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Enjoy Your Morning Cuppa with Shelley Munro

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

The Morning Cuppa by Shelley Munro

I like to drink tea and, like many other people throughout the world, I have a cup of tea to start my day. Tea is certainly an interesting subject. I used tea as a background for my contemporary romance, Tea For Two.

Tea, coffee and chocolate were all well known drinks by the mid eighteenth century and that’s where we’re headed right now. Grab a cup of your morning beverage of choice and hold tight—we’re time traveling back to 1720 England. Wait! Close your eyes. We’re in Rosalind’s bed chamber…there…okay, she’s presentable now. You can open your eyes.

Meet Rosalind, Viscount Hastings new wife. Yes, she’s the spurned one, but we’ll get back to that later.

Rosalind likes to start her day with a cup of chocolate. Drinking chocolate was introduced to England around 1650. At that time, it was an expensive drink and only the wealthy partook. Word spread rapidly. The drink caught on and chocolate houses started to open in the cities. The chocolate of this time was a very sweet drink, with sugar and spices added to counteract the natural bitterness of chocolate.

Tea arrived in Britain in 1657. Samuel Pepys liked to try these new beverages, and he drank his first cup of tea around 1660. Initially they called the new product a medicine and told everyone a sip of tea would cure many ills. Tea certainly caught on quickly. By 1770 the British were consuming 18 million pounds of tea a year. The mistress of the house kept the tea under lock and key because it was so expensive. This exorbitant price created a black market and smugglers shipped in a lot of tea from Europe.

Employers allowed their cooks and servants to sell the used tea leaves. The servants collected and dried them, pocketing the money from the sale. The poor purchased the recycled tea leaves, which unscrupulous vendors sometimes doctored with dangerous additives such as dyes.

Doctors, politicians, wine merchants and the clergy condemned tea as a bad thing, but tea gardens such as Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens proved the popularity of the new beverage. At Vauxhall, men and women of all classes drank tea together.

The English started drinking coffee during the mid seventeenth century, and people flocked to taste the new beverage. Claims about its health properties helped sell the drink. Coffee Houses sprang up in Britain and they developed into male refuges. Coffee was around 2d a cup and newspapers and conversation were free. Gentlemen had their favorite coffee houses, usually catering to their politics or interests such as literature.

As I mentioned earlier, Rosalind likes to start her day with a cup of chocolate while Charles, her new cousin by marriage, and his best friend favor coffee. Lady Augusta drinks tea and is mightily upset when her best friend suggests she serves inferior tea to the ladies after dinner.

Here’s the blurb for The Spurned Viscountess:

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Cursed with the sight and rumors of witchcraft, Rosalind’s only chance at an ordinary life is marriage to Lucien, Viscount Hastings. She doesn’t expect love, only security and children of her own. Determined to go through with the wedding, she allows nothing she encounters at the gloomy Castle St. Clare to dissuade her.

He wants nothing to do with her.

Recently returned from the Continent, Lucien has no time for the English mouse his family has arranged for him to marry, not when he’s plotting to avenge the murder of his beloved Francesca. He has no intention of bedding Rosalind, not even to sire an heir.

Dark secrets will bind them.

Though spurned by her bridegroom, Rosalind turns to him for protection when she is plagued by a series of mysterious accidents and haunted by terrifying visions. Forced to keep Rosalind close, and tempted into passionate kisses, Lucien soon finds himself in grave danger of falling in love with his own wife…

The Spurned Viscountess is now available from Carina Press.

Sources:

Food in History by Reay Tannahill

The Art of Dining—a history of cooking and eating by Sara Paston-Williams

Thanks for having me to visit today!

What beverage do you like to start the day? Do you prefer tea, coffee, chocolate or something else? Do you like to read food scenes in your romances?

CONTEST: Answer one or all of the questions above and go into a draw to win a download of The Spurned Viscountess, a Georgian historical romance with gothic tones, by Shelley Munro.

Shelley Munro lives in New Zealand and enjoys both writing and reading historical romance. She loves to cook and eat, but her husband does most of the cooking because he says it relaxes him after a stressful day at work. A great deal, according to Shelley! You can visit Shelley and learn more about her books at http://www.shelleymunro.com

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Excerpt Thursday ~ Hook Me!

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

THE SERGEANT’S LADY ended up being a September Top Pick long after Susanna received this day to have her excerpt posted. Do after you finish reading the excerpt, you may also want to check out Danielle’s review.

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Highborn Anna Arrington has been “following the drum,” obeying the wishes of her cold, controlling cavalry officer husband. When he dies, all she wants is to leave life with Wellington’s army in Spain behind her and go home to her family’s castle in Scotland.

