Posts Tagged: josi kilpack

Rakes and Roses by Josi S. Kilpack- Review

16 Jan, 2020 by in Uncategorized Leave a comment

I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Rakes and Roses by Josi S. Kilpack- Review

Rakes and Roses

on May 5, 2020
Pages: 320
Format: ARC
Buy the Book
Harry Stillman cares nothing for his future and spends his time at gaming tables, horse races, and in the company of whatever beautiful woman has caught his eye that week. He has little use for society or his uncle’s approval—until his debts begin exceeding his profits. When Uncle Elliott refuses to pay off the debt, and instead offers him a large, monetary wedding gift if Harry were to marry a woman of his uncle’s approval, Harry is offended, angry, and … scared. His dire straits drives him to seek out the infamous Lord Damion—a moneylender who extolls a heavy price for his assistance.
Lord Damion, however, is not a lord at all, or even a man. When Lady Sabrina’s cheating husband leaves her, then ends up dying in a carriage accident, she creates a plan to ensure her future security through the secret persona of Lord Damion, and she is quickly becoming the richest woman in England.
When Harry presents his case to Lord Damion—hidden behind a partition and communicating through notes, not speech—she finds him ridiculous but somewhat endearing and agrees to consider his situation. However, when she finds Harry unconscious in the gutter later that day, his leg badly broken and his face barely recognizable from the beating that’s left him on the edge of death, she transports him to a house she keeps in Wimbledon.
When Harry wakes, he is surprised to find himself in widow Sabrina’s house. Through the weeks of recovery, Harry is humbled by Sabrina’s selfless care, and reveals details of his character he has not shown to anyone. For her part, Sabrina finds herself more and more drawn to him, impressed by his determination to gain his strength and change his ways. Secretly, Sabrina pays off his debts to preserve him from further harm and tries not to let her heart become entangled. To love a man like this, again, would be her ruin.
Knee-deep in secrets, both Harry and Sabrina must decide what true love means to them, and how to navigate the pitfalls of high English society. In the end, they must both decide which is more important: wealth or true love.

The beginning chapters of Rakes and Roses show a seedy underside of London life including gambling, girls, alcohol and violence. It is a viewpoint we rarely see in clean regency romance and it is heavy. Harry Stillman has squandered away almost his entire inheritance, and is running out of options to pay debtors. In a prodigal son like parable, in steps Lord Damion, an anonymous donor who redeems men with promise who have succumbed to their vice and have no other options.

Sabrina is a widow of substantial financial holdings, with freedom and standing few other women are given in her time and place. Her paths cross with Harry more than once, and she finds herself rehabilitating him from physical injury in her home, on her estate.

Kilpack takes traditional regency roles and challenges them. She shows how one person can make an impact in the world. I found the story and premise unique, but not light and fluffy by any means. It’s good to see the character development and arc, as well as changes in both main players. By the end we have a happily ever after.

Content: drinking, gambling, moderate violence, domestic violence, heavy kissing

About the Author

Josi S. Kilpack is the author of several novels and one cookbook and a participant in several coauthored projects and anthologies. She is a four-time Whitney Award winner —Sheep’s
Clothing (2007), Wedding Cake (2014), and Lord Fenton’s Folly (2015) for Best Romance and Best Novel of the Year—and the Utah Best in State winner for fiction in 2012. She and her husband,
Lee, are the parents of four children. You can find more information about Josi and her writing at josiskilpack.com.

The Candy Cane Caper by Josi S. Kilpack Blog Tour

11 Oct, 2019 by in Uncategorized Leave a comment

The Candy Cane Caper

by Josi S. Kilpack

Publication Date: October 1, 2019

Paperback

ISBN: 9781629726014

Retail Price: $15.99

Page Count: 320

Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Cozy / Culinary

This Christmas, Sadie Hoffmiller Cunningham is making a list and checking it twice. For the first time since she and Pete married five years ago, their combined families are gathering for the holidays in Fort Collins, Colorado, for a party that would make Santa and Mrs. Claus proud.

