Meet Me in Italy by Brenda Novak

 

What country is your current read set in?

Charlotte is having a hard time writing her second novel after the surprise success of her first novel.  She is stunned when her basketball star husband leaves her and she finds out she was an adopted child, her birth mother has died, and she has a young tween sister who is orphaned in Italy.  Charlotte and her best friend Sloane, and Sloane’s brother Julian, travel to the Amalfi Coast in Italy to meet her sister, Lily. Will Charlotte and Lily be able to have a relationship?  What will happen to Lily?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I read this book in May for the April pick for the Brenda Novak Book Group. There are fun book club meetings on Facebook the fourth Thursday of the month.  I listen to the meetings afterwards when I can.

·       This novel was a contemporary romance and a family drama.  It also had found family and second chances.  The romance is friends to lovers.

·       I loved the description of the beautiful Amalfi Coast – I was ready to visit!

·       I felt so bad for Lily.  She had a rough life with her moving all around and constantly changing boyfriends.

·       The cover of this novel is beautiful.

·       The novel had characters dealing with heartbreak and troubles in life.  It showed how friends and found family can support you and how you can turn your life around.

·       My Great Grandma Kile would have called this a good story – it had a lot of drama, good characters, and a satisfying ending.

Overall, Meet Me in Italy by Brenda Novak was an enjoyable contemporary romance and family drama with good characters and setting.  It’s a great book if you are looking for a fun summer read.

Book Source:  Review copy from NetGalley.  Thank-you!

Marrying the Matchmaker by Jody Hedlund

 

Do you like stories that feature a matchmaker?  Do you wish that matchmakers were more of a thing in modern day society?

Zaira is the middle child in the Shanahan family, and she dreams of becoming a published author.  She keeps this dream from her family, but when she involves herself in a scandal by asking local matchmaker Bellamy McKenna to kiss her so she will know how to write about it, her life is about to change.  Zaira and Bellamy are forced into an engagement to cover up the scandal.  Will these two fall in love?  Will they be able to help those in need in their community?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I enjoyed this novel’s setting in St. Louis, Missouri in 1849.

·       There is a spark and great chemistry between the two leads, Zaira and Bellamy.

·       This historical romance has the fake relationship and friends to lovers’ tropes. There was great tension with the fake romance, but with each kiss, real feelings would form.

·       The story was told through Zaira and Bellamy’s point of views in alternating chapters.  I loved how these two characters could be themselves with each other.

·       This novel is the conclusion to the “A Shanahan Match” series.  I wish this series could continue.

·       I loved the look into the Irish community in St. Lous and Irish matchmaking.  My Great-Great Grandparents came from Ireland.  At this point in time, the Irish are immigrating to S. Louis because the potato famine and are living in terrible conditions.  Zaira and Bellamy help a pair of orphans.

·       The McKennnas as a matchmaking family are good at making matches for others, but not for themselves which has made Bellamy hesitant to match with Zaira.

·       Cholera is spreading through St. Louis, which is scary at the time, especially as they didn’t know what caused it.  They thought it might be in the malt used to make beer or in the air as a miasma.  Unfortunately, they didn’t realize it was contaminated drinking water.

·       There was some action and tension towards the end of the book where the two main characters find themselves inadvertently mixed up in a bank robbery.

·       This book was a clean and inspiring read.  It focused on a theme of telling the truth.

Favorite Quote:

“Was it because she cared more about what people thought of her and pleasing them than doing what was right and pleasing to God?”  - This was an interesting and very thoughtful quote.

Overall, Marrying the Matchmaker by Jody Hedlund was a quick read and a very romantic historical romance.  I enjoyed this book, and it was a great read for the Valentine’s season.

Book Source:  Thank-you to @jodyhedlund @bethanyhousefiction @greatreadsbookpromo for the review copy of this novel as part of the Great Reads Book Promotion Tour.

At Morning’s Light by Lauraine Snelling (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

Are you a morning person or a night person?  I am more of a night person.  Although now that I’m older, I’m definitely not staying up as long.

Einar and Maya Bredesen plan to immigrate to the United States from Norway.  Einar goes on one last fishing trip before they leave and is lost at sea.  Maya travels on to America with her brother to stay with her cousin Amalia in Green Creek, Iowa in 1890.  Amalia runs a boardinghouse and has recently married.  Will Maya be able to find a new life and potentially love in America?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       Maya had a hard time adapting to America. She doesn’t speak much English and feels like a fish out of water. It was a good reminder of what most Americans (besides indigenous) ancestor’s felt when they first arrived.

