Interview with Sandy James + Giveaway!

Please welcome Sandy James to Book Lovers Inc. Sandy is here to celebrate the release of her first full-blown fantasy romance, The Reluctant Amazon. This blend of romance, fantasy and multiple-multiple mythologies is the first of a four-book series about modern Amazon warriors saving the world, and it’s gets off to an earth-shaking start (review here). Sandy’s going to talk about myths, movies and horses, but not necessarily in that order!

You can win a copy of either The Reluctant Amazon or Sandy’s first book from Carina Press, The Rules of The Game, so be sure to leave a comment at the end.

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

Sandy: Thanks so much for having me, Marlene!

Writing is actually my third “career.” My husband and I married right out of college, and our first child came along …

Review: The Reluctant Amazon by Sandy James

Format Read:ebook provided by NetGalley
Number of Pages:258 pages
Release Date: September 3, 2012
Publisher: Carina Press
Series: Alliance of the Amazons #1
Genre: Contemporary fantasy romance, paranormal romance
Formats Available: ebook, audiobook
Purchasing Info: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK) | Author’s Website | Publisher’s Website | Goodreads

Book Blurb:

The last thing Rebecca Massee expects on her wedding day is to go from jilted kindergarten teacher to Amazonian Earth warrior. But when she causes an earthquake after her groom says I don’t, she discovers that not only does she possess incredible powers, she is one of four lost chosen sisters who must fight to keep humanity safe from rogue gods and demons. Luckily she has help: ruggedly handsome Scottish warrior Artair MacKay, her protector and teacher.

An …

ARC Review: The Shattered Dark by Sandy Williams

Format Read: e-book provided by publisher via NetGalley
Length: 304 pages
Genre: urban fantasy
Series: The Shadow Reader, #2
Release Date: October 30, 2012
Publisher: Ace Books
Formats Available: mass-market paperback, e-book
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Author’s Website

Book Blurb:

McKenzie Lewis has a gift. It allows her access to a world few have seen, and even fewer can comprehend. It’s her secret. And it exists in the shadows… 

McKenzie was a normal college student, save for one little twist: she’s a shadow reader, someone who can both see the fae and track their movements between our world and the Realm. It’s a gift for which she has been called insane, one for which she has risked family and friends—and one that has now plunged her into a brutal civil war between the fae.

With the reign of the king and his vicious general at an end, McKenzie hoped …

Character Interview: Aren from The Shattered Dark + Giveaway

Greetings, book lovers! I have to admit, I’m particularly excited about today’s interview. Why is that? Well, because I get to talk about the world of Sandy Williams’s Shadow Reader series. The first book, The Shadow Reader, was an awesome debut novel that very rightfully garnered wide acclaim. (Check out my review of The Shadow Reader) The sequel, The Shattered Dark, is (fortunately!) going to be released on October 30, 2012.

However, I’m not interviewing Sandy Williams today, no no. As fantastic as that would be, I instead have the great honor of chatting with Aren, one of the major figures in the Shadow Reader series. If you’re not already familiar with Aren, here’s what’s you should know about him: he’s a warrior of the fae Realm, having fought for years in the resistance against the fae king Atroth…and later, those that would see the king’s oppressive ideals persist. Aside …

Review: Sound by Shelley Workinger

Format Read: e-book provided by author
Number of Pages: 218 pages
Release Date: November 1st 2012
Publisher: CreateSpace
Series: Book #3 in the Solid series
Formats Available: Paperback
Purchasing Info: Goodreads | Amazon |Author’s Website | Publisher

Book Blurb:

Clio Kaid’s had one crazy summer.

After learning she was one of a hundred teens who were genetically modified before birth, she and the others departed for “camp” at a classified military site.

Besides discovering her own special ability, uncovering a conspiracy, and capturing a killer, she’s also forged new friendships, found love, and managed to lose them both.

With no answers and the end of summer closing in, Clio’s terrified of going home more lost than when she arrived.

Will she finally find everything she’s been looking for?

Find out in this exciting conclusion to the Solid trilogy.

