In My Mailbox (63)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren, and is a way for everyone to show their new books for the week, including those bought, swapped, won, or received for review.

for review:

 "Beneath a Starlet Sky" by Amanda Goldberg and Ruthanna Khalighi Hopper

 "Ripe for Pleasure" by Isobell Carr

 

  expect a contest for this one soon!

"Nowhere Near Respectable" by Mary Jo Putney

 "Noah Barleywater Runs Away" by John Boyne

 

 from the author of "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas"

"Dark Descendant" by Jenna Black

 

contest wins:

"Warped" by Maurissa Guibard

won from Alexis at Reflections of a Bookaholic

"Claude and Camille" by Stephanie Cowell

won from Darlene at Peeking Between the Pages 

"Pretty Neat" by Alicia Rockmore and Sarah Welch

 

won from Confessions of an Overworked Mom

  

"What Would Mr. Darcy Do?" by Abigail Reynolds

won from Blodeuedd at Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell

What did you receive in your mailbox this week???

Your Poll Pick - John Romita!

Thanks to all who participated in the latest poll! Thirty-six percent of readers wanted to see a sequential story by John Romita! No stranger to romance, Romita drew love stories for Atlas in the early days of the genre, as well as many of DC's romance stories and covers throughout the 1950s and into the '60s. Today, please enjoy a Marvel romance story illustrated by Romita -- "I Dream of Romance!" originally published in My Love #1 (September 1969) and reprinted (as shown here) in Our Love Story #13 (October 1971).


Val is a dedicated young woman -- always striving to better herself through work and study. Unlike everyone around her, Val has no one to depend on but herself, therefore necessitating the utmost in self-discipline. As such, romance is only a distant dream for Val.


One evening Val goes to a babysitting gig for a family she has not met before. She relieves the housekeeper from the day shift and after putting the baby down for the night, attempts to study. Val finds herself distracted by a photograph on a nearby table of the baby's father. Soon, all she can think of is the man in the picture -- handsome yes, but the husband of someone else and therefore forbidden. Soon, Val dozes off and her waking fantasy melts into a warm and thrilling dream.


But in a surprise twist, it wasn't entirely a dream! Val wakes up to find herself actually kissing the mystery man from the photo. She runs out of the house, devastated to have lip-locked with another woman's husband.


Out of shame, Val decides she must skip town. As she makes her getaway, the mystery man chases after her, begging her to stop. Finally he catches up to her and apologizes for kissing her while she was watching his -- wait for it -- nephew!!! You can now breathe a big sigh of relief! Our sweet Val is not a home-wrecker and dreams do come true as it turns out!

Thanks again for participating in the poll! Ya'll selected one of the best floating head drawers out there! Have a most wonderful weekend!

"Dark Descendant" Mini-Review

"Dark Descendant"
by Jenna Black

Publisher: Pocket
Release Date: April 26, 2011

Source: sent by publisher

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Summary from goodreads.com:

From the acclaimed author of the Morgan Kingsley, Exorcist books comes the gripping first novel in a new series about a private eye who discovers, to her surprise, that she’s an immortal huntress.

Nikki Glass can track down any man. But when her latest client turns out to be a true descendant of Hades, Nikki now discovers she can’t die. . . . Crazy as it sounds, Nikki’s manhunting skills are literally god-given. She’s a living, breathing descendant of Artemis who has stepped right into a trap set by the children of the gods. Nikki’s new “friends” include a descendant of Eros, who uses sex as a weapon; a descendant of Loki, whose tricks are no laughing matter; and a half-mad descendant of Kali who thinks she’s a spy. But most powerful of all are the Olympians, a rival clan of immortals seeking to destroy all Descendants who refuse to bow down to them. In the eternal battle of good god/bad god, Nikki would make a divine weapon. But if they think she’ll surrender without a fight, the gods must be crazy....