·       This is the second book in the Home to Green Creek series.  I read this as a standalone, but I wish I would have read the first book, so I had more of Maya’s background and story.  It took me a bit to get used to characters.

·       This novel had great characters.  I really liked Amalia who is always trying to help everyone and Maya who goes through so much.

·       This was a clean read and a Christian read. There are references to their Lutheran faith throughout.

·       This was a second chance romance novel.

·       The new love interest for Maya, Eber, starts as a friend and enters about halfway through the story. Therefore, this is also a friends to lovers’ story.

·       There are good book club discussion questions included at the end of the book.

Overall, At Morning’s Light by Lauraine Snelling was a beautiful story of second chances and friendship.

Book Source:  Thank-you to @laurainesnellingauthor @bethanyhousefiction @austenprose for a review copy of this novel as part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour. 

The Rules of Falling for You by Mollie Rushmeyer (Bibliolifestyle Book Tour)

 

Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @bethanyhousefiction for the review copy of The Rules of Falling for You by Mollie Rushmeyer.

What is blooming in your area?  We have a lot of hydrangeas blooming around town and turning beautiful colors.

Zoe Dufour is a soon to be 30-year-old podcaster that is beginning to doubt she will find the true love that she reads about in her favorite Regency novels.  When a Regency themed singles retreat opens not far from her hometown of Minneapolis, she decides it would not only be a great topic for her podcast, but also a great place to look for love.  Her best friend’s brother Harrison is back in town and is her podcast producer.  Will sparks fly between the two?

My thoughts on the novel:

·       I loved all the Jane Austen references throughout. They were delightful.

·       I wish that A. Nathaniel Gladwin, a fictional regency era author in the novel, existed.  I want to read her novels!

·       The novel has dual narrators as it switched between Zoe and Harrison.

·       I loved the Minneapolis setting.  It’s nice to read books set somewhere else besides New York City!

·       This novel was a contemporary romcom set in a fictional regency themed singles retreat. So, there were great costumes and dancing.  I loved everything about it.

·       It was a very fun book, and I loved the humor throughout the novel. Zoe and Harrison had great banter.

·       I enjoyed the side romances between other characters as well.

·       Zoe and Eden’s friendship was also great.

·       Zoe must learn to bend her own dating rules to find happiness in life.

·       This was a clean read.

·       Great tropes in this novel – friends to lovers (or best friend’s brother to lover), forced proximity and slow burn.

·       The Rules of Falling for You by Mollie Rushmeyer was published on September 2, 2025.

Overall, The Rules of Falling for You by Mollie Rushmeyer was a sweet and delightful contemporary romcom set primarily at a regency themed dating retreat.  I loved the characters and the storyline.  It’s a fun book and I especially recommend it to all my fellow Jane Austen and regency lovers.

The Rushworth Family Plot by Claudia Gray (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

Which fictional character makes you feel safe and happy?

Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney would like to take their relationship to the next level, but their families would like them to forget about each other and find a more appropriate love. Unbeknownst to their families, they have both been sent to London to experience the season. After a murder occurs, they are once again on the case. Will they be able to find the killer and convince their families that they should be together?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I LOVE this series.

·       Jonathan and Juliet are great characters and I love their romance.  Jonathan is neurodivergent and Juliet understands him.

·       I loved that this was a continuation of the Mansfield Park story.  Maria reappears with a child and Mr. Rushworth is thinking about remarrying her, but Henry Crawford is still on the scene.

·       Fanny has the heartbreak of losing a child and being told she can never have a child.  She feels jealous over the fact that Maria has had a child.

·       I still love that Catherine Tilney is an authoress and that she feels comfortable traveling to London to do her own business.

·       This was a clean read and a cozy mystery.

·       The Rushworth Family Plot is the fourth book in the series.  It is best to read the entire series in order.

·       Jonathan and Juliet have both a slow burn and a friends to lovers’ romance.  They had a few romantic moments in this novel. The former Caroline Bingley is back on the scene to try to split them apart.  I admit, at this point, it is feeling contrived to keep them apart.  I think they should just be together engaged or married and solving mysteries.

