Review: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things by Martina McAtee

Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things (Dead Things, Book #1)
by Martina McAtee
Release Date: August 31st 2015
2015 Martina McAtee
Ebook Edition; 520 Pages
ISBN: 978-0692498729
ASIN: B012KW638S
Genre: Fiction / YA / Paranormal
Source: Review copy from Pump Up Your Book

4.5 / 5 Stars

Summary
17 year old Ember Denning has made an art of isolating herself. She prefers the dead. She spends her days skipping school in old cemeteries and her nights hiding from her alcoholic father at the funeral home where she works. When her own father dies, Ember learns her whole life is a lie. Standing in the cemetery that’s been her sanctuary, she’s threatened by the most beautiful boy she’s ever seen and rescued by two people who claim to be her family. They say she’s special, that she has a supernatural gift like them…they just don’t know exactly what it is.

They take her to a small Florida town, where Ember’s life takes a turn for the weird. She’s living with her reaper cousins, an orphaned werewolf pack, a faery and a human genius. Ember’s powers are growing stronger, morphing into something bigger than anything anybody anticipated. Ember has questions but nobody has answers. Nobody knows what she is. They only know her mysterious magical gift is trying to kill them and that beautiful dangerous boy from the cemetery may be the only thing standing between her and death.

As Ember’s talents are revealed so are the secrets her father hid and those in power who would seek to destroy her. What’s worse, saving Ember has put her cousins in danger and turned her friend’s lives upside down. Ember must learn to embrace her magic or risk losing the family she’s pieced together.

My Thoughts
Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things was a pleasant surprise as the story line is definitely something I was not expecting; although I am a huge paranormal fan, some of the offerings lately have really turned me away from the genre, so it was great to read something that was fun and not quite so formulaic.  This one had quite a few paranormal elements in it, so it was interesting to see how the author blended everything together and created a pretty good story to go with all of the different elements.  

First of all, I liked the variety of characters that permeated this book, from the werewolves to the reapers to the zombies to the witches, never really knowing exactly which ones to trust.  Since the story was told through different POVs, you get a sense of how these characters are feeling about the  situation thrust upon them as well as how they feel about each other.  Switching back and forth between the various characters was quite seamless and several times I had to look at the title to know which character was describing the setting and the situation as I couldn't always tell.  I liked how the characters developed and you got to know them really well through the differing story lines; it was like watching a huge family with members constantly getting in each others' way and business, but it was also funny at times too.  I definitely liked the interactions between the various members, watching how their various paranormal abilities created complications and arguments and dilemmas amongst them as well.  Ember is one of those characters over whom I felt quite protective, right from the beginning, liking her strength and her rebelliousness as well as her vulnerability due to her miserable early years.  Perhaps the fact that she is drawn to cemeteries like I am also helped?  I think the only thing I didn't like about her was her relationship with Mace.  I'm just not sure why she would be attracted to someone who tells her he kills people for fun and wants to steal her soul.  Is she just attracted to the bad boys? There were times when I would have liked to take her aside and go, "Hello?" Tristin also got on my nerves at times, as she could be quite nasty to people, especially to Quinn. You reap what you sow. I can't believe I just wrote that.

The story itself flowed rather quickly and smoothly.  The chapters were short, switching POVs quite often, allowing the pace of the novel to move along and I never really got bored; there was really too much going on.  The story centered around the reapers, but I don't feel that Kai's abilities were explored to their fullest, which was a bit disappointing, but perhaps more will be forthcoming in future novels. I was a bit disappointed in Ember at times, being this supposedly really powerful supernatural, who just does what people tell her to do and doesn't really stand up for herself, but perhaps character development in the future will allow her to grow and be more willful as it can get a bit annoying after a while.  

Verdict
Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things was an enjoyable foray into a supernatural world filled with reapers, werewolves, witches, faeries, wizards, and so on.  I thought the book was more light-hearted than some I have read, but there were also some darker elements included.  The author was able to do this by keeping the interactions amongst the characters relatively friendly and family-oriented so they seemed like they were one big, crazy family.  That is not to say that darker elements were not prevalent in this book, as they definitely were, but the novel was kept from going too dark because of these lighter elements, and I rather liked that.  The themes of family, loyalty, betrayal, trust, and secrecy were prevalent however, if you delved deeply enough.  I liked the characters and thought the overall development was pretty good, although I would have liked a bit more depth and strength to Ember's character as she did come across as a bit irritatingly wimpy at times.  Overall, the world created in this novel was fun, and I am definitely looking forward to another novel in this series.  And by the way, I thought the cover to this one was amazing.

Giveaway & Excerpt: Dragon Storm by Katie MacAlister

Dragon Storm

by Katie MacAlister

Release Date: November 24th 2015

Paperback; 336 Pages

2015 Forever 

ISBN: 978-1455559237

TURN ON THE CHARM
According to some (including himself), Constantine is one of the greatest heroes of dragonkin who ever lived. Too bad he's now lonelier than ever and his biggest adventure involves a blow-up sheep-until he has an opportunity to save his kind once again. All Constantine has to do is break into a demon's dungeon, steal an ancient artifact, and reverse a deadly curse. The plan certainly does not involve rescuing a woman . . .

TURN UP THE HEAT
Bee isn't sure whether to be infuriated or relieved when Constantine pops up in her prison. The broody, brawny shifter lights her fire in a way no one ever has before, yet how far can she really trust him? Their chemistry may be off the charts, but when push comes to shove, Constantine will have to make a crucial choice: to save the dragons or the woman he's grown to love with fierce intensity.

Review: Depraved Heart by Patricia Cornwell

Depraved Heart (Kay Scarpetta, Book #23)
by Patricia Cornwell
Release Date: October 27th 2015
2015 William Morrow
Softcover (ARC) Edition; 480 Pages
ISBN: 978-0062325402
ASIN: B00UGNP130
Genre: Fiction / Suspense
Source: Review copy from publisher

3 / 5 Stars

Summary
Dr. Kay Scarpetta is working a suspicious death scene in Cambridge, Massachusetts when an emergency alert sounds on her phone. A video link lands in her text messages and seems to be from her computer genius niece Lucy. But how can it be? It’s clearly a surveillance film of Lucy taken almost twenty years ago.

As Scarpetta watches she begins to learn frightening secrets about her niece, whom she has loved and raised like a daughter. That film clip and then others sent soon after raise dangerous legal implications that increasingly isolate Scarpetta and leave her confused, worried, and not knowing where to turn. She doesn’t know whom she can tell – not her FBI husband Benton Wesley or her investigative partner Pete Marino. Not even Lucy.

My Thoughts
Depraved Heart is the latest novel in the long-running Scarpetta series and most of the action pretty much occurs in a one-day period.  And while I enjoyed quite a bit of this story, I really do feel that this story line has been going on for much too long and it is time to end it, and give readers a new mystery and a new entanglement to solve, one that hopefully doesn't go on for the next five books.  

One of the concepts which fascinated me in this novel was "data fiction"; the idea that we are so dependent on technology that we are no longer capable of judging for ourselves what's true, what's accurate and what isn't.  It's a scary concept and the more I thought about it, the more disturbed I was.  All you have to do is think about how videos are edited and changed in order to manipulate us into believing what others want us to believe, and when you see the actual footage of the incident, you're shocked at what truly happened. Now imagine that everything around us was like this and people were being manipulated into believing something was true, how do you know when the software was lying or was deliberately misleading you? Nothing would be admissible in court anymore.  

The book takes place in a very short amount of time, and most of it is Kay dealing with a suspicious death, a series of video links landing in her text messages seeming to be from her niece Lucy, flashbacks to her incident two months ago, and then a missing police officer.  While I found it interesting to see how everything finally linked up together, and I liked how Ms. Cornwell led Kay around by the nose, having her mistrust everyone around her, I still thought the plot was a bit cumbersome and Kay's reminiscences eventually got on my nerves.  I just wanted to get on with the story.  

While I usually tend to enjoy the characterization in these novels, the last few have left me feeling a bit disappointed and this one was really no different.  Unfortunately, there was little focus on the development on the characters, although it was different to see Kay being a bit nicer towards Marino, and frankly, Lucy was a bit annoying.  I do think the author missed a really great opportunity to devote some time to PTSD, and explore Kay's day-to-day challenges as she copes with the incident and strives forward in her life.  And I'm also getting tired of the dishonesty in Kay and Benton's relationship; the author mentions over and over again about legal ramifications of this and that, but in reality, these two people don't seem to have a really solid relationship amidst the lies and the secrecy. 

Verdict
Depraved Heart is part of a series that I keep coming back to over and over again, and to be honest, I am not sure why.  At the beginning, the stories were interesting and well-developed, but now they seem to have meandered off track and seem to be focused on repetitive ideas and plots that are becoming less and less interesting.  I am not a big fan of the way the main characters relate to each other within their relationships although I can imagine the jobs they do are very difficult when so many secrets abound.  But lately, the relationships seem to be more destructive than communicative and I am leery about reading about mistrust, secrets, and lies, over and over again.  There was definitely a lot to like in this novel, and some of the ideas were quite interesting, including the way Kay discovers clues available in everything that exists around her (I definitely liked the forensics part of this novel), but I am tired of reading about the same thing over and over again.  And unfortunately, folks, the way the novel ended, we have not seen the last of Carrie yet.  I, for one, am ready to read about someone new, someone that doesn't involve Lucy, and move on. 

Spotlight and Giveaway: They All Fall Down by A.K. Mason

Publication Date: September 12, 2015  

Paperback; 433 Pages

Genre: Contemporary/Women's Fiction

For her entire life, Alexandra Kramer has been checking a series of boxes. Trapped by the expectations of everyone else around her, she’s made good grades, married the right guy, and secured a place at the prestigious Harvard Business School. But in the chaos of the 2008 financial crisis, Alex suddenly finds herself running into the fire, instead of seeking a safe haven from the flames. Ditching her Ivy League plans, she becomes dedicated to showing she has what it takes in the high-stakes, fast-paced boys’ club of Wall Street trading, as she forges her own path for the first time in her life. As these volatile changes drive her husband Jamie into his own crisis, Alex is forced to examine the choices she’s made—as she’s torn between her traditional role as wife, and the exciting, Wild West appeal of the trading floor. When her two worlds suddenly collide, it becomes clear the institutions she once believed in so strongly are more flawed than she ever imagined—and when everything comes crumbling down, it’s up to Alex to decide for herself what’s worthy of putting back together.

AMAZON (KINDLE) | AMAZON (PAPERBACK)

*Kindle eBook on Sale for $.99, now through November 9th!

About the Author

A. K. Mason is a graduate of Harvard College, who deferred her acceptance to Harvard Business School on three different occasions in favor of working on Wall Street. As a bond trader from 2007 to 2013, she experienced the financial crisis first-hand, and was on the trading desk as Lehman Brothers underwent bankruptcy. In 2013, Mason earned her MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business and left Wall Street to build a fitness technology and media business. She currently resides in Washington, DC, with her family.

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

Giveaway

 

To win a $50 Amazon Gift Card please enter using the GLEAM form below.

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Cowboys and Christmas Blog Tour: Shanna Hatfield

Welcome to the 2nd annual

Cowboys and Christmas

Blog Tour!

