Book Extract: Play It Back by Sara Palacios
Please join me in welcoming Sara Palacios to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, Play It Back.
Ten years. Two hearts. One love story that never forgot how it began.
Ten years ago, Erin Campbell left Texas without saying goodbye to the only boy she’d ever loved.
Ten years later, he’s the biggest name in country music… and every song he’s ever written is about her.
After losing her mother at eighteen, staying meant facing a life she no longer recognized. So Erin left – her hometown, her grieving father, and Jake Ingram, her best friend, first love, and the future she’d always imagined.
A decade later, Erin has built a successful career as one of New York City’s most sought-after photographers, creating the life she always thought she wanted. But no amount of distance – or success – has been enough to silence the memories she left behind.
When her father needs surgery, Erin returns to Texas expecting to stay only long enough to help him recover.
Instead, she comes face to face with Jake.
The boy she left behind is now one of country music’s brightest stars, known for writing songs that have captivated millions. Fans have spent years wondering who inspired the heartbreak woven through every album.
Only Erin knows the answer.
As old memories resurface and long-buried truths finally come to light, Erin and Jake must decide whether the love they never stopped carrying is strong enough to overcome the heartache they never healed from – or whether ten years is simply too much time to ask two hearts to begin again.
Play It Back is a heartfelt second-chance romance about first love, grief, forgiveness, and finding your way home.
Because some love stories don’t end, they simply wait for you to come home.
Sara has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy.
*****beginning of extract*****
I’m kicking things off with an extract from the prologue of Play It Back. Interestingly, the prologue was quite literally the last part of the novel I wrote.
By that point, the manuscript had already gone through a pretty rigorous review process with a couple of beta readers, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing. I wanted the opening to immediately put Jake, my MMC, on the page and give readers a glimpse of who he is, while also planting a few hints about what they could expect from the story ahead.
And this prologue did exactly that.
My favorite part? Honestly, all of it. But if I had to choose, it would be Jake Ingram fresh off his third tour, talking about some of his new music when he accidentally reveals a little more than he intended during an interview with journalist Timmy Collins. Suddenly, there’s a question about a heartbreak ballad everyone seems to love… and perhaps a certain someone who inspired it.
I hope you enjoy this little glimpse into Jake’s world.
COLLINS: How does it feel to wrap your third tour?
He leans back, considering.
INGRAM: It feels good. Real good. This album was different; took a few risks. I didn’t know how people would take it, but it connected. That’s all you can really ask for.
COLLINS: Any songs that stood out for you along the way?
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Book Extract: All Or None by Clive Fleury
Please join me as we welcome Clive Fleury to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for his book, All Or None.
Returning to Sydney, Detective Ramesh Ryan is promoted to the Homicide Squad. Zoe Yang joins him there. Now a detective herself, she is assigned as his junior partner. Straight up, the cops are off and running—investigating the discovery of a murdered company director. Following the clues, Detective Ryan finds that this and a second murder may be linked to past events.
As the pressure mounts for a quick solution to the case, the detective finds that he too, is in the killer’s crosshairs. But Ryan is distracted from the investigation by a romantic encounter with an old university friend. He also worries about his mother, Mumta, and her new obsessive desire for grandchildren from her only son. Could this be linked to her recent medical tests? And there’s another pressing problem—the plague of rats in his apartment block.
Detective Ryan’s hands are well and truly full.
Clive has shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy.
beginning of extract
Tommy Clarke and his wife Anne are saving up to buy a house, so they need all the money they can get. However, despite this, Tommy is still not pleased to be working on Saturday. He is to drive a small group of demonstrators down to a rally in Sydney and so will miss the all-important grudge match between the Swans and the Eagles.
There were eleven of them squashed into the red Ford Transit van. All were in high spirits—except, that was, for the driver, Tommy Clarke. He wasn’t happy.
Tommy had thought long and hard about offering his services locally as a driver and wouldn’t have if it hadn’t been for Anne, his wife. She had heard that people were looking for transport into the city for a protest march and saw it as the perfect opportunity for them to earn some money—even though it was scheduled for Saturday, which would mean Tommy missing the big match: the Swans versus the Eagles.
by Book Extract: Feel-Good Stories by Sarah Swatridge
I’m so excited as we welcome Sarah Swatridge to Novel Kicks and the Birthday Blitz tour for her book, Feel-Good Stories.
