Wednesday, December 30, 2015

The One to Hold Box Set by Tia Louise

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**Release Day Blitz Only: LIVE AND ONLY 99 CENTS FOR A VERY LIMITED TIME!!!!!!!

Title: The One to Hold
Author: Tia Louise
Cover design by Perfect Pear Creative
Cover image by Perrywinkle Photography

International bestselling military romance: Get the complete, darkly seductive love story of Derek & Melissa. Three Full-Length, Red-Hot Military Romantic Suspense Novels in one set.

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WARNING: Due to strong language and intense sexual situations, these books are not intended for readers under the age of 18.
Book #1 - ONE TO HOLD: When Derek Alexander, retired Marine and top private investigator, encounters small-town girl Melissa Jones at a spa resort in the desert, the two embark on a weeklong, white-hot affair. He’s determined to hold her, but she’s running from a past that could tear them apart.
Book #2 - ONE TO PROTECT: Derek and Melissa are planning a life together, with a baby on the way… Until a face from the past turns up dead. Derek knows Melissa is still in danger, and seeing no other option, he launches a dark chain of events to protect his little family.
Book #3 - ONE TO SAVE: A secret is never safe when more than one person knows it. Refusing to let anyone pay for his crimes, Derek takes matters into his own hands. He's exposed, he's defenseless, but his friends are determined to save him.
Exclusive Sneak Peek – ONE IMMORTAL (Ch. 1-5): Melissa is a vampire; Derek is a vampire hunter. When the two cross paths in a bar off Bourbon Street, sparks fly. But Melissa is hiding a secret that could cost Derek his life.


Readers say….
"FIVE STARS for the entire ONE TO HOLD series!!!" -Aleatha Romig, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Consequences series
"Great writing, steamy romance, humor, and a lot of heart." -Mia Sheridan, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Archer's Voice  


 


★ PURCHASE THE ONE TO HOLD BOX SET★
PRINT COPIES:




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One to Save
By Tia Louise
© TLM Productions LLC, 2015
“Secrets”


Melissa


In the cool darkness of the semi-crowded bar, I study the glass in front of me and consider my journey, how many steps I’ve taken in the last two years, how far I’ve come. Memories of my old life fade like smoke in a glass. The shame that held me so tightly now dances at the edges of my mind like the whisper of a bad dream, a flicker of shadows that no longer make sense in my world.
Young women in shiny slip-dresses twist and laugh on the dance floor, but instead of resentment, my lips curl into a smile. My old self—cynical, bitter, defeated—is a memory I have to work hard to recall. These days I could dance all night with them, but I’d rather spend my energy on other things.
The slim glass holds a pale amber liquid, and I can’t resist taking a sip. An involuntary wince pinches my eyes as I put it down. Seven and seven. Refreshing citrus dragged down by the heavy undertone of whiskey. So gross.
Sliding my palms over my thighs, I realize my outfit isn’t much different from the girls’ on the dance floor. The deep red silk is fitted at my waist, and drapes loosely over my torso. My long, dark hair is swept over one shoulder revealing a thin spaghetti strap. I lightly touch the delicate gold chain around my neck leading to the floating heart pendant that sits between my collarbones, and light glances off the thick gold cuff on my wrist.
Unlike that night almost two years ago, I’m alone. My best friend Elaine is miles away with her new husband, most likely indulging in that blissful honeymoon period of early marriage. Make that, most certainly indulging. I know those two well.
No, I came by myself to this bar in Princeton after finishing my business with a client in town. My infant son is in Wilmington, spending the weekend with his grandmother. Studying my hands, I admire the deep blue sapphire ring on my finger, but I have no wedding band.
At thirty-two, I’m an unmarried mother of a beautiful little boy, and I wouldn’t change a thing… Yet. The tiny silver scar at my hairline reminds me of what a bad marriage looks like, and with my successful marketing business and the gorgeous cottage at the beach I own, I’m satisfied with my life. Calm, not desperate. I’ll take my next steps deliberately, with certainty.
All these thoughts preoccupy my mind when I blink up and catch him watching me from across the square-shaped bar. Blue eyes, strikingly blue because of the way they stand out beneath his dark brow, coupled with collar-length thick dark hair.
He’s massive, at least six-two, and elegantly dressed with a thick stainless watch on his wrist. I can spot his type a mile away—rich, powerful, accustomed to getting what he wants. I can’t deny the hum his gaze sets off under my skin. I know what he wants.
Catching my lip in my teeth to stop my grin, I know what I want, too, and it’s no coincidence I happened to look up at that exact moment to meet his stare. Still, I’ll make him work for it.
He starts to move, his eyes never leaving mine. I don’t look away either. Thick cords of muscle ripple beneath the thin black sweater he wears as he glides past the oblivious patrons talking and laughing. Some are more animated than others, waving their arms and putting their drinks in peril.
Yellow lights hidden in the recesses above the bar illuminate rows of liquor bottles in all colors and shapes. Glasses hanging upside down above also catch the flickering light. It’s a raucous atmosphere, but this man and I are in our own secret place of longing and desire.
As he rounds the final corner, and I see him in full, my breath quickens. My eyes drift from his broad shoulders to his narrow waist, grey slacks and black shoes, then back up just as he reaches me. A close beard shadows his face, and the muscles low in my pelvis tighten at the thought of how it feels brushing the soft skin of my inner thighs.


