Freaking out! News from JR Ward about the Black Dagger Brotherhood!!!

Okay- my hands are shaking with what I just read and I had to post and share and OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG

I love the Black Dagger Brotherhood!!!

So, this just happened on Goodreads.com.


JR Ward's post on Goodreads!!!

And we're back with--- Jeremy Malory!!

From Goodreads.com:

THE MALORYS ARE BACK!
Johanna Lindsey brings to glorious life her beloved aristocratic family of adventurous rogues and spirited ladies as the Malorys confront the shocking news that Jeremy, the rakehell son of gentleman pirate James Malory, has fallen in love.

When Jeremy Malory hires Danny, a young woman who grew up on London's streets disguised as a boy, as his upstairs maid, he secretly intends to make her his mistress. But Danny surprises him with her dreams of becoming a refined lady and a gentleman's wife. As she transforms from urchin to elegant beauty before Jeremy's eyes, she unwittingly captivates the charming scoundrel. Now high society tongues are wagging: Who is this mysterious newcomer, and what is the truth about her past? No matter that a life-long adversary will go to any lengths to ensure Danny's downfall, Jeremy, who vowed never to succumb to matrimony, finds his resolve weakening as he pursues a woman whose strong, passionate nature rivals his own and promises the kind of challenge a Malory man can't resist.

It's been some time since I have posted...the life of a middle school teacher. But I said I would be back with part 2 of my Malory re-read, and  one of my favorites kicks it off.

I started reading this series when I was about the age of Jeremy in his first appearance (16),  so I always had a bit of a soft spot for this particular Malory.  He always struck me as a mix of contradictions- he knows the rules and sometimes follows them more strictly than those born to them, but at the same time, his sense of loyalty to his friends and family often overshadow his good sense. 

This story definitely belongs in the Old School Romance Book Club- the premise is just a bit wacky, but as we have already determined, there are only so many ways that a lost heir/heiress can be lost to begin with. But when I read historical romance, I tend not to care too much about the realities, possibilities or probabilities. I read for the relationships, and as always, those Malorys are just too much fun to read about.  Jeremy has grown into quite the young man, and the love and affection between him and all of his family members is heartwarming.  

I may have had some hard feelings toward Danny when I read this the first time- after all, one of my first book crushes was falling in love and I had to witness it. Yes, I reverted to my 16 yr old self, even though I was 30 when I read it- don't judge me. But, though it was just as bittersweet as if it were real life, I thought that Johanna Lindsey certainly created a woman worthy of Jeremy - as well as strong enough to put him in his place.

Delays and Procrastination....

I started rereading Johanna Lindsey's Malory novels after joining Sarah MacLean's Old School Romance Club on Facebook. I was doing pretty well as far as keeping with my schedule and posting my thoughts for each book. Then...well, stuff happens. As others noted, the books spent quite a bit of time recapping, and while that makes it easy to keep up with things between publishing dates, it isn't as interesting when one is reading one after the other. I also had other books come out that I wanted to read, along with TV shows, movies, football, you get the idea.

Luckily, this little book blog is primarily for my own fun, and that certainly includes any and all that follow and post, be it here or on FB. I may choose to promote books/authors that I personally enjoy, but I am in no way obligated to adhere to any type of schedule and I like it that way.

Anyway, for those interested, I will be restarting the Malorys, beginning with A Loving Scoundrel on February 1st. I will be posting a tentative schedule as well. Hope that you join me!!

Cover Reveal: Becoming the Whiskey Princess

One of my first posts to this little blog was for the sole purpose of gushing about a new-to-me author and her amazing hockey series. Fast forward a few months and I am excited to share the cover for Toni Aleo's upcoming novel, Becoming the Whiskey Princess.

About The Whiskey Princess...

 

 

For better or worse, for richer or poorer, ‘til almost death do they part…

 

Amberlyn Reilly took a risk and found a new life in Ireland. She did something drastic and jumped in front of a loaded gun for the one she knew she couldn’t lose. And with her mother’s last request, she did more than fall in love. She fell into Declan O’Callaghan—with her eyes wide open and her damaged heart and soul leading the way.

