29 May 2020

*Read My Review & ENTER TO WIN!* The Outlaw's Daughter by Margaret Brownley

THE OUTLAW'S DAUGHTER 
HAYWIRE BRIDES, BOOK 3
by
MARGARET BROWNLEY
Western / Historical Fiction / Clean & Wholesome Romance 
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca 
Date of Publication: May 26, 2020 
Number of Pages: 384

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He may be a Texas Ranger, but he only has eyes for the outlaw's beautiful daughter . . .  Texas Ranger Matt Taggert is on the trail of a wanted man. He has good reason to believe that Ellie-May's late husband was involved in a stagecoach robbery, and he's here to see justice done. But when he arrives in town, he discovers the thief has become a local hero . . . and his beautiful young widow isn't too happy to see some lawman out to tarnish her family's newly spotless reputation. 
Ellie-May's shaken by her encounter with the ranger. Having grown up an outlaw's daughter, she'll do anything to keep her children safe—and if that means hardening her heart against the handsome lawman's smiles, then so be it. Because she knows Matt isn't about to give up his search. He's out to redeem himself and find proof that Ellie-May's husband wasn't the saint everyone claims . . . even if it means losing the love neither expected to discover along the way.

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Hey, Y’all! Well, here we are, almost at the end of May. Summer is right around the corner, and I’m still staying the heck at home, away from germs and the people who carry them.  

This gives me more time with my books, both reading and writing ‘em, and it gives me time to do other things like this:


Yes. I actually did this to my own dog.  It’s like she’s a time traveler against her own fur-will. I confess at having laughed way too hard whilst doing this portrait of Sascha Marie, who you can follow on Facebook by clicking on her name (which I just now typed). I’ve been spending some time honing my Photoshop skills, and in doing so, have even gotten my first commission for a pet portrait, yo! Check it out. 

 I titled this portrait, Her Grace Callie Mae, Duchess of Purrington. Not bad, huh? 
(My next one will be a portrait of a fish in Renaissance garb.)  


What have y’all been doing during all this extra at-home time? 
Leave a comment below. I’m lonely and need human interaction.

Speaking of which …

Kristine, siren of all books she surveys, lured me in once more. Come to think of it, I bet she’s got one of them confounded voodoo dolls with curly red hair and blue buttons for eyes. Instead of jabbing it with pins, she prolly tapes books on it and whispers “Belle, you are gonna lurve (yes, I think she actually whispers that word) this book. Sign up to review it.
DO IT NOW, OR I’LL JAB YOU WITH A PIN!”

That’s when my eyes fly open, in the dark of the night, and I immediately go to the blogger group and start searching for the book title I’d heard whispered in my dream-mare (I just made that word up.)  But, ya know what? Somehow, the book temptress is always right. She could be, like, a millionaire with her canny bookish book bloggerness in all her glory.

Alas, I digress.

Let’s get on with the review, shall we? (I saw you nodding your head off, tired of my rambling. Yes, I’m looking at you!)

THE OUTLAW’S DAUGHTER by Margaret Brownley is not a genre that’s usually on my self-chosen, non-book-siren-influenced forte of reading material. I usually personally go for something with a fantasy/paranormal/sci-fi blend or to the other end of the scale -- something that’s extremely literary (think Shakespeare or Beowulf) or some obscure Viking history book that’s frankly boring to most people.  But, Kristine knows me well, I tells ya!  Yes. She knows something historical is gonna tickle my ever-loving fancy. And she was right on the money.

It was a sunny day when THE OUTLAW’S DAUGHTER arrived in my mailbox. The rays of afternoon sunlight glowed on the gorgeous cover of Brownley’s book as I slipped it out of the envelope. But something else slipped out, too.  A lovely, handwritten note from the author.  I carefully turned back the gorgeous cover (y’all know how I love to keep a book looking like it’s never been read) and there it was … another note and the author’s autograph (y’all also know I love it when the book is autographed.  GAZE UPON THE SPLENDOR!