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Tia Louise is the Amazon and International Bestselling author of the ONE TO HOLD series.
From “Readers’ Choice” nominations, to USA Today “Happily Ever After” nods, to winning the 2015 “Favorite Erotica Author” and the 2014 “Lady Boner Award” (LOL!), nothing makes her happier than communicating with fans and weaving new tales into the Alexander-Knight world of stories.
A former journalist, Louise lives in the center of the USA with her lovely family and one grumpy cat. There, she dreams up stories she hopes are engaging, hot, and sexy, and that cause readers rethink common public locations...
Books by Tia Louise:
One to Hold (Derek & Melissa), 2013
One to Keep (Patrick & Elaine), 2014
One to Protect (Derek & Melissa), 2014
One to Love (Kenny & Slayde), 2014
One to Leave (Stuart & Mariska), 2014
One to Save (Derek & Melissa), 2015
One to Chase (Amy & Marcus), 2015
One to Take (Stuart & Mariska), coming Jan/Feb 2016!
Paranormal Romances (all stand-alones):
One Immortal (Derek & Melissa, #SexyVampires), 2015
One Insatiable (Koa & Mercy, #AlphaShifters), 2015
SIGNED COPIES: http://smarturl.it/SignedPBs

Get a FREE Bonus Scene from One to Love, and never miss a New Release! Sign up for Tia's Book News: http://smarturl.it/TLMnews


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The Rock by Monica McCarty


Title: The Rock 
Series: Highland Guard #11
Author: Monica McCarty 
Release Date: December 29, 2015


New York Times bestselling author Monica McCarty continues her Highland Guard series in this eleventh steamy historical romance set against the sweeping backdrop of the Scottish Highlands.


The first time he caught sight of Elizabeth Douglas, Thomas MacGowan thought she was a princess. To the son of the castle blacksmith, the daughter of the powerful Lord of Douglas might as well be. When it becomes clear that his childhood companion will never see him as a man she could love, Thom joins Edward Bruce’s army as a man-at-arms to try to change his lot. If he’s harbored a secret hope that he could close the gap between them, he faces the cold, hard truth when Elizabeth comes to him for help. She might need the boy who used to climb cliffs to rescue her brother from the hands of the English, but she would never see the son of a smith as a man worthy of her hand.





Thomas MacGowan has loved Elizabeth Douglas since the first time he saw her. She was a little girl then and he thought she was a princess. His father tells Thomas she is unreachable. She is a lady and he is only the son of the blacksmith. He has nothing to offer her but they become fast friends with Thomas saving her a few times. Yeas later, when Elizabeth refuses his proposal, he's devastated and decides to join Edward Bruce's cause against the English. He wants to show Elizabeth he can do better and climb the ranks to achieve a better status.  Thomas is strong and he's known to be able to climb the most difficult walls. This brings the interest from the Highland Guard to his doorstep. He might be able to climb the walls of castles and take them back from the English. Nonetheless, this is not enough to make Elizabeth stop her bethrodal.

