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I thought today, as we’re going into the Labour Day weekend, I would give away a sample of each genre (except for Mystery because unfortunately I don’t have one to give) featured on the website. Comment to enter to win. I’m off to make my word count for the day (which is why the post is so short) 
**Click the cover for blurb, reviews, book trailer and buy links
The winners of the 2 romantic suspense eGalleys from Avon, YOU ARE NEXT and NEXT TIME YOU SEE ME are…
Pearl
Rebekah E.
Estella
Has
The winners of THE DUKE’S NIGHT OF SIN eGalley are…
Host
Angelique
JWZ1978
Deanna
Jacqueline C.
Kimmy Lange
Congratulations, ladies! Please contact me at contests at theseasonforromance dot com to get your books! You have one week. 
Are you wondering where I got these eGalleys? No, pilfering is not an option. These I picked up at the RWA Conference during Avons book signing. Yes, there they were on a table near the doors. I almost missed them to be honest, as I was so busy flitting around to collect the books I used for the giveaway last week. I’m glad they caught my eye before I left though. So are you, right?
Comment to enter to win either Kathryn Caskie’s THE DUKE’S NIGHT OF SIN or both of Katia Lief’s October and November romantic suspense releases, YOU ARE NEXT and NEXT TIME YOU SEE ME.
The Duke’s Night of Sin
Author: Kathryn Caskie
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Pub. Date: November 30, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0061491030
Retail: $7.99
Pages: 384
As a beloved instructress at an exclusive school for young ladies, Lady Siusan Sinclair is a model of deportment. But no one knows her secret—that she fled London for Bath, her reputation on the verge of tatters, her fortune lost…
The Duke of Exeter knows it’s time to find a bride, and he’s determined to locate the passionate minx who enticed him in a pitch-black library. Then, while overseeing his young ward’s education, he is irresistibly attracted to her exquisite new teacher, unaware that she’s the woman he’s never forgotten after his one night of sin…
~*~*~
You Are Next
Author: Katia Lief
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Pub. Date: September 28, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0061809026
Retail: $7.99
Pages: 320
He took everything . . . then came back for more.
Former Detective Karin Schaeffer has nothing left to live for after serial killer Martin Price destroys all she holds dear. Known as “The Domino Killer” because he leaves dominoes as a clue to his next victim, Price doesn’t stop until an entire family is destroyed. Even when he’s locked away in prison, the shadow he casts over Karin’s life keeps her in constant darkness.
Then a policeman brings news to her door: Price has escaped. Karin knows where he’s headed because of the message he left behind last time, scrawled in blood, on her bathroom mirror—
You are next.
But Karin Schaeffer refuses to run and hide. She feels no fear and has nothing left to lose. And so she waits. She won’t stand by and let Price harm any more of her family. And she won’t rest until she’s put him back behind bars forever . . . or until one of them is dead.
~*~*~
Next Time You See Me
Author: Katia Lief
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Pub. Date: October 26, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0061809040
Retail: $7.99
Pages: 320
Karin Schaeffer thought she had already defeated evil.But there was more.
Three years ago, Detective Karin Schaeffer wanted to die when a madman murdered her family—and she would have if her partner, Mac MacLeary, hadn’t pulled her back from the edge of the abyss. Now they are married, with a toddler son, and Karin is learning to live again.
Then Mac’s parents are slain in a brutal home invasion . . . And Mac vanishes . . . And a new nightmare begins.
Karin is determined to do whatever it takes to find her husband. But the answers waiting for her in the shadows are almost as unbelievable as his disappearance. Karin pursues the truth—leading her away from her home in Brooklyn to the terrifying heart of the Mexican drug wars to Cape Cod in winter—as dark secrets about the man she loves are revealed. . . .
Today’s Question:
What was Rachel Farris’s former job occupation before she returned to Destiny to help her grandmother save the family orchard in Toni Blake’s SUGAR CREEK?
Email your answer to contests at theseasonforromance dot com. Please include your first and last name.
**Hint: Answer can be found in the pop up review on the website. Double quotes around the search string helps limit the results.
