Thursday Thirteen, Edition 35

Last Sunday, I speculated that I might, just possibly, be in a rut with some favorite authors. I asked for some recommendations, and you all came through, on Twitter and a few other sources.

In no particular order, here are

Thirteen Nineteen New (to me) Authors to Try:

1-2. P. N. Elrod & Edie Harris, rec'd by Karina Cooper
3. C.D. Reiss, rec'd by Christy
4. Pucked, by Helena Hunter, rec'd by Tiernan
5. Obsession, by Alice C. Hart, rec'd by Natalie
6-7-8. Lia Riley, Shelley Ann Clark, Shari Slade, all rec'd by Cherri Porter.
9. C. S. Pacat, rec'd by Angie. So much buzz about this series!
10. Mary Renault, rec'd by Tiffany Reisz 
11. Kate Canterbary, rec'd by Shelley
12. Zara Keane, rec'd by Penny Watson
13. Karina Bliss, rec'd by ODitor

But then, the recommendations kept coming! Even more:

14. Claudia Connor, rec'd by Crystal Blogs Books
15. Eva Leigh, rec'd by I Heart Romance
16-17-18. Samanthe Beck, KC Klein, Sara Jane Stone -- rec'd by Defying Tradition
19. Jamie Shaw, rec'd by Save Your Money for Books

There are too many authors and recommenders to tag here, so let me just say thank you so much, and I will read at least a sample from all of the authors in the next few weeks, and post some feedback either in reviews or in the Soup.

Between the Duke and the Deep Blue Sea, by Sophia Nash - Review

Words Fail Me
I liked this book so much I don't even know how to review it.

Oh, sure, I've seen Nash's books around.  I follow her FaceBook page,  I've seen her comment here and there on various romance blogs.

And yet, I've never picked one up.  If you're like me, and you haven't either, for reasons you don't quite understand, I suggest you get the heck over it, because she is fantastic.  The cover blurb from the Chicago Times says it "Gleams with sharp wit" -- I don't know about gleaming, but the wit?  Verrrrrrrry sharp.

If you like Julia Quinn and Loretta Chase, I think you'll like Sophia Nash (and if you don't, then we can't be BFFs any more, because REALLY?? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU??)

So, I've read a lot of serial books that end with a cliff-hanger, but this might be the first book that starts with one. Literally.  Hanging from a cliff.



Here, I'm going to be a little lazy and pull a quote from the excerpt on Nash's page:

She looked toward the place from which she had fallen. “He saw me fall and he left me to die.

He slowly stood up.

“Where are you going?

He repositioned himself behind her and grasped her shoulders to ease the stiffness. “Can you feel your arms? How long were you waiting for him?”
“I don’t know. I think it all happened about half past four.”

God, she’d been there for nearly three hours.

ok, so in the middle here, they do a little more getting-acquainted schtick, but then, I just love this chapter-ending exchange:

She hesitated. “So, you’ll help me, then? Really?”

“Alexandre Barclay—your servant.” That ringing in his head, which always preceded regret, sounded in his ears. “So . . . what precisely did you have in mind?”

“Do you have a pistol?” She studied him with her big, round honey-colored eyes and a smile that made him nervous. “Or, perhaps, a lovely little dagger?”

The interactions between the couple are so light and delicious, and the farcical business with the would-be-brides so ridiculous (the one with the lisp was particularly memorable touch "Wittle animals, Yow Gwace?" -- she sounds just like Tweety Bird in my head)...that the reader almost forgets that the story opens with an attempted murder. And the murderer is more or less untouchable. After all, the whole cliff-hanging business is more than a bit cartoonish, as is the villain.

However, the story takes a surprisingly dark turn. If you think about it, there is really only one way that the problem of her limbo-ish marital status can resolve into a proper romance Happily Ever After, and it proves quite troublesome for both of them. Nash could have continued in the farcical vein, and done it very well, but I thought the touch of grittiness at the end lent some gravitas to the hero and made the HEA that much more appreciated.

Nash's prose really does speak for itself, she doesn't need me to find more reasons or conduct more analysis to convince you. Pick a book, flip to a random page, and I challenge you not to be drawn in. Strongly recommend!

New Authors and Book Acquisition Success

So last week I was in Barnes & Noble at lunch (again, do you see a pattern here?), with a $20 certificate that was about to expire.  It was a rare week when I was caught up with my favorite new releases, and I just wasn't sure what I needed to acquire.

I decided to try something different.  I had told Ms. Krentz & Ms. Cameron that I don't really buy covers, I buy authors; AND that maybe covers shouldn't be too, too different from the other books in their sub-genre.  So I thought I'd test a theory.  I decided to buy 3 books by authors I'd never heard of.  I thought hey, let's do a contemp, a paranormal, and Regency.  I wanted authors that I hadn't browsed before, hadn't seen any buzz about, hadn't formed any impression of at all.  (not as easy as you might think!)  As I browsed, I added one more rule -- I didn't want to grab anything out of the middle of an ongoing series.  I succeeded!  Here's what I found:

In the historical category, a debut author (bonus points!) with a typical historical cover, maybe even a little racier than usual: Secrets of a Proper Countess, by Lecia Cornwall.

Partial blurb:

If Lady Isobel Maitland is caught even speaking to an incorrigible* rogue like the Marquess of Blackwood, she stands to lose everything she holds dear. Strict rules in her husband's will ensure that if she remarries or even forms friendships her mother-in-law does not approve of, then she will never see her young son again. But one night, in a dark garden at a masquerade ball, Isobel gives in to temptation, and lets an innocent flirtation turn into seduction.

*I bought it in spite of the use of "incorrigible" in the blurb, which is a word that really ought to be limited to badly written Victorian spanking porn by Anonymous. NOT, erm, that I would know anything about that stuff. No, not me.

Next up, Afterlight by Elle Jasper.  I like the title and the author's name-- mind you, I wouldn't reject a book for a klunky pen name, but it's nice when they sound intriguing-- and the cover art reminds me of Marjorie Liu's Hunter Kiss series (which reminds me, I should check on when her next release is due, seems like it should be soon?)

Partial blurb:

There is a reason we fear the night....

As Savannah's most unconvential tattoo artist, Riley Poe* is quite familiar with the local underground scene. She lives and works on the edge of it every day. Now she's about to step over the edge.

When her younger brother is taken by a sinister cult led by centuries-old vampires, Riley discovers a world of shadows and blood-- and those who exist there.

*Heh.  Are those ravens in the cover art?  Betcha they are...

And here's a cozy small-town contemp; I'm thinking Robyn Carr, Sheryl Woods, Debbie Macomber:  Playing for Keeps, by LuAnn McLane. Not a debut author but first in a new series.  Once I looked inside I could see that McLane actually has quite a few titles under her belt.

The blurb:

Olivia Lawson is peeved when Noah Falcon roars back into Cricket Creek* after all these years, thiking he can take the lead opposite her in the community theater's summer play.  When she was his English tutor in high school, she crushed on the hotshot ballplayer, while he barely noticed her.

*anybody else got an earworm now?

Wish me luck in my foray into unknown territory!

Other book acquisition goodness:  I went to Half Price Books the next day or so and totally scored-- Nora Roberts Vision in White, which I have been stubbornly refusing to pay trade paperback price for -- not merely half off but a Supersaver at $4.00. Not only that, but it was the last one I've been missing from the Brides Quartet AND the first one of the series.  So it was a little like getting 4 books to read for $4.00.

Also found the second in Carolyn Jewel's current paranormal series.  I must say I think I like her straight historicals better, but I'm giving these a chance and the first one was good enough to make me impatient for the rest of 'em.

Last but not least, I decided to give Stella Cameron another try and scored the first book in her Court of Angels series.  I dropped her a few years back when she started writing mostly romantic suspense but since we're like BFFs* now AND I've got that whole paranormal addiction going, I figure why not.

____
*Slightly exaggerated.  A real BFF would probably pay full price.  I mean, it's not like she bought me lunch or anything.**


.

**Kidding, people, I'm KIDDING.

Cover Appeal

It's not often that a romance cover does much for me. Usually I'm happy if it doesn't make me cringe or feel that I might be violating some kind of HR policy if I leave it on my desk at work. Here's an exception though:



I recently signed up for Dorchester's romance newsletter, and this cover really caught my eye. I went cruising Dorchester's site and the author's, trying to find a larger pic. That model... in a world of cut-off heads, oiled naked pecs, and stony profiles glaring into the distance, there's something almost heart-stopping about this fully-dressed fellow, leveling a look right at me, with an expression that seems be inviting me into adventure, with a lurking glimmer of humor... whew, is it warm in here? I'm not familiar with Louise Allen, but I can assure you, I soon will be. There's a very promising exerpt available which only made me want him more... um, I mean, want the book more.

Yeah. That's what I meant.