Review: SUN-KISSED by Laura Florand

Title: Sun-Kissed
Author: Laura Florand
Series: Snow Queen #2; Amour et Chocolat #7
Publication Date: May 20, 2014
Buy Links: Amazon | B & N | Kobo

They called her the Ice Queen.

Anne Winters. Self-made billionaire. Household name. Divorced single mom. Convicted felon. She didn’t let anyone or anything get to her. No one was allowed to breach the walls around her heart except for her own son. She had only one trusted friend: her vacation house neighbor. They’d been walking the beach together for twenty years. Not that this gave him access to her heart, of course…

They called him a man who got what he wanted.

Mack Corey. Self-made billionaire. Dominant world player. Widowed father of the bride. No felony convictions yet, although his daughters had come close. He’d transformed his family company into one of the top 500 by the age of thirty. He’d raised two daughters who dumped him for idiot arrogant French chocolatiers and went off to live in Paris. Hell, he even managed to tolerate his dad. But that Ice Queen act Anne Winters had going was really starting to get to him…

They’d been friends for twenty years. Could they become lovers?

Could a frozen heart be kissed by the sun?

 

Excerpt & Giveaway: THE SCANDALOUS LOVE OF A DUKE by Jane Lark

 

 

Title: The Scandalous Love of a Duke
Author: Jane Lark
Series: Marlow Intrigues #3
Genre: Regency Romance (Historical)
Publishing Date: April 3, 2014
Publisher: HarperImpulse
Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA

Book three in Jane Lark’s Kindle best-selling Regency romance series!

Isolated by life and choice, John Harding, the Duke of Pembroke, sees an angel in a pale mauve dress across a room and is drawn closer as lust grips firm and hard in his stomach.  The wheat-blonde hair escaping her dull dove-grey bonnet and caressing her neck lures his eyes to a spot he’d like to kiss.  She speaks with animation her hands moving. Then as if she senses his gaze the stranger turns and looks at him.

A rush of pain and longing spilled from Katherine’s heart into her limbs. It was so long since she’d seen John but her reaction was the same as it had been more than half-a-dozen years before. She loved him, secretly, without hope, but a chasm of years and status stood between them.

 

Cover & Giveaway: FINAL MEND by Angela Smith

Girl meets Books is happy to participate in the cover reveal of FINAL MEND from author Angela Smith.

Book Details:

Title: Final Mend
Author: Angela Smith
Pre-order Links: Amazon

A recovering alcoholic, Jake Inman has found a new, healthier addiction: training for his successful triathlon career. But when his manager is murdered and beloved goddaughter kidnapped, another obsession takes hold: doing whatever it takes to find Brandon’s killer and keep Amy safe. Jake turns to a private investigator for help in solving the case, and though he finds temptation in her whiskey-colored eyes, he knows he must resist his attraction, or risk losing his heart.

After a devastating case, Winona Wall has turned her back on her skills as a private investigator, preferring a quiet life as a part-time bartender. That is, until Jake storms into the bar, demanding her help in tracking his missing godchild. Unable to resist Jake’s charm, she reluctantly agrees. But even after Amy is found unharmed, Jake insists Amy’s mother was more involved with her kidnapping than the police suspect. When the situation takes a turn for the worse, Winona must trust her instincts in order to save them all—and avoid falling in love.

Interview, Excerpt, & Giveaway: THE ONCE AND FUTURE DUCHESS by Sophia Nash

**Avon is hosting a TOUR WIDE Rafflecopter Commenter Giveaway for TWO Digital Copies of THE DUKE DIARIES, Book Three in the Royal Entourage Series by Sophia Nash.

Title: The Once and Future Duches
Series: Royal Entourage Series Book 4
Author: Sophia Nash
Buy Links: Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  iTunes

A duchess in time saves a noble line…

In theory, the Duke of Candover is the most eligible peer in the realm. But in truth, he has a deep aversion to the merest hint of marriage, not to mention two botched engagements which have marked his jaded soul. Now, after a debauched bachelor party that causes public outcry, the Prince Regent is demanding that it’s Candover’s turn to be brought to heel. And Prinny secretly believes that Isabelle Tremont, the Duchess of March, is precisely the lady up to the challenge.

Isabelle must marry, but a day of reckoning with the man she’s loved for years is her greatest fear. If Candover insists she’s too young and innocent for a seasoned world-weary man like him, there’s no shortage of other candidates. Gentlemen of prestige and position. Gentlemen whose attentions are driving Candover to jealous distraction. Yet one abandoned moment under the stars hints that if they can put aside pride and duty, then a love once denied might just be their destiny.

Throwback Thursday: Historical Romance Edition (29): SLIGHTLY DANGEROUS by Mary Balogh

Throwback Thursday: Historical Romance Edition is a meme hosted by Tin @ Love Saves the World and Mary @ Buried Under Romance where you get to feature historical romance novels published before October 3, 2008.

Visit Ki Pha @ Doing Some Reading and check out her pick for the week as well.

 

This week, I’m featuring Mary Balogh.

   

Slightly Dangerous, published in March 2005

“Waiting On” Wednesday (29): A THOUSAND PIECES OF YOU by Claudia Gray

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights eagerly anticipated upcoming releases.

This week’s spotlight is on:

 

A THOUSAND PIECES OF YOU by Claudia Gray

Release Date: November 4, 2014

Here’s the blurb from Goodreads:

Every Day meets Cloud Atlas in this heart-racing, space- and time-bending, epic new trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray.

Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their radical scientific achievements. Their most astonishing invention: the Firebird, which allows users to jump into parallel universes, some vastly altered from our own. But when Marguerite’s father is murdered, the killer—her parent’s handsome and enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite can’t let the man who destroyed her family go free, and she races after Paul through different universes, where their lives entangle in increasingly familiar ways. With each encounter she begins to question Paul’s guilt—and her own heart. Soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is more sinister than she ever could have imagined.

A Thousand Pieces of You explores a reality where we witness the countless other lives we might lead in an amazingly intricate multiverse, and ask whether, amid infinite possibilities, one love can endure.

Cover Reveal Blitz: THE RAVEN by Sylvain Reynard

Girl meets Books is happy to participate in the cover reveal of THE RAVEN, the first book in the highly-anticipated new series from author Sylvain Reynard.

Book Details:

Title: The Raven
Author: Sylvain Reynard
Release Date: Early 2015
Pre-order Links: Amazon

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Gabriel Series comes a dark, sensual tale of romance in a city shrouded in mystery…

Raven Wood spends her days at Florence’s Uffizi Gallery restoring fine works of Renaissance art. But an innocent walk home after an evening with friends changes her life forever. When she intervenes in the senseless beating of a homeless man, his attackers turn on her, dragging her into an alley. Raven is only semi-conscious when their assault is interrupted by a cacophony of growls followed by her attacker’s screams. Mercifully, she blacks out, but not before catching a glimpse of a shadowy figure who whispers to her…

Cassita vulneratus.

When Raven awakes, she is inexplicably changed. She returns to the Uffizi, but no one recognizes her and more disturbingly, she discovers that she’s been absent an entire week. With no recollection of the events leading up to her disappearance, Raven also learns that her absence coincides with one of the largest robberies in Uffizi history – the theft of a set of priceless Botticelli illustrations. When the baffled police force identifies her as its prime suspect, Raven is desperate to clear her name. She seeks out one of Florence’s wealthiest and elusive men in an attempt to uncover the truth about her disappearance. Their encounter leads Raven to a dark underworld whose inhabitants kill to keep their secrets…

Interview, Excerpt, & Giveaway: ALWAYS A STRANGER by Amara Royce

**Amara is hosting a TOUR WIDE Rafflecopter Commenter Giveaway for Two Digital Copies of ALWAYS A STRANGER or $20.00 Amazon or B&N Gift Card.

Title: Always A Stranger
Author: Amara Royce
Genre: Historical, Romance
Release Date: May 15, 2014
Buy Links: Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble

When two worlds collide, anything is possible. . .

An international affair, London’s Great Exhibition has taken the city by storm. As its newest Royal Commissioner, Lord Skyler Ridgemont must ensure the performers are properly contracted. Among them is the delicate and graceful Hanako Sumaki. Draped in vivid silk robes, Hanako’s exotic Japanese fan dance captivates Skyler–and he longs to learn more about her. . .

But Hanako’s enigmatic employer keeps his exquisite charge very close. The consummate artist, she shows the handsome nobleman many faces, but never her true heart, which holds a desperate secret. When Skyler learns the real reason Hanako has been brought to London, he will risk his entire world to win her trust–and save her from losing both body and soul. It’s a feat that will require the type of courage only love can give. . .

Interview, Excerpt, & Giveaway: WOO’D IN HASTE & WED AT LEISURE by Sabrina Darby

*Avon is hosting a Tour Wide Giveaway for a Two Digital Sets of WOO’D IN HASTE & WED AT LEISURE by Sabrina Darby.

Title: Woo’d in Haste (Taming Series Book 1)
Publication Date: May 13, 2014
Buy Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Miss Bianca Mansfield is ready for her debut. If only her older sister didn’t insist on marrying first. She’s doomed to wait to find love. Until she meets … him. For Lucian Dorlingsley, Viscount Asquith, recently returned from an extended tour abroad, it is love at first sight. He’s determined to meet Bianca, even if it means masquerading as a tutor to her young half-brother. Soon Bianca is torn between love and duty and about to make a desperate decision. Can Lucian calm her fury over his betrayal when he reveals that he’s not nearly as improper a match as he seems? And will they ever be able to find a match for her older sister to turn this masquerade into wedded bliss?

 

Title: Wed at Leisure (Taming Series Book 2)
Publication Date: May 27, 2014
Buy Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The stunning follow-up to Darby’s Woo’d in Haste.

In all of Sussex—scratch that—in all of England, there is no one prettier than Kate Mansfield, and Peter Colburn, heir to the Duke of Orland, has known that since the age of 15. But since her vivacious nature comes with a temper to match, Peter has always masked his hunger for her behind ruthless teasing. As far as Kate is concerned, there is no one as annoying or as incredibly handsome as Peter. So when he surprises her with a sudden and romantic courtship, Kate is sure this must be his idea of a sick joke.

After all, he’s the one man who knows how flawed she really is. And the only man to whom she has ever been so attracted. It’s only after she rejects him that she realizes he might actually have been serious. And she just might be regretting her hasty decision. As Kate’s determination wars with her traitorous heart, it may be too late. Now she’s putting everything, including her reputation, on the line to give this accidental tragedy a happy ending.

 

Throwback Thursday: Historical Romance Edition (28): MAN OF MY DREAMS by Johanna Lindsey

Throwback Thursday: Historical Romance Edition is a meme hosted by Tin @ Love Saves the World and Mary @ Buried Under Romance where you get to feature historical romance novels published before October 3, 2008.

Visit Ki Pha @ Doing Some Reading and check out her pick for the week as well.

 

This week, I’m featuring Johanna Lindsey.

   

Man of My Dreams, published in April 2001