Celia K. Nott's Blog: Nott Again, page 3

Book Review 2 & 3 - Clean Sweep & The X-List

5 & 4-Stars

Evie Mitchell popped up on my radar through an Instagram event the amazing Bre Reads Books was putting on. The book that initially caught my eye was The X-List, a BBW RomCom that featured a grumpy viking hero, a bookstore and, of course, a well-curved heroine. It was the second book in Mitchell's Thor's Shipbuilding series, but I think it was the third book featuring the Larsson family. Needless to say I read things completely out of order and started with that one, but for the reviews, we'll do them in order. Because as soon as I put down The X-List, I picked up Clean Sweep and devoured it even more quickly than it's successor.

Clean Sweep is a hot little book (and I do mean little, this puppy comes in at 79 pages and takes about an hour to read) featuring a cleaning queen and a viking daddy. And no, that isn't dirty talk. Erik Larsson is literally a daddy after he is handed twin boys and told they've been bequeathed to him by their mother, an untraceable woman. Of course one look at their cute, chubby baby faces and Erik couldn't exactly turn them out on the street (not literally, obviously), so he becomes a daddy overnight.

The problem? Erik Larsson runs a shipbuilding business and being an instant dad, buying a house and trying to turn his father's legacy company around is too much for our hero. When his brother Rune takes the boys so Erik can land a big job, the family gets involved in his dirty little secret: Erik Larsson is a slob!

Enter his sister's newest television star, Laura Sweep–queen of clean! As Erik's sister, her film crew, and her curvaceous star arrive on scene to help Erik make sense of the chaos that has taken over his home, the scene is set for a Marie Kondo-style cleaning episode as well as a love that can overcome even the dirtiest of messes.

Needless to say I loved Clean Sweep. It earned a solid 5-Stars from me and deserved every single one of them. Between cute babies, the sizzling tension between Laura and Erik, and the meddlesome but loving Larsson family, I was hooked.

The X-List was almost as good as Clean Sweep. A solid thirty pages longer, I felt like The X-List had a lot more depth than Clean Sweep, which was awesome. Themes revolving around foster care, disabilities and virginity made this book a definite favorite. I especially loved how obvious it was that Mitchell did her research and reached out to some sensitivity readers regarding these issues. As an adoptive mama and author of books with similar themes, I really appreciated the inclusion (but not exploitation) of these elements in this book.

However, some of the descriptions and one very long, drawn out sex scene were too much for me and that's why this book got 4-stars instead of 5. That said, it is still very much a must-read. Especially since you can devour this delicious slice of sexy pie in less time than it takes to binge watch two episodes of Netflix's Virgin River.

You can pick up both these books, as well as Mitchell's other great reads, on Amazon!

*this post contains affiliate links

Book of the Month: September, 2020

Indie Romance Book Club

September snuck up on my like an assassin in the night, but I finally have everything ready for book club. Hop on over to the IRBC Facebook Group to join in on the discussion of this amazing indie read by author Claire Hastings! Remember, no spoiler posts until after the 20th so we can all enjoy the read!

Can't Fight This Feeling is a friends-to-lovers romance set at the Indigo Royal Resort on St. Thomas Island. Considering most of us have been stuck at home (or at the very least in our hometowns) for months on end, this book is just the escape we need as the year that never ends finally rolls into fall.

You can read Can't Fight This Feeling for free with Kindle Unlimited or order a paperback copy if that's how you roll. And don't forget to look Claire up, too! She has some very stalk-worthy social media (Towel-Tuesday is a thing, y'all, and you don't want to miss it!)

Amazon Claire's Website Facebook Instagram

,Book Description

For as long as Kyle Egan can remember, he has wanted only one thing: to run his own boat charter company. Not that he has much to complain about, as the lead charter boat captain at the Indigo Royal Resort in St. Thomas USVI. He gets to spend his days out on the water, never has to wear a tie, and works alongside his best friend, Drea Miller, who happens to be the only other thing he wants.

