The Monthly Herd-- December-- Thank Goodness 2016 is over!

Woohoo! *flails with excitement* 2016 is nearly over! Only a couple more hours. Yall I'm so ready for 2017! 2016 ended on a pretty good note here but man it was a rough year for the herd and our family on a personal front. I've already told the herd-- in very stern terms-- that no one is allowed to get sick in 2017. No kitty nip if they don't listen! lol

AFTH w/ Sara Humphreys-- A Chat with Ronan (he'll so make you Awwwww!)

I've had such a thing for Sara's covers over the years. Serious #covergasms, yall. But it wasn't until just a few months ago that I read one and whew! It was a blast. That whole friends to lovers thing, yummy sexual tension and some nice suspense, freaking LICKABLE hero, fiery heroine and a cute pup. I mean. It was reader-girl heaven.

And now I have a huge backlist I just must read. Such a horrible, terrible problem! *flails in horror* lol Sara's hunky hero, Ronan, is taking over today and I hope yall will give him some comment love! ~anna

AFTH w/ M. O'Keefe-- Charlotte and Jesse's First Christmas (Bad Neighbor)

I actually have no idea how M O'Keefe originally landed in my review pile but woohoo! Yay! I'm so glad she did because dayum! Gritty and mysterious and hot as freaking hell.

Seriously. There was phone sex in book one that had me squirming. lol

Just a couple chapters into that first book I read of hers and I was addicted. Like can't-put-it-down-you-best-step-away-cus-mama's-reading addicted. lol

And she's bringing yall fun Chrismasy encounter today from her latest hero and heroine. Lordy but I can't wait to meet these two. Give her some comment love, yall. ~anna

Bad Neighbor’s Charlotte and Jesse’s First Christmas!

AFTH w/ Alison Bliss-- Alison's Top Ten Naughty AND Nice Hero Moves List

I can't believe the year's almost over! But before it is Alison Bliss is joining us! She's one I read late this year and holy cow...so fun! I was laughing my butt off over her hero and heroine. Hero has a sweet tooth like you wouldn't believe...heroine is plus sized and owns a bakery. They were a hoot!

Yall give her a good welcome and hit those comments! ~anna

Alison’s Top Ten Naughty and Nice List

Insta- Wednesday: Christmas woohoo!

Because I love Instagram and fun pictures. The Herd's last couple weeks ala Instagram :) And ack! the last one of 2016!

I love my town at Christmas. Just little touches but it looks so darn cute!

Buy the Book-- New Releases & Book Deals!

Eee! I managed to not read a single new release for this week. Whoa! But there are some real pretty ones. Some nice book deals and freebies, too. 

For more info on each book please click the cover! It'll take you to the Amazon page for the book.*

4 stars-- Last Chance Cowboys: The Lawman (Where the Trail Ends #2) by Anna Schmidt

My last review of 2016! And I loved it! There's something about this dusty Texas town that pulls me in completely! The Lawman hit the spot and left me even more smitten with Schmidt's writing.

Merry Christmas!!!

 Woohoo! It's Christmas! The herd and I are tucked in by the fire and sipping hot chocolate. Well hot chocolate for me. They've got catmilk. It's a thing. Really.

Anywho. Thought we'd take it easy today. It's cold and figured things needed to be heated up just a little. So today? Naughty Santas and their Christmasy friends. *squeals of delight*

Top 20 (ish) Reads of 2016!!

As part of Authors for the Holidays I'm doing some random posts just from mwah! And one of those is...my favorite reads from 2016. There were so pretty dang good reads. I'm sharing...20ish of them.

Would love to hear if you've read any of them! ~anna

AFTH w/ Anna Bradley-- Anna’s List of the Nicest Naughty Things about Romance

Another Anna!!! *flails with delight* Anna's a very new one to me. I read book two of her series just a couple months ago and had a damn good time with it. The hero. ::snorts:: Yall, this hero was a trip. Historical homeboy could cause a scandal! Whewboy! Even when he wasn't trying! It was most excellent. Seriously. Look at that cover! He just screams I'm going to do wicked things in your direction and you are going to love every second of it! Gah! I'm definitely looking forward to checking out the rest of the series.

