Mailbox Monday August 31, 2009

I was away last week so it was great fun to get in and find lots of books waiting for me!! I don't have time right now to pull them in individually so I took some group pictures! I will pull them in later in the week so I can share the good books!

See all these packages! It is like Christmas without the wrappings!

This is the group of books from contest wins and friend!

And the books to the right are books received for review!

I have some great reads to look forward to!!

What Are You Reading August 31, 2009

August 31, 2009

Finished reading:

PB: Every Skull Tells a Story by Anne Patrick. This is a very lovely, sweet suspense involving a forensic artist. Will review and post at SaSR and blog within the next week.

Audible: Silent Thunder by Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen – This was a solid Suspense with only a hint at a romance. My own TBR.

Kindle2: Renegade by Sara Parr – an interesting Historical Romance…I really did enjoy this book. It has a bit darker feel to it - lots of mystery. Review will be posted at CataReviews this week.

Once a Dreamer by Rebecca Goings – A historical western – part of Champagne Book’s Orphan Train series. I very much enjoyed this and will be posting the review on the blog this week.

On Fire by Stef Ann Holmes - a fun light contemporary... read for Historical Romance Author of the Month.

Currently reading:

PB: Hardball by Sara Paretsky – the first V.I. Warshawski book I have read. Moves quickly.

Audible: Heaven by Randy Alcorn – Very uplifting! My own TBR.

Kindle2: Movin' up with J.J. by Kim Sheard - a fun contemporary. Reviewing for CataReviews.

A Treasure for Sara by Allison Knight - an historical romance set in 1895 Yukon Territory. Reviewing for the author.

The Macgregor's Daughter by Dee Julian an historical romance set in 1775 Scotland. Reviewing for YGR.

Sunday Words of Encouragement 8/30/09

Today I found this awesome trailer of Amazing Grace / My Chains Are Gone. Definitely one to watch as you listen!

A verse for today is:

I Corinthians 10:13 (NIV) No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.


This morning I prayed particularly for men and women in the armed services who serve so that we might have freedom.

Five Winners of Knight of Desire Drawing!

A big Thank You to all of you who participated in this Drawing!

The five lucky winners are:
Susie, Jake, Natalie, Rebecca and Housemouse88!

You will have to send me you mailing address so I can send it on to Hachette!

Review of Awakening Allaire

Title: Awakening Allaire
Author: Margie Church
Publisher: Class Act Books
Rating: 4.75 of 5
Reviewed by: MarthaE

Buy Link: http://www.classactbooks.com/bkpgawakeningallaire.html
ISBN 978-1-935048-19-0 1-935048-19-8
Word Count: 85,168
Contemporary Romance - Explicit sexual content; some language.

Blurb: Allaire West threw away her marriage to Jeff West when she bedded the handsome and powerful Devon Mercer. Pregnant with Devon’s twins, she tries to pass them off as her husband’s, only to have the ugly truth end with a gunshot.
As Allie puts her life back together, she finally admits the man she loves and wants to spend the rest of her life with is Devon Mercer. Allie secretly attends Devon’s Halloween masquerade party and they share a sizzling reunion.
Her life is turned upside down again when she is kidnapped after the party and held for ransom by two drug-crazed, ex-convicts. Allaire endures starvation, isolation, and drug addiction. With time against him, Devon makes a deal with the devil to find his beloved.

Review: This is a wonderfully written, suspense packed, thriller. A great read. I have rated this just short of the 5 mark only to reflect my personal feelings about the sexual content, adultery issue and some language. However, the plot and writing rate a 5.

I must first say that I do not normally read erotic or sexually explicit books so this was on the edge of that cusp for me. But every sexual scene was done tastefully without unnecessary lewdness or crudeness. It was just more explicit than I am accustomed to and for me could have had fewer sexual scenes. However, the plot and action were strong enough that this was a story with explicit romantic scenes and not just sexual scenes with a weak story. Also, I do not normally read books that include adultery, which I do not favor, so that slipped by me when I agreed to review this. None the less, this story was so well written and so full of suspense that I was able to get past that issue to enjoy the rest of the story.

Allaire is a bright, energetic, passionate woman who longs to have children and definitely needs an outlet for her dedication and passion. She meets Devon Mercer in a town meeting addressing the future development of land. Devon is a strong, gorgeous, sexy and brilliant legal negotiator for the powerful Mercer organization. He is immediately attracted to Allaire, although she has resisted his brother and she initially attempts to resist him as well.

Allaire and Devon are put together to work out a compromise on the development project that will appease Allaire and the environmentalist groups. They develop a friendship that one night slips to more than friendship, resulting in the twins. Devon wants to be part of their lives when he realizes they are his children.

Devon soon steps in to provide a home for Allaire and the children after Jeff and Allaire separate. She is reluctant to have a relationship with him, however, largely due to the guilt she feels about betraying Jeff. Finally she decides she must see if they can be a family rather than allowing him to enter a serious relationship with another woman. They have a very successful reunion and are on the way to being a happy family when she is kidnapped!

Okay- that was only the first half of the book! The second half of the book is full of tense suspense as Allaire struggles being drugged and threatened by her kidnappers. It is also full of Devon’s efforts to locate her and get her home safely. Once she is rescued they have to cope with the traumas and fears left over from her ordeal.

I was extremely impressed at the excellent plot, character development and overall smooth writing style in this book. Actually I have found excellent quality of writing and presentation in the seven or so Class Act Books that I have read and I think this publishing group does a great job of putting out top quality books. Kudos to Class Act and Ms. Church for a job well done! If you like top notch romantic suspense and can handle a bit of explicit sexual content then you would truly enjoy this book!

Author website: http://site.romancewithsass.com/

Author blog: http://blog.romancewithsass.com/