The Good, the Bad and the Are-You-Kidding-Me?

This week we decided to cross European borders and give you…*drumrolls* Japanese covers!

Just so you know, searching for covers on the Japanese Amazon when you don’t know a word of the language is a risky adventure. We finally decided on a few covers from well known authors. 

I hope you’ll enjoy this visit to Japan.

Rapture in Death by J.D. Robb #4 in the Death series

Susi: I haven’t read that one yet but I have no idea what the cover should tell me. On what is the violet woman sitting? I have no idea. This cover confuses me- it’s like one of these visual illusion thingies. But I have to say I love how the Japanese title looks but more because of the flow of the symbols. Pretty.

Caroline: Optical illusions fascinate …

New Releases: May 30 – June 5

Kiss of Snow by Nalini SinghPsy-Changeling #10Book Blurb:

New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh’s exhilarating world of shapeshifters and psychics is “paranormal romance at its best” (Publishers Weekly). Now comes the story of an alpha wolf named Hawke used to getting exactly what he wants–and of the only woman who dares tangle with him.

Since the moment of her defection from the PsyNet and into the SnowDancer wolf pack, Sienna Lauren has had one weakness. Hawke. Alpha and dangerous, he compels her to madness.

Hawke is used to walking alone, having lost the woman who would’ve been his mate long ago. But Sienna fascinates the primal heart of him, even as he tells himself she is far too young to handle the wild fury of the wolf.

Then Sienna changes the rules and suddenly, there is …

Review: Anthology: The Wedding of the Century by Charlotte Featherstone, Mary Jo Putney & Kristin James

Format read: e-ARC from NetgalleyNumber of pages: 384 pagesPublisher: HQN BooksFormats available: ebook, paperbackRelease Date: June 1st 2011Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Charlotte Featherstone, Mary Jo Putney, Amazon

Book Blurb:

NewYork Times bestselling authors Mary Jo Putney and Kristin James join Charlotte Featherstone to bring you three sparkling stories of love found in the most unlikely of places—marriage!The Wedding of the Century by MARY JO PUTNEY

Stunningly beautiful and extraordinarily wealthy, Sarah Vangelder had always wanted more for herself than to be sold into marriage for the price of a dukedom. But marriage to Justin Aubrey might be the adventure she’s always dreamed of….

Jesse’s Wife by KRISTIN JAMES

When a late-night walk on her father’s ranch inadvertently destroys her reputation, Amy McCallister finds herself married off to Jesse, a sinfully handsome farmhand. But can he convince her to …

Around the Bookish World: News Week-in-Review

Welcome to this week’s news post! This week we have Apple morphing into big bad corporation, Hunger Games updates and Waterstones may be heading into Barnes and Nobel’s territory.

For people who have the iFlow app for the Apple Platforms – it was sadly announced earlier this week that they will close their apps due to Apple’s new rules about buying outside their platform and will only allow in apps i.e their store. I don’t know what this means for other stores like Amazon or Kobo who have their own apps but this will definitely affect users who read outside the iBookstore format. I think this is will be a huge mistake as iBookstore is one of the worse ebook stores which doesn’t have a great collection of books compared to B&N, Kobo and Amazon.

Whilst writing this post …

Review: Collision Course by Zoë Archer

Format Read: e-ARC provided by the authorNumber of Pages: 199 pagesRelease Date: April 4th 2011Publisher: Carina PressFormats Available: Ebook, Paperback, KindlePurchasing Info: Author website, Goodreads, Amazon

Book Blurb:

In a galaxy torn apart by war…

Mara Skiren is a scavenger, a black-market dealer. Blackmailed into helping Commander Kell Frayne infiltrate a treacherous corner of the galaxy, Mara learns that her biggest danger is from her sexy, by-the-book partner. She’s a loner with more than a few battle scars on her heart, but something about Commander Frayne stirs up her long-buried need for an intimate connection.

An ace pilot for the elite Black Wraith Squadron, Kell’s mission is to rescue a lost pilot and ship. Unable to deny his attraction to the beautiful, rebellious Mara, he decides bedding her would cool his ardor. But one taste is not nearly …

New Releases: May 2 – 8

Hounded by Kevin Hearne 1st book in the Iron Druid series

Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old—when in actuality, he’s twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: He draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer.Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he’s hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power—plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, …

Review: My Favorite Countess by Vanessa Kelly

Format Read: e-ARC provided by the authorNumber of Pages: 352 pagesRelease Date: May 3rd 2011Publisher: ZebraFormats Available: Ebook, Paperback, KindlePurchasing Info: Author website, Goodreads, Amazon

Book Blurb:

She is difficult, demanding, and at times, quite fierce. And Dr. John Blackmore can’t take his eyes off her. The Countess of Randolph is the most striking woman he has ever seen…and the most infuriating patient he has ever tended.

Mired in responsibility, Bathsheba doesn’t have time to convalesce in the country. She should be in London, hunting for a wealthy new lover to pay off her late husband’s vast debts, not dallying with a devastatingly handsome doctor.

But it is only a matter of time until the good doctor and the obstinate countess will have to contend with the sparks that fly between them. And once their bodies surrender, their …

We Love Your Comments Giveaway: Winner & new Start

This winner of our We Love Your Comments Giveaway for April is……
Nicola O.

who commented on our post: ‘Genres 101: Today’s Lesson “Occupational Fiction“‘

Oh, there’s a bunch of “sports lit” in romance – Susan E. Phillips, Rachel Gibson, Carly Phillips, Marie Force, Sherryl Woods, and just recently I discovered Luann McLane. Just to name a few.

I also just finished Nora Roberts’ Bride Quartet and one of the things I want to blog about is how she wraps each character’s profession into their point of view. I really love it.

Congrats hon! I just sent you an email. Please email us back in the in the next 72 hours to claim your price.

We will now start counting for May. Here again the rules:

We thought long and hard about how we should show you, the readers of Book Lovers Inc …

Review: Sabine by Moira Rogers

Format Read: e-ARC provided by the authorsNumber of Pages: 50 pagesRelease Date: May 3rd 2011Publisher: Samhain PublishingFormats Available: EbookPurchasing Info: Author website, Goodreads, Amazon

Book Blurb:

A curse can erase her from his mind, but never from his heart.

…and the Beast, Book 1

After three years at war, the High Lord of the Forest returns to his lands, a victorious wolf leader intent on claiming his mate. Instead Ciar finds an empty bed and a court with no recollection of the woman he loved. Following her long-cold trail proves far easier than facing what awaits him at the end.

Sabine’s first instinct is to beg her beloved to leave. The High Lord’s mother hired a witch to curse Sabine, desperate to wipe the lowborn wolf from her son’s mind. But the spell worked too well, …

The Good, the Bad and the Are-You-Kidding-Me?

This week’s topic was decided after reading a comment from LSUReader on last week’s Romance and Me post. She pointed out how often characters’ physical flaws aren’t shown on the covers. We agree that this is an interesting topic, so this week we’ll be telling you about covers that got it wrong! While researching this topic we noticed that it’s harder than we thought to remember the BAD one sin this case. So please share you’re discoveries with us.

Susi: I actually really like these covers. The colors are so lush and for me they show how I imagine the downside. But for me the girl doesn’t look like Chess at all. She looks too healthy to be a drug addict and her tattoos aren’t runes. No idea what these cover artists think runes …