Welcome to FAB Lovelies!

A Lifestyle blog that focuses on all things from fashion to beauty; fitness to weight loss; recipes to coupons; books to movies; travels to entertainment; and everything in between.

Showing posts with label #MarianneArkins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #MarianneArkins. Show all posts

Monday, January 29, 2024

Kitchen Matches by Marianne Arkins - Book Tour - Book Review - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hey, lovelies!!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Marianne Arkins and her new book, “Kitchen Matches,” here on FAB!!  For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Marianne and to increase your chances of winning!!

Thanks for stopping by!!  Wishing you all lots of good luck in this fabulous giveaway!!

Kitchen Matches

The Matched Series

Book 1

by Marianne Arkins

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE:   Romance

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOOK BLURB:

A feisty auto mechanic and a hunky chef cook up chaos!

Cori Weathers is a wizard with a torque wrench, but the moment she lays eyes on her cooking teacher, Micah DePalma, her lessons turn into a klutzy symphony of flying poultry and burning aprons. It makes no sense. He couldn't be less her type: tall, skinny, and born with a silver spoon in his mouth. So why is her heart sputtering like a badly tuned engine?

Despite family pressure to date only women of his own social class, something about the cooking-challenged spitfire lights all Micah's burners. Cori's a complex dish inside a deceptively simple coating, one he's willing to risk tackle football and jealous ex-boyfriends to sample.

His every attempt to crack her stubborn heart strikes sparks. Will they ignite the flame of love or explode into just another kitchen disaster?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT ONE:

Corinne Weathers, Cori to her friends and family—but not to her very proper cooking class teacher, Micah DePalma—gave a squeak of fear at the flames creeping up her apron. She slapped at them with her potholder, but it didn’t help. Her throat was so tight with panic, she couldn’t cry out for help. With one last futile whack at the growing fire, and desperately trying to remain calm, Cori reached behind her neck to untie the apron straps. Her trembling fingers fumbled with the bow and pulled it into a good, solid knot.

A brief hissing sound was the only warning she got before clouds of whatever white stuff lurked inside a fire extinguisher smacked into her gut like a fist and drifted in a halo around her head.

She coughed and waved a hand in the air in an attempt to clear it. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” A familiar male voice threaded through the cloud.

Cori grimaced. Ack. Saved by Micah DePalma, her handsome-but-cranky cooking teacher. Why couldn’t it have been someone—anyone—else? She closed her eyes for a moment and prayed for something to rescue her from his wrath. She knew a lecture was on its way, knew she deserved one for setting herself on fire, but she really didn’t want to hear it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MY BOOK REVIEW:

Another top-notch read from Marianne Arkins!!!  "Kitchen Matches," is a fun, entertaining, romantic read filled with genuine characters, creative storylines, and amusing plot points!!

I could not put this book down!!!  I quickly devoured “Kitchen Matches,” in just one sitting!!

I really enjoyed the author’s unique ability to thoroughly describe scenes filled with realistic themes and relatable characters, therefore, allowing for the reader to stay fully immersed in the story.

This book is an extremely fast read, comprised of seven super short chapters spanning across 76 eBook pages.

Currently this book, “Kitchen Matches,” is listed as Book One in Marianne’s exciting new series, The Matched Book Series.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and would absolutely recommend it!!  I think all romance readers will be sure to like this book too!!  So, add it to your TBR List and get to reading – you won’t be disappointed!!

**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR BIO:

Marianne is originally from California but currently living in the lovely state of Utah with her daughter, two dogs, two cats and one adorable foster hamster. She can’t imagine a world without romance or not having stories rattling around in her brain. There are nights when she dreams a complete story and watches it acted out in her head. Those are the times she wakes up and grabs for a notepad to jot down the important parts – without turning on the light – and hopes it’s coherent in the morning. She’s a member of the Romance Writers of America and heavily involved and indebted to her group of writing friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CONNECT WITH MARIANNE:

