Teatime and Books Reviews

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Book Review ~ Timeless - Heart's True Desire Series Book Two by Kathryn Amurra

Timeless

Heart’s True Desire Series: Book Two

Kathryn Amurra

About the Book:

Genres: Contemporary Romance with Mystical Elements / Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Wild Rose Press

Publication Date: March 12, 2025

Erin Dovetree cannot forgive her father for cheating on her mother years ago and has sworn off men altogether. That is until destiny leads her to her grandmother’s incredibly attractive and mysterious landlord.

William Abbott has lived for over a hundred years, cursed with a static and unnatural existence as punishment for his past sins. Although drawn to the lovely and intelligent Erin, he refuses to subject her to the fate that is his alone to bear.

As Erin pieces together the story of Will’s past and discovers the true cause of his timeless existence, she must reconsider the judgments she has made in her own life. And to have any chance at a life together, she and Will must find answers to the questions that have plagued them both.

Purchase Link:

Amazon

Nook

Apple

Excerpt:

“Erin?”

Erin jumped at the sound of Will’s voice and turned away from the dumpster she had been staring at to look at him. “Will! You scared the crap out of me!”

She tried to surreptitiously wipe the tears that had wet both her cheeks, but she knew it was obvious she’d been crying.

She cleared her throat and straightened her back. “You didn’t have to come out here. And you didn’t have to listen to my grandmother if she was the one who told you to follow me. I’m fine.”

Even to Erin’s own ears the pain and self-pity in her voice was as clear as a bell. How pathetic she was, a grown woman—an attorney at a high-priced law firm— crying next to a dumpster over getting her feelings hurt by her thoughtless father. It was a wonder Will could even bear to look at her.

Almost in response to her thoughts, Will took a few steps closer, until he was standing just inches away. “Nobody told me to follow you. I was worried about you.”

“Well, I’m fine,” she snapped. “I’m not a child. Despite how my father might speak to me. I can handle myself. I don’t need you to feel sorry for me.”

Her voice cracked, betraying her emotions, and she looked up into Will’s eyes to gauge his reaction. All she saw was kindness and genuine compassion.

“I’m sorry.” She sighed, tears welling up once again. “You were being nice, and I’m being a jerk. You should go back and eat. I’ll come inside in a minute. I just needed to calm down. I’m fine now.”

Will reached up with both hands to touch the hair that fell on either side of her face. Erin’s breath caught in her chest as his warm fingers innocently brushed the tips of her ears.

“I like your hair down,” he said in a low voice. Then he touched her lips briefly with the pad of his index finger. “And I like your lipstick. But I have to admit I like it when you wear your hair up, too, and when you’re not wearing any lipstick at all.”

“Maybe you’re just easy to please,” she whispered, feeling on the verge of passing out.

“Maybe you’re just beautiful.”

Five filled cups of tea for this book! Timeless - Book Two in the Heart's True Desire Series by Kathryn Amurra is sure to keep you up reading all night. I could not put it down. We first meet with Erin, who is leaving her work and going to an old building in Charlotte, North Carolina, which has now been turned into apartments. She visits her grandmother, who tells her about a visitor she had, the landlord. Her grandmother mentions how very attractive he is and sneakily asks Erin to take the rent check to him. Of course, Erin refuses at first but reluctantly gives in. She goes three floors above to the landlord's apartment. He's recently moved in. Will answers the door, and Erin is floored at how very handsome he is. So, he invites her in so he can give her a receipt. Erin goes on babbling about tidbits in her life, like how much she eats versus how her grandmother eats like a bird. After watching Will for a bit, Erin senses a deep sadness and mentions it to him. Then she embarrassingly excuses herself, but he holds her back and asks what she says in his features. She mentions deep sadness, and he mentions that she, too, has felt sadness. She mentions her mother's death a year ago. Erin does leave, but she can't wait for a month before she can take the rent check again.

Will is then seen walking through the streets of Charlotte, reflecting on a different time from the 1800s when he rode these streets in a horse-drawn carriage. He stops at a cemetery where he visits the grave of his wife... from a different time. He reflects back on when he left Bessie for work in California, promising to return to her. Will then thought of Erin Dovetree and was immediately shocked that he'd think of her instead of Bessie. What was it about Erin that he was so drawn to? She too soon found herself drawn to him... could these two be together? Or would Will's past interfere?

This story is so compelling. The characters are deep and full of life. Erin's grandmother is such a delight and makes one think of their own grandmother. I could definitely relate to Erin and felt like I was walking in her shoes. Will's journey is deep and he too is a very relatable character. All characters are full of flaws, too, which helps the story move along. The scenery and setting is absolutely beautiful, you feel like you're right there even if you've never been in those places. Amurra is a masterful storyteller and one of the best of our times. Timeless is a deep romance with some time travel that I think anyone would enjoy. I highly recommend this tale!