I was so happy to start The Rock. I read The Striker and I loved it.  Monica McCarty does a great job with her descriptions and I can almost visualize myself during those hard times. I wish I had read the rest of the books but I don't believe it's necessary to enjoy it. 

In regards to the main characrters, I found myself annoyed with Elizabeth at times. She had a man promising to love her and cheerish her and she was oblivious to his love until she sees him without a shirt! Then lust takes over and then she realizes her mistake.  I know it was unheard of marrying below your status but how can she say no to Thomas!

Thomas was written perfectly. He was strong, determined and would do anything to convince Elizabeth that he could provide for her. Everything he did was for her. How many times did he save her?  I was happy Thomas was able to develop a relationship with his father and brother again. 

I really can't wait for the next one in this series.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.



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Dukes Prefer Blondes by Loretta Chase


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Title: Dukes Prefer Blondes 
Series: The Dressmakers #4
Author: Loretta Chase
Releasing December 29th,2015
Avon Books



Lady Clara, the fan-favorite character from Loretta Chase’s New York Times and USA Today bestselling Dressmakers series, finally gets her own happily ever after!

Convenient marriages are rarely so…exciting. Can society’s most adored heiress and London’s most difficult bachelor fall victim to their own unruly desires?

Biweekly marriage proposals from men who can’t see beyond her (admittedly breathtaking) looks are starting to get on Lady Clara Fairfax’s nerves. Desperate to be something more than ornamental, she escapes to her favorite charity. When a child goes missing, she turns to Oliver Radford—a handsome, brilliant, excessively conceited barrister.

Having unexpectedly found himself in line to inherit a dukedom, Radford needs a bride who can navigate the Society he’s never been part of. If he can find one without having to set foot in a ballroom, so much the better. Clara—blonde, blue-eyed, and he must admit, not entirely bereft of brains—will do. As long as he can woo her, wed her—and not, like every other sapskull in London, lose his head over her…



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At the head of Whitehall-street is the noted point of Charing cross; and immediately above it lately opened Trafalgar square, where is to be erected a splendid naval monument; and the new national gallery of the fine arts, now in building, is on the north side of the square.
—Calvin Colton, Four Years in Great Britain, 1831–35

Environs of Covent Garden, London Wednesday 19 August 1835

“Stop it!” the girl cried. “Get off! I won’t go!”

Lady Clara Fairfax, about to alight from her cabriolet, couldn’t hear what the boy said, but she heard him laugh and saw him grab Bridget Coppy’s arm and try to drag her away from the building she was about to enter. It housed the Milliners’ Society for the Education of Indigent Females.

The horse safe in her tiger’s keeping, her ladyship snatched up her whip, picked up her skirts, and ran toward the pair. She struck the boy’s arm with the whip’s butt end. He let out a high-pitched oath.

He was a mean-looking boy, red-haired, with a square, spotty face. He wore the cheap, showy coat she’d learned to associate with the strutting ne’er-do-wells who infested the neighborhood.

“Get away from her, or you’ll get more of the same,” Clara said. “Leave this place. You’ve no business here. Be gone before I send for a constable.”

The boy eyed her in an insolent manner. The effect was spoiled, however, by his having to stretch his head back and cast his beady-eyed gaze upward a distance, for Clara was not petite and he was not tall. His gaze dropped to the whip in her hand, then to the dashing cabriolet behind her—from which she didn’t doubt her maid Davis had descended, brandishing her umbrella.

With a sneer, he said what sounded like, “You better hit harder’n that, you want me to feel it.” He didn’t wait for her to hit harder, but set his hat at a very sharp angle and sauntered off.

“Are you all right?” she asked Bridget.

“Yes, your ladyship, and thank you ever so,” the girl said. “I don’t know what was in his mind to come here. He oughter know his sort ain’t welcome here.”

The Milliners’ Society for the Education of Indigent Females housed and educated girls determined, against prodigious odds, to be respectable.

