Weekly Winners

Below is a list of all of the winners from the past week.


Regina
Shadow Kohler
Yadira
For Love or Duty by Bethanne Stasser

Barbara
Yadira
Erin
Blame It On Texas by Christie Craig courtesy of Forever Romance

Kerry
Teaching Office Lonesome by Kaylie Newell

Da Kenney
When You Give a Duke a Diamond by Shana Galen

Adriana R
Fear The Darkness by Alexandra Ivy courtesy of Kensington Books

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

ARC Review: Forever and a Day by Jill Shalvis

Wow I love Jill Shalvis! She has converted me into a true fan of contemporary romance and I definitely can't wait to read more from her. I definitely will be picking up her back-list and giving them a read. I just love her voice and the world she has created with her Lucky Harbor series. She has created a world that I am truly invested in and I care about everyone and everything.

Ms. Shalvis just has a way of making you not want to stop reading until you've hit the final page. Once I started this book I just couldn't put it down. I loved the chemistry between Josh and Grace. I was rooting for them and was so happy with the way things turned out. Not only were these two smoking hot together, but the feeling between them felt real. Their relationship didn't feel rushed or fake. I could feel the emotions between the both of them as if I were experiencing it myself.

Josh has his hands full with taking care of his rambunctious five year old son his his angry at the world wheelchair bound sister Anna. On top of his stressful home life he works as a doctor in Lucky Harbor averaging 80+ hours a week. To say his life is hectic is putting it mildly. When yet another nanny quits without giving notice he turns to Grace for her help and assistance.

Grace is new to Lucky Harbor and has no plans of staying permanently. She's just biding her time until she gets a good job in Seattle of Portland. In the meantime to make ends meet she does a little bit of everything around town. From modeling, delivery girl and now a dog walker for the towns hottest doc. When Josh propositions her to become his nanny for a week with the pay of $1000 she knows she would be a fool to turn it down. But what starts out as a week long gig soon turns into so much more.

Grace can't help but grow attached to Josh and his quirky family. The more time she spends with them the more they grow on her and she soon realizes that maybe she doesn't want some big banker job. She is truly happy right now, happier than she's been in a really long time and what's more, she feels as if she's home. It also doesn't hurt that her and Doc Mchottie can't keep their hands off of one another.

I loved this book. I can't say it enough. I finished this book within hours of starting it and I haven't been able to get it out of my head ever since I finished and this was at least a month ago! I just can't wait to get my hands on more from Ms. Shalvis.

**ARC copy provided by NetGalley**

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

Interview with Author Melissa Bourbon Ramirez and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome to RFTC author Melissa Bourbon Ramirez. Melissa is celebrating the recent release of her book Deceiving the Witch Next Door and has stopped by to answer a few questions. Before I get to the questions, let's get to know a bit about Melissa.

Melissa Bourbon, who sometimes answers to her Latina-by-marriage name Misa Ramirez, gave up teaching middle and high school kids in Northern California to write full-time amidst horses and Longhorns in North Texas. She fantasizes about spending summers writing in quaint, cozy locales, has a love/hate relationship with yoga and chocolate, is devoted to her family, and can’t believe she’s lucky enough to be living the life of her dreams.

She is the marketing director at Entangled Publishing, is the author of the Lola Cruz Mystery series with St. Martin’s Minotaur and Entangled Publishing, A Magical Dressmaking Mystery series with NAL, and is the co-author of The Tricked-out Toolbox and two romantic suspense titles.

Places to find Melissa: 

| Site | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | 

Guest Post with Author Gina L. Maxwell and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome to RFTC author Gina L. Maxwell. Gina is celebrate the recent release of her book Seducing Cinderella (which was amazing!) and has stopped by to chat. Before I give the floor over to Gina, let's get to know a bit about her.

