Category: Book Giveaway

Review: Steal Me Cowboy by Kim Boykin + Giveaway

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | B Reviews> blog tours> Book Giveaway> book reviews> Giveaways
steal me cowboy by kim boykinFormat read: ebook provided by the publisher
Formats available: ebook
Genre: western romance, contemporary romance
Series: Copper Mountain Rodeo
Length: 102 pages
Publisher: Tule Publishing
Date Released: December 29, 2013
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon

Unbeknownst to her boyfriend, Sassy South Carolina hairstylist, Rainey Brown, is headed to Missoula, dead set on giving her minor league baseball player boyfriend of four years an ultimatum. Either put a ring on it or let her go, preferably not the latter.

When Rainey’s piece of crap car dies in the middle of Nowhere, Montana, she’s sure she’s a gonner, until gorgeous restaurateur Beck Hartnett stops to help. Beck falls hard for Rainey, and knows she would admit she’s fallen for him too, if she wasn’t too stubborn to admit it. Beck has five days before the car is repaired to steal Rainey away from a boyfriend who doesn’t deserve her. Five days before she’s gone for good.

My Review:

You can’t buy experience, but you can buy “the experience” at the Nell’s Cut ‘n Curl after Rainey Brown gets stranded in Marietta Montana.

It just takes Rainey a while to figure out that the experience she’s earning is worth even more than the experience she’s helping Nell to sell to the tourists. No matter how much money they’re putting in the karma jar.

Rainey Brown has been true to her minor league baseball playing boyfriend, Adam, for four long and lonely years while Adam has been chasing his dream of the major leagues. She hoped that one day Adam would either make it to the bigs or retire to coaching, and they would be together for good.

Instead, he took up coaching 2,000 miles from their home base in Columbia, South Carolina, and didn’t ask her to come to Missoula, Montana to be with him. He said he wanted her to “visit”. She had finally had enough. But not quite.

She packed up her suitcases and her professional cosmetic and hair dressing boxes into her beat up Honda Civic and set out for Montana. It helped that the salon she worked for had closed and left her unemployed. But still, it was the principle of the thing. It was time for them to be together.

Then her car gave a death rattle outside Marietta. Fate had other plans. Because Rainey was rescued by a cowboy. Sort of a cowboy. Certainly a man who thought that whoever put Rainey into the position of driving across country in that beat-up rat trap should be shot. Or at least horse-whipped.

Beck Hartnett set out to steal Rainey from whoever the jerk was that brought her out to Montana. He started out by alternately being a jerk himself, being marvelously sweet and helpful and pushing too fast past her boundaries.

All he really needed to do was let Nell, and Marietta, work their magic.

And let Rainey figure out what she really wanted all along.

Escape Rating B: Steal Me, Cowboy was surprisingly sweet, with just enough tart to make the perfect romantic treat. It’s also not quite as western-themed as the earlier entries in the Copper Mountain Rodeo series, this one is much more small-town romance than western.

Rainey starts out the story already conflicted about Adam. She’s kept the faith throughout their four-year relationship, and she trusts him, but she’s starting to realize that she gives a lot more than she gets. She’s always available whenever he wants, but he’s not there for her in any way. She’s ready to move on, but he won’t stick around long enough for her to even have a conversation about where they are headed, if anywhere.

Beck’s in an interesting position. He falls for Rainey the minute he sees her, and can’t figure out what to do about it. He keeps trying to do the right thing, but can’t quite figure out what the right thing exactly is. He owns the best restaurant in Marietta, he has more than enough money to fix Rainey’s car and send her on her way, but she’s too proud to take his money (and so she should be) and he wants her to stay in Marietta. Also, the more he observes her phone calls with Adam, the more certain he is that her relationship with Adam is a bad idea.

He’s right, but the breakup has to be clean, and that’s not exactly what he has in mind. What Beck has in mind is very, very dirty. An awful lot of fun, but very dirty. To be fair, Beck starts thinking about forever with Rainey pretty darn fast, and that seems to be more than Adam has ever thought about.

Still, Rainey has to get there on her own.

