Our Last Days in Barcelona by Chanel Cleeton

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When Isabel Perez travels to Barcelona to save her sister Beatriz, she discovers a shocking family secret in New York Times bestselling author Chanel Cleeton’s new novel.

Barcelona, 1964. Exiled from Cuba after the revolution, Isabel Perez has learned to guard her heart and protect her family at all costs. After Isabel’s sister Beatriz disappears in Barcelona, Isabel goes to Spain in search of her. Joining forces with an unlikely ally thrusts Isabel into her sister’s dangerous world of espionage, but it’s an unearthed piece of family history that transforms Isabel’s life.

Barcelona, 1936. Alicia Perez arrives in Barcelona after a difficult voyage from Cuba, her marriage in jeopardy and her young daughter Isabel in tow. Violence brews in Spain, the country on the brink of civil war, the rise of fascism threatening the world. When Cubans journey to Spain to join the International Brigades, Alicia’s past comes back to haunt her as she is unexpectedly reunited with the man who once held her heart.

Alicia and Isabel’s lives intertwine, and the past and present collide, as a mother and daughter are forced to choose between their family’s expectations and following their hearts.

Source: NetGalley; advance copy provided by Berkley in exchange for an honest review

What can I say about Chanel Cleeton's Perez Sisters series that hasn't been said already? These books have absolutely captivated me, swept me away and taught me so much history as well. Our Last Days in Barcelona is gorgeous, a little suspenseful and delivers on the happily ever after.

I adore the dual timeline format that Cleeton adopted for these books, even more so as I'm so keen to see how all the dots connect. This time we also get a glimpse of the matriarch of the Perez family, Alicia, and I was surprised by the less than perfect start to her marriage. It's this mystery that ties into Beatriz's disappearance that has Isabel worried, flying from Florida to Barcelona to locate her whereabouts. While on this mission, she learns other family secrets that unsettle her.

Our Last Days in Barcelona highlights the strained, complex relationship Cuba has with Spain. With Alicia's timeline set in the late 1930's, there's a heightened sense of trepidation in Spain with the threat of pending civil war. I know that Spain's political history is complicated, but Cleeton keeps the focus zeroed in on this specific moment and the terrifying impact it was having on its citizens. 

I so appreciate this series for all that it has introduced me to Cuba's rich multi-cultural heritage and the turbulent decades that these books have spanned. The Perez family with all of their ups and downs and uncertainties, have become real to me and I feel grateful for being included on this journey.

~ Bel

Harlequin Series Investigator Blog Tour - Day 6

Welcome to the Harlequin Series Investigator Blog Tour!

We're featuring one book from the Harlequin series each day for the rest of the week. Looking for something new to read or to gift to someone this holiday season? Harlequin's got you covered! Join us here Monday through Saturday this week to learn about your next great read!

Day 6: Christmas Vendetta

CHRISTMAS VENDETTA by Valerie Hansen (on-sale Nov.30, Love Inspired Suspense): Is she a mistaken target…or next on an enemy’s hit list? Sandy Lynn Forrester's Christmas holiday takes a terrifying turn when someone breaks into her home and attacks her roommate…thinking it's her. But no one believes that an imprisoned man from Sandy Lynn's past is behind the attacks—except for her high school heartbreak, ex-cop Clay Danforth. Can she trust Clay to keep her safe in the Ozark wilderness long enough to stop a ruthless criminal’s vengeance?

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Excerpt

The lack of explanation from Clay caused her to glance over at him. Instead of paying attention to her, he was frowning and looking in the car mirrors.

Sandy Lynn whipped around as far as her seat belt would allow. Since the snow had stopped, more people had ventured outside, evidently to take advantage of the respite. The street was crowded. “What? What do you see?”

“Probably nothing.”

“Okay,” she drawled, “then why are you making scary faces?”

“I’m not.” Clay flashed her a lopsided smile. “This is my normal face.”

“Maybe it’s the black-and-blue eye socket that makes you look odd,” she said, not believing that excuse for an instant.

Again he stayed silent. She felt the car begin to accelerate. The tires slipped in the slushy street, and they fishtailed several times before Clay got it under control.

“Okay. That does it. What is going on?”