Not only does this book look great on my library shelf, as you can clearly see, but it also sits well in the reader’s hands.  It has a nice, tangible quality that makes ya not wanna put it down. But that’s not the only thing that keeps the reader glued to this book.

Ms. Brownley has the unmitigated gall to quote Mark Twain even before she gets to the hook, which you’ll read about here in a second. Now, quoting witty ole Twain is the perfect way to snag a Literature Major’s heart. (I’m beginning she did it on purpose. Heck, maybe she’s even in cahoots with Kristine the Book Siren. NO, I AIN’T PARANOID!)


The reader quickly learns on the first line of Chapter 1 that this book takes place in the Year of Our Lord 1887 in a place called Haywire, Texas.  “That sounds like a place where I belong,” I says to myself as I snuggled down into my reading nook and tucked into the story.

And there it was. Right there. The hook.


Of course, I had no other option but to continue reading. And so, I tumbled headfirst into THE OUTLAW’S DAUGHTER by Margaret Brownley.  The roads were dusty in Haywire, when I picked myself up from whence I'd landed in the story. There’d been a drought for some time, and the town folk were scurrying to and fro, stirring up clouds of dust. I stood at the edge of the dusty street, watching horses and wagons pass by and listening to people chatter on about an upcoming town celebration to do with a bronze statue. (I hoped none of them could see me standing there in my nightgown.)

Imma stop there, because y’all know I don’t give spoilers.

But I will tell y’all this:  there are a lot of things that I enjoyed about this book. First, Brownley has the gift of a true storyteller. Each page fed my interest in the story until I was actually invested in the characters. Indeed, I was so enthralled that I plowed through this book in one sitting. 


Of equal enjoyment is how Brownley allows her characters to be their authentic selves. Ya know what I mean? She actually allows them to say the things and speak the way you’d expect if you met them in person.  For example:



I’ve added this line to my repertoire of future insults, by the way. Thank you, Ms. Brownley!

This story has everything a reader longs for in a book:  tragedy, tenderness, suspense, romantic tension, and a good lookin’ Texas Ranger. Boy, howdy and lawd have mercy! *Fans Self*



via GIPHY

Most of all, Brownley’s writing is crisp, intelligent, and witty. I enjoyed the heck out of this book and my visit to Haywire, Texas.  No matter what genre the reader usually prefers, THE OUTLAW’S DAUGHTER by Margaret Brownley has all the elements to keep any reader enthralled until the very last satisfying sentence.

And that’s why I grant The Outlaw’s Daughter
Five Haywire Brooms!




  

New York Times bestselling author Margaret Brownley has penned more than forty-six novels and novellas. 
A two-time Romance Writers of American RITA® finalist, Margaret has also written for a TV soap and is a recipient of the Romantic Times Pioneer Award. Not bad for someone who flunked eighth-grade English. Just don't ask her to diagram a sentence.
◆  WEBSITE  ◆  FACEBOOK  ◆  TWITTER  
◆  AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE  ◆  BOOKBUB    ◆  GOODREADS AUTHOR PAGE   





GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!
 TWO WINNERS each receive signed copies of the first two books in the Haywire Brides series, Cowboy Charm School and The Cowboy Meets His Match
  May 26-June 5, 2020
(US ONLY)


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FOR DIRECT LINKS TO EACH POST ON THIS TOUR, UPDATED DAILY. 
Or, visit the blogs directly:


5/26/20
Promo
5/26/20
Review
5/27/20
Review
5/27/20
Review
5/28/20
BONUS Post
5/28/20
Review
5/29/20
Review
5/29/20
Review
5/30/20
Review
5/31/20
Review
6/1/20
Review
6/1/20
Review
6/2/20
Review
6/3/20
Review
6/4/20
Review
6/4/20
Review



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14 May 2020

*Book Blitz & GIVEAWAY!* THANK YOU, GARDEN by Liz Garton Scanlon


THANK YOU, GARDEN
By LIZ GARTON SCANLON
Illustrated by Simone Shin

Children's Picture Book / Poetry / Environment / Ages 3-7 
Publisher: Beach Lane Books / Simon & Schuster
Date of Publication: March 3, 2020
Number of Pages: 32


A community garden unites neighbors in this celebration of all the things that grow there, from flowers and fruits, to friendships!  This ode to working together for a better world will have young readers wanting to plant gardens of their own!






