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June 30, 2021 · 12:01 am
eBook Contest June 30
Here are the eBooks for this week’s Winning Wednesday contest:
Title: A Lot Like Love by Jennifer Snow
Blue Moon Bay Series Book One
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Length: 320 pages
Summary:
They have different ideas about the fate of an old inn…until it brings them together.
When Sarah Lewis inherits a run-down B&B from her late grandmother in coastal Blue Moon Bay, the logical thing to do is sell it and focus on her life in L.A. But when she learns that interested buyers will only tear it down in its current state, she feels a sense of obligation to her grandmother to get it back to the landmark tourist destination it once was…even if that means hiring the best contractor for the job, who happens to be her old high school crush.
Wes Sharrun’s life has continued to unravel since the death of his wife three years before. Now with a struggling construction company and a nine-year-old daughter, he sees the B&B as an opportunity to get back on his feet. Unfortunately, despite trying to keep his distance, his daughter has taken a liking to Sarah, and his own feelings are tough to deny.
As they spend more time together painting, exploring a forgotten treasure trove of wine in a basem*nt cellar, and arguing over balcony placement, the more the spark between them ignites. But will saving the B&B be enough to convince them both to take a second chance at love?
Title: The Heartbreaker of Echo Pass by Maisey Yates
Gold Valley Series Book Twelve
Publisher: HQN
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Length: 416 pages
Summary:
Can Gold Valley’s wallflower heal a damaged cowboy’s broken heart? Find out in this enthralling romance byNew York Timesbestselling author Maisey Yates.
Shy Iris Daniels is on a mission to shake up her life. She’s sick of being underestimated, and she’s got a new business plan to prove it. The one thing she didn’t factor in is her new landlord, Griffin Chance. The gruff mountain man isn’t what she expected, but Iris recognizes the pain in his eyes. Yet the attraction he ignites ismuchmore unfamiliar…and might be the perfect chance for Iris to embrace the adventure she yearns for.
Griffin Chance knows firsthand how senseless the cards dealt in life can be. He wouldn’t have isolated himself on a remote mountain ridge if he didn’t. Innocent Iris craves excitement, and he’s a man who thought he’d forgotten how to feel. But when their connection grows deeper than either of them anticipated, Griffin has to decide if he can put down the pain of his past and step into a love he never believed possible.
Don’t missConfessions from the Quilting Circleby Maisey Yates! An emotional and powerful lookatthe secrets that divide a family, and the love that can heal it.
Title: String Theory by Ashlyn Kane & Morgan James
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Genre: Contemporary, Gay, Romance
Length: 307 pages
Summary:
For Jax Hall, all-but-dissertation in mathematics, slinging drinks and serenading patrons at a piano bar is the perfect remedy for months of pandemic anxiety. He doesn’t expect to end up improvising on stage with pop violinist Aria Darvish, but the attraction that sparks between them? That’s a mathematical certainty. If he can get Ari to act on it, even better.
Ari hasn’t written a note, and his album deadline is looming. Then he meets Jax, and suddenly he can’t stop the music. But Ari doesn’t know how to interpret Jax’s flirting—is making him a drink called Sex with the Bartender a serious overture?
Jax jumps in with both feet, the only way he knows how. Ari is wonderful, and Jax loves having a partner who’s on the same page. But Ari’s struggles with his parents’ expectations, and Jax’s with the wounds of his past, threaten to unbalance an otherwise perfect equation. Can they prove their double act has merit, or does it only work in theory?
Wednesday is contest day on Book Reviews and More by Kathy. Three lucky winners will win the eBook of their choice! Here’s how to enter:
You must Do TWO of the Following:
1. Sign up for e-mail updates (below). One email daily with the day’s posts.
OR:
2. Be or become a fan of Book Reviews & More by Kathy Facebook page
OR:
3. Follow me on Twitter (@BookReviewsMore)
Make sure you have filled out the contest entry form:
4. To be eligible to enter contests on Book Reviews and More by Kathy you MUST fill out the contest entry form (found HERE). This form only needs to be filled out ONCE. Your privacy is important to me, and I will not share your information.
