New #CurvyGirl reviews--thank you!

4 stars for Countess Curvy           

A romance fling that turns into more? It does happen. The author does a good job of describing Audrey's motivations and why she gave into a really bad case of nerves and fled back to her home. The reader doesn't get to look into the mind of Duncan, the hero, but she does a great job of making sure you know what he truly feels whenever he interacts with Audrey. I also liked the fact he was willing to move for her! Why should...Read More

The author does a good job of describing Audrey's motivations and why she gave into a really bad case of nerves and fled back to her home...I also liked the fact he was willing to move for her! Why should the woman always move?

From an Amazon reviewer.




5 stars for Boss Likes Curves
Sabrina is a smart successful business woman without a personal life. The did a great writing what Sabrina was thinking and why she freaked out on her office romance. How many people witness office romance go bad?
From an Amazon reviewer.





5 stars for Curvy's Cad
What happens when someone you mentally placed in the "friend" category wants more? Gulp! Kristabel Reed did a very good job of writing this novel. She explored the contradicting emotions and insecurities of Eliza as she starts a relationship with her buddy, Craig.
From an Amazon reviewer.

Review #DoctorWho Series 7

I never posted my review of Doctor Who's latest season! I was so caught up in the 50th Anniversary Special (and the Who-love that kept me going all that week) that it completely slipped my mind.

Amy & Rory. I have to say, Rory completely grew on me. I still don't like Amy, I don't like the oblivious way she treats Rory who deserves so much better. But then love is blind and I don't begrudge either of them the love and relationship they have. It's the romantic in me.

Continuity issues: So space and time traveling Rory didn't awaken the Dalek in Asylum of the Daleks by touching it (like Rose did in Dalek) but the loud noise of him tripping did?

John Crichton was in a Town Called Mercy! (Ok, the fabulous Ben Browder for those who never watched the awesome show Farscape.) And I loved the theme there, the parallels with the Doctor and that alien doctor. Very apropos.

Clara. Clara, Clara, Clara. I don't know how to feel about her.

I mean I watched all her episodes and I didn't have that instant dislike as I did with there. I did have several very enlightening discussions with fellow Whovians (love that word!) about Clara and her possible connection to Rose/Bad Wolf. There were at least 3 dropped hints (perhaps more I missed) throughout her half of the series that I found interesting especially given her 'purpose' in the Doctor's life.

Amy, but I'm still now sure how I feel about her. She did little to endear her to me but then she wasn't off-putting either. Kind of just...

All very circular.

Still, I'm not sure I like her.

But I am sure I want to know more about the Fields of Trenzalor! Oh yes. Very sure I want to know all about that. It doesn't even matter to me if we learn the so-called 'real' name of the Doctor. Names aren't important except to others. I can tell 3 people I'm Jane and 4 people I'm June, and it's only a means for other people to identify me.

I know how I am and that's all that matters.

The Doctor is the Doctor, it's who he is and how he identifies himself and his 'real' name is only a means for his enemies to use and abuse, and for others to spread descent through his friends.

The finale not only set up the Day of the Doctor (which was awesome in ways I feel foolishly giddy for saying) and the rest of the series with the new Doctor. I'm looking forward to the Christmas Special in a few weeks!

#Review Doctor Who Series 6 #SaveTheDay

The Eleventh Doctor is certifiable. Definitely crazy. I like it, but it's such a change from the previous seasons and the flow inherent in them, that I don't feel there's a connection. It's disconcerting. I don't like it. Overall it felt as if this series was a race with bad crashes and a few stellar moments. With still that same disconnect I felt in Series 5.

I loved the Christmas special, A Christmas Carol, it touched on the Doctor's past without recapping too much and showed the depth of pain he carries as well as the acting talent of Matt Smith. Kudos there!

And the overall arc with River's origins and the whole past/present thing is really good. I like the Silence, even if the connection between episodes isn't always obvious (which is fine) or coherent (which is not). I get the feeling Steven Moffat has fantastic far reaching ideas but can't quite get there story-wise. But the time travel aspect is really cool and works well with River.