Drea Miller has been crushing on her best friend Kyle since the moment she saw him five years ago. Unfortunately, she is fully aware that he doesn’t see her as more than a friend— oh, and the niece of his bosses. Working for the family-owned resort with her three annoyingly overprotective uncles has always been what she wanted, but lately she’s started to wonder what else life might hold. If she can't have the guy she wants, maybe it’s time that she makes another dream a reality.

When an encounter with a guest brings out the truth, Kyle and Drea are left trying to navigate their feelings, but can their new love survive a revelation they never saw coming?

Have a great indie romance you'd love to read with us? Suggest it on the IRBC Amazon Book Club page!

Book Review 2 & 3 - Clean Sweep & The X-List

5 & 4-Stars

Evie Mitchell popped up on my radar through an Instagram event the amazing Bre Reads Books was putting on. The book that initially caught my eye was The X-List, a BBW RomCom that featured a grumpy viking hero, a bookstore and, of course, a well-curved heroine. It was the second book in Mitchell's Thor's Shipbuilding series, but I think it was the third book featuring the Larsson family. Needless to say I read things completely out of order and started with that one, but for the reviews, we'll do them in order. Because as soon as I put down The X-List, I picked up Clean Sweep and devoured it even more quickly than it's successor.

Clean Sweep is a hot little book (and I do mean little, this puppy comes in at 79 pages and takes about an hour to read) featuring a cleaning queen and a viking daddy. And no, that isn't dirty talk. Erik Larsson is literally a daddy after he is handed twin boys and told they've been bequeathed to him by their mother, an untraceable woman. Of course one look at their cute, chubby baby faces and Erik couldn't exactly turn them out on the street (not literally, obviously), so he becomes a daddy overnight.

The problem? Erik Larsson runs a shipbuilding business and being an instant dad, buying a house and trying to turn his father's legacy company around is too much for our hero. When his brother Rune takes the boys so Erik can land a big job, the family gets involved in his dirty little secret: Erik Larsson is a slob!

Enter his sister's newest television star, Laura Sweep–queen of clean! As Erik's sister, her film crew, and her curvaceous star arrive on scene to help Erik make sense of the chaos that has taken over his home, the scene is set for a Marie Kondo-style cleaning episode as well as a love that can overcome even the dirtiest of messes.

Needless to say I loved Clean Sweep. It earned a solid 5-Stars from me and deserved every single one of them. Between cute babies, the sizzling tension between Laura and Erik, and the meddlesome but loving Larsson family, I was hooked.

The X-List was almost as good as Clean Sweep. A solid thirty pages longer, I felt like The X-List had a lot more depth than Clean Sweep, which was awesome. Themes revolving around foster care, disabilities and virginity made this book a definite favorite. I especially loved how obvious it was that Mitchell did her research and reached out to some sensitivity readers regarding these issues. As an adoptive mama and author of books with similar themes, I really appreciated the inclusion (but not exploitation) of these elements in this book.

However, some of the descriptions and one very long, drawn out sex scene were too much for me and that's why this book got 4-stars instead of 5. That said, it is still very much a must-read. Especially since you can devour this delicious slice of sexy pie in less time than it takes to binge watch two episodes of Netflix's Virgin River.

You can pick up both these books, as well as Mitchell's other great reads, on Amazon!

A Whoops and a Rebrand

One of the best parts of being an indie author is that you are constantly learning. There is no handing your books off to professionals and trusting their judgement, the whole process is in your hands. Which is also the hardest part about being an indie author because sometimes you screw up.

And sometimes you don't find out about your screw up until after you've published it.

This was what happened to me this last week. Because I've been struggling with my current manuscript, I found myself wasting time studying the market for sweet with heat (aka, not quite clean) novels. Guess what? My covers stood out like a lime-green prom dress at a formal wedding! I was so far off market I knew I had to make decisions about my books and quick. I had three options:

Leave the covers I had and maybe rebrand in a year
Leave The Reunion's cover and rebrand A Suite Christmas and the Inn at Halfpoint series.
Rebrand both covers completely.

