Review: Ghostwriter by Lissa Bryan

Title: Ghostwriter
Author: Lissa Bryan
Published: October 11th 2012, by The Writer's Coffee Shop
Length: 213 pages
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Reviewer: Cerridwen ( follow me on Goodreads!)

After being laid off from the newspaper where she worked as a
journalist, and losing her boyfriend in rapid succession, Sara Howell is looking to downsize before her dwindling savings run out. Things are finally starting to look up when she lands a job ghostwriting the biography of a popular politician and rents an isolated island house which turns out to have once been the home of her favorite author, Seth Fortner, who mysteriously disappeared in 1925.

But when strange things start happening, as objects break, or go missing, and terrifying visions appear, Sara begins to wonder if Seth ever left, or if she is losing her mind.

What happened to Seth is a secret closely guarded by the family to this day, a family that seems to exist under a terrible curse. Through an old trunk of letters she discovers in the attic, Sara unravels the mystery and becomes caught up in a tale of greed, lost love and the horrors of WWI.

When Sara realizes she is not going crazy and that Seth Fortner’s spirit still haunts her new home on the isolated island, she begins to draw him out of his shell bit by bit. She will discover what happened to the idealistic young writer who went to the battlefields of France to save lives, and to his beautiful bride to destroy the love between them, and what led Seth to make a terrible choice which would have consequences
that would echo for generations.

They gradually fall in love in their world of dreams, dreams which swiftly become more attractive than reality, as Sara learns from a ghost how to truly live. Will she be the one to break the “Fortner Curse” by helping Seth conquer his demons, and heal both of their hearts in the process?

Celebrating Ground Hog Day

The Day the Penis asked for a Raise

I, the Penis, hereby request a raise in salary for the following reasons:

I do physical labor.


I work at great depths.


I plunge headfirst into everything I do.


I do not get weekends or public holidays off.


I work in a damp environment.


I work in a dark workplace that has poor ventilation.


I work in high temperatures.


My work exposes me to contagious diseases.


Sincerely,

P. Niss

        ~~~~~~~~

The Response

Dear P. Niss:


Book promo giveaway, The Dark Heroine Author: Abigail Gibbs

Title: The Dark Heroine
Author: Abigail Gibbs
Genre: New Adult

Book Description:

One moment can change your life forever. . . .

A chance encounter on a darkened street draws Violet Lee into a world beyond her wildest imaginings—a timeless place of vast elegance and immeasurable wealth, of beautiful mansions and lavish parties, where a decadent group of vampires lives for pleasure alone. A place from which there is no escape . . . no matter how hard Violet tries.

Because all the riches in the world can't mask the darkness that lies beneath the gilded surface, embodied in the charismatic but dangerous Kaspar Varn.

Violet and Kaspar surrender to a passion that transcends their separate worlds—but it's a passion that comes at a price.

Blurb

“Abigail Gibbs will make you fall in love with vampires all over again....but look out: these vampires will bite.”--Meg Cabot, bestselling author ofInsatiable and The Princess Diaries

Author Bio

Abigail Gibbs was born and raised in deepest, darkest Devon, England. She is studying for a B.A. in English at the University of Oxford and considers herself a professional student, as the real world has yet to catch up with her. Her greatest fear is blood and she is a great advocate of vegetarianism, which logically led to the writing of her first novel, Dinner with a Vampire. She splits her time between her studies, stories, and family, and uses coffee to survive all three.

The giveaway should be open to only US entries, and we’ll be giving away 10 galleys of the book. People should be able to earn extra entries by liking Abigail’s Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/AbigailGibbs.Canse12) or by tweeting about the giveaway and including the author’s handle (@AuthorAbigailG).

Here is the link to the book’s page on the HarperCollins website: http://www.harpercollins.com/books/The-Dark-Heroine-Abigail-Gibbs

Demon Hunting in a Dive Bar by Lexi George

Title: Demon Hunting in a Dive Bar
Author: Lexi George
Source: Self Purchase
Genre: Paranormal Romance/touch of Urban Fantasy
Length: Novel - 320 pgs
Reviewed by Douglas C. Meeks

Rebekah “Beck” Damian runs a demonoid bar where everyone’s welcome—even a reformed flesheater who’s strictly vegetarian, a musical ghost who’s looking for a piano bar, and a feline harbinger of doom named Wampus Kitty who’s scaring the customers. So when a big strapping demon-hunter walks into the bar, Beck knows it’s not the end of the world. She’ll treat him like any other customer.

If only she could. Conall Dalvahni is the toughest, meanest, sexiest demon-hunter Beck’s ever seen—and she’s finding it hard to hide her attraction. As far as Conall’s concerned, the feeling is mutual. But how can he trust a beautiful half-demon babe like Beck—when her demonic friends have the perfect weapon to destroy every hunter on earth?

Review of Dirty Laundry by Heidi Cullinan

Title: Dirty Laundry
Series:Tucker Springs (#3)
Author: Heidi Cullinan
Source: NetGalley
Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance
Length: Novel 265 pgs.
Reviewed by: KindleRomance

The course of true love doesn't always run clean. But sometimes getting dirty is half the fun.

Entomology grad student Adam Ellery meets Denver Rogers, a muscle-bound hunk of sexy, when Denver effortlessly dispatches the drunken frat boys harassing Adam at the Tucker Springs laundromat. Thanking him turns into flirting, and then, much to Adam’s delight, hot sex over the laundry table.

Though Denver’s job as a bouncer at a gay bar means he gets his pick of geek-sexy college twinks, he can’t get Adam out of his head. Adam seems to need the same rough play Denver does, and it’s damn hard to say no to such a perfect fit.

 Trouble is, Adam isn’t just shy: he has obsessive compulsive disorder and clinical anxiety, conditions which have ruined past relationships. And while Denver might be able to bench-press a pile of grad students, he comes from a history of abuse and is terrified of getting his GED. Neither Denver nor Adam want to face their dirty laundry, but to stay together, they’re going to have to come clean. This title is part of the Tucker Springs universe.

Review: Heart of Atlantis (Warriors of Poseidon #8) by Alyssa Day

Heart of Atlantis (Warriors of Poseidon #8)

Alyssa Day

http://www.alyssaday.com/

Kindle Edition, 336 pages

Published December 4th 2012 by Berkley

ASIN:  B005GSZIB2

Genre:  Paranormal Romance / Fantasy / Erotic

Source:  PLEASURE READ
Reviewer:  Ronda

As a war wages between the immortals of Atlantis and those of the vampire realm, a Poseidon warrior fights to save his world—and the woman he loves. And no risk is too great.

The desires of a high priest.

Alaric, Poseidon’s High Priest, has made a vow to Quinn, the woman he loves and the leader of the Resistance: to save her friend Jack before his last bit of humanity has been drained. Should Alaric succeed, there’s one intimate danger: he may lose Quinn to the love of the man whose life he saved. But damn Atlantis to the nine hells, he’s willing to put Quinn’s wishes first, regardless of the consequences.

The warning of a threat reborn.

The final jewel of Poseidon’s trident has turned up in the hands of mysterious Ptolemy Reborn, who claims to be descended from Atlantean royalty. He’s about to reveal to the world that Atlantis is real, positioning himself as king. But this magical terrorist is bent on chaos. The only warrior who can stop him is following his own path, driven by the even more powerful force of love. Atlantean powers over the sea could prove just as cataclysmic—for Quinn’s love, Alaric might drown the entire world.

ARC Review The Geek Girl and the Scandalous Earl by Gina Lamm

The Geek Girl and the Scandalous Earl
Author: Gina Lamm
Source: Netgalley
Genre: Comedy/Historical Romance with a touch of magic
Length: Novel (352pgs)
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Reviewed by: CaroleDee

THE STAKES HAVE NEVER BEEN HIGHER…

An avid gamer, Jamie Marten loves to escape into online adventure. But when she falls through an antique mirror into a lavish bedchamber—200 years in the past!—she realizes she may have escaped a little too far.

Micah Axelby, Earl of Dunnington, has just kicked one mistress out of his bed, and isn’t looking to fill it with another—least of all this sassy, nearly naked girl who claims to be from the future. Yet something about her is undeniably enticing…

Jamie and Micah are worlds apart. He’s a peer of the realm. She can barely make rent. She’s wi-fi. He’s horse-drawn. But soon the pair will do anything to avoid a Game Over

Guest author Kristine Overbook

Thank you for the opportunity to share an excerpt of my paranormal romance Creatures of the Moon with you.

When detective Lydia Davis apprehends the serial killer she’s been tracking for months, she decides to relax with a camping trip. But after being attacked in the wild, she starts to change in a way that only Ryan Williams - a reporter who's far more than he seems - can understand.

Using his job to help him hunt for the feral killer, Ryan needs to help Lydia contain her budding urges through the first cycle of the full moon...or the curse will consume her soul. But how can he help her without revealing his own secret?

The following scene shows Lydia and Ryan just before an attempt to bait the serial killer they are chasing into the open:

          “Over the last three months, twenty-two bodies have been attributed to the Butcher,” she called to Ryan through the bathroom door. “Fifteen of those were hookers or college girls cruising the bar scene. The other seven were homeless men. We set Jacobs up as a homeless man in the park.” She paused to apply lipstick.

          “And we know how that turned out,” came Ryan’s reply.

Review: Caressed by Night by Amanda J. Greene

Title: Caressed by Night (Rulers of Darkness #2)
Author: Amanda J. Greene
Source: Author request
Genre: Paranormal romacne
Length: 393 pages
Reviewed by: Twigs

Dimitri Arsov, the last remaining pure vampire, was thought to be dead for the past four hundreds years. Now, he is back and has a score to settle with the traitor that had tried to kill him centuries ago. But as he waits for his prey to blindly step into his carefully laid trap, his overwhelming hunger for blood is triggered when he saves a beautiful art historian.

Kerstyn Ingmar’s life was normal and straight up boring until the night she is rescued by the dangerously sexy, powerfully mesmerizing, Dimitri. Unable to resist his diamond blue eyes and intense kisses, she is drawn into his world of darkness and closer to her impending doom.

While their desire consumes them, Dimitri is haunted by images of a bloody and deadly future. As his enemies draw near, he must find a way to save his mate from her destiny before fate destroys them both.

Review: Caressed by Moonlight by Amanda J. Greene

Title: Caressed by Moonlight (Rulers of Darkness #1)
Author: Amanda J. Greene
Source: Author request
Genre: Historal, paranromal romance
Length: 272 pages
Reviewed by: Twigs

Dorian Vlakhos is no ordinary aristocrat. He is a vampire king, who will do anything to save his clan from complete annihilation, before an ancient curse can claim his immortal life.

Penniless and orphaned, Victoria Kingston has nothing to bring to a marriage, yet she must shackle an unsuspecting gentleman into marriage by the end of the month or forfeit her rights as guardian of her younger sister. With the help of her dearest friend, Victoria begins her hunt, and vows to stay far away from the dark, mysterious, Prince Vlakhos.

After meeting the beautifully innocent Miss Kingston, Dorian had to have her. He would do absolutely anything to make Victoria his. One sweet stolen kiss would bring them together while a force, more powerful than any vampire would bind them for all eternity. But treachery, war, and death rule Dorian’s dark world and Victoria would be fortunate to survive.

Authors, how does your website stand up to readers?

Authors, how does your website stand up to readers?

I am a She wolf pack leader on a mission: My mission is to hunt down any paranormal romance authors and make sure their website or blog are up to the wolf pack codes. I feel as a paranormal romance review blogger I need to make sure my readers are able to find authors’ websites up to date and in true working order. My goal isn’t to tear anyone down, I want to make authors aware that their websites are very important to all readers, and to make them aware the poor state of their internet reach could be losing them money.

In doing this we all have to remember authors are very busy. Some work outside of the home, so as long as the website is up to date, all is well. If the author has a website and a blog, the blog doesn’t have to be updated each week. I would consider once a month a good rule here. 

Whose site am I visiting today? Eve Langlais  

Is the site up to date with current release books? Yes

Guest author Shelly Holt

Please welcome author Shelly Holt 

Explicit or descriptive, is less more?

Tasting Fire is not your average paranormal, shape-shifting, romance.  In my story, twenty-thousand years ago, a heat loving bacteria that lives only in hot springs, infected primitive nomads in many parts of the world.  The bacteria when ingested orally allows the infected individual with just the right genetic makeup to add a secondary DNA sequence to their own genetic code.  Over the course of thousands of years this little bug has given rise to the many different legends of shape-shifting that have evolved on nearly every continent. Tasting Fire is the story of how one species in particular, the Pari of central Asia, fought to stay hidden and what happens when they are revealed to the world.

When I sat down to write my first paranormal romance titled Tasting Fire, back in the beginning of the year, I had a lot of plot issues to consider.  Among them was what type of verbiage to use in describing the sexual activity taking place in the story.  As this was my debut novel, I was unsure which way to go.  I needed the love scenes to read realistically and to create those scenes, I needed to be comfortable with the language.

I remember when I sat down to write that first love scene in the book, I was so embarrassed that I even picked up my cats who usually are my constant writing buddies and unceremoniously dumped them in the hallway outside my office and closed the door.  Three hours later, I had on my hard drive what must have been the worst love scene known to man (or woman).  All I can say is thank goodness for rewrites! 