The winners of the eGalley card of Jenny Brown’s LORD LIGHTNING, Miranda Neville’s THE DANGEROUS VISCOUNT and Elizabeth Boyle’s MAD ABOUT THE DUKE are… (I’ve added 5 more winners!)
JWZ
JenM
Monica
Kandace
Limecello
Deanna
Cassandra McGuire
April Renn
Lisa
~*~**~*~
The winner of Lila DiPasqua’s AWAKENED BY A KISS is…
Joder
Congrats, ladies. Please email me at contests at theseasonforromance dot com with your contact information. You have one week to collect your books!
Does everyone know what an eGalley is?
For all those that don’t, it’s a novel in digital format (in this case ePub or Digital PDF) sent out to reviewers several months prior to the release of the book. These eGalleys have an expiration date. Which means, you get the book long enough to read it, but the egalley usually expires a week or so prior to the book’s release. Still interested? Well I have some eGalley cards with 3 (three) Avon Book October releases that I’m giving away today. Check out the titles below.
All you have to do to enter to win is make a comment.
They call him Lord Lightning…for his shocking behavior. An unrepentant rogue with a wicked reputation, his outrageous conduct ensures no woman will get close enough to hurt him.
But demure and lovely astrologer Eliza Farrell casts a chart that tells her Lord Hartwood is capable of great, passionate love. When Hartwood indulges in one of this famous pranks and invites Eliza to become his new mistress, the virginal country miss must meet her fate armed only with her knowledge that the cynical lord will become the tender lover she sees predicted in the stars.
Though Eliza is nothing like the brazen strumpets he prefers the seemingly incorruptible seer excites Lord Lightning much more than the hard, calculating women he is accustomed to. Eliza’s trusting spirit and quick mind touch his cold heart-and when the bewitching innocent surprisingly agrees to be seen on his arm, neither can predict the sparks that fly between them–or resist the electric passion that threatens to transform them both.
*~**~*
Diana Fanshawe has always wanted to be a duchess. She uses Sebastian Iverley to get to his ducal cousin, but finds she cannot forget the brilliant, unconventional viscount and his sizzling kiss.
Sebastian Iverley has no time for women until he meets the beautiful Diana. When he learns she is trifling with him, the scholarly bookworm studies what it takes to please a lady. He initiates a game of seduction and revenge that can only end in disaster … or true love.
*~**~*
Elinor thought it would very simple to marry a duke, until she found them in short supply
Elinor Sterling is the second Standon widow ready to make the leap back into matrimony–but for her it is a different situation. Forcing her hand is her step-father who is threatening to take away her younger sister, and so it is up to Elinor to find a powerful husband to send this troublemaker packing–in other words, she needs a duke.
But what she discovers is that dukes are in very short supply so she hires solicitor James St. Maur to track down the most likely candidate. But the man she’s hired isn’t quite what he appears to be, and all too soon Elinor finds herself mad about the most unlikeliest of heroes.
Dracula, My Love
Author: Syrie James
Publisher: Avon A
Pub. Date: July 20, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0061923036
Retail: $14.99
Pages: 480
Acclaimed author Syrie James approaches Bram Stoker’s classic Dracula with a breathtaking new perspective—as, for the first time, Mina Harker records the shocking story of her scandalous seduction and sexual rebirth.
Who is this magnetic, fascinating man? And how could one woman fall so completely under his spell?
Mina Harker is torn between two men. Struggling to hang on to the deep, pure love she’s found within her marriage to her husband, Jonathan, she is inexorably drawn into a secret, passionate affair with a charismatic but dangerous lover. This haunted and haunting creature has awakened feelings and desires within her that she has never before known, which remake her as a woman.
Although everyone she knows fears him and is pledged to destroy him, Mina sees a side to him that the others cannot: a tender, romantic side; a man who’s taken full advantage of his gift of immortality to expand his mind and talents; a man who is deeply in love, and who may not be evil after all. Yet to surrender is surely madness, for to be with him could end her life. It may cost Mina all she holds dear, but to make her choice she must learn everything she can about the remarkable origins and sensuous powers of this man, this exquisite monster, this . . . Dracula!
