Melony Teague writes contemporary romance with a dash of humor, she loves to inspire and motivate others through her written words, and she believes everyone has a story to tell. Melony is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, and she is the co-author of As the Ink Flows, a devotional for authors. Her fiction debut, A Promise to Keep releases, Jan 21, 2020. Melony was born in South Africa and now lives in Toronto with her handsome husband, their two teenagers, and does the bidding of her two adorable cats.

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Emma Mitchell may enjoy sprinkling romance into the lives of others, but her own plans involve a single first-class ticket to culinary school in Europe.

When her best friend, Jon Noble, suddenly moves back to Ransom, Emma’s fairly certain her life can’t get any better…until her matchmaking schemes nosedive, her culinary future falls flat, and a life-long friendship begins to teeter on the brink of something unexpected.

With a little inspiration from Jane Austen’s classic and a touch of Blue Ridge charm, will Jon and Emma discover that what they need the most may be the last thing they’re trying to find?

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Author Pepper Basham has written an absolutely charming retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma.  This is an absolutely delightful read from the charm of the wonderful characters to the southern small town feel and a back drop of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Basham brings plenty of emotions and heart in her story. Readers will find the characters easy to connect to with their real-life and relatable experiences.  This is definitely the story of Emma, but with a vibrant Basham twist, making it all her own.  This story is about finding oneself and allowing for forgiveness and grace.  Readers will absolutely adore and fall in love with the beloved re-telling from Basham.
 
Series: Mitchell’s Crossroads
Genre: romance, contemporary, retelling, Christian
Publisher: Woven Words Publications
Publication date: November 21, 2019
Number of pages: 340
 
Other books in the series:
1-A Twist of Faith
2-Charming the Troublemaker
 
A review copy of this book was provided by the author, as well as a copy purchased for review.  A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are my own. 

After surviving a difficult year, Natalie Marsh is heading for Ellsberg Keep, an exclusive mountain resort that promises to provide the tranquility she desperately needs. She’s eager to relax and to reconnect with her estranged cousin Lily, who works as the Keep’s nurse—a reunion that begins abruptly when an accident on the winding mountain roads lands Natalie in the infirmary in the care of her cousin. They have little time to bond over childhood memories, however. Everything is thrown into chaos when the owner of the Keep is rushed to the medical wing, wildly delusional and raving about a murder plot.

Despite Lily’s care, the owner dies. Is his death simply an accident, or are his frenzied suspicions true? Determined to help Lily cope with the loss of her patient—and the accusations that she’s to blame for his death—Natalie searches for answers and is swept into a mystery that grows more puzzling as frightening hallucinations torment the dead man’s son. When a staff member who asks too many questions disappears, it is clear that this idyllic resort harbors someone with deadly intent—and Natalie may not survive to uncover the truth. 

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Stephanie Black has loved books since she was old enough to grab the pages and has enjoyed creating make-believe adventures since she and her sisters were inventing long Barbie games filled with intrigue and danger or running around, pretending to be detectives.  She is a four-time Whitney Award winner for Best Mystery/Suspense Novel and A Whitney Award finalist for Best Speculative Novel.

Stephanie was born in Utah and has lived in various places, including Arkansas, Arizona, Massachusetts, and Limerick, Ireland.  She currently lives in northern California, plays the violin in a community symphony but never practices enough, and enjoys spending time with her husband, Brian, and her family.  She is a fan of dark chocolate, homemade chocolate chip cookies, and putting chocolate chips in banana bread.

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From page one, readers will be on the edge of their seats wondering what will happen next in this mystery and suspense filled book.  With intense danger at what feels like every corner and even deaths involved, this book is an emotional ride.  This book will definitely keep readers guessing throughout the entire story.  Readers will come to know the characters, or at least who they think the characters are in this fast paced and suspense filled story.  This is one that mystery and suspense readers are definitely going to want to pick up. 
 
