Blog Tour: Heart Bones

 You guys. I am a HUGE fan of Colleen Hoover and I am pretty sad I missed out on this review opportunity, but you know this is going into my shopping cart anyways because the early reviews so far have been GREAT. 

Their bond is too intense to ignore.

Heart Bones, the unforgettable contemporary romance that will pull on your heartstrings and show you the power of hope by #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover is available now!

From #1 New York Times bestselling author of Verity and Regretting You.

Beyah comes from a life of poverty and neglect; Samson from a family of wealth.

When the two find themselves spending the summer as neighbors, they soon realize money is one of the few things they don't have in common.

Their bond is too intense to ignore, but with only ten weeks separating them from the start of their new lives on opposite ends of the country, Beyah and Samson decide to stay in the shallow end of a summer fling.

What they don't realize is that a rip current is coming and it's about to drag both their hearts out to sea.

Download your copy today! Amazon: https://amzn.to/3a640sm Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/heartbonesch

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Excerpt

Samson’s knee brushes high up on my inner thigh and I’m glad he can’t see anything from my chin down, because my body is covered in chills right now.

“I didn’t think there were many people in the world like me,” he says.

“You think we’re alike?” I want to laugh at that comparison, but there’s not an ounce of humor in his expression.

“I believe we have a lot more in common than you think we do, Beyah.”

“You think you’re as alone in this world as I am?”

He folds his lips together and nods his head, and it’s the most honest thing I’ve ever seen. I never would have thought someone so well off could have a life as shitty as mine, but I can see it in the way he’s looking at me. Everything about him suddenly seems familiar to me.

He’s right. We are alike, but only in the saddest ways.

My voice comes out in a whisper when I say, “When I first met you on that ferry, I could tell you were damaged.”

There’s a flicker of something in his eyes as he tilts his head to the right. “You think I’m damaged?”

“Yes.”

He moves even closer in the water, but there wasn’t much space left between us to begin with. It’s deliberate, and so much of me is touching so much of him now. “You’re right,” he says quietly, slipping a hand around the back of my left knee. “There’s nothing left of me but a fucking pile of debris.” He pulls me to him, wrapping both my legs around him. That’s all he does, though. He doesn’t try to kiss me. He just connects us together as if that’s enough while our arms keep us both afloat.

I’m swiftly succumbing to him. I don’t know in what way. All of them, maybe. Because right now, I need him to do something else. Anything else. Taste me. Touch me. Drag me under.

We watch each other for a moment and it’s almost like looking into a broken mirror. He leans in slowly, but not toward my mouth. He presses his lips against my shoulder, so gentle it feels like a graze.

I close my eyes and inhale.

I’ve never felt anything so sensual. So perfect.

About Colleen Hoover

Colleen Hoover is the #1 New York Times and International bestselling author of thirteen novels and multiple novellas. She lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys. She is the founder of The Bookworm Box, a non-profit book subscription service and bookstore in Sulphur Springs, Texas.

Connect with Colleen

Facebook: http://bit.ly/2FZ7GAI Amazon: https://amzn.to/2L1LuoI BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/colleen-hoover Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colleenhoover/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/colleenhoover SnapChat: https://www.snapchat.com/add/colleenhoover Join her reader group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/colleenhooverscohorts/ https://www.colleenhoover.com

For sure, the end of summer.

I felt like this was a pretty good weekend. We managed to actually get a lot done this weekend so it didn't feel wasted like the last few have felt like. We emptied out this giant shipping container we rented for storage (it was significantly cheaper than an actual storage space) so we can have that picked up and save ourselves $80/month. Now I have to go through it and decide, are we really going to save it or is it going to go? Fun stuff. 

We emptied and cleaned the pool out, that is all packed away until next summer. It's a bit depressing to see that out of the yard, that's for sure. I am searching for something I can put plants on that cats (hopefully) won't jump on and kill everything. We filled out every possible thing for all four kids for school and I feel like we are for real ready now. 

Plus, we did some fun stuff this weekend, too. 

First off, I wore makeup (kind of... barely... but still) both days so we had to commemorate it with a selfie. 

Matt took me to The Bookstore at Fitgers for Independent Bookstore Day 2.0. I didn't get any kid things because I really need to clean their shelves out before I add to it, but my haul was pretty great!

