Book Review: The End Game by Michael Scott Clifton

The End Game: In Love and Basketball There’s Always an End Game by Michael Clifton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Exhilarating and emotion-filled! An exultant underdog story and satisfying sports romance.

The End Game by Michael Scott Clifton is a warm and wonderful new sports romance and passionate high school basketball underdog story. Great characters with realistic lives and a gripping basketball plot set in football-mad Texas made for a riveting page-turner of a novel.

Chris Cooper is a young high school basketball coach seeking a fresh start after his life in Arkansas implodes. He comes to the East Texas town of Mayfield to helm a struggling program that hasn’t had a winning season in decades. However, he soon discovers the biggest stumbling block to his future success is the Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Rocco Rawlings. As in many Texas towns, high school football is king and all other sports are redheaded stepchildren. The brightest spot in his life is his new landlady, single-mom Jennie Sloan, with whom he clicks from their first meeting.

The storytelling is gripping. Just when there’s a glimmer of hope for Chris, some surprising obstacle appears. However, new people in his life step up to help him face each challenge as if placed there deliberately for that reason. It was emotional watching Chris come to terms with his past and finally share what he’d gone through as he and Jennie opened their hearts, minds, and lives to each other. It was wonderful to see how he applied the life lessons he’d learned from his father to his own players.

The author does a fantastic job choreographing the action on the court and conveying it to the reader. The play is exciting and fast-paced and, of course, critical at times; I could feel my heart racing. The Mayfield Mustangs are engaging underdogs, and I was compelled to root for them every step of their journey, just as I did for Chris and Jennie in theirs.

I recommend THE END GAME to readers of sports romances and sports fiction, especially those partial to basketball or who have enjoyed shows such as Hoosiers, Friday Night Lights, or The Mighty Ducks.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Lone Star Literary Life Book Campaigns.

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Book Blurb & Giveaway: Finding His Wyoming Sweetheart (Adelaide Creek, #4) by Virginia McCullough

FINDING HIS WYOMING SWEETHEART

by

Virginia McCullough

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by
Goddess Fish Promotions.
Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Sweet Western Romance
Publisher: Harlequin Heartwarming
Publication Date: January 31, 2025
Page count: 336 pages

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SYNOPSIS:

When it comes to his seven-year-old son, new lodge owner Mack Fisher has a lot to make up for. Fortunately, the small Wyoming town of Adelaide Creek provides the perfect fresh start—that is, if he can avoid the distraction of Erin Hunnicutt’s warm brown eyes. The free-spirited musician has a way of bringing out the best in everyone—especially Mack.

When they're thrown together unexpectedly to help their town, sparks fly and a dangerous secret is uncovered. But searching for the answers only leads them to fall deeper for one another…and starts Mack wondering if there’s room for one more in his new family.

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ENJOY AN EXCERPT:

The familiar and happy sounds of a baby attempting to talk pulled Erin out of her reverie and back into the noisy party as Quincy approached with her niece Naomi in his arms. Erin looked past him to the other end of the room where she spotted her brother Tom following Willow out one of the side doors. Secure in Grandpa Quincy’s arms, Naomi was happy, at least for the moment.

 

“Are you sure you’re ready to take the baby home?” Quincy asked. “If you’d like, I could take babysitting duty for the first couple of days of Tom and Willow’s trip.”

 

Erin reached for Naomi. “Not a chance, Grandpa. I’ve been looking forward to this.” She turned one way and then the other as she said, “I’m ready to roll, raring to go.” She gave the baby a quick kiss on the forehead. That was the truth.

 

Holding Naomi, Erin did little dance steps in a circle to distract the baby from Grandpa Quincy leaving to go back to the party. “We’re going to have so much fun at my house. You’ll be my Valentine and eat cookies I made especially for you.” She touched the tip of Naomi’s nose, making the baby laugh, so she twirled again and gave the baby’s nose another quick tap.

 

After making a third full circle, she came face to face with a tall man and a small boy standing in front of her. The man looked slightly familiar, but she couldn’t quite place him. Whoever he was, she’d recognize him the next time. He was studying her through his unforgettable bright blue eyes.

