THE COUNTRY HOUSE COURTSHIP by Linore Rose Burkard—a review

THE COUNTRY HOUSE COURTSHIP

by Linore Rose Burkard

Pub. Date: January 2010

Publisher: Harvest House Publishers

Series: A Regency Inspirational Romance Series

ISBN-13: 9780736927994

ISBN: 0736927999

 

From the Publisher

 

Linore Burkard’s fans devoured her first two Regency novels Before the Season Ends and The House in Grosvenor Square. Now, as her third novel opens, the year is 1818 and Miss Beatrice Forsythe is determined to marry well. After all, her sister, Ariana, married The Paragon, Mr. Phillip Mornay, five years earlier–which all but guarantees that she, Beatrice, can also make a famous match to a wealthy man.

But her sister and husband have disappeared from high society as they raise a family at their country estate. Can Beatrice persuade them to chaperone her in London? And what about Beatrice’s business with the curate, Mr. O – Brien, whom she rashly promised to marry years earlier. At seventeen now, she has no wish to marry a mere clergyman – despite his agreeable countenance and gentle, understanding ways.

When Mr. Tristan Barton becomes the tenant of the Manor House, Beatrice’s hopes seem to have found their object. But when Ariana falls gravely ill, secrets come to light, motives are revealed, and the pretenses that are easy to keep up in the darkness begin to crumble. Hearts are bared, truths uncovered, and when all is said and done, a country house courtship like no other has occurred!

As always, Linore Burkard delivers ’spirited romance for the Jane Austen soul.?

 THOUGHTS:

THE COUNTRY HOUSE COURTSHIP by Linore Rose Burkard is a wonderful, delightful Inspirational Regency Romance. The story is well written in depth and detail.  It is the third in the series but can be read as a stand alone. The story is captivating, romantic, inspirational, fast paced, page turning and if you are a Jane Austin fan you will love this one. The characters are charming, lovable, and will transport you to the Regency era.  This is a wonder, delightful story of love, family, faith you will  not want to put the book down. I would highly recommend and if you haven’t read Before The Season Ends and The House In Grosvenor Square, get then you won’t regret reading them. 

Reviewed by AAR

Rating:  4.5

*This book did not come from the publisher*

 

And the winners are…….

Yes I know I’m late, really late with these. So forgive me.

The winner for:

Kim Smith’s BURIED ANGEL (this is an ebook PDF file)

is Susan

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The Winners(3) of:

Kate Atkinson’s WILL THERE BE GOOD NEWS are

Marjorie

Quilt Lady

TraceyD

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The winners(5) of Sherrill Bodine’s A BLACK TIE AFFAIR are:

CherylC

Isabel

Sandra Lynne

elaing8

Melissa

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The winners(5) of Amanda Scott’s SEDUCED BY A ROGUE are:

Rebekah E

elaing8

Emma

Quilt Lady

Armenia

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The winner of Beverley Kendall’s  SINFUL SURRENDER is:

SueA

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The winners(5) of Susan Crandell’s SLEEP NO MORE are:

ChelseaB

ReneeG

Carol M

Maureen

Molly Capel

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The winner of one set of Sharon Latham’s 3 books is:

anon1001

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The winners (2) of Cheryl Brooks’ FUGITIVE are:

Lisa

TraceyD

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The Winners(3) of Sandra Hill’s VIKING IN LOVE are:

Scorpio M

Raelena

Martha Lawson

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The winners(2) of Carolyn Brown’s GETTING LUCKY are:

Wanda

Morning Glow

 

congratulations to all winners. Winners have 72hrs to contact me with their snail mail addys at highlandlovesong at yahoo dot com or a new winner will be chosen. If you have won the book at another blog or no longer wish to own it please do NOT accept the win and allow another person to win the book. Notify me if that is the case. I thank you all for taking part in my blog and my giveaways. Once again congrats to all winners.

 

 

 

 

ECSTASY UNVEILED by Larissa Ione—-a giveaway

 

 Lore is a Seminus half-breed demon who has been forced to act as his dark master’s assassin. Now to earn his freedom and save his sister’s life, he must complete one last kill. Powerful and ruthless, he’ll stop at nothing to carry out this deadly mission.

Idess is an earthbound angel with a wild side, sworn to protect the human Lore is targeting. She’s determined to thwart her wickedly handsome adversary by any means necessary-even if that means risking her vow of eternal chastity. But what begins as a simple seduction soon turns into a passion that leaves both angel and demon craving complete surrender.

Torn between duty and desire, Lore and Idess must join forces as they battle their attraction for each other. Because an enemy from the past is rising again-one hellbent on vengeance and unthinkable destruction.

BOND OF BROTHERS article

Author Website: LarissaIone.com

MySpace Author Page
Follow @LarissaIone on Twitter

This is a giveaway for ECSTASY UNVEILED only by Larissa Ione. This giveaway is for one of 5 copies of ECSTASY UNVEILED. If you’d like to win a copy please comment to this post and tell me why you’d like to win, and one thing you found interesting on Larissa’s website that you didn’t know before. This giveaway is possible thanks to Grand Central Publishing and the wonderful Anna. Giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only. No P.O. Boxes please. Review to follow.

 

Giveaway runs from today until February 15th.

COUNTESS OF SCANDAL by Laurel McKee—-a giveaway

COUNTESS OF SCANDAL by Laurel McKee

ISBN:9780446544788

Daughters of Erin Series, Book One

Publication Date: Feb. 2010

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Fun Facts

Author Audio Interview

Audio Excerpt

From the Publisher

As children, Eliza Blacknall and William Denton ran wild over the fields of southern Ireland and swore they would be friends forever. Then fate took Will away to England, while Eliza stayed behind to become a proper Irish countess.
Years later, Will finally makes his way home-as an English soldier sent to crush the Irish uprising. When he spies the lovely Eliza, he is captivated by the passionate woman she has become. But Eliza’s passions have led her to join the Irish rebel cause, and Will and Eliza now find themselves on opposite sides of a dangerous conflict.
When Ireland explodes in bloody rebellion, Will’s regiment is ordered to the front lines, and he is forced to choose between his duty to the English king and his love for Eliza and their Irish homeland. This is a giveaway for one of 5 copies of COUNTESS OF SCANDAL by Laurel McKee. This giveaway is possible thanks to the great people at Grand Central Publishing. If you’d like to win a copy of COUNTESSS OF SCANDAL, you only have to comment here and tell me one of the reasons you’d like to win this book, or one of the five fun facts about Laurel McKee you can find linked to in this post. I am in the process of reading this book, so I will post a review as soon as I can. Good Luck to everyone. This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only. No P.O. Boxes please.

*Giveaway will run from today until February 16th*

 

A Giveaway

Because I’ve been so slack in getting reviews up and getting winners posted I decided to offer my readers a giveaway. This one will run until Feb. 14th. In order to win you must comment to THIS post telling who you’d like to see featured here, what you’d like me to change(outside keeping up with things better) and anything else really.

What do you win? Well this is the easy part. One ONE, winner will get a set of Larissa Ione’s DEMONICA NOVELS, consisting of  PLEASURE UNBOUND, DESIRE UNCHAINED, PASSION UNLEASHED, and ECSTASY UNVEILED. These are unsigned but new books.

For more information on this series or Larissa Ione please visit Larissa’s website. This giveaway is one I’m doing, these are books  I will purchase and mail to the winner. These are not books from the publisher, not for this giveaway. If you have questions please ask. I will be posting a review of this series soon, I just have to get my thoughts in order.

Good luck to all and thanks for sticking with me.

hugs,

WendyK

Just a quick note

Hello all,

I just wanted to offer a quick note, I’ve been sick as has my daughter and then just two days ago my DH. So far only our son hasn’t had this stuff(keep your fingers crossed it bypasses him) so while I’ve been reading, I haven’t felt like getting online, heck I’ve been in bed sleeping alot too.

So all contests will end today/tomorrow, and winners posted ASAP. I hope to post it all today, or at least by tomorrow. Did you all get snow? We did and the kids have been out of school for 2 days.

Anyway, I wanted to make sure to let everyone know what’s going on. If I get the mess again, DH swears he’s forcing me to go to the hospital so we’ll see.

Hope you all are having a great week.

hugs,

WendyK

BEGUILED by Deeanne Gist and Mark Bertrand—a review

 

BEGUILED

by Deeanne Gist & Mark Bertrand

• Pub. Date: February 01, 2010
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
• ISBN-13: 9780764206283
• ISBN: 0764206281

 In the shadows of Charleston, someone is watching her …Rylee Monroe, a dogwalker in Charleston’s wealthiest neighborhood, never feared the streets at night. But now a thief is terrorizing the area and worse, someone seems to be targeting her.

Reporter Logan Woods is covering the break-ins with the hope of publishing them as a true-crime book. The more he digs, the more he realizes this beguiling dogwalker seems to be at the center of everything.

As danger draws ever closer, Logan must choose: Chase the girl, the story, or plunge into the shadows after the villain who threatens everything?

 

BEGUILED BY DEEANNE GIST & J. MARK BERTRAND  is a romantic suspense with twists and turns. It has romance, mystery, intrigue and is wonderfully written. The characters are very engaging, the story is well written with depth. The secondary characters give the story more depth and insight. I would recommend this book. The story started out a little small for me but by the 2nd chapter you where craving more. Ms. Gist has done it again in the suspense world.

Reviewed by AAR

Rating:  4.5

An Interview with Julie from Carolyn Brown’s GETTING LUCKY–and a giveaway

Today I hope you will join me in welcoming Julie from GETTING LUCKY and Carolyn Brown author of GETTING LUCKY. Set back enjoy the interview, and don’t forget to look for the giveaway! Welcome Carolyn and Julie to My Book Addiction and More!

Hi y’all! Thanks for letting me make a stop by your blog on my tour for Getting Lucky which hit the book shelves on January 1. Julie Donavan, the heroine in Getting Lucky, is an amazing sassy woman that many of you might like to meet before you read the book. Or maybe get to know even better if you have read the book. So for today’s blog I’m going to interview her.

Carolyn: Hi Julie. Thanks for joining us today. My first question is what did you think when you first came to Saint Jo, Texas?

Julie: I thought I’d gone to the end of the earth, taken a left hand turn and fallen into hell.

Carolyn: Then why did you sign a teaching contract, buy a house and stay?

Julie: Because there was no way anyone could ever know about my past in Saint Jo. I could move my daughter, Annie, there and folks wouldn’t look at her and whisper behind their hands.

Carolyn: Why would anyone do that? Annie is a precious little girl.

Julie: Because of that white streak in her hair. I was married to a man who didn’t have it and it was evident at birth that Annie didn’t belong to him but to a one night fling I had while we were separated.

Carolyn: Did you not know before she was born that she wasn’t his child?

Julie: Nope, had no idea. We were separated and I went out with the girls for a weekend. The next week the sorry SOB wormed his way back into my life.

Carolyn: What kind of feeling did you have the first time you saw Griffin and his daughter, Lizzy, in your classroom?

Julie: Shock, with a capital S, a capital H and so on. I thought the world had come to a screeching damn halt and had fallen off its axis. It was undoubtedly the worse first day of school I ever had. I’d jumped from the frying pan into the fire. He was the man who I’d had the fling with and he acted like he didn’t even remember it.

Carolyn: What made you stay and not run right back to Jefferson, Texas?

Julie: Stubborn Irish blood and pride. I don’t back down from a fight and Mr. Luckadeau had started one when he refused to admit that he’d never met me.

Carolyn: Did you try to avoid him?

Julie: That was my intention but Saint Jo is a small town and everywhere I went there he was. Church, the Dairy Queen, a rodeo, the town meeting, even a regatta. And every day he came to the school to get his daughter Lizzie. So as I was doing my job it was always in the back of my mind that he was going to show up at the end of the day looking like … well, take a peek at the cover of Getting Lucky. That’s what I had to look forward to.

Carolyn: What was your reaction when fate kept putting him in the same place you were?

Julie: He’s one hunky, sexy cowboy and there’d been more heat between us from the beginning than I could remember from that drunken night in the motel room when I got pregnant with Annie. Back then he had been shaven bald because he was going to Iraq but he was even more handsome with all that gorgeous hair.

Carolyn: How did Annie and Lizzy react to each other?

Julie: Like two little sisters who’d known each other all their lives. Right from the beginning they were best friends. That went over like cow chips in the church punch bowl with Griffin.

Carolyn: Tell me about when Lizzy’s mother showed up and kidnapped the wrong girl?

Julie: I was ready to mop up the whole Saint Jo square with that hussy’s dyed hair. The witch had no right to Lizzy and she damn sure shouldn’t have grabbed my Annie. Hells bells, she didn’t even know her own daughter. Granted Annie and Lizzy look alike but a mother should know her own child.

Carolyn: Do you have any advice for single parents out there who fall in love and have to combine families?

Julie: I’m a true believer in love conquering all things. Life isn’t easy but love smoothes out a hell of a lot of rough spots.

Carolyn: Are you a true believer in fate after what happened between you and Griffin?

Julie: Yes, ma’am. I believe could be tattooed on my fanny in fancy script lettering. And, honey, I’m not talking about believing in Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. What else would have put me in Saint Jo and created all those incidents that drove me and Griffin right into each other’s arms.

Carolyn: Thank you, Julie for visiting with us today. Is there anything else you’d like to say?

Julie: Just that Griffin and I both were stubborn when it came to telling our story. We made Carolyn rewrite so many times it wasn’t even funny, but she finally got it just right. Now I’ve got to go put three kids to bed and then maybe there’ll be some lucky time with Griffin.

Carolyn: Whew! I’m looking at the cover now. You are a lucky woman.

Julie: Yes, ma’am, I really am. Anyone who wants to know just how lucky can pick up a copy of Getting Lucky and read the whole story.

Carolyn: Okay, readers, take a look at Griffin Luckadeau on the cover of Getting Lucky. What would you ask him if you could interview him?

GETTING LUCKY BY CAROLYN BROWN—IN STORES JANUARY 2010

Single mom Julie Donavan is looking for a place to start over. What she finds after buying a small house on five acres is nothing short of a nightmare.

Single dad “Lucky Griffin” Luckadeau has been crossing horns with his elderly neighbor for years. But when his daughter, Annie, decides she wants the new little girl who lives on the feuding property to be her friend, or better yet her sister, the sparks fly.

These two stubborn hotheads, who irritate each other beyond endurance, refuse to admit that it’s fate that brought them together. And running from the inevitable is only going to bring a double dose of misery…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carolyn Brown, an award-winning author who has published 36 romance novels for the library market, credits her eclectic family for her humor and writing ideas. She was born in Texas but grew up in southern Oklahoma where she and her husband, Charles, a retired English teacher, now make their home in the town of Davis, Oklahoma. They have three grown children and enough grandchildren to keep them young. 

*Thanks to the great Danielle at Sourcebooks I’m thrilled to offer my readers 2 copies of GETTING LUCKY. So there will be 2 winners! Giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only. Giveaway will end on Jan. 23rd. Good luck to everyone! And thank you to Danielle and Carolyn!*

VIKING IN LOVE by Sandra Hill—a giveaway

 

VIKING IN LOVE

By Sandra Hill

ISBN: 9780061673498

ISBN10: 0061673498

Publisher:  Avon

On Sale: 1/26/2010

Book Description

She said . . . 

Caedmon of Larkspur is the most loathsome lout I have ever encountered! When my sisters and I arrived at his castle, we were greeted by servants and children running wild, while Caedmon lied abed after a night of ale. No doubt there will be another child soon, because I must admit he’s as handsome as he is virile. And I must endure him, for we are in desperate need of protection, though I can only imagine what this knight will demand of me in return . . . 

He said . . . 

After nine long months in the king’s service, all I wanted was peace . . . not five Viking princesses running my keep. And the fiery redhead who burst into my chamber that first morning is the worst of all. Why, I should kick her out . . . but I have a much more wickedly delightful plan for Breanne of Stoneheim, one that will leave her a Viking in lust.

 Now for the giveaway part. Thanks to the outstanding Wendy at Avon I’m thrilled to offer my readers a chance to win one of 3 copies of VIKING IN LOVE by Sandra Hill. This giveaway will run from today, Jan, 21st, until Jan. 24th. Winners will be announced on Jan. 25th. If you’d like to win leave a comment telling me why you love Sandra’s writing and if by some twist of fate you’ve never had the great pleasure of reading one of Sandra’s hilarious and deeply engaging books, then you can tell me why you haven’t or why you’d love this to be your first. Any questions? Just ask if you. Otherwise I’ll await your comments. Good Luck to everyone.*

If you’d like more information on this title please visit the Avon site, here or Sandra’s website here.

 

Character Development with Cheryl Brooks (and a giveaway)

Today it’s my pleasure to welcome author Cheryl Brooks to My Book Addiction. I hope you will join me in welcoming Cheryl here.

 

Hi there! I’m Cheryl Brooks, author of the Cat Star Chronicles series of futuristic romance, and Today I thought I would discuss character development, meaning how I choose my characters’ names and looks and how they come alive for me.

Generally speaking, my characters are composites. I might use a little quirk from one person, a mannerism from another, hair color from somewhere else and a name that is either made from scratch or a variation of a name I’ve heard. Since my Zetithian heroes are feline in many respects, I’ve tried to use feline-sounding names, but I’m running out of them—after all, there are just so many words for cat! So far I’ve used Cat (Slave), Leo (Warrior), Lynx (Outcast), and Manx (Fugitive), but in Rogue the two brothers looked like tigers, so I used variations of that word. Tychar (long form Tycharian) is a variation in spelling of tiger. Trag, which doesn’t sound feline at all, is actually a combination of tiger and dragon, and the long form, Tragonathon, is a spelling variation of a friend’s name.

In my current book, Fugitive, the heroine’s name, Drusilla, was suggested by a blog commenter, but her appearance and personality come from a friend who has auburn hair, a petite shape, and a tendency to mutter pithy comments under her breath. My friend is not a painter; that part I came up with on my own, as I did with Drusilla’s last name, Chevrault. I wanted it to sound sort of familiar, but vaguely French. I made this one up, intending to change it eventually, but it kind of grew on me, and since my character’s last names aren’t mentioned very often, I decided to stick with it.

When you write about aliens, your readers come to expect the offbeat names, but I try to keep them different enough that the reader won’t get them confused. The names usually evolve over the course of the writing; I’ll come up with a “working name” but later on, I might decide I don’t like the way it looks on the page and change a letter here and there. Sometimes I hit random keys and then go back and modify the name slightly to make it more pronounceable. In Fugitive, however, I took a different tack when it came to the names of the natives of Barada Seven, the planet on which the story takes place. In Baradan culture, names that are common to Earth have become popular, thus, the Baradans, who look like tall, skinny orange toads, have names like Lester and Roger. Because they have beautiful musical voices, I named some of them after famous singers, such as Dolly and Aretha.

I’ve used a few actors as the basis for my own characters, both in appearance and personality, but unless I were to tell you who it is, you probably wouldn’t recognize them. For example, to create Manx, the hero in Fugitive, I started with a young Jeff Goldblum, but after I’d made him alien and changed a few other things, he became a different person entirely. Jacinth, the heroine in Slave may have been female, but to create her character, I used a little bit of Han Solo, Captain Jack Sparrow, and John Creighton from Farscape. Some readers have spotted the Han Solo in her, but being female, it’s less obvious than if I were to use those traits in a male.

Even after I’ve given characters their appearance, a few basic personality traits, and a name, it isn’t until I’ve worked with them for a while that they truly come alive for me. I sometimes have to go back and alter some earlier passages when I discover that, “Oh, yeah! That’s why he acts or feels the way he does.” I’m not one of those writers who outline a character’s entire history prior to writing the book. I like to discover who they are as I go along. However, with the next book in the series, Hero, I had a head start because Trag, the brother who didn’t get the girl in Rogue, already had a distinct personality and appearance, so the chief task in writing his book was to make sure I didn’t alter him too much.

In choosing their looks, the aim is to keep them different from one another but still be recognizable as a member of a distinct species. Though the Zetithian men are all tall and lean with feline eyes and ears, Cat was the first to be created, and I gave him his long black hair and black eyes just because I thought he would look cool that way. With the subsequent heroes, I gave them coloring to match the type of cat I based them on, whether it be a lion, tiger, panther, or lynx.

As you can see, most of the time I’m playing by ear. It’s a trial and error process; a constant tweaking and adjusting until, like a sculptor working in clay, I get them the way I want them. Sometimes, however, they take on a life of their own and dictate to me the way they want to be written, and that’s the fun part!

FUGITIVE BY CHERYL BROOKS—IN STORES JANUARY 2010

When a Zetithian fugitive meets a beautiful Earth woman, their passion may cost them both their lives…

Manx is a Zetithian fugitive with a feline gene that gives him remarkable sexual powers. He has been in hiding in the remote jungles of Barada Seven ever since being marked for extermination by the violent Nedwuts.

Artist Drusilla arrives on Barada Seven, enticed only by the promise of finding a nature paradise there. But she discovers a wildlife she wasn’t expecting when she encounters Manx. Reckless with desire for the beautiful Earth woman, Manx risks his life to win her as his mate.

It’s only a matter of time until the Nedwuts find them, but it will take all of Manx and Drusilla’s passion, skill, and ingenuity to survive.

 

About the Author

Cheryl Brooks is an Intensive Care Unit nurse by night and a romance writer by dayt. Previous books in The Cat Star Chronicles series include Slave, Warrior, Rogue and Outcast. Hero, book six, will be in stores August 2010. She is a member of the RWA and lives with her husband and sons in Bloomfield, Indiana. For more information, please visit http://cherylbrooksonline.com/

*Thanks to the awesome Danielle at Sourcebooks I’m thrilled to offer 2 copies of FUGITIVE to 2 lucky winners. US and Canada residents only please. In order to win you must comment on this blog post by Jan. 23rd. Good Luck!*