Today I've got the lovely Jennifer Lowery visiting. She's got a hot new contemporary romance,
Murphy's Law, out available from Lyrical Press. Here's a bit about the book to whet your appetites. Don't forget to read my review at the very end! How many stars did I give
Murphy's Law?
Murphy’s Law/Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
Tag: Nowhere to go. No place to hide.
Home is the last place Jon Murphy can go. After being held
captive in Tazbekistan, he returns to the States only to find he can’t face his
mom and sisters with what he did while he was a prisoner, so he retreats to the
mountains.
Widow Sara Sheldon has made a lifetime of mistakes and is
now running scared from her husband’s powerful family, who are determined to
take her daughter away from her. When her little girl goes missing in the
Rockies, Sara enlists the only help she can find: a gruff recluse with tracking
skills to admire and a body to covet.
A storm strands Sara and her daughter at Murphy’s cabin,
leaving her no choice but to hope her in-laws don’t catch up while she plans
where to run next. Murphy resents the invasion of his privacy, but can’t seem
to keep his mind--or his hands--off Sara. How can she stand to look at him,
with all his scars? He’s not nearly as honorable as she might think…only enough
to make sure she’s safe, and then he’ll go back to being alone, the way he
should be.
CONTENT WARNING: Sexual content
A Lyrical Press Contemporary Romance
Excerpt:
Copyright
2013, Jennifer Lowery
All
rights reserved, Lyrical Press, Inc.
Murphy
sat at the kitchen table, half in the shadows created by the soft light glowing
above the stove, hair tousled from sleep. Naked to the waist. A bottle of amber
liquid sat in front of him, an empty glass in his hand. Her gaze landed on his
muscled shoulders and trailed across his tanned chest. So much for getting him
out of her mind. Now she had the real thing to dream about. Looking at the dark
hairs that veed down his chest and disappeared behind the table, she decided
he’d been right. He was a dangerous man.
She
tore her gaze away from temptation and looked at the granite lines of his face.
Beneath the hardness of his expression, something haunting lingered. Drawn, she
circled the table to the opposite end.
Murphy
met her eyes with coldness that should have sent her running for the safety of
her room, but she remained standing in place. He wanted to chase her away. This
time she wasn't running.
“Mind
if I join you?” She grabbed a glass and from the cupboard and reached over his
shoulder for the bottle.
His
hand snaked out and wrapped around hers, preventing her from pouring a drink.
“I
mind,” he growled.
“Well,
get over it. I need a drink.”
Scowling,
he let go of her hand and allowed her to pour a glass for herself. She refilled
his glass next, set the bottle on the table, moved to the chair beside him and
sat, lifting her glass.
“Cheers.”
She brought the glass to her lips. His gaze as she drained the glass made her
fight the urge to cough as the fiery liquid burned its way down her throat.
Seconds later she felt the familiar warming sensation as it numbed her insides.
Her eyes filled with tears. She blinked them away and reached for the bottle.
Murphy
held it away from her. “What are you doing?”
“Having
a drink. I’m not in the mood for warm milk tonight.”
His
eyes darkened and narrowed. “You don’t strike me as the drinking type.”
She wasn't but tonight it sounded good. Maybe it would soothe away her problems
and make her forget how screwed-up her life was. Talking about Kent earlier had
brought back painful memories. She didn't want to feel that misery anymore.
“Maybe
you don’t know my type,” she said.
He
studied her closely for a moment before rubbing a hand over his face. “Go back
to bed, Sara. Sleep it off.”
“I
don’t want to sleep it off. I’m tired of thinking about it.”
Maybe
it was the whisky, or his naked chest, or the part of her that had been dormant
for six years coming back to life. More than anything she wanted to discover it
with Murphy, her strong, scarred hero.
She
rose to her feet. He watched warily as she stepped in front of him and
positioned herself between him and the table. He leaned back in his chair and
sent her a thunderous look.
“You
and I are alike in many ways, Murphy,” she said softly. “ We've both lost pieces
of ourselves we can’t ever get back and it has forced us into a life of
loneliness and solitude. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of being alone.”
He
pinned her with a hard glare. “I’m not what you want. Go back to your room
before I do something we’ll both regret in the morning.”
His
harshly spoken words sent little electrical shocks through her body.
“I’m
tired of people telling me what I want.”
Author Bio:
Jennifer Lowery grew up reading romance novels in the back
of her math book and on the bus to school, and never wanted to be anything but
a writer. Her summers were spent sitting
at the kitchen table with her sisters spinning tales of romance and intrigue
and always with a tall glass of ice tea at their side.
Today, Jennifer is living that dream and she couldn't be
happier to share her passion with her readers.
She loves everything there is about romance. Her stories feature alpha heroes who meet
their match with strong, independent heroines.
