Guest blogger: Nico Rosso (& giveaway)

Books-n-Kisses is please to let Nico Rosso take over the blog today.
Take it away Nico…..

We’ve seen it thousands of times in Western books, films, and television shows. The hero in the white hat thunders across the dusty prairie to save the damsel in distress. Born from American history, the cowboy and his lady have become lore. Gunfighters, sheriffs, homesteader women and saloon girls are legendary now.

I’ve always had an affinity for Westerns, a love that was passed down by my dad. Films like Shane and Hondo and the books that inspired them were always around his house. When my wife, Zoë Archer, was working on her first Ether Chronicle book, SKIES OF FIRE, and we were building the steampunk world and technology, it got me to thinking about what this fantastic genre could do to the classic Western story.

For me, it was a perfect match, and I’m really excited to be writing the Western side of the Ether Chronicles. Imagine the classic story of the evil mining company trying to buy the land away from the honest homesteaders. They try to fight back, but the company is just too strong. Until a lone gunman shows up to help the homesteaders. Of course there’s a woman who captures the heart of the gunman, too.

Now imagine this story pumped full of ether. That’s what I did for NIGHT OF FIRE, taking each aspect of these classic tales and finding the steampunk spin in it. Instead of a evil mining company trying to buy land, it’s now an evil mining company’s fifty foot rolling mining machine that’s threatening to eat through the very town of Thornville, California.

The hero, Tom Knox, doesn’t come riding in on his horse, he comes flying in on his ether borne mechanical Sky Charger. And the heroine isn’t just there to be saved. No, Rosa Campos has a gun in her hand and the sheriff’s tin star on her chest. She might be more dangerous than the giant mining machine when she sees Tom. They’d been lovers until he disappeared without a word three years ago.

Steampunk injected a very new life in these classic Western characters and scenarios and gave me a great opportunity for creating inventions and technology. So my question to you is: what part of the Western do you hold close to your heart and what other genre (steampunk, paranormal, etc.) would you like to see blended with it?

Thanks, and good luck.One lucky commenter will win a free copy of NIGHT OF FIRE.

 

Night of Fire

The Ether Chronicles #2

Amazon | B&N

“Night of fire, night of passion”

US Army Upland Ranger Tom Knox always knew going home wouldn’t be easy. Three years ago, he skipped town, leaving behind the only woman who ever mattered; now that he’s seen the front lines of war, he’s ready to do what he must to win her back.

Rosa Campos is long past wasting tears on Tom Knox, and now that she’s sheriff of Thornville, she has more than enough to do. Especially when a five-story rock-eating mining machine barrels toward the town she’s sworn to protect.

Tom’s the last person Rosa expects to see riding to her aid on his ether-borne mechanical horse. She may not be ready to forgive, but Rosa can’t deny that having him at her side brings back blissful memories even as it reignites a flame more dangerous than the enemy threatening to destroy them both

 I can be found here: http://nicorosso.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Nico_Rosso

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nico-Rosso/113422452057013

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Kelly’s review of Gabriel’s Rapture by Sylvain Reynard

Gabriel’s Rapture
#2
AUTHOR: Sylvain Reynard
PUBLICATION DATE:   05/21/12
ORDER LINKS:  Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Professor Gabriel Emerson has embarked on a passionate, yet clandestine affair with his former student, Julia Mitchell.

Sequestered on a romantic holiday in Italy, he tutors her in the sensual delights of the body and the rapture of sex. But when they return, their happiness is threatened by conspiring students, academic politics, and a jealous ex-lover.

When Gabriel is confronted by the university administration, will he be forced to share Dante’s fate? Or will he fight to keep Julia, his Beatrice, forever?

REVIEW:
I really enjoyed being back with the Professor.  I kinda missed the grumpy, tough talking, tough acting, pain in the ass Professor.   But in reality I think I really like the new and improved Gabriel.

We pick up in Gabriel’s Rapture where we left off in Gabriel’s Inferno (if you have not read Gabriel’s Inferno, you must really read it first) with Gabriel & Julia still on their vacation in Italy  While everything is rosy and good in Italy, waiting for them at home is a firestorm of problems.

Gabriel & Julia’s relationship will be tested yet again, but on a much greater scale.  It was nice to watch both Gabriel & Julia grow as characters.  Each learns more about them self and what they hold dear in their lives.

I will say that I enjoyed Gabriel’s Inferno a little more than Gabriel’s Rapture.  Mostly because I felt that some of the story lines just kinda dropped off.  I was really hoping a character or two would get their just desserts.   But at last they did not.  But overall this was a great book.

