Review: Small Town Christmas (Anthology) by Jill Shalvis, Hope Ramsay and Katie Lane

Source: we received an e-ARC of the book through NetGalley for review purposes.

I requested this book because I’m a huge fan of Jill Shalvis. I have also read great things about Hope Ramsay’s Last Chance series so I was curious to read her novella as well. But I wasn’t familiar with Katie Lane’s work. I’m also a sucker for small town stories, so this anthology was right up my alley.

The first story is Kissing Santa Claus by Jill Shalvis. Five months ago Sandy Jensen had an affair with NASCAR driver Logan Perrish. When he left, she sent him an email confessing her love for him but he never wrote back. So when she sees him again in less-than-stellar circumstances (she’s wearing a Santa Claus costume) she doesn’t know how to react.

Winners: Small Blogs, Big Giveaways! 4th Edition

This was our first time participating in this giveaway and it was incredible. I want to give special thanks to all the people who followed us, we at Romance Around the Corner really appreciate your support and we hope to see you soon.

The winners are:

Virgin Hero Week

What better way to start the month than with a theme week, right? Tomorrow starts Virgin Hero Week over at Joyfully Jay. There's going to be tons of interesting things including reviews, giveaways and a guest author. Here is the week’s schedule so you can have an idea of what’s to come.

Jay’s blog is all about the LGBT subgenre and she mostly reviews M/M romances so this is a great opportunity for readers new to the genre that are curious to delve into it but are not sure where to begin. Virgin Hero Week is a great place to start if you’re an M/M virgin!

We’ll be joining in the celebration with a review of our own. So get ready to start what’s shaping up to be a very fun week!

Review: Criss Cross (PsyCop, Book 2) by Jordan Castillo Price

When I started reading these novellas I wanted to review the whole series in just one or two posts, but the reviews were too long so I just decided to do one at a time. They might be short stories but there’s a lot going on in them. If you want to catch up, or if you’re new to the series, you can read the review of the first book here.

The PsyCop world is quite similar to the one we’re living in, but there’s just one big exception: it’s widely known that there are people with paranormal abilities and those people are being recruited and used by the government. Our hero, Victor Bayne, is a member of the PsyCops, an elite division of the Chicago Police department that employs strong psychics with different abilities to solve crimes. Victor is a medium, he sees dead people all the time and everywhere. He takes a drug that muddles his sixth sense and for a while keeps the ghosts at bay, but it doesn’t help that much.

Review: Among the Living (PsyCop, Book 1) by Jordan Castillo Price

Last week I was doing my usual round of review blogs when I came upon a review of a series of novellas by several authors including Jordan Castillo Price. Everyone was gushing about how great her books were so I decided to give it a try. I fully intended to get the series I read about (it’s called Petit Morts in case you’re curious) but when I was looking through Castillo Price’s backlist I saw this one and I just knew I had to read it. The PsyCop series comprises five novellas that are a bit longer than regular but not by much, one full-length novel, and five free short stories that you can read here.

Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee

So, the world as we know it is ending and there’s no one else to blame but the Angels. Six weeks ago some kind of war between Angels and the human race started and we are losing big time! It’s the Apocalypse, modern technology has been destroyed, and the survivors are starving, turning feral, desperate and mean. But it is war, so all those feelings and reactions are justified.

This new world is scary; angels, the lovely creatures that we have learned to think of as our friends and our connection to God, have turned against us. As if this were not enough, there’s looting in the streets and the worst of humankind has surfaced: murders, rapes, fights, the list is long and depressing.

Review: Until There Was You by Kristan Higgins

Source: we received an e-ARC of the book through NetGalley for review purposes.

I’m a fan of Kristan Higgins’ work. Some of her books have been more of a miss than a hit for me, but I know that I can always count on her to make me laugh and spend a pleasant evening reading a good story. That’s why I was so happy to see this book on Netgalley and why I didn’t hesitate to request it. It was a big surprise when I started reading it and realized that this marked a big “first” for Kristan since in this book we were getting the hero’s POV as well as the heroine’s.

Posey Osterhagen has a pretty great life. She owns a successful business, has a fantastic relationship with her family, lives in a wonderful house with her huge dog and three cats and has an almost-boyfriend. But things are about to get upside-down when the town’s former bad boy and Posey’s High School crush, returns.

Small Blogs, Big Giveaways 4th Edition

The Biggest International Bookish Giveaway Online


62 prizes split between 5 winners + 6 Gift Card Giveaways!

Review: Casting Samson by Melinda Hammond

Source: we received an e-ARC of the book through NetGalley for review purposes.

This book really appealed to me. It looked like a sweet, interesting contemporary romance, set in a small town, with a hot hero and a secondary storyline that was even more enticing than the main one. Unfortunately it didn’t deliver as promised and I was left wondering how a story with so much potential ended up being such a disappointment.

Deborah Kemerton’s birthday is going from bad to worse. The spa appointment she had got cancelled and when she goes back home she finds her boyfriend naked with someone else. When she confronts him, he tells her that he had an itch to scratch and that she shouldn’t make such a big deal out of it. Heartbroken and unemployed (the boyfriend was her boss) she goes back to her hometown to put her life back together.

Review: Bring Me Home for Christmas by Robyn Carr

Source: we received an e-ARC of the book through NetGalley for review purposes.

I have read all of Robyn Carr’s books and I have liked most of them although for a second there I was ready to quit Virgin River because I was getting fed up of all the babies and annoying recurring characters, but the latest books have been really good and after finishing Harvest Moon I couldn’t wait to see what would come next.

Bring Me Home for Christmas is the 14^th book (I know!) in the Virging River series, and is her annual Christmas story. This means that it’s a bit of a stand-alone in the sense that it isn’t part of a trilogy, but it’s very much part of the series since the hero is a recurring character that was introduced several books back. Despite that, I think you could pretty much jump right in even if you’re unfamiliar with the series, there are some familiar faces but nothing that will spoil the previous books or that will get you confused because of your lack of background.

Review: Driftwood by Harper Fox

Intense is the first word that comes to mind after reading this book. It was my first time reading Fox’s work and it pretty much lived up to the expectations that so many good reviews had created. However, I have mixed feelings about it and in the end I was left with a bittersweet aftertaste. 

Dr. Tom Penrose is back from Afghanistan after serving his last tour of duty which ended in a terrible way. One day while walking his dog he saves the life of a daredevil surfer. The surfer’s name is Flynn Summers and just like Tom he is going through some serious issues. Neither of them is in the right state of mind to become emotionally involved, but the attraction is impossible to fight and now they must deal with the consequences. 

Guest Post: Author Rhiannon Paille

Rhiannon Paille

We are starting the week in great company. Author Rhiannon Paille is here today to talk about happy endings, or in her book’s case, the not-so-happy endings.

Her debut novel, Flame of Surrender, came out a couple of weeks ago and it’s the first book in The Ferryman and the Flame series, so be ready for more books to come. 

Please help us give her a warm welcome! 

Winner: Celebrating Romance Giveaway Hop

The winner of the Celebrating Romance Giveaway Hop is Laura H.!! Congratulation Laura, I’ve already emailed you to let you know. If you didn’t get an email from me, please check your spam folder just in case, if there’s nothing let me know through a comment here or send me an email to this address.

I had tons of fun doing this giveaway and reading about your favorite romance novels, I’ve added several to my TBR pile. I hope you had fun as well and that you come back and visit us again.

Thank you to everyone who joined us in the giveaway and special thanks to all the new followers, I really appreciate the support. 

Review: Just One of the Guys by Kristan Higgins

I discovered Kristan Higgins’ work recently, and after reading All I ever Wanted I couldn’t stop until I finished all her novels. She is the reason why Contemporary Romance and Chick Lit are two of my favorite subgenres. For this review I chose what I think is one of her best novels: Just One of the Guys. This story has it all: an incredible, amazing, beautiful and funny heroine; a gorgeous hero; a dysfunctional family and the ugliest dog ever.

Just one of the Guys is about Chastity O’Neil, the only daughter among 4 brothers. She comes from a family of firefighters and athletic men so is no wonder that she is a bit of jock. After several years living in a big city she decided to go back to her hometown, Eaton Falls. She got a job in the local paper and is eager to settle down, find a man, a dog and a house.

News Flash!

Hey guys, hope you’re having a great week!

Today I’m doing a guest review over at Wandering Hues, the book is Birthright by Nora Roberts. I have a couple of things in common with the main characters, so if you want to find out what those things are head over there and read the review.

I want to thank to Tania for inviting me to her blog and giving me my 15 minutes of fame as a guest reviewer.

Once you’re there take some time to check out her blog, Tania’s reviews are awesome and she has lots of interesting book-related content. I’m sure you’ll enjoy Wandering Hues just as much as I do.

Also, remember that we are part of the Celebrating Romance Giveaway Hop. We are talking about favorite romance novels and there are lots of goodies up for grabs. The contest ends this Friday so you still have chance to enter.

And last but not least, Marie is back (you can read her latest review here). She survived her Master’s dissertation and now can read novels again. Welcome back!

Review: Angels of Darkness (Anthology) by Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, Meljean Brook and Sharon Shinn

I wonder if angels have replaced vampires as the supernatural creatures of the moment. Lately there’s been an explosion of books about angels or with angel-like beings, and they seem to have taken the romance world by storm -or maybe these creatures have always been a popular subject and I’m just catching on-.  Whatever it is, it’s clear that they are here to stay and I’m glad because they make fascinating book characters, as this anthology clearly proves.

I’m not a huge fan of anthologies and it’s unusual for me to find one where I actually am familiar with all the authors involved (I haven’t read anything by Shinn but she has been on my TBR list for ages), which is the reason why I wanted to read this book.

Review: Deeper Than Midnight by Lara Adrian

Deeper than Midnight is the 9^th book in the Midnight Breed Series. I am assuming that if you are reading this review is because you are familiar with Lara Adrian and the series so let’s skip all the basic stuff and go directly to the review.

This story is about Hunter and Corinne Bishop, the Breedmate who was saved from Dragos’ Lab in the 7^th book.  I was dying to read Hunter’s book; I mean, how someone raised -in a lab- to be an assassin and who is an emotionless bastard could be a romance hero? And let’s not forget that he did live most of his life doing exactly that: killing without a conscience. So, I really was looking forward to reading how the author would deal with Hunter’s past and how she would make him fall for our heroine. I am sorry to say that Ms. Adrian let me down. In previous books we saw some progress with Hunter’s lack of emotions and his relationship with Mira was beautiful and it made me like him, so why the hell is he so flat in his own book? He goes from “I feel like I should protect Corinne” to “I lust after Corinne” and “I Love Corinne” without any real interaction between them. I am going to say it now: this book was a huge disappointment in the romance department, so don’t get your hopes up.

GIVEAWAY: Celebrating Romance Giveaway Hop

We are joining Nat from Reading Romances to celebrate Romance Novels through this great Giveaway Hop. We have decided that our price should be one of our favorite romance novels, so the winner will get to choose from one of the following books:

• Carnal Innocence by Nora Roberts (Romantic Suspense) 
• The Unsung Hero by Suzanne Brockmann (Military Romantic Suspense)
• Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie (Contemporary Romance)
• Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh (Paranomal Romance)
• The Bride by Julie Garwood (Historical Romance)

For a chance to win just leave a comment telling us what’s your favorite romance novel. Don’t forget to leave your email address so we can contact the winner.

And since this is a Hop here is a list of all the participating blogs, lots of goodies up for grabs!

RULES

• Winner gets his/her choice of one of the books listed above.
• Open INTERNATIONALLY as long as The Book Depository ships to your country or you have a Kindle and would rather an e-copy of the book.
• Contest open until October 14.
• Winner will be chosen using random.org and announced here on October 15.
• Winner will be contacted through email and will have 72 hours to reply.
• We are not responsible for items lost during shipping.

Review: After Midnight by Sarah Grimm

This is one of those books that at first glance looked very appealing and I just had to read it. It had a damaged heroine, a hot rock star hero, and one of the settings was a bar. So the promise of someone maybe wearing leather pants and hot sex was enough for me to take the plunge (that and the fact that it came with a great recommendation, of course). I can tell you now that sadly no one wears leather pants but the sex was quite hot and the story delivered everything it promised and more.

Isabeau Montgomery’s life has been very difficult. A musical genius capable of playing the piano ever since she was a little girl, she started touring the world with her mother. But when a fatal accident killed her mother and left her severely injured, her world really turned upside-down. She went to live with her abusive father and stop playing music altogether. Now she owns a bar and every day battles the need to play again.

Series Review: Silent Blade and Silver Shark (Kinsmen Series) by Ilona Andrews

I first heard of this series a couple of weeks ago when book 2, Silver Shark, was released. Since I’m a huge fan of the On the Edge series I decided to read these novellas because they looked promising and most importantly, short.

These are sci-fi stories set in a distant future were different planets have been colonized and where the most influential people have several enhancements that can be either mechanical or psychic, which gives them the upper hand when it comes to the world the live in thus making them the political and economic force. They are called Kinsmen and they are quite the tight group. Family is everything to them and they marry other Kinsmen in order to make them stronger in a political world where genes and family ties are everything.

Review: Tuesday's Child by Dale Mayer

Note: we received an e-copy of this book directly from the author for review purposes.

I’m a huge fan of romantic suspense novels with a bit of a paranormal aspect thrown into the mix. I love when one of the leads has a psychic touch of some sort and I think that’s something that always makes the book more interesting. So when I saw that this book’s heroine had a very dark psychic ability I wanted to read it immediately.

Samantha Blair’s life has been very difficult. She is a powerful psychic capable of connecting with people on the deepest level. She can see when someone might be in danger, feel emotions and overall sense what others are feeling. She has been an outcast her whole life unable to establish enough confidence and trust to be herself around other people. Now her ability has taken a turn for the worse, she creates a sort of connection with a murder victim that allows her to experience in painful detail what that person is feeling, the link is so intense that she even sustains the same injuries and bleeds and feels the pain.

Review: Tempted by His Target by Jill Sorenson

Source: we received an e-ARC of the book through NetGalley for review purposes.

I am a huge fan of Jill Sorenson’s work. I love good romantic suspense and I think this is an author that knows how to write it. She has an amazing ability to create real and flawed characters that are likeable, and her sex scenes are scorching hot. So I was eager to read this book and while it wasn’t my favorite of hers, it was an enjoyable and fast read.

Isabel Sanborn is a woman on the run. She used to be a privileged party girl hanging out with the wrong crowd. When she wakes up from a night of hard partying and finds her companion dead she flees the scene. The problem is that the dead guy happens to be the son of a Mexican drug lord, so now she lives in Mexico as a fugitive hiding from the people who want revenge and from the law.