·       Austen’s characters feel like Austen’s characters in this book.  Author Claudia Gray writes them perfectly.

·       I did not guess the murderer in this book, and I thought the mystery had a satisfying ending.

Overall, The Rushworth Family Plot by Claudia Gray is a terrific addition to the Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney Mystery Series with an intriguing mystery and great characters. I cannot wait for the next book!

Book Source:  Thank-you to @claudia_gray @ireadvintage @austenprose for the review copy as part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour.

 

Emma of 83rd Street by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding

 

Title:  Emma of 83rd Street

Author:  Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding

Narrated by:  Brittany Pressley and Teddy Hamilton

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 10 hours and 40 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster Audio. 

What character from a classic novel can you imagine living a great life in modern times?  Emma Woodhouse from Jane Austen’s classic novel, Emma, has always seemed to me to be a woman that could make it in any time period.

Emma Woodhouse is beautiful, rich, and clever.  She lives with her father in an Upper East Side neighborhood in Manhattan.  Emma successfully matches her sister with their childhood friend, Ben.  Ben’s brother, George Knightley, is their neighbor.  Will Emma successfully find a match for her new friend Nadine? Will she find a love of her own?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I read this audiobook last month for the March pick for the JASNA Northwoods book club.  Our club all enjoyed this book.

·       I loved Emma’s love for the classic Christmas movie, It’s a Wonderful love.  She takes Nadine to a showing at Christmas.

·       There are dual narrators in this novel, Emma and Knightley.  This worked wonderfully on audiobook with two different narrators.

·       I love how Emma can be made modern in so many different ways.  My gold standard is the 90’s classic movie, Clueless, but I loved the characters and settings for this modern-day version.

·       I thought this novel did a good job of keeping true to Austen’s characters while making its own story and characters.

·       The novel was steamy towards the end.  It got to be a bit much for me as I am more a closed-door romance fan.

·       There was a nice set-up at the end of the next novel, Lizzie of East Hampton. This is a modern-day retelling of Pride and Prejudice.  The first chapter was also shared.

·       This novel was the first in the “For the Love of Austen” series.

·       This novel was a friends-to-lovers romance although at times it seemed liked enemies-to-lovers as Emma and George liked to bicker.

·       It was a fun lighthearted novel that I really needed at the time I was reading it.

·       Emma and George Knightley had great chemistry.

·       This book would make a fun romcom movie.

·       I loved Emma and George’s character growth throughout the novel as Emma tries to get a job and stand on her own two feet.  George must leave his past behind and learn to not be so critical of himself and others.

Overall, Emma of 83^rd Street by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding is a delightful modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma with great characters, story, setting, and chemistry.

A Constant Love by Tracie Peterson (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

Hardcover or paperback – which do you prefer and why?  I prefer hardcover for books I’m going to keep forever as they stand the test of time.  I prefer paperback for being more affordable and lighter to hold and carry.  I have a mix of both in my library.

In Wyoming, the harsh winter of 1887 not only kills entire flocks of cattle, but beloved family members.  Charlotte is haunted that the last words she with her father were in anger.  He wanted her to marry wealthy lawyer, Lewis Bradley, but she has been in love with her neighbor, Micah, her entire life.  Will Charlotte and Micah be able to work through their grief and start life anew? 

My thoughts on this novel

·       Pioneer days and the winter of 1887 are very harsh.  It was a very compelling start to this novel.

·       I liked how Charlotte and her mother, Lucille, were running a ranch as two women on their own.  It was a struggle as they weren’t even allowed to attend meetings as women and also ranch hands did not listen to them.

·       Micah deeply struggles with his faith after his father’s suicide.  I liked how he and Lucille help each other work on their faith. This novel had deep elements of faith in it and learning to forgive, and not judge others.  I really liked this part of the novel.

·       The trope in this novel is friends to lovers.

·       The characters were interesting and well developed.

·       This is the first book in the new “The Hope of Cheyenne” series.

·       The bad guy in this novel was someone that the reader will really love to hate.  Lewis Bradley wants to marry Charlotte no matter if she wants to or not.  It’s not out of love of Charlotte, but out of love for money.  I have a feeling he may be back again later in the series.

Overall, A Constant Love by Tracie Peterson is a gripping novel with captivating characters and a fascinating storyline.  I especially liked the faith elements and the realities of living in 19^th century Wyoming.

