July Book of the Month: All that Remains by RJ Scott

Summary:
Federal Agent Lucas Beaumont has an agenda — get himself assigned to the case of the apparent serial murders at Lancaster Falls, find out who the murderer is, and then lay the ghosts that haunt his grandfather to rest. In the midst of a horrific murder investigation, the only peace he gets is from simple moments in a warm kitchen, talking to hotel owner, Josh. Attraction to the easygoing man is something he didn’t expect; in doing so, he opens himself to hurt, but at the same time, he begins to fall in love.

Josh is struggling to keep the Falls Hotel, even with every cent he has invested in its upkeep. The one thing keeping him above water is the not entirely legal work he does on the side—a steady income that not even his son knows about. When the FBI takes over his hotel for the duration of the Hell’s Gate serial killer case, Josh is faced with the real possibility that Lucas will not only discover his secret but also steal his heart.

When tragedy hits Josh and his son, and when it seems all hope is lost, can Lucas rescue them both?

HOLY HANNAH BATMAN!  All that Remains and Lancaster Falls Trilogy as a whole is A-FREAKIN-MAZING!!!!!  Mystery, romance, death, friendship, danger, chemistry, buried(or not so buried) secrets, camaraderie, mayhem, and plenty of heart.  You'll find these and many other elements and emotions within the city limits of Lancaster Falls.  All that Remains has it's own couple and their journey but as with any great trilogy the third act ties it all together.

Now as you are all well aware, there will be NO SPOILERS from me.  No murder mystery should ever be spoiled because the reader has to discover and feel every hint, every surprise, every "can't put it down" high to fully appreciate the journey.  Trust me, you do not want to let Lancaster Falls slip passed your reading radar.

Let's take a minute to look at our starring couple: Lucas and Josh.  Lucas the FBI agent has come to Lancaster Falls on an agenda: solve a crime that will hopefully put his grandfather's mind to rest.  Josh the single dad hotel owner who deals with some not-so legal computer issues to keep his head above water and to provide for his son.  Their worlds collide when Lucas brings the feds to stay at the hotel while helping out with the Hell's Gate serial murder case.  What could possibly go wrong(or right) there?😉😉

Lucas and Josh have an instant connection, physically and more, but considering their personal agendas will that connection lead to more?  Will they let it?  You know my answer: read the book to find out, again I say trust me you won't regret it.  I just want to add that for those who don't care for insta-love/lust/connection, the chemistry may be instant but RJ Scott tells their journey in a way that you know the insta-bit can lead to something so much more, if fate lets it that is 😉😉.

As for Hell's Gate, each entry plays it's part in the case but All that Remains brings it all together and I'll be honest, I'm rarely snookered when it comes to mysteries, not because I'm some great detecting genius but because I've read/watched so many mysteries in my nearly 47 years on this Earth that very few twists are really all that twisty anymore.  Well, RJ Scott had me guessing right to the reveal.  Every time I thought I had it figured out, I'd turn the page and suddenly I was shaking my head "well, damn! there goes that theory".

This is a series not to be missed but it is also a series that must be read in order.  Sure the starring couple may be different but the mystery is ongoing.  I'll miss the heroes of this trilogy, I'll even miss the mayhem but I loved the way Miss Scott brings it all together and for me, the feelings of missing it is further proof how brilliant and attention grabbing the storytelling is.   I'll just repeat my above statement: HOLY HANNAH BATMAN!  All that Remains and Lancaster Falls Trilogy as a whole is A-FREAKIN-MAZING!!!!! 

RATING:

What Lies Beneath  /  Without a Trace

Author Bio:
USA Today bestselling author RJ Scott writes stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and most importantly, a happily ever after.

RJ Scott is the author of over one hundred romance books, writing emotional stories of complicated characters, cowboys, millionaire, princes, and the men who get mixed up in their lives. RJ is known for writing books that always end with a happy ever after. She lives just outside London and spends every waking minute she isn’t with family either reading or writing.

The last time she had a week’s break from writing she didn’t like it one little bit, and she has yet to meet a bottle of wine she couldn’t defeat.

She’s always thrilled to hear from readers, bloggers and other writers. Please contact via the links below.

FACEBOOK  /  TWITTER  /  WEBSITE

SCOTT & LOCEY MM HOCKEY ROMANCE

B&N  /  INSTAGRAM  /  TUMBLR

GOOGLE PLAY  /  LIBRARY THING

AUDIBLE  /  FB GROUP  /  PINTEREST

BOOKBUB  /  KOBO  /  SMASHWORDS

iTUNES  /  AMAZON  /  GOODREADS

EMAIL: rj@rjscott.co.uk 

All That Remains #3

AMAZON US  /  AMAZON UK  /  GOODREADS TBR

Series

AMAZON US  /  AMAZON UK
AUDIBLE  /  GOODREADS TBR

Monday Morning's Menu: The Dishevelled Duke by Catherine Curzon & Eleanor Harkstead

Summary:
From the A Little Bit Cupid collection

Will a photographer be swept off his feet by a duke who’s more dishevelled than dashing?

It’s Valentine’s Day and it’s Billy last shift at The Chelsea Bunn. His photography career never took off, so it’s time to leave London, parcel up the leftover heart-shaped cakes and head back home to Hampshire.

Rumpled Charlie and his two mischievous dogs are Billy’s favourite customers, so when Charlie turns up at closing time with a mysterious wrapped gift and the offer of a whirlwind trip on the London Eye, Billy can’t say no. But Charlie is keeping a secret that could turn Billy’s world happily upside down.

As the snow falls over London and the big wheel grinds to a halt, Billy discovers that wishes aren’t just for Christmas.

So this has been sitting in my kindle for a few months and unfortunately sinking on my TBR list with all the adds I make to it on a nearly daily basis but the color and sparkle of the cover caught my eye yesterday and thought "Valentine's Day in August? Perfect!"  Who doesn't like to be reminded that love on the most romantic day of the year is super-duper-uber special?  So open it I did and read it in one sitting. YUMMY!

Followers of my blog and reviews probably notice that when I say "Yummy" I refer to the heat level but more times than not and especially in The Dishevelled Duke I'm referring to the sheer chemistry between our would-be lovers.  Billy having to give up his dream and his crush sounds like a cruel joke for a romantic Valentine's Day novella, but those familiar with Curzon and Harkstead, know that there will always be a HEA.  How Billy and Charlie get there is something you'll have to read for yourself but trust me, it's fantabulous!

As for Billy and Charlie, how can one not root for them, not cheer them on?  They are adorable together and when one phone call creates the possibility to change everything, you just know Cupid must have been lurking around somewhere near.

Would I have loved to see more of Billy and Charlie?  Of course but sometimes, short is the best way to bring out the greatness of a pair, showing that one point in time can be the catalyst to happiness.  The Dishevelled Duke may be short on quantity but it's overflowing on quality, a delightful gem balanced between realism, romance, and fairytale.

RATING:

All the champagne cupcakes had gone. Only a few slices of red velvet cake remained, sharing a plate with the last three heart-shaped cookies. Imogen had said that Billy could take them home with him. What a way to arrive. Ten years in London and Billy would appear on his parents’ doorstep with leftover Valentine’s Day cake and hundreds of unsold photographs.

At least I tried.

For the last time, Billy loaded the café’s dishwasher. In a couple of minutes he would turn the sign to closed for the last time, shut the blinds for the last time and leave The Chelsea Bunn forever. He would lug his case through the crowds, clamber onto a packed train and say goodbye to London.

But he wouldn’t say goodbye to Charlie-who-has-no-surname, who came in five times a week for a cup of tea and a bun for the two wolfhounds that dragged him around like slightly undersized donkeys. Charlie with the peppery hair and laughing eyes and the lines that crinkled around them when he smiled. And he smiled a lot.

Billy wouldn’t say goodbye to Charlie because for the last two weeks, his shifts had changed to fit around the shop’s new hours and he hadn’t seen him since. For the Bunn to be busy enough for extended hours was great, but it meant no more Charlie. Charlie didn’t come in late, it seemed, only for that mid-morning tea and cake.

Not having seen Charlie for a fortnight had made Billy realise how much he would miss the friends he had made in London. People from art school, and Imogen, who had given Billy enough shifts to eke out his life in London for just a few more months, even a place to sleep when his love life had turned sour. And most of all Charlie, who always had a smile for him, who always found the time to speak to him.

