Books From The Backlog – Maui Widow Waltz by JoAnn Bassett @joannbassett #booksfromthebacklog

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Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread.  If you are anything like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks.

If you would like to join in, swing by Carole’s Random Life in Books.

Maui Widow Waltz

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

GOODREADS BLURB

Even ‘death do us part’ couldn’t halt her march down the aisle…
Cash-strapped Maui wedding planner Pali Moon can’t believe her luck when a prospective bride flashing a five-carat dazzler pops into her shop, “Let’s Get Maui’d,” to request a glitzy beachside wedding. But then Pali learns the lavish wedding must take place on Valentine’s Day—only nine days away. Oh, and one other little hitch—the groom’s been missing at sea for more than a week. But no worries, the bride assures Pali, with or without the groom the wedding will take place. She’s struck a deal with the groom’s best friend to be his proxy, if necessary. Two days before the nuptials, a male corpse floats ashore on a South Maui beach. Looks like the groom’s shown up just in time. But what’s it gonna be—a wedding…or a funeral?

Goodreads ratings: 3.71   1,729 ratings  ·  172 reviews

Why did I eagerly pick up this one? It has everything I love in a cozy mystery. A tropical island locale is a location that I love. I even went there once. I had told Mr Wonderful early in our relationship that if I ever got married again (it was the second for both of us), I had to go to Hawaii. Fortunately for us, a friend of his had a paid trip to Hawaii on Waikiki Beach and him and his wife could not go. She was pregnant and the doctor said no. Our lucky day. Now that we have digital cameras, I would love to go back. It used to be photos on a budget, now we can all go click crazy. Added to my TBR on 10.19.12 and got it from Amazon on 10.20.13.

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Giveaway – The Run Around by Bernadette Franklin @XpressoTours

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The Run Around
Bernadette Franklin
Publication date: April 28th 2020
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

Arranging a wedding for her brother and a five-time thoroughbride tests Hope’s skills and patience. She’d believed the vows would be the most dangerous part of the ceremony, but a baseball to the head during the photography session proves her wrong and lands her in the sights of her brother’s best friend, Fredrick.

He wants her to plan his wedding.

She wants to be his bride.

Diving into the treacherous world of wedding planning, Hope keeps her word and arranges the vows for the one man she believes she could love. He doesn’t know how much she cherishes him and his friendship.

What she doesn’t know lands her in the heart of a royal mess.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

EXCERPT:

A sensible woman would’ve been delighted to be her future sister-in-law’s maid of honor, as it implied cordial relationships or some sort of bullshit like that. I knew better.

I made an excellent scapegoat.

As the wedding party’s weakest link, everyone expected me to trip on my dress, maybe break an ankle along with my neck, or spill the entire wine fountain onto the floor. My brother claimed he loved me, but I believed he’d been the one to spread the rumor I was the world’s clumsiest woman.

When I secured my revenge, it would be sweet.

But first, I needed to survive my brother’s wedding without being responsible for a single hiccup. Playing to my brother’s misconceptions, I’d spent months tripping over nothing on purpose so I could transform myself into the image of traditional beauty and grace.

I’d even lost twenty pounds so my dress would fit.

The wedding would be a disaster, but I would emerge from the chaos smelling like roses, red wine, and garlic bread. Honestly, I doubted the wedding would make it to the reception.

Some weddings had bridezillas. We had a thoroughbride, and if she got it into her head to run, I wished my brother the best of luck catching her before she fled from the church. My proposal to have the wedding on a yacht, where my brother’s thoroughbride couldn’t escape, hadn’t earned me points with anyone.

The bride hated the ocean.

My brother was smart enough to catch onto my implication.

It wasn’t my fault Amy wasn’t exactly the most reliable woman in the world when it came to marriage. Once was a fluke. Twice was a trend. Five incidents of running from the wedding was evidence the thoroughbride would strike again, and my dear old brother would be saddled with the fifty thousand dollar bill, as he refused to believe Amy would run out on him.

Oh, no. Amy would never run out on him.

Author Bio:

Bernadette Franklin is a figment of imagination owned and operated by two cats, a few plants, and a human.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / Amazon / Newsletter


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  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!