Book Binge

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Thanks Rose! What an interesting question. I guess I hadn't thought about it like that before. I can't wait to see what everyone else has to say.

You heard the lady. Leave a comment answering her questions above and you'll be entered to win a signed copy of In For A Penny.

Later today Rose Lerner will be joining us in celebration of her debut release, In for a Penny. In the meantime, Rose has given us an excerpt to tease you share with you.

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Nev and Penelope were eating breakfast. At least, it had started out
that way. Somewhere along the line, it had shifted into Nev watching
Penelope eat breakfast. She ate a good deal, but very neatly. She cut
everything up into ladylike bites, chewed slowly, and washed it all
down with ladylike sips of tea. It was refined, sensible, and a little
too careful, like everything about her. Just now she was spreading a
thin layer of jam on her toast, with an adorable frown of
concentration.

“Are you going to cut your toast into tiny pieces too?” he teased.

She flushed. “Of course not. Whoever heard of cutting up toast?”

“I just wondered.”

She looked away. “When my parents sent me to finishing school, the
girls made fun of me for how I ate. I suppose I overcompensated.”

Nev felt guilty suddenly, and angry. “Wretched cats. You ought to have
eaten with your elbows on the table and your fingers in the food. That
would have shown them.”

“Perhaps, but it wouldn’t have been very attractive.”

“Who cares?”

“I rather think you would. You’ll have to sit across the breakfast
table from me for the rest of your life.”

A life sentence. Penelope only, always, forever. Nev thought of all
the times he had eaten breakfast with Amy. They would rise late and
make their way to the breakfast room, and Amy’s cook would make them
buttered eggs and crumpets. Amy hadn’t had good table manners—she ate
quickly and used her fingers sometimes. But Nev had never minded; it
just meant he could eat as messily as he wanted too. They would always
laugh and talk and read each other things from the morning paper, and
sometimes he would feed her strawberries. Of course, he and Amy would
have just risen from a night of lovemaking. He and Penelope hadn’t
even kissed since his proposal.

Penelope began to take a bite of her toast, then pushed it away, with
a blush and a little laugh. “I can’t eat it now, you’ve made me
embarrassed!”

Nev wondered if he would ever know the right thing to say again.

“I suppose I’ll have more tea.” She poured herself a cup and reached
for the jar of honey. But as she opened it, she glanced up at Nev. She
fumbled with the spoon, and honey flew all over her fingers.

Nev stared at the sticky molten gold sliding down his wife’s
ink-stained fingers.

Penelope saw his fixed look and misinterpreted it. “Don’t look at me
like that! I know I’m hopeless!”

“That’s not it,” Nev said with utmost sincerity. “That…looks like it
tastes good.”

“Well, it’s wasted now. Unless you want to lick it off?” She spoke
sarcastically, as if she were proposing an obviously implausible
alternative.

“Of course I want to lick it off. But I said I wouldn’t touch you till
we knew each other better, and—”

Penelope looked at him in perplexity, then laughed. “A few weeks of
celibacy, and this is what men descend to!”

“It’s not that,” Nev told her with sudden conviction. “It’s you.
You’re driving me mad. Just watching you eat breakfast is enough to
make me want to—”

“Really?” A mischievous light came into Penelope’s eyes, and she
raised her honey-spattered fingers to her mouth. She sucked lightly on
her index finger, then withdrew it, letting her mouth drag open. Then
she licked a drop of honey off her lip.

She was teasing him, he realized—to her, this was only a game. She
felt nothing.

Nev’s eyes narrowed. He was fairly sure he could do something about that.

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Isn't that wonderful? Be sure to stick around for a chance to win a signed copy!

Last week, while on vacation, I was able to meet one of our favorite authors for coffee (or in her case, hot chocolate). That's right, I met Jill Shalvis for coffee last week (though if I'm being honest it feels like it's been a lot longer..my husband and I were on a LONG road trip).

(I kind of feel like my face is really shiny in this picture...)

That's Jill on the left and me on the right. See? I told you, she's adorable.