I consulted some pros, some author friends and a few cover clinic groups as I weighed my choices. As you can see, the final decision was to rebrand completely right now.

Was this the right choice? I have no idea. Time (and sales ranking) will tell. But I am happy with the new covers. I didn't think it was possible to love covers more than my old ones, but these ones make me smile and fit the market. Hopefully this will result in a win-win.

Now I just have to tackle the problems in my current WIP... #authorproblems lol!

What do you think? Did I make the right choice in rebranding now?

If you're an author, what is a hard decision you've had to make regarding your publishing journey? Any whoopsies along the way?

A Little Fun on Goodreads

I created a little quiz on Goodreads to test your indie author knowledge! Take it now and see if you can beat my score (86%, super embarrassing since I literally wrote it). Or just scroll through to find some awesome new indie romance reads!
Take the Indie Romance Quiz now!

And while you're at it, why don't you scroll down to the bottom of your screen and follow me on Goodreads? Just click the pixel to go straight to my page.

Book Review 1 - Stripped Down, Mae Harden

4 STARS

On Amazon I think I called this book a chili chocolate cake: satisfyingly sweet with a kick of heat.

That is still accurate.

Y'all, I love this book. Olive and Brooks are so hot if you bought the paperback the pages might ignite from their chemistry. Opening in a hotel room where Olive and her friends are tipsy and Brooks is mistaken for a male stripper, the pair immediately create sparks. Our heroine, Olive, is as sweet as the baked goods she bakes, but she has her heart buried behind a fortress that makes Area 51 look like child's play. Fortunately, Brooks is just the man for the job. After all, he runs a construction business and knocking down walls is all in a days work.

The first half of the book is all about the Sexually Pent Up Energy between Brooks and Olive, and the second about the release of that tension. But you'll be so invested in these two that when they finally get under the covers you're going to be almost as happy as Olive!

While I personally could have been happy with the book ending around chapter 35, the later chapters and epilogues do a wonderful job setting up the next book in the series, which releases at the end of this month. And oh yes, you're going to want to preorder that puppy because you'll fall so in love with Olive and her family that you can't wait to see how Harden pairs off the rest of the of the Donovan clan in her breakout Sonoma series.

So head over to Amazon and snag a copy of Stripped Down so you can enjoy this spicy, sweet romance before summer runs away from us. Then add Mowed Over to your TBR pile so you don't miss the next sexy hot title by indie author Mae Harden!

Support this amazing Indie Author on social media! Go like the heck out of Harden's Facebook and Instagram accounts and subscribe to her website!

Cover Reveal: A Suite Christmas

Designed by the talented Josh Anderson Art, the cover for my second book is finally here.

Return to the Inn at Halfpoint and meet its (in)famous keeper, Elbie Whitman, in this first installment of The Inn at Halfpoint series. A Suite Christmas is a sweet with heat, opposites attract holiday romance releasing October 25, 2020.

Preorder or add to your Amazon Shopping list now!

Jada Cooper and Bear Matterson had nothing in common. Busy running his Colorado-based tour and guide company, Bear was a mountain boy, pure and simple. Jada, on the other hand, knew little about Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, except that they were to the West. Raised in the Mile High City, she was an up-and-coming web designer on the cusp of earning the job of her dreams.

When Bear rescued Jada and her front-wheel drive car from a snow drift, there was an immediate attraction, but neither Bear nor Jada was interested in the complications of a relationship. Bear had sworn off romance after the woman he loved chose another, and Jada was too busy trying to make things right with the family she’d run away from to contemplate a new relationship. Both heading to the same inn for Christmas week, they had no idea they’d be sharing more than a car ride.

With a winter storm on the horizon, Jada and Bear have no choice but to accept their shared suite. What started as a ruined Christmas might turn out to be the best gift of them all... if only Bear and Jada can overcome their hang ups and give love a chance.