Feature Friday! The Creative Junkie!

Archive for July 16th, 2010

Ravished By A Highlander

Posted by Heather Manning On July - 16 - 2010

RavishedbyAHighlander Ravished By A Highlander by Paula Quinn

FORBIDDEN LOVE

Davina Montgomery is no ordinary English lady. For her own protection, she’s been locked away from society, her true identity the Crown’s most closely guarded secret. Until a shocking betrayal—and a bold rescue—land her in the arms of a fierce Highlander, a powerful warrior whose searing gaze and tantalizing touch awaken her body and soul.

UNDENIABLE DESIRE

As the firstborn son of a powerful Scottish laird, Robert MacGregor has no loyalty to the English throne, but he’s not the kind of man to leave a woman in distress, even if she is English. He vows to deliver Davina to safety, unharmed and untouched. Yet one stolen kiss leaves them both smoldering with desire… and desperate for more. With Davina’s secret threatening to destroy his clan, Rob must choose between everything he holds dear and the one woman he can’t live without.

I love historical romance but you know what I love even more? Historical romance set in the highlands, or in Scotland period. My grandpa told me that we are part Scottish, not sure which part, but part of me none the less. I know nothing else about my ancestry than that. I devour anything about Scotland because of it. Romances, fiction, non-fiction, the music, I love Scotland.

I’m not one who reads a fiction book, takes notes to compare to how it adds up to what really happened, and then nitpicks it a part, I just love a good read. From what I do know though, Paula mixed a good deal of actual history with this fabulous book!

Fabulous it was!

Davina was taken from her mother when she was a baby and hidden away in a convent. She is a member of a very important family and they took great pains to protect her. Someone she loved betrayed her though and the enemy found out where she was. They attacked the convent, killing everyone, but Robert showed up, and saved Davina from the flames.

After that it’s a fast paced journey through getting her to safety before the men who are out to kill her are aware of the fact that she wasn’t killed during the attack.

Her secret, oh her secret.

I’m not as smart as James. I couldn’t figure out what it was, of course, I’m not from that time. The politics then didn’t circle around my existence and threaten my way of life. Robert deduced that Davina was…….. Oh come on, I’m not actually going to tell you! You have read the book!

Robert, with his life for Davina, risks bringing all of Englan down on his clan. But what respectable highlander wouldn’t risk life, limb, property, and all for the love of his life?

Recommend this book! Paula Quinn is going on my list of favorite authors! I *heart* her!

Follow Paula Quinn on Twitter

Find Paula Quinn on Facebook

Enter the contest on Paula’s site to win an autographed ARC of Ravished By A Highlander.

And last but not least, but Ravished by a Highlander on Amazon for $6.99 at the time of this posting.

Popularity: 1% [?]

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Book Reviews

To Surrender To A Rogue

Posted by Heather Manning On July - 16 - 2010

ToSurrenderToARogue To Surrender To A Rogue (Circle of Sin Trilogy) by Cara Elliot

An expert in antiquities, Lady Alessandra della Giamatti arrives in Bath to excavate newly discovered Roman ruins-only to find herself caught in a web of evil intrigue by a blackmailer threatening to expose her scandalous past. The one man who can help her is Lord James "Black Jack" Pierson, a fellow member of the expedition and a sinfully handsome rogue whose tempting presence ignites a different sort of danger.
Jack has clashed with Alessandra in the past, so when she suddenly surrenders her body he can’t help being suspicious. Is she a scheming temptress? Or is she truly a lady in trouble? As desire and deceptions swirl around them, Alessandra and Jack must find a way to win each other’s trust. For if they don’t work together to uncover a shocking truth, their enemy-and their own simmering passions-may destroy them and everything they cherish.

I decided since I read fiction books quickly that I’m going to go through all of my ones on my desk first. I’m just in the mood for romance. I’ll regret it later when I’m out of fiction, but for now, it makes me happy.

I should have read To Sin With A Scoundrel (Circle of Sin Trilogy) first. I have that on my desk too, but this one was on top and I just grabbed it. I didn’t miss much not having read the first in the series, but I would have known some of the back story of the other characters, which is always nice.

That being said, this was a great book! I was sitting on edge waiting to find out what Alessandra’s secret was. She was a bold women who had no problem speaking her mind to a man like James. I loved her insults, and those of her daughter, Isabella, a feisty little girl who thinks that being a lady in London in those times was really no fun. I don’t blame her the insults since the book opened with Alessandra finding that James had tied Isabella to a tree (granted for her own good and to keep her safe, but tied to a tree none the less).

There was a lot of passion. A good mystery revolving around Alessandra’s haunted past. I have to admit that I suspected “who done it” or who was going to do it as soon as the bad men came into play, and I was right. I kind of like to have something like that take me by surprise or to prove me wrong, but it was still an exciting adventure to read. There was drama, there was sorrow, there was passion, romance, and a great ending.

Alessandra was a beautiful role model for that time period. A time when women stayed home, or went to society functions, and their only job was to be beautiful. Men didn’t expect them to be anything but the good little wife who entertained and bore the heirs. Alessandra was a scientist, one who went out on excavations, with a quick mind, a fiery spirit, and a love for archeology.

James was a great leading man. Larger than life, brooding, dangerous, yet under that tough exterior, there was a gentler side, one you (or Alessandra) wouldn’t expect from a man who led a soldier’s life as he had.

I now have to read To Sin With A Scoundrel to get caught up on her friends’ lives and what they were doing before this book.

Follow Cara Elliot on Twitter

Find Cara Elliot on Facebook

Enter the contest on Cara’s site where you can win an autographed copy of To Surrender To A Rogue.

and last but not least, buy To Surrender To A Rogue on Amazon for $6.99 at the time of this posting.

Popularity: 1% [?]

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Book Reviews

Feature Friday! The Creative Junkie!

Posted by Heather Manning On July - 16 - 2010

Feature Friday is a new thing here at The 24/7 Mom! I am going to play 20 questions with some of my favorite bloggers each Friday! Read along, check them out, and hopefully you will find a new blog to read because these bloggers featured on Friday are Fabulous!

Andi over at The Creative Junkie was the first blogger that I ever read regularly. I don’t even know how long I’ve been reader her blog, it’s that long. I used to follow behind her a lot in a blog train at a digiscrapping board. She has this way with words and titles like Mod Podge isn’t just for gluing mammary glands together, you know, leave you wondering what the heck she is going to give to us next. (FYI! Check out that post! You’ll learn something, if you can keep from peeing your pants first.) If you can handle a little gore, check out her last post – Taking The Bull By The Horns Is Not All It’s Cracked Up To Be – I think I just threw up a little.) and you can make sure that Nate is all intact in We’re like The Cosby Show except paler and not as prolific.

Who are you? Still trying to figure that out. Until I do, I’m known as Andrea Chamberlain a/k/a The Creative Junkie

Why did you start to blog? Originally it was going to be an extension of my digital design business. But then I wrote my first post, went off on a tangent that had nothing to do with digital design and *wham* a blogger was born. With no epidural! Woot!

How old is your blog? Two years old.

Has your blog changed over time? If my spam filter is any indication, I’m now attracting many more polite spammers who actually compliment my posts before trying to hock some Viagra. Not sure if it’s a coincidence or not, but they all seem to be cousins of pharmacists.

Favorite post? Always my last one.

Pepsi or Coke? Ewwww. Blech. Neither. I drink water but if it has a lemon wedge in it, I’ll gag. I also drink lemonade. Go figure.

Favorite Blogs You Read? Too many to list here but if I had to choose one absolute if-I-was-stuck-on-a-desert-island-and-needed-something-good-to-read-to-avoid-cannibalizing-myself favorite? It would be TheBloggess.com – I want to be her when I grow up, but I need to up my Xanax.

Would You Like Fries With That? Damn, are we talking fast food here? Because do you have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve had a Big Mac? I don’t know either – I’d have to check the rings of skin in my neck to see how old I was. But if we aren’t talking fast food – then nevermind, because I have no idea what we are talking about.

Partners In Crime? Do you mean best friends? I’ve got the same ones since grade school and in fact, we’re going to our 25th high school reunion together this summer. Just so you know, it was really hard to type that without throwing up.

Favorite Blogging Tip? I have three of them: Don’t overuse the word "scrotum" in your posts. Paragraph breaks are your friend. Automatic music on your blog will make me drop you quicker than if you gave me herpes.
Inspiration IRL? Erma Bombeck. Oh, and whoever invented the word "douchebag" – thank you! You saved me the hassle.

Bloggy Inspiration? Far too many to mention here but I can tell you that my Google Reader is full of bloggers who are imperfect and don’t view it as a character flaw. I like self-deprecating humor. I like good photography. I like a well-designed, clean, easily navigated blog. Having potty fingers myself, I don’t mind profanity at all but when it’s used gratuitously or sneezed all over a post for shock value, it’s a total turn off.

Hobbies? Photography, digital design, reading, stalking Anderson Cooper, tackling Nate and making him give me foot massages

Bikini or one piece? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. A mumu.

Edward, Bill, LeStat, or insert your own vampire? What is the deal with vampires? Why is an undead cold body sexy? Am I the only woman who likes her men HOT?

Does your family get your blogging? Only to a certain point, which is usually determined by how long it’s been since I’ve gone grocery shopping or cleaned their underwear.

Favorite Online Community? Momdot.com and the NSBR at 2peas

What would I be shocked to know about you? That I am a smart, strong, independent woman who, long ago, still managed to find herself in a horribly abusive relationship.

How much time would your man say it takes you to get ready? Way too long, as in HOLY SHIT, WOMAN. ARE YOU EVEN CLOSE YET? Wait … we’re talking about sex, right?

Over or under? If we’re talking toilet paper – OVER, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. If we’re talking anything else, you better be more specific because it could go either way.

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Go over! Check out The Creative Junkie.

Subscribe, follow her on Twitter, like her on Facebook, become her latest blog stalker. I promise satisfaction or your money back.