Book Blog Follow and Book Blogger Hop Oct 8

Happy Friday, Everyone!!

It's time for Book Blog Follow Friday hosted by Parajunkee.com and The Book Blogger Hop hosted by Crazy for Books!

If you're visiting for the first time, I'd love to hear from you, so please leave a comment and say hi!! :)

While you're here, check out the contests I have running!

Win 3 Romance Classics!! The Raven Prince, A Hint of Wicked, Hot Wheels and High Heels!! Ends 10/8

October Paranormal Romance Giveaway! Win 4 Paranormal Romance books!! Ends 11/1

Win "A Season of Seduction" by Jennifer Haymore! Ends 10/18

Giveaway and Review: "A Season of Seduction"

As part of the "A Season of Seduction" blog tour, I have my review and a giveaway of 5 copies of the book, sponsored by Hachette!

"A Season of Seduction"
by Jennifer Haymore

Publisher: Forever
Release Date: Oct 1, 2010

Source: ARC sent by publisher

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

My Review:

Becky is still scarred from her disastrous first marriage that ended four years ago. She definitely doesn't want to get married again, or give her heart to another man. So Becky chooses to have an affair with notorious rake, Jack Fulton, knowing he'll never want to settle down. Jack feels tremendous guilt, but his life literally depends on marrying an heiress. How far will he go to get Becky, the Duke's sister, to marry him?

This story was definitely out of the ordinary, and I like how Jennifer Haymore pushes boundaries and introduces new themes. There's one event that I've never seen done in historical romance, and I have read a lot of historical romance!! Unfortunately, even though I appreciate the author doing something different, this particular event really made the book lose its momentum for me.

It was hard to get past the fact that Jack set out to use Becky for her money. But the beginning scenes were pretty suspenseful because you knew Jack was plotting something, but weren't sure quite what.

I really liked that Jack was obvious and blatant about his affection for Becky and he didn't give up. It's too bad his motivation was a little blurred at the start.

I really liked Becky's character in the previous book, "A Touch of Scandal," and I was glad she remained true to herself here. Since I did already feel attached to these characters, I got a little irked with one scene with Sophie still with both of 'her men,' Garrett and Tristan. Meanwhile poor Kate is at home, still playing second fiddle to Sophie. But, hey, that just shows how invested I am in these characters!

The story isn't really very holiday-inspired, even though the events do take place close to Christmas. And I did like how Jack sometimes called Becky "the Winter Queen."


Main Characters: 4/5
Supporting Characters: 4/5
Setting: 3/5
Romance: 4/5
Uniqueness: 4/5
Cover: 4/5
Writing: 4/5


Bottom Line: This was a great way to revisit characters from the rest of the series, and the leads have a lot of chemistry!

A SEASON OF SEDUCTION

Friend Jennifer on Facebook
Follow @JenniferHaymore on Twitter
Visit JenniferHaymore.com

GIVEAWAY RULES:
Hachette books has generously provided FIVE copies of this historical romance for readers of my blog!

All you have to do is follow my blog publicly and leave a comment on this review with your email address!

Please follow publicly or I can't tell that you are following :) Also, if you aren't comfortable leaving your email here, go ahead and leave a comment and then send me an email with your email addy.

Extra Entries:

• +1 Tweet this contest (leave link in comment)
  
• +1 Post link in sidebar of your blog (leave link in comment)
  

Rules:

• US and Canada only
  
• No PO Boxes please
  
• Must be a follower to enter
  
• Extra entries are optional and can all be left in the same comment
  
• Leave a comment with your email address
• Books will be mailed out by Hachette
  
• Ends Monday Oct. 18
  

Thanks to everyone for entering! Good luck!

Waiting on Wednesday (38)

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine, and it is a way to show off the books you can't wait to be released!!

This week I chose:

"Desires of the Dead"
by Kimberly Derting
HarperCollins
Release Date: March 1, 2011

The following description is from goodreads.com

The missing dead call to Violet. They want to be found.

When Violet Ambrose's morbid ability to sense the echoes of those who've been murdered leads her to the body of a young boy, she draws the attention of the FBI. She is reluctantly pulled into an investigation that will endanger more than just her secret...but her relationship and possibly her life as well.

I cannot wait to read this, the sequel to The Body Finder. I absolutely loved the first book and I can't wait to read more about Violet and Jay!

What are you waiting for this week???

