Austenland by Shannon Hale
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~*~Appetizer~*~
For the Jane Austen Fans out there.
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction with Romantic Elements
Heat Level: Mild - heavy kissing but no sex.

Austenland by Shannon Hale was a fun read. 

You follow Jane, a graphic artist whose love life sucks because she's stuck on the ideal of Mr. Darcy. Not just any Mr. Darcy but the one depicted by Colin Firth in BBC's adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. 

Thirty-three years old, still single with no boyfriend in sight, she's left a vacation by a great-aunt she barely knew to Regency-themed Penbrook Park, a place filled with actors helping their guests feel as though they are living in a Jane Austen novel.

Jane hopes that living at Penbrook for the next three weeks will help her kick her Mr. Darcy obsession forever. 

The problem is that part of being in a Jane Austen novel is the romance and so actors are hired to woo the women Regency-style - no touching - and give them a romance filled weekend. Lines start to blur and Jane isn't sure what's real and what's acting.

This was a really fun read. Nice and light and perfect for Jane Austen fans.

I started reading this book because I'd seen the movie and the book definitely gets more in-dept with the characters. I feel if you like Jane Austen, you'll like this book. I'm a real Pride and Prejudice fan myself and it had me not only wanting to reread the classic novel but watch Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy.
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Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
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~*~Savory Selections
via Kids Menu~*~
A Young Adult Novel worth sinking your teeth into
Genre:  Paranormal
Heat Level:  A dash of spice.

So the other night I rented the movie Vampire Academy. I'll admit, I never picked up the book because, let's face it, there are a ton of vampire teen books out there and I sort of just got burnt out. Sad, but true. I'm one of those people who think, "Oh, God, not another Vampire YA..."

However, the trailer for the movie looked interested so I'm like, "I can spend a $1.25 at Redbox and give two hours of my life to it. Check it out."

Now the movie was good but not great. Having not read the book, I found a lot of things very confusing. Like who the hell that third girl who suddenly showed up was. It wasn't until the freaking end I figured out she was the old guy's daughter when she gives Rose a necklace.

But I liked it enough that I decided to pick up the book... which ended up being really good.

Yes, there are lots of books out there with teen girls in a magical school of some sort, a ton of books about vampires, and even quite a few books about teen vampires attending a magical school. What Richelle Mead does here is different.

She sets up the species, sets up her own mythology behind them - using a lot of ancient legends others don't touch, even sets up her own religion. 

The story was solid, a great introduction to her world. But I think what I like best is what she does with her characters.

In many YA's you have the girls who don't have sex, never use drugs, never drink, think everyone who does it is stupid, etc. We have that because, as a society, that's what we want our youth to be like. We want them to be perfect.

In this book we follow Rose Hathaway, a seventeen year old Dhampir, who is in training to be a bodyguard to her best friend, Lissa Dragomir, a Moroi princess. Most Dhampirs - half-humans, half Moroi hybrids - dedicate their lives to protecting the Moroi - vampire-like beings who are not immortal. This is because Moroi are the only beings Dhampirs can mate with. You also have the Strigoi, who are the evil undead immortal vampires that we are more familiar with.

What I love about this is Rose, before she ran away from the Acadmey, use to be a real party girl. She use to drink, smoke weed, etc. But she stopped, she came back from that. For me, that's a great role model. Showing that just because you use to do bad things, doesn't make you a bad person.

Now during the book she threatens to revert back after she's brought back to the academy but that's normal too.

Lissa has her own mental issues that have to do with her strange abilities to heal.

I like this because these are flawed girls that people can understand. They have issues they're trying to overcome and it really did remind me of high school in that trying to find your own path sort of way.

Rose even starts to fall for her hot instructor who is seven years older than she is. Instead of just trying to seduce him, she fights it, not liking their age difference. So does he.

I mean, the book just had a lot of elements I loved and I'm looking forward to starting the first one.

Because of some of the mature content of it, while its technically YA and thus goes on the Kids Menu, it has some adult themes and I just feel it really belongs on the Savory Selection.

Either way, give the book a try. Let me know what you think!
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Fabulous Paranormal Titles to Check Out!
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Every year, FF&P - Fantasy, Futuristic, & Paranormal chapter of Romance Writers of America - has a writers conference just for books within their genre. The Prism Awards. Below are the 2014 finalists for this fabulous award.

What does this mean for you? A chef special menu of fabulous reads in the theme of Fantasy and Paranormal Romance! Enjoy.