She believes that happily ever after is only the beginning of her
stories. And the road to that happy ending is paved with action, adventure, and
romance. As her characters find out when they face danger, overcome fears, and
are forced to look deep within themselves to discover love.
Jennifer lives in
Michigan with her husband and two children.
When she isn't writing she enjoys reading and spending time with her
family.
Find Jennifer:
Buy Murphy’s Law:
Jennifer was also gracious enough to submit to one my author interviews. Here's what she had to say!
Look! It's Jennifer! Hi , Jennifer!
Hi Amy and all you fabulous readers out there *waves*
Thank you so much for having me today! My contemporary romance, Murphy’s Law,
released last month so I’m very excited to be here! Thank you so much for
sharing it with me!!
Q. Where did you come up with the idea to write Murphy’s
Law? It’s a great love story with a suspenseful back story that keeps the
reader intrigued throughout the novel.
Actually, the story
came to me in the form of Murphy. I just had to write his story. Then when I
met Sara and Abby I knew I was never going to be the same J
I love action, adventure stories so that was a must for me, I just had no idea
what kind of roller coaster Murphy and Sara were going to take me on when I
started writing! I loved every minute!
Q. If you could have dinner with Jon Murphy, what do you
think he’d order? Would he pay? Would you? Would you split the bill?
He’s a steak and
potatoes man, lol. And, yes, he would so pay. Just like he refused to let Sara
worry about paying him back in the story when she was broke and had nowhere to
go. And, yes, I would let him pay since he’s going to anyway.
Q. If I could see Sara’s bookshelf, what kinds of books
would she have on it? Why?
Shelves and shelves of
sketch pads ,books on sign language, children’s books, and probably some books
of poems.
Q. Was there a reason you chose to make Sara’s daughter
deaf? It was an interesting plot device.
I know I thought it worked out so that she would never hear Sara and Murphy up
to any bedroom shenanigans in the small cabin, but I’m sure you had more than
that in mind!
I actually had no idea
until I met Abby that she was deaf. She was such an inspiration in the story.
Nothing stopped her. And she melted Murphy’s hardened heart from the start J
Q. Why did you make Murphy’s family ranchers?
I had no idea they
were ranchers until I met them, lol. You've probably realized by now that I’m a
complete pantser! Yep, I write by the seat of my pants. I have no idea of where
my story is going until I get there. I start with a scene or character and just
start writing. I love discovering my story. It’s like unwrapping a gift, only
better!
Q. What writing projects are you working on right now? Any new books coming out soon maybe?
Right now I am working
on Book #2 in my mercenary series/Onyx Group (the sequel to Hard Core). And I’m
almost finished with the first book in my new bodyguard series. Yay! Can’t wait
to introduce you to the Wolff brothers!
Thank you for having me today, Amy!! I just want to send
out a big THANK YOU to all my readers out there! Without you I wouldn't be
here. My wish is to one day meet each and every one of you so I can personally
thank you for your generosity and support!
All my best,
Jennifer
***
Here's the part where I review the book. This is the first review I've done on my blog, so congratulations, Jennifer, you are my guinea pig! My ratings are as follows:
5 Stars - Fantastic. A book I will reread and cherish (this rating is practically impossible to achieve)
4 Stars - Fabulous. You won't regret reading this one!
3 Stars - Great. I really enjoyed it
2 Stars - Fair. It had issues, but I worked through them.
1 Star - No thank you. Not my cup of tea. At all.
Amy's Take on Murphy's Law
Murphy’s Law is a contemporary romance starring a hunky hero
with a secret he wants to keep and an appealing heroine with an adorable
daughter.
Jon Murphy is a military man who has hidden out in a remote
cabin because he is ashamed of his actions when held prisoner by the enemy. Although
he shouldn't have been – in my opinion he didn't do anything wrong, but you
know these strong, silent types. Very unforgiving of themselves!
Sara Sheldon made some bad choices when she was younger,
including marrying a rich playboy. She never fit into his family and when he
died, they threatened to take her young, deaf daughter, Abby, away from her.
Without the resources to fight such a rich family, she fled
to the forest. The same forest where
Murphy’s cabin was located.
When Abby goes missing, Sara enlists Murphy’s help to find
her and that’s when the story really takes off.
Murphy and Sara are very attracted to each other, but Murphy
won’t let her act upon it because he’s so ashamed of himself. She doesn't understand what he’s done wrong,
but circumstances force them to stay together.
My favorite character in this novel was Sara. She never gave up. I would have walked away
from Murphy half a dozen times, but she always stuck by him, convinced he would
work his way through his issues and be with her.
I fell in love with her daughter, Abby. She was another favorite of mine. The scene where she and Murphy share Oreos is probably my favorite in the whole book.
I read this book in one sitting over a Saturday afternoon
with wine. I highly recommend you do the
same.
My rating: Fabulous 4 out of 5
stars.
