It's a Cyber Birthday Party with Author Inez Kelley! Comment to Win!

YOU ARE INVITED! To a Cyber Birthday Party!

WHERE: Inez Kelley’s Website
WHEN: Nov. 24th noon until 10PM
RSVP: Nope, just stop by, comment to win any of over 60 books and prizes, not to mention filling up of your beefcake quota.
What to bring: An appetite to read!

It’s my birthday! (Okay, not really. My birthday is the 25th but that is American Thanksgiving and everyone will be stuffing their face with turkey, dressing and pumpkin pie so I am celebrating early)

All day long, I will open my wonderful present from my fellow authors and then I will give them TO YOU! Winners awarded all day long from the comment section(so include your email addy!)

I stopped getting birthday presents a long time ago and now wouldn’t even bother celebrating the day (Who really wants to celebrate getting OLDER once you are over the legal age?) except well, I have a new release this week. It seemed fitting to celebrate that and combine the two.

LIPSTICK ON HIS COLLAR is a red-hot novella from Samhain Publishing, a scorching little tale of a one-night stand that changed into so much more. It has a hot ex-firefighter, a mysterious heroine and a steamy romance with just a hint of that pain in the ass ex that won’t go away.

So come celebrate my birthday, my new release and reap the benefits from a Birthday Blow Out where you get the presents! In fact, Let’s kick this party off right! If you would like a copy of LIPSTICK ON HIS COLLAR, comment here and tell me your favorite birthday gift ever! Winner’s choice of formats. Contest will be open until Dec. 8th and the winner announced on the 9th or 10th.

LIPSTICK ON HIS COLLAR
He never thought his next wildfire would be wearing a red dress.

“Make me your goddess and I’ll take you to heaven.” This sultry promise sparks a scorching, unforgettable one-night stand. The next morning Bram Winters awakes with a hickey and a head full of wicked memories—alone. His nameless goddess is gone without a trace, along with his shirt. And his heart.

Five months later, he stumbles across his mystery lady in a Laundromat, but she still won’t give up her name. Worse, she begs him to leave, no questions asked. Once he catches the spark of terror in her eyes, though, his firefighter training takes over—and he digs in for the duration.

Lady never wanted Bram to see her life’s ugly underside, but it’s too late—his socks are already in the washer. He was supposed to be her declaration of independence from her unstable ex, a bittersweet memory to carry into her new life.

Except the ex continues to stalks her. And Bram’s reappearance sends her emotions and desires tumbling over the edge. As the minutes wear on, sexual tension rises faster than the steam from a hot water wash.

And Lady’s ex watches from the shadows, growing more furious by the minute…

Product Warnings: Scorching sex, icy scissor play and an anonymous woman taking a wet slide down one hot ex-fireman’s pole. Beware of hot flashes and spontaneous combustion. Correct change not required.

A Month of Thanks - Update Post on Giving to a Family In Need & Fun Giveaways!

Hello friends and neighbors,

Many of you may not be aware that Romance in the Backseat is offering a very special Month of Thanks this November.  The most exciting part is coming from Silver Publishing, a generous giveaway of $100 Grocery Gift Card.

November is a time to give thanks to those in our life who day in and day out make our lives better. To give thanks to friends and family that year after year support us. This year there are a lot of families and friends in need of some extra support and help. That is why Silver Publishing has so generously offered to help pay for a families Thanksgiving dinner.

Please share the news about this giveaway and join us to nominate someone in your life who could use the extra help. All nominations are private, our goal is to add some holiday cheer and some extra goodies to the table this Thanksgiving. 

I want to thank Silver Publishing for this amazing gift. Even if you and your loved ones are lucky enough to have a table of food waiting Thanksgiving day drop in and show your appreciation not only to Silver Publishing, but to the other authors who have come on the site this month and shared their tales of thanks.  To give us a little more cheer those authors have also offered a book giveaway to share with those you love.

Terry Kate
Romance in the Backseat

 

Visit Silver Publishing's Site to find out about their books - http://silverpublishing.info/

Enter Here - http://ritbs.blogspot.com/2010/11/month-of-thanks-food-giveaways-silver.html

Kylie Brant's Giveaway

Deadly Intent

 http://ritbs.blogspot.com/2010/11/gratitude-attitude-by-kylie-brant.html

Lydia Dare's Giveaway

The Taming of the Wolf

 http://ritbs.blogspot.com/2010/11/month-of-thanks-lydia-dare.html

Nicola Cornick's Giveaway

Whispers of Scandal

http://ritbs.blogspot.com/2010/11/nicola-cornicks-month-of-thanks-blog.html

Kersten Hamilton's Giveaway

Tyger Tyger

http://ritbs.blogspot.com/2010/11/month-of-thanks-with-kersten-hamilton.html

I'm Leaving On A Jet Plane...

If you follow me on twitter (Hey - you should follow me on twitter!) you might have caught a tweet or two about my upcoming vacation - CHINA BABY! I'll be gone for two weeks freezing my patootie off in China, starting on Thanksgiving. While gone, I'll have some fun authors to stop by and do guest blogs and giveaways.

I'll pull the winners of the giveaways when I get back around Dec. 9th or 10th and I'll leave all giveaways open for entries through the 8th of December.

Please be nice to our visiting authors and tell your friends to stop by too! Since I won't have access to twitter or email, I won't be able to help promote the guests as much so I'm counting on my great readers to help them feel welcome.

Now, I just need to fill my Sony eReader up with books and I'm all set to travel. To my American readers, have a wonderful Thanksgiving and to everyone else have a great two weeks!

Happy Reading!

Monday Morning Cuteness!

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One of the BEST parts of the Holidays...FREE Starbucks!

I just had to share this with readers so you can make sure to take advantage! I mean, who doesn't want to get a free AWESOME holiday drink from Starbucks? :) Even if you aren't a coffee drinker, you can do the peppermint hot chocolate. Take a friend along and then spend some time talking romance books over those amazing drinks!

