Night Owl Reviews provides author pages for published authors. To update or get an author page just click here!
Author: Maddie James | Website
Published Works & Book Reviews
Bed, Breakfast and You
Suzie Schul has it all. A booming business, a wonderful town to live in, and, well, food. Yeah, she loves to cook and she’s the best darned cook in Legend, Tennessee. Everybody says so. She runs her own B&B, has published a cookbook, conducts cooking classes on Saturdays, and caters for special events and holidays.
What more could she want, really?
Nothing, that she will admit, anyway. And let's not even think about that brief escape to Gatlinburg several months back when she had separated from her then-husband, Cliff. Or the fact that the man ran off with her little sister while they were, um, estranged. And let's definitely not bring to light that she'd never really revealed to anyone in the small town of Legend what exactly had happened between her and Cliff.
Or the fact that while she was off "finding herself" and "losing her husband" at the same time, she sort of, well, had a fling. But never mind about that, because "the fling" is long gone and likely doesn't even know where to find her. Besides, he was trouble.
And just when Suzie thinks all is well, Mr. Trouble rides up to her B&B doorstep on a bad-ass Harley and tosses her perfect little world into some kind of big, bad tumble.
Reviewer: Maria
Review: Mar 3, 2011
Genre(s): Contemporary, Romance
Suzie Schul has a booming business, a wonderful town to live in and food. She loves to cook and everyone agrees she’s the best cook in Legend, Tennessee. She’s published a cookbook, teaches cooking classes on Saturdays and caters special events and holidays on top of running her own Bed and Breakfast.
What more can she want? Nothing she will admit to.
Let’s not talk about the escapa
The Heartbreaker
The Heartbreaker is back in town. But whose heart will get broken this time? As athletic director for the Parks Department, Lucki Stevenson spends most of her time coaching unruly teenagers instead of giving her heart a much-needed pep talk. And when all-grown-up, boy-next-door, Dr. Sam Kirk moves back to town, Lucki wants to forfeit the game of love completely! Sam broke her heart once before, and she won't give him a chance to do it again... Returning home to care for his younger brother J.J., after his mother's death, Sam is happy to accept Lucki's expert advice about kids-and even happier that the tomboy he remembers is now a beautiful woman. When Lucki agrees to help him with J.J., Sam is sure he's on the road to success as an instant parent, and possibly as a husband-but first he's got to convince Lucki that he's not the heartbreaker he once was, and that good guys do finish first...
Falling for Grace
She wasn't looking for love... The owner of a successful, sophisticated boutique called Romantically Yours, Gracie Hart's nickname is the Diva of Romance. Who could have guessed that having once loved and lost, she has no intention of ever falling in love again, no matter how loudly her biological clock keeps ticking? Until, that is, her new tenants, Carson Price and his six-year-old daughter Izzie, arrive on the scene and proceed to wreak havoc in her life--and her heart! ...but it found her anyway!
Rawhide and Roses
She's all roses...
Playing good sport to appease her best friend was one thing, but sophisticated Kim Martin was hardly equipped for a Colorado camping trip. Especially when their mountain guide was a rough-edged cowboy who was as untamed as the wilderness. His outdoors style might jump-start some women but a strictly indoors woman like Kim found him - almost resistible.
He's rough-and-ready rawhide...
Thad Winchester's patience for city women was wearing as thin as the seat of his jeans. But there was something about Kim that was putting his hard-and-fast don't-touch rule to the test. The plucky blonde was just the woman to share his Flying W. Ranch. All Thad had to do was bring out the wildflower in the refined beauty, and convince her that he was her man. Bar nothing.
Reviewer: Tigger9
Review: Jan 10, 2011
Genre(s): Western, Romance
Rawhide and Roses was a very good read. I really enjoyed it.
Kim and Thad have a lot of tension and passion between them even when they do not want to admit it. They are both very stubborn people that deny what is going on between them or what they really feel at first. When they finally give into it they become inseparable, but neither one is sure what the other is thinking or what is going to happen after
Something Spooky This Way Comes
Halloween Anthology, 2010. A collection of eerie short stories, for Halloween or not! Exclusively from Turquoise Morning Press authors.
An Unhaunted House by Lozi Hart, A Trick for a Treat by Keri Ford, Dracula's Bath and Fireside by J.W. Keleher, Masked Souls by Tonya Kappes, A Witcherly Challenge by Maddie James, The Dragon Keeper by Janet Eaves, A Piece of her Soul by Magdalena Scott, and Finders Seekers by Jennifer Johnson.