And don't forget to:
5. Fill out the form below by 4 PM Mountain Time Friday afternoon:
CONTEST OVER
* I am the only person who will have access to info that is submitted to me UNLESS a publisher or author has donated an eBook for the giveaway. For a prize donated by an author or publisher, I will forward your e-mail and format selection to the person responsible for distributing the eBook. Please refer to the privacy page HERE if you have questions about how your information is used. In the event the contest form is not working, please leave your book selection in the comments below.*
It’s that easy! The winners will be selected using random.org. I will e-mail the winners the eBook of their choice in their preferred format. The winners will be posted HERE on Saturday.
***The eBooks in this giveaway have been purchased by Book Reviews & More by Kathy.***
Vacation Note
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June 29, 2021 · 12:03 am
Salt Kisses Series by Josie Demuth
Young Adult, Fantasy
Series Purchase Link: Amazon
A Thousand Salt Kisses Summary:
Starfish Island, a place where the human world and the magic world collide…
Seventeen-year-old Crystal White is the new girl on Starfish Island. Dragged to the remote community by her environmental activist father, she is eager to find fun that doesn’t involve touching fish guts or listening to local folklore. During a midnight swim with some new friends, Crystal is pulled out to sea by the waves. Convinced she’s going to drown, Crystal is rescued by Llyr, a handsome stranger. As she searches for him in the following weeks, she finds there may be more truth to the Starfish legends than she thought. Over a sizzling roller-coaster summer, Llyr introduces Crystal to magic she’d only ever dreamed of. But as Crystal comes to love Starfish Island, it begins to drive her family apart. A nearby power plant is devastating local marine life, and her parents are stuck in the middle. As the magic and mundane parts of Crystal’s life converge, she finds herself risking everything to save Llyr, her family, and herself.
Add series to Goodreads.
Purchase Link: Amazon
The Complete Series:
A Thousand Salt Kisses
A Thousand Salt Kisses Later
A Thousand Salt Kisses Forever
Excerpt
Mine@2
I double checked the message again. I was restless, I wanted to see Rosie now.What is this big secret? What does it have to do with Llyr?
I would now have to wait until two o’clock to find out.
I have a vivid imagination and it was rattling around in my skull like a hurricane right now.IsLlyr some kind of criminal on the run? Does he have to hide in the sea or something? Maybe he was a Starfish native and that was why only islanders knew of his hiding place… Where does he sleep?! He must get really cold out there all the time… Surely, he would drown at some point or catch pneumonia. What had he done anyway, and should I turn him in? Surely I couldn’t let my insane crush on him get in the way of justice.
I did a Google search on my phone, typing in ‘Most Wanted’ and ‘Coney Bay’.
A jokey news article came up about a kid who had released their goldfish into the sea and now wanted it back.
I screamed with frustration and threw my phone on the sofa, storming out into the back garden and down the ocean stairway.
It was a blazing hot June Sunday, but I didn’t care. I would search for answers. When I got to the jetty, I marched to the end of it, and I stood there gazing out to sea.
I must have looked a little strange to the neighbours standing so determined on the edge of the jetty, fists clenched at my sides, my hair yellow in the sun.
I was a woman on a mission, but with nowhere to mission to.
My eyes scanned the sea, begging for something, but asides from a fishing boat and a couple of gulls, the surface was barren.
“Darling!”
It was Mum. She was making her way down the stairs.
I sighed. “Hi Mum”
“Are you alright, standing around in the boiling heat like this?” she shouted.
“Yeah, I’m fine Mum,” I said distractedly.
She made her way down the jetty. She wore a big floppy black sun hat and a black fitted strappy dress.
“Are you off to a funeral?” I joked as she neared. It was surely not normal to wear such dark colours in the summer.
“I suppose I’m mourning London, Crystal,” she said putting her arm around my shoulders.
God, she’s so melodramatic.She’s probably trying to give Dad a guilt trip.
“It’s nice here,” I said reassuringly, as we looked out to sea. “I missed London to start with, but I’ve not thought about it one bit in the past few weeks.”
I was still scouring the waters.
“That’s great,” she said watching my face carefully. “But you don’t really seem yourself.”