My Mini-Review: 

While I think fans of Urban Fantasy will enjoy this book, it was too dark for my tastes. I liked the idea of the characters being descendants of mythical gods. The gods were from the mythologies of different cultures, some well known, some lesser known. Even with this great starting point, the violence and cursing turned me off of this story. I suppose those aspects appeal to readers of the genre though because it seems to be common in Urban Fantasy books. I like the tone and voice in my reads to be a little softer and gentler, not so aggressive and in-your-face. I think I would like to try one of the author's YA fantasy books, because the grittiness might be toned down.


Main Characters: 3/5
Supporting Characters: 3/5 
Setting: 4/5
Romance: 2/5
Uniqueness: 4/5
Cover: 3/5
Writing: 3/5

 
Bottom Line:I would recommend this book to Urban Fantasy readers because of the twist on the mythological characters, but this book didn't quite fit my tastes.

Horror Movies

Watching horror movies is never my cup of tea. My reason is simple: I watch movies to get entertainment and not to get frightened. Besides, my kind of favorite movies is those based on true story; such as Freedom Writers, North Country, Beautiful Mind, Changeling, etc. Well, in fact, not only to get entertainment do I (sometimes) watch movies, but also to learn some historical background of some events (e.g. Iron Jawed Angels), and get some moral values. I believe that there is a mutual relationship between 'life' in movies and 'life' in our real lives.

The first horror movie that I was willing to watch was THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT because my students said that this movie was based on a true story. I watched it together with my students at school since we had topic 'Alive with Horror' in our English class. Well, the movie's plot was quite logical to me: a family moved to a house which was formerly a mortuary. The family soon becomes haunted by violent and traumatic events from supernatural forces occupying the house.

Well, since this was supposedly based on a true story, one can conclude that perhaps this 'event' was transferred into a movie to make people realize that it was always possible to happen where people were haunted by 'spirits' of people who did not die 'properly' or whose bodies did not get proper treatment. The spirits of these people wanted to 'take revenge' to the ones who made their souls 'rejected' to enter 'the sky' (or heaven?).

Emily Jenkins

This morning, in my English class -- with the same topic, 'Alive with Horror', I watched another horror movie: Case 39. The name chosen as the main character who had 'evil character' in her really attracted me: LILITH. It must have been taken from Jewish mythology about the first woman God created after creating Adam. Since Lilith was also created from 'soil' like Adam, she felt equal' to him. She did not easily submit herself to Adam. Even when having sex for the first time, Adam asked Lilith to be under him, she complained.

Getting a 'helpmate' who was rebellious like Lilith, Adam complained to God. God then banished Lilith and created another female creature who was exactly like what Adam wanted: submissive, weak, feminine. There came Eve. On the contrary of Lilith that had demonic and evil character, Eve was angelic.

The story of Case 39 was somewhat a twist. At the beginning, Lilith's parents were narrated to be insane people because they wanted to kill Lilith. Emily Jenkins -- a social worker whose job dealt with 'troubled children' -- saved Lilith from the murder trial done by her parents. Emily even officially asked to have the custody to take care of Lilith because she saw that Lilith felt secure with her.

Some cases of murder that happened next in fact involved Lilith. Lilith that at the beginning seemed so sweet and weak little girl changed to be someone evil when she did not get what she wanted: love from someone she needed.

Lilith

My very own question since the beginning watching this movie was simple: what made the producer make such a demonic character in a little girl? Had there been any real cases of a new born baby having evil spirit in him/her? A baby who then (indirectly) killed other members of the family after growing up? A baby who had the sixth sense -- just like indigo -- but was 'occupied' by evil spirit.

Realizing that Lilith herself had evil spirit in her, Emily visited Lilith's parents in the mental hospital to investigate. Lilith's father suggested Emily to kill Lilith.

Until the end, I didn't get any clue what made Lilith evil. So, honestly, I don't recommend this movie to be watched. .