Also the fine line between human and what may be if given a chance. Or what's sentient and what evolves. And those two reasons are why I watch science fiction and the reasons I enjoy it so much. As always, I can do with less Rory and Amy, but I forebear despite the repeated attempts to bang over my head how much they're in love and how they'd wait for each other and on and on. I get it.

My favorite episode of this series was The Doctor's Wife. It may have had that same frantic, mad race around the story of the week but the emotion, the bond, the love so present was touching. Absolutely adored it!

Plus the return of Craig. I don't know why, but I love Craig and his story! It makes me laugh and the Doctor is so different around it. Can't put my finger on why or how, but the 2 episodes with Craig were among my favorites.

I'm still a little confused as to why the Doctor had to marry River. I don't object, just am curious. It didn't seem to serve a purpose other than to provide a physical closeness for the pair of them so she'd understand what was truly happening. Did I miss something? (Hopefully!)

#Review Doctor Who Series 5 #SaveTheDay

It didn't take me long to warm up to Matt Smith, but I'm thinking that had more to do with his phenomenal acting than the writing in the first few episodes. Not their best. By far not the best.

Sure, the Doctor is a pro at running, but this season feels more like a Let's skip any and all character development, character memory, or future characterizations and hop around like a loon.


Yes, yes, different feel to the entire series, but then Steven Moffat is at the helm now. Different writer/producer, different flavor. I miss the old flavor.

Still, I feel there's something distinctly lacking in this particular series. I love the overall arc with River Song and the banter between the Doctor and River is fantastic, but there's still something off. Something that keeps me disconnected.

It took me 4 days to get through Hungry Earth and Cold Blood. Four days! I watch 3-5 episodes at a time in my mission to finish all 7 series (and every single special) before November 23's 50th Anniversary special. Four days for 2 episodes is way too long.

And frankly I didn't pay all that much attention to the Van Gogh episode. It's Vincent van Gogh (played by the amazing Tony Curran with guest-guest star Bill Nighy) for crying out loud and I didn't care! What was his purpose? For the Doctor and Amy to show him that whole madness is only depression and you're a genius? There was no connection, despite the theme that carried through from the previous famous-person guest stars.

I've watched Charles Dickens (a lonely and broken man who reclaimed his zest for life), Queen Victoria (an arrogant queen who required and demanded help but did more to change the future of Doctor Who than any other), William Shakespeare (a pompous fool with a wicked mind and maybe a will to change), and Agatha Christie (a lonely woman with no self-confidence who was shown to be the brilliant deducer of mystery we think of her as) and in each of those enjoyed the overall episode as well as the individual sparks and quirks that made up the Doctor and his companion and their quest to solve an alien mystery.

Why am I so ambivalent to this series? Why do I not care? Why do I feel as if I'm watching this to get through it in the hopes Series 6 is better?

Could be Amy. (No offense to Karen Gillan.)

There's nothing about her that screams I'm a worthy companion for the Doctor. Nothing. Since I couldn't put my finger on exactly why I wanted Amy to die a horrible and painful death several times over, I thought it was me. There was no transition from the 10th Doctor to the 11th as there was from the 9th to the 10th, no continuity, not even a vague mention of the previous seasons.

No Doctor screaming pain from the Daleks who always come back and pop up everywhere, only the seemingly burning question of why Amy didn't remember them. Really? That's the burning question? Not the I killed my people to stop the Daleks and they've returned? I lost friends and companions and people I love to them? Not how the hell did they survive again?

Nothing. There's not even a brief mention of anything from any of his previous incarnations (let alone the most recent 2) until Vincent and the Doctor when the TARDIS prints out a list of the Doctors starting with the first.

I admit, I didn't (and don't) like that, but there's more to it. More to my nearly instant and total dislike of Amy. And what's a girl to do but search online for why I hate Amy Pond? Surely others (who have watched the show first run and had more time to process this) have answers!

Yup. Lots of answers. There's talk of sexism, of one-dimensional characterization, of Amy supposedly being the 'pretty' companion, prettier than others (which I adamantly disagree with!), etc. I think my favorite paragraph out of all I've read is this one from SPARK Movement:

It is also sad that I can’t describe to you how much Amy plays the role of damsel in distress, or how often she’s blamed for problems not of her making.  Not to mention how much she is sold to viewers because she is more “beautiful” than other companions. But I digress; there are other important topics to discuss.