4 Hearts

REVIEWED BY: Kelly

Kimberly’s review of The Risque Target by Kelly Gendron

The Risque Target
AUTHOR: Kelly Gendron
PUBLICATION DATE:   02/01/12
ORDER LINKS:  Amazon  | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
There’s one name that has Agent Nala Dekker reaching for the gun holstered to her leg—Tantum Maddox, the one name her partner said before he died in her arms. After three years of searching for the faceless Tantum Maddox, his name has finally surfaced. Nala jumps on the first plane to Boston in chase of her long-awaited revenge. But instead of taking Tantum in for his crime or shooting him—in self-defense, of course—Nala nearly ends up in bed with the killer. So, it probably would’ve been a good idea to find out what her Target looked like before she went after him.

Agent Tantum Maddox has completed his assignment in Mexico… and now it’s time for his revenge. When Tantum finds a mysterious woman in his arms, and after he discovers exactly who she is—his Target—he must decide what to do with the gun concealed beneath her dress. Should he use it on her and kill her? Or spare her life and take her captive until he finds the answers he’s been looking for?

Somehow Nala’s innocence comes into question by the dangerously sexy Tantum Maddox and he accuses her of being a cold blooded killer. But why is Nala the one on trial, for Tantum’s the one who killed her partner—isn’t he? In this torrid twist of betrayal and seduction, will Tantum and Nala resist killing each other? Or worse, when the truth unfolds, will love become the only threat to their vindictive hearts?

REVIEW:
This looks to be the first book by this author and let me tell you I can not wait to read more. The characters are great. Tantum is the perfect guy. Totally hot, predatory, protective, sexual and has a sense of humor. Nala is interesting in her own right. She is new to being a agent and while she really does normally seem like she can take care of herself and on any other assignment would kick some serious butt, Tantum has become a complication and you can see her defenses fall.
There was a little too much of Nala questioning her own feelings (“Is he guilty?” “Can I really trust him?”, “He did do it!”, “No I know he could never do it!”, etc) and it got a little irritating but all in all it was a really good book. The premise is interesting too. They find they are pitted against each other and are each trying to find the other guilty of crimes but they seem to figure out pretty early what is going on but not the who is setting it up.

I really enjoyed this book and couldn’t wait to see how it ended. I wanted to see how Tantum would overcome his own issues of the heart and it was fun to watch Nala fall so easily into his arms but try to keep her heart at arms length. I enjoyed the humor that was written into these characters (especially Tantum) as well. It really is a fun yet suspenseful read. I will eagerly pick up the next book by Gendron and hope it is just as well written as this one.

4 Hearts

REVIEW PROVIDED BY: Kimberly

Kelly’s review of Hidden Crimes by Emma Holly

Hidden Crimes
AUTHOR:Emma Holly
PUBLICATION DATE:   05/31/12
ORDER LINKS:  Amazon | B&N | Smashwords

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Cats and dogs shouldn’t fall in love. Like any wolf, RPD detective Nate Rivera knows this. He can’t help it if the tigress he’s been trading quips with at the supermarket is the most alluring woman he’s ever met—sassy too, which suits him down to his designer boots.

Evina Mohajit is aware their flirtation can’t lead to more. Still, she relishes trading banter with the hot werewolf. This hardworking single mom hasn’t felt so female since her twins’ baby daddy left to start his new family. Plus, as a station chief in Resurrection’s Fire Department, she understands the demands of a dangerous job.

Their will-they-or-won’t-they tango could go on forever if it weren’t for the mortal peril the city’s shifter children fall into. To save them, Nate and Evina must team up, a choice that ignites the sparks smoldering between them .

REVIEW:
Should Cats and dogs fall in love?  If you read Hidden Crimes you will know the answer is 100% yes.
Nate is a rough and tough wolf who is trying hard to except his place in life and in his pack.  But soon he will learn that sometime a challenge is just what a wolf needs.  Whether it be in the form of a feisty female Alpha Tiger or his own Alpha, Nate is about to learn just how important he really is.
Evina, is the Alpha of her clan. So she has to be tough and being a single mom makes her more then tough.  But she has always had a soft spot for the man she calls the  Holy Foods  Romeo.  So when she sees Nate looking a little down curiosity gets the best of this cat.

Both Nate & Evina will learn that sometimes playing nice will get you everything that you want.

This was a great story.  Emma Holly writes really good romance novels.  If you have not had the pleasure of reading one of Emma’s books I would very highly recommend you get on it.

3 1/2

REVIEWED BY: Kelly

Kimberly’s review of Snowbound with a Stranger by Rebecca Rogers Maher

Snowbound with a Stranger
AUTHOR: Rebecca Rogers Maher
PUBLICATION DATE:   05/28/12
ORDER LINKS:  Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Dannie Marino is hiking with colleagues when a sudden blizzard separates her from her group. She’s rescued by Lee, a dangerously sexy stranger who leads her to a remote cabin to weather the storm.
When the night inevitably ends in an intense erotic encounter, Dannie is both shocked and liberated by her response. But being intimate means letting herself be vulnerable, which isn’t her style. Lee tries to reach out to her, but she avoids any emotional entanglement by pushing him away.
Snowed in and unable to hide from each other, Dannie and Lee must both face up to their most closely guarded emotions. When the storm abates, will they be able to stop running from the past and live fully in the future?