The character who steals the story is Nell, the owner of the Marietta Cut ‘n Curl. Nell has been “fixing” hair forever, and is still wearing a uniform and charging 1960s prices to “her people”. But she’s a friend and a second mother and a mentor to Rainey just when she needs one, and is just a totally awesome lady. Rainey asks Nell for a place to work, but what she gets is a refuge. And together, those ladies are something very special.

~~~~~~ GIVEAWAY~~~~~~

Kim and her publisher, Tule Publishing, are giving away one ebook copy of Steal Me, Cowboy to one lucky winner. To enter the giveaway, just fill out the rafflecopter below. This giveaway is open to all!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Q&A with Linda Lael Miller + Giveaway

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Author Q&A> blog tours> Book Giveaway> Giveaways

big sky secrets by linda lael millerMy very first guest of 2014 is Linda Lael Miller, and she’s here with her final book in her lovely Parable Montana series, a series that made me fall in love with western romances! If you want to meet the people in this marvelous town, start with Big Sky Country and finish with today’s book, Big Sky Secrets, reviewed here. Linda is also giving away a print copy of Big Sky Secrets (U.S. only); to enter, please use the Rafflecopter at the end of the post.

Q: Do you write every day? Do you have a writing routine?

A: Yes, mostly.  I write five days a week, from about 9 am., stopping at 1 or 2 pm because by then my brain starts turning to jelly.  I am definitely a morning person.  Sometimes, when a deadline is pressing hard, I’ll put in longer hours and work weekends, but mostly I avoid that.  I need time to refill the well by reading, doing art, puttering in the yard and playing with the pets.

Q: If you could go back 15 or 20 years ago and give yourself one piece of writerly advice, what would it be?

A: I LOVE this question—I don’t think I’ve ever been asked this one before.  I’d tell myself to chill out, relax, and not take myself so seriously, to go with the flow and to avoid comparing myself to other writers at all costs.

Q: Big Sky Secrets has a fair share of family drama and a lot of family secrets and family history comes to light throughout the course of the book. Did you set out to write a book like this or did Ria and Landry’s stories just kind of come together?

A: I always start with a few characters and a situation.  I have a general idea how the story will play out as I begin, but my stories tend to evolve, often surprising me with the direction they take.  As I’d become acquainted with both Landry and Ria in “Big Sky Wedding”, I had a pretty good idea what they’d do in any given circumstance.

Q: Big Sky Secrets is the last of the Big Sky novels. Why did you save Ria and Landry for last?

A: It just turned out that way.  Each of the Big Sky books grew from the one preceeding it–in essence, what we have here is one long story.  I love to create a community, people it with interesting characters, and just let things unfold as I write along.

Q: There are some great teenage characters in Big Sky Secrets. How did you get into the teen mindset to write Quinn and Nash?

A: It’s been a long time since I was a teenager myself, and since I raised one, but I guess I still have an affinity for them.  They’re not children and not adults, either, and that presents them with specific challenges to meet and overcome.  Good stories are all about overcoming challenges, methinks.

Q: Quinn’s stray dog Bones is as loveable as any fictional dog ever. You are known for your love of animals and working them into your books. Was there a particular dog that inspired Bones?

A: I love ALL dogs (plus cats, horses and every other kind of creature), especially those in need of a loving home.  When I write about animals, I’m hoping, deep down, that folks will be reminded to be kind to them–not that the vast majority of my readers need a reminder, because they love God’s creatures as much as I do.  Still, it’s a good thing to keep in mind–there’s no such thing as too much compassion.

Q: Readers and reviewers have loved the Big Sky books and we know a lot of them will be sad to see the series come to an end. What’s next that we can be looking forward to?

A: I’ve already started a whole new “Marriage” series, set in a fictional Wyoming town called Mustang Creek in the present day–a town that happens to resemble Jackson Hole.    I recently traveled there to get my bearings, so to speak, and see what my characters will see.  The first book is called “The Marriage Pact”, and includes a sexy cowboy hero, Tripp Galloway, a smart, feisty heroine, Hadleigh Stevens, and at least two adopted dogs–Ridley and Muggles.  There’s no telling, though, what other four-leggers might turn up as the story goes on–like human characters, they tend to show up out of nowhere and demand to be part of it all.

Linda Lael MillerAbout Linda Lael MillerThe daughter of a town marshal, Linda Lael Miller is a #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than one hundred historical and contemporary novels, most of which reflect her love of the West. Raised in Northport, Washington, the self-confessed barn goddess now lives in Spokane, Washington. Linda hit a career high in 2011 when all three of her Creed Cowboys books—A Creed in Stone Creek, Creed’s Honor and The Creed Legacy—debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.Linda has come a long way since leaving Washington to experience the world. “But growing up in that time and place has served me well,” she allows. “And I’m happy to be back home.” Dedicated to helping others, Linda personally finances her “Linda Lael Miller Scholarships for Women,” which she awards to those seeking to improve their lot in life through education.More information about Linda and her novels is available at her website. She also loves to hear from readers by mail at P.O. Box 19461, Spokane, WA 99219.

~~~~~~GIVEAWAY~~~~~~

Linda is giving away one copy of Big Sky Secrets to a lucky winner! (U.S. only). To enter, please use the Rafflecopter:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: The Spirit Keeper by K. B. Laugheed + Giveaway

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | A Reviews> blog tours> Book Giveaway> book reviews> Giveaways
spirit keeper by k b laugheedFormat read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook, paperback
Genre: Historical fiction
Length: 353 pages
Publisher: Plume
Date Released: September 24, 2013
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

This is the account of Katie O’Toole, late of Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania, removed from her family by savages on March the 2nd in the year of our Lord 1747

The thirteenth child conceived of miserable Irish exiles, Katie O’Toole dreams of a different life. Little does she know that someone far away is dreaming of her.

In 1747, savages raid her family home, and seventeen-year-old Katie is taken captive. Syawa and Hector have been searching for her, guided by Syawa’s dreams. A young Holyman, Syawa believes Katie is the subject of his Vision: the Creature of Fire and Ice, destined to bring a great gift to his people. Despite her flaming hair and ice-blue eyes, Katie is certain he is mistaken, but faced with returning to her family, she agrees to join them. She soon discovers that in order to fulfill Syawa’s Vision, she must first become his Spirit Keeper, embarking on an epic journey that will change her life—and heart—forever.

My Review:

“Enjoy the ride” sounds like pretty good philosophy no matter which direction life’s currents sweep you. It is also the instruction that young Irish colonist Katie O’Toole receives from the Native American prophet Syawa as he lays dying in the middle of a journey to either kidnap or rescue Katie from the only home she ever knew and take her through the unspoiled American wilderness of the mid-1700’s to fulfill a vision Syawa always knew he wouldn’t live to see.

Syawa doesn’t leave Katie alone. Because the whole point of his vision, at least from his perspective, seems to have been to find Katie and give her into the care of his best friend and bodyguard, a warrior she refers to as Hector because she can’t manage to pronounce his name.

Syawa also leaves his “Spirit” in Katie’s keeping. Hector believes this literally. Katie is sure that this is a lie. But then, the Native beliefs are not hers.