“We’re being followed,” Clay said as he sped up, sliding again and again. “I’m heading for the police station.”

“Finally, something that makes sense.” Bracing with her left hand on the dash, her right gripping the over-the-door assist handle, Sandy Lynn did her best to anchor herself on the seat.

Clay turned corner after corner until she was unsure of their position. “I thought you said—”

A hard smack jolted her car and snapped her head back against the support at the top of the seat. She wanted to shout orders at him, to tell him how to get them out of this situation, but truth to tell, she didn’t have a clue.

Prayer would be good, she reasoned, if she had the words to pray or knew what to ask for.

Survival leaped into her thoughts as she called out wordlessly to her heavenly Father.

The car was hit again. Clay righted it.

A harder smash followed quickly.

Clay hollered, “Hang on!”

They went airborne, diving nose-first into a drainage ditch. 

Sandy Lynn saw his head snap forward just as the airbag engulfed him. The passenger side of the dated vehicle was not equipped with crash protection, so the seat belt was the only thing keeping her from flying through the shattering windshield. 

Breathless and shocked, she just sat there, wondering if this was as bad as it was going to get or if their pursuers were going to stop to finish them off.

About the Author

Valerie Hansen resides in the rural Ozarks where she writes the books of her heart, primarily for Love Inspired Romance and Suspense. She is married to her childhood sweetheart and has worked as a teacher's-aide, EMT, fire dept. dispatcher, dog breeder, commercial artist, dulcimer builder, Veterinarian's asst., 4-H leader, Sunday School teacher, antique restorer and certified Storm Spotter, etc. See ValerieHansen.com for more!

Harlequin Series Investigator Blog Tour - Day 5

Welcome to the Harlequin Series Investigator Blog Tour!

We're featuring one book from the Harlequin series each day for the rest of the week. Looking for something new to read or to gift to someone this holiday season? Harlequin's got you covered! Join us here Monday through Saturday this week to learn about your next great read!

Day 5: Buried Cold Case Secrets

BURIED COLD CASE SECRETS by Sami A. Abrams (on-sale Dec.28, Love Inspired Suspense): Recovering her missing memories could be the key to solving a murder. Searching for her best friend’s remains could help forensic anthropologist Melanie Hutton regain her memories of when they were both kidnapped—unless the killer gets to Melanie first. For her safety, Melanie must rely on Detective Jason Cooper, who still blames her for his sister’s death. Can Jason set the past aside to solve the cold-case murder…and shield Melanie from the same fate?

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Excerpt

“Does it still hurt?”

She jumped.

“Didn’t mean to startle you. Guess I have a habit of doing that.” Jason rested against the neighboring tree.

Several deep breaths later, she forced a smile. “It’s okay.”

He narrowed his gaze and studied her a moment. “Well? Does it?”

“A little.” Truthfully, a lot, but Jason didn’t need to know that. “I, uh, wanted to thank you for watching out for me today.”

“Just doing my job.” The muscles in his neck and shoulders tensed.

“We both know it’s more than that.” She wiped her hand down her face. “Jason. We’re going to be working together for the foreseeable future. Do you think we can call a truce, at least while we do our jobs?”

His jaw twitched, and he remained silent.

She’d asked a lot, but the strain between them had to stop. She watched him for a few minutes then shook her head.

“Never mind.” She pushed from the trunk and limped to the hole in the ground. Her lead-filled heart threatened to drop to her feet. To think that fifteen years ago, she’d had a crush on him. He’d teased her and Allison, but he’d never allowed others to speak unkind words to them. If only she could return to those carefree days. The days before she had died on the inside and her friend had died for real.

Someday, Allison, I’ll find your body. I promise.

She swiped the wetness from her cheeks and lowered herself into the grave. The movement mimicked her mood. She picked up her trowel and searched for more bones.

An hour later, Melanie’s headache had become unbearable, causing her stomach to roil. Just what she needed, to lose her lunch in front of Jason. Scanning the grave, she spotted the paintbrush she used for delicate work. She grasped the handle, but dropped it. She tried again, but her fingers refused to cooperate. Her eyelids grew heavy. Something was off. She sat on the edge of the hole.

“Jason, help.” Her words were slurred. She struggled to stay upright. The trees in front of her blurred and swayed. 

