Unwrapping: Scene One from Garrick's POV - The One Where They Meet - from LOSING IT by Cora Carmack is now available!

I'm not sure if you've noticed the HAVE YOU BEEN WONDERING WHAT GARRICK REALLY THOUGHT OF BLISS IN LOSING IT? ad that's running at the bottom of my posts. It's got a thermometer of sorts. It's gauging the pre-orders for Cora Carmack's New Adult novel, FAKING IT, coming June 4, 2013 from William Morrow Paperbacks. If you read Cora's bestselling New Adult novel, LOSING IT, and even if you haven't, you might be interested in reading some scenes from Garrick's point of view and Cora is giving you just that chance. As the 'temp' rises on the thermometer, she will release another scene. The first scene is now available - it's THE ONE WHERE THEY MEET and I've got it! Enjoy and Happy Reading Everyone!

   Bonus Scene 1: The One Where They Met by WilliamMorrowBooks

LOSING IT by Cora Carmack, William Morrow Paperbacks, available now in print and ebook formats.

FAKING IT by Cora Carmack, William Morrow Paperbacks, release date - June 4, 2013 available for pre-order and make that 'temp' rise so we can get the next scene!

                                                                         

Wacky Wednesday: GEODUCKS ARE FOR LOVERS by Daisy Prescott Release Day Blast

Welcome to Tasty Tours Release Day Blast for GEODUCKS ARE FOR LOVERS, a debut novel by Daisy Prescott. I haven’t read this one yet but it looks DELICIOUS! Feel free to browse the blurb, take in the excerpt, and enter the Giveaway – five digital copies are up for grabs. If you’d like to follow today’s Release Day Blast and enter at all the stops, just click HERE to follow the tour. Enjoy!

Blurb for GEODUCKS ARE FOR LOVERS:

Food writer Maggie Marrion is just getting back on her feet after a horrible year, or two, or three. With their twentieth reunion approaching, she invites four of her closest friends from college for a weekend at her beach cabin. What she doesn’t expect is her best friends, artist Quinn Dayton and part-time erotica novelist, Selah Elmore, to play matchmaker. The two plot a surprise that will make the weekend, and her life, a lot more interesting.

Gil Morrow, former grunge musician turned history professor, joins them as Selah’s date for the weekend. After coming face to face with the one who got away, he decides he's waited long enough to get the girl. With the support of old friends, a few wishing rocks, the world’s largest burrowing clam, and a hot lumberjack thrown into the mix, Gil reminds Maggie that forty-something isn’t too old for second chances.

Can we learn to love the life we have and let go of who we expected to be? What happens when the generation from The Breakfast Club and Reality Bites meets The Big Chill? Come spend a weekend with these Generation X-ers as they share laughter, tears, life’s ups and downs, old stories, and new beginnings.  

 

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Excerpt:

          “We’ll see how the night goes.”

          “Is that a challenge, Maggie May?” Gil leans forward and catches her eye, then puts his hand on her leg above her knee, and squeezes.

          The heat of his hand warms her and her muscles clench.

          “Maybe.”

          Gil licks the corner of his mouth. “Good to know.” Leaning back, he keeps his hand on her thigh.

          Mentally, Maggie fans herself. The fire in front of her isn’t the only one she’s playing with tonight.

          Quinn and Ryan eventually make their way out to join the group on the beach, carrying the s’mores supplies along with metal skewers from the kitchen.

          “I can’t believe I’m offering this after the meat feast, but who wants dessert?” Ryan gestures the platter of goodies.

          “I’ll never turn down chocolate or Nutella.” Selah gets up to grab a skewer and marshmallow.

          “I need to taste Maggie’s Nutella s’more,” Gil says, squeezing her leg. “Mind making me one?”

          “If I can stand, sure.” She pushes off the sand, using Gil’s leg to prop herself up.

          “Charred or not charred?” She waves a marshmallow in front of Gil.