PT56 23.17 290411

Author Interview and Giveaway with Anna Campbell

Today, it is my esteemed pleasure to share with you guys this great author interview I did with one of my favorite authors. I started my journey through this authors works with the book 'My Reckless Surrender', which I remarked in my review as being "beautifully written and diabolically addicting". She proves my statement can apply to more of her books with her impressive latest release. Let's find out more, shall we? Without further adieu, please welcome my special guest:

Author Bio:

"Anna Campbell, always a voracious reader, decided as a child that she wanted to be a writer. Once she discovered the wonderful world of romance novels, she knew exactly what she wanted to write. Her first historical romance for Avon was the multi-award winning CLAIMING THE COURTESAN. CLAIMING THE COURTESAN was followed by another multi-award winning Regency noir, UNTOUCHED. Her third book for Avon, TEMPT THE DEVIL, debuted in January 2009 and her fourth, CAPTIVE OF SIN, was a November 2009 release. CAPTIVE OF SIN was chosen among Publishers Weekly's Top 100 books of 2009. Her next release, in June 2010, is MY RECKLESS SURRENDER, the story of a dangerous seduction in late Regency London. Anna's books have been translated in Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Japan, Turkey, Thailand, Indonesia, Russia and Norway. When she's not writing passionate, intense stories featuring gorgeous Regency heroes and the women who are their destiny, Anna loves to travel, especially in the United Kingdom, and listen to all kinds of music. You can find out more about Anna and her books at her website: www.annacampbell.info"Source


Find Anna Campbell on the web: Website | Facebook | Goodreads

Anna's Latest Release:

'Midnight's Wild Passion'
Releases April 26th, 2011

"London's most notorious seducer, Nicholas Challoner lives solely for revenge…
The dashing, licentious Marquess of Ranelaw can never forgive Godfrey Demarest for ruining his sister - now the time has come to repay the villain in the same coin. But one formidably intriguing impediment stands in the way of Nicholas's vengeance: Miss Antonia Smith, companion to his foe's unsuspecting daughter.
Having herself been deceived and disgraced by a rogue-banished by her privileged family as a result and forced to live a lie-Antonia vows to protect her charge from the same cruel fate. She recognizes Ranelaw for the shameless blackguard he is, and will devote every ounce of her intelligence and resolve to thwarting him.
Yet Antonia has always had a fatal weakness for rakes…"

My Review of 'Midnight's Wild Passion': coming soon
Read a review of the book at The Romance Dish: here

Book Trailer:                                               

Get Your Copy Today:

Amazon | Barnes&Noble |  Borders

The Book Depository | Powell's

-Q&A Time!!!-
RJ: Hey Anna! Thanks so much for stopping by and giving me and the readers the chance to get to know you and your books a bit better. Congrats on your latest release, ‘Midnight’s Wild Passion’ (from Avon books, April 26th, 2011)! First question: When did you first start writing, and what inspired you to pick up a pen in the first place?

AC: Thanks for having me as your guest, Rita! I loved books right from when my parents read me my first story – which I suspect might have been a romance in the form of a fairy story! It seemed a natural progression to tell my own stories. I started my first novel in grade three, an Enid Blyton rip-off (she was my heroine at the time). I then fiddled with various bits of stories until I finished high school when I finished a medieval that will NEVER see the light of day.

RJ: Why don't you tell me and the readers a little bit about ‘Midnight’s Wild Passion‘?

AC: I’m so excited about this book. It was great fun to write and I love the two main characters. The hero, Nicholas Challoner, Marquess of Ranelaw, is such a delicious rake and I love it when he comes up against stubborn, smart Antonia Smith who knows exactly what tricks he’s plotting. And of course, these two wary, wounded people fall in love, much against their wishes. 

RJ: How long does it usually take you to write a book from beginning to end? And how long did it take you to write ‘Midnight’s Wild Passion’?

AC: I always take a year to write a book from first word to when I’m ready to send it to an editor. A lot of that is polishing!

RJ: Where did the inspiration for your plot, characters and setting come from?

AC: Because this story is probably as close as I’m going to come to writing a classic Regency romance, I suspect I was channeling my inner Georgette Heyer. As you know, in most of my books, people spend more time undressing than dressing up but in this story, they get to go to balls and house parties. There’s an elopement and a duel! Which doesn’t mean readers will miss out on plenty of naughty scenes and drama!

RJ: What challenges or difficulties did you face with the writing of this particular novel?

AC: Actually this story came to me like a gift from heaven. The words just flowed onto the page. That’s a really unusual situation for me.

RJ: The first 3 adjectives that come to mind when describing your Hero and Heroine, Nicholas & Antonia, are?

AC: OK, Antonia – wary, clever, repressed (she doesn’t stay that way, snicker!). Nicholas – seductive, self-aware, crafty.

RJ: I am always intrigued by a good ‘revenge that leads to romance’ plot. How does revenge play a role in ‘Midnight’s Wild Passion‘ and how did you keep the plot fresh?

AC: What a great question, Rita. The people who know Ranelaw have no idea that he harbors a secret sorrow. In his boyhood, his beloved half-sister Eloise was seduced and abandoned by Godfrey Demarest and that one event ruined her life. At last he has the chance to repay Demarest in the same coin. Demarest’s daughter is making her debut and Ranelaw sets out to ruin her. Unfortunately for him, his quarry has a very canny and determined guard dog in intriguing chaperone Antonia Smith. Even more unfortunately for Ranelaw, Antonia proves a major distraction from his quest for revenge. I think all these classic themes like revenge gone astray stay fresh when they’re individual to the characters in a particular story.

RJ: The writing process differs from author to author. Some are planners, and others just jump right in. Some consider themselves evening writers, while others need daylight and a park bench or a coffee shop (wink) to set the mood for creativity; what’s YOUR writing process and atmosphere like?

AC: I call myself an organic writer. I don’t really plan ahead although I have some idea of where the story is going and I have ideas for future scenes, some of which never appear because the winding road of telling the story takes me in another direction. These days, I feel very spoilt when it comes to a working environment. I have a big office littered with inspirational bits and pieces like postcards, pictures, books, gifts people have given me and my writing awards. It looks out on a garden alive with native birds. I can’t write with voices around me, either recorded or real, however music helps me enormously, usually classical or soundtracks. As I said, no words!

RJ: Picture this: Some major motion picture studio buys the film rights to ‘Midnight’s Wild Passion’ and want to make it into a movie. They bring you in as a consultant (you know, since you wrote the book and everything-LOL). They ask you to come up with an ‘ideal’ cast list. Which actors would make that list and for what roles?

Alison Doody

Marcus Gilbert

AC: Oh, I wish! Actually I almost always cast my stories before I write them and then use those people as physical models. Of course, the characters quickly take on a life of their own but I find having an image really helps at the outset. The people I cast for Midnight are probably a bit long in the tooth (and obscure) to make a current big Hollywood movie. But here are the photos I used. Nicholas is my first blond hero and I picked an English actor called Marcus Gilbert as his prototype. Marcus Gilbert was in a couple of the Barbara Cartland adaptations and I think he’s terrifically handsome in that English aristocrat style. Antonia is a Nordic blond and I picked Alison Doody who was a Bond girl as her model. She has a beautiful face but more than that, it’s an intelligent face. Antonia is as smart as a whip!  

"You want me to weed whack WHAT!?"

RJ: In a small paragraph, write the blurb to your life as it is-but exaggerated to how you ideally wish it were.

AC: International woman of mystery,  Anna Campbell, takes time off from championship cross-country skiing races and her life as a prima ballerina at the Bolshoi to write her passionate stories of England’s Regency period. From her library at Chatsworth in Derbyshire’s Peak District, she pens bestselling masterpieces of historical romance while her gardener Richard Armitage tends the camellias (and a few other things too!). Yeah, I wish!

RJ: What do you value in a good romance novel and what sort of characteristics do you like to find in the protagonists?

AC: I like a romance novel to be emotionally satisfying and I love it when the hero and heroine are better, wiser people at the end than they were at the beginning. I like sizzling sexual tension and luscious love scenes. I love it when the characters are smart and there’s plenty of spark and snark between the hero and the heroine. I like the hero to either be a man of honor at the start or discover through the story that he is a man of honor. I like the heroine to stand up for herself or have learned how to stand up for herself by the end. I really want to believe that the happy ending promises a long and fulfilled life together. Don’t ask for much, do I?