Sergeant Will Atkins ran away from home to join the army in a fit of boyish enthusiasm. He is a natural born soldier, popular with officers and men alike, uncommonly brave and chivalrous, and educated and well-read despite his common birth.

As Anna journeys home with a convoy of wounded soldiers, she forms an unlikely friendship with Will. When the convoy is ambushed and their fellow soldiers captured, they become fugitives—together. The attraction between them is strong—but even if they can escape the threat of death at the hands of the French, is love strong enough to bridge the gap between a viscount’s daughter and an innkeeper’s son?

~*~*~

THE SERGEANT’S LADY ~ Susanna Fraser
Release Date: August 23  – Carina Press

In this scene from early in The Sergeant’s Lady, the hero, Will Atkins, and the heroine, Anna Arrington, have just begun to get to know each other and are seated in the shadows just beyond the light of an army campfire where Will’s fellow soldiers are singing and telling stories.

Fiddle and flute took up a new tune, Scottish, fast and infectious. It reminded Anna of her girlhood at Dunmalcolm, of being sixteen and dancing to the skirling music of bagpipes with her cousins and the neighbors’ sons in the castle ballroom. Her toes tapped of their own accord, and she saw that Sergeant Atkins’s did the same.

Impulsively she sprang to her feet and extended her hands. “Dance with me, Sergeant,” she ordered.

“No, ma’am. That wouldn’t be fitting.”

She beckoned again. “No one can see us here. Pretend we’re at your squire’s harvest dance, if you like.”

“But to a song like this, with a lady such as yourself? Not fitting at all.”

“What’s wrong with this song? I’ve never heard one more made for dancing.”

In the faint moonlight, she could just see his raised eyebrows. “You haven’t heard the words.”

She tossed her head. “I don’t care what the words are. I must dance.” Where was the harm? No one but the two of them would ever know. Anna longed for even a brief release from the tense propriety that had ruled her marriage and reigned over her still in widowhood. “Please, Sergeant Atkins,” she implored.

He shook his head again, but rose and took her by the hand. His grip was warm and strong. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

With Sebastian she’d learned to separate her body from her mind and heart—to touch and be touched without feeling anything. So the jolt of warmth that shot down her spine at the sergeant’s touch stunned her. Perhaps this was unwise.

No. It felt too wonderful. She wanted to laugh with pure joy. It was only a dance. How dangerous could it be?

At a ball they would have joined a line or square with other couples, barely touched and followed a prescribed set of steps. Outside that framework Anna hardly knew how to follow through on her own mad scheme. Fortunately, once persuaded, her partner took the lead. He caught her about the waist with one hand, clasped her hand with the other and whirled her into a series of quick steps.

The soldiers by the fire began to sing—something about a trooper lad arriving in town weary with riding on a moonlit night. Oh, this was more like it! Her sergeant was a grand dancer. Even in the dark, on unfamiliar ground, dancing in a close hold, she trusted his surefooted guidance.

The singers reached the chorus. Bonny lassie, I’ll lie near you, hey bonny lassie, I’ll lie near you. Anna flushed, but she had expected a bawdy song from Sergeant Atkins’s warnings.

The next verses told how the lassie took the horse to the stable and the trooper to her table and fed them each their dinners. Anna looked up. In the moonlight she could see a twinkle in her partner’s eyes, and he grinned at her. Despite his initial reluctance, he was enjoying this too. She let the music carry her along, feeling as if she were flying. Every time he pressed his fingers against her waist to guide her she shivered. She felt the sergeant’s stripes sewn onto the sleeve of his rough wool jacket and beneath it the strong, lean muscles of his arm.

She went upstairs to make the bed,

And she made it soft and easy.

She’s pulled her petticoats o’er her head,

Crying, soldier, are you ready?

Anna gasped.

Sergeant Atkins laughed. “Told you.”

“You did,” she admitted.

“It gets worse.”

How was that possible? This was scandalous—but she had all but forced it upon him. She could not in justice complain.

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Review: My Lord Jack

Sunday, August 22nd, 2010

My Lord Jack
Author: Hope Tarr
Publisher: Carina Press
Pub. Date: July 12, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-1426890413
Retail: $5.39
Pages: Novel-length

Former French courtesan Claudia Valemont can’t believe her life has come to this: standing in front of a Scottish judge, sentenced to death for stealing a horse. She fled France to find her father and escape the hangman’s noose. Now here she is, facing the same fate—alone, desperate and penniless.

“Hold! I will speak for her.”

Burly Scottish hangman Jack Campbell takes pride in his work: serving justice and giving the condemned a quick end to their sorry lives. Why he spoke for that pale, hollow-eyed Frenchwoman he’ll never know. But now he’s stuck with her—assigned to be her keeper for six months’ indenture.