On Saturday we had a "party" for Olivia and her friend Claire's "Freakin' 15" birthday. They are a day apart, so it ended up being really fun. We did a painting party and I was really surprised at how well the kids kept their masks on and distanced from each other. It kind of gave me a little more hope for the school year being a little better. Plus it was nice to have all of the girls see each other again. 

On Sunday, I convinced Matt to drive us two hours to a sunflower field and that ended up being comically terrible, but I'm working on a piece about it for Duluth Moms Blog so stay tuned for that. Your teaser though is that this photo was the start. 

This was at the end. I feel like Lucy's face is all of us for 2020, to be honest. 

Yet again, we almost forgot to take a photo of us together. It should be noted that Matt is much taller than me but I am on my absolute tippy toes. He's a good seven inches taller than me, and while that's not more than a lot of people, it feels weird to me. I feel like I'm taller and then I see a photo and it's like, NOPE. I'm short. HAHA! 

OK, so this week I have some book reviews for you, I go to the eye doctor to check on my tear duct plug thingiemajiggies, and the kids start school. So, you know.... not stressful at all or anything. HA! 

We're ready. Kind of. #teamhybrid

To say I am nervous for this school year is an understatement. I'm upbeat and positive for my kids but on the inside I'm kind of freaking out. I'm not worried for them, I think they are going to be totally fine. They adjust well to different things, even the little girls, so I am not worried about that. 

I'm more worried about me forgetting to pick them up, dropping them off at the wrong places at the wrong times. I'm worried about myself getting sick. I'm worried about the days they are home and I have to help with things on their virtual days. I am thrilled that I know Penelope and Lucy's teachers, and I'm thrilled Olivia has a bunch of people to ask for help. Jackson is at the same school so its basically the same as last year, just less kids. 

Honestly I was thinking about it and I think this might cut down on bullying and fights at school, maybe? I don't know. My kids haven't had experiences with that so much but I hear about it from various schools. 

So Lucy had her meet and greet and was totally ready and excited for it. She has the same teacher Penelope had last year and Penelope has hyped up 4K pretty well so Lucy is all about it. She went in, sat down, made friends with the assistant teacher, and it was quick and easy. 

I'll get first day photos too but I took some during meet and greet in case I forget because you know, I might actually forget. 

Oh, and since Penelope got her hair cut, Lucy DESPERATELY wanted hers cut. We only got a little cut off and I'm so glad Matt was the one to take her because I would have cried. I don't know why her hair is such an emotional thing for me, but no joke, I'm sad her first curls are gone. It could also just be me this week, I'm kind of a sad sack and really struggling to get through it. 

Penelope had her meet and greet too, and she was a little more nervous about it because it is a new teacher and new room. She's excited to be a KINDERGARTNER (can anyone here believe this?!), it really feels like she was just my little toddler getting into everything last week. 

Sigh. 

So she's a little more nervous about it, but I think she is going to be fine. The teachers at their school are amazing so she's in good hands. Last year she had such a hard time making friends and she would just stand there and cry on the playground and it broke my heart to see it. We don't see her shy side at home, it's quite the opposite, so I don't know how to help that. Especially because of Covid, it's not like we can do play dates or go to random parks to play. We've mostly avoided that since March. 

Olivia also had her high school laptop pickup and it went OK. She is terrified of getting lost because it's a huge building. She got her schedule though and I told her I'll get her there with plenty of time to find where she needs to go. Jackson has yet to get his schedule so that's fun. 

I'm hoping for a good year. I'm realistic enough to know we likely won't be in the building all year but I remain hopeful. I'm basically crossing my fingers. 

Book Review: Drive Me Wild

Happy Tuesday! I feel like I've really slowed down on books lately, but I have goals to really make September a crazy reading month so I need to just really buckle down and make the time to read. 

How do you make the time to read? Are you setting a specific time every day? I'm starting to think maybe I should start doing that. 

Drive Me Wild - Melanie Harlow

When Blair Beaufort literally crashes into Bellamy Creek wearing a ball gown and a tiara, I should have towed her car, said goodnight, and sent her packing.

I’m a mechanic, not a hotel manager. I've got enough on my plate trying to keep my shop from going under, my overbearing mother off my back, and my baseball team in contention for the league championship. I don’t have time for a former debutante with zero street smarts and a cash flow problem, even if she is crazy beautiful.