Growing up in small town Fort Atkinson, WI, Gina L. Maxwell, formerly Bisbee, could often be found onstage in the latest theatrical production, performing with her high school show choir, or holding office in her local FFA chapter. She dreamed of following in her father’s footsteps in the entertainment business, of enabling her audience to forget about life for a few hours as they enjoyed the stories she told through her love of singing, dancing, and acting. It wasn’t until her sophomore year in college when she realized she had no acting talent to speak of and her dream needed some adjusting. Another ten years would pass before she discovered a different means to accomplishing the same dream.

Within those ten years Gina married her high school sweetheart, had two beautiful children, and moved more times than she cared to count. In 2009 she started writing as a hobby while her kids were in school, and it quickly became an obsession she couldn’t stop, and then a dream to publish stories of love and passion for romance addicts just like her.

Three years later, her dream came true when she signed with Entangled Publishing for a total of seven books in two of their imprints.

Her Fighting for Love series with MMA heroes debuted July 20th, 2012 for the digital Brazen imprint with the first book, Seducing Cinderella, and reached #9 on Barnes & Noble’s best seller list in just seven days.

The first book in her paranormal romance trilogy, Desires of the Soul, is set to release both digitally and in mass trade paperback in Summer 2013 for the Entangled Select imprint.

When she’s not writing or wrangling plot bunnies, Gina keeps busy with her wonderful family and their ever-growing extra-curricular schedules. Thanks to their immense patience and support, she’s able to do The Thing She Was Meant To Do and live her dream of bringing a little romantic fantasy to the world, even if only in the pages of a good book.

Places to find Gina:

| Site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | 

ARC Review: A Dangerous Liaison with Detective Lewis by Jillian Stone

When I first saw the cover of this book I just new I had to read it. It's breathtaking and once I saw that it was a second chance at love story I was hooked. I devoured this book and enjoyed every moment of it from beginning to end. Miz Stone captured my attention from the first page and had me itching for more until I reached the end. I was captivated by the sparks and tension between Rafe and Fanny as well as aching for them to finally get their long awaited HEA.

Rafe hasn't seen Fanny since the night of their engagement ball five years ago, though she is never far from his thoughts. He never expected to see her again let alone be the one tasked with guarding her life. After walking away from Fanny, Rafe began working as Special Inspector with the Scotland Yard. When news of the death of Fanny's father reaches Rafe, he believes that it was just an accident. But when other inventors start to turn up dead in what appears to be accidents they begin to believe that it was no accident that killed Fanny's father. He along with the other detectives at Scotland Yard believe it to be the work of foul play. Now Rafe has been tasked with the mission to return to Edinburgh and watch over Fanny and seek out any answers he may be able to find to support their theory.

It's been five long years since Fanny has laid eyes on Rafe. He left the night of their engagement ball without so much of a word or backwards glance and Fanny just wants to know why. Why did he leave without saying anything? Why is he here now? Why did he have to break her heart? She just wants answers. When Rafe begins to share the suspicions of her father's death and the fact that she could possibly be in danger she balks at the idea. She along with everyone else, believed his death to be an accident. Who or why would someone want to her her or her father?

Together, Fanny and Rafe work on trying to bring down the men that are responsible for Fanny's father's death while also trying to work on mending their past. Rafe is determined to do everything in his power to keep the woman he's always loved safe and out of harms way.

I loved the relationship between Rafe and Fanny. There is just so much raw tension and chemistry between the two and at times very tender moments. Here we see two people that have always loved each other trying to find a way to mend and forget the past. I found that their HEA was much deserved and completely worth the wait. I loved that neither sugar coat things with the other and they are brutal with their honesty. There is just so much history between them that it just breaks your heart that they spent the last five years apart. I was rooting for these two from the beginning and I loved how things evolved.

This was a great book from Miz Stone and I am greatly anticipating the next book in her Gentleman of Scotland Yard series. If they are half as good as this one was, I know I'll be in for a great read.

**ARC copy provided by Pocket Books**

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

Feature and Giveaway: Wrong Bed, Right Guy by

Seducing Mr. Wrong has never felt so right...