To Harley, the landscape around Wishful, California, is exhilarating, untamed, and more than a little dangerous. The same could be said for T.J. Wilder, who's invited himself along on her trek to study a rare coyote. Harley's career is riding on this trip, and she doesn't need a stubborn, incredibly sexy distraction. But T.J. is a professional guide who knows when to stay back and when to provide invaluable expertise - just like he's done since they were in high school. And Harley, as usual, is torn between throttling him and giving in to the raw attraction that's been smoldering all these years. T.J. knows how proud and capable Harley is, but he's damned sure not letting her put herself at risk when there are illegal hunters in the area. She needs him, with the same soul-stirring urgency that he's always craved her. And here, in this beautiful place days from civilization, he'll finally have a chance to prove it - over and over again...

Being the wonderful author she is, Jill gave me a copy of Instant Temptation while I was there. Instant Temptation is book 3 in her Wilder Adventures series, T.J.'s book. The book isn't set to be released until March 30, but since I have a copy here and I'm feeling generous as long as you don't make fun of my shiny face, I thought I'd share it with all of you.

Leave a comment on this post telling me why you're looking forward to reading Instant Temptation before 11:59 p.m. tonight, March 11, 2010 and you'll be entered to win. I'll draw a winner Friday and mail the book out over the weekend so chances are the winner will receive the book well before the release date.

Good luck!

I haven't read Most Eagerly Yours yet, but I'm really looking forward to doing so. Especially after Rowena's review and this awesome excerpt. Check it out...

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Setup for excerpt: Aidan and Laurel have given into temptation and made love outdoors, on the grounds of a ruinous abbey in the Cotswolds. But despite their powerful attraction, they grapple with the reality that their lives are pulling them in opposite directions… Before they part, Aidan has a request…

His soft laughter infuriated her. How dare he find humor when all she wanted to do was bury her face in the nearest pillow and sob until her chest and throat and eyes ached more than her breaking heart?

It wasn’t his fault. He was correct in ending what should never have begun . . . but he seemed intent on making it as difficult and as painful as possible.

Especially now, as he took her in his arms and pressed her cheek to his chest, and the tears she hadn’t known were falling began to soak his shirtfront.

“I’m sorry,” she said between sobs. “I am not usually like this.”

“It’s been a long day. But before it ends, I have a request.”

She lifted her face and swiped her hands across her cheeks. “Yes?”

“A dance.”

“What? Here?”

“What more perfect place? You and I have danced beneath the stars before, Laurel. Don’t you hear the music now?”

“Don’t be silly. I hear only the breeze.” She paused to listen. “And the stream and crickets and a creaking branch . . .”

“Yes, and there is music in all of it.” His hand a warm and steady guide at her waist, he moved her away from the carriage and twirled her. Over the grassy terrain he swept her backward, forward, to the side, and back. At first she stumbled along, but by some miracle they fell into the graceful pattern of a three-count rhythm. He held her close and softly murmured the beats into her hair.

“Listen closely,” he whispered. “The strings, pianoforte, now the woodwinds. Let yourself hear it, feel it. Let it flow through you. . . .”

Suddenly the sensuous notes of a waltz drifted through her mind, enveloping her in sound, sensation, a thrilling sense that the world was hers—theirs—to command and shape. She felt alive, exhilarated . . . invincible.

“You hear it, don’t you?”

“Oh, yes.”

“Now look up.”

As he whirled her in dizzying, glorious circles, she obeyed, lifting her face to the twinkling constellations and waiting for the next miracle.

“The stars, Laurel. They’re dancing. The bear, the wolf, the hunter. The virgin. Do you see them?”

Oh, they were, whirling and whirling in time to the music, to a beautiful waltz that only she and Aidan and the stars could hear.

And then the whirling stopped and all went still, the music coalescing into one long, beautiful, lingering note as Aidan bent his face over hers. At first she thought he would kiss her, but he only smiled into her eyes with longing and sadness and steely-edged resolve.

Her heart overflowed with all the love they would never share. “Why did you do that?”

“So that years from now it will be what you remember of this day. Not the disappointments or the heartache or my wretched failings, but the glory of commanding the earth to sing and the sky to dance. For you, Laurel. All for you.”