Website:

https://mariannearkinsauthor.com

Facebook – Author Page:

https://www.facebook.com/Author-Marianne-Arkins-111996717795365

Facebook – Personal Page:

https://www.facebook.com/mariannearkins

X:

https://twitter.com/MarianneArkins

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1452737.Marianne_Arkins

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/202135751-kitchen-matches

Amazon Author Page:

https://amzn.to/3FNG263

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon US Kindle eBook:

https://amzn.to/3vTCI7A

Amazon CA Kindle eBook:

https://www.amazon.ca/Kitchen-Matches-Matched-Book-1-ebook/dp/B0CNBGT4CM

Universal – Books2Read:

https://books2read.com/b/KitchenMatches

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GIVEAWAY INFO:

Marianne will be awarding a $10 Amazon Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this blog.  This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those fabulous community outreach projects and awesome giveaways on here**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

One Love For Liv by Marianne Arkins - Book Tour - Book Review - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hey, lovelies!!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Marianne Arkins and her new book, “One Love For Liv,” here on FAB!!  For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Marianne and to increase your chances of winning!!

Thanks for stopping by!!  Wishing you all lots of good luck in this fabulous giveaway!!

One Love For Liv

by Marianne Arkins

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE:   Romance

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOOK BLURB:

Liv is out to prove her high society fiancĂ© is cheating on her. Can she do it without breaking a nail—or falling in love with Mike, the mechanic?

Olivia "Liv" Leigh, wealthy socialite and spa owner, suspects her fiancé of cheating on her. Drastic steps are required to discover whether appearances are deceiving. And if those steps require a bit of stalking, a change of appearance, a hippo-sized dog named Spike, and sacrificing her manicure to clean house for a sexy-but-sloppy man whose neighbor is determined to break several of the strangest Guinness World Records, why should that be a problem?

Mike Peck, a happily single auto mechanic, is more than content sharing his bachelor pad with piles of laundry, dirty dishes, and a sneaky ferret. But when a half-crazed woman in a bad wig shows up on his doorstep, what's a nice guy to do?

Why, invite her in, unknowingly help her in her search for the truth and, in the process, fall head over heels with a woman who's never been less his type.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT ONE:

Liv leaped back and slipped between two parked cars, squatting down to hide for a moment until she realized she couldn’t see anything. She duck-walked up a few cars until she could lean down to peek underneath and watch Daisy’s feet to note when she moved on.

Utterly focused on the sight before her, she had no warning before the driver’s door beside her swung open, clipping her sharply on the head. She flew backward, sprawling into the street and thumping her skull on the pavement. Tires squealed nearby as a moving car whipped around her flattened body.

“What the—?” From a million miles away, a man shouted in surprise. She heard the thump of footsteps but couldn’t seem to open her eyes. “Hey, lady.” A huge, heavy hand shook her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

Something warm and wet swiped her face, both reviving and disgusting her. She kept her eyes closed and limply swatted at it. Her hand hit fur. “Ugh.”

“Spike, back off.”

Spike? What was going on? She gave a low moan and tried again to force her eyelids to obey her will, finally succeeding after a Herculean effort. A tanned face covered in five o’clock shadow and smears of black grease swam in front of her. Next to him, its neck surrounded by a studded black leather collar, sat the biggest brown dog she’d ever seen. The creature had drool suspended from its mouth and it looked as if it had swallowed a sneaker with the laces hanging out. Dear heavens, was that what had licked her?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MY BOOK REVIEW:

Wow!!  I absolutely loved this book!!  "One Love for Liv," is a fun, sweet, charming, romcom read filled with realistic characters, entertaining storylines, and amusing plot points!!

I could not put this book down nor did want to as I quickly devoured this book in just one sitting!!

I really liked main characters Liv and Mike.  I instantly connected with Liv as she was easy to relate to and I felt a kinship with her. I loved her smart, sweet, silly, sassy, and spirited demeanor.  She was a very entertaining character and I found myself having many LOL moments at her expense!!  Everything from Liv and Mike’s adorable meet cute, the hilarious moving slipper, the meeting of Rhett, the mysterious ice cube tray trick, the cooking and cleaning debacles, etc. had me ROTFL and I was glad to have been reading this book at home lol!!  I really liked Liv and Mike together and enjoyed watching their relationship develop over the course of the book.