Bound together by the rules of her sentence, Jack and Claudia learn to appreciate their differences. But as their wary affection turns to tender desire, secrets from the past appear and threaten to destroy their future…

~*~*~

The simple book cover of Hope Tarr’s My Lord Jack, perfectly conveys a story centered around a man with so much heart it’s matchless. The unusual pairing of Jack Campbell and Claudia Valemont is central to this powerful novel packed with storyline, redemption, heartfelt emotion, and unrelenting action steeped in Scottish customs.

The village of Selkirk Scotland is beset upon by French beauty, refugee and accused thief Claudia Valemont. Intent on finding her father in England after fleeing France and life as a courtesan, Valemont is marooned in a village and desperate to reach her destination. The decision to steal a horse to continue her journey proves a nearly fatal one as she is caught, tried and sentenced to death until her execution is stayed by none other than, the state hangman: Jack Campbell.

“Hold, I will speak for her.”

Ahhh…That sentence alone captured my imagination, with Jack going on to capture my heart as surely as he will readers of this unique tale.

Now remanded into his custody for six months, Claudia must learn how to function in servitude and reconcile her past with the kindness of strangers and the love from and for Jack that grows with each day and new undertaking.

And adventures fuel the plot turns that are pleasantly unyielding. From Jack’s hateful half-brother Callum intent on destroying him, to Claudia’s desire to remain with Jack yet find her birth father in order to be free. At every village and country, it seems that time has run out for one or the other through missteps or machinations, keeping readers turning the pages seeking the ending they want mostly for Jack but certainly for Claudia. Unrelenting twists and turns build casual suspense, bringing the reader to their knees weeping, loving and cheering with and for this improbable couple.

Warning: Spoiler Alert!

What Tarr brilliantly accomplishes is a unique and very definitely, welcome romantic twist that reveals itself as the sexual tension has built to a tsunami with the very virile Campbell divulging his life-long secret: he’s a virgin. But, thanks to excellent inner dialogue and human responses, the reader would never guess. And thanks to her adept storytelling, you don’t until Jack reveals it. This makes him all the more endearing and no less skilled as instinct and insatiable curiosity take over and provide some very passionate love making and discovery. My Lord Jack has provided a role-model for writers of romance with this virginal male character because there is none of the awkwardness so often associated with the title, and all of the human emotion and reactions typical of a man and woman deeply attracted to one another on more than the physical level.

The juxtaposition of a man skilled in killing, to his vow of chastity with a woman who has been a courtesan in order to survive is riveting. It’s made even more touching by the fact that Claudia has never been in love while Jack has always felt deeply toward his friends, homeland and animals but more poignantly, in his humane treatment of the condemned. The moody Scottish moors serve as a perfect backdrop to this moving novel reflecting its characters: Jack in his rugged beauty and Claudia in her delicate yet resolute determination.

Though this book is a journey for both, we come to truly know, respect and love Jack as he maneuvers the powerful sexual urges and attraction for his charge while sharing his tender side without appearing a besotted idiot. As Claudia’s edges are softened by Jack’s attention and patience, she wars with a need to confront her father, forgive herself and stay with Jack. Enriching this tale and assisting them, are lively secondary characters; Milread, Callum, Luicas and Duncan.

Tarr very skillfully weaves Scottish & English dialect with Claudia’s French in both conversation and internal dialogue delivering an authenticity, providing deeper character insight and a sense of place in a story spanning three countries and a love that feels no boundaries.

This perfectly balanced novel furnishes readers with everything they want and more and, “Och, I ken ye will love it!” I highly recommend My Lord Jack and really look forward to her next novel!

Rating: 9 (Excellent)

Heat-Level: 4 (Hot)

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Rating: 9.0/10 (2 votes cast)

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Review: Caddygirls

Friday, July 16th, 2010

Love and Scandal
Author: V.K. Sykes
Publisher: Carina Press
Pub. Date: July 5, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-1426890383
Retail: $4.49

Torrey Green once had a promising golf career, now she’s stuck caddying for butt-pinching businessmen. She doesn’t mind playing dumb while hauling clubs if it means she can get her golf career back on track, and she’s going to need an influx of cash to focus on the pro circuit. A booking from video game mogul Julian Grant could be Torrey’s cash-flow solution.

In town for a business deal, Julian’s partners plan for a little action on the greens. They’re looking for some fun with their rent-a-caddy girls and have a lot riding on who can score, on the course and off. This type of gamble isn’t Julian’s style, but he’ll do whatever it takes to keep his partners happy—even if that includes breaking a few hearts along the way.

Julian soon discovers that Torrey is more than just a caddy girl, and they spark an intriguing attraction—but if Torrey discovers the truth behind his foolish wager, all bets are off…

~*~*~

Oh so sexy, oh so steamy…this book is one heck of a good read!

Husband and wife writing team Vanessa Kelly and Randall Sykes have hit a solid drive straight down the fairway with this story. Extremely well written, this novella makes the lights of Vegas come alive with detailed narrative and a deeply satisfying story line.

The heat of the desert golf courses – and the bedrooms – made me want to get out my fan and a cold iced tea! Vanessa and Randall have created a splendid group of characters, using realistic dialogue and situations that help draw the reader into this wonderful love story.

Julian, the no-nonsense businessman, practically screams sexuality while Torrey, our determined little golfer, totally endears herself to the reader with her simple style and professional demeanor. Both characters were well framed and expanded on, giving me a chance to feel their relationship grow and the sweet sexual tension spark across each page. Their love is a little quick, not too much so, but how could it be anything but with only 200 pages? Still, I liked how the authors manage to create a realistic, passionate love story that is perfectly paced and deeply fulfilling.

Yes, he is a hot self-made billionaire with a big heart and she a straight up girl from the Vegas suburbs. The chances of them finding love in the real world might be too farfetched for some but I found that Vanessa and Randall made it real and believable, made it totally hot, and kept my rich, hot billionaire dreams alive.

The love scenes sizzled on the page, simply cranked up the heat, but were still loving and sensual.

I wasn’t sure that I was going to like this book when I first read the overview but I am so glad I read it anyway… a total winner with me.

Rating: 9  (Excellent)

Heat-Level: 5 (Scorching)

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Rating: 9.0/10 (1 vote cast)

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Review: Betrayed

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

Love and Scandal
Author: Claire Robyns
Publisher: Carina Press
Pub. Date: July 5, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-1426890314
Retail: $6.29

Two Feuding Families

Amber Jardin has no taste for the bitter feud started before her father’s banishment. But now that he’s passed, she’s had to return to Scotland and his barbaric people. After her bloodthirsty uncle kidnaps one of the family’s rivals, Amber is in turn captured by Krayne Johnstone, the enemy laird. Despite their enmity, their attraction is immediate—and unfortunate, as Amber has sworn to escape.

One Lusty Temptation

Krayne is amazed at the wildcat’s repeated attempts to flee. He should steel himself against her beguiling ways—yet with time, he is driven more witless with lust. When the ransom exchange fails and Krayne is left with Amber, he finds he cannot tolerate the thought of her with another man—and she cannot tolerate the thought of returning to her uncle’s home.

Will passion and love win out over mistrust and betrayal in time to prevent an all-out war?

~*~*~

Claire Robyns delivers complex characters along with an intricate plot in this medieval set in Scotland.

If Claire Robyns’ debut release from Carina Press were to bear a different title, it might be called The Truth and the Perception of Truth. Thankfully, its title is the much catchier Betrayed, but the story’s theme still stands.

Much of the conflict–not only between the hero and heroine but the wider plot as well–revolves around what the characters perceive as the truth. They learn that their perception of feelings and events is not always how things actually are. The hero and heroine also suffer from a healthy dose of men-are-from-Mars-women-are-from-Venus syndrome, which only adds to the conflict.

Readers wary of the big mis might suspect it lurks in the e-pages of this novel. It does, to an extent. On several occasions throughout the story Amber and Krayne suffer from a lack of communication, or perhaps more accurately, a lack of listening before one of them jumps to conclusions (usually Amber) and flounces off. It never got to eye-rolling level for me, but readers who are annoys by such plotting might want to approach with caution.

The external plot revolves around an ongoing feud between two families. In retaliation for the capture of a family member, Krayne captures Amber. In spite of her attraction to her captor, she makes numerous escape attempts because she is sure her uncle has no intention of ever exchanging his prisoner to get her back.

This is only one of her misconceptions, because her evil uncle’s plans go beyond her imaginings. Their full extent is not revealed until the end, so to say more would be a spoiler. Suffice it to say that the entire history of the feud is based on a misconception.

The circumstances which lead to Krayne and Amber’s marriage are also based on a misconception. In a fit of desperation, Amber leads Krayne to believe her raped her (her motivation is too complicated without going off on a tangent, but her actions are motivated). As a result, Krayne offers to right the situation through their marriage, in the hopes that their union will also bring the feud to an end. Now Amber is stuck, because Krayne never raped her, and he’ll know she duped him the moment he tried to consummate their marriage.

These are but two examples of how characters’ false perceptions of the truth play out in the course of the intricate plot. All in all, this story was a solid read. If you like medievals and don’t mind a little Highland burr coming from your characters, check this one out.

Rating: 7.5 (Very Satisfactory)

Heat-Level: 3.5 (Very Sensual)

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Rating: 8.5/10 (2 votes cast)

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Review: Love & Scandal

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

Love & Scandal
Author: Donna Lea Simpson
Publisher: Carina Press
Pub. Date: June 21, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-1426890208
Retail: $5.39

Nothing sells like love & scandal…

Collette Jardiniere writes of passion and seduction but has experienced neither. Her pseudonymous novel, The Last Days of a Rake, has shocked Victorian society and become a runaway bestseller. Infamous roué Charles Jameson is “revealed” as the author, and Collette is outraged when the cad does little to curtail the gossip.

Intrigued by the book the tabloids claim is his thinly veiled autobiography, Jameson tries to find the real author. Returning to London after an unsuccessful hunt, he is pleasantly distracted by a plain country miss reading the wicked book.

Collette is dismayed when she learns the identity of the devastatingly handsome man who kissed her senseless. And Jameson cannot believe that she wrote The Last Days of a Rake. As Collette tries to convince him of the truth, their mutual attraction reaches a fever pitch, and soon they find themselves in a real-life scandal!

~*~*~

Donna Lea Simpson delivers an interesting read that explores a heroine’s search for her place in a rigid society.

Collette Jardiniere has a secret. She’s the author of a well received novel entitled The Last Days of a Rake, but because she’s not only a woman, but also a spinster from the country, she has chosen to publish under a pseudonym. She and her publisher both feel if her true identity were to get out, it would affect sales of her novel, because what would a woman in her circumstances know of rakes?

Very little, it turns out. Even though the novel is lauded as being an accurate portrayal of the decline and fall of a libertine, in the course of Donna Lea Simpson’s Love and Scandal, Collette discovers just how little she knows about both.

Most of London believes the author of Last Days to be Charles Jameson, an admitted rake who does little to deny this theory. He’s read the novel and is impressed with the writing.

And then he meets the real author on a train journey. Collette has come to London to do something about the rumors that Charles Jameson is the author of her novel, but neither knows the other’s identity at first. They share enough conversation and a kiss to become thoroughly intrigued with each other.

Later, the conflict between them isn’t enough of a barrier to prevent them from acting on their desire for each other. On more than one occasion, the couple puts their differences aside to act on their feelings, which only serves to escalate the conflict. They sate their desire, but the issues between them remain unresolved until the end.

There’s another layer to this book, a theme if you will that has to do with morality. The story is set in the rigid society of Victorian England. In the course of the story, Collette comes to realize that often the more moral choice is made by going against society’s strict standards. When she comes to London, she renews her friendship with two girls she knew in school. Henrietta is now married to a banker and the mother of five, while Philoxia is widowed and holds literary salons. A contrast is drawn between these two friends, one who lives a very conventional life, while the other has more freedom to do as she pleases. When a gossip column proclaims Collette as Jameson’s latest mistress, Henrietta’s husband forces her to sever ties with Collette. In casting the ‘immoral’ Collette out, Henrietta might have done right in the eyes of society, but her actions hurt Collette.

This novel is a bit different from your typical historical, in that the hero and heroine don’t spend all that much page time together. Much space is devoted to the development of Collette’s relationships to the other female characters in keeping with the book’s themes. This is possibly to the detriment of the sexual tension between the hero and heroine. The initial meeting fairly crackled with sparks, but then they’re separated for a time while the author introduces the secondary characters. When they do meet again, it seems some of the tension is lost.

Another potentially frustrating point, to me, was the fact that when Jameson and Collette did meet ostensibly to discuss some outstanding issues between them, they ended up pushing all that aside to hop into bed. While their actions did serve to up the conflict by leaving their issues unresolved, it made me feel as if these issues weren’t quite as important as all that if they could set them aside so easily to scratch their mutual itches. I would have preferred to see them work on their problems at the same time as gratifying their sex drive.

All in all, this book is well written and a solid read. I enjoyed the relationships between the various secondary characters, and I enjoyed the exploration of moral gray areas within the rigidness of Victorian society.

Rating: 6.5 (Very Satisfactory)

Heat-Level: 4 (includes some mild kink, as the heroine discovers she likes to be spanked…)

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Review: Texas Tangle

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010

Texas Tangle
Author: Leah Braemel
Publisher: Carina Press
Pub. Date: June 28, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-1426890376
Retail: $3.99
Novella

Thanks to her cheating ex-husband and her thieving brother, all horse breeder Nikki Kimball has left is a bruised heart, an overdrawn bank account and an empty home. When sex-on-legs Dillon Barnett and his brooding foster-brother Brett Anderson start showing more than just neighborly attention, Nikki is intrigued…and a little gun-shy.

Dillon and Brett have a history; back in high school, the two friends fought a bitter battle over Nikki. Now, ten years later, Brett still longs to be the man in Nikki’s life, but he’s determined to stand back and let Dillon win Nikki’s heart.

Society says Nikki must choose between the two men she loves. Is Nikki strong enough to break all the rules in order to find happiness?

~*~*~

A woman who’s lived her life trying to please others throws caution to the wind in this sexy and highly emotional read that gives new meaning to love and relationships.

Her whole life Nikki Kimball has tried to do the right thing. When she got pregnant at an early age, she married the baby’s father because that’s what her parents wanted. While he repeatedly cheated on her, her parents told her to stay with him or be disowned. After her brother gets in trouble with the law and needs a place to stay, her parents tell her it’s her familial duty to help him. But on the day her truck breaks down and she finds all of her worldly possessions and money stolen by her brother, Nikki finally reaches the breaking point and starts living her life for herself.

Dillon Barnett has loved Nikki since they were in high school, but he never made a move. Along a deserted road on a dark night, a broken down truck finally gives him that chance. He comes to her rescue, driving her home. When they discover her home robbed of its contents, he offers her a new home at his place. What Nikki thinks is just neighborly help soon morphs into something more. Dillon starts showing her she doesn’t have to do everything on her own and that he’s interested in a long term relationship. But Nikki’s skittish after all the pain of her marriage and doesn’t trust Dillon’s words. Compounding her mistrust is that Dillon’s not good with words, but his actions speak very loudly, and they say he owns her.

Someone else cares for Nikki too, and that’s Dillon’s foster brother Brett Anderson. Brett is a police officer, and back in high school he and Nikki had a very passionate night that he’s never forgotten. Throughout the years Brett has continued to be a part of Nikki’s life by checking up on her after finding her ex in numerous compromising positions. He’s given her a shoulder to cry on but would like to do so much more. And just when he thinks he can finally claim her, he finds out Dillon got there first.

No matter how he feels about her though, he’d never interfere with Dillon and Nikki’s relationship. He and Dillon got into a fight over her long ago that almost destroyed their brotherly bond, and Brett doesn’t want that to happen again. The temptation grows stronger when Dillon suggests they form a threesome. Brett’s willing to risk everything–including the support of a loving family–to remain by Nikki’s side. Now if they can just convince Nikki to stop worrying about others perceptions and embrace this unconventional, yet very loving, relationship they’ll finally have the family they’ve always dreamed of.

This is a very sexy story with two very honorable men. I can understand Nikki’s dilemma in loving them both since they’re both very appealing. Dillon is tough and hard working. While he has trouble talking about his feelings, showing them is what he excels at. His love for Nikki knows no bounds. Her happiness is all that matters and because of this, he sets any feelings of jealousy aside to form this new family.

Brett is equally noble. Coming to live with the Barnett family from a very physically abusive home, he doesn’t want to do anything to jeopardize his standing in his foster family. It takes a lot to convince him that he’s worthy of love and that love is unconditional. Realizing that a “true” family loves you no matter what, finally releases the demons haunting Brett and allows him to embrace this new relationship. Fear has been holding Nikki back too. She and Brett are a lot alike in that respect. They want a family so bad that they don’t always make decisions that will make them happy. Seeing them come to the realization about their own self-worth is very emotional and inspiring, and makes you root for the threesome to work.

This is a very good story with the problems associated with a threesome shown in a very believable way. There was never an ick factor for me. The sex scenes were very tasteful, yet retains their steaminess. Hopefully readers can put aside any preconceived notions regarding threesomes and take a chance on this truly emotional story that gives a whole new understanding of what defines a family.

Rating: 7.5 (Good+)

Heat-Level: 6 (Erotic)

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Rating: 9.0/10 (1 vote cast)

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Review: Lovely

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010


Lovely
Author: Kris Starr
Publisher: Carina Press
Pub. Date: June 21, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-1426890291
Retail: $2.39
40 pages

They call me Lovely. But I know I am not.

Once I had another name. Now, as Angelique, I do what I can to please les messieurs. What would they say if they knew I felt no pleasure? To them I am wanton, insatiable. I alone know the truth.

So I am mystified by my reaction to my latest caller. Alexandre. Handsome. Well-bred. With an air of innocence that intrigues me. And true pain in his eyes. A mere kiss on the hand inflames me as never before. In moments this man disconcerts me like no other, and soon I can think of nothing, no one else. And yet, he barely touches me.

I know my true purpose is to mend his wounds, but I wonder what lustful appetites are buried deep within him. I will do what I can to discover his secrets…

~*~*~

A scorching, lyrical expression of sex in its basic element, this short if a good quickie for the historical erotic fan.

Angelique is the courtesan with too much experience and a jaded view of life. This short story is written in the first person from her perspective and it’s an open and intimate look at the daily life of one such as she. For some reason, unbeknownst to her, she finds herself infatuated with a young, vulnerable man who inches his way into her professional life and into her heart.

Alexandre is a naive man seeking comfort after the death of his young wife and child. He is anxious and weary about seeking the company of a notorious woman but he needs her gentle touch to heal his wounds. I thought he was a bit insipid but that is how the writer wanted him to be.

It’s hard to comment on plot and writing style with a short story but I found the story line interesting with a satisfying ending even if it was not the traditional “happy ever after”. I liked Kris’s writing to a point; the story is very explicit with a few points that were a little vulgar and I could have done without. But, she builds desire and excitement with only 40 pages… not an easy thing to do!

Very vivid and graphic love scenes.

An interesting little short and a satisfying read

Rating: 7.5 (Good+)

Heat-Level: 5 (Scorching)

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Posted in Carina Press, Reviews | 5 Comments »

Excerpt Thursday ~ Hook Me!

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

Were you hooked? Let me know what you think. You can click the cover to purchase Captive Spirit.

Sonoran Desert. Dawn of the sixteenth century.

Aiyana isn’t like the other girls of the White Ant Clan. Instead of keeping house, she longs to compete on the Ball Court with her best friend Honovi and the other boys. Instead of marriage, she daydreams of traveling beyond the mountains that surround her small village. Only Honovi knows and shares her forbidden wish, though Aiyana doesn’t realize her friend has a secret wish of his own…

When Aiyana’s father arranges her marriage to a man she hardly knows, she takes the advice of a tribal elder: run! In fleeing, she falls into the hands of Spanish raiders and finds herself being taken over the mountains against her will. Now Aiyana’s on a quest to return to the very place she once dreamed of escaping. And she’ll do whatever it takes to survive and find her way back to the people she loves.

Captive Spirit ~ Liz Fichera
Release Date: June 28, 2010 ~ Carina Press

Never seen before Excerpt from CAPTIVE SPIRIT:

The Apache crept to the edge of our campsite, each step as light as a bird’s feather. It was as if they walked and breathed as one man instead of ten.

When they got close, they surrounded us in a half-circle. More light crept into the sky and through the trees. Their bows quickly lowered when they saw us, cold, bleeding, and dirty. We were hardly a threat. Their eyes, unfortunately, rested mostly on me while mine spoke to theirs, pleading for their help.

Despite the early chill, they were bare-chested. They wore grey deerskin pants and skins around their feet that reached their knees and laced near the top. A dark, wide skin wrapped around their foreheads. Three of the men wore brownish-yellow feathers against their foreheads. Their hair was black and hung loose past their shoulders; their skin was brown, although their faces were flatter, less oval, and their noses longer.

The Apache who stood in the center of the men recognized Diego. He had two feathers tucked inside his headband while the others only had one. Diego mumbled a greeting and the Apache repeated the same words back to him. I did not understand their words as easily as I understood Diego. Their words were nothing like mine.

“Isdzán,” the Apache said, nodding at me from the center of their semi-circle. His eyes traveled down my body. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms across my chest, mostly to keep my dress closed.

Diego turned, looked at me once before turning “Yes,” Diego said. “A woman.” He paused and then extended his arms. “A gift.”

My eyes widened.

My surprise did not go unnoticed by the man with two feathers. Even so, I sucked back a breath and watched for Honovi in my periphery. He tried to stand by my side but his knees wobbled. I reached out to steady him but he shook his head. Finally, his knees buckled and he sank to the ground.

Carefully, the Apache with the two feathers stepped away from the circle and approached me. He was just as tall as Diego but even broader across the shoulders. Long scars sliced across his chest. On my other side, Lobo started to growl as the man approached. The Apache stopped, eying Lobo warily. I was afraid he’d draw back his bow and kill him.

My voice shook. “Quiet,” I whispered to Lobo. I patted the top of his head with my free hand, clutching my deerskin with the other, eyes still locked on the Apache.

The Apache tilted his head curiously and looked from Lobo and then back to me. He turned to the other men standing behind him and said something that made the whole line chuckle, including Diego, but Diego’s laugh sounded forced.

Another step and the Apache stood directly in front of me. My nostrils flared as I raised my eyes but not my head. He studied me strangely, his dark eyes narrowing, his brow furrowing, like he’d never seen a girl before.

The Apache’s eyes were as black as Honovi’s but there were more crinkles in the corners. I could see my reflection in his eyes and I looked terrified. Finally he stepped closer so that our noses almost touched.

My neck pulled back. The Apache was so close that I could feel his warm breath on my face.

His eyes widened; his head tilted with curiosity. He pointed to my eyes.

I blinked, confused. What did he want?

“Ya’ài,” he said. “Ya’ài.”

I turned to Diego, pleading for a translation.

Diego was on the ground, cross-legged, his hand pressed against his neck. He was still glaring at Honovi. I wondered if he’d help me.

He surprised me.

“The sun,” Diego said, pausing a moment to turn his attention away from Honovi. His voice was flat. “He believes your eyes hold the sun.”

I turned back to the Apache and shook my head, confused. I wanted to tell them that they were simply green, like my grandmother’s and the grandmother before her. Nothing more, nothing less.

But then Diego said, “He’s never seen anyone with green eyes before, Aiyana.”

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Posted in Carina Press, Excerpt Thursdays | 16 Comments »

Review: Exclusively Yours

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010


Exclusively Yours
Author: Shannon Stacey
Publisher: Carina Press
Pub. Date: June 7, 2010
ISBN-13: 9781426890017
Retail: $4.79
Novella

When Keri Daniels’ editor finds out she has previous carnal knowledge of reclusive bestselling author Joe Kowalski, she gives Keri a choice: get an interview or get a new job.

Joe’s never forgotten the first girl to break his heart, so he’s intrigued to hear Keri’s back in town—and looking for him. Despite his intense need for privacy, he’ll grant Keri an interview if it means a chance to finish what they started in high school.

He proposes an outrageous plan—for every day she survives with his family on their annual camping and four-wheeling trip, Keri can ask one question. Keri agrees; she’s worked too hard to walk away from her career.

But the chemistry between them is still as potent as the bug spray, Joe’s sister is out to avenge his broken heart and Keri hasn’t ridden an ATV since she was ten. Who knew a little blackmail, a whole lot of family and some sizzling romantic interludes could make Keri reconsider the old dream of Keri & Joe 2gether 4ever.

~*~*~

Exclusively Yours is a funny, light and contemporary read that will leave readers wanting a little bit more.

Lately I’ve been reading new books by new authors (or at least they are new to me) and while I’m always a bit reluctant and leery, I have to say that I’ve been finding some really good books. Exclusively Yours by Shannon Stacey was another good read.

High School sweethearts Joe Kowalski and Keri Daniels were wildly in teenage love, planning a future until Keri bolted without any warning from their town to establish a career and new life as a journalist. When her boss uncovers that Keri had a relationship with Joe, a reclusive and bestselling author, she wants an interview. Receiving an ultimatum of reporting about Joe and his recent love scandal or losing her job, Keri is forced back into the life of the one man she had loved and hurt the most.

Once Joe discovers that Keri is back in his town trying to get a story about his life, he plots to get reacquainted with his former love by bribing her into spending a two week vacation with him and his family. In return, they both get to ask each other a question each day.

Normally, I don’t fall for the beta heroes, but Joe was amusing, sweet and it was so obvious from the start that he was still in love with Keri. The author made several references to the pain he experienced when Keri left throughout the story and how he ended up as a famous author.

There was a cast of secondary characters. The whole Kowalskis are in full attendance at the campsite and I loved every minute of their banter and all the siblings had their own issues. Though I am not into bitchy female characters at all, I had to say that I liked Terry (Joe’s sister) a lot. She was the type to say it like it is and she had a whole lot of drama. Not only did Keri bail out on Joe, but Terry and Keri were once BFFs and Terry carried the pain of her best friend leaving her. There was some laugh out loud moments with the fights between Keri and Terry. I felt the emotions from Terry. She is like a child who didn’t want to lose her friend or have problems with her husband. Though she is catty at times, I understood where her place of anger stems from.

My only quarrel with this story was the abrupt way that the storylines ended. Granted, the book was relatively short but the issues could have been tied up better. Terry and Keri’s relationship was never settled in my opinion. They eventually began to talk at the campsite but they only discussed Terry’s marital issues. There was no discussion of their fall out or an apology. I find it hard to believe after holding so much anger inside, that Terry would just let go of her anger toward Keri. I’m sorry, but if my best friend ditched me, I would want to say, “You had hurt me a lot when you stopped being my friend.” A conversation about the past should have occurred.

The storyline with Joe and Keri’s past didn’t seemed to be that prevalent in the conversations between them. For Joe to have the freedom to ask Keri any question he wanted, he sure did waste them. I do understand that he was trying to convince her to stay and not rehash the past but I need more of a resolution when reading a reconnecting love story.

Overall, I still enjoyed the story and I would definitely read another book by this author. I am kind of hoping that the younger brother gets a shot at love as well.

Rating: 6 (Satisfactory)

Heat-Level: 4 (Hot)

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