Review: Wife for Hire by Christine Bell

Format Read: ebook provided by the publisher
Number of Pages: 118 pages
Release Date: August 18, 2012
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Formats Available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK) | Author’s Website | Publisher’s Website | Goodreads

Book Blurb:

He needs a wife for three weeks…

Owen Phipps is out for revenge. His mission? To expose the man who stole his sister’s money and dignity. All he needs is a “wife” who can play along. Too bad his last best hope is an actress who tries to mace him with perfume when he offers her the role of a lifetime.

Lindy Knight is a real sap. She loves too hard, feels too deep, and often finds herself saying yes when she should …

Review: Before Versailles by Karleen Koen

Format Read: print ARC provided by the publisher
Number of Pages: 400 pages
Release Date: September 1, 2012
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Genre: Historical Fiction
Formats Available: Hardcover, Trade Paperback, ebook, audiobook
Purchasing Info: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK) | Author’s Website | Publisher’s Website | Goodreads

Book Blurb:

After the death of his prime minister, Cardinal Mazarin, twenty-two-year-old Louis steps into governing France. He’s still a young man, but one who, as king, willfully takes everything he can get—including his brother’s wife. As the love affair between Louis and Princess Henriette burns, it sets the kingdom on the road toward unmistakable scandal and conflict with the Vatican. Every woman wants him. He must face what he is willing to sacrifice for love.

But there are other problems …

Review: The Devil’s Match by Victoria Vane

Format read: e-ARC provided by publisher
Release Date: 24 August 2012
Series: Book #4 in the Devil DeVere series
Number of pages: 132 pages
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Formats available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s Website, Amazon

Blurb:

Once burned twice shy… but when old flames come together…passion reignites…

When burned once… Arriving in London as her goddaughter’s chaperone, Baroness Diana Palmerston-Wriothesley wants to avoid her erstwhile lover at all costs. Once nearly consumed by passion, four years has reduced the former inferno to bitterness and ashes.

By an old flame… A world-weary master of seduction, Ludovic “The Devil” DeVere is bored with his chosen life of debauchery. When Diana’s charge disappears, she is forced to seek help from the devil’s lair, and their mutual desire reignites with undeniable ferocity.

Fire is best fought with fire… While DeVere is hell-bent to have her back for keeps, Diana is equally determined to bring him to …

Interview with Victoria Vane (Part Two) + Giveaway

This is Part Two of Victoria Vane’s gracious and very extensive interview with us (for part one click HERE). In this section of her interview, Victoria gives our readers an introduction to the players in each of the four parts of The Devil DeVere series, as well as letting us in on some of her favorite scenes. And as an added treat, her characters DeVere and Diana have deigned to answer a few of what they obviously considered rather impertinent questions from this reader. 😉 Also, don’t forget that there is a giveaway waiting for you at the end!

The Author’s introduction to the heroes and heroines of the Devil DeVere series:

The Players by book and appearance:

A Wild Night’s Bride (Book #1)

Sir Edward “Ned” Chambers: Respectable and celibate widower with a powerful right hook

Phoebe Scott “alias” Kitty Willis: Struggling actress with a past, in need of a protector

Viscount …

Interview with Victoria Vane (Part One) + Giveaway

Today (and tomorrow!) we are incredibly pleased to welcome historical romance author Victoria Vane to Book Lovers Inc. Victoria has, by turns, enthralled, enraged, and enraptured us with her four-part novella series featuring the Devil Ludovic DeVere. In conjunction with the review of the fourth (but it turns out not totally final) story in the series, Victoria sat down and answered a few (lot) of our questions about her writing process and the series. She also let us make a few inquiries of DeVere and Diana, the hero and heroine of this Georgian-era erotic romance. Come back tomorrow for some detailed information on all the books in this luscious series, and some words from those two personages.

But first, let’s hear from their author, Victoria Vane.

Stella: Hi Victoria, can you please tell us a bit about yourself?

Victoria: The basics: I’m 48 years old, a mother …

Celebrate the Freedom to Read!

Have you ever read a Banned Book? I bet you have. You might have even read a banned book to your child! Because it’s not all about sex. Violence gets challenged. Speaking truth to power gets challenged. And so do historical truths that make people uncomfortable.

And yes, sex makes a lot of people very uncomfortable!

This week, September 30-October 6, is Banned Books Week in the U.S. It celebrates the Freedom to Read what we want, when we want, and, I think, however we want, whether that’s print, audiobook, or ebook. Something that’s going to become increasingly important in the future.

It’s fitting that one of the most frequently challenged books of all time is 1984 by George Orwell. Lest we forget, 1984 is the book that brought us the very concept of “Big Brother”.

It’s easy to talk about the books that get banned or challenged. And I …

Review: The Mine by John A. Heldt

Format Read: ebook provided by the author
Number of Pages: 290 pages
Release Date: February 12, 2012
Genre: Time-travel romance
Formats Available: ebook
Purchasing Info:Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK) | Author’s Website | Goodreads

Book Blurb:

In 2000, Joel Smith is a cocky, adventurous young man who sees the world as his playground. But when the college senior, days from graduation, enters an abandoned Montana mine, he discovers the price of reckless curiosity. He emerges in May 1941 with a cell phone he can’t use, money he can’t spend, and little but his wits to guide his way. Stuck in the age of Whirlaway, swing dancing, and a peacetime draft, Joel begins a new life as the nation drifts toward war. With the help of …

Guest Post by Amber Lynn Natusch + Giveaway

Today we’re here to welcome Amber Lynn Natusch to Book Lovers Inc.  Amber Lynn is stopping by today as part of her Got Caged? tour to give us a glimpse into her favorite scenes from Caged.  And also a peek into the anxiety producing moments that an author experiences when confronted with the request for a guest post! Who knew?

Please welcome Amber Lynn and don’t forget to check at the end of the post for the details on our giveaway!

When I was asked to compose a guest blog post, I had no idea what to write. As an author, it was an especially low moment. Then a great friend suggested that I take an excerpt from the first novel in my series, Caged, and explain what I loved about it. Genius! Times like this illustrate my need for a team of levelheaded people around me―an entourage of rational thinkers.

The unfortunate …

Bookish Rant: How Much Does an Ebook Cost?

When you go to your bookseller of choice and buy an ebook, it costs whatever the dealer says it costs. Anything from free to $14.99 or the equivalent per country.

The real caveat isn’t the different currency, the “trick” is in that three-letter-word “buy”. Because as we all know but conveniently forget, we don’t buy our ebooks, or any electronic media, including software. We license it from the supplier. Which means that they can set the terms of the license.

Back to the question of the cost of an ebook. The price to an individual, meaning you and me, is what the seller (Amazon, B&N, Book Depository, etc.) says it is. Because that’s the arrangement that those suppliers have made with the publishers. You remember the publishers, and that little anti-trust lawsuit problem they have with the U.S. Government about, you guessed it, the price of ebooks? (If not, see

Guest post by C.C. Humphreys + Giveaway

Today we’re here to welcome historical novelist C.C. Humphreys to Book Lovers Inc. His guest post is on a topic that has always fascinated me, the line between realistic historical fiction and something I guess you might call historical fantasy. Not totally made up history, but history where magic sometimes happens, alongside verifiable historic events.

As it does in C.C. Humphreys’ story of war with a little magic, A Place Called Armageddon. It’s about the 1453 siege of Constantinople, a place that has always been more than a bit magical, all by itself. 

Fantasy? In historical fiction?
by C.C. Humphreys

Interesting questions. It is something I have considered. And I think it comes down to what I call ‘a hammock moment’.

I was lying in my hammock – a rare and so especially wonderful laziness – and this sentence popped into my head:

“Magic happens to people who believe in magic.”

I think that is absolutely …