In the ordinary way of things, girls aiming to learn a trade became apprentices. But London’s dressmakers could pick and choose their apprentices, and the Milliners’ Society girls were outcasts or rejects for one reason or another: The majority were too old to be apprenticed and/or they were “fallen” or carried some other stigma.

The Society picked them up from the gutter—if they were willing to be removed from that location—and did everything possible to make them fit for employment. With practice, diligence, and good eyesight, most girls would learn to sew straight, tiny stitches at great speed, and they could be placed as seamstresses. Some, though, had the potential to rise higher—for instance, to embroider fine muslins, silks, linens, wools, and these materials’ numerous combinations. Perhaps one or two might even possess the wherewithal to rise to become successful milliners or dressmakers.

Bridget was fifteen years old. An unsuccessful flower seller, she had appeared on the Society’s doorstep after being assaulted and robbed who knew how many times, thanks to her refusing assorted pimps’ protection. She had been completely illiterate. She had turned out to be one of the most diligent students and an especially gifted embroiderer. In the display cases, her work always stood out.

Outside the building, so, unfortunately, did her looks. 

“I can tell you what was in his mind,” Clara said. “He wasn’t thinking much beyond the fact of your being pretty and what males think when they see pretty girls.”


Lady Clara Fairfax ought to know. Twenty-two years old as of yesterday, she was the most beautiful and sought-after girl in London, and according to some, in all of England.



Loretta Chase has worked in academe, retail, and the visual arts, as well as on the streets-as a meter maid-and in video, as a scriptwriter. She might have developed an excitingly checkered career had her spouse not nagged her into writing fiction. Her bestselling historical romances, set in the Regency and Romantic eras of the early 19th century, have won a number of awards, including the Romance Writers of America’s Rita. For more about her past, her books, and what she does and doesn’t do on social media, please visit her website www.LorettaChase.com.





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Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Mastered by Maya Banks



From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Breathless Trilogy comes the first novel in the Enforcers series—a bold new direction in erotic romance that explores the games men and women play, and the price they’re willing to pay for pleasure.

What he wants, he takes with no remorse or guilt.

She stood out in his club like a gem, unspoiled and untouched. A lamb among wolves, she clearly didn’t belong. Drawn to her innocence he watched as she was surrounded by men who saw what he did—but no one but him could touch her. He summoned her to his private quarters. He sensed her fear. He also recognized the desire in her eyes. And he knew she wouldn’t leave before he possessed her. She had no need to know his secrets. Not until he had her under his complete and utter control.

What he wants, she isn’t sure she can give him.

The moment he told her want he wanted, she couldn’t resist. Instinct told her to run, but her heart said stay and walk the fine line between pleasure and pain. Though she wasn’t sure she could ever completely surrender, the primal part of her wanted to try, even knowing this man could break her in ways she never imagined. Because once he possessed her, he owned her and it would be too late to turn back. She can only pray that he doesn’t destroy her in the end.




This book in Maya Banks style just starts off steamy! The beginning just packed a punch with a mixture of drama and a smokin' hot first encounter!

Drake Donovan is the owner of Impulse, Evangeline happens to be a patron of said establishment for one night that is. As soon as he sees her he has to claim her. She isn't like the normal women that frequent his place and she must be his. For her he seems to breaking all of his rules. Evangeline isn't used to his lifestyle or his dominance. She's just a hardworking girl with a Southern accent who is trying to help her family get by and never did she think that she would meet someone like Drake. What starts out as sex turns into so much more as emotions come into play, but is it all too much for Evangeline?

As usual Maya Banks truly succeeded in making me root for this couple. I love Drake's dominating ways and Evangeline's feisty southern attitude. I really enjoyed the story, mixed in with all of the bangin' sexy time (no pun intended). Maya had me engaged from the very first page.
 I am devastated that I have to wait several months to read the next book! I need it now! 

4/5 Fangs

A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Queen of the Deep by Kay Kenyon



On the streets of New York, Jane Gray meets an intriguing man who claims to be the impossible: an imaginary playmate from her childhood: Prince Starling. Determined to know the truth, Jane tracks him into another realm. 

