July in Review

I had a rough month, so there wasn't much reviewing going on. Here's what I did accomplish, though.

Reviewed books (linked to the review):

1. Barely a Lady by Eileen Dreyer (D)
2. Deadly Fear by Cynthia Eden (C+)
3. All I Ever Wanted by Kristan Higgins (A-)
4. And One Last Thing... by Molly Harper (B+)

What I read but haven't reviewed yet (linked to Amazon):

**Re-read

• A Groom of One's Own by Maya Rodale (C+)
• Crazy for Love by Victoria Dahl (C+)
• CaddyGirls (ebook) by V.K. Sykes (B)
• Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt (A)
• **The Hunger Games (audiobook) by Suzanne Collins (I had already read the actual book, but I listened to the audiobook for the first time in prep for Mockingjay)

Read more after the jump »

Friday Feature: Great new site for romance lovers - Pocket After Dark

Friday Features are weekly posts that give the basic facts about an event or item. They are not always, but often are, book-related. If you have anything that you think I might find interesting enough to feature, feel free to send me an email at jax @ eclecticbooklover.com.

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Who: The editors, authors and publicists at Pocket Books

What: According to the press release it's "a new online community created especially for romance and urban fantasy readers." Here's what some of what else the press release says:

Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, has announced the launch of POCKET AFTER DARK (PocketAfterDark.com), a free online community for romance and urban fantasy readers. Developed by Simon & Schuster Digital, Pocket After Dark will offer access to exclusive content and provide a forum for members to share interests and connect with other readers, authors, and editors on a personal level.

Read more after the jump »

Review: And One Last Thing... by Molly Harper

And One Last Thing... by Molly Harper
Women's Fiction/Chick Lit, Contemporary Romance
Gallery (July 27, 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-1439168776
320 pages
Review copy received from publisher

Synopsis from Amazon:

"If Singletree’s only florist didn’t deliver her posies half-drunk, I might still be married to that floor-licking, scum-sucking, receptionist-nailing hack-accountant, Mike Terwilliger."

Lacey Terwilliger’s shock and humiliation over her husband’s philandering prompt her to add some bonus material to Mike’s company newsletter: stunning Technicolor descriptions of the special brand of "administrative support" his receptionist gives him. The detailed mass e-mail to Mike’s family, friends, and clients blows up in her face, and before one can say "instant urban legend," Lacey has become the pariah of her small Kentucky town, a media punch line, and the defendant in Mike’s defamation lawsuit.

Read more after the jump »

Currently Coveting (11)

In case you haven't seen this feature before, I'm switching from my usual Waiting on Wednesday post. Instead of just one upcoming title that I want I'll list several, along with some backlisted books that I have on my wishlist too. If you guys have read any of the previous releases, let me know what you thought about them.

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On Shelves Now

Still Life with Elephant by Judy Reene Singer

General Fiction/Women's Fiction

The way to a cheating man's heart is through . . . an elephant?

Professional horse trainer Neelie Sterling somehow missed the fact that her veterinarian husband, Matt, was having an affair with his blonde, pretty business partner. Neelie often misses things. (When Matt originally told her he was getting a colleague to help with the practice, she thought he said collie—and Neelie likes dogs.) Now the blonde is saying she's pregnant, and Neelie's life is in a tailspin. But she sees an opportunity to patch up the holes in her disintegrating marriage when she learns that Matt is leaving for Zimbabwe to rescue a badly injured elephant. Foolishly optimistic, she joins the expedition.

On a dangerous, revealing, exhilarating trip through Africa, Neelie comes to learn a lot about herself as a woman and a wife. But it isn't until they return home with their pachyderm patient that her eyes are truly opened to what is going on around her. And with the help of a very large and very special animal, she may even discover how to love again.

I randomly recieved the sequel to this one, An Inconvenient Elephant, and it sounds really intriguing. I added this one to my list because you know I just have to read things in order.

Read more after the jump »

Review: All I Ever Wanted by Kristan Higgins

All I Ever Wanted by Kristan Higgins
Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit
Publisher: HQN Books (July 27, 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-0373774586
384 pages
Review copy received from publicist

Synopsis from Amazon.com:

One Happily-Ever-After Rocking Chair…

and no sign of any forthcoming babies to rock in ol' Georgebury, Vermont. For Callie Grey, turning thirty means coming to grips with the fact that her boss (and five-week fling) is way overdue in his marriage proposal. And way off track because Mark has suddenly announced his engagement to the company's new Miss Perfect. If that isn't bad enough, her mom decides to throw her a three-oh birthday bash in the family funeral home.

Read more after the jump »

Review: Deadly Fear by Cynthia Eden

Deadly Fear by Cynthia Eden

Romantic Suspense
Forever (July 27, 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-0446559249
416 pages
Review copy provided by the publisher

Synopsis from Amazon.com:

TWO BRILLIANT AGENTS

FBI Special Agent Monica Davenport has made a career out of profiling serial killers. But getting inside the twisted minds of the cruel and the sadistic has taken its toll: She's walled herself off from the world. Yet Monica can't ignore fellow agent Luke Dante, the only man who ever broke through her defenses.

Read more after the jump »

Guest Post & Giveaway: Romantic Suspense Recipe by Cynthia Eden, author of Deadly Fear

Today I'm lucky enough to host Cynthia Eden, an award-winning author of several paranormal romances and romantic suspense novels. Her latest release, Deadly Fear, is due out August 1st. Take it away, Cynthia!

Romantic Suspense Recipe

Hi, everyone! Hope you are having a fantastic summer! And, Jacqueline, thanks so much for inviting me to post!

Today, I wanted to give my recipe for a romantic suspense novel.

First, take one very strong heroine—emotionally and mentally strong. No weak-willed heroines need apply.

Second, add a hero who is more than up to the challenge of meeting any danger that may arise. The hero will need to be smart, tough, and capable of extreme sacrifice (if a bullet is coming at the heroine, the hero will need to take that hit).

And then…well, what do you add?

Read more after the jump »

In My Mailbox (35 & 36)

This weekly meme that gives you a look at my latest book haul is all thanks to Kristi at The Story Siren, the host, and Alea of Pop Culture Junkie, the inspiration.

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The blog's been a little barren lately, but my mailbox hasn't! While I've been getting my life together, a bunch of stuff has come my way. Since there are so many, I'm forgoing linkage, pics and commentary. However, I will highlight the ones that I'm super excited about! A lot of these I already had, so I posted them on my swap page. A bunch of them have gone already but there are still some up there, so check it out!

Won:

• signed copy of Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr (from GotYA)
• signed copy of Wicked Enchantment by Anya Bast (from Anya's blog)
• The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale (through LibraryThing)
• Poison by Sara Poole (through LibraryThing)
• One Day by David Nicholls (from Vintage)
• Married with Zombies by Jesse Petersen (from Janicu's blog)
• Strange Angels and Betrayals both by Lili St. Crow (from Tynga's Reviews & Lilith Saintcrow)
• Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell (from RandomBuzzers)
• Tor.com Paranormal Grab Bag

Read more after the jump »

Be Back Shortly

Hey everyone,

I've been having some internet connection issues over the past few days (thanks to power outages), as well as some personal issues to contend with during the past couple of weeks. If you've tried to get in touch with me or are looking for something that was supposed to be posted already, hopefully I'll have everything situated
soon.

Jacqueline

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Interview: Molly Harper, author of And One Last Thing...

Today I'm lucky enough to have the talented Molly Harper here to talk a bit about her upcoming novel, And One Last Thing . . . . Harper's already released three hilarious paranormal romances in the Jane Jameson series. This latest work, due out July 27th, will be her first published contemporary romance/chick lit novel.

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You've previously published three paranormal romances in the Jane Jameson series. Why the departure from the paranormal with And One Last Thing...?

I was between books 2 and 3 in the Jane series. At that point, I’d been writing about vampires for a while and I wanted to do something a little different. My deadline for book 3 was a ways off and I was due to have our son at any moment. I had an idea for AND ONE LAST THING, and decided to spend my maternity leave working on it. It’s about a woman who finds out her husband is cheating, and uses his company mailing list to tell everyone they know what he’s been up to. She’s exiled from her little town and has to rebuild her life from there. She meets the aforementioned yummy ex-cop neighbor, wacky romance and half-naked hijinks ensue.

I finished the book in about two months. My son would sleep during the day. I would throw in a load of laundry and work on my manuscript, instead of, you know, sleeping, like a normal person. It’s the fastest I’ve ever written a book.

Read more after the jump »

In My Mailbox (34)

This weekly meme that gives you a look at my latest book haul is all thanks to Kristi at The Story Siren, the host, and Alea of Pop Culture Junkie, the inspiration.

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Won

Anthropology of an American Girl by Hilary Thayer Hamann (from Luxury Reading)

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (from Feed Your Reading Habit)

signed copy of His at Night by Sherry Thomas + bookmark (from Julie James's blog and Sherry Thomas)

Read more after the jump »

Currently Coveting (10)

In case you haven't seen this feature before, I'm switching from my usual Waiting on Wednesday post. Instead of just one upcoming title that I want I'll list several, along with some backlisted books that I have on my wishlist too. If you guys have read any of the previous releases, let me know what you thought about them.

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On Shelves Now

Pretty Little Dirty by Amanda Boyden

Literary/General Fiction

Lisa sees the life of her gorgeous best friend Celeste as just about perfect: she has a gigantic house, two older sisters to coach her through the hazards of high school, and loving, lively parents. As Lisa's own home has long been a place devoid of joyful noise—her mother has shut herself off in her bedroom for years—Lisa joins the Diamond household, slipping into their routine of sit-down suppers and soaking in the delicious normalcy of Diamond family life. But what begins as the story of two young women living a charmed adolescence, one of mastering dance moves and the protocols of male-female interaction, soon swirls into an intoxicating novel of art, music, and self-destructive impulses as Lisa and Celeste dare each other ever onward.

Amazon recommended this one after I added another book to my wishlist. Everywhere I look, it has good reviews.

Read more after the jump »

Review/Rant: Barely a Lady by Eileen Dreyer

Barely a Lady (Drake's Rakes, 1) by Eileen Dreyer
Historical Romance
Forever (July 1, 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-0446542081
432 pages
Review copy provided by the publisher

Synopsis from Amazon:

Olivia Grace has secrets that could destroy her. One of the greatest of these is the Earl of Gracechurch, who married and divorced her five years earlier. Abandoned and disgraced, Grace has survived those years at the edge of respectability. Then she stumbles over Jack on the battlefield of Waterloo, and he becomes an even more dangerous secret. For not only is he unconscious, he is clad in an enemy uniform.

Read more after the jump »

Swap/Sell: More books and lower prices!

I've added more books to the swap/sell list and lowered the prices. They've got to go, so check them out!

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In My Mailbox (33)

This weekly meme that gives you a look at my latest book haul is all thanks to Kristi at The Story Siren, the host, and Alea of Pop Culture Junkie, the inspiration.

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I got a ridiculous amount of books this week (mostly because I went ebook and audiobook crazy!) so, instead of tediously listing and linking to all of them, I'll just feature one from each category.

Bought:

How to Woo a Spinster by Kasey Michaels (ebook)

How to Woo a Spinster -- a Daughtry family prequel

Still unmarried at twenty-eight, Lady Emmaline Daughtry has resigned herself to spinsterhood. Then Captain John Alistair arrives at her door--the very image of the perfect lover of her most private dreams. But can a man with a secret and a woman who's never known love find happiness when they least expect to?

I had previously bought this one but I recently lost the ebook file. This novella is very sweet and sensual - definitely worth the re-buy.

Read more after the jump »

Friday(ish) Feature: My books for swap and sale

Friday Features are weekly posts that give the basic facts about an event or iter. They are not always, but often are, book-related. If you have anything that you think I might find interesting enough to feature, feel free to send me an email at jax @ eclecticbooklover.com.

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Not my actual piles, but I'm headed in that direction.

Who: Me, the lovely and fantastic Jacqueline.

What: A ton of my books that I need to get rid of. All of which are in excellent condition.

When: ASAP

Where: Here at my blog and at my swap inventory on Goodreads (100+ books listed)

Why: I have no room to live! Aside from my book addiction, I often get a copy of a book that I've already purchased. I've been posting books over on Goodreads's bookwap, but it's not easy to unload ARCs over there. You can't list an ARC for trade under it's published version. Instead, you have to create a whole new book listing. This in itself is understandable and not unreasonable, unless (like me) you have rere ARCs than your willing put through such a tedious process.

Read more after the jump »

(Un)Cover: Soul Screamers UK or Wherein the Brits Do It Better

Rachel Vincent posted the covers for the upcoming UK releases of her Soul Screamers series, so the side-by-side was inevitable:

Read more after the jump »

June in Review

Reviewed books (linked to the review):
*Read this month. **Re-read

1. My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares (A-/B+)
2. Deception by Lee Nichols (B-/C+)*
3. Out of Eden by Beth Ciotta (C)*
4. Twice Bitten by Chloe Neill (A+)
5. Masked by Moonlight by Nancy Gideon (B)*
6. The Naughty List by Suzanne Young (A)
7. Heist Society by Ally Carter (B)

Read more after the jump »