So. Anna is taking over and sharing some Naughty or Nice bits. This Anna, out! ~anna

Anna’s List of the Nicest Naughty Things about Romance

AFTH w/ Mandy Baxter-- a Naughty US Marshals' Christmas...

Romantic Suspense. I've been off it for a while but then I saw Mandy Baxter's covers and I. Was. In. And oh my gosh how fun! Wild card heroes that are US Marshals. Kick ass women who can hold their own. Nicely done suspense and some steamy lovin'. Yes! Good times. And seriously covergasms...covergasms everywhere!

Mason, Mandy's latest hero, is joining us today for a little Christmas chat. Check it out then hit those comments! ~anna

Christmas Quickies-- Hot Winter Nights by Codi Gary & I'm Dreaming of an Undead Christmas by Molly Harper

Hot Winter Nights (Bear Mountain Rescue #1) by Codi Gary

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This was a fun winter quickie. New girl in town. Two tempting men...who happen to be best friends. Adorable canine companions. A winter storm. Yep. Good times.

AFTH w/ Nicole Helm-- a little girl's Christmas wish...

Happy Tuesday! We've got Nicole Helm joining us today for Authors for the Holidays. Yall I'm so excited. Her Big Sky Cowboys series really stole my heart this year.

A family on the brink of falling apart and fighting tooth and nail to save their livelihood, their family relationsips, and for their happily ever afters. It's not always the pretties and fluffiest of reading but goodness so worth it.

Yall give Nicole a big welcome and hit those comments (and maybe grab some tissues)! ~anna

Quote-tastic/Review-- One Snowy Night by Jill Shalvis

I do love me some Jill Shalvis. One Snowy Night was pretty cute. It's a "snowed in" theme but...on a car trip. This quote. I don't know why, but it totally made me laugh.

4 stars-- A Christmas Bride (Chapel of Love #1) by Hope Ramsay

Ramsay has a lovely way of mending hearts and broken souls. Love, hope, a little humor. A Christmas Bride was a beautiful romance and start to a new series.

The quick of it is that after many years away Willow's life has gone sideways and she's come home to start over. And it's brought her face to face with the world her best friend left behind when she was tragically killed years earlier. A husband and young child still struggling through the loss and a falling apart inn that her friend dreamed of restoring. And they speak to her soul in a way little has for a very long time. A little Christmas magic in the air, a determined spirit, and the strength of family and friends might bring a bit of happiness in time for the holidays.

Tasty Delights-- Nutella Puff Pastry Star

Chocolate. Pastry. Noms! I saw this floating around pretty much everywhere online and decided I was in. It was my first time working with puff pastry but so easy and quick and yummy.

I ended up doing two versions. One sweet and one savory.

AFTH w/ Rachel Lacey-- Naughty or Nice - Why Choose Just One?!

Joining us today is Rachel Lacey! She's a very new to me author but totally charmed me with her latest release, Run to You. Gah, it was just so good, yall! The hero had me in a total swoon and the heroine was lovely. I was totally hooked on the secondary characters, too. Oh and she's a Carolina author and I always love featuring authors from my state. Double win!

She's taking over for the next little while so yall give her some good comment love and have fun! ~anna

Naughty or Nice - Why Choose Just One?!

When it comes to romance heroes, I like to enjoy a side of naughty with my nice hero. Or is it a side of nice with my naughty hero? To me, the best romance heroes are a combination of both.

3 stars-- The Hero (Sons of Texas #1) by Donna Grant

My first Donna Grant! I couldn't resist the cover for The Hero. Goodness it's yummy! I mean, seriously pet-able! lol And it was a decent read, too, though I did have a couple quibbles.

Insta-Wednesday: Review journals, noms & herding kitties.

Because I love Instagram and fun pictures. The Herd's week ala Instagram :)

Books, cats, pups, journals, FOOOD!!!! It's been a busy couple weeks :D

4 stars-- Mistletoe Games Anthology by Jaci Burton

Hockey! Baseball! Surfers! A plethora of sexy athletes ready to heat up the holidays. Noms! Mistletoe Games was a solid Christmas anthology that'll get a girl all hot and bothered and quite possibly on Santa's Naughty List.

One thing before you dive in. All of the novellas in this anthology have been previously released in ebook format so double check before you one-click. I don't want anyone disappointed because they've already read them.

