Kindle II Giveaway

Bibliofreakblog is giving away 15 Kindle IIs. I don't know how she managed to get her hands on that many but how can you pass up on the chance to win one. Yes I know I already have one!! I do love it. What better way to share the love than to give one to some one else. If I am one of the few lucky winners that is just what I will be doing... giving it away to someone else.

So hurry on over and enter the contest, it will be ending Dec. 18

More time for reading and blogging!!

I am finally going to have more time to read and blog. My son's football season is over. His team lost Game 2 in the playoffs Saturday ending the season. Unfortunately my son won't be starting his Wrestling season as planned either. Great for my reading and blogging but horrible for him and my husband. Cody broke a growth plate in his arm the night before our last game. So not only did he not get to play in the game but the Doctor just put the cast on his arm yesterday. He will be in it for three weeks, was only suppose to be two weeks but the office closed for Thanksgiving. He was really upset about missing the game and only mildly bummed about missing a month of wrestling. The good news for him in all of this is that he will now actually be able to go to a Boy Scout meeting. Me I get less running around and more time on the computer and with my lovely books. I have already read three books this month and just started my fourth... well I tried to start earlier this week but couldn't find the time to sit and read enough to catch my interest. Just as I was starting this morning my sister called and asked me to come get her and take her to Rome. Her husband was apparently scheduled for vascular surgery, he had to leave while she was at the doctor's office with her son, who was just diagnosed with pneumonia. I tell you when it rains it pours, well at least for my sister!! That took half my day. I did finally get to sit down and read a little and my interest has finally been piqued!!

I hope everyone is doing well and finding plenty of time to read!!

Laird of Desire by Paula Quinn

Paula Quinn
Book 1
August 2005

He Is Every Woman's Fantasy...
Darkly handsome and sensual, Lord Brand Risande--known as "The Passionate"--is temptation incarnate. But his prowess on the battlefield and in the bedchamber hides a bitter secret: the betrayal that has sealed his heart. Now as this most feared warrior rides out to possess the lands he has won in war, he engages his most formidable enemy ever.

And One Woman's Destiny.
Lady Brynnafar Dumont is prepared to do anything to protect her people--even seduce the savage Norman knight who defeated her father. Prepared to face down a cold-blooded beast, she instead confronts a wickedly attractive scoundrel who wants nothing to do with her. It's enough to sting a lady's pride...and strengthen her resolve. Innocent as she is, now she must use all her charms to defeat Lord Brand in the only battle worth fighting--the one for his love.

My Thoughts:

I read Laird of the Mist last year. After reading that one book, I fell in love with Paula Quinn's works. She definitely did not disappoint me with her earlier work, book 1 in her Laird trilogy, Laird of Desire.

Brynna is feisty little women. She inherited her mother's passion and her father's will to fight. When the livelihood of her home is threatened by Lord Brande she vows that she will do what ever it takes to stay in her childhood home and allow no harm to come to her people. Little did she know that the man that was riding in to take her home was the same that she had been dreaming about for almost two years. This Lord Brande however was completely different, he lost his passion for life and instead of warmth he brings the cold.

Vowing to never love another woman again, Lord Brande would rather face another battle than to marry Lady Brynna. In order to keep the land that he rightfully won by defeating Lord Richard those are his only options. In taking the daughter as a wife he will avoid a war and make William of Normandy happy. But at what cost?

Brynna is just the woman to put the life back into Brande. I so enjoyed reading about these two. I could not put this one down and I look forward to reading books 2 and 3

Randi's Having Her First Author Interview and Giveaway!!!

Hey Guys, Randi is having her first ever Author Interview and Giveaway on her Blog today. The lovely Carolyn Brown is sharing a little about herself and how she got started writing Western Romance. Let's show some love to both Randi and Mrs. Brown and head on over to Randi's Blog. Anyone who knows a little bit about Country music might just get a kick out of the titles for CB's up coming books!!!