Teaser Tuesday (9)

Yay for "Teaser Tuesday" from MizB of Should be Reading!!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser Tuesday pick:


"Yes was on the tip of her tongue. It hovered there precariously, three little letters on the verge of tumbling out and sealing her fate forever."


p 77 "A Season of Seduction" by Jennifer Haymore (ARC)

"Highland Hellcat" Review

"Highland Hellcat"
by Mary Wine

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Release Date: Oct 5, 2010

Source: sent by publisher

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

My Review:

Brina Chattan has spent her whole life preparing to be a nun, while her two sisters would be wed to powerful members of neighboring clans. When her sister, Dierdre, has an affair before her marriage, her betrothed finds out. Connor, the Lindsey laird, doesn't want a disgraced bride, so he steals Brina while on her way to the abbey. Brina fights Connor every step of the way, but she can't deny her attraction to him. When they arrive at his home and she's spoiled by the luxuries she never would have had at the abbey, she starts to question the life that has always been set out for her.

I really liked Brina, she was so independent and struggled to accept Connor's help with anything because she'd never been given the luxury of having anyone to lean on before. Her whole life, she'd watched her sisters wear pretty dresses and have their hair fixed but she was never able to have those things. She was so strong because she never complained about her place in life. It was so interesting to see her eyes opened to how nice the little luxuries in life were. I also liked that Connor loved to give her those things she'd never had, making her life as comfortable as possible.

I loved how every time Brina thought she would irritate Connor by acting like a screaming "hellcat," that he actually liked it! It was really funny to me how it just made him chase after her more.

I was a little impatient at first because the hero and heroine didn't meet each other until 50 or so pages into the book. Once they met, there was a lot of focus on the romance though.

This one wasn't really my style of romance. I think my biggest hurdle to really enjoying this one was what I felt were unkind attitudes towards women. I'm not a stickler for historical accuracies when it comes to attitudes and values-I want girl power! There was foul language and a lot of the story revolved around Deirdre being a disgrace for not being a virgin bride, and then of course the stealing of Brina.


Main Characters: 3/5
Supporting Characters: 3/5
Setting: 3/5
Romance: 3/5
Uniqueness: 3/5
Cover: 4/5
Writing: 3/5


Bottom Line: Overall, this was a nice historical romance but I wanted more respect towards the women in the book.

"StarCrossed" Review

"StarCrossed"
by Elizabeth C. Bunce

Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Release Date: Oct 1, 2010

Source: sent by publisher

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

My Review:

Digger is an accomplished thief, with no real ties to anyone or anything but her beloved Tegan. When Tegan is killed trying to save her magical ability from being discovered, Digger flees. She accepts a ride with a group of young nobles, fully expecting to steal a few coins and jewels and ditch them. But soon she discovers they are much more than a group of wastrel nobs and she gets pulled into a life of intrigue and further deception.

Wow! I loved this book! It was definitely not your typical YA book. There was so much going on in this story! The author invented a whole different world for the reader where religious and political turmoil ruled and magic was possible but oppressed.

I loved how the author explored so many different types of relationships, not just the romantic ones. All of the characters were so much more than what they seemed on the surface.

My favorite character was Weirolf, a special "guest" in the castle. He was an amazing character full of humility and also confidence. He knew his place in the world and wasn't afraid to step up to his destiny. I loved Digger's special relationship with him and I'm really hoping to see more of him the sequel.

Digger was a fantastic lead, she was such a strong and independent girl. She was true to herself and even though she sometimes had a mixed up view of right and wrong, she was always able to admit her mistakes.

I have so many questions about the ending, mostly about who I will and won't see in the sequel. I can't wait to read "Liar's Moon."

I was a little confused at the beginning of the book about the political and religious groups. Too bad I didn't find the glossary at the back of the book sooner because it was very helpful in sorting everything out.


Main Characters: 5/5
Supporting Characters: 5/5
Setting: 5/5
Romance: 4/5
Uniqueness: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Writing: 5/5


Bottom Line: This story was fantastic, the intrigue and adventure were full-force and the characters were amazing!

In My Mailbox (41)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren, and is a way for everyone to show their new books for the week, including those bought, swapped, won, or received for review.

bought:

"Plain Kate" by Erin Bow


"Swoon" by Nina Malkin

for review:

"Within My Heart" by Tamera Alexander


"Aching for Always" by Gwyn Cready

What did you receive in your mailbox this week??