Check out this Exclusive Excerpt from Random House:
A must-read for paranormal romance fans: THE DEMON LOVER: A Novel by Juliet Dark (excerpt)
If you enjoyed that, you can purchase the book from Random House from this link.
Happy Reading!
Cheeky Girl Sabrina
Looking Forward to 2012 - Reading Resolution
We've all created the lists year after year. Even here on Cheeky Reads I've listed the things I would like to see change about the blog in the coming year, but this year I want to do something different.
This year I want to select just 1 thing in a few areas of my life that I love and just focus more on that. Instead of focusing on changing designs, writing more blogs, doing more contests, etc, I want my resolution this year to focus on what I love and then to just do more of it this year.
So, in the area of my life this blog fits into I'm making my resolution to be to focus on selecting and choosing books to read and review that I think fit the genres and storylines I love most.
Most bloggers know what I'm talking about. As a reviewer you can be bombarded with requests to review books and for me there can be a lot of pressure to say yes to everyone! I really hate saying no to anyone who contacts me because I feel so honored that they've contacted me.
But, what ends up happening is that I get overwhelmed and can't keep up. I even decided this past year to add additional reviewers to Cheeky Reads. A decision I'm so happy I made! But I found myself making sure I sent them the books that best matched their personal preferences and then left myself the "other" books.
Sop this year I'm pledging to myself to make sure I take on books I really want to read. I'll still send my reviewers the books that suit them as well, but I'll have to say no to some authors who I don't think their books match our reviewers tastes - because I believe you should give a book the best chance by only having someone really interested read it.
I mean how can a review be fair if from the beginning you aren't at least mildly interested in reading it?
I have to admit that's why I haven't posted a ton of reviews lately - I just couldn't do the books justice and felt the author deserved a reviewer more fit to their story.
In 2012, you'll see more reviews from me simply because I'll be back to reading books I'm really interested in. That might not mean they'll all be good, but I'll be giving the book, author and my readers the best reviews possible.
Oh, and I'll get back to the joy of reading, because that's what it's really all about.
Cheers to a Happy New Year! Do you have a reading goal or resolution for 2012? Are you a blogger with blog goals or reading goals? Please share!
FREE Holiday Tale From Kieran Kramer
Here's the link to her blog where the story is posted. It's not very long and short, fun read!
*Image used from Kieran Kramer's website
Winner Of The Romancing Christmas Giveway Hop!
The winner of a selection of audio and print books based on the genre she indicated is...
Comment #9 is Shari Jung! Congrats!
Shari - an email is coming your way asking for your mailing information. Happy Reading and thanks again to all the entries!
Want to Win a Romantic New Year's Eve Weekend Getaway?
Here are some details from the Turnberry Isle Resort representative:
The winner of THE MOMENT receives a romantic New Year’s Eve package at the resort, valued at $1400. The package includes a two night stay, two tickets to Turnberry’s black-tie New Year’s Eve masquerade ball (hello little black dress!), and brunch for two at the Cascata Grille.
To enter, contestants would visit Turnberry Isle Resort’s Facebook contest tab (https://www.facebook.com/
The contest will be open until December 23rd.
I did go and check out the facebook contest for myself and also the resort and it really does look like an awesome place to have a romantic weekend for New Years! Living in Florida myself, this sounds exactly like how I'd like to spend New Years. If you can get yourself down to Florida or live here already, then don't wait - go enter on that facebook page!
Winner of Holiday Romances..
The winner of All I Want For Christmas and Holly's First Noel is:
Unknown aka Gena R!
Gena, I've sent your email address to Entangled and you should hear from them soon.
Congrats and Happy Reading!
Cheeky Girl Sabrina
Unknown aka Gena R!
Gena, I've sent your email address to Entangled and you should hear from them soon.
Congrats and Happy Reading!
Cheeky Girl Sabrina
Welcome Authors Ros Clarke & Faye Robertson & Enter To Win 2 Holiday Romances!
Entangled Publishing is pleased to offer new imprints, Flirts and Ever Afters. All I Want for Christmas (So nice of Mariah Carey and Justin Bieber to do the promo single for this title), by Ros Clarke, and Holly’s First Noel, by Faye Robertson, are paving the way for these two lines. We hope you enjoy our holiday gifts to you with these Christmas novellas. Flirts are priced at just .99 cents and enjoy Ever Afters for only $2.99.
About All I Want for Christmas:
Except, Hugh doesn’t know the office party is the only night of the year his friend lets her hair down. That every hour she’s away from the office is spent caring for her sickly mother. That her mother’s condition, early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, is hereditary.
