On The Booklovers’ Shelves

This week it’s my turn to give you a glimpse at my shelves so welcome to Casa Susi. Be prepared, it will be a bumpy ride. *g* I moved into my appartment 3 years ago and because bf and me are both huge book addicts we decided to seperate our books for the time we live here. *head hangs in shame* The thing is that we have so many books and we didn’t think they would fit in and even if they would we wouldn’t have been able to buy new ones. So we had to choose which books we need in the new apartment and well that was a tough choice. The rest is in boxes in the in-law’s attic. *sad face*

Review: Deacon’s Touch by Callie Croix

Format Read: e-Book purchased by reader

Length: Novella
Release Date: August 26, 2011
Publisher: Wild Rose Press
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Formats Available: Kindle, eBook
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher, Goodreads, Kindle, Nook

Book Blurb:

After her own engagement goes to hell, workaholic Jessica Talbot dreads her friend’s bachelorette party at a dude ranch in Nowheresville, Texas. But the outlook for the weekend brightens when Deacon Dumen picks her up at the airport. The sexy cowboy awakens every dormant sexual fantasy with nothing more than a friendly smile and a handshake.

Ex-Air Force Pararescueman Deke Dumen doesn’t know what to make of the sexy yet reserved brunette who breaks through the walls he built after an injury ended his career and a divorce soured him on relationships. As a guest at his family’s ranch Jessie is off limits, but the Dom in him rebels …

Romance and Me: The Friends to Lovers Trope

There are several tropes which feature frequently in romance novels: be it a a very rich but rude or unattainable hero (can anyone say modern Mr. Darcy?), love triangles, a tortured brooding historical hero, or a rake seducing his sworn enemy’s younger sister to exact revenge on his nemesis, we all have encountered them. But there is one trope which is closer to my heart than others and it is the friends to lovers plot (and I especially love the brother’s friend falling for the little sister kind of friends-to-lovers plot).

My fascination with this trope isn’t limited to novels only, I like it just as much in movies and series (tell me honestly: weren’t Chandler and Monica the cutest couple of Friends? and if I had my say on with whom Rachel should have ended up with I would have picked Joey without a doubt, loved how his love brought out …

Review: Paradise Found by Vivian Arend + Exotic Indulgence by Various

Format Read: e-ARC provided by Author for Review

Authors: Vivian Arend, Lexxie Couper, Jess Dee
Length: Free Read – 31 Pages
Series: Bandicoot Cove, Book 1
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance, Ménage a quatre
Release Date: August 23, 2011
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Formats Available: eBook, Kindle, Nook
Purchasing Info: Publisher, Author’s Website, Goodreads, Kindle, Nook

Book Blurb:

It’s time for an indulgence, or two…or three.

There’s something magical about Bandicoot Cove. It’s where Kylie Sullivan’s dream of managing a luxury, five-star resort is about to come true. And it’s where people tend to fall in love. Kylie should know. She’s fallen hard—for three very different men.

There’s Brad, who knows just how to relieve her stress and send her body on a crash course through pleasure. Hemi, her untamed Maori, who awakens her primitive side. And Finn, the sexy bartender whose specialty is Screaming …

Guest Post: A Girly Look at Superheroes by Susan Bischoff + Giveaway

Today I am very happy to welcome one of THE authors who restored my faith in the YA genre and proved to me that stories about teenagers can be just as well written and entertaining for an older public (=older than teens) as adult books. Please welcome Susan Bischoff, author of the Talent Chronicles series, the second novel of which Heroes ‘Til Curfew was just released!
 
I lurrved Book #1 Hush Money (you can read my review here)and when I heard about the release of the second book I just had to ask Susan about something I have been wondering about for some time: Superheroes aren’t usually deemed as “girly.” How come you were inspired to write a story about them?
I’m a child of the 1970s. For us, the world was not supposed to be pink and blue. My mother has often told me …

Review: Cipher by Moira Rogers

Format read: ARC provided by authorRelease Date: 6th Sept 2011Publisher: Samhain PublishingFormats available: ebookPurchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s Website, Amazon, Samhain, Barnes and Noble

Book Blurb:

Fourteen months ago, Kat Gabriel’s life changed forever when she used her empathy as a weapon. Now she can’t escape the weight of those deaths–or the loss of the easy friendship she and Andrew once shared. Obsessed with her mother’s violent past, Kat is determined to learn the truth of her inner-darkness by understanding her legacy.

Since the attack that turned him into a wolf, Andrew Callaghan has done everything possible to make himself stronger. More capable of protecting Kat–both from the supernatural world that forced her to kill, and from their own volatile connection. Pushing her away hurt them both, but he’s finally made himself into the protector she needs.  As Kat’s quest …

ARC Review: Romancing the Countess by Ashley March

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Format Read: ARC provided by the publisherNumber of pages: 310 pagesRelease Date: September 6th 2011Formats available: Paperback, eBookPublisher: Signet (Penguin)Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository (US), Book Depository (UK),  Author’s website

Book Blurb:

Sebastian Madinger, the Earl of Wriothesly, thought he’d married the perfect woman-until a fatal accident revealed her betrayal with his best friend. After their deaths, Sebastian is determined to avoid a scandal for the sake of his son. But his best friend’s widow is just as determined to cast her mourning veil aside by hosting a party that will surely destroy both their reputations and expose all of his carefully kept secrets…

Leah George has carried the painful knowledge of her husband’s affair for almost a year. All she wants now is to enjoy her independence and make a new life for …

New Releases Sep 5 – 11

Midnight by Ellen Connor

Second in a stunning post-apocalyptic paranormal romance trilogy. Three years of wandering the postapocalyptic wasteland has stripped Dr. Chris Welsh of hope. A harrowing loss drove him from his home, and he hasn’t stopped moving-until he encounters Valle de Bravo, a haven of civilization amid the chaos of the Change. Soldiers take their orders from Rosa Cortez-the iron hand within a velvet glove. The last thing Rosa needs is a feral loner upsetting the town’s tentative balance. However, for the good of her people, she lets Chris stay, and as bloodthirsty raiders strike again and again, Chris and Rosa battle hellhounds and dust pirates while also fighting desperate attraction. To save them, love must overcome the pain of the past-and build a future in this brutal Dark Age…

Explore This!: Palm Springs, California

Today, we are whisking away to the sunny locale of Palm Springs, California. When I think of this area, arid temperatures, golf, spas, and the rich and famous all come to mind. What doesn’t equate with Palm Springs is vampires, which is strange when my inspiration has derived from reading Bloodlines by Richelle Mead. In the story, an alchemist is pulled into protection duty for a vampire princess and this seems the perfect spot considering no one would suspect the undead to be found in this hot, sunny city.

The book is filled with some of the references from above, with the rich students attending a private school, where Sydney Sage and the gang are hiding out. In seeing the sites of Palm Springs, I think this would be a great place to be put on assignment, regardless of …

Review: Red by Kait Nolan

Format read: ebook provided by author for reviewRelease Date: 14 August 2011Formats available: ebookPurchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s Website, Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, All Romance EBooks, Amazon UK, Amazon DE,

Blurb:

Every fairy tale has a dark side…

Elodie Rose has a secret. Any day, she’ll become a wolf and succumb to the violence that’s cursed her family for centuries. For seventeen years she’s hidden who and what she is. But now someone knows the truth and is determined to exterminate her family line. Living on borrowed time in the midst of this dangerous game of hide and seek, the last thing Elodie needs to do is fall in love. But Sawyer is determined to protect her, and the brooding, angry boy is more than what he seems. Can they outsmart a madman? And if they survive, will they find a way …