Today's I'm Doing Something Different...

It's a different kind of post from me today. I've had big things on my mind and couldn't bring myself to write the latest review to post and actually give it the write-up it deserves.

Today is the 3rd anniversary of my mother's death.

On the 1st anniversary my Dad was still alive but not doing very well and ended up in the hospital during this week. It kept me from focusing on Mom being gone.

For the 2nd year, Dad was still sick and getting much worse. Taking care of him, making sure he was taking his medicine, dealing with his loneliness and depression, keeping his old house from falling apart - they all kept me focused on him. I had to be strong for him. Couldn't let him see my emotions because I had to be strong so he could be the one to cry, the one to be sad and depressed.

I felt like in order to be there for him - to support him - I didn't have the right to lose it. To just let go and feel it all - all the emotions that for 2 years had been bottled up.

I was being strong.

As I said, this year is the 3rd anniversary and the first since my dad passed away last year.

This year it's different.

This year I'm feeling every bit of the emotion I didn't get to feel before.

A part of me is relieved - I was scared because who loses their Mom and then doesn't grieve? Did I not love her - am I some sort of heartless woman who only thought she loved her Mother more than anything? Shouldn't I be crying?

So much guilt. Honestly, there has been so much guilt. Trying to be there for dad, but feeling like not focusing on Mom and remembering her made me feel so guilty. Would she have understood? Is she somewhere sad that I wasn't crying or depressed those 1st 2 years? Did she get it - that Dad needed me?

I've asked myself those questions a million times. And tons of other questions too. Questions like: Did she know how much I loved her? How proud I was that she was my mom? How much I appreciated her friendship - not just for being my Mom?

So many questions.

Today, I mark the 3rd anniversary and I'm so happy to say I'm crying. I'm staring at one of my favorite pictures of the two of us. I'm sitting at work remembering her laugh, the jokes she used to tell. The secrets we shared.

Most of all today, I'm celebrating the things about me that I think are just like my Mom. On any given day I can say something or tell a silly joke, or laugh a certain way and it catches me by surprise. Wow - I sound just like Mom. Or, Mom would have loved this. I'M SO PROUD TO BE JUST LIKE MY MOM IN SO MANY WAYS. 

I miss you Mom.

Please - I ask all of you to spend time with your Mom telling her how much she means to you today. If she is no longer with us, I'm so sorry but please never forget the special things that made her your special Mom. 

Monday Morning Cuteness!

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A Special Holiday Post: Nominate a Family In Need

A Special Message from Terry at Romance in the Backseat:
Hello Readers and Friends,

The Holidays are a wonderful time of year, where we thank those in our lives that have done so much for us throughout the year.  Romance in the Backseat is also taking part in saying thanks.  We have authors giving away books as well as some truly generous giveaways.  Those of food for families in need this Holiday.  Come and Visit Romance in the Backseat.  Nominate those who need some cheer for the book giveaways and those you know who are in need to win the Food Gift Cards from Silver Publishing and author Kylie Brandt. 

 Thank you and please share the links to these giveaways everywhere you can.

Join us and enter to Win a $100 Food Gift Card from Silver Publishing



Author Kylie Brandt is doing a special $50 Holiday Food Giveaway on RITBS

The Kraken's Mirror Winner!

The winner of a copy of The Kraken's Mirror from Mauren Betita is...

Pam S (pams00)

Congrats! As soon as The Kraken's Mirror releases, I'll get a copy out to you at the email you provided.

Happy Reading and huge thanks to Maureen for stopping by and all the lovely things she said. :)

Monday Morning Cuteness!

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Welcome Special Guest Author Mareen O. Betita & Win The Kraken's Mirror!

A Beta Reader You Can Trust


Hi, I’m Maureen O. Betita and I’m taking over Cheeky Reads today, by invitation, don’t worry! I’m a new author, with my first release upcoming from Decadent Publishing.

It’s called The Kraken’s Mirror, a captivating romantic adventure featuring pirates, a kraken playing cupid, ipods and a curse of good luck. With a bit of time travel tossed in for fun. Along with waltzing vampires, a swamp full of zombies and a pack of werewolves running in the forest. Yes, Tortuga will never be thought of the same!

Bwah ha ha!

When I dreamed up this menagerie of a story and saw it develop into more than just a lark I knew I needed a beta reader with some experience to help me see past the love affaire I’d fallen into.

Yes, I love this story. I still do, especially after the beta experience. In fact, my beta reader proved invaluable at pointing out some real holes in my narrative. She drew my attention to areas where I lacked descriptive detail, for one thing. Like many new authors, I was caught up with knowing my world so well I just sort of…well…skipped describing it. With her help I brought the pirate festival to life, adding color, pulling up vivid memories and inserting them for the reader.

Thanks, Sabrina!

Another thing she spotted had to do with how my heroine reacted when a betrayal was revealed. Emily needed more connection to what led to it, more connection to why she might feel betrayed. And why she might feel the moments of insecurity the way I painted them.

This was harder to do, had to back up quite a bit…but I saw the hole because she pointed it out to me. Gently. Because she’s Sabrina and she knows how to work with sensitivity.

There were several other bits and pieces Sabrina helped me with and I look forward to her eventually reading the finished product, reviewing it here on CheekyReads and giving me how every many kisses she deems it worthy of. I trust Sabrina, my beta reader.

She made the book better. And no, I’m not just playing kissy-kissy. I hope you will enjoy The Kraken’s Mirror when it comes out and remember to thank Sabrina…she helped a lot!

A Sneak Peek At The Kraken's Mirror:

Treated by our youth oriented society as invisible and sexless Emily Pawes attends a pirate festival to recapture the make believe magic she knew as a younger woman. She wins an interesting bit of booty at an old woman's bric-a-brac stand. The Kraken's mirror is a magical portal and transports her to a land of Hollywood piratitude, where swashbuckling heroes own iPods. With little choice, she embraces the madness, deciding she’ll play pirate until she figures out how to get home. Or wakes up in a padded cell.