CLICK TO PURCHASE







Liz Garton Scanlon is the author of many beloved books for kids, including the brand new Thank You, Garden, as well as the Caldecott Honor book All the World and others, including several co-authored with her pal Audrey Vernick. Scanlon also wrote the middle grade novel The Great Good Summer and is published in numerous poetry anthologies. She serves on the faculty of the Vermont Faculty of Fine Arts and is a frequent and popular presenter at conferences and festivals. Find more about her life and work at www.LizGartonScanlon.com


Follow illustrator Simone Shin on Instagram!


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THREE WINNERS 
Each winner gets an autographed/personalized copy of THANK YOU, GARDEN and ANOTHER WAY TO CLIMB A TREE MAY 14-21, 2020 (US ONLY)

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07 May 2020

*REVIEW & GIVEAWAY!* First Herd to Abilene by Preston Lewis

FIRST HERD TO ABILENE
An H. H. Lomax Western, #5
by
PRESTON LEWIS
Genre: Historical Fiction / Western / Humor
Publisher: Wolfpack Publishing
Date of Publication: February 5, 2020
Number of Pages: 449


Scroll down for the giveaway!


HISTORICALLY SOUND AND HILARIOUSLY FUNNY!

H.H. Lomax meets Wild Bill Hickok in Springfield, Missouri, and is responsible for Hickok’s legendary gunfight with Davis Tutt. Fearing Hickok will hold a grudge, Lomax escapes Springfield and agrees to promote Joseph G. McCoy’s dream of building Abilene, Kansas, into a cattle town, ultimately leading the first herd to Abilene from Texas. Along the way, he encounters Indians, rabid skunks, flash floods, a stampede, and the animosities of some fellow cowboys trying to steal profits from the drive. Lomax is saved by the timely arrival of now U.S. Marshal Hickok, but Lomax uses counterfeit wanted posters to convince Hickok his assailants are wanted felons with rewards on their heads. Lomax and Wild Bill go their separate ways until they run into each other a decade later in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, where Hickok vows to kill Lomax for getting him fired. 

First Herd to Abilene is an entertaining mix of historical and hysterical fiction.

CLICK TO PURCHASE

Amazon    Barnes and Noble    Bookshop.org








Hey, Y’all! How’s quarantine life going? Truth be told (since I’m a hermit) not much is different for me, except I cannot make a dash into the store when I wanna. *Le Sigh* I’m seriously missing the dollar store, at the moment.

Most of y’all know that I’m an author who lurves writing about alien invasions in Small Town, Texas. But I’m also an Instructional Designer with my own (award winning) boutique firm called Star eLearning. (If you happen to know someone who needs Instructional Design services, send ‘em my way, yo!)  Therefore, I work from home 24/7. So, I’m still mostly just doing what I usually do, except for wearing a ninja mask once a week on a short trek to town. This makes me feel uppity and ninja-like in all my masked glory.

But I digress…

In betwixt designing elearning modules for clients and writing on my current WIP (no, I ain’t gonna give y’all any deets on that), I’ve been luxuriating in reading A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES by Deborah Harkness. Right when the plot is getting all juicy and vampirey (I just made that word up), here comes Kristine, all sneaky like, with FIRST HERD TO ABILENE by Preston Lewis in her tantalizing biscuit hooks.