REVIEW:
This is a very quick read with only about 75 pages and I really enjoyed it. Both characters of Dannie and Lee have issues from their past but when they are stuck in a small cabin for three days those issues become secondary to the current of passion that is running between them. A lot happens to these two while they are stranded. It is a really well written story that the reader gets to enjoy. It is not all about passion and love there are real emotions these two have and I would have liked a bit of a longer book to delve deeper into their stories. We read that Dannie is feeling burnt out in her job but the story only skims the top of why she is feeling this way and Lee has had some major heartbreak and has secluded himself from feeling for the last few years and that also could have been discussed. Also these characters have an instant connection but we never read why and *possible spoiler* Lee feels this connection just looking at her picture before he even meets Dannie. That being said this book is a really good story and would be great to have ready for when you need a quick read.

4 Hearts

REVIEWED BY: Kimberly

Kelly’s review of Fire Kissed by Erin Kellison

Fire Kissed
AUTHOR: Erin Kellison
PUBLICATION DATE:   07/03/12
ORDER LINKS:  Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Fae Fire
It is Kaye Brand’s power to wield. But outcast from her kind, she’s been selling herself to the highest bidder—money for her survival in exchange for a magic glimpse into the flames of the future.

Angel Ice
One of the angelic Order, Jack Bastian has no use for a female like Kaye, as provocative and unexpected as her blazing beauty. Yet he has no choice but to hire her to uncover the secrets of his sworn enemy and her former fiancé, Ferrol Grey.

Magekind
War is inevitable between the defenders of the Order and the mage Houses who threaten to engulf the world in Shadow. For Jack, mage-born Kaye is off limits, no matter how hot the impossible attraction between them. But in the coming darkness, beset by danger and desire, everything is about to change.

REVIEW:
I am so on the fence about this book.  I liked the story.  I like the hero Jack.  I kinda liked the heroine, Kaye.  But I am really torn about the events that happened in this book.  While Fire Kissed can easily stand as a read alone book and is the beginning of a new series.   I would suggest reading the other Shadow books in this series first so you have a better understanding of the Shadow world.

That being said Kaye, my dear, dear Kaye. Oh I want to hate you so badly. In order to get what she wants Kaye puts herself into a situation that no one should ever have to be in.  I understand why she did it, but I don’t like it.  I think that Jack forgives her way to easy.  What did she do?  Well you will just have to read the book for yourself.

If you are a fan of Erin’s Shadow series Fire Kissed book one in the Shadow Kissed series will take you on an emotional journey of love, loss, betrayal and revenge.  I look forward to the next installment in the Shadow Kissed series.

3 1/2 hearts

REVIEWED BY: Kelly

Lara Adrian’s Midnight Breed Series

Kiss of Midnight
(Midnight Breed #1)

He watches her from across the crowded dance club, a sensual black-haired stranger who stirs Gabrielle Maxwell’s deepest fantasies. But nothing about this night—or this man—is what it seems. For when Gabrielle witnesses a murder outside the club, reality shifts into something dark and deadly. In that shattering instant she is thrust into a realm she never knew existed—a realm where vampires stalk the shadows and a blood war is set to ignite.

Lucan Thorne despises the violence carried out by his lawless brethren. A vampire himself, Lucan is a Breed warrior, sworn to protect his kind—and the unwitting humans existing alongside them—from the mounting threat of the Rogues. Lucan cannot risk binding himself to a mortal woman, but when Gabrielle is targeted by his enemies, he has no choice but to bring her into the dark underworld he commands.

Here, in the arms of the Breed’s formidable leader, Gabrielle will confront an extraordinary destiny of danger, seduction, and the darkest pleasures of all.

 

Kiss of Crimson
(Midnight Breed #2)

He comes to her more dead than alive, a towering black-clad stranger riddled with bullets and rapidly losing blood. As she struggles to save him, veterinarian Tess Culver is unaware that the man calling himself Dante is no man at all, but one of the Breed, vampire warriors engaged in a desperate battle. In a single erotically charged moment Tess is plunged into his world—a shifting, shadowed place where bands of Rogue vampires stalk the night, cutting a swath of terror.

Haunted by visions of a dark future, Dante lives and fights like there is no tomorrow. Tess is a complication he does not need—but now, with his brethren under attack, he must shield Tess from a growing threat that includes Dante himself. For with one reckless, irresistible kiss, she has become an inextricable part of his underworld realm…and his touch awakens her to hidden gifts, desires, and hungers she never knew she possessed. Bonded by blood, Dante and Tess must work together to thwart deadly enemies, even as they discover a passion that transcends the boundaries of life itself

Midnight Awakening
(Midnight Breed #3)

With a dagger in her hand and vengeance on her mind, Darkhaven beauty Elise Chase prowls Boston’s streets in search of retribution against the Rogue vampires who took from her everything she cherished. Using an extraordinary psychic gift, she tracks her prey, well aware that the power she possesses is destroying her. She must learn to harness this gift, and for that she can turn to only one man—the deadliest of the Breed warriors, Tegan.

