Showing posts with label Grand Central Publishing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grand Central Publishing. Show all posts
Sunday, October 9, 2011

Feature: Romance Novelist Eileen Dreyer - Blog Tour





ALWAYS A TEMPTRESS
By Eileen Dreyer
Series: Drake's Rakes #3
Available: Now
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction


His greatest battle is just beginning . . .

Captain Harry Lidge has done his duty. After losing too many good men on the battlefield, he's ready to put his responsibilities behind him and live a life free of care. But first he has one last mission: find out what the most outrageous woman in London, the same woman who betrayed him nearly a decade earlier, is concealing, before her secrets take down the crown.

Her heart is the only thing she won't risk . . . 

Surrounded by ardent admirers and a few loyal friends, Lady Kate Seaton glides through the ton on a confection of couture gowns and bon mots. No one suspects that beneath her lighthearted façade Kate hides a sorrow so scandalous she'll do anything to keep it hidden. But only when she trusts Harry with the truth and only when he trusts her with his heart can they stop the villains all too willing to kill Kate to attain their ultimate goal: destroy England.

Books in this series:


Eileen Dreyer on the web:



Friday, April 22, 2011

Review & Giveaway: Never a Gentleman by Eileen Dreyer



Title: Never a Gentleman
Series: The Drake’s Rakes #2
Author: Eileen Dreyer | Authors Website
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (Forever)
Available: Now
Genre: Historical Romance
Reading Level: Adult










Description from Goodreads:


HE HIDES HIS TRUE COLORS . . .

Miss Grace Fairchild is under no illusions about her charms. Painfully plain, she is a soldier's daughter who has spent her life being useful, not learning the treacherous ways of the ton.She may have been caught in a scandal with society's favorite rogue, but how can she marry him when it means losing herself?

WHILE SHE HIDES HER TRUE SELF . . .

Diccan Hilliard doesn't know which of his enemies drugged him and dumped him in Grace's bed, but he does know the outcome. He and Grace must marry. To his surprise, a wild, heady passion flares between them. Yet Diccan is trapped in a deadly game of intrigue Grace knows nothing about. Will his lies destroy Grace just as he realizes how desperately he needs her? And how can he hope for a future with her, when an old enemy has set his murderous sights on them both?


My thoughts:



Grace Fairchild is aptly nicknamed Little Colonel. Raised on the battlefield with her soldier father, she is selfless and continuously puts others needs before her own. Content to spend her life as a childless spinster until she wakes up in bed with Diccan Hilliard. It is apparent both Grace and Diccan were drugged, but in order to protect both of their names they decide to marry. Grace is upset to give up the dreams of a simple life on the land she inherited from her aunt. Diccan isn’t thrilled to be stuck with a wife when he prefers the life of a bachelor. They move to London where Grace with her bum leg and plain appearance faces ridicule and teasing. Diccan is wrapped up in political intrigue, and forced to shun his wife and take a mistress to protect her. Neither planned to have genuine feelings for each other, but find it happening regardless. 



I have such mixed feelings when it comes to Never a Gentleman. This was a very hard one to rate and review. I absolutely adore Eileen Dreyer’s style of writing. It is so descriptive and thoroughly captivating. She also creates such well developed characters. With that said, the plot took so many turns that I truly didn’t anticipate. I loved the political side and the tender moments witnessed between Grace and Diccan, but the situations he found himself in for his mission left a bad taste in my mouth. There was one scene in particular that made me especially uncomfortable. The author gave justifiable reasons for his mistreatment of Grace, but this wasn’t what I usually look for in a historical romance. 


I also discovered while reading that I don’t like to spend most of my time feeling pity for the main characters. Poor Grace was continuously made to feel ugly and worthless. She didn’t emanate the strength I’d expected from the “Little Colonel”. I even felt (a little) sorry for Diccan. He seemed sincerely remorseful for his behavior and I think he did an OK job of redeeming himself at least partially, but I really need more sigh worthy moments and warm fuzzies with my romance novels.

Even though the romantic elements weren’t what I had hoped for, there is still top-notch story telling in Never a Gentleman. The ending was also what I’d consider angsty perfection. I’ll definitely pick up the next book in the series which features my most favorite character, Kate. 


My Rating:




Eileen Dreyer on the web:


Win 1 of 3 copies of Never A Gentleman:

Rules:

Open to residents of the U.S & Canada
No P.O Boxes please
Winners are subject to the 1 copy per household rule
Books ship directly from publisher
Please fill out the form to enter
Comments are always appreciated, but will not count as an entry
Ends May 8th

Friday, September 10, 2010

Feature & Giveaway: Sin Undone by Larissa Ione









HER TOUCH IS DEADLY

As the only female Seminus demon ever born, master assassin Sinead Donnelly is used to being treated like an outcast. She spent decades enslaved, and now vows she'll die before she'll relinquish her freedom again. Then Sin's innate ability to kill her enemies goes awry: She creates a lethal new werewolf virus that sparks a firestorm of panic and violence. 

HIS HUNGER CAN'T BE DENIED

Half-werewolf, half-vampire Conall Dearghul is charged with bringing in Sin to face punishment for the plague. And she's no stranger: He's bound to her by blood, and the one sexual encounter they shared has left him hungering for her raw sensuality. Worse, Sin is the underworld's most wanted and Con soon learns he's the only one who can help her . . . and that saving her life might mean sacrificing his own.


Author Bio via Hachette Book Group:

I began writing the way so many writers do—the moment I learned to wield a pencil. But even as a child, I didn't write "kid" stories. I preferred something more dramatic. Something that didn't include Dick, Jane, and a dog named Spot. I wanted my characters to be named Dracula and my dogs to have names like White Fang or Cujo. I'll always have my parents to thank for that. They never censored my reading material (though I suspect that if they had truly known what was between the covers of some of the books, they'd have been a little more careful,) so when other girls my age were reading Laura Ingalls Wilder and Judy Blume, I was immersing myself in Stephen King and Dean Koontz.
Later, after I'd joined the Air Force and was in dire need of something to read between shifts at the weather station, I continued to read horror, but I'd branched out into fantasy, and then, finally, romance (though I admit I went kicking and screaming to the latter.)
Turned out that I loved romance! So I started writing it, but again, my style and voice leaned toward the dark, paranormal side. Fortunately for me, paranormal romance, as a sub-genre, was booming. I let my imagination fly, and soon I'd sold a series of dark, sexy paranormal romances to Grand Central Publishing.
I still read a lot of horror, science fiction, and fantasy, and in fact, one of my all time favorite books about writing is On Writing, by my favorite childhood horror author, Stephen King. If you're an author or a reader, I highly recommend this book for an insight into an author's mind—which can sometimes be a very scary place.
Go ahead; Seduce your dark side.

Larissa Ione on the web:


Fun Extras:


Books in this series:


Pleasure Unbound (Demonica, Book 1)Desire Unchained (Demonica, Book 2)Passion Unleashed (Demonica, Book 3)Ecstasy Unveiled (Demonica, Book 4)Sin Undone (Demonica, Book 5)


Giveaway Time!


I have 5 copies of Sin Undone up for grabs thanks to Anna with Hachette Book Group.

Rules:
Open to residents of the U.S & Canada
No P.O Boxes please
Book will ship directly from the publisher
Ends @ 11:59 P.M CST on September 30th
Please leave a comment to enter