          “Charred, of course.” He grins.

          “Heathen,” she teases and sticks the marshmallow directly into the flames. Pulling the flaming ball of goo out of the fire, she blows on it before handing the skewer to Gil. ‘Hold this, and no eating it.”

          Carefully grabbing a graham crack, she smears on a dollop of Nutella, and then places the charred marshmallow on top before adding another cracker.

          She licks a big dollop of Nutella off the side, getting some of the warm chocolate on the corner of her mouth.

          “Here.” She hands him the sticky mess, noticing that Gil shifts his legs and squirms.

          “You missed a spot.” He gestures to her lips before biting the s’more.

          Maggie licks her lips, trying to get off the Nutella. She glances at Gil, who closes his eyes and moans.

          “Good?”

          “Mmmm…. Hhmmmm… mmmmm” is all that comes out of him. Still with his eyes closed he reaches up to swipe off the Nutella from chin with his thumb. It’s Maggie’s turn to quietly moan as she watches him lick his thumb.

          “Food porn as foreplay?” Quinn asks as he sticks his own marshmallow into the flames next to Maggie.

          “What?” She asks, completely unaware of where she is.

          “You have it so bad.” Selah chimes in from behind her. “Move out of the way or toast another marshmallow.” She bumps Maggie with her hip.

          “More,” Gil says, opening one eye as he pops the last of the s’more into his mouth.

          “Best s’more ever?” Maggie asks, grabbing another marshmallow.

          “Best ever.” Gil winks. “More.”

          “Greedy.” She chars another marshmallow.

          The rest of the gang is likewise toasting and moaning over their creations.

          “Where was this when I used to smoke pot?” Quinn asks.

          “I’m grateful Nutella wasn’t around in college. I’d be as big as a house,” Jo says, eating a perfectly toasted but not charred marshmallow.

          Maggie hands Gil another s’more, which he snatches from her like a starving man.

          “You okay there, big guy? Can I make one for myself now?”

          Gil gives her a stink eye but nods his head, his mouth too full to respond verbally.

          Maggie sits back down next to Gil with her own s’more. She takes a bite, closes her eyes and moans. She can’t help herself.

          When she opens her eyes, she catches Gil licking the s’more right before biting it.

          “What the hell?” She tries to save her s’more from his greedy mouth, but he is too quick.

          “It was dripping and going to land on your shirt. I was trying to be a gentleman and protect your clothing.”

          Maggie stares at him.

          “Not buying it?”

          “No.” She licks her lips where the melted marshmallow makes them sticky. She watches Gil staring at her lips.

          “Can I help you with that?” He offers, his eyes flicking to her mouth, then back up to her eyes.

          “I think I’ve got it.”

          “I’m not sure about that.” He reaches out his index finger, swipes under her bottom lip, and shows her the chocolate.  

 

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Author Info: 

Before writing full time, Daisy Prescott worked in the world of art, auctions,

antiques, and home decor. She earned her degree in Art History and endured a brief stint as a film theory graduate student. Baker, art director, antiques dealer, blue ribbon pie maker, blogger, content wrangler, freelance writer, fangirl, gardener, wife, and pet mom are a few of the other titles she's acquired over the years.

Born and raised in San Diego, Daisy and her husband (aka SO) currently live in a real life Stars Hollow in the Boston suburbs with their dog, Hubbell, and an imaginary house goat. Geoducks Are for Lovers is her debut novel. She is busy researching her second novel.

If you'd like to learn more about Daisy Prescott, please feel free to visit her website, and friend/follow her on Facebook, and Twitter.

GIVEAWAY! 
If you'd like a chance at winning one of five digital copies of this debut novel by Daisy Prescott, please enter via the Rafflecopter below! Good Luck and Happy Reading Everyone!