Steven Moffat, the current writer for Doctor Who, calls Amy a ‘fierce’ girl. Amy speaks her mind, looks good, and is bold, but, when Doctor Who plotlines are examined, Amy is only superficially fierce. Amy wants adventure and enjoys it, but she is portrayed as needing the Doctor to find it for her and to save her from any difficulties. She seems to need the Doctor to awaken her ‘fierce’ qualities, reinforcing the idea that a woman must depend on a man to bring out the interesting parts of her character. Amy is, in reality, a damsel-in-distress rather than a ‘fierce’ heroine.

Overall, I had a very difficult time getting through series 5 (or series 6 if we're counting the David Tennant Specials as a separate season). It was all jumbled with more contained episodes that had very little to do with characterization than all previous series combined.

As I said, I did enjoy River Song, she's got enough character to make up for the lack of it from both Any (and Rory who I find so inept and utterly forgettable and is it any wonder Amy forgot him?) and the Doctor. Plus she makes me laugh. The Lodger was funny in a I've forgotten every single moment of my previous lives way and The Pandorica Opens featured River again so automatically made it excellent. I say automatically, but it really was excellent on its own terms.

Like really excellent in a WOW this is why I love science fiction and Doctor Who way. Even if the 2nd part Big Bang ruined every fantastic, wonderful point Pandorica Opens made. I can't even begin to describe the continuity issues, plot creators, and paradoxes inherent in that finale.

Onto Series 6 where I understand it to be a "timey-wimey, headache inducing, I must watch this again before the 50th Anniversary and hope it makes sense". This is a quote from my cousin. I promised I'd watch Series 6 with her so we could discuss, analyze, dissect, and hope for the best!

#Review Doctor Who 10th Doctor Specials #SaveTheDay

There were 3 specials:

The Planet of the Dead which could be skipped. It had really great and funny moments between the Doctor and UNIT, contrary to his normal interactions with them in his 10th incarnation. But I hated the ending and thought it took away from the Doctor's character. It really just didn't mesh with what the character arc we've already seen. Plus I really didn't like Lady Christina.

Waters of Mars. Excellent, oh just fantastic. This is also a very dark episode, very very dark and it's so well done. The Doctor is alone and certainly not at his best. His choice? Change the history (future) of Earth and hence the entire solar system, galaxy, and universe...or watch people die. He's helpless. This isn't the first time he's had to make that choice but it's significant in that he has no companion to show him another way--that choice he continually speaks of. And words....every word Russell T. Davis chooses for the Doctor is deliberate. But then they usually are.

What would you do? Better yet, would you be able to watch it happen? Or would you succumb and try to change things knowing the consequences?

The End of Time

I stayed up until nearly 1am watching this because once you start there's just no stopping!

First I have to ask: What's with these mothers? Every single one of them is a self-serving harpy with no respect for their daughter or said daughter's choices. "I don't want you to do that so I'm going to tell you I'm going to be all alone and you must stay with me." Jackie Tyler, Francine Jones, and Sylvia Noble all used their "I'm your mother" card to berate their daughter's choices, belittle their daughter for said choice, and go from being a concerned mother (which I'm not knocking) to a mother who'd rather their daughter never do anything and stay with them than experience life. I have very little respect for them.

The Master returns in another fantastic performance by John Simm. Love him! Even if there isn't any singing and dancing. Pity. The Master says something there that makes me think it's really about the whole Who-verse. Not just him, not just that incarnation or regeneration, but the Doctor. Very specifically the Doctor. When I say Mr. Davis doesn't use words arbitrary? Totally meant it.

"This body was born out of death. All it can do is die." (End of Time part 2)

Got me thinking. The Ninth Doctor was born from war and died for love. The Tenth Doctor was born from love and sacrifice. What did he die for? The first thing the Tenth Doctor saw was Rose (The Parting of the Ways) and the last thing he saw was Rose (End of Time part 2). He died for love, hope, friendship, yes. But most of all his belief in himself, in right and wrong, and in the choices he's made. He can't change the past, he knows this, accepts this (sorta), it's his Prime Directive (kinda), but still...still. What if?

