A Good Lookin' Man by Marcia Lynn McClure

A Good-Lookin' Man
by Marcia Lynn McClure
length: 127 pages
file size: 492kb
ASIN: B00ENSM9Z4
Pub Date: August 19, 2013
by Distractions Ink
current ebook price: $7.95
source: purchased


Excerpt
However, in an instant—in less than a breath or the bat of an eyelid—the elusive pepper spray hiding somewhere in her purse was all but forgotten. For standing before her—right there before her, not three feet away—was the best-looking, most gorgeous, handsomest man she had ever seen in all her life!

“No, seriously,” she thought out loud with lingering bewilderment at how perfectly stunning the man standing before her was, wearing a worn pair of Levi’s, dusty cowboy boots, and a short-sleeved, plaid-print, snap-up shirt that hung open, revealing a bronzed, perfectly sculpted torso that was simply a mass of muscles. She was so unsettled by the man’s appearance that she wasn’t sure whether she was whispering aloud to herself or her car.

Either way, the man asked, “Beg your pardon, ma’am?”

“Oh…oh, nothing,” Fairlee said as she began rummaging in her purse again. But the man’s presence and appearance had entirely rattled her. As her awe-inspired brain obviously quit sending out instructions to the rest of her body, Fairlee felt her purse slip from her hands—watched in humiliated dismay as its contents tumbled out and scattered over the shoulder of the road

My Thoughts

This novella length romance from Marcia Lynn McClure is short and sweet...and fun. I used to be a bit hesitant about reading Marcia's modern tales as I am so attached to her cowboy tales ( I think I just love cowboy stories), but they have really grown on me and I now love them. This story is really cute and has a heroine that I totally identify with! (She tends to talk on and on and on without stopping for breath...I really have no idea why that seems so familiar...hmmm...ok friends, kindly giggle and don't say anything). The characters meet and realize they care for each other quickly, as do most of Marcia's characters. They don't really have a ton of obstacles in their way, but their story is enjoyable all the same. 

Don't forget the Author's Note and Snippits in this book, they will make you giggle.

Content: Clean, lots of kissing

Rating: 4.5 stars

Midnight Masquerade by Marcia Lynn McClure

Midnight Masquerade
by Marcia Lynn McClure
length: 235 pages
file size: 648 kb
ASIN: B00ECFFM1G
Pub Date: August 4, 2013
by Distractions Ink
current ebook price: $8.95
source: purchased


Synopsis (from Goodreads)
Stavos Voronin was not as blind-eyed as many nobles and royals. Evony’s physical gestures—even the simplest movement of her hands—revealed that she had not always been destitute. The same was true of the children—of their polished manners and the boy’s knowledge of horses and tendency to be bold and fearless of strangers.

Ah yes, Stavos enjoyed a good mystery. After all, interest in the inexplicable circumstances surrounding the royals of Abawyth was the very thing that had lured him to the kingdom—the enigma of Abawyth’s twelve sleepy princesses. And yet now—now his mind was all the more intrigued. Not only was the obscurity of what had caused the profound and baffling torpidity of Abawyth’s princesses laid out before him, but also he found his curiosity intensely piqued over the riddle surrounding the very lovely Evony and her siblings.

As Stavos strode through the village resting on the outskirts of Abawyth Castle, his mind reeled with possibilities. His musings were drawn back to why he had come to Abawyth at all—to solve the conundrum surrounding the twelve beautiful princesses of Abawyth kingdom—to solve the seemingly impenetrable crux and thereby win the hand of one of Abawyth’s princesses, as his father, King Letholdus of Ethiarien, had commanded.

My Thoughts

As I mentioned in my contest post back last week, reading has been hard for me lately. I have been so exhausted that I can't seem to focus on a book long enough to really get into it. I picked up a couple of books by Marcia Lynn McClure yesterday  and started reading, and guess what? I read them both! Yep, I started last night and have since read through two books.  I should have known that Marcia would get me out of my exhausted reading funk (it also helped to have an extra day off work to relax). Look for a second review coming tomorrow.

I have been wondering when Marcia would finally attempt a take on The 12 Dancing Princesses. Years ago I was part of a fan group where we occasionally had chat room sessions with Marcia, and she mentioned in one of these chats that one of her favorite fairytales was that of The 12 Dancing Princesses. Since that chat I have enjoyed her other fairytale retellings, but continued to look for this book. And finally, this summer, it was available. Unfortunately, I did not have the chance to read it until today, and I am happy to report that it was worth the many years wait.

Midnight Masquerade has everything that you would expect from McClure: great characters with fantastic names, a handsome hero, and best of all great kissing. Marcia does a great job of making a fairytale feel real, and very romantic. Our lovers recognize that they care for each other quickly but have to overcome many obstacles before they can find their own Happily Ever After. The secondary and other minor characters help to move the story forward without distracting the reader from the main characters and their tale.

One of my favorite things about Marcia's books, are the Author's notes. The author's note in this book is a bit different than some of the others, as she opens up about some of her personal struggles and how she overcame them. Don't skip the author's notes, you will enjoy them, and they can often make you giggle (especially the Snippits).

Content: Kissing is as far as these characters go, although they do refer to stronger feelings/desires.

Rating: 5 stars

Learn more about Marcia Lynn McClure and her books by visiting her website.

Staying Warm or Keeping Cold Giveaway Hop

To kick off my new blog, I have decided to participate in the Staying Warm or Keeping Cold Giveaway Hop hosted by Reading in Twilight and I Am A Reader Not a Writer. As part of the hop I get to share a book I either want to read by the fireplace on a cold day or in my air conditioned house if it is still hot out (we had snow last week, so you probably can guess which option I am going with), and I can't think of a better book to read by the fire than The Visions of Ransom Lake by Marcia Lynn McClure!

(description from Goodreads)
Youthful beauty, naive innocence, a romantic imagination thirsting for adventure-an apt description of Vaden Valmont, who would soon find the adventure and mystery she had always longed to experience-in the form of a man.

A somber recluse, Ransom Lake descended from his solitary concealment in the mountains, wholly disinterested in people and their trivial affairs. And somehow, young Vaden managed to be ever in his way-either by accident or because of her own unique ability to stumble into a quandary.Yet the enigmatic Ransom Lake would involuntarily become Vaden's unwitting tutor.

Through him, she would experience joy and passion the like even Vaden had never imagined. Yes, Vaden Valmont stepped innocently, yet irrevocably, into love with the secretive, seemingly callous man-Ransom Lake.But there were other life's lessons Ransom Lake would inadvertently convey to her as well. The darker side of life-despair, guilt, heartache. Would Ransom Lake be the means of Vaden's dreams come true? Or the cause of her complete desolation?

 This is one of my favorite books by Marcia Lynn McClure. One of my favorite scenes takes place in the middle of a blizzard. Vaden and Ransom end up having to stop for the night in an old abandoned house and what ensues is a night of kissing and deep conversation. It is the perfect Fall/Winter read. So cozy up by the fireplace with your eReader and a cup of cocoa and enjoy The Visions of Ransom Lake. At just $2.99 for the ebook copy it is a bargain!

One lucky reader will win their own Kindle Copy of The Visions of Ransom Lake and The Haunting of Autumn Lake (yep, Autumn is Vaden and Ransom's daughter.) Just fill out the form below to enter! a Rafflecopter giveaway When you are done here, hop along to the rest of the blogs participating in the hop! Keep Warm or Stay Cold (whichever you need today!)