~*~*~
DRACULA, MY LOVE is a must-read for fans of the original DRACULA.
DRACULA, MY LOVE is told entirely from Mina Harker’s point-of-view in journal form. The book begins with a single Mina visiting with her friend, Lucy, and her mother. Jonathan Harker, Mina’s fiancé is on a business trip, but once he returns they will wed. Odd things start to occur and Mina writes in her diary to pass the time and to try and understand what is happening in the small town of Whitby. Mina meets a mysterious man and can’t get him off her mind, even though she is thoroughly in love with Jonathan.
I love the way this book was written. Normally I’m not a fan of first person unless it is done really well. Ms. James writes Mina in such a way that we are able to get glimpses of what the other characters are feeling through Mina’s observations. Both love stories in this novel (Mina and Jonathan/Mina and Dracula) have such depth. Although I knew how it will end and that Dracula isn’t all he seems, I became so caught up in the story that I really wasn’t sure who I wanted Mina to end up with.
One of my favorite passages comes from the very beginning of the book. It sets the tone of the story and immediately grasped my attention.
Now and then, when I spy a white mist gathering in the garden below, when a shadow crosses a wall at night, or when I see dust motes swirling in a bean of moonlight, I still find myself jumping in expectation and alarm. Jonathan will press my hand and catch my eye with a silent, reassuring look, as if to let me now that he understands that we are safe. But when he turns back to his reading by the fire, my heart continues to hammer in my chest, and I am overcome not only by the sense of apprehension that Jonathan knows I feel, but by something else as well…by longing.
Yes, longing.
And in the same prologue another favorite passage:
I loved him. I loved him passionately, profoundly, from the very depths of my being, and with ever beating of my heart. There was a time when I might have gladly given up this human life to be with him for ever.
Anyone who is a fan of Dracula or even those who just want to read a really emotional love story should read DRACULA, MY LOVE.
Rating: 9 (Excellent)
Heat-Level: 2 (Mild)
The winner of Eloisa James’s A KISS AT MIDNIGHT is
JOYE
Congrats, Joye! Please send your contact to me at contests at theseasonforromance dot com. You have two weeks to collect your book.
The Sister Wife
Author: Diane Noble
Publisher: Avon Inspire
Pub. Date: June 22, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0061962226
Retail: $12.99
Pages: 352
What if the man you loved told you God wanted him to take another wife? What if that woman was your best friend?
Set in the heart of the earliest days of a new nineteenth-century sect known as the Saints, The Sister Wife is a riveting account of two women forced into a practice they don’t understand, bound by their devotion to Prophet Joseph Smith. When Mary Rose marries Gabriel, neither of them could foresee how quickly the community would turn to the practice of plural marriage. Devastated when Gabe is faced with an order from the Prophet to marry her best friend, Bronwyn, Mary Rose tries to have the faith to carry through with the marriage. But can she really be married to the same man as her very best friend? Can Mary Rose and Bronwyn face betraying both their husband and their God to do what they feel is right?
~*~*~
Lady Mary Rose Ashley agrees to follow her grandfather, the Earl of Salisbury, to America. Little does she know her grandfather has signed away all of their properties to the Prophet Joseph Smith, leaving her no choice but to continue forward with her grandfather’s plans whether she likes it or not. Once aboard the Sea Hawk, Mary Rose continuously questions the rightness of the Saints’ doctrines and enlists the help of Gabriel McKay, the only man on the ship, who seems to lack faith in God.
After witnessing a miracle, they both believe Joseph Smith’s church is God’s ‘one’ true church on Earth. Before the ship docks at the Boston harbor, Mary Rose and Gabriel exchange vows. Soon after arriving at the decreed Holy City, tragedy shakes their new found love, forcing another bride for Gabriel on their marriage, Mary Rose’s closest friend.
“Love has nothing to do with it. I’ve already explained—and really, Mary Rose, I shouldn’t have to keep going over it.” He let out an exasperated sigh. “I’ve not fallen in love with Bronwyn. I don’t deny I care about her. Her husband was my friend. But every ounce of love in my heart is yours alone.”
