Tuesday, July 28, 2026

Christmas in July Free Read #4



https://books2read.com/Winter-World-of-Love





Winter World of Love

A Winter Hearts Steampunk Novella

December 24, 1871

Just one short year ago, Ophelia Leonides returned to New Texacali hoping to reconcile with her husband. And, for a while, it seemed that most, if not all, her dreams were coming true. But as the holiday season approaches, Ophelia can’t help but notice that Dario has begun to brood. He says it has nothing to do with her, but trust, once lost, is hard to regain.
 
Dario is frustrated by his inability to give Ophelia the life he knows she deserves. Now, as old ghosts from his past draw close, and the bright future he’s promised his wife grows increasingly dim, he’s on the brink of making a last, desperate gamble--one that might destroy everything they've been hoping to achieve.

https://books.bookfunnel.com/PGForte-Christmas-in-July

Monday, July 27, 2026

Mug Shot: Sunliner Diner Mug





























We were in Orange Beach, Alabama recently, and we stopped in at the Sunliner Diner for breakfast. I've been to a few retro diners in recent years--and even more actual diners back in my Jersey days--but this place really stands out. The food is amazing. The atmosphere--a little loud but not painfully so--is fun. Everything shines like a scene from the movie Pleasantville. The cast...uh, I mean waitstaff, obvs, are all dressed in vintage clothes. You can even eat in a booth that's made out of a classic convertible car. It was adorbs. 

Pictured above is our table with the same Boomerang pattern Formica that I remember from my childhood. The mug is a classic. I had to buy one just because. 











Wednesday, July 22, 2026

What I'm Reading: Hot, Hotter, Hottest ( Serena Bell)


So. Here's yet another "last in a series" book. And, in this case, it's the last in the second series set in Rush Creek. So...there's a whole cast of characters showing up all over the place.

Kate Davies wrote about this book recently. In her post, she said that this is her favorite book in the series. Maybe, if I'd read it before hearing that, my contrarian self would have liked it more. I didn't dislike it, I just have other favorites. Check out the Wilder and Hott books and see what you think. 


Hott, Hotter, Hottest

Serena Bell

https://books.serenabell.com/

Real bodyguard. Fake boyfriend. Unexpected benefits. Trouble guaranteed.

Tucker: 
Autumn Sato is a happiness influencer. And I’m…well, let’s just say my brand is more big, gray storm cloud. If life were going according to plan, the closest I’d get to her would be scrolling past her posts as fast as my thumbs could fly.

But my sister needs help, so I agree to bodyguard Autumn at her sister’s wedding. One thing leads to another, and suddenly I’m pretending to be her new boyfriend in front of all her friends and family.

It’s a hot mess, made worse because I swore I’d never do this again. Never get close to someone I was guarding. Never fall for someone whose safety was in my hands. Never let distraction get in the way of my job.

Unfortunately, this entire week is nothing but distractions: trapped in a car with my smoking hot client, only one bed in our hotel room, only one tent on the wedding camping trip… all before the bachelorette prom. Meanwhile, someone seems to have it out for Autumn… or my family… or both.

As things heat up between us, I’m left with one question: Can I keep my heart—and the people I care about—safe?

A spicy, small-town, bodyguard, fake relationship, grumpy-sunshine romantic comedy with a hint of danger and a lot of heart.

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Another "Christmas in July" FREE READ!






https://dl.bookfunnel.com/r62kdd0dsy



Christmas Angel

An Angels in the Afterlife Christmas Story


Like Scrooge, only sexier.

Being fully transparent is good for a relationship, right? Well, maybe not when it’s literal.

Christmas Angel is a second-chance, holiday romance with a celestial twist. Probationary angel Jake Hennessy's been sent back to earth to mend fences with his ex. Or has he? Certainly Tony doesn’t seem to think that's the case. 

Tony DiCecco might have ninety-nine problems—and then some—between dealing with his meddlesome family AND running the family business (a Christmas tree farm in rural Texas) but he's pretty sure that playing catch-up with his ex-husband isn’t supposed to be one of them.

And what would even be the point? It’s hard to imagine what kind of future the two of them could have when one of them is alive and the other...isn't.


https://books.bookfunnel.com/PGForte-Christmas-in-July

Monday, July 20, 2026

Mug Shot: Not the Pigs!






What were you thinking, Slovacek's? How could you make a logo using two of the sweetest piggies I've ever seen and then imagine that you could use it to sell sausages to me?

It's a really nice mug overall. It's big, has a nice "hammered" surface and a bit of a matte texture. I do love the pigs. But it actually kind of reminds me of this "It's a Southern Thing" skit:

Wednesday, July 15, 2026

What I'm Reading: The Rebound (Kelly Jamieson)


I LOVED this series and now it's ending. And what an ending! I've been WAITING extremely impatiently for this book. It's heart-wrenching and beautiful. And it's set in New Jersey! And I know I'll love Kelly's new series, but I would also happily read another dozen New Jersey Storm books. 

The Rebound

Kelly Jamieson

Her hockey star ex. A snowy cabin escape. A fake dating scheme to fool their families.

Carson

A family tragedy caused Ayla and I to stop skating in the same direction. I'm burying my head in hockey practice and finding my way back to myself. Now she wants me to pretend we never fell apart for one snowy weekend in the mountains. I tell myself it’s just a favor. But sharing a cabin with the woman I once called home? That’s dangerous ice.

Ayla

Carson and I loved each other, but grief rewrote the rules, and neither of us knew how to play anymore. However, our relationship status isn’t public knowledge and I need him to help keep the illusion intact. Just temporarily for my Nonna’s birthday. Pretending brings back the easy banter, the familiar heat, the moments that once made us a team. The problem? None of it feels fake. But can we get past this one weekend and confront what we have been too scared to talk about and maybe find our way back to each other?

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

This Week's "Christmas in July" FREE READ!






https://books2read.com/Christmasing-With-You




Christmasing With You 
An LA Love Lessons/Ugly Christmas Sweater Story

The sweater was just the beginning…

Mike's been a very good boy this year and Santa Claire has the perfect present picked out for him—one that's both naughty and nice!

One more disaster could be the end…

Mike and Claire were hoping their first Christmas together would be unforgettable. But when their sexy, adult-film-themed weekend abruptly veers into low-budget, chiller-diller territory, they’re left to worry that this Christmas will turn out to be memorable in all the worst ways.

An isolated cabin, a winter storm, a hungry cougar—what could possibly go wrong? In a word: everything.

This Ugly Christmas Sweater short story features the characters Mike and Claire from Let Me Count the Ways (LA Love Lessons, book 3).

https://books.bookfunnel.com/PGForte-Christmas-in-July