Reviewer: Stesha
Review: Apr 18, 2011
Genre(s): Anthologies, Romance, Paranormal / Supernatural, Fantasy
Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. So this eclectic anthology of Halloween stories was a natural choice for me to read. Over all, this diverse group of stories is well written and well put together. I especially enjoyed A Witchy Challenge, The UnHaunted House and A Piece of her Soul. Dracula's Bath is a classic horror. Although a few of the stories have familiar, well-used plots, they are all enj
Hard Candy Kisses
CATEGORY: Contemporary Romance, Matchmaking Chef.
ELEMENTS: Adult Situations.
HEAT LEVEL: Diamond
LENGTH: Short
New Year's Eve sits just around the corner and Legend Elementary teacher, Patti Jo Baker, has tried every trick in the book to land a date for the annual New Year's Eve Bash at The Lodge. In final desperation, she takes her best friend Kate's advice and gives Suzie Matthews, Legend's own matchmaking chef, a call. Suzie tells her right away she can solve her dilemma's but only if she's serious about finding a husband, because Suzie has a reputation to uphold, don't you know.
Jim Hamilton, Legend Elementary School's principal, doesn't know what's gotten into him of late?he can?t get Patti Jo Baker off his mind. Smart and quirky were two words he?d always used to describe Patti, but lately the word irresistible was edging out the other two. Too bad he?s married to his job, and too bad he doesn?t date his teachers.
Too bad he's not jealous, either, or at least that's what he thinks. Because when Patti sets up a kissing booth at the Legend Elementary Winter Carnival, he promptly and decisively shuts it down. If Patty Jo Baker is passing out kisses, he wants to be both first, and last, in line and he definitely doesn't want to sample them in front of the student body.
Reviewer: PaulineMichael
Review: Jul 22, 2011
Genre(s): Erotic Romance, Contemporary
The Matchmaking Chef is at it again and Maddie James has given her fans another fantastic pairing. Patti and Jim make one marvelous couple. A teacher principle union can often be cliched or predictable but not so in this situation. Patti is easy to relate to and even easier to cheer for. Jim is the kind of man most of us dream of settling down with. The supporting cast of characters adds to the flavor and enj
Better Than Chocolate
CATEGORY: Contemporary Romance, Matchmaking Chef.
ELEMENTS: Adult Situations and Moderate Sexual Content.
HEAT LEVEL: Sapphire
LENGTH: Novella
When Scott Matthews escapes to Legend to visit his brother, Brad and family, he has only one request-he doesn't want to see, hear, smell, or taste chocolate. Nor does he want to talk about the chocolate business, or about getting fired from his job as chocolate taster for world-renowned Bianchi Chocolates. Or the scandal in Italy, or his former boss-slash-girlfriend, or the tabloid article....
What he needs is a palate-cleanse, women and chocolate being on the top of the list.
What Jillian Bass needs is to make it in Legend. This Manhattan transplant knows nothing about small town living other than she wants to make it big here real bad. Forget New York, she's trying to set up her small chocolate shop and impress the locals-especially the foodie duo of Sydney Kellerman and Suzie Matthews. Of course, she doesn't tell them that she really owns Jeaneva Chocolates, or that her father is a big publishing mogul, or that she's lied about how she makes her chocolates....
But all is fine until the day she smacks straight into Scott. Who at first, refuses to eat her chocolate, but after one whiff of her exquisite Belgian truffle, forgets his vow and takes a bite.
Then against his better judgment, he takes another....
Romancing the Scone
CATEGORY: Contemporary Romance, Matchmaking Chef.
ELEMENTS: Adult Situations and Moderate Sexual Content.
HEAT LEVEL: Sapphire
LENGTH: Short
FORMAT: E-BOOK
High tea or sweet tea? As long as there are scones, it doesn?t matter. In fact Sydney Schul, owner of Sydney?s Sugar High Coffee Stop and Bakery in Legend, Tennessee, makes the best damned scones east of the Mississippi and south of the Mason Dixon, and there was an article written about her in Southern?s Best magazine to prove it. All is well, and life in Legend is good until a mysterious male stranger comes to town stalking her scones.
Stone Kellerman, owner of Stone?s Scones in Atlanta, has held the title of Best Scones of the South for five years now?that is, until little Sydney Schul comes into the picture and Southern?s Best magazine awards her the coveted title. So he can?t help himself when he travels north to Tennessee to check out her scones. Thing is, he never intended to be a stalker of scones, or her scone recipe, until he got one bite of the heavenly confection...
And one look at Sydney.
