The AllRomance rebate for a digital copy of Sorcery and Cecelia ends on 14 December 2012, so if you're thinking about reading it, go grab your copy. You will receive a 50% eBook Buck rebate if you use code SBTBARE at checkout. And, since Open Road Media is the digital publisher, coupons are welcome (Yay!). If paper is your preference, you can find a copy at Amazon, BN, or your local independent bookseller, or perhaps your local library.
Friendly reminder: the chat will be on Wednesday 19 December at 9:00pm ET. The authors will be joining us at 10pm ET for a Q&A. I hope you can join us!
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Tessa Dare's novella, The Scandalous, Dissolute, No-Good Mr. Wright ( A | BN | K | S | iB ) has been re-released by Avon Impulse for .99c, and to celebrate, she's posted a Rake Name generator.
I am The Audacious Ribald Well-Coiffed Miss – and this is fine except for the well-coiffed part, because that's hilariously untrue.
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Kirkus has a contest going on where you could win a Kindle Fire. Entry deadline is Sunday, 16 December 2012.
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Embrace by Jessica Shirvington, a YA paranormal involving high school and angels, is $1.99 at many retailers today only.
On her 17th birthday, everything will change for Violet Eden. The boy she loves will betray her. Her enemy will save her. She will have to decide just how much she's willing to sacrifice.
Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, EMBRACE is a compelling novel of good and evil, seductive desires and impossible choices. A centuries old war between fallen angels and the protectors of humanity chooses a new fighter. It's a battle Violet doesn't want, but she lives her life by two rules: don't run and don't quit. If angels seek vengeance and humans are the warriors, you could do a lot worse than betting on Violet Eden.
Goodreads | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo | iBooks
An Affair Before Christmas by Eloisa James is $1.99. Reviews of this book are divided between OMGYAY! and OMGWTF? During the last book club chat, a few readers mentioned this book as one they loved. Your mileage may vary.
One spectacular Christmas, Lady Perdita Selby, known to her friends and family as Poppy, met the man she thought she would love forever. The devilishly attractive Duke of Fletcher was the perfect match for the innocent, breathtakingly beautiful young Englishwoman, and theirs was the most romantic wedding she had ever seen. Four years later, Poppy and the duke have become the toast of the ton . . . but behind closed doors the spark of their love affair has burned out.
Unwilling to lose the woman he still lusts after, the duke is determined to win back his beguiling bride's delectable affections . . . and surpass the heady days of first love with a truly sinful seduction.
Goodreads | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo | iBooks
Five Golden Rings: A Christmas Collection is a new (published today!) anthology of short stories from Sophie Barnes, Karen Erickson, Rena Gregory, Sandra Jones, and Vivienne Lorret. It's on sale digitally for .99c.
The holidays are a time for wishes, magic and, of course, love. Celebrate the season with this delightful collection of Christmas tales.
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What better way for Connor Talbot, Earl of Redfirn, to spend the holidays than convincing Leonora Compton that the only match she needs to make is with him!
- The Duke of Ashton has had three years to plan for his perfect Christmas present—the Lady Eleanor Fitzsimmons as his wife. Now, all he has to do is convince the reluctant lady . . .
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Phin Baldwin does not believe in Christmas magic . . . until the clever and beautiful Ginny Overton gets it into her head to show him how wonderful it can be when wishes come true.
- Just returned from the Crusades, marriage is the last thing on Sir Caerwyn’s mind. But will he be able to resist Lady Nia, the thief of his boyhood heart, when she tempts him yet again?
- Responsible Ethan Weatherstone is determined to save Penelope Rutledge—and her reputation—from her silly scheme, but can he save himself from the temptation of her lips?
I just finished An Affair Before Christmas. I wouldn’t call it an unqualified success, despite my deep and abiding love for Eloisa James. The problem I had with it was that she tried to fit waaaaay too many plot lines together, and it ended up feeling choppy. When they were connected, it was very, very good, but then they got separated, and one chapter would follow a certain couple, and the next chapter would jump to a different couple, and so on. I think there were at least three (and maybe more) discreet plots happening at the same time.
