Tag: forbidden romance

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New Release: SAVING EVANGELINE by @Nancee_Cain

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Congratulations to Nancee Cain on her debut novel! Saving Evangeline is garnering quite a few 5 star reviews.


Evangeline is the town pariah. Everyone knows she’s crazy and responsible for the death of her last boyfriend. Even her mother left her and moved cross-country. Lonely and desperate, Evie decides to end her life.

Rogue angel Remiel longs to return to earth. There’s just one problem. He tends to invite trouble and hasn’t been back since Woodstock. The Boss sends him to save Evangeline, but there’s a catch. He can’t reveal his angelic nature and must complete the task as Father Remiel Blackson.

Forced together on a cross-country trip, a forbidden romance ignites and love unfolds. A host of heavenly messengers try to intervene, but Remiel and Evangeline are headed on a collision course to disaster. Will his love save her, or will they both be lost forever?


Get it HERE.

Add it to your Goodreads shelf.


Join Nancy at the Confess Your Love of Romance Novels Facebook event on Sunday, June 7 from 2-4pm


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The Weight of Words by @georgey_girl #Review #Interview & #Giveaway

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I’m pleased to welcome author Georgina Guthrie to the blog for a review of her debut novel The Weight of Words. Stick around for the interview and giveaway!

The Weight of Words (Words, #1)The Weight of Words by Georgina Guthrie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth

What a thought-provoking romance! It’s rare for me to feel such fondness for the hero and the heroine, but I loved both Daniel and Aubrey. It’s also rare for me to understand Shakespeare, but Georgina Guthrie provides an excellent guide to the Bard in this story.

Aubrey Price starts her last year at the University of Toronto with a tight budget, a set of close friends, and a passion for all things Shakespeare. She works as an assistant to Dean Grant in addition to taking a heavy course load. The TA for her Shakespeare course is Dean Grant’s son Daniel, who’s scruffy and gorgeous. Aubrey tries to suppress her attraction to Daniel’s forbidden fruit due to the anti-fraternization policy. (Good luck, Aubrey.)

Daniel is a puzzle. He crisply calls her “Miss Price”, at times seeming standoffish and pompous. At other times he smiles warmly and appears impressed by her depth of knowledge and wit.

Daniel had been livid with me, which was definitely not without its strange appeal. Angry-Daniel was something to behold. But then he was Tail-Between-His-Legs-Daniel, followed shortly afterward by Tiny-Piece-of-Heart-on-His-Sleeve-Daniel. The episode was rounded out nicely by Dimpled-Smile-and-Lip-Biting-Daniel. Smorgasbord, right?

Aubrey has no idea how he feels about her until Dean Grant invites her to a family dinner and Daniel unexpectedly shows up. When he has one drink too many, he reveals his true feelings.

O God, that men should put an enemy in their mouths to steal away their brains! that we should, with joy, pleasance, revel, and applause, transform ourselves into beasts!
~William Shakespeare, Othello

Hehe. Before Daniel makes a total beast of himself, he attempts to rein himself in, though it’s tough to avoid Aubrey’s charm. The secret that likely drives him to drink that night also ups the professional stakes to dangerous levels.

Aubrey has a winsome sense of humor which her roommate Matt draws out of her:

“I didn’t know you guys were headed in that direction,” I said. “I knew you liked each other. Some nights I could tell you really liked each other.” I rattled the headboard, and he shot me a poisonous glare.

Matt also made me laugh:

“I had to get up. My brain was screaming for Advil,” he groaned. “And I have the worst case of the zacklies.”
“What the hell are the zacklies?”
“You know, when your mouth tastes zackly like your ass.”

The banter between Aubrey and Daniel kept me grinning. Her F-bomb explosions surprise and delight him. His pair of jeans with a hole over the knee makes Aubrey swoon.

“Now tell me,” I said, eager to lighten the tone. “Am I going to get a look at one of those sweet knees tonight?”
Daniel sighed again. “Don’t worry. Mr. Ratty Pants will be making an appearance this evening.”

Instructors getting it on with students is abusive and wrong. But this story never feels icky that way. Aubrey is a strong, independent woman and Daniel does his best to exhibit self-control. Can they keep their paws off each other until semester’s end? I look forward to finding out in the next two books in the series!

A very little thief of occasion will rob you of a great deal of patience.
~William Shakespeare Coriolanus, Act II, sc. 1

View all my reviews

And now onto the interview:

Jennifer Lane (JL): Thanks for visiting the blog, Georgina!
GG: Thanks for having me, and congratulations on your recently released Blocked!
JL: I obviously loved The Weight of Words. And I understand I have two more awesome books awaiting me in the series?
Georgina Guthrie (GG): Thank you, that’s nice of you to say! Yes, you’ve read part 1 of a three-part series. Better Deeds than Words and The Truest of Words are books 2 and 3.

