New Releases in Romance - Week of June 1, 2014

We have quite a variety this week, including the clean romances from Harlequins Love Inspired imprint.  If you're looking for some great stories, you should really check them out.

Paranormal/Science Fiction


Historical


Contemporary
 

Suspense


Erotic

Cover Reveal: The Whiskey Prince by Toni Aleo

Take a risk.
Do something drastic.
Fall in love.


When Amberlyn Reilly loses her mother, her whole world comes crashing down. Having been caretaker to her for most of her teenage years, Amberlyn is inexperienced in many aspects of life. She hasn’t had time to live, have fun, or enjoy even the little things. It’s only when a letter from her mother, asking her to fulfill three things, sends her off to Ireland to live a life she never thought possible that she begins to heal.

Declan O’Callaghan was born and raised in Ireland and has his family’s legendary whiskey in his veins. He’s shy and not a fan of the pressure and spotlight that comes with his family name, or the title he was given at birth—the Whiskey Prince. Declan knows just what he wants and that is to take over the family dynasty, but when his father gives him an ultimatum, everything he’s worked for could come undone in the blink of an eye.

With six months to get married, the reclusive Declan spots Amberlyn across a lake and instantly feels the need to know her. Soon, the two find themselves traveling down a path neither expected. However, like any road, there are bumps and side streets to derail them. Can Declan help find the pieces that will make Amberlyn whole again? And will Amberlyn stay or run when she learns of Declan’s deadline of marriage?

>>ADD TO GOODREADS<<

Toni Aleo is the author of the Nasvhille Assassins series: Taking Shots, Trying to Score, Empty Net, Falling for the Backup, and Blue Lines.

When not rooting for her beloved Nashville Predators, she’s probably going to her husband’s and son’s hockey games and her daughter’s dance competitions, taking pictures, scrapbooking, or reading the latest romance novel.

She lives in the Nashville area with her husband, two children, and a bulldog. Read more about Toni here.

Website † Facebook † Twitter † GoodReads  

Review: Charmed (The Vitruvian Man #2) by Cate Masters

Title: Charmed (The Vitruvian Man #2)
Author: Cate Masters
Source: Author Request
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Length: Novella
Release Date: August 29, 2013
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Rating - 4
Sexual - 3

Brought together by accident, bound by fate—and magic.



Love works its charm over Bruno DiCesare and Melina Weaver during his transformation from beast to man. But love likewise blinds them to the secrets each holds. Bruno thinks his secret will devastate Melina. Melina’s afraid Bruno will hate her for what she’s become. Neither guess the greatest danger lurks outside their door—and could force them to choose between love and life itself.

Book One: Cursed - Review

 At the end of cursed I felt like there was a little something missing.  A bit of drama and excitement that hadn't happened.  Well, Cate Masters just saved it up and put in into book two, Charmed.  As Bruno goes through the transformation back to a man, Melina begins to do some research on his condition and look through his vast library of books.  What she stumbles upon opens a door full of trouble.

You may have noticed that I labeled this as a Paranormal Romance and an Urban Fantasy.  The story continues to explore Bruno and Melina as they try to figure out where their relationship is going, but this section of the story really concentrated on the magic and myth of the world.  Ancient magics and warring factions appear and it seems like all hell is going to break loose.  We learn more about DaVinci's secrets and Melina has a surprising discovery about herself.

Then it stops!!!  Yes, a bit of a cliffhanger and now I must find out when book three is going to be released.  I love where Cate is taking these characters and I really want to know where they end up.

Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble

Review: Played by the Billionaire by Alexia Adams

Title: Played by the Billionaire
Author: Alexia Adams
Source: Entangled - Indulgence
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: Novel
Release Date: May 19, 2014
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Rating - 3
Sexual - 3

Internet security billionaire, Liam Manning, made a death bed promise to his beloved
brother, Marcus, to complete his mystery-romance manuscript. Problem is that Liam’s experience with women is limited to the cold-hearted supermodels he usually dates—nothing like the warm, caring woman depicted in the novel his brother began. So falling back on his hacking skills, he infiltrates an online dating site to find a suitable woman to teach him about romance-regular guy style.