Instead of men in little white coats, she encounters the handsome Captain Alan Silvestri. He is a man haunted by a strange curse. Good luck is his to command, but it comes at the cost of any place to call home or people to call family. Resigned to die shunned by all, forced to sail every three days, he begins to dream of a special woman.

When they meet, sparks fly, passion flares. He needs her to be free, but more than that, he needs her to be whole. They set sail, uncertain of who has control of the wheel, seeking to defeat his curse of good luck and discover all the Kraken’s mirror plans for them.

Learn more about Maureen and The Kraken's Mirror at the following locations online:
http://www.maureenobetita.com/
http://believinginsecondchances.typepad.com/
www.twitter.com/maureenobetita

A Special Note From Cheeky Sabrina:
Ok, seriously folks I did not pay her to say all those awesome things. Really I didn't. Maybe I blackmailed her a little, but no money actually exchanged hands. :) I had no idea that she'd write about my being her beta. Thank you so much for the lovely post Maureen. It means so much to me that you think I helped even a little. And isn't that an awesome cover!


Maureen is both an amazing woman, a true friend and a wonderful writer. I was surprised and honored when she asked me to be a beta reader for her and hope that some of my comments really did help. The Kraken's Mirror is a really fun and original story chock full of pirates. I said PIRATES people! And not just of the male persuasion. There is a whole crew of kick-ass awesome lady pirates as well and I had a blast reading about them.

To help spread my love of Maureen and her debut release The Kraken's Mirror, I'm hosting a giveaway! When the Kraken's Mirror releases, I'll personally purchase a copy and send to a lucky Cheeky Reads reader. All you have to do is leave a comment with your best made-up pirate name! Be creative - make it something fun, or even give yourself a Cheeky pirate moniker.

Contest is Open to all users including Internationally. I'll announce a winner on Monday. Please feel free to share this contest on your blog, Facebook or tweet about it!

Cheeky Trick or Treat Winner!

The winner of our first ever Cheeky Reads Trick or Treat Giveaway, as selected by random.org, is...

Comment #7 - Karen!

Congrats Karen! Email your mailing address to cheekyreads @  gmail.com (no spaces) and I'll get your prize out to you soon! I'll be checking out my TBR shelves tonight and picking the perfect book to send you. *Crossing fingers for some good Fairy books!*

Thanks to everyone who entered and you never know...I might decide to giveaway more treats today... :)

Monday Morning Cuteness!

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Cheeky Trick or Treat Giveaway!

In honor of Halloween I'm doing a Cheeky Trick or Treat Giveaway! All you have to do is tell me what are your favorite type of paranormal or urban fantasy characters and you'll be entered to win. What do you win? How about a suprise book from my personal TBR pile that features the creatures you like the most? :)

So, let's hear it - are you a fan or witches, werewolves, vampires, shifters, fae? What's your favorite character type? Leave a comment letting me know and you're entered. It's that simple.  

I'll announce the winner on Monday, Nov. 1st. US and Canada only.

Fun with Book Trailers & a Cheeky Trick or Treat Event!

Book trailers are becoming more and more popular as a marketing tool for writer's to spread the word and build the anticipation about thier new releases. I've also seen some fun trailers that bring you up to speed on a series so you are ready for when the next book releases. I've watched quite a few videos lately and wanted to share just a few of them with you.

Enjoy and I'd love to hear if you think book trailers would help you decide to buy a book or not, or if you couldn't care less about them. What do you like or not like about them and what do you think might make one stand out for you? Oh - and be sure to stop by later and over the weekend as I'll be doing a special Cheeky Trick or Treat giveaway event!

Game, Set, Match by Nana Malone


Demon From the Dark by Kresley Cole


Wicked Highlander by Donna Grant


Undertow by Cherry Adair

Book Review: Backstage Pass: Sinners on Tour by Olivia Cunning

Book Review: Backstage Pass: Sinners on Tour
By: Olivia Cunning
Sourcebooks Casablanca
2 Heart Review
HEAT LEVEL: EROTIC ROMANCE
Five Stunning Guys, One Hot Woman and a Feverish Romance...

For him, life is all music and no play...

When Brian Sinclair, lead songwriter and guitarist of the hottest metal band on the scene, loses his creative spark, it will take nights of downright sinful passion to release his pent-up genius...

She's the one to call the tune...

When sexy psychologist Myrna Evans goes on tour with the Sinners, every boy tries to seduce her. But Brian is the only one she wants to get her hands on...

Then the two lovers' wildly shocking behavior sparks the whole band to new heights of glory...and sin...

Right off the bat, I want to say that I've never been a huge fan of musicians as heroes. It's not that I particularly dislike them, but I usually find that they tend to act like assholes. Knowing that, I was really hoping for a book that would present a musician I could cheer for. Backstage Pass wasn't totally it, but it was an entertaining read even if it's not something I would read again. If you are a fan of heroes who rock out, then this book might be much better for you than it was for me.

My main issues with the book were that I just couldn't get into a group of men with groupies and that I found the sexual music trance the hero goes into a little too hard to believe. I'm not an artist by any stretch of the word so I can't know for sure, but I did find it hard to believe that musicians write music while getting it on.

There were also a few sex scenes that I felt were thrown in as extras to make the book go more to the erotic side of romance and I felt the book would have been better without those.

The Sinners are an interesting group of men and since this is the first book in a series we'll see all the men find their true love. The author did do a good job of creating five very different guys that you do wonder how they will turn out and what kind of woman (or man) will be the one to make them change their ways. (Groupies, circle blow-jobs, etc. They really do act like an 80's rock band on tour)

I don't think I'll be reading any more books in the series, but not because it wasn't an interesting read, but because I don't think I would do the author justice to talk about her books when I already know I would have a hard time with the hero.