I really enjoyed the author’s unique ability to thoroughly describe scenes filled with realistic themes and relatable characters, therefore, allowing for the reader to stay fully immersed in the story.

This book is a super quick read, comprised of sixteen short chapters spanning across 206 eBook pages.

Currently it seems this book is not part of a book series.  Therefore, this book can easily be read as a standalone.

For readers that like neat and tidy endings, this book’s HEA is tied up with a bow and is sure to leave readers completely satisfied.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and would absolutely recommend it!!  I think all sweet romcom readers will be sure to like this book too!!  So, add it to your TBR List and get to reading – you won’t be disappointed!!

**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR BIO:

Marianne is originally from California but currently living in the lovely state of Utah with her daughter, two dogs, two cats and one adorable foster hamster. She can’t imagine a world without romance or not having stories rattling around in her brain. There are nights when she dreams a complete story and watches it acted out in her head. Those are the times she wakes up and grabs for a notepad to jot down the important parts – without turning on the light – and hopes it’s coherent in the morning. She’s a member of the Romance Writers of America and heavily involved and indebted to her group of writing friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CONNECT WITH MARIANNE:

Website:

https://mariannearkinsauthor.com

Facebook Fan Page:

https://www.facebook.com/Author-Marianne-Arkins-111996717795365

Facebook Personal Page:

https://www.facebook.com/mariannearkins

X:

https://twitter.com/MarianneArkins

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1452737.Marianne_Arkins

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3450963-one-love-for-liv

Amazon Author Page:

https://amzn.to/3FNG263

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon US Kindle eBook:

https://amzn.to/3u5VE22

Amazon US Paperback:

https://amzn.to/4730ZG4

Amazon CA Kindle eBook:

https://www.amazon.ca/One-Love-Liv-Marianne-Arkins-ebook/dp/B0CC6ZQFSQ

Amazon CA Paperback:

https://www.amazon.ca/One-Love-Liv-Marianne-Arkins/dp/1605040185

Universal – Books2Read:

https://books2read.com/OneLoveForLiv

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GIVEAWAY INFO:

Marianne will be awarding a $10 Amazon Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this blog.  This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those fabulous community outreach projects and awesome giveaways on here**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Goddess Fish Promotions Tenth Anniversary Party - Celebration Tour - Interview - TWO Giveaways!! - Enter Daily!!


Hey lovelies!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Marianne and Judy for their 10th Anniversary Celebration Tour!  For other stops on their Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win LOTS of fabulous prizes!!!  See below for more details!!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Marianne and Judy and to increase your chances of winning!!

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous giveaway!

Goddess Fish Promotions Tenth Anniversary

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to the Goddess Fish Promotions Tenth Anniversary Month Long Celebration!

Who is Goddess Fish Promotions? And what do we do? We're glad you asked!

We didn't want your visit here to be dry and boring, so we decided to have a poetry competition and put what we do into verse. Here are the initial entries:

Marianne:

Roses are Red.
Violets are Blue.
I'm awful at poetry.
Coffee.

Judy:

We can edit your book
find things you didn't see
It will be fun to look
at the changes from me.

Yeah, for some reason, Judy won!

Even better, her poem is correct. We DO offer editing as one of our options. Here are a couple of testimonials from clients:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TESTIMONIALS:

“I worked with Marianne on a complete edit and was very happy with the results. Her feedback was clear, easy to follow, and she probed on things I hadn’t thought of. She was also responsive whenever I had questions and helped me work through a few issues. Her feedback and guidance improved the quality of my manuscript, all at a very fair price. I’m working on my next book and plan to use their services again.”

~ J B Glazer, author, In Search of Mr. Anonymous

“Choosing the right editor for a project is incredibly important to an author. Let’s face it, we want the best for our books. When I was considering editors for my first indie-published book, Regenerate, I naturally thought of Goddess Fish Promotions–and I’m so glad I did.

Marianne Arkins and Judy Thomas are incredibly attentive and professional during the entire editing process. Their input was invaluable and the story is much stronger because they cared enough to help unsnarl plot points and find order in the chaos..