W hen Hugh finds out what she’s been hiding, he’s forced to do some serious soul-searching. It’s not fair to Anna or her mother for him to get involved casually, but casual relationships are all he knows. Can he prove to himself—and to Anna—that she’s all he wants for Christmas?
Meet Faye Robertson:
Faye Robertson lives in the sub-tropical Northland of New Zealand with her wonderful husband and gorgeous teenage son. She writes fun, flirty, and sexy contemporary romances for the modern woman who likes intelligent, spirited heroines, and hunky but approachable heroes. She’s won several romance writing competitions and is a member of the Romance Writers of New Zealand. She would much rather immerse herself in reading or writing romance than do the dusting and ironing, which is why it’s not a great idea to pop round if you have any allergies. She also writes romance under the name Serenity Woods.
Meet the authors behind the Christmas magic…
Meet Ros Clarke:
This year, I have two jobs which means two office Christmas parties. Two Secret Santa presents bought (must remember to wrap them up). Two menus to choose from. Two outfits to select. Two opportunities to embarrass myself in front of my work colleagues.Fortunately, I have never embarrassed myself as much as the heroine of my Christmas novella, Anna Gardner. The office party is the one night in the year when she lets her hair down, with alarmingly predictable consequences. One too many glasses of punch and Anna always ends up at the karaoke machine. Anna has a great repertoire of Christmas classics, including Mariah Carey's hit (reprised this year with Justin Bieber!), "All I Want For Christmas Is You.” Have you seen this fun version featuring the crew of a Royal Navy warship as they come home after eight months of deployment? So much better than the Bieber version!
Last night, Anna Gardner was the life of the office Christmas party—right up until she threw herself at gorgeous advertising executive playboy, Hugh Munro. Again. Last year, Hugh let her pretend their passionate kiss never happened, but this year he’s determined to make Anna admit she wants him as much as he wants her.
About Ros:
Ros Clarke is a writer, a student, a church worker, a crafter, a blogger, a twitterer, a lazy gardener, and an appalling housekeeper. She is interested in almost everything except cricket and football (US and UK) and mostly she likes happy endings in fiction and in real life.You can find Ros at her website and follow her on Twitter!
Get a copy of All I Want For Christmas at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books On Board | Amazon UK
Get a copy of All I Want For Christmas at Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books On Board | Amazon UK
Coming up with a catchy title for a book is never easy, and the title for this one went through several incarnations before we settled on the final choice. I wanted something Christmas related, and liked the idea of echoing a carol. I considered setting the story in a hospital so I could call it Holly and the I.V. Actually my first idea was to echo a line in the book where Holly comments on the amount of snow that will fall overnight, but my editor assured me “Six Inches by Morning” was more of an erotica title. Likewise, I steered clear of anything to do with the North Pole and O Come all ye Faithful, not wanting to give the wrong impression.
But eventually we settled on Holly’s First Noel, and even though a dear friend has asked, “Does that mean she’s going to have a second one when she’s finished with him?” I think the title suits the story very well. It’s a sweet and sexy tale with, I hope, an uplifting emotional message—that the magic of Christmas isn’t to be found by making a traditional dinner and creating a perfect day, but that—without being too mushy—it’s what’s in your heart that counts, and love can turn any day into a celebration. 
About Holly’s First Noel:
Music teacher Holly Jones is in a festive predicament. Her boyfriend just dumped her the week before Christmas, so why is she only depressed he made off with the mince pies? When the charming science teacher next door overhears the dreaded call and suggests she accompany him on his Scottish holiday retreat, she accepts, eager to spend a quiet week rediscovering herself.Noel Coward’s wife died on Christmas Eve three years ago. To bury the memories of that day, he spends the holidays getting drunk and watching action movies—which makes him perfect company for a fellow teacher in need of solitude. Except, instead of wallowing in his grief, Noel finds himself comforted by Holly’s presence, fascinated by her mind, and after one innocent kiss, on fire for her touch. As the snow piles up outside, the temperature inside soars, while together, they discover the human heart’s amazing capacity to heal…and love.
About Faye:Faye Robertson lives in the sub-tropical Northland of New Zealand with her wonderful husband and gorgeous teenage son. She writes fun, flirty, and sexy contemporary romances for the modern woman who likes intelligent, spirited heroines, and hunky but approachable heroes. She’s won several romance writing competitions and is a member of the Romance Writers of New Zealand. She would much rather immerse herself in reading or writing romance than do the dusting and ironing, which is why it’s not a great idea to pop round if you have any allergies. She also writes romance under the name Serenity Woods.
So tell us, what's your favorite Christmas carol and why? Leave a comment and be entered to win an ebook of both of these awesome holiday stories!
Contest is open internationally! The contest ends at 11:59 on 12/18 and a winner will be announced 12/19 so you'll have plenty of time to read these stories while you're still in the holiday spirit!
It's The Loveswept Holiday Hop Giveaway!
Good Luck & Happy Holidays to all!
INCREASE your chances to win by visiting all of the participating 'Loveswept - Holiday Hop' sites!
Winners will be contacted after 1/10/12. US Only.
Welcome To The Romancing Christmas Giveaway Hop!
The Romancing Christmas Giveaway Hop is being hosted by Reading Romances!
What you can win here: A Selection of Print and Audio Books Tailored To The Genres You Love!
You'll win at least 2 Audio Books and 2 Print Books - but maybe more!
How to enter: Just leave a comment with your favorite genres, types of stories or fav authors. That's it! If you like my blog, I hope you'll follow, but it's not required.
Open to: US Addresses Only.
Enter the other giveaways for this event!
Book Review: The Mistress' House by Leigh Michaels
By: Leigh Michaels
Published By: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Released: Februrary 2011
Historical Romance
3 Heart Review
The rules are meant to be broken…
When the handsome, rakish Earl of Hawthorne buys the charming house across the back garden from his town home, he never expects the lovely lady he installs there to ensnare him completely…
Again…
After Lady Keighley marries the earl, it seems a shame to leave the house empty, so she offers it to her childhood friend Felicity Mercer, who discovers the earl’s gorgeous cousin…
and again…
Finally, feisty Georgiana Baxter moves into the house to escape an arranged marriage and encounters the earl’s friend Major Julian Hampton late one night in the back garden. The handsome soldier is more than willing to give her the lessons she asks for…
Plenty of gossip, scandal, and torrid speculations surround the “mistress house,” but behind closed doors, passions blaze…
I feel I need to preface this review by letting it be known that I don’t like books under 100 pages, known characters from a series in a novella excluded. And while this book is just over 300 pages, it is actually 3 separate stories independent of each other. I just don’t think it gives the author enough time to build the characters, and I like my books to have a good plot.
That being said, The Mistress' House fell short on a lot of points I am very adamant about. I didn’t really get to know the characters like I would have liked. Each story had a plot – sort of – but the intimate scenes were obviously the focal point of the stories. And, the characters’ decisions and actions weren’t believable, especially for the era.
On the good side, I really enjoyed the characters in this book. They had so much potential. I was able to connect with them, even in the short timeframe. I also really liked how each story flowed into the next. The characters’ interactions and relationships, not just the romantic ones, are often my favorite part of a book.
If you’re looking for a steamy little summer read, this is just the ticket. However, if you like your books with depth and a driving, intricate plot, you might want to skip this one. I really wish Leigh, the author, would have separated each story into its own book so the characters had the opportunity to grow, and things didn’t seem so rushed. With strong personalities like these, I just know they would have come to life right off the page.
What do you think of novellas? Do you think it really depends on who the author is as to if you think they can create a whole world and draw you in with so few words?
Happy Reading!
Cheeky Girl L.A.
Awesome New Video - Dangerous Books For Girls...
You might have already seen it, but this is just too awesome not to share for those who might have missed it!
More Cuteness From Bergdorf Goodman!
So I've watched this super cute video a million times and thought I should totally share it with you all. It's from Bergdorf Goodman, the upscale department store in NYC, who is not only dog friendly but is also promoting dog and cat adoptions in their holiday promos.
Watch the video and smile. Oh, and I love that the doorman in the video is really the doorman in real life!
Watch the video and smile. Oh, and I love that the doorman in the video is really the doorman in real life!
Super Cute Christmas Giveaway From Author Maureen O. Betita!
Head over to Maureen's blog for all the details on how you can enter to win that little guy for your very own tree - and she's also giving away free books along the way too!
I'm happy to be back from my trip and hope to have the blog back up and running next week! Hope you've been reading some fabulous books!
Happy Reading!
Cheeky Girl Sabrina
I'm Leaving On A Jet Plane...To PARIS!
Sorry if you've noticed the past week that the blog has been slightly overlooked - I had a million things to both at work and home to get ready and there hasn't been much time for reading or blogging.
It will be kind of quiet around here until after Thanksgiving, but I will have a few posts during the week I'm gone so I hope you'll stop by and check them out.
I'm so excited! It's my first time to Paris or France and I've planned the crap out of this trip. My OCD planning girl gene went full out on deciding what we had to see this time and what could wait if we hopefully ever make it back again.
In the meantime, I hope you are reading something awesome and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
I'm taking off on that Jet Plane today and this time tomorrow I'll be wandering the streets of Paris! :)
Happy Reading!
Cheeky Girl Sabrina
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