Friday, July 10, 2015

Blog Tour: Katherine in Gold by J.B. Hartnett





Katherine in Gold is the  second installment of the Beachy Bride series. In this 
unique romance, we follow the story of Katherine and Holst. A tale of shaking off the 
past, embracing the future, and finding true love.  **Can be read as a stand alone**


NOW AVAILABLE!



Blurb
*Warning: this is a love story with sexual situations and copious swearing. It also 
deals with an inappropriate relationship between an underage girl and a much older 
man.

When Katherine Symes experiences heartbreak at the age of twenty, she picks herself 
up, dusts herself off, and declares no man will ever break her again. The 
independent, potty-mouthed Katherine makes no apologies for how she lives her life. 
Marriage, babies, and husbands are ideas she’s never even entertained. There is only 
one thing she’s never had the guts to do.

Open her own cafe.

The day of her best friend’s engagement, a stranger bulldozes his way into her life. 
Handsome, tall, and annoying as hell, he pushes all her buttons. A mutual 
acquaintance introduces them, and the stranger, Holst Rutherford, wastes no time in 
presenting Katherine with half ownership in a coffee shop he wants to open in 
Laguna Beach; he just doesn’t want to do it alone.

Can she put up with Holst to achieve her lifelong dream?

Holst moved to the coastal town of Laguna Beach with clear intentions: a fresh start, 
concentrate on his new business, and enjoy the beach at his doorstep. After ending a 
toxic relationship, he never considered entering a new one. But there is something 
about the ever-combative Katherine which makes him realize she could be much 
more than a business partner. She just might be the one.

However, she is going to need a little convincing


4.5 Star Review by Jen Skewes


Katherine in Gold is the second installment in The Beachy Bride series but can be read as a stand alone.  I loved this book and I think this just may be my favorite JB Hartnett book.  I love the stories that she tells and the characters that she creates.  This is Katherine’s story, who we first met in Bride in Bloom. 

Katherine is a strong, independent and feisty woman.  But underneath that exterior is a woman who is broken.  She was hurt so badly 13 years ago by someone that she loved and has never been able to move on from it.  She has never told anyone of her secret and what really happened to her that has caused her to be so guarded when it comes to love and relationships.  She has not had a relationship with a man since then, only casual sex and nothing more.  Then she meets the man who not only make her business dreams come true but will also be the man to make her believe in love again.

Holst is looking to move on from his own past and wants to open up a cafĂ©.  Through a mutual friend he meets Katherine, his future business partner and his future love.  Holst is attracted to Katherine from the beginning.  He wants her but he sees the walls that she has constructed around her heart.   He knows that she is fragile when it comes to love, but he is determined to show her how good they are together.  He slowly chips away at the wall that she has put up and Katherine begins to open herself up to Holst and to love again.  But Holst has his own past and his own secrets as well.  And he is afraid that once he really opens up to Katherine that she will run.  And losing Katherine is not an option for him.  Will Katherine run or will she embrace love again?

I love this book so much and for so many reasons.  The first one, of course being Katherine and Holst.  Together they are sexy and the perfect match.  Holst will make you swoon.  He was a bit of an alpha male with a dominant side but could also be so sweet, gentle, protective and caring when it comes to Katherine.  I loved how he was able to get her to open up to him in so many ways.  He made her love again and while their love may have seemed quick it didn’t feel like it was insta love at all.  What I love about this series, especially this book is how real these characters are.  There is no unnecessary drama.  The issues that this couple face are real and it makes you feel all of the emotions right along with them.  And while their story is real there is a little bit fairytale feel to it as well.  It was just the right blend of both.

I loved the secondary characters.  We met most of them in the first book but I think we were able to really see their relationships more in this one.  Katherine and Tori are best friends and their friendship is one that every woman wants.  They are always there for each other no matter what.  They laugh and cry with each other and their relationship was just the perfect addition to this story.  I felt the connection that these two had.  But it wasn’t just Tori that I loved.  Katherine’s other friends Dee Dee and Ruby were a wonderful addition to this cast and I cannot wait for their story.

And then there is Frodo who has this really special relationship with Holst.  They somehow have this connection and bond.  And I just love Frodo.  I am not sure what it is about that man but I love him and cannot wait for his story.  But it wasn’t just his bond with Holst, it was the moments that he shared with Katherine as well that just melted my heart. 

