ARC Review: Shadow Rider by Christine Feehan

Series:	Shadow #1
Pub. Date:	June 28, 2016
Publisher:	Berkley
Length:	480 pages
Source:	Publisher

Christine Feehan has created a captivating new series featuring a huge tight-knit Italian family with the supernatural ability to ride shadows. I am so glad I'm getting in on this new series from the front end because I STILL have not managed to catch up with the Carpathians.

ARC Review and Giveaway: Addicted by Elle Kennedy

Series:	Outlaws #2
Pub. Date:	June 28, 2016
Publisher:	Berkley
Length:	368 pages
Source:	Publisher

Elle Kennedy's post-apocalyptic series continues to steam up our e-readers with this second installment featuring a friends-to-lovers trope with hero, Lennox and his best friend and gal pal, Jamie. 

Series Saturday Audiobook Review: The Heir by Grace Burrowes

Series:	Windham #1
Pub. Date:	May 19, 2016
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Narrator:	James Langton
Length:	12 hrs 22 min
Source:	Hoopla

The Windham series kicks off with what appears to be a rags to riches story between the ducal heir and his housekeeper. Having myself started with the series prequel, I was a bit surprised to discover the hero of this first installment was not the first-born son.  

ARC Review: Dirty Sexy Cuffed by Carly Phillips & Erika Wilde

Series:	Dirty Sexy #3
Pub. Date:	June 21, 2016
Publisher:	Self-Pub
Length:	230 pages
Source:	Rockstar PR

This is the third installment of Carly Phillips' and Erika Wilde's Dirty Sexy series, which has followed the romantic pairing of each of three brothers, all tortured heroes that you want to snatch up and smother with love. Each brother is different... the caretaker, the bad boy, and the good guy - but they are all undeniably hot hot hot.

Guest Review: The Omega Team: Assisting Aimee by Susan Stoker

Series:	Delta Force #1.5
Pub. Date:	Feb. 16, 2016
Publisher:	Kindle Worlds
Length:	87 pages

Tony is ex-Special Forces currently working as first year, 1st grade teacher and Aimee is a gym teacher at the same school. Aimee inadvertently rescues Tony from an uncomfortable situation in the teachers lounge with, well, I think of the harassing teacher as the Venus Fly Trap but anyway...

Guest Review: Barely Breathing by Pamela Clare

Series:	CO High Country #1
Pub. Date:	May 7, 2016
Publisher:	Thomas & Mercer
Length:	272 pages

Barely Breathing is the kick off novel to a new contemporary series involving a SAR (search and rescue) group in Colorado. Book one focuses on Austin Taylor and Lexi Jewell. Austin works as a mountain ranger and volunteers his time with the rescue group. Lexi, a CPA, is currently between jobs and has come back home for a short visit to sort her dad's home life and figure out what her future goals will be. When Austin and Lexi agree to a short term "friends with benefits" relationship, the road to temptation has them both questioning if they could have forever. 

Guest Review: Bachelor by Winter Renshaw

Series:	Rixton Falls #2
Pub. Date:	May 1, 2016
Publisher:	Self-Pub
Length:	408 pages

Derek has been burned by love before and he isn't in a hurry to try it out again anytime soon. Of course, that was before he met Serena Randall. The problem? An attorney isn't supposed to get involved with his client.

ARC Review: Into the Light by Aleatha Romig

Series:	The Light #1
Pub. Date:	June 14, 2016
Publisher:	Thomas & Mercer
Length:	354 pages
Source:	NetGalley

Oy. This book. This mindfecking book. I had to ruminate on it for a few days before writing my review. It kinda freaked me out! So let me start out by saying that this is not really a romance book. It's a dark story. A thriller with a twisty dysfunctional relationship. Aleatha is really good at writing these twisty books that make you question yourself and, for me, this one evoked similar feelings to Consequences.

Saying Goodbye...

The blog will be dark this weekend while I mourn the loss of my beloved furbabies who have been with me for the past 16 years.  We have been through three states, college, law school, four jobs and many boyfriends. I could not have asked for better companions and I will miss them every day.

Rest in Peace Lucky and Dopey.

