She Knew THE TROUBLE WITH CHRISTMAS–Review and Giveaway!

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Hi there! Today’s book is a contemporary Christmas romance from Kaira Rouda. THE TROUBLE WITH CHRISTMAS is a fun read about reaching one’s true potential. (For adults…because of the S-E-X)

TheTroubleWithChristmas-LARGEAbout the book:
At 35-years-old, Cole Stanton is burned out. His high-paced, uber-successful career has left him yearning to start over. He finds Indigo Island, buys a restaurant and settles into an uncomplicated life. But Christmas is a mess. He has over-committed the small restaurant’s resources again, and is over his head. He finds himself longing for everything he has left behind, until a chance encounter with gorgeous Lily offers a spark of salvation to his business and, perhaps his life.

Beautiful pastry chef Lily Edmonds is thirty years old and heartbroken. It’s just before Christmas and she’s just been dumped by via telephone by her fiancee. Her best friend Avery Putnam invites her to Indigo Island, hoping to add joy back into Lily’s life. A chance encounter with the sexy owner of a local restaurant makes Lily feel an attraction she thought she’d never feel again, and offers her a business challenge to keep her mind focused on something other than her broken heart.

Cole Stanton and Lily Edmonds are both starting over. Will the joy of the holiday season bring them together or will the troubles with Christmas push them apart?

My Review:

Everyone would be a couple, except for her. That was the trouble with Christmas. There were just too many expectations and not enough sprinkles of magic when someone needed them.

Yep. Lily’s alone again. Her dad abandoned her mother when Lily was a teen. Her mom is/was an alcoholic and out of the picture. And now Bob has cut their engagement, announcing his impeding marriage to a known socialite. Christmas pretty much sucks. Which is why Lily allowed Avery, her BFF, to helicopter her off to Avery’s parents’ estate on Indigo Island.

While there, Lily meets Cole, and his altruism is such a shock to her system. Bob was a narcissist, and Lily–a hardworking pastry chef–never measured up to his, or his family’s, expectations. Being the center of Cole’s attraction is pretty heady for Lily.

Cole’s got 99 problems, but a girl ain’t one. He’s haunted by his free-wheeling days as an investment broker. Cavalier portfolios left a number of his clients financially and psychologically ruined, and the emotional fall out caused him to change paths quickly. Now, all he wants to do is fix the business of Marshside Mama’s, a local eatery, but his high fallutin’ ideas have pushed the restaurant even closer to the brink.

Meeting Chef Lily is a Christmas miracle, if Cole allows himself to believe such exist. The attraction is magnetic, but their cooperation is kismet. Lily applauds Cole’s initiative, but recognizes his skills set isn’t in the kitchen. She works with Sally Ann, the restaurant’s owner and and cook, to create a Christmas menu that brings to locals in in droves. And the way Lily and Cole fit together? Delicious.

This is a fun Christmas novella with good pacing. I was a bit alarmed by how fast the attraction built–from a spark to a blaze–but there are moments where Lily pulls back on the reins and finds that she too can have some power in a relationship. Avery’s family is indeed too good to be true, but I love me some socially-conscious billionaires. I was really happy to see Lily figure out the trouble with Christmas, after all…

The trouble with Christmas wasn’t because of the holiday at all. Christmas was what people made it. It was their choice to focus on the bad things that had happened to them and the people who had hurt them, or choose to focus on the magical, light-filled, sparkling season that promised hope and dreams would come true.

Interested? You can find THE TROUBLE WITH CHRISTMAS on Goodreads and Amazon.

About the author:
Kaira Rouda is an award-winning and bestselling author of both fiction and nonfiction. Her books include: Real You Incorporated: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs; Here, Home, Hope; All the Difference; In the Mirror; and the short story, A Mother’s Day. She lives in Southern California with her husband and four children and is at work on her next novel.

Connect with her on Twitter, on Goodreads, Amazon, and on Facebook, and of course, on Pinterest! For more about Kaira and her books, please visit her website.

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She Aced Her PRIVATE INTERNSHIP–Review and Giveaway

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Hi all! Today I’m featuring a New Adult romance recently released by Kitsy Clare. PRIVATE INTERNSHIP explores how the lurking secrets in our lives can ruin the sweetest of romances….

Private Internship (An Art of Love novel)About the book:
Sometimes sugar isn’t so sweet and secrets can be deadly…especially with matters of the heart.

Sienna’s bestie, Harper warned her not to intern for famous bad boy artist, Casper Mason. After all, he just fired Harper who helped Sienna get the interview. But the moment Sienna sees Casper—or Caz—sweaty, practically shirtless and swinging from chains as he works on his sculpture, she’s hooked. He’s the richest, hottest artist in New York, and he lives in the fabulous Williamsburg Sugar Factory. But he’s also an incorrigible game-player, who seems to relish testing Sienna’s loyalty with a string of unsettling tests.

She knows she should get away fast. But by the time Sienna sneaks into his locked storage room and begins to unearth his dark and terrifying secret, she’s fallen way too hard for the handsome, charismatic Caz.

My Review:
Sienna is a 22 y/o graduate of art school who takes an internship working for a notoriously difficult artist. Caz is wealthy and eccentric and sometimes mean, but Sienna is determined to make her mark, so she sticks it out.

She actually learns a lot from Caz, and ends up falling for him–despite being in a long-distance relationship, which she dissolves via Skype when she feels the attraction to Caz getting too hot. There are some interesting interactions and one steamy scene, but mostly there’s a lot of Sienna getting bogged in her OCD life and wishing things with Caz were, well, cleaner.

I actually liked Caz a lot. He has some real depth and texture, and a tragic past that haunts him. I was glad that he worked through those issues, to some degree, but I wanted Sienna to be more compassionate. For someone who’s so hung up on monogamy she wasn’t terrifyingly up-front about her relationship with her touring, successful-artist boyfriend to Caz. There are some clear issues with style that didn’t appeal to me, because I am an Anglophile and Sienna read more like an Englishwoman than a 22 year old American artist. She was a bit too stiff and graspy for me to relate to on a reader-level, and I had higher hopes.

Interested? You can find PRIVATE INTERNSHIP on Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, and Kobo Books.

model positionThere’s a prequel novella, MODEL POSITION which deals with Sienna’s last two months of art school and how she falls for the sexy model in her oils class, Erik, who’s got a lot more going on than his Tarzan loincloth.

