My Review Stop on the Tasty Virtual Book Tour for TRULY SWEET by Candis Terry with #excerpt + #giveaway

Welcome to my review stop on the Tasty Virtual Book Tour for the final book in the Sweet, Texas series by Candis Terry. Yes, the series is coming to an end and it does with a truly happy ending for everyone in TRULY SWEET. Check out my thoughts on this one, an excerpt, and a giveaway!

***eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for TRULY SWEET:

Candis Terry returns to Sweet, Texas for the last time when former Marine Jake Wilder discovers how truly sweet love can be.

When the one you’ve always wanted…

 
At sixteen, Annabelle Morgan hoped her crush on Jake Wilder was just a passing phase. Now she’s twenty-nine and nothing has changed—except Jake. The once-carefree Marine has come home with a giant chip on his shoulder. He insists a single mom like Annie deserves more than he can offer. Yet no matter how gruff his gorgeous exterior may be, Jake’s toe-curling kisses convince her that this attraction is definitely mutual.

Becomes the one who wants you back…

Butting heads with feisty Annie was always a thrill. Add other body parts to the mix, and Jake is in serious trouble. He can’t be a forever-and-family guy—and Annie’s not a friends-with-benefits kind of woman. But love has a way of changing the best-laid plans, and surrender has never been so tempting…

The outcome is truly sweet.

My Review:

If you’ve been following this series then you’ve met Annie Morgan, younger sister of Abby who got her HEA with Jackson Wilder in SWEETEST MISTAKE and you’ve met Jake, the youngest Wilder hunk who made his first appearance in SOMETHING SWEETER. Jake is home finally, which makes the rest of the family very happy but not him. He’s not happy about it because he didn’t come home on his terms but because of an injury and is carrying a heap of guilt over the death of his men and most of all, his best friend. Right from the start, Annie realizes Jake is going to be a grump but his attraction to her cannot be ignored…even though he tries as much as she does. (You’ll see in the excerpt.)

I am very sorry to see the end of this series because I’ve come to care very much about the wonderful people of Sweet, Texas. I had also hoped for more of a climactic end to the series but then again, I wasn’t wholly disappointed. Everyone gets a happily-ever-after in the Wilder family including the adorable Miss Giddy…it seems she isn’t the only goat in town. If you read TRULY SWEET for no other reason, you must read it for Miss Giddy and some of the Wilder boys' banter over their mother, Jana, and her love life. Candis wrote it true.

Whereas, TRULY SWEET by Candis Terry might not be my favorite of the Sweet series – I think Reno in ANYTHING BUT SWEET still holds that honor – I wouldn’t have missed reading this final book for anything in the world. It’s the happily-ever-after that the Wilder family deserved. So with that said…I do highly recommend that if you’ve read the series then you’ve got to read TRULY SWEET, the final book of the Sweet, Texas series by Candis Terry because it will leave you with some laughs, a big smile and maybe some sad moisture in your eyes.

If you haven’t read this wonderful, sweet, heart touching series yet…please do…it really is the very best in small town romance. Happy Reading Everyone!

Excerpt:

“Forget something?” Her eyes narrowed just slightly and the silky blond ponytail hanging down her back swung to the side as she tilted her head in a way that suggested she was primed for a challenge.

“Not that I’m aware.”

“Uh-huh.” She tucked the stub of a standard yellow pencil behind her ear. “Guess you’ve been away too long to remember that most folks walk in here wearing a smile. Looks like you left yours at home.”

“Guess I’m just not much in the mood.”

“Seriously?” Her eyes narrowed a bit more, yet somehow a shower of silver sparks still managed to flash. “Why?”

He hated to use the word “Duh,” but it seemed so apropos.

“So . . .” Her shoulders lifted and dropped. “What? You’re going to let that walking cane snuff out the eternally grinning smartass that lives inside of you?”

Her comment hit its mark with stinging success.

Jake clenched his teeth and lowered his gaze to the laminated menu he’d been able to recite by heart since he’d been twelve. “Annabelle, how about you go away and give me a minute to look over the menu?”

“Because that would be a total waste of time, Jacob.”

His gaze jerked up again just as she shifted her weight to a position she probably intended as a show of obstinacy. Yet all it really managed to do was push her full breasts against that snug white Bud’s Diner T-shirt. Instinctively his gaze dropped lower to the little black skirt hugging nicely rounded hips and the pair of tanned shapely legs that ended with the sparkly blue sneakers on her feet. Liking what he saw, his gaze took that same slow ride back up her body.

When the hell had little Annie Morgan grown up and gotten so curvy?

“You can stare at that menu all day long,” she said through lips that were pink, plump, and glossy. Lips that looked like they needed to be kissed.

The unexpected and unwanted thought was like a splash of ice water in his face. Annie had been a pain in his backside for as long as he could remember. The last thing he should be doing was thinking about her damned mouth. Or her curvy body. To his dismay and against his commands, awareness tightened his body below the belt.

“In the end,” Annie continued, “you’re going to choose a double Diablo burger with extra peppers, a side of sweet potato fries—extra crispy, and a chocolate banana shake.”