 

“You don’t know me,” the man said, “but I know a little about you.” He looked down and spoke to the boy. “This is Ms. Erin Hunnicutt, the woman with the pretty voice who sang for us at the Halloween party with Dr. Tom.”

 

With a jolt of pleasure in her chest, Erin held out her hand to the boy. “And what’s your name?”

 

“Liam, uh, Liam Louis Fisher.” He pointed to the baby. “That’s Willow’s baby, huh?”

 

“Right you are. Aren’t you the smart one? I happen to be Naomi’s very proud aunt.” Erin couldn’t place the name Fisher and why it was familiar. Then she remembered. Still addressing the boy, she pointed to the man. “Is his name Mack? Is he your dad?”

 

“Uh huh.” The boy gave her a shy smile. “My dad owns the Tall Tale Lodge.”

 

Mack grinned at Erin. “Admittedly, an awkward introduction. But you’ll have to overlook it.” He put his hand to the side of his head. “I can barely think straight.” 

 

Erin frowned. What did that mean? 

 

“I’m awestruck,” he explained, his grin widening. “It’s not every day I come face to face with a woman who’s a talented musician and also a restoration expert who brings battered and charred wood back to life.”

 

Without thinking, Erin returned the smile. “Now you’re making me blush.” It was true what he said. She’d built her work life around wood restoration, but making music was her favorite hobby. Although those things weren’t making her cheeks heat up. That had more to do with Mack’s deep, smooth voice and how her stomach fluttered looking into those amused blue eyes. She’d always had a soft spot for a neat—but not too neat—beard.

 

“As I recall, Mack, you don’t live in Adelaide Creek, but here you are, celebrating the grand opening of the restored town hall with the rest of us. And on Valentine’s Day, too.” 

 

“We do too live here.” Liam stood up a little straighter and lifted his chin a notch. “In a bunkhouse. Real cowboys lived there a long, long time ago.” 

 

“That’s right, kiddo.” Mack spoke to Liam with a laugh in his voice before turning to Erin. 

 

“I’ve heard all about that bunkhouse. Very cool, Liam,” Erin said. “My house is a big cabin. It’s pretty cool, too.”

 

A sly smile tugged at the corners of Liam’s mouth. “Is the baby going to your house? Do you have Valentine cookies there?”

 

Obviously not expecting that question, Mack laughed a little nervously. “Uh, I think we’ve had our share of cookies, Liam.” 

 

Erin made a quick decision to keep Mack engaged and maybe surprise him a little. “As a matter of fact, the cookies I made are shaped like hearts. Why don’t you and your dad come over to my house and have a treat or two? 

 

“Do you mean it?” Liam’s eyes widened. A deeper shade of blue than Mack’s, the boy’s eyes were every bit as distinctive.

 

Mack shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I didn’t have any idea…I mean I wasn’t fishing for an invitation.”

 

“I know,” Erin said. “But I have a ton of cookies, and I’m taking the baby home.” She glanced at Liam. I share the house with Neptune. He’s a golden retriever and he likes kids.”

 

Liam lifted himself onto the balls of his feet. “Can we go, Dad? Can we?”

 

Mack looked at Liam and then at Erin. His curious frown made it clear she’d thrown him off kilter.

 

Erin flashed Mack a look intended as a friendly dare. Her quick invitation flustered him, and her devilish side enjoyed it, perhaps a little too much.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Award winning author, Virginia McCullough writes romance for the Harlequin Heartwarming line, and FINDING HIS WYOMING SWEETHEART is Book 4 of her Adelaide Creek series. She also writes women’s fiction and nonfiction on a variety of topics. Virginia’s characters could be your family, friends, or neighbors, and all her stories offer hope, healing, and plenty of second chances. Drawn to water, she almost always sets her stories on a body of water, from oceans, lakes, rivers, and the winding Adelaide Creek.

 

A ghostwriter, book doctor/editor, coach, and experienced workshop presenter, Virginia is a wanderer but currently lives in Northeastern Wisconsin. When she’s not writing, she’s walking on trails near her home or in some faraway place. She reads, streams series, hangs out with other writers, and daydreams about her next adventure.

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Release Blitz: A Not So Merry Ex-Mas by Abby Greyson

A Not So Merry Ex-Mas

Sweet Christmas Kisses series

by

Abby Greyson

Romance / Romantic Comedy / 

Clean / Sweet / Wholesome 

Publication Date: October 2, 2024

Page count: 236 pages

SYNOPSIS:

For years I've been dreaming of a real Christmas back home. Tree trimming, decorating, Christmas carols. What I wasn't expecting was Cole. 

If I was to dream up the perfect man even my wildest imagination would have fallen short compared to Cole Nichols.

Tall, broad shoulders, smile to die for and dreamy green eyes that held a mischievous glint.

Add in a heart of gold, always helping others in need.

We had planned out every detail of our lives together…including his dream of becoming a major league pitcher.

So when my gran got sick and I needed to take care of her, I gave him the push he needed, breaking my heart, and his, in the process.

A decade, and a divorce later, I'm heading back home to start my life over.

That new start begins with Christmas at my best friend’s cabin…and the man I’ve done everything to leave behind.

Is Christmas past here to haunt me, or to bring a future I stopped letting myself dream of?

This is a sweet, kisses only, holiday romantic comedy with a second chance, close proximity, enemies to lovers, opposites attract, slow burn, and happily ever after.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Best Selling, Award Winning Author Abby Greyson loves writing clean, kisses only, sweet and swoony romance stories that invite people to remember what it’s like to fall in love over and over and over again. Stories that make you laugh, root for the main characters and wonder what they are doing long after the book is finished.

On the days she isn’t reading or writing she enjoys spending lazy days with her Mr. Wonderful, her two pups and watching the Buffalo Bills on a football Sunday.

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Fancy (Love Train, #10) by Linda Broday

Fancy: Sweet Historical Western Romance by Linda Broday
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fancy is an emotion-filled and gripping historical western romance by veteran author Linda Broday.

It had been just Fancy and her mother for a long time, and they’d been through a lot together. Fancy’s father had died when she was very small: a military man killed while on duty. But her mother had done her best to keep body and soul together, and she and Fancy survived, thriving on love.

As a girl just entering womanhood, Fancy had been grabbed, raped, and left in a filthy alley by an unknown assailant. The attack had resulted in a pregnancy. But her mother was there for her. Fancy had not blamed the tiny life growing inside her and began to plan a hopeful future for herself, the baby, and her mother. But when her time came unexpectedly, she was alone and helped into a nearby midwife’s home, and her baby boy was born. The midwife hurried from the room the minute she had the tiny body in her hands. She returned and told Fancy the horrible news that the baby had not lived.

Fancy’s grief threatened to overwhelm her, but her mother was there to hold her hand and urge her on. But a little over two years later, Fancy was now the one doing the hand-holding: her mother sick and dying. As the sudden illness was taking away the only other person Fancy had in the world, there was a knock at the door. A familiar-looking woman stood in the dark and told her that her baby boy was still alive!

Fancy by Linda Broday is the tenth book in the multi-authored series, The Love Train. Each story is connected to the others via a particular train, the Union Pacific #1216, where each main character finds their true love.

Broday’s contribution is exciting and, despite the tragic circumstances that launch Fancy’s story, hopeful as well. With this series, you can count on a HEA ending. I enjoyed how everyone’s luck seemed to improve after they rode on the train. Readers are treated to a ride aboard the “1216” as it would have been during the early 1880s, and there are also solid glimpses of early Omaha (Saratoga), Nebraska, and Denver, Colorado.

The plot of Fancy going to retrieve her son is an emotional one. She feels like she’s fighting a losing battle almost every step of the way, but her spirit and determination are strong. Little Piper, the 12-year-old orphan, escorting her mother’s casket to Denver and the grandparents she’d never met, has an even more heartbreaking tale. I was gripped by her story, wondering how things would work for her. Jack Coltrain is the type of cowboy hero that dreams are made of.

I recommend FANCY to fans of Linda Broday’s previous books; they certainly won’t be disappointed, and to romance readers in the mood for an engaging historical Western tale where the underdog wins big.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Lone Star Book Blog Tours.

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