It’s a quick read with a clean storyline. Erik shines for me in this one, as Sienna comes off rather mercenary. It was an HEA, which set high expectations for PRIVATE INTERNSHIP.

Goodreads│Amazon│B&N│Kobo Books

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kitsy clareAbout the Author:
Kitsy Clare hails from Philadelphia and lives in New York. A romantic at heart, she loves to write about the sexy intrigue of the city, and particularly of the art world. She knows it well, having shown her paintings here before turning to writing. Model Position, her new adult novella is about artist Sienna and her friends. Living in a Bookworld says: “Beautifully written! We get to learn things about art & painting, which is refreshing. A colorful story from a promising new adult author.” The next in her Art of Love series, Private Internship launches in September with Inkspell.

Kitsy loves to travel, draw, read romance, speculative fiction and teach writing workshops. She also writes YA as Catherine Stine. Her futuristic thriller, Ruby’s Fire was a YA finalist in the Next Generation Indie book awards. Fireseed One, its companion novel, was a finalist in YA and Sci-Fi in the USA News International Book Awards, and an Indie Reader notable. Her YA horror, Dorianna, launches fall 2014 with Evernight Teen. She’s a member of SFWA, RWA and SCBWI.

Catch up with Kitsy on her Website, Goodreads, Twitter, and Facebook.

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She Was A WILDCAT IN MOSCOW–A Review and Giveaway

Hi there! Today I’m sharing a contemporary romance from author Storm Chase featuring some landscape I’d never read before–Moscow! I’ve read a few of Storm’s sexy shorts, but this is the first novel I got my hands on.  WILDCAT IN MOSCOW is a fast-paced tale about a down-on-her-luck gal and her unlikely hero.


About the book:
Chelsea is a 21 y/o British national who has traveled the world fighting for environmental and human rights. She’s returned home to London to claim her inheritance to learn that her criminal stepfather, George McAllister, has frittered it all away on “bad investments.” Destitute, Chelsea takes up camping in her mother’s empty, and about to be repossessed, flat while plotting her next steps.

Not only is Chelsea broke, but the police think she has colluded in a financial swindle. Worse, loan shark Carlos Santiago is after her too, determined to make her pay up for her stepfather’s debts.

Then Vladimir Voyeykov, rumoured to be a member of the Red Mafia, enters the mix. He whisks Chelsea to Moscow where she is catapulted into a world filled with intrigue – and passion.

This is a contemporary romance with some explicit sexual content. Adults only, please.

 

Excerpt:

The bouncer at the door wasn’t too pleased at the sight of Chelsea’s parka or her Save The Rainforest t-shirt, but when she smiled sweetly and mentioned George’s name, he reconsidered and let her in.

The club was loud, crowded with groups of half-drunk rowdy men and very, very pink. The walls, tables and even the bar stools were a uniform creamy rose that exactly matched the skin tones of half a dozen scantily clad girls dancing on a stage. From a distance it looked as though six sets of tiny bikinis were gyrating to the beat of the music.

“Surreal,” Chelsea said out loud. Still laughing, she turned and bumped
up against someone.

“Surreal?” a voice repeated with amusement. “That’s not an expression I’ve heard used here before.”

“Sorry,” Chelsea said automatically. “I didn’t see you.” She looked up and stepped back instinctively.

His short cropped blond hair and lean aquiline features were classic but the hard grey eyes and deadpan expression screamed danger. I shouldn’t have come here, Chelsea thought.

As if sensing her thoughts, he smiled slightly. “No problem.” He looked her over critically. He spoke fluently but with a rough inflection that was definitely foreign. “You don’t belong here,” he said bluntly. “Why are you here?”

“I’ve come to look for someone,” Chelsea stammered.

“Who?”

Chelsea wanted to tell him to mind his own business but realised that he might be able to help her. “I’m looking for friends of George McAllister.”

He frowned down at her. “But not for McAllister himself,” he noted.

“Do you know him?” Chelsea asked. “He comes in here pretty often, two or three times a week I think.”

He said nothing and Chelsea could read nothing from his expression.

“If you know him, maybe you can help me,” Chelsea pleaded. “It won’t take long and I have money.” He frowned at her. “I mean, I can buy you a drink,” Chelsea faltered.

The hard grey eyes looked her over again, resting on her hair, her t-shirt and her jeans. Despite the thick parka, Chelsea suddenly felt naked. Resisting the impulse to run away, she stood her ground determinedly.

“I’ve met him,” he finally conceded.

“Then can we talk?”

“He’s bad news. Not the sort of person you should be hanging out with.”

“You don’t understand. I’m in real trouble. Please, I just need a few minutes of your time.”

“Vlad, are you coming?” A tall blonde in a sequined black cocktail dress appeared at his side. She looked at Chelsea and seeing the thick parka dismissed her instantly. “I’m thirsty,” the blonde said while taking his arm possessively.

Vlad, Chelsea thought. Short for Vladimir. Russian. And by the look of his dark blue silk shirt and slim gold watch, a rich one too. One of those business moguls, she thought to herself, vaguely remembering stories in the newspapers of Russian oil and telecommunication billionaires.

Vladimir shrugged the girl off. “Go sit. I’ll be there in a moment,” he said.

“But the others have just arrived,” the blonde pouted. “They’ll be expecting you to join them.”

“So they’ll wait a bit,” Vladimir said coldly. “Go on. I want to talk to this girl here.” With a malevolent glance at Chelsea the girl flounced off.

“Thanks,” Chelsea said gratefully. “I really appreciate your helping me.”

“I haven’t said I will yet,” he answered.

My Review:
Poor Chelsea! Her only family is long dead, and she’s a crusader for fair trade, fair treatment of animals, and ecological awareness. She has traveled far and wide, helping wherever she goes, and collecting precious stones and tusks (ethically!) to build into one-of-a-kind jewelry. She returns home to claim her inheritance, and learns that her philandering step-father George has spent her fortune–seemingly, anyhow.

Her only remaining asset seems to be a box of receipts and collections notices. Trying to unravel the financial disaster, Chelsea goes to one of the clubs she finds on numerous receipts–there she meets Vlad. He’s more than just big, Russian and scary. He takes a moment to hear her tale of woe and gives her the best advice he can: run, for your life.