I remember vividly as I sat in front of my computer trying to decide how to write that first scene, I wondered how I should approach it.  My final decision was to write in the same manner as I preferred to read romance novels myself.  When I read an erotic romance, I personally prefer descriptive terms as opposed to more explicit language.  As a reader, I have found to be drawn more into the scene if the language is more descriptive than graphic.  One very strong example of that is the John Norman, Gor saga.  The first Gor novel was written in 1966 and the series has stayed popular ever since.  John Norman would go on to write 32 books in the series.  I don't recall any of the ones I've read having graphic language and yet the books are extraordinarily erotic due to themes of dominant males and submissive females.  Personally, I think they are more erotic due to their lack of graphic terms. I'm a big believer in less is more in literature.

Review of Something New Under the Sun (Falling Sky, #2)

Title: Something New Under the Sun
Series: Falling Sky #2
Authors: L.A. Witt
Source: NetGalley
Review Genre: M/M Futuristic Erotica
Length: Novel, 212 pgs
Reviewed by: KindleRomance

Liam Lansing is heir to a prominent family of bio-modified vampires. That is, until he chooses the wrong lover and is cast down to the Gutter to scrape for his life. 

Daniel Harding is heir to Cybernetix and a prince of the corporate Sky. That is, until his ideology drives his father to put a price on his head, forcing him into the Gutter. 

But Daniel and Liam won’t vanish meekly into the smog. Together, they plan to rip open the hidden corruption that runs the Sky—for vengeance, for justice, and for hope. They strike against the corporations in a daring raid. When everything goes wrong, Daniel must betray his core beliefs to save the man he loves and protect his dangerous secret. Only through courage in the face of death—or worse—might he and Liam change the world they live in and create something new under the sun.

Sister Sites

I'm the director of the Indie Romance Convention. Your more then welcome to visit our website or blog at anytime. 

Cover Reveals is our sister site. Wild About Bones post lots of hot covers with excerpts and trailers. Checkout her latest covers by Clicking here 

Cover Reveal and Inspiration Submissions

We offer two different types of cover promotions.  For new books (upcoming releases or new within the past month) we offer cover reveals.  For any release (new, old, re-release) we offer cover inspirations. 

Cover Inspirations

A great way for the author to showcase the beautiful images that surround their work and tell the reader a little about why they chose that particular image or to include a short excerpt of the scene that inspired the image.  A post that can still showcase all the pretties - I love my covers - and yes I do at times judge a book by them.  But also, as reader, I love knowing why an author chose a particular name, image, or title in their book.  This is a great way for authors to keep their current readers engaged between books, introduce a new book, and entice new readers as well.

If you're wondering just what a post like this looks like, check out some of our past Cover Inspiration posts HERE.

If you are interested in doing a cover reveal or cover inspiration post, fill out the appropriate form below and email any media files/images to jasmyn[dot]bitten[at]gmail[dot]com.  Please title your email as Cover for <book title>.

Cover Reveal Submission Form
Cover Inspiration Submission Form

Books we accept
Any Romance genre - this does not include love stories or women's fiction.  You must have a happily ever after.
Novels and novellas.
New York Press, Small Press and Indie Press

Books we do not accept
No Teen or Young Adult
No books under 14,000 words (cover reveal only)

Bitten by Romance reserves the right to not post any submissions that do not meet these guidelines.

Book Trailer Submission

Have a book trailer you'd like to promote? If so, Cerridwen is now offering cover reveals here on the blog. 

Trailers we accept:

*Paranormal Romance and Paranormal Erotic Romance.

*Novels and novellas.

*New York Press, Small Press and Indie Press

Trailers we do not accept

*No Teen, YA or New Adult accepted.

*No books under 14,000 words.

If you'd like to submit your book trailer please email Cerridwen at bittenbyparanormalstaff(@)gmail(.)com. Also make sure you add book trailer in the subject so she can find it quick.

About Us

Bitten by Romance is formerly known as Bitten by Paranormal Romance. We are now a hobby blog that will only promote authors and other hobbies that we love.

You can read more about the retired staff by clicking here. 

We no longer accept book review request. We review from Netgalley and our own personal book collection. 

Below you will find both our old rating from Bitten by Paranormal Romance and our new ratings. You can find our new ratings on the sidebar. 

We have a rating system for the story content and sexual content in the books.

