’s tall, dark, shredded, and deliriously handsome.

I won’t call him muscular because it would be an injustice. Like calling Samson a bodybuilder.

This man looks like he could hoist Bruce over his head without breaking a sweat.

Moving my eyes up over shoulders that’d make Atlas seethe with jealously and a thick neck worthy of a bull, my gaze lands on a face. An amused one, with deep manly lines around flinty hazel-dark eyes.

This looks like a face that’s used to smiling, even if he’s rocking that scary-hot vibe like he invented it.

Only, right now, there’s a smirk carved on his chiseled face that says he might be insane enough to try lifting a full-grown tiger as a feat of strength.

Oh, crap.

Bruce!

If there’s one thing I can’t do—besides let this guy climb inside my head and eat crackers nice and slow—is let him catch on to the fact that I’m hauling around some very illegal cargo, and it’s alive.

“What kind of trouble are you having?” he asks, his eyes twinkling in the dim light.

At the moment, breathing.

Next up, peeling my eyes off him and finding the willpower to mutter more than a squeak in reply.

His jaw is square, his nose straight, his hair short, but not too short. And his mouth, that smile, it’s—

It’s officially too much to handle.

I huff out a loud breath to stop a heavenly fantasy from forming and get my thoughts back to hell. Because that’s where I’m actually at right now, blundering around an isolated parking lot in the middle of the night with a strange man and a not-so-well concealed monster in my trailer.

Fun times.

Author Bio:

Nicole Snow is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author. She found her love of writing by hashing out love scenes on lunch breaks and plotting her great escape from boardrooms. Her work roared onto the indie romance scene in 2014 with her Grizzlies MC series.

Since then Snow aims for the very best in growly, heart-of-gold alpha heroes, unbelievable suspense, and swoon storms aplenty. With over a million books sold, she lives for the joy of making two people fight with every bit of their soul for a Happily Ever After.

Current fan favorites include her Enguard Protectors series, accidental love novels, plus long beloved MC romance thrillers like the Grizzlies and Deadly Pistols.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub

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Indigo Book Tour and Giveaway

Indigo

by Paula Berinstein

Genre: Time Travel Romance, Adventure

What would you do if you suddenly found yourself mistress of an 18th-century plantation?

Esther Rubens is looking forward to getting to know her new community in South Carolina and repairing her troubled marriage. But as soon as she arrives in Charleston her life begins to diverge from the idyllic picture in her mind. Her physicist husband, Melvin, is arrested for driving while black, she inherits a strange English property from a cousin she didn't know existed, and she learns that her great-grandmother Sophie, a brilliant scientist kidnapped by the Nazis, discovered the secret of time travel of all things.

Intrigued by Sophie's cryptic journal Melvin begins to experiment with time travel, but his anger at the police makes him careless. The process backfires, killing him and throwing Esther back to 1750. Attacked by an unknown assailant the moment she arrives, she seeks protection at an indigo plantation belonging to a dashing planter with a dangerous secret, negotiating a deal that guarantees her safety. But she soon realizes she's made a terrible mistake. What she discovers on the plantation is far more horrific than anything she could have imagined.

Overwhelmed, she attempts to flee just as the planter's mysterious, handsome brother arrives from England seeking refuge-and offering an opportunity that's too compelling to turn down. But can he be trusted? And are the two of them strong enough to vanquish the evil that's pervading the lowlands? Only time will tell.

The first title in the Indigo series.

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Paula Berinstein (Paula B) is the author of the Amanda Lester, Detective middle-grade/YA series, which features a descendant of the Sherlock Holmes character Inspector Lestrade and is set in the English Lake District.

She is also the author of a new time travel series for adults, Indigo.

From 2005 to 2012, Paula produced and hosted the popular podcast The Writing Show (http://www.writingshow.com). She holds degrees in English literature and librarianship from UCLA.

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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$25 Amazon giftcard– 2 winners!

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Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Changing the Rules Book Tour and Giveaway

Changing the Rules

The Sterling Woods Series Book 2

by Charlene Johnson

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Party girl, socialite, town slut, whore. Stephanie Xavier heard it all and in the past, she chose to ignore it. She was an Xavier and played by a different set of rules. But those rules were changed by a tragedy she could never forget. Leaving her past behind, she attempts to live a better life.

Craig Bagwell, the sexy owner of the local pub, is part of Stephanie’s past and her present. Craig was determined to control their relationship on his terms and vowed to never let her know how he really felt about her. Rich girls like her didn’t make ideal girlfriends or wives. He knew that firsthand.

Changing her life proves harder to do than Stephanie hoped. Someone in Sterling Wood has other plans. Plans that have deadly consequences.

Goodreads * Amazon

Homecoming

The Sterling Wood Series Book 1

Lily Sommers reluctantly returns to Sterling Wood to attend her Uncle Jimmy's funeral - a town she left years ago.

Sterling Wood holds painful memories she’s tried to forget. One, in particular, is still raw and every time she returns pulls the scab off a wound that will not heal - Luc Pearson, the handsome high school sweetheart who betrayed her.

Seeing Luc again isn't the only problem she has to face in Sterling Wood. Someone is trying to kill her, and she doesn't know why.

She soon learns shocking revelations that could change the course of her life as a ruthless killer stalks her. Will the people closest to her be able to save her?

Things like that aren’t supposed to happen in Sterling Wood.

Goodreads * Amazon

Charlene writes Paranormal Romance and Romantic Suspense/Thrillers. She lives in Sacramento, California.

She received a 2020 Book Excellence Finalist Award for Homecoming, Sterling Wood Series, Book 1, in the Romance category. To view her award listing, visit: https://honorees.bookexcellenceawards.com/#!/2020-Finalists/c/47498729/offset=63&sort=normal

She also won a 2020 Silver Award for Blown Away from Literary Titan.

She is currently writing two paranormal romance series, Circle of the Red Scorpion and Circle of the Red Scorpion World and a romantic suspense/thriller series, Sterling Wood. She also wrote a book for a multi-author romantic suspense/ crime thriller and four short stories for anthologies.

Books have always been Charlene's passion. She started reading at an early age and progressed to full-length books by age nine. The first supernatural book series she read was Dark Shadows, and it sparked her interest in all things paranormal, with a spicy touch of romance mixed in for good measure. She also started writing poetry in grade school and continues to do so today. Being an avid reader, the consummate daydreamer, and an incurable romantic with a Cinderella complex, she started creating her characters and storylines because she realized she had her own stories to tell. She's traveled the world, crossed galaxies, traveled through time, and explored history on the pages of books.

Besides reading and writing, she also enjoys photography, travel, music, great movies, and Elvis.

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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$10 Amazon - 4 winners!

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Black Water Magic Book Tour and Giveaway

Black Water Magic

by Leslie Scott

Genre: Paranormal Urban Fantasy

Teagan Blackwater’s biggest problem used to be hiding her relationship with a demi-demon from her grandmother, Nola, the most powerful witch in all of Florida.

When Nola is murdered, Teagan learns how insignificant her secret really was. And how rare it is she only had the one. Firewater Springs is a small town, and every one of its residents seems to have secrets of their own. Including the friendly cop Teagan had a crush on in high school and the Demi-demon she’s been sleeping with.

But the person with the most secrets was Nola herself, and Teagan needs to unravel them to break a curse and solve Nola’s murder. It’s no secret Teagan doesn’t feel up to the task, but she is the new Swamp Witch of Firewater Springs, so what choice does she have? Everyone is counting on her.

No pressure.

Goodreads * Amazon

Award winning author, Leslie Scott thrives in the middle of chaos. Not because she home schools her son and rides herd over the family's zoo of indoor pets or listens to her soul mate wax poetically about all things car and related. Oh, no. That's nothing. The real chaos is the characters in her mind, elbowing and tripping each other to get to the front of the line so they can be the next romantic couple in one of her stories. Her family is her passion. Writing is her dream.

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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

$25 Amazon

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Tuesday, January 26, 2021

The Talented Trilogy Book Tour and Giveaway

Seventh Born

The Talented Book 1

by Rachel Rossano

Genre: Christian Fantasy

In a world where seventh born sons are valued for their strength and power, she is born a daughter.

Zezilia Ilar is the disappointment. Born after six brothers, she was supposed to be the son to restore her family’s prestige. She intends to remedy her shortcomings by being a dutiful daughter, marrying well and producing children, preferably a set of seven sons. But when someone offers her an alternative, she begins to dream of more.

In a society that worships a goddess, he follows the Almighty.

Hadrian Aleron, as a seventh son of a seventh son, stands to take up the second highest position in government, Sept Son. His main qualification for office is his birth. Despite preparing for this role from childhood, he does not desire what is to come. As a follower of the Almighty, he knows he will be the target of many, and his faith might eventually lead to death.

SEVENTH BORN is first in a series of three books.

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The Defender

The Talented Book 2

Zezilia Ilar joins the sept son's entourage as a defender. Her growing Talent ability makes her a target for the Elitists, and her gender makes people question her competence. She must protect the sept son.

Any mistake could be fatal.

Hadrian Aleron always knew his beliefs would cause trouble, but he didn't realize how much. Rebels are rising. He could lose his title, his position, and if he's not careful, his life. As the assassination attempts grow bolder, Hadrian must rely upon his young defender and their shared faith in the Almighty to keep him from faltering.

The Defender is the second in a trilogy. Reading Seventh Born first is recommended.

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Living Sacrifice

The Talented Book 3

Separated, but still joined, they strive for freedom.

Left behind at the sept son's compound, Zezilia Ilar struggles with the after effects of her prolonged commisceo-link with Hadrian. She devotes herself to caring for the wounded arriving almost daily from the battlefields. Pressed to perform procedures and make decisions far beyond her training, Zez grows in confidence and skill. All the while, she wonders if she'll see Hadrian again, fearing the worst possible news will arrive any day.

Sept Son Hadrian Aleron fights to bring peace to his home nation. Allied with the new high king, he and a small army of Talented struggle to retake the capital city. Elitists, though scattered, continue to pick off the strongest of his men. As he battles the remnants of the commisceo-link and tries to organize the campaign, he begins losing himself to exhaustion. Only a miracle will keep him alive.

Living Sacrifice is the third in a trilogy. Reading Seventh Born and The Defender first is recommended.

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Rachel Rossano is a happily married mother of three children. She spends her days teaching, mothering, and keeping the chaos at bay. After the little ones are in bed, she immerses herself in the fantasy worlds of her books. Tales of romance, adventure, and virtue set in a medieval fantasy world are her preference, but she also writes speculative fantasy and a bit of science fiction.