Forever Publishing – THE BOOKISH MOM

SIP + SWOON

Let’s make a fun drink and check out a swoony romance!

This edition of Sip + Swoon has the perfect cocktail that will help keep you up into the wee hours of the night enjoying that romance you can’t put down, the Espresso Martini. This classic drink has been having a MOMENT and as someone who could *always* use some caffeine I am here for it!

Simple ingredients make it easy to whip up, and I even have a little twist to the classic cocktail below!

How to make a Classic Espresso Martini

Step 1: pour espresso in a shaker with ice

Step 2: add your simple syrup

Step 3: Add your vodka (we love Tito’s!)

Step 4: add your coffee liqueur (we always reach for Kahlua)

Step 5: Shake Shake Shake!

Step 6: strain into coupe or martini glass

Step 7: add 3 coffee beans for garnish. Cheers!

The romance I I paired my Espresso Martini with is Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez because not only are doctors known for needing all the caffeine for their demanding schedule, you will want it too when you have to read just one more chapter… for the 7th time… at 2 am. Yes this book is that good. [check out my review for it HERE]

This romance comes out on 4/11, but it’s one you are should go ahead a pre-order now! You can thank me later! 🙂

Read Synopsis Here

Pre-Order Here

Check out the recipe below, and keep reading for a few tips and twists on this delicious cocktail!

Classic Espresso Martini

Ingredients:
– 2 oz vodka ( we love Tito’s Vodka )
– 1 oz coffee liqueur ( I used Kahlua )
– 1 shot of espresso ( fresh brewed is best )
– 1/2 oz – 1 oz simple syrup
– 3 coffee beans for garnish

Directions:
Add vodka, coffee liquor, espresso, and simple syrup in a shaker along with a handful of ice. Shake, Shake Shake hard so the signature froth forms (trust me, I tried stirring it because I didn’t have a shaker, it’s not the same). Strain into a coupe or martini glass and garnish with 3 coffee beans. Enjoy!

Tips:
– for a simple syrup short cut I just stir a shot glass of water with a packet of stevia until it is dissolved. I have no idea if it is even close to the same, but I can’t do super sugary drinks and this cuts it down a bit for me!

– fresher brewed espresso has frothed better for me than if I let it sit

Twists:
⁃ Substitute the vodka for good quality tequila (we love Clase Azul Reposado and Casamigos)

– Substitute the coffee liqueur for cream de cacao or chocolate liqueur

– use vanilla vodka

Thank you for checking out Sip + Swoon! Don’t forget to head over to my Instagram to see more book content!

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April Romance Releases

Alright I’m a bit late (again), but here are the April romance book releases I am super excited about! This month is JAM PACKED with amazing books coming out so make room on your TBR!

I mean SO MANY good ones am I right!?! I can already tell you Life’s Too Short, The Temporary Roomie, and Second First Impressions are all solid reads! I think they’re all super fun reads, closed door-ish, and totally bingeable!

I’m going to pick up Is It Any Wonder or To Love and To Loathe next!!

As always thanks for checking my list out! You can head over to my Instagram page for more posts and reviews!

March Romance Releases

Happy March! Can you even believe it’s already here? I am SO ready for warmer weather and sunnier days, although I’m praying the mosquitos take their time coming back. I’m also getting the spring cleaning bug (aka let’s donate and throw out all the things) and can’t wait to kind of refresh our home. This time of year is when I want to redecorate and finish home projects the most!

Alright without further ado – here’s my list of romances releasing in March that I am most excited about! There weren’t as many as last month but I can already tell I’m going to need to read all of these!

I hope you are enjoying these monthly lists! Let me know if there’s a March romance release you’re excited about that I missed!

You can check out my Instagram and Goodreads as well to stay up to date with what I’m reading and just everyday shenanigans!

Book Review: Home for the Holidays

*Home for the Holidays | Sara Richardson*

This book gave me all the warm & fuzzies! Such a sweet holiday story that got me right in the Christmas spirit!