And she realized that though he might not be offering her a happily-ever-after, he had already given her more than she had ever imagined.

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Allison is giving away a copy! Go check out her awesome guest post on strong heroines to find out how you can win.


This book is available from Signet Eclipse. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

It is our pleasure to have Allison Chase, author of the newly released, Most Eagerly Yours join us for awesome book goodness today on Book Binge.

Most Eagerly Yours is the first book in Chase's new series, Her Majesty's Secret Servants and it is a series that is definitely on our radar here at Book Binge.

We look forward to keeping up with this brand spankin' new series and would like to welcome Allison Chase to Book Binge. She's here to speak about our heroes.

Check it out:

Three Queens and a Healthy Dose of Girl Power!

The “kick butt” heroine: she’s a popular addition to romance and she’s here to stay – and thank heavens for that! No modern woman wants to read about wimpy heroines who cry in the face of danger and wait for the hero to save their fragile hides. But what does kick butt mean? Lara Croft comes to mind, right? And Buffy – one of my favorites!

But let’s face it, the whole Lara Croft concept is pretty new, and you won’t find many examples of her in history. Sure, we had Boudicca and Joan of Arc, but they were the exceptions. Still, women throughout history did find ways of flexing their metaphoric muscles, especially when that muscle involved more brain than brawn.

Two of the longest-reigning and most notable English monarchs were both women. I’m talking Elizabeth I and Victoria, of course, although you could also add Eleanor of Aquitaine to the list of history’s most formidable females because while she never reigned in her own right, she was certainly not a gal who sat quietly embroidering in her bower.

Contrary to tradition AND the emphatic wishes of everyone around them, each of these intrepid ladies had a firm hand in the politics of the day, True, they were queens, but they were also women, and everyone pretty much expected them to come trotting out for official ceremonies but otherwise leave the governing to the men. There were always people trying to control them, but in the end each one had the chutzpah to assert her independence and, well, do as she bloody well pleased.

Cunning Eleanor often had her husband, Henry II, over a barrel; Elizabeth refused to marry at all, preferring to keep her royal powers to herself, thank you; and Victoria, who initially would have liked to remain single, ended up marrying, not for political advantage but for love. That not seem particularly radical to us, but for a woman of her time and position, it was an act that required a digging in of her royal heels. As a foreigner and a German at that, not to mention an impoverished one, Albert wasn’t the most popular choice for England’s new queen. But Victoria wanted him, and Victoria made sure she got him.

Odd, but while hundreds of years separated them, these three queens did all share something in common: imprisonment of one form or another. When Eleanor went too far in instigating her sons to rebel against their father, she ended up in “comfortable confinement” for the next 16 years – until Henry died. Elizabeth spent time in the dreaded Tower of London after being implicated in Wyatt’s Rebellion against her sister, Mary. And Victoria, never officially imprisoned, nonetheless spent her childhood & teen years isolated and restricted by her mother’s stringent rules. She had no friends, no privacy and no freedom whatsoever.

Did they cower? Back down? Decide it was easier to behave? No way! They bided their time and then came out swinging – metaphorically, of course. And that’s because each one of them had enough confidence to recognize her own capabilities – and how to make darn good use of them. In other words, they used their Girl Power to gather their courage, stand up to their adversaries and claim their rights. Yea!

In my Victorian Series, Her Majesty’s Secret Servants the four Sutherland sisters are pretty typical, country-bred gentlewomen – at least on the surface. They also grew up restricted and isolated on their uncle’s estate after the mysterious deaths of their parents. Now that they are adults, they discover hints that their own lives may be in jeopardy, and that their uncle had been trying to protect them. But having finally tasted independence, the Sutherlands aren’t about to cower or hide.

When their childhood friend-turned Queen of England comes calling with predicaments of a delicate nature, these ladies must step up to the plate and become Victoria’s “super heroes”… her Secret Servants. It means setting aside propriety and safety, and drawing on their considerable stores of ingenuity and sheer pluck, even if it means risking their lives, hearts and occasionally their virtue in the service of their beloved young monarch.

In the first book, MOST EAGERLY YOURS…Laurel, the eldest, is the first to be called. The Queen is threatened by her jealous cousin, George Fitzclarence, who is known for speaking treason. She asks Laurel to pose as a wealthy widow and use her charms to win George’s trust, then find out what he is really plotting. Laurel is prepared for the risks of acting a part, but she encounters an unexpected and formidable obstacle in the Earl of Barenforth--George’s friend and a notorious rake, whom Victoria has warned her to avoid...

An undercover agent for the Home Office, Aidan Phillips, Earl of Barensforth, is on the trail of a financial hoax involving alchemy, murder...and George Fitzclarence. When a lovely young widow wanders into his path and turns his well-laid plans on end, he senses she is hiding something. Aidan is no stranger to seduction, or to the wiles of beautiful women. And he intends employing wiles of his own to uncover the lady’s secrets...

To celebrate the release of MOST EAGERLY YOURS, I’ll be giving away a copy to a random commenter today. We all like to pick out heroes to admire and emulate. The above-mentioned ladies are three of mine. But a hero (or heroine) can be a sports figure, a philanthropist, or even a family member – the only real definition in my opinion is someone who inspires us. Who do you look up to, and why?

Thanks again to Allison for stopping by and gracing us with your presence here on Book Binge. Now, you've heard the lady, if you want a chance to win your very own copy of MOST EAGERLY YOURS then leave a comment on this here post and Allison will choose a winner on Friday 3/12/10. The contest will run until 11:59pm tomorrow night.

Good luck and thanks again Allison Chase, it was lovely having you on Book Binge! If you lovely readers have any questions you'd want to ask Allison, she'll be popping in and out all day to answer any questions thrown her way.

Thanks!

Rowena's review of Most Eagerly Yours (Her Majesty's Secret Servants Series, Book 1) by Allison Chase.

Hero: Aidan Phillips
Heroine: Laurel Sutherland

Raised on their uncle's country estate, the four orphaned Sutherland sisters formed a close friendship with the young Princess Victoria. Shortly before her coronation as queen, Victoria asks the sisters to serves her in matters requiring the utmost discretion.

They are to become her secret servants. The first to serve is Laurel- who poses as a widow to uncover a traitor, and discovers instead an irresistible rogue conducting his own undercover investigation.

It took me a while to get into this book at first but I think that had more to do with me being distracted by another book that I was reading because when I finally gave this book my full attention, I couldn't put it down. This is the first book in Allison Chase's new series, Her Majesty's Secret Servants and I must say that I enjoyed the book quite a bit. There was plenty in the story to keep readers interested and I for one ate it all up. The mystery, the characters and the romance all made for one enjoyable story that leaves you wanting more....in the way of more books for the other sisters.

This story is about four sisters who are orphaned and childhood friends of the newly crowned Queen of England, Victoria. As soon as Victoria is crowned Queen, she can no longer keep the same friends that she had before and though it saddens her, her friendship is kept strong by the conviction within the sisters. They all loved Victoria and had remained faithful to her in every regard. I adored the sisters and only wish that they all had more page time. This book was the oldest of the bunches book, Laurel.

Victoria needs to find out if her cousin, George is committing treason and she needs someone to get close to him and find out what he's doing and she sends her secret friend and secret servant, Laurel in to find out for her and it is while Laurel is trying to find out George's plans and what he's up to that we get her story of the man that she can't get out of her mind, Aidan. Aidan and Laurel met for the first time when he came into the town in which she lives and saves her from being trampled to death by a crushing crowd. He risks the wrath of the policemen that day to save Laurel and with a swift kiss that stays with Laurel, he takes off before the police could get to him.

Laurel remembers that day and keeps the memory alive by daydreaming about Aidan for months afterward. She never thinks to see him again so she's surprised to find him again once she's settled in Bath, trying to uncover the plans of the Queen's cousin. She's on a mission and she can't keep to her mission because she keeps getting sidetracked by the handsome and very dashing, Aidan Phillips.

Aidan on the other hand is hired by the Home Office to keep an eye on George, to make sure that he keeps his nose clean of treason and though he doesn't know exactly what George is up to, he's suspicious and hopeful that it isn't going to land him in any hot water.

