The Book Vixen

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: PODs by Michelle Pickett

2012-02-16T06:01:00.000-08:00

Title: PODs
Author: Michelle Pickett
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-fi, Thriller
Release Date: June 2013 by Spencer Hill Press

Seventeen-year-old Eva is a chosen one. Chosen to live, while others meet a swift and painful death from an incurable virus so lethal, a person is dead within days of symptoms emerging. In the POD system, a series of underground habitats built by the government, she waits with the other chosen for the deadly virus to claim those above. Separated from family and friends, it's in the PODs she meets David. And while true love might not conquer all, it's a balm for the broken soul.
After a year, scientists believe the population has died, and without living hosts, so has the virus. That's the theory, anyway. But when the PODs are opened, survivors find the surface holds a vicious secret. The virus mutated, infecting those left top-side and creating... monsters.

Eva and David hide from the infected in the abandoned PODs. Together they try to build a life--a new beginning. But the infected follow and are relentless in their attacks. Leaving Eva and David to fight for survival, and pray for a cure.

Reading the synopsis just gave me the chills. Sounds like PODs is going to by a dystopian-esque type thriller. What do you think?

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Touch of Death by Kelly Hashway

2012-02-16T06:00:00.001-08:00

Title: Touch of Death
Author: Kelly Hashway
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal
Release Date: January 2013 by Spencer Hill Press

Jodi Marshall isn't sure how she went from normal teenager to walking disaster. One minute she's in her junior year of high school, spending time with her amazing boyfriend and her best friend. The next she's being stalked by some guy no one seems to know.
After the stranger, Alex, reveals himself, Jodi learns he's not a normal teenager and neither is she. With a kiss that kills and a touch that brings the dead back to life, Jodi discovers she's part of a branch of necromancers born under the 13th sign of the zodiac, Ophiuchus. A branch of necromancers that are descendents of Medusa. A branch of necromancers with poisoned blood writhing in their veins.

Jodi's deadly to the living and even more deadly to the deceased. She has to leave her old, normal life behind before she hurts the people she loves. As if that isn't difficult enough, Jodi discovers she's the chosen one who has to save the rest of her kind from perishing at the hands of Hades. If she can't figure out how to control her power, history will repeat itself, and her race will become extinct.

Happy Valentine’s Day

2012-02-14T12:31:00.001-08:00

xoxo
Me and Pocket Edward.

On My Wishlist (104)

2012-02-11T04:00:00.000-08:00

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where I list all the books I desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming. If you want to know more click here.

Baby, Drive South (Southern Roads, #1) by Stephanie Bond (Amazon)

The hardheaded Armstrong brothers are determined to rebuild their tornado-ravaged hometown in the Georgia mountains. They've got the means, they've got the manpower…what they need are women! So they place an ad in a northern newspaper and wait for the ladies to answer their call….
Porter, the youngest Armstrong, is all for importing women. Still, he's so blown away by the sheer numbers, he falls off the water tower. Luckily there's a doctor among the newcomers—sweet and sexy Dr. Nikki Salinger.

And Porter has every intention of checking out her bedside manner….

Baby, Come Home (Southern Roads, #2) by Stephanie Bond (Amazon)

The hardheaded Armstrong brothers are determined to rebuild their tornado-ravaged hometown in the Georgia mountains. They've got the means, they've got the manpower…what they need are women! So they place an ad in a Northern newspaper and wait for the ladies to arrive.…
Sensible yet sexy middle brother Kendall Armstrong penned that ad himself—but there's just one woman he really wants to answer the call.…

Civil engineer Amy Bradshaw—Kendall's ex-fiancée—fled Sweetness years ago, taking a precious souvenir with her. She's back now…but only on a professional level. Really.

Little does she know that old flames always burn the hottest.…

Baby, Don’t Go (Southern Roads, #3) by Stephanie Bond (Amazon)

The hardheaded Armstrong brothers are determined to rebuild their tornado-ravaged hometown in the Georgia mountains. They've got the means, they've got the manpower…what they need are women! So they place an ad in a Northern newspaper and wait for the ladies to arrive.…
Eldest brother Marcus Armstrong considers the estrogen-influx an irritating distraction. He's running a town, not a dating service!

Reporter Alicia Randall thinks the Armstrong brothers are running a scam and she intends to prove it—even if it means seducing oh-so-sexy Marcus in the process. Sizzling sex and a hot story? Win-win!

At least it is, until she falls for the guy. Will love trump betrayal when the truth comes out?

I had gotten Baby, I’m Yours (Southern Roads, #0.5) as a free Kindle read and I loved it! So I definitely want to read the trilogy.

What’s on your wishlist?

Demons at Deadnight Blog Tour

2012-02-09T09:12:00.001-08:00

I am happy to have the mother/daughter writing duo A&E Kirk here on The Book Vixen today! They are going to share some secrets with us about being a mother/daughter writing team. There is also a giveaway and the secret phrase at the end of this post, so keep your eyes pealed for that.

Ten Things You Don’t Know About This Mother/Daughter Writing Team

1) Writing Process: Eileen gets her ideas while showering or driving and needs complete silence to write—graveyards are her preferred writing locations. Alyssa gets her inspiration from and writes while grooving to music.

2) Vocabulary: Alyssa really does talk like a nerd. Her vocabulary includes not only “groovy,” but also “trollop,” “skeedattle,” “coolio,” “jeez Louise,” and “Jiminy Cricket.” Yes, she earns a lot of snickers and odd looks.

3) Competition: We have daily competitions while we write to see who can write the most words in the shortest amount of time and the loser bakes a lavish dessert for the winner. It’s great for our career, not so much for our girlish figures.

Alyssa: I usually win.

Eileen: She’s delusional.

4) Romance Scenes: The first time Alyssa wrote a romance scene she was such an embarrassed blushing mess she only wrote it in her room with all the doors locked and wouldn’t let Eileen read it for two weeks. To this day she can’t talk about or read aloud romance scenes without her voice getting squeaky and her entire face going red.

5) Working Hours: Most of our writing goes on from 11pm to 3am, which is about the time Mr. Kirk gets up for work and he tucks us into bed.

6) Van Helsing: He’s real! Alyssa created Aurora’s cat because she desperately wanted to name a cat Van Helsing. When we got our next rescue cat, she named him Van Helsing and, as punishment, her brothers named the other rescue kitty Dracula. That’s right, every night we go out calling for Dracula and Van Helsing to come home. Our neighbors think we’re nuts.

7) Writing Team: We didn’t start out as a mother/daughter writing team. Alyssa had written several drafts of Demons At Deadnight. Then the family gave her a trip to a writing conference for her 18^th birthday and she wanted to submit her first pages for review by another writer. She asked Eileen to look it over and give input. We attended the conference together, got all sorts of great info and have been collaborating ever since.

8) Writing Conferences: Alyssa was so young (17-18) when we attended, at some conferences many people wouldn’t talk to her, only Eileen. Ouch!

9) Recipes: All the recipes in the book are tried and true by our family. Eileen really drinks Ayden’s Hot Hex Boy Tea (it’s called Montana Gold). After trying several recipes, our family heartily agreed on Alyssa’s delicious find for Jayden’s Decadent Chocolate Cookies.

10) Matthias: The Hex Boy character of Matthias was always going to be from a foreign country, but we chose Australia because….*drum roll please*…we like Australian accents. Yep, that’s it. But come on, who wouldn’t want to sit and listen to these Australians talk? Okay, so maybe talking isn’t the only thing we’d like them to do.

Brianna, thanks so much for having us today. It’s been a pleasure. And kudos to you for doing so much while being such a busy mom!

Alyssa and Eileen

Good to know I’m not the only one who stills says ‘coolio’. LOL And that is too funny about your cats’ names!!

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Anyone who says this mother-daughter team doesn’t mesh has only seen them trying to put out the fire from the stupid wires behind the television that should’ve been more clearly labeled.

Alyssa, the A in A&E, has gone from mucking out horse stalls and taping her eyes open during college lectures, to writing novels. When she’s not writing, reading, or running down the halls flapping her coat while singing the Batman theme song, she’s either dancing or immersed in anime.

Eileen has much more class. Even a degree. Fancy. Mother of three lovably peculiar children—all of which like to point out how short she is. Even though she really isn’t—they’re just freaking giants. Happily married, she enjoys escaping like a bat out of hell horseback riding at a leisurely speed around the mountains surrounding their home.