Vlad knows how ruthlessly Chelsea would be treated if she gets caught up in her stepfather’s bad debts—some of those creditors wouldn’t hesitate to prostitute, or even kill, her. They are, after all Vlad’s business associates. See, he’s a Russian “businessman” (read: mobster) and he greases the wheels in ten countries to make sure his construction projects get finished, early.

Before Chelsea can take Vlad’s advice, she’s taken in by the police–who want to pin her down for George’s fraudulent scams– and later the nefarious Carlos Santiago, who plans to sell her into prostitution to cover George’s debt. Chelsea attempts a daring escape, humiliating Carlos and earning Vlad’s admiration. Knowing Chelsea’s life hangs in the balance, Vlad buys out her debt and whisks her off to Moscow.

Isolated within Vlad’s inner circle, Chelsea finds that Vlad isn’t the cold enforcer she’d first suspected. He is generous and kind, lavishing her with affection, new clothes and art. If only Chelsea could get over his harem of highly paid prostitutes and his new ventures in drug running…

LOL. All is not what it seems with Vlad and his merry band of vodka swilling comrades. As Chelsea and Vlad spend more time together, a real affection grows, and Chelsea finds the one thing she’d longed for more than her fortune: a home.

There’s lots of twists and turns in this fast-paced romance. We’re kept very much in the dark regarding Vlad’s alter ego, until the end–which felt a little rushed. There’s a bit of smexytimes, but lots of fade-to-black scenes which keep the focus on the emotional development between Vlad and his “Wildcat”, not that Chelsea is a huge fan of all Vlad’s ‘possessives’! Still, their arrangement, which is more out of convenience at first, turns into a tender romance. It’s a bit PRETTY WOMAN with a Russian twist.

And, I liked the Russian scene. The pragmatic nature of Vlad and his friends was very different, and (I felt) in keeping with the post-Soviet culture. The seemy underbelly of this world is on constant display, with real issues like human trafficking, prostitution, drug running and corruption being center stage. Still, there was a lot of heart packed into this romance. Vlad is a tender man who’d been missing a companion, and Chelsea’s pure heart and indomitable spirit both captivates and challenges him. I had a bit of trouble with the head-hopping POV of the narrative, bit that’s my biggest peeve. Some typos, and the British English spellings, didn’t throw me off my read.

Interested? You can find WILDCAT IN MOSCOW on Goodreads, Amazon, Amazon UK, B&N and Smashwords

Giveaway

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About The Author:


Delicious novels with fully depicted love scenes that straddle the categories of Romance and Erotica with the occasional Crime committed on the side.

Storm Chase was born September 2012. Her alter ego is Ellen Whyte, a syndicated author who has published roughly 3000 articles and 10 print books. The alter ego is the steady type; Storm is the tearaway who’s dedicated to making it work with e-publishing. Since November 2013 Storm also acquired alter ego, AJ Adams who writes cartel and mob
stories.

Connect with Storm on her Amazon Page, Goodreads, Facebook, Email, and her website.

Thanks for popping in and keep reading my friends!

Couldn’t Keep it BOTTLED UP SECRET–A Review

Hi there! Today I’m sharing a recently published YA gay romance about a boy who wants to come out–and his secret boyfriend, who doesn’t… Brian McNamara’s BOTTLED UP SECRET is a coming-of-age book that puts the focus on feelings.

Bottled Up SecretAbout the book:

Brendan Madden is in the midst of his senior year of high school and couldn’t be happier. He has a great group of friends, his pick of colleges, and he has recently come to terms with his sexuality. One night, he meets Mark Galovic, a gorgeous, younger classmate of his. In a matter of minutes, Brendan is hooked.

As the friendship between them grows, Brendan reaches his breaking point when he spontaneously confesses his feelings to him. Brendan is shocked and elated to find out that Mark feels the same way about him. The two begin to date, but because Mark is not out, it must remain a secret.

As their friends and family become suspicious, openly gay Brendan becomes increasingly frustrated with their discreet relationship, while Mark becomes more and more paranoid that they’re going to be found out.

My Review:

Brendan is a high school senior at an all-boys Catholic school in Ohio. He recently accepted the fact that he is gay, but has yet to come out or act on his feelings. He meets Mark, a younger classmate, through Chris, a mutual friend, and is enamored. In his infatuation, Brendan realizes he needs to make a statement to his friends, most of whom are girls, about his sexuality.

While Brendan’s coming out is not met with scorn–his good friend Chris is already “out”–he’s still nervous about revealing his sexuality to his family. What he actually does is reveal his crush to Mark, who is stunned, but not upset. In fact, Mark is anxious to remain friends. A couple weeks pass, and Brendan is blindsided by Mark’s confession of interest.

They begin a relationship, under the agreement that no one know. This causes a lot of problems for Brendan. He has to hide Mark from his friends, and keep his nosy mom out of his business. In fact, his mom picks up on Brendan’s sexuality and while Brendan tells he truth, she is upset. She wants him to deny it, and go on pretending he is not gay. It’s an awkward experience as they are the only people in the house–it leads to a lot of silence.

The secrets seem to pile up around Brendan, however. He is enjoying his brief, stolen moments with Mark, but his friends begin to notice–and ask questions. Will an accidental “out”ing cause Mark to freak?

I did enjoy this quiet romance. The physicality of their relationship is extremely downplayed–only a few kisses with little description, and one (maybe) hot-n-heavy experience that is completely glossed over. I would have really liked a bit more headiness from Brendan–more exuberance or excitement about the thrill of first love, first contact. His attitude is almost dauntingly even keeled.

Don’t get me wrong, I thought Brendan acted very maturely. He was presented with a difficult opportunity for a relationship and he handled it with grace. I just felt the story was a bit superficial when it came to the emotional context. We hear that Brendan cries, for example, but we do not experience his pain, per se, which left me feeling a bit removed as a reader. I suppose this might be okay for some readers, but I wanted more. I wanted to feel Brendan’s highs and lows, and instead of getting a thrill ride, I bounced along a lazy river, so to speak.

I do believe this book will resonate with young gay readers, however, and I am glad that it showed some positive relationships in both Brendan and Mark’s social/family spheres. Brendan’s mom was not my fave–because I’m not the kind of mom who would try to pressure my child into my point of view (case in point:  I’m a flaming liberal and my eldest is, gasp, a libertarian), but she still came across as an honest character. Her disappointment, and the fear behind her constant inquisitions, was palpable, even if I didn’t agree with her point of view.

I also appreciated how Brendan didn’t allow his experience with Mark to shut down his life. He still visited with friends, and performed in the school musical and tennis, and even attended two proms with gal pals. His life went on, and it actually got better, to some degree. That’s a very positive message for questioning youth to encounter, and I applaud the effort by the author to write an approachable coming out story where the MC isn’t bullied, hazed, disowned or a pariah.

Interested? You can find BOTTLED UP SECRET on Goodreads, Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I received a copy of this book via NetGalley. This is my honest review.

McNamara, BrianAbout the Author:

The youngest of six kids (and the only boy!), Brian McNamara was born and raised in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. His favorite hobbies growing up were tennis and musical theater. He obtained a degree in finance in 2009 and moved to New York City shortly after to work for a management consulting firm. While pursuing his true passions of writing and acting on the side, he decided to quit his corporate job to focus all his energy on what he loved. Using his own high school experience as inspiration for his debut novel, he is thrilled to publish Bottled Up Secret with Bold Strokes Books.

Brian can be contacted at BrianMcNamara.

Thanks for popping in and keep reading my friends!

Happy Book Birthday to DEVOTED by Bianca Giovanni!

Hi all! It’s election day, here in the fair USA, and I figure if you have made it through the morass of mudslinging political ads and nail-biting races you need a reward…so, how about an erotic romance? Releasing today is DEVOTED, the fourth book in Bianca’s Vice, Virtue and Video series. I’ve read and reviewed the first three books REVEALED, CAPTURED, and DESIRED (click the titles to get those reviews!) and I can tell you, they are heart and heat, in equal measure. Perfect distraction for a contentious election…

Devoted (Vice, Virtue, and Video #4)

About the book:
James Laird was once devoted to sex, fame, and money…but now this former porn star is devoted to his lifelong best friend turned fiancée, Lola Caraway. He wants nothing more than to give her a dream wedding: white dress, long veil, and a big reception with the whole family. James’ family is the only problem–he’s not sure if he can deliver on that part of the dream. They haven’t exactly been there for him “for better or for worse.” In fact, James’s parents haven’t spoken to him in six years–not since they discovered his double-life as a porn star.

As James and Lola work to build their life together, they discover mending the past could be more difficult than either of them expected. Will devotion be enough to take them one step closer to happily ever after?

Interested? You can find DEVOTED on Goodreads and Amazon.

About the author:

Bianca Giovanni was born and raised in Boulder, Colorado. She grew up with a single mother and Italian grandmother, who was an avid reader. She has had a love of writing since childhood, but self-published her first short stories in 2012. Bianca’s strong female characters and witty dialogue have struck a chord with readers and lead to her popularity on self-publishing platforms.

In 2013, Bianca signed with Omnific Publishing to bring the ‘Vice, Virtue & Video’ series to readers. The series contains First Dance (free introductory short story), Revealed (book #1), Letting Go (book #1.5), and four more novels to be released in 2014. She currently resides in Denver, Colorado, where she can often be found jotting down story ideas in a notebook.

You can connect with Bianca on her website, Facebook and twitter.

Get Caught in CURTSIES & CONSPIRACIES–A Review

Hi all! Today I’m getting a little punky…steampunk-y, that is. As you may have learned from some of my reviews, I’m a total science geek. *shrugs* As, such, the steampunk genre lights up all my bells and whistles. Gail Carriager’s Middle Grade/Tween/YA steampunk novel, CURTSIES & CONSPIRACIES, features a 15 y/o girl with a big imagination and lots of spirit, Sophronia, who happens to be my kindred spirit.

Curtsies and ConspiraciesAbout the book:

Sophronia’s first year at Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality has certainly been rousing. For one thing, finishing school is training her to be a spy. Now, as she sneaks around the dirigible school, eavesdropping on the teachers quarters and making clandestine climbs to the ships boiler room, she learns that there may be more to a school trip to London than is at first apparent. A conspiracy is afoot—one with dire implications for both supernaturals and humans.

Sophronia must rely on her training to discover who is behind the dangerous plot and survive the London Season with a full dance card.

My Review:
This second book of the Finishing School series picks up several months after the first, with (now 15 y/o) Sophronia Temminnick back at school following the thwarting of several groups’ attempts at obtaining the “prototype”. What we learn is this prototype is a guidance valve, for use in transmission across the aetherosphere. And, it had been created by the parents of Sophronia’s dearest friends, Dimity and Pillover.

This tale brings Mlle. Geraldine’s floating Finishing School into London–along with the company of ten male students from Bunsen’s School of Evil Geniuses, among them Pillover and Lord Felix Mersey who is quite taken with Sophronia.

Attempts to kidnap Dimity are dashed by Sophronia’s quick thinking and incomplete training, but Sophronia knows she must learn whom is behind the attempts, in order to keep her dear friend safe. Also, the cause of their mission–observation of a transchannel trip through the aetherosphere—seems to be far outside the realm of normal intelligencer behavior. It seems there is a covert test planned, one that may cause great harm to Sophronia’s favorite vampire professor.

In unraveling the conspiracy, Sophronia must keep her wits and seek alliances with old friends and new acquaintance–even dandy vampires riding about the London scene. Sophronia’s uncanny ability to spy, scheme and escape are put to the test when Dimity and Pillover are finally napped. But, can she apply her training to remover herself from the sticky business of finding herself caught between two suitors–especially those who do not suit? In the end, Sophronia discredits one teacher, nearly gets another murdered, and learns to accept that sometimes her schemes will force her to employ–gasp!–a dandy gentleman’s attire.

Oh, and it seems Sophronia’s being courted. By more than one powerful man. With all the mayhem and gore, this book’s heavy on the espionage and light on the romance, though the book seems decidedly more YA than the first one in the series (which I would suggest is Tween). The pace is blistering and the language is humorous and fascinating. I love the period speech, and the nuances of manners, how they are used to advantage by these intelligencing women. Lord Mersey will be a problem, no doubt, going forward, but so will Sophronia’s “friendship” with Soap, the black sootie. Looking forward to the next adventure.

Interested? You can find CURTSIES AND CONSPIRACIES on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and lots of other places, for sure. I received a review copy of this book via NetGalley.