This story is one of discovery. Katie’s discovery of the vastness and beauty of the American continent, and her discovery of the depths of her own heart. Quite possibly it will also be her discovery of the truth of Syawa’s vision and his spirit quest.

What we have in this story is Katie’s long journey from downtrodden colonial daughter of alcoholic and abusive parents who is presented with a life-altering choice in the midst of an attack on her colony by Natives. Syawa and Hector protect her and only her from the marauders. She can choose to go with them, or not. Communication is awkward, mostly by sign and gesture.

It is the first time anyone has ever valued her for herself. And this value seems to have nothing to do with sexual favors. Whatever they want, it is not lascivious. But in the face of her mother’s continuing abuse, she chooses the path that seems to allow her some little dignity, and changes her life.

In spite of the hardships that accompany her choice, it is difficult to fault her for it. But as she struggles to learn a new language and a new way of viewing the world, we see the continent before we spoiled it and a way of life that is long gone.

Even as Katie begins to adapt to the immensity of the journey, she still thinks herself superior to the beliefs of the Natives that she travels with, and those whose villages she travels through, even as she falls in love with one.

She’s certain that the vision quest and spirit keeper thing is a hoax, one that she goes along with because her new life is the best one she’s ever had, in spite of its hardships. But what if it’s all true?

Escape Rating A-: Katie falls in love with a man, but the reader falls in love with her journey. It’s almost impossible not to be captivated by her descriptions of the beautiful wilderness that she is traveling through, even though it is often by one aching footstep at a time.

Her adjustment is slow and sometimes painful. It’s not that she lived a life of ease before, but initially she struggles to communicate with her companions; they do not share a language, and is sometimes trapped in her own misery.

Katie’s story is a conversion, not religious per se, but a conversion from her early perspective of seeing the colonial way as superior to seeing the Native methods as being, if not superior, at least equally valid for their own time and place.

Also Katie is aware that the world she traverses is going to be irrevocably changed by the invasion of the whites, whatever happens, hers is like a record of Eden before the snake. Or before the demon rum.

Because the narrative is in the form of Katie’s journal, some readers may find the attempt to reproduce Katie’s mid-18th century spelling less than congenial. I’ll only say that after the first few pages, I was so lost in her story that I stopped noticing. She told much too compelling a yarn for me to care about her idiosyncrasies.

My only caveat is that the story ends at the close of the first winter of their long journey. That journey is not over, and I am left longing to see what comes next.

TLC
This post is part of a TLC book tour. Click on the logo for more reviews.

~~~~~~GIVEAWAY~~~~~~

K.B. is giving away a copy of The Spirit Keeper (US/Canada)! To enter, use the Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: The Seduction of Miriam Cross by W.A. Tyson + Giveaway

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | B Reviews> blog tours> Book Giveaway> book reviews> Giveaways
The Seduction of Miriam Cross by M.A. TysonFormat read: ebook provided by the author
Formats available: ebook, paperback
Genre: Mystery
Series: A Delilah Percy Powers Mystery, #1
Length: 375 pages
Publisher: E-Lit Books
Date Released: October 31, 2013
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

Can Delilah Percy Powers figure out who killed Miriam Cross before she becomes the killer’s next target?

Miriam Cross, author, feminist and philanthropist, disappears from her Philadelphia home. A year later, a lonely recluse named Emily Cray is brutally murdered in her bed in a small Pennsylvania town. Miriam and Emily are one and the same. As Delilah and her staff of female detectives – a militant homemaker, an ex-headmistress and a former stripper – delve into Miriam’s life, they become submerged in an underworld of unfathomable cruelty and greed with implications that go far beyond the gruesome death of one woman or the boundaries of one country. Eventually Miriam’s fight for justice becomes Delilah’s own…until Delilah’s obsession with finding the truth may prove just as deadly.

My Review:

Don’t let the title fool you, the seduction involved in this story is all about the reader getting seduced into following the mystery.

Miriam Cross’ seduction happened a long time ago, and it has already led to her death. It’s the mission of Delilah Percy Powers and her band of investigators to find the trail that led to her sensational murder. Also to discover why there hasn’t been a sensation regarding the murder of a best-selling author living under an assumed name in a small town.

Miriam Cross might not have been the big name she used to be, but former New York Times best selling authors don’t get beheaded every day. She should have been tabloid fodder for a couple of news cycles at least–not relegated to the back page and hushed up.

Someone important wants Miriam’s death swept under the rug. Which means that there is something still worth keeping secret. And when Delilah takes the case from Miriam’s niece, she discovers that the secret wasn’t just worth killing for, it is worth continuing to kill for–whatever Miriam died to protect isn’t over. Not by a long shot.

As Delilah and her multi-talented group of female sleuths dig into the private life of the late, lamented Miriam Cross, they unearth more alter-egos than just the one she was living under the year before she died. The celebrated feminist author penned erotic poetry under yet another pseudonym, and kept a video of herself in a BDSM scene. But her biggest secret involved her funding of a philanthropic organization that was either very illegal, or very dangerous.

Whatever Women NOW might have been, investigating even asking questions about it leads a trail of dead bodies and mobsters right to Delilah’s door. She knows she’s next, but only after she discovers something too dangerous not to see through to the end.

Escape Rating B: What drew me in (seduced me, if you will) was Delilah’s investigation and the way the case kept getting deeper and deeper. Also how she fit the personalities of each of her very unique investigators to the different facets of the case.

While on first glance, it might seem like a bit of a gimmick that all of Delilah’s teammates are female, this is far from a takeoff on “Charlie’s Angels” in spite of that cheesy cover picture. One woman might be an ex-stripper, but another is over 70 and an ex-nun. The third is a volleyball coach and a housewife when she’s not tailing suspects.

It’s fun to watch them work. It’s also neat to see them rub along together. There is no macho posturing, they just get the job done. They genuinely care about each other. Needless to say, this book passes the Bechdel Test with flying colors, and without being preachy about it. There’s work to be done.

But about the case itself. At first, Delilah is in this to bring closure to a former client. But then, she discovers that there’s something fishy going on, and she can’t stand not to discover what it’s all about. But the more she digs the bigger the case gets.

While it’s fascinating to watch her work, and her cause is very definitely just, the case feels like it gets to be a bit too big for the story. The ending is tied up too neatly and isn’t explained quite as well as it could have been. Or perhaps we don’t know enough about Delilah and her cohorts yet to understand why all these people owe her so many favors.

I did like Delilah and her band quite a bit. I hope to see them solve more mysteries in the future!

TLC
This post is part of a TLC book tour. Click on the logo for more reviews.