I can’t wait to work with them again. Truly, a top-notch editorial team!”

~ Sarita Leone, award-winning author of Regenerate

We also offer Virtual Book Tours, Graphic Design, Social Media Promotion and more. You can see more testimonials here:

http://www.goddessfish.com/testimonials

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

INTERVIEW:

What would we find under your bed?
Judy: Nothing.  The last mattress set we bought was so thick, I had trouble getting into the bed when it was on the frame.  So, we took the frame out and set the box spring on the floor.  Now it’s the height of a normal bed.

Marianne: Dust bunnies, maybe.  I have dogs and a cat, so it gets a little furry. I try to vacuum there, but … I’m sure I miss some.

What was the scariest moment of your life?
Judy:  Christmas night a few years ago.  My husband had a stroke and was in the hospital nearly a week.  It was a rough time, but he’s fine now.

Marianne: My husband was in the ER for something completely innocuous, started seizing and went into VTach and had to be revived with a defibrillator… all in front of me.  A funny, while this was happening, this hospital employee came and stood by me quietly.  Once things were settled down, he turned to me and said, “You handled that really well.”  Apparently he was there for ME, lol.  I’m definitely the person you want with you in an emergency. I’m stone cold calm.  But after, I fall apart.

What group did you hang out with in high school?
Judy:  I didn’t have one particular group … I was in chorus and drama club, but got along well with pretty much everyone.

Marianne: I got along with everyone, but I was in drama and choir, so that’s mostly who I hung out with.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We hope you enjoyed getting to know us a little (more information is below) and we'd like to do the same. We'd LOVE to see a little poem that tells us a bit about you in the comments. We'll be awarding random book giveaways and $5 Amazon GCs to some of the best poetry we find. It might not be at every stop, but when something really makes us smile, we'll reward it! Come on, be daring...

And now, more about us:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ABOUT GODDESS FISH PROMOTIONS:


Goddess Fish Promotions was established October 14, 2008. Why? Well, when Marianne became a published author and got her the first taste of trying to promote a book on a budget, there was only one other virtual book tour company in place at the time, and their fees were simply too high for a small press author. After coordinating and running her own tour, she knew other authors could use the same service for a reasonable price. Thus, Goddess Fish Promotions was born.

Because both Judy and Marianne were authors and editors prior to running Goddess Fish Promotions, they approach the business with a unique point of view, and treat their clients how they would expect to be treated.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE FISH:

Judy Thomas

Judy has a college degree in English and she’s worked in retail, education, at her local library as well as an editor for a small press and for the now defunct ShadowKeep Ezine. She’s also a published author so can see things from both sides of the fence. In 2013, she “retired” and now spends her days helping authors make their dream come true—as well as working as much as she can with her local theater group.

Marianne Arkins

Grammar freak and coffee lover, Marianne wrote her first novel at ten years old, built her first commercial website in 2000, and published for the first time in 2006. She worked as a professional editor for just over a year, and knows what it’s like to write, edit and promote a book on a budget.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CONNECT WITH GODDESS FISH:

Website:

Facebook:

Twitter:

Pinterest:

Instagram:

Google+:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GIVEAWAY #1 INFO:

This giveaway is open to EVERYONE!!!

Marianne and Judy will be awarding One $50 Amazon/B&N GC, Two $25 Amazon/B&N GCs, and Two $10 Amazon/B&N GCs to randomly drawn winners via Rafflecopter during the tour.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GIVEAWAY #2 INFO:

This giveaway is open to AUTHORS!!!

Marianne and Judy will be awarding Two $10 GCs for ANY Goddess Fish Promotions Service, Winner’s Choice of either a Free Blurb Blitz (2 weeks) or Book Blast (5 days), 50% off ANY Tour (Excludes Review Tour or Full Service Tour), Four Free 25 Complete Book Edit, Two Winner’s Choice of Teaser or Social Media Cover Graphic Design to randomly drawn winners via Rafflecopter during the tour.


This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. Goddess Fish Promotions is solely responsible for the giveaway prizes.