Book Notes: March 8, 2023 - Romance

 Welcome back readers and writers! I'm happy you decided to spend a little time on the scenic route today. I've got a couple of romance book reviews to share with you. These two are actually collections, so you get several stories. The best thing, at least in my opinion, is that they're clean stories. And at the bottom of the post is a prompt that's just waiting to help spark an idea. Well, that's my hope, anyway. 

Book Review: And Old-Fashioned Texas Christmas: 2-in-1 Holiday Novella Collection by Karen Witemeyer

An Old-Fashioned Texas Christmas: 2-in-1 Holiday Novella Collection by Karen Witemeyer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An Excellent Couple of Short Romances

I've come to expect Karen Witemeyer's books to be excellent. I hope to be able to read many more. And the way she writes a novella is pretty amazing. I have never felt like the story was rushed to its inevitable end. Nope.
These two stories were fantastic. Sweet and clean, they were still solid reading material with characters both relatable and admirable. I also like the way she brings variety to her stories. She's written a good many stories and I never feel like I've read a story twice unless I'm rereading one.
If you enjoy clean, inspirational romance, I highly recommend this book.

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Book Review: Getaway Bay Beginnings by Elana Johnson

Getaway Bay Beginnings: The Island House / Aloha Hideaway / The Perfect Storm by Elana Johnson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Good Sweet Romance

This three book collection is full of sweet, clean romance with a bit of zing and some interesting twists. I'd read the first two a while back and enjoyed both. The third was just as good. If you're looking for stories made for curling up in a chair with your favorite beverage or treat, this would probably be a great choice for you.

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Just Keep Writing: Wednesday Whimsy

If this is your first time participating in this kind of writing exercise, you're in for a treat. If you've done this with me before, just keep scrolling for the prompt.

Rules:

1. You can use any/all of the words and/or the photo in the prompt below to create a unique written work. Fiction or nonfiction, poetry or prose, even lyrics are acceptable.  
2. Please keep the material you write clean (ie. nothing R-rated or worse) if you wish to share the link to your work here, as well as if you link back to my site. I strive to keep my site free of such things. My readers know and expect this. I respect your right to write whatever you feel you need to write. And you're free to use my prompts. But if your material is graphic, I'd rather not view it, and most of my readers will not wish to. 
3. Have fun! This type of exercise is perfect for growing in the writing craft, or for helping through a rough patch in your current WIP. If you're looking to push your author limits and you normally write in nonfiction prose, try a whimsical collection of lyrics. If you normally write poems about real life events, try your hand at a fanfic. Give yourself some room to explore.

Don't forget to leave a link to your creation (unless you're writing graphic material) so my readers and I can check out your work. I'd appreciate a link back to this post to help me reach more readers, but it's not required. 

Photo by Engin Akyurt

Please do take a moment and visit Engin's gallery on Pixabay.com. There are some photos which some might find offensive, but there's also a safe search feature. You can get to that safe search feature on the search page. It's at the top right. Honestly, it's worth the extra effort to do it if you're like me and just don't want to see those kinds of things. Engin has some wonderful photos and I'm glad I don't have to skip viewing them completely. 

Did you find something to add to your reading list? Maybe you've read these before. What did you think? 

Maybe you were here for the writing prompt. Was it helpful? If it was, let me know in the comments below. If not, then maybe tomorrow's prompt will be more useful to you. 

I invite you all to return tomorrow for another three-word prompt. 

Until next time,
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