He touched her face, letting the backs of his fingers trace her jawline. The gesture was so familiar, so intimate, she could easily have wept. Except for the image that came to her: her husband touching Bronwyn’s face with the same intimacy, perhaps as soon as this night.
She drew in a deep breath and then stepped back, crossing her arms. “Perhaps the Prophet has interpreted God’s edict correctly—and I’m not the only first wife in Nauvoo to wonder—but tell me, Gabe, why did it have to be Bronwyn? And why does it have to be marriage? . . .”
Packed with allegories, The Sister Wife, the first book in the Brides of Gabriel series, goes beyond the telling of a simple story. It reaches into the depths of your soul and makes you question what you would do in Mary Rose’s shoes.
Multi Silver Angel Award recipient, Diane Noble creates a wonderful cast of characters in a world many of us could never possibly understand. Noble uses Mary Rose to draw the reader little by little into the story until we are left more heartbroken with each decision made beyond Mary Rose’s control.
The setting, whether at sea, in Nova Scotia, or on the banks of the Mississippi is superbly crafted. Noble has a true gift in weaving her words together to create an unforgettable tale. However, emotionally, this is one of the most difficult pieces of fiction I have ever read. In a culture where monogamous marriages far outweigh those of polygamy, I found it difficult to accept the decisions of Noble’s characters even though she gives them rock solid motivations. But I have to say, it was that difficulty, the warring of said decisions as well as the heartache of the consequences, which drew me and kept me riveted to the story.
As a romance reader I have certain expectations from my books, such as the promised happily ever after. I did not feel as though Mary Rose came to any resolution about her situation other than to carry forward with her husband and his thirst for godlike status with each wife he obtains. And spiritually, Mary Rose continues to waver clear up to the last pages between the new faith of the Mormon Church and that of the one taught her by her mother when she was but a small child.
Speaking of the last pages, at first I was confused, and then upset when I came to the end. The story ends with a cliffhanger, or so I assume. The last chapter stops on a hook before picking up at a later date in the epilogue.
Even though I felt robbed of a satisfying ending, I guess the real question is will I read the second book in the Brides of Gabriel Series? The answer to that question is, yes. Without a doubt.
Rating: 8 (Very Good)
Heat-Level: 1 (Inspy)
Last month I flew to France in grand style to interview the fabulous Eloisa James about her upcoming release, A KISS AT MIDNIGHT, the first in her fairy tale themed books. Paris is quite lovely this time of the year. I was lucky enough to be visiting on Bastille Day, so I was able to see the military parade marching down des Champs-Élysées. What a sight, I tell you! After a visit to La Tour Eiffel…I woke up from my very pleasant dream, much like the characters in most fairy tales. But fear not, Eloisa continues to live my dream in France. Sigh. Please welcome Eloisa to the blog. 
One lucky commenter will receive a copy of A KISS AT MIDNIGHT, which is an August Top Pick!
Hi Eloisa, welcome to The Season Blog and congratulations on A Kiss At Midnight’s, Top Pick with a perfect rating score of 10. A Kiss At Midnight is—as you state—a skewed, funny version of Cinderella, but what is the biggest difference between Kate and Cinderella?
I would love to answer this, but I’m not sure there are enough details in the fairy story to point with confidence to differences. If you think of the brief storyline, Cinderella could be a wimp (sitting in the fireplace all those years), or a victim (abuse at the hands of her stepmother), or just truly foolish (who wants a man with a shoe fetish?).
In fact, one could think of Cinderella as a paper doll, waiting for someone to come along and give her personality and color and passion. My Kate, on the other hand, is no paper doll—she’s a fierce, very funny woman caught in a terrible situation and making the best of it.
I really loved—and was relieved—that A Kiss At Midnight didn’t mirror Cinderella in the sense that all the villainous characters in the fairy tale weren’t villainous in your book (Victoria, the stepsister). Was there any thought to not making the stepmother evil?
No… Fairy stories grapple with evil, and in the case of Cinderella, the evil is a specifically familial, female version. What I did want to create a woman who acted in evil ways, but whom readers could understand. Mariana is not sadistic, but she is the very definition of opportunistic.