Lorelei Torres was raised by her hard-working mother because her loser father is behind bars. All she wants is an honest man to love and with whom she can raise a large, happy family. After the last contender for her heart turns out to be a lying snake, she decides it’s time she started over. San Francisco is as far from Buffalo as she can get, unfortunately it’s not beyond the reach of her mother’s constant reminders about Lorelei’s ticking biological clock. When her dear parent signs her up with an online dating agency, Lorelei reluctantly agrees to meet her cyber-match. Maybe it’s time an impartial computer chose a man for her.

Can Liam finish the novel before Lorelei discovers his deceptions and, more critically, before she breaches the firewall around his heart?

This review took me a little while to figure out what to say.  I really loved both characters, just not together at first.  Liam is looking for a relationship for the very wrong reasons - basically just to see what it was like.  Liam has trust and family issues and I can understand his reluctance to enter into a serious relationship, but I wish we had seen a little more of how deep his issues went a little earlier - it would have helped me like him better early on in the story.

Lorelei just comes off as a little desperate.  Following her mother's dictates and dating even when she doesn't really want to.  While she is somewhat open to the idea of dating (eventually) and she does want a family, I just didn't see what she saw in Liam at the first.

About half way through they start to get a little more honest with each other, but not honest enough - there is still a lot that they are hiding.  There are a few side characters that helped to push things along and I really enjoyed them.  They ended up being pivotal in some unexpected ways.  Overall, I think the story was alright, I just wanted a little more from it.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

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Video review of The Burlesque Handbook and Victorian Secrets

Title:  Victorian Secrets: What a Corset Taught Me about the Past, the Present, and Myself
Author:  Sarah A. Chrisman
Genre: Non Fiction
Pages: Hardboack 246 pages
Publisher: November 1st, 2013  by Skyhorse Publishing
Reviewer: Cerridwen



On Sarah A. Chrisman’s twenty-ninth birthday, her husband, Gabriel, presented her with a corset. The material and the design were breathtakingly beautiful, but her mind immediately filled with unwelcome views. Although she had been in love with the Victorian era all her life, she had specifically asked her husband not to buy her a corset—ever. She’d heard how corsets affected the female body and what they represented, and she wanted none of it.However, Chrisman agreed to try on the garment . . . and found it surprisingly enjoyable. The corset, she realized, was a tool of empowerment—not oppression. After a year of wearing a corset on a daily basis, her waist had gone from thirty-two inches to twenty-two inches, she was experiencing fewer migraines, and her posture improved. She had successfully transformed her body, her dress, and her lifestyle into that of a Victorian woman—and everyone was asking about it.In Victorian Secrets, Chrisman explains how a garment from the past led to a change in not only the way she viewed herself, but also the ways she understood the major differences between the cultures of twenty-first-century and nineteenth-century America. The desire to delve further into the Victorian lifestyle provided Chrisman with new insight into issues of body image and how women, past and present, have seen and continue to see themselves




Title: The Burlesque Handbook
Aithor: Jo Weldon
Genre: Non Fiction
Pages: Hardcover 272
Published: June 1st 2010 by It Books
Reviewed: Cerridwen

The Burlesque Handbook is the essential manual to understanding and performing both classic and neo-burlesque. Written by Jo Weldon, award-winning founder of the New York School of Burlesque, this book features easy-to-follow suggestions and exercises for developing stage-worthy confidence, presence, and sexiness. You'll learn about the fabulous makeup, costumes—including pasties!—moves, grooves, and attitudes of burlesque. The Burlesque Handbook is the must-have guide for everyone interested in this vibrant and wildly popular performance art, providing inspiration and practical information that readers can take straight from the page to the stage

Pandora's What the Heck Were Those Authors Thinking?? Feature

Hello everyone, my name is Pandora. How do you like my “What the Heck” look I am sporting? Some of you might think it’s cute but when your human looks at you like this it’s not cute to me’s. I know that looks means troubles for me, I just know at any second she is going to pop and start ranting about her troubles on me. HUMPH.