Challenged, he leaned forward and met her glare. “How do you know what I want?”

“Because.” She planted her palm down on the table and leaned in till they were nearly nose-to-nose. “While you and your football buddies parked your cocky behinds in the booth by the door so all your minions could see you and come in to fawn all over you, some of us were slinging hash and cleaning up your mess after you left.”

He leaned back. “I don’t remember you working here.”

“Why would you?” She shifted her weight again and he’d have to be dead not to notice that somewhere between his last visit home and now Annie had become quite a knockout. “In those days you could barely see beyond Jessica Holt’s big brown eyes and bodacious ta-tas. I, Annie of the flat-as-a-surfboard chest and metal mouth, deterred your hormonal teenage boy scrutiny.”

She certainly wasn’t flat chested any more.

He could argue about the hormonal part, but why bother. In high school he’d been interested in three things; having fun, getting laid, and getting laid.

Some things were important enough to be counted twice.

“You make me sound like such a jackass.”

One corner of her luscious pink lips kicked upward. “You were.”

Yeah. He probably had been. And he wasn’t really sure he appreciated the reminder.

“So why are you working here now?” he asked, deftly changing the subject. “Didn’t you get enough slinging hash the first time around?”

“A girls got to earn a living somehow. Slinging hash is all I’ve ever really done. My hand-dipped chocolates haven’t exactly taken off like wildfire. And since Sweet’s street corners are already occupied with whiskey barrels and petunias, there isn’t any room for me to hang around waiting for customers.”

“Always the smartass,” he said.

“Takes one to know one.”

About the Author:

Candis Terry was born and raised near the sunny beaches of Southern California and now makes her home on an Idaho farm. She’s experienced life in such diverse ways as working in a Hollywood recording studio to chasing down wayward steers. Only one thing has remained the same: her passion for writing stories about relationships, the push and pull in the search for love, and the security one finds in their own happily ever after.

Author Links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Buy Links:

Amazon | B & N | iTunes | Kobo

TOURWIDE GIVEAWAY

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Unwrapping a Review for SWEET SURPRISE, a Sweet Texas novel by Candis Terry

I am totally in love with the Sweet, Texas series by Candis Terry so when I got a chance to read a galley for her upcoming newest release, SWEET SURPRISE, I jumped at it. It was worth squeezing it in. Stay tuned for a special Scavenger Hunt Tour to celebrate its release on Tuesday, January 27, 2015. It’s going to be a blast.

***eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for SWEET SURPRISE:

Fiona Wilder knows all about falling in lust. Love? That's another story. Determined not to repeat past mistakes, the single mom and cupcake shop owner is focused on walking the straight and narrow. But trouble has a way of finding her. And this time it comes in the form of a smoking hot firefighter who knows all the delicious ways to ignite her bad-girl fuse.

Can lead to heartbreak...

Firefighter Mike Halsey learned long ago that playing with fire just gets you burned. He's put his demons behind him, and if there's one line he won't cross, it's getting involved with his best friend's ex. But when fate throws him in the path of the beautiful, strong, and off-limits Fiona, will he be able to fight their attraction? Or will he willingly go down in flames?

Or a sweet surprise! 

~*~                    ~*~                 ~*~                 ~*~                 ~*~ 

Jackson Wilder’s ex, Fiona Wilder is moving to Sweet, Texas to open a cupcake shop and also so her darling little girl, Izzy, can be closer to her father and his soon-to-bride, Abby. On the way, she is the unfortunate victim of two drivers’ road rage. Now she’s trying to get moved in, get the shop set up, and settled into her new life while recovering from her injuries. When her knight in shining armor from the accident shows up to help, she fights the offer. Not because she doesn’t want or need the help but because she is far too attracted to the man who also happens to be a firefighter, a very sexy, very hot firefighter. After her failed marriage to Jackson, she promised herself she’d never get involved with another hot man like that again - it was part of her wild Fiona life she'd left behind. Then again, aren’t promises made to be broken?

Mike Halsey hasn’t stopped thinking about the gorgeous Fiona Wilder, off limits ex-wife of his firefighter buddy, Jackson. With a bad marriage as baggage, he has his reasons for keeping his distance from the beautiful single mom. But when the ever matchmaking Jana Wilder collects on her auction purchase, and asks him to work it off by helping the sexy Fiona with her move, and her cupcake shop, he can’t refuse even though he knows he's playing with fire. Sweetness comes in all forms and Fiona is a sweet treat he desperately wants to taste and make his own but there’s a code between men who live on the edge, and since he’s been there with Jackson, he needs to keep his distance even though he doesn’t want to.

As usual, Candis Terry creates characters that most certainly make us care. Mike is sexy, caring, and most definitely, a knight in shining armor. Fiona is a good loving mom and has goals to be a successful woman in business. There were times when I felt I’d read this story before because the plot is rather typical. Then Candis does things like throws in a sweet ‘Milo’ moment where Mike gets to show how big his heart is, or like when Fiona gives him the space he needs to get his emotional stuff together. Fiona gets a big star for patience and it pays off big time in the end for her, and for Izzy. Truly Sweet ending to this one.

