In my Mail.. OMG!

This post is overdue. All my fault.





I won The Wrong Bride over at Susanna Carr's blog. That was a really hard to find book. None at used-book stores, and it's out of print at Amazon. It had been horrible! But thanks to the contest, now I own it I got it oh yeah oh yeah yeah yeah.

It's delivered by Leena Hyat of Author Sound Relations. Thank you!





I think I spent about 15 mins carefully opening the very well-sealed envelope.

There's also a brochure for Jenesi Ash (A pen name for Susanna Carr). It features Swap (which I have in eBook format) and Chain Reaction (which I don't have).

Front:


Back:


And this, THIS is the best part: ♥






OMG RED-HOT AND ROYAL. What's it doing in that mail? (Okay, I believe I did mention in the email to Susanna Carr that I do not own The Wrong Bride and Red-Hot and Royal yet..) Thank you thank you thank you! ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

And now I have ALL Susanna Carr's books. I have proof:



In the photo from top to bottom:
- Valentine's Day is Killing Me (Anthology with MaryJanice Davidson & Leslie Esdaile)
- The Wrong Bride (Yay!)
- Red-Hot and Royal (OMG)
- Bad Girl Bridesmaids
- Pink Ice
- Ex, Why, and Me (My fav ♥)
- Lip Lock
- Confessions of a "Wicked" Woman
- How to be a "Wicked" Woman (Anthology with MaryJanice Davidson & Jamie Denton)
- "Wicked" Women 101
- Merry Christmas Baby (Anthology with Donna Kauffman, Nancy Warren, Erin McCarthy, MaryJanice Davidson, & Lucy Monroe)
- Beach Blanket Bad Boys (Anthology with Linda Lael Miller, Alison Kent, Lucy Monroe, Jill Shalvis, & Morgan Leigh)

Thanks again to Susanna Carr and Leena Hyat. ♥ ♥

Drive Me Wild.

Drive Me Wild out December 30, 2008. Pre-order @ Amazon. Visit P.J. Mellor.

My first book by P.J. Mellor is Pleasure Beach (which is also my first Aphrodisia book). That book made me continue looking out for her works and so far, I've not been disappointed. I have one more Aphrodisia book in my TBR, Naughty Naughty also featuring P.J. Mellor, with Melissa MacNeal, & Valerie Martinez. *Puts book on top of the TBR pile.

The Erotic Secrets of a French Maid?

The cover and title actually mislead me into thinking it's an erotica with short shorties of.. a french maid. But it's actually a funny, sexy, sweet, cute, light contemporary read.

Strapped for cash after an unsuccessful search for her dream job in architecture, Emma Mayson takes a less-than glamorous position as a maid for a wealthy entrepreneur. The bright spot? Her new employer, Russell Carrick, is the picture of male perfection—his mere presence sends Emma reeling. But he’s also a total workaholic who has lost his zest for living. Or did he just misplace it? Emma sets aside her feather duster and her inhibitions to find out. Soon a transitory house-cleaning gig becomes a cushy role of well-paid mistress, as Emma rekindles her employer’s passion with a fantasy world of boundless pleasure. But then the unthinkable happens: She falls for Russell. Having already fulfilled his primal desires, can she make him see her as more than a plaything?

Try the chapter one excerpt here for a gist of how the story is like. It got me interested enough to want to read the rest of the story, and no, I wasn't disappointed. Check out this review over at the AccessRomance Reader's Gab. I totally agree with it.

Get Lisa Cach's The Erotic Secrets of a French Maid @ Amazon, and as an eBook @ Fictionwise.

Need more..

I got the eBook of The Natural by Abby Gaines because it's a free download at Books on Board. And then I started on this book because I wanted to read something short at the moment. But in the end, I enjoyed the book too much and then found it too darn short. It's a really cute book.