Knight of Desire by Margaret Mallory

KNIGHT OF DESIRE
1st Book in All the King’s Men Series
by Margaret Mallory

ISBN-10: 0446553395
ISBN-13: 978-0446553391
Publisher: Grand Central
Release date: July 2009

FEARLESS IN BATTLE

His surcoat still bloody from battle, William FitzAlan comes to claim the strategic borderlands granted to him by the king. One last prize awaits him at the castle gates: the lovely Lady Catherine Rayburn.

TENDER IN BED

Catherine risked everything to spy for the crown. Her reward? Her lands are declared forfeit and she is given this choice: marry FitzAlan or be taken to the Tower. Catherine agrees to give her handsome new husband her body, but she’s keeping secrets and dares not give him her heart. As passion ignites and danger closes in, Catherine and William must learn to trust in each other to save their marriage, their land, and their very lives.

My Thoughts:

Knight of Desire is the first book in a while that I literally could not put down. I sat here yesterday reading all day. I got through about 75% of the book before my son got home and I HAD to put it down. I was drawn into the story immediately. Catherine's first meeting with William was sweet and heartbreaking. You get a glimpse into Catherine's courage and William's desire to protect and do his duty from the very beginning.

Learning to trust is a whole other ball game. Neither of these two know how to do it. Catherine has already proven that she would betray her husband, so how is William to trust that she would be loyal and honest with him after being forced to marry him on the very day her first husband was murdered. Catherine having already experienced one brutal marriage is now suppose to believe that her knew husband will be any better than the tyrant she had before. Watching these two brought joy to my heart while setting flames to my temper. How could they not see each other for who they really were. How could William allow his friend to keep putting the bug in his ear that his wife was unfaithful. Lady Catherine experienced a lot of hardships due to her first husband and must live down the choices she made, the very ones that saved her life.

Rating 5 stars

Untouched by Anna Campbell

“I am many things,” Lord Sheene said. “Kind is not one of them.”

Beautiful Grace Paget has no reason to doubt these words. After all, she was kidnapped, spirited away to a remote country manor, and told she is to grant this man his every desire… or lose her life. But Grace is no common trollop. So she risks everything to save her virtue by planning a daring escape, even though she finds herself tempted by this dangerously handsome man. There is something in his eyes that makes her wonder if he is not as cruel as he would have her believe…

Sheene knew nothing of the plan to bring him this woman. Locked up as a prisoner, called “mad” by all of society, he will do anything to reclaim his life, and Grace’s sensuous beauty has distracted him from his goals. And although he finds her irresistible, he is horrified to hold her against her will. Now, together, they must both revolt against the strange set of circumstances that have forced them together - for only then will Grace truly surrender to him… forever.

**from the author's website

My Thoughts:
I purchased Untouched two plus years ago. I was browsing through the DoubleDay book club magazine when I ran across the beautiful cover. Yes, I ordered this book strictly for the cover. I had absolutely no idea what it was about. The couple embraced on the front cover in front of all that green just pulled me. However the cover could not make me read it. I loved looking at it but for some reason did not want to crack the book. I needed a Beta Hero to read for the Fall Challenge and someone else posted this book. I said to myself, this is the perfect time to read Untouched. I had yet to read anything Anna Campbell and I have heard such good things about her books. I have seen so many readers eagerly anticipating the release of Captive of Sin that I wanted to find out what all the fuss was about. I had just been reading paranormal romance and knew I needed a change before I fell into another reading slump. So as you can tell I had several reasons to finally pick this particular book out of my TBR pile clogging my closet up. I am now ready to slap myself. Why did I let this book sit there collecting dust just to stare at the cover for so long?!!

Lord Sheene, Matthew, has experienced a pretty secluded life by no choice of his own. At a very young age he suffered a fever that made him "mad". His uncle who had been granted guardianship over him after the deaths of his parents thought it best to have him shipped off to a secluded cottage and held under lock and key. Matthew tried to escape several times only to be thwarted by his uncle and his minions. With every escape he was returned to a tortured hell. He was severely beaten and had to live with the knowledge that his actions had also impacted innocent people.