Genre: mystery, suspense, LDS
Publisher: Covenant Communications
Publication date: November 1, 2019
Number of pages: 272
 
A review copy of this book was provided by Covenant Communications.  A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are my own.

Years ago, Mary Margaret Sullivan changed her name, boxed up her previous life, moved into the Eagle Gate Apartments, and hid her painful memories in her chicken-wire storage unit in the basement. But secrets have an inconvenient way of surfacing when least expected.

Three weeks before Christmas, an elegant man in a penthouse, a young woman named Carly—homeless and ill with pneumonia—and two calculating thieves invade Maggie’s carefully reconstructed life, and in different ways, each is connected to Maggie’s difficult past. As Maggie and friends nurse Carly back to health, hearts begin to heal with a hope for the future. But all is not as it seems. When faced with the shocking truth, Maggie must rely on her wits, her friends, and her own strength as never before.

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Annette Haws’s literary strengths are based upon her experiences in the classroom. She began her teaching career as a junior high teacher in Richmond, Utah and ended it teaching Sophomore English at Murray High School in Salt Lake City. However, her favorite assignment was a five year period at Logan High School teaching English, coaching debate and mock trial, and watching the antics of her own three children who were also students in the same school.

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Maggie’s Place is a contemporary work of fiction set in the Eagle Gate Apartments located at the intersection of State Street and South Temple in the heart of Salt Lake City during the Christmas season. As it is a mystery, a romance, a morality tale, and a Christmas story, the story crosses genre lines, and hopefully, will appeal to a wide audience.  A little information about the story behind the story might be helpful to you.

My favorite aunt lived the last ten years of her life—her happiest years—at the Eagle Gate. During frequent visits, I met her delightful collection of neighbors who were docents at the Church History Museum and the Church Office Building. They regularly attended the Temple, the symphony, concerts at the Tabernacle, and free lectures anywhere they were offered.  They played Scrabble, shared late night pizzas, visited back and forth, made shopping expeditions to Harmon’s and City Creek Mall; and most importantly, they cared for each other. Everyone had a story to share and most had secrets tucked away in the past.  Inspired by what I observed, I sketched this story about people, still vibrant, entering the third act of their lives.

That said, I believe there are no boring people. Behind each face, placid or stern, young or old, there is a story worth telling. At my stage in this journey, all the “what ifs” and the “roads not taken” are as interesting to me as the choices actually made. What would have happened if Maggie’s husband had made different choices? What if she had asked her husband difficult questions earlier? What if her husband had walked away when he realized his business partner was defrauding friends? How difficult would it have been to turn away from affluence and social status? If they’d made different choices, would Maggie and John be sharing a remote or holding hands as the final lights flickered?

Several other issues were circulating in the back of my head as I started to put fingers on the keyboard for the first draft.
Affinity Fraud: a major theme in this book. There are more Ponzi schemes in Utah per capita than any other state in the union. Two-thirds of the population participate in the same religious community, and so the stage is set for people (I won’t call them religious because clearly they’re not) to take advantage of acquaintances under the guise of friendship.

Homeless adolescents: another theme in the book. “Lost boys” is a term used for young men, thirteen to twenty years of age, who’ve been excommunicated or pressured to leave the polygamous communities on the Utah/Arizona border to reduce the competition for wives. In the past decade, “lost boys” have numbered in the thousands. I also focus on the vulnerability of runaways. There will always be villains who take advantage of homeless kids, and Lemon is cast in the role of Fagin (think Oliver Twist), and it’s no accident his sociopathic cohort is named Bill.

I don’t pretend to understand the relationship that evolves between an author and her characters, because characters take on a life of their own. Occasionally, I think I might recognize Maggie or Ed if I saw them walking down the street; particularly if they were together. Announcing a favorite character is comparable to declaring a preference for one child over another, but I have to say, Ed is my favorite. He is the personification of redemption. He’s learned the lessons life has taught.
​
 No one loves a good romance novel more than I do--I grew up on Jane Austen—but I hope your readers will also enjoy this cautionary tale, because at the end  of the day what is more important than love, friendship, and most of all forgiveness?
Thanks again for your interest in literature and for the countless hours you invest in promoting reading over video games, mornings at the spa, and scrolling through Facebook. What I love doing would be impossible without you. 