I really enjoyed reading what was going on in each of the three sister’s lives, and this book is such a great reminder of how sometimes in life things happen at the exact moment it needs to, even if you didn’t know you needed it or wanted it. I loved reading the sisters reconnect with their aunt and each other, and the romances that developed just made my heart so happy! Was it a little cheesy? Sure. But honestly with Christmas books & romances I almost always go in thinking it will be some level of cheesy, and don’t care one bit! Give me all the cheer!

If you are looking for a sweet, Hallmark style Christmas book look no further! Home for the Holidays is out now!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Forever Publishing for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review!

And can we talk about this cookie!?! Hayleycakes and Cookies is an Austin bakery and I’ve followed her on Instagram for 8 years (when my oldest was nursing in the middle of the night I just scrolled her entire account 😂) When we’d go down to Austin I’d bring the kids to her bakery, gawk at her amazing cookies, then eat way too much sugar and cross my fingers I’d get to meet THE Hayley and we would become instant best friends (I haven’t yet but I’m not losing hope!)

A little while ago I saw on her IG she was partnering with Central Market to put some of her cookies in their stores — and you better believe I drove 40 minutes (twice) just to snag some cookies! Y’all go check out her account and good luck not spending 7 hours scrolling through her insanely talented cookies! She ships all over too (you’re welcome)!

When do you start decorating for Christmas?

We always have a big decorating day the weekend after thanksgiving! Everyone helps & we play Christmas music and order pizza – it’s so much fun and the kids love it! Then they go to bed and I redecorate everything and put it where it goes 😂

Happy Pub Day + IG Giveaway!

*A Very Merry Match by Melinda Curtis & Christmas on Reindeer Road by Debbie Mason*

*Christmas on Reindeer Road by Debbie Mason*

Happy Pub day to these two holiday reads!! A Very Merry Match and Christmas on Reindeer Road are out TODAY and are the perfect additions to your holiday feel good books!

I tell you, when the holidays roll around I honestly can’t get enough of them! The Hallmark channel is on 24/7, I always have a holiday candle going and try to make the time at home as cozy as possible. I make a calendar of fun/easy activities for the kiddos and me (I definitely try to keep it simple because no one needs any more stress around the holidays am I right!) I think it’s because I’m in Texas, so some Christmases we’re playing outside in shorts and 70 degree weather, and some years it’s actually chilly. So I never take one cold festive day for granted!

When Forever Pub sent me my copies of these two awesome holiday books they actually sent me TWO of each copy! So I immediately thought of doing a giveaway on their pub day! What better way to spread some holiday cheer and get you ready for the season right?!

You can head over to my Instagram page HERE to enter my giveaway!

If you don’t have an Instagram simply comment on here that you don’t and I will count your comment on here as an entry!

Big thank you to Forever Publishing for the gifted copies of these books!

Instagram giveaway ends 10/2 at 11:59 PM CST, not affiliated with Instagram, must be willing to share address, 18 years or older, or permission from parent, no spam accounts!

Holiday Book Mail!

Who is ready for the holidays?! I totally am! It has been the longest summer EVER, I’m ready for some holiday cheer! This time of year is my absolute FAVORITE! I love the few months leading up to Christmas & New Years, with all of the holiday magic building and Halloween & Thanksgiving festivities sprinkled in there as well. With the 3 kiddos we are kept busy and I always try to find some fun stuff to do in the DFW area.

I just got my very first package of holiday book mail from Forever Publishing! When September hits, I am ALL ABOUT holiday themed food, Hallmark movies, and especially books! I’m telling you — the first semi cool day here in TX I will be cuddling up with some hot tea, a cozy blanket, and these books!

Forever Publishing is so fun to work with, and I’m not sure if it was by accident or what but I got two copies of each book! I am going to be giving away the extra copies on my Instagram page so head over there and enter! (US only – so sorry international friends!)

Christmas on Reindeer Road by Debbie Mason (pub date 9/29/20)

Christmas on Reindeer Road followed widowed single mom Mallory as she navigates life with her troubled teenage step sons. When they get into trouble they have to answer to handsome Police Chief Gabe, who is caring and helpful and not what she needs right now (or so she thinks).

A Very Merry Match by Melinda Curtis (9/29/20)

Oh man this Melinda Curtis books has all the small town holiday feels! Mayors son loves his sweet as sugar teacher, bringing her and his dad – the mayor – together in a magical holiday story you won’t want to miss!