Demons at Deadnight is their debut novel, and currently they’re eating bon bons and watching TV diligently working on the next epic Divinicus Nex adventure.

Find the authors online: website | facebook

ABOUT THE BOOK

For seventeen-year-old Aurora Lahey, survival is a lifestyle.
DEMONIC DESTINY
Aurora has the crappiest superpower on the planet. And it’s just unleashed a hit squad from hell. Demons are on the hunt, salivating to carve her carcass into confetti.

CHARISMATIC KILLERS
The Hex Boys—mysterious, hunky, and notorious for their trails of destruction—have the answers Aurora needs to survive. But their overload of deadly secrets and suspicious motives makes trusting them a potentially fatal move.

LETHAL ALLIES
The battle to save her family, herself, and stop demonic domination may cost Aurora everything worth living for, and force her to reveal her own dark secrets. But no worries. She needs the Hex Boys to pull this off, and, chances are, teaming up with these guys will get her killed anyway.

Amazon | BN | Goodreads | Book Trailer

**GIVEAWAY**

Thanks to A&E Kirk, one lucky winner will receive a paperback or an eBook (through Amazon Kindle gifting) of Demons at Deadnight!!

Giveaway open Internationally.
Comments are appreciated, however, you must fill out the Rafflecopter form in order to enter this giveaway.
Please read the Contest/Giveaway Policy before entering.
You have until midnight (EST) on Thursday, February 23rd, 2012 to enter.

Good luck to all who enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To enter to win the Kindle Fire you need to know the secret phrase given out one word at a time by each blog tour host. Put the words together in sequential order and you'll eventually have the secret phrase! Right now you can Tweet and Follow on the AEKIRK Blog Tour Page to get points but starting March 9 (at the end of the tour) you can enter the complete phrase on the AEKIRK Blog Tour Page and earn BIG entry points! Your Kindle Fire will also include your choice of a DEMONS AT DEADNIGHT Skin. Either from the cover, or a Hex Boy group shot or individual "Team" skin of your favorite Hex Hunk!

The secret word for this stop on the blog tour is: OF

See the Demons at Deadnight Blog Tour Page for more information and to see the blog tour schedule.

AUTHOR GUEST POST & GIVEAWAY: Dianne Duvall

2012-02-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

Vampires, Immortals, and Ghosts, Oh My!

I couldn’t help but notice that, in recent years, ghosts have become even more popular than vampires, at least in visual media. Reality shows that revolve around ghosts have popped up on almost every basic cable channel. Some follow investigative teams who attempt to validate reported sightings and experiences using electronic equipment. Some highlight haunted houses, hotels, landmarks, and the like. There are shows that allow people to share their ghost stories and personal experiences and shows that invite celebrities to do the same. I even happened upon a show once that revolved around ghost pets.

And the movies . . . There have always been good ghost stories out there in films, but quite a few new ones have emerged recently. I even worked on the set of one not long ago. Ironically, the building in which much of the filming took place was rumored to be haunted, something I didn’t know until after production began. Did things go bump in the night while we worked? They did. And I can tell you that it unnerved some. I think that’s why ghost stories will always be popular. A lot of people believe in ghosts, even those who haven’t seen or experienced hauntings themselves. That belief increases the realism of ghost tales.

So what does this have to do with vampires and immortals? In my Immortal Guardians series, both vampires and immortals are infected with a very rare symbiotic virus that lends them dramatically enhanced speed, strength, senses, and more, along with an unfortunate photosensitivity and a need for blood. Vampires are humans who have been infected with the virus, which drives them insane as it damages their brains. Immortals are gifted ones who have been infected. Gifted ones are men and women born with extremely advanced DNA that protects them from the madness vampires suffer and bestows upon them gifts ordinary humans don’t possess. In the case of Marcus, the immortal hero of Night Reigns (Book 2 in the series) the gift is the ability to see ghosts. While I was writing his story, I began to wonder if one would ever become accustomed to such. Marcus has been doing so for over eight hundred years. Does it still startle him to suddenly see someone where there should be no one? Find out in Night Reigns.

Thank you for joining me! I hope you’ll like my Immortal Guardians . . . and the ghosts that haunt Marcus. :-)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dianne Duvall earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of St. Thomas, where she studied fiction writing, playwriting and poetry writing. Darkness Dawns, the first book in her Immortal Guardians paranormal romance series, was released on February 1, 2011, courtesy of Kensington (Zebra Imprint). It has since been nominated for the RT Reviewers' Choice Award for Best Vampire Romance by RT Book Reviews and for Best Paranormal Romance - Vampire by The Romance Reviews. It has also received many 5-star reviews, was deemed a Top Pick by The Romance Reviews, and was chosen as the Best of the Best in the RWA Indiana Golden Opportunity contest. Night Reigns, the second book in the series, was released on December 6, 2011 and was deemed a Top Pick by RT Book Reviews.

Dianne has also completed two not-yet-published paranormal romance novels that are prequels to Darkness Dawns. A Sorceress of His Own is a medieval romance with paranormal elements that won awards in the Lone Star, Where the Magic Begins, Southern Heat, Picture This, Book of Your Heart and Suzannah national writing competitions.Rendezvous With Yesterday is a time travel romance and won second place in the Picture This writing contest.

In addition to writing romance, Dianne has completed a one-act play (comedy) and teamed up with an award-wining screenwriter to write a spec script for a new situation comedy. Several of her poems have also been published in anthologies.

When she isn’t writing, Dianne is very active in the independent film industry. She edits films, constructs movie trailers and designs movie posters. Some of the film projects she has worked on have been Official Selections of the Cannes Independent Film Festival, the London Independent Film Festival the Jamerican International Film and Music Festival, and others. She also participates in preproduction and production and has done so in varying capacities for several years. Some of the functions she has performed in the past are script editor, special effects make-up artist, shooting scheduler, special effects creator, casting coordinator, production assistant, movie extra and web site designer.

A trailer of one of the films she has edited can be viewed here.

Find the author online: website | blog | twitter | facebook

ABOUT THE BOOK

Ami isn't much for trusting strangers. She has a hard time trusting anyone. But she's no coward, and she's no pushover in the protection department either. So when she comes across a mysterious warrior taking on eight deranged vampires on his own, she doesn't hesitate to save his bacon. Of course, that was before she realized what one little rescue would get her into . . .
Marcus Grayden has been an immortal protector of humanity for eight hundred years, and at the moment he's not interested in backup. From the moment Ami arrives in his life, he can't deny that she's strong, smart, and extremely skilled at watching his back. But she's also destroying his protective solitude and stirring desires he can't bear to awaken. After all, whatever her secrets — how can she defeat death itself?

EXCERPT

Smiling, feeling the tension begin to melt away, Marcus swung onto a narrow two-laned highway, then shot forward. Pure pleasure engulfed him as he went from zero to seventy in three seconds. Wind yanked back the long raven hair that fell several inches below his helmet. His long coat fluttered behind him like wings as he steadily accelerated.

Traveling this road at these speeds would be insane for a human. But, damn, what a rush for an immortal with preternaturally sharp reflexes. Up and down, swinging one way then the next, leaning into the curves until his knees nearly scraped the pavement. Streetlights were few and far between here, but his enhanced night vision eliminated any need for them. Marcus could see the deer grazing by the road long before the headlight struck them and had no problem evading those that ventured too close or darted across in front of him.

The bike left the pavement and went airborne momentarily at the top of a short, steep hill. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he tore through another curve. He felt so alive and free at times like these. What he wouldn’t give to get his hands on David’s Tomahawk, a true work of art with two closely spaced front wheels, the same in back, and a top speed of roughly four hundred miles per hour.

That precious baby wasn’t even street legal. Not that that had stopped David.

As he entered a rare straight stretch, Marcus glimpsed movement from the corner of his eye and glanced to his right, expecting to see a deer bounding along or perhaps one of those huge raven-winged vultures swooping past.

His blood turned to ice as his gaze instead fell upon a man. He was perhaps in his late thirties with skin the color of milk chocolate and a haggard face. His shirt was untucked, ragged, the neckline frayed and bloodstained.

He couldn’t have been more than five feet away. And, though Marcus by far exceeded the fifty-five mile per hour speed limit, the man’s weary stroll somehow managed to keep pace.

As if sensing Marcus’s stare, the man turned his head and met his gaze with dark, unfathomable eyes.

