Book Extract: Under a Gilded Sky by Imogen Martin
I am pleased to be welcoming Imogen Martin to Novel Kicks today and the blog tour for her novel, Under a Gilded Sky.
In this epic and unforgettable love story, set in the wilds of Missouri and the glamour of high society Boston at the dawn of the Gilded Age, one woman’s life changes forever the day that a stranger turns up on her doorstep.
Missouri, February 1874: The last thing struggling homesteader Ginny needs is a scandal on her hands. But when a badly injured drifter arrives at Snow Farm in desperate need of medical attention, Ginny’s kind nature and good upbringing means she has no choice but to treat his wounds and care for him until he’s back on his feet, no matter the danger he might pose.
Ginny’s been running the farm and looking after her fourteen-year-old sister Mary-Lou since their papa died two years ago, each morning pulling on his old leather coat and pushing her feet into stout boots that come up to her knees, before heading out to tend to the cattle. She’s determined to hold onto the one thing that connects them to memories of their parents – whatever the cost. And when their uninvited guest – Lex – is well enough he offers his help, and she surprises herself by accepting it.
But not long after Lex moves on, Ginny realises that her heart has gone with him. And when the farm’s fortunes take a turn for the worse, she faces her hardest test yet. Can she save the only home she’s ever known, and everything she holds dear? And what if doing so means risking a chance at love and happiness she never expected to come her way?
Imogen has shared an extract with us today so you know the drill – coffee/tea, comfortable chair and enjoy.
*****beginning of extract*****
Intro:
This is part way through the second chapter. Mary Lou has brought an injured man to their isolated rural homestead. Ginny is concerned that her 14-year-old sister doesn’t understand the danger this man might bring them, given it is just the two of them who live there.
Snow Farm, Missouri—February 1874
Ginny lifted out a screw-top jar and some bandages. “This is comfrey and elder salve. It will take down the swelling.”
The man nodded his approval and Ginny massaged the milky-colored gel into his ankle. The astringent smell filled the room.
“Sir, when d’you last eat?” Mary Lou asked.
He looked up at her, as if remembering there was a second young woman in the room. “Not for a few days.”
“I’ll get you something.” Mary Lou glanced at Ginny for approval to return to the kitchen and Ginny nodded.
by 
Book Review: The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens by Jaimie Admans
I’m so excited to be welcoming Jaimie Admans to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, The Gingerbread House in Mistletoe Gardens.
In Mistletoe Gardens a legend exists: anyone who kisses underneath the mistletoe will be guaranteed another year of love…
When local baker Essie Browne discovers that Mistletoe Gardens is to be demolished in January, she’s determined to save the place she loves so much. So Essie proposes building a life size gingerbread house to bring in the crowds…just how hard can it be?
Well, quite hard actually. Essie can bake gingerbread blindfolded, but she hasn’t got a clue how to build an actual house with it! She needs help – and fast!
Enter local builder, Joss Hallissey. Essie is convinced that with Joss’s help they can pull this off. There’s just one tiny problem: Joss hates Christmas, gingerbread, and… well, just about everything else too.
Joss the Grinch makes it clear that her idea is ludicrous and pointless, but he reluctantly agrees to help with her plan.
Will the gingerbread house be enough to save Mistletoe Gardens? Or will Essie’s chance for a magical kiss under the mistletoe be lost forever?
*****
When Essie discovers that her town’s beloved Mistletoe Gardens is going to be demolished at the end of the Christmas period, she is devastated; especially as there is so much history attached to the Gardens.
She then has an idea to build a life-size gingerbread house that will then house Father Christmas in the build up to the festive season. To begin with, no one believes in her idea which is a problem as that includes the builder she needs to help bring her vision to life.
Can Essie bring the residents of Folkhornton on side to help her save Mistletoe Gardens before it gets demolished and turned into flats?
by Book Review: Not in a Billion Years by Camilla Isley
Please join me in welcoming Camilla Isley back to Novel Kicks. She’s here with the blog tour for her novel, Not in a Billion Years.
She’s a self-made fitness sensation. He’s a billionaire mogul. They’re sworn enemies and rivals… aren’t they?
Blake Avery knows all about hard work. She’s gone from making videos in her teenage bedroom to founding a booming fitness business and opening a state-of-the-art Manhattan gym. Now she’s on the cusp of realizing her wildest dreams, and she’s not going to let anyone stand in her way.
Certainly not man-of-the-hour Gabriel Mercer. He might be one of the biggest names in the fitness world and set women’s pulses soaring more than a grueling HIIT workout, but he grew up in a billionaire dynasty and had everything handed to him – or so Blake thinks.
But when Blake publicly criticizes Gabriel, she sparks a feud that neither entrepreneur is willing to back down from. And in an industry that seems determined to keep pushing them together, can Blake hold on to her grudge? Or will she finally warm up to Gabriel’s charm?
*****
In ten years, Blake Avery has managed to turn making fitness videos in her bedroom for You Tube, into a very successful company. She is on the verge of taking it public and so has no time for distractions or spats.
That doesn’t stop her from calling out billionaire, Gabriel Mercer and his claims that he is self made despite coming from an already rich family. As you can imagine, he doesn’t take it well.
I loved Love Quest by Camilla Isley so I was so happy to be invited onto the tour for Not in a Billion Years.
by Book Review: Two to Tango by Laura Carter
I’m pleased to be welcoming Laura Carter to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, Two to Tango.
A high-intensity personal trainer
The secret to Brooks’s success as a Manhattan gym owner? Being motivated to disprove everyone who ever doubted him. So he’s not about to let a perky newcomer like Izzy tarnish his reputation. Even if watching her lead a salsa class on his premises gets his own heartbeat raised…
His beautiful British rival
Every time influencer Izzy slams Brooks in her fitness blog, her book sales soar. But when their escalating media feud forces them to be up-close-and-personal for two weeks, she realizes there’s much more to Brooks than that lean and muscled body.
And a competition that’s got their hearts racing…
Soon Izzy and Brooks are finding all kinds of creative ways to work up a sweat. A passionate workout is easy, but can their rivalry give way to a lasting partnership?
*****
Brooks is the owner of the most successful gym in Manhattan. He’s worked hard and he intends to keep it that way. What he doesn’t count on is a visit from the successful Izzy, who wants to use his gym to record one of her famous salsa classes.
It’s not long before the pair clash but can they work through their differences to get through a challenge to swap workout routines for two weeks?
by Book Review: Murder on the Farm by Kate Wells
I’m happy to be welcoming Kate Wells to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, Murder on the Farm.
Lambing season always brings the unexpected… But no one expected murder
Jude Gray never thought she’d find herself widowed and running a working farm full-time, but here she is, living in the small Malvern village her husband Adam spent most of his life in.
After a particularly gruelling lambing season, she is looking forward to some time off, but there’s no rest for the wicked, especially when she finds the body of one of Adam’s oldest friends on her farm.
Jude refuses to believe the official line, that Sarah’s death was a suicide, and starts an investigation of her own. But as the body count rises, danger creeps ever closer to Malvern Farm.
A killer is on the prowl. And all that stands in their way is one woman – and her dog.
*****
After the death of her husband, Jude finds herself running a farm in Malvern. As a gruelling lambing season is about to end, Jude finds herself facing another challenge – solving the mysterious death of her friend. The trouble is, how do you solve a death that everyone else thinks is suicide?
Murder on the Farm is the first book in the Malvern Mysteries book series and I’m already a fan.
by Book Club
