Grace Donovan, a renowned travel writer on her final cruise assignment before focusing on books, boards the glamorous Celestial Voyager expecting nothing more than luxury amenities and Instagram-worthy moments to critique. But when celebrity chef Pascal Laurent collapses during a culinary demonstration, Grace's observant eye catches inconsistencies that others miss. Partnering with Georgia Peters, a witty retired librarian with a knack for organizing information, Grace finds herself investigating what might be more than just a tragic accident.
As the Celestial Voyager sails through the azure waters of the Mediterranean, Grace and Georgia navigate a sea of suspects: an ambitious sous chef who benefits from Pascal's death, a marketing director obsessed with image, and a food critic with a complicated history with the deceased chef. With each port of call bringing new revelations, the unlikely detective duo discovers that beneath the ship's picture-perfect exterior lurk dangerous secrets someone is desperate to keep hidden.
With the clock ticking and authorities ready to close the case, Grace and Georgia must use their complementary skills to uncover the truth before the cruise ends—or before they become the next victims of a killer determined to protect the darkest secrets of the culinary world. "Tropical Getaway" serves up a delicious blend of mystery, friendship, and intrigue on the high seas, perfect for fans of culinary cozies and armchair travel alike.
Book Review
I liked this book - if you have ever gone on a cruise, you might like to read a story about how they solve a mystery when someone ends up dead on a cruise. I enjoyed reading the story, and it kept me entertained as they went through the who-done-it and how they figure out not only what happened, but who was responsible.
Monday starts our Summer Reading program that ends July 31 st. Since school starts early August here in Louisiana. The book krewe is hard at work so come join our fun....
This year we are having a special Adult reading challenge topic is : Travel
Its too encourage everyone to read 20 minutes a day !
Join our Saturday book discussion for travel fun and guest speakers.
Complete the book challenge......
All names will be entered for our prize ..
Prize : grand prize a weekend getaway to the beach hideaway. Donated by our sponsor.
Interested in volunteering or as a drop in lunch guest.... Stop at the desk to sign up.
Love at the Fiesta: A Kwentitas Romance Anthology (Kwentitas Romance Anthologies, #3) Publication date: May 26th 2026 Genres: Adult, Romance
Return to Hacienda Luz—the world of Pasko Na, My Love and Forevermore—as the beloved Moore family opens the gates once more for a dazzling Santacruzan Fiesta in the heart of Napa Valley.
For two vibrant days, the vineyard comes alive with music, food, pageantry, cultural traditions, and unforgettable moments beneath the spring sky. But amid the beauty and celebration, hearts are on the line.
Some will fall in love.
Some will fall back in love.
And some will risk it all for the love they’ve been waiting for.
From acclaimed and bestselling Filipino American authors comes Love at the Fiesta, a joyful romance anthology filled with family, longing, second chances, and love.
Featuring stories by the Kwentitas:
Cat Santos
Celeste Dador
Elle Cruz
June Gray
Kaye Rockwell
Liz Durano
Maan Gabriel
Maida Malby
Mia Hopkins
Preslaysa Williams
Tif Marcelo
He never expected to be the one she'd have to fight hardest to resist.
Andi Morgan clawed her way out of a past designed to destroy her — foster care, silence, survival — and built something no one could take away: a youth center, a career, a life that finally belongs to her. She's done being someone else's liability.
Then the past comes back swinging.
When buried secrets resurface, and a powerful enemy launches a coordinated campaign to dismantle her reputation, her organization, and everything she's fought for, Andi finds herself in the crosshairs of someone with unlimited resources and no conscience. The attacks are precise. The damage is real. And the person behind it knows exactly which relationships to weaponize.
Luke Woods has been fighting his whole life — in the ring and out of it. He knows how to read an opponent, absorb punishment, and wait for the opening. What he doesn't know how to do is walk away from a woman who refuses to go down.
Protecting Andi should be simple.
Wanting her is anything but.
As the threat escalates and the stakes turn deadly, Luke and Andi discover that the most dangerous fights aren't the ones you see coming — they're the ones you're already in before you know the bell has rung.
Always protect yourself.
Unless she’s the one you can’t afford to lose.
A steamy romantic suspense novel featuring a protective alpha boxer, a fearless heroine with a buried past, corrupt power, and a slow-burn romance that ignites under fire.