No stranger to loss, Tegan knows Elise’s pain. He knows fury, but when he slays his enemies it is with ice in his veins. He is perfect in his self-control, until Elise seeks his aid in her personal war. An unholy alliance is forged—a bond that will link them by blood and vow—and plunge them into a tempest of danger, desire, and the darkest passions of the heart.

 

Midnight Rising
(Midnight Breed #4)

In a world of shadows and dark, cosuming hungers, desire is the deadliest weapon…

For journalist Dylan Alexander, it began with the discovery of a hidden tomb, thrusting her into the center of a gathering storm of violence and secrets. But nothing is as dangerous as the scarred, lethally seductive man who rises from the shadows to draw her into his world of dark desire and endless night.

Fueled by pain and rage over a shattering betrayal, the warrior Rio has pledged his life to the war against the Rogues. He will let nothing stand in his way—least of all a mortal woman with the power to expose the entire vampire race. For an ancient evil has been awakened, and a stunning darkness is on the rise. Suddenly Dylan is powerless to resist Rio’s touch, even as she uncovers a shocking link to her own past. And now she must choose: Leave Rio’s midnight realm, or risk it all for the man who has shown her true passion and the infinite pleasures of the heart.

 

Veil of Midnight
(Midnight Breed #5)

Bound by blood, addicted to danger, they’ll enter the darkest—and most erotic—place of all.

A warrior trained in bullets and blades, Renata cannot be bested by any man—vampire or mortal. But her most powerful weapon is her extraordinary psychic ability—a gift both rare and deadly. Now a stranger threatens her hard-won independence—a golden-haired vampire who lures her into a realm of darkness…and pleasure beyond imagining.

A combat-loving adrenaline junkie, Nikolai dispenses his own justice to enemies of the Breed—and his latest quarry is a ruthless assassin. One woman stands in his way: the seductive, cool-as-ice bodyguard, Renata. But Renata’s powers are put to the test when a loved one, a child, is threatened and she’s forced to turn to Niko for help. As the two join forces, as desire fans the flames of a deeper hunger, Renata’s life is under siege by a man who offers the exquisite pleasure of a blood bond—and a passion that could save or doom them both forever.

 

Ashes of Midnight
(Midnight Breed #6)
A woman driven by blood. A man thirsting for vengeance.
A place where darkness and desire meet…

As night falls, Claire Roth flees, driven from her home by a fiery threat that seems to come from hell itself. Then, from out of the flames and ash, a vampire warrior emerges. He is Andreas Reichen, her onetime lover, now a stranger consumed by vengeance. Caught in the cross fire, Claire cannot escape his savage fury—or the hunger that plunges her into his world of eternal darkness and unending pleasure.

Nothing will stop Andreas from destroying the vampire responsible for slaughtering his Breed brethren . . . even if he must use his former lover as a pawn in his deadly mission. Blood-bonded to his treacherous adversary, Claire can lead Andreas to the enemy he seeks, but it is a journey fraught with danger—and deep, unbidden desires. For Claire is the one woman Andreas should not crave, and the only one he’s ever loved. A dangerous seduction begins—one that blurs the lines between predator and prey, and stokes the flames of a white-hot passion that may consume all in its path.

 

Shades of Midnight
(Midnight Breed #7)

In a frozen wilderness steeped in darkness, the lines between good and evil, lover and enemy, are never black or white but drawn in Shades of Midnight.

Something inhuman is stalking the frigid Alaskan wilds, leaving unspeakable carnage in its wake. For bush pilot Alexandra Maguire, the killings stir memories of a horrific event she witnessed as a child and evoke in her the inexplicable sense of otherness she has long felt within herself but never fully understood . . . until a darkly seductive stranger with secrets of his own enters her world.

Sent from Boston on a mission to investigate the savage attacks and stop the slaughter, vampire warrior Kade has his own reasons for returning to the frigid, forbidding place of his birth. Haunted by a secret shame, Kade soon realizes the stunning truth of the threat he faces–a threat that will jeopardize the fragile bond he has formed with the courageous, determined young woman who arouses his deepest passions and most primal hungers. But in bringing Alex into his world of blood and darkness, Kade must confront both his own personal demons and the even greater evil that could destroy all he holds dear.

 

Taken by Midnight
(Midnight Breed #8)

AT THE CROSSROADS OF DEATH AND DESIRE, A WOMAN TASTES A PLEASURE NO MORTAL IS MEANT TO SURVIVE.

