Iron Canuck Reviews & More: Review Tour: Kissing Kin by Karen Hulene Bartell with an excerpt, a giveaway, and my review

KISSING KIN

by Karen Hulene Bartell

GENRE: Paranormal Romance

BLURB:

Maeve Jackson is starting over after a broken engagement—and mustering out of the Army. No job and no prospects, she spins out on black ice and totals her car.

When struggling vintner Luke Kaylor stops to help, they discover they’re distantly related. On a shoestring budget to convert his vineyard into a winery, he makes her a deal: prune grapevines in exchange for room and board.

But forgotten diaries and a haunted cabin kickstart a five-generational mystery with ancestors that have bones to pick. As carnal urges propel them into each other’s arms, they wonder: Is their attraction physical…or metaphysical?

EXCERPT:

Grandma’s bedtime stories echoed through my mind as I sped west on I-10. At an early age, family history had merged with myth until the name Fort Lincoln was as legendary as Avalon or Middle Earth.

But when the snow-covered peaks loomed closer, their reality was undeniable. Maybe her stories weren’t tall tales…

And what about her proverbs? “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” I winced. No job and no prospects. Mustering out after a five-year Army stint, I had to ask myself: What next? Where next?

Cody slipped into my thoughts, but I dismissed him, refusing to romanticize our breakup.

A troop of cavalry soldiers galloped toward me from the nineteenth century, but a second glance proved the images were metal cutouts--two-dimensional illusions that resembled an officer and guide leading two columns of cavalrymen.

The silhouettes evoked tales of my great-great-grandfather, Ben Williams. Beginning his military career as a scout, he’d been field promoted during combat, then commissioned as Second Lieutenant at Fort Lincoln.

I smiled, proud of our similar career paths. Maybe Grandma’s stories influenced me more than I realized.

Leaving the Interstate, I turned south. Road signs noted towns that sounded familiar from family stories but seemed as mythical as Camelot or Tintagel Castle.

Closer now, the mountains’ features came into view. No longer mere outlines on the horizon, each craggy palisade and butte towered over the highway.

Fluffy hoarfrost transformed the landscape into an icy spectacle, with flaky, crystal shards overlaying each leaf and every blade of grass. A frozen fairyland! Just the way Grandma described it. Inspired by the raw beauty, I straightened my shoulders. Maybe I’m viewing my discharge the wrong way. Instead of adrift, maybe I’m free…

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Author of the Trans-Pecos and Sacred Emblem series, Karen is a best-selling author, keynote speaker, wife, and all-around pilgrim of life, who writes multicultural, offbeat love stories. Born to rolling-stone parents who moved often, Bartell found her earliest playmates as fictional friends in books. Paperbacks became her portable pals. Ghost stories kept her up at night—reading feverishly. The paranormal was her passion. Novels offered an imaginative escape. An only child, she began writing her first novel at the age of nine, learning the joy of creating her own happy endings. Professor emeritus of the University of Texas at Austin, Karen resides in the Texas Piney Woods with her husband Peter and her “mews”—three rescued cats and a rescued *Cat*ahoula Leopard dog.

Connect with Karen:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarenHuleneBartell

MeWe: https://mewe.com/i/karenbartell

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HuleneKaren

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/karenhulenebartell/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/611950.Karen_Hulene_Bartell

Website: http://www.KarenHuleneBartell.com/

Email: info@KarenHuleneBartell.com

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/karenhulenebartell

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karenhulenebartell/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/karen-hulene-bartell

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenhulenebartell/

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Kissing-Trans-Pecos-Karen-Hulene-Bartell-ebook/dp/B0CRJ6P13V/ref=sr_1_1

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GIVEAWAY

The author will award a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f4809/

My Review - 4 of 5 stars -

This was an interesting story. Maeve was taught that things happened for a reason. Her running into Luke and finding that they were connected, but not blood but still by family. Old diaries brought forth memories, mysteries, and more. They were attracted to each other but spent time getting to know each other and learning about their lives. I enjoyed the haunting side of the story as well. I liked Maeve and Luke but felt that the story was a bit long. Still, a good read.