Monday, April 18, 2016

And another review for those Paranormal Romance readers

A dark secret . . . a grieving ghost . . . a handsome stranger . . . What more could Eliza Robinson want? Except for maybe her life. 

In Heather B. Moore’s enthralling 1840s historical romance, Heart of the Ocean, Eliza Robinson has turned down the very pretentious Mr. Thomas Beesley’s marriage proposal. As a business partner of Eliza’s father, Thomas quickly discredits the family and brings disgrace to the Robinson name. 

While her father scrambles to restore his good name in New York City, Eliza flees to the remote Puritan town of Maybrook to stay with her Aunt Maeve. Although relieved to be away from all- things-male and unforgiving gossip columns, odd things start to happen to Eliza, and she is plagued by a ghostly voice. Her aunt’s explanation? That Eliza is being haunted by a woman who died of a broken heart twenty years ago. 

After Aunt Maeve is tragically killed, Eliza's life is put in danger as she tries to uncover the mystery of her aunt's death. She encounters Jonathan Porter in Maybrook, whose presence in the town seems suspicious, yet she finds herself drawn to him. When she discovers that Jonathan’s dark secrets may be the link between the dead woman who haunts her and her aunt’s murderer, Eliza realizes that Jonathan is the one man she should never trust.

This was a great paranormal romance. Though the some of the story is predictable (it is a romance) the twists within the story itself are fascinating. Moore draws readers into the world of her characters with ease and I gladly stayed there throughout the whole book. I enjoyed Eliza's experiences. She wasn't too weepy or emotional, and you could see the inner strength she gained from some of the experiences she went through. Johnathan however I wanted to smack. It took him so long to figure out what he really wanted, though I expected some of that. I also enjoyed seeing some of the puritan culture without it being over done to the point of annoying. Overall a great story that kept me turning pages to the end. Well done!!!

Monday, April 11, 2016

Leave Your Reviews

This is a call to all readers. I know we've all mentioned this on FaceBook and other social media, but it really is true. Leave reviews of the books you read on Amazon, Goodreads, or other places. Reviews help authors and if you like their book it will help them even more.

Especially, if you enjoy good, clean literature that many writers (such as myself) have to offer this crazy world, those reviews can get enough attention to these authors to give them an oomph in the market that will allow their books to become more widely known.

Please, please, please, leave your reviews!!! Now, I need to go and take my own advice. :)


Thursday, April 7, 2016

So, I've Been Doing a Lot of Reading Lately . . .

Exactly. Just imagine long flights from Portland to Dallas with a plane full of sleeping people. Yep. Lot's of reading. I've read all sorts of books: romances, murder mysteries, Christian novels, fantasy, science fiction. I was going to add some to my list when I just decided that I'm too tired to review them all, so here's what I'm going to do. I'll give you a list of books and you can go on Amazon and look them up for yourself. How's that for being very lazy? :)

Hazardous Duty: Squeaky Clean Mysteries, Book 1 by Christy Barritt
Lady Fiasco by Kathleen Baldwin (I really like all of her books, they are great Regency Romances with a twist of adventure.)
Welcome to Last Chance by Cathleen Armstrong
A Rose Before Dying by Amy Corwin (I also like her books. They may be romances, but they also have mystery, danger, and adventure.)
Three Silver Doves by Deborah Garner (There are two other books of hers that I have, but haven't had the chance to read.)
Against All Odds by Irene Hannon
Hounded by Anita Klumpers
A Bid For Love by Rachel Ann Nunes (She is a great author that mixes mystery and romance)
When Love Calls by Lorna Seilstad

Okay, that's a good list for now. I know a bunch of these are romances, but many of them have mystery or adventure mixed in that helps them not be quite so cheesy.

Enjoy



Monday, April 4, 2016

Dear Editor

Dear Quotation Marks,

You might make up 90% of the punctuation in my books, but you really are obnoxious.
That's all.

Shifting up,
Author

Dear Stories in my Head,

I know you're in there. I also know you are eagerly waiting to come out. Right? Hello?
Seriously, I know you're there. Come on novels, show yourselves!!!

Sigh,
Frustrated Writer

Dear Already Published Books,

Okay, so your siren call will no longer work on me. I have my own stories to tell and I can't be all distracted by you and your cleverly written plots and discount prices on Amazon Kindle. Really, this has got to stop. I don't have time for this.

Seriously,
Just One More Novel

Dear Protagonist,

I'm sorry I've made it so hard for you to obtain your goal, but really you'll thank me in the end when you've grown and gained strength that you didn't know you had. I promise it will all be worth it . . . well okay most of it will be worth it.

Sincerely,
Author

Saturday, April 2, 2016

Review: Spring In Hyde Park (Timeless Regency Collection Book 3)

I just had the opportunity to read a delightful collection of Novellas by three excellent authors.
Spring In Hyde Park includes three novellas:

A Happy Accident by Jennifer Moore
Jonathan Burles father has just died, making him the new Marquess of Spencer and the most sought after bachelor in London. An unfortunate accident leads to a forced marriage to Maryann Croft, a young woman who possesses no title, and an unexpected secret. With the unstable beginning to their marriage, finding love together seems impossible.

The Disdainful Duke by G.G. Vandagriff
Lady Saphronia Huffington has always thought of herself as plain next to the beauty of her sister, Lady Lavinia. So when her sister becomes engaged to Lord Gilbert Caldwell and Saphronia is paired for wedding events with his brother, the granite-faced Duke of Mayfield, who is known to prefer beauties, she sharpens her wit. Thus begins a lengthy sparring contest during which the Duke realizes Saphronia is anything but plain.

An Invisible Heiress by Nichole Van
Miss Belle Heartstone has everything money can buy—houses, servants, carriages, clothing, jewels. A husband, however, is proving much harder to, ehr . . . purchase. Colin Radcliffe, the newly minted Marquess of Blake, is in desperate need of funds—preferably of the wife-free variety. When circumstances draw the two together, Blake might be the only man able to see beyond the Belle’s outer façade, and fall in love with the woman inside.

My review:
What a wonderfully delightful collection of novellas. I thoroughly enjoyed these three stories and I love reading good, clean Regency romances. All three satires were well developed for novellas and each one kept me turning the pages to the very end. Though the endings were predictable, the path of each story took unique turns that made me laugh and cheer for the characters.

I loved how the characters in A HAPPY ACCIDENT worked through their story without too much drama and overdone misunderstandings. Maryann was a solid, steady young woman with level-headedness and intelligence that made you want to love her from beginning to end. Johnathan was also an excellent example of forgiveness and understanding.

In THE DISDAINFUL DUKE, I enjoyed seeing the characters change and grow and the twist at the end, though unexpected, made for a perfect catalyst for all the players of the story.

AN INVISIBLE HEIRESS was my favorite of the three. I loved how Belle used what could have been an insulting experience to become and accomplished, intelligent, and remarkable woman who worked for her dreams. The friendship forged with Colin is the envy of any romance.

Well done. I hope to read more from these authors.

The Seeress and the Stone