Raising funds and awareness for the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund

Ring in the Holidays with a Helping Hand

November 1 through Dec. 24, 10 percent of the net proceeds from all Shanna Hatfield book sales will be donated to the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund. The JCCF is a non-profit organization that assists rodeo athletes who’ve sustained catastrophic injuries and are unable to work for an extended period. Every book purchased during this promotional period adds to the donation total. Don't forget to add books to your Christmas lists!


USA Today Bestselling Author Shanna Hatfield writes character-driven romances with relatable heroes and heroines. Her historical westerns have been described as “reminiscent of the era captured by Bonanza and The Virginian” while her contemporary works have been called “laugh-out-loud funny, and a little heart-pumping sexy without being explicit in any way.”

Animals as Characters

     Animals are so fun to incorporate into stories. They have such unique personalities, and they can get away with a lot of shenanigans.

     That’s why I get such a kick out of adding animals into my sweet romances.

     In my new release, The Christmas Vow (Hardman Holidays, Book 4), Adam Guthry returns home to bury his best friend and his past, never expecting to fall in love with Tia Devereux, the woman who destroyed his heart.

Tia and her four-year-old son Toby come to Hardman for her grandmother’s funeral and stay. She’s a widow trying to create a new life for her son, so she moves into her grandmother’s empty house.

A white cat named Crabby keeps watch over them. Although he likes children, he’s not fond of adults, until Adam comes along.

However, Crabby keeps Adam in line when it comes to Tia.

Review: 84 Ribbons by Paddy Eger

84 Ribbons (Ballet Trilogy #1)
by Paddy Eger
Release Date: March 15, 2014
2014 Tendril Press
Softcover Edition; 360 Pages
ISBN: 978-0-9858933-2-3
ASIN: B00HEQGX5E
Genre: Fiction / Historical
Source: Review copy from author

3.5 / 5 Stars

Summary
Seventeen year old Marta Selbryth realizes her dream of becoming a professional dancer when the Intermountain Ballet Company in Billings, Montana invites her to join their 1957 season. As Marta's new life unfolds, she must learn to face not only the successes of dancing in the corps de ballet, but the challenges and setbacks that might crush the dream she's had for so long.

Marta spends her free time practicing when she's not spending time with her new friends Lynne and Bartley, her fellow corps dancers. Their time together becomes an important lifeline through their first year.

Shortly after Christmas, everything changes for Marta, Bartley and Steve. Significant events permanently influence their lives. Each must deal with exhilaration and heartbreak as well as frustration and changes that test their ability to cope.

My Thoughts
84 Ribbons is one of those books that had great and enjoyable moments in it, but it also had moments in it that I thought kind of plodded along and didn't necessarily endear me to the main character.

If you like dance, or anything to do with ballet, you will definitely enjoy the descriptions of Marta's dance classes and her performances.  Marta came to Intermountain Ballet Company with a huge goal: once she earned 84 ribbons, she would be ready to earn solos in the company.  Unfortunately for Marta, being inexperienced and somewhat immature, she got off on the wrong foot with Madame right from the beginning and had to work extremely hard to make up for her actions.  Personally, I thought she deserved what she got.  Despite her age, and she would have turned eighteen very soon, she should have known better than to do what she did; and whining about her treatment afterwards didn't really endear me to Marta as it just made her seem that much more immature, treating the incident as if it was Madame's fault.  Personally, it drives me crazy when people don't take ownership for their actions.  Yes, she eventually tried to fix the situation, but really, as a professional dancer, it shouldn't have happened in the first place - professionalism.

I liked how the author described the difficulty of the training, and how much responsibility was put on the dancers during this time period right down to purchasing their shoes and their stockings, all on a pittance of a salary.  It was definitely a difficult world if one wished to pursue this career and while I love going to the ballet, I don't envy the girls this life.  

Personally, I found Lynne to be the more interesting of the characters in this novel and wished the story had been about her as I found Marta to be a bit boring.  To be honest, she was kind of annoying and immature; throwing in all those issues about food certainly didn't help endear me to her, as all I wanted to do was shake her while with Bartley, I was much more sympathetic. I also found some of the dialogue to be a bit stilted, making me feel like I was at a scheduled practice than reading a novel.  It didn't happen all the time, but enough that it began to bother me a little bit.  I really have no explanation for this except for the way the characters were written and perceived.  

One of the things I had a problem with right from the beginning was the historical setting.  I knew that it was set in the 1950s, yet there was little in the book that really featured this decade and set it apart from today.  I really wished more time period information had been build into the story to make it seem more authentic as I was jolted time and again by little reminders that I was not in the 2000s.  This very rarely happens so I do attribute this to the writing and descriptive style used in this book. 

Verdict
84 Ribbons had some great moments in it: the ballet descriptions, the practices, the performances, the ballet world itself and the author genuinely knew her way around this world.  I would have liked to have read more about the ballet world though, as halfway through the book, Marta breaks her foot and the rest of the story is about how Marta deals with the injury; and this is where I began to somewhat lose interest as it was more about her lack of eating, how many diet pills she she take today, and so on. And while I understand her conflicting feelings toward Steve, I am really confused as to why he hung around so long as she didn't really treat him all that well in the beginning.  Plucky guy, I guess.  I definitely enjoyed the ideas in this book, liked most of the characters, would have liked Marta a bit better if she was less whiny and more mature,  and thought the descriptions about the ballet world were fascinating.  I would recommend this to anyone who likes ballet, and perhaps you may have a different perspective that I did on the characterization and setting.   I am however, looking forward to Letters to Follow, Lynne's story when she travels to Paris on a dancer's exchange.

 

Review: The Lake House by Kate Morton

The Lake House
by Kate Morton
Release Date: October 20, 2015
2015 Atria Books
Ebook Edition; 512 Pages
ISBN: 978-1451649321
ASIN: B00LD1S3PY
Genre: Fiction / Mystery
Source: Review copy from HFVBT

4 / 5 Stars

Summary
Living on her family’s idyllic lakeside estate in Cornwall, England, Alice Edevane is a bright, inquisitive, innocent, and precociously talented sixteen-year-old who loves to write stories. But the mysteries she pens are no match for the one her family is about to endure…

One midsummer’s eve, after a beautiful party drawing hundreds of guests to the estate has ended, the Edevanes discover that their youngest child, eleven-month-old Theo, has vanished without a trace. What follows is a tragedy that tears the family apart in ways they never imagined.

Decades later, Alice is living in London, having enjoyed a long successful career as an author. Theo’s case has never been solved, though Alice still harbors a suspicion as to the culprit. Miles away, Sadie Sparrow, a young detective in the London police force, is staying at her grandfather’s house in Cornwall. While out walking one day, she stumbles upon the old estate—now crumbling and covered with vines, clearly abandoned long ago. Her curiosity is sparked, setting off a series of events that will bring her and Alice together and reveal shocking truths about a past long gone...yet more present than ever.

My Thoughts
The Lake House is one of those books that had almost everything in it that I enjoy in certain mystery novels: the abandoned house, the missing child, secrets, tragedy, guilt, mistakes, and of course, the big mystery that hadn't been solved for seventy years.   While I'm not sure if I enjoyed it as much as some of her other books, the story was still intriguing, if a bit too pat, and the twists and turns actually made me second-guess myself a couple of times as to what actually happened to Theo.

I didn't mind the alternating viewpoints, jumping back and forth between the 1930s and 2003.  While most of the chapters were written from Sadie and Alice's POV, it was nice once in a while to hear from Eleanor, Peter, and Anthony.  In fact, I would have liked a bit more information on Anthony as I teach history and am fascinated by the accounts of PTSD from WWI, although it was called Shell Shock during this time period, and would have liked to learn more about his thoughts and feelings.  I am also surprised that Eleanor was able to keep his medical condition a secret from his family as Alice was pretty sharp and seemed to know a lot about what was happening around her; it doesn't seem to fit her character that she wouldn't have known a bit about it, curious person that she was, and I didn't quite buy it.  Alice was one of my favourite characters in this novel; I just loved her sarcasm and her personality.  She grew up feeling quite guilty, thinking she knew what had happened to Theo and it's always hard when you discover you are wrong all along; having your illusions shattered is never an easy thing, for anyone.  