This is the world of the Palazzo, a magical ship which is both a colossal steam vessel and a Renaissance kingdom. Ruling over its denizens--both human and otherwise--is an exotic and dangerous queen. Jane must find her way home, but the path is hopelessly lost. 

Promising romance, the enigmatic Prince Starling and big-hearted crime lord Niccolo vie for Jane's heart. But she has her eye on the pilot house. Who--or what--guides the Palazzo, and what is the urgent secret of its endless voyage? As a shocking destination looms into view, Jane must choose both a lover and a ship's course, one that may avoid the end of all things.



I thought this book started off on a good note. The POV of young Jane Gray got me hooked in the beginning, however, I did loose interest quickly. The book jumped to Jane being an adult and I started to get bored.I just had a very hard time getting into this story once Jane was an adult. I didn't like how inconsistent the pacing of this book was. This book could maybe just not be the book for me. I can see where it has potential, but it just wasn't working for me. 


The fantasy element of this was book was quite interesting. I did like learning about the world of Palazzo. I thought the social systems were fun to learn about and I really liked that this book took place on a ship. 



I wish the characters would have been developed more in this book. I think I would have connected to them more if they would have been fleshed out more. I also found the romance to be a little lackluster.




I do not think this book book was horrible by any means. This book just didn't click with me, but it was still a very interesting read.


2.5 - 3 / 5 Fangs

*This ebook was given to me in exchange for a honest review.* 


With Every Breath by Lia Riley



WITH EVERY BREATH by Lia Riley 
(December 29, 2015; Forever Trade Paperback; Wanderlust)
BREATHE DEEP . . . AND JUMP IN


At the ends of the earth, Patagonia is a land where ambition trumps reason and the savage summit of La Aguja lures the most determined climbers. It's also the last spot a "play-it-safe girl" like Auden Woods expects to find herself. But she'll lace up her brand-new hiking boots and do whatever it takes to secure a dream job at an adventure magazine . . . even if it kills her. And it just might. When disaster strikes, her only chance at survival comes in the form of the surliest, sexiest mountaineer ever to come out of Scotland.


After a climbing accident cost him his brother, professional mountaineer Rhys MacAskill is at the end of his rope. Redemption is not in his future. That is, until a terrifying storm blows a budding journalist into his tent and it's up to him to make sure they both survive until morning. Despite the demons weighing on him, Rhys can't resist the temptation of the charming American and one wild night just isn't enough.



Auden and Rhys soon learn there are no shortcuts as they navigate their way between life, death, and atonement, and discover something they never expected—love.