Book Source:  Review copy from Bethany House Publishers as part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

 BOOK DESCRIPTION

Heartache has left them emotionally desolate, but traces of love and healing could forge a future.

In the wake of a harsh winter, Micah Hamilton and Charlotte Aldrich are grappling with loss and guilt after the disaster that took the lives of their loved ones. Struggling to cope with his grief, Micah abandons his father's dreams of a prosperous ranch and cuts himself off from the rest of the world.

Charlotte has loved Micah her entire life and is determined not to lose him as well. With her mother's help, she begins coaxing Micah to live again. Despite their enduring heartache, the affection between them deepens, but just as Charlotte thinks her dreams may come true, a scorned suitor threatens everything she holds dear. Micah and Charlotte must embark on a journey of healing and renewal to build a life founded on faith, hope, and love.

A Constant Love is a clean, frontier-era historical romance of heartache, grief, Christian faith, and second chances in the newly developing American West.

AUTHOR BIO

Tracie Peterson is the bestselling author of more than 100 novels, both historical and contemporary, with more than 6 million copies sold. She has won the ACFW Lifetime Achievement Award and the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award. Her avid research resonates in her many bestselling series. Tracie and her family make their home in Montana. Learn more at TraciePeterson.com.

Yuletide Bride by Kasey Stockton

 Title: Yuletide Bride

Author:  Kasey Stockton

Narrated by:  Vicki-Jo Eva

Publisher: Golden Owl Press

Length: Approximately 6 hours and 2 minutes

Source: Audiobook Purchased from Audible

What's your favorite reading spot?  I either read most often in bed with a physical book or Kindle or on the road with an audiobook.

Mercy Caldwell is the eldest daughter of the vicar, and unmarried with two married younger sisters.  With her youngest sister ready to announce her engagement, Mercy says yes to a surprise engagement with Colin Birchall.  She has had a crush on him for years, but he spends all his time trying to save his crumbing estate.  His dying great aunt sends him a message that if he marries a woman that meets the items on her list, he will receive 20,000 pounds.  This will save his estate.  Mercy meets the list requirements and Colin asks her to marry him.  Will the two find love?

My thoughts on this novel:

• Yuletide Bride is part of four book Regency Brides series.  I hope to read the rest of this delightful series on audiobook next Christmas.

• I love the marriage of convenience and friends to lover’s tropes. This novel had a great slow build romance between Mercy and Colin.

• I liked that Colin notices how other women talk down to Mercy and he doesn’t like it.  Mercy learns to stand up for herself and has Colin’s support.

• I loved when Colin’s great aunt, Lady Edith, comes to visit and bonds with Mercy while making shortbread.  Lady Edith is funny and tells it the way it is.

• I loved the characters of Colin and Mercy.  Colin likes to make lists and get things done.  Mercy also likes to get things done and to help others out. There was a lot of growth between the two characters as they learned about each other and how to get along.

• This novel is a clean read.

• There was a great epilogue and perfect ending to this book.

• Vicki-Jo Eva was a great audiobook narrator.

Overall, Yuletide Bride by Kasey Stockton was a charming Christmas Regency romance.

Dear Eliza by Andrea J. Stein

 

How do you remember people you’ve lost in your life?  I like to reread old letters from my grandmothers that I received in the past.  It’s fun to “hear” their voices again.  I also love looking at old pictures. 

In Dear Eliza, Eliza Levinger receives a letter ten years after her mother died of cancer that rocks her world.  Her mother, Laura, had given the letter to her sister, Claude, to give to Eliza after her father’s death.  In it, she discovers a shocking revelation.  It rocks Eliza’s world, and she has to deal with the fallout.  How will she move forward with this new knowledge?  What is holding her back in life?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I greatly enjoyed this book and all the characters.  I loved Eliza, her brother Scott, sister-in-law Maren, best friend Mo, and her brother Scott’s life long best friend Josh.  I enjoyed their friendships, relationships, and wanted to read more about them. I was sad when this book ended as I wanted to spend more time in their world.

·       I loved the friends to lovers, slow burn, and kind of second chance romance between Eliza and Josh.  I loved how supportive Josh was to Eliza, but wondered why he wasn’t there during her time of need after Eliza’s mother’s death.  Josh and Eliza had wonderful interactions.