Prim and proper art gallery coordinator Elle Walser is no good at seducing men. Heck, she’s been throwing hints at her boss for months, but he’s completely clueless. Desperate to escape her mother’s matchmaking efforts, she comes up with a plan—buy some lingerie and climb into her boss’s bed. The plan goes brilliantly…until she accidentally seduces a sexy stranger instead.

Bad boy nightclub mogul Gabe Schultz just had the best almost-sex of his life. Too bad the smoking hot blonde thought he was his brother and bolted before he could finish what they started. Though her holier-than-thou attitude puts a serious damper on his mood, Gabe’s never been one to give up on something he wants. And he wants Elle. But does a man who lives on the dark side really have a chance with a proper lady?

Purchase: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

Guest Post with Author Christy McKee and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome author Christy McKee to RFTC. Christy is celebrating the recent release of her book Maybe Too Good To Be True and has stopped by to chat. Before I give the floor over to Christy, let's get to know her a bit.

My addiction to reading emerged when I was ten and down with measles. My mother, trying to keep me entertained, brought home a stack of Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew books. Within days, I’d consumed them all and asked for more. That’s when it truly began−the pleasure of reading which would eventually lead to my writing.

I can’t pin point precisely when I knew I was different from everyone else−at least from my tight group of hometown friends. Didn’t everyone have movies playing in their heads starring beautiful characters leading adventurous lives in exotic places? NO—they did not. Did that mean they were normal and I was the odd, slightly wacky duck? My answer to that conundrum came when I attended my first writer’s conference in Savannah. Nervous about being on my own at the crowded event, a kindly writer from Texas took me under her wing and introduced me to at least a dozen writers. Surrounded by so many writers who were so like me, I fit right in. I wasn’t an “odd” duck after all; I’d simply been in the wrong pond!

As a result of that conference, my desire and conviction to write blossomed. Still working a full time job at a Louisiana cancer center, I carved out time to write every night and on weekends. My first manuscript went through four incarnations, and a year under the bed, before success came knocking.

Today my family and our two Labs—Lambeau, the Green Bay Packers unofficial mascot and Gracie, who is just plain, sweet Amazing Grace—live in a picturesque little town in Ohio wrapped around a lovely town square with an intricately carved gazebo where weekly band concerts take place all summer long.

Places to find Christy:

| Site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter |

Feature and Giveaway: Loving Lady Marcia by Kieran Kramer

MARCIA GETS SCHOOLED…

Of the three Brady sisters, Lady Marcia has always seemed the girl most likely to lead a perfectly charmed life. But after a handsome cad breaks her heart, she swears off love and devotes her life to teaching girls at a private school. In spite of her family’s wish for a London debut, Marcia is happy where she is—until terrible news sends her back to the Brady clan…and into the arms of an unexpected suitor.

ON THE SUBJECT OF LOVE

A dark and dashing earl who knows Marcia’s past, Duncan Lattimore is surprised by what a fascinating and independent woman she’s become. Marcia, too, is surprised—by the fiery attraction she feels for Duncan. But why—why—must he be the brother of the scoundrel who broke her heart? Why must Marcia’s rival at school forbid her from seeing him? How can this lady possibly resist this fellow—when they know that it’s much more than a hunch…?

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

 Check out my review here.

Review: Perfect For You by Kate Perry

I really liked this book. Yes it's a little clichéd and predictable, but I loved it anyways. I love Miz Perry's voice and the stories she creates. She is able to get me so wrapped up and invested with what's happening that I don't ever want to put the book down until I've finished.

I loved both Greg and Freya. They had such great chemistry and were hot together. They both have such strong feelings for one another and it was just so refreshing to see a hero that knows what he wants. Greg is so fully aware of his feelings for Freya. He knows that he loves her and wants to spend his life with her, he just has to convince her that they are meant to be.

Freya knows that her and Greg have great chemistry and Greg is definitely sexy, but he's a lawyer and Freya despises lawyers and no amount of prodding by her sister or Greg will change her mind. Also, Freya is convinced Greg is a playboy and she has no desire to be another notch on his bedpost, no matter how sexy he is.