“Oh… well, I’m fine,” I pretended.
My mum was silent, and I knew she was waiting for me to explain myself.
“Oh, it’s just this guy.”
“Oh, well, say no more,” she said, looking relieved. “Now, my motherly advice is keep cool, kid.”
I laughed, “Okay Mum.”
“Let them do the chasing.”
No danger of me chasing Llyr, I thought. I wasn’t even totally sure if he existed.
Author Bio
Josie is an author who writes the occasional article. She loves all things gothic and magical, but particularly a story which is fun, intriguing and says a little something about the world. She loves to write about weird and wonderful happenings in her hometown, London but also sets her tales in the mystical lands of the Westcountry, England and more recently, Iceland.
Josie’s novella Liggers and Dreamers was published by Thin Man Press in 2015 and was described as ‘beautifully written’ in a critique by bestselling author and radical poet Heathcote Williams. Meanwhile her YA Salt Kisses series – a new-age eco ‘mermance’ – has garnered nearly four million reads on story-telling site, Wattpad and tens of thousands on Radish Fiction app. The first three books are now published and can be purchased through Amazon.
Josie has appeared on the ‘Wattpad’s most successful authors tell you how to do it’ panel at WattCon, Foyles, SoHo. Her former zine, La Bouche, has also featured on the BBC Today Program on a feature about literary sub-culture; in LOVE Magazine’s TOP TEN ZINES, and in Thames and Hudson’s FANZINES. In 2009, it was selected as the ICA bookshop’s first ever ‘Zine of the month’.
Josie also writes short stories and articles. She hosts fantasy writing competition ‘Under The Sea’, which last featured NY-Times bestselling YA author Danielle Paige as the celebrity judge.
Author Links: Website * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads * Instagram
Giveaway
Enter for your chance to win a print copy of A Thousand Salt Kisses!
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Filed under Blog Tour, Contest, Excerpt
· 12:02 am
Review: Dust Off the Bones by Paul Howarth
Title: Dust Off the Bones by Paul Howarth
Publisher: Harper
Genre: Historical, Fiction
Length: 368 pages
Book Rating: B+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss
Summary:
The author of the acclaimedOnly Killers and Thievesreturns to turn-of-the-century Australia in this powerful sequel that follows the story of brothers Tommy and Billy McBride, the widow of their family’s killer, Katherine Sullivan, and the sad*stic Native Police officer Edmund Noone
In 1890, estranged brothers Tommy and Billy McBride are living far apart in Queensland, each dealing with the trauma that destroyed their family in different ways. Now 21, Billy bottles his guilt and justifies his past crimes while attempting to revive his father’s former cattle run and navigate his feelings for the young widow Katherine Sullivan. Katherine, meanwhile, cherishes her newfound independence but is struggling to establish herself as head of the vast Broken Ridge cattle empire her corrupt late husband mercilessly built.
But even in the outback, the past cannot stay buried forever. When a judicial inquest is ordered into the McBride family murders and the subsequent reprisal slaughter of the Kurrong people, both Billy and Police Inspector Edmund Noone – the man who led the massacre – are called to testify. The inquest forces Billy to relive events he has long refused to face. He desperately needs to find his brother, Tommy, who for years has been surviving in the wilderness, attempting to move on with his life. But Billy is not the only one looking for Tommy. Now the ruthless Noone is determined to find the young man as well, and silence both brothers for good.
An enthralling, propulsive adventure that builds in suspense, told in gorgeous prose and steeped in history and atmosphere,Dust Off the Bonesraises timeless issues of injustice, honor, morality, systemic racism, and the abuse of power. With an unflinching eye, Paul Howarth examines the legacy of violence and the brutal realities of life in a world remarkably familiar to our own.
Review:
Dust Off the Bones by Paul Howarth is a chilling novel set in the isolated Australian outback.
Billy and Tommy McBride lost their family and then so much more after they participated in the massacre of the Kurrong people close to their home. Native Police Officer Edward Noone has a long, dark history of murdering the Aboriginal people and he threatens the then teenagers to keep quiet about what happened. Fast forward several years and Billy is married to their widowed neighbor Katherine Sinclair who owns a prosperous cattle station. Tommy tries to outrun his memories by venturing far from home with his Aboriginal friend Arthur. Noone is accountable to no one until eager young solicitor Henry Wells attempts to right the terrible wrong.
Billy takes over running Katherine’s cattle station and they prosper despite the harsh weather and drought. Billy is hard man who drinks too much and has high expectations for his sons. Katherine loves him enough to put up with his flaws but there are limits to her patience. Billy proclaims his innocence throughout the sham trial, but will his marriage survive the shocking revelations?
Tommy is haunted by what they did to the Kurrong. But he is more frightened of what Noone will do to him so he runs as far from Billy as he can. Arthur is a good friend to Tommy but there is only so much he is willing to do for his friend. Tommy manages to keep his memories and fear at bay but when pushed to his limit, will he finally face up to his past?
Dust Off the Bones is a harrowing novel that shines a light on the horrific history of Australian treatment of the Aboriginal people. The setting paints a vivid portrait of the desolation and harshness of the scrublands and the vast countryside. The storyline does not pull any punches when it comes to police and legal corruption of the time period. The various characters are extremely well-drawn with realistic foibles and unexpected strengths. With unanticipated twists and clever turns, Paul Howarth brings this riveting novel to a surprising, yet completely satisfying, conclusion.
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Filed under Dust off the Bones, Fiction, Historical, Paul Howarth, Rated B+, Review
· 12:01 am
Review: K-9 Hideout by Elizabeth Heiter
Title: K-9 Hideout by Elizabeth Heiter
K-9 Alaska Series Book Four
Publisher: Harlequin Intrigue
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Suspense, Mystery
Length: 199 pages
Book Rating: B
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by the Author
Summary:
Dirty cops, hidden identities and a deadly stalker…
Police handler Tate Emoryis thankful thatSabrina Jones saved his trusty K-9 companion, Sitka, but he didn’t sign up for national media exposure. That publicity unveils his true identity to the dirty Boston cops he took down…and brings Sabrina’s murderous stalker even closer to his target. With their covers blown, Tate will risk his life—and his guarded heart—to save Sabrina from a fatal end.
From Harlequin Intrigue: Seek thrills. Solve crimes. Justice served.
Review:
K-9 Hideout by Elizabeth Heiter is a fast-moving, suspenseful romance. This newest release is the fourth installment in the K-9 Alaska series, but it can be read as a standalone.
Sabrina Jones has been in Desparre, AK for six months and she is is beginning to feel safe. She has finally relaxed her guard just a bit but she still keeps to herself. But once Sabrina realizes the stalker she has been outrunning has caught up with her again, will she go on the run again?
Tate Emory and his K-9 partner Sitka are a common sight around town. While Sitka has not needed all of the skills she has learned, she puts them to good use once Sabrina goes to the police. And after it becomes obvious that her stalker remains threat, Tate and Sitka do everything they can to protect her.
K-9 Hideout is a well-plotted and engaging mystery. Sabrina and Tate are very resourceful and know how to protect their secrets. But even in a small town like Desparre, danger has a way of catching up when least expected. With unexpected twists, Elizabeth Heiter brings this tension-filled mystery to an exciting conclusion. Old and new fans of the K-9 Alaska series are sure to enjoy this latest installment.
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Filed under Contemporary, Elizabeth Heiter, Harlequin Intrigue, K-9 Alaska Series, K-9 Hideout, Mystery, Rated B, Review, Romance, Suspense
June 28, 2021 · 12:03 am
Title: Limitless by Kaylene Winter
A Less Than Zero Rockstar Romance Book Two
Publisher: Rocker Romance LLC
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Length: 314 pages
Summary:
“She snuck up on me and stole my heart…”
Friends with benefits, that’s always been my relationship speed.
My band Less Than Zero is set to conquer the world.
Nothing and one is going to tie me down.
Except ethereal animal lover, Alexandria LeRoux, made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.
Our secret, spontaneous global hookups are decadent, erotic, extraordinary.
For the first time in my life, I picture my future with her.
Until one fateful night threatens to destroy my chance forever…
“I’ll travel the world for him…”
I set out that summer with only one goal in mind.
Conquer sexy Viking drummer Jace Deveraux before he left on tour.
Our first time was so sublime, it ruined me for anyone else
What’s a girl to do? Enjoy him in as many countries as possible, that’s what.
Now, he says he wants a future.
But I’m tired of putting my own dreams on hold for the band.
Unless we can find a compromise, things aren’t looking hopeful.
Our lives orbit on different courses.
But gravity always seems to pull us back together…
Will Alex leave Jace when a blast from his past threatens all they have built?
Or will Jace take matters into his own hands?
LIMITLESS is a steamy, whirlwind, playful, rollercoaster, round-the-world romance…with horses, drums and a bit of social media thrown in for good measure.
Add to Goodreads.
Add series to Goodreads.
Purchase Links: Amazon
Excerpt
Under any other circ*mstances, spending Christmas in my hometown with my band, Less than Zero, would have been something to look forward to. Over the past few years, we’d spent the holidays together but we’d been on the road. In the early years, dinner would have been take-out food in a shared hotel room from whatever restaurant was open. After our success, the past few years had been spectacularly catered events.
My plan had been to immerse myself in the chaos at my Deveraux family home with the woman whom I hoped would represent my future. That’s not how it panned out. Instead, I was at our lead singer Tyson Rainier’s house watching him propose to Zoey Pearson, the girl who had stolen his heart almost a decade ago.
Ty and Zoey’s romance had permeated the fabric of LTZ since the day they met at our epic Mission show all those years ago, and I’d played a big role over the years in facilitating their star-crossed lovers myth. Gossip sites and social media couldn’t get enough of them. Fan fiction about their love story had taken a life of its own ranging from bubble-gum, heart-eyed, teeny-bopper swooning to the dirtiest erotica. Which translated to tremendous profits in both record and merch sales for all of us.
Our crazy rock star success story meant that we were all now rich enough to retire. We were too young for that, but every single one of us was looking forward to having at least a year off to chill, reconnect with family, and have some personal time to relax for the first time in a decade. Personally, I had been looking forward to settling down as well.
So, my feelings about being here tonight were bittersweet. After so many years apart and the ups and downs of reuniting, they were finally together and getting married. I loved them both, and should only have positive, happy thoughts today.
Except my world had crashed down around me, and no one knew it.
Happiness for my friends was far from what I was feeling. More like tired. Terrified. Pissed. Confused. Heartbroken. Petrified. Scared. Panicked. Alone.
But, also loyal. Always loyal.
So yeah, I needed to be here today. Ty and Zoey were also my family. Despite my own problems, I loved them both.
I couldn’t focus, though, with all that was on my mind. Sure, I kept a slight smile fixed in place and my gaze deliberately aimed at the happy couple to appear normal. Inside, my stomach churned and my brain was all over the place. My entire future was up in the air, a fact that I’d kept secret from everyone but one person.
Like a beacon, my eyes were drawn to her.
Alexandria Le Roux, Zoey’s best friend, was the ethereally beautiful woman of my dreams. Her honey-blonde hair bounced like sunbeams off her tanned, defined shoulders. She clapped her hands gleefully when Zoey kissed Ty and accepted his proposal. Tall, lithe, with legs for days and the most perfect, perky breasts, Alex wore a fitted, white, off-the-shoulder sweater, skintight Levi’s and red jingle-bell earrings.
And, her ever-present black Frye boots. Boots that had traveled the world. Sometimes, even with me.
Author Bio
When she was only 15, Kaylene Winter wrote her first rocker romance novel starring a fictionalized version of herself, her friends and their gorgeous rocker boyfriends. After living her own rockstar life as a band manager, music promoter and mover and shaker in Seattle during the early 1990’s, Kaylene became a digital media legal strategist helping bring movies, television and music online. Throughout her busy career, Kaylene lost herself in romance novels across all genres inspiring her to realize her life-long dream to be a published author. She lives in Seattle with her amazing husband and dog. She loves to travel, throw lavish dinner parties and support charitable causes supporting arts and animals.