Cynical NASCAR driver Danny Cruise meets tender-hearted vet Madison Beale when he runs over a dog. When Danny adopts the dog as a Christmas publicity stunt to revive his flagging reputation, he gets a whole lot more than he bargained for…

This is also one of "four NASCAR-themed Christmas novellas" in the anthology A NASCAR Holiday 2, with Pamela Britton, Gina Wilkins, and Ken Casper. Why not try The Natural first since it's free?

And how I felt when approaching the end of The Natural, is the same when I finished reading Sucker Bet (by Erin McCarthy). Not enough. Want more. Still, a light read with lots of laughable moments, I really had a great time (not surprising) reading Sucker Bet. But High Stakes is the best of this series. I love re-reading the many funny moments between Ethan and Alexis. ♥

Reading order - High Stakes, Bit the Jackpot, Bled Dry, and lastly, Sucker Bet. All very re-readable books.

I'm soo happy.

It's so gorgeous. I can almost eat it.

I was soo happy seeing this book at Borders in the flesh! (Or in the paper or pulp wateva) I fell in love with it ever since seeing it on this Spice Tea Party blog post. But OMG holding it in my hands, hugging it to my heaving bosom, I've never felt so much love for a book. I eat book covers for breakfast.

The Edge of Impropriety @ Amazon. Visit Pam Rosenthal.

And also this:



I can't belive it, I've got TWO - count it - not one, but TWO Christie Ridgway books in my TBR. How to Knit a Wild Bikini & Unravel Me. How COOL is that.



I love Christie Ridgway's books. LOVE them. LOOVVEE THEM ALLL.

Third in this Knitting Trilogy is Dirty Sexy Knitting coming June '09. Damn love them all.

Oh Nathaniel.

I love Nathaniel. Oh damn I love him. Gimmegimmegimme a man like Nathaniel.

Spoilers!

When Samantha accused Nathaniel of not spreading "spreading his wings", he countered with "There's a nursery in Cornwall I'd die to own. Fantastic piece of land, fantastic business - but I didn't look at it. I preferred not to be six hours away from you."

WTH? Samantha, Samantha. Darn you.

I already love Nathaniel way before this part of the story, but this! This line. Aww man.

End Spoilers.

I'm so glad I finally started on a Sophie Kinsella book. If all her others stories can make me feel like how I felt now about Undomestic Goddess, I'm reading them.

In my Mail.. from Karen Kelley!

Update: Edited broken links.

This post is long overdue. ☺





^ That's the mass paperback of I'm Your Santa, an anthology by Lori Foster, Dianne Castell and Karen Kelley. I won this book over at a contest by Karen Kelley at the Brava Authors blog. Lucky me. There's glitter on the santa image, the hearts and the title. Didn't expect that. Here's a close-up:



The glitter makes the cover pretty, but it's still no match for the hunk on the trade paperback version:



Of course there're bookmarks included in the mail:


There's two of the same kind. Am I suppose to give one away? Can I don't? I wana keep all. I'm selfish like that.



^ The back of the bookmarks lists the books by Karen Kelley.

And a letter:


With a description of her up-coming book My Favorite Phantom, out Dec 30, 2008. *Notes in calendar.

I'm scared. Can I sleep in your bed?

When Professor Peyton Cache bought a big, gloomy, romantic Victorian house, he should have expected a ghost. He certainly got one, the kind that likes to float his undies around and drop slime in the stairwell for fun. But the professor can't let the rest of the faculty know he's lost his mind, so he hires a ghost hunter on the down-low. But somehow, when he booked a ghost hunter, he didn't think that he was getting a live-in leggy blonde with an attitude like a Jersey gangster and a body like a pinup poster...

Kaci Melton needs to hide out for a while, and where better to disappear than a haunted house on one of her dad's ghost-hunting jobs? All she'll have to do is deal with a crabby old professor for a couple of days and kick out one measly ghost. Two problems: the professor is a tasty young guy with piercing blue eyes, six-pack abs, and a penchant for talking dirty. And the ghost scares the panties off her...actually given the professor, maybe that's not a problem. But if she can't tell him the truth - and she can't - how is she going to get him to keep up all that wonderful sex? Especially when she's starting to kinda like him...

Don't you wana read it? Go pre-order @ Amazon.

Check out her Nerak series, Close Encounters of the Sexy Kind (book one), Cosmic Sex (book two), and The Bad Boys Guide To The Galaxy (book three). They're freaking hilarious and hot. One other book by her I've read is Temperature's Rising. I still remember how much I enjoy the moment when the hero found out that the heroine is not a hooker after all. ☺

Oh, the best part:


Thank you Ms Kelley! ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Finished Dark Lover. What Next?

Just finished Dark Lover, and shucks at the end. I love reading about that kind of love.

For a big tough guy like Wrath, I'd thought he'd only break down and admit his love for Beth only at the end of the story, only after killing the bad guy. But yay I was wrong. ♥

I am totally charmed by the brothers. All of them. Z included. And Butch too. How can I not love his first meeting with Marissa? I feel like skipping Rhage's and Zsadist's book and read about Butch and Marissa asap. I thought they're cute together.

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So what to read next? I do wana continue this Black Dagger Brotherhood series, but I thought it'd be kinda sad if I devour them too fast and there'd be no more of them a week later. *Shrugs.

So, randomly choosing: Lara Adrian's Kiss of Midnight? Erin McCarthy's Sucker Bet? (<- Yea why the hell have I not started on this yet) Christie Warren's One Bite with a Stranger?

Hmm, all vampires.

As much as I love vampires, I should take a break from them.

Where are the contemporaries dammit!

Reading Update & Hooray Contemporaries.

I'm about halfway through Dark Lover now, I love how Wrath is when it comes to Beth. So far my favourite part is when after they did it the first time and a shirtless Wrath as getting ready to leave, and he tells Beth to 'Come here' and he kisses her. This is the time when I fervently wish I was Beth. ☺
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And I just went to Janice Maynard's website and clicked on her coming soon in July 2009 book. It's called Mating Game. The cover image is the same as the one used for the mass paperback of Erin McCarthy's Mouth to Mouth. Both are pretty covers, both are great authors. ☺ Hot Mail is out in January 2009! And Erin McCarthy's Flat-Out Sexy is out now. ♥ Three cheers for contemporaries!

Two new-to-me Authors.

I just finished Reckless by Maya Banks. Excerpt here. It's my first Maya Banks read. It's a sexy short story about a guy who thinks he's too old for this girl and he can't touch her because she's his friend's sister blah-blah-blah. And I do love how J.T. is so gentle with Nikki at the end. ♥

This story happens after Brazen, which I've yet read. It's about 'One woman’s campaign to win the hearts of the two men she loves.' I'm not into ménage a trois, but I admit I'm really curious after reading the book description. Blame it on the hot excerpt too.

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And now I'm (finally) starting to read J.R. Ward's. Currently still reading the first few pages of Dark Lover. Hope this book works for me. I'm kinda spoilt by Kresley Cole's Immortal After Dark series. And I do need more vampires to worship and dream about.

Psy & Cowboys.

I've finished Slave to Sensation and though Lucas is one uber hot alpha, I'm actually more captivated by all the Psy stuff. Much more than the romance itself. I'll continue to read the series just because I'm really fascinated by them. The Psy stuff.

I reallywonder, if at the end of the whole series (oh I don't wish for it to end anytime soon), will the Psy come to their senses (if any) and actually stop the Silence project thingy? And there'd be some way (of couse there have to be a way) that they can control / prevent insanity? Madness? Blah? I admit I don't totally understand this PsyNet thingy, but hey, I'm intriguied. Very much.

E-Psy, F-Psy, wowee. When E-Psy first came up in the book.. err elephant? Honestly that's the first word that comes to my mind. ☺ Those hot panthers/leopards/jaguars/wolves and the romance that comes with it are like a bonus to this fascinating world. Big bonus. Lucas is hot! Can't wait to know the rest.

You know there're times when I want to just hold a Psy and tell him or her (prefebly a hunky him) that everything is gonna be ok and that they can cry in my arms. ☺ I'm crazed by the Psy stuff.

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Another story read over the weekend is Gabe's story in Wild Wild West. Thinking back just makes me sigh out loud. Want-want-want! I wana live at this place. Watch him swing pitchforks and lift bays of hay. Argh! Time to think of a provocative poem to read to a cowboy.

EBooks, the cheap and some free ones.

The four new Harlequin Historical Undone titles are only USD$0.89 each. They're sexy short historicals, and at that price it's really cheap. Plus after doing research on them, and they don't have any horrible reviews yet, so I think they're really worth checking out. USD$0.89 only! I just checked the price at the website, it's still valid. When's the last time I read a historical? If all the shorts at USD$0.89 all the time, I did devour many really fast.

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I also discovered an eBook publisher, Linden Bay Romance. I've signed up and downloaded three free reads by Cat Johnson: Friends with Benefits, Under the Covers, & Black Cat.

Me love free stuff. Can't wait to try them out.

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I've also downloaded The Natural by Abby Gaines from Books on Board. Currently at $0.00 too.

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Also, I found Janice Maynard's (I love Suite Fantasy) The Perfect Ten the cheapest at eReader.com at $11.48, but of course, only in ereader format. At Books on Board it's $14.00 (boo I always thought it has the cheapest ebooks) with only Mobipocket format, and at Fictionwise it's $12.60 after a 10% rebate, also only Mobipocket format.

Sooo it's always good to research before buying. Research on price & the book itself. Because you can't return ebooks.

Finished one book and got two new books.

You know, there's this part in the story where I got so shocked and angry and !@#$%^ with what the bad (understatement) guy had done, I had so wished Gawain and Lark would have just gutted him there and then. There's still about a third of the book left, but really I thought, to heck with the romance I don't care if I don't have a happy ending because I just want justice done asap! Thinking back makes me wana cry.

But of course I did manage to get over it *sniff* and get on with the story. Gawain. ♥ Kel. ♥ Lark. ♥ Gawain. Gosh it's like a threesome. But it's not. ☺

One thing worth mentioning is during one of their celebration there's this blade dance with the knights of the table going topless and taking turns showing off their bods sword skills. How I wish I can see all these with my own eyes instead of reading it.

And so, Master of Swords is now my favourite Angela Knight book. And the only other books I've read in the same series are Master of Dragons, Master of Wolves, and the novella in Hot Blooded. As I'm so not reading the stories in order, I admit I have a messed up idea of the timeline. But it didn't lessen my enjoyment of the books. I love the Mageverse. ☺

Of course after Master of Swords, I have no more Angela Knight in my TBR, so thus a trip out to a little bookstore ensues. And lucky, lucky me there's Master of Night available and so I grabbed it and ran for the cashier.




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I just need to add that I also found Wild Wild West by Charlene Teglia in the bookstore. Whee! This book doesn't seem to be available in eformat, so I've been looking for it for the longest time. I've read Satisfaction Guaranteed, which is so darn hot, I just can't wait to try another of Charlene Teglia's.

And I do love the hot pink cover. But the spine and the back is a totally different thing altogether..


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I'm now reading Nalini Singh's Slave to Sensation. Still somewhere at the start. OMG I pity Sascha so much. But then again maybe not soo much. She's gonna get the guy in the end anyway.

Some things to say..

I haven't really read alot in October, and I blame it on my month-old mobile phone. I spend too much time fidgeting with it. But great news, I realised that I prefer reading the eBooks on it in landscape orientation!



^ What's on screen isn't clear, but it's part of the eBook The Bodyguard: Nash, by Michelle Hasker. I've enjoyed reading her books, and most of them can be finished in about an hour or 2. Sexy quick reads. ☺ I need more of those. Some of Michelle Hasker's eBooks can be found in multiformat at Fictionwise. She also has many free short reads on her website.

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I finally got around to read Baddest Bad Boys. I think most of E.C. Sheedy's stories stars an older woman and a younger man right? I do like the hot spring scene in it. Love sees no (age) boundaries. ♥

As for Cate Noble's story, I had wished for more, as the ending is kinda abrupt for me. But the sex is hawwt. Rrwoar baybeh.

I've read Shannon Mckenna's novella earlier a few months ago ever since I got my hands on the book. Never delay myself a Shannon Mckenna hero. ♥

Ultimate Weapon (wow it's McCloud book No. 6 already) is out now. Yay Tamara! Com'on dear local bookstores stock them fast stock them fast stock them fast.

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This book is not for me. I'm not into MMF, MFF, FMMFMFMF, or any combination that's not plain MF. That's what happens when I didn't research eh? I also blame it on eBook coupons having expiry dates. But but but, the revelation at the end, I find it sweet. Really. So it kinda makes mades the whole book alright for me. Somehow I'm glad I got to the end, even though it's mostly skimming..


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I have this wonderful book right next to me now and I'm already half-way through reading it. Angela Knight's Master of Swords. Gawain! ♥

Add 2 to my TBR.

I walked into a small bookshop today not really expecting to buy anything (yeaaa) but then I found two gems that I could NOT find at those bigger major bookstores:

♥ How to Knit a Wild Bikini by Christie Ridgway. Excerpt here.
(OMGiloveherbookscan'twaitforunravelme)

♥ Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh (new to me author)

And so I have to buy them. Hooray!

I'm making a list..

Stupid stupid rain totally killed my mood to go book-shopping.

The list of books I planned to get today:

Susan Elizabeth Phillips
- First Lady
- Kiss an Angel
- Match Me If You Can
- Breathing Room
- Just Imagine
- It Had to Be You

Nalini Singh
- Visions of Heat

I still have alot more SEP books to read (lucky me). And I've heard (read) so much about Nalini Singh so I thought it's about time to at least try one if her books.

*Shrugs* Another day perhaps. It's never to late to shop for books anyway. Now I just have to dig into my lil' TBR pile. (Yay Angela Knight!)

Stupid stupid rain.

I'm not a Twilight Fangrrl but..

I found this movie still here.

I really love it. They look comfy together. I may not be a fangirl of the Twilight novel, but I think I'm right on the path to being a fangirl of the movie. ♥♥

Jack Harrington.

Not John Harrington the Third. Just Jack Harrington. And he got me at "As soon as I'm not half-drunk, I plan to kiss the hell out of you." ♥ Well I do like him a hell lot already before this. (He broke his bra? Haha!) And he's Meljean Brook's hero in the novella Thicker Than Blood (from the anthology FIRST BLOOD).

I LOVE the things Jack says. ALL the right things. I could list them here. But it would be more enjoyable to read the book and find them all out though.

Jack is just perfect for Annie. There isn't a moment when I want to smack him. I wanna cuddle him. "Hurrah for me. Another nap." Heee. I'm really happy for Annie that she's got Jack now. I'm glad that she readily accepts him back to be around her instead of being difficult much. It's hard to find a guy who doesn't straight-forward push you to learn what he wants. Jack just does it sneakily. ☺ "I'm high on love, Annie." Aww, he makes me smile. Annie is lucky lucky lucky. I'm happy for myself too. Back to finding new good stuff.

I will definately check out the other books in the series. I'm sooo curious about Milton! She's in the book, Demon Angel. Hmm, she's called Lilith there. Anyway, thank you to Meljean Brook (again and again and again) for holding a giveaway contest that allows me to win this book. ☺

Don't know what to read next.