I really enjoyed this book and I loved getting to know these characters. Yes, I do wish it was a tad bit longer and I thought that the ending seemed a little bit too predictable and on the sappy side but I loved it all the same. I'm really looking forward to picking up the other books in Miz Perry's Laurel Heights series.

**Copy provided by author**

Purchase:
| Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

Feature and Giveaway: Playing To Win by Jaci Burton

Someone’s going to have to let down their guard…

Football star Cole Riley is notorious for doing as he pleases—on the field and off. He parties hard and fights harder, but if he doesn’t clean up his act, his career is over—so Cole reluctantly agrees to work with image makeover consultant Savannah Brooks. He’s not used to being told what to do, especially by some (admittedly hot) Southern belle. As for Savannah, she’s not convinced she can transform this cocky (and aggressively sexy) force of nature. But she’s determined to give it her best shot.

When the sparks start to fly, Savannah lays down the ground rules: no personal complications. If she can turn off the tingle she feels every time Cole gives her a hot stare with his gorgeous baby blues, he can turn off his desire as well. But for two people determined to have it all, a hands-off policy can only last so long before one of them yields.

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

Check out my review here.

ARC Review: Close Enough to Touch by Victoria Dahl

I hate to say it but I wan't the biggest fan of this book. Not that I disliked it, but it was just okay to me. After reading Dahl's last series I had very high expectations going into this book. I guess I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. Both the hero and the heroine got on my nerves. They were both just so whiny about everything in their lives that after a while it just became annoying to keep reading.

Cole whines about not being able to be the cowboy that he is. He was injured a year ago and may never be able to ride again. I get that, I understand his dilemma, my problem is that is all he thinks about. Well that, and the time he left for two months to go off to Hollywood. To me it felt like all Cole does throughout the whole book is harp on his past. I just thought his affliction to anything Hollywood was over the top. But despite his whiny attitude, I did enjoy Cole. I liked that he was a gentleman.

Grace is makeup artist who is down on her luck and out of money so she decides to try to make a go at it in Wyoming. Grace begins living on a ranch that her aunt owns and hopes to save enough money that she will be able to move on to Vancouver in a few weeks. I don't know what it was exactly, but I just never was really able to warm up to Grace. She's hard, mistrustful and is constantly pushing everyone around her away. I just wanted her to stop being so closed off with everyone and to accept that there are people who are genuine and nice.

As for the relationship between Cole and Grace, I never understood it. I guess I felt like the feelings they both felt were superficial because in the book it didn't come off as if they truly cared for one another. Yes, I believe they were both attracted to each other, but I never felt like there was any romance between them. Grace is so closed off and Cole hides from anything Hollywood that it just felt like a relationship filled with hooking up. They are continuously having these random one night stands that never really lead to anything else. Then all of a sudden I am supposed to believe that they love each other. It just didn't come across like that to me at all. I think that the relationships Grace and Cole were experiencing with everyone around them was more believable than their own.

Don't get me wrong, by no means did I hate this book. In fact I rather enjoyed certain parts of it and found the book engaging and hard to put down. I loved all of the secondary characters we are introduced to and I can't wait to read more with them. I just wasn't the biggest fan of the romance between Grace and Cole. I will say though, that some of their scenes together was very sexy.

All in all, this was an okay read for me. It succeeded in keeping my attention and I'm definitely intrigued to see where this series is going to go from here.

**ARC copy provided by NetGalley**

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

Guest Post with Author Vivi Dumas and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome to RFTC author Vivi Dumas. Vivi is celebrating the recent release of her book Soul Catcher and has stopped by to share an interview with her character Jacque Toussant. Before we share the interview, let's get to know a bit about Vivi.

Vivi Dumas submerges herself in the dark underworld of the supernatural. To balance the analytical and logical confines of her day job, she unleashes the fiery passions of her imagination in her writing. Although she grew up an Army brat, she calls Louisiana home, but has endured the hot summers and cold winters of Maryland for the last 16 years.

Places to find Vivi Dumas:

| Site | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter |