I picked up a copy of A BRIDE IN THE BARGAIN because I loved the cover. Yep I’m one of those readers where I’m influenced by the cover for new authors. Then as I read the back blurb I realized this Christian Romance was a western romance. Yeah even better! So I picked up a copy and had one more item to claim when I would return home.

A BRIDE IN THE BARGAIN is the story of girls and women going west, in this story Seattle in order to find a husband after the civil war. However a few women bought passage out west to get a better job. This is what Anna Ivey is looking for, a position as a cook for one Joe Denton. While Joe believes he’s bought himself a willing bride.

You see Joe needs a bride to keep half the acres of his business. A single man can only get half of what he has, when he got the property 10 years ago he had been married, but his wife died before she could make the trip west. Now Joe must find a bride in order to keep his land.

Anna finds herself in a pickle because she has no intentions of ever marrying and certainly not without love. So she works for Joe to pay off her debt to him and ends up falling for him against her best intentions. Once they fall in love and Anna finally decides to marry Joe they find out the devastating news that she’s ill. Does Joe love Anna enough to walk way from his land or will his love for this land out weight his feelings for Anna? Can Anna ask him to abandon his dream and all he’s worked for in the last 10 years for her?

I don’t want to say all that much more because it would spoil it for those who are interested in reading the book. I found this book to be worth every penny and minute I spent reading it. I loved it from beginning to the end. I strongly suggest picking up a copy on your next trip to your local bookstore or during your next online book buying spree.

I went to Chapters Gloucester, one of my local bookstore, yesterday to pick up the newest release by Hannah Howell only to discover the romance section in the store which was suppose to be temporary is now permanent. Why is this a problem? Romance sells 55% of all book sales in a store. So why shouldn’t it get its fare share of shelf location or at least a good location in the store? Well this store location cut the romance section in and the product is just shoved on the shelves in a messy way. I wished I had brought a camera because I’d be posting a picture here, I just couldn’t believe my eyes. This Chapter location used to be organized, orderly and reader friendly. Now it’s disorganize and messy.

 

I know its Christmas time and we should expect a little mess in the stores, but come on. I worked for years in retail and the condition of that store yesterday would never have been accepted at any of the stores I worked in.

 

Another one of my pet peeves with big bookstore chains is that they don’t shelve books when they are released. I never have this problem when I go to my independent bookstore. Yesterday I had to ask someone to get me copies of Hannah’s new release of IF HE’S SINFUL. I knew the store had 16 copies, I checked before leaving home because three other store locations had already sold out of it. So after the clerk checked the computer, section and spoke with her manager she finally went to the back and came out with 4 copies of the book. I took 2 for gifts. I wonder what they did with the remaining 12.

 

This isn’t the first new book this month that I have had to get a store sale staff to go through their back stock to get a copy. I waited until I was in the US earlier this month to get a copy of Wendy Markham’s THE BEST GIFT. I wanted to help her get further on the list bestseller list. I picked it up on the first Saturday of its release, so a good 5 days after its official release. It seemed the staff had been too busy that week to take it and other new releases out on the floor. I couldn’t believe it and even told the sales clerk who provided me with copies. The response I got was oh well.

 

Don’t get me wrong I know that the stores are busy at this time of the year as I mentioned before I used to work retail, but they are also complaining that sales are down. Well how are their customers suppose to purchase new books when they are hidden in the backroom or under tables where customers can’t get to them? I know times are tough and this is Christmas which means stores have hired more staff to handle the crowd. Maybe they should train their new staff to put books out during their shift.

Today is the official release day for IF HE’S SINFUL by Hannah Howell. This is the second book in her new series about the Wherlocke family. I loved the first book IF HE’S WICKED and I’ve been waiting a long time to get my hands on this one. I can’t wait. I’ll be picking up a copy before the end of the day. I just hope the store around the corner from my office has a copy. If not I’m determined to hound the stores until I find one that has a copy.

Here is the blurb for the book

 Secrecy and intrigue ignite dangerous passions in New York Times bestselling author Hannah Howell’s seductive new novel… It is whispered throughout

London that the members of the Wherlocke family are possessed of certain unexplainable gifts. But Lord Ashton Radmoor is skeptical—until he finds an innocent beauty lying drugged and helpless in the bedroom of a brothel.The mystery woman is Penelope Wherlocke, and her special gift of sight is leading her deep into a dangerous world of treachery and betrayal. Ashton knows he should forget her, yet he’s drawn deeper into the vortex of her life, determined to keep her safe. But Penelope is no ordinary woman, and she’s never met the man strong enough to contend with her unusual abilities.Until now…

Doesn’t that sound fabulous? I think it does.