GEODUCKS ARE FOR LOVERS by Daisy Prescott, available now in ebook format at Amazon
 **Daisy will be doing 3 days free as a Book Birthday gift to all the early readers**  
 

Release Day Giveaway (Rafflecopter) -Five Digital Copies of Geoducks are for Lovers

a Rafflecopter giveaway

                                                                

Unwrapping: Review of ANY DUCHESS WILL DO by Tessa Dare

Are you a fan of Tessa Dare’s historical romance series – Spindle Cove? Well, if not, you surely will be after reading ANY DUCHESS WILL DO, her upcoming release from Avon Romance.  Already a fan but I’ve fallen even more in love with Tessa’s skill at creating a delightful escape into romance that you wish would never end.

***eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for ANY DUCHESS WILL DO:

What’s a duke to do, when the girl who’s perfectly wrong becomes the woman he can’t live without?

Griffin York, the Duke of Halford, has no desire to wed this season—or any season—but his diabolical mother abducts him to “Spinster Cove” and insists he select a bride from the ladies in residence. Griff decides to teach her a lesson that will end the marriage debate forever. He chooses the serving girl.

Overworked and struggling, Pauline Simms doesn’t dream about dukes. All she wants is to hang up her barmaid apron and open a bookshop. That dream becomes a possibility when an arrogant, sinfully attractive duke offers her a small fortune for a week’s employment. Her duties are simple: submit to his mother’s “duchess training”… and fail miserably.

But in London, Pauline isn’t a miserable failure. She’s a brave, quick-witted, beguiling failure—a woman who ignites Griff’s desire and soothes the darkness in his soul. Keeping Pauline by his side won’t be easy. Even if Society could accept a serving girl duchess—can a roguish duke convince a serving girl to trust him with her heart?

 

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The Duchess of Halford has kidnapped her son, Griffin York, the Duke of Halford and spirited him off to the notorious place known as “Spinster Cove”.  Her aim is to force him to choose a wife so that she may have some hope of grandchildren. Griff is not happy to find himself there, nor is he happy about the prospect of taking a wife – any wife. 

Pauline Simms lives a simple life, yet hardworking. She hopes for better things for herself and her sister, Daniela. She works hard at home and in her employ as a serving girl at the Bull and Blossom, which is where she unexpectedly is served up a major life change in the guise of a handsome Duke who chooses her from the ladies in residence. 

The Duchess of Halford proposes that she can take any one of the young women in the tavern and ‘train’ her to be a Duchess and by doing so, make her the perfect bride. Her son, Griff, takes her up on that proposition and chooses a serving girl covered in sugar as the one whom she must turn into a Duchess. The agreement being that, if the Duchess succeeds, Griff will marry her and if she does not succeed, she will never speak of such a thing again. Griff, however, decides to stack the deck, so to speak, by making a separate deal with Pauline that if she remains unpresentable to the ton, he will pay her one thousand pounds and return her to Spindle Cove in a week’s time. He never expects to find her so intriguing, witty, intelligent, or desirable. 

I loved every moment of ANY DUCHESS WILL DO by Tessa Dare from beginning to end, from the sugar spill to the happily-ever-after. Tessa Dare always creates endearing stories but I think there is possibly, more humor, more romance, and certainly more sigh-worthy moments in ANY DUCHESS WILL DO than any of hers so far. Pauline Simms is a rare heroine indeed. She’s spontaneous, outspoken, and gives us moments of pure delight as she tries to be two different things to two different people. Her open and sensitive heart makes her the perfect sister, friend, companion, and lover.  You find yourself cheering for her, dreaming with her, sighing with her, and falling in love alongside her. Griff, well, what can I say about a man who had me the moment he mentioned the way Simms sparkled.  I love to watch a hero grow, fall in love, but to weep in a woman’s arms is, well, the ultimate moment when you know a man can truly love. There are poignant, touching moments that will cause your heart to catch in your chest for both Pauline and Griff – mostly for Griff. Moments that only make you fall that much more in love with this incredible hero.