~~~~~~GIVEAWAY~~~~~~

Wendy is giving away a copy of The Seduction of Miriam Cross (US/Canada)! To enter, use the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Guest Post by Author Alex Hughes: A Discussion of the Tech Wars + Giveaway

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Book Giveaway> Giveaways> Guest Posts

Today I’d like to welcome Alex Hughes, author of the absolutely awesome Clean (reviewed here).This fascinating combination of urban fantasy, science fiction and near-future dystopia was one of the best books that I have read this year. I can’t wait to read the rest of this series!

A Discussion of the Tech Wars
by Alex Hughes

The Mindspace Investigations series (Clean, Payoff, Sharp, Marked) is set about sixty years after a devastating event called the Tech Wars. A madman and his followers circulate computer viruses that shut down the entirety of the world, from smart houses to smart cars, leaving huge casualties in their wake. Then, because of peoples’ brain implants and biotechnology, the viruses end up going bloodborne in one of the worst plagues the world has ever seen. Then, it gets worse. And yet worse.

clean by alex hughesIn the end the Telepaths’ Guild steps in to save the world—but what they do to end the war changes forever how the normals see them. The Guild earned their freedom and their right to choose their own destiny—at the price of fear that hasn’t died out even sixty years later.
People often ask me why I leave so much of the Tech Wars backstory unsaid. Partially, I do this because my readers on the mystery side care far more about cases and pacing than they do about backstory. Partially, I enjoy holding secrets and parceling them out in small doses—it keeps both me and the reader interested over a long series. But mostly, I have this idea in my head that one day, when I’m good enough, I’ll write the Tech Wars as a separate series. To do that well, I’ll need plenty of empty space to fill with individual characters’ choices; the major players will need the room to tell me how they, personally, will change the world.

While I like structure, my best work often happens in these empty spaces, in the things left undecided. So I’m guarding that space, quietly, in consideration for a future series—guarding the magic that will let me write it well.

Today, though, I’ll open the box just a little more to talk about the personal side of the Tech Wars, where the idea comes from and what I have to say on the topic. (Warning: opinions ahead!)

The Tech Wars reflect a concern I and a lot of others have with technology becoming so much a part of our lives so quickly. I grew up with a green-and-black-screen computer, and later with the early Internet. I follow science, and I love the information and history available online, things I would never have been able to get twenty years ago without trips around the world and a lot of patience. I delight when new gadgets come out to make our lives easier. I am by no means a Luddite. But when the whole world is in your pocket, along with constant interruptions by social media and the latest trends, there is no silence.

With the advent of social media, the Internet—and all the people and ideas it involves—becomes a daily part of our lives, one click away. We are drowning in a sea of information all the time, and because the information is set in sound bites, even ‘scientific’ and ‘serious’ information is often sensationalistic and overly simplified to fit in the form. My attention span, at least, has shrunk significantly, as my brain becomes less and less comfortable with down time. I fight for that down time and that silence with a true passion, but it’s hard to get and hard to keep—there are constant distractions and deep thought doesn’t seem to be the currency of our generation. I have to be counter-cultural, and I have to turn off the world, to get my true work done.

Sharp by Alex HughesI imagine a world one step ahead of ours, in which you are jacked into the sea of information directly through an implant in your head. The world is ‘enhanced’ so there is no more silence, no more direct experience without analysis and subtext. Every part of your life is run by a computer in direct communication with your preferences and likes. The polarization of politics is just the beginning; when you’re only shown information that agrees with your ‘preferences,’ confirmation bias takes over your life. Your way is the only way. You are always right. And, whatever fast food commercials say, that’s actually a dangerous thing. You begin to miss important clues that the world is about to change.

And then the wars begin, and the world falls apart. You’re forced to rely on neighbors—people you may never have met—and poorer folks unable to afford the implants. You’re forced to deal with reality without the filter, for the first time in your life. What kind of world change would that create?

I’m still figuring that out. But I can say, that kind of world-change would stick with you. People would remember, even two generations later, even after sixty years. And that’s the legacy of the Tech Wars in Adam’s world. A legacy of quiet fear and remembrance.