Problem is, she’s stranded in my small town, and I’m hiding a protective streak underneath my broody exterior that runs deep. So I offer her a place to stay and keep my hands to myself.

For exactly one night.

If only she weren't so gorgeous. So funny. So eager to please. She’s a disaster behind the wheel, but she drives me wild without even trying--at work, at home, in the back of my truck . . . I can’t get enough of the way she makes me feel.

But I know better than to think it can last. She wants a fairy tale, and I’m no prince.

So when it comes time for her to leave, there’s nothing I can do but let her go.

No matter how much it hurts to say goodbye.

I have to be honest with you and just say, I love Melanie Harlow and at this point I will read anything she gives me. I had no idea what this was about and once I started reading I had to hunker in basically and do it in one sitting. 

Needless to say, I loved this book. Right off the back this kind of felt like that Disney movie with Amy Adams in it... do you know what I'm talking about?? ENCHANTED!! I mean, I didn't like the movie so much myself but my girls do, but Blair reminded me of her. She's just clueless, kind of helpless, she comes rolling into the story in a debutante dress and a tiara, and Griffin is just a tough exterior, unwilling to fall in love, but you know he has this completely soft spot in him. Fortunately, Blair brings it out and during the time she's in town that exterior is slowly starting to crack but then it comes time for Blair to leave and yes.... no more for you! 

I loved Griffin so much, he's everything I like in the hero. He's a little bit edgy, tattoos, former Marine, works with his hands, and he's roughs around the edges. Blair... she was kind of a toss up for me but honestly, it's kind of hard not to like someone who is so helpless. LOL!! Blair though is seriously looking for romance and big feelings and Griffin isn't any of those things. Oh, he's giving her big feelings, but he thinks he can't ever fulfill what she's looking for. To say they are opposites is an understatement, but they make a great couple and its fun to see them bicker, come together, it's funny, it's hot, it's all of the things. 

I highly, HIGHLY recommend this one if you are in a reading rut and need something to jump start that, keep you smiling, and wanting more. Trust me, Melanie Harlow gives us fantastic stories and I'm dying for the next one. I'm kind of hoping this becomes a little small town series because 1. I love those and 2. Griffin has some single friends and those will be really fun. 

I have to say THANK YOU to Social Butterfly PR for having me on this tour and getting me an ARC for review. I should have been getting my fitness on this weekend but meh- I read this instead and I have zero regrets. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Four years of flowers.

I realized I've had this post in drafter since a few days after Lucy's birthday and I'm not sure why I didn't post it. I'm going to post it now because I use my blog as a journal of sorts and I find myself going back to read things from previous years to maybe understand where I was at.  

**

It is really strange to think Lucy is four. Every year I struggle with her birthday and I really hate it. I hate that her birthday, which is a time that I should celebrate and be grateful I have this amazing little kid, is also synonymous with the worst thing that has ever happened to me. It's the source of my trauma and the starting point of all of the things I struggle daily with. 

I hate that it is the same event. 

Most every year I think her birthday is going to be the worst, maybe the hardest day. And every year I forget that it is always the day before that is a struggle for me. I think maybe because I don't remember anything from the day she was born, which is certainly a blessing and a curse all on its own. The day before her birth is the last memories I have of my old life. When everything was easier, it made a little more sense, I had a little more control. 

On that day, I was in tremendous pain, I didn't feel well. I was sick to my stomach, everything on my body hurt, I was swelling up in weird places, I felt faint and dizzy the entire day. I had Olivia and Penelope at exactly 39 weeks so the goal was to walk this baby out because the next day, I would be exactly 39 weeks. 

It was mid morning so we went to Canal Park, that's where I successfully walked a baby out before. The kids pretended to be tourists, we threw some rocks in. We went to eat lunch at Grandma's Restaurant, just like before I had Olivia. 

After lunch, all of us went to the Rose Garden/Leif Erikson Park. We hadn't ever taken the kids there and we thought it was weird. It was starting to get hot. There were artists on the walkway and a woman with interesting art that she was giving away on magnets. I don't remember looking at her art, but I remember her giving me a magnet and telling me it would all work out. Thinking that was strange, I put the magnet in my purse. It's actually still on my fridge because I feel like I can't throw it out. 

Penelope was obsessed with flowers that summer so we spent so much time sniffing flowers, right up until her nap time. The last thing I remember of my old life is getting into the cry with everyone crabby and Penelope crying. 

That's it. 