Reviewer: Jen719
Review: Jun 13, 2010
Genre(s): Contemporary, Romance
Sydney Schul has just won the coveted award for Best Scones of the South after opening her shop, Sugar High Coffee Stop and Bakery, and couldn’t be more thrilled. Stone Kellerman, on the other hand, isn’t as excited because he has had the best scone honor for the last five years. On a whim, he travels all the way to Sydney’s shop in Tennessee to figure out what is so special abou
Mate to Order
CATEGORY: Contemporary Romance, Ladies of Legend, Matchmaking Chef Series.
ELEMENTS: Strong sexual content, graphic language, adult situations.
HEAT LEVEL: Sapphire
LENGTH: Novella
FORMAT: E-BOOK
When Suzie Matthew?s success as the Matchmaking Chef hits the national scene about the same time as her debut cooking show on The Food Channel, her new producer comes to her with a list of requirements?not for Suzie?s job, but for a husband.
Patricia Plum has a specific Husband List and if Suzie really wants to make it big in New York City, she?ll make every attempt to deliver Patricia?s ?mate to order.?
Ames Cooper, however, has other ideas.
Ames knows he?s the exact opposite of any item on Patricia?s list, but he also knows that three years earlier, she had him firmly twisted around her little finger. So much so that it scared the hell out of him. Instead of running into her arms, he did a stupid thing and cheated on her. Now, a second chance woo her has landed in his lap?he?s been selected as the photographer for Suzie?s cookbook?and he?s not about to screw up this time.
Side Dish
CATEGORY: Contemporary Romance, Ladies of Legend, Matchmaking Chef Series.
ELEMENTS: Strong sexual content, graphic language, adult situations.
HEAT LEVEL: Sapphire
LENGTH: Novella
Becca North doesn't want a boyfriend, but her BFF Nora certainly does-even if she won't admit it. Becca is so off men.
But when Nora, owner of Nora's Novel Niche, meets Suzie the Matchmaking Chef during a booksigning, she finagles a way for the matchmaker to arrange a picnic lunch date for her-on television, no less! Nora drags Becca along for moral support, and to check out her date.
Thing is, Nora's date would rather check out Becca, instead.
Sam Ackerman is a busy man with a business to run and no time to pursue a relationship. The last thing he needs is to be hooked into a matchmaking scheme played out for the world on national television, but he reluctantly plays along for his friend, Suzie. He knows right away, that his "date" Nora, as beautiful and smart as she is, isn't for him. Her raven-haired BFF hanging around on the sidelines, though, is a tempting candidate.
So, he decides to forgo the entrée and head straight for the side dish.
Dates du Jour
CATEGORY: Contemporary Romance, Ladies of Legend, Matchmaking Chef Series.
ELEMENTS: Strong sexual content, graphic language, adult situations.
HEAT LEVEL: Sapphire
LENGTH: Novella
FORMAT: E-BOOK
Speed dating? Speed eating is more like it. When Suzie sets up lunch date after lunch date for Lyssa Larkin, Legend?s homegrown homecoming queen of 1992, she knows she?s about bit off more than she can chew. Lyssa inspects and rejects her dates in two bites and then sends them on their way. Suzie wonders if she really wants to date or just eat two lunches, and worries that soon Lyssa?s hips won?t fit on her dainty chairs.
That is, until Suzie takes a risk with a man the exact opposite of what Lyssa describes as ?perfect for her.? A man that Lyssa knows, but doesn't know, and is falling for her hard and fast. Suzie just can't help but work some of her matchmaking magic behind the scenes....
Reviewer: Vee
Review: May 26, 2010
At thirty-six, Lyssa Larkin has never been married and has no children. Because this is so unusual for women her age, she believes worthy men are scared off by her abnormality. To give herself more appeal to the ‘right’ men, she decides a quick marriage and subsequent divorce is in order.
That’s where her friend Suzie, matchmaker extraordinaire, comes into play. Suzie sets her up on lunch d
The Quest
Paranormal Romance, Futuristic, Time travel.
Strong sexual content, graphic language, adult situations.
Garnet
LENGTH: Novel
Jackson Porter seeks to fulfill his mother dying request-and answers about the imaginary lover who haunts his nights. His future, he learns, is in a place called Ohio, miles and centuries away from his barrier island home in 1745. The land is his legacy and belongs to him. His mother urges him to claim it.
In the year 2032, Kari Upton is driven to fight federal sanctions to save her land and her crops. Her upcoming marriage is one of convenience. Marrying Tye Gentry will save her Ohio farmland. There is no other way to gain power than to marry him and ride on his father political coattails to the state legislature.
And all would be perfect if it weren't for those erotic dreams...
Reviewer: Arianne
Review: Jul 24, 2009
Genre(s): Paranormal Romance, Sci-Fi / Fantasy Romance
I have not read the other two stories in this series so I am only concentrating on this tale that you can read alone.