As this is the second book in the series, I’d recommend reading book one, ETIQUETTE AND ESPIONAGE, first. Not only because it’s a hoot of a story, but because the books are built to be a series, and so lots of the characters and their relationships have been fully described in ETIQUETTE. Click here for my review.

Etiquette and Espionage (Finishing School, #1)About the book:

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is the bane of her mother’s existence. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper etiquette at tea–and god forbid anyone see her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. She enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But little do Sophronia or her mother know that this is a school where ingenious young girls learn to finish, all right–but it’s a different kind of finishing. Mademoiselle Geraldine’s certainly trains young ladies in the finer arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but also in the other kinds of finishing: the fine arts of death, diversion, deceit, espionage, and the modern weaponries. Sophronia and her friends are going to have a rousing first year at school.

Gail Carriger
About the Author:
Ms. Carriger writes steampunk urbane fantasy comedies of manners to cope with being raised in obscurity by an expatriate Brit and an incurable curmudgeon. She escaped small town life and inadvertently acquired several degrees in Higher Learning. She then traveled the historic cities of Europe, subsisting entirely on biscuits secreted in her handbag. She now resides in the Colonies, surrounded by a harem of shoes, where she insists on tea imported directly from London and cats that pee into toilets. Her books are all New York Times Bestsellers.

You can find her on her website, Goodreads and twitter. Gail has a fun newsletter the Monthly Chirrup, and you can sign up here.

They Had A VERY MARRIED CHRISTMAS–Review and Giveaway

SBB Christmas Banner

Hi all! Today I’m sharing another contemporary romance in prep for the holiday season. A VERY MARRIED CHRISTMAS by Erika Marks is a reconnection story–of spouses. It was a bitter, and then sweet, novella.

AVeryMarriedChristmas-LARGEAbout the book:
Cookbook author Marley Chambers can’t think of a more festive way to spend Christmas than at a friend’s holiday wedding in her hometown of Magnolia Bay. If only her soon-to-be ex-husband, all-star pitcher, Beckett “Beck” Chambers wasn’t bringing his new girlfriend—and if only he wasn’t still the sexiest man to ever walk out onto the mound…

Beck never wanted the chaotic life of a sport star—especially not at the cost of his marriage to the only woman he’s ever truly loved. But his career is a runaway train—and he’s afraid it’s too late to hit the brakes.

But when a mix-up leaves Beck and Marley stranded together for Christmas Eve on the barrier island where Beck proposed years before, old memories burn bright—and sparks fly hotter than a bonfire on the beach.

Could the magic of the season bring the gift of a second chance, just in time for Christmas?

My Review:
I wasn’t sure how I’d handle this. It’s never easy to read a story about estranged partners. Marley and Beck are high school sweethearts weeks away from a divorce. They nearly made it to their 10th anniversary when Marley decided she just needed a break.

See, Beck is a pitcher in the big leagues. Marley did the serious wife thing, living for her hubby’s games and being there whenever needed–and it wasn’t very fulfilling. She wanted more for her life, and she achieved it–getting a cookbook published. Yet, Beck wasn’t happy. He was downright petulant, and the tension caused by their joined acrimony led to Marley walking out.

Only now, seeing Beck with his sportscaster girlfriend, Marley’s having the buyer’s remorse. She hasn’t stopped loving Beck and with days until their first Christmas apart, in the company of all their friends for a holiday wedding, Marley’s downright frustrated. For his part, Beck is seeing Marley in a new light. Men are hitting on her, she looks poised and confident, and the joy she has chatting about her book is really something he never appreciated. In their year apart, he’s had a lot of time to sample the wares available. Turns out lots of women are career-oriented. Huh. Who knew?

Guess it’s true: You don’t know what you got, ’til it’s gone.

As Beck begins to reconcile his expectations for a wife with Marley–and his new gal’s devotion to her career over himself–he recognizes that he’s been, well, selfish. Good thing he’s big enough to admit it. Especially when he and Marley find themselves in a place that evokes the best memories of their life together.

This is a solid HEA, with a more upbeat vibe than I had expected. Both Marley and Beck make sacrifices to repair their marriage, and it’s that kind of cooperativeness their marriage had previously lacked.  I was happy to see Beck and Marley reconnect in an equitable way. I bet most readers will like this, too.

Interested? You can pick up A VERY MARRIED CHRISTMAS on Goodreads, and Amazon.

About the Author:
Erika Marks is a women’s fiction writer and the author of LITTLE GALE GUMBO, THE MERMAID COLLECTOR, THE GUEST HOUSE and IT COMES IN WAVES (July, 2014). On the long and winding road to becoming published, she worked many different jobs, including carpenter, cake decorator, art director, and illustrator. But if pressed, she might say it was her brief tenure with a match-making service in Los Angeles after college that set her on the path to writing love stories (not that there isn’t romance in frosting or power tools!) A native New Englander, she now makes her home in Charlotte, NC, with her husband, a native New Orleanian who has taught her to make a wicked gumbo, and their two little mermaids.

For more on Erika, visit her website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and Amazon.

***GIVEAWAY***
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Inkslinger

UNMARKED by Kami Garcia–Cephalopod Coffeehouse October 2014

0ed81-coffeehouse
Hi there! Welcome one and all to the Cephalopod Coffeehouse, a cozy gathering of book lovers, meeting to discuss their thoughts regarding the tomes they enjoyed most over the previous month. Pull up a chair, order your cappuccino and join in the fun.

I’ve read a bunch of great books this month, but I’m featuring a new YA paranormal romance.adventure because, hey! It’s Halloween! UNMARKED is the second book in this series about spirit-hunting teens who are trying to protect Earth from the demon Andras. In book one, UNBREAKABLE, they were right on the cusp of killing Andras–when, unfortunately, they set it free. Yeah. And he’s been wreaking havoc and killing people for the last several weeks.

Unmarked (The Legion, #2)About the book:
He is here… and he could be anyone.

Kennedy Waters lives in a world where vengeance spirits kill, ghosts keep secrets, and a demon walks among us–a demon she accidentally set free.

Now Kennedy and the other Legion members–Alara, Priest, Lukas, and Jared–have to hunt him down. As they learn more about the history of the Legion and the Illuminati, Kennedy realizes that the greatest mystery of all does not belong to any secret order, but to her own family. With the clock ticking and the life of someone she loves hanging in the balance, Kennedy has to ask the question she fears most: what is it about her past that has left her Unmarked?

My Review:

Okay, so, where UNBREAKABLE left off, the MC, Kennedy had been injured in her escape from the scene when Andras came through to the earthly plane. She and four other teens–Jared, Lukas, Alara and Priest–had banded together because each believed the other part of a mystical Legion of the Black Dove sect. Jared and Lukas are twin brothers who sought the other members out based on documents their father had left behind. Turns out, assembling those documents had actually led Andras to each Legion member, and killed them, which is how Jared and Lukas lost their father and uncle, and Alara lost her grandma, and Priest lost his grandfather, and Kennedy lost her mother–all in one single night. The listing of their names…and it’s Jared’s biggest secret shame–he wrote the list.

Kennedy, for her part is despondent. She thought she’d become a Legion member when she exorcised her first ghost, but that didn’t happen–unlike all the other Legion members, Kennedy didn’t receive her Mark, an insignia handed down to the next Chosen in a family. Unmarked, she recognizes her folly–she was never meant to join them, and she feels utterly alone now that her mother is dead. Her father disappeared years ago, and her aunt has just dumped her into a reform school.

Haunted by news reports of atrocities no one can explain and gruesome nightmares, both courtesy of Andras, Kennedy recognizes that each day a girl who closely resembles her goes missing. Is Andras hunting her? It seems so, which is why she runs the second Jared and the rest of the Legion turn up at her school. Safety in numbers even if she isn’t one of them.

But their news, of her missing, distant aunt, gets her back on board. The hunt is on for the fifth Legion member, and now it’s about fixing the mess she made. Of course, this ghost/demon story is fraught with death and destruction. Kennedy’s poised to lose the only people she can trust, and gain some very unsettling allies when the Illuminati come to call.

Andras is on the prowl, and it’s clear he wants to possess Kennedy. She’s got some skills in the demon wrangling arena, thanks to her training in UNBREAKABLE, but Andras is too powerful for her. Plus, nobody told her he could jump from person to person like a vengeful louse. No, possession seems a breath away, when Andras targets the one person left whom Kennedy loves in this world.

The revelation of Jared’s mistake sends shock waves through the Legion, just as they need to gather closer–to save one of their own, but Kennedy is determined to fix all her mistakes, and she’s got the brains to get the job done right.

Well, I assume so. Because it looks like the final resolution is gonna happen NEXT BOOK. Stay tuned, peeps!

As far the book goes, it was an interesting read. It gets a bit explain-y, trying to link all the moving parts together. Turns out Kennedy’s mom wasn’t such a great gal, and her dad left for (albeit crappy) reasons connected to Legion and the Illuminati–organizations which have for centuries been diametrically opposed as this book purports. It felt a bit deus ex machina when the Illuminati swept in to clean up the Andras mess, but there was still lots of time in the story. Time to go on and explain. In the end, we’re left with a demon in chains, another on the loose, with Legion members splitting and Illuminati men hunting. Oh, and a reconnection of the parental-kind in the offing. It fell a bit flat for me. I supposed I should have felt tense, but all throughout I knew this story wouldn’t end here, so the urgency wasn’t as strong as I would have liked.

It’s still a good read. And safe for kids because, instead of kissing and sex, there’s killing and horror. It is a perfect Halloween read, however. And, I’m sure I’ll get book 3 when it comes out.

Interested? You can find UNMARKED at Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and probably lots of booksellers and libraries. It came out last month. I obtained my copy via NetGalley. This is my honest review.

Thanks for popping in, and don’t forget to catch up with my fellow Coffeehouse reviewers on this blog hop.

Oh, and Happy Halloween!

1. The Armchair Squid 2. mainewords
3. V’s Reads 4. Berriesandmore
5. Cherdo on the Flipside 6. WOMEN: WE SHALL OVERCOME
7. Life Before the Hereafter 8. StrangePegs — The Woggle-Bug Book
9. StrangePegs — In Short Supply 10. Huntress aka CD Coffelt
11. My Creatively Random Life 12. Words Incorporated
13. StrangePegs — Lovely Death

Vampires and Shifters and Sex Scenes, Oh My! New Releases by Lily Harlem

Hi all! Today I’m featuring two sexy, spooky erotic romances from multi-published, award-winning erotica author, Lily Harlem. I’ve read and reviewed several of Lily’s books (THE GLASS KNOT, THE SILK TIE) so rest assured these tales will keep you warm and snug through the night…sexy dreams optional.

fangsVampires and Shifters Post by Lily Harlem

Thank you for inviting me to hang out today. Halloween always gets me in the mood for the supernatural, I love to be a scared, to be dangling in suspense, thinking “what’s going to happen?”. So when I started writing my two new paranormal novels, Bite Mark and Claw Mark I really got under the skin of my heroine and lived out her fears and confusion when she came across not one but two sexy vampires who have a craving for her rare Bombay Blood.

Bombay Blood – yes, it’s a real blood type and is indeed very rare. You can read more about it here if the science bit yanks your chain! I decided to give my heroine Beatrice this rare blood type to ensure my vampires Aimery and Ryle were drawn to her. But it couldn’t be that simple, could it? No! Beatrice works as a butcher girl, in fact the only butcher girl in the famous London Smithfield Market so her blood scent is masked by death and flesh and animal blood. Ohh… all disgustingly good fun!

London's Smithfield Market

London’s Smithfield Market

I’m not normally into death and murder in my stories but creating a history for the Worshipful Company of the Ancient Order (read ‘organised group of vampires living in central London with the consent of the Queen’) was an interesting challenge for my imagination. I was inspired by tapestry, the Bayeux Tapestry in particular which I visited a few years ago. I love how the age-old scenes are depicted so timelessly and with such precision. I used this as a way to show that the vampires and the wolves (The Carlton Pack) had literally been at each other’s throats for years.

When I reached the end of Bite Mark I realized that I still had more of a tale to tell, (excuse the tale/tail pun!) and that was the wolves. It only seemed fair for them to have their say as they’d had a bad reputation in Bite Mark and at the end of the day, every story has two sides.

shivers and tinglesI hope you’ll check out Bite Mark and Claw Mark and find out how Beatrice gets on with her sexy but dangerous vampires and mysterious, sultry shifters. But be warned, it’s sexy, there’s vampire threeways, man-on-man love, shifters who take what they want and a whip that’s threaded with silver to maximize the burn! Remember, do read Bite Mark first as it ends on a cliff hanger that leads neatly, if a little wildly, into Claw Mark.

Oh, and if you fancy partying with The Brit Babes this Halloween, why not come to our Shivers and Tingles Facebook Party . It’s going to be full of steamy excerpts, sexy pictures, saucy gossip and also a contest or two. We’d love to see you there.

Thank you for reading and have a great day.

Lily x

Many thanks to Lily for dropping by. I know I’ll be hitting the Shivers and Tingles party on FB. I’ve been to some of Lily’s FB parties before, and they are fab! But now on to the books!

bite markBite Mark

Life in London as a butcher girl is hard enough, but when my best friend Denny went missing it became miserable. So stumbling into the Worshipful Company of the Ancient Order while searching for him was like a breath of fresh air. Especially because sexy, sophisticated Aimery promised to help me.

But Aimery’s friend Ryle wanted in on the action. My head was spinning, my body reacting to theirs whenever they were around. But I had questions: What was their obsession with my rare blood type? How did they always appear when I needed them? And how old were they?

Learning the truth about my lovers brought new fears and delights. They could take me higher than I’d ever gone before, show me pleasures I’d never imagined and were prepared to kill to protect me. Being mortal had never been so much erotic fun—or so deliciously dangerous.

My Review:

Beatrice is a normal human woman, working as a the only female butcher in London’s Smithfield Meat Market. She is agonized by the loss of her best friend, Denny–now missing three weeks. One day she sees a man in the market who had previously appeared on the day Denny had disappeared.

Beatrice follows this gentleman through the streets to his home–only to get caught up in a strange new world she never imagined existed. A world of vampires. It seems Bea is a rarity in the human world–her Bombay blood is a delicacy many vampires seek and barely find, as a result of overfeeding centuries before.

Aimery, as the gentleman vampire is called, offers to help Bea find Denny, and as she is leaving his home another vampire, Ryle, arrives. He also senses Bea’s Bombay blood. And wants to share her. It seems that Ryle and Aimery have a history of sharing–when it comes to women with Bombay blood.

In order to protect Bea form open feeding, they become more than just her shadows; and the results are erotically epic. Still, tying up Bea’s loose ends means bending a few Vampire laws–and upsets one High Council member, Elfrida–the only one to have never had Bombay blood. Knowing the threat of Elfrida’s hunger is formidable, Ryle and Aimery hide Bea away…and begin a new life as a triad. Well, for a while anyhow.

Delicious smexytimes and even more delicious Brit-speak make for a yummy read. It’s a short book with a resolved plot, and the promise of a chase in the sequel, CLAW MARK. I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Interested in Bite Mark? You can find it on Goodreads, Ellora’s Cave, Amazon US, and Amazon UK.

ClawMarkClaw Mark

This book is a sequel to Bite Mark; to ensure full enjoyment of this book, please read Bite Mark first.

Being married to two sexy vampires is as exciting as it is dangerous. One minute I’m on top of the world, the next I’m running for my life. But it’s okay with Aimery and Ryle at my side—they’ve sworn to love and protect me and keep me satisfied until I’m old and gray.

But when everything crashes down, literally, I can see no way out of the darkness—death my best option. Until two unusual men come bounding to my aid.

Gentle Caleb and prickly Isaac have secrets. They’re full of passion, desire, love and lust and their isolated lives are weaved with mystery. But I know what they are. I’m also craving some serious satisfying, a distraction from my dilemma, and it seems these guys are up for the job.

Will my life always be turbulent, terrifying and tempting beyond belief? Nothing is certain in a world of vampires and shifters.

My Review:

Beatrice is a London butcher with a rare Bombay blood type. Her blood is such a delicacy and so rare that the two vampires who discovered her, Ryle and Aimery, married her immediately to place her under their protection before she was bled dry. Beatrice is ecstatic to be shared by her loving husbands–they are kind and compassionate, and skilled. They always ensure her health by fortifying her with herbal teas which boost her strength and replenish her blood supply. Still, Elfrida, a member of the High Council, wishes to have Bea’s blood–and she has followed our merry trio to their Caribbean retreat in the hopes of isolating Bea for draining.

Aimery and Ryle plan an elaborate escape to the Canadian Rockies, knowing the presence of a large werewolf clan will mask Bea’s scent–and hoping the werewolf threat will keep Elfrida from following.

No Dice. A train wreck separates the lovers, and Bea believes she’s the only survivor–mostly because Elfrida snatched her from the wreckage. On the cusp of death, two wolves startle Elfrida mid-bite and save Bea.

Over the course of a few months, Bea mourns her lost lovers, while languishing in the homey cabin of Isaac and Caleb–a gay pair. What Bea doesn’t understand is how these two men thrive in isolation–especially with all this wolves around!

Okay, she does catch on to Caleb and Isaac’s secret life as wolves eventually–but goes with it as they are keeping Elfrida well away. We get some serious gay voyeurism, and a bit of ménage, not to mention straight lovin’. And, when the climax hits (the book’s climax, people!) Bea finds she has the strength to save her own self–and the lives of men who love her.

This is a super steamy read with a bit of smexytimes for all comers—M/F, M/M, F/M/M, M/F/M. The paranormal elements are fun and consistent. I adored Caleb as much as Bea did, he was so kind and sweet–not to mention fearless. The book ends with a solid resolution, but I could see the series continuing with new plot lines.

Interested in Claw Mark? You can find it on Goodreads, Amazon US, and Amazon UK.

About the Author:

Lily Harlem lives in the UK and is an award-winning author of contemporary erotic romance. She writes for publishers on both sides of the Atlantic including Ellora’s Cave, HarperCollins, Totally Bound, Xcite and Sweetmeats Press. Her HOT ICE series regularly receives high praise and industry nominations.

Before turning her hand to writing Lily Harlem worked as a trauma nurse and her latest HarperCollins release, Confessions of a Naughty Night Nurse, draws on her many experiences while nursing in London. Lily also self-publishes and The Glass Knot, The Silk Tie, Breathe You In (USA Today Reviewer’s Recommended Read of 2013) and Scored have been blessed with many 5* reviews since their release.