Book 1 of the No Safe Corner Series.
This is a reimagined and expanded version of Crazy Maybe, now part of the No Safe Corner trilogy. With deeper character development, higher stakes, and a stronger focus on suspense, this edition delivers a completely new reading experience.
A.D. Justice is the award-winning, USA Today bestselling author of several series and stand-alone romance novels in various romance genres, including romantic suspense, contemporary, and paranormal.
When she’s not writing, she loves spending time with her alpha male husband in the Northwest Georgia mountains. They’re living out their own HEA, frequently on horseback with a dog in tow.
She is also an avid reader of romance novels, a master of procrastination, a chocolate sommelier, a twister of words, and speaks fluent sarcasm. An avid animal lover, she has two horses, three cats, and two very spoiled dogs.
She loves chatting with her readers. You’re welcome to stalk her across all social media!
Life's better with a good book and great company. Fans of small-town, forced proximity romances with love, Fake It Until It’s Real & Fight It Until We Can’t by @TinaGallagherAuthor & @MeccaRomance, the steamy first two books in the Brewhouse Book Club series.
They read about love. Then it showed up. Tina Gallagher & Cissy Mecca bring you Fake It Until It’s Real & Fight It Until We Can’t, a must-read steamy, forced proximity, #SmallTownRomance! #OneClick→https://amzn.to/49eXCyP #BrewhouseBookClubSeries
INSTAGRAM @tinagallagherauthor @meccaromance)
Life's better with a good book and great company. Fans of small-town, forced proximity romances with love, Fake It Until It’s Real & Fight It Until We Can’t by @tinagallagherauthor and @meccaromance, the steamy first two books in the Brewhouse Book Club series.
Jess Harper thought she’d found her fresh start in Maplemoor—until she needed a fake date to survive her ex’s wedding weekend. Caleb Ward is steady, dependable, and completely closed off… but he agrees to help, expecting nothing more than a simple favor.
Except somewhere between stolen glances and shared moments, their fake relationship starts to feel all too real—and now they’ll have to decide if they’re brave enough to risk everything for a love neither of them believed they deserved.
About Fight It Until We Can’t
The Hating Game meets Schitt’s Creek in this swoony, rivals-to-lovers romance set in a converted historic brewery.
A fiercely protective operations manager is forced to team up with her rival—a sharp-tongued property analyst who holds the building’s fate in his hands—to save the community she loves.
But as tensions rise and sparks fly, she realizes the biggest threat might not be losing the brewery… it’s how hard she’s falling for the man hired to tear it down.
Jess Harper finally has the fresh start she was looking for until she needs a fake date to survive her ex’s wedding weekend. Caleb Ward is the reliable, closed-off man who agrees to help, expecting nothing more than a favor. But when their pretend relationship starts to feel real, they’ll have to decide if they’re brave enough to risk everything for something neither of them believed they deserved. Readers who enjoy steamy fake dating romances will devour Fake It Until It’s Real by Tina Gallagher & Cissy Mecca, a small-town, forced proximity romance.
Blurb
She's afraid she's too much. He's convinced he'll never be enough.
Maplemoor is Jess Harper's fresh start. A quiet place to rebuild after a future that never happened. Now she has a book club that feels like family, a coffee shop that knows her order, and a life that finally feels steady again.
What she doesn't have is a date to her best friend's wedding—the one where her ex and his brand-new fiancée will also be there.
Enter Caleb Ward. Dependable. Steady. The kind of man who shows up before you even have to ask—for everyone except himself. He's got a life in Maplemoor that works for him, but when it comes to love, he keeps his walls firmly in place—and exactly where he wants them.
Agreeing to be Jess's date to the wedding is just a favor. Nothing more.
Until it isn't.
One weekend together. One very convincing performance.
Turns out the line between pretending and real is thinner than either of them thought. The hard part is knowing which side they're on.
Operations Manager Carli Porter runs The Lochwell as if it were her own and is fiercely protective of the community she’s built within its walls. But when the building's owner sends in his best friend to evaluate its future, Caril finds herself fighting to keep everything she loves from slipping away. Left with no other option, she’s forced to team up with Alexander Grassi, the very man who could decide the building's fate. Readers who enjoy steamy, he-falls-first romances will devour Fight It Until We Can’t by Cissy Mecca & Tina Gallagher, a small-town, rivals-to-lovers romance.