RJ: What’s next? What projects are you currently working on and what do the readers (and I!) have to look forward to?

AC: I’m currently hard at work on a gothic take on the Beauty and the Beast story and having a wonderful time. Really sexy hero and a gutsy heroine. Sorry, can say no more right now. I’ve got an extended short story coming out in September in the Mammoth Book of Ghost Romance. You can read an excerpt here: http://www.annacampbell.info/chinesebed.html

RJ: Final Question: What is something shocking or interesting about you that the readers may not know?

AC: Oh, dear, I always feel like the most boring woman on the planet when people ask me these questions. How about I can read really fluently upside down? Sorry it’s not something more scandalous. I save all the scandal for my books!  

--
RJ: It was great having you on, Anna- although, I think author Ashley March and myself (along with a few hundred twitter peeps) might have to tag team you for the rights to have RA as our gardener. Desperate Book Loving Housewives-has a nice ring to it! Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing about your book!

AC:Thanks, Rita. Great questions as ever. I’ve been thinking about the casting question. Rita’s readers, if you were casting your favorite historical romance, who would you pick to play the hero and heroine? There’s a signed copy of MIDNIGHT’S WILD PASSION up for grabs!

~*~Giveaway Details~*~

Anna Campbell has generously offered to giveaway one (1) copy of her latest release, 'Midnight's Wild Passion' to one (1) lucky commenter! To enter this giveaway, just leave a comment with your answer to her question above. The giveaway will end on May 13th, 2011 and the winner will be announced and contacted shortly thereafter.

*For extra entries in the giveaway, you can do any/all of the following:
+2 Follow this blog on Twitter or Like it on Facebook
+4 be a GFC follower of this blog
+4 Like Anna Campbell on Facebook
+5 Spread the word: Blog about it, Tweet, Facebook-whatever (leave a link so I can verify)


(*Make sure you leave your email address and mention which extra entries you would like to claim.)

*[Edit] Giveaway is INTERNATIONAL 
--
Good luck to all the entrants and I hope all of you will make use of the on the web links to get to know more about this fab author and her books. Also, don't forget to pick up your copy of the book if you haven't done so already. It's a wonderful read!

Book Blog Follow and Book Blogger Hop April 29

Happy Friday, Everyone!!

It's time for Book Blog Follow Friday hosted by Parajunkee.com and The Book Blogger Hop hosted by Crazy for Books!












  

If you're visiting for the first time, I'd love to hear from you, so please leave a comment and say hi!! :)

"Sweet Valley Confidential" Review

"Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later"
by Francine Pascal

Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: Mar 29, 2011

Source: sent by publicist

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Summary from goodreads.com:

Now with this striking new adult novel from author and creator Francine Pascal, millions of devoted fans can finally return to the idyllic Sweet Valley, home of the phenomenally successful book series and franchise. Iconic and beloved identical twins Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield are back and all grown up, dealing with the complicated adult world of love, careers, betrayal, and sisterhood. 

My Review: 


I didn't think this book was as awful as the other reviews are making it out to be. However, the author makes really bold choices about her beloved characters, and some of the choices are bound to make long time fans angry. While the book isn't rocket science, it's the equivalent of a juicy soap opera. Lots of fluff, and all the drama you need for a relaxing afternoon read.


It's hard to say that the Wakefield twins have "grown up" but it is ten years later. Elizabeth and Jessica are still caught up in the same type of fluffy, selfish story lines we saw them in during high school. Now the residents of Sweet Valley are cheating on spouses instead of boyfriends and girlfriends. Jessica is still wildly selfish and Elizabeth is still a goody two shoes martyr. As the book itself says "Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose," which means "The more things change, the more they stay the same."


I always had a soft spot for Bruce Patman, and he comes out as the 'most changed for the better' from Sweet Valley High. Lila Fowler fans, she barely makes an appearance, much to my dismay. As for the other characters, I won't give any spoilers, but I can see how huge fans of the series who remember every detail from the books would be disappointed and saddened by the direction of some of the characters (cough...Todd...cough).  