There's always a choice. Except when it's the end and there isn't. There really isn't.

What does that make the Eleventh Doctor? He's born from sacrifice and hopelessness. Makes me wonder what kind of man he's going to be.

This also marked the end of Russell T. Davis tenure at Doctor Who. I'll miss him, his way with words, his sneaky little plot points, his understanding of both the Doctor and the companions who help the Doctor along in his journey. Mr. Davis, you're a master, a true master. The threads you weave throughout each season and multiple seasons is unparalleled.

Oh...and your ability to make me cry. I'd hate you for that, but it isn't often a TV show can make me teary-eyed let along cry. You've managed it in the finales of Series 1, 2, 4, and The End of Time. If we say these were 5 series, then you aren't doing bad, 4 of 5 endings really got to me. Not that I didn't love the end of Series 3, the end with David Tennant and John Simm was exceptional. Because who else but the Master can pull off the crazed evil of dancing and singing his way through the finale?

As I said...phenomenal.

#Review Doctor Who Series 4 #SaveTheDay

Oh, where to begin. Where oh where...Christmas Special! Voyage of the Damned was the Christmas Special where the Doctor didn't have a companion but a space ship replication of the Titanic rammed through the TARDIS. They never did explain how that happened or how the TARDIS was fixed. I watched it, didn't have to, probably won't rewatch it.

Let's skip ahead. Donna Noble.

The overall arc wasn't about the Doctor (though it was, it really was) but more about Donna. His best friend, the woman who brought him back from the brink and gave him nothing but friendship to heal him and help him.

I really like Donna, she's brash, loud (really loud!), and forceful. And her journey is one to watch and love. Every companion who travels with the Doctor changes in some way. Rose found love with the Doctor and her compassion for others helped the Ninth Doctor change from a warrior to lover. Jack found his way from flitting (or flirting) through space and conning everyone and everything he could into a true hero--who looked great in just about everything. Or nothing. Martha found a sense of self-worth and courage she needed to be more than she'd imagined--she moved from grasping at her own imaginings and a slim hope at something with the Doctor to making her own life.

Donna is a tragic figure. She regretted her decision not to travel with the Doctor after her farce of a wedding in Runaway Bride and searched for him. She's still loud, still brash, and heaven help anyone who crosses her, but by the 2-part finale The Stolen Earth and Journey's End, she knows her own worth and how to use that to help. Mostly the Doctor, because that's what best friends do.

Her ending as a companion really was beautiful in a hopeless, heartbreaking, and utterly fitting kind of way.

Now then, The Doctor himself...there are hints at stories to come, at friendship and love and a future where he's not alone. Which is good, because he's lousy at being on his own. Makes too many mistakes, forgets why he's traveling and exploring in the first place, and why he visits and not just hides away and watches from the shadows.

There are hints at hope, even when he's absolutely crushed and saying goodbye.

The final episode is aptly titled: Journey's End. I feel they rushed the 2-part finale; better to have skipped  Midnight (though it was a fascinating character study) and had the order be Turn Left (excellent story! Just...wow), then a 3-part finale.

Still, this was truly a goodbye. There's no one left. They've chosen different lives (Jack, Mickey, Martha, and Sarah Jane) or a life the Doctor has chosen for them for other reasons (Rose). And Donna. Oh, Donna. So important and yet so unconvinced she's worth anything at all. Your potential was finally reached, finally seen, and then...the end.

Once more a Doctor Who finale had the ability to make me cry. Excellent writing, excellent acting, and excellent...goodbyes. *sniffle*

#Review Doctor Who Series 3 #SaveTheDay

Running. Not in the let's go for a run or even let's run from the bad guys who are trying to kill us for a wide variety of reasons and/or turn us into pick-your-creature. Running from...that's the theme of Series 3, of all of them actually. Running.

It's the first word the Doctor uttered in this new series, the very first word we hear out of him in Series 1's Rose. "Run!" And he hasn't stopped since.

The Doctor is running and he's so damn good at it he can't stop. Or doesn't want to. Or both.

Sometimes I think he's running in search of something, but it's so elusive and so evanescent, so fleeting, that the Doctor can't grasp it. But it's not. He thinks he is, thinks he's running in search of something, but he's not. He's always running away.

