Indie Reads Appreciation Week & Giveaway

Welcome to Indie Reads Appreciation Week and Blog Hop!

This activity is hosted by That Bookish Girl and each day for the next week there will be special activities going on to promote some of our favorite Independent authors.

Lets talk about the giveaways first!

I have up for the giveaway a copy of His Elle by Jemima Valentino. To read my post on this click HERE.  I’m also offering up a Barnes & Noble Gift Card!  If that isn’t enough, the Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway Hop starts on Thursday and even more will be given away in that Hop!  I’ll make this giveaway simple, if you want to be entered to win, you need to be a follower and you need to leave me a comment with your e-mail address on it so that I can contact you.

To start off this activity filled week, I want to introduce you to one of my favorite authors, Norah Wilson.  You may not of heard of Norah before, but you should pick up one of her books and see if you enjoy her work as much as I do!  As you will find out she is Canadian like me, but she lives on the other side of the country from me!

Norah Wilson lives in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada with her husband and two adult children (both in university), a Lab-Rotti mix dog and five rats (the pet kind). She has been writing romance a long while, and has finalled multiple times in the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart contest. She also won Dorchester Publishing’s New Voice in Romance contest in 2003.

Norah writes sensual romantic suspense. The three novels in her Serve and Protect series, as well as her award-winning Lauren’s Eyes, are available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Apple, etc. She also writes paranormal YA stories with a writing partner, under the name Wilson Doherty, but the team has not yet published.

Currently, three of Norah’s four romantic suspenses are in the Top 10 highest rated romances at Smashwords. She was also mentioned by Smashwords CEO Mark Coker as one of the Top 50 indie authors to watch on Smashwords. Norah loves to meet fans and make friends on  Twitter and her Website and Facebook.

I have now read three of Norah’s books for The Romance Reviews. Honestly, when I got the first one I wasn’t too excited as I wasn’t a fan of romantic suspense.  So, I started in, and kept reading until I was done!  It was great!  This was Guarding Suzannah, the first book in the To Serve and Protect Series.  I actually enjoyed it so much I asked to be assigned any other books she submitted.  I read and reviewed Saving Grace, and Protecting Paige (which can be seen below).  Although I enjoyed all three, my favorite is Protecting Paige.  Because of that I have asked Norah if I can offer a copy of that particular book in the giveaway that starts on  Thursday!  Here are my thoughts on Protecting Paige, and remember to return on Thursday to enter to win a copy!

Single mom Paige Harmer is at her wits end about her son Dillon, who’s running with a bad crowd. She turns to next door neighbor Cst Tommy Godsoe. Sidelined by a gunshot injury, he just wants to be left alone, but Paige is unstoppable. Before long, he’s drawn into their lives. Paige is going to need a cop in her corner, and Tommy needs Paige to bring him back to life.

This delightful and sensual romance is gritty and real. Protecting Paige combines tension filled action, humor and great writing to produce this amazingly tender romance. It unflinchingly describes the recovery of a cop shot in the line of duty and his commitment to upholding the law and protecting citizens.  Protecting Paige also shows the concerns of a mother who’s son is caught by the underbelly of society.  A riveting read from beginning to end.  Clear a few hours, find a comfy spot to sit and hang on for the ride!

Paige Harmer is a single mom who makes her living making specialty desserts for local restaurants.  Her almost 18 year old son seems to be running with a bad crowd which is causing her increasing concern.  When she moved into her duplex, her landlord told her that her neighbor was recovering from recent surgery.  One day, while worrying about where her son has stormed off to, she cooks too much food and decides to take a plate of hot food over and meet her new neighbor.

“ Now, her neighbor stood framed in the doorway, wearing a pair of white boxers and a thunderous expression.
And oh, Christmas, he was the most gorgeous thing she’d clapped eyes on in years, outside of a Calvin Klein ad.
Despite their current storminess, his eyes were blue as the July sky.  Black hair, a startling contrast to his pale complexion, stood up in all directions, all the sexier for its dishevelment.  Thick, black eyebrows slanted over those killer eyes.  More dark hair crowned his chest in a liberal thatch, tapering to a thin line that arrowed out of sight beneath his boxers.”

In her anxiety, she gives Tommy, her neighbour, the impression that she is a bit neurotic with all the rambling about her concerns and her thoughts about the state of his apartment.  She bullies him into eating what she’s made and continues to tell him about her concerns for her son.  Although Tommy isn’t in great shape, he allows her to feed him, make him coffee and bounce ideas off him.  When she leaves to go home he hears her scream.  He finds her looking at a skinned dead animal that has been left on her doorstep.  Tommy immediately becomes the cop that he was and seeks to not only protect her, but to investigate the scene.

This starts the relationship between Paige and Tommy.  Paige is concerned that Tommy is too young for her, and Tommy is concerned that Paige shouldn’t be saddled with an injured cop who is without a job.  Ultimately, they make a great match.  Tommy becomes someone for Paige to care for – to mother – to a certain extent.  Paige and the situation with her son give Tommy something to get out of bed for.

Of all of the books that I’ve read by Norah Wilson, I’ve liked this one the best.  The first few chapters set the scene.  They give the reader a hint of the danger that’s likely to be involved.  They introduce Paige and Tommy in a scene that will have the reader chuckling as well as cringing.  One can just picture Tommy feeling like he is being steam-rollered; staring in disbelief at this woman in his house that doesn’t get the hint that she’s not welcome.  Unable to find the words to stop her from cleaning up his kitchen, chatter like a magpie, and take over his life.

The attraction between Tommy and Paige is immediate.  The chemistry sizzles on the pages!  What was almost more important than the chemistry, was the gentle blossoming of their relationship.  I found myself cheering the characters along!  The progress that Tommy makes with Paige’s son Dillion is delightful to read about.  The interaction between Tommy and his fellow cops is so vividly written that the reader can just visualize the manly back-slapping get-together.  I like that there is enough cop detail, and dog training detail, to round out Tommy’s job and show how his skills are important and something worth trying to go back to.  The scene involving the RCMP and FBI made me feel like I was in an action adventure movie with the good guys conquering the bad guys.   I was cheering all the way!  You really should pick up this book and settle in for a good read!

Protecting Paige is the third book in Norah Wilson’s To Serve and Protect series.

As Norah says above, her books can be found at a number of places.  Here are the direct links to the books on Smashwords:

Guarding Suzannah

Saving Grace

Protecting Paige

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