I also got impatient with the hero and really just wanted him to grow the fuck up. And then I was terribly unconvinced by one of the secondary romances. I’m going to go ahead and tag this as a spoiler, even though I’ll try to be vague.
SPOILER
The author set it up rather well to end one way, and then at the last minute she pulled a bait-and-switch, and left me with a bit of reader whiplash. I didn’t think the resolution was natural or convincing, and I was a bit shocked that she put so much effort into developing one story, only to abandon it at the last moment./SPOILER
Anyway, there were some genuinely charming bits, and some fairly sketchy ones. If I were grading, I’d give it a C+, because the elements for success were present, but it was just so uneven.
Side note: the formatting on my Kindle copy was really wonky. Lots of words got split, which got annoying after a while.
Also, I’m apparently The Infamous Shameless Well-Read Miss DreadPirateRachel, and I’m okay with that.
Well, for 99 cents I thought I’d give it a try as mindless holiday reading. Evidently I am also The Diabolical Racy Nimble-Fingered Miss kenn. That is a great nom de blog! I might very well use that as my new posting name.
The Outrageous Wayward No-Count Miss Vasha… I really, really like that.
I’m only answering to The Scurrilous Sensual All-Knowing Miss Carlson from now on. 😀
The Passionate Impure Well-Endowed Miss. Sounds more wenchlike than main heroine.
The Villainous Unchaste Minty-Fresh Miss B. – I’m loving that! (Good to know that despite a lack of morals, oral hygiene is still important.)
Oooh… The Lascivious Carnal No-Strings Miss (I’m obviously a lightskirt). And my roommate is The Diabolical Depraved All-Knowing Miss (a villain for sure). Party at our place!
I’m apparently The Perilous Impure Smart-Mouthed Miss cayenne. Am I perilous because I’m impure or because I’m smart-mouthed? Depending on who I’ve pissed off recently, probably the latter 🙂
Happy to meet all of you hussies! I am the Salacious Brazen Ill-Mannered Miss Tina C.
I apologize for my ill manners, but, in my defense, I’m just so busy being brazenly salacious and salaciously brazen that it’s hard to sustain good etiquette all of the time.
The Licentious Saucy All-Knowing Miss Wilson. I like it. ^___^
Oh no. Two more books to buy. Damn. 😀
The Salacious Shameless Well-Endowed Miss Richland sends holiday greetings to all. Given my figure, I’m thinking “well-endowed” means I have a lot of money in a trust fund somewhere, or else I’ve been gifted with a whole lot of something I don’t know about.
The Unsuitable Decadent Oft-Wrong Miss VandyJ thinks everyone should have a fabulous Holiday, but evidently I’m oft-wrong about these things 😉
I’m one who loves An Affair Before Christmas – it’s one of my comfort re-reads, but I tend to skip the secondary romances when I re-read it. It’s a book that needs serious pruning (and I guess I prune it when I re-read it). Totally agree with DPR about the whiplash ending on one of the secondary plots. And the sequel baiting gets really silly towards the end. But, I still love it (dammit), even knowing that it’s flawed and not for everyone (the almost adultery is a deal breaker for some).
I keep coming back to this book because I am a sucker for stories where couples have to figure out how to make things work together, especially sex, after they fall in love. And James is good at writing that. When Fletch pulls his head out of his ass and tells Poppy he can live without sex, but he can’t live without her – sigh. And then, when Poppy starts to figure out what all the fuss is about sex – oh boy.
I read The Scandalous, Dissolute, No-Good Mr. Wright when it was part of an anthology and enjoyed it, although it didn’t stick with me. But it made me laugh out loud and choke up while reading it, and that’s a good thing.
Apparently I am The Scurrilous Bawdy Well-read Miss C. I also tried my maiden name and got The Lascivious Ribald Well-built Miss T.
Last week I read your posts about Sorcery & Cecelia & remembered that I had bought a cheap copy years ago. I had winter vomitting virus over the weekend so lay around feeling sorry form myself & reread this book. It was very funny & made me feel a lot better.
The Outrageous Sinful Oft-Wrong Miss Kendall- I’ll take the outrageous and sinful (as I sit here listening to vulgar Christmas tunes) but I think I may take exception to the Oft-Wrong!