I highly recommend ANY DUCHESS WILL DO, a Spindle Cove novel by Tessa Dare to anyone who wants to laugh, fall in love, and get lost in a Cinderella meets Pygmalion kind of story that keeps you turning the pages long into the night, and wishing it would never end.  

Happy Reading Everyone! 

ANY DUCHESS WILL DO, a Spindle Cove novel by Tessa Dare, Avon Romance, release date – May 28, 2013 in print and ebook formats.
 

                                                                 

Unwrapping: Review of SALT REDUX: Sequel to SALT BRIDE by Lucinda Brant

Back in August 2012, I reviewed SALT BRIDE by Lucinda Brant. I fell in love with the characters, Jane and Salt, and Caroline and Antony. I despised Diana St. John for her evil doings, yet was intrigued with her stalker mentality and devious attempts to keep Salt to herself. I wished for Sir Antony to find happiness with Lady Caroline and live free of his evil sister. Well, when SALT REDUX:  Sequel to SALT BRIDE was released in March, I was eager to read it. I welcomed Lucinda’s request for a read and review.

***eARC provided by author in exchange for an honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for SALT REDUX: Sequel to SALT BRIDE:

 Jane and Salt—four years of Happily Ever After
Sir Antony Templestowe—four years of Exile
Lady Caroline—four years of Heartache
Diana St. John—four years plotting Revenge

The time has come... How does a brother cope with life knowing his sister is a murderess? How can a nobleman have the life he has always wanted when a lurking evil consumes his thoughts and haunts his dreams? What will it take for good to triumph over evil? For readers who enjoyed Salt Bride, the story continues…

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Diana St. John has been sent to a place where Salt and Antony hope she can cause no further harm to their families, friends, or anyone else that might cross paths with her, but they are to be proven wrong by this devilish woman. 

Sir Antony Templestowe has spent the past four years in Russia, a self-exile if you will. Having offended far too many, he decided it was best that he, like his sister Diana, be as far away from the happiness of those he cares most about – Jane, Salt, their children, his beloved niece and nephew, and most of all, Caroline – the woman who holds a claim on his heart. 

Lady Caroline Aldershot, heartbroken by unrequited love, did something foolish that ended in her settling for an undesired marriage that in turn, ends tragically. Still heartbroken and alone, now responsible for her dead husband’s sister, Kitty Aldershot, she is taken by surprise when Sir Antony Templestowe reappears in London and proceeds to propose to her. 

SALT REDUX: Sequel to SALT BRIDE by Lucinda Brant carries with it all the grandeur, georgian history, on edge concern for what Lady Diana St. John will do next, as we were treated to in SALT BRIDE, but in the end there’s a happily ever after for everyone. I admire Antony’s respect for Caroline and his willingness to wait for her. I will say that in SALT BRIDE, Diana’s character was much more believable, but I was overjoyed to see Diana finally gets hers, and most justly as well.  

I will say that I found SALT REDUX a bit slower moving than SALT BRIDE but over all, it still makes for an intriguing read. I’d hoped that Diana would show her evil earlier, although the prologue sets her up to be as villainous as before. I found that her ability to so easily fit herself back into London society a tad irrational considering how off the deep end she’d become, but then again, this is fiction. As with SALT BRIDE, Lucinda’s style of writing, switching points of view between characters, sometimes with only a few lines separating them, makes for a slower read and so I cannot call this a fast read even though once the story actually gets going, it moves quickly. 

This is not a stand-alone novel, to understand the story and move forward, you must read SALT BRIDE.  However, if you have read SALT BRIDE, then yes, I recommend you read SALT REDUX: Sequel to SALT BRIDE by Lucinda Brant, if for no other reason but to find out what happens to Jane and Salt, Caroline and Antony, the children, and most importantly, Diana St. John – a conclusion you won’t want to miss. 

Happy Reading Everyone! 

SALT REDUX: Sequel to SALT BRIDE by Lucinda Brant, Sprigleaf, available now in ebook formats.

