Saturday, September 21, 2013

My Ever-Growing TBR Pile 9/21/2013

Happily Ever After: A NovelSpotted on Edelweiss. Intrigues me because I once had a similar idea...I mean, every author has at one time or another fantasized about the hero she's writing coming to life. I think Happily Ever After by Elizabeth Maxwell just sounds fun. On my wishlist. It's a 2014 release.


In this witty, sexy tale, an erotic novelist meets the fictional hero of her most recent book in real life, and must decide whether she wants to get him back between the pages—or between her sheets.At forty-six, Sadie Fuller’s life isn’t exactly romantic. A divorced, overweight, somewhat sexually frustrated mother of an eleven-year-old, she lives in the suburbs, shops the big box stores, makes small talk with her small-minded neighbors, and generally leads a quiet life. But while her daughter is at school, or when Sadie is up late at night, she writes erotic fiction under the name KT Briggs.

Then, during a routine shopping trip, Sadie runs into someone familiar…too familiar, in fact. She encounters an incredibly handsome man exactlylike the one in her imagination—and her latest novel. Is Aidan Hathaway really one of her characters? And if so, what is he doing in Target? As Sadie tries to negotiate this strange new world, her eyes begin to open to romantic possibilities in places she never dreamed of looking…places where Happily Ever After might not be so far-fetched after all.


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Camp SunshineCamp Sunshine by Ruth Francisco was free on kindle. WWII saga that looks promising.

As the United States enters World War II, military commanders send their best officers to set up an amphibious training camp on Florida's desolate Gulf coast. Major Occam Goodwin anticipates challenges—swamps, snakes, alligators, hurricanes—and the daunting task of turning twenty thousand green recruits into warriors. But when his surveyors discover a murdered black family deep in the forest, he must dance delicately around military politics, and a race war that threatens the entire war effort.

Here, in this harsh but mystically beautiful land, young recruits test themselves to the limit in love and combat; politicos and tycoons offer aid with one eye to profit; women patrol the coast on horseback, looking for German subs; a postmaster's daughter, the only child on base, inspires thousands; a determined woman bravely holds together her family and the emotional soul of the camp. Amid tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the soldiers and their country hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to find his destiny.

Based on the true story of Camp Gordon Johnston, this novel is about young men on the brink of war, and a country on the brink of civil rights, a tale of soldiers and officers, daughters and mothers, death and redemption, and a man unyielding in his integrity, compassion, and struggle for justice.



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Really enjoyed Gunpowder Tea this last week, so this one has gone on my wishlist: Head Over Heels by Margaret Brownley.


Head Over HeelsDespite her lovely red-blond hair and exquisite looks, unconventional Kate Whittaker will never find a husband as long as she keeps shocking the town with her newfangled inventions. That is just fine with Kate—until she meets handsome Jonas Hunter, who dares to claim her inventions as his.

Jonas is stunned to discover that this infuriating woman is stealing his ideas. But his fury doesn’t work on her—it just makes Kate angry.

When Jonas tries to trick Kate into admitting she stole his idea, the ploy fails. When he attempts a little romance, it backfires—Jonas never meant to have his heart stolen. But love proves to be a very old invention—one that is made to be shared.



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TieflandTiefland by Calvin Glover was free on Kindle and caught my eye because it's about a woman movie producer who had some controversy during WWII. I have heard about this woman before. She was a side character in another WWII novel. Now she's the focus of one.


Swing era Germany. A young Leni Riefenstahl is acclaimed as the greatest female filmmaker of the 20th century. Dancer, actor, screenwriter, and director, she is renowned as a consummate artist. Then come the atrocities of the Third Reich and suddenly she is dismissed and despised as a Nazi whore. Tiefland is a fictionalized account of her struggle to restore her reputation and her desperate attempt to regain the adoration she once enjoyed.

Calvin Glover nudges the envelope of historical fiction. Drawing heavily from Leni Riefenstahl: A Memoir, several biographies that stake out conflicting viewpoints, and archival news accounts of the day, he has fashioned Tiefland as a dramatic metaphor. It is a literary collage mixing fact and fiction to create a fascinating portrayal of a complex, famous, and notorious woman.

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The Darling Dahlias and the Texas StarSpotted on Amazon while doing my "women in aviation" search: The Darling Dahlias and the Texas Star (The Darling Dahlias #4) by Susan Wittig Albert. I haven't read the first three, but this went on my wishlist anyway and you'll see why when you read the blurb.

The Texas Star herself—Miss Lily Dare, the fastest woman in the world”—is bringing her Dare Devils Flying Circus to Darling. Unfortunately, she’s also bringing a whole lot of trouble. As the Dahlias prepare for the annual Watermelon Festival—where they will present the famous female aviatrix with her own Texas Star hibiscus—rumors are flying.

Dahlias president Liz Lacy learns from newspaperman Charlie Dickens that Miss Dare has been threatened and her plane sabotaged. Apparently the bold and beautiful barnstormer has made plenty of enemies. And is it possible she may even be involved with the husband of one of Darling’s local ladies?

And speaking of wings, the new cook at Myra May’s Darling Diner can fry a chicken and whip up a sweet potato meringue pie like nobody’s business. But why is she keeping her past such a mystery?

As the Texas Star barnstorms into town, Liz and Verna Tidwell offer to help bring down a saboteur who may be propelled by revenge. Before it’s all over, there will be plenty of black eyes and dark secrets revealed….



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I said above that I really liked a book by Margaret Brownley. While reading her Gunpowder Tea, a name in the story was mentioned: the first female Pinkerton agent, Kate Warne. I immediately did some more research and discovered there's a historical fiction novel that has her in it. Despite its poor ratings, I nabbed myself a copy. You just never know.

Pinkerton's Secret: A NovelPinkerton's Secret by Eric LernerThis romantic adventure conjures up the passionate life story of the Civil War era's legendary private eye, recounting dramatic exploits and his clandestine love affair with his partner.

Allan Pinkerton's story opens in Chicago on the eve of the American Civil War. After battling con men, train robbers, and vicious gunmen, Pinkerton senses that change is in the air. Already committed to the abolitionist cause and the Underground Railroad, he allies himself with John Brown's radical antislavery crusade. Upholding the law with one hand, he unapologetically breaks it with the other.

Kate Warne joins the Pinkerton Agency--its first female detective-- and quickly takes her place as Allan's closest confidante. He asks Kate to join him, and she embraces his cause in all its contradictions and extremes. Comrades-in-arms, their romantic passion becomes the most combustible and irresistible kind, the mutual affirmation of a world of two. Together they save the life of Abraham Lincoln on his inaugural journey to Washington, root out Confederate spies within the Union government, and establish the nation's first Secret Service, sending their agents deep behind enemy lines. Blind to all consequences, the secret lovers learn too late that some battles, no matter how right the cause, cannot be won.



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Love Is in the AirSpotted on Harlequin Junkie, my fave blog and now on my wishlist because it's a woman pilot!!! Love is in the Air by Anji Nolan.


When Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant Jim Cromwell and airline pilot Captain Sophie Berg are shot in a drive by shooting, their bond is instant and palpable. Jim is investigating a drug running operation in Maine known as The Albatross Alliance, so he assumes he was the target. Until he learns Sophie works for Granola Aviation, a charter airline carrying celebs and alleged drug kingpins about the world, and her latest contract is for Albatross Marine.

The pair meet for dinner and though Jim is attracted to Sophie, he is suspicious. After she reveals her own concerns about Granola Aviation, its passengers and cargo, Jim suspects she is being used. As their friendship morphs into romance, she provides the information to connect the pieces of the drug running puzzle together.

But it’s only when she is kidnapped by one of the drug smugglers that Jim realizes how important she has become in his life.

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