Part women’s fiction and part suspense, author Annette Haws has created a story with many emotions.  Although a bit hard to get into in the beginning, after getting a few chapters in, readers will come to know and feel for the characters in this story.  This story is not only about mistakes, heartbreak, and loss, but also family, friendship, forgiveness, and most of all second chances.  This is a story filled with tough topics, as well as sweet and beloved characters that readers will easily relate to.  Readers will love the back drop of the senior citizen center and downtown Salt Lake City.  This is a book that strongly recommends to readers of women’s and LDS fiction.
 
Genre: women’s fiction, contemporary, suspense
Publisher: Covenant Communications
Publication date: November 1, 2019
Number of pages: 272
 
A review copy of this book was provided by Covenant Communications.  A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are my own. 

​Happy Friday and welcome to First Line Fridays!

Today I'm posting a line from

Then There Was You
by Kara Isaac.

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​What are you reading?  What is your first line?
​Open the book nearest you and post the first line in the comments below...

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Series: Lords for the Sisters of Sussex
Genre:  Adult, Historical, Regency, Romance
Publisher: Indie
Publication date: October 8, 2019

Second chances often come from surprising places. Will the Duke find another chance at love when everything seems to be combining against him?

Gerald feels as though he’s lost everything when his wife takes her last breath.

Amelia’s world turns upside down when the Duke of Granbury steps into her tea shop and leaves with her heart.

But when a secret from Amelia’s past unveils possibilities, will the duke get a second chance at love from an unexpected source?

Buy this first book in a Regency romance series for a taste of deep loyal friendship, beautiful second chances, and the path to heal a heart.
​
Look for the other books in the series:
The Earl’s Winning Wager
Her Lady’s Whims and Fancies
Suitors for the Proper Miss
Pining for Lord Lockhart
The Foibles and Follies of Miss Grace