About the Author:

Kathryn Amurra is the author of sweet and sensual love stories. Her debut series, Soothsayer's Path, is a historical romance series of standalone books set in Ancient Rome around 115 CE. Her new series, Heart’s True Desire, is a paranormal romance series of standalone books published through The Wild Rose Press. Kathryn has been making up stories for as long as she can remember and writing since grade school. Against the advice of her 12^th grade English teacher, she studied Mechanical Engineering in college, then worked as an Engineer for a few years. After finding and marrying her own hero, she and her hubby went to law school together. They currently live in North Carolina with their three girls.

Contact Links:

Email - kathrynamurra@gmail.com

Website: https://www.kathrynamurra.com

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/kathrynamurra/

X – https://x.com/AmurraKathryn

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20280375.Kathryn_Amurra

BookBub - https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kathryn-amurra

Guest Post - What advice would you give an aspiring writer?

1. Read a lot. Reading the type of books you want to write is like studying (but much more fun). Think about what you like that the author is doing, why a certain scene is impactful, or why the pacing is exciting. That will help you know what you need to do in your own work to achieve the same effect.

2. Write a lot. Just keep writing. When you think your book is going to be amazing, write. When you think you’re never going to make it as an author, write. When one book gets rejected by dozens of agents and publishers, start writing another book (then go back to the original book later). You will not improve your craft if you do not keep writing, and you cannot help but improve if you do.

3. Ask for feedback from other authors in your genre. Getting words of praise on your writing from your sister or mother or best friend is nice, but it’s not going to help you grow as a writer. You need to find others who write in your genre and are willing to read your work and provide comments. Join a writer’s organization or enter a writing contest that provides feedback on your submission. The best thing I did was to spend $1 to enter a raffle for a critique of the first 50 pages of my historical romance Soothsayer from best-selling romance author Haywood Smith through the Georgia Romance Writers. I won, and Ms. Smith gave me some amazing feedback and tips. She even went so far as to allow me to send her the first 100 pages of my re-write and gave me her comments on that, as well. It’s easy to recognize a well-written book, but knowing why yours doesn’t sound like that is not always so easy. Getting feedback from someone who actually knows what they’re doing, though, can open your eyes to all the things you’re doing wrong, and that’s a great way to improve your craft.

4. Keep trying. Perseverance is the key to achieving any dream. The people who succeed, at anything, are the people who don’t give up, who keep moving forward. You’re going to have setbacks, you’re going to have disappointments, you’re going to feel like you can’t do it, but you have to keep going. I always tell myself, if all these other people can do it, why not me? I firmly believe there is a time for everything, and success will come when it is meant to, if you keep at it.

Giveaways:

First Giveaway

Three eBook Copies of Timeless to Three Lucky Winners

Open Internationally

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Second Giveaway

One eBook Copy of Timeless and One eBook Copy of Amulet to One Lucky Winner

Open Internationally

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted By:

Quill and Ink Book Tours

https://quillandinkbooktours.com/

Thursday, February 6, 2025

Pre-Order Blitz ~ Murder on the Steel Pier - A Tess Mancini Time Travel Novel by Rosie Genova

Pre-Order Blitz

Murder on the Steel Pier

A Tess Mancini Time Travel Mystery

Rosie Genova

About the Book:

Genres: An Adult Time Travel Historical Mystery (with cozy noir elements)

Publisher: Two Roses Press

Publication Date: March 31, 2025

The morning after a blowout thirty-fifth birthday celebration in Atlantic City, crime reporter and party girl Tess Mancini wakes up in an unfamiliar place—1955. Bread is eighteen cents a loaf, Ike occupies the White House, and the Boardwalk is crawling with vintage cars and vintage wise guys. A bewildered Tess is sure of only two things: One, she’s not crazy, and two, the clothes are fabulous. And somehow, she’s living the life of her Great Aunt Theresa, who disappeared decades before Tess’s birth.

In her 1950s existence, Tess is a reporter for the local newspaper, living and working at a boarding house owned by her Zia Antonetta, an Italian immigrant with secrets of her own. Tess also discovers that Theresa has a kid brother, teenaged troublemaker Val Mancini—also known as Tess’s paternal grandfather. Though determined to return to her own time, Tess’s curiosity takes over. What happened to the first Theresa Mancini? And is Tess’s trip through time somehow connected to her aunt’s fate?

But when young Val is accused of murdering a boarding house guest, a Nazi in hiding, Tess ends up with two investigations on her hands, and though desperate to leave the Nifty Fifties, she’s stuck in time until she can prove Val’s innocence. As she searches for answers, she finds allies in a dishy police detective and a suspiciously charming fellow reporter. She also crosses paths with a Mid-Century icon of science—possibly the one person who can help her get back home—but not until she finds a way to keep her grandfather off Death Row.