His Uncle's greed knew no limits. Wanting to keep Matthew in line and to prevent any further attempts at escape he had his minions kidnap a woman and bring her back to the cottage. The woman however was to be a prostitute, one no one would miss. They had not counted on the widow.

Eloping at the age of 16 to be with a man much older and well below her station in life cost Grace her family. She vowed she would never become the trollop her father predicted her to be with the path she had chosen. Now she must go against her vows to save her own life. She never thought that she would fall in love with her fellow captive.

I was mesmerized from the start with Matthew and Grace. The will to survive the hopeless predicament that they had been thrust into and the tremulous beginnings made for a very sweet and romantic coming together. After bungling his first attempt at making love to Grace, Matthew redeems himself and shows so much passion and love that it is breathtaking.

Rating 5 stars

Midnight Rising by Lara Adrian

MIDNIGHT RISING

Midnight Breed Series
BOOK 4

Dell Books ~ 400 pages
ISBN: 978-0-440-24444-8
First Printing: April 2008

Available formats:
Mass Market Paperback
Bookclub Edition Hardcover
E-book

.

From the back cover:

IN A WORLD OF SHADOWS AND DARK, CONSUMING HUNGERS, DESIRE IS THE DEADLIEST WEAPON. . . .

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. But now an ancient evil has been awakened, and a stunning darkness is on the rise.

For journalist Dylan Alexander, it began with the discovery of a hidden tomb. Suddenly she is at 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 plunge her into his world of dark desire and endless night. Here she is powerless to resist Rio's touch, even as she uncovers a shocking link to her own past. Now Dylan 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 . . . .

My Thoughts:

Rio has suffered a tremendous loss and betrayal at the hands of his very own breedmate. In loving Rio and wanting to keep him to herself she betrayed the Breed to Marick, the Breed enemy. When her plans fail to kill the leader of the Breed Warriors and severely injure Rio she takes her own life. All of this happens in book one. Rio is scarred over half his body and has some major head trauma going on. He suffers black outs and fits of rages. He fears that he is no longer useful to the Breed Warriors and is more of a threat to everyone around him. The pain he has suffered has drained his will to live.

He screws up his last mission and now must rectify his actions. He has allowed a reporter to see the crypt that he was to destroy. Dylan is not only a reporter, but a breedmate. The Warriors have to retrieve the pictures she took and lose her story before it goes to press. They have given her the choice of entering into the Breed life through one of the Dark Havens or returning to her life without any of the knowledge she has come to over the last few days. Her connection to Rio is not as strong as the connections between the previous couples. She has an outside life that she is not ready to leave.

The connections between Rio and Dylan are slow to form. I was eagerly anticipating the reading of Midnight Rising. I don't know if my anticipation got the better of me, but Midnight Rising moved way too slow in the first half of the book. I was sorely tempted to put it down several times, but my desire to see Rio get his happy ending won out every time. I wanted to see how Adrian was going to spin the story for the next books in the series. What trouble is going to befall the Breed now that Marrek is out of the way, but this too moved extremely slow. The last half of the book did move at a better pace and eventually kept me wanting to finish this series. I decided however to wait a little while before venturing into the next book Veil of Midnight.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Winners of Angelica and Zi's guest post

Angelica Hart and Zi were sweet enough to contact me with the winners of their three blog contests. Congratulations to all three of you!!!

WINNERS!!!

Commenting on Blogs Contest

We held our drawing last evening for all who

commented on our various blogs over the past week

The following are our winners and have received a free e-book

ANNA

Heather's Reading Romance

ALAINE

J. Kaye's Book Blog won

LISA

Romance Junkies

READ ON!

Angelica Hart and Zi

KILLER DOLLS ~ September 2009

SNAKE DANCE ~ February 2010

CHASING GRAVITAS ~ July 2010

angelicahartandzi.com

KILLER DOLLS can be purchased at

Champagne Books

http://www..champagnebooks.com