You may have noticed I recently updated my book covers for Search for Love and Rise Again, books 1 and 2 of the Phoenix Rise series. If you have older copies of the e-book on your devices, automatic updates turned on, you should be able to "sync" your device and find the new covers. To turn automatic updates on, visit your Amazon account under "manage content and devices", then manage digital content, "preferences", then scroll down to "automatic book updates" and switch it "on". Note that doing so will cause you to lose ANY and ALL notes you've made in your books. So do not do this if you don't want it to happen!
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I recently picked up a great indie romance, The Boyfriend Pact, by Sarah M Reed. Victoria hasn't been home to Winston Prairie, Georgia, in six years. And she probably wouldn't go back now, except her sister, Sophie, is getting married and her folks (who don't seem to love her as much as they love her sister) would never let her hear the end of it if she didn't show up. Years ago, she threw herself at her childhood best friend, Luke, and was spurned. Hurt, she hasn't spoken to him since...or he to her.
Now, she reluctantly leaves behind her two best friends in L.A. (Lexi and Michael) and heads home. There's no prodigal daughter welcome. Reed paints a (deliciously) frustrating picture of introverted Victoria's "black sheep" treatment...by her parents, her sister, even some of the locals seem to be almost amusedly, exasperatedly tolerant of her. The only person she genuinely feels is in her camp is Auntie Maureen, her ex-BFF's mother. Which is problematic, given she hasn't spoken to Luke in years.
When Michael shows up from L.A. and declare himself her boyfriend, family and friends are curious and interested. He's hot. He's charming. And he seems to only have eyes for their little wallflower, Vicky.
Tensions rise as Victoria notices a weird dynamic between Luke and Sophie. Sophie's marrying Logan Tyler, former high school linebacker, and all around great guy from a solid Winston Prairie family. But something's off with Sophie, and Victoria can't quite put her finger on it. Luke, meanwhile, is still standoffish, though he and Victoria try to mend fences over his awkward and harsh rejection of her with the intent of returning to the friendship they both missed.
Michael, oddly, seems overly jealous of any interaction she has with Luke. For a pretend boyfriend, he's sure acting like a real (jealous) one!
As wedding day grows closer, Michael's intention to accompany Victoria to the wedding is shattered by a crisis in his own large family, and he flies home to Boston. Victoria remains behind in Winston Prairie out of obligation to her sister, but her heart is with Michael in Boston.
She causes quite a stir when she ditches Winston Prairie to follow Michael...at Sophie's urging! The one person she expected to freak out practically shoves her out the door!
It is in Boston that things get rocky for Michael and Victoria. They'd crossed over into "real boyfriend, real girlfriend" territory in Georgia, and now that bond is put to the test by Michael's family crisis and the crushing grief he's revisiting. Suffering, he lashes out at Victoria, pushing her away when he needs her the most.
Victoria flees back to Georgia, stopping in Atlanta for a good night's rest before returning to Winston Prairie...and discovers a shocking revelation that, ultimately, threatens to unravel whatever remains of her newfound relationship with Michael.
If you like small town romance and friends-to-lovers stories, you will want to pick up The Boyfriend Pact!
If you use the link below to do so, I'll earn a small commission.
I finished the rest of the Nameless series by Dean Koontz. Fantastic!
Here they are in order:
In the Heart of the Fire
Photographing the Dead
The Praying Mantis Bride
Red Rain
The Mercy of Snakes
Memories of Tomorrow
Some of the critical reviews on Amazon will say that they're disappointed in the level of characterization or the repetitiveness in each story. Yes, those are partly fair arguments, but my rebuttal is this: This is a serialized collection of novellas. You get a novella that can stand alone. You could read book 1 or book 3 or book 6 and walk away and be perfectly fine. There's no missing information. Each story is a little capsule in the character, Nameless' life. Each book will tell you he's had amnesia for 2+ years and he senses it is for the best. Each book will explain he gets his marching orders from a mysterious benefactor known as Ace of Diamonds (Ace for short). In each book, he vanquishes some type of insensate evil...meting out justice when the established justice system fails. The tales are immensely satisfying for all of us who've felt that life is sometimes dreadfully unfair (also known as everyone!)
Click any of the images to purchase the title from Amazon. I will receive a small commission if you do so! (Support your local indie author!)
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