Happy Monday Readers,
I would like to know what you think of book trailers. Do you find yourself clicking on the buy me button after you view a book trailer? Are book trailers like movie trailers for you? You see the trailer and you must read that book, like you have to see that movie. I am curious to hear your opinions.
-Romance Reader Girl
Happy Monday, Readers!
Many people start the new year making resolutions. Yes, I am a resolution maker and breaker. I have made a few resolutions but one I know I will keep is reading at least half of my To Read books on my Kindle. In the upper left it tells me I have 72 To Read–72! Collecting books is an addiction. How can you pass up the freebies or discounted books? I am going to try really hard to not buy anymore books for a few months. <—- Yeah, that’s clearly not going to happen. Though, it was a nice thought for about about 15 seconds. Do any of you have a growing to be read list? How do you tackle them?
-Romance Reader Girl
Since we are in full swing of the holiday season I wanted to share with you a few of my favorite things that make the holidays special for me. Also, I have read two holiday short stories I think should be on your reading list this holiday season.
My absolutely favorite song for the holidays is Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson the instrumental version. I don’t mind the lyrics but I love hearing the instruments playing this classic. I’m a band geek at heart and this was always one of my favorite songs to perform. It isn’t Christmas without hearing this song. 🙂
We all have our favorite holiday movies. My husband’s favorite is Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase. We watch it every year to get into the holiday spirit but my favorite is The Holiday with Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Jack Black. Not that your surprised are you? Half the movie is set in England and since the stories I read are set in England it would only make sense, naturally.
All I Want For Christmas is a Duke has two stories with two Dukes who have a very passionate Christmas. Delilah Marvelle an Maire Claremont write two wonderful Christmas stories with love, passion, friendship and redemption. I read this in April and knew it would be a re-read and it was fabulous the second time around. Don’t miss this one!
A Grosvenor Square Christmas is four stories by Anna Campbell, Shana Galen, Vanessa Kelly and Kate Noble. Their stories all center around an annual Christmas ball given by Lady Winterson. All four stories are unique with one thing in common; Lady Winterson’s magical Christmas ball that has certain couples finding love with they least expect it. There are surprises in this story and I loved how we watch Lady Winterson grow through the four stories. Hurry and get this one quickly. It’s FREE on Amazon.
-Romance Reader Girl
Happy December Readers, I am so THRILLED to have the fabulous Anna Campbell on the blog today. I discovered her books through the wonderful Nancy Goodman (check out here awesome blog here) and my summer was full of great reads. Ms. Campbell is stopping by today to answer some questions about her writing, life and reading. Don’t forget to comment- One of you will win a copy of one of her books. Please welcome the fantastic Anna Campbell!!
Hi Lindsey! Thank you so much for having me as your guest today!
Questions:
RRG: What inspired you to write the Sons of Sin series?
AC: If you’ve followed my career, you know that all my earlier books are stand alones (although a couple of them have VERY loose connections in terms of place or characters). When Grand Central Publishing expressed strong interest in SEVEN NIGHTS IN A ROGUE’S BED, they wanted a series. Eeek! I’d written 7 Nights as a stand-alone. Not only that, the hero was an out-and-out loner and had to be for the story to work. So I went back to the drawing board and thought about themes in 7 Nights. A really strong one concerned a man outcast because of his illegitimate birth. The Regency is a period where bloodlines were terrifically 
important in high society (suspect they still are!), so having a black cloud hanging over your legitimacy was an awful fate. I thought about how that would affect three very different men, I made the three team up against bullying as schoolboys at Eton, and voila! I had my series. Currently, there’s SEVEN NIGHTS IN A ROGUE’S BED, A RAKE’S MIDNIGHT KISS and WHAT A DUKE DARES, with a novella about Cam’s sister DAYS OF RAKES AND ROSES, and a fourth book in the works featuring the Marquess of Leath. I’m not sure what will happen with the series after that, but I’d love the chance to do at least one more novella.
RRG: If you gave one of your characters an opportunity to speak for themselves, what would they say?
