Hard As Nails rant, and some blahs.

• Hard As Nails - Yay finished the book. Love every conversation. It just makes you want to read on and on and on. The wit can just go on and on and on... and Cole's story is my fav. I fell in love with it since the word "sledgehammer".
  

• Not that I've read a lot of younger men with older women stories (and not that I'm always looking for those kinds), but there are just some authors who just can write and make you enjoy those themes/whatever that you don't really care about.
  

• Just ordered Mistress to the Merciless Millionaire by Abby Green ♥. Go buy a copy too.

• I was just thinking about the darn-long-awaited book by Sarah McCarty, and so I went to check out her website and whoa, updated? Really? OMG.
  

Current read, new book, old books..

• Continuing with HelenKay Dimon's Hard As Nails. It's gooooood. Cole ♥. Now onto Adam.
  

• Tasting Fear arrived. *Checks calender for a good weekend to read it. *

• I've got a number of favourite books with pages getting... old. Brown. Yellowish. Spots breaking out (whatever you call them). I've thought about selling them and then buying new ones again online.
  

Previous read, current read, and blahs.

• I loove Mary McBride's Baby, Baby, Baby. I can't stop thinking about the arctic white part. That was when I knew for SURE I was going to enjoy the rest of the book.
  

• I ordered Tasting Fear (oh yeah baybeh) and can't WAIT for it to arrive.

• *Visits Shannon McKenna's website* Nope, nothing new.

• Currently reading HelenKay Dimon's Hard As Nails. It's about time. I'm still at the beginning, stopping at where Cole's "lower half took charge". ☺ Why I stopped? Because it's just too good for me to continue reading on stressful weekdays. This weekend is so reserved for this. Dammit. I hate stopping. Shouldn't even have started it yesterday. Argh.

• Bye August 2009. I wish for more relaxing times in Sept for reading.

• Wait, favourite August read? Abby Green's Bought for the Frenchman's Pleasure. Duh.

Contest! By HelenKay Dimon, Alison Kent, & Jill Shalvis.

The point I love to see on contests by authors:

*International entries are accepted.

A chance is better than no chance. ♥

Me Reading, Book Covers, and Misc.

I was preparing to blog, but I was sidetracked by my Google Reader, and found this:

From Donna Kauffman's blog here. Wow. Just have to post it first. I love it when authors post BIG, high resolution, reeally good quality covers.

HelenKay Dimon's blog maybe undergoing redesign as of now, (till 24 March), but I can still access her old post via Google Reader. Cool rite? Glad I didn't miss her "Cover Unveiling" posts!

Holding Out For a Hero, and Kissing Santa Claus. Sweet.

I did start reading again. I've finished Lori Foster's and Karen Kelley's story in I'm Your Santa. Starting on Dianne Castell's today. I'm feeling reeeally great.



Oh just reminding myself (and showing off too):


I also missed an ARC give away of Dirty Sexy Knitting (by Christie Ridgway!) over at Riding at the Top Down. Not sure if overseas entries are allowed, but I would love to win that. Yea yea I keep having to remind myself that I have not read the first two in the series:


Some books I just have to save later (really later) to read. SO do NOT want the magic to end so fast.

Dirty Sexy Knitting is out June.

Yup, that's all.

Pretty Mass Market Covers.

I've read them all,
When they're in Brava trade.

They all rock,
Their covers are hot,
So they get to decorate my blog. ♥

Your Mouth Drives Me Crazy
by Helenkay Dimon.

The title links to the trade paperback version because this mass version will be out only March '09. Happy waiting.

The next book in this series, 'It's Hotter in Hawaii' is coming out April '09. I can't wait to read this because there's Josh in it! ♥ Josh's own story will be out later next year as stated at Helenkay's blog here. Happy waiting for this too..

Temperature's Rising
by Karen Kelley

Sometimes I wonder, are they trying to make those who already own the trade version buy the same book again in mass version? Well, maybe those rich, rabid fans may. I'm rabid, but sadly not rich.