JL: So, Shakespeare! Aubrey and Daniel are both serious students of Shakespeare. How did you get interested in the Bard?
GG: I took an instant liking to his work after reading A Midsummer Night’s Dream in ninth grade. Going on a school trip to see The Tempest at the Stratford Festival in tenth grade sealed the deal. When I was sixteen, I visited my hometown in England for a few weeks in the summer and traveled to Stratford-upon-Avon for the first time. This visit made Shakespeare’s life so real to me. I was fascinated. My interest in his work grew exponentially from then on. I went on to study English in university, and spent a lot of time marinating in the Bard’s lovely words. 

JL: I really liked Audrey’s boss (and Daniel’s father) Dean Grant. Did you have kind academic mentors who inspired his character?
GG: I’ve had numerous mentors who have guided, instructed, encouraged and supported me over the years. Their impact has been inestimable. I don’t know if David Grant is inspired by any one of those people. He’s a bit of an amalgam of them, I suppose. Professor Brown, on the other hand, is definitely inspired by a particular person.

JL: What have been the pros and cons of writing a series?
GG: Well, I certainly know my characters. Lol. And that’s wonderful…having the opportunity to flesh out characters, really explore what makes them tick and pull the threads of their stories to satisfactory conclusion. It’s also great having relationships with readers who have become attached to characters and want to know “what next?” It’s very gratifying to feel readers’ affection for characters. One downside is it can be difficult to get yourself in a different head space when you’ve spent so much time with the same characters. I feared being a “one trick pony”. I suppose that’s one of the reasons that I continued to dabble with fic–to flex a different writing muscle. I also wrote a YA novel last year, and that was an excellent exercise in finding a new voice and tone.

JL: November 18th was the release date for book three, The Truest of Words! Readers: get it HERE. Please tell us about it.
GG: The third book in the trilogy allows Aubrey and Daniel to explore life after graduation. Without the ever present fear of being “caught,” they’re able to turn their attention to other concerns, namely, all the things that couples deal with at the beginning of a relationship, the baggage and personal quirks that can make or break a relationship. I also wanted to pursue the thematic ideas I had introduced in Book 1 and continued to tease at in Book 2.

JL: What’s next for you?
GG: I hope to be making an announcement about an upcoming project soon. I’ll also be publishing my YA book next fall. Never a dull moment! 🙂 Thanks again for having me, Jen.


Please comment with your answer to one of these questions:

1. What’s your opinion of Shakespeare?

2. Hot for teacher? How do you feel about teacher-student romance?

3. What’s a 5 star read you’d recommend?

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Blog Tour: Son of Set by @KelseyKetch

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YA Bound hosts the book tour for SON OF SET! See the tour schedule HERE and be sure to enter the giveaway at the bottom of this post.

Character Interview: Seth

Today, we’re honored to have Seth O’Keefe—Setemple’s prince of chaos. 

Hey, Seth. How are you today?

SO: *Gives a swoon worthy smile and runs his fingers through his copper hair.* I’d have to say well, being here with you.

*Blushes.* Always the Charmer, aren’t you?  What do you think it is about you that makes you so irresistible?

SO: Most girls tell me it’s all about my eyes and their hypnotic color. But I’m sure there are other reasons as well.

Mm hm, and what is it about Natara Stone that makes her so much more appealing than the bevy of beauties that constantly surround you?

SO: *Laughs.* Where to start? Her amazing amethyst eyes; her smooth, bronze skin; her beautiful, raven-colored hair; the sway of her hips as she walks; and a figure that could rock—  

Okay, okay. A girl could get a complex listening to how you rave about her, but what is she really like?

SO: Are you kidding? She’s as frustrating as hell! She never listens. She never does what she’s told. And let’s not forget the numerous times I’ve already saved her pretty little ass. *Rolls his eyes and scrubs his face.* Unfortunately, all those little annoying details—all her quirks and nervous habits—are also what I find the most attractive about her. Even her little British pout is irresistible.

What has been the biggest surprise for you since you have been involved with Natti?

SO: Honestly, I think the both of us are finding out things on this trip that neither of us expected to discover. We’re both capable of so much more than we ever dreamed, and because of that, I’m not even sure if it’s safe for her to be around me at this point.

So, what’s it like to be a fugitive from the Sons?

SO: Odd, and truthfully, downright terrifying. They were my kin, my brethren, my friends. I grew up with them. I was a firm believer in their beliefs. I even craved for the day to hold a Secret Keeper’s heart in my hand. Now, I’m their enemy, and believe me when I say my father wouldn’t give a sh*t if I die. In fact, he’d probably kill me himself before dragging Natti back to the altar. That’s why we have to stay several steps ahead of him. My father has too many resources to help him get what he wants, and I can’t allow him to capture us again.

With that in mind, if you had it to do all over again, would you still have saved Natti?

SO: In a heartbeat.

