Weekly Winners

Congratulations to all of this week's weekly winners-

Shannon

on winning a copy of Shifting Plains by Jean Johnson

Sue Sattler

on winning a copy of Geared For Pleasure by Rachel Grace

Crystal @Reading Between the Wines

on winning a copy of Bare Facts by Katharine Garbera

Stacie D

on winning a copy of Dante's Deal by Aleka Nakis

Mel Bourn

on winning a copy of Seven Nights to Forever by Evangeline Collins

Betty Kohler Hamilton
Maureen Carol
BN100
on winning a copy of Deadly Dance by Dee Davis and Run From Fear by Jami Alden courtesy of Forever Romance

Na

on winning a copy of Silver by Darcy Abriel

Joanne Balinski

on winning a copy of Nathaniel by Dianne Hartsock

Tracey D

on winning a copy of A Bid For Love by KT Grant

All winners have been contacted via email. Thank you to everyone that stopped by and entered. 

ARC Review: The Wolf Who Loved Me by Lydia Dare

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I can't believe I've waited so long to read Lydia Dare's work before. I loved her voice and I loved her characters. They are full of charm and very witty. I did have a few issues with the heroine and her behavior, but besides that I was hooked. I love the mix of historical and paranormal elements. I found that the world Lydia Dare has created seemed very realistic and I love the mythology around her werewolves.

Wes Hadley has been in love with Lady Madeline for the past three years but knows that he would never be a suitable husband for her. He is known as one of the "Penniless Hadley's" and he doesn't have the means to take care of a wife. On top of that he is also know for his poor behavior. Even though he know's he's no good for Madeline, he still can't resist her charm and wants nothing more to be with her. It's torture watching her father parade Madeline around in an attempt to find her settled but he knows he just isn't right for her.

Madeline can't wait to escape the men her father is attempting to set her up with. She knows they are only interested in her because of her dowry and connections. She's accepted her fate to a loveless marriage but she really doesn't want to marry someone just because of her dowry. Also lately she's found herself quite intrigued by Wes Hadley. She can't help but wonder about his scar and he is so very attractive to her. When she spies him getting into an altercation down by the stables she rushes to make sure everything is fine. When she gets there she just happens to see Wes shifting into his werewolf form.

This is where the story essentially takes off. Wes knows that he must do everything in his power to stop Madeline from saying anything about him being a werewolf. Not only does he have to protect himself but his brothers also. So he does what anyone else would do in his shoes, he decides to take Madeline to Gretna Green and elope in an effort to protect everyone. Not only is he protecting everyone, but he is finally able to be with Madeline the woman that he loves.

I really enjoyed watching these two interact with one another. Madeline is very spoiled and naive, while Wes is carefree and poor. Watching them both interact was highly entertaining and I found myself giggling more than once. Their trip to Gretna Green is plagued at every turn and I especially loved the dynamics of the secondary characters, especially the other Hadley brothers.

Wes is such a charmer and he really seems to care about Madeline. I highly enjoyed him and his antics. With Madeline I wasn't that big of a fan. I just found her a little annoying. She seems to always be crying or whining about something and I'm not the biggest fan of damsel in distress heroines. I just wanted to grab her and tell her to snap out of it. Towards the end of the story she starts to redeem herself to me, but it still wasn't enough for me. I wasn't won over but it okay. All of the other characters made up for it.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and I am eagerly looking forward to the next story from Lydia Dare. I'm also going to go out and pick up some of her back list titles. I would love to see her spin on vampires and I'm also really interested in Dashiel and Caitrin's story.

**ARC copy provided by NetGalley**

Purcahse:
| Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository |

RATING:

Random Acts of Kindness: March Wrap-Up

R.A.K, otherwise known as Random Acts of Kindness is put together by the lovely ladies from Book♥Soulmates. It's a way for fellow bloggers to get together and give eachother items on their wish lists. I love participating in R.A.K. It's so much fun and rewarding to give others items from their wish list and it's exciting to see if anyone is going to give you something too.

