HARVEST HEARTS by Author Nancy Fraser (Pumpkin Patch Romances - Book 4) **Book Birthday**

Welcome to Romance Sweet Reads. Today, it's my pleasure to continue with this brand new multi-author series of sweet/inspirational romances. Pumpkin Patch Romances are a series of nine books by some of your favorite best-selling and award-winning authors.

Next, we will be looking at book 4 in the series, Harvest Hearts by Author Nancy Fraser.

Widowed Claire McMillan returns to her hometown of Cider Mills, Michigan to care for her 92-year-old grandmother who’s been diagnosed with dementia. A cozy mystery author, Claire plans her professional and personal time down to the quarter-hour.

Michael (Mick) Cousins is a retired navy seal who’s come to Cider Mills to take over his late uncle’s farm. He spent many summers working for Uncle Carl and has no doubt he can handle the day-to-day operations of a small family farm. What he doesn’t realize is that, in the time he’s been away, Scarecrow Farms has grown into a thriving business with a half dozen employees.

When Claire takes Gram on outing to the local harvest festival, the last person she expects to run into is the one man she crushed on throughout high school.

Mick can’t believe the young girl with the thick glasses who helped him cram for his chemistry exam is now a beautiful, mature woman. Can these two former acquaintances kick it up a notch now that they’ve outgrown the pressures of high school cliques?

Or, will Claire’s reluctance to risk her heart a second time, put an end to their mutual attraction as quickly as it began?

Available in eBook exclusive on Kindle Unlimited

Also available in PRINT

They’d just settled in at one of the open picnic tables when a tall, older gentleman approached them. Claire recognized him instantly. Harold Perkins. The high school principal when she attended, and good friend of the late owner of Scarecrow Farms. The younger man at his side looked vaguely familiar, yet she couldn’t quite place him.

“Molly Beckham,” Harold called out loudly. “Is that really you?”

Molly raised her head, meeting the man’s gaze. “Yes, it is, Harry. My goodness, you’ve gotten old.”

Harold snorted a laugh. “And you’ve not aged a day, Molly.”

Leaning to her left, Molly peered past Harold to the other man. “I know you,” Molly said, her gaze narrowing.

“Yes, ma’am, you do.” The man’s deep voice surrounded the few words. “I had you for tenth grade English. And eleventh.”

Molly smiled demurely. “Couldn’t get enough of me with just one year?”

“I guess not, ma’am,” he said, a light chuckle escaping.

Claire studied the man closely.

“That’s not what I remember, though,” Molly explained. “You used to come to the house. I thought you were there to court my granddaughter, but that wasn’t it, was it?”

“No, Mrs. Beckham. Your granddaughter was tutoring me so I wouldn’t fail chemistry.”

Claire’s head shot up, her gaze locking with the stranger’s clear blue eyes. “Mick?”

His broad grin brought back long-buried memories of the very first crush she’d ever had. Mick Cousins, star quarterback for the Cider Mills Tigers.

He nodded, then asked, “Claire Beckham?”

She returned his nod with a quick dip of her head. “Yes, it’s me. Although it’s Claire McMillan now.”

“You’re living here in Cider Mills?” he asked.

“Only for the past two months,” she admitted. “I’ve come back to live with my grandmother.”

“Just you? No family?”

She shook her head and cast a quick glance in Gram’s direction. Fortunately, she was engaged in a conversation with Harold and barely registered Claire’s and Mick’s exchange.

“Just me. My sons both attend college. The oldest is a senior at Ohio State, and the younger a freshman at Notre Dame.”

“You can’t possibly have sons that old,” Mick suggested.

“Of course I can,” she responded. “Our thirtieth high school reunion was this year. That makes us... um... mid-forties?”

“Pushing fifty with a vengeance,” he corrected.

“Yes, I suppose we are.”

“Where’s Edna with the cider and doughnuts?” Molly asked, her voice raised to grab Claire’s attention.

“I’m sure she’ll be here soon, Gram. The line was long.”

“Perhaps, I should go hustle them up a bit,” Mick offered. “Put the fear of the new boss in them.”

His words caused Claire to refocus. “You’re Carl’s nephew? Now the owner of Scarecrow Farms?”

“Yes. Not that I was expecting all this. When I left home, this was nothing but a family farm with a small vegetable stand by the road.”

“Life... and thirty years... has a way of changing things,” she said softly.

Mick shot her another of the devastating smiles she remembered. “I suppose it does, Claire. Sometimes for the better.”

Nancy Fraser a Top 100 best-selling and award-winning author. She is the 2022 winner of the NEST (National Excellence in Story Telling) award for her western historical romance, An Honorable Man for Katarina.

She's also the granddaughter of a Methodist minister known for his fire-and-brimstone approach to his faith. Nancy has brought some of his spirit into her Christian romances. And, her own off-beat sense of humor to her clean & wholesome books.

When not writing (which is almost never), Nancy dotes on her five wonderful grandchildren and looks forward to traveling and reading when time permits. Nancy lives in Atlantic Canada where she enjoys the relaxed pace and colorful people.

Nancy's Sweet Reads ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Amazon Author Page ~ BookBub

You can find the entire Pumpkin Patch Romances series on Kindle Unlimited

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Thank you for stopping by. Please come back again soon for the next book in this series, Autum Dreams, by Author Jessica Parker.

Blessings,

Nancy

HARVEST MOON KISSES by Author Linda Carroll-Bradd (Pumpkin Patch Romances - Book 3) **Book Birthday**

Welcome to Romance Sweet Reads. Today, it's my pleasure to continue with this brand new multi-author series of sweet/inspirational romances. Pumpkin Patch Romances are a series of nine books by some of your favorite best-selling and award-winning authors.

Next, we will be looking at book 3 in the series, Harvest Moon Kisses by Author Linda Carroll-Bradd.

For the past four years, Tamsyn Norwood has operated the family’s pumpkin patch and corn maze. Although the business barely breaks even. During college, she spent a glorious night in a pumpkin patch with her boyfriend. Sadly, that relationship didn’t last, but she has worked hard to recreate the special feeling for others. If the patch income doesn’t improve by November first, her father threatens to plow the acres for a cash crop. She works herself ceaselessly to come up with supporting activities to keep the business going.

Ex-professional football player Harper Ashton is in town visiting an old college buddy. Released from his team because of an injured elbow, he’s at a crossroads over what comes next in his life. Life in this small town is nothing he’s ever experienced, and he soaks in the sense of community. He crosses paths with a college sweetheart, and suddenly, he has a new goal. Maybe his marketing degree and his famous name will help her struggling enterprise.

Working together reminds them of their college years. But can they recapture a love under the harvest moonlight?

Available exclusively on Kindle Unlimited

Chapter One
Mid-August

The Texas air hung hot and humid as Tamsyn pounded up the exterior steps to her garage apartment at the same address where she’d lived since birth—her delivery taking place in her parents’ master bedroom. Darn the stupid summer highway work and the detour that cost her and every other driver at the east end of the county an extra twenty minutes. She dashed into the living room and adjusted the temperature on the window air-conditioner, kicking the fan to its highest speed.

Holding her arms straight out from her body, she stood in front of the unit’s vents, letting the cool air chill her heated skin. Only thirty-seven minutes before she was due downtown at Norwood Enterprises for the weekly budget meeting. Closing her eyes, she though of her late mother’s recipes in the tole-painted wooden box on the counter. None of them could be mixed and baked within twenty minutes.

A rebellious though niggled. Why was she responsible for bring a baked treat to the meetings with her father and two brothers? She’d started the habit four years ago when she became the manager of the family’s pumpkin patch. That first day, she’d wanted to celebrate. She saw the job offer as a sign of faith that Dad trusted her abilities. Since then, because she was a people-pleaser, she’d just continued the practice. Not once had anyone else offered to make a stop at a bakery.

Well, not today.

As a young girl, I spent lots of my free time lying on my bed reading about fascinating characters having exciting adventures in places far away and in other time periods. In later years, I discovered and devoured family saga stories and romance novels. At a certain point, I grew cocky enough to think I could write one of these stories. Then I learned what a balancing act writing a novel is, but I wasn’t deterred. Twelve years later, my first fiction sale was achieved--a confession story.

After reading Debra Holland’s “Montana Sky” series and Caroline Fyffe’s “Prairie Hearts” series, I wanted to try my hand at historicals. I was thrilled to be invited to contribute to Sweetwater Springs Christmas and continued writing in the Montana Sky world by developing my Entertainers of the West series.

Married with 4 adult children and 2 granddaughters, I now write heartwarming contemporary and historical stories with a touch of humor and a bit of sass from my home in the southern California mountains. Lots of my stories are set in Texas where I lived for a dozen years.

Linda's Website ~ Facebook ~ Amazon Author Page ~ Goodreads

You can find the entire Pumpkin Patch Romances series on Kindle Unlimited

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Thank you for stopping by. Please come back again soon for the next book in this series, Harvest Hearts, by Author Nancy Fraser.

Blessings,

Nancy

A MAZE OF LOVE by Author Lynn A. Coleman (Pumpkin Patch Romances - Book 2) **Book Birthday**

Welcome to Romance Sweet Reads. Today, it's my pleasure to continue with this brand new multi-author series of sweet/inspirational romances. Pumpkin Patch Romances are a series of nine books by some of your favorite best-selling and award-winning authors.

Next, we will be looking at book 2 in the series, A Maze of Love by Author Lynn A. Coleman.

Tara Cabrera loves working on the family farm that’s been in her family for a hundred & fifty years. Nothing gets her more excited that being a part of the maze at the town Fall Festival each year. Thankful that her family farm can supply the bales of hay needed for the maze.

At his cousin’s urging, Derek Tucker designed and won a Maze for his cousin’s hometown Fall Festival. He and the mayor decide to change the actual location of the maze, much to Tara Cabrera’s displeasure. Unfortunately, she sways the mayor to put it back in the site it’s been in for years. Not happy with the change, Derek grumbles and complains to the attractive woman who delivered the hay. She disconnects the trailer and leaves it for him to unload.

Tara learns from her oldest brother Andrew that Derek is similar to Andrew and isn’t a people person. Feeling the need to apologize, she returns to the town square and helps Derek build his maze.

Derek realizes that no matter how careful he is, he always says the wrong thing to Tara Cabrera. Derek has an intense panic attack when his cousin is a total no-show for helping and working on the maze. Tara finds him hidden in the maze and helps him recover.

The friction between them changes when he goes to her family farm and helps harvest some of the pumpkins. Love finds them in the pumpkin patch. The only question is can they work out the pathway through the ultimate Maze of Love?

Available exlusively on Kindle Unlimited

Once in town, Tara backed the trailer adjacent to the designated area where the maze was to be built. A man with a clipboard came up to the side of the truck. “Bring it back over there,” he ordered, and pointed to a different location.

She’d never seen this guy before. Didn’t he know that she’d been doing this for the past ten years? Okay, maybe not driving the truck and trailer in—but still, she and her family had been donating hay and helping to build the maze every year. She rolled down the window. “Who are you?” she asked.

“Derek Tucker. I’m this year’s designer of the maze.”

“Woo-hoo for you,” she quipped, then stopped herself from getting even more upset with the new guy. “We’ve been delivering the hay for the past ten years.”

“Oh, okay, thanks. You can unload it over there.”

She raised her eyebrows, fuming inside, but held her tongue and backed the trailer into the spot where they had always unloaded the hay.

“Hey, I said to unload it over there!” he barked out.

“The maze is built here,” she snapped back, “therefore we unload the hay next to where it is being built, making it less work for all involved.”

“No. I changed the location to over there.”

“What? Why?” Who was this guy and what was he doing here?

Mayor Larson came over and extended her hand. “Tara, thank you for your family’s contribution again this year.”

“You’re welcome, Mayor. However, there seem to be some alterations going on. This man is saying he moved the location of the maze?” she said, questioning the mayor’s wisdom in allowing such a change.

“Yes. He felt people could watch from the second floor as folks try to make their way through the maze.”

“You mean to stare down at them and make fun at them?” Tara asked.

Mayor Larson’s eyebrows pinched together. “I hadn’t thought about that. You’re right, Tara. Let’s build the maze in its usual spot.”

The man took off his hat. A cascade of curls bounced on his head. “Mayor Larson, we discussed this.”

“And I wasn’t thinking about the potential of less-than-favorable comments coming from spectators in the building. Tara’s right, the location we’ve always used is best.” The mayor walked away.

The man glowered at her. She ignored him and went to disconnect the trailer from the truck.

Lynn has been writing Christian fiction for over twenty years. She founded the American Christian Fiction Writers. ACFW She’s been serving with her husband as a pastor’s wife for over 40 years. Together they have three children, one now lives in glory. And have eight grandchildren and recently became great-grandparents.

Her interests and hobbies apart from writing are genealogy research, and recently added gardening and raising some ducks, chickens, rabbit. Not to mention the family dog. She also likes photography and travel.

Lynn's Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Amazon Author Page

You can find the entire Pumpkin Patch Romances series on Kindle Unlimited

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Thank you for stopping by. If you haven't seen it yet, please scroll down for my earlier post from today, the fourteenth (and last) book in the Last Man Standing series, KREW by Author Farrah Lee.

Blessings,

Nancy

 

LOVE AND PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES by Author Annee Jones (Pumpkin Patch Romances - Book 1) **Book Birthday**

Welcome to Romance Sweet Reads. Today, it's my pleasure to introduce you to the brand new multi-author series of sweet/inspirational romances. Pumpkin Patch Romances are a series of nine books by some of your favorite best-selling and award-winning authors.

We begin this new series with Love and Pumpkin Spice Lattes by Author Annee Jones.

A surprise visit from an old friend is the beginning of something sweet for a barista… but not everyone is in love with the idea. Who would want to sabotage this budding romance?

Piper loves her life. She runs a small coffee shop that’s quickly become a favorite in town. She has great customers, wonderful coworkers, and not a complaint in the world. When her coworker notices that one of her customers is paying extra attention to her, she finds it endearing. Trey is sweet, kind, and funny, but she doesn’t like him like that. She’s happy with things the way they are.

When Gus, an old friend from school, returns to town and stops by to pay her a visit, she couldn’t be more thrilled. He’s the same great guy he’s always been and just as handsome. Their relationship falls right back in place. It’s as if he never left. Before long, they plan a trip to the pumpkin patch for old time’s sake, but the nostalgia is short-lived when someone makes ominous threats and even follows them on one of their adventures.

Something is brewing, and it’s not just a budding romance. When Gus and Piper uncover the truth, will it pull them closer or send them running in opposite directions?

Available in eBook exclusively on Kindle Unlimited

Also available in PRINT

Chapter One

Piper

The door of the Busy Bean coffeehouse blew open in a gust of wind and slammed loudly against its hinges. Piper, along with everyone else in the café, jumped, and the whir of conversation from moments before stopped as everyone looked toward the café’s entrance.

A man’s large frame loomed in the open doorway, a bouquet of autumn flowers obscuring his face. The arrangement was certainly eye-catching, consisting of roses in burgundy and fuchsia, with bursts of pink dianthus, orange mini carnations, and pincushion sparks. Green palm fronds framed the show-stopping display.

“Ow!” Piper yelped. Distracted, she’d forgotten to stop pressing the button on the espresso machine, and boiling liquid spilled over the edges of the paper cup in her hand. Setting the cup onto the counter, she reflexively licked her burned finger.

The balding, bespectacled head of the delivery man peered out from behind the flowers as he hurried inside the shop. A tall man wearing a brown scarf and beret stood up from a nearby table and closed the door behind him.

“Goodness!” The delivery man exclaimed, smoothing the few strands of his hair over his shiny pate with his free hand. “I almost got blown away out there!”

Piper smiled ruefully and waved. “Hi, Sam,” she called, hurrying over to the sink behind the counter and lifting the tap. The stream of cool water instantly soothed her reddened skin. “It is definitely blustery, even for a September day in Pumpkin City,” she said.

“What a beautiful bouquet,” the petite woman standing at the counter remarked. Her gray hair was pulled back into a tight bun, and she clutched a dark-green knitted bag to her side that was nearly as big as she was.

“Thank you,” said the florist, traversing the small eating area to join them at the coffee bar. “My wife Bea will be tickled to hear that. Our 13-year-old grandniece, Mary Kate, helped designed this arrangement—it’s called ‘A Beautiful Sight.’” He gazed at it, smiling fondly, before continuing.

“Mary Kate is one of Bea’s Amish relatives, you see,” he explained. “The women in her family run a stand about an hour or so outside of town where they sell flowers from their garden. We try to buy as many of our flowers from them as we can for Harvest Blooms—that’s our flower shop down on Gourd Street.”

“Really!” The customer exclaimed, her eyes widening.

“Yep,” Sam said, nodding. “I don’t think you’re from around here, since I don’t recognize you, but in case you didn’t already know, this part of Pennsylvania has quite a large Amish population. Mary Kate’s older brother, Jasper, actually drives her into Pumpkin City in his horse and buggy when she comes into the shop on weekends to help Bea. My wife’s become quite fond of the child.”

Author Annee Jones loves to write all things romance, fantasy, cozy mystery, & more. She is
passionate about writing stories where dreams come true, and love wins in the end!

Professionally, Annee works as a disability counselor where she helps her clients navigate
through complex medical and legal systems while rediscovering their wholeness in Spirit.

Annee's Website ~ Amazon Author Page ~ BookBub ~ Goodreads

Facebook ~ Annee's Angels FB Reader Group

You can find the entire Pumpkin Patch Romances series on Kindle Unlimited

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Thank you for stopping by. Please come back tomorrow when we'll feature the second book in this new series, and the fourteenth (and last) book in the Last Man Standing series.

Blessings,

Nancy