The Prism Awards - 2014 Finalists

Dark Paranormal (includes Urban Fantasy)

For the Love of a Goblin Warrior by Shona Husk

South of Surrender by Laura Kaye

Storm Force by Susannah Sandlin

Tangled Souls by Jana Oliver

Erotic Romance

Edge of Night by Crystal Jordan

Lust Eternal by Sabrina York

Masque by Lexi Post

Fantasy

A Soul for Vengeance by Crista McHugh

Rogue's Possession by Jeffe Kennedy

Spy's Honor by Amy Raby

Futuristic

Caught in Amber by Cathy Pegau

Deep Deception by Cathy Pegau

Something New Under the Sun by L.A. Witt

The Cat Star Chronicles: Wildcat by Cheryl Brooks

Light Paranormal (including Urban Fantasy)

Fire of the Dragon by Lori Dillon


Immortal Ever After by Angie Fox

Sunroper by Natalie J. Damschroder

Wildfire: A Paranormal Mystery with Cowboys and Dragons by Mina Khan

Novella

Sing for the Dead by P.J. Schnyder

Taken by the Vampire King by Laura Kaye

Tame the Storm by Ella Drake

Young Adult

Briar Rose by Jana Oliver

Hero by Alethea Kontis

Spark:  Feyguard Book 1 by Anthea Sharp
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No Good Duke Goes Unpunished by Sarah MacLean
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~*~Savory Selections~*~
Genre:  Historical Romance
Heat Level:  Spicy but perhaps not as much as the other two books.

Okay, I admit it. I think I've become completely addicted to Sarah MacLean's Rule of Scoundrels series and No Good Duke Goes Unpunished is no different.

Here you have Temple, the Killer Duke, who isn't sure if he is or is not a killer. He's lived twelve years not knowing if he killed his father's young to-be bride, Mara Low. Until the girl shows up at his townhouse to plea for her brother's money back.

While Mara is set up as a woman to hate, I actually rather liked her. She made a mistake - a very big mistake - a mistake of a foolish young girl. She hadn't meant to set Temple up for her murder but once the die was cast, she didn't know how to call it back.

Now she's a Governess for a school of orphaned boys with a pig named Lavender.

Mara makes some mistakes in the book just as she did with her past but I'm okay with that because I like characters who make mistakes.



I really enjoyed watching the story unfold between Temple and Mara. The conflict is fabulous.

I will say - and this is WITHOUT spoilers - that the major plot twist at the end made my jaw drop and I want Chase's book - the final book of the series - so badly I can't stand it! It broke my brain and then I had to go back and look at all the books again to search for clues. I'm very excited for the final book to say the least.

To placate myself for the time being, I am going to have to go read Love by Numbers in the meantime. Same world, set about twelve years or so before these books.
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One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MacLean
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~*~Savory Selections~*~
Smart Girl Seeks Seduction
Genre:  Historical Romance
Heat Level:  Spicy. Lots of fabulous sexual tension.

One Good Earl Deserves a Lover is the second book in the Rules for Scoundrels series by Sarah MacLean.

I had to say I quite enjoyed this book. Pippa, our heroine, is a very odd girl, a fact she is well aware of. She's very smart and finds comfort in science and not frivolity. She doesn't understand love or its appeal whatsoever. 

Despite the fact she is blonde, I cannot help but envision her as looking like a human form of Jeanette from the Chipettes. That's a good thing. lol

Engaged to a very nice but dim man, Pippa is sort of freaking out at the beginning of the book. She doesn't fully understand the vows and isn't comfortable enough going to her sisters for advice. The one she's closest to spouts on about love (Penelope from the first book) and she's just not that close to the others. So, instead, she seeks out the advice of a notorious scoundrel and good friend of her brother-in-law (from book one), the brilliant Cross. 



Cross has his own problems and having his friend's little sister-in-law show up in his office while he's asleep just isn't something he is equip to deal with.

I read this book a week ago and his character still lingers with me. I have such a book crush on this guy. He is tall, lanky, and has red hair. Love that. He's also brilliant.

He's trying to deal with his sister's husband's debts while at the same time trying to fight his attraction to the very much engaged Pippa.

While some of the plot twists didn't fully answer my questions, I did fully enjoy this book. I like how Pippa seems so very socially unaware and spontaneous. While she is book brilliant, there are still things she doesn't know and it freaks her out - things to do with the marriage bed.

Cross is just fabulous. Such a book crush!

I'm looking forward to checking out the next book of the series but I have no idea how Temple will live up to Cross for me. ;)

I am not a person who does a lot of rereading, but this book is probably going on my to-read-again shelf.
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A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean
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~*~Savory Selections~*~
For those willing to wait for true love.
Genre:  Historical Romance
Heat Level:  Pretty hot. Lots of delicious sexual tension.

So I have a new favorite author and its all thanks to Noelle Pierce. I'm in charge of a big writing competition and one of the major deadlines were coming up, so I told her to name something fun for me to read. That I needed nothing that upped my stress level, just something to help me decompress at the end of the day.

She recommended One Good Earl Deserves Another by Sarah MacLean which is one of her all time favorites books. However, I noticed that there was a book before it in the Rules of Scoundrels series and I have to read books in order so I picked up A Rogue by Any Other Name first.

Let me just say... I lost a LOT of sleep because I couldn't put this book down.

You have our heroine, Penelope, who is twenty-eight years old and unmarried because of a broken engagement from eight years ago which scandalized her. She's also turned down other engagements because the man who broke it off for her did so because he wished to marry the woman he loved. Penelope wants more out of life. More than being the proper lady who becomes the proper wife, more than a life in a loveless marriage, more adventure.

When her father wins a particularly prime piece of real estate and attaches to Penelope's dowry, determined to get her married off, it looks like she'll get the adventure she's wanting. 