 

When Irish-born Declan O’Callaghan spotted Amberlyn across the lake, he knew his life was about to change. And it did. Now he has everything he’s ever dreamed of —he’s marrying for love, and with that love, the family distillery will now be his as long as he marries before the deadline.

 

Things are moving fast. It’s now or never. And as their beautiful relationship grows, time is something these two don’t have a lot of. Declan’s and Amberlyn’s souls are tightly tethered, but will the questions and second thoughts of others prevent them from having a life they’ve both only begun to dream of? Will family and the obligations that come with the O’Callaghan name push them to their breaking point? Or has the Whiskey Prince truly found his happily ever after taking Amberlyn as his Princess?

 

 

RELEASE: February 16th, 2015

::: ADD TO GOODREADS :::

This time of year is one of the busiest for teachers!!!

I have been such a slacker!! I need to get my posts done for Say You Love Me and The Present. I did read them, as well as several books for #rollbackweek.  I didn't keep up with my reviews or anything because I was really just having too much fun reading!! But, I need to get it together and get back to slowing myself down a bit!
I hope everyone is having a fun time prepping for the holidays!!

Not quite so magical...at first

Description courtesy of Goodreads.com:
As wild and reckless as the most incorrigible of her male cousins, Amy Malory has reached a marriageable age and has set her sights on a most inappropriate mate: the straight-laced American ship captain who once nearly had her Uncle James  hanged for piracy.

Warren Anderson is shocked by the brazen advances of his despised enemy's beautiful niece. Though determined to resist her, he burns for the enchanting British minx. And an impassioned heart implores him to surrender to a love that could stoke the smoldering fires of a family feud into a dangerous, all consuming blaze.


This one took me a re-read (or two) to really appreciate it.  I guess that I fell into the double standard of "It's okay for a man to go for what he wants, but not for a woman to do the same."  Now granted, I very much go for what I want in life and the vast majority of my female friends do as well; it's just that for some reason, I didn't want to read about it. But that may be a topic for a different post in the future.

But once I got over it, I really did enjoy this story.  Amy knows enough about love and desire that it doesn't always make sense, but she's young enough to appreciate the fight without really allowing her hopes to be dashed to bits.  And we all know that Warren goes above and beyond to encourage her to give up on him. But that youthful optimism won't give in, and I'm so glad that it didn't.

One thing that I really did like about this story was that the intrigue didn't really take away from the romance and relationship building.  Yes, it was a central plot point because of the situation it led to (trying to stay spoiler free), but at the same time it wasn't a huge focal point.  I think that is one of the things I love most about Johanna Lindsey's writing- regardless of what is going on around them, the relationship between the hero and heroine is always the central focus.

Bad Boy Gone Good...Though He Won't Admit It!

Thank you, Goodreads, for this:

Heartsick and desperate to return home to America, Georgina Anderson boards the Maiden Anne disguised as a cabin boy, never dreaming she'll be forced into intimate servitude at the whim of the ship's irrepressible captain, James Mallory.

The black sheep of a proud and tempestuous family, the handsome ex-pirate once swore no woman alive could entice him into matrimony. But on the high seas his resolve will be weakened by an unrestrained passion and by the high-spirited beauty whose love of freedom and adventure rivals his own.

When I was younger, I had a huge crush on cover model Fabio, and picturing him as James Malory always brought a smile to my adolescent face. Thinking of Fabio still makes me smile, but now, thanks to my new friends over on FB, I have a new face to imagine when I think of James...

But even if I didn't have such a handsome man to visualize, just the character of James Malory is amazingly sexy.  So desirable that women chased him?  So bored with society that he became a (gentleman) pirate? Snarky and sarcastic?  Sign. Me. Up.

And what can I say about Georgina, er, George?  She more than holds her own against the jaded aristocrat and shows that if anyone can tame this rogue, it's her!!

(Let's not forget that now we also meet those Anderson boys!!)