Even in my sleeping bag and dry shirt, her teeth chatter. If she balked at my request to undress, she’s going to go ape over this. Fuck it. There isn’t a choice.
“Auden.”
A thin furrow appears between her brows. “Yeah?”
My stomach tightens. “I’m going to warm you.”
“How?” Her eyes widen.
I can’t hold her gaze and say what I must. “Bodytobody contact.”
The world outside rips apart, but in the tent, a heavy silence reigns. She shifts to a half sit. “Oh, no, it’s OK. Look, I’ll be better in a few minutes.”
“You said yourself the cold makes your asthma worse.”
“Yes, but—”
“I know you don’t have a reason to trust me. In fact, if this were normal circumstances, I’d no’ recommend it. But here we are.”
“Nothing about today is normal.” She slowly reclines to the mat, folding her arms across her chest like a mummy, eyes screwed shut.
“No harm’s going to come to you.” It sounds like I’m making a solemn oath.
She opens one eye, gives me an unfathomable look, before closing it again. I’m not used to a woman regarding me like something to endure. Uncertainty weaves through me.
I ease beside her. “This’ll go easier if you turn to the side.” Away from me.
“Good idea.” She rolls to face the tent wall. Her features are hidden, but I can hear each uneven breath, the slightly shuddering inhalation followed by a pause before giving way to a raspy exhalation.
She remains still when I reach, warily securing a handhold on her ribs, their sudden rise and fall the only sign of her silent gasp. “This all right?”
She utters no reply only a brief nod and grips the sleeping bag tighter.
“Everything will be fine, I promise you.” I keep my voice cool, aloof. Give no sign that my chest aches, as if instead of a heart, a great wallowing drunk stumbles about. I never cuddle. Prior to my last girlfriend, Sadie, my dealings with the opposite sex were kept to simple and straightforward shags. Occasionally girls tried to compete with the mountains, but they never stood a chance.
Auden gives another tentative nod, and her scent invades my senses, simple and straightforward, a hint of sweat from exertion, combined with the fresh fragrance of rain. She begins to settle, her violent shiver attacks growing fewer and further between, same with her coughing fits. I keep my pose rigid, controlled, resisting the mad urge to relax into her body as blood pounds thickly in my ears. I can’t do this, be with another person, be human. I need to be a machine. A robot with one goal and one goal alone. To conquer a mountain like La Aguja there can be no room left inside me for any other desire.
When my mind quiets and other wants are eliminated, my attention naturally focuses on visualizing the climb. Once on the rock, this single-​minded concentration will translate effortlessly into correct hand- and footholds or gear placements. In order to climb like you are the only person in the world, you can’t care about anything other than living in the moment. There can be no significant other in the mind’s periphery wielding the power to distract.
Outside the wind shakes the nylon, redoubling its assault. Zipped tight, shut away from the world, we could be anywhere. I’d always appreciated that about tents, how once inside, you became the ruler of your own cramped kingdom of cast-​off socks, sleeping bags, and carefully chosen gear. This time in Valle del Frances, away from the scene at the main climbing camp, is meant to be a chance to establish a cease-​fire in the battle with myself. Being in a tent, in the wilderness, far from a world I don’t understand and that sure as hell doesn’t understand me, is calming.
Now Auden Woods has come along and triggered a whole new conflict with her icy blue eyes.
Icy blue eyes? Looks like prolonged abstinence brings out a lad’s poetic side. If she looks back, she’ll see my mouth twisted in a humorless smile.
She doesn’t, though. She’s too busy trembling, and so I gather her closer, an unfamiliar protective sensation welling inside me. “Better?” I whisper, more a hoarse croak than anything gallant.
“Yes,” she says, turning, her full lips slightly parting to offer the word.
We’re two strangers, haven’t even shaken hands, and yet our bodies press flush. Despite every intention, mine starts to react, and Christ, quick, what are unsexy topics to ponder? When in doubt, go for geology. The Andes are the result of which type of plate boundary?
Conquering La Aguja is going to take all my mental resources. The next few days are needed for getting focused, concentrated, and prepared for the challenge ahead. Auden shifts, drawing closer, and my next breath is almost as ragged as hers.
Aye, this girl is just the sort of distraction that could ruin everything.


This was the very first book I read written by Lia Riley and I was not disappointed. I was first struck by the cover because come on, we all look at the cover before anything else. Then when I read the synopsis I was definitely intrigued. This is a Wanderlust Novel. When thinking of the word wanderlust I always think of adventure in far away lands and am instantly interested.
This book is set in Patagonia, which is certainly a place that most of us only dream about seeing. Climbers from all over the world travel there for there chance to climb La Aguja and that's what takes both Rhys and Auden there, although for different reasons. By conquering this climb Rhys is looking for some sort of redemption, and Auden is looking to further her career by getting some hard to get interviews with climbers. When Auden winds up at Rhys' tent things that neither one of them were expecting start to come into play.
I absolutely loved Rhys! Give me a sexy Scottish man any day and I'll die happily! When Auden showed up in his life she turned all of his plans upside down but he just ran with it. He was rough, and gruff, and completely perfect! Auden was cute and feisty! 
With Every Breath transported me Patagonia and had me feeling everything these characters were. A very well written novel, and I'm excited to continue.

4/5 Fangs

This book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.


After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, Lia Riley scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. When not torturing heroes (because c'mon, who doesn't love a good tortured hero?), Lia herds unruly chickens, camps, beach combs, daydreams about as-of-yet unwritten books, wades through a mile-high TBR pile and schemes yet another trip. She and her family live mostly in Northern California.






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