Perhaps SWEET SURPRISE didn’t tug at my heartstrings the way ANYTHING BUT SWEET did, or make me want to smack anyone upside the head the way Jackson did in SWEETEST MISTAKE, but this one was still a good solid Candis Terry read. Although, I did find it a bit of a stretch that the relationship between Fiona and Abby could be quite so intimately friendly. Of course, it lends itself to the fantasy of romance being perfection.

I most certainly recommend reading SWEET SURPRISE, book four in the Sweet, Texas series by Candis Terry. If you haven’t tried this series, or if you already love the rest of the series as much as I do, you don’t want to miss yet another of Jana Wilder’s crazy matchmaking meddles. Besides, who can possibly resist such a big-hearted sexy fireman as Mike Halsey. Also, you don’t want to miss the Milo moment or the sweetest of sweet marriage proposals.

Happy Reading Everyone and don’t forget to come back on Tuesday, January 27^th for a SWEET SURPRISE Release Day Blast Scavenger Hunt. You know there will be great prizes. 

SWEET SURPRISE, a Sweet Texas novel by Candis Terry, Avon Romance, release date - January 27,  2015, print and ebook formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobobooks. $4.99 digital/$7.99 print

***click on links above or cover below for purchasing information, remember even pennies per sale using my links help keep this blog alive. Thank You.

   

Unwrapping a Review of SWEETEST MISTAKE, a Sweet, Texas novel by Candis Terry

I am a huge fan of Candis Terry’s stories and her newest, the Sweet, Texas series featuring the sexy Wilder boys is fast becoming my favorites. It’s for this reason that when I got the chance to read a galley of her upcoming release, SWEETEST MISTAKE, there was no doubt I was adding it to my reading list.

***eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for SWEETEST MISTAKE:

WHEN FRIENDS BECOME LOVERS . . .

Firefighter and former Marine Jackson Wilder has tough guy down to an art, but he’s learned the hard way that promises were made to be broken. Abigail Morgan was once his best friend, his first kiss, his first love, his first everything. He’d just forgotten to mention all that to her and she blew out of his life. Five years later, she’s back and he’s battling a load of mistrust for her disappearing act. But for some reason he just can’t keep his lips—or his hands—to himself.

IT CAN LEAD TO DISASTER OR . . .

When her stint as a trophy wife abruptly ends, Abby returns home to Sweet, Texas, and comes face-to-face with Jackson—her biggest and sexiest mistake. Time and distance did nothing to squash her love for the act-first-think-later stubborn hunk of a man, and when he suggests they renew their old just-friends vow, Abby realizes she wants more. She’d cut and run once. Could she do it again? Or could she tempt him enough to break his promise?

THE SWEETEST MISTAKE.

*              *             *             *             *

Abby Morgan has returned to Sweet, Texas after being away far too long and having left without a word to anyone, especially Jackson Wilder – her best friend and the man she’d loved forever. After a failed marriage that has left her feeling rather worthless, unwanted, and alone, she wasn’t eager to discuss why she left home, or why she was back.

Jackson Wilder went off to fight for our country’s freedom, watched his brother die, and returned to find his best friend had abandoned him when he needed her most. Now she’s back and he’s intrigued as to why but the anger keeps getting in the way. Can these two fated lovebirds find their way back to each other or will their pride, frustrated anger, and their inability to keep their hands and their lips off each other get in the way.

Jackson is all out sexy, and all out stubborn but the most lovable pain in the ass hero I’ve ever met. Abby Morgan is my girl. She survived a marriage so like mine, except for the wealth, that I have to side with her. She’s forward, outspoken, and knows what she wants and will do whatever it takes to get it, including a striptease that drives Jackson wild even when he’s fighting his fear of losing control if he were to touch her. I’m wondering if Candis knows me better than she ever imagined. *wink*

SWEETEST MISTAKE, book two in the Sweet, Texas series by Candis Terry didn’t capture my heart and tear it to shreds like ANYTHING BUT SWEET did but I enjoyed every minute of it. Candis has created the most exceptional cast of characters living in Sweet, Texas. The Wilder family contains swoon-worthy men, a mother you want to roll up in a hug and take home with you, and townspeople that make you want to move to Sweet. I had a problem with how the ending was rushed but understand that sometimes these things happen. But don't worry, the story was filled with enough angst, flirtations, humor, sweet moments, and hot sexual tension to keep you glued to each page.

SWEETEST MISTAKE by Candis Terry is a funny, sweet, down home tale about friendship, falling in love, and regrets that can haunt you far down the road. It’s about what happens when two people fear admitting their feelings because they value the relationship that’s always been there not realizing that even the deepest love must start with a friendship. I highly recommend reading SWEETEST MISTAKE by Candis Terry for no other reason that it features the sexiest hero, the most likable heroine ever, and the Wilder men, who are absolute tens on any hot list.

Happy Reading Everyone and Happy New Year to all!

SWEETEST MISTAKE, a Sweet, Texas novel by Candis Terry, Avon Romance, release date – December 31, 2013, available in print and ebook formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobobooks.

***click on links or cover for purchasing information