Sizzling Book Club Pick: Indigo by Beverly Jenkins
Time to announce the February Book Club Pick! If you tuned into the chat Tuesday night, you heard this already, but it's worth repeating with MORE WORDS!
The February book club pick is: Indigo by Beverly Jenkins. This book is so well-reviewed everywhere you look, and there's a very good reason for that. It's amazing. It's also a classic and one of the best historical romances.
Here's the summary: As a child Hester Wyatt escaped slavery, but now the dark skinned beauty is a dedicated member of Michigan's Underground railroad, offering other runaways a chance at the freedom she has learned to love.
When one of her fellow conductors brings her an injured man to hide, Hester doesn't hesitate even after she is told about the price on his head. The man in question is the great conductor known as the “Black Daniel” a vital member of the North's Underground railroad network, but Hester finds him so rude and arrogant, she begins to question her vow to hide him.
When the injured and beaten Galen Vachon, aka, the Black Daniel awakens in Hester's cellar, he is unprepared for the feisty young conductor providing his care. As a member of one of the wealthiest free Black families in New Orleans, Galen has turned his back on the lavish living he is accustomed to in order to provide freedom to those enslaved in the south.
However, as he heals he cannot turn his back on Hester Wyatt. Her innocence fills him like a breath of fresh air and he is determined to make her his, but traitors have to be found, slave catchers have to be routed and Hester's refusal to trust her own heart have to be overcome before she and Galen can find the freedom only love can bring.
As usual, if you use SBTBARE at checkout, you will get a 50% eBook Bucks Rebate at AllRomance.com, the official sponsor of the Sizzling Book Club. The 50% rebate at AllRomance will be valid from February 1-15, 2011. You can also buy a paperback copy at Amazon, or wherever you like to go book shopping.
Get this – used copies of the original paperback are online for over 0 in some cases. I am not kidding that this is a much-beloved book. I also found paper copies in many public libraries in the US through WorldCat.org.
The Book Club Chat will be February 29th at 9pm ET/8pm CT, and Beverly Jenkins will be joining us at 10pm ET to answer questions. If you've never chatted with her, she's hilarious, and this will be a lively and fun book club chat.
Want a button?
With all the five-star reviews everywhere, I'm hoping you're curious if it lives up to the reviews. I think it does, and I cannot wait to talk about it with you.
Categories: General Bitching, Smart Bitches Sizzling Book Club
Review: Shepherd’s Moon
Shepherd’s Moon is an urban fantasy/thriller by Stacy Mantle. This is her first book release and hopefully there will be more to come!
The main character of the book is Alex. She is the first female shepherd in 2000 years. She has the ability to communicate with animals and she is a rescuer for preternatural creatures. She lives and works with her pack of shifters.
I really loved the concept of having a shepherd that looks out for the Weres. It is something that I have never seen in other books. I also like the variety of different shifters. There are a couple other creatures thrown into the mix, so how can you go wrong?
I am a big fan of shifters and I really enjoyed the storyline of this book. Mantle has penned a great book that captures your attention right from the start. The book was really well written and she has left it open for a series. I really look forward to learning more about the characters to which I have already begun to get attached. If you like urban fantasy and thrillers, this is a book that is definitely worth a try!
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Fate hasn’t exactly been kind to twenty-year-old Alexandra. Unless you count the fact that she can communicate with animals, the only piece of luck she’s ever had was being rescued by a werewolf and landing in a forever home with an eccentric couple and their unusual pack of animals. It’s taken twelve years to earn the official title of Shepherd but she’s now mostly trained, fairly effective, and the first female in over two centuries to hold the position as protector of animals. All animals…The Territorial Council isn’t thrilled with her new title of Shepherd, but they don’t have any more control over the appointment than they have over her. All they can really do is wait for her to screw something up – which Alex is determined not to do. Everything changes when a chance encounter with a genetically modified Shifter leaves Alex shaken and initiates a quest to locate its maker. In a desperate bid to save her pack, Alex must infiltrate the Parallax Corporation – an international organization with their hands in everything from biomedical engineering to publishing. They have now expanded their efforts to include terrorism and are attempting to breed the perfect weapon. Despite years of training and enough money from her live-in pack of misfits to finance a small country, Alex finds herself woefully unprepared to tackle the new threat. To make matters worse, Alex must work with a mysterious man who’s been trying to kill her since the day they met. Together with her pack, Alex must learn how to stop the biological cloning and find those responsible for the plan before it really does become a global threat.
Filed under Romance | Tags: Moon, Review, Shepherd’s | Comment (0)SBTB/DA Bestsellers: 17-24 January 2012
Books on sale! Books that are good! Books that are classics! Books that are good classics on sale! They sell a lot. How's that for analysis first thing in the morning?
And that exhausts my allotment of exclamation points for the day. Please continue your Sunday in staid and even fashion.
- And Then He Kissed Her by Laura Lee Guhrke | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo |
- Beauty and the Duke by Melody Thomas | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo |
- Devil's Bride with Bonus Material by Stephanie Laurens | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo |
- Sprig Muslin by Georgette Heyer | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo | ARE
- Untamed by Elizabeth Lowell | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo |
- Angelfall by Susan Ee | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo |
- To Love a Thief by Julie Ann Long | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo |
- Alluring Tales–Awaken the Fantasy by Vivi Anna, Sylvia Day, Delilah Devlin and Cathryn Fox | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo |
- Forbidden by Elizabeth Lowell | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo |
- Mad About the Duke by Elizabeth Boyle | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo |
Categories: General Bitching, SBTB/DA Bestsellers
All the Flowers in Shanghai
If you’re a fan of sweeping historical novels set in China, such as Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Shanghai Girls, or Dreams of Joy by Lisa See, you won’t want to miss All the Flowers in Shanghai by Duncan Jepson.
In 1930s Shanghai, Feng is forced to take her sister’s place as the bride to the heir of a wealthy family. This bargain comes with its share of triumphs and heartbreaks, and Feng must learn to navigate her way through history and tradition.
Even though the author is a man, he perfectly captures the voice of a young woman, much like Arthur Golden does in Memoirs of Geisha. So if you’re in the mood for a passionate and poignant read, don’t miss this beautifully written debut novel.
Check out the book trailer too:
Filed under Romance | Tags: Flowers, Shanghai | Comment (0)Review: Endless Night
Kenn Baker’s Endless Night is not the average vampire book. This is a darkly intense story of lust, greed, violence, and primal urges that refuse be ignored…..and I loved it! Filled with bloody scenes of sex and death, it is a more realistic look into what a world with vampires would be like. You won’t find any love-sick, angst-filled vampires trying to find a way to love a human in this book. In fact, there are very few humans in this book: except for the ones that end up as lunch. When reading most vampire stories, I tend to root for the good guy. But in Endless Night, the good guy is a bad guy. Even though there was a ton of violence in the book, there is humor, too. I found myself laughing when humans were being torn apart, sometimes envisioning the characters dancing and laughing while slaughtering them (Think “A Clockwork Orange” but with vampires!).
Baker’s writing was extremely descriptive, which made the book that much more intense to read. Each and every character adds an extra level to the story with their unique personalities. I’m happy to know that the author is going to add to the series. I’d love to see more from all of the characters and find out where their lives are going to go.
If you’re looking for a sweet romance or a happily-ever-after story with rainbows and flowers, this is not the book for you. While there is humor and a little romance, it’s a dark humor that not everyone will like. If you enjoy a little horror with your vampires, then I say this is a must-read. It really was a fantastic read that fans of gothic vampire romances will like. Endless Night is a delightfully dark walk on the wild side that was impossible to put down.
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From the author
James is a vampire who wants to hunt, he relishes the kill. He wants to hunt openly, leaving the dead where they fall, but his pack leader Brad insists upon discretion. James is discontent with this domesticated vampire life, and does everything he can to change his life, fix his relationship, end the tyranny of Brad and avoid that pesky sun.
Endless Night is a fang-filled feeding frenzy of fornication and of course….blood.
Filed under Romance | Tags: Endless, Night, Review | Comment (0)Links, Fun & Games
To follow the proceedings of Digital Book World 2012, the hashtag #dbw12 is a mix of reaction and reporting. Alas, my reporting ended after lunch, as I had to take a break from the conference and go home. I am not sure if I'll be back tomorrow, but the hashtag is full of folks reporting from the different panels.