Mark your calendar for these book releases and be on the lookout for book reviews of these two very soon!

You can check out more posts & reviews on my Instagram and Goodreads!

Thank you Forever Publishing for these gifted copies!

Review: Make Mine a Cowboy

Synopsis

Dr. Charlotte North would do anything for her grandmother Pearl, including dropping everything at her Pediatric office in NYC to take care of Pearl’s inn for 8 weeks (after just getting back from a vacation to see her!) while she recovers from an accident. One thing she didn’t prepare for was to see her vacation fling Ben for the next 8 weeks as well.

Review

I thought this was such a charming small town romance with a devilishly handsome party boy who is ready to get his life together and a put together, driven, and painfully organized doctor who is only in town temporarily. They had hooked up while she was in town for the week, and then when her grandmother got hurt she came back for 8 weeks to care for her. Their opposite personalities compliment each other so well and I loved reading the progression from vacation fling to something more serious. Ben was so sweet and worked so hard to show Charlotte how much he cared while also giving her the casual-ness she “wanted” since she wasn’t staying in town. It also had the charming small town vibe and characters!

The steam was a little more than closed door, but not super detailed. Which I love my steam so I did kind of missed it! I kept turning the page waiting for some good steamy scenes that never came. The ending just made me SO HAPPY!! I hope if you enjoy sweet cowboy romances you will pick this one up!

This book comes out on 8/25!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

You can check out more posts & reviews on my Instagram and Goodreads!

Thank you Forever Publishing for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own!

Review: Matchmaker Bay Series

*Mermaid Inn & Paradise Cove by Jenny Holiday*

These two books were my first Jenny Holiday books, and they definitely won’t be my last! Here’s the Synopsis for each one:

Mermaid Inn (book 1):

Eve Abbott hasn’t been back in Matchmaker Bay since her summer love broke her heart in front of the entire town. When her late aunt wills her Inn to her, she has no choice but to return, get the Inn ready to sell, and avoid Sawyer Collins at all costs…

Paradise Cove (book 2):

Dr. Nora Walsh needs a fresh start. After an awful breakup that left her without a place to live in Toronto, nothing says fresh start like taking over a small town practice for a few years and just concentrating on herself and her patients. No need to date, especially not the broody, devilishly handsome Jake Ramsey…

Review

Both of these books in my opinion were the perfect summer reads! They had the sweet small town love stories, the steam you know I looove, and oh man the angst and longing between characters was INSANE (in the best way)!! They were also witty just incredibly charming, I was legit grinning from ear to ear reading both of these I loved the stories so much! Both of these books were totally bingeworthy and I have already passed them to two relatives to read as well!

Mermaid Inn is my absolute favorite second chance romance I’ve ever read! Man I was DYING for them to give in to each other! It also had all the small town components that gave this book so much charm!

I never thought I’d want to visit a Canadian beach, but Paradise Cove makes me want to book the next plane up there and experience what Jenny Holiday is writing about! If only this town was real right?! I’d be there in a minute! Jake’s story was SO touching and had so much depth and growth… I couldn’t get enough! I love how their friends to lovers romance started slow and steady. It made the story so heartwarming!

There’s one more book in this series that will be coming out I think next year, and Jenny Holiday has a Christmas book – A Princess for Christmas coming out October 13th!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (for both books!)

You can check out more reviews and posts on my Instagram & Goodreads!

Thank you Forever Publishing for the gifted copies of these books! All opinions are my own!

Review: Kiss My Cupcake

Synopsis

Blaire Calloway is practically giddy over opening her very own cupcake and cocktails cafe, independent from her loving but controlling family of restauranteurs. When she comes across her annoyingly sexy and smug bar owner neighbor she not only managed to start a war for customers, but can’t get him out of her head…

Review

This enemies to lovers romance was such a fun and lighthearted read! I loved the friendly competition between them, and could read about how captivating she was to Ronan forever (give me all the sexy & sweet heros!!) I seriously loved for how sexy he is, he’s just as thoughtful and loving to Blaire.⁣

I really enjoyed reading how independent and well adjusted Blaire was, despite having a pretty crazy family. She was unapologetically herself and worked so hard to build a successful business.