(This feature is hard for me to write because not every author behaves like this but there are just enough of them out there and they really get under a bloggers skin and it hurts all of us because when they hit one they hit all the other bloggers. So, as you read and you know you’re not one of these author I applaud you and say to you keep up the good work and we’ll keep up reading and reviewing your books. If you are an author that is guilty of doing this stuff take what the cat says seriously.)

My human has been in a bad way for a few months now. There are a few authors out there that wants to fuss and tell bloggers/tour host how to review their books and my human is not having it. Look authors all book review bloggers wants to loves every author’s book but not everyone is going to love your books so get over it and go to the next blogger without telling them what to do. Just becauses a blogger gives you a 3 star or under and not so hot review doesn’t mean the end of the world and it most certainly doesn’t mean you tell that blogger to take off or change the review and another thing just because you help sponsor that blogger don’t threaten to take off your ad if they don’t take off your review. How unprofessional of you.

My human has been around long enough to know how mean authors can get, she has had to quit a few of them. She also knows this drama hurts review bloggers, they can’t deal with this kind of drama and they end up either closing their blog or they only review books they buy. They don’t need drama in their lives. Just think how it would impact your sales if there were no review blogger around and keep that in mind the next time you request a review.

Here is the thing bloggers get nos pays but you know whats? You do, even me a cat knows this much. When that blogger puts up a review people see it and they do buy your books, so you make money even if it’s a bad review. Bloggers do this for the love of reading and you cannot expect them to give out a 4 or 5 start review for something they don’t care for period. You also make the other authors look bad by doing things like this.

To those authors out there who are guilty of this stuff you need to get on your big girl or boy panties and move on without fussing.

Psst... Come closer to hear the cat really good because I’s going to let you in on a secret since some of you are clueless. Running to the other bloggers and asking or complaining about the same thing will get you into trouble. Bloggers do talk to each other they are not all in competition as most of you think, most of them respect each other and they do spread word of mouth. I know my ears hurts from my human screeching to others on the phone or Skype. So, if you can’t handle the bad ratings or reviews get out of the writing world because not every review blogger or reader for that matter, is going to love your book.

Now, everybody go fourth and play nice without fighting. *Snorts*I here’s this from my human all the times ;)

Time for my nap purrrr…

Kisses, 

Pandora and her brother lost their mamma at 3 weeks old. They came to live at their present home until they were old enough to find homes but her present family just couldn’t get rid of them. Pandora days are filled with playing with her brother Wolverine and her other cat friends. She is very talkative and loves to be healed while mamma is cooking. Yes, food motivates her. P.S. don’t let her around cookie dough. LOL  

Graphic Novel Review! : Nemi Vol 1

I know that most of us need to break free of our typical reading genre. This is what happened the first time I broke out thank to a few friends at my local library. 

Title: Nemi  

Author: Lise Myhre

Genre: Graphic Comic Novel

Published by: Titan Books 2003

Reviewed by : Cerridwen

Meet Nemi Montoya, the vegetarian, cynical/romantic, hilariously honest twenty-something goth, in this brand new collection from artist Lise Myhre!

Hang out in the pub with Nemi and her friends, including her flatmate, the blue-haired Cyan; hear her opinions on romance and dating; watch her watch TV in her untidy flat; learn how she feels about birch trees, spiders and blondes; and generally experience the highs and lows of being Nemi in the modern world!

A superstar in her native Norway thanks to the immense success of Nemi— also reprinted in the 1.12 million-circulation UK Metro newspaper — you too can enter Lise Myhre’s witty, wonderful world!

Cover Reveal: Guarding Poppy By: Christine Wenrick

This cover reveal of Guarding Poppy, Boo Two of the Men of Brahm Hill series is organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The book will be released on August 1. One randomly drawn commenter will receive a $50 Amazon gift card. Click on the banner to see the other stops on the tour.

ONE NIGHT . . . ONE VIOLENT, SUPERNATURAL BATTLE . . .