Because before Tess can get back to the future … she needs to make sure she has one.

Purchase Links Can Be Found At:

https://books2read.com/u/bpVKdz

Excerpt:

From Chapter 1, Murder on the Steel Pier

Someone was smoking a cigarette. I sniffed, and spikes of pain started at my chin and shot through the top of my head. Oh God, make it stop, and I promise I’ll never touch another drop of tequila. Being another year older was bad enough—did I have to be punished for it, too? My nose twitched as the smoke teased my nostrils and caressed my olfactory nerves. I’d quit a month ago, but the longing for a cig came roaring back.

With my eyes still closed, and my head nailed to the pillow, I had one coherent thought: This is supposed to be a smoke-free hotel. As far as I knew, it was also bird-free, but the chirps and twitters assailing my ears were clearly coming from feathered creatures. Then again, it’s Atlantic City. Maybe the birds were part of the hotel show. Ever so slowly, I slid my hands from under the covers and cupped them over my ears.

“Please, birdies,” I whispered. “Stop singing.” Geez, they sounded close enough to be in my room. I exhaled, yoga style. C’mon, Tess, time to open your eyes. You can do it. Actually, I couldn’t, as my lashes were glued together. (Had I slept in my make-up? Not a good sign.) Still covering my ears against the piercing bird song, I fluttered my left eyelid and squinted.

Big, fuchsia-colored roses seemed to scream at me from the wall. And sun—blinding, eyeball-searing sun—streamed in through an uncovered window. And not a hotel window bolted shut and draped to keep out that awful light, but a wooden one with glass panes. And across the top, a ruffly white curtain.

Okay, not my hotel. So where was I? My empty stomach grew queasy; I wouldn’t have gone home with a stranger. Though I did remember a cute blond guy playing the slots next to me, but it was all so … blurry. I eased open the other eye. Across the room was a vanity table draped in more white ruffles. Somehow, I doubted the blond guy lived here.

This place was obviously some kind of historic inn or something, but that still didn’t explain how I’d gotten here. I looked down at the sheets, also decorated with roses. Only these were little yellow ones. Somebody sure liked her florals.

“So weird,” I muttered. Hands shaking, eyes half closed, I felt around for my phone, but my fingers landed on a string of beads. I let go of the necklace and blinked hard, trying to ignore the little flashes of pain behind my eyes. Next to me was an old-fashioned nightstand; on it was a lamp with a frilly pink shade, an analog alarm clock ticking loudly, and the “necklace,” which had a cross hanging from it. A face stared at me from a black-and-white photo. I shifted closer, peering at a guy with slicked-back hair, thick brows, and dark-lashed eyes. Across the bottom of the picture was a name, signed in blue ink. I frowned at the image. Who the heck was Tyrone Power? Was he someone’s boyfriend? Or part of the décor?

Hangover and rubber legs be damned, I had to get moving and find my phone. But before I could get a big toe out from under the covers, a knock sounded at the door. I sat up in the strange bed, holding my throbbing head as though it were a soft-boiled egg.

“Tess? Are you awake yet?” The voice on the other side of the door had a slight Irish brogue. “Can I come in, then?”

“Yes,” I croaked. Whoever she was, she knew my name. Despite the sunlight, the room was chilly, and I huddled under the cotton blankets as the woman bustled in holding a small tray. I sniffed coffee and toast, and when she set it down on the nightstand, my stomach gurgled audibly.

“Now,” she said, wiping her hands on her apron, “we served breakfast some time ago, and when you didn’t come down, I knew you’d be oversleepin’ again. Your auntie will have my hide and your own if you don’t get down to that kitchen.” She crossed her ample arms and sent me a stern look. “You know we don’t serve anyone in their rooms, guests or otherwise, but Carolina insisted I bring you your coffee. Said you’re no good without it.”

I looked up at a broad-shouldered woman in a green housedress. Over that was an apron in a loud, orange-and-green pattern of forks and spoons. Her thick white hair, twisted into a bun, was bright against her weathered skin. Her small dark eyes gave the impression of two raisins set in a gingerbread face. I’d never seen her before in my life.

“Sorry, Mrs. Flaherty.” How did I know that? It surely must have been her name because she didn’t correct me. I sat up quickly, my mouth hanging open in shock, and the blankets slipped to my waist.

Mrs. Flaherty took a step closer to the bed and narrowed her eyes at me. “Just what are you wearing, missy?” What was I wearing? I glanced down at the cursive “T” stitched on the pocket of my favorite monogrammed PJs. Expensive ones. And why did she care? I opened my mouth to answer, but Mrs. F got there ahead of me. “They’re silk,” she hissed. “And black, for the Lord’s sake.”

“Uh huh,” I said slowly, wondering if she commented on the nightwear of all her guests. Still, I pulled the blankets up to my chin.