                                                              

Unwrapping: Review of Rebecca's Lost Journals: HIS SUBMISSIVE & MY MASTER, Inside Out Novellas by Lisa Renee Jones

THE INSIDE OUT TRILOGY by Lisa Renee Jones. I cannot express enough how much I love this contemporary romance series that started out as an indie publication and has since been picked up by Simon & Schuster AND will be coming to STARZ some day soon as a mini-series. Can things get any better? Yes, we can keep reading. In August of last year, I reviewed IF I WERE YOU and fell in love with this amazing mystery romance. In February, I discussed the series and reviewed the first two fascinating entries of Rebecca’s Lost Journals: THE SEDUCTION and THE CONTRACT. Well, now I bring you the second and third, HIS SUBMISSIVE and MY MASTER.

***I purchased HIS SUBMISSIVE for my personal reading but MY MASTER was provided by the author in exchange for an honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for HIS SUBMISSIVE:

An Inside Out novella...
In part three of Rebecca’s Lost Journals, His Submissive , Rebecca must decide just how far she will go for the darkly intense man who she is falling in love with. And does she dare believe that he too, will ever love her?

                                *                   *                   *                     *                  *

If I tell you about what’s in the journal, I walk the thin line of giving away a spoiler so instead, I’m just going to tell you what I thought of this intriguing, tension-filled novella. Rebecca is on the verge. Ready to sign the contract, she’s questioning whether she is doing it for him or for herself. She knows she wants to be with her “Master” more than anything and is willing to do what it takes to make him happy, yet fears feeling lost. We’ve experienced her angst since the beginning and Lisa continues to keep us on edge. Just when you think you might know who “Master” is, she leads in another direction. The tension has increased two-fold and leaves us, the readers, begging for more just as Rebecca can’t pull herself away from what she knows may end badly, if she gives herself fully, body and heart, to her “Master”.

 

If you’re as deep into this series as I am, you need to continue reading. Continue experiencing Rebecca’s addiction to a man who remains a stranger and a mystery to us as we’re led closer to a jumping off point where we can’t stop until we know the truth.

Rebecca's Lost Journals: MY MASTER by Lisa Renee Jones

Blurb for MY MASTER:

An Inside Out novella …

In part four of Rebecca’s Lost Journals, My Master, it’s Rebecca turn to claim control and set the limits in her relationship.

                     *                       *                      *                     

Rebecca needs more. She's given in to “Master” in ways she never thought she would but now her feeling of being lost is growing stronger. Her feelings for “Master” are growing and she’s not feeling a return from him. It’s time to renew the contract, but will she? Lisa gives us more insight than ever in this fourth installment of Rebecca’s Lost Journals. We still don’t know who “Master” is but we are starting to see more hints of who he might be – I have my suspicions, but am still too shaky to say for sure. A few other questions have floated to the top for me and now my mind is racing with what could be, what is, and what might be. A must read if you’re a lover of the Inside Out Trilogy and preparing yourself for the release of BEING ME, coming in June. 

 

I highly recommend the reading of this entire series but if you’ve read IF I WERE YOU and are simply waiting for BEING ME, and hope to be satisfied, you won’t be. Lisa has released each of these journals to help fill in the gaps, to keep us tightly addicted to this series and looking forward to BEING ME with such enthusiasm that we can hardly catch our breath. But if you haven’t read any of this series yet, you still have time but YOU MUST READ IN ORDER. It’s imperative that you read IF I WERE YOU, followed by all four installments of Rebecca’s Lost Journals – in order – and then you will be all caught up for the release of BEING ME. Definitely, so worth it, I cannot express how worthwhile it is.

 

Happy Reading Everyone!

 

Rebecca’s Lost Journals: HIS SUBMISSIVE, an Inside Out novella by Lisa Renee Jones, Simon & Schuster, available now in ebook formats.

Rebecca’s Lost Journals: MY MASTER, an Inside Out novella by Lisa Renee Jones, Simon & Schuster, release date May 20, 2013 in ebook formats.

