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Charmed in Texas #1
By: Sharla Lovelace
Releasing April 18, 2017
Lyrical Shine
Link to Follow Tour: Tasty Book Tours
Goodreads
Blurb
Lanie Barrett didn’t mean to lie. Spinning a story of a joyous marriage to make a dying woman happy is forgivable, isn’t it? Lanie thinks so, especially since her beloved Aunt Ruby would have been heartbroken to know the truth of her niece’s sadly loveless, short-of-sparkling existence. Trouble is, according to the will, Ruby didn’t quite buy Lanie’s tale. And to inherit the only house Lanie ever really considered a home, she’ll have to bring her “husband” back to Charmed, Texas for three whole months—or watch Aunt Ruby’s cozy nest go to her weasel cousin, who will sell it to a condo developer.
Nick McKane is out of work, out of luck, and the spitting image of the man Lanie described. He needs money for his daughter’s art school tuition, and Lanie needs a convenient spouse. It’s a match made . . . well, not quite in heaven, but for a temporary arrangement, it couldn’t be better. Except the longer Lanie and Nick spend as husband and wife, the more the connection between them begins to seem real. Maybe this modern fairy tale really could come true . . .
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Lanie has found herself in a pickle in a town all about honey. Her eccentric aunt Ruby, God bless her soul, has put a special condition in her will. In order for Lanie to inherit the house she was raised in, along with an large amount of cash (which Lanie knew nothing about), she has to live in the house with her husband for 3 months.
The problem?
Lanie has no husband. She made him up to make her dying aunt happy. She’s sure Aunt Ruby figured it out. But instead of her loving aunt calling her out before she died, she took the big reveal into the afterlife.
Typical, intuitive Aunt Ruby. I so loved her – or shall I say, the knowledge of her.
Nick needs money. Don’t we all? But, it’s not for his own needs. It’s for his daughter’s art school tuition. He’s just gotten fired, so there lies another piece to his jumbled up puzzle.
Ok, to sum it up. Lanie has money. Nick needs it. Lanie needs a husband. Nick happens to be a man…a very good-looking one.
Problem solved, right?
Perhaps. But things get a little sticky in the town of honey. There are some desperately needy cousins who would get the inheritance if Lanie doesn’t meet the conditions; so of course, they’re trying to sabotage Lani and Nick. Not to mention Nick’s ex, who’s still in love with him; although I was surprised when it came to her.
Now a couple of things that shifted the wind for me when reading this is #1 The ex-wife/mother of the daughter who needs art school tuition is from a wealthy family. She lives high on the hog, but apparently anything she gives comes with strings. But even for tuition for her daughter? Ok, she lost a lot of brownie points on that one. Especially, when she thanked Lanie for helping her daughter, something she should’ve been doing herself. This pushed the boundaries for me as far as the plot goes. We make mommy wealthy, but daddy has to pimp himself to get the tuition? Ok, let’s roll with it. We have no choice really. And…on to #2. I liked Lanie a lot; and because of her mother’s behavior, I understood why she was reluctant to fall in love, and even moreso to admit it. However, there’s a limit to the stubbornness, and she exceeded it by miles. I got fed up with her to the point that I wanted Nick to let her go. When she decided to put on her big girl panties, I had a hard time empathizing with her. She took it too far. She wanted him to accept her halfway admittance of her feelings, and then had the nerve to act like the victim when he didn’t. UGH! I think even her best friend – whom I like by the way – wanted to roll an eye or two and tell her to just grow up. As a matter of fact, I think she did. Yay Carmen.
Anyway, things turned out the way they should, and all was well in the land of honey.
Rating system: Cups of Coffee (the less the better)
0: You won’t need any coffee to stay up for this one. It’s intriguing enough all on its own.
1: You’ll stay up late, but not all night. Brew one cup.
2: You’ll read as long as you’re not tired. If you are, two cups should do the trick.
