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Book Review: Somebody to Love by Kristan Higgins
By: Kristan Higgins
Publisher: HQN - Contemporary Romance
4 Heart Review
Book Blurb:
After her father loses the family fortune in an insider-trading scheme, single mom Parker Welles is faced with some hard decisions. First order of business: go to Gideon’s Cove, Maine, to sell the only thing she now owns—a decrepit house in need of some serious flipping. When her father’s wingman, James Cahill, asks to go with her, she’s not thrilled…even if he is fairly gorgeous and knows his way around a toolbox.
Having to fend for herself for the first time in her life, Parker signs on as a florist’s assistant and starts to find out who she really is. Maybe James isn’t the glib lawyer she always thought he was. And maybe the house isn’t the only thing that needs a little TLC…
Right up front I have to say I'm a huge Kristan Higgins fan girl. Every single book I've read of hers has been an above average to a full-blown *squee* read. So to say I was excited to read this book is a huge understatement.
The heroine Parker is a character I met in a previous Higgins' book The Next Best Thing, a book I ADORED. It wasn't that I hadn't liked her, but she hadn't really called out to me from that book as a heroine in the making.
Enter Somebody to Love and James Cahill. Although this was not my favorite of Higgins' books, it is a wonderful read full of everything that makes Higgins an auto-buy for me, deep emotion that's carefully developed in characters you will laugh and cry with. The realness of emotion is what I feel Higgins does like few others and it keeps me coming back for more.
While I finally got Parker right off, it took much more time for me to warm up to the hero James. Even as I continued to read he was the one thing I felt just a little off to making the full on connection with me. I wanted...more. More depth of emotion I think. It was almost there. Really, so close. Maybe I needed the emotion earlier or this might have been one time I needed some back-story earlier.
All in all, another heart-tugging, funny-bone tickling story from Kristan Higgins. She has yet to disappoint me, and sometimes she knocks it completely out of the park. Once again, I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book.
Best Romance Books of 2011 - RITA Winners
So if you're like me, there's not enough time in your schedule to read every single book you'd like to. It's also impossible to keep up with new to new to me authors while also getting my "Oh my god I love her" author's books in. That normally means that for some books that earned so many reader's love, I'm behind on getting them worked into my reading schedule.
For those of you looking for a great read, the following book officially won the RITA award for best romance books published in 2011. I hope you find a few you haven't read and can enjoy!
Do you agree with the winners below? Which one didn't you read the 1st time around and can't wait to read now?
Winner for Paranormal Romance:
Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison
Winner for Romance Novella:
I Love The Earl by Caroline Linden
Winner for Best Novel With Strong Romantic Elements:
How to Bake a Perfect Life by Barbara O'Neal
Winner for Best First Book:
First Grave on The Right by Darynda Jones
Winner for Best Historical Romance
The Black Hawk by Joanna Bourne
Winner for Inspirational Romance:
The Measure of Katie Calloway by Serena Miller
Winner for Contemporary Series Romance Suspense/Adventure:
Solider's Last Stand by Cindy Dees
Contemporary Single Title Romance:
Boomerang Bride by Fiona Lowe
Winner for Regency Historical Romance
A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare
Winner for Young Adult Romance:
Enclave by Ann Aguirre
Winner for Contemporary Series Romance:
Doukakis' Apprentice by Sarah Morgan
Winner for Romantic Suspense:
New York to Dallas by J.D. Robb
For those of you looking for a great read, the following book officially won the RITA award for best romance books published in 2011. I hope you find a few you haven't read and can enjoy!
Do you agree with the winners below? Which one didn't you read the 1st time around and can't wait to read now?
Winner for Paranormal Romance:
Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison
Winner for Romance Novella:
I Love The Earl by Caroline Linden
Winner for Best Novel With Strong Romantic Elements:
How to Bake a Perfect Life by Barbara O'Neal
Winner for Best First Book:
First Grave on The Right by Darynda Jones
The Black Hawk by Joanna Bourne
The Measure of Katie Calloway by Serena Miller
Solider's Last Stand by Cindy Dees
Boomerang Bride by Fiona Lowe
Winner for Regency Historical Romance
A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare
Winner for Young Adult Romance:
Enclave by Ann Aguirre
Winner for Contemporary Series Romance:
Doukakis' Apprentice by Sarah Morgan
Winner for Romantic Suspense:
New York to Dallas by J.D. Robb
Win an e-Reader! Pimp My Read Contest Details
Pimp
My Read is your chance to win one of four
fantastic e-readers, as well as best-selling,
super-sexy, fun contemporary romances by authors Ruthie Knox, Sarah Mayberry, Shannon Stacey, and Molly O’Keefe. This week, we four
authors bedeck ourselves in (virtual) feathers and gold chains, climb on top of
our Pimp Caddies, and sing the praises of e-readers and digital books at four
fantastic romance review sites: Smart
Bitches, Trashy Books, Smexybooks, Dear Author, and The Season for Romance.
At every site, one of us is giving away an e-reader, as well as prizes for runners-up. If you’ve been on the fence about which e-reader to get, or even why you would get one—or if you love your e-reader to bits and are dying to convert a friend or family member to the digital side—this is the contest you’ve been waiting for!
At every site, one of us is giving away an e-reader, as well as prizes for runners-up. If you’ve been on the fence about which e-reader to get, or even why you would get one—or if you love your e-reader to bits and are dying to convert a friend or family member to the digital side—this is the contest you’ve been waiting for!
The Prizes
- Sarah Mayberry is giving away a Kindle Touch 3G at Smexybooks
- Shannon Stacey is giving away a Nook SimpleTouch with Glowlight at Dear Author
- Ruthie Knox is giving away a Kindle Keyboard 3G at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
- Molly O’Keefe is giving away a Kobo Touch at The Season for Romance
The winner of each e-reader and two runners-up at each
site will also receive Exclusively Yours, Undeniably Yours, and Yours to Keep by Shannon Stacey, Her Best Worst Mistake and Within
Reach by Sarah Mayberry, About Last
Night and Ride With Me by Ruthie
Knox, and Can’t Buy Me Love by Molly
O’Keefe.
How To Enter
To enter, visit one or all of the four host sites and
leave a comment explaining either (a)
why you want to win this e-reader for yourself or (b) why you want to win it
for someone else. Please include your e-mail
address in the appropriate comment field so we have a way of contacting you if
you win. Your e-mail address will not be visible to the general commenting
public.
The Fine Print
1. Feel free to
increase your chances of winning by entering once at each of the four sites!
But please, only one entry per site. Deliberate multiple comments on any
individual e-reader giveaway post will get you disqualified.
2. The contest
opens on each site when the post goes live and closes at 11:59 p.m. EST on
Friday, July 20.
3. Ruthie,
Sarah, Shannon, and Molly will choose the winners from among the comments on
the site where each posts. Feel free to entertain us or tug at our heartstrings
— we’ll pick the winners whose comments most effectively sway us!
4. No purchase
necessary. You must be 18 years of age or older to enter.
5. This contest
is open internationally. The e-readers on offer will work in many, but not all,
countries. Please be aware that geographical restrictions may affect your
ability to use/enjoy your prize.
Monday Morning Cuteness!
This cute little guy was too cute to pass up this morning. Hope this is the start of a great week for you!
see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!
see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!
Meg Cabot's Size 12 And Ready To Rock Book Trailer
This book trailer totally cracked me up. Enjoy!
Are you a Meg Cabot fan? Read the other books in the Heather Wells mystery Series? This new one is in stores July 10th. Happy Reading!
Are you a Meg Cabot fan? Read the other books in the Heather Wells mystery Series? This new one is in stores July 10th. Happy Reading!
Summer Sale on Cheeky Reads Ads!
Cheeky Reads is having a Summer Sale on site ads!
Ads start as low as $8 and include additional promo extras like sponsor spotlights and featured tweets.
Email cheekyreads@gmail.com for details on what's available, pricing and additional promo ideas.
Review: Tempest in the Tea Leaves By Kari Lee Townsend
By Kari Lee Townsend
Berkley Prime Crime Mystery
3 Heart Review
Leaving the Big Apple for the quaint town of Divinity, New York, Sunny is determined to make it on her own as a psychic. With an ancient Victorian house as her place of business, Sunny uses various psychic methods to aid the town's residents. But when she uses tea leaves to give a reading for a frazzled librarian, what she finds at the bottom of the cup is anything but helpful.
Sunny informs the police of her deadly vision, but her warning is too late. And with hard-nosed, ruggedly handsome Detective Mitch Stone denying her abilities and name her prime suspect, the situation is dire. Now Sunny has to use her visions to clear her name, before the killer can put an end to the psychic's future...
I picked this book up at the library because I'm always up for a cozy mystery - especially one that hints at a romance - and this one plainly stated on it's cover that it was the first book in a new series. Win! I wish more publishers would play that up on covers since I like trying out a new series before there are 5 books more to read...
I really enjoyed the author's voice and that this was a cozy with a slightly younger - 29 years old - heroine. As much as I want to shout that there should be older characters in romance, cozies can sometimes take the age thing in the other direction too much. Beyond the age, the heroine Sunny Meadows is also unique and refreshing for a cozy. She still has that "outsider who never really fit in" thing going for her that most cozy heroines do, but she feels fresher. My issues with the book didn't have anything to do with Sunny.
I did have slight problems with the hero Mitch Stone because I found him to be a little wooden and not necessarily because his character is supposed to be guarded and stoic. He just doesn't feel entirely fleshed out and his dialog seems slightly off. He has potential though and I hope that Mrs. Townsend will develop him further in the next book.
The biggest issue I had was with a plot point in the book. From the back cover blurb you know that Sunny has to work to clear her name and I can't go into too many details or I'll be spoiling part of the plot, but how she gets involved in the investigation was really not believe. It took a giant leap of faith for a reader to believe and unfortunately I didn't think it was done in a way that allowed me to take that leap.
Tempest in the Tea Leaves is a solid and fun cozy mystery and I liked the premise and the characters enough that I'll be picking up the next in the series to see if some of my issues get worked out. I do think Kari Lee Townsend has a fresh, sweet voice I really found pleasing to read. I'll be looking for more books by her in the future.
Monday Morning Cuteness - Tuesday Edition
see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!
Hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!
My Fair Concubine Winner!
bn100!
I'll email you for your mailing address and get the book out to you soon.
Happy Reading!
Book Review: My Fair Concubine by Jeannie Lin & Autographed Copy Giveaway
By: Jeannie Lin
Harlequin Historicals June 2012
Genre: Historical Romance
4 Heart Review
Excerpt
My Fair Concubine Blurb:
The Nobleman Who Turned A Tea Girl Into A Princess...
Yan Ling tries hard to be servile - it's what's expected of a girl of her class. Being intelligent and strong-minded, she finds it a constant battle.
Proud Fei Long is unimpressed by her spirit - until he realizes she's the answer to his problems. He has to deliver the emperor a "princess." In two months can he train a tea girl to pass as a noblewoman?
Yet it's hard to teach good etiquette when all Fei Ling wants to do is break it, by taking this tea girl for his own...
This book is a historical set during the Chinese Tang Dynasty and that alone was enough to tempt me to read it. The fact that it was written by Jeannie Lin made me want to put it at the top of my TBR pile. Oh, and it didn't hurt that the cover is stunning!
I absolutely ADORE that Harlequin has published historicals not just set in England or about the Ton. I mean there's a world full of history and I'm fascinated by Chinese history. I hope readers will support these books to show Harlequin that we want more unique settings in our historical romances!
I loved that this story takes place over a few months time. In category, very often the romance is fast and furious and with few additional characters. My Fair Concubine not only lets the characters develop, but the were a handful of very well developed and interesting side characters that added a richness to the story and I'm hoping that we will see a few of them in future books.
In addition to the longer romantic timeline, I felt that Lin did an outstanding job of letting the feelings between the hero and heroine build internally before letting them show their feelings externally. In fact, the hero Fei Long stays so true to his sense of honor that once he finally reveals his feelings to himself and Yan Ling, the reader will be swept along in the emotion.
As much as I appreciated that level of layered writing, I somehow was left wishing for a little more interaction between Yan Ling and Fei Long. a few more scenes of them spending time together, and not just quietly being in a room together, would have taken the story to the next level for me. That's not to say that I didn't appreciate how the tension built in those quiet moments.
If you are a fan of historical romances I highly recommend not only this book, but also Jeannie's previous Tang Dynasty books. I'd love to see more readers helping to support more diversity in settings and heroes and heroines.
Enter to win an autographed copy of My Fair Concubine!
Leave a comment below answering one of these questions: Have you ever read a unique setting in a historical romance? Do you want to see more diversity in characters? Have you read one of Jeannie's other books and what did you think about it?
1 extra entry if you Tweet the contest & link in comments.
1 extra entry if you share the contest on Facebook & link in comments.
I'll randomly pick a winner Friday May 25th. Make sure to include your address so I can contact you. Contest open to US and Canada only.
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