While the story is quite interesting, with quite a few twists and turns, it still has that familiar ring to it as if you had already read it before.  There was nothing really revelatory in this novel, and to be honest, most of it was quite easy to pick out what happened; there was only one event that I misread completely and I was completely happy to do so as I love being misdirected by an author.  Although the novel did have that comforting feel of having been done before, I still enjoyed it quite a bit and thought the characters were quite interesting.  Because the POVs do jump around quite a bit, you don't get a real sense of a character's development, but I liked how everything intertwined and connected.  That being said however, while I liked the ending, I did think it was a bit too easily concluded and too pat.  I think I would have liked something a bit more dramatic, not necessarily tragic, but something a bit less coincidental?  

Verdict
The Lake House is an enjoyable mystery with characters I really liked.  The psychological aspect to the story surprised me a bit and I wish a bit more time had been spent on those issues in here as they were quite interesting; the guilt, the remorse, the feelings of being trapped in something by yourself and by others, the impact of secrets on people's psyches, the strength of family bonds, the role of sight and memory, and the trauma (PTSD). As always, I loved the setting of the old house and the secrets that it held; it's always a good way to get my attention.  Even though I felt the ending was too coincidental and rushed, and Sadie's own investigation was too easily solved, I do feel like this is the beginning of a new series, something to do with Sadie and private investigations?  If so, I'm totally on board with that and can't wait to see what comes next.

Book Spotlight and Giveaway: The Devious Dr. Jekyll by Viola Carr

Title: The Devious Dr. Jekyll
Author: Viola Carr
Release Date: October 27, 2015
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy/Steampunk
Format: Ebook/Paperback/Audible

Dr. Eliza Jekyll, heroine of the electrifying The Diabolical Miss Hyde—an edgy steampunk retelling of the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde—investigates a bizarre murder case in an alternate Victorian London while battling her treacherous secret half: Lizzie Hyde.

Solving the infamous Chopper case has helped crime scene physician Dr. Eliza Jekyll establish her fledgling career in the chauvinistic world of Victorian law enforcement. But the scrutiny that comes with her newfound fame is unwelcome for a woman with a diabolical secret. And there is the mercurial Royal Society agent and wolf man Remy Lafayette. Does he want to marry her, eat her, or burn her at the stake? Though Eliza is uncertain about Remy, her dark and jealous shadow self, Lizzie, wants to steal the magnetic and persistent agent, and usurp Eliza’s life.

It’s impossible to push Remy away when he tempts her with the one thing she can’t resist: a bizarre crime. The search for a bloodthirsty ritual torturer dubbed the Pentacle Killer draws them into a terrifying world of spies, art thieves, and evil alchemy, where the price of immortality is madness—or damnation—and only Lizzie’s dark ingenuity can help Eliza survive.

As Eliza and Remy race to thwart a foul conspiracy involving the sorcerous French, they must also overcome a sinister enemy who is all too close: the vengeful Lizzie, determined to dispose of Eliza for good.

Author Information

Viola Carr was born in Australia, but wandered into darkest London one foggy October evening and never found her way out. She now devours countless history books and dictates fantastical novels by gaslight, accompanied by classical music and the snoring of her slumbering cat. She loves history, and pops down to London’s many historical sites whenever she gets the chance.  She likes steampunk, and thought it would be cool to investigate wacky crimes with crazy gadgets…just so long as her heroine was the creator of said wacky gadgets: a tinkerer, edgy, with a dash of mad scientist. Readers can follow her on twitter at @viola_carr  and online at http://www.violacarr.com.

