Category Archives: Romance

Je Ne Sais Quoi

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I love when a book is set in Europe. I don’t know what it is about European settings and in essence the people that draws me in. It has that…Je ne sais quoi type of sensation. The thing I can’t put my finger on.

I’ve been to Germany and Austria and the Netherlands. I loved it there. I could wax poetic about the way I felt when roaming the cobblestone streets or touring the spectacular cathedrals and castles. But no one wants to hear my poetry…trust me. I long for the day that I can go back to those places, and add more to my touring schedule…places like France and Ireland and Scotland. I really want to travel through France. My sister lived there in a tiny village for a few months and I envy all the stories she has about her time there and the pictures of all the quaint towns and people she met along the way.

I long to see Paris, and Marseille, and Nice, and Lyon, and Nouveau Monde. Say what? Nouveau Monde? Yes, that’s right. It’s that picturesque city where the Otherworlder community has congregated. Vampires and lycans and witches, and even humans live in relative peace and harmony in the beautiful progressive city. It has much of the same look and feel of Lyon, with a long and wide river winding its way through the bustle of the city. You should go there. It’s gorgeous. Just watch out for the nightlife…they just might bite.

Nouveau Monde is the city in France that I constructed for three of my books in my Valorian Chronicles series. I love when authors make up new places, or give new life to familiar places.

What kind of settings do you love? Europe? Asia? Good old America? What kind of settings do you long for?

Quicksilver – Amanda Quick

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Have you jumped on the paranormal bandwagon yet?  If not, you might consider reading the works of Amanda Quick, aka Jayne Castle, aka Jayne Ann Krentz.  She has brilliantly intertwined her historical line (A. Quick) with her contemporary line (J.A. Krentz), topping it off with her futuristic (J. Castle) stories with humor, captivating heroes and stubborn, strong-willed heroines.

Quicksilver is the second book in her Arcane Society: Looking Glass Trilogy, as with most of the Amanda Quick books set in London during the Victorian era, this one is as well.  When Virginia Dean awakens next to a bloodied murder victim….well, you can see how I had trouble setting said book aside.

Owen Sweetwater has started streetwalking.  A dangerous step in his family’s history.  Once a Sweetwater starts down this path there is almost no turning back—but for the love of the woman!

When Ms. Quick, aka Ms. Krentz, aka Ms. Castle, combines witty, outrageous dialogue with intrigue, danger and suspense, you know sleep is an elusive endeavor as long as her books are in hand.  —Kathy L Wheeler

The Indie 500

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by Vivi Anna
No I’m not talking about car racing, I’m talking books.  Ever since I bought an iPad I’ve been mostly buying ebooks through the Kindle app.  It’s easy, convenient, cheaper, and there are tons of books to choose from.  Of course I still  have my authors that I will still buy in hardback.  Well, one author anyway.  But for the most part I’ve been reading ebooks for the past four months.

At first I was just buying my regular authors, or authors I knew to be traditionally published with one of the big publishers.  I found great contentment in my usual genres and usual reads.  Then I started to browse through the whole list in a genre, not necessarily looking for my ‘usual’ authors.  And I have found a treasure trove of beloved words, the majority from indie authors.  All for very low prices.  Awesomesauce.

Here is my indie 5(00)…

my frankenstein
My Frankenstein – Michael J Lee – Fantasy – $2.99

In a small village in early 19th Century young Eva is enthralled by the new young baron, Viktor Frankenstein. Viktor promises to transform the traditional little town into a beacon of science and gives the book loving Eva access to his fantastic library. Eva becomes his student and assists him in a secret experiment, though she is kept in the dark about its ultimate aim. Soon after that Viktor introduces Eva to his “cousin” Adam. Adam is horribly disfigured with stitches running across his face. Viktor claims he is mute and simpleminded, but Eva takes pity on him and sets out to teach him to speak.…

What follows is a combination of tragic romance and classic horror as Eva is pulled between Viktor, who grows jealous and takes murderous steps to ensure his secret, and Adam, who possess tremendous strength and rage yet deep inside is innocent and vulnerable.

Pleasing Sir – Delilah Devlin – erotica – $2.99

One adventurous little submissive is just what the bosses need…

Raelie might be a submissive in search of just the right Dom, but she’s not the kind to sit back and wait for the right man to happen. When she gets the chance to fill in as Bryce Caldwell’s executive assistant, she decides some subtle seduction is needed to see if he dominates the bedroom the same way he does the office.

Bryce can’t keep his mind off the sexy blonde sitting just outside his office. Especially not after the security cameras in the copier room catch Raelie “misappropriating” office property. A little disciplinary action leads to a whole lot of complication while he tries to find out whether she’s the right assistant to fulfill a special vacancy. Add a second round of interviews, and suddenly, Bryce is finding out he’s not the only one who’s not sure who’s really in charge.

 Rose’s Rapture – Jordan Summers – erotic paranormal romance – $1.99

Lady Rose Carlson has spent the last ten years of her life working in a brothel. Thanks to her friend and benefactor, Lord Lyon, she is finally free to live as she pleases. Rose plans to spend the rest of her life living quietly in Scotland, but her new neighbors and her past won’t let her be.

Laird Hamish Colin MacDougall has no intention of ever falling in love again. He’s already lost the love of his life. He’s not about to lose another. When his friend and fellow vampyre, Lord Lyon asks for a favor, Hamish cannot refuse. He owes the man his life and then some. One look at Rose and he knows he’s in trouble. When their lives are threatened, Hamish has to make a choice: Kill the woman he loves to save himself or die so that she may live.

demon high
Demon High – Lori Devoti – YA – $3.99

Lucinda Dent never planned to call demons. She wasn’t stupid, after all. She’d seen what the addiction had done to her mother. But her mother has been gone for ten years, sucked into hell by a demon, and all Lucinda has left is her grandmother and the house she grew up in. Who could blame her for using the only thing her mother gave her, a talent for demon calling, to save them?

Lucinda teams up with an old friend and together they set up business, calling demons. But soon things go terribly wrong.
Demons are loose in Caldera High, and not only is Lucinda responsible, she just might be in love with one of them. Can love conquer all or is Lucinda about to lose everything–her home, her new love, and her soul?

Past Tense – Samantha Hunter  – paranormal mystery – $2.99

Sophie Turner runs Talismans, a Boston tarot parlor, where she reads tarot and keeps her family’s psychic legacy alive. However, in spite of her tragic family history and Tarot Alley’s reputation for being a mystical hotspot, Sophie has no psychic powers of her own – or so she thinks. Engaged to straight-as-an-arrow Boston PD Detective Roger Paris, and finishing her college degree in Computer Science, she’s ready to start a brand new life that has nothing to do with her paranormal past.

When the murder of her friend and client Patrice Bledsoe leaves Sophie traumatized, she can’t trust her own memory about what happened. She remembers a ghostly encounter moments before Patrice was killed, but she can’t remember anything about the murder, making her a prime suspect. Sophie doesn’t understand why the ghost appeared or why she was compelled to read his cards, revealing a story of violence and betrayal, but she is determined to find the truth about her friend’s murder.

It’s not the last time Sophie sees the tragic ghost figure, and she begins to believe her ghost is real when she’s plagued with visions she can’t ignore. When her skeptical fiancé won’t listen, she asks ghost hunter Dr. Gabe Mason for his help, leading her down a path of no return in more ways than one.

Grab one or grab them all.  But please try an indie.  I’m sure you’ll keep coming back for more.

Taken by the Prince – Christina Dodd

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A powerful opening for a young boy as Prince Saber, our hero in the making, will have you cringing while at the same time prevent you from closing the book.

The bastard child of English Nobility and a foreign mother is not an easy life for a young child.  Especially when said child’s mother decides to send him to his English family as the unrest in their native country starts to escalate.  Well, that and the little practical joke he played on the current monarchy that put his very life in jeopardy.  His English father, however, is a cruel, cruel man—without an heir.

Legally adopting his heathen son seems the only recourse after fathering four daughters.  His timid stepmother is thrilled with the addition to the family, if only to divert her husband’s violent attentions.  The young prince proclaimed loudly and physically enforced by his father will now be referred to Raul Lawrence.

But Raul vows to someday return to his country and free his people from the deprivation, hunger and violence by way of a rebellious revolution.  His years in England served him well, his father’s cruelty a well-learned lesson, his education an unexpected boon.

Enter his sister’s friend Victoria.  A poor relation in her own family, she has long-term plans for escape.   To eventually live a life free of demands.  It would be a modest, less complicated life but one on her own terms.  All she has to do is work hard and save her money for a few years.  As a governess to a well traveled family she finds herself in Raul Lawrence’s native country years after one searing kiss that had never completely deserted her mind. Spotting him at their hotel, she mentions seeing the future king to one of her charges.  It was a dire mistake.

One that could usurp all of his carefully laid plans.

Victoria finds herself taken by the prince.  Kidnapped.  Held prisoner.

Prince Saber’s arrogance leaves Victoria as breathless as his presence.  But how can a governess help a small army?  I assure you:  Plenty.

Christina Dodd breaths life through her characters leaving the reader as breathless as our heroine. Get some rest before you pick up this book.  You’ll need it.—Kathy L Wheeler

Visions at vespers

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Last month I wiggled out of my comfort zone by reading (& enthusiastically recommending) a YA scifi/dystopian novel. This month I’m safely back in familiar territory with an atmospheric and lushly romantic paranormal historical.

Saundra Mitchell’s The Vespertine is the story of young Amelia van den Broek, who in the summer of 1889 is sent to Baltimore to stay with a fashionable cousin. Her brother intends her to partake in the frivolities of society life in order to find a respectable husband. What actually ensues is much more exciting . . . and considerably more dangerous.

Amelia has a special ability – at sunset she experiences visions of the future. Soon after her cousin Zora learns of this, friends and strangers alike scurry to the house, wishing to have their fortunes told. Amelia has never been so popular. Deep down, however, she knows this is not the sort of society life her brother intended for her. The problem with her visions is that while they are often pleasing in their beautiful vagueness, they can also be morbidly specific. Further complicating matters is the fact that she’s fallen for penniless artist Nathaniel Witherspoon, a young man with dark secrets of his own. The more visions she has – and the more time she spends with Nathaniel – the more firmly she pushes herself into the path of peril.

There is so much to love about this book. The setting is evocative and mysterious. The protagonist’s voice is captivating. The narrative unfolds at a somewhat leisurely pace, but rest assured the story is thoroughly absorbing — I certainly had trouble putting it down. Best of all, the sexual tension is certifiably swoon-worthy. Let’s just say this is the sort of story you sink into, as one would into a warm, scented bath or a silken blanket – a luxurious sensory experience, to be sure. (At least until the you-know-what hits the fan! At that point your spine will tingle with dread.)

Learn more about Saundra Mitchell at Making Stuff Up for a Living. Also, go to my blog for an interview with Saundra AND check back on Monday for a giveaway featuring her book!