Saturday, December 23, 2017

CINDERELLA HOEDOWN by Sable Sylvan






Title:  CINDERELLA HOEDOWN
Series:  Fated Mate Speed Date #1
Author:  Sable Sylvan
Publish Date:   12.21.2017
Publisher:  Sable Sylvan
Category /Genre:  Paranormal Romance
Recommended for:  18+ due to sexual content
Grammar/editing:  B – a few small errors
Received from:  Sable Sylvan (as an ARC gifted copy)
Goodreads link: Cinderella Hoedown
Date completed: 11.20.2017

Description from the publisher:
There's no way you'd catch Kelly Dean at a speed dating event…unless her best friend, Savina, had something to do with it. There's also no way you'd find the no-nonsense BBW in the company of three different alpha male cowboys in the span of under a week, but when werebears after their fated mates get mixed with women who are two parts sass, one part curves, you'll find anything can happen. The only question is, will this Texas fairytale end with this Cinderella finding her Prince Charming…and her lost shoes?

Kelly's a recent college grad keeping herself busy by helping her friend Savina organize the first ever Fallowedirt Hoedown, a celebration of the town's recent economic growth. Part of that growth has come in the form of the McCarthy Dude Ranch, home to a veritable bounty of hot shifter men. Kelly's far too busy to date one man; much less three hot-blooded cowboy werebears who all want to claim her as their fated mate. She definitely doesn't have time for their drama. While these cowboys might be experts at driving cattle, it seems all these shifters can do with Kelly is drive her away.

Jeff, Tom, and Will may seem similar, but the three grizzly bear cowboys couldn't be more different. All-American Jeff can't stand local bad boy Will, and neither can stand the out of towner, Tom the doctor. These three grizzlies can barely get along on the ranch, working side by side. How are they supposed to manage to ménage? The clock's ticking, and while these three fight, the hoedown swiftly approaches, and Kelly's curves are sashaying right back out of town. Which one of these cowboys will win Kelly's heart?

Love fairy tales and fated mates? Can't get enough of speedy reads and speed dates? Into sassy BBWs learning to love and the hot-blooded wild shifter heroes begging to be tamed? Not afraid of a good-old-fashioned happy ending (no cliffhangers allowed) for a three-on-one ménage a trois-plus-one? And most importantly, do you think that grandmas and pies can save the frikkin' world?

Then check out "The Cinderella Hoedown", and look for the rest of the books in the "Fated Mate Speed Date" series on Amazon, available via the Kindle Unlimited program! This series has elements of romantic comedy, Western romance, and of course, shifter-focused paranormal romances between curvy BBWs and a menagerie of different alpha male shifters.

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CINDERELLA HOEDOWN is the first book in the Fated Mate Speed Date series.  They will each stand on their own, but with lots of glimpses into the lives of each other and old friends.

I am able to surmise that The Feminine Mesquite Series is also set in Fallowedirt, TX and that Kelly’s best friend, Savina, is the main character of one of those books.  So, if you’ve read that series, you’re going to get a b-i-g update in those lives.  On the other hand, if you haven’t read them – as I have not – you will not be lost.  This book is the start of a new series and does not rely on that previous knowledge, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to read them now!

That being said, let’s talk about Kelly, Tom, Will, and Jeff.  Three bear shifters and a BBW.  I love sassy and confident Kelly.  She’s a terrific friend to Savina and to herself.  When the men act up, she tells them all off and stands up for herself, but when they work together, she’s adult enough to work with them, too.  The four of them are real and to me that makes for great characters.  They have flaws.  They are funny.  They are human… and some of them are bears.  So, how does one woman choose between three gorgeous men set on claiming their one fated mate?  The answer takes thinking outside of the box…

I loved this story and I’m looking forward to more from this series.

Note:  while I was given this book as a gifted ARC, my opinions are my own and are given freely.

The Fated Mate Speed Date series:
1.      Cinderella Hoedown
2.      Rapunzel Rodeo (coming soon)
3.      The Sleeping Beauty Pageant (coming soon)
4.      Beauty and the Bobcats (coming soon)
5.      Little Red Riding Bulls (coming soon)
6.      Three Werewolves Gruff (comins soon)
Also from Sable Sylvan:
The Shifter Princes Series:
1.      Shifterella and the Billionaire Bear
2.      Beauty and the Billionaire Bear
3.      Sleeping BBW and the Billionaire Bear
4.      Rapunzel and the Billionaire Bear
The Twelve Dancing Bears Series:
1.      Grizzly Bear Buns
2.      Polar Bear Buns
3.      Black Bear Buns
4.      Cinnamon Bear Buns
5.      Panda Bear Buns
6.      Koala Bear Buns
Seattle’s Billionaire Bears Series:
1.      Rumpled Bear Skin
2.      Blue Bear
3.      The Bear Prince
4.      The Little Bear Maid
Bear-y Spicy Fairy Tales:
1.      Goldilocks and the Three Bear Shifters
2.      Little Red Riding Bears
3.      Three Grizzlies Gruff
The Feminine Mesquite Series:
1.      The Cinderella Cook-off
2.      Beauty and the BBQ
3.      Spicy Beauty
4.      The Matchstick Grill
5.      Little Red Hot Sauce