Oh, btw, these fabulous Journals are only 99 cents each! Go for it!
 

                                                      

 

BEING ME, an Inside Out novel by Lisa Renee Jones will be releasing June 11, 2013 so if you wish to find out what it’s all about and catch up, you’ve got time but time is running out! xoxo

Wacky Wednesday: UNDER HER SPELL by Eliza Daly Tasty Books Review Blog Tour

Welcome to my stop on the UNDER HER SPELL by Eliza Daly Tasty Books Review Blog Tour. I truly cannot express in my short post how much I enjoyed this book. This is such a fun, delightful contemporary romance that it will have you smiling from the beginning and still smiling long after it’s finished.

***eARC provided by author in exchange for an honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for UNDER HER SPELL:

When a series of failed relationships and business ventures have Monica Jackson doubting her self-worth, she turns to spell casting to attract positive energy and the opportunities needed to achieve her goals.  But can Monica’s belief in spells restore her belief in herself? 

Monica creates a spell to find her soul mate, and one to ensure the success of her new romantic event planning company, Enhance Your Romance.  Monica is confident she has found her niche until divorce lawyer Reed Walker opens a practice next door to her office.  The anti-marriage slogan plastered on his office window, and his down-on-love clients, quickly prove detrimental to Monica’s business.  When his arrival appears to trigger a string of bad luck, Monica fears one of her spells sent negative energy into the universe and it has returned to her threefold.  Although Reed is beyond sexy, and she admires his self-confidence, she’ll do whatever it takes to get the universe back on her side, and Reed out of her life. No way is she losing another business.

Reed finds himself attracted to Monica’s beauty and her optimism. His job and his parents’ divorce have made him a pessimist, especially when it comes to love. However, he soon finds that Monica’s pro-love attitude is rubbing off on him, causing him to lose his edge.  If Reed doesn’t distance himself from Monica, he’ll likely destroy his reputation as a pit bull divorce lawyer.

Can Monica and Reed look past what they might be losing to realize the love they have found?

                                          *                 *                *                 *                 *

Monica Jackson is attempting to succeed at yet another business in a long line of business ventures. So far, she thinks she’s on the right track with Enhance Your Romance, where she sets up the perfect situation for proposals and other lover events. Even with the negative mojo generated by her cousin, Hope, she’s confident things will go well until HE moves in next door. He being the handsome divorce lawyer whose sign says, Marriage Isn’t A Word, It’s A Sentence. I’ll Set You Free.  Believing it will help, she casts a spell hoping to ward him off.

Reed Walker has seen more disappointment related to marriage than he ever wants but it’s his livelihood. It’s not that he’s against marriage, after all, if it weren’t for marriage there would be no divorce and he’d be out of business. It's just he doesn't believe he's the marrying kind. One of the most successful divorce lawyers in the city, and also one of the most eligible bachelors, he’s temporarily taken over an office next door to a business owned by a most intriguing woman who totally believes in happily-ever-afters.

When Monica declares she wants him gone, he tells her, “If you can convince three couples to change their minds about getting divorced, I’ll move.” Monica agrees to his deal but doesn’t count on business actually improving, as well as finding herself so attracted and spellbound by the man she is convinced doesn’t believe in love.

Excerpt from UNDER HER SPELL:

Prologue

“A spell … ” Hope mused, then her face lit up. “If there’s a spell to attract a man to a woman, there must be one to repel women from a man. Right?”

“Spells shouldn’t involve negative energy. Sending out negative energy can cause it to return threefold. They aren’t intended to harm someone or make them do something against their will.” Jordan had drilled this into her head.

“I wouldn’t be making Kyle do anything against his will. I’d be warning women to stay away from him.”

Sounded borderline.

“Please,” Hope whined, picking a clump of batter from her long, wavy hair.