Sent Out:

Elizabeth @Paranormal Romance Fanatic


Aislynn @Stich-Read-Cook

Received: 

Elizabeth @Paranormal Romance Fanatic


Temara @Anything and Everything Books


Aislynn @Stich-Read-Cook

ARC Review: A Lady's Revenge by Tracey Devlyn

I will be honest, I'm having the hardest time trying to formulate what I want to say about this book. It was very good and definitely not what I was expecting. This story is not for the faint of heart. It definitely isn't a light read, but a dark and intense tale. Watching Cora try to overcome everything that has happened to her was at times difficult, but I was so transfixed with the story I just kept turning the pages wanting more. More Cora, more Guy. Just what was going to happen with them and would Cora ever recover from everything and would she let Guy in.

When Cora was just ten years old, both of her parents were murdered. She has spent the last thirteen years thinking of a way to get revenge on the French man that murdered them. During the last three years she has been in France working as a spy seducing secrets from them. When her latest mission goes awry, she is captured and tortured by the man she believes to be behind the death of her parents. After weeks of torture she is saved by her old childhood friend Guy.

Guy has been sent to France to retrieve the spy Raven. Imagine his surprise when the woman he is sent to retrieve turns out to be the sister of his best friend. Guy can't believe his eyes and knows he has to do everything he can to save Cora. Once he frees Cora they escape back to England only to find out that her captor is on the loose and most likely after Cora.

Throughout the story Guy is constantly looking out for Cora and doing everything he can to keep her safe. Guy is everything I love in a hero. He's strong, intelligent and willing to do anything to save the woman he loves, and that woman is Cora deBeau. He puts himself on the line more than once and he is willing to do anything to help Cora. He knows she's scarred and wounded from her ordeal and he is willing to wait for her.

If I were ever put in Cora's situation I would definitely falter and hide myself in a corner and cry, but not Cora. Cora is constantly fighting for herself and her loved ones. She will do whatever it takes to keep them safe and I truly find her commendable. Watching Cora overcome everything and eventually find her way into Guy's arms was great to see. They both had such strong chemistry and the sparks between them literally jumped off the page.

After finishing this story I can't wait to see what's next from Tracey Devlyn. If all her books are as good as this one I know she will quickly become one of my favorites. This book is a must read.


**ARC copy provided by NetGalley**

Purchase:
| Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository |

RATING:

Guest Post with Author Doris O'Connor and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome to the blog author Doris O'Connor. Doris is currently on tour and has stopped by RFTC to chat. Before I give the floor to Doris let's get to know her a bit.

Glutton for punishment would be a good description for Doris... at least that's what she hears on an almost daily basis when people find out that she has a brood of nine children, ranging from adult to baby and lives happily in a far too small house, cluttered with children, pets, dust bunnies and one very understanding and supportive husband. Domestic goddess she is not.

There is always something better to do after all, like working on the latest manuscript and trying not to scare the locals even more than usual by talking out loud to the voices in her head. Her sexy Alpha heroes and sassy heroines tend to be pretty insistent to get their stories told, and you will find Doris burning the midnight oil on a regular basis. Only time to get any peace and quiet and besides, sleep is for wimps. She writes contemporary, erotic and paranormal romance.

German born, Doris now resides in the middle of a busy town in Bedfordshire/England and dreams of a nice big house by the sea, with plenty of space to run kids and dogs and let her imagination soar.

Places to find Doris:

| Site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter |

ARC Review: How To Ravish a Rake by Vicky Dreiling

I'm sad to say that I did not enjoy this book as much as I was hoping to. The last book left me on such a high but with this book it just kinda dragged on for me during the beginning. I'm not sure if it was because of the conflict between Amy and Will or maybe because I was expecting more banter between. I just felt like something was missing.