Alex HughesAbout Alex Hughes

Alex Hughes is the author of the Mindspace Investigations series from Roc. She is a Semi-Finalist of the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards, a Finalist in the 2013 Silver Falchion Awards, and a graduate of the pro-level Odyssey Writing Workshop. Over the years, she has lived in many neighborhoods of the sprawling metro Atlanta area, including Decatur during her time at Agnes Scott College.
On any given week you can find Alex in the kitchen cooking gourmet Italian food, watching hours of police procedural dramas, and typing madly. Find out more about Alex at her website or follow her on Twitter.

~~~~~~GIVEAWAY~~~~~~

Alex is giving away one paperback copy of Clean to one lucky winner (US/Canada). To enter, use the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Interview with Author C.C. Humphreys + Giveaway

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Author Interviews> blog tours> Book Giveaway> Giveaways

Today I’d like to welcome C.C. Humphreys, author of the totally enthralling Jack Absolute historical fiction series, including his recent title The Blooding of Jack Absolute (reviewed here).

Marlene: Holding up a new mirror to the American Revolution: by bringing Jack Absolute to new readers in the U.S., you’re also showing us a perspective on the war we don’t usually read about. What might U.S. readers learn?

The Blooding of Jack Absolute by C.C. HumphreysChris: Well, we all think we know the history of a war, or a revolution, until we start to delve a little deeper. I think Jack can be our guide in that. He’s not really anti-rebel. In The Blooding he fights beside the men that later in the series he fights against and finds that hard. He also has a revolutionary spirit, inherited from his mother, an Irish rebel. He prizes individual freedom. Thus he’s quite conflicted. So perhaps we can see through him the sort of choices people were forced to make. He has other loyalties: to the uniform he’s worn with pride, the Redcoat. To his commander, John Burgoyne. To his comrades. But he also believes – and this begins with The Blooding – that his adopted people, the Iroquois, are not going to gain from an American triumph, that they are better off under the Crown. It’s a big driver for him and he argues their cause passionately.

Marlene: As a fencer and fight choreographer (among other things), you know a thing or two about swashbuckling. What books/movies/TV shows best depict that fine “tradition”?

Chris: Ah, swashbuckling! I just wrote a novel, ‘Shakespeare’s Rebel’ about the Bard’s fight choreographer which will be published in the US in 2015. In it, my hero does a true ‘swash buckle’: he beats (swashes) his small steel shield (his buckler) with the flat of his sword to provoke a fight. He’s a real swashbuckler!

princess bride imdbI became an actor so I could leap around with bladed weaponry and I think I became an author to write the same – nearly all my novels have duels and swordplay. My inspirations? Well, Dumas and his Musketeer books certainly – the 70’s movie with Michael York and Oliver Reed was the best. I loved Flynn’s Robin Hood, (“You speak treason.” “Fluently!”) and Tyrone Power’s Zorro. Scaramouche was good in print and on the screen. But one of my favourites has to be The Princess Bride: great fights, terrific acting. Coupled with a real sense of honour. Honour’s important and the dishonourable deserve their come-uppance!

CC Humphreys as Jack AbsoluteAbout C.C. HumphreysChris (C.C.) Humphreys was born in Toronto and grew up in the UK. He has acted all over the world and appeared on stages ranging from London’s West End to Hollywood’s Twentieth Century Fox. Favorite roles have included Hamlet, Caleb the Gladiator in NBC’s Biblical-Roman epic mini-series, ‘AD – Anno Domini’, Clive Parnell in ‘Coronation Street’, and Jack Absolute in Sheridan’s ‘The Rivals’.
His new adult novel ‘Shakespeare’s Rebel’, about William Shakespeare’s fight choreographer at the time of ‘Hamlet’, was released in the UK in March 2013 and in Canada August 2011.

He has recently signed to write two books for Century in the UK and Doubleday in Canada. Plague and Fire are tales of religious fundamentalist serial killers set against the wild events of 1665 to 1666, London. They will be published in 2014 and 2015.

Chris lives on Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada, with his wife and young son.

To learn more about Chris, visit his website or follow him on Twitter.

~~~~~~GIVEAWAY~~~~~~

Chris is kindly giving away a copy of The Blooding of Jack Absolute to one lucky winner! (US/Canada). To enter, use the Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Guest Post by Author Mark Henry on How Far is Too Far + Giveaway

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | blog tours> Book Giveaway> Giveaways> Guest Posts

Today I’d like to welcome Mark Henry, author of the terrifically snarktastic Parks & Wreck (reviewed here). I’ve had loads of people recommend that I absolutely HAD to read something of his, and they were right! 

Parts and Wreck Button 300 X 225

How Far is Too Far
by Mark Henry

When my acquiring editor approached me with the idea of writing a romance for Entangled’s new Covet line, I fumbled for a response. Romance seemed like the kind of concept a writer like me would need a grappling hook to latch onto. You see, I have a history. I wrote a series of urban fantasy books that were most notable for their vulgarity and an irreverent, blisteringly abrasive humor. My protagonist was a zombie. She ate people! Unapolagetically! Those books were also a satire about the current social state, the growing apathy to homelessness, a throwaway culture.

Our conversation went like this…

Me: You say humorous paranormal romance?
Editor: Absolutely. We absolutely love your humor.
Me: My humor? You’re not mistaking me for someone else?
Editor: Oh no. It’s you.
Me: If we were looking at a continuum, you realize I’m on the side with a snarky mean girls, right?
Editor: Yep.

parts and wreck by mark henryIt was settled. Now, I knew when I pitched Parts & Wreck, a novel about a self-taught surgeon who takes on a (possibly) schizophrenic assistant and falls in love with her amidst a hunt for demon-infected transplant organs, that the premise was pretty out there. Also, I had these “ideas” for scenes that I knew had never been in a romance before, at least not in anything commercial.

I’d tell people that. Other romance writers and they’d roll their eyes and say things like, “I’m sure it’s perfectly fine. Nothing to worry about.” The scene in question did not make it into the final cut of Parts & Wreck. I knew it wouldn’t. I told people it’d be a miracle if it did. And so…I unveil the details of the “Too Far Scene.”

Oddly enough, it’s only peripherally sexual in nature. In fact, it was the big set piece of comedy in the whole book, so losing it was a dagger (not really, I had a back up plan, because I knew. I KNEW). Are you ready?