AND FIVE STORIES OF THE MEN WHOSE LIVES WILL BE CHANGED BY IT.

Alec Lambert was born to lead. He’s a ruling Elder of The Brethren, possessing steely confidence, natural smarts, and decisive problem solving abilities . . . and he’s not too bad on the eyes, either. Everything in his life has gone exactly according to plan—until the night of Brahm Hill. Alec loses his best friend at the hands of the uncle he trusted like a father, along with his previously unshakable faith to lead those with whom he’s charged. Despite this, he continues to press ahead, and for his next assignment he’s asked to protect a very beautiful but very clumsy Dhampir who’s being hunted by a powerful warlock. Suddenly, he finds his whole Brethren world is turned upside down . . . and he finds himself harboring a desire for her he can’t explain.

Poppy Honeywell knows she’s far from perfect. Bad things tend to happen when she’s around. She’s more than a little clumsy, with a phobia or two mixed in. Not to mention that her name is certainly unusual. But she doesn’t have time to worry about all that because she’s on the run and not about to back down from the arrogant Elder who’s just been assigned as her protector, claiming he has all the answers to her problems. The real problem, though, is . . . she’s irresistibly drawn to this man who faces constant danger and takes charge so naturally. But Poppy also sees that taking charge of others helps Alec mask his own very deep pain.

WILL ALEC FIND HIS WAY OUT OF THE DARKNESS AND SURRENDER TO HIS FEELINGS FOR POPPY BEFORE THE WARLOCK CHASING HER CATCHES UP TO THEM BOTH?

Book One in the series Someone Else's Skye, is available now.

One night. . . One violent supernatural battle

And five stories of the men whose lives

will be changed by it.

Someone Else’s Skye – Kane, Brethren Guardian and one of the few Natural Shape-Shifters left in existence, survived the bloody battle of Brahm Hill but lost two of his closest friends. For all of his good-natured sarcasm and eye-popping good looks, Kane finds himself unable to completely forget about that night, so he seeks comfort in the one thing he is truly good at . . . sex!

This shape-shifting bad boy believes in having a good time—a very good time, usually involving some mingled heavy breathing with a sexy Dhampir in a tiny closet somewhere. But when he’s sent into the freezing tundra of the Northwest Territories to investigate a troublesome supernatural being on the loose, he ends up crossing paths with a woman who almost instantly drives him insane with want . . . because she doesn’t seem to be falling for the shifter’s charms.

It’s completely inexplicable.

Skye Matthews has a job to do, and she needs to be focused on that, not spending all her time rebuffing the advances of this way-too-cocky and handsome stranger. Yet, there is something irresistible about this self-involved playboy that Skye can’t seem to stay away from. And when the unidentified Kane is sent to investigate takes an unnatural interest in her, protecting her becomes the Guardian’s top priority.

But… can Kane save Skye from a supernatural being no one has ever encountered before?

About the Author:

Christine is a graduate of Washington State University where she received a BA in Interior Design. And true to form of using mostly her ‘right brain’, she splits her time between her commercial design career and her imaginary world of writing. She lives in the scenic Pacific Northwest where she enjoys hiking, camping and photographing many of the wonderful places that served as inspiration for her writing. Her biggest reward in life is any given day when one of her books connects with a reader because she herself is such a lover of reading. Some of her favorite authors include Lisa Kleypas, Julia Quinn, and Kimberly Derting.

Facebook ~ Facebook Fan Page ~ @CWenrick ~ Website ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon Author Page

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Review: His Billion Dollar Baby by Lea Nolan

Title: His Billion Dollar Baby
Author: Lea Nolan
Source: Entangled - Indulgence
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: Novella
Release Date: May 19, 2014
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Rating - 5
Sexual - 3

Burned by love and grieving over his brother’s death, sexy billionaire CEO Carter
Anderson wants nothing more than to protect his family. So when beautiful and unassuming physical therapist Gwen Radley shows up at the funeral, pregnant with his brother’s baby, Carter’s certain she wants an interest in the Anderson empire—and both his suspicion and attraction grow when circumstances force Gwen to move into his family’s mansion.

An orphan, Gwen’s never wanted anything more than a family, and she finds in the Andersons a place she and her baby might belong. When Gwen’s therapy expertise leads to long hours of intense, late-night collaboration on a lucrative project, the attraction between her and Carter leads to a night of white-hot passion. But Carter’s distrust remains, leading them both to wonder if he will ever embrace his brother’s baby—or the love that’s blooming between them.

When a novella manages to make you cry in the first chapter you know there's a good chance you'll have a winner on your hands.  This entire story had me on an emotional roller coaster - very hard to do in under 200 pages.  All the characters involved in the story were amazingly well written.  I cheered for them to find a way through everything with every word.  This was more than a book about two people falling in love - it was about the power one person has to change the course of an entire family - and to do it without even realizing it.

Gwen's touch in the Anderson family it felt immediately and strongly.  Some embrace it while others (notably Carter) think she's a gold digger willing to anything to get a piece of their fortune.  She battles these opinions throughout the whole book.  I loved how people's minds weren't instantly swayed.  Her process of winning them over was gradual and it had many bumps along the way.

The ending was perfect for me.  It had just the right touch of a fairy tale while still somehow remaining firmly grounded in reality.  I can't remember being so excited for two fictional characters in a long time.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

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Blog Tour: Review and Giveaway: Immersed (Ripple Effect Romance #6) by Jennifer Griffith

Tour Schedule

Title: Immersed (Ripple Effect Romance #6)

Author: Jennifer Griffith

Source: I Am a Reader

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Length: Novella

Release Date: May 19, 2014

Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Rating - 4

Sexual - 1

Lisette Pannebaker speaks five languages and has a brilliant business plan—personal
language immersion. Clients can hire her to shadow them and speak all day in any language they need to learn for business or travel—whatever. But there’s a major hitch: she’s far too pretty. Clients with less than honorable intentions sign up just to have Lisette at their side. Solution? A make-under. Way under.

The bad wig, icky makeup and puffy sweaters work like a charm. None of her male clients show her the least bit of interest. Lisette’s totally relieved.

Until...Erik.

Erik Gunnarson is charming, kind, and smart—everything she’s ever looked for. Every day as his tutor is making her fall for him more. Even though he seems to have a secret, and she’s sworn she'd never date a client, Lisette is tempted to shed her disguise—although it could mean jeopardizing her career.

Book One: Home Matters - Review 
Book Two: Silver Linings - Review
Book Three: Righting a Wrong - Review
Book Four: Lost & Found - Review
Book Five: Second Chances 101 - Review

Can someone be too pretty?  Apparently so - especially when people begin to think your language tutoring skills are actually a nice way to say "escort".  But Lisette has that handled now - with her amazing make-under people are taking her seriously and her business is taking off.  But then Erik Gunnarson walks through the door.

He's everything a woman could want in a man - and he seems to like Lisette for herself.  But Lisette still has a strict policy of no dating clients.  I thought this situation brought up some very interesting and very humorous moments (don't you hate it when you forget to put your mole on the morning).  This book sets up some amazing moments and both characters are fantastic.

There is a bit of a surprise at the end that I didn't see coming.  I'm going to be going back and re-reading a couple chapters just to see if the author was that sneaky or if I got caught up in the storyline and missed the big clue.  Either way this was a great way to wrap up the series.  It has become one of my favorites.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

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Author Jennifer Griffith 
Jennifer Griffith studied French, German, Japanese, and a wee bit of Spanish in her school days. Her grandmother was Norwegian, and Jennifer grew up with lots of Scandinavian traditions floating around, including fabulous cardamom laced cookies called Krumkaker, made on a fancy waffle iron. However, she’d never dream of trying to teach someone any of those languages. And she might botch the cookies. Instead, she writes novels in English, drives her five kids a million places, and laughs with her husband, who came up with the plot for Immersed because he’s just a cool muse like that.

Website * Twitter * Facebook

Blog Tour Giveaway 

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 6/9/14 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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