One highlight today; a full hour in the morning of the opening day devoted to lessons learned from romance ebook publishing, featuring Julie Cummings from AllRomance, Raelene Gorlinsky from Ellora's Cave, Liate Stehlik and Angela James from Carina Press.
The panelists discussed DRM, pricing, and the ways in which digital publishing has created a more adept and flexible publishing model that's better positioned to treat readers as customers and to take charge of their own customer service relationships. Two years ago, romance was part of an afternoon session – this year it was among the first sessions on the main stage. Most excellent.
From Ruth: here's a review from a reader at Amazon that takes into account many, many grammatical errors in a Carole Mortimer book published by Mills & Boon:
The story is 180 pages long. At 250 words per page, that is a total of 45,000 words which can be roughly broken down to 6,400 sentences. Out of these 6.400 sentences there are 178 sentences that end with ellipses (…); 121 sentences that end with ellipses followed by a question mark (…?); 93 sentences that end with a dash (-); 26 that end in an ellipsis followed by an exclamation mark (…!); 11 that end with a dash followed by a question mark (-?); 9 that end with an exclamation mark followed by a dash (!-) and 2 that end with dash followed by an exclamation mark (-!).
Whoa.
Sporcle quizzes are a quiet obsession of Hubby's, but I think this is the first one I've done better on than he has! Sporcle has a new quiz all about Harlequin romance heroes.
I got all of them with 4:11 seconds left. What's your score and time?
Thanks to Matt and Catherine both for the link!
Paul Bogaards' Tumblr post about the hierarchy of book publishing received a lot of Twitter traffic – and thank you to the many folks who pointed out that Smart Bitches is #53. As Secret Agent Dan said, “You're above the Pulitzer!” Which made me laugh – that's hilariously cool. Thanks, Mr. Bogaards.
Categories: General Bitching, The Link-O-Lator
Review: Embrace the Highland Warrior
Embrace the Highland Warrior is the second book in Anita Clenney’s series about a clandestine group of Highland warriors tasked with destroying demons and protecting the humans they are trying to destroy.
This book is pure enjoyment. The kilted Connor clan from Awaken the Highland Warrior is back in this second novel, along with the Demons and Vampires who both want a piece of Shay. The writing in this was great! The plot twists and turns, along with the romance between Shay and Cody, and the all the hot guys in kilts, make this an incredible read. I seriously hope Anita keeps on writing about the Connor clan. I had to read this all in one sitting; I just could not put it down! The action in this is non-stop, along with the sizzling sex between Shay and Cody. I loved that Anita brought so much life to all of her characters in this book, and I can see many more books to come about all of these warriors. From the first page to the last sentence, Anita kept me hooked on Shay’s story, and it was nice to see the return of some old friends from the first book.
5 stars
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When the powerful demon that left Shay for dead discovers her empty grave, he comes seeking retribution, believing she possesses an ancient book he has sought for centuries. Knowing she can’t fight the demon alone, Shay returns to her clan and the Scottish Warrior who betrayed her…the only man she’s ever loved, where she discovers that betrayal isn’t always what it seems. Sometimes it’s far worse.
Filed under Romance | Tags: Embrace, Highland, Review, Warrior | Comment (0)Like Downton Abbey?
Then you’ll love Laura Lee Guhrke’s AND THEN HE KISSED HER, now only $.99 on nook or kindle! Read the 2008 RITA finalist that Romantic Times called “great fun and delectable reading.”
Filed under Romance | Tags: Abbey, Downton, like | Comment (0)Lisa Kleypas’ Rainshadow Road: An Interview and a Giveaway!
Lisa Kleypas' Rainshadow Road comes out in February, and her publisher has offered 10 finished copies to give away. Whoo! And not only do we have books to give away, but Lisa Kleypas was kind enough to answer several inane questions from me via email. Hooray – bonus interview!
Rainshadow Road has magical realism while Friday Harbor did not. Why add it to this novel? Did you plan to go this way all along with the series?
Well, when I first visited Friday Harbor with Greg and the kids a couple of years ago, I really felt a sense of “otherness” or magic in the air. It's a misty Brigadoon-type place–but you're probably too young for that reference, unless you're a show tune queen like me. San Juan Island is unique place–a mixture of steep hills and bluffs, forests, rolling farmland, sandy beaches, and all of it is protected by the Olympic mountain rainshadow. And I'd read and loved so much magic realism in the past, including “Like Water For Chocolate” by Laura Esquivel, and “Garden Spells” by Sarah Addison Allen, that I really saw this as the chance to try something fresh in my career.
The one glitch was that “Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor” was conceived as a Christmas novella, to sort of gently introduce a few of the characters, and it didn't seem right to launch into magic realism with that shorter format. So I tried to leave possibilities open with that story, and figuratively blow some kisses in the direction of magic, and then I really went for it with Rainshadow Road.
How many times have you been to Friday Harbor at this point – or is that where you live now?
I think I've been about four times so far, and I would love to have a place there! It would be incredible to slow down and relax, and live on island time. But Greg and I still have school-age kids, and they want to stay where we are, and we all have too many friends and interests to even think about moving. And also . . . at this point in my life I'm not very good at relaxing.
How many books do you envision setting in Friday Harbor?
What I've got on the schedule right now is Dream Lake (about the bitter and hard-living Alex Nolan, being haunted by the ghost of a WWII fighter pilot who wants to be reunited with the woman he once loves) . . . and Crystal Cove (about Justine Hoffman, a free-spirited young woman who casts a spell to fight a dangerous attraction to the mysterious Jason Black). Beyond that, I'm not sure yet–I've been getting a lot of nudges from readers who might like to read a book featuring Joe Travis from my Texas trilogy.
Your character, Lucy, has a number of challenging and almost unavoidable relationships with people. Which do you think was hardest for her – or for you?
I think the most difficult relationship for Lucy to deal with–and for me to ponder and write about–was the dysfunctional family system she grew up with. Because Lucy loves her parents and her spoiled younger sister, but the family structure is hurtful to her. Together the three of them damage her self-esteem, and they collectively parentify her by loading a lot of responsibility and expectation on her. And that brought me to question of how Lucy might be able to change the dynamic and let her family know that the hurtful patterns have to change. What I've experienced in my own life is the discovery that the people who truly love you will listen and try to respect your needs, and they will make an effort to change. Whereas others will basically say, “I love you but this relationship has to be done my way, period.”
What's one thing you are really excited to share with readers in this book? Is there a scene or a character, or something you're just so very proud of, that you can't wait to share?
I had SO much fun developing the character of Sam Nolan! Although my husband Greg has been the inspiration for many of my heroes, I think Sam is the most like him. Sam is cute, sexy, and all-out geeky, and I sprinkled geekitude in every scene he's in, including describing his nerdy tee shirts, his love of space and science, and his computer skills. For example, when he and Lucy want to watch a movie, and she points out that it will take too long to download it, and Sam replies smugly, “I've got a download accelerator that maximizes data delivery by initiating several simultaneous connections from multiple servers. Five minutes, tops.” So he's a different type of hero for me, and I really loved that.
And, while I'm asking, which is your favorite scene?
By far, the scene I enjoyed writing the most was the one with Sam and Lucy in the shower. I won't spoil anything by revealing exactly what happened to Lucy, but after a major turn of events, Sam has to help Lucy shower. And since this is still at an early point in their relationship, he's trying desperately not to become aroused. So he's nervous and breathing heavily, and he can't help flirting with her in spite of himself. From that point on, I really had a handle on their relationship, the way they constantly try to set up barriers but still just can't resist each other. I think there's a metaphor somewhere in the book where he describes their relationship as a binary star, which is a pair of circling stars caught forever in each other's orbit.
I really loved Sam, I confess. I think nerd geek heroes are finally getting the audience they deserve. And I think Sam's t-shirts are going to be a reader favorite – where did you find the inspiration? Do you have a favorite?
Thank you! What's not to love about a geek? As one of Lucy's friends says in the book, they're great in bed because they fantasize a lot and love to play with gadgets. As for the tees, I was inspired by both my husband and son, who both love nerdy shirts. My favorite was the Shrödinger's cat shirt, not because it was funny so much as it forced me to try to understand the classic thought experiment using a hypothetical cat in a box. (The best explanation I found, incidentally, was this one . . . and among the scientists who describe the experiment, there is a very attractive young dark-haired geek with a Scottish accent who has a nice monologue at 3:44!) I finally sort of got it, although I discovered that I don't have the right kind of brain for quantum physics. Which was not a big shock, by the way.
One thing that struck me: Sam and Lucy meet at the worst possible moment for her, literally right after she's been dumped. And there are a lot of things lining up against them. Did you think one obstacle was the most difficult for them to overcome?
I thought that although they were both struggling with trust issues, for Lucy it was more a problem of trusting other people whereas for Sam it was a problem of trusting himself. Because many children of alcoholics, as Sam is, grow up with this feeling that the seeds of destruction are sown at the beginning of every relationship. And if you believe that, then the more you love someone, the worse it's going to hurt when they inevitably abandon you or let you down. So I felt that Sam's issue was the most challenging obstacle–and I loved it that magic eventually reflected the realization that his heart was pulling him toward.
That's the neat part of magic realism–the magic doesn't necessarily solve the problem, it's just part of the world the same way sunlight or flowers are. In that sense, ordinary things like babies and rainbows and love itself are just as magical as transforming glass. And that's very easy for a romance writer to believe!
If there's a reader of yours who loves your historicals, for example, why would they also like this book? Which of your strengths do you think most shines in this book?
I think no matter what genre or setting a romance features, as long as it has a strong relationship and emotional appeal (and of course some spicy love scenes!) it will work for most romance readers. But here's something interesting that happened as I was writing Rainshadow Road: As I was going through my usual process, which is to start each day by rewriting what I did the previous day, and then periodically revising the entire manuscript, I found myself adding more lyrical and elaborate phrasing because it seemed to suit the story more. Usually in my contemporary writing, I try to keep the prose really simple and stripped-down, but for some reason the magical elements worked better with “prettier” prose. (Wow, look at how alliterative that sentence was, and I wasn't even trying!*g*) So that more lyrical style is usually what I do with historical romances, and I think it lends the book some of that “fairy-tale” feeling of a historical.
About strengths . . . I think the best thing I do is to be passionate about every book I write . . . if a writer doesn't feel that way, it shows. There are always going to be flaws, or scenes I would still like to revise . . . but I spend a lot of time pondering whether to use one word or another, or trying to think of how to make a particular scene better. Undoubtedly this makes me sound weird, but I really love playing with words!
Want to read Rainshadow Road? I have ten to give away. Woo hoo!
Standard disclaimers apply: I'm not being compensated for this giveaway. Your mileage may vary. Void where prohibited. Must be over 18 and driving a golf cart to win. Open to international entries. Close cover before striking.
Just leave a comment with your favorite t-shirt slogan or saying, or your favorite goofy piece of apparel, and you're entered to win. Comments close in 48 hours.
Categories: General Bitching, Go Ahead, Win Some Shit, Interviews & Smart Responses
Review: Dark Temptations: Eden Trilogy
Dark Temptations is the first book of the Eden Trilogy. The story revolves around Eve, a college professor, who is trying to solve her parents’ murder.
I had some difficulty getting into the book in the beginning. There were quite a few grammatical errors and sentence structure problems that I found distracting. I didn’t really begin to settle into the book until the third chapter.
Errors aside, there were things about the book that I enjoyed. The author gives us points of view from all three of the main characters. I liked having the insight from each one because I felt that it gave them more depth.
After the end of the second chapter, the story started to develop. I appreciated how the author took the time to go back and fill in the histories of both Dante and Raphael. There were even a couple of twists in the book that I really wasn’t expecting.
Although the book follows the basic vampire book formula, I liked the premise of the story. I found the characters likeable as well. If book two goes in the direction I suspect it is going (I don’t want to give anything away) it should be an interesting follow-up.
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Evangeline Cass saw the man who murdered her parents, she knows he is a vampire, and she has spent her life trying to find him. A Professor in Literature she spends her time teaching the subject she is most afraid of, the Gothic, using her job as a cover for her desire to learn about vampires. But Eve’s life is more entwined with the dark and unknown world of the supernatural than she realises. When Eve meets Dante, a beautiful and intelligent young man, who sweeps her off her feet, she finds herself learning all about the real world she lives in. The secret that her neighbour and friend Rafael has kept from her for her whole life, and the reason why he holds such deep fear and hatred for Dante are one in the same.
Filed under Romance | Tags: Dark, Eden, Review, Temptations, Trilogy | Comment (0)