In the frozen Alaskan wilderness, former state trooper Jenna Darrow survives an unspeakable breach of body and soul. But with her narrow escape comes an even greater challenge. For strange changes are taking place within her, as she struggles to understand—and control—a new hunger. To do so, she will seek shelter in the Boston compound of the Order, an ancient race of vampire warriors whose very existence is shrouded in mystery. Perhaps the most mysterious of them all is Brock, a brooding, dark-eyed alpha male whose hands hold the power to comfort, heal . . . and arouse.

As she recovers under Brock’s care, Jenna finds herself drawn to the Order’s mission: to stop a ruthless enemy and its army of assassins from subjecting Earth to a reign of terror. Yet in spite of their resolve, a purely physical relationship without strings soon binds Brock and Jenna together with a desire fiercer than life and stronger than death itself—until a secret from Brock’s past and Jenna’s own mortality challenges their forbidden love to the ultimate trial by fire.

 

Deeper Than Midnight
(Midnight Breed #9)

DELIVERED FROM THE DARKNESS, A WOMAN FINDS HERSELF PLUNGED INTO A PASSION THAT IS DEEPER THAN MIDNIGHT.

At eighteen, Corinne Bishop was a beautiful, spirited young woman living a life of privilege as the adopted daughter of a wealthy family. Her world changed in an instant when she was stolen away and held prisoner by the malevolent vampire Dragos. After many years of captivity and torment, Corinne is rescued by the Order, a cadre of vampire warriors embroiled in a war against Dragos and his followers. Her innocence taken, Corinne has lost a piece of her heart as well—the one thing that gave her hope during her imprisonment, and the only thing that matters to her now that she is free.

Assigned to safeguard Corinne on her trip home is a formidable golden-eyed Breed male called Hunter. Once Dragos’s most deadly assassin, Hunter now works for the Order, and he’s hell-bent on making Dragos pay for his manifold sins. Bonded to Corinne by their mutual desire, Hunter will have to decide how far he’ll go to end Dragos’s reign of evil—even if carrying out his mission means shattering Corinne’s tender heart.

 

A Taste of Midnight
(Midnight Breed #9.5)

A shimmering holiday gala lights up an ancient castle in the Scottish Highlands, but beautiful widowed Breedmate Danika MacConn feels alone in the crowd. Even among the friends and festivity of the Darkhaven celebration, she can’t forget her lost love, a fallen warrior of the Order. Her brief return to her mate’s homeland has become treacherous after rejecting the advances of a dangerous Edinburgh crime boss with a taste for blood sport.

As Danika seeks to expose the vampire and his dark trade, she discovers an unexpected ally in his forbidding, enigmatic henchman, Brannoc, a man who exudes heat, danger, and dark menace–and seems somehow achingly familiar. Bran has his own reasons for wanting to keep Dani out of his employer’s business . . . and his own secrets he means to keep buried. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a woman who tempts the wildest part of his Breed nature–especially when that woman is Danika MacConn, the one woman capable of bringing him to his knees.

 

Darker After Midnight
(Midnight Breed #10)

In the dark of night, a blood war escalates within the hidden world of the Breed. After existing in secret for many long centuries, maintaining a fragile peace with the humans who walk beside them unaware, a single act of retaliation has put the entire vampire nation at risk of discovery. It falls to the Order–a cadre of Breed warriors pledged to protect their own and humankind alike–to stop Dragos, the power-mad vampire at the center of the conflict, before his push for domination can explode into catastrophe.
At the center of the Order’s quest is Sterling Chase, once a morally rigid enforcer of Breed law, now a warrior fallen from grace, whose biggest battle is the one he wages against his own savage nature. With addiction beckoning him toward eternal darkness, Chase’s path to redemption has never seemed more out of reach. But when his eyes meet those of Tavia Fairchild, a beautiful witness who identifies him at the scene of a mission gone terribly wrong, Chase finds himself drawn to the woman–and convinced she is something much more than she seems.
Pulled into a vortex of intrigue and danger she can neither resist nor understand, Tavia is uncertain whom to trust. And while everything sane and logical warns her against getting close to Chase, she cannot deny that the handsome, deeply haunted male stirs something primal and ravenous within her. But even as she surrenders to her cravings, nothing can prepare her for the shattering truth of who–and what–she truly is.
As the Order’s enemy mobilizes for the battle of the ages, Dragos and his Minions unleashing a hell on Earth like nothing ever seen before, Chase and Tavia are thrust into the heart of the violence. With time running out and the streets running red with the blood of innocent lives, both Breed and human, together Chase and Tavia must find a way to defeat Dragos once and for all–or die trying.

Edge of Dawn

Midnight Breed #11
Release date January 22, 2013
Unofficial sneak peek summary from Lara (taken off of Good Reads)

Twenty years after the Order’s vanquish of their chief adversary, conflicts and skirmishes continue for the Breed, violence escalating toward war. Peace seems elusive, but the Order and their allies will not rest until it is won.

