Review: Girl from Mars by Julie Cohen

In case you didn’t know, I’m a huge fan of The X-Files. I own the DVD’s, the movies, the books (that's right, books!), I have posters, t-shirts and once I went to an UFO convention even though I don’t believe in any of that. I also have a book blog (I hope you did know that!). Yep, I’m pretty much a nerd. So when I saw this book and read that the heroine was a fan of The X-Files I left everything I was doing in order to read it. It was entertaining, but it had some shortcomings.

Philomena Desdemona Brown, Fil for short, is a nerd. She has blue hair, is a fan of every Sci-Fi show out there and loves comic books. She loves them so much that she works for one, yes, Fil is the current illustrator of the famous comic Girl from Mars, a story that’s been in print for over fifty years. She is very talented but she is socially award, and she is perfectly fine with it, or so she says.

Review: One Grave at a Time by Jeaniene Frost

Note: This review contains spoilers for the previous books in the series.

Here I go again with a new review of Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress Series, I know that One Grave at a Time came out a while ago but I am barely catching up with my TBR pile so please bear with me and my really late review.  There is also a Christmas Novella out there but I have yet to read it, I’ll probably write the review some time soon.

As I said in the review of This Side of the Grave, I am not expecting much of any book that comes after Destined for an Early Grave. Cat and Bones got their HEA so everything that happens after that is just going to make me angsty because I’ll be waiting for Cat and Bones to break up or die. In short, impending doom. However, what I got with the last two books proved me wrong and showed me that there are still a lot of things going on in their world which doesn’t necessarily means a book full of heartache.

Winners! (Shameless Giveaway & Xavier's Loving Arms)

The winner of Xavier’s Loving Arms by KT Grant is: Jade

The winner of Broken by Megan Hart is: Andrea I

The winner of Liberating Lacey by Anne Calhoun is: Marina M.

Emails are on their way so check your spam folder just in case and if you didn't get anything send me an email to brie.clementineATgmailDOTcom

Congratulations!

I’ve never had this much fun doing giveaways as I did with these, and I hope you had fun also.

Thanks to KT Grant for offering a copy of her book as a price, and thanks to everyone who took the time to comment on her guest post. I had a blast reading all your answers and I think it was the funniest post we have had on the blog.

I want to thank everyone who was part of the Shameless Giveaway Hop: blogs, authors and readers. You have no idea how happy and amazed we are. The response was overwhelming and thanks to you the hop was a huge success. Also, thanks to all the new followers of Romance Around the Corner, we have new friends on Twitter, RSS Feed and GFC, that was a pleasant surprise and we appreciate the support and hope to see you back soon!

Finally, I just want to say that Michelle and Jen are the best cohost ever and that they are made of awesome! 

The Thin Red Line Between Romance and Erotica

Let’s talk about sex. 

When it comes to a book’s sensuality level I always have a hard time doing the grading. I’m never sure if a book with explicit -albeit vanilla- sex should be McSexy, McSteamy or even McBurning.

When we were deciding on our sensuality rating we were quite clear on what a book should have in order to be one of the five categories. So if a book only had kisses and no other clear references to sex then it should be McPrude; if it had vague references to sex and maybe some petting -but nothing more than second base- then it should be McDreamy; heavy petting and sex scenes filled with euphemisms will make it a McSexy; if the book had explicit sex scenes was McSteamy; and anything beyond that like BDSM, ménages, etc. was McBurning. But then there were the shades of grey. What about a non-explicit ménage story? What if the fact that multiple simultaneous partners was hinted at but never shown? What should we rate a book like that? 

Winner!

Hello everyone!

Sorry it took me so long to pick a winner but yesterday was a busy day.

The winner of the Jodie Becker and Sidney Bristol giveaway is: Çråz¥ K¥

Congratulations!

If you didn't get my email check your spam folder or send me an email to brie.clementineATgmailDOTcom

Thank you everyone for participating and remember that there are two giveaways going on right now (here and here), so you still have chance to try your luck!

Review: Permanently Legless by J.L. Merrow

Note: We received a copy of the book from the publisher for review purposes.

Is no secret that I love Ms. Merrow’s books and that every time I see a new one coming out I'm very happy. It doesn’t matter if they are full-length novels, novellas or short stories, I know that regardless of its length I will enjoy the book. That’s why I couldn’t wait to read Permanently Legless.