Anyway, I've just finished Karen Kelley's Nerak series (here, here & here). They're damn funny & sexy and I so need more of these kind of books.

Get A Clue
by Jill Shalvis

I love covers with a couple embracing (or necking). It's sooo hot. ♥ Tasteful hot. Though I wish the picture on this cover is in it's original colours instead the shade of blue. Like the other three covers I posted.

I also visit Jill Shalvis' Blog for a good laugh every week too. ☺



Mouth to Mouth
by Erin McCarthy

I think I miss her comtemporary romance novels. Very much.

Wow, it really seems to be a loong time ago when I read You Don't Know Jack (and loved it).

Hmm. *Goes to put My Immortal at the top my TBR. I do hope she writes more funny vampire romance though.

After seeing that most mass market versions getting hotter covers, no, I still won't wait for them. I'm a big fan of Brava trade paper backs, and I'm not a big fan of waiting. For two years. Give me big fonts any time!

Man Candy.

To celebrate my new blog design, I've chosen five delicious hunks to grace this post. I wanted to say "five book covers" instead of "five delicious hunks", but com'on let's admit it: it's the man that make the covers. So let's start the ball rolling with Jennifer Apodaca's Extremely Hot:

I went phwoarr when I saw this cover on Amazon. Those eyes those eyes those eyes those eyes were sliently being chanted in my head over and over again. How can one resist them? He current holds the no.1 spot in my "Hottest Dude on a Book Cover" List. Ranked no.2 is Donna Kauffman's The Great Scot:

Yes, he used to hold the no.1 spot. I thought nothing can beat this, but guess I was wrong. And then this guy is stolen from HelenKay Dimon's blog:

It's the cleft on the chin. The manly cleft. Hot as hell. Someone told me that clefts and dimples are actually facial defects, but they ended up making the face look good, therefore nobody cared. Sooo, if you have a friend with pretty dimples and you are jealous of him/her, you can actually go up to him/her and say, "EEEwww! There's something wrong with the bones in your face!" Hahaha, but I digress. Back to the male-ogling.

Hot As Hell's blue cover reminds me of Charlotte Mede's Explosive. I've posted the cover before, but what the heck, it deserves to be posted again. And I just realised the hotties on both covers are looking in the same direction:

Lastly is Sylvia Day's A Passion For Him starring Nathan Kamp:

Nathan Kamp is the only romance cover model who's name I know, because I remember coming across his name on a reader's blog, and that reader is a big fan of him. I guess the name got stuck then. Based on his portfolio here, he IS hot. Nice to see him on more than one cover, but then I'd love to see fresh faces too.

Not surprisingly, all five books are Brava books, which always have the best covers out there. Great marketing. My poor piggy-bank.

Josh.

I just finished reading Your Mouth Drives Me Crazy by HelenKay Dimon. Love it.

Unless I miss something, the heroine, Annie seems to be the only active woman in the book. By active I mean, talking, doing something and being in action blah blah blah, and not just being mentioned in conversations.

If not for the strong character that Annie is, I think I'd be, to borrow her words, suffering from an overload of testosterone. There're just so many male characters, but then I'm not really complaining.

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I love it whenever Kane and Annie start their interrogation of each other, it's just so healthy for them. And very fun for me.

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And now to the guy who made my headline today: Josh.

I've always been intrigued by secondary characters. And for most secondary characters to have their own story coming out later is no surprise. But still, it's nice to be reassured at Helenkay Dimon's blog, that my baby Josh will have his own story. Yes, my baby Josh. I've appropriated him since his entry in the book:

One, blond and light, with the scruffy start of a beard along his jawline...

Sounds like the start of something promising.

... and bright blue eyes ...

I like blue eyes. Kinda reminds me of the heroine Sophia in Jill Barnett's Wicked, the way she stares into the hero's blue eyes and sliently concludes that it's her favorite colour even though she hates the hero like shit. Well, they did of course admit that they love each other in the end, but I digress.

... close in color to his aqua tie.

Tie? Oh, I love men in suits + tie. All men look good in them. It just bursts the hot meter of already good-looking men. And plus, it'd be fun to loosen the tie and unbutton that shirt.

... this one had a rough-hewn look about him.

Wait till 2009? I'd expire.

I've got 3 new books. So drum roll please.

Buying new books every week is really a bad habit. I feel guilty when paying for them at the cashier. But after I tuck them comfortably on my shelf, I felt a great sense of satisfaction (got-my-hands-on-them kind of satisfaction) followed by dread real quick after realising how many books I have in my TBR pile.

I know of others with a hundred books waiting to be read. Mine is peanuts compared to them. But for my standards, having more then 5 currently and knowing that there will be more books coming and no time to read them -- sucks.

Anyway, Introducing my three new books:

I just realised I got Viva Las Bad Boys! (also by HelenKay Dimon) on 9th Aug 2006 (which is Singapore's birthday!) I got this book, Your Mouth Drives Me Crazy, on 8th Aug 2007. So it's just a day short of a year. Damn. I really hate waiting. But luckily her next book is released on March 2008.

But isn't that like, 7 months later? Damn.

Next!

Perfect Kisses! I love both Susan Johnson's & Sylvia Day's writings, and as for Noelle Mack, I'm still reserving judgment. I've got one of her book, Three published under Aphrodisia.

I do like Three and had enjoyed reading it. I only didn't like the fact that the hero and heroine didn't get married, though they did pledge to stay together. I'm all for marriages and having babies in the endings.

Next!

I wonder anyone remembered this page I created. It's about the title Sun, Sand, Sex. I checked back the newly-revamped Kensington page here, and they amended the title (correctly) with the comma instead of the "and" (as in Sand, Sand and Sex). But the kept the wrong spelling of Jennifer Apodaca's name!

Jennifer Apodaca and Shelly Laurenston are new to me. I can't wait to read Linda Lael Miller's story! She's one of my very first romance authors and I've enjoyed most of the books she have written. It's been quite a while since I last read her work.

"Uh, Ms. Bartholomew?"

I can never stop cracking up at this:

Maybe I'd write abit about HelenKay Dimon today

It's Chinese New Year today! Lots of Ang Baos (red packets)!

I like to read my books when I have a whole day (or two) free with no family members bothering me. Well, Chinese New Year is not the time to read books, with families & relatives being all around though.

And wow, I start a blog to rant about romance books but I didn't even bother to post anything on Valentine's Day. That's really sad.

ANYWAY.

Back to title of this post:

Maybe I'd write about HelenKay Dimon today.

I was just browsing through her website, and since I didn't read any books since last tuesday, I thought maybe I'd write something about her.

I've got two of her books. One is Viva Las Bad Boys, and other one is a novella Hardhats and Silk Stocking in the anthology When Good Things Happen to Bad Boys.

(Edited.)

And I really, really LOVE and enjoyed Player's Club in Viva Las Bad BoysI LOVE everything about this story.

"Same kiss," she said.
"Same kiss, baby."

During the part where Zach walked/stormed (I forgot) into Jenna's office, everything became instantaneously sensuous & hot, that I couldn't wait for both of them to be writhing on Jenna's desk.

Oh I got her book in my hands now! A little photo here:

I like taking photos of my books, it's weird, but then I love my books!

Oh oh and the whole seduction thing in Player's Club is just perfect. I love the idea of "if I manage to seduce you then you'd agree to this (blah blah blah)". This kind of game is always a win-win situation for any couple.

Ahhh, Zach & Jenna, Gotta love them.

HelenKay Dimon's upcoming book is based on Hawaii, a full novel titled Your Mouth Drives Me Crazy. Yea I'd expect lots of kissing & oral with that title. (And a sexy cover too by the way, with a guy kissing the back of a woman.)

The conversations in Viva Las Bad Boys are smart and witty. Enough said. (Although still NOBODY beats David Eddings' style in this area.)