For Mira, raised with the Order from the time she was a child and now the formidable captain of her own team of warriors for the Order, the fight is personal. War has cost her a great deal, though nothing more precious than the life of someone she loved dearly. Vowed to avenge his death, Mira blazes into every battle like a Valkyrie, poised to make her enemies pay. Until an unexpected encounter with a rebel leader brings her face-to-face with a startling truth, and a betrayal that will cut through her every defense .  Straight to the core of the wounded woman whose faith has never been tested more, nor her heart more deeply torn.

Colters’ Promise by Maya Banks is on Sale July 6-8th only!!!

Colters’ Promise by Maya Banks is going to be on sale this weekend ONLY!!!  Only $2.99   So do wait around!!! Go download NOW

Colters’ Promise
Colters’ Legacy #4
Order here:  Kindle | Nook | I-tunes

ALL-NEW IN AN EXTRAORDINARY ROMANCE.

Return to the captivating storytelling of New York Times bestselling author Maya Banks, and her stirring saga of three brothers and one indomitable woman—of wounded hearts, family, and forgiveness…

When it came to overcoming the odds of a tragic past, Lily was determined to move on. The three Colter brothers helped her do it. They taught her new ways to love, new dreams to share, and offered her a new life that she never thought possible. Now is a time for celebration, and what better way than with a long-awaited family reunion, a homecoming that will bring together the entire Colter family and a few surprises no one anticipated.

But first, there’s something from Lily’s past she still needs to reconcile—even when all the while she is holding close to her heart a newfound secret that will change her future, forever enrich the Colter legacy, and make every promise come true.

 

Spotlight Feature of The Chocolate Theif

The Chocolate Thief

by Laura Florand
Release Date: July 31, 2012
Order Here:  Amazon | B&N | Powells
Breathtakingly beautiful, the City of Light seduces the senses, its cobbled streets thrumming with possibility. For American Cade Corey, it’s a dream come true, if only she can get one infuriating French chocolatier to sign on the dotted line…

Chocolate

Melting, yielding yet firm, exotic, its secrets are intimately known to Sylvain Marquis. But turn them over to a brash American waving a fistful of dollars? Jamais. Not unless there’s something much more delectable on the table…

Stolen Pleasure

Whether confections taken from a locked shop or kisses in the dark, is there anything sweeter?

Excerpt:

American chocolate heiress Cade Corey will do anything to learn the secrets of Sylvain Marquis,  the dark, arrogant chocolatier who has ensorcelled all of Paris.  From attempts at outright purchase (denied, because he considers himself beyond price), to spying, perhaps even to a descent into crime.  Here, Sylvain discovers her attempting to sneak into one of his workshops in disguise and decides that, after all, maybe she deserves a lesson…

 

“This is one of my favorite moments,” Sylvain murmured to her, his voice a brush of sound, too low for anyone but her.  “The chocolate is untouched, virgin.”  Chocolat, he said.  Not that clumsy, cute English word “chok-lat” but a caress, a mystery, sho-co-la.  “I choose it.  It is beautiful as it is, perfect, anyone could eat it forever.  And I bring something else to it, blend it with another flavor that makes people encounter it in a new way, a richer way.”

His voice burred over her skin.  All the fine hairs on her arms raised to that voice and to the words that seemed to talk about more than chocolate.  Made her want to be his chocolate.

“I pour it into another form worthy of it, something as beautiful as its essence, so that just looking at it fills people with desire.”

She realized her lips had parted, her breath grown shallow.  She kept her lashes lowered, her gaze focused on that dark block in his hand.  On his strong square palms, on the long, adept fingers.

Tenez.”   He lifted a shaving on one finger and brought it to her lips.  “Goûtez,” he said.  “Tell me what you taste.”

The chocolate was melting already on her parted lips.  She took it, perforce, her lips closing just barely, just briefly on his.  She tasted…she didn’t think she should tell him what she tasted.  It went beyond the chocolate, which was bitter, bitter on her tongue but extraordinarily smooth.

“What do you like in your chocolat, mademoiselle?”  He poured white cream into a small pot as he spoke to her and added inverted sugar.

“Cinnamon,” she said.

Cannelle?”  He gave her a little smile, as if she had charmed him.

Charmed him how?  Like a quaint child whose hair he wanted to ruffle?

Vous aimez la tradition,” he said.

Yes, she supposed.  Corey prided itself on being the chocolate of generations of Americans, and it had never once changed its original milk chocolate bar.  So that was tradition.  And the only way she wanted to break that Corey tradition was by sinking into a realm of chocolate that had been expert before her country was born.

“Then we shall make you something with cinnamon.”  He moved away to the shelves where the brown bottles were, grabbing a handful of cinnamon sticks.  On his way back to her, he picked up a brick of butter that had been set out to soften.  “Say it again in English?”

“Cinnamon,” she repeated helplessly.

Heat leaped in his eyes.  “It has a je ne sais quoi to it in English, cinnamon.  More mystery, more exotic, than in French.”

Tenez.”  He handed her the cinnamon sticks and nodded to the pot of cream.  She dropped them in it, watching white drops splash over the brown of the sticks.  “A feu doux.”  He caught her eyes just for a second.  “One must start à feu doux.

With a gentle flame.

If this was gentle, she didn’t know whether to crave high heat or be terrified of it.


The blog has been hijacked (in a good way) by Carrie Lofty & she has a giveaway

The Key Scene

By Carrie Lofty

For everyone romance I’ve written, I begin with a key scene in mind. Often, this scene is not the opening or the finale. In fact I rarely know the finale at all! I’m a dedicated pantser, and what will happen next…generally you’d have more of a clue than me. Let’s just say that I adore the process of seeing a story unfold.

That said, I do have a key scene. We’ll call it the kernel of what a book means to me, where it started in my mind, where—basically—I fell in love with the idea so completely that I felt compelled to spend the next several months writing the darn thing!

For example, in SONG OF SEDUCTION  I started with a picture of Gary Oldman from the movie Immortal Beloved, where he portrayed Beethoven. I adored that image so much that I based a great deal of my romance around how to get the hero and heroine to that moment, and how I could make that feeling of longing and art come to life in an original way. That image drove me to write.

Other times I’m inspired by a song, one that evokes a powerful image in my mine. In my debut, WHAT A SCOUNDREL WANTS, I listened to a song call “Fall in the Light” [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3HHnjQcJHc] and saw the hero carrying the heroine away from a burning cabin. I told my husband for weeks, “Soon I’ll explode the cabin!” When I finally got there, however, I was in tears. The thing I’d joked about as my signpost was actually a really emotional signpost.

If you’ve noticed, these “key scenes” often come about because of external inspiration. Music, movies, photos—they fuel my imagination. For STARLIGHT, however, inspiration came from a very unexpected source. I was trying to internalize the cadence of the Glaswegian accent, since my heroine, Polly, is from Glasgow. I used one actress in particular, listening to her over and over until I felt that pattern of speech in my head.

(I do this a lot with accents. Don’t worry. I’m not totally nuts.)

In doing so, I started to imagine how she would talk about where she grew up, what she wanted from life, and how she coped with difficult times. The “key scene” for STARLIGHT, even down to influencing our choice of title, came from that kernel. Many reviewers have commented on the “happiness” or “Northern Lights” scene, which makes me especially happy. I’ve never had my “key scene” resonate so well with readers.

Here’s a sample, where Alex has taken Polly to a park where they can watch the Northern Lights:

“How have you managed to survive here? It’s dirty and poor and violent,” he said. “Yet, you keep smiling. How?”

She grew quiet, making Alex wonder if he’d stepped past some invisible boundary. But she was still Polly, and that meant taking him by surprise.

“You want to know the secret?”

“Is there one?”

“Of course. Otherwise I’d have gone mad a long time ago.” She rested their twined hands on her stomach and breathed out. “You make shields. A half dozen or so. You stake them all around, all overlapped to keep out the pain and disappointment. But you leave a tiny crack, right in the front. That’s for letting the happiness in.”

Alex forgot to breathe. He looked to the sky once again. Being able to name each star held nothing to the way he saw the aurora anew. Through her eyes. He had wanted to show her a natural marvel, to give them both something beautiful to sustain them through what promised to become an ugly few weeks.

Instead, she had given him a gift. He saw color like a field of flowers and movement like a dancing angel. Science fell away to reveal only beauty. When he could breathe again, he unconsciously mimicked her soft exhale.

Eventually, enough of these “key scenes” start to gather and I have the makings of a complete story. But each romance begins with one—one image, idea, thought. For STARLIGHT, it was Polly letting the happiness in.

What’s next for me:

Now that RT BookReviews 4½ Star Top Pick STARLIGHT has hit the shelves, I’ll be looking forward to the release of HIS VERY OWN GIRL , a historical romance set in World War II. It’s not women’s fiction. It’s not literary fiction. It’s a genuine romance, complete with sexy times and a happy ending. Look for it September 4th as a Pocket Star digital original novel. I cannot wait to see how readers respond! 

I’ll also be launching a new co-written pseudonym, Katie Porter, with my long-time friend and critique partner, Lorelie Brown. Our “Vegas Top Guns” series of contemporary erotic romances will debut from Samhain on July 31 with the release of DOUBLE DOWN, which is also a RT BookReviews 4½ Star Top Pick. Two more from the series, INSIDE BET and HOLD ‘EM, will follow in August and September. You can learn more about these and future books at our website (HERE).