She just has to bake the famous Cunningham Candy Cane Cake, make sure the looming snowstorm doesn’t derail everyone’s travel plans, and oh, yes, solve one teensy-tiny mystery before the big day.

At ninety-four and nearly blind, Mary, Sadie’s friend and neighbor, knows this will be her last Christmas. When Sadie learns that someone has stolen antique Christmas ornaments from Mary’s tree, she vows to find the thief, no matter what. The ornaments had been appraised at more than $40,000, but they were worth even more to Mary, who had intended to bequeath them to her great-granddaughter, Joy, as a final gift.

With Pete in Arizona wrapping up a case of his own, it’s up to Sadie to question the residents of Nicholas House, where Mary lives, and deduce who had the means and the motive to steal heirloom ornaments during what should be the most wonderful time of the year.

When stories of other thefts surface, Sadie feels like she’s creating a “naughty” list that could rival Santa’s. Identifying the thief, recovering the ornaments, and restoring them to Mary’s tree in time will take a Christmas miracle—and maybe a few extra-special cookies.

www.shadowmountain.com

We have read all of the Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mysteries, and are always thrilled when Josi comes out with another one. Pull up some hot cocoa and cookies to join Sadie as she tries to uncover who has nabbed Mary’s antique heirloom ornaments off the tree in her care center room. With holiday names for each character–Joy, Carol, Ivy plus recipes at the end of each chapter, The Candy Cane Caper will put you in the Christmas mood.

Sadie is a bit meddling and unconventional in her methods, but she cares for each person she encounters. There are some tender moments with Mary as she prepares to wrap up a full life. A bit lighter than the other installments, it is a clean holiday mystery all can enjoy. It will warm your heart!


About the Author

Josi S. Kilpack is an accomplished and prolific author of nearly two dozen novels including the Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mystery Series. She has won multiple Whitney Awards for Mystery/Suspense, Romance, and Novel of the Year as well as the Utah Best of State Fiction Winner. She lives with her family in Utah.

Follow the author on Instagram @authorjosiskilpack

Advance Praise/Endorsements:

“A warmhearted mystery.” -Kirkus

“Sadie Hoffmiller dishes up a fresh serving of Christmas cheer. An inspirational cozy whose feel-good vibe will be perfect for fans of Julie Hyzy’s and Nancy J. Parra. Readers with a sweet tooth will be sure to enjoy Sadie’s family recipes, sprinked throughout the book.” -Booklist

“Kilpack represents a nice range of ages in this story, and the relationships feel both real and aspirational. The clues and solution are complex enough to keep readers guessing. Recipes are included, making this a fun choice for cookbook discussion groups as well as general readers. Twelve previous “Culinary Mystery” titles precede this entry, which can be read on its own.” -Library Journal

Pretty Darn Funny Giveaway Winners

09 Sep, 2013 by in book giveaway, sarah m eden Leave a comment

Congratulations to Brooke who won Rocky Road by Josi S. Kilpack

and Emily F who won Longing for Home by Sarah M Eden in our Pretty Darn Funny giveaways sponsored by Deseret Book.

Send us your mailing address and they will get your prizes off to you!

Be sure to enter this weeks giveaway for this week’s PDF episode, which is a copy of Say Love by Hilary Weeks.

Pretty Darn Funny~ Budget Cuts + Rocky Road by Josi S. Kilpack Giveaway

02 Sep, 2013 by in pretty darn funny 8 comments

This weeks episode of PDF season 2  “Budget Cuts” was hilarious for me as a photographer because I know how crazy expensive some family sittings can be and as a mother of a large family I know what extremes people go through to save money.

You will love it…

About Pretty Darn Funny : A comedy like no other. For your sister and your mother. Pretty Darn Funny is a comedy web series about life as a woman, a mother and…comedian. 

The award winning Pretty Darn Funny web series started in April 2012 and has continued to keep thousands of people laughing. Pretty Darn Funny has won five Telly awards, honored along side other notable recipients such as Time Warner Cable, ABC Family Digital Media,  and AOL Media.  Its parody videos were featured on The 700 Club, the flagship television program of the Christian Broadcasting Network, airing in syndication throughout the United States.

