Archive for the ‘Sourcebooks’ Category

Review: Hot Zone by Catherine Mann

Tuesday, January 17th, 2012


Hot Zone
Author: Catherine Mann
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Pub. Date: December 1, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-1402244988
Pages: 352
Digital Price: $4.96
Print Retail Price: $6.99
Amazon ~ B&N ~ iBookstore

HE’LL TAKE ANY MISSION, THE RISKIER THE BETTER…

The haunted eyes of pararescueman Hugh Franco should have been her first clue that deep pain roiled beneath the surface. But if Amelia couldn’t see the damage, how could she be expected to know he’d break her heart?

SHE’LL PROVE TO BE HIS BIGGEST RISK YET…

Amelia Bailey’s not the kind of girl who usually needs rescuing…but there are anything but usual circumstances.

~*~*~

REVIEW

A romantic suspense that grabs you from the second chapter…

Hugh Franco lives on the edge as a pararescueman, and worries more about saving the lives of others rather than forming connections. Hugh’s on the straight and narrow until his rescue mission puts him in contact with Amelia. Now he’s checking on her and her nephew in the hospital; concerned with emotions he hasn’t felt in a long time. When Amelia and her nephew are kidnapped, Hugh doesn’t think twice about jumping onto the back of van and doing his damnedest to save them. Even if embedding them into his life is cracking away the emotional blockade around his heart.

Amelia just wants to keep her nephew safe, at least until she can find his mother and father. The survival instinct is raging, and she can’t stop dwelling on her attraction to Hugh. He’s gone out of his way to help her, in more ways then she can count. As the danger increases and she’s forced into closer quarters with Hugh, Amelia has to decide if her feelings are just spurned by the circumstances or if her heart truly falling for this superman.

The second book in Mann’s Elite Force series is definitely not one to judge by the first pages. At first I didn’t believe I would get into the story. The idea of a romance unfolding at the scene of an earthquake seemed a little far-fetched for me. The setting and background were heart breaking, and emotional; nothing escapist about it. Mann has a penchant for grabbing you with emotion—feelings cold, warm, raw and afflicted. The characters were deep and quickly entangled my thoughts until I had to know if Hugh and Amelia were going to overcome the ridiculous odds. When I say ridiculous, I mean just that because everywhere this pair turned there was trouble—earthquake shakes, gun wielding fanatics, you name it. Regardless of the tension and conflicts Mann does a miraculous job of balancing internal issues with external, giving readers a chance to get lost in the minds of two people focused on survival, while dealing with a ton of emotional baggage from their past.

There is one subplot I could have done without, which involves Hugh’s superior, Liam McCabe. The addition of this added a little too much head jumping. I would have enjoyed just a Hugh and Amelia story versus getting involved in the early directions of McCabe’s story that is coming up in the next book. For me this killed or numbed my emotions, and slowed the story down. I was more enthralled with the direct romance between Hugh and Amelia.

Overall, Mann is excellent at keeping the suspense rolling, and once you get into the story you can’t help but wonder if someone is going to end up severely hurt or worse. A good read if you’re looking for something to start on in the suspense arena.

Rating: 3 (Satisfactory)

Heat-Level: 4 (Hot)

Reviewed by Landra

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Posted in Reviews, Sourcebooks | 6 Comments »

Review: Sins of the Highlander by Connie Mason & Mia Marlowe

Monday, January 2nd, 2012


Sins of the Highlander
Author: Connie Mason and Mia Marlowe
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Pub. Date: January 1, 2012
ISBN-13: 978-1402261824
Digital Price: $6.39
Print Price: $7.99
Amazon ~ B&N ~ iBookstore 


ABDUCTION

Never had Elspeth Stewart imagined her wedding would be interrupted by a dark-haired stranger charging in on a black stallion, scooping her into his arms, and carrying her off across the wild Scottish highlands. Pressed against his hard chest and nestled between his strong thighs, she ought to have feared for her life. But her captor silenced all protests with a soul-searing kiss, giving Elspeth a glimpse of the pain behind his passion—a pain only she could ease.

OBSESSION

“Mad Rob” MacLaren thought stealing his rival’s bride-to-be was the perfect revenge. But Rob never reckoned that this beautiful, innocent lass would awaken the part of him he thought dead and buried with his wife. Against all reason, he longed to introduce the luscious Elspeth to the pleasures of the flesh, to make her his, and only his, forever.

With two clans against them burning for battle, they must find a way to join together—body, breath, and soul. Or both will be made to pay for the…
SINS OF THE HIGHLANDER

(more…)

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Posted in Reviews, Sourcebooks | 13 Comments »

Announcing the Hearts and Minds Giveaway

Friday, July 29th, 2011

by Kat Latham

My husband finished his PhD! And he passed without having to make any corrections!

I’m clearly married to a genius, and that puts me in a celebratory mood. I’ve asked several friends—including the incredible Beverley Kendall—to stop by over the coming month and help me celebrate by giving away books.

After four looong years of hard work, and hours (hours HOURS) at the British Library, my husband can finally put Dr in front of his name.

Four years might not seem that long, but think about what the world was like in 2007:

  • Twitter (aka my best friend in the whole wide world) was only a year old.
  • The first Kindle was released on November 19, 2007 (yes – everyone read paper books).
  • There was still a chance Dennis Kunisich could be president (okay, admittedly it was a small chance).

This blog party will appeal to your hearts and your minds.

To celebrate, every week in August I’ll have an interview with a brilliant romance novelist who debuted in the last four years. We’ll be giving away some of their books, and I’ll also be giving winners one of the novels my husband wrote about in his PhD – some of the best American literary fiction of the 1980s (yes, there was good litfic in the 80s. Promise.)

You don’t want to miss interviews with these amazing authors:

Ashley March

Kaki Warner

Beverley Kendall

Louisa Edwards

Rose Lerner

So make sure you subscribe to my blog, follow me on Twitter, or like me on Facebook.

And thanks for helping me celebrate! I hope to see you on my blog on Monday, August 1st!

 

Bev: I hope you’ll pop on over and help celebrate with Kat and her husband. :) But that’s not all for this post. You know me, I have to give somebody something.  Today it’s an ARC for the September release of Leigh Michael’s THE WEDDING AFFAIR. Comment to enter to win. :)

Kat Latham has been reading romance for a couple of decades. With degrees in English lit and human rights, she loves stories that reflect the depth, humor and emotion of real life. When she’s not writing contemporary romance novels, she can usually be found blogging or tweeting overly personal information. She loves meeting other readers and writers online, so follow her on Twitter or check out her blog and say hello!

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Posted in Giveaways, Katrina, Sourcebooks | 47 Comments »

Giveaway: Get them fresh off the press…EARLY!!!

Friday, November 19th, 2010

One December Top Pick historical–HIS CHRISTMAS PLEASURE–and 2 Contemporary ARCs, January and February respectively–HOW SWEET IT IS and EVERYONE LOVES A HERO. Get a jump on the bookstores. ;) Comment to enter to win ALL 3!

HIS CHRISTMAS PLEASURE
Author: Cathy Maxwell
Publisher: Avon
Pub. Date: November 30, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0061772061
Retail: $7.99

Anything can happen at Christmas!

When her father threatens to marry Abigail Montross off to a man twice her age (and with thirteen children!), she decides to elope instead with the irresistibly handsome BarÓn de Vasconia. She knows all about his notorious reputation. He is the most seductive man in all of London, but he’s vowed to protect her, so she allows herself to be tempted into his bed, promising to guard her heart at all costs.

Andres believes he’s entered into nothing more than a marriage of convenience with a charming and very wealthy young woman. But the days—and nights—Abigail spends in his arms soon reform this rogue. He’ll do anything to gain her love—until they each discover the truth about the other and old wounds are revealed.

It’s the season of miracles and passion—when love not only awakens the senses but delivers the greatest gift of all . . .

~*~*~

HOW SWEET IT IS
Author: Sophie Gunn
Publisher: Grand Central
Pub. Date: January 3, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0446561990
Retail: $7.99

Single mom Lizzie Bea Carpenter learned long ago that no white knight was coming to save her. A hardworking waitress at the local diner, she’s raising her daughter to be like the independent women in her “Enemy Club”–high school rivals turned best friends, promising to always tell each other the whole truth and nothing but!

Yet part of Lizzie wishes she did have a man’s help, just for small stuff, like fixing up the house. Her fairy godmother must have been listening, because Dante “Tay” Giovanni soon appears. He’s sexy, kind, and offering assistance–no strings attached.

Slowly, steadily, Lizzie’s heart opens. But the grip of the past is fierce, and nothing in life is ever really free. Tay has his own tragedies to overcome, but if he can, he’ll fix more than Lizzie’s home. He’ll show her just how sweet it is to be loved by him.

~*~*~

EVERYONE LOVES A HERO
Author: Marie Force
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Pub. Date: February 1, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-1402245749
Retail: $6.99

Everyone loves a hero. That’s the problem.

Hero pilot Cole Langston is learning to live with—and enjoy—his newfound fame and the rabid female attention that comes with it until a lucky punch knocks some sense into him and opens his eyes to true love.

When his copilot suffers a heart attack in flight, Cole lands the jetliner in a blizzard and revives the stricken captain. Catapulted to national hero status, Cole has more women vying for his attention than he knows what to do with. They all have one thing in common: they try without success to bring this happy-go-lucky pilot down to earth. Then comes an airport altercation, a punch to the face, and the lovely Olivia—a shy, timid artist who does what no other woman has ever managed to do: steal Cole’s well-protected heart. With women coming on to him everywhere they go, Olivia struggles to believe that Cole is ready for a committed relationship. His biggest problem is getting rid of all his extra ladies before the only one he wants figures out that she’s one of many.

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Posted in Avon Books, Giveaways, Grand Central, Sourcebooks | 75 Comments »

Authors under the radar: Shana Galen

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

This recommendation comes from Sophie Jordan, a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author (and one of my faves). She told me how much she adored THE MAKING OF A DUCHESS. So that is how the name of Shana Galen came to my attention. And because of Sophie’s recommendation, she is this month’s Author Under the Radar.

In doing this post I learned several things about Shana:

1. She was first published in 2005 with HarperCollins. That book was WHEN DASHING MET DANGER.

2. Shana also wrote contemporaries for HarperCollins under the name of Shane Bolks, the first of which was THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY MEN I’VE DATED (Hehehehe. Come on, you gotta chuckle over that title).

3. Her historical, BLACKTHORNE’S BRIDE was nominated for a RITA in 2008.

Currently, Shana is writing a new historical romance series for Sourcebooks, the first of which is the aforementioned THE MAKING OF A DUCHESS. I also see her tweeting on Twitter but I’m told that’s part of her job…you know, networking. :) In all seriousness, not only did I pick Shana because of Sophie’s recommendation, I did so because her new series sounds great as well as her back list, and because she’s a real sweetheart. All of which go a long way to courting me as a reader.


The Making of a Duchess
Author: Shana Galen
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Pub. Date: June 1, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-1402238659
Retail: $6.99
Pages: 384

Twelve years after fleeing their burning chateau, Julien Harcourt, Duc de Valère, searches for his lost twin brothers. His frequent travels between England and France at a time when the exiled Napoleon is reported to be marshalling his troops raises the suspicions of English authorities who set secret operative Sarah Smith on his trail. A risky game of cat and mouse leads the two from the ballrooms of London to the prisons of Paris and into a fragile love that neither dares to hope for.

The first in a trilogy of three brothers struggling to reconnect and restore their noble heritage in the aftermath of the French Revolution, each losing his heart along the way.

In October, the second offering in Shana’s Sons of the Revolution series, THE MAKING OF A GENTLEMAN, will be out in the book stores. And I, being as impatient as one can be, have already scored the eARC for this one while waiting impatiently for USPS to deliver THE MAKING OF A DUCHESS to my mailbox. As I know it’s a series, I must read them in order. :D


The Making of a Gentleman
Author: Shana Galen
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Pub. Date: October 5, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-1402238666
Retail: $7.99
Pages: 384

Twelve years in a French prison have left the once dashing Armand Harcourt, Comte de Valere a hollow shell of his former self. Though safely back on English soil, Armand remains locked in a prison of his mind, unable to interact with the glittering social world that was his rightful place.

When his family hires the beautiful and determined Felicity Bennett to teach Armand, he is shaken by the onslaught of desire Felicity awakens in him. As Felicity slowly helps reclaim Armand, their passion begins to blossom into a transcendent love capable of healing the scars of both their pasts.


Shana has generously offered an autographed copy of THE MAKING OF A DUCHESS to a commenter. If you have questions for Shana, ask away as she’ll be stopping by. And don’t forget, comment and you will double your entries to win 5 books from Wednesday’s selection of The Season One Year Anniversary Giveaway.

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Posted in Anniversary Giveaway, Authors, Giveaways, Sourcebooks | 87 Comments »

Review: An Earl To Enchant

Monday, April 26th, 2010

An Earl To Enchant
Author: Amelia Grey
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Pub. Date: April 6, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-1402217616
Retail: $7.99
352 pages

HE’S DETERMINED NOT TO BE A HERO . . .

Lord Morgandale is as notorious as he is dashing, and he’s determined no woman will tie him down. But from the moment Arianna Sweet appears on his doorstep, exhausted after a grueling journey, he cannot resist the lure of the fascinating beauty, her exotic wardrobe, or tempting green eyes . . .

SHE HAS A DEADLY SECRET . . .

Arianna Sweet never imagined the significance of her father’s research until after his untimely death. Now she is in possession of his groundbreaking discovery, a discovery that someone would kill for. She can’t tell Lord Morgandale her secret, but she knows she needs his help, desperately.

~*~*~

Lucas Randolph Morgandale, the Earl of Morgandale, has fled London to his estate Valleydale to avoid the marriage noose. His two cousins and best friends, Blake and Race, have both managed to fall in love and get married and Morgan has no intention of following in their footsteps. Lucas may not want marriage but that doesn’t mean he giving up women all together. He invites a lady of the evening come out to Valleydale to spend some quality with him. Just when he is about to give up that she’s coming, a woman shows up.

Miss Arianna Sweet has just returned from a trip abroad from India and immediately sets out to Valleydale to enlist the help of Lady Elder despite being ill. She travels through a storm and arrives late in the evening only to be greeted by a slightly intoxicated Lord Morgandale. Morgan mistakes her for the courtesan he is expecting while Arianna thinks he is the butler. A rather improper and funny conversation ensues which ends in Morgan realizing that Arianna is not a courtesan and Arianna fainting from exhaustion.

Arianna is strong willed and stubborn woman who has witnessed her father’s murder and comes for help only to discover that Lady Elder is dead and Lord Morgandale is there instead. She is reluctant to tell Morgan the whole truth about what has brought her home from India, only telling him that it is to finish her father’s work for The Royal Apothecary Scientific Academy. Morgan insists—well demands—that she stay and recover before she sets off to London. What Morgan doesn’t know is that the man who murdered Arianna’s father and stole his formula is in England looking for Arianna.

Morgan is known for always thinking things through. He is not impulsive and is always very careful in what he says. That is until Arianna comes into his life. Arianna is the opposite. She doesn’t think before she speaks and can be reckless at times. She’s also embraced some of the Indian culture by wearing saris and belly dancing, which tends to get her in trouble, like when Morgan’s cousins show up unannounced. His cousins, Blake and Race, come to Valleydale to enlist Morgan’s help in keeping an eye on, Gibby,  an old friend of their grandmother, Lady Elder. As the men are walking back to the house, they spot Arianna through the window belly dancing seductively. Of course Blake and Race refuse to leave until they know who she is and of course have fun at Morgan’s expense.

While I think this is a great book and I loved the characters, there are just some things that got to me. Arianna, in the beginning, does not trust Morgan, which I understand. She thinks he’s arrogant and brusque and just wants to get London. Even as the book goes on and Arianna finds her self attracted to Morgan, she still can’t believe it because she doesn’t like him. Then she does a complete reversal and not only likes him but loves him. Morgan also falls into the cliché of a typical man. He refuses to acknowledge his feeling for Arianna even though he wants her. I did enjoy watching Arianna and Morgan’s interaction. Their conversions are lively, and although Morgan is used to having the final word, Arianna was not having it. She says what she pleases and Morgan’s earl title, doesn’t stop her.

An Earl to Enchant is the third book in The Rogues’ Dynasty but can be read as a stand-alone book if you choose to. A Duke to Die For is the first in the series and features Blake, and A Marquis to Marry is about Race. If you are a reader who loves series this is one I would recommend.

There are a lot of crossover characters from the first two books such as Sir Randolph Gibson, or Gibby as he is affectionately know by the men, who is always getting into some outrageous trouble, and Constance Pepperfield, a widow and friend of the family who is there to help when need be. Also, one cannot forget Lord Chesterfield though he never really appears. Every chapter starts with a letter from Lady Elder and includes a quote from Lord Chesterfield. Lord Chesterfield is also the bane of cousins’ life always interfering somehow.

Amelia Grey is a great storyteller who lets you into the mind of her characters.To Enchant an Earl is not to be missed if you like witty dialogue, mystery and intrigue, and most importantly romance.

Rating: 7 (Good )

Heat-Level: 4 (Hot)

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Posted in Reviews, Sourcebooks | 7 Comments »