A Q&A with Mary Hogan, author of THE WOMAN IN THE PHOTO

Amazon / B&N / iBooks / Google / IndieBound / Kobo

Q&A with Mary Hogan

What’s the story behind THE WOMAN IN THE PHOTO?  How did the book come to be?

I first had the idea for this book 24 years ago! I’m not kidding. In 1992, my husband, actor Robert Hogan, was in an off-Broadway play called On the Bum, also starring Cynthia Nixon and Campbell Scott. The play was set in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, several years after the epic flood. The characters talked about a “lake in the sky” which piqued my curiosity. A few days later, I went to the library to read about such strange geography. That’s when I read the real story of the Johnstown disaster. Wow. I was blown away. What a great story! I held my breath for 24 years worrying that someone would write my book before I got a chance to. There are other books out there about the flood, but nothing like mine.

ARC Review: The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

Series:	Invisible Library #1
Pub. Date:	June 14, 2016
Original Release:	Jan. 15, 2015
Publisher:	Berkley/Roc
Length:	352 pages
Source:	NetGalley

This was a definitely a unique story sure to be intriguing to book lovers far and wide. The Invisible Library is what I guess you could call an inter-dimensional entity. It collects works of fiction from different times, realms and realities - but is a part of none of them.  The library is run by different levels of librarians... who are somewhat spies and thieves, but also passionate bibliophiles. The senior librarians send junior librarians out on missions to retrieve unique and rare works of fiction from the reality in which it was created. Sometimes the missions are simple and easy, and other times they are chaotic and dangerous.

Cover Reveal: The Deep End by Kristen Ashley

THE DEEP END

Book One in The Honey Series

St. Martin’s Griffin

Publication Date: March 7, 2017

Trade Paperback Original: 9781250121110 / $14.99

eBook: 9781250121127 / $9.99

Pre-Order Links:

Amazon / Kindle / Books a Million / Kobo / Apple

Diversity in Romance - Guest Post by Laura Brown

Hiya everyone! 

Please help me welcome to the blog a new voice for diversity in romance, Ms. Laura Brown! Happy release day, Laura! I am very intrigued about this new release featuring hearing-impaired characters. I love unique heroes and heroines and I don't think I have ever read from the perspective of the hearing-impaired. So this is a definite one-click for me. Check out Signs of Attraction, and keep reading for Laura's perspective on the importance of diversity in romance.

Purchase Links: Amazon / Apple / B&N
Release Date: June 14, 2016
Publisher:  Avon Impulse
Pages: 233

Diversity in Romance

by Laura Brown

The diversity movement in the publishing world is huge right now, and I love every second of it. This is not a trend. This is fixing the gross imbalance of books available, especially with mainstream availability.

I love romance books, have been reading them for years. One day I was reading a book and the hero was not white. That instantly grabbed my attention, then made me very, very sad. A non-white hero shouldn’t be a nice surprise, it should be part of the norm.

The same goes for sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability.

I can count on one hand the number of romances I’ve found with a deaf or hard of hearing character. And to date, from the books I’ve read, I’ve found exactly one that was handled with respect (sadly, still with a long list of inaccuracies). The others, simply put, didn’t do their research.

I’ve known my entire life that having a hearing loss means most of the world around me has assumptions about what hearing loss means. And 99% of those assumptions are wrong. So when I see a book has a character who is deaf or hard of hearing, my first instinct is to be worried.

Which led me to realize: why am I not writing these characters?

I don’t know of any other romance with both main characters with a hearing loss, never mind one being hard of hearing and the other being Deaf (capitalized to denote cultural identity). I didn’t know how well it would be received by my hearing peers. I just knew I had to write it.

Writing about hearing loss came easily. The hardest part was remembering that I created Carli to have the opposite bad ear as me, which was much more complicated than it should have been! Because I centered this story around my own experiences, there’s a lot of my heart and soul on the page.

I’m sure I can speak for other own voice writers (marginalized writers who write about characters with the same marginalization) when I say that I’m happy to educate and spread awareness through a work of fiction. I hope people who read SIGNS OF ATTRACTION will learn a few things, and perhaps change some of the previously incorrect information they had. And I hope readers will seek out own voice authors, to learn authentic stories from people who differ. It’s one way we can bind people across race, gender, sexuality, and disability.

I hope to be one small part of the journey.