Chris lost both legs in Afghanistan during his last tour of duty. He’s finally recovered and back to living his life. Things aren’t easy but with good humor and a strong will he’s enjoying himself, or at least trying to. One night he goes clubbing with his friends to the place where he went just before deploying. Once there he remembers the one night stand he had with a guy named Josh. He was quite taken with him and hasn’t been able to stop thinking about him during all this time. But he knows he’s wasting his time because Josh was better looking and younger than him, and that was before Chris lost his legs. So even though Josh asked to remain in touch, Chris never did.

Review: The Bro-Magnet by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

This is a perfect example of why you should never judge a book by its cover. I know it’s bad, I also know the title isn’t helping, but believe me, you’re in for a treat.

Johnny Smith is man’s man. That means that every single guy he’s ever met loves him. They all find him funny, clever, approachable, admirable, all the guys want to be his best friend and they all want Johnny to be their Best Man. In fact, he’s been Best Man at eight weddings and counting! However, when it comes to women the story is the complete opposite. They all hate him, no matter what he does, men love him for it and women hate him. He’s been disappointing women ever since he was born. 

When Euphemisms Attack: Giveaway & Guest Post by Author KT Grant

A warning and a note from Brie: this post is hilarious and slightly NSFW. No dirty pictures in it (bummer!) but there are some dirty words (yay!). If you’re underage you probably should just skip it. The captions on the pictures are mine.

I’m just going straight to the point because I know you’re dying to get to the NSFW part of the post, so please let’s give a warm welcome to author KT Grant.

Shameless Giveaway Hop

UPDATE: Winners announced!


We decided to do this Hop, to celebrate adult books, and by adults I mean steamy books. So I’m giving away two of my favorite erotic romances:

Guest Post & Giveaway: Authors Jodie Becker and Sidney Bristol

Today we have two special guests. Authors Jodie Becker and Sidney Bristol, are here to share with us what inspired them to write about a former porn-star and a veterinarian. That’s right, the hero in Dirty Beautiful used to be a porn-star and the hero in Flirting with Rescue is a veterinarian. So there’s a bit for every taste!

Stop SOPA

If you are in the US and/or are a blogger, you probably know all about the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA). They are meant to fight online piracy but they are so broad and vague that its implications may go beyond shutting down piracy websites.

Today the online community is protesting this by blacking out their sites (you can see the list of participant sites here). Blogs are joining in too, but since I have no idea how to actually black out the blog without losing the whole thing I decided to write a post to join in the protest.

For more information you can visit the official Stop SOPA site here. 

Review: True Colors by Thea Harrison

True Colors is a Novella within Thea Harrison’s Elders Series, it comes after Serpent’s Kiss. I don’t know why, but I was really excited about reading this one. Don’t get me wrong, the series is still good and I’m looking forward for what is yet to come, but for me the series had lost some of its initial charm. That said, I’m happy to tell you that True Colors lived up to my expectations. In my opinion it was almost as good as Dragon Bound and a great come back for the series.

Review: Angels of the Deep by Kirby Crow

I keep wondering if angels are the new vampires. This book was published in 2009 before angels became so in vogue, but still, I keep seeing more books dealing with the subject and this was one that kept showing up as a recommended read. I decided to read it because of its darker nature. I didn’t know what I was getting into.

The story is quite complex and filled with twists and turns, so I can’t go into many details, but the books is best described as a paranormal suspense. 

News and Updates: Shameless Giveaway Hop

Hey guys!

We have had an overwhelming response to the Hop and we couldn’t be more grateful and excited about it. I thinks this is shaping up to be a fantastic week full of goodies and fun.

I just wanted to remind you all that the sign up process ends today so if you want to participate this is your last chance.

To everyone else, thanks so much for the support and don’t forget to have the post ready to go live on the 20^th.

If you have any questions you can contact us through our blogs: Red Hot Books, Michelle's Book Blog and Romance Around the Corner. 

The Joy of Books

This is probably one of the best Youtube videos ever!

I can’t imagine the amount of time and patience it must have taken to put together this video. I know I never write posts like this one but I just wanted to share with you guys how awesome it is. And hey! It’s book-related, to technically I'm not cheating...

Let me know what you think!

Review: Birthright by Nora Roberts

Note: this is the guest review I wrote for the blog Wandering Hues. To read the original post click here.

If you are a fan of romance novels then you probably know who Nora Roberts is. It was one of her books that turned me into a huge contemporary romance fan and she is one of those authors who actually lives up to her reputation.

In Birthright there’s a lot going on. First, our heroine gets a couple of bad news, for starters she is about to supervise a very important archaeological project in Antietam Creek when she’s told that the anthropologist that will advise the dig is her ex-husband Jacob Greystone. And then, as if things weren’t bad enough, this random woman shows up claiming that she is her birth-mother and that Callie is the baby someone stole from her years ago. So now she has to juggle all this stressful situations while supervising the site and fighting the smoldering attraction that remains between her and Jake.  But wait, there’s more. Bad things start to happen because apparently the townsfolk don’t want the archaeologist there, or so it may seem.

Review: Ghost in the Machine by Barbara J. Hancock

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I bought it after reading Janine’s review over at Dear Author even though I wasn’t familiar with Ms. Hancock’s work. I love gritty stories that take place in alternate or post-apocalyptic worlds and Ghost in the Machine is exactly that. I’m so glad I read it because it turned out to be a wonderful and exciting journey.

The world painted in this book has literally gone to ashes. Years ago an alien invasion commanded by an entity called the SoulEater, took over the world and everything in it. Half machine, half something else, the SoulEater had the ability to feed from humans and turn them into ghostly beings called Shadows that wandered the planet reproducing behaviors from their past and sometimes even resembling that past, and whose only purpose was to locate humans and alert the Sweepers. Now, Shadows are a terrible sight because they come back as reflections of their past, that means that a little girl’s shadow sings the same song over and over again, or a former runner comes backs as a horse with a human head. But Sweepers are worse because they are a hybrid between a human and a machine and you can’t tell where the flesh begins and the machine ends, they all are monstrous things devoid of any humanity. Or so it seems.

Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

What an eye-catching book this is. It was an impulsive buy because I’m not familiar with the author nor am I a fan of the genre, but when I saw it I felt the need to read it. I’m happy to say that the story was just as good.

The plot is quite straightforward. Hadley is just about to board a plane to London to attend her dad’s wedding. She dreads doing it because after her father left them she hasn’t been able to forgive him or even come to terms with it. She hates her future stepmother even though she hasn’t met her before, and she hasn’t seen her dad in over a year. But now she can’t go back and she’s trapped in an airport waiting for her flight, getting more and more anxious as the minutes go by.  That’s how she meets Oliver, a charming and cute guy just about her age, who’s also flying to London and happens to be seated right next to her. What they don’t know is that in a matter of 24 hours, and thanks to fate and chance, they will become friends and much more.

Interview: Robyn Carr

As you guys know I’m a huge fan of Robyn Carr, and if you like romance novels I bet you’re a fan also. She’s a huge part of the genre and to be honest I still can’t believe she’s visiting with us today.

This is a short interview but quite to the point and very insightful. Before I leave you to it I just want to thank Ms. Carr for taking the time to answer the questions and giving us the opportunity to get to know her a little bit better.

Review: Xavier’s Loving Arms by KT Grant

Source: we received a copy of the book from the author in exchange of an honest review.

I’ve been a fan of Ms. Grant’s blog for a while now so when I got the opportunity to read one of her books I jumped right into it (and it didn’t hurt that the blurb sounded like it was right up my alley).

Rebecca’s life is in shambles. Her grandmother has dementia, she works two crappy jobs in order to save her house, her ex-boyfriend is pestering and harassing her and she’s recovering from an eating disorder that almost killed her. She has good days and bad days, but she never gives up.

Reading Roundup: Goodbye year, hello books!

This two weeks went by way too fast for my liking, but thank God I didn’t have more days off because I ate like the world was ending, seriously, I’m afraid to put on non-elastic pants because I have a feeling they won’t fit!

Anyway, I had a lovely time spending Christmas with my parents, I had an embarrassing mountain biking accident, I won’t go into details but it involved what I think was a deer but it might have been a leaf, poison oak and my face. You can fill in the rest if you want (at least it was my face and not my butt, like the last time). But above all I read a lot, shocking, I know!