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The duchess’s labor had started in the carriage while returning to their London townhome. Perhaps her pinched face and general malaise during the earlier parts of the day should have clued the duke in that all was not right, but she gave no complaint, and now he was left only to wish she had expressed a word or two of her condition. He’d carried her himself into her room, her gowns wet through. At last on her bed, he was relieved she would be in the hands of someone more experienced than he who knew how to care for her. But as he brushed the hair from her forehead, as he gazed on his beloved’s face, he couldn’t bear to part, not yet, not with her in the utmost misery.
Gerald clasped his wife’s hands in his own, hoping the strength of his love for her would scare away the pain.
Her face pinched, and she doubled over, large drops of sweat falling off her forehead. “Don’t leave!”
“I’m here. Our illustrious midwife will have to unleash her dragon claws on me before I leave.”
That brought a tiny laugh from his wife which gratified Gerald to no end. He tried to keep up a form of banter with Camilla who was clenched in the pains of childbirth, but in truth, if she wasn’t gripping him so tightly, everyone in the room would see the trembling in his own limbs. She cried out. “It’s getting worse. Is this supposed to happen?” Her eyes, wide with terror, made him frantic.
“Someone do something!” He had tried to find his deep barreling voice but the order came out more of a squeak than anything.
The midwife sidled up to him, “Pardon me, Your Grace. If I may?” She attempted to separate their hands, but he and Camilla resisted, gripping tighter. She continued, “She is doing wonderfully. Her body is performing just as we would expect it to. Everything is progressing as it should. Soon you will have a new baby.”
Camilla rolled toward him onto her side, moaning and writhing on the bed.
“If I might?” The midwife gently tried again to pry their fingers apart, but Camilla clung to him. “No.” Her no came out as a long drawn out syllable and he almost stepped back in fear. But her grip on him offered no mercy, and no movement.
“I’m here.” He stated his determination to remain at her side. Though even to himself, his tone sounded less sure.
He hesitated one more moment, then Camilla screamed as though she were on a torture rack and released his hands, clutching instead the soothing cool fingers of their midwife, her cooing tones soothed Gerald as much as Camilla.
Gerald scooted further away. The door opened behind him. “Your Grace. I came as soon as I could.”
Gerald turned. “Dr. Miller. Thank you for coming.”
The doctor held the door open for him. “I’m presuming you were on your way out?”
Gerald nodded. “Yes, quite.” Just for a moment he would step into the hallway.
His wife turned eyes to him, beautiful, shining eyes full of love. “I shall be finished shortly they tell me.” Then her body clenched again and she curled into a ball. “Make it stop. Please make this stop.”
“I love you, Camilla.”
She waved him away, clenched in apparent agony.
The doctor shooed him out the door and before it closed firmly behind him, Gerald heard a quiet, “I love you too.” Gerald leaned up against it, breathing heavily. What a daft thing to do, impregnate his wife. What in the blazes was he thinking doing such a thing to them both? He closed his eyes, her scream audible through the thick door.
“Oh this will not do.” His friend’s voice lessened the strain that wound inside Gerald like a tight net.
Gerald whipped his eyes open, a welcoming smile interrupting the pain of his moment. “Cousin Morley. I’ve ruined her. She’ll never forgive me, I’m certain, and she’s in the most incredible pain.”
Another scream interrupted. The door flung open and a maid ran out, carrying linens and a bucket. The door shut firmly after her.
Morley gripped his shoulder. “Come, man. This is not the place for husbands. Wives always seem just fine after it’s all over.”
“I don’t know. She seemed determined I stay by her. I’m taking a break.” He swallowed.
“No, they say that at first, but what woman wants you to see her like that? It’s only going to get worse. You should have seen my sister’s household. The whole place was in a upheaval, everyone thinking their lady was going to fire them all.”
Morley considered his friends words. “And when it was over, she was recovered?”
“Certainly. She was in the best of moods, gave them all an increase in pay.” Morley put an arm across his shoulder. “Come. We don’t belong anywhere near her. It’s off to the study with your fine brandy.”
Gerald nodded. “Indeed. That sounds like just the thing.” He hesitated a moment more and then allowed the good will of his dearest friend to lead him along to a brighter manner in which to pass the time.
The farther away from her bedroom, the more the fibers of worry lessened, and Gerald told himself his wife was in the best of hands, that women gave birth all the time and that surely she would be well. He pushed away a persistent, niggling worry that something terrible was happening, pushed it as far as he could. For just as his friend said, what more could he do? She would be well soon enough and he could meet his son or daughter. Their lives would continue as before.
Morley made himself comfortable in the study as he always did. Leaning back in his favorite chair, he said, “Remember when we convinced Joe that his cow was about to give birth?”
Gerald snorted, almost losing his mouthful of brandy. “Clueless Joe believed us, with not a bull in sight on their estate.”
Morley laughed and raised his cup in the air. “To Joe.”
“To Joe.”
They downed their cups, and Morley poured two new ones.
“Thanks for being here.”
“Would I miss the best thing you’ve ever done?”
Gerald eyed him with suspicion. “That sounds very sentimental…”
“We hope. If your child is anything like Her Grace, then we’re sure of you doing a service to society…”
“And if the child’s like me?”
“Then we’ve just inflicted society with another Campbell, and I don’t know how I feel about that.”
“Being a Campbell yourself.”
“Precisely. I know what a pox we are on the land.”
Gerald downed his second cup, grateful for a reason to laugh. “Tell me cousin. Will there ever be another Campbell in your life?”
“If my mother has anything to say on the matter.”
“And what say you? Surely someone has caught your eye?”
Morley looked away, his face drawn in an uncharacteristic frown. “I’ve found women to be nothing more than a silly, grappling means of entrapment.” He coughed. “Present wives excluded.”
Gerald sympathized with his friend. Finding a woman to marry should not be so difficult. He felt supremely lucky, blessed, in his marriage to Camilla. They had fallen in love straight away, both of them happy to pursue a courtship, their parents pleased, society approving, but he knew it wasn’t so easy for most people.
“Come, man. I shall devote the next bit of my life to making you the happiest of men.”
Morley held up his hands and shook his head. “Assistance not necessary. In fact, quite unwelcome.”
“Think nothing of it. I want you just as happily situated as I am, for marriage has brought nothing but the best of feelings. Today’s activities aside, naturally.”
A man cleared his throat in the doorway.