Readers, be sure to check out the rest of Seth’s story in Son of Set (Descendants of Isis #2) and follow where his adventure with Natti takes him.
Release Date: 05/02/14

Summary from Goodreads:

“. . . the Sons would never just let him go—alive.”

Seth O’Keefe has broken the laws of his god. He never thought he would sacrifice his own future to protect a Daughter of Isis. But when the Sons of Set discovered Natti is the Secret Keeper, he had no choice. Now, Seth and Natti are on the run from his father, who wants nothing more than to see Seth dead. With no allies, Seth turns to the Daughters of Isis for help, hoping they would protect Natti. But when they meet the Daughters, he discovers a secret that puts both their lives in more danger. Low on options, Seth sees only one possibility for survival. He must help Natti solve an ancient puzzle and find the secret name of Ra.

Natara “Natti” Stone is having a hard time swallowing the truth. She can’t believe what she has learned in the past twenty-four hours: Seth is a Son of Set blessed with charm; she is a Daughter of Isis blessed with a sliver of Ma ‘at; the locket her grandmother gave her holds an ancient Egyptian secret linking to Osiris and Isis. That along with being tortured and brutalized by the Sons of Set, she can hardly hold herself together. Thank God for Seth’s touch! That warm, tingling sensation that drowns it all out. Yet her heart struggles to stay focused. She must quickly embrace her destiny before the secret name of Ra falls into the wrong hands.

*Note: Content for Upper YA*

Add to your Goodreads shelf.

Buy Links

Son of Set
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Smashwords
Daughter of Isis (On sale for $.99 during the week of the tour)

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Smashwords
Here’s my review of Daughter of Isis. Loved it!

About the Author

During her high school years, Kelsey Ketch could always be found tucked away in a little corner of the hall or classroom, writing her fantasy worlds and creating illustrations and maps. Today is no different, except now she’s writing in the break room at her office building or at the tables of the Barnes and Noble Café in Cary, North Carolina. She is also an avid reader, a part-time book blogger at Ketch’s Book Nook, and lives with her two orange tabbies and awesome and humorous flat-mate.Daughter of Isis is her debut novel.
For more information, please visit her site at kelseyketch.com.

Author Links:
http://kelseyketch.com/
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7104482.Kelsey_Ketch
https://twitter.com/kelseyketch
https://www.facebook.com/KelseyKetch#
***GIVEAWAY***
One lucky winner will get a was scepter pendant (created specially by SilverspotStudio), a hieroglyphic tote bag, and a Son of Set journal (INT)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Review: Hard Time by Cara McKenna

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Hard TimeHard Time by Cara McKenna
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hot for Prisoner

Since Shawshank Redemption and the time I met hero Michael Scofield from the TV show Prison Break, I’ve been fascinated by prison stories. While this novel captured some of the thrill of a forbidden prison romance, Eric Collier is no Michael Scofield.

Annie Goodhouse is woman in her mid-twenties who recently moved from her hometown of Charleston to a town near Detroit. There are two reasons for her move: 1) a new job as a librarian in Michigan and 2) an ex-boyfriend who abused her in South Carolina.

“I’d needed a change of scenery. A place with snowy winters, where the men spoke in honest, sharp-edged Northern accents, incapable of glazing their empty promises in sweet Southern honey.”

One day a week, librarian Annie teaches and mentors at a local prison. There she meets tall, handsome, and quiet inmate Eric. When she helps him with his learning disability, he practices how to write better by penning her the most beautiful love letters, like:

“I like to watch your mouth when you read from that book. I can’t tell you what the story’s even about but I’ve got your lips memorized. I shut my eyes sometimes and just listen to how you talk. I’ve never been with a southern girl but it’s like every word you say comes out rolled in sugar. I think about kissing you. Real deep and slow with our eyes closed. Maybe feel your hands on my chest or my back. As I hold your face or your hair. As I got to see if you taste like sugar to match how you sound.”

Isn’t that so sweet and sexy?

This book had a fantastic beginning. I felt Annie’s fear and excitement about helping the inmates, and I swooned over Eric’s letters. But the rest of the story didn’t enthrall me as much. The author did a great job with the authentic characterization of Eric, a simple man from an impoverished, dysfunctional background, but I just didn’t find him very appealing. Perhaps I need a more intellectual hero to turn me on. The sex scenes seemed almost crude at points. This is all a very personal reaction to one character, and some readers may fall for Eric head over handcuffs.

I definitely did enjoy the growth of both Annie and Eric over the course of the story. And the writing was excellent, like this passage:

“His hand closed around mine, strong and possessive. The hand that’d done unspeakable things in the name of brotherly love. A hand capable of the tenderest acts of intimacy and affection. The hand that had penned the most breathtaking letters, for my eyes alone.
View all my reviews

Questions for Romance Readers

1. How much does your individual preference affect your enjoyment of the story?
2. How much erotica do you like in a story?
3. How much “dirty talk” do you like in romance novels?