My Thoughts:

Once again Shelley has done the unthinkable! She brings us a continuation of her series that …

Review: The Sweetest Spell by Suzanne Selfors

Format Read: print ARC from the author
Number of Pages: 416 pages
Release Date: August 21, 2012
Publisher: Walker & Company
Genre: Fantasy, Fairy Tale, Young Adult
Formats Available: Hardcover, ebook
Purchasing Info: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK) | Author’s website | Publisher’s website | Goodreads

Book Blurb:

Emmeline Thistle, a dirt-scratcher’s daughter, has escaped death twice-first, on the night she was born, and second, on the day her entire village was swept away by flood. Left with nothing and no one, Emmeline discovers her rare and mysterious ability-she can churn milk into chocolate, a delicacy more precious than gold.

Suddenly, the most unwanted girl in Anglund finds herself desired by all. But Emmeline only wants one-Owen Oak, a dairyman’s son, whose slow smiles and lingering glances …

Guest post by Suzanne Selfors + Giveaway

Today we are very excited to welcome Suzanne Selfors to Book Lovers Inc! Of course we’re excited, we’re all hyped up on lots of yummy chocolate after reading her delightfully delicious chocolate-covered fairy tale, The Sweetest Spell (review later today). But before the review, Suzanne is here to share with us how her desperate search for a midnight chocolate fix (can’t we all relate?) led to this scrumptious story.

And if you’re craving a little chocolate fairy tale of your own, just answer Suzanne’s question for a chance at to win your very own copy of The Sweetest Spell!

Love + Chocolate = The Sweetest Spell

By Suzanne Selfors

How to take the fairy-tale formula of peasant girl meets prince and make it even more romantic? In my opinion, you add chocolate.

There are few things in life that stir such passion as a square of dark chocolate. I crave it. I LOVE it.

I’d …

Dual Review: The Oil Tycoon and Her Sexy Sheikh by Ros Clarke

Format read: eARC provided by publisher
Release Date: 14 July 2012
Number of pages: 131 pages
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Formats available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s Website, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Read an excerpt

Blurb:

His duty, her dreams, undone by their desire…

In the male-dominated oil industry, executive Olivia McInnes plays a careful game – she’s cold, uncompromising, and ambitious as hell. Once she seals the deal to drill in the clear waters of Saqat, she’ll finally prove herself worthy to take the reins of her father’s oil company. Her only obstacle is marine biologist – and Saqat’s royal heir – Sheikh Khaled Ibm Saqat al Mayim, who’s determined to protect both his people and his country from environmental devastation…

It’s not long before Olivia’s icy cool exterior is shattered by the intelligent and wickedly hot sheikh, and business is surpassed by sweet, stolen pleasures. But outside the bedroom, there’s …

Review: Blind Traveler’s Blues by Robert P. Bennett

Format Read: ebook provided by the author
Number of Pages: 218 pages
Release Date: October 21, 2011
Publisher: Echelon Press
Genre: Mystery
Series: Douglas Abledan #2
Formats Available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Book Depository US | Book Depository (UK) | Author’s Website | Goodreads | Publisher’s Website

Book Blurb:

The year is 2021. Natural forces have changed our world. As the Earth’s magnetic poles have shifted, pressure on the planet’s mantle layer is building. The bottom line…earthquakes now wreak havoc in areas they have never occurred before.

In Mexico, members of an archaeological team investigate the remains of an ancient village uncovered by a quake; racing to prove their theories about the civilization that once lived there. But, disaster strikes when the accidental destruction of an artifact …

Interview with Author Susan Wiggs + Giveaway

Please join us in welcoming Susan Wiggs to BLI today. Susan is here as part of her blog tour celebrating the release of Return to Willow Lake, the latest book in her Lakeshore Chronicles contemporary romance series. Return is an appropriate title, because this is Susan’s first trip back to the world of the Lakeshore Chronicles in two years. I’m sure that she has a lot of fans who have been itching for a return to this marvelous little town in the Catskills and the people that they have become familiar with (and probably quite fond of) during the course of this series.

BLI: Susan, tell us a bit about yourself- perhaps something no one would expect from you?

Susan: Hmmm. I’m not very mysterious so I don’t know if I can tell you anything unexpected. Maybe it’s unexpected that I’m a newlywed, seeing how I’m older than dirt. And my …