For the last few seasons Amy has spent her time on Wallflower row and is determined to make herself over this season and find herself a love match. If she doesn't succeed she will be forced to return home to the local vicar and a loveless marriage. What she didn't plan on was the attention of Will "The Devil" Darcett. When they are both caught in a compromising situation, Will knows he must offer to marry Amy so that she is able to salvage her reputation even though the last thing he wanted was to be married. Neither are expecting much from the marriage, especially passion and love.

I enjoyed Will and Amy's relationship and I loved watching it grow to love. Neither wanted to be with the other at first, but I liked that they quickly started to see the good in one another. There was definite passion and I thoroughly enjoyed watching Will "court" Amy.

I felt Will was so different than we are lead to believe. He has this "Devil" persona and is regaled as one of the biggest rake's in ton and also has no feelings but I didn't really see that side of him. Yes, he's carefree and doesn't really want to grow up, but I found him to be a genuinely nice and intelligent man who has a lot of family issues he is trying to work through.


As for Amy, I think we saw a completely different character than what we were shown in previous books. In this book she has no problem speaking her mind and is quick to stick up for her husband when need be. She has also become the ton fashion adviser. It just didn't seem right to me. What happened to the shy outcast?

Though I'm gripping, I really did enjoy the story and the relationship between Amy and Will. I found the progression of their relationship to feel real and I enjoyed watching it unfold. I also love that we were able to see more of Hester. She is definitely one of my favorite characters. I also found myself really drawn to the character of Bell and I really hope that the author gives him his own book. He literally broke my heart and he is in definite need of a HEA.

**ARC copy provided by Author**

Purchase:
| Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository |

RATING:

Interview with Author Delilah S. Dawason

Today I would like to welcome to the blog author Delilah S Dawson. Delilah is celebrating the release of her debut novel Wicked as They Come and was kind enough to take the time to answer some questions for me. Before we get to the interview let's get to know Delilah a bit shall we.

I’m an artist, wife, mom, goof, geek, and cupcake enthusiast. I’m also an Associate Editor on Cool Mom Picks, one of the hottest product review sites on the web. I have a BA in Studio Art from the University of Georgia, and I was high school Valedictorian, not that it matters much in real life. Before writing, I was a kids’ art instructor and arts administrator, including gallery direction and public relations. I paint murals whenever I can. And I was also briefly a cube monkey, but they didn’t get my sense of humor, especially the poster of sheep in bow ties.

Some of my favorite things are travel, books, movies, ninjas, vampires, pirates, baby pandas, cephalopods, horseback riding, roller skating, painting, Braeburn apples, boots, Candy Cane Lane tea, and cute jackets.

Places to find Delilah:

| Site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter |

ARC Review: The Marriage Bargain by Jennifer Probst

I really enjoyed this book. A few things annoyed me at times but it was an overall fun and enjoyable read. I really enjoyed getting to know Alexa and Nicholas. I loved the way they interacted with one another. Their chemistry was hot and their bickering brought a smile to my face.

When Alexa conjures up a love spell asking mother earth to send her a man along with $150,000, she never expects it to be her best friends older brother Nicholas to come up to scratch. Alexa hasn't seen Nicholas in years, not since they were both teenagers and Nicholas kissed her and then broke her heart. She has never forgotten the sting of his rejection.

In order to gain complete ownership of his uncle's company, Nicholas must marry someone within the next week. Nicholas doesn't believe in marriage or love and decides that he will just make his marriage a business arrangement. When his sister informs him of Alexa's situation he quickly offers Alexa a proposition, marry him for one year and he will give her the $150,000 she needs.

Both Alexa and Nicholas come to the agreement that the marriage will be in name only and neither one of them will be able to sleep with anyone outside of the marriage for a full year. But when the sparks and chemistry from their past start to resurface will either of them be safe from the fallout?

As I said before, I really did enjoy this story. I liked the characters and they way they interacted with each other. The chemistry between them just sizzled and I couldn't wait for them to finally get together. I also loved seeing glimpses into their past and the feeling they both once had for one another.

Though I enjoyed the story I also did have some issues with it. I found myself at times getting really annoyed with Alexa. I hated that she felt the need to not be honest with Nicholas. If she would have just told him about her reason for wanting the money so much drama and headache could have been avoided. I just wanted to shake her and tell her to be honest with him.

My other issue with the story was the main conflict of the story. I think that it was just pushed aside too easily. I would have liked it to have occurred a bit sooner and maybe have had it drawn out a bit more. The ending result just turned out too cutesy and seemed not in character for either Nicholas or Alexa.

All in all, this book was a quick and enjoyable read despite the cutesy parts. I really enjoyed the growth with the characters and it was great watching them both come together. I give this a high 3.

**ARC copy provided by Manic Readers**

Purchase:
| Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

RATING:

Coming Soon-Romance Book Casting Call

This past year of blogging among the romance community has been a truly fabulous one and a total learning experience. We have met (in person, on Twitter, Facebook, etc.) many wonderful authors and fellow bloggers along the way. To celebrate, we’ve invited some fantastic authors and bloggers who have impacted each of us in their own way. There are some many more authors and bloggers we would have loved to feature but we don’t have the super organizing skills like Elise Rome with her 31 days of March Madness.

We’ll be featuring authors during the week and fellow bloggers on Saturdays. On Sundays, we’ll announce the winners.

Look at the fantastic authors and bloggers we’re hosting:

Juliana Stone

Laurie London

Dianne Duvall

Darynda Jones

Virna DePaul

Roni Loren

Karen Erickson

Tiffany Reisz

Maggie Robinson

Melissa Schroeder

Nicola Marsh

Bella Andre

Carolyn Brown

Tawny Weber

Lila DiPasqua

Kieran Kramer

Elise Rome

Delilah Marvelle

Jenn LeBlanc

Vicky Dreiling

Mandi from Smexybooks

Aislynn from Stitch-Read-Cook

Mel from Bookworm2Bookworm

Kim from SOS Aloha

There will be books and swag to win plus we are giving away a Kindle ($79) to one lucky US Reader as well as book bundles from each of us.

Tell your friends, neighbors, your mailman/mailwoman, the UPS guy, that hottie that runs shirtless through your neighborhood at 5 on the dot... Post it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.

Keep up to date with all the fantastic authors and bloggers here as well as entering for the grand prize and book bundles.

We hope you join us to celebrate our first year of blogging!

Forever's Western Blog Tour: Interview and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome both R.C. Ryan and Katie Lane to RFTC. Both ladies are part of the Forever Western Blog Tour and have taken the time out of their busy schedules to let me ask them a few questions. So lets get to know them a bit shall we.

New York Times bestselling author R.C. Ryan has written more than ninety fiction novels, both contemporary and historical. Quite an accomplishment for someone who, after her fifth child started school, gave herself the gift of an hour a day to follow her dream to become a writer.

The Lost, an anthology of stories by J.D. Robb, Mary Blayney, Patricia Gaffney, and R.C. Ryan writing as Ruth Ryan Langan was published in Fall 2009. Ms. Ryan’s story, “The Legacy,” is an exciting tale of intrigue and other-worldly adventure.

In a career spanning more than twenty years, Ms. Ryan has given dozens of radio, television, and print interviews across the country and Canada, and has been quoted in such diverse publications as the Wall Street Journal and Cosmopolitan. She has also appeared on CNN News, as well as Good Morning America.

Places to find R.C:

| Site | Facebook | 

Guest Post with Author Lisa Mondello and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome to the blog author Lisa Mondello. Lisa is currently on tour promoting her book The Marriage Contract and has stopped by today to chat. Before I give the floor to Lisa, let's get to know her a bit shall we.