 



Monday, December 18, 2017

DANCE by Demelza Carlton



Title:  DANCE:  Cinderella Retold
Series:  Romance a Medieval Fairytale #2
Author:  Demelza Carlton
Publish Date:   02.09.17
Publisher:  Lost Plot Press
Category /Genre:  Adult Fairytales; Paranormal Romance
Recommended for:  18+ due to sexual content
Grammar/editing:  A – near perfect
Received from:  Demelza Carlton (as an ARC gifted copy)
Goodreads link: Dance
Date completed: 12.10.2017

Description from the publisher:
A dutiful daughter. A prince forced to find a bride. If the shoe fits...

Once upon a time...

When the Emperor's army comes recruiting, Mai signs up, seeing it as the perfect escape from her stepmother and a lifetime of drudgery. Armed with her mother's armour and a pair of magic shoes, Mai marches off to war...only to find herself sharing a tent with the General's arrogant nephew, Prince Yi.

The best swordsman in the Empire, Prince Yi wants to make war, not love, but the Emperor insists this will be Yi's last campaign before he must marry. Prince Yi has never met his match...until now.

Can one woman win the war and the prince's heart?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DANCE is the second of the stories released in the Romance a Medieval Fairytale Series.  Each stands on its own.  This one has no influence with any of the other stories, except for a shared fairy Godmother.

Based on the stories of Cinderella and Mulan, Mai’s dance is the morning kata her father taught her.  For those who may not know, a kata is a routine of moves practiced by those in martial arts.  They are meant to build confidence and balance physically and spiritually.

This is the fifth and easily my favorite of the books I have read in this series so far!  Neither the step-mother nor her half-sisters are completely horrible.  Instead of insta-love, Mai and Yi had friendship that grew.  In fact, because of the deception, Yi was confused about his feelings for his roommate and friend!

Imaginative retelling and I look forward to many more in the series.

Note:  while I was given this book as a gifted ARC, my opinions are my own and are given freely.

Romance a Medieval Fairytale series:
1.      Enchant  (Beauty and the Beast Retold)
2.      Dance  (Cinderella Retold)
3.      Fly  (Goose Girl Retold)
4.      Revel (Twelve Dancing Princesses Retold)
5.      Silence (Little Mermaid Retold)
6.      Awaken  (Sleeping Beauty Retold)
7.      Embellish  (Brave Little Tailor Retold)
8.      Appease  (Princess and the Pea Retold)
9.      Blow  (Three Little Pigs Retold)
COMING SOON
10.  Wish  (Aladdin Retold)
11.  Return (Hansel & Gretel Retold)
12.  Melt (Snow Queen Retold)
13.  Kiss (Frog Prince Retold)
14.  Spin (Rumpelstiltskin Retold)
15.  Weave (Rapunzel Retold)
16.  Hunt (Red Riding Hood Retold)
17.  Reflect (Snow White Retold)
18.  Feather (Swan Maidens Retold)
19.  Float (Enchanted Horse Retold)
20.  Cobble (Elves and the Shoemaker Retold)
21.  Roar (Goldilocks Retold)
22.  Steal (Forty Thieves Retold)
Also from Demelza Carlton:
Complex Series:
1.      Halcyon
2.      Fishtail
Mel Goes to Hell Series:
1.      Welcome to Hell
2.      See You in Hell
3.      Mel Goes to Hell
4.      To Hell and Back
5.      The Holiday From Hell
Nightmares Trilogy:
1.      Nightmares of Caitlin Lockyer
2.      Necessary Evil of Nathan Miller
3.      Afterlife of Alanna Miller
Ocean’s Gift Series:
1.      Ocean’s Gift
2.      Ocean’s Infiltrator
3.      Water and Fire
Romance Island Resort Series:
1.      Maid for the Rock Star
2.      The Rock Star’s Email Order Bride
3.      The Rock Star’s Virginity
4.      The Rock Star and the Billionaire
5.      The Rock Star Wants A Wife
6.      The Rock Star's Wedding
7.      Maid for the South Pole
Turbulence and Triumph Series:
1.      Ocean's Justice
2.      Ocean's Trial
How To Catch Crabs
3.      Ocean's Triumph
4.      Ocean's Ride
5.      Ocean's Cage
6.      Ocean's Birth