Book Spotlight and Giveaway: Falling into Bed with a Duke by Lorraine Heath

About FALLING INTO BED WITH A DUKE

In the first in a dazzling new series, New York Times bestselling author Lorraine Heath introduces the Hellions of Havisham-three charismatic rogues destined to lose their hearts…

After six unsuccessful Seasons, Miss Minerva Dodger chooses spinsterhood over fortune-hungry suitors. But thanks to the Nightingale Club, she can at least enjoy one night of pleasure. At that notorious establishment, ladies don masks before choosing a lover. The sinfully handsome Duke of Ashebury is more than willing to satisfy the secretive lady’s desires-and draws Minerva into an exquisite, increasingly intimate affair.

A man of remarkable talents, Ashe soon deduces that his bedmate is the unconventional Miss Dodger. Intrigued by her wit and daring, he sets out to woo her in earnest. Yet Minerva refuses to trust him. How to court a woman he has already thoroughly seduced? And how to prove that the passion unleashed in darkness is only the beginning of a lifetime’s pleasure…?

About LORRAINE HEATH

LORRAINE HEATH always dreamed of being a writer. After graduating from the University of Texas, she wrote training manuals and computer code, but something was always missing. After reading a romance novel, she not only became hooked on the genre, but quickly realized what her writing lacked: rebels, scoundrels, and rogues. She’s been writing about them ever since. Her work has been recognized with numerous industry awards, including RWA’s RITA® and a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award. Her novels have appeared on the USA Today and New York Times best-seller lists.

Praise for FALLING INTO BED WITH A DUKE

“Heath’s first Hellions of Havisham Victorian romance is wonderfully entertaining….Heath adeptly juggles numerous new and familiar characters as she sweeps fans of her Regency novels into the Victorian era.”—Publishers Weekly

“With her usual flair for richly nuanced characters and elegant writing, RITA^® Award-winning Heath launches her new Hellions of Havisham historical series with a tale that simply sizzles with sensuality.”—Booklist

“She dazzles with fascinating characters and a naughty plotline, but most of all she mesmerizes with the depth of emotion in this highly sensual story.”—RT Book Reviews, **4.5 Stars, Top Pick!**

“Falling into Bed with a Duke is a great start to Lorraine Heath’s new series, and book two can’t appear fast enough.” –All About Romance, Desert Island Keeper Review

“FALLING INTO BED WITH A DUKE is a passionate Victorian romance that leaves the reader sighing in happiness…” –Fresh Fiction

Where to buy FALLING INTO BED WITH A DUKE

HarperCollins: http://www.harpercollins.com/9780062391025/falling-into-bed-with-a-duke

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Falling-Into-Duke-Hellions-Havisham/dp/0062391011/     

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/falling-into-bed-with-a-duke-lorraine-heath/1121148048?ean=9780062391018     

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/falling-into-bed-with-a-duke/id963855485     

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Lorraine_Heath_Falling_Into_Bed_with_a_Duke?id=xwJ4BgAAQBAJ&hl=en     

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Guest Post: Mike Hartner, author of I, Mary

Title: I, Mary
Author: Mike Hartner
Publisher: Eternity 4 Popsickle Publishing
Pages: 266
Genre: Historical Romance

Mary Crofter's first trip on the water was just after her first birthday, when her parents came from her birthplace in Kilwa to Portsmouth. She's been on several trips from Portsmouth to London and other places since. She loves the water and the water seems to love her. Can she survive on the water? Will people ever take seriously a GIRL as a sailor? Will she ever come off the water? If she does, will the lure of the ocean draw her back?

 

 

For More Information

• I, Mary is available at Amazon.
• Pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble.
• Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.

About the Author

Mike Hartner was born in Miami in 1965. He's traveled much of the continental United States. He has several years post secondary education, and experience teaching and tutoring young adults. Hartner has owned and run a computer firm for more than twenty-five years. He now lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with his wife and child. They share the neighborhood and their son with his maternal grandparents.

His latest book is the historical romance, I, Mary.

For More Information

• Visit Mike Hartner’s website.
• Connect with Mike on Facebook and Twitter.
• Find out more about Mike at Goodreads.

‘Write What You Want,’ says Rachel Thompson, author of Broken Pieces and Broken Places.   For her, it was a challenge.  She wrote both books about the effects of Childhood Sexual Abuse (#CSA).   And now, after both of those books have one numerous awards, she is truly exposed.   Her books and her life has prompted her support for Street Fighters, and now for her work with BookTrope as the Director of the Gravity Imprint to bring a voice to the survivors of abuse.  Rachel’s passion for her writings, and her work in supporting others, brings a great deal to her comment about writing what you want.  She walks the walk and talks the talk. And, in the end, she wrote what she wanted.

‘Write what you are passionate about.’ I have heard this many times.  And if you do write about things you’re passionate about, then the passion will come through in the writing.  I’m passionate about mathematics, and women in mathematics.  Find my blog on mikehartner.com and you’ll see the passion with Women in Mathematics.   I’m passionate about authors that I’ve connected with over the past three years on FaceBook and twitter, and at conferences.  I’m passionate about understanding other authors, because I believe if you know them and have talked to them, then you get a better sense of their writings and motivations and can enjoy their writings moreso.

Here are my current TOP 10 Authors.

·        Rachel Thompson (non-fiction):  Broken Pieces, and Broken Places.  Both books have such powerful prose that emotions will ride a roller-coaster through each verse.

·        Charity Langley (fiction.. vampires, werewolves etc…) Wicked Intentions is the first in The Abattoir ceries, and is a fantastic read. Her protagonist is Lauren, and she is a kick-ass, take no prisoners woman.  Fantastic read.

·        Jesikah Sundin (Fiction. Steampunk). The Biodome Chronicles now has two books: Legacy and Elements.  This series is reminiscent of Burroughs, and Bradbury, and I believe that Sundin’s name will be used with the same reverence soon.

·        Selah Tay-Song (Fiction, middle-Earth).  If Jesikah is today’s version of Bradbury or Burroughs, then Selah is the current successor to Tolkien.  Don’t believe me? Read the Dreams of QaiMaj series.

·        Bernadette Pajer (mystery):  Bernadette Pajer created the Professor Bradshaw  mysteries.   Professor Bradshaw is the current incarnation of Sherlock Holmes, and these books are written in Seattle around the early 1900s.  Fantastic reads.

·        Janet Shawgo (historical romance): Janet’s passion is nursing, since she is a nurse. Her Look For Me series is about nurses who go to the battlefields.

·        Leigh Ann Kopans.  (YA fiction). Herself a superhero (mom of four) her first two books were ONE and TWO and about a pair of superheroes.

·        Gina Cioccca (YA Fiction): Last Year’s Mistake is a touching teenage romance.

·        Dahlia Adler (YA Fiction): Behind The Scenes  is a great YA Hollywood star romance.

·        Wendy Delaney (Fiction: humorous):  Wendy Pokes fun at fiction, mystery, and small town lives with her book: Sex, Lies and Snickerdoodles).

Here is the bonus list:

·        Rob Slater (fictionL: Apocalypse) :  the Deserted Lands series is a great read.

·        Tom/Nancy Wise (Fiction: Sci-Fi):  Tom and Nancy involved the whole family in The Borealis Genome a great take on science in tomorrow’s world.

·        Michael Hurley (Fiction: Sailing): my first exposure to Michael was The Prodigal.  This is truly a fantastic story. 

You can find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mhartner1 or Twitter (@MHartnerAuthor).  Come, say hello, and tell me what your favorite current authors are.