What about you...Do you enjoy a musicians as a hero? If so, what is it about them you love? If not, what is your favorite hero type or occupation?

Reading Withdrawls: What's Your Book Genre Crack?

Lately my life has been jam packed with special events, crazy day-job hours and projects, and unexpected family tragedies. It left me without much time for reading and I realized that the longer I go without reading a book, the stronger the siren song of my TBR pile.

The reading withdrawals have also made me start thinking about what specifically I want to read the first chance I get. What book in the TBR is calling out the loudest? Or is it an keeper shelf favorite that has me in her clutches? Then the responsible adult part of me asks "What book do I need to read to review first?"

Sometimes those books that you know publishers and authors are waiting for reviews on can make looking at the TBR pile almost lose it's hold on me. Not entirely, but knowing people are waiting to hear what you thought can feel overwhelming when sometimes all you want to do is pick the book you are most in the mood to read!

And I've said it before, but I really want to review books when I'm most in the mood to read that genre. I mean if my heart is calling out for a historical, am I really setting up the best reviewing scenario if I pick up that paranormal that I know is releasing soon and feel is more time sensitive?

It's a hard question to answer. I do think that great books speak for themselves and as soon as I start reading, if it's a good book, it will pull me in no matter the genre. On the other hand, sometimes feeding the addiction with the right drug, ha - genre, seems to me would make for a happier and more fulfilled reader.

It's a balancing act, and one I try my best to do when scheduling what I'm reading and reviewing. I do try very hard to give myself enough time to be able to pick up a book for review when I'm in the mood for that genre. It doesn't always happen, but I'd say 80% of the time I can get it to work that way.

Times like now though, it kinda goes out the window. I'm starving for a the hit of a good book and the longer I go the more I can tell I will only be satisfied by X genre. I know exactly what genre book I'm picking up next and hopefully reading one good (again, hopefully) book in that genre will feed the beast and let me relax into reviewing/reading what needs to come next.

So, when you haven't read a book in a what seems like forever (which for me is like 2-5 days) what genre are you drawn to? Is it the same genre every time or do your tastes change according to your mood? Let's hear it!

Monday Morning Cuteness!

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Monday Morning Cuteness!

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Book Review: A Tarnished Heart by Leslie Dicken

Book Review: A Tarnished Heart
By: Leslie Dicken
Samhain Publishing
3 Heart Review

She can save him—or bring him to ultimate ruin.


The Earl of Markham’s life is unraveling before his eyes. The harder he tries to pick up the frayed ends, the quicker his carefully guarded control slips from his iron grasp. Five years after the death of his wife, the threat of blackmail hangs over his son’s inheritance.

His only hope to quell the gossip before it begins lies in a headstrong young commoner as wild and free as the English countryside she loves. She is wrong for him in every way. Yet she brings life to his colorless world—and warms his heart with a fire that threatens to shatter the wall around his heart.

Lizzie Parker is content with her garden, her village and caring for her aging father. She wants no part of the glittering London Season, but her father will not be denied his wish to see to her future. Still, she plans to do everything in her power to vex the man charged with taking her away from her beloved home. The man who once broke her heart. Markham.

She never expected his kisses to tame her resistance. With each touch he rouses her senses, until suddenly she’s not at all sure where she belongs...

I'm a big fan of Leslie Dicken and truly believe that she's an under the radar author that more readers of historical romance should check out. Her book Beauty Tempts the Beast was one of my top books of 2010 and a 5 Heart Review here at Cheeky Reads. Seriously, you are missing out if you haven't read it yet.

All of that leads me to point out that my expectations for Leslie's latest book were very high and I do think that's part of the reason why I gave A Tarnished Heart 3 Hearts. Beauty Tempts The Beast is a hard act to follow! In fact, I finished reading this book weeks ago and was having the hardest time trying to figure out exactly what it was that it was missing for me.

It's not that A Tarnished Heart isn't a great story - it is. I loved how strong-willed the heroine was and how willing she is to do anything to stay with her father and take care of him. She's also a smart, tough lady who is willing to fight for her freedom even if it jeopardizes her own reputation and potential future.

One thing I felt was missing for me was for the villains in this tale to get theirs. Lady Fallston and the man who helps her (name withheld to avoid spoilers) needed to have something bad happen to them or at least for the reader to feel like they had to pay for their transgressions. I'm a big fan of making sure that the people who have caused harm pay for it. This was a problem I had with Jennifer Haymore's A Touch of Scandal. The ending with the mother really threw me out of that story and kept it from being a 5 Heart Review for me. I had the same issue with A Tarnished Heart.

**Both of the following plot points are revealed very early in the story so I didn't feel that they counted as spoilers, but wanted to warn you before reading on.**

The other thing that stuck out to me as not quite feeling right to the story was Lizzie's blaming of Markham for her sister's death and how badly she took his reaction to her declaration of future marriage. The blame for the death seemed off and there is an answer to that later, but it took me out of the story every time it was mentioned. As for the declaration of love, all I could think was that she was still a child and no man in his right mind would have reacted positively to that. Let alone a random child coming upon a carriage on a country road and declaring this to the man inside.

What I did really enjoy was the romance between Lizzie and Markham and the sexual tension between them, which I think Leslie writes so well. Both characters were strong and you really wanted them to come to their senses and love each other. It's a solid romance story with two characters you will enjoy and cheer for. The only major thing this book suffers from is not being Beauty Tempts the Beast, which I've said before was one of my favorite books of 2009 and maybe even of the past 3-5 years.

If you haven't read Leslie, please check out her books. I sing her praises on twitter all the time for good reason! Have you read Beauty Tempts the Beast or A Tarnished Heart? If so, what did you think?

Late Review: September Harlequin Blaze Quickie Reviews

I read two Harlequin Blaze books this month and even though I know new ones are already out on the shelves, I wanted to do a quick review since you can still get your hands on these books at http://www.eharlequin.com/.