In 2032 Ohio, Kari has dreams of a man that are so real they wake her up at night. She has dreams about him daily ever since she was a child. She runs her own medicinal plant growing farm and is engaged to be married to Tye. On the day of her marriage standing by a rock, that takes people int
Murder on the Mountain
A Ladies of Legend Novel...
In the two long years since her Tennessee state trooper husband's murder, Kate Carpenter thinks she's coped with his death, although everyone in Legend, Tennessee tells her she hasn't. She can't see what the problem is, really. She has her parents, and her best friend Patti Jo, and her students. What else could a twenty-nine year old woman want?
A man, Patti Jo keeps telling her.
Sent to Kate's classroom on a investigation, ATF Special Agent Mike Lehmann uses his drug prevention training as his cover. His mission? To find out what Kate knows, about her husband’s “death.” Recent reports indicate he is alive and that he faked his death because of his involvement in a drug-running operation. Mike's task is to expose Carpenter, and if she's involved, Kate.
And he’ll stop at nothing, to get the answers he seeks.
Reviewer: Edie
Review: Dec 13, 2008
Genre(s): Contemporary, Romantic Suspense
Kate Carpenter believed she had recovered from the horrific death of her husband, Tennessee Highway Patrolman Rob Carpenter, two years before. Some people, including her best friend Patti Jo, said otherwise. Kate knew she did not need the added stress of a difficult student thrust upon her by her principal, nor did she appreciate the so-called drug cop Mr. Hamilton also unexpectedly forced upon the class.
&n
The Cult
Book Two in the Legend of Blackbeard's Chalice Series
The Legend of Blackbeard's Chalice continues….
Victoria Porter knows a good man is hard to find on Ocracoke Island in the year 1756. So, curious of the ways of the flesh, she seeks out male affection in a drunken sailor's lap-but that sailor puts a bullet into her brother Jeremiah's back, killing him. Jeremiah's ghost, however, comforts and guides her on an uncertain task-to find their missing brother. Pitched from a ship during a violent storm, she washes up on a beach, soon to be rescued by a man on a strange mechanical beast who whisks her away into a world beyond anything she could ever have dreamed.
In 2007, Colt MacKenzie is tormented by demons of a troubled past and a failing writing career. He fears he has written his last bestselling horror novel until he discovers the The Cult of Teach and a tantalizing nymph wandering the shore on his way to Ocracoke Village. Fascinated by the history of The Cult that surrounds the Legend of Blackbeard's Chalice, he seeks to learn more about these modern-day pirates, and hopefully write a best-seller using the premise. He'd planned on riding this ride solo until the strange little waif on the back of his Harley touches him in ways his demons hadn't let anyone touch in a long, long time….
Author Note: Victoria and Jeremiah Porter are two of Jack and Claire Porter's children (from THE CURSE).
Reviewer: Angi
Review: Jul 10, 2008
Genre(s): Paranormal Romance
Victoria Porter and Colt Mackenzie have much in common, the tragic loss of their families. The problem? They live 300 years apart.
This is the second book in The Legend of Blackbeard’s Chalice series by Maddie James. While this title can stand on its own, reading the series in order will prevent the slight confusion I had at some of the references to the previous book. I also found the early jumping b
Red: A Seduction Tale
Garnet Boudreaux is going home. Not back to her nice little apartment in New York City, but to her childhood home in the bayou. She doesn't want to go, and isn't certain what will be waiting for her when she arrives. But standing there in the voodoo shop on Bourbon Street, in the middle of one helluva party, she's told by Madame Madeleine Dupuis that she has no choice. She presses two pouches into Garnet's hands, wraps a red cape around her, and tells her she must go-and go now-to see to her grandmother. Max LeBlanc spies the lovely red-head across the street and knows in a heartbeat she is the one. A rougarou always knows when he's met his mate. Some may call him a lycanthrope, a werewolf if you will, but in Cajun bayou lands he's known simply as The Rougarou. He'd waited several hundred years for this moment, and for her. There is nothing left for him to do, but mark her and claim her as his mate. Soon.
Reviewer: Arianne
Review: Apr 8, 2008
This is the story of Garnet Boudreaux and one long night in her life. She left the bayou when she was a child because her grandmother told her mother to leave for the city so Garnet could have a life before she had to face her destiny. Her company forced her to come back to New Orleans for a company convention. Garnet and a couple of friends decided to visit some bars on Bourbon Street and while there she me
|
BOOK NEWS and more!
Enter your e-mail address to get book updates and more.
Share Night Owl with Friends
Meet the Authors: Interviews
Free Magazine
Click here to get NOR exclusive articles and interviews in our monthly magazine as well as reviews and tidbits.
|