Monica let out a defeated groan. “All right.” Hope would never actually cast the spell anyway. When they were young, Hope refused to wear a Casper costume for Halloween because she didn’t believe in ghosts. She was closed-minded when it came to paranormal or New Age beliefs. And you had to truly believe in a spell for it to work.

Monica set down the bowl of salt and grabbed a pencil and pad of paper off her desk and handed them to Hope. “Write this down. It’s called,” she tapped a hot pink nail against her lip, “the dirtbag spell. Take one of Kyle’s socks, fill it with dirt, and add a photo of him. It’s critical you aren’t in the photo.” Monica paced, tightening the sash on her lavender silk robe. “Include something of his like … ”

“His new Rolex?”

Personally, Monica would list the watch on eBay and pray for a bidding war. But Hope, no matter how ticked off, was too timid to sell Kyle’s precious watch, and too frugal to risk damaging it by mixing it with dirt.

“That’s fine. Sew up the sock and bury it in your front yard. It’ll warn all women he’s a dirtbag.”

Hope poised the pencil against her lower lip, reviewing the spell. “Don’t I have to say something when I bury it, like a chant?”

What happened to being spell ignorant?

“Bury it in the moonlight while saying … ” Monica scrambled for a few rhyming lines, “moonlight, glowing bright, warn all women in your sight, the man who lives in this house, is a dirtbag and a total louse.”

“Perfect.” Hope sprang from the bed, looking inspired. “Kyle’s at work. I’m going over to the house right now to bury that sock.” She turned and marched out, a woman on a mission.

Monica nibbled nervously on her fingernail. Hope wouldn’t seriously go through with casting the spell, would she? A big part of spell casting was psychological, focusing all your energy on making something happen. Monica had never seen Hope look so determined, or vindictive. Hopefully, if she did cast the spell the negative energy didn’t return threefold.

What was the worst that could happen?  -- UNDER HER SPELL by Eliza Daly 

MY THOUGHTS:

UNDER HER SPELL by Eliza Daly is a fun, magical, fall in love with contemporary romance that will keep you smiling even when they're arguing with each other. Monica is quirky, real and someone you can call a friend without even meeting her. Reed is tough on the outside, romantic on the inside, and so sexy you will wish he were yours. Eliza has created a multitude of unique characters who surround this couple with their energy, their hopes, their love, and their support whether Monica and Reed realize it or not. I think what I loved most about UNDER HER SPELL was the sense that romance can be found anywhere with anyone if only you're willing to open your eyes, your mind, and your heart to it.

I highly recommend UNDER HER SPELL by Eliza Daly to anyone, no, everyone who loves romance. Everyone, who loves the magic of opening your heart to its possibilities. Everyone, who enjoys a simple, yet sigh worthy read that will probably keep you up late but leave you smiling. Everyone will enjoy every turn of the page. If you're like me, you won't want it to end and may just possibly find yourself humming some classic love songs as you fall asleep to dream about your own Reed Walker.

Happy Reading Everyone!

 

About the Author:
Eliza Daly’s first attempt at creative writing was in fourth grade. She and her friends were huge Charlie’s Angels fans and she would sit in her bedroom at night writing scripts for them to act out at recess the following day. She was Kelly Garrett. Fast forward to the present, she’s still writing stories about beautiful women who always get their men. The journey from fourth grade scriptwriter to published author wasn’t an easy one, but it was always an adventure and the final destination was well worth it.

When Eliza isn’t traveling for her job as an event planner, or tracing her ancestry roots through Ireland, she’s at home in Milwaukee working on her next novel, bouncing ideas off her husband Mark, and her cats Quigley, Frankie, and Sammy.

You can find Eliza on the web at Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

UNDER HER SPELL by Eliza Daly, Crimson Romance, available now in print and ebook formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and ebook formats at iTunes, All Romance, Kobo, and eBooks.com

                                                                 

Unwrapping: Review of TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS by Victoria Vane

If you are a regular reader of this blog then you already know what a huge fan of Victoria Vane’s stories I am … well, if it’s possible, I’ve become an even bigger fan after reading TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS.

