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Literary Friday: Something to Prove *plus* Lemon Squares!!!

Friday, August 14, 2015

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Do I have your attention?  yummy lemony deliciousness on a plate


Happy Literary Friday, My Lovelies!  I hope y'all have had a wonderfully productive week and plan to have fun this weekend.

This week I read Something to Prove by Kimberly Lang.  I met Kimberly at the Summer Lovin' Romance Writers' Conference at our local library a couple of weeks ago.  My daughter wanted to attend because she has a romance book that's being published soon, and she hoped to meet other romance writers and learn more about the business.  During the Friday night dinner we sat at Kimberly's table, and she was lots of fun.  It was neat to discover that she graduated from the same high school as my daughter: the Alabama School of Fine Arts.  Ironically, neither of them majored in creative writing.  The conference also had discussion panel sessions and book signings.  Shanley and I had so much fun!  We ran into a few friends, met some wonderful writers, learned new things, and each bought a couple of books.  I bought Kimberly's because I liked her so much.

For those of you who've followed my blog for a long time you know that I don't read that much romance.  The only two romance writers I regularly read are Lynne Kurland (who's one of the very best storytellers on Earth) and Karen Marie Moning (whom I love and adore).  Both write paranormal, and Karen also writes urban fantasy and Lynne writes straight-up fantasy, so  it's extremely rare that I read contemporary romances.

But methinks Kimberly Lang has won me over to contemporary romances….her romances, at least. Something to Prove, the first book in her Magnolia Beach series, has such a wonderful sense of place that if Magnolia Beach, Alabama truly existed, I'd be moving!  She perfectly captures the spirit of a small Alabama coastal town, and the setting couldn't lend itself any better to romance.

Helena Wheeler has returned to Magnolia Beach to help her grandmother recover from a terrible fall. She's been away from home for almost twelve years, and she'd earned her nickname "Hell-on-Wheels" honestly when she was a teenager; she was not very delightful.  During her tenure away from Magnolia Beach, she's grown into a lovely responsible adult running her own graphic design business.  Helena loves the anonymity of living in Atlanta: it suits her well. Her icy homecoming reception by the upstanding citizens of Magnolia Beach had been expected, but it hurts nonetheless.

Ryan Tanner is Magnolia Beach's golden boy.  Everyone has admired him his entire life.  He never got into any trouble as a teenager: he was a football star, Auburn graduate, and now mayor of Magnolia Beach, juggling those duties with his construction business.  Helena hires Ryan to make her grandmother's home handicapped accessible, and they become friends with benefits.  Helena admires and respects Ryan so much she becomes concerned that their association might harm his reputation, so she wants to keep their relationship on the down low.  Ryan won't have it and finally asks her on a date.  Then things get very, very interesting.

I love Helena and Ryan.  As the story builds, their true characters are revealed along with Helena's storied past.  I think they're a wonderful couple, they balance each other, and I truly hope readers get a glimpse of them in the other books in the series.  I have already preordered the second novella for Nook entitled One Little Thing,  which will be released in November, and the second novel in the series, Everything at Last, which will be released in January.

And now onto the delicious part…

Kimberly shared some fun goodies at dinner.  Check it out:

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A mug from Magnolia Beach's Latte Dah coffee shop.  The shop's owner Molly befriends Helena, and Helena is able to do a little work there as Latte Dah has wifi.  Helenea loves Molly's "rocket fuel" and lemon bars.

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Kimberly also shared this bookmark with her table, and it has the recipe for the lemon bars on back.


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Don't forget to share your book love here….this is a link party!







Until next time…

Happy reading!
Ricki Jill



7 comments

  1. How fun! And great to have a romance novel that doesn't make love a precursor for sex ('cuz, ya know, reality). I love that you're finding (and enjoying) more local authors! And I hope Shanley felt welcomed and empowered by getting more insight into the RWA crowd.

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  2. What a great event for writers and book lovers to visit.

    I am going to look for Something to Prove.

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  3. Oh my gosh...this looks so good! What do romance writers talk about when they get together?

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  4. This week I read Anne Tyler's last one, A SPOOL OF BLUE THREAD. I highly recommend it.

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  5. What a fun evening! I have this exact same recipe for Lemon Bars, and I got it from my MIL many years ago. I can only make it once-a-year at Christmas, because I love it just a bit too much!

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  6. This sounds like a book I would enjoy. I love to start with the first book in a series. I've been reading on my IPAD...a couple of ebooks from the library. I'll try to get a post done for next week! I'm so behind on everything! Thanks for the great review my friend. Hugs, Diane

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  7. Lemon bar recipe! It sounds like it was really fun, and it is so exciting that your daughter is publishing a book soon. Like yourself, I have rarely read romance novels, but your review was interesting.

    xoxo Su

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I'm Ricki Jill. Welcome! I'm honored that you're reading my blog. I enjoy sharing my creative lifestyle @ The Bookish Dilettante. For more information about my blog, please read the Start Here page. Thank-you for stopping by, and I hope you'll consider following me via email.

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