Lisa Mondello is the best selling author of 13 published books. Her first published book, the award winning ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU, was recently reissued as an ebook and has had over 226,000 downloads worldwide. In addition to publishing her Fate with a Helping Hand series, which includes THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT and THE KNIGHT AND MAGGIE'S BABY, she is releasing her popular Texas Hearts Romance series as ebooks in early 2012. She currently writes for Harlequin Love Inspired Romance and is collaborating with a film producer/screenwriter on a screenplay.

Places to find Lisa:

| Site | Facebook | Twitter | 

Interview with Author Casea Major and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome back to RFTC author Casea Major. Casea is on tour celebrating the release of her newest book Night With a Dom and took the time out of her busy schedule to let me ask her some questions. But before I get to the interview, let's get to know about Casea a bit.

Prior to becoming a writer of romantic fiction, Casea Major worked in the legal field for a non-profit dispute resolution company for ten years. She is now a full-time mom to three preschool children with whom she and her husband live happily...most of the time. When she isn't chained to her laptop, she enjoys Cary Grant movies and crocheting.

Places to find Casea:

| Site | Facebook | Twitter |

Feature: Valkyrie's Vengeance by Suzie Grant and Giveaway

Stranded on foreign soil. Rescued and raised by the enemy. Tyra Svensdottir declares war on her own people after witnessing the death of the very woman who’d saved her life. Kidnapping the man who wields the sword of the underworld — Hel’s Hammer — Tyra forces him to repair her shipwrecked vessel. Her quest to kill the swordsman’s king takes them across frigid waters on a myriad of adventures and a voyage of sensual discovery.

Rorik Thorlicksson uncovers treachery within his clan but in order to return home to warn of the impending attack, he must yield to the woman holding him captive. Along their voyage he unravels the mystery behind his captor. He discovers she is the woman promised to him in wedlock at birth though her disappearance years ago released him from his betrothal. Dissuading the little heathen from her purpose and into his bed becomes a more appealing prospect with every passing day.

Blood vengeance brings them together even as desire binds their hearts. Amongst the secrets and obscurities of their destinies, they find a love that spans a lifetime as well as an end to A Valkyrie’s Vengeance.

Places to Purchase:

| Amazon | Smashwords |

Feature: Redneck Heaven by Marchelle Wallace and Giveaway

Meredith Colt has an epiphany on her way to her own wedding. The epiphany leaves her in the arms of sexy green-eyed stranger Marlon Bridges. Four weeks later, the lovely Miss Colt arrives at her deceased Grandfather's house in search of herself in Heaven, Pennsylvania (Redneck Capital of the World, according to her mother and sister) only to find her closest neighbor is none other than the sexy Redneck Marlon Bridges, owner of the Heavenly Timber and Logging Company.

The town has very strict views on Flatlanders and Meredith lives down to their expectations of how a Flatlander should act. Marlon is a card carrying member of the Rednecks-R-Us club.

Can these two strangers put their differences aside and discover that true love hits you upside the head with a two by four when you least expect it?

Places to Purchase:

| Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Createspace | 

Guest Post with Author Sascha Illyvich

Today I would like to welcome to the blog author Sascha Illyvich. Sascha is currently on tour promoting the book Surrender to Love which is part of Decadent's 1Nightstand Series. Before I give the floor over let's learn a bit about Sascha.

Proclaimed by the Publishing industry as the Bad Boy of Romance, I started writing thirteen years ago. My erotic romances have been listed under the Night Owl Romance and Road to Romance’s Recommended read list, as well nominated for a CAPA by The Romance Studio.

I host the Unnamed Romance Show on Radio Dentata and continue to write for Sizzler Editions and Total E-bound. Readers can find my work, plus free reads at http://saschaillyvichauthor.com.

I edit for Sizzler Editions Intoxication Erotic Romance line and I’m also part of the WriteSex Panel, a blog group defining erotica for writers in any genre!

Places to find Sascha:

| Site | Fetishist | Radio Dentata | Erotic Expert | Facebook | Twitter |