***I’m happy to say I purchased this one for my personal reading but am happy to share my honest and unscripted thoughts with you.

Blurb for TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS:

A reluctant heiress resigned to her fate… Mary Elizabeth Edwardes has one of the largest fortunes in England, but has no desire to leave her quiet country existence… and even less to acquire a husband she cannot choose for herself.

A dissolute nobleman bent on retribution… Trapped in a duplicitous existence since scandal destroyed his fortune and family name, Lord Hadley Blanchard has spent the better part of a decade posing as a disaffected exile while spying and seducing in the service of the English Crown.

A dangerous game of seduction, and intrigue… When summoned from abroad by a former lover, Lord Hadley perceives an opportunity for vengeance at last. By employing the full measure of his seductive charm, he woos the ward of the man who destroyed his life, little knowing that winning Mary's fortune will mean risking his own treacherous heart.

 

**AUTHOR'S NOTE
TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS was very much inspired by the dark and romantic novels of the 18th century in which virtue vs. vice and plots to despoil virgins were very popular themes, books like Clarissa Harlowe by Samuel Richardson or Les Liaisons Dangereuses by LaClos. Similar to these classic tales, my story features an innocent country girl who, unlike the former heroines, is neither insipid nor naive, but still inadvertently becomes a pawn in a deadly game of revenge and intrigue.

 

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Mary Edwardes is unhappy after being informed by her guardian, Sir Richard, that her choice of husband has been placed in his hands. Mary has no desire to marry at all, much less marry someone whom she has no choice in consideration. Now, under Sir Richard’s insistence, she is placed in the care of Lady Barbara Blanchard, a beautiful widow who will teach her all that she needs to know to win a proper husband in London.

 

Lord Hadley Blanchard wants only to regain what rightfully belongs to him as the proper Earl of Blanchard. He wishes to regain the title and estate stolen from him based on false accusations against his father through the ruthlessness of Sir Richard. If only he had the proof in the form of the ledgers that would prove that Sir Richard was, in fact, the one involved in bringing about the worst financial scandal to ever touch the British Isles.

 

Drawn back to London by Barbara’s promise that she has a plan to not only gain revenge against Sir Richard but to ensure their financial solvency once more, Hadley comes across a breath of fresh air in the form of a lovely young woman being tormented on the dance floor by her dance teacher. Only after he learns that Mary is the victim in Barbara’s plan to pull the girl into marriage with Hadley so that they may steal her money and rid themselves of Sir Richard, does he begin to rethink his own motives.

TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS by Victoria Vane is an exceptional historical romance, filled with intrigue, backstabbing motives, vicious intentions, and stars a man who thinks himself beyond redemption but is instead a hero in the making. My only regret is that there wasn’t a bit more satisfaction when Hadley comes to Mary’s rescue. I would’ve been much more vengeful, but that’s all I will say because TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS is a must read if you love historical romance with plot twists aplenty and truly evil villains.  Unlike the humorous and devilish Devil DeVere series penned by Victoria, of which we so enjoy, this venture into historical romance pulls from the darker side of Georgian society and may not be for everyone, but I think you may be immensely surprised. Victoria warned me more than once about its darkness but I found it most enjoyable and not nearly as dark as I expected.

 

I highly recommend TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS by Victoria Vane if you love strong characters, intriguing plot lines, and most importantly an excellent story with a heroine who needs saving, and hero who will have you cheering for him to redeem himself. Victoria weaves fiction and history together so expertly that you don’t know where reality and make believe begin, and end. Read TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS by Victoria Vane and be amazed.

 

***Be sure to read Victoria’s Tidbits at the end to understand the real history involved in this story – not to be missed and always interesting.

 

Happy Reading Everyone!

 

TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS by Victoria Vane, Entangled Publishing, available now in ebook formats.