And it's heartbreaking to watch.

I didn't really mind Martha, she's a decent transition from Rose and all those messy (human) emotions between Rose and the Doctor which were so fantastic to watch grow. But she lacks a quality about her that makes her more than a mere audience tool to see the universe through new and wondrous eyes.

That and she so clearly hopes for more despite not getting it. No idea where the sudden I'm in love/lust with him came from when he was so clearly grieving Rose, but Martha grabbed that single emotion and held tight. Shame. I think she did deserve better, in fact, she did deserve better and should've had more confidence to grab for something more.

All in all, not my favorite season, but the overall arc was great! And those last 3 episodes of the season totally rocked. If you've seen this season, tell me you didn't totally crack up and rewind that part with the Master singing.

Don't get me wrong, but the individual episodes were weak. Though the first episode (Christmas Special: Runaway Bride) introduces Donna Noble and isn't a Martha episode, it's so important to the Doctor. Because running doesn't leave behind those things you're running from. They're always right there, haunting you.

A freaky, terrifying episode, Blink, features in just about everyone's nightmares and Captain Jack returns! Because who doesn't love Jack Harnkess?

#Review Doctor Who Series 2 #SaveTheDay

So, Series 2 of Doctor Who. I admit, after the heartbreaking ending of Series 1, I needed a couple days to continue on. Am I glad I did. Before I sat down and watched Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor, David Tennant was my favorite; he's still the crazy, talkative Doctor I love but now I see so, so much more after watching and emphasizing with the Ninth Doctor. (And if you haven't seen David Tennant in Spies of Warsaw, do so. The Alan Furst book is fantastic and I think the adaption wasn't bad in bringing the book to life as a miniseries.)

Yes, the regeneration is a tad jarring, but overall Mr. Tennant embodies a slightly lighter but just as damaged Doctor. With crazy hair (and new teeth). The relationship between Rose and the Doctor evolves to a heartbreaking conclusion. Thanks, guys, for ripping my heart out twice in 2 seasons! Sheesh.

But the overall arcs are excellent as always, the supporting cast adds an emotional layer that make this more than a science fiction show where things blow up and aliens run amok. Which is actually what I love most about Doctor Who--the fact that the day can be saved without a Rock/Bruce Willis-type swooping in to save the day with the obligatory 5 explosions per minute.

Though something usually does go boom.

In the end, it's the characters that make this work. Characters and a deeply entrenched need to do better, be better, and heal the wounds of war and loneliness. Most especially loneliness, a theme we see revisited over and over, not just in Classic Who companions (School Reunion with Sarah Jane Smith) but in both Rose and the Doctor--together and separately.

#Review: Doctor Who Series 1 #SaveTheDay

Background: I used to watch Doctor Who on PBS reruns ages ago with my mom. Don't remember too much about it, but I remember enjoying it. Gotta love a man who can travel through time and space in a police box that's bigger on the inside. I mean how cool is that?

Then they rebooted it. Or I guess continued it but for a new century and a new audience. I admit, I didn't watch it when it first premiered. Didn't like the doctor, didn't like the reboot, wasn't going to watch it, blah blah blah.

Then my cousin started watching it and insisted I do as well. I resisted. For a long time. Then I gave in. Oh, wow, am I glad I did! All my grousing about not liking that first Doctor? I totally and unreservedly take it all back! Christopher Eccleston, I've done you a great disservice. (And wow, what great eyes!)

To say I watched all of Series 1 in record time is a bit of an understatement. You have to watch it all, there are so many things that come out it's amazing I resisted as long as I did. And I'm amazed that so many others feel as I once did that this Ninth Doctor isn't the best. Yes. Yes he is. And there are many reasons he's like he is and they make me love him more.

It's become a bit of an obsession really.

I've read up on all the past Doctor. Who episodes thanks to a fantastic (*G*) Wikia page and really find it a shame this Doctor's regeneration wasn't in more seasons. I think they could have done so much with the damaged character he was.

So, the review: Fantastic! Utterly fantastic!

If you like science fiction with a maniacal, time traveling, world hopping, genius with a dead sexy accent and a way of finding trouble and saving the world, then this is the show for you. Series 1 not only delves into the history of Doctor Who but also a new era, a new man so to speak, and all the scars and damage he has from a past that's only hinted at. Mr. Eccleston did a great job in portraying a classic Doctor as well as the more flawed aspects of this new and fascinating Doctor.

A lot of people I've recently talked to about my Doctor Who obsession also don't like Rose. I don't see why not. She may have been a shop girl who worked in a retail store, but she had class and spunk. She's observant and selfless and doesn't take a back seat when there's lives (including hers and the Doctor's) to be saving. She's compassionate and yes, naive, but she also holds the qualities of an Every-Woman. The 'normal' woman with the chance to do things the rest of us only dream of. And she acts like we hope we can in those sorts of situations.

Captain Jack Harkness...yum. Now I watched Torchwood at least Miracle Day, and frankly was always a tad confused. So many things are cleared up. But if you haven't watched Torchwood yet, definitely do so but only watching Doctor Who.

All in all, a definite watch. Sure, there are crazy aliens all dressed up in blue or flying out of the sky, but as with the best of science fiction, those are the metaphors for life. The life here on Planet Earth where good, bad, and grey exist along with the rest of us.

Seduction of my Proper Wife #review

This is from the beginning of the year but I just saw it now from Confessions From Romahollics

The erotic encounter between Aria and Lillian is very well narrated, and the ménage-a-trois with Philip makes for a very, very hot story. This love-ménage story is beautiful and sexy played out in an exotic Middle Eastern enclave in the heart of Paris, the city of love. Kristable Reed, the author, has a very good style and she has a good narrative rhythm.

Blurb:
 Philip Thornton adored his new bride but found she was frigid in their marriage bed.

Lillian did not know how to ease her fear of the bed until she was freed from her past.

Aria was paid to educate and entice, but what she found was more than she ever dreamed possible.

The Parisian Exposition of 1889...the world is changing and the three of them are caught in its whirl. Philip and Lillian went to Paris to save their marriage and to help Lillian overcome her fears. Aria danced and seduced Lillian, but before Lillian left, Aria found herself seduced, in turn, by the beautiful Englishwoman.

When Philip and Lillian break all the rules and escort Aria around Paris for a week, will it be the beginning of their future? Or will this seductive interlude be nothing more than a dream?

 Where to buy:
All Romance
Amazon
Amazon UK
Amazon Canada
Barnes and Noble
Kobo

Theo Rogers and How to get Good Reviews on Amazon

About the Author:
Theo Rogers combines years of coalface experience on Amazon's website with formal training and qualifications in a range of business and social science disciplines. He's spent literally thousands of hours talking with Amazon reviewers, getting inside their heads, and learning what makes them tick. He's spent almost as many hours observing the carnage that so often takes place on Amazon's forums. In the process he's developed a deep insider's knowledge of the reviewing subculture that's grown up on Amazon's website.

He's also seen a lot of authors and other would-be sellers make the same mistakes in their dealings with that subculture - over and over again. As a result of his experiences, Theo has come to believe that yes, there is a simple formula that works: a way of dealing with reviewers that's honest, powerful, and extremely effective at winning reviewers over, getting them on your side, and making them actually want to help you. https://www.facebook.com/TheTheoRogers

Theo will be awarding $100 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour through a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blurb:  

How To Get Good Reviews On Amazon is a simple, no-nonsense guide that teaches exactly what it says it does. Based on both psychological science and thousands of hours of conversation with some of Amazon’s top reviewers, it takes you behind the scenes into the reviewing subculture that has grown up on Amazon’s website. It gives you a deep, insider’s knowledge of how the top reviewers think and operate. It not only shows you what to do: it takes you inside the reviewers’ heads so that you can see for yourself both how these techniques work and why they’re so effective.

Lessons include:

·         A simple, four-part formula for writing emails that get your work reviewed.

·         Three things never to say when communicating with reviewers!

·         How to pick reviewers who are more likely to give you a good review.

·         How to reduce the chance that a reviewer you contact will post a bad review – even if it turns out they don’t like your work!

·         How people get caught out when receiving reviews from friends and family.

This book teaches an honest, straightforward approach that works. It works because it’s not based gimmicks or tricks but on a real understanding of how Amazon reviewers operate: most of all on what they expect from authors and other sellers. If you want to know how to talk to Amazon reviewers in a way that will make them respect you as a professional and see you as the kind of seller they actually want to help, this is the book for you. 

Excerpt:

One of the most fundamental ideas in this booklet is that there’s a definite reviewing subculture that has grown up on Amazon’s website. Like any culture, it has its own particular values and mores: its own ideas about what’s right and what’s wrong. When we come to the issue of shill reviews, we collide headlong with the values of the reviewing culture. As you might expect, most reviewers see shills – and the sellers who use them – as very, very wrong.

Because this section is all about values, I think it’s important to stress that I’m writing here as your guide to Amazon’s reviewing subculture. I’m not writing as a missionary on its behalf.

Simply put, I believe that your journey through the Amazon Jungle will be smoother, easier, and more successful if along the way you’re respectful of the values of the natives who dwell there. For that reason, I’m going to lay out for you some of the more commonly held tenants: the basic beliefs that most of the natives would hold to. It’s not for me to tell you whether you should embrace these values to the core of your being and make them your own. I’m just telling you that as a matter of pure pragmatism, you are going to make trouble for yourself if you ignore them.

Buy Links:
Amazon
Amazon Canada

@RegansReview and her new release Against the Wind #bookreview

About the Author:

As a child Regan Walker loved to write stories, particularly about adventure-loving girls, but by the time she got to college more serious pursuits took priority. One of her professors thought her suited to the profession of law, and Regan realized it would be better to be a hammer than a nail. Years of serving clients in private practice and several stints in high levels of government gave her a love of international travel and a feel for the demands of the “Crown” on its subjects. Hence her romance novels often involve a demanding Prince Regent who thinks of his subjects as his private talent pool.

Regan lives in San Diego with her golden retriever, Link, whom she says inspires her every day to relax and smell the roses.

·  website: www.reganwalkerauthor.com/

·  blog: reganromancereview.blogspot.com/

·  twitter: @RegansReview

 

Regan will be awarding either Racing with the Wind OR Lunchbox Romances that tie into the triology,The Holly and the Thistle and The Shamrock and the Rose (winner's choice) to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. 

Blurb:

A night in London’s most exclusive bordello. Agent of the Crown Sir Martin Powell would not normally indulge, but the end of his time spying against Napoleon deserves a victory celebration. Yet, such pleasure will not come cheap. The auburn-haired courtesan he calls “Kitten” is in truth Katherine, Lady Egerton, a dowager baroness and the daughter of an earl as elusive as she is alluring. She flees a fate worse than death. But Martin has known darkness, too, and he alone can touch her heart—as she has touched his. To the English Midlands they will steal, into the rising winds of revolution.

Review:

 The Good:
Talk about research! I loved this book, it had everything in a Regency I could want. The research was fantastic, the characters real, and the plot cohesive. Bravo on all parts!

The Bad:
Well, let's see...hmm, no. I mean sure there were themes I'd just read in a (very poor) Jane Feather novel but Ms. Walker outpaces Ms. Feather's recent works.

The Bottom Line:
Want a non-traditional Regency with all the traditional Regency elements? Yeah, me, too. Want a little intrigue, a little spying, a little smart heroine with that mix? And a hunky hero? Mix it all together with steamy sex and we have an exceptional Regency. If you said yes, then we have similar tastes in Regencies!

5 stars--I've now found a new author to add to my list. And I'll need to go back and read Racing the Wind.

Excerpt:
“Is making love something you do not wish to do?” he said. “As I recall, you seemed to enjoy it as much as I did.” Then, more tenderly: “Besides, I have missed you, Kitten.”

“No…I cannot. I am not your…your…” She could not bring herself to say the word. Their one night together had been a wonderful, amazing, and yes, passionate experience, but it could never happen again. She had escaped for one dreadful night into a dream. Into his arms. As much as she wanted those around her again, wanted to lie with him, she could not allow it. This was not who she was. Not who she was raised to be.

Placing his hands on her waist, he pulled her against him. The heat from his broad chest overwhelmed her as she stared into indigo eyes now stormy with desire. “You opened a door, Kitten, I’m unwilling to close.” 

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