It’s United Way campaign time at work. I was the first to bring in my contributing sheet and had my name put in a pot to win some prizes.

Today they pull the early bird winners. Low and behold I won a gift certificate for Starbucks. Well Hannah it looks like next coffee date will be on me. However you’ll just have to wait until January.

Today is the perfect lazy Sunday. Well it would be if I were able to sit down and be lazy. LOL

Sunday is the day I get all my cleaning, washing and groceries for the week along with making the meals for the week. Yes I usually make one or two dishes and eat them during the week. It’s a good thing I’m not picking about leftovers. I simply have no time during the week to make fresh dinners every night. Kudos to those who do.

Later on today I’m heading out to my parents where we will be celebrating my father’s birthday in advance. Shhh! I bought him something that is going to tick him off but I know he is going to love.

So what are you doing on this fine Sunday?

So many female readers are addicted to Vampire romances. No I’m not sure just talking about the Twilighters or twilight fans. If you were to look at what types of paranormal romance books that are out the majority of them feature vampires or the authors version of vampires (such as Hannah Howell’s and Sherrilyn Kenyon’s heroes).

 

 

I have to admit I’m not a fan of vampire books whether they are horror or romance ones. I just can’t get over the fact that these heroes are dead and to survive they must feed off humans. To me that is just not romantic.

 

However I do love Hannah Howell’s version, her heroes aren’t vampires, but they aren’t human either. They are mortal but have a longer life expectancy than us humans. However they aren’t immortal. Also they don’t’ need human blood to survive.

 

As for Sherrilyn Kenyon series, her dark hunters don’t feed off human or human blood for that matter. However they are immortal and soulless. To be with their soul mates they need to get back their souls.

 

 

 

Then from my publisher you have AB Wallace author of VINTAGE BLOOD AND THE SACRED SCEPTERS, David Lee Summers author of VAMPIRES OF THE SCARLET ORDER and VMK Fewings author of STONE MASTERS. They are all wonderful and different books. So if you are in the mood for a good vampire book pick one of them up.

 

What I’d like to know from readers is what attracts you to reading vampire based stories? Why do you feel someone sucking your blood to be romantic? I truly would like to know.

 

 

I first bought my copy of LOVELY BONES by Alice Sebold when it first came out in 2003. I know that is quite a long time to wait to read it. However I don’t think I was ready to read this book until now.

 

It’s not my usual book, but I have been branching out of what I have been reading for years, romance books. As I started to read this book all I kept thinking was thank goodness Ryan Gosling is no longer playing the role of the father. I’m sorry but I truly don’t’ see him playing the role of the father of a dead 13 year old. Mark Walberg on the hand I could see him play the role to perfection.

 

This book is about how the family of a young girl name Susie who has been murdered deals with her death. What makes this book truly different? It’s written in the point of view of Susie.

 

The pace of the story is very slow, yet steady. I’m not used to this type of book, but after a few chapters I truly didn’t care because I was hooked. I like the way Ms Sebold described Susie in between heaven. It came alive for me.

 

That said I do have one little problem with this book and it has to do with the ending. I truly couldn’t see Susie wanting to have sex after being raped before her death, but apparently the author saw differently. I don’t’ want to say too much because I would be giving away the book for some, but I would say that after seeing how her family struggled with her death that when Susie has a chance to offer them a little more closure she doesn’t. That I found to be disappointing.

 

Even if I didn’t agree with the ending I would still recommend this book, because it is well written. Now I can’t wait to go and see the movie version and compare it to the book. Stay tuned for my review of it.

I can hardly believe it. I’m an EPIC FINALIST!  This is so cool!

It all started with an email from the contest coordinator with the following subject in her email “Congratulations” but the email is empty. I had to wait all day to see if this was for real, a mistake or spam.

I’m happy to say it was for real!!

Here are the finalists in my category

Cast A Pale Shadow by Barbara Scott

A woman in need of rescuing. A man with a tortured past.The shadow who haunts them both. Rescued as she flees her abusive family by the mysterious Nicholas Brewer, Trissa Kirk is charmed by his kindness. But Nicholas has a dark past to hide and a fierce determination to retain full grasp of his present. Always the shadow of his other self, Cole threatens to overtake him. It is Cole who guards his most dreaded memories and Cole who has stolen great swatches of his time when Nicholas ceases to exist. Throughout his adult life Nicholas has sought the magic to ward off those blank times. When he thinks he has found such magic in Trissa, what desperate measures will he take to make it last? Together, in a boarding house filled with an eclectic group of people, Trissa and Nicholas patch together a substitute family they hope will buffer them from a world that has not been kind to either of them. Their progress toward this goal is threatened by a confrontation which ends in murder and the reemergence of Cole. Now Trissa must summon the strength to discover which of her two loves is man and which is shadow.

Chasing Secrets by Christy Tillery French

 

ATF agent Rowan Bronson is chasing the secrets of a renowned televangelist and his connections to organized crime. The only allies she has are her dog Zeus and Garrett Somersby, a detective who’s reluctant to believe her. Zeus is a sure thing, but can she trust Garrett enough to let him help her? When Rowan uncovers a Reverend’s ties to a crime boss, before she can turn over evidence of money laundering and firearm smuggling she is betrayed by one of her fellow agents. She’s nearly killed by the crime boss’ right hand man then goes on the run–stealing Detective Garrett Somersby’s SUV. Relentlessly pursued by Garrett and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Garrett is the first to locate her and the two team up in the hopes of retrieving her information and getting it to the proper person in the ATF. Now Garrett’s life is also jeopardized by the men pursuing Rowan, including a religious zealot, a crime boss, and a mole in the ATF–all with personal agendas concerning Rowan’s demise.

Deadly Secrets by Leeann Burke

PHILIPPE LAFRANCE is a well known reclusive writer whose life is suddenly thrown upside down. The grandfather he never knew existed dies. Throughout his own investigation, Philippe learns that his family has kept secrets from him, deep, ugly secrets. A killer is murdering the men in his family. First his father then his grandfather have succumbed at the hands of another. This murderer is trying his utmost to keep secrets buried. Bereft, Roxanne St-Clair is left to manage a restaurant when the only person who ever mattered to her, her foster parent and mentor, is murdered. She puts her life on hold to find his killer and bring him to justice. Thrown together by circumstance and a mutual goal, Philippe and Roxanne fight their attraction and team up to find the killer, bring him to justice and unearth the truth. To stay alive, they must keep one step ahead of the assassin in order to prevent him from killing his next target, Philippe. Will they succeed in bringing to justice this killer before Philippe becomes his next victim? Will they be able to deal with the truth behind all the secrets?

Free Falling by Sandy James

 

Workaholic Ross Kennedy never learned to enjoy life until he meets the woman of his dreams. If only Laurie Miller can convince him that’s exactly who she is. A psychologist with empathic abilities, Laurie rescues Ross, who has been stranded in the middle of a

Montana blizzard. The two strangers are completely snowed in and out of contact. In just a few days, their attraction to each other is overwhelming, but Laurie is troubled. Her empathic gift seems to have vanished. Fascinated by his pretty rescuer, Ross struggles to open up his heart enough to let this woman in. When the two return home to

Chicago, they try to solve a mystery revolving around a Prohibition Era journal they discovered in

Montana. Will they find the missing treasure the journal points to? And as a former boyfriend begins to stalk Laurie, how will Ross be able to protect her? 

If you haven’t already picked up a copy of our books, please do so. Then come back and tell us who should win the EPPIE

Have you ever picked up a book that you simply couldn’t put down? When I first started to read for pleasure years ago that used to happen to me a lot. My life was boring so what the characters did in a book always seemed more interesting than what was going on in my life. Nowadays I don’t have as much time to read and when I do find time I find myself drifting and not getting hooked in the book as much.

Don’t get me wrong I still have my favourite authors who hook but not as much as they used and I’m not finding a lot of new authors that do that. Right now I’m reading THE COWBOY COMES HOME by Roni Adams and I’m hooked. I’m trying to resist grabbing my PDA while I’m at work to read more of the story. I love this feeling I just wished I’d get it more often when I’m reading.

What about you? Are you hooked in the books you are and have been reading?

Please take a moment today to remember those who sacrificed and lost part of themselves so that we can have the life that we currently have. Most of us take for granted the freedom we have. Change that today. Realize what you have and be grateful for it

If you know someone who is a war veteran, take the time today to thank him or her. Without them the world wouldn’t be what it is today.

Although my job doesn’t give me the day off as the federal workers get, but they allow us to take part in the Remembrance Day events. So I will be going to the events in my hometown today. I hope you get a chance to do the same.