Weekly Winners

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

Karen
Lovers Unmasked by Tessa Bailey

Jane
Rumor Has It by Jill Shalvis

Morena
Sophie
Jasmyn
Book of Choice from Nalini Singh

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

ARC Review: Playing the Maestro by Aubrie Dionne

I have zero musical talent, so after sports romances and foodie romances, music is one of my preferred (albeit admittedly underexplored) contemporary tropes. Sexy European conductor from the mother continent? Small-town orchestra near my favourite US city, Boston? Dedicated principal flutist with a hilariously disastrous dating history? I’m sold. In PLAYING THE MAESTRO, concert flutist-turned-author Aubrie Dionne delivers a lighthearted, character-driven, quick beach read high on sweetness and low on drama with an adorable heroine and a hero passionate about music that will leave you smiling.

The Easthampton Civic Orchestra is in dire straits, with decreasing concert attendance and the loss of sponsors threatening to shutter its doors and force the already-struggling musicians out of a job, and a sneaky first violin sabotaging specific chairs. His current target: principal flutist (and one-time date) Melody Mires. The Board of Directors’ plan to save the orchestra is to bring in the rising German maestro Wolfgang (Wolf) Braun, who’s all too willing to leave Europe and escape the toxic model ex-girlfriend who ruined his credit and almost his career. Between first violin Blake’s machinations to sabotage Melody and the fact that Melody looks like Wolf’s ex-girlfriend’s doppelgänger, their first meeting does not go well. And each is ridiculously attracted to the other but fears that any sort of relationship would ruin their respective careers. Melody has devoted her life to her flute and to proving her naysaying parents wrong about making it as a concert flutist—and let’s not forget the fact that she’s sworn off dating male musicians forever. Wolf is devoted to sharing his love of classical music and inspiring young minds to take up and preserve the dying artform—and the last thing he wants is to be duped by a woman again. How can they possibly make it work, even if they both really want to? That’s about the extent of the drama—there’s no angst, there are no irreparably broken characters to heal, and save for the moment the scheming ex crashes the party and throws a wrench in the budding romance, it’s all about the cuteness of Wolf and Melody falling for each other. And it is cute—almost tooth-achingly so. I really liked Melody: she’s a sweetheart through and through and loves her sister and niece, but she also has the strength to call Wolf out on his behaviour. And walking the streets of Boston in her shoes as she’s out on the perfect date with Wolf was a treat.

Now Wolf… he’s perfect, on paper: he’s passionate about music without the self-involvement characteristic of male musicians; he donates his time (and, given his Mozart get-up, some of his self-respect) to entertain and inspire sick children at the hospital; he’s once bitten twice shy but still incredibly adept at romance (and he definitely knows the way to Melody’s heart!); and he’s European. A superfecta of romance hero awesomeness! And yet he didn’t quite work for me. Being European myself, I felt that Ms. Dionne tried too hard with his Europeanness and it felt disingenuous—in fact, I found him entirely too American for someone supposedly just off a plane from Berlin.

Overall, PLAYING THE MAESTRO was an entirely predictable but heartwarming read. It’s well written, well paced, super short, and adorably cute, so if you like a little music and heap of sugar in your romance, give this one a try.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

Purchase: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

Romance is Bliss Event with Aubrie Dionne

Meet Bliss author, Aubrie Dionne.

Aubrie Dionne is an author and flutist in New England. Her writings have appeared in Mindflights, Niteblade, Silver Blade, Emerald Tales, Hazard Cat, Moon Drenched Fables, A Fly in Amber, and Aurora Wolf. Her books are published by Entangled Publishing, Lyrical Press, and Gypsy Shadow Publishing. She recently signed her YA sci fi novel with Inkspell Publishing titled: Colonization: Paradise Reclaimed, which will release in October 2012. When she's not writing, Aubrie teaches flute and plays in orchestras. She's a big Star Trek TNG fan, as well as Star Wars and Serenity.

Places to find Aubrie:

| Site | Twitter |

ARC Review: Just for the Summer by Jenna Rutland

When I started reading Jenna Rutland’s JUST FOR THE SUMMER—the first book in the Lake Bliss series for Entangled’s Bliss imprint—I was expecting another heartwarming, feel-good, quick read high on sweetness and low on heat. What I discovered was a surprisingly satisfying emotionally-charged story with the right amount of sweetness to keep it awww-inducing but enough spice to set it apart from other sweet contemporaries. And despite the short length and a premise underlain by too much serendipity, I found myself devouring the book and wanting to know how the HEA would turn out.

Heroine Dani Sullivan is at a crossroads in her life, recovering from the death of the mother she was very close to and whom she took time away from her job as a nurse to care for. She’s in idyllic small-town Lake Bliss, Michigan for the summer to work on her cookbook and get her head back in the game. And to assure herself that the son she conceived in a cruel twist of fate and gave up for adoption 8 years prior is happy and loved. Enter Matt Reagan, unwitting divorced dad to Dani’s son Sam with entirely too much on his plate being the new town sheriff and a single dad. In a clever twist on the macho law enforcement hero stereotype, Matt is ridiculously attractive and fit but hearth and home to the core—and, fresh off a bad marriage to a woman who lied about her interest in children, he’s sworn to himself to never be duped again or have something temporary. Matt doesn’t want a woman, he wants a wife and a mother to his son… but one look at the sassy, sexy Ms. Sullivan, and his libido returns with a vengeance. A (ridiculously convenient, but check your scepticism and just go with it) life-threatening medical condition for Sam gives Dani the perfect in as a nurse to get close to her son… despite the fact that she’d promised herself she just wanted to see that he was happy and not get involved in his life. Throw in some scorching sexual attraction (and deliciously fun and flirty dialogue), the inevitable falling in love, a pinch of drama and a dash of asshattery from Matt after Dani’s big reveal, and a delightful small-town community and you’ve got the plot of any old small-town contemporary. But what really makes JUST FOR THE SUMMER work—even in 131 pages!!—is the characters.

I really liked Dani and the journey of inner peace and self-forgiveness that she’s on. She was put in a tough position at age 18 and forced to make a very difficult—but ultimately correct—decision, one that many people around her disapproved of. She’s lived with the doubt about whether she made the right choice for 8 years and wants to assure herself that her son is happy and cared for so she can finally be at peace with it… even if seeing him makes her yearn for all she gave up. She’s also burdened by the guilt of approaching Sam and Matt under false pretenses—especially with the store Matt sets by the truth—but is afraid to come clean because she knows she’ll lose them both. I haven’t been in her shoes, but her struggle felt real and deep, and her emotional growth surprisingly complete but not rushed given the short length and time frame of the story. I also really enjoyed her wit and humour: the way she flirted and bantered with Matt was priceless. Matt is a truly delightful hero: he’s hot, he’s compassionate, he hates asking for help but is man enough to do it anyway, he’s got quite the mouth on him, and he’d do anything for his son. Except for his momentary lapse into wankerdom when Dani finally ‘fesses up, he’s absolutely swoon-worthy… and he makes up for being a tosser in a big way at the end. You just can’t help rooting for the two of them and their chance to believe in a HEA again!

Overall, JUST FOR THE SUMMER is a great beach read: unabashedly romantic without being (excessively) saccharine and deeply emotional. It deals with some hard-hitting issues like sexual assault and adoption, which are perfectly balanced by the upbeat writing to leave you satisfied and happy. And, for those of us who like a little more spice than the usual sweet contemporary, there’s plenty of foreplay (beyond the sexy banter) to make up for the off-page main event. I can’t wait to return to Lake Bliss in the future!

**ARC provided by Publisher**

Purchase: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo |

Romance is Bliss Event with Jenna Rutland

Meet Bliss author, Jenna Rutland.

Jenna Rutland lives in a small Michigan community with her husband, son, and senior cat. While her days are spent working as a medical transcriptionist, her nights are filled writing contemporary romance—stories of love, laughter and happily ever after. Guess which one is more fun?

She is a member of RWA and her local group, Maumee Valley RWA. After several years on the board, she now chairs the MVRWA annual Brainstorming weekend as well as acts as food coordinator for several other events.

Jenna enjoys spending time with her family and has recently been given the awesome title of grandmother! She also gardens and loves the challenge of a new recipe.

Places to find Jenna:

| Site | Facebook | Twitter |