Billy’s favourite customer.

Not that Charlie would have missed him. Billy was only a server in a café, a barista if he wanted to make his job sound fancy. But he already missed Charlie, and as he wiped down the counter one last time, his gaze fell on the table where Charlie usually sat with his dogs beside him. He’d read the newspaper or fill in a crossword with his silver-barrelled pen, but more than anything he’d just chat to Billy or fuss the dogs that so clearly adored him. The table was empty now and the next time Charlie and the dogs came in, Billy would be long gone. And we never got a chance to say a proper goodbye. Billy drew in a deep breath then crossed to the door and turned the sign to closed.

He buttoned up his coat and, looping his scarf around his neck, he glanced outside.

A light snow had begun to fall, bringing a romantic sparkle to Valentine’s Day that Billy’s life was completely devoid of. He’d enjoyed nothing but romantic failures in his time in London, and spending his last day in the city in a café filled with every kind of Valentine’s-themed cake imaginable had merely reminded him of how little success he’d had in the big city.

It was time to go home.

He pressed the light switches and the shop fell into darkness, only the bulbs in the kitchen illuminated now. With a last look back at the street he flipped the lock down and shut out the world, then turned away and walked back towards the counter. It seemed right that his last night in the city was spent clearing up the mess of other peoples’ Valentine’s Day whilst the rest of the world had fun. Hadn’t that pretty much been the story of his failed adventure in the metropolis?

He jumped at the sound of a sharp knock on the glass door. Someone rattled it, someone who was too late for coffee. Don’t I deserve an evening off too?

“We’re closed!” Billy called.

He saw a figure still there at the door and felt immediately guilty. A slightly shambolic figure. If it was a rough sleeper, Billy would give them the leftover cake. He took the bag from the counter but as he headed to the door, he realised that it was Charlie.

He didn’t have the dogs with him tonight, but carried something large and flat under one arm. With one more knock at the door Charlie turned away, about to be swallowed into that ceaseless tide of Londoners that coursed along the pavement.

Billy nearly snapped the lock off in his haste to open the door. He hoped Charlie would hear him over the noise of the street.

“Charlie!”

Catherine Curzon
Catherine Curzon is an author and royal historian of the 18th century.

In addition to several non-fiction books on Georgian royalty, available from Pen & Sword, she has written extensively for a number of internationally-published publications,  and has spoken at venues and events across the United Kingdom. Her first play, Being Mr Wickham, premiered to sell-out audiences in September 2019.

Catherine holds a Master’s degree in Film and when not dodging the furies of the guillotine can often be found cheering for the mighty Huddersfield Town. She lives in Yorkshire atop a ludicrously steep hill with a rakish colonial gentleman, a long-suffering cat and a lively dog.

Eleanor Harkstead
Eleanor Harkstead likes to dash about in nineteenth-century costume, in bonnet or cravat as the mood takes her. She knows rather a lot about poisons, and can occasionally be found wandering old graveyards. Eleanor is very fond of chocolate, wine, tweed waistcoats and nice pens, and has a huge collection of vintage hats. She is the winner of the Best Dressed Sixth Former award and came third in the under-11s race at the Colchester Fire Swim.

Originally from the south-east of England, Eleanor now lives somewhere in the Midlands with a large ginger cat who resembles a Viking.

Catherine Curzon

FACEBOOK  /  TWITTER  /  WEBSITE

CURZON/HARKSTEAD WEBSITE  /  KOBO

INSTAGRAM  /  PINTEREST  /  BOOKBUB

GOOGLE PLAY  /  PRIDE PUBLISHING  /  B&N

iTUNES  /  AMAZON  /  GOODREADS 

Eleanor Harkstead

FACEBOOK  /  TWITTER  /  WEBSITE
INSTAGRAM  /  B&N  /  BOOKBUB
GOOGLE PLAY  /  PRIDE PUBLISHING
KOBO  /  AMAZON  /  GOODREADS

EMAIL: contact@eleanorharkstead.co.uk 

AMAZON US  /  AMAZON UK  /  B&N

KOBO  /  FIRST FOR ROMANCE

PRIDE PUBLISHING  /  GOODREADS TBR