Author Links: Website * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads * Instagram
Giveaway
Enter for your chance to win a a signed copy of the new cover for Limitless!
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· 12:02 am
Review: God Spare the Girls by Kelsey McKinney
Title: God Spare the Girls by Kelsey McKinney
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Length: 320 pages
Book Rating: B+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss
Summary:
A mesmerizing debut novel set in northern Texas about two sisters who discover an unsettling secret about their father, the head pastor of an evangelical megachurch, that upends their lives and community—a story of family, identity, and the delicate line between faith and deception.
Luke Nolan has led the Hope congregation for more than a decade, while his wife and daughters have patiently upheldwhat it means to live righteously. Made famous by a viral sermon on purity co-written with his eldest daughter, Abigail, Luke is the prototype of a modern preacher: tall, handsome, a spellbinding speaker. But his younger daughter Caroline has begun to notice the cracks in their comfortable life. She is certain that her perfect, pristine sister is about to marry the wrong man—and Caroline has slid into sin with a boy she’s known her entire life, wondering why God would care so much about her virginity anyway.
When it comes to light, five weeks before Abigail’s wedding, that Luke has been lying to his family, the entire Nolan clan falls into a tailspin. Caroline seizes the opportunity to be alone with her sister. The two girls flee to the ranch they inherited from their maternal grandmother, far removed from the embarrassing drama of their parents and the prying eyes of the community. But with the date of Abigail’s wedding fast approaching, the sisters will have to make a hard decision about which familial bonds are worth protecting.
An intimate coming-of-age story and a modern woman’s read,God Spare the Girlslays bare the rabid love of sisterhood and asks what we owe our communities, our families, and ourselves.
Review:
God Spare the Girls by Kelsey McKinney is a captivating novel about the bonds of family and faith.
Caroline Nolan is very excited about leaving her small town for college. She has little in common with her much older sister Abigail who is about to, in Caroline’s opinion, marry the wrong man. The sisters’ father is the very successful pastor of a Baptist evangelical megachurch. Their mother Ruthie is completely enmeshed in her role as a pastor’s wife. Caroline is already questioning her faith when the truth emerges about Luke’s affair with a woman in the congregation. Abby and Caroline endure their father’s uncomfortable confession in front of his flock and in the humiliating aftermath, they decide to spend time together on the ranch they inherited from their grandmother. Will this time together bring the sisters closer together?
Caroline has recently been enjoying sneaking around with a young man she has known all her life. They both are going against their church’s teaching but neither feel guilty about their clandestine encounters. But after she learns of her father’s affair, Caroline begins to wonder if she has inherited nothing but his bad qualities. And once she and Abby are alone at the ranch, Caroline completely disconnects from her life.
Abby is in her mid-twenties and fast approaching “old maid” status when she begins dating Matthew. Their relationship quickly moves rather quickly. Abby has always been very involved in her dad’s ministry but after his affair is revealed, she finds it difficult to enjoy church. Abby is also a bit checked out from completing the last of her wedding details.
Caroline has always yearned for a better relationship with Abby and she has high hopes their time alone will bring them closer. At first a little awkward with is each other, long walks and their explorations of the ranch begin to work their magic. Caroline finds it difficult to confide in her sister, but their shared anger over their father’s affair helps draw them together. She remains a little jealous over Abby’s relationship with Luke but a shocking realization helps her see both her father and sister much more clearly. In the wake of another stunning discovery, will Caroline and Abby return to their expected roles in the family? And can their relationship survive a well-meaning decision that turns out to be a huge mistake?
God Spare the Girls is a character-driven novel with flawed but likable characters. Caroline’s questioning of her faith rings true as does her envy of her seemingly perfect sister. Abby never deviates from the path her parents expect her to take. But she has hidden depths that remain below the surface for much of the story. Ruthie’s reaction to the very public revelation of her husband’s sordid secret is expected but still disheartening. Luke is handsome and charismatic but disappointingly fallible. Kelsey McKinney brings this absolutely engrossing novel to a satisfying yet abrupt conclusion.
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Filed under Blog Tour, Contemporary, God Spare the Girls, Kelsey McKinney, Review, William Morrow, Women's Fiction
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