Every year I think about that day. The last few years I've gone to Leif Erikson Park by myself. It's usually been after a doctor appointment or something, so I've always been basically right there. Every year I've sat on a park bench, looking at the lake, and cried. 

Alone. 

And I've been OK with that. I'm not sad because I'm alone. I'm sad because I struggle with being happy and being sad and being angry. I have a hard time being all of those things. I feel like if I'm angry, I can't be happy. If I'm happy, people think I've moved on and I haven't. I won't move on from this. 

This year though, I asked Matt if we could do our nightly walk there instead. 

Because he's such a great guy and he gets it because he has memories of his own from those days that he doesn't share with me, he said yes. 

So that's what we did. 

We did our whole walk, mostly in silence. I looked at the lake. I tried hard to not cry. I don't know if you know this, but if you sit on a bench, staring at the lake, and you are silently crying, people think you are mentally ill and unsafe. You get the quick glances, people point, some laugh, but nobody asks if you're OK. 

This year I had Matt though. He doesn't do any of those things. I didn't cry on the bench, though. I think maybe I was all cried out from earlier in the day, though. He will hold my hand and pull my hair back when it gets sticky on my face from the humidity. He doesn't say anything. Maybe he's thinking his own things. Life hasn't been the same for him either. He doesn't have the same wife, the same partner. We both make do with what we have. 

A theme I've really struggled with this year is being grateful and being angry and sad at the same time. I've worked a lot on it in therapy. I've thought a lot about it. I still do. 

So imagine my surprise when, on our way out of the park, I literally stumbled on this: 

I didn't even notice until Matt said the established year is the same year we got married. Maybe I'm just an actual klutz and the world is a coincidence. Maybe its something more. I don't know. 

On Lucy's actual birthday my friend Amy sent me flowers. Of course I cried. 

Then my friend Tammy sent me flowers. Of course I cried again. I am lucky, and grateful, to have friends who know those days are really awful for me. I know I don't even have to tell them those are hard days and I am at my emotional lowest point but I'm trying to be upbeat and happy because Lucy is so excited. I am lucky. I am lucky to have amazing friends, terrific kids, and a great husband. I know of other survivors who don't have that kind of support system and I don't know how they do it. I know I struggle so hard with it, I don't know what life would be like without them.  

💕

Book Review: The Grown Woman's Guide to Online Dating

Oh calm down, I'm not trying to date anyone! I am still happily married to Matt, but I was interested in this book because I now have three friends who are trying to find people online to date and each one are having wildly different experiences. All of them are using different dating sites/apps and to me, the entire process is bizarre and kind of terrifying, hence, this book. I just wanted to learn more about it so that maybe I can give better advice than, "I don't know, he sounds like a serial killer." One of these times I'm going to be right, I'm just throwing that out there. Ha! 

The Grown Woman's Guide to Online Dating - Margot Starbuck

Does the thought of joining a dating site invoke feelings of fear and anxiety—or, worse, insecurity or unworthiness? If so, then The Grown Woman’s Guide to Online Dating is the book for you. With practical advice about how these sites work, what to expect, and when to join and quit, along with proven tips for making the most of them, The Grown Woman’s Guide equips readers with all they need to take the plunge.

Four years after an unexpected divorce, bestselling writer and funny lady Margot Starbuck found herself venturing into the unknown waters of online dating. What she discovered surprised her—and changed her. With her signature sharp wit and a solid biblical foundation, Margot shares what she learned, including how to:

determine which sites are best and what to expect;

write a first message that is most likely to get a response;

avoid common pitfalls in creating your profile; and

live out the truth that you are God’s beloved.

So dive into embracing your true value and drawing closer to God even in the midst of fear and questions. Because whatever your endgame might be, richness awaits. Margot promises, “You got this, girl!”

Right out the gate, if you tell me to write a profile about myself I would have absolutely no idea what to say. None. I'm with myself every day, you'd think I'd be able to tell you what I would (ideally) want in another person. 

You would be wrong. 

I can write a pretty all right resume and cover letter. I cannot write a profile. The best part about this book by far for me were the chapters on how to create a profile that stands out, conveys what you want others to know about you right away, and to pick the right picture. I've never been on dating sites but I've seen enough texts from friends of pictures they've seen to know a lot of you need to learn how to take a decent picture of yourself. And guys, please for the love of everything, stop posting shirtless photos and photos of you holding a fish. Honestly. Just stop it. 