Ronan is this incredibly strong, sexy guy that loves to poke fun at his neighbor every chance he gets. Their banter and sexual tension was really fun to read and when he eats her cupcakes it made me chuckle!

Blaire and Ronan’s relationship was playful, sweet, sexy, and full of heart! I loved the steam, the fun playful characters and cute story!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Forever Publishing for the gifted eARC in exchange for an honest review!

You can check out more reviews and posts on my Instagram & Goodreads!

Happy Pub Day: 7/28

Happy pub day to these beauties from Forever Publishing and Sourcebooks Casablanca! I am so thankful for these gifted copies they have kept my summer romance reading on fire! I have really enjoyed these sweet summer romances and hope you’ll check them out! Here are the back covers for a synopsis of each one so you can check them out…

Cowboy For Keeps by Laura Drake (Forever Publishing):

Paradise Cove by Jenny Holiday (Forever Publishing):

Come Home to Deep River by Jackie Ashenden (Sourcebooks Casa):

Also go check out Sarcastic_Reader_Shop for some cute and sarcastic bookmarks like the ones in my picture (link not affiliated)!

The Temporary Roomie Sarah Adams	4/1	Goodreads
The Return Home D.M. Drake	4/5	Goodreads
To Love and To Loathe Martha Waters	4/6	Goodreads
Life’s Too Short Abby Jimenez	4/6	Goodreads
Is It Any Wonder Courtney Walsh	4/6	Goodreads
After Happily Ever After Leslie Rasmussen	4/6	Goodreads
The Intimacy Experiment Rosie Danan	4/6	Goodreads
The Duke Undone Joanna Lowell	4/6	Goodreads
Twice Shy Sarah Hogle	4/6	Goodreads
Second First Impressions Sally Thorne	4/13	Goodreads
come On Over Jeff Mauro	4/13	Goodreads
Bookshop by the Sea Denise Hunter	4/13	Goodreads
Hana Khan Carries On Uzma Jalaluddin	4/13	Goodreads
The House Swap Jo Lovett	4/19	Goodreads
Under the Southern Sky Kristy Woodson Harvey	4/20	Goodreads
Maggie Finds Her Muse Dee Ernst	4/20	Goodreads
World’s Worst Boyfriend Carina Taylor	4/20	Goodreads
The Stolen Princess Kourtney Keisel	4/26	Goodreads
Dial A for Aunties Jesse Q. Sutanto	4/27	Goodreads
The Seat Filler Sariah Wilson	4/27	Goodreads
Anchored Hearts Priscilla Oliveras	4/27	Goodreads
An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler Vanessa Riley	4/27	Goodreads
Picnic in Someday Valley Jodi Thomas	4/27	Goodreads
When We’re Thirty Casey Dembowski	4/27	Goodreads
The Road to Rose Bend Naima Simone	4/27	Goodreads

The Wedding Game Meghan Quinn	3/1	Goodreads
Float Plan Trish Doller	3/2	Goodreads
Accidentally Engaged Farah Heron	3/2	Goodreads
Yes & I Love You Roni Loren	3/2	Goodreads
Love Like Her Claudia Burgoa	3/2	Goodreads
Meet Me in Barefoot Bay Roxanne St. Claire	3/2	Goodreads
Maybe One Day Debbie Johnson	3/2	Goodreads
Act Your Age, Eve Brown Talia Hibbert	3/9	Goodreads
Sandcastle Beach Jenny Holiday	3/9	Goodreads
A Rogue to Remember Emily Sullivan	3/9	Goodreads
One Night with a Cowboy Sara Richardson	3/9	Goodreads
Wishing for a Cowboy Victoria James	3/9	Goodreads
The Dating Plan Sara Desai	3/16	Goodreads
Meet Me in Paradise Libby Hubscher	3/23	Goodreads
It’s Just Business Summer Dowell	3/25	Goodreads
Back in the Burbs Avery Flynn	3/30	Goodreads
Duchess if you Dare Anabelle Bryant	3/30	Goodreads