He kneeled down and came face-to-face with her. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know.”

“Help me out here. What’s the last thing you did?” 

“I—I…” She struggled against the gray cloud jumbling her thoughts. “Took a break a while ago. Only digging since.”

His gaze flew to a spot behind her.

She wilted into him. Her vision tunneled, and darkness closed in.

“Keith! Grab the cooler and her bag!”

Jason’s frantic voice registered, but her body had shut down.

His warm arms lifted her. Her head bobbed and landed on his shoulder.

Her cheek bounced against his chest in cadence with the pounding of his feet on the path. 

His rhythmic breathing was the last thing she heard before the world went dark.

 

About the Author

Two-time Genesis winner Sami A. Abrams and her husband live in Northern California, but she’ll always be a Kansas girl at heart. She enjoys visiting her two grown children and spoiling their sweet fur babies. Most evenings, if Sami’s not watching sports,you’ll find her engrossed in a romantic suspense novel. She thinks a crime plus a little romance is the recipe for a great story. Visit her at

http://www.samiaabrams.com.

Harlequin Series Investigator Blog Tour - Day 3

Welcome to the Harlequin Series Investigator Blog Tour!

We're featuring one book from the Harlequin Intrigue series each day for the rest of the week. Looking for something new to read or to gift to someone this holiday season? Harlequin's got you covered! Join us here Monday through Saturday this week to learn about your next great read!

Day 3: UNDERCOVER K-9 COWBOY

UNDERCOVER K-9 COWBOY by Addison Fox (on-sale Jan.25, Harlequin Romantic Suspense): A by-the-book Fed goes rogue for justice. To stop the drug epidemic ravaging Midnight Pass, FBI agent Ryder Durant reluctantly takes matters into his own hands. Poised to set a trap at Reynolds Station, he has to contend with Arden Reynolds—who prefers Ryder's K-9 to the Fed protecting her family. As Ryder and Arden spar, embers spring into flame. And those flames are as dangerous as the crime ring lurking too close to home…

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Excerpt

“You want answers?”

“I do.” Arden said.

“Then I want a few of my own first.”

Although she didn’t say anything, anticipation lit her blue eyes. It surprised him how that struck somewhere low in his gut. Like he was enjoying getting a reaction—any reaction—from her.

“You don’t like me very much, and I’d like to know why.”

That small light winked out, fading away as if it had never been. “I have nothing against you.”

“I’d say you do. You have since the first time we met.” Ryder tilted his head toward the wide-open window beside them.

“Right out there on Main Street.”

He remembered the moment well. It had been a pretty fall day and he’d tied Murphy up outside the coffee shop to bask in the sun for a few minutes while he ran in to snag a quick cup. The night before, he’d run his first op since coming to Midnight Pass and was pretty much subsisting on fumes. He’d come back out to find Arden, expectantly waiting for him, full of barely veiled insult and clear irritation that he’d left his dog outside.

“I wasn’t aware that Murphy was a working dog that day. I may have been a bit terse.”

“And the other night? At your place?”

“I—” She stopped, clearly considering her words. He was surprised to find that he had the patience to wait for whatever it was she had to say. “I don’t appreciate cocky arrogance.”

“You live on a ranch full of testosterone-fueled cowboys. And in a town full of the same. Surely you come up against a bit of cocky banter now and again?”

“That’s an excuse for it?”

“It’s a fact. I’d have thought you’d be used to it by now.”

“It doesn’t mean I have to like it.” Her tone was prim and her already strong, fit posture stiffened a few more degrees north.

Ryder was good at his job because he knew how to read people. It was also what made him a good K-9 handler. He paid attention and he read situations before reacting. And every instinct he possessed read this one as arising from something that had specifically happened to her.

With someone who had hurt her.

Someone, Ryder suspected, who had been cocky and arrogant and likely unkind to her.

About the Author

About ADDISON FOX: Addison Fox is a lifelong romance reader, addicted to happy-ever-afters. She loves writing about romance as much as reading it. Addison lives in New York with an apartment full of books, a laptop that’s rarely out of sight and a wily beagle who keeps her running. You can find her at www.addisonfox.com, facebook.com/addisonfoxauthor or on Twitter (@addisonfox).