Also interesting about this book, that I think a lot of my friends who are on these apps would find useful, is the entire section on browsing someone's profile and picking up clues about them as a person, but ALSO, the "Seeking Discernment" section, which talks about how to gauge their interest and taking risks. 

I feel like I should also mention this book does have a religious base to it, and although God is mentioned, I do feel like if that isn't your jam that you will still find value in this book and it would prove useful. I also really like that this book covers catfishing and safety, it also has a chapter/section about how to tell if the person you are talking to might ghost you. Also valuable is the chapter on red flags. I know in my first relationship there were a million red flags but I was certainly far too young to see them as such, and in hindsight I realize how naive I was. In the end it talks about the different ways an online relationship will end and how to navigate how you feel through all of them. 

Overall? I have to say this book was rather interesting, and I think this is really aimed more for someone new to the world of online dating; although, I do think that if someone is getting poor (or no) results from it, this might help you fine tune your profile and how you communicate with people. I thought it was funny in the right parts, and though the Bible passages spread throughout aren't my thing, they are easily ignored so I wouldn't let that steer you away. 

Thank you to Thomas Nelson Publishing and TLC Book Tours for having me on this tour and sending a copy for review to me. I'd easily give this one 4 stars. If you're nervous about jumping in, this will really help make it less scary. 

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Book Review: That Time I Got Kidnapped

I feel like now that summer is basically winding down, everything is catching up to me all at once and now I realize what a dang slacker I've been all summer. 

I mean, I haven't really been slacking but it isn't like I've been productive and getting loads done, either. What I have done was read books, and this was one of them. It's a great Middle Grade (MG) book that I think pretty much any kid will like. 

That Time I Got Kidnapped - Tom Mitchell

Fourteen-year-old Jacob is thrilled when he wins the chance to feature in the next Marvel movie, shooting in Hollywood. But after missing his connecting flight in Chicago, he tries to complete the journey by Greyhound bus – and there he meets Jennifer.

Jennifer is an American teenager on the run with a mysterious package she’s guarding with her life – and an enigmatic figure known only as ‘the Cowboy’ is hot on her heels . . .

Jacob soon finds himself on the road-trip of a lifetime as Jennifer’s unwitting partner in crime. Will he make it to LA in time – and in one piece? A funny, filmic, page-turning adventure, ideal for readers aged 11+.

If you know me at all you know that I attract strange people from all walks of life at all times. It doesn't matter if I'm at work, in my yard, at Target, in the middle of the woods, I will be approached by a strange person. Its an absolute given. Naturally, when I saw this title I knew I absolutely HAD to read this because the running joke is I'm going to end up in the trunk of someone's car someday. I shouldn't joke but its a legit concern. 

Thankfully, that's not what happens to our main character, Jacob. He is obsessed with super heroes and when he gets the chance of a lifetime to be in a movie, even the tiniest part, his parents eagerly put his 11 year old self onto a plane from Europe all of the way to Chicago (to catch his connection in LA, its absolutely crucial he must not meet his flight). Well we know from the back of the book he clearly misses his flight (and would you believe it was Nicholas Cage's fault?) and the entire book is him trying to get to LA to be in this movie. 

What happens is literally a series of unfortunate events and as a mom I felt myself screaming at him what he SHOULD be doing, but to his 11 year old mind this is all completely logical. I have a 12 year old son and he kind of reminds me a little of Jacob and I'm trying to picture him on this journey and yikes. It's also a little like Planes, Trains, and Automobiles in a way. He gets on a bus, he ends up meeting a girl who is being hunted down by some guy but she kind of is like Jacob and a bit.... unprepared for the real world? While all of this is kind of fun for him, he also knows his parents are probably out of their mind with worry so it puts a bit of damper on his little adventure. 

The book is funny and I can see kids absolutely loving this. If you are stuck in quarantine and want to beef up their oral reading skills at home before school starts, this would be a fun read-aloud, even in a classroom setting. I think every child can find something great in this book and I really appreciated that versatility. It can be tricky to meet that mark but the author definitely does this. The author definitely knows his target audience and really plays to that. 

A huge thank you to Harper 360 for a review copy of That Time I Got Kidnapped, I really think if you have a child even in the 9 year old range they could appreciate this one but even as an adult I thought this was really good. 

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