Where to find me:

Website |  Twitter | Facebook 

I’d like to give away a copy of STARLIGHT, and I’ll ship anywhere.

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The second exciting, romantic addition to the Christie family series!
Esteemed astronomer Alex Christie, the eldest and most steadfast of the Christie siblings, has never possessed his late father’s ruthless business drive. But to protect his frail infant son from his cruel father-in-law’s bid for custody, the young widower must undertake Sir William Christie’s posthumous million-dollar challenge: to make a Glasgow cotton mill profitable. At sea in an industrial world of sabotage and union agitation, Alex meets Polly Gowan, daughter of a famed union leader, who hopes to seize a mysterious saboteur without involving the police.

Because a sympathetic mill master would aid her cause, Polly becomes Alex’s guide to urban Scotland. From soccer games to pub brawls, Alex sees another side of life, and feels free for the first time to reveal the man–vital and strong–behind his intellectual exterior. Polly is utterly seduced. Their ambitions, however, remains at odds: Alex vows to earn the mill bonus to save his child, while Polly fights for the needs of her people. Is there strength enough in their sparkling passion to bind them together in their quests–and in a lasting love that conquers all?

Just answer the question: Think of your favorite book or movie and tell me what the “key scene” is for you. Why is that scene so important to you?

 
Thanks again to Books ‘n’ Kisses for having me!

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Spotlight feature of Those who wait by Lynn Hones

Those Who Wait:

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Simone O’Henley, recuperating at a remote lakefront cottage from a devastating broken heart, finds anything but rest. The noises and moans she hears coming out of a nearby grove of trees terrify her, but are soon tempered by the company of handsome Jackson Taylor. The locals have never heard of him and are convinced he’s a land developer ready to snatch up their land at the first opportunity. He convinces Simone he is a simple caretaker looking over land for a friend, but her heart speaks the loudest. After he disappears, she travels far and wide to find him and the truth. A truth that turns her entire world upside down and throws everything she has ever believed into the winds of common sense and reason

Website

 

Spotlight Feature of Married by Monday by Catherine Bybee

 

Married by Monday 
by Catherine Bybee 

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Carter Billings:

Sandy blond hair and Hollywood good looks, Carter Billings could have any woman he wants. However, when he makes his bid for the Governor’s seat in the state of California, he needs to settle down and become a family man. Eliza, the woman he secretly adores, embodies the perfect amount of spice and passion to suit his marital needs, but she’s not interested in becoming Mrs. Billings. She can’t even stand to be in the same room with him.

Eliza Havens:

It’s much easier to drive Carter away than to give into desire. Matching couples is how she earns a living, but getting married isn’t an option. The secrets she carries are too dangerous to entangle anyone else. When her hidden identity and past threaten her future, she’s left with little choice. Carter is quick to offer solutions to both their problems, but saying yes could mean endangering the man she’s growing to love.

 

Excerpt:

He folded his arms over his chest. “I suppose you could say I’m following Blake’s lead. Marriage solves a few fundamental problems in my career path.”

She stared at him full on now, not trying to look away. “Your problems. Not mine.”

“Problems you helped play a role in.” He saw the spark in her eye before she managed her first syllable of defense.

She sat the tea down and placed a hand on the counter. “That’s low, Carter.”

“And true or you’d be the first to tell me I’m wrong. If I had a choice, I’d be married by Monday to help dispel all the media crap created by yours and Gwen’s night on the Texas town. I thought I could come to you and obtain a little bit of cooperation.”

“A little bit of cooperation. Marriage is a tad more than a little bit of anything.” Her voice rose and her knuckles started to grip the counter.

“Yet you earn your living arranging marriages or partnerships on trite reasons less important than mine.” How dare she follow a moral high ground. Maybe she’d forgotten how well versed he was on her and Samantha’s business.

“You forget that our clients have to approve of the relationships we arrange. They have to like the person—”

He laughed, interrupting her. “Do you really want to pretend we aren’t friends to prove your point?”

Her cheeks grew rosy which he had to admit was a much better than the pasty color she’d been sporting when he walked into the house. He felt the fire burning inside her as she shot daggers with her eyes.

“You’re my best friend’s husband’s friend. If you’re looking for a wife you might peek into your little black book, or whatever it is you use, and draw another name.”

Carter let his arms drop and took two steps closer. The angrier she became, the more his blood churned. His body responded to her outrage, but not in anger. “I don’t want to draw another name.”

 

Author of New York Times Bestseller, Wife by Wednesday presents, Book Two in the Weekday Bride Series

New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author Catherine Bybee has been addicted to romance since her teens. After spending a decade of her life working as an RN in urban emergency rooms, Catherine is now dedicated to writing happily-ever-afters for the world to love. Catherine is married and raising two sons in Southern California.

She loves hearing from her readers so feel free to visit her at:

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