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2013 Reading Challenge
Jen (That's What I'm Talking About) has
read 0 books toward her goal of 75 books.
New-To-Me Authors
2013 reading goal:
15 new-to-me authors.
1) Stacy Gail
2) Heather Massey
3) Sidney Bristol
4) Ann Mayburn
5) Thea Harrison
6) Virna DePaul
7) Mary Quast
8) Molly Harper
9) Eleri Stone
10) PJ Schnyder
11) Kait Ballenger
12) Denise L. Wyant
13) Lucy Monroe
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Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Contest Winner - Mate Claimed
I would like to thank everyone for stopping by That’s What I’m Talking About for the guest post from romance author Jennifer Ashley. And a special thanks to Penguin Publishing and Ms. Ashley for the giveaway of Mate Claimed.
The winner as selected by Rafflecopter:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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 19, 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
Cover Love: Guardian Demon by Meljean Brook
After totally flipping out over this cover, I calmed down and want to share it with you. I. JUST. LOVE. IT.
Directly from Meljean's site:
May 7, 2013
In this thrilling conclusion to the Guardian series, New York Times bestselling author Meljean Brook delivers another stunning page-turner, in which the fate of humanity depends upon a tortured warrior winning the trust—and heart—of the woman he wounded…
After a terrifying encounter in Hell destroys her trust in Michael, the Guardian’s powerful leader, former detective Andromeda Taylor is ready to call it quits as one of the angelic warriors and resume her human life again. But when demonic forces threaten her closest friends and she uncovers a terrifying plot devised by Lucifer, Taylor is thrown straight into Michael’s path again…
To defeat Lucifer, Michael needs every Guardian by his side—and he needs Taylor more than any other. The detective is the key to keeping his own demonic side at bay, and Michael will do anything to protect her and keep her close. And when Taylor manifests a deadly power, her Gift might tip the scales in the endless war between Heaven and Hell…or it might destroy them both with a single touch.
I don't think I'll make it until May... How about you?
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:
Author Guest Post & Giveaway: Marina Adair
Hello Readers! Today I bring you romance author Marina Adair. Marina is a lifelong fan of romance novels. As a writer, she is devoted to giving her readers contemporary romance where the towns are small, the personalities large, and the romance explosive. She currently lives in a hundred-year-old log cabin, nestled in the majestic redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains, with her husband and daughter. She also loves to interact with readers, and you can catch her on Twitter at @MarinaEAdair or visit her at www.MarinaAdair.com.
Today Marina is going to tell us about her new release, Kissing Under the Mistletoe, and she’s challenging readers to Bring Sexy Back. Please help me welcome Marina to That’s What I’m Talking About.
Thanks for having me here today! I am so excited about my new release Kissing Under the Mistletoe.
This is the first in the St. Helena Vineyard series, which follows the—very large, extremely loyal, and one hundred percent Italian—DeLuca family, as they each come to terms with the death of their parents, and in turn open themselves up to the possibility of love. With four sexy brothers, one stubborn sister, and a trio of busy-bodied grannies, who keep busy being in everybody’ business—mainly their grandkids—there is never a dull moment in Wine Country.
In Kissing Under the Mistletoe, single-mom Regan Martin moves to St. Helena to make her daughter’s Christmas wish of a forever-home a reality, only to discover that her fresh start is home to Gabe DeLcua, wine tycoon and the SOB who destroyed her career. Gabe is determined to get Regan out of his town, only once he sees her, getting her into his bed seems like a better option.
This story was fun to write because it revolves around two rival enemies who can’t seem to keep their hand off of each other, a quality I think most of us would give up doughnuts, wine, and quite possibly chocolate to maintain/or find in our relationship. Okay, maybe not the wine or chocolate, but definitely the doughnuts.
Recently, a friend of mine went on a romantic getaway with her husband. Romantic as in, she read a knitting magazine on the flight over while hubby answered emails—three rows away because they both like the aisle seat. She was deciding between a pattern for lamb-faced baby booties and knitted duck-feet slippers, complete with webbed toes, when she heard a mewling, followed by a low growl. Peering over the magazine, she adjusted her reading glasses and, holy smokes, found herself up close and personal with a couple who couldn’t even wait for the captain to turn off the “safetybelt sign” to make an attempt at death by sexual combustion.
Being a southern, God-fearing woman, in that order, she was rightly offended—for all of a second. Until she realized that the only mile-based members-club she currently owned read frequent flyers, which was in her wallet right behind her Jiffylube Club card (mini-van edition).