Lily also co-authors with Natalie Dae and publishes under the name Harlem Dae – check out the Sexy as Hell Box Set Trilogy available exclusively on Amazon – The Novice, The Player and The Vixen – and That Filthy Book which has been hailed as a novel ‘every woman should read’.

One thing you can be sure of, whatever book you pick up by Ms Harlem, is it will be wildly romantic and down-and-dirty sexy. Enjoy!

You can catch Lily on her website, blog, Twitter, Facebook, Author Page, Pinterest. She’s also got a newsletter, Goodreads and Google +.

Check out her blogs on Raw Talent, BritBabes, and Hockey Romance!

Thanks for popping in, and keep reading my friends!

They Were Linked by RANDOM ACTS–Review and Giveaway

Hi there! Today I’m reviewing a M/M romance that I just loved. I read Mia Kerick’s YA novel, THE RED SHEET, a few months back, and found her straight-forward storytelling enchanting, so I jumped at the chance to review her newest release–an Adult romance that deals with everything from class differences, to personal insecurity, to hate crimes, and to PTSD.  RANDOM ACTS is a contemporary romance that challenges the notion that, well, that shit happens.  See, for me, Random Acts is a book about the power of love and kindness in the human experience.

Random ActsAbout the Book:

Bradley Zelder can’t find his way in life. After struggling for nearly a decade, he has yet to complete his college degree. Working as a school custodian, living in blue-collar Landsbury, MA, his love life is as empty as the rest of his existence. But on his way home after another disastrous date, his truck breaks down in upscale Oceanside. When he thinks life can’t get any worse, a man who is the epitome of Boston elite and everything Bradley finds attractive and intimidating helps him move his truck to the side of the road. Ashamed of his lot in life, Bradley almost lets the opportunity slip away, but he comes to his senses in time and tracks Caleb down.

From a random act of kindness, romance begins to grow, filling all the dark corners of Bradley’s empty life—until a random act of violence threatens to take it all away. Bradley must step up and be the man Caleb believes him to be. Caleb rescued him from a life without hope. Can Bradley rescue him in return?

My Review:

Bradley Zelder is a bisexual man, working as an elementary school custodian, when he meets the handsome and very put-together Caleb Jorde. Caleb picks Brad up on the roadside when Brad’s truck breaks down and this is the beginning of a tentative and tender romance.

Caleb is a widower. His husband died three years ago in a car wreck and it took him a long time, and a lot of therapy, to recover. Meeting Brad is exciting to him, in a way he hadn’t been excited since David died. He decides to pursue Brad–seriously. Caleb’s not in for a sex-friend; he’s a relationship kind of guy, and Brad is, too. Unfortunately Brad is a very self-conscious person. He’s constantly afraid that Caleb will look down on him for his lack of education–especially as Caleb is a teacher and very wealthy.

Through the growth of their relationship, Brad begins to see himself in a new light: that of a determined person–one who continues to study for a new career. One who is tenacious and passionate, mostly because this is how Caleb sees him. Being slightly revered by Caleb (who Brad adores to the point of almost worship) gives Brad a sense of confidence he has never had.

Still, doubts creep in, especially when Brad is belittled by Caleb’s co-worker and others at his school. Yet, by making the first tentative steps out of his shell, Brad sets into motion other tiny ripples of change. He helps a young girl find her confidence–who then helps a family heal. Each pingback of change further bolsters Brad’s confidence.

The relationship between Brad and Caleb is slow to build. Caleb is reticent to begin a physical relationship as his only previous lover was David, and they spent 17 years together. It is Brad’s acknowledgement that he is not a replacement for David, nor does he wish to remove David’s memory in any way, which allows Caleb to work through his grief. It seems that all is going to go well with these two, until a Caleb suffers a dramatic setback–of the hate crime variety. Brad is wary, but determined to see Caleb through the worst of his fears–because he developed his own strength from basking in Caleb’s affection.

I really relished the way these men came together. They are cautious and kind. They are respectful, and interesting. This is a quiet romance. The passion is muted, to give way to a textured emotional landscape. Brad and his foul-mouthed working-class family are very different to the genteel Jordes, yet, Caleb meshes well–because he wishes to do so. Brad, himself, wants to be a better man, a partner that Caleb can be proud of–and he later realizes that he already WAS that kind of person in Caleb’s eyes. The mutual support and affection they experience is truly what any couple (gay or straight) would desire and it’s rendered in a way that is at times humorous and horrifying.

Caleb has a lot of injuries to contend with, and not all of them are physical. Brad approaches each uphill battle with compassion and the strength that Caleb lacks. Their growth as a couple is so beautiful. I definitely cheered them on from my side of the screen.

Interested? You can find RANDOM ACTS on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Dreamspinner Press.

***GIVEAWAY***

Click the Rafflecopter link below for your chance to win

a $25 Starbuck’s GC, a backlist book from Mia

or one of two Random Acts t-shirts
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Good luck and keep reading my friends!

About the Author:
Mia Kerick is the mother of four exceptional children—all named after saints—and five nonpedigreed cats—all named after the next best thing to saints, Boston Red Sox players. Her husband of twenty years has been told by many that he has the patience of Job, but don’t ask Mia about that, as it is a sensitive subject.

Mia focuses her stories on the emotional growth of troubled young men and their relationships, and she believes that sex has a place in a love story, but not until it is firmly established as a love story. As a teen, Mia filled spiral-bound notebooks with romantic tales of tortured heroes (most of whom happened to strongly resemble lead vocalists of 1980s big-hair bands) and stuffed them under her mattress for safekeeping. She is thankful to Dreamspinner Press for providing her with an alternate place to stash her stories.

Mia is proud of her involvement with the Human Rights Campaign and cheers for each and every victory made in the name of marital equality. Her only major regret: never having taken typing or computer class in school, destining her to a life consumed with two-fingered pecking and constant prayer to the Gods of Technology.

Mia has published four works of adult contemporary gay romantic fiction with Dreamspinner Press and four novels of contemporary LGBT fiction with Harmony Ink Press. Mia Kerick’s books are recommended reads in the LGBT blogging/reading community, have spent many weeks on Amazon Hot New Releases and LGBT Best Sellers lists, as well as other notable bestseller lists, and have won awards for excellence in YA literature.

Catch up with Mia on her website, blog, Goodreads, Twitter, Facebook, Amazon author page, Dreamspinner author page, or sign up for her newsletter.