September Harlequin Blaze Reviews:

Hot Island Nights by Sarah Mayberry – 4 Heart Review

Sweet Surrender (3 Encounters) by Lori Wilde – 4 Heart Review Overall
Night Whispers – 4 Hearts
Never Enough – 3 Hearts
No Turning Back – 4 Hearts

Hot Island Nights:

Elizabeth Morgan didn't intend to abandon her very proper life. But that's the best way to find her true – and less proper – self. So here she is in Australia, standing in front of a man who's clad only in a towel. Nathan Jones is so tempting he could be the ideal candidate to help this good girl be very bad!

Sure enough, thanks to Nathan's talented hands, Elizabeth is living all her sensual fantasies. And while the sex is great, something more is developing. She trusts him, and wants to share her secrets with him, and... Suddenly this feels more like a real relationship than some fun in the sun. Luckily, there's a cure for too much commitment – more wickedness!

The back cover blurb for this book did absolutely nothing to prepare the reader for the amazing story within. This is not a light and carefree Blaze of “wickedness”. There are some major issues handled in this book and in a very deep and fulfilling way. The blurb gets the general idea of teh couple right, but doesn't hint at all at the wonderful story inside.

This was a book that I read quite a few people discussing on twitter so I had to read it. They were not wrong. It's packs way more emotional punch than I normally expect from a Blaze and I thought it was exceptionally well done.

Sweet Surrender:

The Dilemma: How to get over a man-summer gone bad? Ban males next time out.

The Bet: No sex this summer vacation. So who will not hold out the longest?

First there was Bianca: Bianca St. James is desperately pretending her billionaire playboy client isn't fiendishly hot. Self-control...not a chance!

Then Madison: Safely away from temptation, Madison Garrett's confident she'll win the wager...until she sees her travel companion. Will all bets – and clothes – be off?

And Finally Emma: Emma Jacobs was set up. Now she's alone in the wilderness with her achingly hot former high school sweetie...surely no one will notice if she's a little bad, will they?

May the best woman win!

Night Whispers: This was a fun little story that I liked because for once, time passes in this book as the couple learns about each other and falls in love. It was very nice to see an alpha male who nurtures the heronine and helps her learn about herself and her heritage. I did wonder how in the world this woman wears the same undies every day (as all the heronines in the story do)?

Never Enough: A well written story, I gave this one 3 hearts because I didn't buy the 1-2 day fall in love timeline. I don't care if you talk to someone for 24 hours straight, it's asking too much to suspend my disbelief that they fell in love that quickly.

No Turning Back: I LOVED that this was a reunion story and how easy it felt - and how right. Very well done and even though this could easily have been a full-lenth story of its own, the author did a great job leaving you satisfied with the shorter length.

Monday Morning Cuteness!

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Monday Morning Cuteness!

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New Updates Coming Soon...

Sorry I've been MIA a little the past few days, but I've had some bad news about a family member and haven't been up to writing my reviews and posting them. I'm trying to get past it and will hopefully be updating again soon.

I hope everyone is reading something awesome and have a great weekend!

New & Recent Releases I’m Excited About…

There have been a slew of recent releases that I’m dying to read or whose covers caught my eye and they’re now on my radar. Below are just some of them, but head over to your local bookstore to check out what else has slipped onto the shelves without you noticing!

Butterfly Swords by Jeannie Lin

The Best of Friends by Susan Mallery

The Surrender of a Lady by Tiffany Clare

Eat Prey Love by Kerrelyn Sparks

Trial by Desire by Courtney Milan

Me, Myself and Why? by MaryJanice Davidson

Aching for Always by Gwyn Cready

Monday Morning Cuteness!

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Poisoned Kisses by Stephanie Draven Winner!

Thank you again to Stephanie for coming on Cheeky Reads and answering some questions for us about her new Harlequin Nocturne release, Poisoned Kisses. I've seen quite a few 5 star reviews for this book on twitter this past week so I'm so excited to be giving away a copy!

The winner of that copy, as randomly selected by random.org. is...

Comment #1 - arceli

Congrats! Email me your mailing address to cheekyreads @ gmail.com (no spaces) and I'll get the book out to you soon.

Happy Reading!

BEST Audio Book EVER! (Well, mightly fine one at least)

Confession: I'm only half-way through a book and I'm ready to call it a winner. Seriously, I've been tweeting all morning on how freakin' fantastic the current Audio Book I'm listening to is. Which one you ask?

Maybe This Time by Jennifer Cruise released in audio by Brilliance Audio.

THIS is why I adore audio books and why I keep singing their praises to readers who have yet to try them out.

The story is performed by Angela Dawe and she nails every voice, owning every character. This is the first time I've written "performed by" and totally meant it. These characters come alive off the page and do great justice to Jennifer Cruise's story.

I mean it's a Jennifer Cruise story, which means chances are that it's going to be pretty good if not great, but this just raises it to another level. I can honestly say I think the Audio Book version might be better than the book itself because - I'll say it again - Angela Dawe owns these characters.

So fantastic! If you were looking for your first audio book to try, or if you tried one in the past and hated it, PLEASE try this one. It's the perfect example of what an Audio Book should be and can be!

Here's Brilliance Audio's website with a sample of this audio book. The audio book just gets better and better the further into it. :)

Here's an Amazon link.

And a Borders link.

Have you read or listened to Maybe This Time? Tell us what you thought or tell us the best Audio Book you've found!

Monday Morning Cuteness!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Someone's got a case of the Mondays...shoot me now!

BLOGMANIA WINNER! Drumroll please...

Thank you to everyone who stopped by Cheeky Reads during Blogmania! If your a book lover that you'll stop back by and visit again!

With Blogmaina now over I wanted to say I had a great time visiting all the blogs and finding new ones that I'll be checking out on a regular basis. I'm also super excited about all the great comments I recieved in response to my favorite author question. So much so, that I've decided to take some time this weekend and compile a list of every author that was mentioned. I mean what better recommendation list than a list of all-time favorites! I'll post the list here and I'm planning to feature many of those authors in the coming months.