Over time, Laurel and Aidan band together to try to piece together different mysteries. One is the mystery behind an elixir that is being pushed on the rich people of England and the other is the mystery surrounding the death of Laurel's parents. It was intriguing to see so many different story lines unfold over the course of this book. What I liked about this book is the way that Aidan and Laurel fell slowly in love. It may have seemed fast and rash but I didn't ever feel that their romance was rushed. I enjoyed watching Aidan go from being mildly infatuated and lustful toward Laurel and then seeing him make that final leap toward love for her. He was a fantastic hero, one that I enjoyed getting to know over the course of this book.

Laurel was a great heroine as well. She wasn't perfect and there were times when I wanted to wack her a good one but her heart was always in the right place and I was never thoroughly exasperated by her. She was a good sister to her sisters and she was a great friend to the Queen. She had a way about being around people that made it perfectly clear why people were drawn toward her. You wanted to be her friend because she was so nice.

The romance between Aidan and Laurel was sweet and while Aidan wasn't the perfect hero because of some of the things he did, I still enjoyed this book. It was a nice way to spend a few hours and I would definitely recommend this book to lovers of historical romances. This book has a mystery that will keep you guessing until the last moment and a romance that is just sweet enough and just cute enough to keep you reading. I enjoyed this book and can't wait for Ivy's book. Woo hoo!

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

This book is available from Signet Eclipse. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

Holly's review of Shadow of the Moon (A Dark Hunter short story) by Sherrilyn Kenyon (a novella found in the Dead After Dark anthology)

"Shadow of the Moon"

Angelia has fought her entire life to make herself strong. Now, with her patria under fire, she has to protect her people from Fury and his werewolf clan. Vowing to bring him to justice, Angelia sets out alone…until the hunter becomes the hunted, and the only way for her to survive is to trust the very wolf she's sworn to kill.

After re-reading Night Play the other day, I was curious to know who Fury's heroine was and how his story played out. I'm sorry to report this was one of the worst novellas I've ever read.

Angelia, Fury's heroine, is a small minded, judgmental bitch. She treated Fury abominably and refused to accept the responsibility for her actions. She was his best friend as they were growing up, yet as soon as she realized Fury was Katagaria (his base form is wolf) instead of Arcadia (human base form) she stabbed him and left him for dead.

Now, 400 years later, she and her cohorts have a weapon that will keep weres from changing forms and make their magic useless. They kidnap Fury to find out what he knows about it, and begin torturing him when he won't tell them. This goes on for hours. Angelia doesn't actually participate in the torture, but she sees and hears it. After they brand him, she finally steps in and takes Fury away.

Not my idea of a good heroine.

As the story progresses and she's faced with the decisions she's made, she continues to make excuses for her behavior. She was traumatized by wolves attacking and killing her family when she was just a toddler, so that's her excuse for stabbing Fury. It wasn't HIM he was stabbing, just the dirty animal she hates. She didn't actually pull the trigger and kill the lion, so of course it wasn't her fault. She didn't actually torture Fury, so of course he shouldn't be mad at her.

She constantly refers to Fury as a "dirty animal" and feels "disgusted" by him, even though he continually protects her and saves her life. Even when she finally decides to sleep with him it's grudgingly. She thinks, "Part of her couldn't believe she was touching a wolf."

As they're having sex she realizes she loves him and always has, but he's an animal. Then they become mated, which means Fate has decided they should be together, so who is she to argue?

Now this all would have been fine and well if she'd realized in the end how wrong her actions were and suffered some kind of consequences for them. But she doesn't. Fury turns himself in as the one who shot the lion, and Dare steps up and says he was the one who did it. No one even knows she ruined the life of another were, rendering him unable to even communicate with his mate or care for his children. SHE SHOWS NO REMORSE. WTF?!

In the end they go home and she tells Fury she loves him and wants to mate with him and..The end.

Fury was his same adorable self throughout the book, but the fact that he was paired with someone who betrayed him so badly really makes me angry. Fury had never known love or acceptance. I find it really hard to believe he's going to get it from this backstabbing, self-righteous bitch.

1 out of 5

This book is available from St. Martin's Press. You can buy it here or here in e-format.