The young couple never left their seat, never rounded second, and never seemed to mind that they were never going to get their cookies (at least on the plane), which only made it hotter. And it got us thinking (yes, she called me while sipping a Blue Hawaiian by the hotel pool).
When was the last time we had made out with our husbands like that? Felt that urge to lock-lips until they went numb so the rest of our body was humming with the need to give a standing O with just one touch?
And when did we forget that you don’t need to have sex for things to get sexy?
So we made a plan: Mission Bringing-Sexy-Back—way back, as in: old enough to have sex, but too poor to have your own place, and where you took what you could get when you could get it, and obsessed about the next time you got our gets.
We both decided to seduce our hubbies that night. No sex, no getting nekkid, just lots of lips and hands, and that underlying tension of how far you could go before you exploded. After lots of giggles and a vow of sister-hood we hung up.
That night, after my daughter was asleep I found my husband watching television on the couch. I walked over, straddled him and said “You want to make out? No sex, just kissing.”
His eyes dropped to my chest and he smiled. “How about touching?”
“Yup.”
He hadn’t even gotten the “Hell, yes,” out before we were kissing and groping and sweet baby Jesus was it hot. I don’t know if the knowledge that no tabs would be inserted into any slots made both go that extra mile, but making out with a man where there is no chance of sex is sexy, and I highly recommend it.
It was like we were two teenagers who couldn’t keep their hands off of each other, which made those moments over the next week where we could get our hands on each other even better.
So, in hopes of bringing the sexy back to others, I’m doing a giveaway—just share the sexiest non-sexy time you have had or take a vow to Bring-Sexy-Back and be qualified to win a signed paper ARC of Kissing Under the Mistletoe.
Come on, ladies, don’t be shy…
Thanks so much, Marina! For more about Kissing Under the Mistletoe and the giveaway, read below!
You can find Marina on line at
More on Kissing Under the Mistletoe
St. Helena Vineyard #1
Montlake Romance (October 16, 2012)
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
GIVEAWAY:
Thank you to Marina for stopping by today and also thanks for generously donating one (1) signed ARC copy of Kissing Under the Mistletoe to giveaway. To be entered, please use the RAFFLECOPTER form below. As part of your entry, please leave a comment sharing: the sexiest non-sexy time you have had or take a vow to Bring-Sexy-Back! You do not need to be a google friends connect follower of my blog, but it is always appreciated. Contest is open from October 9, 2012 until Wednesday October 17, 2012 at 12:01 AM EDT. Contest is restricted to US mailing addresses only. One (1) winner will be selected from eligible entries. I am not responsible for items lost in the mail. If you have problems with the RAFFLECOPTER form, please email me at twimom227 (at) gmail (dot) com.
Purchase Info
Kissing Under the Mistletoe (A St. Helena Vineyard Novel)
Monday, October 8, 2012
Review: Tempting the Bride by Sherry Thomas
Tempting the Bride
Author: Sherry Thomas
Release Date: Oct. 2, 2012
Publisher: Berkley
Fitzhugh Trilogy #3
ISBN: #978-0425251027
Genre: Historical Romance
Format(s): Paperback (304 pgs), e-book
Book Source: Publisher
About the book:
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Helena Fitzhugh understands perfectly well that she would be ruined should her secret love affair be discovered. So when a rendezvous goes wrong and she is about to be caught in the act, it is with the greatest reluctance that she accepts help from David Hillsborough, Viscount Hastings, and elopes with him to save her reputation.
Helena has despised David since they were children—the notorious rake has tormented her all her life. David, on the other hand, has always loved Helena, but his pride will never let him admit the secrets of his heart.
A carriage accident the day after their elopement, however, robs Helena of her memory—the slate is wiped clean. At last David dares to reveal his love, and she finds him both fascinating and desirable. But what will happen when her memory returns and she realizes she has fallen for a man she has sworn never to trust?
What Ang is talking about:
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I thoroughly enjoy Sherry Thomas's writing style. She understands that first and foremost a novel, even a romance novel, must tell a story, and tell a story she does. Although I did not love Helena and David as much as I loved Millie and Fitz in her last novel, Ravishing The Heiress, I did enjoy their story more than I expected, given the whole over-tired “I'm in an accident, I don’t know who you are or I am” direction of the novel.
