Open internationally
Spoiler Free – Ghost and Kaleb speculation questions will be early in the contest.
10 contests – half will be on twitter and half will be on the blog. Prizes provided by Nalini Singh.
First contest will start at 2pm PST on June 3rd with successive contests running about once an hour.
Last contest will start at 11pm PST on June 3rd.

We hope you will join us as we count down to the release of Heart of Obsidian!

Upcoming – Heart of Obsidian Pre-Release Party is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

The greater the risk, the hotter the reward…

Homicide cop Troy Bennett had a reputation with the Chicago PD for being fearless and in control—until the night his daredevil partner is killed during a raid. From that moment on, he swears he’ll never again be responsible for the loss of a loved one. To escape his demons, Troy transfers to the NYPD, bringing him up close and personal with Ruby Elliott, a beautiful, street-savvy pool hustler.

Reckless and stubbornly independent, Ruby embodies everything Troy’s avoiding, but when she walks into the pub he’s at with his new coworkers and blows his carefully laid plans to hell, Troy knows he has to have her—risks be damned. But there’s a connection between Ruby’s shadowed past and a case Troy’s working involving a notorious Brooklyn felon, throwing her safety into jeopardy. Confronted with his biggest fear, will Troy push Ruby away to keep her safe or fight to keep her in his arms where she belongs?

*blurb taken from author’s website*

Lou: Has demanded that I read HIS RISK TO TAKE because of a certain scene involving a cue stick and because the hero was deliciously, smutty mouthed. Troy was dirty mouthed and he was raw and gritty in his smexing. Ruby is a confident woman who connects with Troy’s dominance in the bedroom, but gives him a run for his money outside of the bedroom. She’s a pool hustler but she’s trying to make a new life for herself that doesn’t involve criminal activities. Yet she still hustles because she has to make money and it’s all that she knows.

I loved the first half of the book because the tension between Troy and Ruby was very intense. Unfortunately, outside of the hot smexing, I got irritated with Ruby’s character and her TSTL moment when she interferes in Troy’s investigation.

Has: I really enjoyed Tessa Bailey’s His To Protect, because she had a fun and compelling voice with engaging characters who were full of snark and smexy talk. His Risk To Take also has similar elements, and lets just say that Troy the hero is one very sexy but dirty sweet-talker which really made the pages sizzled for me.

But I have to agree with you about the ending which had the TSTL moment. Although it wasn’t as bad as the first book for me. But I wished the circumstances for the heroine to lead to that moment was not a forced plot point because it was a kind of a let down for me too.

Lou: The intensity between them was fantastic and I nearly blushed at the cue scene where Troy makes Ruby squirm. I agree that the suspense part felt a little forced and I wondered at times about the conflict of interest Troy had as a police detective to Ruby’s activities and her ex-contacts. Not a lot of time was spent on their emotions outside of the bedroom and other than being a hustler and Troy’s dirty talking, I didn’t know much about them as characters. When Evie decides to involve herself in the investigation to try and get Driscoll arrested by Troy, I knew instantly that this was TSTL territory and I ended up being irritated with Ruby because she was at fault. When Troy offered her protection, she blithely ignored it and became arrogant in ‘shrugging’ them off.

Has: Ohhh I loved the sexual tension between them and I agree the intensity especially with the love scenes was built-up fantastically. I melted with their first encounter which had Troy playing more hard to get which was a nice role reversal and I have to say that it was one of the best foreplay/non coital scenes I ever read. It really ratcheted up the heat factor and Troy was such a fun but sexy hero.

But I agree with you about the TSTL decision at the end although it did make sense why she would go to get more information for Troy but I wished this better approached because it was a bit ham-fisted about how Ruby got herself into that decision. I did like that Troy was willing to sacrifice their burgeoning relationship to protect her instead of taking advantage when he found out about her connection with Driscoll. I think Tessa Bailey really does alpha heroes really well and they don’t fall into the ass-hole territory. But I did enjoy the grovelling scene at the end with Troy trying to win her back. I did think he also messed as well although he was trying to protect her.

Lou:Her heroes are very growly and rawr so I kinda want the heroines to be their match and not have TSTL moments. Troy did flare up easily in anger around Ruby but I kept thinking, dude, you know she cons people out of their money? Why do you get so riled up when she doesn’t fall into what you do or say.

All in all, His Risk to take is a sexy novella that heats up the pages but I would have liked more emotional outside of the bedroom. I give it a B-.

Has: I found His Risk To Take a much tighter story than the first book in the series, and although there were similar issues with the ending and decision by Ruby, I enjoyed how it ended which was much more satisfactory. I think Tessa Bailey is one of the best debut writers who has an engaging voice for me this year and I think she will have a great future.
The smoking hot love scenes and fun and flirty banter made His Risk To Take a sexy and enjoyable read! I also give it a B-

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Joint Review: His Risk to Take by Tessa Bailey is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Out of Control by Alexandra Ivy
Ph.D student Angela Locke has a crush on her sexy professor, Dr. Nikolo Bartrev. When she learns he’s actually a Sentinel with extraordinary powers, she joins forces with him to catch a psychopath. But soon, their hottest pursuit is of each other… Alexandra Ivy.

This is the opening novella to Ivy’s new Sentinel series. She has developed a very intriguing world that has both humans and high-bloods. High-bloods are humans with some genetic differences that manifest themselves in different paranormal and physical abilities. Sometimes they also look physically different. Some of them stay in compounds with guards and medical staff but most can pass as human so they live in the regular population. The high-bloods that stay in compounds do so because they want the companionship of like people or because they are a danger to themselves or others.

I enjoyed Ivy’s world-building and thought she did a good job for a novella length to provide a complete story. Angela and Niko were both attracted to each other before the story starts but Niko had a lot of ground to make up after Angela discovered that not only was he a Sentinel but he was using her as bait. I liked how she didn’t just accept that she was different or that Niko’s reasons for his actions justified them. Watching them start to work together and trust each other as the novella progressed was entertaining. I am going to keep my eye on this series.
I give Out of Control a B.

Ties That Bind by Nina Bangs
Cassie Tyler agrees to sub for her friend at the funeral home where she works. But she gets more than she bargained for when a group of men attack her and a vampire comes to her rescue. . .
Amazon.

Bangs provided an interesting take on vampires, zombies, and other preternatural creatures. This is much darker than her usual paranormal writing but brought back the deadly scary beauty that was common for vampiric image with Bela Lugosi’s interpretation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula in 1931. Bangs added a lot of elements into this particular world and as fascinating as I found them, I think her overall story suffered from the lack of length.

I felt that several key plot developments were discovered off scene and then told by one character instead of shown to the reader. I also thought the characterization also suffered from the shorter word-count. Cassie is a dichotic character. She started off scared of her own shadow and the same night she demonstrated her familiarity with pistols and knives for self-defense. She also insisted on accompanying the vampires back to the scene of her attack knowing she was walking into a battle. Ethan’s characterization also seemed inconsistent when it came to what he and Cassie were able to safely do together. To me, Bang’s intriguing world was not enough to outweigh the inconsistent characterization.

I give Ties That Bind a C-.

In Still Darkness by Dianne Duvall
Immortal Richart d’Alençon can’t forget the woman who rewarded him with a sensuous kiss after he saved her from a trio of vampires. While Richart knows that loving a human can only bring trouble, the taste of forbidden lust is too great to resist. . .
Amazon.

Duvall’s novella is part of her ongoing Immortal Guardians series. As such, it assumed a certain level of reader familiarity with that particular world but she also provided some information for the new reader. I enjoyed the twist that Duvall included in her risks of becoming a vampire. My only disconnect was with the references to previously established couples, their place in guardian society, and their additional powers.

Richart and Jenna’s interaction was a lovely slow growing relationship. They spent time getting to know each other, which is unusual for a novella. I also liked how Jenna’s son was not a precocious young thing but a focused college student who wanted his mom’s happiness. I also enjoyed the big reveal scene of Richart’s vampirism. I tried one of Duvall’s novels earlier and it didn’t work for me but this novella made me want to go back and give them another try.

I give In Still Darkness a B.

High Stakes by Hannah Jayne
Fashionista vampire — and UDA regular — Nina LaShay stars in this novella set in the high stakes fashion world of Manhattan, New York. Nina is set to take on the fashion world with her Drop Dead Clothing label — but when her rival drops dead instead, Nina’s on the hook for more than just her cutting edge couture.​
Hannah Jayne.