Now, for the news everybody really wants to hear. :) I wrote up all the eligible entries this morning, placed them in a bag and pulled one out.

The randomly selected winner is...

Amy! Here is a screen shot of the winning comment (with email removed) so we can be sure which Amy it is. :)

Congratulations Amy and thank you for entering. Please email your mailing address to me at cheekyreads  @ gmail.com (no spaces) and I'll ship out your items. The books and audio books will ship from me, and the chocolate I will be ordering from online so it will ship seperately.

I wish everyone else luck on all the other great giveaways!

Happy Reading
Cheeky Girl Sabrina

Welcome Guest Author Stephanie Draven & Enter to Win Poisoned Kisses!

I'm pleased to welcome author Stephanie Draven to Cheeky Reads as a stop on her blog tour for her new Harlequin Nocturne release Poisoned Kissies! Stephanie was nice enough to answer a few questions for us, and I wanted to start us off with a sneak peek at Poisoned Kissies...

He can wear the face of anyone who has ever hurt him…


This former soldier-turned-gun-runner thinks his true identity is safe, but a mysterious woman is about to force him to face the tragic past he thought he left behind.

She can disguise herself as the only woman he’s ever loved…

It’s not easy to be a Daddy’s Girl when your father is Ares, Greek God of War. To thwart her father and all those who serve him, Kyra intends to assassinate a modern day hydra. To kill him, she needs to seduce him, but Marco Kaisaris isn’t the monster she thinks he is–and even if he doesn’t break her heart, he may still be the death of her.

Can they see past each other’s masks to find a love that’s more than skin deep?

Welcome Stephanie!

Your book Poisoned Kisses is the first of a new series called "Mythica". I'm a huge fan of Greek Mythology so I'm really excited to see a new series that uses those old myths in a new way. Can you tell us a little more about the premise behind the series and why you decided to base it on Greek myths?


First, I’d like to thank you for having me as a guest on Cheeky Reads! The central premise of the Mythica stories is that love turns men into monsters, sometimes quite literally. I tend to use the tagline, “What if the monsters of ancient myth still walk the earth...and what if you found out that you were one of them?”

I chose Greek myths because they are primal stories from so far back in our past that they still evoke basic fears about ourselves. I’ve always loved Greek mythology and the chance to update those stories and put a sexy twist on them is something that I relish.

Characters can really make or break a book for me and I love hearing from authors about how they would describe their hero and heroine. What three words would you use to describe each?

What a great question. Okay, let’s see:
Hero, Marco Kaisaris: Honorable. Wounded. Loyal.
Heroine, Kyra, Daughter of Ares: Brave. Dangerous. Vulnerable.

Your heroine is a nymph and I know from your blog that you are particularly interested in them and have written other nymph characters. What is it about nymphs that inspires you so much?

Nymphs are an archetype of women outside the realm of social constraints. They were powerful, deeply connected to nature, and independent. They didn’t need men, but when they fell in love, they loved intensely. They were everything the ancient Greeks feared about the nature of women, but also what they may have secretly desired.

Now that we know more about your characters, what was it about them that had you wanting to write that HEA for them? Was there a particular scene that was the most fun for you to write?

Kyra is such a badass with her sharp assassin’s knife and her casual indifference to the normal rules of human morality...that I was surprised to discover in her a very vulnerable core. When she falls for Marco, she falls so fast, and so hard, that it shames her. She doesn’t want to be pathetic. She just wants to be loved in return, but she knows better than to even hope for that.

Meanwhile, Marco hasn’t ever found anyone to truly understand him. He’s never met anyone as committed to any cause as he is. He’s very much alone, and he’s lost himself. Kyra helps him come to terms with what he’s become...and what he could be.

I desperately wanted these two to find their happy ever after. As for the scene that was most fun to write, I’m not sure I can pick just one, but every time Ares or Hekate made a guest appearance, I had a blast. Ares as a modern day arms dealer. Hekate as a fortune telling gypsy! I’m not comparing myself to Neil Gaiman but I was certainly inspired by American Gods, and those scenes made me grin.

I always find that authors have the best book recommendations. Have you read any good books lately or or a discovered a new author?

The most recent thing I’ve read is Jeannie Lin’s The Taming of Mei Lin, which I loveloveloved!

What's up next for you? Would you tell our readers a little bit about the next book in the series or what you are currently working on?

The next installment will be a novella about a young rock-star diva in Annapolis who unwittingly snares an ancient guardian of the sea with her siren song. After that, next year there’ll be a full-length novel about a mind-controlling Minotaur and a sexy sphinx!

In other news, I also write historical fiction as Stephanie Dray and my debut historical novel, Lily of the Nile: A Novel of Cleopatra’s Daughter, will be released in January 2011!


Do you love Greek or Roman Mythology? What about books that feature myths as part of their world-building or characters? Do you have any favorite myths you'd love to see featured in a book? Let us know and you can be entered to win a copy of Poisoned Kissies!
This giveaway open to US residents only.


Stephanie Draven is currently a denizen of Baltimore, that city of ravens and purple night skies. She lives there with her favorite nocturnal creatures–three scheming cats and a deliciously wicked husband. And when she is not busy with dark domestic rituals, she writes her books.

Stephanie has always been a storyteller. In elementary school, she channeled Scheherazade, weaving a series of stories to charm children into sitting with her each day at the lunch table. When she was a little older, Stephanie scared all the girls at her sleepovers with ghost stories.

She should have known she was born to hold an audience in her thrall, but Stephanie resisted her writerly urges and graduated from college with a B.A. in Government. Then she went to Law School, where she learned how to convincingly tell the tallest tales of all!