“Best not let your auntie see them. Don’t know how in the world you afford such things,” she grumbled. “Eat up quick now, and bring down that tray when you’re through.”

“Okay,” I whispered, staring at the door she closed behind her.

About the Author:

Photo by Joan Marie Photography

Proud Jersey girl Rosie Genova is a multi-genre author. Her work includes a Jersey shore cozy series, The Italian Kitchen Mysteries, and the upcoming Tess Mancini Time Travel Mysteries, set in 1955 Atlantic City. She is also the author of standalone suspense and a couple of rom-coms that presently live in her computer files (but are longing to be released into the wild). A former teacher and journalist, Rosie’s non-fiction has appeared in Entrepreneur magazine and The New York Times. The mother of three sons, Rosie still lives in her favorite state with her husband, too many dusty antiques, and a charming mutt named Lucy.

Contact Links:

Website: http://www.rosiegenova.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RosieGenova

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6462450.Rosie_Genova

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Rosie-Genova/author/B00BEKZU5U

Hosted By:

Monday, January 6, 2025

Cover Reveal - Murder on the Steel Pier - A Tess Mancini Time Travel Mystery by Rosie Genova

Murder on the Steel Pier

A Tess Mancini Time Travel Mystery

Rosie Genova

About the Book:

Genres: An Adult Time Travel Historical Mystery (with cozy noir elements)

Publisher: Two Roses Press

Publication Date: March 31, 2025

Because before Tess can get back to the future … she needs to make sure she has one.

Purchase Link:

Amazon

About the Author:

Contact Links:

Website: http://www.rosiegenova.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RosieGenova

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6462450.Rosie_Genova

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Rosie-Genova/author/B00BEKZU5U

Hosted By:

Quill and Ink Book Tours

https://quillandinkbooktours.com/

Release Blitz - Sensible Shoes by Cindy Causey

Sensible Shoes

Cindy Causey

About the Book:

Genres: An Adult Women’s Fiction

Publisher: Wild Rose Press

Publication Date: January 6, 2025

At her fiftieth birthday party, Tess Thomason, a plain-Jane, divorced mother and decidedly unprepared women’s newspaper columnist, is blindsided by her well-meaning family with a stack of gift cards she interprets as meaning she’s fat, frumpy, and wrinkled. Facing a lonely future and failing career, Tess embarks on a journey of self-discovery, taking her readers along for the ride. But her resolve is nearly derailed by a hilarious season of family chaos that includes a surprise pregnancy, rushed wedding, and unexpected houseguests. In the midst of it all, Tess is drawn into a confusing new relationship with a man who is impossibly perfect for her. But if she can keep herself, her family, and her willpower firmly seated on the crazy roller coaster of her life, maybe Tess will find her own self-worth and a new love in the bargain.

Purchase Links:

Amazon Kindle

Amazon Paperback

Goodreads

Excerpt:

“Tess, Tess, I’m not expecting you to write like Sylvia. I’m not even expecting you to write about fashion. What I have in mind is a column to women, for women, about women. Real women. Like one of those influencers on the Internet. You know…funny, wise, poignant, and… relevant.”

The creeping dread, now fully formed, tossed a grenade into my stomach. She might as well have asked me to write like Shakespeare. “You want me to be funny, wise, poignant, and…relevant? Are you insane?”

Okay, I may have stepped over the line with that last bit, because Ruth’s face twisted a little in the ominous way I had seen so often just before she pounded her fist on the desk. “Just write the damn thing, Tess. I don’t care if you’re funny, wise, poignant, or what was the other thing?”

“Relevant,” I murmured.

“Relevant, for God’s sake. Just do it. I need a column for the women’s page starting next week, and you’re it. Write about what you know. Family. Food. The laundry. You’ve got family. You’ve got laundry. It’ll be a cinch.”

“But—”

“No buts. Just do it. It’ll be good for you. You need to get out of your rut.” She turned her attention to her computer screen.

As if in a trance, I rose from the chair and turned to leave. “Oh, Tess?” she said without looking at me.

“Yes?” Maybe she’s changed her mind; she saw my outfit, and she changed her mind.

“Happy birthday.”

Sensible Shoes Video Trailer

About the Author:

Cindy Causey taught herself to type in the 8th grade because she couldn't write in her diary fast enough. Cindy retired from JCPenney in 2007 and opened Dallas Media Center with her husband Scott. She shuttered the company in 2021, after Scott passed away. Cindy first romance novels, A Different Drum and A Hot Time in Texas were published in 2009. Her latest novel, Sensible Shoes, was published by The Wild Rose Press in 2025. Cindy makes her home in Dallas, Texas, where she enjoys traveling and spending time with her 5 grown children and 4 grandchildren.

Author Interview:

Five Questions for Cindy Causey About Sensible Shoes Interview