Romance and Me: Suit Up Baby! – or Protection in Romance Novels

I have had this issue on my mind for some time now and thought it was about time we discussed it, namely unprotected sex in contemporary romance novels.

I think due to the specificities and different rules applying to  historical / fantasy/ paranormal / sci-fi romances, I can live with it if the author fails to mention the couple using any protection during sex. I mean in historical novels that’s a given (even if there were some protective measures even back then), in paranormal/fantasy sci-fi stories the author can bend the rules of her universe so that the issue doesn’t warrant being mentioned: vampires are sterile/ humans and paranormal creatures cannot transmit diseases or impregnate each other, etc. But where I expect the issue of safe sex between strangers and one night stand partners being mentioned and dealt with is in contemporary romance.

I’m aware of how …

The Pre-Vacation Winner Post

Hi Everyone! As you can see from today’s post title I’m about to leave on vacation, yay me!! Well I still have to work Monday and Tuesday but after that we’ll fly to Brussels spend a day or two there (I plan on visiting my favourite tea shop and stocking up on delicious teas like Tango with the Cactus, doesn’t it sound so exciting? well except if you picture the tango as having fallen into a cactus and then hopping around trying to pull out all the needles, lol 😉 ) and afterwards we’ll spend a week in Southern France, Provence! I can’t wait!! So you know I’m right in the middle of what happens every single time before one leaves on vacation: the dreaded packing. I’m debating what to take and these decisions never come easy *sighs* But all the sun and sea and fun and adventure are worth …

Review: Bind Me by Stacey Kennedy

Format read: ebook provided by author
Series: Book#1 in the Seduction Pact series
Release Date: 11 October 2011
Number of pages: 63 pages
Publisher: Loose Id
Formats available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s Website, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, All Romance Ebooks

Blurb:

Four best friends embrace their fantasies and make a pact of seduction to live out their deepest and darkest desires. The women place their lives in the hands of fate and one short straw declares Marley will be the first to awaken her secret wishes.

Reed, a Dom at sex club Castle Dolce Vita, has lived the BDSM lifestyle for awhile, but has yet to find a submissive that suits him. That is until he meets Marley, a woman seeking to indulge her fantasies.

As Reed guides her through a night of pleasure, Marley brings more to him than a perfect submissive–she stirs emotions in him long ago lost. …

Interview with Stacey Kennedy + Giveaway

 Today we are happy to welcome back to BLI author Stacey Kennedy, who is celebrating a double release now: both the next instalment in her Frostbite paranormal/Uf series as well as in her Seduction Pack erotica series released recently! So of course I took the opportunity to grill Stacey about her series, her writing and how she gets in he smexy mood 😉 Please give her a warm welcome and you could even win one of her books!

Stella: Hi Stacey, welcome to Book Lovers Inc! Can you please tell us a bit about yourself?

Stacey: Hi Stella! Thanks for having me! Hmm…a little about me. Well, I’m a stay-at-home mom, but do get the chance to write in the afternoons while my kids are at school. I’ve been writing since 2009 and was first epublished in 2010. It’s been a whirlwind since and last year I had a …

Romance and Me: The “My Best Friend’s Little Sister” Romances

There is a favourite trope of mine we haven’t discussed yet and that is the brother’s best friend falling for the brother’s little sister or vice versa. And lately it seems that most of the romances I have read featured this trope.

So why do I like this setting you might ask? Well it’s quite obvious: I LOVE protective and thoughtful men and usually these heroes have grown up with the heroines, saw them when they were little, vulnerable and as friends of their brothers they still feel a bit responsible for the sister’s wellbeing. I just love those scenes when these alpha male heroes get all Neanderthal when an other man behaves irrespectfully with the girl and they step in *Stella fans herself so as not to swoon* And those scenes where the big brother’s best friend hero is trying hard not to think about …

Dual Review: Tempting the Best Man by J. Lynn

Format read: ebook provided by publisher 
Release Date: 23 April 2012
Series: Book #1 in the Gamble brothers series
Number of pages: 172 pages
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Formats available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s Website, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Read an excerpt

Blurb:

Madison Daniels has worshipped her brother’s best friend since they were kids. Everyone thinks she and Chase Gamble would make the perfect couple, but there are two major flaws in their logic. 1) Chase has sworn off relationships of any kind, and 2) after blurring the line between friends and lovers for one night four years ago, they can’t stop bickering.

Forced together for her brother’s wedding getaway, Chase and Madison decide to call a truce for the happy couple. Except all bets are off when they’re forced to shack up in a tacky 70’s honeymoon suite and survive a multitude of “accidents” as the family tries …

Interview with Laura Kaye + Giveaway

Today, we are really excited to welcome back to Book Lovers one of the friendliest authors ever: Laura Kaye, who stops by BLI today in celebration of her latest novel Her Forbidden Hero. In her latest book, Laura tells the story of Alyssa and Marco, childhood friends turned lovers, and let me tell you one thing: you’re in for a big treat with Marco! At least both Stella and myself fell head over hills with him 😉 (Stella chimes in: Oh yes, we most definitely did! *nods enthusiastically*)

But I think we should let Laura do the talking and tell us everything about Her Forbidden Hero! Don’t forget to check at the end of the post for the details of our giveaway 🙂

Stella: Hi Laura, we are happy to have you back at Book Lovers Inc! Can you tell us a bit about what has …

Dual Review: Her Forbidden Hero by Laura Kaye

Format read: ebook provided by publisher 
Release Date: 15 May 2012
Number of pages: 240 pages
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Formats available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s Website, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Read an excerpt

Blurb:

She’s always been off-limits…

Former Army Special Forces Sgt. Marco Vieri has never thought of Alyssa Scott as more than his best friend’s little sister, but her return home changes that…and challenges him to keep his war-borne demons at bay. Marco’s not the same person he was back when he protected Alyssa from her abusive father, and he’s not about to let her see the mess he’s become.

…but now she’s all grown up.

When Alyssa takes a job at the bar where Marco works, her carefree smiles wreak havoc on his resolve to bury his feelings. How can he protect her when he can’t stop thinking about her in his …

The Soupy Winner Post

Hi Everyone!

My family has gone on a mini vacation so I have the house to myself this weekend!! Yay!! 😀 I just love the peace and quiet and that I could spend the day in PJs if I wanted 😉 And the weather is perfect, so I know what I’ll be doing in the afternoon: soaking up the sun with a great book 😀 But first I’ll be cooking. You might know that I LOVE cooking and baking, and we have a small herb garden. Yesterday morning I thought it was time to harvest our basilic, oregano, thym and mint, so the kitchen was full of the enticing scent of freshly chopped herbs. And you want to know what I did with them? I made some virgin mojito (=minty lemonade) and minty pea cream soup, a meal I discovered this week at a restaurant and one I instantly fell in …

Review: Ruined by Rumor by Alyssa Everett

Format read: ebook provided by publisher through NetGalley
Release Date: 21 May 2012
Number of pages: 218 pages
Publisher: Carina Press
Formats available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s Website, Amazon, Carina Press

Blurb:

After waiting five years for her fiancé to return from the war and marry her, Roxana Langley has been jilted! She may have longed for excitement, but this was not what she had in mind…

Who could possibly throw over a woman as beautiful and vivacious as Roxana? Certainly not Alex Winslow, the Earl of Ayersley, who has spent years trying in vain to forget his unrequited love. When he learns she’s been abandoned by her cad of a fiancé, he finds himself offering a shoulder for her to cry on. Comfort soon turns into a passionate kiss—and scandal when they are caught in an embrace.

Only one thing will save Roxana from certain ruination: …