In this scene, the hero takes the stage of a strip club to perform an awkward strip tease which culminates in an homage to prom scene in the Stephen King classic, Carrie. No big deal, right? Oh wait, replace the pig’s blood with urine.

Now, why-oh-why, you ask, did I bother to try to push that through when, like I said, I KNEW it wasn’t going to make the final cut? Please see paragraph one. My humor and thought process is such that I’m driven to the irreverent, to the “blisteringly abrasive.” I’m lucky to have people who’ll help to reel that in. That hasn’t always been the case.

So what can I tell you about Parts & Wreck that you might not know? It most definitely does not have a bucket of pee in it. No. Not anymore.

Mark HenryAbout Mark Henry

Mark Henry traded a career as a counselor to scar minds with his fiction. In stories clogged with sentient zombies, impotent sex demons, transsexual werewolves and ghostly goth girls, he irreverently processes traumatic issues brought on by premature exposure to horror movies, an unwholesome fetish for polyester and/or witnessing adult cocktail parties in the swingin’ 70s. A developmental history further muddied by surviving earthquakes, typhoons, and two volcanic eruptions. He somehow continues to live and breathe in the oft maligned, yet not nearly as soggy as you’d think, Pacific Northwest, with his wife and four furry monsters that think they’re children and have a complete disregard for carpet.To learn more about Mark, visit his website and blog or follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, or YouTube or sign up for his newsletter.

~~~~~~TOURWIDE GIVEAWAY~~~~~~

Mark is giving away several copies of his books. To enter, use the Rafflecopter below:

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Review: Poisoned Web by Crista McHugh + Giveaway

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | A Reviews> blog tours> Book Giveaway> book reviews> Giveaways
Poisoned Web by Crista McHughFormat read: ebook from NetGalley
Formats available: ebook, paperback
Genre: Science fiction romance; fantasy romance
Series: Deizian Empire, #2
Length: 279 pages
Publisher: Self-published
Date Released: November 17, 2013
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

The fate of the empire hangs on one slave breaking her silence…

As the Deizian Empire prepares for the upcoming wedding of Emperor Titus Sergius Flavus and Azruha, one mystery remains unsolved–the sudden and unexplained death of the former emperor. And as her wedding gift to Titus, Azurha wants to give him answers. She suspects an unknown poison was involved, and her search for the truth enlists two unlikely allies.

Modius Varro’s thirst for knowledge caused an uproar in Emona three years ago and exiled him to the border town of Madrena. But when Titus falls victim to the same poison, his expertise in medicine becomes essential in solving both the riddle of the former emperor’s death and finding a cure to save the current one. His search leads him to far reaches of the Alpirion realm, to an ancient culture shrouded in secrets, and into the arms of one slave who must break her silence to save the empire.

Crista McHugh’s Deizian Empire series reads like a fantasy romance, but there is more than a touch of science fiction lurking deep within the web that she weaves. In this second book in the series, one of those science fictional elements plays a primary role in solving the central dilemma that moves this stage of the overall story, but it still leaves readers with more than enough drama to make us eager for the next book in the series.

The Deizian Empire is not at peace. The young Emperor Titus faces enemies both from without, and from within. As the saying goes, “uneasy lies the head that wears the crown”.

Tangled Web by Crista McHughTitus was supposed to have been a weak emperor, easy to manipulate. Or, he was supposed to have been dead. Unfortunately for his enemies, the assassin that they sent to kill him, fell in love with him instead. Even more unfortunately for his enemies, they actually did pay to send the very best. Their love story is told in the marvelous opener for this series, Tangled Web (reviewed here).

But Titus desire to make a freed slave his Empress has upset even conservative advisors even further, and they were frothing at the mouth already over his plans to free the empire’s slaves. Adding to the ongoing ferment, his consort Azurha has determined that the previous emperor did not die of natural causes; he was poisoned. And as the famous assassin named ‘The Rabbit’, she is an expert on poisons.

The only problem is that Azurha can’t tell which poison did the deed. And that’s where both the science fiction and the romance come into this story.

There are two races in the Deizian Empire. The Deizians and the Alpirions. The Deizians came from another planet and conquered the native Alpirions. It is common medical knowledge that certain medicinal plants cause different reactions depending on which race a person is from. Someone used that knowledge to poison the late Emperor.

Two people are called in to figure out not just what poisoned the emperor, but who did it and how. The emperor’s food was tasted, so whoever did the deed had to be someone who had trusted access to the palace as well as some pretty sophisticated medical knowledge. Along with one hell of a motive.

Only two people can solve this problem before it is too late; Izana and Modius. But they both have terrible secrets that might get them killed before they can finish. Izana is Azurha’s trusted servant, and she knows how to read the ancient Alpirion script that leads to the old secrets, but she is a slave and it is illegal for slaves to be able to read and write.

Modius is a trained healer, but he left the capital in disgrace after he was caught dissecting army corpses after a battle. If they put their skills together, they can find the answer. If the secrets they keep from each other don’t trip them up first.

And they need to figure things out fast, because the new emperor has developed symptoms of the same “illness” that killed his father. Time is running out for everyone.

Escape Rating A-: Poisoned Web is the portrait of the empire in the throes of cataclysmic change. And the thing about change is that most people don’t like it very much, especially the ones who benefit from the status quo.

So much about the Deizian Empire reminds me of the Roman Empire, especially the nastier bits of I, Claudius (without Livia’s machinations, at least so far), that one sees plots and poisoners pretty much everywhere. There are even barbarians at the gates. The gates are maintained by magic, or science, or a combination of the two.

But Titus is changing too much, too fast, and all the Deizians who have their income tied up in slavery don’t want to see the end of their privileges. Of course he has to go. And on the other side, the ones who foment rebellion really aren’t interested in a slow path to change, because they get their kicks from the violence. (This is not to say that the Alpirions shouldn’t be free, but that most of them would not advocate assassinating the emperor who wants to free them as the best way to go about it)

Then there’s the love story. Izana and Modius both have been horribly wounded in their pasts, and have a difficult time trusting anyone. Izana’s road is much more difficult. Modius was terribly disgraced and vilified because of the experiments he was conducting. If the previous Emperor hadn’t gotten him out of town, he might very well have been lynched. But that time has passed.

The secrets Izana is protecting are deadly, not just for her, but for every single person who she reveals to Modius. Her past as a sex slave feels degrading and demeaning, but it is her past alone, at least in context. The network of illegal knowledge about the Alpirions, the network of slaves who can read and write, is death to every single slave that is even tangentially involved in it. While Titus does not seem to be that kind of emperor, he can’t be or he wouldn’t be the center of this series, any corrupt noble could invoke the law and destabilize the regime.

I feel like the series, in addition to having wonderful love stories, also has this epic rise and fall of empires thing in the background, and that’s part of what makes it so marvelous to read.

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~~~~~~TOURWIDE GIVEAWAY~~~~~~

Crista is kindly giving away a $100 Amazon gift card and 20 autographed print copies of the first book in the series, Tangled Web! To enter for a chance to win, use the Rafflecopter below.

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***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: In Love With a Wicked Man by Liz Carlyle + Giveaway

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | B Reviews> blog tours> Book Giveaway> book reviews> Giveaways
In Love With a Wicked Man by Liz CarlyleFormat read: ebook provided by Edelweiss
Formats available: ebook, mass market paperback, audiobook
Genre: Historical Romance
Length: 389 pages
Publisher: Avon
Date Released: October 29, 2013
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

What does it matter if Kate, Lady d’Allenay, has absolutely no marriage prospects? She has a castle to tend, an estate to run, and a sister to watch over, which means she is never, ever reckless. Until an accident brings a handsome, virile stranger to Bellecombe Castle, and Kate finds herself tempted to surrender to her houseguest’s wicked kisses.

Disowned by his aristocratic family, Lord Edward Quartermaine has turned his gifted mind to ruthless survival. Feared and vilified as proprietor of London’s most notorious gaming salon, he now struggles to regain his memory, certain of only one thing: he wants all Kate is offering—and more.

But when Edward’s memory returns, he and Kate realize how much they have wagered on a scandalous passion that could be her ruin, but perhaps his salvation.

My Review:

This is a wickedly delicious historical romp. It’s one of those romances where the readers get to wallow in the delightful froth of it all, but the characters never do, because it’s not really frothy. The heroine is pragmatic and even the women who seem flighty at first glance turn out to be hiding considerable brains under their curls. As they should be.

Kate is the practical and pragmatic Baroness d’Allenay, and it is she who manages the estate at Bellecombe Castle, all of the d’Allenay family holdings, and for that matter, all of the d’Allenay family.

She got the reins just in time to save the estate from the ruin left by two generations of inveterate gamblers; her father and her brother. Not that the family line isn’t riddled with gambling men, but they were the most recent.

Kate is fortunate, the d’Allenay title is one that can legally pass to a female child if there are no sons. (These do exist, and have existed since at least the 14th century, according to Wikipedia) She didn’t have to marry to keep her home. On the other hand, the man she was engaged to turned out to be a womanizer and a gambler. She cried off and good riddance when she caught him in flagrante delicto.

But she’s 28 and it looks like she’s married to the estate, which is not the best way for her to ever have children. But it is the best way to protect that estate from being drained to pay off yet another wastrel’s gaming debts.

She had hoped that her younger sister, Nancy, would have a real London Season and marry both happily and well. Instead Nancy has managed to fall in love with the local vicar and doesn’t want to wait until she reaches her majority in two more years to marry the man. It’s just one argument after another.

Into this mess rides either salvation, disaster, or both. After a shouting match, Kate tears off on her horse and collides with another rider. The man takes the brunt of the accident and pitches off his horse onto the ground, hitting his head. Kate feels responsible and takes him back to Bellecombe.

Kate always feels responsible. It’s what she does. This time, it just happens to be true.

But the man wakes up with amnesia. His clothes are bespoke, and excellent Savile Row tailoring at that. His horse is well cared for. His saddlebags have the initials N.E.D stamped in them. And that’s all they know.

Until he regains his memory, the extremely handsome Mr. Edward is a guest at Bellecombe. Based on the few clues they have, everyone assumes that he must be a gentleman, even though Edward himself has the sneaking suspicion that he might not be.

But as the days slip away, Edward finds himself seduced by the life at Bellecombe. Not because of its luxury, because that’s not there. But because of its comfort and homeyness. The sense of being a welcome addition to a family.

Falling in love, as unwilling as he is to admit it, with the woman who makes it all possible; pretty and pragmatic Kate.

And then disaster strikes. Edward remembers who he is. And he is not a man that any respectable woman would welcome into her home. Least of all a woman who hates gamblers.

Escape Rating B+: In Love With a Wicked Man is simply a marvelous story that lets the reader fall in love with historical romance all over again.

Kate is a terrific heroine. The unusual amount of responsibility that she has been saddled with puts in her a unique situation and provides a reason for her to be the kind of take-charge woman that lets us identify with her. She’s no simpering miss waiting for a man to rescue her, she’s done quite nicely rescuing herself. But, her need to protect the estate has meant that she really can’t marry without finding someone who will love her for herself and will be willing to care for the estate as much as she does. It’s a difficult balance.