Blurb
He's a property analyst hired to find the cracks.
She's the operations manager who will make sure he doesn't.
Carli Porter runs The Lochwell like it's hers. The coffee shop is her living room. Its book club members are her family. The residents are her friends. The pub is her Friday night. The only problem? The building belongs to someone else, and that someone just sent his best friend to decide its fate.
Alexander Grassi is smart and annoyingly hard to hate. He also has the kind of forearms that make it very difficult to stay mad at him. (She's tried. It hasn't worked.) He's supposed to write a report, hand it over to his friend and leave. He wasn't supposed to start showing up to trivia night. Or turning her coffee cup so the handle faces her. Or looking at her like she's the best thing in a building full of things worth saving.
She says his report could ruin her life.
He says she's not wrong.
She says that's makes him the last person she should want around.
He says he's staying anyway.
Because some legacies (and people) are worth fighting for.
Tina Gallagher grew up and continues to live in Northeast Pennsylvania. As a tween, she and her best friend would create happily ever afters for their favorite soap opera couples. Eventually, the soap operas lost their appeal, but the writing never did. Before living her dream as a full-time author, she worked a spectrum of jobs ranging from baking and cake decorating to marketing and project management. In between creating memorable characters, traveling, and taking pole dance lessons, Tina enjoys spending time with her two grown children and Golden Irish named Thea.
A "recovering" 8th-grade teacher and curriculum consultant with a PhD in Language & Literacy, Cecelia loves writing high-heat, emotionally charged romance. The Brands (The Mecca Romance Multiverse): Cissy Mecca: Contemporary Romance, Cecelia Mecca: Medieval and Scottish Historical Romance. C.L. Mecca: Fantasy and Paranormal Romance. Mecca Romance Signature Style: Heroines: Bold, strong women who fall hard but never lose their identity. Heroes: High-heat, protective, and intense. Vibe: Visceral, sensory-rich escapes... from family-owned vineyards to the war-torn Anglo-Scottish borders. Other Info: Representation: Katie Reed (Katie Reed Literary) Personal: Married, two teens, Disney enthusiast, traveler, and wine lovers Authority: PhD background makes her an excellent guest for craft-focused podcasts or literacy-based panels.
Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Sharlene from Real Life Reading that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.
From my local library......
#1 New York Times bestselling author Sandra Brown delivers a new signature sexy suspense about a detective seeking justice for his murdered wife with the help of a psychotherapist … while fighting an undeniable attraction to her.
Two years ago, Detective Mitch Haskell lost his wife to a vicious act of retribution, and has since attributed her murder to two men: Roland Malone and the unidentified mastermind of the crime known only as Oz. Malone, a ruthless executioner and drug dealer who fronts as a restaurant owner, neutralizes so cleanly that he doesn’t leave a trace. And he performs his handiwork at the biddings of Oz, the faceless kingpin of a drug trafficking operation whose name alone evokes terror.
Obsessively vowing to avenge his late wife’s murder, Mitch has been on a downward spiral, jeopardizing his closest relationships and drinking excessively to numb his pain. After going one step too far, Detective John Bowie, his former best friend and now his boss, has forced Mitch to get therapy to sort himself out.
Dr. Dylan Reede is immediately empathetic to the pain she senses beneath Mitch’s cavalier attitude and wisecracking. She’s determined to make the most of his mandated sessions. But from the moment Mitch breezes into her office, Dylan finds it a struggle to maintain the professional and personal boundaries that keep her own tragic past at a safe distance.
As Mitch begins to close in on Oz and Malone’s operation, they’re prepared to stop him by any means necessary. And when it’s revealed that Dylan might hold the key to bringing them to justice, Mitch and Dylan’s irresistible attraction to each other may not only compromise both of them professionally, but place them in Oz’s bullseye.
Book thoughts : Sandra Brown never disappoints. Twisted stories and love connected characters. She always makes the ending suspenseful and wonderful. I've been a fan from the beginning of her career. This latest book kept me awake at night in a good way.
What I am checking out:
My local library is starting our Summer Reading program on June 1. All ages are invited for an amazing time with book challenge, guest speakers and more
Best-selling author Libby Kay’s sweet
fireman romance Flash Point is a bad boy redemption story perfect for
fans of B.K. Borison’s Lovelight series.