Jayne’s version of vampires and supernatural creatures were very different from the other three stories in this anthology. This novella is part of her Underworld Detection Agency series but it really did not require prior knowledge of that particular world because the action was limited to a very small area.

I found that this story reminded me of a Reality TV competition. I am not a reality TV fan but I thought the premise was amusing. Dead bodies, ruined designs, drama, and intrigue were in plentiful supply. Unfortunately, I had the same reaction to this story as I have to most reality TV shows. It just didn’t work for me. I had to force myself to keep reading to find out who the villain was. If you are a fan of the Reality TV show set-up you will probably find it entertaining.
I give High Stakes a D

Overall, this anthology was a mixed bag. I didn’t find any stories that I absolutely loved but on the other hand I didn’t have any stories that I absolutely loathed. The one story that completely didn’t work for me wasn’t poorly written, I just don’t enjoy that particular set-up.
I give Predatory a C

Links to purchase
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Review – Predatory by Alexandra Ivy, Nina Bangs, Dianne Duvall, and Hannah Jayne is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Where did you get the book: E-arc from Publisher
Publisher: Bantam
Release Date: Out now

For Damien, our obsession is a game. For me, it is fiercely, blindingly, real.

Damien Stark’s need is palpable—his need for pleasure, his need for control, his need for me. Beautiful and brilliant yet tortured at his core, he is in every way my match.

I have agreed to be his alone, and now I want him to be fully mine. I want us to possess each other beyond the sweetest edge of our ecstasy, into the deepest desires of our souls. To let the fire that burns between us consume us both.

But there are dark places within Damien that not even our wildest passion can touch. I yearn to know his secrets, yearn for him to surrender to me as I have surrendered to him. But our troubled pasts will either bind us close . . . or shatter us completely.

*Blurb taken from Goodreads*

Claim Me starts a few days after the events of last year’s, Release Me, which follows the characters of billionaire hot honcho, Damian Stark, and tech wiz graduate, Nikki Fairchild, who have embarked on a sizzling affair. The painting deal that Damian commissioned, which Nikki is modelling for in return for a million dollars, is just about to expire but this isn’t the end of their affair. Damian and Nikki are still feeling the boundaries of their relationship, and in this book the focus is more about their relationship as well as their pasts being explored more fully.

Although this is another billionaire type hero who has a tortured past, the heroine helps him face it whilst dealing with her own issues, and Claim Me continues with these themes. And this is what I really liked about the book because unlike the first book, which only hinted or covered their past history, it really delved more fully into their problems and emotions. It really added more depth, especially how it tied in with the sexual tension and focus of the story.

I also felt the love scenes were so much hotter and intense than the previous book, and it definitely heated up the tension and the emotional intensity between Nikki and Damian. I really liked that while this did have a BDSM overtone, it really fits well with the psychology and emotional aspects of the characters. In particular for Nikki who uses pain and was cutting herself as a way to ground her feelings and anxiety from being controlled without her consent by her overbearing mother. But I really liked how Nikki learns to trust and accept the sexual games that are teasing and passionate and allows her to channel her own fears and worries when she is about to slip again and it really worked. For me, her character stands out so much more than Damian who wasn’t that interesting or developed.

Her relationship with Damian deepens with more trust, and he confides more about his own past and abuse that was hinted in the first book which ties in with the burgeoning murder mystery which now threatens their happiness. I did find this sub-plot dragged the pace of the story. The other plot concerning the scandal of the secret deal of the painting coming out, which Nikki was being paid a million dollars by Damian to pose nude – and the paparazzi following their every move was a bit tedious, and again Nikki has problems with her new job. I did get the sense that Nikki would launch her own business and go it alone. I felt this didn’t really make sense because once again she had co-workers who disliked her and linked with Damian. I wished she did attempt to go it alone because this would have been more interesting because this all felt forced and boring because it didn’t add anything to the story or moved it forward.

While I liked the focus on the characters and their feelings, there wasn’t much impetus or momentum in the plot and it really felt this is middle book syndrome especially with the focus on the side subplots about Nikki’s fallout on the painting scandal which really wasn’t that scandalous for me. I am looking forward to seeing how Damian’s past will pan out and be resolved, and while I wished there was more about his character but it is hard because it’s in Nikki’s POV.

I enjoyed this second installment of J. Kenner’s erotic trilogy, although nothing really much happens because the pace was more explorative of the characters which heightened the romance instead of the main plot. The love scenes were sizzling and while I wished there was more in the story development, this was a satisfactory and enjoyable read. I am definitely looking forward to the next book to see how this will be resolved and I hope it will be explosive!

I give Claim Me a C+

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Review: Claim Me by J. Kenner is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Samantha, welcome to The Book Pushers!

Thank you for having me.

The Book Pushers: Can you tell us a little about the call you got from Penguin asking you to join their team of authors?

After interest was expressed in On Dublin Street, my fantastic agent got to work on negotiations until I accepted a deal with Penguin. I was celebrating a friend’s birthday and we were on a night out in Edinburgh when I got a call from my agent to tell me about the offer from Penguin. Obviously there’s a five hour time difference, so while it was still office hours in NY I was in the middle of the street at night in Edinburgh trying not to scream in excitement in public. It was such a surreal night, but absolutely amazing.

The Book Pushers: Did you originally plan to write Johanna’s story, or was the success of the first book the motivating factor to tell her backstory?

The success of On Dublin Street definitely gave me the confidence to continue the series with Jo’s story. ODS was my first foray into adult contemporary fiction and I wasn’t sure how readers would respond to me in this genre. I waited until it was released and as soon as the positive feedback started coming in I began to think about where I could take the series next and who with.

The Book Pushers: Johanna is a character that is not your typical romance heroine. Can you tell us what inspired you to write a character like that?

Partly it was the challenge of writing a heroine so different from any other I’d written, but mostly I liked the idea of taking a character I knew most readers would have judged in a certain light in On Dublin Street and delving deeper into the whys and the hows. I’m always curious about what drives a character and I wanted to create a whole life around Jo that explains why she does and acts the way she does. My favorite part of writing is character development and I just knew Jo had the potential to develop well over the length of a story. Moreover, I’m lucky to find myself surrounded by quiet, strong, loyal and self-sacrificing women and they definitely inspired Jo too.

The Book Pushers: Who else can we expect to see in future On Dublin Street books?

Presently, I’m writing book three and this is Nate and Olivia’s story. We first meet Nate and Olivia in Down London Road and I hinted at a backstory for both of them. And of course the rest of the Edinburgh gang will be returning—Joss, Braden, Jo, Cam, Ellie and Adam and the Nichols family.

The Book Pushers: On your blog, you talk about having to balance the contractual obligations that come with traditional publishing whilst also continuing to work on your self-published series. One such compromise was pushing out the release for Darkness, Kindled to April 2013 in order to work on Down London Road. How has this affected your creative process? Was it difficult to switch gears mid-project?

Yeah, that was probably one of the most challenging moments in my career as an author so far. Not only do I hate disappointing readers by pushing release dates, but DK is such a different world from the On Dublin Street books. They are two entirely different genres, so I was jumping out of Adult contemporary romance to write young adult urban fantasy. That wasn’t easy and it definitely took me a while to fit comfortably back into the YA.

The Book Pushers: Are you able to give us any sneaky peeks into what you’re working on next?

Book three is in the makings, but I’ve also been working on something else. All I’ll say is that it’s romantic fiction and I’ll be announcing more about that soon…

The Book Pushers: Can you tell us how you go about planning your stories? Pantser or Outliner?

A definite outliner. I write character profiles, histories, plot summary and chapter summaries all before I start writing the actual novel.

The Book Pushers: Are you tempted to dip your toes into adult contemporary romance?

The On Dublin Street series is adult contemporary romance. I know some readers have confused it with New Adult but it is firmly adult

The Book Pushers: Which of your works would you recommend someone read first and why?

I would recommend On Dublin Street as I think it says a lot about who I am as a writer. Just as it is with anything, I’ve developed as an author and still am, so I think the ODS series (being my most recent) really captures my authorial voice. More importantly, I just think there is something for everyone in On Dublin Street—romance, humor, relatable issues and family drama.

The Book Pushers: What is your all time favourite romance and couple and why?

My all time favorite romance and couple is either Mac and Barrons from Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series or Chess and Terrible from Stacia Kane’s Downside Ghosts series. Both romances are atypical, they take time to build, and they’re between incredibly flawed characters who are somehow perfect for each other and I love that. I always think it makes the romance that much more believable and intense.

The Book Pushers: What does the genre of romance mean to you?

For me the genre of romance is about the characters. It’s about following a journey between two people and watching them grow and develop and have their lives change for the better because of their presence in each other’s world.

New York Times bestselling author Samantha Young is a 27 year old book addict who graduated from the University of Edinburgh.  She lives in Scotland.  Visit her online at:

samanthayoungbooks.com

Twitter.com/SYoungSFAuthor

www.Facebook.com/OnDublinStreet

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4167378.Samantha_Young

Interview with Samantha Young is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Publish Date: Out Now

How I got this book: Purchased

Up-and-coming painter Paris Sweeney finds herself painting a vivid murder–based on a series of disturbing dreams. But when her friend Chandra is killed in a similar fashion, Paris and her lover become the prime suspects. Reprint.

*Blurb from Goodreads*

When I saw this Howard book as the Kindle Daily Deal the other day, I went and checked out all the favorable reviews from my friends and decided that I needed to give it a try. I had yet to read a Howard book, despite all the good things I’ve heard over the years.  I have to say, I was a little disappointed, especially after hearing the hype surrounding her.

Sweeney is a painter who is a lot clueless to everything else in life, especially once she started seeing ghosts and other odd phenomena. She lives for her paintings, and when she paints the murder of the local hotdog vendor, she wonders what exactly is going on with her life. Things get even more complicated when Richard begins pursuing her in a relationship, and the two get tangled up in murder case that Sweeney finds herself painting in her sleep. But when word gets out, Sweeney realizes she might have confided in the wrong man, and is suddenly in the crosshairs herself.

Let me start with the romance, because although I usually like the slow build up, the relationship between Richard and Sweeney drove me bonkers. Although Richard was in the process of divorcing his wife, I can’t stand the thought of him getting involved with Sweeney before everything was finalized. That’s just me, but I still feel like it’s a version of cheating, and I don’t like it. That reason alone turned me off from their romance.

I also thought that the genre wasn’t extremely flushed out. The paranormal aspects were somewhat weak in my opinion. I like my paranormal romances to be all out: witches, shapeshifters, vampires, the more obscure the better. When a book features just a lone psychic in a contemporary setting, I usually feel a little jipped, and this book definitely fell within that category.

At the same time, I also didn’t feel as if the suspense was all that great either. Other than the slow going painting, I never really felt like there was all that suspense or mystery surrounding Sweeney and the murder she was painting. There was little action, except for the last ten pages or so, and I found that I like my romance suspense to be a lot more action packed and hard hitting than Howard provided.

One thing I did like was the archetype that Howard based Richard’s character on. Despite his pursuing another woman while married, I liked his take-charge attitude and his strong silent type. He was the kind of hero that I could have fallen for, and probably would have had the circumstances been different.

All in all I was a little disappointed by my first Linda Howard read. I will probably have to give another one of her books a chance, especially if her other hero’s have the best of Richard’s traits.

I give Now You See Her a C-

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Oldie Review – Now You See Her by Linda Howard is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Valarie P! Congratulations! You will receive an email today with instruction on how to claim your prize.

Winner – Sneaking Mom’s Books is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Stephanie Perkins

I used RT’s website to create my personal agenda which was a lovely feature. It helped me go through each day and determine what I thought would be interesting and when so I could spot potential overlaps. I have to admit that after I spent the time creating the schedule, I umm didn’t really follow it. One of my reasons for attending was to meet people I had only interacted with virtually so if the opportunity arose to sit and chat over a panel I picked chatting. As a result, I had some truly wonderful conversations that I would not have missed.

My first completely accidental encounter seemed to set the stage for the amount of fun that I had. I was standing in line for the first event I actually made it to which was a panel called Apples to Apples. It ended up being a really fun game full of laughter and very dirty thoughts. I heard two ladies talking behind me and I started smiling at their conversation. When it turned to the location of the ereader that belonged to one of them I had to turn around and join in. About 5 minutes into the conversation, I finally looked at their convention badges and saw a familiar name. I had been chatting with Mandi from SmexyBooks! She looked at my conference badge as I exclaimed in shock and started laughing. We chat on twitter and have commented on each others’ reviews multiple times so it was great meeting her and in such an unexpected way.

I mentioned earlier that everyone was welcoming and friendly. People were introducing me to other people, books, etc just out of sheer good will. I met my gateway adult romance author who graciously accepts my gushing. I enjoyed watching an author whose books I pre-order just because their name is on it going fangirl or fanguy over another author and realizing once again that they are people just like you. I sent out a random tweet to see if anyone was up to eating lunch and had a great conversation when someone responded. I enjoyed dinner, laughs, and great conversation with a bunch of authors and reviewers. Lunch hosted by Carina Press with bloggers, librarians and authors that was full of giggles. Several quieter but no less enjoyable meals with just a few individuals. And I can’t forget that books and book related things were everywhere, they were spotted on the elevator doors, the hotel lobby windows, the escalator hand-rail, and the hotel room keys.

Spending time around so many people who love books just as much as I do was a wonderful experience. It was so wonderful that introvert me is planning on attending every year that I can and adding more conferences to my schedule. I have already put RT14 on my calendar I just need to add the mush brain or post conference recovery period into my schedule *grin*. I will have some flash giveaways for RT Swag and books later.

Opinion – E’s RT13 Recap is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Publish Date:

How I got this book: NetGalley

Owen Meade is desperately in need of a hero. Raised by a mother who made him ashamed of his stutter, his sexual orientation, and his congenitally amputated arm, Owen lives like a hermit in his Tucker Springs apartment. But then hunky veterinarian Nick Reynolds moves in downstairs.

Nick is sexy and confident, and makes Owen comfortable with himself in a way nobody ever has. He also introduces Owen to his firecracker of a little sister, who was born with a similar congenital amputation but never let it stand in her way. When she signs the two of them up for piano lessons—and insists that they play together in a recital—Owen can’t find a way to say no. Especially since it gives him a good excuse to spend more time with Nick.

Owen knows he’s falling hard for his neighbor, but every time he gets close, Nick inexplicably pulls away. Battling his mother’s scorn and Nick’s secrets, Owen soon realizes that instead of waiting for a hero, it’s time to be one—for himself and for Nick.

*Blurb from Goodreads*

Given the fact that I can be a bit of a recluse myself, I’m always a fan of books that deal with people who like being on their own, hiding away from the world and learning how to find their place within it. Certain aspects of this story were so wonderful, and others fell somewhat flat for me.

Owen lives a very simple life, he hides himself away in his apartment, afraid to venture into the world that has been cruel and nasty to him his whole life. When he meets his new downstairs neighbor, the sexy vet Nick, Owen is dragged very reluctantly into living an actual life. Nick does everything he can to pull Owen out of his shell.

Nick has his own secrets, and in the process of pulling Owen back into the land of the living, finds himself in a predicament he never expected. Between his litter sister and Owen’s growing friendship, and Owen’s transformation into a whole other person, Nick finds himself bombarded by feelings he never expected.

I’m a big fan of Sexton, and yet this book really didn’t do it for me. The one saving grace for me in this was Owen. He was the sweetest, most tortured hero, and yet he had a zest for life that just came off the page. Despite the fact that he had to have his arm amputated, and the most horrific mother ever written, he still had such faith in others. Although he was shy, he was also curious enough to make friends, and for that strength alone I adored him.

Nick was very wishy-washy for me. He started off so strong as a character, and then as the story progressed, he starting falling more and more flat for me. He had a big secret to hide, and that secret pretty much ruined it for me. The reasons for keeping his secret were ridiculous, and I hated the fact that he was somewhat blase about telling Owen. I don’t want to give too much away, but if anyone is interested in hearing me rant more, let me know and I’ll add in some spoiler tags later.

The romance between Nick and Owen definitely progressed slowly throughout the book. They started as neighbors, then friends, then there was an obvious attraction between them. The sexual tension was high, and while I enjoyed that aspect, some of Nick and Owen’s reactions toward one another brought my enjoyment of their relationship down a few notches.

The only other bright spot for me was the relationship between Owen and Nick’s sister, June. She was a firecracker! She never once let her amputation keep her from doing something she loved, and she pushed Owen to not only accept his situation, but to also find the positives, to live life despite it, and to enjoy every moment.

All in all I was actually somewhat disappointed by this Sexton book. I usually love her writing, but this story just didn’t work for me. Nick was too much of a jerk, and even my love for Owen couldn’t make up for his douchy behavior.

I give Never a Hero a C-

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Review – Never a Hero by Marie Sexton is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Love is madness.
When Miss Charlotte Vale isn’t running a school for impoverished factory women, she takes tea with an insane painter—the mother she adores. Determined to avoid her mother’s legacy of madness, Lottie refuses to marry and nurtures the ton’s bemused disregard for her reputation.

Warning: This book contains gambling in low-class clubs, deliciously deadpan dialogue, an unplanned swim to rescue doused women, and a fast, furious spanking. She wants it though, so that hardly counts.
This blurb came from the author’s website.

**BP NOTE: Lorelie Brown has agreed to provide a copy of An Indiscreet Debutante to one commentator. Giveaway instructions are at the end of the review.**

I read and enjoyed Wayward One by Brown last year so when I thought enough time had passed, I pestered her until she sent me a copy of An Indiscreet Debutante. Once again, Brown sucked me into a historical populated with unusual and entertaining characters. An Indiscreet Debutante is the sequel to Wayward One and focuses on Charlotte, known as Lottie, one of the three friends who run a school for impoverished women, providing them more opportunities. This school depends on the goodwill of the nobles to fund and donate materials so everyone involved in the school has to remain above reproach. For Lottie that is much harder then it seems given a mother with a hereditary mental illness and an absent uncaring father. Well her father really isn’t uncaring, he just cares only about his business interests and how he can use Lottie to further them. Into Lottie’s precarious house of cards comes Sir Ian Heald accusing Lottie of harboring common criminals and therefore threatening the school.

Lottie was such a complicated character. After a lifetime of dealing with her family situation, she rarely ever demonstrated a true emotion or feeling while in public or even with her good friends. This learned trait both helped and hindered her interactions with Ian. Lottie had three main goals, keep the school going, protect/shield her mother, and remain unmarried. Usually she was able to focus on the first two goals but her father was becoming more persistent about concluding a business deal with his neighbor through her marriage. As a result, she decided after their first few heated discussions that Ian was the perfect person to ensure she never had to worry about marriage, only that required his cooperation and he was resistant. Lottie also had not fully considered the ramifications of her actions if she was successful beyond hopefully remaining unmarried.

Ian loved his family. He would do anything to protect and make them happy hence his trip to the school. His sister married below her station but came home with the death of her husband less than a year after they were married. Her recovery and interest in life again was badly shaken when blackmail notes started appearing. The notes threatened to expose her marriage to Polite Society and thus ruin any chance of a prestigious second marriage. Ian was able to determine that the blackmailer was his former sister-in-law who he managed to track to Lottie’s school. Ian was desperate to regain or to keep his family respectable so while he was attracted to Lottie he did not want to jeopardize his family’s goals.

I found it fascinating to watch Lottie try to keep all of her encounters with Ian on a superficial level yet push for physical intimacy. Ian on the other hand, had to find out what was going on underneath Lottie’s surface. The more he got to know her and the circumstances around her family situation the more attracted he became to her. As they worked together it was fun to watch them grow and stumble along their journey. Their interaction with the supporting cast was also fun to see and cemented the facets of their characters. It was also a nice treat to see the hero and heroine from Wayward One in action and settled in their relationship.

Brown did several things with this story that I really enjoyed. First, she did not limit the surroundings to a particular part of historical London but took Ian and Lottie throughout several different class areas. She also didn’t shy away from the potential second and third order effects of Lottie’s plan. Third, she never devalued or held Ian up as the magical cure for Lottie’s fear that was behind her insistence to remain unmarried. An Indiscreet Debutant provided an interesting view into the lives of those classes not usually spotlighted in historical romances. Brown brought forward the aspect that within a close friendship things are still kept private and that what you see is sometimes only a fraction of what you get. She also highlighted the importance of give and take on both sides of a relationship in order to make it happen. I am looking forward to seeing what Brown does to her characters in the next installment.

I give An Indiscreet Debutante a B+

**BP NOTE: To enter the giveaway leave a comment talking about the most unusual historical you have read. Winner will be announced on Tuesday the 21st. Good luck!**

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Review & Giveaway – An Indiscreet Debutante (Waywroth Academy #2) by Lorelie Brown is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter