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Showing posts with label Montlake Romance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Montlake Romance. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Contest Winner - Kissing Under the Mistletoe
I would like to thank everyone for stopping by That’s What I’m Talking About for the guest post from romance author Marina Adair. And a special thanks to Marina for the giveaway of her latest release, Kissing Under the Mistletoe.
The winner as selected by Rafflecopter:
CONGRATULATIONS!!
I am sending the winner an email to contact me with their full name and mailing address. Please email me at twimom227 (at) gmail (dot) com with your information so the author can send you the book. You have until Friday October 26, 2012 (end of day) to contact me. If I don’t hear from you by then, I will draw another winner.
Thank you and Happy Reading!
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Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Review: Kissing Under the Mistletoe by Marina Adair
Kissing Under the Mistletoe
Author: Marina Adair
Release Date: Oct. 16, 2012
Publisher: Montlake Romance
St. Helena Vineyard #1
ISBN: #978-1612185859
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format(s): Paperback (310 pages), e-book
Book Source: Author
About the book:
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Regan Martin stopped believing in Christmas miracles six years ago when she lost everything—her house, her job, and her impeccable reputation in the wine industry—after she fell in love with a man she had no idea was married. Then Regan gets a chance for a fresh start in the Napa Valley. With her dream job, dream home, and her daughter enrolled in a wonderful new school, she starts wondering if holiday wishes really do come true.
But she soon tumbles back down to earth when she learns that her new boss is none other than Gabe DeLuca, the scorned wife’s brother. Gabe wants nothing more than home-wrecking Regan Martin out of his life, his sister’s world, and his family’s business. Mostly, he wants the lush beauty out of his head. Yet his attempts to run her out of town have him thinking twice, especially when he sees that Regan may hold the key to tracking down his sister’s stolen start-up capital. Even worse for Gabe, Regan might just be his Christmas wish and hold the key to his heart.
What Nima’s talking about:
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Set in California’s wine country, Kissing Under the Mistletoe was a great snowy day read. Having grown up in northern California, even riding horses through the vineyards, I know this part of the country well. I loved turning my mind’s eye back to stucco, wood, and Spanish tile buildings, endless rows of vines, and the wonderful, earthy smell of the fields. I could understand main character Regan Martin’s love for her new home in St. Helena and how it would inspire dreams of a good life for her and her daughter. I cuddled deeper into my favorite, over-stuffed chair, pulled the blanket tight—and was wonderfully surprised by the brawl that is chapter one.
Kissing Under the Mistletoe is a feisty book. All the characters certainly are and when they clash, sparks fly. The book opens with a brilliant fight that takes place in the parking lot adjacent to the small town’s Christmas display. When the dust settles, there’s a broken car window, damaged property, and a beloved vintage reindeer is missing. You know right away this is going to be a good book.
The chemistry between Regan and Gabe DeLuca is genuine, and I didn’t doubt their attraction to each other. Their intimate moments felt legitimate, not forced or contrived. I loved Gabe’s grandmother and her friends and the power-play that ensues between them and the younger, PTA Moms or “Yoga Pants Posse.” I loved the brotherly bonds that existed between Gabe and his younger siblings.
My single criticism of the book is what keeps it from being a five-star read for me: Gabe’s sister, Abigail. Poor Regan and her daughter have been suffering very specifically at the hands of Gabe for six years while Gabe made it his life’s mission to protect his sister from even so much as running into Regan, the woman everyone in the DeLuca family blames for the break-up of Abigail’s marriage to Richard. I found it extremely difficult to believe that Regan’s protagonist, who knew her by sight and well enough to make her life miserable for those six long years, didn’t know the true extent of her circumstances. His single goal has been to keep her from his sister and make her pay for being a home-wrecker, a goal he had achieved long ago by repeatedly getting her fired from jobs in the wine industry or preventing her from even getting hired in the first place. And yet he kept up with the very personal vendetta even as she unknowingly moved into St. Helena, DeLuca family central.
This is a battle for not just lifestyle, but survival. Gabe and his sister have been living quite comfortably while systematically ruining Regan’s prospects, the only player in the break-up they could reach. Abigail’s ex has disappeared with a big chunk of DeLuca money. The DeLuca brothers hatch a plan for Gabe to get close to Regan in the hope of discovering Richard’s whereabouts and possibly the missing money. In reality, Gabe has found a new way to hurt and use Regan. Regan is clearly tired of the battle, clearly ready for peace, but as the reader, it was still new to me. I was not so ready to forgive. I wanted to hang Gabe up by his grapes and press him into juice no matter how good he looked or how good he smelled. Which brings me to Abigail. This is the sister that Gabe was so desperate to protect and the one character that is almost non-existent in the entire book! We see her a very little at the very end. I wanted to see her interact with Gabe. I wanted to know their relationship and why it was so special that the eldest DeLuca would put so much energy into protecting it at the expense of a single mother trying only to provide for her daughter.
I suppose it is a compliment to author Marina Adair that I got that so worked up over her characters. I cared. I was angry. I laughed. I swooned when Gabe finally understands how very wrong he’s been about many things in his life and most especially about Regan. I was a little sad when I finished the book. I’m very anxiously awaiting book two in this new series. I want to go back to the little town of St. Helena and check in on the DeLuca clan, the grandmothers, and see what the Yoga Pants Posse is up to now.
Nima’s Rating:
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Enjoyed - strongly recommend (A-)
For a chance to win a SIGNED ARC of Kissing Under the Mistletoe, please see the author's guest post HERE.
Purchase Info:
Friday, September 28, 2012
Review: Every Breath She Takes by Norah Wilson
Every Breath She Takes
Author: Norah Wilson
Release Date: Sept. 4, 2012
Publisher: Montlake Romance
ISBN: 978-1612184685
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Format(s): Paperback (312 pgs), e-book
Book Source: Author
About the book:
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Previously published as Lauren’s Eyes.
Veterinarian Lauren Townsend has good reason for hiding her psychic ability. Not only did her “freakishness” earn her pariah status in the small town where she grew up, it cost her a fiancé and her faith in love. When Lauren foresees a murder—through the killer’s eyes—she traces the victim to a sprawling ranch, never guessing what waits for her…
Cal Taggart’s rugged ranch life doesn’t need any more complications. His stubborn determination cost him his marriage, and now may cost him his livelihood. But then beautiful Lauren enters his corral…with danger close behind. And Cal wants nothing more than to protect her. They can’t deny their intense attraction. Nor do they want to. What begins as a fling with no strings becomes a fight for survival—and for true love.
What VampBard’s talking about:
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Even if you've never read a western story in your life, pick up Norah Wilson's Every Breath She Takes; it's witty, intellectual, and steamy. Something for every reader of the genre! I was a bit nervous when I read the synopsis of the book, but I'm game for new stuff. I'd never read a contemporary-romantic-suspense-western, and I'd say Ms. Wilson did an excellent job breaking me into the genre. Is that a genre? If not, it should be.
I had a LOT of passages that I felt were well-crafted throughout the book, and while composing this review, I've struggled with choosing those representative of Ms. Wilson's craft, as well as those that exemplify her characters.
First, I'd like to note that Lauren, our heroine, is a strong, independent woman. She also has premonitions. The only thing that can shake Lauren's confidence in herself is sharing her visions with someone else.
Cal, our rugged, swaggering cowboy / ex-rodeo star / ranch owner has his own demons to battle, beginning with his childhood and his relationship with his father. The difficulties followed him through his adult life and into his marriage with his now-ex wife – currently a guest at his ranch.
Marlena, Cal's ex-wife, is the target of the killer. Lauren knows, because she's seen his hands reaching out and choking the life out of her, during her premonitions. However, I'd like to go on record as saying that I'm not a big fan of Marlena (although I don't think we're meant to be!), and I feel as though she brought the excitement near the end upon herself.
Cal & Lauren go well together. Their immediate attraction is evident:
“I was thinking, maybe you'd like a livelier mount, since you're obviously a skilled rider.” (Cal to Lauren)
“Thank you, no. I'll stick with slow and steady.”
His hooded eyes suddenly took on a sleepy, sensual look. “That's a sensible decision, ma'am. But if you should get a yen for fast and wild, just give me a shout.”
Yes. The sexual tension begins the minute Lauren arrives on the ranch. Cal flat-out explains:
Damn, what was it about her that drew his eye? She was tall, but not underfed like so many of the stick women who came through here these days. Yet she didn't have the hourglass figure he usually went for. Her hips were narrow, her breasts small. Even her hair, black as a raven's wing, was cropped short. She should have looked boyish. Instead she exuded an athletic femininity that excited him.
… In fact, from watching her, he got the feeling that she saw everything more acutely than everyone else. More deeply. And when she turned those blue eyes on him, it never failed to give him a jolt – almost a tingling shock. It was damned unnerving.
I thought it was refreshing to see the vulnerability in Cal. Most of the heroes in stories have the crunchy outer shell and we don't always get to see the rich, creamy center. With Cal, we do.
The secondary characters, including Cal's ranch hands, his ex-wife & her current fling, a local ranch owner, and a surprise visitor in the last 1/3 of the book, bring a special 'flavor' of authenticity to Every Breath She Takes.
With Lauren on a mission to save Marlena, every sunset Lauren is painfully aware that one more day has passed and she was no closer to finding Marlena's (potential) killer. When a non-romantic plot conflict arises that could cause Cal to lose his ranch, Lauren and her veterinary skills save the day. Watch for this pretty awesome sub-plot...see if YOU can figure out what's really going on! I was stumped for a minute...
While both Cal and Lauren had agree to the 'friends-with-benefits' relationship, things didn't stay that way for long:
When his world righted itself again, Lauren clung to him with a desperation he knew was echoed in his own fierce embrace.
Whoa, Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.
As Lauren and Cal work together to keep the ranch afloat, they become closer and closer. Lauren was conflicted as to whether she should tell Cal about her premonitions, as doing so hadn't worked out so well, previously. She does ultimately tell him... and you'll have to pick up a copy of Every Breath She Takes to find out whether he believed her, or not. The rising action in the last half of the book was a crazy roller coaster ride...in a good way. I read the final third in one sitting, and I couldn't go to bed until I'd finished.
Every Breath She Takes provides the reader with an intellectual, witty, and clairvoyant heroine that takes “ride 'em, cowboy!” to a whole new level. Ms. Wilson has crafted a fabulous world wherein readers can take a vacation on a ranch to simply escape.
VampBard’s Rating:
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Enjoyed - strongly recommend (A-)
Purchase Info:
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