Now let’s talk about Cam for a second, because I loved that man in Bride in Bloom, which is his and Tori’s tory.  But there is one moment in this book that made me love him even more.  I had tears in my eyes, in a good way.  And to be honest there were a few moments like this throughout the book where I felt my eyes getting watery.  And not because it was sad or depressing but because sometimes in life there are those moments that you just cannot help getting choked up over and you just find yourself crying.  And since I felt like I was a part of these characters lives I felt it all with them.  This was an amazing story.  I cannot wait for the next ones.  And yes I will patiently be waiting for Frodo’s book.  Another amazing and beautiful story by JB Hartnett.  



Excerpt #1

Just another few feet, I faced the green gate with the awesome brass knocker and flagstone steps of Tori’s house. I knocked on the front door of the Arts and Crafts home and waited. I was basically furniture at their place, but they were newlyweds, and I’m no prude, but when you walk in on your bestie splayed upon the front stairs of the foyer, her husband’s head between her legs and his naked ass with a peek-a-boo ball sack greeting you….

Dude. You knock.
The door opened to Cam’s smartass grin, which said everything without saying anything. “Kath,” he greeted.
“Coffee,” I returned, avoiding all conversation with him, and walked straight to the kitchen.
I plunked down at the worn pine table, opened my phone to the message from Goya so Tori could read it, and took a sip from the mug Tori had just handed me.
I’d given several kickass—in my mind—housewarming gifts to the new couple. One was a ceramic garden gnome key holder I’d had custom made. Quite similar to the one that lived on my porch…Gozer the Garden Gnome (I loved Ghostbusters.) Gozer needed a mate, and that mate, of course, was Zuul. Most female garden gnomes were busty, but this she-gnome had enormous boobs, wild, red hair, which lifted at the back to hide a spare house key, and a red dress that left very little to the imagination…I mean, if you were into gnomes, you couldn’t disagree this little gnome had it going on.
My other favorite gift was three coffee mugs: two of which read, “My best friend is a whore.” The third read, “I married a whore” and it was just lucky that Cam had a good sense of humor. Most people think the term “whore” is either an occupation or an insult, but I used it as a term of affection. I wasn’t even sure how it began, but I often said it to Tori, and when I did, it came from a place of love.
Tori took a sip from her coffee and lifted her eyes from the message. “Dude.”
“Dude,” much like the word “whore” or even “fuck,” also had many meanings and uses. It was all in the way you said it. And the way Tori said “dude” meant she was having the same reaction I had to the message.
“I know, right?”
I gave an awkward chuckle and rolled my eyes. I’d avoided Goya all week, blowing him off with the excuse my new business venture was taking up all my time. Yeah, I totally lied. And his message that morning was a reminder, not only about his show, but an offer he made, which filled me with terror, and a term of endearment that made me want to move to another state.
“He said the L-word,” she pointed out. “And he wants you to move in with him?” Just hearing her rundown of the text message gave me anxiety.
I decided not to let that show and deflect the whole thing with humor. “Yeah. I’m just as confused as you are. I even thought he might have sent the message to me by mistake.”
“Kath,” she began softly, “you’re not considering moving in with him…are you?”
I almost choked on my coffee. “Did you snort a big, fat line of stupid before I got here?”
Her eyes bugged out before she said with relief, “Thank God. You’ve been…weird lately. I had to ask.”
Cam suddenly appeared with two huge hiking packs.
“You just got hotter, Cam,” I declared and leaned in to my bestie. “How are you gonna do it?”
“Do what?”
“Hike along those trails and not ass rape him every chance you get?”

She leaned closer, her fingers tapping on the coffee mug, and confessed with total sincerity, “Well, we discussed it, and, after much research, decided that anything I do to his ass will be in the privacy of our own home.” She picked up her mug again and continued casually, “Besides, ticks are a real problem. The ass is the last place you want a tick.”


Have you met Cameron & Victoria from Bride in Bloom (Book One) yet? 
One-click your copy at the following retailers:




About the Author
Stalk Her: Facebook | Twitter | Website | Goodreads

Julie is a Southern California native, a fan of a really good story (preferably romance with a happily ever after), really good pie (preferably pumpkin) and copious amounts of coffee (preferably Folgers).
She has always enjoyed writing and at one time thought she could be a singer songwriter...the 'writer' part is the one that stuck.
Julie is obsessed with pi...the equation(and the food). She's allergic to cats and cantaloupe and hates mushrooms...so if you ever want to give her a gift, those are out for sure.She currently lives with her own romance hero husband and two boys in Melbourne, Australia.

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