Javier “Javi” Ortiz never has trouble finding a date. The confident
fireman enjoys the perks of no-strings hook-ups and his bachelor lifestyle. Yet
when a certain blonde moves to Pinegrove, the idea of casual dating fizzles
out. Javi is finally ready to settle down, but will he be able to charm his way
into her life? Or will his reputation ruin his chance at real love?
Lola Peabody has given up on love. She doesn’t have time for men and
their empty promises, especially with her hands full being a single mom and
running her own photography business. Her plans do not include finding a man,
even a charismatic fireman who treats her and her daughter like queens.
But Pinegrove is a small town, and the pair can’t stay away from each
other. From photoshoots and romance book club to quiet walks in the woods, Lola
and Javi spend more and more time together.
Could this be happily ever after? Or
will their romance burn out faster than a five-alarm fire?
Libby Kay lives in the city in the heart of the Midwest with
her husband. When she’s not writing, Libby loves reading romance novels of any
kind. Stories of people falling in love nourish her soul. Contemporary or
Regency, sweet or hot, as long as there is a happily ever after—she’s in love!
When not surrounded by books, Libby can be found baking in
her kitchen, binging true crime shows, or on the road with her husband,
traveling as far as their bank account will allow.
Libby cohosts the Romance Roundup podcast with Liz Donatelli
where they recommend romance books and interview authors, influencers, and
publishers. Check it out for your weekly dose of romance!
Deciding to take a second chance at love is an act of
courage!
Rainy Day Rescue
Seattle Lost Lovers #1
by Josie Malone
Genre: Contemporary Second-Chance, Fake Romance
Real estate broker, Claire Rocklin, buys distressed
properties, rehabs, and sells them to support her pet project, ‘Senior Housing
Apartments'. She believes nobody has time for the elderly–and no one ever had
time for her. After the death of her mother when Claire was a child, her
serial-cheater father remarried several times, but those marriages didn't last
more than two years each.
Three years ago, Claire’s once-upon-a-time stepbrother,
Master Sergeant Tony Baldusi, retired from the Army and became a fulltime
business partner in Claire's brokerages. The son of a single mother who
divorced Claire’s father, Tony learned how to survive long before he enlisted
in the U.S. Army. He's been packing a proverbial torch for Claire, along with a
diamond engagement ring for three years.
When Claire’s grandparents invite them home for
Thanksgiving, Tony suggests they pretend to be engaged. After all, they’re
already business partners, and their families would easily believe the
relationship runs deeper. But can he convince commitment-phobic Claire that she
deserves real happiness? Will their little deception turn into something real,
or will she run from love again, breaking both their hearts in the process?
Former Army Ranger, Mac MacGillicudy served his country for
almost twenty years, fighting in one hotspot after another. Since he retired
from the military, he’s roamed the U.S., unaware he’s accompanied by a woman
with a hidden agenda. He enjoys writing action-adventure romances which never
turn out the way he plans or expects or designs. Still his agent, publisher,
and readers love them. Learning he’s inherited the old family hotel, Mac heads
to Baker City, Washington for Christmas. He’ll help restore the hotel, write
his next book which will hopefully end the way he wants, and perhaps discover a
home.
Registered Nurse, Lillian Bryce didn’t hesitate to answer
the call when her country needed her after the attack on Pearl Harbor. She
joined the US Army and went off to war but didn’t return home, at least not
alive. Since she loved books, she went back to the Seattle Public Library where
she’d spent so many happy hours. She was perfectly content studying,
researching, observing and enjoying the other patrons—the live ones, until she
saw Mac MacGillicudy. She was fascinated, focused on him—well on his writing,
on his books, except he had them all wrong! So, she fixed them, not once, but
again, and again, and again regardless of how many times he tried to change
them while they traveled the country! Now, they’re off to Baker City.
Will the two of them find love in a place where ghosts are
real or just continue writing about it?
Josie
Malone lives and works at her family business, a riding stable in Washington
State. Teaching kids to ride and know about horses, she finds in many cases,
she's taught three generations of families. Her life experiences span
adventures from dealing cards in a casino, attending graduate school to get her
Masters in Teaching degree, being a substitute teacher, and serving in the Army
Reserve - all leading to her second career as a published author. Visit her at
her website, www.josiemalone.com to learn about her books.
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