​Enter the giveaway HERE.
Giveaway ends November 18 at 11:59pm MT.
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​Welcome to the Blog Blitz and Giveaway for The Sleuth's Conundrum by Kimberly Rose Johnson, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

Title: The Sleuth's Conundrum
Series: The Librarian Sleuth #3
Author: Kimberly Rose Johnson
Publisher: Mountain Brook Ink
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release Date: November 1, 2019

Adam and Tara are sucked into a police investigation that might get Tara killed. Can Adam keep her safe or will he lose her forever?

Tara James, the local librarian assistant, is afraid her past will catch up to her when an infant is abandoned outside the Tipton County Library. Will news of the abandoned baby stir up publicity and force her to go on the run again?

Librarian Nancy Daley’s world has become complicated. Carter is pushing to set a wedding date, a woman was left for dead on the side of the road, and Tara, her assistant, is acting strange. Nancy is working every angle she can think of, but the case goes from bad to bizarre. Can she find the baby’s mother, help Tara, and plan her wedding without upsetting her life’s delicate balance?
​
Slow news days become a thing of the past for local reporter Adam Stacy when a dead body is discovered on the side of the road. Was the woman murdered or was it an accident? Adam’s feelings are growing for Tara, but she appears to have secrets she’s hiding. Is she somehow connected to the abandoned infant?
When things go from bad to worse Adam does everything in his power to protect Tara, but will it be enough?

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Award winning author Kimberly Rose Johnson married her college sweetheart and lives in the Pacific Northwest. From a young child Kimberly has been an avid reader. That love of reading fostered a creative mind and led to her passion for writing. She especially loves romance and writes contemporary romance that warms the heart and feeds the soul.

Kimberly holds a degree in Behavioral Science from Northwest University in Kirkland, Washington, and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers.
​
You can sign up for Kimberly's newsletter via her website at: https://kimberlyrjohnson.com/

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​Tara James waved to one of the sheriff deputies as he stopped his car for her to cross. She raced across the street as the dark clouds overhead released a deluge of water—fitting, considering how her morning had started. Rain dripped from her raincoat hood onto her face. Why today of all days did her car have to die? At least it wasn’t foggy here like it had been at her house.
Lightening flashed. She yelped and dashed under the cover of the library awning.
A soft cry caught her attention. She looked to her right and then left and gasped. “What are you doing there all alone?” A tiny baby lay wrapped in a pink blanket, cradled in a baby carrier.
She checked to see if anyone was nearby. Who would leave a newborn outside and all alone, especially in a storm like this? No one walked or loitered nearby. Tara frowned and grasped the handle of the baby carrier tucked behind a large flowerpot. She grunted at the weight. “My you’re a heavy little girl for being so small,” Tara cooed as she reached for the diaper bag sitting behind it. “Hello, precious. We need to get you inside where it’s warm and dry.”
Why weren’t the doors opening? She stood in the trigger zone. “Wait a minute.” The entire library was blanketed in darkness—the power must be out. Surely Nancy was inside though. She reached for the little-used door to the right of the sliding door and tugged. It didn’t budge. The infant’s cries increased in intensity. “Shh, little one.” Now what should she do? She never remembered to carry an umbrella, and the baby would get soaked if they left the cover of the awning.
The doors suddenly slid open, and the lights turned on. “It’s your lucky day,” Tara said. The irony of her comment was not lost on her.