I’ve heard A Kiss At Midnight is the first in a series of fairy tale themed historicals you’re writing. Can you tell us which fairy tale is going to be adapted next?
When Beauty Tamed the Beast will pub January 27th—I think there’s no mystery about which fairy story lies at the heart of that novel! Right now I’m working on the story of the princess and the pea. The pea is proving a challenge. I had a lot of fun translating Cinderella’s Disney rats, the gown, the fairy godmother… I’ve having a lot more trouble with the pea!
You have The Lady Most Likely coming out in December with Julia Quinn and Connie Brockway? Is this an anthology? Can you tell us a bit about the book and your part in it?
The Lady Most Likely is not really an anthology—it’s more of a jointly written novel. Julia, Connie and I stole away from our families for a long weekend, holed up in a hotel and wrote like mad. We came up with the idea of a hero whose sister gives him a list of possible brides, and then brainstormed our individual heroine’s stories within the larger novel. And then we worked on the bits that are shared among us – the introduction, the epilogue, that sort of thing. We had a wonderful time! At night we wandered out into New Orleans and had amazing food, and then went back and wrote some more. It was great fun creating this novel, and I think our pleasure at writing—and being together—really comes through.
~~~
A Kiss At Midnight
Author: Eloisa James
Publisher: Avon / HarperCollins
Pub. Date: July 27, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0061626845
Retail: $7.99
Pages: 384
Miss Kate Daltry doesn’t believe in fairy tales… or happily ever after.
Forced by her stepmother to attend a ball, Kate meets a prince… and decides he’s anything but charming. A clash of wits and wills ensues, but they both know their irresistible attraction will lead nowhere. For Gabriel is promised to another woman—a princess whose hand in marriage will fulfill his ruthless ambitions.
Gabriel likes his fiancé, which is a welcome turn of events, but he doesn’t love her. Obviously, he should be wooing his bride-to-be, not the witty, impoverished beauty who refuses to fawn over him.
Godmothers and glass slippers notwithstanding, this is one fairy tale in which destiny conspires to destroy any chance that Kate and Gabriel might have a happily ever after.
Unless a prince throws away everything that makes him noble…
Unless a dowry of an unruly heart trumps a fortune…
Unless one kiss at the stroke of midnight changes everything.
**Click cover to read review
~~~
Last year you left the United States to spend a year in France (I just about died of envy when I heard). Were you fluent in French before you went to France? If not, are you fluent now?
Nope. I used to speak French fluently; I lived here before. But in the years of being married to an Italian husband, it seems as if all my foreign language receptors were replaced by Italian. I can understand people if they speak slowly, which they never do. And I didn’t work on becoming fluent – I find that big smiles and small French work quite well in Paris.
Which book did you hit the New York Times bestseller list with, and who told you that you made the list? What was your reaction?
My fourth novel hit the NYT extended list. My editor called me at work (I’m a professor). I was ecstatic – but at that point, I hadn’t yet told my colleagues that I was moonlighting as a romance novelist. So I danced down the corridor, keeping it all to myself. And later my husband brought home roses. It was a lovely day.
Do you have any intention of publishing a fictional novel outside the historical romance genre?
Not at the moment, but I am finishing a memoir of our year in Paris. It will be published by Random House sometime in 2011. That’s my first venture outside of romance, other than scholarship.
Not only are you a bestselling author, but you also have your own monthly column on Barnes & Noble website. What’s the best thing about doing that
column?
Getting to read fabulous new books before anyone else!!
I hear you’re running a really exciting contest – can you tell us about it?
I am! Harper Collins (my publisher) and Barnes & Noble have come together to give out two fabulous B&N electronic readers (the Nook), along with $50 gift cards! Here’s how to win: “like” my fan page on Facebook, which is http://www.facebook.com/EloisaJamesFans. If I reach 15K fans by August 3rd, the first Nook will be given to one of them. And then enter the contest on my website, www.eloisajames.com, for a chance at another Nook & gift card, and some fabulous runner up prizes as well! Please share this with all your friends…I do want to make that 15K by August 3rd and make sure two Nooks go to my fans!
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