A longtime lover of ancient lore, Stephanie enjoys re-imagining myths for the modern age. She doesn’t believe that true love is ever simple or without struggle so her work tends to explore the sacred within the profane, the light under the loss and the virtue hidden in vice. She counts it amongst her greatest pleasures when, from her books, her readers learn something new about the world or about themselves. Stephanie also writes historical fiction as Stephanie Dray and has a series of forthcoming novels from Berkley Books featuring Cleopatra’s daughter.

Website: http://www.stephaniedraven.com/

Follow Stephanie on her blog tour with the following upcoming stops:
9/17/2010 - http://www.accessromance.com/blog/ - Access Romance
9/17/2010 - http://www.romancejunkies.com - Romance Junkies
9/18/2010 - http://www.cherrymischievous.com - Cherry Mischievous
9/19/2010 - http://cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com - Cheryl's Book Nook
9/20/2010 - http://dearauthor.com - Dear Author
Complete Blog Tour List Link: http://stephaniedraven.com/poisoned-kisses-blog-tour/

BLOGMANIA 2010 IS HERE! Everyone Deserves a Little Romance...

I'm extremely excited to be a part of Blogmania this time around and hope that new visitors to Cheeky Reads will take some time to look around the site. Cheeky Reads is a romance book review site that covers all genres of romance as well as Urban Fantasy and Paranormal titles. I also ADORE audio books and do reviews on those as well. Thanks for stopping by!

So, what's my giveaway theme? EVERYONE DESERVES A LITTLE ROMANCE! To one lucky winner, I'm giving away the following worth over $120!

Return to Sender by Fern Michaels - Audio Book

Her Mother's Keeper by Nora Roberts - Audio Book

The Perfect Poison by Amanda Quick - Print Book

Enemy Lover by Karin Harlow - Print Book

Your choice of Dark or Milk French Chocolate Fondue to make your reading time even more luxurious!

To Enter to Win: Leave a comment letting me know who your favorite author is and include your email address. For an extra entry (+1) follow this blog with GFC (on the upper left sidebar) and leave me another comment letting me know. Following is not required to enter, and only follow if you really want to! :)  This contest is open for US and Canada addresses only.

Here are all of the blogs hosting a BLOGMANIA 2010 giveaway. They are labeled with US, US/CAN, or INT based on who their giveaways are open to - US residents only, US/CAN residents only or INT - world wide!!! Each blog should have this link list - in case you are looking for specific giveaways only - at the bottom of their giveaway post. However, BOOKMARK this page and keep track of what number you are on - Good Luck and HAVE FUN!!

ALL BLOGMANIA RELATED QUSTIONS MAY BE SENT TO blogmaniapr@...

THE FINE PRINT: Please read each giveaway 's directions carefully as entry methods differ, and giveaways may be open to different world areas than previously noted on our list. Please make sure you leave a way (valid email address) with your entries to be contacted if you win. All blog's are responsible for drawing their own winners and contacting those winners for their shipping addresses. All blogs are responsible for providing this information to the companies that are shipping the prizes to the winners or providing the prizes themselves directly to the winners in a timely fashion. Parker Pr Online and BLOGMANIA 2010 are not responsible for any giveaways or prizes.

Audio Book Review: Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich

Audio Book Review: Wicked Appetite
By: Janet Evanovich
Read by: Lorelei King
Macmillan Audio
Unabridged CD - Run time 7 hours 
3 Heart Review

Life in Marblehead has had a pleasant predictability, until Diesel arrives. Rumor has it that a collection of priceless ancient relics representing the Seven Deadly Sins have made their way to Boston’s North Shore. Partnered with pastry chef Lizzie Tucker, Diesel bullies and charms his way through historic Salem to track them down—and his criminal mastermind cousin Gerewulf Grimorie. The black-haired, black-hearted Wulf is on the hunt for the relic representing gluttony. Caught in a race against time, Diesel and Lizzie soon find out that more isn’t always better, as they battle Wulf and the first of the deadly sins.

I've had the hardest time ever writing this review. Please know that right off the bat. A fan of the Stephanie Plum series, I was super excited to learn that Janet had a new series coming out and was excited to see something different from her. Don't get me wrong, I love the Plum series, but after so many books I was looking to something refreshingly different but with the fun I knew would always be in Janet's writing.

What I personally felt about Wicked Appetite was that it felt too much like the Plum series. That was not helped by keeping the same narrator from the Plum series for this series. I love Lorelei King as a narrator and think she has made the Plum series come alive in audio, but in order for Wicked Appetite to really have it's own "voice" they should have chosen a new narrator.

Having Lorelei narrate this book only served to highlight how much of it mirrored the exact type of situtations, humor, jokes, etc that a reader would have in the Plum series. Yes, the Plum series is awesome but with a new series it SHOULD feel different and this just didn't for me.

Yes, Diesel is a cross-over character readers are already familiar with but I felt like Lizzie was a Stephanie clone. Add in Carl the Monkey and too many scenes where you forgot this is Lizzie instead of Stephanie and I just couldn't get into it.

It is a very fun story and maybe it would have been better this time for me to read the book. Not having Stephanie's exact "voice" might have helped me seperate the stories more. As it was, Lorelei King is Stephanie to me and I couldn't hear her reading this story and not be thinking Plum the whole time.

If you haven't done the Plum series by audio that might not be an issue for you or if you read the print book. If you love Evanovich then you will probably really enjoy this new book and series, but if you are looking for something new from her this isn't it. Yes, I wanted fun and zany but this was too similiar. It felt like when a favorite author's book has been re-released with a new title and cover and you buy it only to get a few pages in and realize you've read it before - it's still a great story, but it's not that something new you were hoping for.   

Monday Morning Cuteness!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

And that folks is how I feel about this Monday!

Winner Of The Audio Download Of Mating Call by Emily Ryan-Davis

Thanks again to Emily for stopping by and talking Audio Books with us (one of my favorite topics!!) and for offering a free download to a reader.

The winner, as chosen by random.org, is # 8 - JellyBelly!