·       This novel deals with grief in many ways.  After Laura’s death when Eliza was 16, Eliza was floundering with no help.  Her father married not long afterwards, and Eliza did not have a good relationship with her stepmother Carol.  Eliza never was able to properly grieve.  Her relationship with her father never was the same and was distant.  When he dies, Eliza feels terrible for what was and what could have been.

·       Although Laura was not alive in this novel, she made me angry.  I didn’t like the bombshell that she had her sister give to Eliza right after her father’s death.  It was a time of intense grief and not a time for Eliza to have to deal with a whole new set of problems.  I wish she would have left positive messages that Eliza could have gotten after her death.  I guess if I were Eliza, I would have liked to know what Laura had to say, but there could have been a better time for it.

·       I liked the New York City setting.

·       I like how Eliza was able to reset her life after the news.  She realized that her relationships were not the best with her family or in her love life.  I like how she was able to make a change for the better.

·       I want to talk about this book more, but I don’t want to give away the details and ruin it for anyone else.  I think this would be a great book club selection. I would also like to watch a movie based on this novel.

Overall, Dear Eliza by Andrea J. Stein is a beautifully written novel of self-discovery, grief, love, forgiveness, family and starting over again.  I enjoyed this novel, and I can’t wait to see what Stein writes next!

Book Source:  Review copy from author Andrea J. Stein. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

An Unlikely Proposition by Rosalyn Eves (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

Title:  An Unlikely Proposition

Author:  Rosalyn Eves

Narrated by:  Hannah Curtis

Publisher: Recorded Books

Length: Approximately 9 hours and 30 minutes

Source: Purchased from Amazon.com.  Thank-you Farrar Straus Giroux and Austenprose for the Review copy of the physical book.

 

Lady’s maid, companion, or Lady?  If you lived during the Regency time period, which would you be?  I always imagined myself as a paid companion or governess if I lived during that time period. 

Eleanor is a young widow of only seventeen.  She has come to London to enjoy herself, make sure her late husband’s mathematical work is published, and ensure that she is not pestered by men looking for marriage. She hires a companion, Thalia, to accompany her around town.  Thalia herself had a failed first season and dreamed of becoming a published poet.  Will Eleanor and Thalia both find the happiness they crave?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       Eleanor’s back story reminded me of A Little Princess.  What happens when your parent stops paying for your schooling, and you have no where to go?  In this case, the much older Mr. Lockhart rescued the sixteen-year-old Eleanor through marriage.

·       I enjoyed the characters.  They were fun and had relatable problems.  I felt for Thalia as she struggled to have her poems taken seriously and be published because she was a woman.  Eleanor’s search for a place of her own in the world was also relatable.  I wanted to be their friend.

·       This novel includes a fake engagement, and friends to lovers storyline.  I enjoyed both tropes and loved the double romance.

·       I didn’t know until I read on Goodreads that this is considered the second book in a series.  It’s a parallel novel in the Unexpected Seasons series.  I need to check out the first book, An Improbably Season as well.  An Unlikely Proposition worked as a standalone novel.

·       I have also seen this described as a young adult book, but I loved reading it as an adult!

·       This is a good clean read and only includes kissing.

·       The novel was told from two point of view, Eleanor’s and Thalia’s.

·       This was a great escapism read.

·       I started reading this as a physical book, but I had a lot of driving to do so I switched to the audiobook.  I enjoyed both the physical book and the audiobook.

Overall, An Unlikely Proposition is an enjoyable, witty Regency Romance.  If you are looking for an escapism read, I highly recommend this novel.

Kissing Kate by K. Lyn Smith (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

What colors do you like on covers?  I really like covers like this where the dresses match the flowers or other aspects on the cover.  Blue and purple are my other favorite book cover colors.

Ben Kimbrell had loved Kate Parker since they were children when he first attempted to steal a kiss from her.  After a family tragedy in which he feels at fault, he conceals his feelings and takes on the mantle of a loveable, carefree rogue.  Kate wants to get married and decides that Ben’s cousin Merryn is the man that she will set her sights on.  Will Ben be able to change his ways to capture Kate’s heart and claim his longed-for kiss?

I loved this gentle, sweet regency romance.  I really liked how the story centered around the community’s production of Much Ado About Nothing.  I loved Ben’s journey of self-discovery through the novel, and how Kate learned through the novel to think of her friend Ben in a new light. I loved the Cornwall setting and the entire community.  This was a friends to lovers’ trope, slow burn, and was a clean romance. 