I didn't care for the New York storyline at all. Elizabeth had moved to NYC, and all of the events and characters from that part of the story seemed so irrelevant to the soapy drama happening in Sweet Valley. Readers want to know about their old favorites not disposable new characters. 


Another part of the book that I didn't like was the style of font for the flashback scenes. It literally made my eyes hurt. I don't think it was a proper font for reading such long passages.



Main Characters: 2/5
Supporting Characters: 3/5 
Setting: 4/5
Romance: 2/5
Uniqueness: 3/5
Cover: 4/5
Writing: 3/5

 
Bottom Line: An angsty, drama-filled visit back to Sweet Valley. The author made bold choices for her beloved characters that may or may not please hard-core fans.

Romance Comic Book Fans! You are Invited to Join Me for a Comic Chatcast! Tonight! 9pm (EST)

Join me tonight (Thursday, April 28th) over at Comic Chatcast for a lively discussion on a few key DC romance issues from the '60s and '70s!!! It was difficult to do, but I narrowed it down to five fantastic issues which I think represent the best of the best! After I share my picks, I would love to hear what you would add!

So join me, romance fans!
The chat starts at 9pm (EST)

Waiting on Wednesday (64)

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine, and it is a way to show off the books you can't wait to be released!!

This week I chose:

"Between the Sea and Sky"
by Jaclyn Dolamore
Bloomsbury
Release Date: Oct 25, 2011

The following description is from goodreads.com:
 

For as long as Esmerine can remember, she has longed to join her older sister, Dosinia, as a siren--the highest calling a mermaid can have. When Dosinia runs away to the mainland, Esmerine is sent to retrieve her. Using magic to transform her tail into legs, she makes her way unsteadily to the capital city. There she comes upon a friend she hasn't seen since childhood--a dashing young man named Alandare, who belongs to a winged race of people. As Esmerine and Alandare band together to search for Dosinia, they rekindle a friendship . . . and ignite the emotions for a love so great, it cannot be bound by sea, land, or air.

Oooh, another book about mermaids!! I love it! The cover is so gorgeous too! Can't wait to read this one.

What are you waiting for this week???

Winners Announced!! Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza Giveaway Hop!

Winner Announced!!

 

Thank you so much to everyone who stopped by and entered the Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza  giveaway here at In the Hammock!

 

The winner of the "Falling Under" ARC is:

 

 

loveangel132

 

Winner was chosen via random.org random number generator. Congrats to the winner!! I have emailed the winner for her mailing address. Winner has 3 days to respond :) A huge thank you goes out to  everyone who entered!! Congrats!!

 

We've Got Winners! Blogoversay, Kat Martin, & Kristan Higgins Giveaways

Congratulation to:

Dtchycat

who won the Kat Martin Giveaway for an autographed copy of her latest release: 'A Song For My Mother'

Miranda @ My Eclectic Bookshelf

who won the Kristan Higgins Giveaway for a copy of her latest release: 'My One and Only'

and the Build-A-Book-Giveaway Giveaway winner is:

Jennifer Teal

I want to say a special thanks to all of you who took the time to enter the giveaways. I spend a lot of time coordinating with authors and third-parties to make these things happen for you guys and introduce you/give you a chance to some read great books. I am glad to see that it is apprecieated. And again, thanks to all who made my Blogoversary so swell and wrote such lovely comment to stroke my overgrown ego. We thank you! ;)

To the winners, congrats! Charlie Sheen has nothing on you guys ;). An email will be sent to the address liusted in your entry very shortly. Please reply within 48 hours with the necessary information to claim your prize. If a winner has already won/purchased their book prize, I'll hold a redrawing.

My Humble Appreciation 

Time Travel Tuesdays - Pre-Code Romance Comics Romantic Love's "Nightmare Romance!"

Today's Time Travel story "Nightmare Romance!" comes from 1951 -- before the comic book industry started to self-regulate with the Comics Magazine Association of America's Comics Code Authority. As such, this story from Avon's Romantic Love #7 (September/October 1951) with art by Marion Sitton, is quite scandalous! No slumber parties or football games here!

We are introduced to Fran Edwards as she heals in a hospital, complete with a guard outside her door. She reminisces for us on what got her in the whole mess in the first place. As the proprietor of a successful modeling agency, she was looking for a man to assist with the agency job placements.


Fran ends up hiring Wayde Hanley -- a handsome and smooth talking applicant. Fran quickly falls head over heels in love with him.


Wayde seems to be doing a swell job at the agency, until he starts bringing "younger and cruder" girls in to model -- Gloria Porter being one of them. Fran starts to get suspicious of Wayde's intentions when one of the models mysteriously disappears. Wayde admits to running a scheme to steal money from businessmen with the aid of Gloria and the other model recruits. If the models asked to participate refuse, they are quickly done away with.

At first, Fran wants to go to the police, but Wayde convinces her to keep quiet and the rewards will be theirs to reap. She agrees, but is shaken when the agency auditor finds severe and purposeful errors on their tax returns. Wayde tries to smooth things over, but Fran insists they give the scheme up. Wayde promises they only need to do a few more jobs.

One evening, Fran heads back to the office after hours to finish up some work. She is shocked to find Gloria and Wayde engaged in an embrace with Gloria suggesting they poison her. Fran realizes what a fool she has been to go along with things and decides she must go to the police.

The District Attorney decides to send Officer Mary Nichols undercover as one of the "party girls." After two weeks of infiltration, Officer Mary is finally assigned to attend a party for a group of wealthy cattlemen. Wayde promises her there will be at least $1000 in it for each of the girls.


The party ensues and Wayde and Fran wait anxiously at her apartment. Suddenly, the phone rings. Gloria frantically tells Wayde that Mary was an undercover cop and Fran knew all along. Gloria manages to escape during the raid, and heads over to Fran's -- just in time to stop Wayde from beating the pulp out of her.


Suddenly, Officer Mary bursts onto the scene. Wayde produces a gun and tries to shoot the lady cop, but Fran flies in front of her and takes the shot. As Fran crumples to the ground, two other officers appear and shoot and kill Wayde. Gloria is carted off and Officer Mary is thankful that Fran saved her life. Relieved the ordeal is over, Fran is happy to repent for her sins of lust and passion. As she waits in the ambulance, Fran asks for God's forgiveness.


Pretty crazy story, no?! Party girls, guns, and cleavage, oh my! Very different from the romance comic book stories of the 1960s and '70s! Which do you prefer? The wide-eyed innocence of the post-Code period or stories à la "Nightmare Romance!"?

Teaser Tuesday (32)

Yay for "Teaser Tuesday" from MizB of Should be Reading!!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!  

My teaser Tuesday pick:


" He had a way of blending in, being unseen. It was part of what made him successful. That and the ruthlessness. "




p 5 "Defiant" by Kris Kennedy

Georgette Heyer Grab Bag Giveaway!

To celebrate the Royal Giveaways on The British Babes Book Brigade Facebook Page, Sourcebooks is offering a mystery Georgette Heyer romance to TWO readers of my blog!

Check out my post about the Royal Giveaways here, and comment on THIS post with your email for a chance to win one of two mystery Georgette Heyer books.


There will be two winners, the book you win will be a surprise!

GIVEAWAY RULES:

Sourcebooks has generously provided two surprise Georgette Heyer books for readers of my blog!There will be two winners, the book will be a surprise!

All you have to do is follow my blog publicly and leave a comment on this post with your email address!Please follow publicly or I can't tell that you are following :) Also, if you aren't comfortable leaving your email here, go ahead and leave a comment and then send me an email with your email addy

 

Extra Entries:
+1 Tweet this contest (leave link in comment)
+1 Post link in sidebar of your blog (leave link in comment)

Rules:

• US only
• No PO Boxes please
• Must be a follower to enter
• Extra entries are optional and can all be left in the same comment
• Leave a comment with your email address
• Books will be mailed out by Sourcebooks

• Ends Monday May 2

Thanks to everyone for entering! Good luck!