Bitchin' Blog Posts
: Contemporary Romance
May 24, 2012 | Thursday | 2 Comments
This review was written by Karyn This story was nominated in the Best Contemporary Single Title Romance category. The summary: Fifteen years ago, Garret Sorensen's family, trust, and heart were destroyed when Thea Celik betrayed him and married his brother. Now they are divorcing. Garret's ready to finally mend his relationship with his brother. But being back in Newport, Rhode Island, triggers a lot of memories-all leading back to Thea. Thea's not ready to let go of the Sorensens-even if it means being around Garret. As they cautiously circle around each other-finding themselves drawn together-they realize following their hearts could…
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May 22, 2012 | Tuesday | 14 Comments
This review was written by Jenny D. This story was nominated in the Best Contemporary Series Romance category. The summary: With her family business in crisis, Polly Prince does her best to keep calm and carry on. But hard work alone can't save her London company from a takeover by the infamously ruthless Damon Doukakis…or her traitorous body from the lethal sensuality of her boss! As his new apprentice, Polly accompanies Damon to Paris to negotiate the most challenging business deal of her life! Worse still, Polly must at all costs resist Damon in the most dangerously romantic city in…
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May 21, 2012 | Monday | 0 Comments
This review was written by Phyllis. This story was nominated in the Best Romance Novella category.
The summary: In Carly Phillips's Compassion Can't Wait, two high school sweet hearts are reunited years later, as if by fate, and discover that if you believe in yourself and each other, anything is possible.
And here is Phyllis' review:
This is a nice, sexy story of old flames reunited.
As a kindness to a teenage boy whose brother's suffering from advanced leukemia, the heroine, a hospital social worker, contacts her ex-boyfriend, now a star baseball pitcher, to meet the boy.
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May 14, 2012 | Monday | 30 Comments
I started this book last Saturday morning while my kids were at swim lessons, and I was in a dark, humid, and loud indoor pool on uncomfortable bleachers. I did not notice any of those things once I started reading. This book is amazing: confident and clever, funny and touching, and wonderfully done. This book is a simultaneous story - Mayberry's Harlequin Blaze, Hot Island Nights ( A | BN | K | S | ARe ), takes place at the same time with two separate characters. Is there a name for that style of storytelling? I know Twin of…
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April 30, 2012 | Monday | 24 Comments
At Romantic Times, I sat next to Jodi Thomas on the contemporary romance panel I wrote about earlier, and because I'm horrible, I got all up in her business about her position as Writer in Residence at West Texas A&M University. A romance author as a writer in residence? That's awesome! Thomas is only the second writer to fill the post. Prior to Thomas, the writer in residence was Loula Grace Erdman, who wrote novels about the settlement of the Texas Panhandle. I thought the idea of a romance author serving as writer in residence was very cool, so I…
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April 26, 2012 | Thursday | 1 Comments
Tonight at 9pm ET, the window below will go live, and we'll be discussing Tamara Morgan's Love is a Battlefield (Goodreads | ARe). I hear rumors of ARC giveaways from Samhain, and possibly shenanigans with mayhem on the side.
Plus the author will join us at 10pm ET. I love book club chats, as they are very lively and fun discussions, especially when everyone brings their own beverage of choice. I hope you'll stop by!
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April 19, 2012 | Thursday | 16 Comments
I was part of a panel on contemporary romance at RT, and took four pages of notes, because I thought the comments from the other panelists were so interesting. I think I've transcribed my own handwriting correctly - I hope so, anyway. On the panel with me were Louisa Edwards, Christina Skye, who I learned has a PhD in classical Chinese literature, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and Jodi Thomas. The session was called ' FINDING THE EXTRAORDINARY IN THE ORDINARY" and was moderated by Beth Ciotta. I don't know if you've ever moderated a panel, or watched a moderator in action, but…
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April 14, 2012 | Saturday | 6 Comments
Ann is looking for a book she read long ago that was from an excerpt in a magazine. She's been searching for it for awhile, and is hoping one of you might recognize the description. I have been trying to find this romance novel where a woman is given permission by her husband to cheat, after she finds out he has cheated on her. He wants her to see it's just physical. So she goes to this skanky sounding resort. She almost hooks up with this random guy but then she realizes random guy is married. Then this older but…
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April 14, 2012 | Saturday | 18 Comments
Joanna writes in with this HaBO request for the first romance she ever read: I'm looking for my first romance novel, the one that got me hooked on the genre. I was a good girl in a parochial school when I discovered at a library book sale a mesmerizing Harlequin with a green cover. Inside, salacious descriptions of bedroom shenanigans had me hooked. Obviously, this was passed along from girl to girl in my 7th grade class, until one of the nuns confiscated it and we all got into boatloads of trouble. I read this book in 1986 or…
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April 11, 2012 | Wednesday | 51 Comments
I admit, I have a low tolerance for amnesia stories. I don't often enjoy them, I can't suspend my disbelief when the person with amnesia conveniently remembers some things, like the names of her household servants, but doesn't remember other things, like who she is. And I always wonder where the other physical symptoms are, like questionable bladder control or possible drooling. So when this book was recommended to me, I read it with some trepidation. Ultimately, I finished it because I wanted to know what happened, not because I cared about the characters or their plight. It fed my…
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April 10, 2012 | Tuesday | 22 Comments
I said out loud twice while reading this book, "This is the least erotic erotic romance. No one's having any sex." Hubby thought I was nuts, but while the story was friendly and sometimes very sweet, there was not much erotic content, in my opinion. If you're looking for explicitness, this is not the Canadian equivalent of small-town, large-family cowboy erotic romance (Lorelei James, for example). I liked this book, but I was expecting erotic romance, so I came away disappointed. For example: the cover and the description sent me a message that There Be Lots of Sex In This…
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April 05, 2012 | Thursday | 4 Comments
The five winners of a free copy of "Love is a Battlefield" are: Xflisa Marc Dawn G Aurora85 Ashlandbaby Please email me at sarahATsmartbitchestrashybooksDOTcom with your email address, and please tell me which format you'd like! The 50% rebate is still good at AllRomance, until 15 April 2012. If you use SBTBARE at checkout, you will get a 50% eBook Bucks Rebate at AllRomance.com, the official sponsor of the Sizzling Book Club. The after-rebate price at ARe is pretty awesome - $2.75 - and please note, this is a rebate, which means Ebook Bucks will be available for your shopping pleasure…
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April 01, 2012 | Sunday | 57 Comments
At the book club chat with Bella Andre, I announced the April Book Club Pick - and now the rebate is live for your buying pleasure! Plus, I'm giving away five copies for your winning pleasure, so read on! The April Book Club Pick is: Love is a Battlefield by Tamara Morgan. Summary, ahoy! It might be modern times, but Kate Simmons isn’t willing to live a life without at least the illusion of the perfect English romance. A proud member of the Jane Austen Regency Re-Enactment Society, Kate fulfills her passion for courtliness and high-waisted gowns in the company…
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March 29, 2012 | Thursday | 0 Comments
Tonight at 9pm ET, the window below will go live with fast-moving and often hilarious commentary as we discuss Bella Andre's I Only Have Eyes for You. I hope you enjoyed it, and I can't wait to discuss it with you! Bella Andre will be joining us at 10pm ET to answer questions, and I'm sure there will be many. If you're not able to make the chat but want to ask a question, either for discussion or for the author, you can leave a comment below or email me at sarahATsmartbitchestrashybooks.com. And if you miss the chat, the entire conversation…
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March 25, 2012 | Sunday | 6 Comments
The books on sale and discounted? They sell all of the copies. THE DEVIL YOU SAY! The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo | The Amorous Education of Celia Seaton by Miranda Neville | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo | ARE Requiem for Ashes by David Crossman | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo | Ride With Me: A Loveswept Contemporary Romance by Ruthie Knox | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo | ARE [SBTB review: B] Redwood Bend by Robyn Carr | Amazon | BN | Sony |…
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