She stroked the lush cover of Lewis’ western (knowing full-well that I’m a complete history nerd), and purred “trust in me…just in me…open your eyes…and trust in me…”



Well, not really like that... But she somehow (in her mystical book siren way) knew that this book would be a good fit for moi and my penchant for history. I minored in history at UH, ya see. Albeit with a study in Viking history, but how different are cowboys from Vikings, really? Basically, one shouts “vallhallah!” whilst the other calls out “yeehaw!” 

Well, there are one or two other differences, but this dude kinda has a little of both, wouldn't you say?


via GIPHY

I know, I know, I always make y’all listen to me yammer on and on instead of coming on out with the review. Dang! I’m gittin’ to it! Hold yer horses (or mules, donkeys, camels, etc.)!

I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about FIRST HERD TO ABILENE by Preston Lewis, to be honest. It just didn’t sound like it had any UFOs or aliens in it, I guess. But not many books do, these days. However, I do lurve me some Texas (and cowboys ain’t bad, either.) So, I turned on my Kindle and commenced to read.

Aha…there it was. The hook. Right away. Lewis had the confounded, dadblasted nerve to straight up tell me in the Introduction that he’s writing about an actual historical figure who he’s been researching for many years.

“Well, heck,” I says to myself. “How am I supposed to put this book down now?” I huffed as I continued reading. “I hope Lewis is happy!” My nostrils flared as I took a big ole gulp of coffee and dug on into the story.




Before I knew it, I had slipped into the skin of H. H. Lomax, a man who knew the likes of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. A man who'd done and experienced all sorts of things in his younger years than most modern folks would have the chance to do in a lifetime. And since I'd slipped on into Lomax's boots, I was experiencing those things, too!

Ya see, Lewis has a way with spinning a yarn. I’d thought this particular type of storytelling had become a lost art. But I was dead wrong.

This book is penned in such a way that the reader has no choice but to become part of the story. This is the type of book that nerds yearn for. If one wants to get lost from reality, then I recommend grabbing a copy of FIRST HERD TO ABILENE by Preston Lewis. Reading this book is akin to taking a vacation from life.





And, given that we’ve all been in a dadgum pandemic, we can all use a little bit of escape right about now. Though I’ve featured Preston Lewis here on Books & Broomsticks in the past, this is the first of his books that I’ve read. But, I assure y’all that it won’t be the last. 

I sorely needed that break from modern day (pandemic riddled murder hornet) life, and Lewis took me on a wild west adventure far away from my worries and troubles.

Lewis’ writing is witty, timeless, and intelligent. 
FIRST HERD TO ABILENE won a place in my 
Texas lovin’ pea pickin’ heart!

And that’s why I’m granting
FIRST HERD TO ABILENE
By Preston Lewis
5 Fantastical Brooms!







Preston Lewis is the Spur Award-winning author of thirty novels. In addition to his two Western Writers of America Spurs, he received the 2018 Will Rogers Gold Medallion for Western Humor for Bluster’s Last Stand, the fourth volume in his comic western series, The Memoirs of H. H. Lomax. Two other books in that series were Spur finalists. His comic western The Fleecing of Fort Griffin received the Elmer Kelton Award from the West Texas Historical Association for best creative work on the region.



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GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!

1ST PRIZE: 
Signed Copies of First Herd to Abilene and Bluster's Last Stand
2ND PRIZE: 
Signed Copy of First Herd to Abilene
APRIL 28-MAY 8, 2020
(US ONLY)


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FOR DIRECT LINKS TO EACH POST ON THIS TOUR, UPDATED DAILY
OR GO DIRECTLY TO THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:

4/28/20
Excerpt
4/28/20
BONUS Post
4/29/20
Review
4/30/20
Author Interview
5/1/20
Review
5/2/20
Scrapbook Page
5/3/20
Excerpt
5/4/20
Review
5/5/20
Author Interview
5/6/20
BONUS Post
5/7/20
Review
5/7/20
Series Spotlight
5/8/20
BONUS Review

  
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