​(1) winner will receive a $10 Amazon gift card!

​Enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Giveaway will begin at midnight November 11, 2019 and last through 11:59 pm November 18, 2019. Open internationally as long as winner can accept gift card from US Amazon. Void where prohibited by law. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
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​Open the book nearest you and post the first line in the comments below...

Then head on over to Hoarding Books and link up!
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September 1400

King Richard II of England is dead. And after three years in His Majesty’s service, Rhys ap Tudor and his brother Gwilym are finally free to return to their ancestral home in North Wales. Their long- anticipated homecoming is overshadowed, however, by the harsh changes they encounter in their once peaceful land. The new king, Henry IV, rules with an iron fist, and the country is ripe for rebellion. Instantly thrust into the forefront of the conflict, the proud Tudor brothers enter the fight for their freedom.

Lady Catrin Buckley is alert to the unrest swirling around her. As the daughter of an English father and a Welsh mother, she knows too well the trouble her lineage poses. Her own battle, however, is one of the heart: she is to be married to a man she neither knows nor loves. Then an unexpected encounter with the enigmatic Rhys ap Tudor changes everything. Soon, Catrin finds herself swept into a rebellion that could not only change history but also rewrite her own future.

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Sian Ann Bessey was born in Cambridge, England, but grew up on the island of Anglesey off the coast of North Wales. She left her homeland to attend Brigham Young University in Utah, where she earned a bachelor's degree in communications with a minor in English.

She began her writing career as a student, publishing several magazine articles while still in college. Since then she has published historical romance and romantic suspense novels, along with a variety of children's books. She is a USA Today best selling author and a Whitney Award finalist.
​
Although Sian doesn't have the opportunity to speak Welsh very often anymore, she can still wrap her tongue around, "Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch." She loves to travel and experience other cultures, but when she's home, her favorite activities are spending time with her family, cooking, and reading.

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​Author Sian Ann Bessey has written a splendid Welsh medieval romance in her novel The Heart of the Rebellion.  As always, Bessey has done her homework with her research.  It is impeccably and beautifully woven into her charming story, bringing it life.  This story will pull readers in completely.  From the turn of the first page to the turn of the last, readers will be sucked into the world of Henry IV and the Tudors as Bessey shows us what this time in history is like.  Filled with an abundance of history and a sweet and forbidden romance, readers will want to be sure and pick up this wonderful story!   
 
Genre: historical, romance, medieval
Publisher: Covenant Communications
Publication date: November 1, 2019
Number of pages: 276
 
A review copy of this book was provided by Covenant Communications.  A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are my own.

​When a mysterious painting offers her a trip to the past, will Isla find new hope for her future?

On the brink of aging out the foster system, the last thing Isla Laird wants is to spend Christmas in an old-fashioned plantation. What’s the point of bonding with her foster mom when it’s too late to ever be adopted? But when a mysterious painting suddenly thrusts her into the nineteenth century, Isla is forced to face hurts and memories she’s long tried to bury. With time running out and her heart in tatters, can God use an impossible miracle to bring Isla hope for a new future?

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A sweet and fun story of the fear of aging out of the foster system with a bit of time travel mixed in.  Author Stephenia H. McGee has written a charming story where readers will be able to connect to the emotions of the main character, especially her fears of aging out of the foster care system.  With a bit of time travel mixed in where the main character meets some of her family from the past, the main character comes to learn that is she is loved and wanted and there is hope for a miracle of home and family.
 
Genre: Christian romance, inspirational
Publisher: By the Vine Press
Publication date: November 1, 2019
Number of pages: 102
 
An ecopy of this book was purchased for review.  A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are my own.