About the Author

Laura Brown lives in Massachusetts with her quirky abnormal family. Her husband’s put up with her since high school, her young son keeps her on her toes, and her three cats think they deserve more scratches. Hearing loss is a big part of who she is, from her own Hard of Hearing ears, to the characters she creates.

Happy Reading!

ARC Review: Allegiance of Honor by Nalini SIngh

Series:	Psy-Changeling #15
Pub. Date:	June 14, 2016
Publisher:	Berkley Publishing
Length:	497 Pages
Source:	Publisher

This was such a nice catch up for the series - I had a great time revisiting with some of my favorite couples from the past and meeting their kids, cubs and pups (and pupcubs)! I'm having a hard time focusing my review because so much was going on (in a good way). We didn't follow any specific couple in this installment but instead got to spend a little time with all of them.

Series Saturday Audiobook Review: The King by J.R. Ward

Series:	BDB #12
Pub. Date:	April 1, 2014
Publisher:	Penguin Audio
Narrator:	Jim Frangione
Length:	22 hours 4 min
Source:	One Click Digital

I love the gorgeous cover of this book. It's so eye-catching and it's a great representation of Wrath and his throne. I was a little worried when I started reading that I wouldn't be able to remember what happened in the earlier books because I read them so long ago... but my memory was jogged fairly easily.  

Review: Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt

Series:	Maiden Lane #1
Pub. Date:	August 1, 2010
Publisher:	Grand Central
Length:	382 pages
Source:	NetGalley

I'm totally reading this series out of order, having first read (and loved) Duke of Sin. I really wish someone would have told me about Elizabeth Hoyt sooner... she writes super interesting historical characters, especially the dark, damaged and broody heroes!

#FF Feature & Follow #11 - Your All-Time Favorite Book

How does the #FF Work?

• The goal is to increase blog followers, make friends and have something to post.
• You create your own post using the post prompt.
• You leave your link and thumbnail in the linky list that links back to your post prompt.
• Once you have your post up and linked, visit other posts and tell them hi. The point is to FOLLOW them not just comment.
• If you see a post that just hit it to the moon, or just want to show appreciation to a fellow blogger friend, like their name on the linky list to show some appreciation.
• The person with the most likes gets chosen as the next Feature (you can be chosen every 90 days unless we are in need of features)
• It is required that if you participate that you have to follow the FEATURE. It is a big no-no to participate and ignore the feature. They are the special snowflake in this little blizzard.
• As a participant it is up to your discretion on how you want people to follow. Please post RSS, GFC etc if you have a follow of choice.

Audiobook Review: The Courtship / The Duke and His Duchess by Grace Burrowes

Series:	Windham #0.5
Pub. Date:	Jan. 2015
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Narrator:	Roger Hampton
Length:	~3.5 hrs each
Source:	Hoopla

These two novellas are prequels to the Windham series, telling the story of the Windham parents, Percival and Esther.  The Courtship tells the story of how Percivel and Esther met and got married, and The Duke and His Duchess is a peek into the couple's life a few years down the road.

Audiobook Review: Shopping For a Billionaire #1 by Julia Kent

Series:	Shopping for a Billionaire #1
Pub. Date:	August 1, 2014
Publisher:	Prosaic Press
Narrator:	Tanya Eby
Length:	2 hrs 31 min
Source:	Author / Audible

This is a quick mini review for the fun and flirty intro to Julia Kent's serial, Shopping for a Billionaire. This is a romantic comedy serial currently available in eleven parts. As I listened to the Audible version of this first episode, let me quickly say that the narrator, Tanya Eby, did a fabulous job. She had good energy, did a great job conveying the comedy and levity of the story, and gave distinct voices and personalities to each character.

ARC Review: Ink and Bone by Lisa Unger

Pub. Date:	June 7, 2016
Publisher:	Touchstone
Length:	352 Pages
Source:	Edelweiss

It's been a while since I have read any straight thrillers, so I was looking forward to trying out Lisa Unger, who I have heard of but had not yet read. Somewhere in the Northeast, there is a place called The Hollows that has a grip on its residents. The small population of just under 10,000 has various psychics, mediums, empaths, and other intuitive types in its ranks. Even those who have moved away, or have taken their families away, find either themselves or their descendants getting called back to the strange locale.