It’s not summer, so I’ll get a new icon for the bookclub, but it’s still Sizzling, so it’s time for the next pick in the Smart Bitches Sizzling Book Club for October! You ready?
I tweeted about it over the summer while I read it, painstakingly typing in each line that rocked me, and there were a LOT of them. Prepare yourself for good writing, really really GOOD writing, mayhem, diabolical plots and Romancing-the-Stone-esque adventure: the October book is Scoundrel by Zoe Archer.
The description:
The Blades of the Rose are sworn to protect the sources of magic in the world. But the work is dangerous—and they can’t always protect their own. . .
London Harcourt’s father is bent on subjugating the world’s magic to British rule. But since London is a mere female, he hasn’t bothered to tell her so. He’s said only that he’s leading a voyage to the Greek isles. No matter, after a smothering marriage and three years of straitlaced widowhood, London jumps at the opportunity—unfortunately, right into the arms of Bennett Day.
Bennett is a ladies’ man, when he’s not dodging lethal attacks to protect the powers of the ancients from men like London’s father. Sometimes, he’s a ladies’ man even when he is dodging them. But the minute he sees London he knows she will require his full attention. The woman is lovely, brilliant, and the only known speaker of a dialect of ancient Greek that holds the key to calling down the wrath of the gods. Bennett will be risking his life again—but around London, what really worries him is the danger to his heart. . .
The story is a mix of historical, adventure, and paranormal and the writing and the plot, I think, will give us a lot to talk about.
The story takes you everywhere you’ve rarely been in a romance, and if that cover copy isn’t really giving you the WANNAREADIT feeling, have a look at some of the #scoundrel lines I tweeted back in August (I apologize that I couldn’t find a better archive).
You can get a digital copy from the Smart Bitch Sizzling Book Club partner All Romance eBooks with a sexy 50% rebate – just use coupon code “SBTBARE” at checkout. You can also shop at Amazon or the bookstore of your choice. Who am I to stop you from buying books?
I’m going to schedule the book club chat for the final week in October, so stay tuned for that announcement – you’ll have plenty of time to read. I hope you enjoy this pick, as I cannot wait to discuss it with you. Happy reading!
But wait, there’s more! As a bonus Friday Video, here’s Zoe Archer’s video message about the book club.
Usually i DON’T read paranormal, but this seems different, and since I put my eyes on the cover I decided to buy the book. The mix between mythology and a classical, romantic London setting seems to me enthralling. And that scoundrel of a hero…Double wow!
Ciao
VIv
@Vivienne
I’m not sure about Scoundrel, since my copy *still* hasn’t arrived, but Warrior (the first book) really didn’t feel like a paranormal. There’s so many genres and influences, and they are all blended so well, it really became its own thing.
For me, that was one of the major strengths of Warrior, and I’m seriously crossing my fingers (it’s a wonder I can still type) that Scoundrel will be the same.
Thanks Jan for your kind reply and for your sort of reassurance about the paranormal thing. Now I’m really looking forward to read the both of them.
AAAKKK I just finished this book. Can you read my mind or what?
I just blazed through Warrior last night to get caught up on the series, and will be tackling Scoundrel in short order. Picoreview: yeah, that was big silly fun, and read for me very much like The Mummy only with added smexxing. 😉 (And now I am TOTALLY in the mood to watch that movie and I do not own a copy. WOE!)
Side note to @Lori: Yeah, I bought a few books from Stanza’s Fictionwise store but once Amazon bought them it definitely seemed like the attention to Stanza has diminished. Open format books are good, though, and I’ll keep an eye on your site to see if anything shows up that piques my interest! (I noticed you had a couple from the small press that published me, for that matter. 😉 )
I just love authors with a sense of humor and self-deprecation. I have declared a moratorium on book buying for the month of October, so will have to go to the library for this one. I’ll buy her other book in November to make up for it. Love the cover. It’s so deliberately campy and silly.
Excellent pick, SB Sarah. Great excuse for me to re-read this book.
Pit me in the group that loves this cover, and the other three in the series.
Could we have a session at some point scheduled for friday or saturday night instead of sunday night? That way, for those of us who are ahead of the US it will fall on a weekend morning rather than monday morning.
that lovely British bloke talking as Gabriel on the trailer.
Okay, this is a stupid question, but since this is part of a series, does it work as a standalone? Will reading it hurt my enjoyment of the earlier books in the series if it turns out I love this one and want to catch up on the others?
I’ve just blazed through both Warrior and Scoundrel. First: big silly fun! 😉
Second, to answer the “does it work as a standalone” question: yes. There is a reference in Scoundrel to the plot and main characters of Warrior; there’s also a mention of Bennett participating in the events of the previous book. So it may be a bit weird to read them out of order, but you won’t be terribly confused if you do so, I’d think.
Should we read the first book in the series before starting this one? I already bought it but haven’t read it yet. Or does it not matter?
BTW, I love the cover, but the comments about the Captain Morgan pose reminded me of an old episode of “How I met your mother” where they go through a host of famous poses naked (it made sense in context). There was the Superman, the Mr. Clean, and of course, the Captain Morgan!
*I* think the old boy looks like Rick O’Connell from The Mummy.
*swoon*
I am in the middle and I AM LOVING THIS.
Just finished… Yum! Can’t wait to go back and read Warrior, then pick up Rebel and Stranger!
Can’t wait to discuss!!
I have to say that I blazed through almost all the chapters last night, until I had to pry the computer from my hands and force myself to stop at the end of chapter 17. And then I made myself late for a meeting in order to read Chapter 18 and 19 this afternoon. I haven’t done that with a book in a while, and I really didn’t have time to be that sucked into a book this week.
The best part was that I had enough credits saved from my other book club purchases to basically get this one for free.
There are so many details that I love about this book. Can’t wait to discuss it.
I work for Powell’s in Portland Oregon so had planned to borrow this book (Yes, they let us just take books to read and then return like it’s our own gigantic library!). But then I had a rare afternoon free so just stopped into the store and read the whole thing sitting in their coffee shop. It was great fun. I like that it has a mini-romance between two other characters. I’ll definitely be in the chat if I’m free. Can’t wait.