Congrats and email me at cheekyreads @ gmail.com (no spaces) and I'll send you the information on the download.

Happy Reading & Listening!

Welcome Author Emily Ryan-Davis & Enter to Win An Audio Book Copy of Mating Call!

Audio Books: Read Together

Happy Wednesday everyone! Cheeky Reads is the first stop on my audio book blog tour, which launches along side my first audio book release, MATING CALL, available now at AudioMinx.



MATING CALL is the first of a paranormal romance serial trilogy crammed full of dragons both solid and ephemeral. I'm happy to say books two and three, DRAGON DANCE and DRAGON BOUND, will be releasing in September and November of this year (don't forget Tuesdays are discount days at AudioMinx).

But less about THE audio book and more about audio books in general.

The first time I chose an audio book over a print book was Christmas four years ago. My now-husband, Chris, and I were going to undertake a four-hour drive to visit my family for the holiday. I'm not a verbal entertainer by nature and I worried Chris would be bored to death traveling such a long distance, his hands glued to the wheel instead of free to flip pages or wield knitting needles (like mine).

Together we chose Christpher Moore's A DIRTY JOB. I chose it more for him than me because I figured I'd knit or something if I didn't like the book. For the record: love A DIRTY JOB. I highly recommend it (not romance, though: you've been warned).

Chris and I went out of our way to keep driving so we could finish listening to the book together. We loved the voice acting, we loved being able to laugh together the way we would if we were watching a movie, and we didn't experience any of that awkward “you've GOT to read this! it's hysterical!” bumbling that occurs when you try to communicate hilarity to someone who's not been reading along with you. That audio book was the perfect joint-reading solution to our long drive.

When Audio Lark opened for submissions last year, my first thought was of the A DIRTY JOB experience. I immediately put together submission packages for my contemporary paranormal Dragon Queen series. The Dragon Queen books were my first e-books, my first print books and wouldn't it be fitting if they were my first audio books, too?

This afternoon, I was listening to proofs for DRAGON DANCE (book 2) and my husband was sitting on the bed putting on a pair of socks when the voice actress hissed a vehement curse followed by incredulous exclamation. I started laughing and so did he (it was meant to be a laughing bit) and in that moment, I knew I HAD to make audio books a more regular part of my life. What better way for reading households to do things together?

I'm not sure I'd advocate spicy romance as read-together subject matter...but I'm not sure I'd caution against it, either, ifyaknowwhatImean.

My question for blog visitors today is, in what circumstances do you “read” audio books? Your commute? Gym time? In the winter, when your hands are busy knitting up homemade socks? Tell me a) the last audio book you “read” and b) why you choose audio when you do choose audio, and you'll be entered in a drawing to receive a free download of MATING CALL.

-
Emily Ryan-Davis writes for Ellora's Cave, Liquid Silver Books and Freya's Bower. News of projects, releases and blog appearances can be found at ScorchedSheets.com. MATING CALL, DRAGON DANCE and DRAGON BOUND are currently available in electronic and print format at Freya's Bower.

Fun with Book Trailers: Eve Silver's Otherkin Trilogy

Book Review: All I Ever Wanted by Kristan Higgins

Romance Book Review: All I Ever Wanted

By: Kristan Higgins
HQN
4 Heart Review

One happily-ever-after rocking chair…

And no sign of any forthcoming babies to rock in ol’ Georgebury, Vermont. For Callie Grey, turning thirty means coming to grips with the fact that her boss (and five-week fling) is way overdue in his marriage proposal. And way off track, because Mark has suddenly announced his engagement to the company’s new Miss Perfect. If that isn’t bad enough, her mom decides to throw her a 3-0 birthday bash in the family funeral home.

Bad goes to worse when she stirs up a relationship with the town’s most eligible — yet not so warm and fuzzy — veterinarian, Ian McFarland, in order to flag Mark’s attention. So Ian’s more comfortable with animals… So he’s formal, orderly and just a bit tense. The ever-friendly, fun-loving and spontaneous Callie decides it’s time for Ian to get a personality makeover. But, dang — if he doesn’t shock the heck out of her, she might actually fall for Vermont’s unlikeliest eligible bachelor…

I cried. Really, there's a point toward the end of this book that had literal tears going down my face. The hubby was sitting next to me on the couch and looked at me and said "Are you serious?" Me in my warble-est voice ever said, "I can't help it. There this (insert plot point) and then this (more plot) happens and it's just so sad!" Yep. It's a good book. A really good book and a wonderful read that I think you'll really enjoy.

Kristan Higgins writes wonderfully original, yet relatable, contemporary stories that have me coming back again and again because she creates stories and characters that I see myself in and that's half the battle to finding a good romance.

This book was no different, but the only reason this wasn't a 5 Heart Review for me was that I wanted to know more and get a deeper understanding of the hero. The heroine Callie is wonderfully fleshed out and we learn so much about her and where she's been and what her motivations are. With our hero Ian, that's a little harder to discern. Now, part of that is because his character is reserved and mysterious, but I wanted to see him bloom a little with Callie. More so than he did at least.

The above back cover copy does help explain the premise of the book, but I was very happy to find that the plot of the engagement of Callie's boss takes a backseat to the romance between Callie and Ian. I wouldn't have liked the book as much if the focus on that initial incident had been played up too much. There was a very nice balance of Callie being hurt by Mark's engagement, and in seeing her grow past it.

It's so hard to say exactly why I loved this book, expect to say that I just did. It all worked for me, even without further insight into Ian, and it was all I could do to not go back and read the one book by Kristan that I have on my TBR pile but hadn't gotten to yet. Sometimes needing to read the latest books to review is hard! I want to throw a tantrum and say "No, I will read what I want!" LOL - alas I have resisted the temptation, but it was hard. Kristan Higgins pulls me in and I'm sure it won't be long until I give in to temptation and read that missed book (The Next Best Thing).