I also thought it was funny that a guide had been printed that stated that Newford had many more single young bachelors than single ladies.  This has sent many ladies to town searching for husbands, while pretending they are just on vacation.

I enjoyed the Author’s notes at the end of the novel and found out that this is the fourth book in the Hearts of Cornwall series.  I have not read the other books, but Kissing Kate worked as a standalone novel.  I do want to read the rest of the books in this series as I enjoyed this book so much.

Favorite Quote:  “Though Ben had enjoyed many kisses in the time since, none had ever seemed as sweet as the one he’d never shared with Kate.”

Book Source:  Review copy from author K. Lyn Smith as part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

QUICK FACTS

·       Title: Kissing Kate

·       Series: Hearts of Cornwall (Book 4)

·       Author: K. Lyn Smith

·       Genre: Historical Romance, Regency Romance

·       Publisher: Davenwood Press (January 23, 2024)

·       Length: (306) pages

·       Format: Trade Paperback, & eBook 

·       ISBN: ‎978-1737657989

·       Book Tour Dates: January 15 – 29, 2024

 

BOOK DESCRIPTION

“Benedick Kimbrell attempted to steal his first kiss from Miss Catherine Parker in the perfectly imperfect spring of 1808. But his hopes, then and since, were larger than fact.”

A LADY’S UNSPOKEN LONGING

Kate Parker is resolute in her quest for marriage, seeking a dependable match among Newford's eligible bachelors. But behind her composed demeanor, Kate’s heart holds a stubborn affection for her less-than-dependable friend and an unspoken longing for a kiss that was never claimed.

A ROGUE’S LOST AMBITION

Years ago, Ben Kimbrell harbored ambitions, chief among them a kiss from Miss Kate Parker. Fate, though, had other plans. Now, his heart is weighted by family tragedy, his pain concealed behind a carefree charm. His reputation as an aimless rogue is well-earned, but beneath the façade lies a man who yearns for more.

AND A HEART WELL-GUARDED

When Kate sets her sights on Ben's dependable cousin, a man who fits her expectations if not her heart, Ben can no longer stand idly by. His efforts to save her from a loveless match find the two of them paired together in a village production of Much Ado About Nothing. Tasked with crafting the enchanting sets for their town's inaugural performance, their undeniable affection finds the perfect stage to blossom.

But for their love to flourish, Ben must reveal his true self and confront the shadows of his past. Can he find the courage to unlock his heart before it's too late?

Kissing Kate is a heartwarming best-friends romance about finding the courage to choose happiness and the healing power of love. Set in the charming seaside village of Newford, each book in the Hearts of Cornwall series stands alone.

PRAISE FOR KISSING KATE

• “I really enjoyed this book, and absolutely recommend it to historical romance readers who are looking for a “Hallmark” style read that offers real depth of character, beautiful Cornwall scenery, and a warm prosaic style.”— Bobbie Jo Fersten, Reading Historical Romance
• “A sweet installment in the Hearts of Cornwall Series… I loved the progression of their feelings as they deepened from friendship to romance…This was my first read by K. Lyn Smith and I would pick up more!”— Genesis Aleman, Geny Reads  
• “The growth of Kate and Ben is so much fun to watch, and I enjoyed the entire construct of them getting ready to perform a play for their town along with the cousins and friends…Kissing Kate is such a warm hug of a read! I recommend it.”— Michelle, Tales Untangled

 

PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOKSHOP | BOOKBUB | GOODREADS

 

AUTHOR BIO

K. Lyn Smith lives in Birmingham, Alabama, where she writes sweet historical romance about ordinary people finding extraordinary love. Her debut novel, The Astronomer’s Obsession, was a finalist for the National Excellence in Romantic Fiction Award, while many of her other titles have been shortlisted for awards such as the American Writing Award, the Carolyn Reader’s Choice Award, the HOLT Medallion, and the Maggie Award.

 

When she’s not reading or writing, you can find her with family, traveling and watching period dramas. And space documentaries. Weird, right?

 

WEBSITE | X (FORMERLY TWITTER) | PINTERST | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | GOODREADS

 

READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR K. LYN SMITH

 

K. Lyn shares her inspiration for the story and characters in Kissing Kate, the research process, and Regency era theater productions. Read the full interview here.