AC: I think they’d all say, “What have we done to you that you put us through such a terrible mill before we get our happy ending?” LOL!
RRG: Speaking of characters, who is in control you or the character?
AC: Ha ha, I wish I was! Actually, all jokes aside, once the characters start acting outside my jurisdiction, it means the book is coming alive. After writing nine books now, I’ve learned that I need to trust my subconscious. It knows far much more than my conscious mind does.
RRG: Who are some of your favorite heroes and heroines in romance novels?
AC: How long have you got? I’ve been a mad keen reader all my life which means a lot of favorites. I think my all-time favorite hero would have to be Francis Crawford who features in a fabulous series of books called The Lymond Chronicles by late, great Dorothy Dunnett. My favorite heroine would probably be Jane Eyre because she’s so strong in herself. In romance, some of my faves would include Rupert from MR. IMPOSSIBLE by Loretta Chase, Anna from A COUNTESS BELOW STAIRS by Eva Ibbotson, Jervaulx from FLOWERS FROM THE STORM by Laura Kinsale and Milla from CRY NO MORE by Linda Howard. I’m also madly in love with Julia Spencer-Fleming’s mystery series which features two wonderful main characters in Claire Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne.
RRG: As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
AC: I pretty much knew I wanted to be a writer from the moment I got hooked on Enid Blyton at the age of about six or seven. I flirted with things like ballet dancer and concert pianist, but always came back to writing. Given my complete lack of coordination, I think I probably made the right decision!
RRG: Where in the world would you like to visit?
AC: I love to travel! I’m hoping to do a research trip to the United Kingdom next year. Definitely overdue to go back there. As far as places where I haven’t been before, I’d love to see the historical sites in Turkey and I’d love to see the art and the ballet in Russia.
RRG: Do you drink tea? If so, how do you take it?
AC: Do I drink tea? Like it’s going out of fashion! I always have a cup of tea at my elbow when I’m working. It seems to get my brain working. And I’m not fit to talk to in the morning until I’ve had at least one cup. I’m fairly old school. I don’t particularly like herbal teas or flavored teas. Just a nice English breakfast, fairly strong, with plenty of milk and no sugar.
RRG: Can you tell us what you are currently working on?
AC: I’ve just handed in the manuscript of the third Sons of Sin book, WHAT A DUKE DARES, Cam’s story. That will be out late August 2014. I’m about to start on the fourth book, title to be confirmed, which is about the Marquess of Leath who plays a major role in Cam’s book. That should be out sometime in 2015.
Favorites:
Quote: “The heart has its reasons that reason cannot know,” Blaise Pascal
Season: Spring, especially in the Northern Hemisphere
Beverage: Champagne!
Candy: Lindt Peanut Butter Balls
Holiday: Christmas
Animal: Arab horse
*GIVEAWAY* From Anna Campbell: I’d love to know your favorite quote. I’ve been using the Pascal one for a while now so it probably needs to be retired! I’ve got a signed copy of my latest historical romance, A RAKE’S MIDNIGHT KISS (international) to give away to someone who leaves a comment.
You can find books by Anna Campbell on Amazon.
Thank you for being on my blog today, Anna!
-Romance Reader Girl
Sabrina Jeffries is a master when connecting stories through characters and she has done it again in ‘Twas the Night After Christmas. This story is part of the Hellions of Halstead Hall series but it can be read as a standalone.
Hero: Pierce Waverly, the Earl of Devonmont is a man that is not connect to his immediate family. With no siblings he never speaks of or to his mother and his father has passed away. He spends a time with his cousins, the Waverly’s. Pierce is a known rake and does as he pleases when he pleases, with a wicked sense of humor. He doesn’t have many personal relationships and he is content with this kind of solitary life.
Heroine: Mrs. Camilla Stuart is a widow with a young son, Jasper. She is a ladies companion to the Dowager Countess of Devonmont. Camilla is a strong spirited young lady. She was raised an orphanage and has a strong sense of what makes a family whole. Her priority is her son and giving him the best life she can. Camilla is opinionated with a great sense of humor that wants to love and be loved.
Setup: Pierce receives an urgent message from his mother’s companion stating she is ill and needs to come to the estate as soon as possible. Pierce has been ignoring his mothers letters but since this has been sent by her companion he feels it is urgent enough that he rushes to the country to be her side. However, when he arrives he finds his mother in perfect health and no sense of urgency was needed. Pierce is not happy as he does not like being in the company of his mother but her companion, Mrs. Stuart (Camilla) strongly feels that mother and son need to be in the place especially at Christmas. Camilla knows there is a reason why Pierce and his mother are not talking and wants to help mend the bridge but sometimes secrets are meant to be left in the past. Pierce wants nothing to do with Camilla’s scheme but because he is a rake and she is a young beauty he strikes up a deal with widow that may be more than what he ever had bargained for.
Quote: “She’d never been kissed with such passion. How alarming to discover that she would very much like it to happen again. Like delicious desserts, kisses provoked cravings for more at odd hours. And she’d never been good at resisting dessert…”
My Thoughts: The banter between Pierce and Camilla is great. At first you would think Pierce is cold but when he is with Camilla their chemistry is fun and electric. Camilla has no problem giving the sarcastic comments right back to Pierce. It’s great to see a strong heroine hold her own and not back down from a man, especially her employer. There are secrets unfolding for all parties involved in this story. Pierce and his mother aren’t the only with secrets, Camilla has a few of her own that really made me just like her so much more. The secrets plaguing all parties are sad but uncovering them is part of the charm of this story. I enjoyed the twist and turns this story has. Bonus we meet a character that is in Ms. Jeffries’ new series (The Duke’s Men). Again, she is a master at connecting stories through characters.
You can purchase ‘Twas the Night After Christmas on Amazon, B&N and Walmart.
-Romance Reader Girl
Readers, Happy Monday! I am back with a review.
Lessons from a Scarlet Lady is a little different than most of the historical romances I read. There are TWO love stories running through the book. Brianna and her husband Colton the Duke of Rolthven and his younger brother Lord Robert Northfield and Brianna’s childhood best friend Rebecca Marston. Both stories build on top of one of another. I was worried that there would not be enough detail to each couple but I was happily surprise that each couple had a lot detail and depth.
Brianna and Colton have been married for three months. With his ducal responsibilities Colton is busy. He appreciates his wife but doesn’t express much affection towards her. Brianna being young and in love with her husband wants to be connect not only physically but emotionally, she has a plan to help her husband connect. She seeks out advice from a book written by a former courtesan Lady Rothburg and puts a plan into motion of seducing her husband to gain the connection she is wanting. Strangely or not so strange to us women, Colton the proper hard working duke will realize he not only likes his wife but really truly loves her. However, Colton isn’t sure where his sweet Brianna has learned some of her new seduction methods and begins to question her fidelity, which can only lead to some interesting conversations.
Lord Robert is a known rake. The youngest brother to the Duke of Rolthven is a charmer and lover of women. He is known for his good looks and charm. However very few know Robert for the man he truly is. Rebecca Marston has loved Robert since she met him over a year ago. She has loved him from a far. With her parents pushing her to marry she realizes that she would rather marry for love than position. With help from an unlikely source Robert’s middle brother Damien and Brianna’s book by Lady R. will she gain the confidence to seek her hearts desire and make Robert hers? Will Lady R.’s advice be helpful?
I really enjoyed this book. It was really sweet and fun. Having the two couples was fun and different than the normal romances I read. Damien the brother to both Colton and Robert was a great addition to the cast of characters. I enjoyed his interference in his brother’s plans. I liked that Brianna and Colton are established and the real issue is that she wants him to express his feelings more. I think most women can agree that maybe we would like our significant others to express their feelings for their special ladies. Of course, it always fun to read about a rake losing his heart to woman but Robert and Rebecca have a lot in common and it was nice to see his emotional side. Also, Rebecca takes a chance that will shock you and I applauded her efforts! This was a great read and I look forward to reading more books by Emma Wildes.
Purchase Lessons from a Scarlet Lady on Amazon.
-Romance Reader Girl
Romance Reader Girl 