A little about each. And yall...these covers! #Dies #Covergasms

AFTH w/ Chanel Cleeton-- Sexy Santa Kiss Cookies

I won't even lie. Chanel Cleeton blew me the hell away this year. I'd not heard of her books until Fly With Me hit my doorstep. And whoa, yall. Whoa! This was one of only TWO 5 star reviews I gave this year out of 150+ books. I don't give them lightly.

Before I even finished the book I was already twisting arms and telling friends they HAD TO READ IT. It's one of the best military romances I've ever read. And the follow up book was pretty damn fantastic as well.

Chanel is joining us today with a yummy cookie treat that's just a little naughty. Check it out plus an early teaser for her January book (I'm reading it now and omg!) and leave her some comment love. ~Anna

Buy the Book-- New Releases & Book Deals!

Woohoo! New from Eve Langlais! Layne, Bennett are both fun authors too but I haven't read those.

AND OMG! I gave out 2 5 star reviews this year and one is on sale for only 1.99 Fly With Me by Chanel Cleeton was AMAZING and one of the best military romances I've read.

Quote-tastic/Review-- Wolf Unleashed (SWAT #5) by Paige Tyler

This is one of the few paranormal series I read these days and Oh I love it! A whole SWAT team of alpha werewolves. Noms! Great romance and fun characters plus some nice suspense. This time one of the guys and the vet who takes care of the team's dog. Love that!

Two quotes today. There were a handful of pets in this one and this one just cracked me up and gave me a giggle over the heroine and her naming.

Tag: The Cat Herder-- The Christmas Edition

 

Tasty Delights-- Pesto Flatbread w/ Zucchini, Broccoli and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

So. This is a recipe I never would have tried without the HelloFresh boxes. I mean. NEVER. lol

Pesto? What amounts to pizza without tomato sauce? Broccoli and zucchini on said broccoli and zucchini tainted pizza? Sun-dried tomatoes? NEVER, yall. Ne-vah.

But, yall. This was SO freaking good! I'd originally figured I'd try a little and toss the rest but nope. I ate the whole dang thing in one sitting. Color me really damn surprised. I woulda ate the second one right then too but I was trying to be good. lol

SIGN UPs-- 2017 Events I'm Hosting

Hey guys! I'm getting ready for 2017 and thought I'd do a master list of events I already know I'll be hosting. Sign ups are linked for ones already open. For ones not open yet be sure to fill out our notifications form and you'll get an email once sign up is live!

Be sure to mark your calendars! Hope you'll join us for one or more of our events!

Anna's 2017 Reading Challenge Sign Up Post!

Anna's 2017 Reading Challenge Sign Up Post!
These are the reading challenges I'm personally doing and my goals for them in 2017! I included links to each of the challenges but this is just my personal "hey, this is what I'm doing" post so I can link it up other places. :D 

AFTH w/ Vivienne Lorret-- Dear Father Christmas: A heroine vs a hero.

I'd been having some reading struggles when Vivienne Lorret landed on my radar with the first book of her Season's Original series. And yall. Holy cow. I was hooked. I couldn't put the book down and immediately was looking up when book two would release. And the same thing happened with book two. Lorret completely swept me away and had me excited about reading again. It was fantastic. And her characters so darn fun. Two of which are joining us today to share their Letters to Father Christmas. Juliet and Max, well, they make each other a little crazy. lol

AFTH w/ DD Ayres-- Dear Santa... I Can Explain. XOXO Harley the Dog

Hot alpha males, heroines who can handle their own, and pups. The pups! Yall. They're killing me.

I picked up book one earlier this year on audio to help me get through my fitbit walking because seriously I hate walking. And this audio. Holy hotness. The narration was excellent and the story fantastic. And then I had to read more.

I'm really enjoying the series and the focus on working dogs from all walks of life. So far I've read a police dog, a rescue pup, an explosives dog and a protection canine. I just loved them all to bits.

DD, well, Harley the explosives dog from the latest release, is taking over today. Yall check out his Letter to Santa and give him some comment love~anna

Dear Santa,

I’m writing to say that as a loyal and trusted member of my pack, I’ve been a very very good dog. You can ask my master, arson detective Noah Glover. It’s just that you might have heard a few stories from my Alpha about my conduct. I can explain.

Buy the Book-- New Releases & Book Deals!