An eclectic mix of heart-warming stories, full of memorable, quirky characters.
Read about the heroic postie, the eccentric duke, a spoilt parrot, a true friend and a determined would-be husband.
Perfect bite-sized reading with your favourite drink.
There is a chance to win a paperback copy of Sarah’s book, An Honourable Wager but first, she has shared an extract from Feel-Good Stories. We hope you enjoy.
beginning of extract
Beside the Seaside – set in 1920. Great if you love costume dramas on TV, this is ‘Downton’ rather than ‘Bridgerton’. Good if you love to curl up with an historical novel but just don’t have the time. Here’s a short historical story to whisk you back to a simpler time.
Britain 1920
“My goodness Enid, you are chipper this morning,” his Lordship said. He was reading his newspaper in the library while Enid was clearing the grate.
“Shall I come back later Sir?” she asked.
“No, that’s not necessary, you carry on.” He seemed somewhat flustered. “But please refrain from singing.”
“Sorry Sir, I had no idea I was doing it.” Enid did a little curtsey and returned to her chores.
After only a few minutes, he folded his newspaper, sat back and crossed his legs.
“Come here Enid,” he said.
by Book Extract: Invisible by Heleyne Hammersley
I’m very excited to be welcoming Heleyne Hammersley to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, Invisible.
An icy morning, a muddy riverbank. The body of a promising swimmer is found in the River Don close to Thorpe. Returning from a six-month absence, DI Kate Fletcher leads her first murder case since she nearly lost her own life to a desperate killer.
Grappling with her own doubts and insecurities, she has to negotiate a team transformed by differences in staffing and in attitude. Everything has changed and nobody is comfortable.
A second body leads to a strong suspect, but the evidence is circumstantial and far from clear cut. Kate’s ex-Detective Sergeant finds the breakthrough they need to help track down a cunning and meticulous murderer who has no conscience and no fear of consequences.
But can Kate act in time to prevent more deaths?
Heleyne has shared an extract with us today so grab that comfortable chair, the beverage of your choice and enjoy.
(Trigger warning: description of crime scene).
beginning of extract
This extract is from Chapter 17. After the discovery of a body in the River Don, DI Kate Fletcher is keen to establish any connection to a recent murder behind a pub in Doncaster.
An icy puddle marked the entrance to the alleyway, the surface a kaleidoscope of red and blue lights. A lone PCSO stood guard next to a line of blue-and-white tape which stretched from the corner of the pub to the wall opposite. He clutched a clipboard as though it were a talisman granting him permission to be there or warding off whatever evil lurked in the gloom behind the pub amid the overflowing bins and the graffiti.
by Book Extract: You Too by Katharine Light
Please join me in welcoming Katharine Light to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her book, You Too.
Anna has finally got what she longed for.
After years of focusing on her career—ignoring the quiet, insistent need for a child—a chance encounter with Rob led to an arrangement that changed everything.
Now she’s pregnant.
But nothing about what comes next is simple. This was never meant to be a relationship. As her pregnancy becomes more difficult, Anna retreats, unwilling to face Rob, or the feelings she can no longer ignore.
Because wanting a baby was one thing. Letting someone in is something else entirely.
Rob always knew their arrangement had limits. He didn’t expect Anna would quickly become the one person he can’t walk away from.
Now, both must decide what they’re willing to fight for. Can they overcome the complications of their own backgrounds and truly build a family together?
Or was their connection never meant to last?
Kathatine has kindly shared an extract with us today. We hope you enjoy.
beginning of extract
The first time they meet in this book, once Anna is pregnant and suffering with severe morning sickness.
What was Rob doing now, she wondered, for the nth time that day.
She had fielded his texts with brief replies, forcing him to shrink his enquiries accordingly. ‘Plans for the weekend?’ he’d asked. ‘Sleep!’ she’d replied.
Her biggest problem was her absolute inability to open the fridge without the inevitable retching and vomiting. She couldn’t face food. Couldn’t look at it. Couldn’t plan, shop or cook. Anything she tried turned to dry lumps on her tongue. The most she’d held down were some morsels of dry toast. Her sense of smell seemed to have magnified alarmingly, and the slightest odour sent her rushing to the loo, slicked with sweat, saliva flooding her mouth.
by Book Club