Marcus swallowed hard, unable to repress a shiver.

One would think he might be accustomed to this by now: seeing ghosts or spirits or whatever one chose to call them. He had been seeing them ever since he was too young to understand that no one else around him could. Yet it never failed to catch him off guard.

As Étienne often said, the sh** was creepy.

Tearing his gaze away, Marcus looked back at the road, then swore when another figure materialized directly in his path. The front of the heavy Hayabusa squirmed as he broke hard and swerved to avoid the second man, who threw out his arm as Marcus drew even with him, plucked him from the back of the bike, spun around, and slammed him back first to the pavement.

Pain crashed through Marcus, beginning in his chest, then radiating outward, so severe it temporarily deafened him . . . which some might view as a good thing because right about now his Busa was probably smashing into a tree.

Marcus struggled to breathe, each short, choppy gasp like a knife jamming into his flesh. The momentum with which he had slammed into his attacker’s outstretched arm had broken most of his ribs.

His opponent, on the other hand, showed no sign of pain as he ripped the helmet from Marcus’s head and, eyes glowing gold, snarled, “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t kill you here and now.”

**GIVEAWAY**

Thanks to Dianne Duvall, one lucky winner will receive a *signed* copy of Night Reigns with some Immortal Guardians swag!!

Giveaway open Internationally.
Comments are appreciated, however, you must fill out the Rafflecopter form in order to enter the giveaway.
Please read the Contest/Giveaway Policy before entering.
You have until midnight (EST) on Tuesday, February 21st, 2012 to enter.

Good luck to all who enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Curves & Qs Blog Hop

2012-02-06T00:01:00.000-08:00

Shiloh Walker is giving away some awesome prizes (that’s the ‘Curves’ part) and answering some questions (that’s the ‘Qs’ part). Here are the details:

Enter the Curves & Qs giveaway for a chance to a book provided by Shiloh Walker, or the grand prize, win $50 Gift Certificate provided by Hips and Curves
The blog hop will take place at the following blogs:

2/6 The Book Vixen
2/8 Fiction Vixen Book Reviews
2/10 Tori's Misadventures
2/13 Life as a Spaz
2/15 Under the Covers

To enter, just visit each blog on the scheduled date...entry instructions will be posted at each blog. You can enter up to one time per blog for up to five entries for the grand prize. One winner will be chosen for a daily prize (a signed book from Shiloh) at each blog. Hosting bloggers are allowed to enter, although they can't win at their respective blogs. They are eligible for prizes offered at the other blogs, and the grand prize.

All comments when be tallied up and one winner be chosen to win the main prize, an e-gift certificate to online retailer Hips and Curves.

The prize is valued at $50 (US) and winner is responsible for any and all costs over the dollar amount of the GC. Contest is open internationally, void where prohibited by law. Odds of winning depend of number of entries. The contest will remain open until 2/22. Winner(s) to be posted the week of 2.28 at Shiloh's blog, and will also be notified via email, however they must reply back within 14 days to claim prize.

For a further list of rules, please check out the disclaimer at shilohwalker.com.

Please note the e-gift certificate was donated by Hips and Curves with no strings attached.

Here’s my question for Shiloh Walker: What kind of research went into creating this romantic suspense trilogy? What were some things (the crazier the better) you googled?

Shiloh Walker: Oh, there's all sorts of crazy that went into this one. But not so much online. Well...there was one really weird thing. But I can't tell you that yet. Ask me again after the book is out.

Some of the research I can tell you about? I could tell you how I ended up knocking on a cop's door at 10 o'clock at night, asking him about guns and gunshots… (he knew my husband, so I didn't get arrested.) I also went to the Louisville School for the Blind and spoke with some of the staff there, toured the museum, then went back out there to speak with the friend of somebody who worked there so I could see a guide dog in action. The inspiration for Puck. *G*

That weird thing that I googled that was…well. Weird. But I can't mention that until people read book three. Cuz it's like spoiler to the max.

Shiloh, I’m definitely getting back to you about that weird thing you googled – right after I finish book three.

Excerpt from If You Hear Her

“For now. Yeah.” Then he sighed. “You still insist on going to work?”

“Yes.”

“Shit.” Nudging her off his lap, he said, “Fine. I’m driving you. I’m picking you up. If anybody says one wrong thing to you, tell Puck to eat him.”

A smile tugged at her mouth. “You bet.”

“And stop humoring me.”

She wiped the smile off her face. “You bet.”

Sighing, he brushed her hair back from her face. “You’re a smart-ass, Lena Riddle.”

“You bet.” Leaning in, she pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

My mental picture of Puck…

Source: flickr.com via shiloh on Pinterest

**GIVEAWAY**

One lucky winner will receive a *SIGNED* book by Shiloh Walker!!

Giveaway open Internationally.

Comments are appreciated, however, you must fill out the form below in order to enter this giveaway.

Please read the Contest/Giveaway Policy before entering.

You have until Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012 to enter.

Winner will be contacted by Shiloh Walker via email and will be announced on her website.

Good luck to all who enter!

On My Wishlist (103)

2012-02-04T04:00:00.000-08:00

Into the Night (The Reliance Group, #1) by Janelle Denison (Amazon)

A former Marine and Las Vegas Vice cop, Nathan Fox has seen it all and then some. Heading up security for The Onyx Casino is tame compared to his past, but it’s not his only job. Working for The Reliance Group is his real passion project. His current case: A missing woman. His mission: To find her. But soon Nathan must deal with a stubborn—and stunning—journalist who’s nosed her way into the investigation…and into Nathan’s fantasies.
To reporter Nicole Hutton, exposing a ruthless, twisted criminal who abuses vulnerable teens isn't just a job. In fact, this story has become very personal, especially now that she's gotten tangled up with sexy Nathan Fox. But before she can break the story, and help rescue a missing girl, she and Nathan must brave the labyrinth of Vegas's dark underbelly…where the heat simmering between them is about to burst into flames…

Night After Night (The Reliance Group, #2) by Janelle Denison (Amazon)

The son of a con man, Sean O’Brien learned the hard way that living by your own rules comes with a price. After a brief time behind bars, Sean is now ready to live an honest life—and pay for his past mistakes. But even his gorgeous face and seductive charms can’t make up for his record…until a member of the Reliance Group sees Sean’s potential for good, and gives him a job at the Onyx Casino.
Zoe Russo has met all types of men on the Vegas strip. But when Sean pays a visit to her casino boutique, she knows she’s in luck. They share an immediate, irresistible attraction and, for the first time in her life, she’s found a man she thinks she can trust. But when Zoe stumbles onto the truth about Sean, she can’t help but question his feelings for her. Is he for real—or has she been a fool for love? Until now, nothing has prepared her for the thrill—and risk—of gambling on love …

Defender (Dark Ops, #1) by Catherine Mann (Amazon)

The sizzling first book in the Dark Ops Defenders series.When a USO boat goes down in flames, pilot Jimmy Gage pulls a scantily clad Chloe Nelson out of shark filled waters. Chloe isn’t looking for a jet-jock to be her bodyguard - until she finds herself side by side with Gage on a dangerous mission.

What’s on your wishlist?

AUTHOR GUEST POST: Elizabeth Marx

2012-02-02T05:00:00.000-08:00

When The One That Got Away Was the ONE!

I’ve been thinking about this topic a lot lately, probably because my novella Cutters vs. Jocks is about a couple who meet in college, have a brief relationship which results in an unexpected pregnancy, and break up. Its companion novel, Binding Arbitration starts when they are forced to meet again six years later, neither of them ever expected to see the other one again, and neither of them is happy about the meeting or the resulting questions they have to ask themselves.

Their story begs me to ask the question: what happened in between? Were they pining away for each other? With a raised eyebrow, I say, “Be serious. He’s a professional athlete, and there’s testosterone and Baseball Annie’s (groupies) to deal with!” Or were they moving forward with their lives and not examining what happened back then. She’s a big time criminal defense attorney, who graduated at the top of her law school class while raising a child single handedly; I don’t think she stopped to examine it.

I believe there are two schools of thought, or teams, on the issue of the one that got away. For lack of better identifiers and because I’m from Chi town and my books are set here, let’s call them the Cubs and the Sox. Now, the Cubs are the ones pining away for the one that got away, and the fact that they were cursed by a lady with a goat hasn’t helped their statistics. The Sox are the ones moving onto natural grass and greener pastures without a backwards glance, in case you didn’t know they’re world champions.

Now I’m on team Sox all the way. I’ve never pined away for an ex, secretly called him just to see ‘what he’s up to’, Googled him or tried to find him on Facebook. Whether this because I really didn’t love him or when the relationship ended I had already exhausted every measure to keep it going, I can’t say. Maybe, I’m a once it was over, it was over for good kind of girl? Let’s face it, I’m a romantic at heart, I write contemporary romance for crying out loud, so I should be on the Cubs team, pining away for my one true love, or it could be I got lucky and married mine. This is good because I find the idea of longing for someone sad. I can’t imagine living a life without the person you love, especially knowing there out there and they’re not part of your world. I think that kind of yearning might break the spirit.

The cynics will say people don’t die over a love affair gone wrong.

Which brings me to the example that will be glaringly familiar to many of you, Wuthering Heights. And let’s face it, Bronte really meant, Withering Hearts, a device she probably learned from Dickens. We have the passionate but doomed lovers, Catherine and Heathcliff, and while Catherine is very much in love with Heathcliff she allows another man to court her because in the eyes of the world Heathcliff is an unacceptable match. Heathcliff runs away to make something of his self and to prove her wrong, and then returns to find Cathy married. Heathcliff cannot accept the situation and he literally pines away for Cathy for the rest of his life, he is so obsessed with her, and later her memory, he takes stalking to a level that almost destroys countless lives. It’s to die for kind of love, how many people love someone so much they dig up their grave and cuddle with their corpse. For Heathcliff it’s a little more than pining. Of course this is a novel and extreme, but this is what I meant about how depressing it must be to brood over someone you’ll never have.

In Binding Arbitration, neither of the star-crossed lovers realizes they were waiting for the other one until they’re in too deep. They are still attracted to each other, perhaps even more so, but they don’t realize that the heart wants what the heart wants until it’s too late.

So the question is: are you on Team Cubs pining away or Team Sox always looking forward? Post a comment and let us know which team you’re on. Or are you stuck in Binding Arbitration like Libby and Aidan, afraid to even ask the question? I’m especially interested in those of you pining away and hoping those of you who aren’t pining away, aren’t because you have captured the heart of your Heathcliff.

Happy reading!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Windy city writer, Elizabeth Marx, brings cosmopolitan life alive in her fiction—a blend of romance, fast-paced Chicago living, and a sprinkle of magical realism. Elizabeth resides with her husband, girls, and two cats who’ve spelled everyone into believing they’re really dogs. She grew up in the city, has traveled extensively, and still says there’s no town like Chi town.

Find the author online: website | facebook

ABOUT THE BOOKS

On the idyllic campus of Indiana University, Little-Libby-Nobody clashes with Band-Aid All-American-Athlete and fireworks explode, spiraling Libby and Aidan into a collision course of love at first sight versus lust you can’t fight. Libby believes superstar jocks don’t take cutters to Rose Well House, at midnight and pledge their undying devotion beneath its sparkling dome. And Band-Aid imagines there’s no place in the major leagues for a small-town waitress. As the game plays out and their affection grows, they realize that labels like cutters and jocks can’t extinguish what’s between them.

Cutter vs. Jocks is a free Kindle read
and free for Nook.

Through the corridors of the Windy City’s criminal courts, single mother, Libby Tucker, doesn’t wonder how far she’s willing to go to save her son’s life from cancer. The undefeated defense attorney knows she’ll take her case all the way to the majors.
Libby pleads her case at the cleats of celebrity baseball player, Banford Aidan Palowski, the man who discarded her at college graduation, begging him to live up to his biological duty. Libby’s worked her backside bare for everything she’s attained, while Band-Aid has been indulged since he slid through the birth canal and landed in a pile of Gold Coast money. But helping her might jeopardize the only thing the jock worships: his baseball career.

If baseball imitates life, Aidan admits his appears to be silver-plated peanuts, until, an unexpected confrontation with the most spectacular prize that’s ever poured from a caramel corn box blindsides him. Libby reveals his son desperately needs him and it pricks open the wound he’s carried since he abandoned her.

All Libby wants is a little anonymous DNA, but Band-Aid has a magical umpire in his head who knows Libby’s a fateball right to the heart. When a six-year-old sage, and a hippy priestess step onto the field there’s more to settle between Libby and Aidan then heartache, redemption, and forgiveness.

**GIVEAWAY**

Thanks to Elizabeth Marx, two lucky winners will receive an ebook copy of Binding Arbitration – one winner from Team Cubs and one from the Team Sox. Giveaway open Internationally. Answer Elizabeth Marx’s question in the comments and fill out the Rafflecopter form to enter. Giveaway ends February 16th, 2012. Please read Terms & Conditions at the bottom of the Rafflecopter form before entering. Good luck to all who enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Month in Review: January 2012

2012-02-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

Oh January, you were a busy month. Again, not enough hours in the day. I need to clone myself, in triplicate. *How cool would that be?!) Anyhoo, I read 5 books in January. Not bad, but I could do better. I’m still trying to figure out life as a mom of three. I have to-do lists everywhere! I need to consolidate them all into ONE to-do list.

I hear pigeons outside my house, like on my roof. They are driving me batty!

Okay, onto business.

Books Read:

The Last Slayer by Nadia Lee
Bring Me Home for Christmas by Robyn Carr
A Wedding Story by Dee Tenorio
If You See Her by Shiloh Walker
Tempest by Julie Cross

Books Reviewed:

Ruthless by Sara Shepard (Guest Review) – 4 frogs
Hot Zone by Catherine Mann – 3 frogs
The Heart of a Killer by Jaci Burton – 4 frogs
Bring Me Home for Christmas by Robyn Carr – 3 frogs
If You See Her by Shiloh Walker – 4 frogs

Posts:

My 2011 Year in Review
Authors Jodie Becker and Sidney Bristol chat about fiction vixens not being just a pretty face.
Author Nadia Lee talks about what’s in a name/title
Author Robert Manni tells us how to jumpstart your dating life in 2012
Author Rebecca York explains why she likes romantic suspense
Author Aida Brassington talks about endings
Did you know you can buy a Kindle book now and gift it later? Perfect for those Kindle deals!
Author Shiloh Walker talks about her Pinterest addiction (and how/why she considers it ‘working’)
Author Tara Chevrestt explains why she makes her men wear rubbers

Current Giveaways:

(1) print copy of Guarding Grace by Rebecca York – Ends 2/2 (US)
(2) ebook copies of Between Seasons by Aida Brassington – Ends 2/7 (INT)
(1) ebook copy of Beyond and Serenity by T.P. Boje – Ends 2/9 (INT)
(1) ebook copy copy of A Facebook Affair by Tara Chevrestt – ENDS 2/14 (INT)

2012 Reading Challenges Status Report:

Outdo Yourself – 5/101books
(Sign-up | February Review Link Up)
Men in Uniform – 0/5 books
(Sign-up | February Review Link Up)
eBook Challenge – 3/5 books
TBR Pile Challenge – 0/10 books
100+ Books in a Year – 5/100 books

How was your January? Leave a comment with the link to your wrap up post and I’ll stop by.

February Review Link Up: Men in Uniform Reading Challenge

2012-02-01T00:02:00.000-08:00

To sign up for this reading challenge, CLICK HERE.

February Review Link Up: Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge

2012-02-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

To sign up for this reading challenge, CLICK HERE.

AUTHOR GUEST POST & GIVEAWAY: Tara Chevrestt

2012-01-31T05:00:00.001-08:00

Why I Make My Men Wear Rubbers

With the recent release of my contemporary romance, A Facebook Affair, I had a blogger express some surprise at the fact that each time my Hero and Heroine do the horizontal mambo, the man wears a condom. I guess this is still not a common thing in contemporary romance novels. I know that I have read some books that just shocked me by the lack of condom usage. I mean, books in which lady smoke jumpers diddle rookies, condom free…I couldn't help but shake my head while I read that, all the time mumbling, "Girl, if you get preggers, you won't be jumping out of any planes. You'll only be taking tiny hops to the OB Gyn…"

And one time, I read a book in which this chick discovered she liked sex! Who doesn't? But this chick liked sex with strangers. Well, okay. But she just sat down in the airplane bathroom mid-flight, took all of her clothes off, and waited for whoever walked in there. And no condoms? EW!!

Now, my Hero, Brandon and my Heroine, Kelly love each other. They correspond online, rekindle their childhood crushes on each other, and when Brandon finally hops a plane across the States to see her, of course, the attraction is too much to resist, and they "do it." But they use condoms. Why? What kind of example am I setting for those young fresh out of high school, still malleable twenty-something-year-olds if I don't have characters practicing safe sex? With all the disease out there…

Some say, "Oh I just read for fun. I don't want the sex interrupted by them putting on condoms." Then write it subtlety. He can turn his back for a moment, complying with her wishes. The heroine could put it on him in some creative way. OR your characters can even make a joke about it. Kelly and Brandon do…the second time around.

So, that's why my men wear rubbers. How do you feel about the whole deal?

Find the author online: blog | facebook

ABOUT THE BOOK

When Kelly Littleton takes the plunge and finally joins Facebook to socialize without the limits that her hearing impairment gives her. On a whim, she looks up a childhood friend. In sending him that first message, she ignites the memories of a crush from twenty years ago. But will they turn into the flames of romance, or end up the ashes of a Facebook affair?
Brandon Hopkins has a lot on his plate. A recent divorce, a pregnant sister, and now, he realizes he's in love with a woman who lives states away. Can he overcome the boundaries of internet romance to make this desire turn into something real, or will adversity and distance be their undoing?

A Facebook Affair was release by Breathless Press December 9^th, 2011.

**GIVEAWAY**

Thanks to Tara Chevrestt, one lucky winner will receive an ebook copy of A Facebook Affair!! Giveaway open Internationally. Answer Tara’s question in the comments and fill out the Rafflecopter form to enter. Giveaway ends February 14th, 2012. Please read Terms & Conditions at the bottom of the Rafflecopter form before entering. Good luck to all who enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

On My Wishlist (102)

2012-01-28T04:00:00.000-08:00

Shatter Me (Shatter Me, #1) by Tahereh Mafi (Amazon)

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.
The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting as The Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices, Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel—with a paranormal twist—that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel.

Second Chances by Lauren Dane (Amazon)

Ten years ago, Rori Simon left town shy, unattractive and with zero self-esteem. Now she’s back, older, stronger and finally loving herself—and it shows. Hot men are soon knocking at her door, including Jude Callahan, the bad boy who starred in her teenage daydreams…and her adult fantasies.
Jude can’t believe the sexy, confident woman before him is actually Rori! She’s gotten under his skin like no other woman has…and brings out secret desires he can’t resist. He wants to dominate Rori with every fiber of his being. Wants to own her and pleasure her. To cherish her as he makes her his.

Rori discovers she likes being controlled. She also knows Jude is not a one-woman man. Everything changes when she meets Zach Helm. Edgy, sensual Zach knows just what she needs, and before long, she’s in love. Jude watches them together and wonders if he’s lost his chance forever…

Shaken by Dee Tenorio (Amazon)

Thirteen stories up. Two broken hearts. One last chance…
Surgeon Grant Sullivan’s once-perfect life lies in ruins. His daughter is gone—lost in a tragic accident he dare not allow himself to remember—and his beautiful wife now stares at him from across a legal table, insisting she wants nothing from him.

Julia Sullivan lost everything, especially her illusions about her marriage, after the accident. Her grief only seemed to drive Grant further into his emotional shell—except for the nights he turned to her in silent, furious passion. Unable to live like a ghost in her old life, she’s packed up what’s left of her broken heart and is ready to move on. Alone.

Determined to break their stalemate, Grant follows Julia onto the elevator just in time for an earthquake. Trapped for hours in a building pressure cooker of unspoken pain, he’ll do anything to remind her what she’s leaving behind, as deliciously as he can. But giving her what she needs to save their marriage is the one thing that could destroy his soul.

Warning: Heartbreak and passion ahead—desperate doctor determined to save his marriage at any cost…except for the one secret his wife will do anything to uncover.

What’s on your wishlist?

AUTHOR GUEST POST: Shiloh Walker

2012-01-27T05:00:00.000-08:00

So...I have an addiction to this site called Pinterest. You pin things. To a virtual corkboard. But you can use it for helpful stuff! Really! Like, I'm going to use it to tell you about my book. First... the heroine...

She looks like this.

Source: kaganga.com via shiloh on Pinterest

And the hero looks like this.

Source: imdb.com via shiloh on Pinterest

And there things like smoochies, and sighs, and sexin...

Source: Uploaded by user via shiloh on Pinterest

And bad stuff happens...there is, after all, a killer.

Source: flickr.com via shiloh on Pinterest

There's also some shopping, though. Not while the killer is chasing her, though. Hope is too smart for that. And cautious. She learned her lesson the hard way.

Source: polyvore.com via shiloh on Pinterest

Speaking of shopping, Remy would LOVE to buy her this...

Source: google.com via shiloh on Pinterest

But first they have to deal with the crazy...

Source: pimpmyspace.org via shiloh on Pinterest

No. Not crazy, gun-toting cats. Just the crazy. There's a lot of crazy going on and they gotta work their way through it. And if all of that happens, you'll end up with maybe one of these...

Source: presentdreams.co.uk via shiloh on Pinterest

And it happens here.

You can read about it here... www.shilohwalker.com/website

And you can check out my obsession on Pinterest here... *G* My boards

Kindle Books: Buy Now, Gift Later

2012-01-26T10:14:00.001-08:00

An interesting question came to mind today; Can I buy a Kindle book now and gift it later? Let me explain. I’m currently reading a book I requested from NetGalley. So obviously the book was free to me. But the authors of this book (it’s an anthology) are so awesome that they are donating ALL OF THE PROCEEDS to a worthy cause. So I want to do my part by purchasing the book and give it away. You know, spread the cheer and all that.

I first asked about this on Twitter because let’s face it, Twitter is the go-to place for questions. Someone is bound to know the answer. Except the answer I kept getting was ‘no’ and I didn’t like that answer. I wanted that answer to be a ‘yes’! (I’m a perseverant vixen like that.) So I did the not-so-fun thing to do – I contacted Amazon. At least I would get the ‘official’ answer, whether is be a no or a yes. But this time, instead of contacting Amazon via email, I did the Chat thing. I totally recommend the Chat way of contacting Amazon! It was easy, painless, and I got my answer pretty fast. And I got the answer I wanted. So bonus brownie points to Matt (the Amazon Customer Service representative who assisted me).

Here’s part of the Chat convo between me and Matt, in case you’re interested:

Me: 'Gifting' a Kindle Book - I have a book blog and I would like to give away a Kindle book. However, I would like to buy the Kindle book today to lock in the price but I won't announce the giveaway for probably a few more weeks. Is there a way I can do this? Can I 'gift' the Kindle book to myself and forward the email I get from Amazon to the winner to redeem the 'gifted' Kindle book?

Matt: The timeframe is not a problem. You can order a book as a gift and send it to your email, and then forward the email to the winner as long as it hasn't been redeemed, it can be opened on another account
I believe you can even re-send the email from your "digital orders" under Your Account settings

customer service can re-send it for sure

and you should be able to simply forward the email

So the moral of this story post is this: You can buy a Kindle book now to lock in on the price and giveaway the book at a later date. So next time you see a great deal on Kindle (you know those 99¢ – $2.99 deals I’m also tweeting about) and you think gee, that would be a great book to give away on my blog! – know that you can buy the Kindle book now to lock-in on that great deal and gift the book later.

GIVEAWAY: Beyond and Serenity by T.P. Boje

2012-01-26T05:00:00.000-08:00

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

T. P. Boje is a mother of two, a stepmother of another two and a hardcore cartoon lover, Tim Burton enthusiast, and enjoys any movie the Coen Brothers have made (with the big Lebowski being her favorite strongly followed by Burn after Reading). She is also a writer of Y/A Paranormal Romance, fantasy and mystery. She is originally from Denmark but currently living in Florida, USA. Her books are translated into several languages.

To learn more follow her on Twitter, visit her fan site on Facebook or check out her web-page: http://www.tpboje.blogspot.com/

ABOUT THE BOOKS

Have you ever wondered where you go when you die?
Meghan is 16 when it happens to her. She wakes up on a flying steamboat on her way to a school run by Angels in a white marble castle. She meets Mick who helps her through a difficult time in a different world filled with heavenly magic. One day she finds a mirror in the cellar of the school and goes through it. She ends up back on earth where she meets Jason. But Jason is in danger and Meghan knows something important.

Soon she will have to choose between the two worlds.

The one she belongs to now, and the one she left.

Beyond is a Y/A paranormal romance and the first book in T. P. Boje’s Afterlife-series.

It is Meghan’s second year at The Academy. While trying to help and care for Jason on earth she is struggling to keep up in school, where they this year will learn both to ride Pegasus’ and fly through severe storms. Meanwhile Mick is becoming more than a friend to her and soon she finds herself facing the unavoidable choice.
But something evil is threatening the students at the Academy and Meghan is no longer safe within the walls of the castle. Something causes several of the students to be caught in the middle of a nightmare, that they can’t wake up from.

Soon they suspect that there might be a traitor in their midst.

Serenity is a Y/A paranormal romance. It is the second book in the Afterlife-series.

Meghan’s training at the Academy is coming to an end. Everything is going great for her as she comes closer to the graduation. She is engaged to be married and the wedding is very near when she hears some disturbing news that makes her rethink all of her coming life.
In class they are taught to catch dreams and fly with the speed of light. Meghan soon discovers that she has a lot of special talents and that she is much stronger than she thought. But unfortunately that doesn’t help her as she faces the truth about her own death which will be revealed to her at the end of the year.

Endurance is the third book in T. P. Boje’s Afterlife-series about a young girl’s life after death.

**GIVEAWAY**

Thanks to T.P. Boje, one lucky winner will receive ebook copies of Beyond and Serenity and one lucky winner will receive print copies of Beyond and Serenity!! Giveaway open Internationally. Fill out the Rafflecopter form to enter. Giveaway ends February 9th, 2012. Please read Terms & Conditions at the bottom of the Rafflecopter form before entering. Good luck to all who enter!

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REVIEW: In Close by Brenda Novak

2012-01-25T05:00:00.000-08:00

Title: In Close (Amazon)
Series: Bulletproof, #3
Author: Brenda Novak
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Source: NetGalley
Published: October 2011 by Mira

Claire O'Toole's mother, Alana, went missing fifteen years ago. That was big news in Pineview, Montana, the kind of town where nothing much ever happens. Then, last year, Claire's husband, David, died in a freak accident—after launching his own investigation into Alana's disappearance.
Is Alana dead? Or did she simply abandon her husband and daughters? Claire is determined to find out—and her former boyfriend, Isaac Morgan, wants to help. Although their relationship didn't end well, he still has feelings for her. And yet it isn't until he starts to suspect David's death wasn't an accident that he's drawn back into her life.

Together, Claire and Isaac search for answers to the questions that have haunted Pineview all this time. But as they soon discover, someone's prepared to kill so those answers won't be found….

Why I Read this Book: Inside (my review) and In Seconds (my review) were such good suspenseful reads that I just had to read In Close.

What I Liked: I had a feeling to as whom the villain was but the why was not at all what I was expecting. There are a lot of factors that come into play. A lot of secrets unfold. I wasn’t sure where the author was going with the mystery but once everything was solved I had an oooooh moment.

What I Didn’t Like: You know that game one of these things is not like the others? That’s how I felt about this book being part of the Bulletproof series. The first two books in the series shared a connection. In Close didn’t. The only connection this book had was Laurel’s character (the main character in the second book) but she only played a very small role in this book. Other than that, In Close had nothing to do with the first two books. That being said, this book could definitely be read as a stand alone. (And I feel that the series should have ended with the second book.)

I was really disappointed that Rex (a character from the first two books) didn’t get his own HEA. Hell, he wasn’t even mentioned in In Close. Not once! So there’s a piece of me that doesn’t feel closure, even though this book is the final book in this series.

There were some things that didn’t make sense to me. Claire’s stepfather moves on and remarries 6 months after Alana’s (Claire’s mother) disappearance. Six months! That just looks bad on the stepfather’s part. Fingers start pointing in his direction because of how quickly he moved on. Speaking of moving on, Claire herself moves on pretty fast as well. A year after her husband’s death and she’s dancing in the sheets with Isaac. It’s actually a little more complicated than that – Claire and Isaac have a history together - but their relationship (Claire’s and Isaac’s) left me wondering. Was Claire ever really over Isaac? Did she really love David enough to marry him? Was there any regret? Thus, I had a hard time rooting for Claire and Isaac.

Overall Impression: Unfortunately, In Close didn’t live up to its predecessors for me. Whereas the first and second book in this series kept me on the edge of my seat, In Close was more of a mystery than a suspenseful thrill ride. In Close had more of a creep factor going on. This book makes the 4th novel I’ve read by Brenda Novak so far; two were hits and two were misses. I’m not yet ready to give up on this author but I will be a little more selective when it comes to picking up another one of her novels to read.

The Book Vixen’s Rating:

AUTHOR GUEST POST & GIVEAWAY: Aida Brassington

2012-01-24T05:00:00.000-08:00

Endings make or break a book. Not just knowing when to end a story, but how you end it. The cardinal rule for writers is to give your reader a satisfactory ending, but how do you do that? It’s nearly impossible to ensure every reader loves your ending because taste is subjective. Some readers want every detail tied up in a pretty bow. Others want to something left to the imagination.

My novel, Between Seasons, has an ending most people (so far!) don’t see coming. Reviewers have said they were on the edge of their seats up right to the end – there are clues throughout the book about what might happen, but they’re pretty subtle and purposefully confusing. The main character is a ghost who falls in love with the woman who buys his house forty years after his death, so logical rules don’t necessarily apply. And really, what’s a happy ending when it comes to a dead man and a live woman? Does the woman lobby her Congressman to make it legal to wed a ghost? Plus, since there’s a sequel (North of Frost, due out in spring 2012), how do you balance giving enough information for a good ending without wrapping up every detail?

It’s a fine balancing act.

In the technical sense, a novel ends after the climax. After this climax occurs, you have rapidly falling action that leads to the resolution and the end of the novel. Writers often struggle with an appropriate ending because so much focus is given to novel openings. After all, it’s the thing that hooks you as a reader, right?

The natural inclination of a writer is to err on the side of too much in the end. If your pre-readers have loved the story, why not continue it? More is . . . well, better, right? And if you’re telling a love story, why shouldn’t you give the reader more? The marriage, the babies, the anniversaries? Some readers prefer the never ending story, and sometimes this is accomplished through the use of sequels. I’m not a fan of never providing a solid ending, though, and I’ll tell you why: there’s no real closure, and that doesn’t feel good. People get bored.

Let’s look at two examples of endings, starting with the Harry Potter series. The epilogue at the end of the final novel in the series is a pretty big point of contention among fans. I personally hate that epilogue with a fiery, burning passion because I would rather have the opportunity to wonder what happened to the characters as adults than be told. My guess, though, is that many of you enjoyed it. My example of what might be one of the best endings of all time is S.E. Hinton’s The Outsider’s. Sure, it’s sad, but it’s also hopeful . . . and it gives you enough to be satisfying while still leaving open a world of possibilities of what might come next. And my guess is some of you hated it. See, hard to please everyone!

Keys to a great (and satisfying) book ending:

The reader feels that there is no other possible ending
Every action the main character makes in the novel leads to the ending
If the novel is a stand-alone, the ending doesn’t drag beyond the appropriate resolution point. If the novel is part of a series, something must end or be resolved.

What are best and worst endings you’ve encountered? And why? What do you like in an ending?

Participate in the conversation, and you can win a copy of Between Seasons. Leave a comment and fill out the Rafflecopter form by February 14th, and two lucky people will be randomly chosen to receive the novel in either Kindle, Nook, or PDF format. The giveaway is open to readers worldwide (the file will be delivered via email). Read it and let me know if you’re satisfied with the ending!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Aida Brassington lives in a haunted house in the suburbs of Pennsylvania with her husband of five years and a Great Dane named Patrick. She loves all things related to Halloween and spooky movies, but not because she shares her house with a ghost (and it should be noted her ghost does nothing more than occasionally appear in the second floor hallway and hide her keys) — she just likes being scared. She is a former political junkie with a deep interest in artisan food, reading, and scuba diving.

Find the author online: website | twitter | goodreads

ABOUT THE BOOK

There are things Patrick Boyle will never forget: the sound of his own neck breaking at the moment of his death in the fall of 1970, the sweet taste of his mother’s chocolate cake, and the awful day his parents abandoned him in his childhood house-turned prison.
Nineteen-year-old Patrick wonders for decades if God has forgotten all about him or if he’s being punished for some terrible crime or sin over a lovely forty years trapped in an empty home. But when Sara Oswald, a strange woman with a mysterious past, buys his house, old feeling reawakens, and a new optimism convinces him that she’s the answer to his prayers.

Things are never simple, though, especially when she begins channeling the memories of his life and death in her writing.

Excerpt from Between Seasons:

Her fingers arced through the air between them. “Yeah,” she answered, her voice halfway between wonder and excitement. Her hand jutted forward, touching his arm. They both gasped and sprang apart.

“Whoa!” Her fingers hadn’t actually passed through him, although it didn’t feel the same as a regular touch. It was lighter, more delicate, like the flutter of eyelashes against his cheek. And he could feel the warmth of her skin even though his shirt. “That’s…”

“… different,” she finished, taking a step forward and touching his hair. “You know you’re in style again.”

“Huh?” he asked, staring, his jaw hanging open. He could barely think of anything except for the feel of her hands stroking his hair. It felt… freaking amazing.

“Your, uh… your hair. It’s… well, you look like every emo boy in the world.” Her grin stretched across her face.

“What’s an emo boy?”

“Oh, just… it’s a hipster.”

“Hipster?”

“Never mind.”

“Sara, what is going on? Why are you being so… and why can I feel you?” Patrick’s mind was blown, shattered into a million pieces, and each piece seemed to be shouting a different question. Maybe he was still dreaming? He’d had fantasies about Sara like this, but he had never been a ghost when she ran her fingers over the planes of his face, like she did now. He’d been a man, flesh and blood.

“Beats the Hell out of me. Are you afraid of me? You look… like you’re going to shit your pants.”

“My pants?”

“Yeah, you know, those things covering your legs?” She smirked and ran her hand over his shoulders. “And yeah, I’m convinced I’m full-on, loony bin, butterfly net nuts, but it doesn’t matter. I’m just going to ride it until someone figures it out and has me committed. I seem to be functioning fine on every other level.”

“Can I… ?” Patrick’s own hands shook as he reached for her, ignoring her confession because he had no idea what to say to that, and Sara watched in fascination as his palm drifted across the space between them.

Buy the book: Amazon | BN | Smashwords

**GIVEAWAY**

Thanks to Aida Brassington, two lucky winners will receive a ebook copy of Between Seasons!! Please read Terms & Conditions at the bottom of the Rafflecopter form before entering. Good luck to all who enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

REVIEW: If You See Her by Shiloh Walker

2012-01-23T08:13:00.001-08:00

Title: If You See Her (Amazon)
Series: The Ash Trilogy, #2
Author: Shiloh Walker
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Source: review copy from author
Published: January 31, 2012 by Ballantine Books

A FACE IN THE MIRROR
Hope Carson may not look like a survivor, but she has escaped an abusive ex-husband and recovered from a vicious assault. Now she endures the painful memories and suspicious rumors surrounding her involvement in the attack. Her ex is a cop, so the last people she trusts are law enforcement officials—and she certainly doesn’t trust how the local DA makes her feel inside.

Remy Jennings should know better. He has no business falling for a woman who he suspects may have a deeply troubled mind. And even if he did make a move, she’d bolt like a frightened rabbit. But how can he deny a burning desire that threatens to consume him? As Hope’s past catches up with her in the worst way, Remy is determined to break through her defenses, earn her trust, and keep her safe in his arms—before it’s too late.

Why I Read this Book: I needed to know if my suspicions as to whom the killer is were right.

What I Liked: Ever since reading If You Hear Her (my review), I had a theory on who the killer is. And I was so convinced that I had it figured out. Until page 300-something (I’m not going to give you an exact page because you’ll either jump straight to the page or it’ll preoccupy your mind when you should be paying attention to the story), I knew it was [insert character who I thought was the killer]. But then [insert event that happens that squashes my theory] occurs. The choices for the killer are somewhat limited; there’s one detail regarding the killer that’s given away in the first book (no, I’m not going to say what that detail is but it’s an important one) and most characters don’t fit the profile because of that small detail. In fact, I do not even know who fit’s the killer’s profile now. *scratches head*

I love how Remy challenged Hope, in more ways than one. Remy would ask Hope how she was feeling and she would reply I’m fine or I’m okay and he’d rebut her by calling her out as a liar. It made me chuckle but I’m glad he didn’t let her get away from addressing her feelings. I think an important thing with someone who’s as broken as Hope is to get them to express their feelings instead of keeping it all bottled up inside. And Remy did a fine job at coaxing it out of her.

I had the notion that the author was so wickedly forthcoming with some details (like internal dialogue). A new detail came to light regarding the person I *thought* was the killer and yet, I was still in denial. I was ready to go back and skim through the entire book to prove to myself that my theory could still hold weight. But I decided to keep reading and another new detail came to light and completely derailed my suspicions. I now have absolutely NO IDEA who the killer is. And I like it! Otherwise it would have felt too predictable. And if’s there’s one thing If You See Her is NOT, it’s predictable.

What I Didn’t Like: There was a time or two when Remy just needed to be a little more cautious with his physical movements around Hope. He knew better.

There were a few times when the descriptive narration felt repetitious. I’d read a sentence and think I just read that.

Overall Impression: By the end of If You See Her, my theory on who the killer is was completely debunked. I am now stumped and thoroughly confused. I have been completely and utterly invested in figuring out who the killer is and I can’t wait to read If You Know Her.

The Book Vixen’s Rating:

Tour Schedule:

1/23 - The Book Vixen
1/24 - Urban Girl Reader
1/25 - Lynette's Two Cents
1/26 - Under the Covers
1/27 - I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read!

On My Wishlist (101)

2012-01-21T04:00:00.000-08:00

One Moment by Kristina McBride (Amazon)

This was supposed to be the best summer of Maggie’s life. Now it's the one she'd do anything to forget.
Maggie Reynolds remembers hanging out at the gorge with her closest friends after a blowout party the night before. She remembers climbing the trail hand in hand with her perfect boyfriend, Joey. She remembers that last kiss, soft, lingering, and meant to reassure her. So why can’t she remember what happened in the moment before they were supposed to dive? Why was she left cowering at the top of the cliff, while Joey floated in the water below – dead?

As Maggie’s memories return in snatches, nothing seems to make sense. Why was Joey acting so strangely at the party? Where did he go after taking her home? And if Joey was keeping these secrets, what else was he hiding?

The latest novel from the author of The Tension of Opposites, One Moment is a mysterious, searing look at how an instant can change everything you believe about the world around you.

First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson, #1) by Darynda Jones (Amazon)

Charley sees dead people. That’s right, she sees dead people. And it’s her job to convince them to “go into the light.” But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (i.e. murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she’s been having about an Entity who has been following her all her life…and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely.

Shaedes of Gray (Shaede Assassin, #1) by Amanda Bonilla (Amazon)

In the shadows of the night, Darian has lived alone for almost a century. Made and abandoned by her former love, Darian is the last of her kind—an immortal Shaede who can slip into darkness as easily as breathing. With no one else to rely on, she has taught herself how to survive, using her unique skills to become a deadly assassin.
When Darian's next mark turns out to be Xander Peck, King of the Shaede Nation, her whole worldview is thrown into question. Darian begins to wonder if she's taken on more than her conscience will allow. But a good assassin never leaves a job unfinished...

What’s on your wishlist?

REVIEW: Bring Me Home for Christmas by Robyn Carr

2012-01-20T05:00:00.000-08:00

Title: Bring Me Home for Christmas (Amazon)
Series: Virgin River, #16
Author: Robyn Carr
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: review copy
Published: October 2011 by Mira

This year, Becca Timm knows the number one item on her Christmas wish list—getting over Denny Cutler. Three years ago, Denny broke her heart before heading off to war. It's time she got over her silly high-school relationship and moved on.
So she takes matters into her own hands and heads up to Virgin River, the rugged little mountain town that Denny calls home, as an uninvited guest on her brother's men-only hunting weekend. But when an accident turns her impromptu visit into an extended stay, Becca finds herself stranded in Virgin River. With Denny. In very close quarters.

As the power of Christmas envelops the little town, Becca discovers that the boy she once loved has become a strong and confident man. And the most delicious Christmas present she can imagine.

Why I Read this Book: I had not read a single book in the Virgin River series nor had I read anything else by this author. But when I came across Bring Me Home for Christmas, I was in the mood for a light contemporary romance and I couldn’t pass this one up.

What I Liked: Becca’s on the verge of getting engaged but there’s a speck of doubt floating around in the back of her mind. She can’t stop thinking about her ex so she decides to see him to find out if she’s ready to completely move on. She wants to marry someone because she is absolutely, unequivocally in love with him, not because he looks good on paper.

Virgin River seems to be the place where people come to escape but ending up staying and setting up house. The people of Virgin River are like an extended family; everyone looks out for each other. It feels like a nice and welcoming place.

It was refreshing to have a female character brought in to the story and befriend Becca instead of her being Becca’s competition. No crazy drama in Bring Me Home for Christmas.

What I Didn’t Like: Some aspects of the story were predictable. I pretty much knew who Becca was going to end up with but I was interested to find out the how.

I don’t like to mix children with my romance novels. I’ve got 3 kids of my own so it’s not much of an escape if there are kids in the books I read.

Memorable Moment:

“The safest place for a family is under the umbrella of a happy marriage.”

Love this quote. It gave me the warm and fuzzies.

Overall Impression: Bring Me Home for Christmas was a lovely story and can definitely be read as a stand alone. I fell in love with not only the hero and heroine but the people of Virgin River as well. I will be checking out the rest of this series. If you’re one of those Lifetime/Hallmark movie channel junkies (like I am) you’ll enjoy reading this book. It’s one of those feel good stories.

The Book Vixen’s Rating:

BLOG TOUR: Kiss of Death Romantic Suspense Rocks

2012-01-19T05:00:00.000-08:00

Why I Like Romantic Suspense
By Rebecca York

I think we tend to read what our parents read. My mom was deep into mystery, thrillers, science fiction and fantasy, and I happily followed her lead. I loved those genres. In fact I didn’t even know there was a genre called “romance” until a friend asked me if I wanted to try and write one with her. When I said I’d never read a romance, she brought me shopping bags full of them. What I discovered were books where the man/woman sub-plots I loved in the books I’d been reading turned into the whole story, which focused on a developing romantic relationship. We did write and sell several romances. But after my initial excitement in discovering the genre, I started slipping in the danger, suspense, and paranormal elements I’d loved as a kid. And gradually I morphed into a writer of “romantic suspense,” the perfect genre for me, where a man and a woman fall in love against a dark and dangerous background. I love researching the action sequences in my stories. I love plotting books where the hero and heroine are on a knife edge of tension as they battle to save their lives. But their love for each other grows and develops throughout the story, and their reward for defeating the bad guys is always a happily ever after.

And one of the satisfactions of my career is that after I started giving Mom my books, I turned her into a die-hard romantic suspense reader.

Rebecca has written more than 100 books, and she has authored or co-authored more than 60 romantic suspense novels. She is a New York Times, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling and award-winning author.

She is one of the many talented authors who belong to the Romance Writers of America’s Kiss of Death chapter. At Kiss of Death we believe that every great romance should include suspense. Whether a spy thriller in Regency times, a paranormal romance with a revenge-seeking zombie, or a traditional serial killer after the heroine, romance relies on suspense, leading the reader through the trials of the heroine and hero to see if they will get their happily ever after ending. If you can call your writing suspenseful, then the Kiss of Death has something for you! Find out more and join at http://www.rwamysterysuspense.org and follow us on Twitter at @RWAKissofDeath.

Find out more about Rebecca York at her website http://www.rebeccayork.com.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Brady Lockwood had no choice but to rescue the woman who'd witnessed his brother's murder. In the wrong place at the wrong time, Grace Cunningham had become a target, and only he could keep her alive. But Brady was convinced she knew more than she was telling.
More than what she'd seen, Grace was haunted by what she kept secret. Things she couldn't tell anyone, especially Brady. Things that went beyond his brother's murder. Her brooding bodyguard had given her not only protection but passion and pleasure. And now Grace feared losing Brady to the killers at their heels--and to a secret that could rip him away.

**GIVEAWAY**

Thanks to Rebecca York, one lucky winner will receive a print copy of Guarding Grace!! Please read Terms & Conditions at the bottom of the Rafflecopter form before entering. Good luck to all who enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

REVIEW: The Heart of a Killer by Jaci Burton

2012-01-18T05:00:00.000-08:00

Title: The Heart of a Killer (Amazon)
Series: The Killer, #1
Author: Jaci Burton
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Source: NetGalley
Published: October 18, 2011 by Mira

Before the Special Forces hero has even unpacked his bags from twelve years of active duty, he's embroiled in murder—corpses bearing the brutal trademark he's seen only once before—on the worst night of his life.
The last time Detective Anna Pallino saw Dante Renaldi, they were in love. Now, he's part of the connection to a string of fresh homicides and a horrible assault Anna only survived thanks to him.

More than anything, Anna wants to trust Dante. But as the bodies and the coincidences stack up, Anna will have to decide, and fast: Is the man she owes her life to the very same one who wants her dead?

Why I Read this Book: I’ve been wanting to read a book by this author for some time now. Her name is all over the book blogging community thanks to her infamous Play by Play series and I wanted in on the action. When I saw that she had a new romantic suspense novel, I jumped all over that!

What I Liked: The Heart of a Killer starts off with an intense prologue that had quite a numbing effect. It gives you the background story upfront. As a reader, you experience everything that sets the foundation for the rest of the story.

Things are not as they seem in The Heart of a Killer. I had a suspicion as to whom the killer was at about 46% of the way into the book. That is not to say that this book was overly predictable, because it wasn’t. I just had an inkling (which proved to be correct) but I didn’t know, or I should say understand, the motive at that point. I second guessed myself numerous times as I continued reading because I just didn’t see reasonable cause to support my assumption at that point.

There is a bit of romance in The Heart of a Killer (including a few steamy love scenes), however the mystery/suspense element was more at the forefront in this story.

The author wasn’t afraid to bring the reader to tears by killing off a character they’d grown to like. Jaci Burton made me cry!!

What I Didn’t Like: What happened to Dante during those 12 years he was away from his hometown? The reader isn’t given much to go on (just that he was in the Special Forces), which made it difficult for me to understand how he has so many convenient resources and credentials. I didn’t get a complete sense of who he is, the man that is Dante. I kept waiting for a glimpse into his past – memories or flashbacks – but unfortunately that didn’t happen.

Overall Impression: Thank goodness The Heart of a Killer is just the beginning of a series. I don’t know when the next book will come out but I sure do hope it’s Gabe’s story. That man has secrets and I want to know all about them. I have my own theories about his ‘profession’ and can’t wait to see if I’m right. I’m eager to read more from this author. Perhaps I shall read her Play by Play series to tide me over - you know, the series with the hot males bodies on the cover.

The Book Vixen’s Rating:

GIVEAWAY: Amaranth by Rachael Wade

2012-01-17T05:00:00.000-08:00

ABOUT THE BOOK

Knowledge changes everything…
Hoodoo-influenced Southern Louisiana seems like the perfect place for Camille to escape her abusive past and dysfunctional family. She doesn’t expect to fall in love with the handsome Gavin Devereaux and plummet into the world of Amaranth, a place of exile for reformed vampires.

Wrestling to escape a deadly ex-boyfriend while giving Gavin a chance, Camille is confronted with decisions that threaten not only her life, but the lives of her inhuman friends she has come to love. Entangled in her friends’ quest for freedom, she dives into their realm and faces the threats of Amaranth’s ruler—the mother of all vampires—and her own inner demons.

Now Camille must decide whether she will derail her life and make the ultimate sacrifice for the monsters that interrupted her bumpy path back to sanity—what she still wants so desperately—or escape with Gavin before it’s too late for both of them.

Buy links: Amazon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Residing in Orlando, Florida, Rachael Wade is the author of Amaranth, the first installment of the epic fantasy romance series, The Resistance Trilogy. She is a member of the FF&P (Futuristic, Fantasy, and Paranormal) Special Interest Chapter of the Romance Writers of America, and her work has been published in The Storyteller magazine and A Hudson View International Poetry Digest. When she’s not writing, she’s busy learning French, watching too many movies, and learning how to help end animal cruelty.

Find the author online: website | twitter | facebook

**GIVEAWAY**

Thanks to Rachael Wade, two lucky winners will receive an eBook copy of Amaranth!!

Good luck to all who enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway