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Saturday, October 15, 2011

Review: Seven Nights by Jess Michaels


I just finished Seven Nights and I loved it. I could not put it down and read it in one sitting. I just love second-chance at love stories and this one was really good.

Leah Prescott is a travel writer who has been sent to Escapades, a resort that specializes in creating romantic fantasies for couples. When she arrives she is surprised to see that the resorts owner is none other than her ex fiance Sean. Sean has spent the last five years since Leah left him trying to orchestrate a way to get her back. He finally got her to his island for a week and he's going to show her exactly what she's been missing and he's definitely not going to let her walk away from him again.

I just loved this couple together. They were just hot, hot, hot!

Leah is very passionate about her work and ever since she left Sean, has devoted herself to nothing else. She is still not over Sean, but she definitely doesn't want to get hurt by him again. Leah tries very hard not to succumb to the feelings Sean brings out in her.

From the first scene of the book we see that Sean is still head over heels for Leah and will try anything to win her back. He took the time to create all of these elaborate fantasies in a way to woo her. I really liked Sean, and I loved that he's just so honest about his feelings and motives. He wants Leah back, there's no question about it and he will try everything to make it happen.

Watching these two come together was explosive. Both are still harboring so many strong feelings from their past that everything is just so raw with emotions. I liked that it wasn't just sex between them, it was something so much more.



RATING:

250 Follower Giveaway

Hey you guys! So you all truly rock my world and I can't believe I've reached 250 followers. I can't thank you all enough. I am so beyond grateful and so thankful that you all continue to visit. As a "Thank-You" for being awesome I would like to hold a special giveaway. Take a look at what's up for grabs. I tried to offer up a little something for everyone's tastes.




Friday, October 14, 2011

Guest Post with Author Joan Swan and Giveaway

Today I am happy to welcome Debut author Joan Swan to the blog. Joan is the author of Fever and is scheduled to release at the end of February and I can't wait. This book looks hot, hot, hot. So everyone please help me in welcoming the lovely Joan Swan to the blog. 

Hey everyone!

Danielle, thanks so much for inviting me over here to hang with you and your...would they be chickadees?

Some of you may already know me pretty well (condolences), but for those I’m meeting for the first time, don’t believe anything those others tell you. Unless its good stuff, then they’re right on the money.

I’m the debut author of FEVER, a paranormal romantic suspense, which releases this spring from Kensington Brava. I’m very excited about this milestone, more so with each passing week.

Someone recently commented on one of my blogs that getting a book published is such a long process it must be a lot having a baby. I can’t quite equate the two, but then my babies were born so long ago, that could simply be memory problems. I do have to say one part of the two journeys that are similar is how after the fact you look at your results and say, “That wasn’t so bad. Look how beautiful this is. I hardly remember all the pain and suffering and worry and pain and suffering and…”

Of course, I’m in the midst of writing another novel, so the process turns over and over again, but for any one particular book, I often can’t remember the day-to-day trials and tribulations. Just as with pregnancy you don’t remember every back ache, every cramp that led to fleeting fear, every morning spent kneeling at the toilet – well, okay, maybe you do, but just go with me here – as an author, I don’t remember every revision, every plot block, every rejection letter – okay, maybe I do remember the rejection letters. (I mean, there were so many.) Over time, the hardships seem to congeal into that familiar burden you may hear voiced when two or more authors get together, the same way mothers lament about pregnancy and tell endless stories about childbirth.

Yep, it’s all fun and games until someone turns up pregnant…or in my case, turns up with a twisted plot and characters that won’t leave me the hell alone.

Honestly, throughout the lengthy process, now going on two years from the time I signed with my agent, I have to say that to date, this – being out here and actually connecting with readers who are excited about FEVER’s release – is the best part of the trip. The other highs of the journey, signing with my agent, selling to my editor, and so many more, have been fabulous. But this is different. And very hard to explain. If I was to bring the analogy back around, it would be a little like looking at your new baby, thinking she is the most beautiful thing on earth, but fearing that when you bring her out into the world, others may not quite think she’s all that. And when you bring her into the grocery store for the first time, strangers’ exclamations of “Isn’t she beautiful?” and “What a sweet baby”, and “Precious”, are balms to a nervous soul.

Truly, I don’t think of my books as my babies. It really is just an analogy. I’ve worked in one creative capacity or another for decades and have long since learned to separate myself from my work after it is complete. I take the lessons I’ve learned from crafting the end result, hopefully grow and improve and move on to the next project with the intention of pushing the envelope.

So, this is a very long way of illustrating (or at least trying to) how much you, as readers, mean to us little people debut authors. I’ve gained more fluttery thrills from your simplest accolade than almost any other experience during the trip. You are that powerful. And deeply appreciated.

What are you deeply appreciative for?

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Follow Friday #14

Feature and Follow Friday is a blog hop put together by two hosts:  Parajunkee and Alison Can Read as a way to help bloggers become aware of other blogs and bloggers. It's a great way to make new blogger friends.


Q. If you could have characters from a particular book meet and form an epic storyline with characters from a particular TV series, which would you choose and why?


Hmm...I think if I could mash up Buffy the Vampire Slayer with either Twilight or The Black Dagger Brotherhood. I think that would make for a very interesting combo. Could you imagine Buffy kicking the ass of the Volturi or her trying to get along with the sexy warriors of the BDB? That would be epic! 

What is your choice? Feel free to share.    


Just follow these simple rules to join in on the fun:
  1. (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host {Parajunkee Alison Can Read} and any one else you want to follow on the list.
  2. (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers- Life Between Pages & Confuzzled Books
  3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing on Alison Can Read or  Parajunkee's blog.
  4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
  5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
  6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers.
Thanks for stopping by. =)

Behind the Blogger: Kim from SOS Aloha and Giveaway

Welcome to Behind the Blogger. Behind the Blogger is a feature where I interview and get to know fellow bloggers from different blogs in the blogosphere.

Today's guest is Kim from SOS Aloha. If you haven't heard of this blog before it is amazing! Kim is super nice and I always love learning all of the interesting facts that Kim puts on her blog. You should definitely check it out if you haven't before.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Guest Post with Author Laurie London and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome the wonderful Laurie London to the blog. Laurie is made up of awesome and if you haven't read her Sweetblood series, you are definitely missing out. It is definitely my new favorite series and you can see my reviews for it here. I can't wait to read her novella featured in A Vampire For Christmas along with all of the others featured in it. So please everyone give a warm welcome to the awesome Laurie London!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Coming Soon-250 Follower Giveaway

Hey everyone. So I'm getting ever so close to 250 followers which I can hardly believe. I can't thank you all enough for taking the time to stop by my blog. It means the world to me that I could get even 10 followers, let alone 250! So, to celebrate I want to do a giveaway. I still have lots of books and goodies that I got from Authors After Dark along with lots of books I've accumulated since that I want to give to you all. So I hope you are all excited because here are some of the goodies I'll be giving away.

One Follower will win the set of books from Leigh Michaels
ARC Copy
Signed by Author


I will also be giving out a bag of swag to one follower. So that means there will be 10, count em' 10 different winners. So make sure to spread the word!

               

According To Plan Winner


Congratulations to:

Melanie A 
on winning a eBook copy of According To Plan by Madison J. Edwards

Winner has been contacted via email. Thank you to everyone that participated. =) 

Basket Full of $3.99 eBook Treats!


To celebrate the Halloween, Pocket is having a major sale on all of these paranormal romance eBooks. From now until November 1st, you can purchase any of these eBooks for just $3.99. So make sure to pick up some of these great books. 

Marked by Moonlight.jpgAwaken Me Darkly.jpgHow to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf.jpgTempting the Highlander.jpg
Blood TrinityI Burn For You.jpgEarl of Darkness.jpgMoonlight Warrior.jpg
Masked by Moonlight.jpgA Hunger Like No Other.jpgEnemy Lover.jpgTempt me with Darkness.jpg


Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband.jpgDark Stranger.jpgDark Protector.jpgRaziel.jpgDark Warrior Unleashed.jpgHush.jpg






Guest Post with Author Rebecca Royce

Today I would like to welcome back to the blog author Rebecca Royce. Rebecca is currently on tour promoting the release of her book Eye Contact. So please give a warm welcome to Rebecca.

So, recently, a reader disliked a book I published. She didn't just not like it--she really didn't like it. This isn't the first time this has happened. I think the longer you are writing the more likely this is to happen. When I read reviews of New York Times Bestselling Authors' books I find that they have very mixed reviews.

I decided to move on.

But this readers voice has been staying in my head. She didn't like the end of the last book. She really thought it should have ended an entirely different way. Somehow this random person who I do not know has became the voice in the back of my mind. She is in there now. I keep thinking as I write--will she like the way this book is plotted?

How did this happen? I can't write a book under these circumstances. Every chapter I write in this work in progress, I manage to exorcise her a little bit more from my subconscious and the writing is becoming easier.

Wow. I learned a lesson. I will stay off Goodreads!


The Conditioned, Book one
Thirty years ago, after the breakdown of an oil negotiation, the President of the United States decided that all people born with unusual abilities, which he would now refer to as “the condition”, would be locked away from the general public where they couldn't harm others. Parents and loved ones of these people, most of whom were children, were forced to turn them in upon penalty of death. Formed to keep the institutions secure, the Committee for the Protection of a Free Society now rules these institutions with an iron fist.


The granddaughter of one the Committee members, Addison Wade has lived her life wary of the institutions and all they represent. A woman of secrets, she is forced to turn to Safe Dawn, one of the facilities designed to hold conditioned people, when her nephew is kidnapped and, despite her best efforts, cannot be recovered. She knows the last thing anyone in 'Safe Dawn' will want to do is to help a Wade with any problems, but she is desperate and out of options.


Spencer Lewis is famous for being the premier conditioned ‘locator.’ There's no one he can't find and he has a soft spot for missing children. But, Spencer has been through a trauma and locating Jeremy Wade may be dangerous both to himself and to those around him. In addition, he takes one look at ice cold Addison Wade and wants nothing more than to knock her down a peg. Never having turned down an opportunity to help a child, he reluctantly agrees to help recover Jeremy.


In a world where nothing is as it seems and every person they encounter has his own agenda, Addison and Spencer will find that the only people they can trust are each other. But how can anyone fall in love living in a world that wants you dead just for being born?
Places to purchase:

**Author Info**

As a teenager, I would hide in my room to read my favorite romance novels when I was supposed to be doing my homework. I hope, these days, that my parents think it was worth it.

I am a mother of three adorable boys and I am fortunate to be married to my best friend. We live in northern New Jersey and try not to freeze too badly during the winter months.

I am in love with science fiction, fantasy, and the paranormal and try to use all of these elements in my writing. I've been told I'm a little bloodthirsty so I hope that when you read my work you'll enjoy the action packed ride that always ends in romance. I love to write series because I love to see characters develop over time and it always makes me happy to see my favorite characters make guest appearances in other books.

In my world anything is possible, anything can happen, and you should suspect that it will.
Places to find Rebecca:
Site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Google + | Email

Monday, October 10, 2011

ARC Review: Bad Boys Do by Victoria Dahl

Oh how I loved this book! It was so good and I honestly couldn't put it down. I am completely in love with the sexy kilt wearing Jamie Donovan, and I adored him and Olivia together.

When we were first introduced to Jamie in Good Girls Don't, we met someone who's the family bad boy and seems as if he doesn't really want to grow up and accept any responsibilities. That was definitely not the case in Bad Boys Do. Here we see sexy and charming Jamie trying to atone for all of his past indiscretions. He knows that in the eyes of his family, he's just a screw-up that can't do anything right and Jamie hates that they think that. Jamie has a lot of ideas for upgrades and remodeling at the Brewery and just wants to be more than the charming guy that wears a kilt and everyone flirts with. So Jamie starts taking restaurant developing classes at the local university in the hopes they will finally take him seriously and start letting him take on more responsibilities.

Olivia Bishop is still adjusting to life as a divorcee after a year of being separated from her cheating ex-husband, Victor. At the persistence of her friend Gwen, Olivia agrees to attend a book club meeting at the local brewery where the woman show up to ogle and flirt with hottie bartender Jamie Donovan. Olivia is immediately attracted to Jamie but she seems him as nothing more than a younger guy who probably sleeps around with lots of different women and parties too much. Imagine her surprise when she gets to her class the next day and sees Jamie as one of her students.

Jamie is attracted to Olivia and likes that she is smart and intelligent and looks so sexy in her cardigans and glasses and really wants to date her. Olivia, being a few years older is very hesitant and really doesn't know what to expect from Jamie. She can't deny that she is attracted to him in a sexual way and that they have some serious chemistry. They both begin to teach each other the things they specialize in. Olivia, is helping Jamie put together a portfolio for the remodeling of the Brewery and Jamie is helping Olivia to be more fun.

Watching these two on their adventures was so much fun. They are both so hot together. We were able to see that yes, Jamie is charming and fun to be around, but that there is so much more to him. He is still trying to deal with a lot of mistakes from his past and it nearly broke my heart to see how everyone continued to treat him as the screw-up. I was rooting for him from page one.

Olivia was really refreshing to read about. She has so many emotions and it was great fun watching her learn to live and have fun. Her and Jamie were seriously way hot together and I found myself fanning my face more than once after reading one of their encounters. Especially the scene with the mirror.

I honestly couldn't put this book down. It was so good and I just wish it was longer. I really wanted to see more of Olivia and Jamie. They really were so cute together. As for the next book in the series Real Men Will, I can't wait to read Eric's story. I'm kind of on the fence with him and not sure what to expect. He was kind of a jackass towards Jamie so I really want to see how he redeems himself in my eyes.

**ARC copy provided by Netgalley**

RATING:



Sunday, October 9, 2011

Interview with Author Virna DePaul and Giveaway

Today I am happy and excited to have author Virna DePaul. Virna DePaul is the author of the amazing Para Ops series as well as the author of the Romanctic Suspense novel Dangerous To Her. Virna was kind enough to let me ask her some questions and I'm excited to share them with you all. 

First off, can you tell us a bit about you?
Thanks for having me here, Danielle. I appreciate it. I’m a mother of three boys, a former criminal prosecutor, and a huge Broadway musical fan. I’m pretty quiet and shy, but I have a lot of opinions and passion, too. 
Did you always want to be a writer? 
I always admired novelists but never imagined I could be one. The kind of writing I did was very academic or legal. But when I was looking for a career change, I knew I wanted to do something creative. I wrote my first story and was hooked. 

You actually write books in quite a few genres, do you have a favorite genre you like to write? 
I really enjoy paranormal romance because my imagination can run wild. On the other hand, contemporary romantic suspense appeals to me because I have to craft an engaging, thrilling, emotional story within the confines of reality. These are my two favorite genres to write.