Story Content ratings:

Old system

An alpha howl- Don’t even think about taking my book, or I’ll send out our She-wolf leader to give you nightmares for months over it. It’s a keeper!

A pack howl- I will send out the wolf pack to take you down if you take this book away because I might read it again.

One good howl- This one is tricky. The book has several issues, yet it still has something to howl about and even if it we didn’t like it so much, others may.

A small howl- Eh, we could put it down and forget about it.

Nothing to howl about- The whole wolf pack buried the book, so it will never be found again.

Sexual Content ratings:

Old System 

This is an adult book blog, so odds are every book will have sex in it. This is the best way to rate them.

Flirt- At least one sex scene. Please do take into consideration if the reviewer didn’t care for the book the sexual connection could be really bad, but this will be stated by the reviewer in the review.

Steamy- A few sex scenes

Hot- Sex, oral sex and maybe mention of anal play. This is where you find most of your paranormal romance books

Four Alarm Fire- Taboo sex such as GBLT, BDSM, Ménage and/or anal sex.  Most erotic romance books will fit this rating. Also if the book is just full of sex we will sometimes label them here because we do take in consideration some people don’t like chapters and chapters of sex, the reviewer will make this statement in the review. 

Sponsors

Thank you to our 2012 sponsors! 

Victoria Dannan
Eve Langlais
Felicity Heaton
Claudy Conn
Brent Davis
Danielle Blanchard
Celia Kyle 
Miranda Sork
Bella Media Mangement
Caris Roane
H.D. Thompson
Caridad Pineiro
Ashlynne Laynne
Shannon Albright 
Natalie-Nicole Bates 
Ann Mayburn
EM Petorva 

Thank you to our 2013 sponsors
Victoria Dannan
Eve Langlais
Celia Kyle 
V.S. Nelson 
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Deborah Smith 
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Deborah Court 
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Ann Cmipel
Nevermore Publicity 
Kate Bloomfield 
Dawn White 

Review: The Selkie by Rosanna Leo

The Selkie

Rosanna Leo

http://www.rosannaleo.blogspot.com

Pages 167

Amazon   

Publisher: Liquid Silver Books (September 2, 2012)

ASIN: B0095M6R7O

Genre: Fantasy / Paranormal Romance / Erotic

Pleasure Read

This was supposed to be her year. However, after losing her job and discovering her fiancé cheating, Maggie Collins has her doubts. When her grandmother dies, she hits rock bottom. Maggie travels to her grandmother’s home in Orkney, Scotland to sort through her gran’s things, only to discover the old woman has left her a seal pelt as her inheritance. She also learns that others are after the pelt.

To add to her frustration, Maggie’s dreams are filled with luscious images of a long-haired man, images that draw her to the magical beaches in Orkney. Although she’s lost her trust in men, this dream man inspires her with a lust she’s never known before.

Calan Kirk has also been dreaming. Dreaming of Maggie, the mortal woman who arouses him as no other woman ever has. Meeting her in the flesh when she arrives in Orkney is nothing short of spontaneous sexual combustion. But she is a human, and not to be trusted. He needs the seal pelt, not a red-haired temptress.

As a thief ransacks Maggie’s grandmother’s house, Maggie and Calan are thrust together. They must search for the animal skin, a mythical relic which once found, will either bring them together or rip them apart forever.

Review of Too Stupid to Live (Romancelandia #1) by Anne Tenino

Title: Too Stupid to Live (Romancelandia #1)
Author: Anne Tenino
Source: NetGalley
Genre: M/M Romance
Length: Novel (315 pgs)
Reviewed by KindleRomance

It isn't true love until someone gets hurt. Sam’s a new man. Yes, he’s still too tall, too skinny, too dorky, too gay, and has that unfortunate addiction to romance novels, but he’s wised up. His One True Love is certainly still out there, but he knows now that real life is nothing like fiction. He’s cultivated the necessary fortitude to say “no” to the next Mr. Wrong, no matter how hot, exciting, and/or erotic-novel-worthy he may be. Until he meets Ian. Ian’s a new man. He’s pain-free, has escaped the job he hated and the family who stifled him, and is now—possibly—ready to dip his toe into the sea of relationships. He’s going to be cautious, though, maybe start with someone who knows the score and isn’t looking for anything too complicated. Someone with experience and simple needs that largely revolve around the bedroom. Until he meets Sam. Sam’s convinced that Ian is no one’s Mr. Right. Ian’s sure that Sam isn’t his type. They can’t both be wrong . . . can they?