David and Helena have known one another since they were children, and he has loved her for as long as he has known her. However being young and dumb when they first met, he played the part of crude annoying teen-aged boy to try and get her attention. Instead he alienated and angered her, all of which might have been able to be overcome had Helena not fallen madly and deeply in love with Andrew Martin. Complicating issues further, however, is that Andrew married another woman at the height of Helena's love of him keeping her from not only moving on but engaging in fiercely inappropriate behavior with him. It is these behaviors that put Helena's reputation at risk and cause David to sweep in and save her, as it were, in the form of an elopement. The day after this saving she is involved in a life threatening accident that clears her memory and forces them to start over.
I admit I rolled my eyes at the cliché story line but found it worked well for these characters. David needed a way to let his walls down and prove his love for Helena, and Helena becomes a far more sympathetic character after the accident. This allows for a very sweet story to take place. A story filled with wonderful dialogue, beautiful imagery and just the right amount of heat to keep me turning the pages. The story is tender and emotional without being nauseating and is filled with strong characters that have just the right amount of heart and stubbornness to make them real.
I had no major issues with the book, other than Andrew's character, who is a spineless weasel, and probably would have rated it higher had I not just read Millie and Fitz's story and loved it so much that Helena and David fell in their shadow. Given more time and more distance I have a feeling that this book will likely rise on my rating list, and I've no doubt those that enjoyed Ravishing the Heiress or those that enjoy a well written historical romance with strong, quick witted, spunky characters will enjoy Tempting the Bride as much or more than I did.
Ang’s Rating:
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Liked it - recommend (B+)
Purchase Info:
Reviews in the Series:
Review: Wicked Whispers by Nina Bangs
Wicked Whispers
Author: Nina Bangs
Release Date: October 2, 2012
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Castle of Dark Dreams #6
ISBN: #978-0425253137
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Format(s): Paperback (304 pgs), e-book
Book Source: Publisher
About the book:
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All Ivy had ever wanted was a safe, secure life with no drama. Now she was working in an adult theme park where visitors came to role-play their wildest imaginings. She reminded herself to stay focused on her job and to ignore everything else. The reminders didn’t work. One man drew her. Murmur was every erotic dream she’d tried to repress, every deliciously dangerous temptation she said she didn’t need. Her instinct suggested that this was a man who walked in darkness. She ignored the warning.
But Murmur was more than what he seemed. A powerful demon, he used his demonic gift to destroy as well as seduce. In desiring him, Ivy had opened herself to a menace born centuries ago—one that would risk both their lives and betray the promises made with every one of his wicked whispers.
What B is talking about:
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Ivy Lowe doesn’t want much: just an absolutely normal, suburban, white-picket fence life. While taking a job as the personal assistant to the owner of an adult theme park called “Live the Fantasy” could certainly be considered a departure from her ultimate goal, the money is too good to pass up. But, no matter how in control she thinks she is, impossible happenings in her new home and a dance on the beach with a stranger she can’t deny quickly prove that things will never be “normal” for Ivy again.
Obligated to stay in the Castle of Dark Dreams because of his only friend’s request for help, Murmur bides his time causing trouble where he can and trying to keep his unused powers from making him insane. As a demon of music he is destruction incarnate, yet the temptation he finds in one demanding, stubborn human woman not only tests the limits of his control, it may even lead to his own annihilation.
Wicked Whispers is an excellent mix of humor, action, and sexual attraction. I laughed most of the way through this story; the unexpected bursts of humor both caught me off guard and lightened up the overall tone of the story. Most of the characters have unpredictable, yet wickedly entertaining personalities, which are combined with an array of impressive powers and usually leads to some hilariously funny situations (like a group of fairies that ends up fighting with one another over who gets to grope a tree in the midst of battle).
Ivy and Murmur are about as incompatible as two characters can be, but they make a wonderful couple because of it. As common a device as this situation may be, it works very well in Wicked Whispers, and both characters’ inability to resist one another are a real pleasure to read. Murmer also happens to be one of the sexiest male leads I’ve read in a long time. He’s a work in progress, to be sure, but he’s got a sense of purpose that keeps him from ever seeming weak. The things he does to Ivy with his gift are awfully hot, too.
This is the first novel I’ve ever read by Nina Bangs, and I’m very happy to say that all the good things I’ve heard about her writing so far seem to be true. Wicked Whispers was, very simply, a lot of fun. From the plot, to the relationships between the characters, Ms. Bangs delivers a solidly good, entertaining read. There still seems to be a lot of potential for this series, and while I’m looking forward to seeing what else might be in store for the denizens of the Castle of Dark Dreams, I’m eager to catch up on the other novels in the series now, as well.
B’s Rating:
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Loved it - enthusiastically recommend (A)
Purchase Info:
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Sunday Snippet #123
Sweet DeceptionAuthor: Heather Snow
Veiled Seduction #2
Publisher: Signet
Released: August 7, 2012
REVIEW HERE
"You wrote to every magistrate in England?"
"It took weeks, but yes. And most responded. Many continue to send me reports quarterly. It would be much simpler if England had a national system of crime reporting, as they do for births, deaths, mortality and such."
"Hmmm. I'm sure the policy makers see no monetary gain to be had in such an endeavor."
She shrugged. "They're wrong, of course. If we can spot patterns amongst types of crimes, find out who is committing them and more importantly why, we can address those core problems to reduce crime Which will have immense monetary benefits. And all of those answers lie in the numbers."
He turned his startling green gaze on her. "You were making some sense, Emma, but how can numbers tell you why a person committed a crime?"
A pleasant flush warmed her. His interest invigorated her and she found herself relishing the challenge. "Well, once I'd gathered the criminal statistics, I started comparing them to other numbers that are available nationally." She ticked them off on the fingers of her left hand as she named them. "Such as the number of inhabitants of an area per condemned person, the number of boys in primary school in that district, the type of industry and wealth in the area. And I've seen some startling patterns." She pointed to the map he was currently scanning and its array of blues and purples. "See here? Property crimes tend to happen in areas of higher education, for example, suggesting a more sophisticated criminal without the motivation of survival for his or her crimes."
Derick peered at the map, scanning the numbers jotted alongside. "I'd have expected the exact opposite."
"Exactly!" Emma clasped Derick's upper arm with both of hers, pulling him along to the next map to the right, this one colored with reds, yellows and oranges. How right it felt, having him beside her, showing him her passion. "And it's not just who is committing the crimes that is of interest, but when they are committed. For example, this map shows that crimes against persons occur most often during the summer months,. Is it the heat? Longer daylight hours? Crimes against property tend to happen in the winter. What could we do to combat those phenomena?"
She tugged him along to another one of greens, grays and golds before relinquishing her grasp on his arm. "Other important factors are 'where' and 'how many.' This map proves that both personal and property crimes occur not just in higher numbers in urban areas - as we would expect - but also in higher percentages per capita versus rural areas. So what is it about city life that makes people more disposed to crime? Is it geographical? Are the moral variables? And if so, can we make policies to address them? Better education, religious instruction, improved diet - there's so much room for research. And if I add in more variables - illegitimate births, for example, or age - "
"This is fascinating, Emma, but what is it you're hoping to accomplish with it all?"
She turned away from her maps and faced Derick. Numbers and variables were all well and good, and she could talk them all day long. That's what she understood. But she wasn't nearly as proficient with people. If her work was ever going to actually help mankind, she'd need someone like Derick to take her ideas and help her make others understand. "Most people, policy makers in particular, simply assume it is the poor and uneducated who commit most crimes. Yes, there is more crime amongst the lower orders, but statistically speaking, that's only true because there are more people amongst the lower orders. When you look at the picture as a whole, crime mars all classes... the only difference is the type. My research is proving that the way we look at crime and how to stop it is flawed. We have to stop blaming the lack of proper breeding or bad blood, as some claim, and face the real issues."
Derick frowned at her. She knew from their discussion last night that he might be on the other side of that argument. still,m if she couldn't convince him, she'd have very little chance convincing anyone else.
"I believe all persons are born blank slates, and it is more the circumstances we are born into that shape who we become, the opportunities and examples we are given. I intend to discover exactly what circumstances tend to breed what type of crime so we can figure out how to combat it. We can change what becomes written on someone's slate. Before they become criminals."
Derick's hand came up, his thumb and forefinger cradling her chin. Energy crackled all around Emma, stilling her breath and tingling in forbidden places. His eyes squinted slightly as an enigmatic half smile lifted his mouth. "My little Pygmy," he murmured. "Are you planning to save the world?"
"Yes," she whispered, caught in his gaze. Her hand came up to grasp his wrist, and she absently stroked the soft inner skin with her thumb. Something sad and cynical crept into his eyes, coloring the green - a shadow of the pain she'd glimpsed last night. She wanted to banish it for him. Something in her knew that even more than she wanted to make the lives of Britons better, she wanted to help heal Derick Aveline. She reached her other hand to his face, cupping his jaw. "Yes," she said again, aloud, more firmly than before. "I am going to save the world."
And I'm going to start with you, her heart whispered.
She stretched up on her toes and pulled his lips to hers.
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