Yet she still has to take care of her reputation. She may be firmly on the shelf, and her title can’t be taken away, but if she causes a scandal it will affect her sister and her cousins.

While the amnesia plot has been done before (Shakespeare, anyone?), it has the effect of making Edward a blank slate, even to himself. He gets a vacation from who he used to be, and he needs one. He discovers that he rather likes being a mostly good man, albeit one who can’t resist seducing and being seduced by the lady of the house.

Their liaison feels almost safe, because neither of them knows who they ought to be. By the time they find out, it’s too late. They are past the point of no return. They both feel too much. Edward has discovered that he can’t go back to feeling nothing at all. Kate has discovered that it is wonderful to have someone to lean on, just a bit. Everyone else has always leaned on her, and Edward is the first person she’s ever had for herself.

The surprise in the story is Kate’s mother, Aurelie. Just when you think you have figured out what is going on, you discover a very large cache of hidden depths. Merveilleux!

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~~~~~~GIVEAWAY~~~~~~

Liz is giving away a paperback copy of In Love With a Wicked Man to one lucky winner (US)! To enter, use the Rafflecopter below:

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***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: Buying In by Laura Hemphill + Giveaway

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | B Reviews> blog tours> Book Giveaway> book reviews> Giveaways
Buying In by Laura HemphillFormat read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Formats available: ebook, hardcover, audiobook
Genre: Women’s fiction
Length: 305 pages
Publisher: New Harvest/Amazon Publishing
Date Released: November 5, 2013
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository

Bright, ambitious Sophie Landgraf has landed a job as a Wall Street analyst. The small-town girl finally has her ticket to the American elite, but she doesn’t realize the toll it will take—on her boyfriend, on her family, and on her. It isn’t long before Sophie is floundering in this male-dominated world, and things are about to get worse.
With the financial crisis looming, Sophie becomes embroiled in a multibillion-dollar merger that could make or break her career. The problem? Three men at the top of their game, each with very different reasons for advancing the merger. Now Sophie doesn’t know whom to trust—or how far she’ll go to get ahead.

Set inside the high-stakes world of finance, Manhattan’s after-hours clubs, and factories in the Midwest and India, this is the high-powered, heartfelt story of a young woman finding her footing on Wall Street as it crumbles beneath her. Written by an industry veteran, Buying In tackles what it means to be a woman in a man’s world, and how to survive in big business without sacrificing who you are.

My Review:

What is the difference between buying in and selling out?

That feels like the fundamental question that Sophie Landgraf keeps asking herself, and that all the people in her life keep asking Sophie, during the course of the story of Buying In.

Everyone in Sophie’s life outside of her work is utterly certain that Sophie has sold out, that she has given up on the values that underpin the small farming community of Stockton, Massachusetts where Sophie was raised.

However, and it’s a damn big however, Stockton is a place where Sophie never fit in. As much as she loves her widowed father, Sophie the mathlete was always the odd person out. She was always looking to escape to somewhere MORE.

It’s possible that the New York City banking industry on the eve of the recession wasn’t it, but she couldn’t know that.

She also couldn’t possibly have stayed in Stockton and helped her father keep up the illusion that he could make ends meet on the sheep farm. It hadn’t worked when her mother was alive, and it really wasn’t working now.

Sophie gets caught up in the intellectual exhilaration of, for the first time in her life finding work which absolutely consumes her. It also frequently terrifies her, but her job at Sterling Bank stretches her in ways that she could never have imagined.

It also eats up every moment of her life and energy. She has nothing left for anything else, and she doesn’t want to. She can’t admit it, but she is having the time of her life. She’s living every moment on a high-wire act.

The adrenaline is addicting.

Buying In is the portrait of the banker as a young woman. Some might say that it’s about the “greed is good” mentality, but it’s not about greed for Sophie. For Sophie, it’s about finding the place where she belongs, and figuring out what it takes to stay there.

When she loses that place, it’s becomes about figuring out what it takes to get back there. Because Sophie has found out what her rightful place is. And she’s not the naive girl from Stockton anymore. She is a banker, and it’s all about the deal.

Even if she has to fake it.

Escape Rating B: Buying In gets off to a slow start. Sophie is so deeply insecure about her place at Sterling, that her desperation gets a bit wearing. At the same time, it was all-too-easy for me to empathize with Sophie when she had to work such incredibly brutal hours just to keep her job, and her family and friends refused to believe her working conditions.

While the environment at Sterling was inhuman, it was what it was. If she wanted to keep her job, she really did need to be there nights and weekends. Her bosses wouldn’t understand if she took a weekend off. There was no downtime.

And yes, she did also enjoy the rush. But still, Sophie’s struggles with her friends, her boyfriend and particularly her father were sometimes painful to witness.

The macro-story involves one single deal that is being played out just as the banking industry is going into a tailspin. The three men who start the story as the “big cheeses” in this deal represent three possible futures for Sophie; one is an inhuman machine, one loses his way in disappointment, and one does the best he can for the people in his company no matter how much it costs him.

We watch them, and Sophie, choose their fate. We know what happened to the rest of us. 2008 was not a good year, but it is fascinating to dissect.

If the story of how the banking industry got itself and the rest of the country in over our collective heads interests you, and you want to read an equally compelling but totally different view (with sex this time), try The Rare Event by P.D. Singer (reviewed here).

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~~~~~~GIVEAWAY~~~~~~

Laura is giving away a hardcover copy of Buying In to one lucky winner (US/Can). To enter, use the Rafflecopter below:

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***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money or borrowed from a public library and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.