Season 1 Followed Gracie Moore, a mom who gets more than she bargains for when she forms an all-female comedy troupe in efforts to clean up the local comedy scene. It features a cast of colorful, loveable characters. It will make you laugh. It might make you cry (from laughing so hard). However you spin it, we know you’ll think it’s Pretty Darn Awesome.

Season 2 is launching August 2013 and continues the craziness of Gracie’s life. From battling crossfit and the pressures of Pinterest envy, to competing with the PTA president for superior fundraising cred, Gracie and the troop show that no matter what life throws at you it’s always worth the laughs.

Each new “bite-sized” 6-8 minute webisode is released weekly and is designed for your busy lifestyle. (Meaning you can watch it in-between picking up your kids from soccer, making a fabulous meal that half of your kids will probably refuse to eat, and composing what is sure to be the best blog post ever written in the history of the world. You know, in all your free time.)
Pretty Darn Funny is your new best friend. Your new, very funny, best friend.

Everything Pretty Darn Funny is Brought to you by Deseret Book and Tinder Transmedia.

Website: http://prettydarnfunny.com/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/prettydarnfunny
Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/pdfunny/

Giveaway: Deseret Book is offering one copy of Rocky Road by Josi S. Kilpack as this episode’s giveaway.



Book Summary: It was supposed to be a girls’ weekend in scenic St. George, Utah that would include shopping, trying out the local cuisine, and participating in a breast cancer fundraiser. The fact that one of the organizers of the fundraising event, a local doctor, disappeared two months ago was not supposed to be Sadie’s problem. In fact, she refuses to participate in the grassroots investigation her friend Caro, and Caro’s cousin, Tess, have put together prior to her arrival. But then she meets the ex-wife of the missing doctor. How could she not ask a few questions . . . that lead to a few more questions . . . that lead to a small town and yet even more questions. Before she knows it, Sadie is in the middle of yet another murder investigation and trying to piece together a convoluted trail of good intentions, hidden motivations, and philanthropy turned big business.


To enter to win comment below and tell us…

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done to save money?

Banana Split Blog Tour and Review

13 Apr, 2012 by in Shadow Mountain 5 comments

Fire and Ice is thrilled to be today’s stop on the official blog tour for:
Banana Split: A Culinary Mystery
by Josie S Kilpack
Published February 1,2012
by Shadow Mountain
Paperback, 368 pages
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5 stars

Book Summary: Sadie Hoffmiller has survived eighteen months of nonstop adventures filled with murder, deceit, and danger. She could really use some rest—and maybe even some time to heal—relaxing in the tropical paradise of Kaua’i. However, palm trees and sunshine are not as effective a medication as Sadie had hoped. And when she finds herself entangled—literally—with a dead body, she is forced to face the compounding fears and anxieties that are making her life so difficult to live.

Her determination to stay out of danger and to focus on overcoming her anxieties soon takes a backseat when she meets eleven-year-old Charlie, the son of the woman whose body she discovered near Anahola Beach. Charlies has some questions of his own about what happened to his mother, and he is convinced that only Sadie can help him. If only Sadie were as confident in her abilities as Charlie is.

With the help of her best friend and a local social worker, Sadie dives into another mystery with the hope that, at the end, she’ll be able to find the peace and closure that has eluded her. 
I have long been a fan of the Culinary Mystery series by Josi S. Kilpack. Sadie Hoffmiller is a fabulous heroine. She is the quintessential nosy neighbor, yet she makes you love her from page one. Sure, she has to know everything that is going on around her, and that often gets her in trouble. But, Sadie truly cares about her friends and family. 
Banana Split did not disappoint. It begins in tropical Hawaii, with an overstressed Sadie, trying to gain a little inner peace. Unfortunately, peace was in short supply, but she does discover the dead body of a missing local woman. When the woman’s now orphaned son asks Sadie for help, how can she say no? Sadie, being the busybody that she is, gets mixed up in more than she realizes when she tries to help find the cause of this young woman’s death. 

Both the prose and the delicious sounding recipes will be sure to delight. This cozy mystery has many twists and turns that kept me wondering “who dunnit” clear up to the final chapters. 
Content: Clean. There is discussion of drug use and possibly extra-marital affairs, but never in a way that condones the activity.
About the Author (from Author’s website):
Josi S. Kilpack hated to read until her mother handed her a copy of The Witch of Blackbird Pond when she was 13. From that day forward, she read everything she could get her hands on and accredits her writing “education” to the many novels she has “studied” since then. She began writing her first novel in 1998 and never stopped. Her novel, Sheep’s Clothing won the Whitney Award 2007 for Mystery/Suspense. Lemon Tart, the first book in the Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mystery series was a finalist in 2009. Her most recent book, Blackberry Crumble, is the fifth book in the Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mystery Series. Josi currently lives in Willard Utah with her husband, four children, one dog, and varying number of chickens. Visit Josi on her website.
 

Book Review and Ipad Giveaway for Pumpkin Roll

26 Sep, 2011 by in pumpkin roll, Shadow Mountain 72 comments

Pumpkin Rollby Josi S. Kilpack
Paperback, 368 pages
Published September 7th 2011
by Deseret Book Company
ISBN 1609087453

Book Source: publisher
4 stars

Sadie Hoffmiller is looking forward to spending her favorite baking season of the year making delicious New England recipes in Boston, Massachusetts, with her favorite leading man, Pete Cunningham, as they babysit his three young grandsons. But when the boys insist that Mrs. Wapple, the woman who lives across the street, is a witch, Sadie and Pete are anxious to distract the boys from such Halloween-induced ideas. However, it gets harder and harder to explain the strange things that keep happening, particularly after Sadie learns the eccentric Mrs. Wapple has been attacked in her home. As the unexplained occurrences escalate, Sadie finds herself embroiled in yet another mystery with life-or-death consequences. Can Sadie discover whoever—or whatever—is behind the mystery before anyone else gets hurt? Or will this be Sadie’s last case?

Don’t ask me how I have gone so long without reading one of Josi Kilpack’s culinary mysteries, but I have obviously been missing out on all the fun. Pumpkin Roll is absolutely perfect for Fall and Halloween! Set in Jamaica Plain, a small township of Boston it is close to heart of the Salem Witch Trials. Things get spooky fast for Sadie and boyfriend Pete who are on vacation together while watching Pete’s grandchildren. Between light bulbs exploding, strange faces in the window, night time visitors and the witch across the street who is always digging in her yard, Sadie is sure there’s a mystery to be unraveled. In her nosy neighbor way she offers a plate of cookies to Mrs. Wapple and is determined to figure out why she’s so strange. But danger lurks around the fence!

With mouthwatering recipes for cookies, whoopie pies, clam chowder and cinnamon twists, Pumpkin Roll is one you don’t want to read while hungry! Sadie will have you itching to bake and trying to put together all the little clues behind this who done it. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to all readers as a must have before Halloween. The atmospheric creepy tone is topped off with lots of comfort foods for a perfect combination. Now that I’ve discovered The Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mystery Series I can’t wait for Banana Split coming in Spring 2012. Thanks so much to Deseret Book for sending me Pumpkin Roll!

Content: some violence and creepiness

About the Author: Josi S. Kilpack hated to read until her mother handed her a copy of The Witch of Blackbird Pond when she was 13. From that day forward, she read everything she could get her hands on and accredits her writing “education” to the many novels she has “studied” since then. She began writing her first novel in 1998 and never stopped. Her novel, Sheep’s Clothing won the Whitney Award 2007 for Mystery/Suspense. Lemon Tart, the first book in the Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mystery series was a finalist in 2009. Her most recent book, Blackberry Crumble, is the fifth book in the Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mystery Series. Josi currently lives in Willard Utah with her husband, four children, one dog, and varying number of chickens.

Enter to win copy of Pumpkin Roll on Goodreads.

In conjunction with the release of Pumpkin Roll, the author, Josi S. Kilpack, and the publisher, Shadow Mountain, are sponsoring a contest for a new iPad.

To enter, leave a comment in the comment section of this blog before November 1, 2011. Winners will be announced and notified November 3rd 2011.

For additional ways to enter, go to http://www.josiskilpack.com/