3: I hope you got plenty of rest; you’ll need it, or at least 3 cups.
4: If the cable goes out, read the book. It’s better than nothing, I guess. Oh, don’t forget your brew!
5: Find anything else to do- it doesn’t matter what it is. Don’t waste your coffee. Too much caffeine is bad for you.
My rating: 2 cups of coffee
Author Info
Sharla Lovelace is the bestselling, award-winning author of sexy small-town love stories. Being a Texas girl through and through, she’s proud to say she lives in Southeast Texas with her retired husband, a tricked-out golf cart, and two crazy dogs. She is the author of five stand-alone novels including the bestselling Don’t Let Go, the exciting Heart Of The Storm series, and the fun and sexy new Charmed in Texas series.
For more about Sharla’s books, visit www.sharlalovelace.com, and keep up with all her new book releases easily by subscribing to her newsletter. She loves keeping up with her readers, and you can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Author Links: WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOODREADS
Tasty Q&A with Sharla Lovelace
Describe yourself in five words or less.
1. Snarky (Might be kind of scary that this was the first one that came to mind.)
2. Introverted
3. Sneaky
4. People-watcher (notice how I hyphenated to get an extra word? Yeah, see #3)
5. Dog-lover (it worked last time)
Can you tell us a little about your book?
It’s about lying! LOL. Truly, it’s about when all your little white lies catch up to you, and what the hell do you do then? You make up a gargantuan sized one to cover them, and then hope it doesn’t swallow you whole. Unless it’s in the form of a hot sexy get-under-your-skin man….then by all means swallow! (I did not just say that.)
Lanie and Nick’s story was honestly one of my favorite books to write—EVER. It was so much fun, and such a runaway train ride with no hands! I loved literally watching them fall for each other, I loved Lanie’s spunk! I loved every second of it, and it birthed the town of Charmed, so I hope you will love it as much as I do.
If you had a theme song, what would it be?
I Hope You Dance
Name one thing you won’t leave home without.
My phone and a hair tie on my wrist. (That’s 2. Damn I have trouble following rules.)
What types of scenes are your most favorite to write?
I adore writing intense scenes with either sexy-smexy chemistry burning up the page or fast snappy dialogue. Sex scenes before the sex…with the tease and the tension and the snarky back and forth talking…I love that. Also fights are a blast with all that emotion churning around. Dialogue is always the most fun. I groan to write description…
Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers?
Everyone says this, but seriously, never give up. I met Sandra Brown at a writer’s conference, and she was behind a table signing for a line of hundreds, and when I got up there I said “Everyone in this line wants to be you one day.” She looked at me and said, “You’re here. You’re already halfway there. Don’t ever stop learning and don’t ever stop writing. You’ll get here. One day, maybe I’ll be in your line.” I never forgot that. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing by any means, but my first book was published almost exactly 5 years ago, and now A CHARMED LITTLE LIE is my 10th published book, and I’ve just finished writing my 12th. Don’t give up on your dream. Also, remember that you write about life, and to do that you have to live. There are times (deadline evil times) that you have to stay in a cave and pound out words, but outside of that, find a balance and enjoy your life. It will show in your writing when you do…and when you don’t. If you write romance, kiss your husband every day. And if you are writing about hot sex and he is one of your readers, you’d better be prepared to give up the goods. Saying you aren’t in the mood after penning being banged against a wall—doesn’t cut it honey. 😉
Is there anything that you would like to say to your readers and fans?
I wouldn’t be here without you, and I love and adore you so much for taking the time to buy my books and give my stories a try. And when you email or message me to tell me about it…oh my God you just don’t know the rainbows and unicorns that fill me up. Nothing is more important in this job than readers. When I make you happy…when I make you laugh or cry or feel something that you are moved enough to tell me about…my God, ice cream isn’t even as good as that. It’s close. But not quite. 😉
Thank you for the review!
Allisia
Tasty Book Tours
You’re welcome!