OMG bookgasms, yall. The Hero, Wolf Unleashed, Rules of Contact...dayum!
There are some really good freebies and some book deals (1.99 or less), too! Let me know if you grab any!

3 stars-- Mischief and the Masters (Masters of the Shadowlands #12) by Cherise Sinclair

Two sexy doms and one wee little submissive. That's totally my catnip! Well, usually. Mischief and the Masters, didn't quite hit all my buttons. Which was a huge surprise since usually Sinclair's books get high marks from me.

AFTH w/ Anna Harrington-- The Regency Era was a LOT Naughtier than You Think! Woo!

At the very end of last year a gorgeous book-- Dukes Are Forever-- landed in my hands. And the author's name was Anna. Yay for Annas!! Woohoo! I was so excited and dove in. And what a lovely series it turned into. Delicious heroes, heroines that are unique, strong, and fierce. I was in. So in!

The original series I read is complete--definitely recommend all of them. But Anna's got a new series coming out in February and, yall, it looks amazing, too! Anywho. She's taking over for a spell today talking about those oh so naughty regency era folks. Yall check it out then plaster her with awesome comments. ~anna

Top Ten Reasons that the Regency Era was a LOT Naughtier than You Think!

Quote-tastic/Review-- Explosive Forces (K-9 Rescue #5) by D.D. Ayres

Aaaad today's Quote-tastic is from DD Ayres. She's a fairly new to me author--she's actually joining us later this week for AFTH--and yall I'm having a blast with her books. Sexy heroes, working dogs, fierce heroines. They have some really funny bits, too.

 Okay so this first one. It's a rom-suspense and you know, dead bodies popping up here or there. I loved the heroine's response. That would so be me. lol

Tasty Delights-- Roasted Brussels Sprouts w/ Balsamic Glaze

I'm walking through my grocery and I spot...these!! And had an OMG I NEED THEM moment. And so...the brussels sprouts stalk came home with me. How freaking neat does this thing look?!

I've only ever seen de-stalked brussels sprouts in real life but I'd seen that Gilmore Girls episode from ages ago where the hippy 'long haired freak' has the farmers market in the square and is pissing off Taylor who is trying to kick him out of the square and there's a bit with brussels sprouts on a stalk and oooing and awing over them.

Anyways. They just had to be bought! And with fancy brussels sprouts I decided to try a new recipe for them. Typically I just slice and roast them with a little oil and garlic. This time I got fancy and did a balsamic glaze to go over them. And holy cow...yummy! I think this would be a fun side for Christmas.

AFTH w/ Nancy Herkness-- Naughty Billionaires’ Wish List for Santa

Earlier this summer I was asked to be a judge for a writing contest and one of the books I was sent was the first in Nancy Herkness's series.

I'd been having a reading struggle at the time and picked hers up and just adored it.

The writing was easy and swept me away and I was seriously smitten with the series trope--three guys who meet and they make a bet. The bet? Finding "the one" and falling in love. Yes. These guys are betting on finding their true loves and getting their happily ever afters. How freaking cute is that? Seriously!

Nancy's gonna take over today and share some fun...what her heroes would put on their Christmas Wishlist to Santa. Yall have a good time with her then hit those comments! ~anna

Authors for the Holidays 2016!

YESSSSSSS!!!! It's that time of year again!

Authors for the Holidays
Woohoo! Check out the line up!

The Monthly Herd-- November-- Getting Social & BabyG being a jerk. *nods*

Holy cow we're almost to December. Insanity! I know that's said every month nearly but seriously! December! *flails* lol

November was an interesting month. And a busy one. The Life Reboot feature is keeping me crazy busy with all kinds of fun things like Hoppy Hour at the art museum, going to see Lee Child, getting ready for winter, making wreaths. It's been a lot of fun! If anyone wants to join in on those you're welcome to!

Christmas Quickies-- {The Heiress and the Hothead by Sabrina Jeffries} & {Christmas With an Angel by Debbie Mason}

The Heiress and the Hothead (Sinful Suitors #1.5) by Sabrina Jeffries 

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The Quick Of It: A Christmas gathering. A heated kiss. A British hero set on exposing the atrocities of mill owners. An American heroine who so happens to own a mill. Realizing you just kissed the enemy? #Priceless