Our hero, Michael, Marquess of Bourne, lost his fortune at twenty-one in a game of chance and vowed revenge ever since. When his once childhood friend's father wins his land from the bastard who stole it from him and attaches it to her name, Michael kidnaps her with plans to ruin her and force her into marriage. He would have his inheritance back at any cost.

It's been nine years and since then he's amassed his own fortune and runs one of the most legendary gaming hells in London. All with his eye on revenge.

Penelope hasn't seen Michael in over nine years, since his ruination, but she's never stopped thinking about him. Always writing him letters, always putting flowers on his parents grave. When he shows up at her home one dark, cold night, she's happy to see him until she realizes just how much he's let his bitterness take over his life. This is not the boy she once knew.

Knowing he is going to ruin her anyway, she strikes a deal. Michael insures that their scandalous marriage does not hamper her two younger sisters from making good matches on the marriage mart and she'd agree to marry him.

When Michael agrees, he does not know what he's signing up for:  A return to society, pretending to have made a love match, and a very tempting bride who wants adventures in his dark underworld.

But they begin to wonder what part of the marriage is farce and what is true.


This was a fabulous book that was almost painful to put down. When I did have to lay it aside and get work done, my mind was constantly one it. Well written, great tension, and just a fun read all around. Wonderful characters. I can't recommend this book enough.

As I read each little snippet of letter at the beginning of each chapter, I would smile. They were one of my favorite parts. And I always got a sense that, even if Penelope didn't realize it, the reason she kept turning down for proposals was she was waiting for Michael. 
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Say I Do by Lucy Kevin
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~*~Desserts~*~
Sweetly served with wedding cake
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Heat Level:  Mild & Sweet - No Sex, Closed Door

I'll be honest. I'm a sucker for wedding books. When I stumbled upon this three novella compilation, I had to get it.

Say I Do is the first book I ready by Lucy Kevin and made up of the first three books of her Four Weddings and a Fiasco series.


The first book is The Wedding Gift which follows struggling Chef Julie Delgado. She's had to close down her restaurant due to a bad review and has been thrown a bone by being allowed to cater at The Rose Chalet Bridal Venue, overlooking San Francisco Bay. 

Boy, she just can't cut a break because, wouldn't you know it? Her first - TRIAL - customer is the brother of the very celebrity chef who wrote her restaurant closing review:  Andrew Kyle.

This is a great foodie story with drama and self-discovery as Julie tries to figure out what she's doing wrong with her cooking that Andrew just doesn't like while Andrew tries to show Julie that she's not reaching for her full potential sticking with such safe recipes.


Phoebe Davis is the florist at the Rose Chalet Bridal venue. She also doesn't believe in love. All she wants is is a couple of fun dates without commitment. Those were her plans when she danced with a hot guest at Andrew Kyle's brother's wedding in the previous book. She thought the guy was cute and just in town for the wedding.

Joke's on her. He's the brother of one of the Chalet's workers and architect Patrick Knight has other designs in mind when he meets the beautiful florist. He's looking for a white picket fence life, just what Phoebe wants to avoid because those kind of relationships don't last, something she's learned from her mother's many marriages.

Patrick's looking for a girl who can get her hands dirty, he just has to prove to Phoebe he'll stick around for her.


Rose Chalet's DJ Tyce Smith never thought he'd see the beautiful Whitney Banning again after she ran off from their date after his concert. Five years later, she appears as a bridesmaid at the Chalet and he knows it must be fate, ugly bridesmaid dress and all.

Whitney, however, is engaged and her wedding is set for his venue just a few months from now. Tyce has to convince her that they're meant to be, but, what's more, that Whitney deserves to follow her dream of becoming a veterinarian rather than running her family's business.

That's a lot to do in a short period of time. Is he up for the challenge or will his song forever be unheard?


So these were really cute, light reads. Great for that wedding story itch. I'm looking forward to getting the compilation of the next three books!
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To Be Read - RITA Award 2014 Finalists
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Constantly on the look out for new books/authors? One great way to find them is to keep your eye on contest when they announce their finalists list. I'm always going to be bias toward Georgia Romance Writer's Maggie Awards but that could be because I'm in charge of it this year. ;)

While the finalists for the 2014 Maggies won't be announced until later this year, the Romance Writers of America's RITA Awards - the Oscars of Romance Writing - have released their list. These are the best of the best. All these books are published and available for purchase, so I encourage you to check them out!

Below I'm giving you the FULL list with book covers, sorted by category! Enjoy! Please be sure to come back and comment if you read any of these books. Let us know what you think!

Best First Book
These books are first sales, so brand new authors!
Note: This is the only category that the finalists can be found twice. Once here and once in their genre category.

Five Days in Skye by Carla Laureano
David C. Cook
John Blase and Tonya Osterhouse, Editors
Inspirational Romance

Fix You by Beck Anderson
Omnific Publishing
Jessica Royer Ocken and Cindy Robinson Campbell, editors
Contemporary Romance

Private Practice by Samanthe Beck
Entangled Publishing, Brazen
Heather Howland, Editor
Erotic Romance

Promise to Return by Elizabeth Byler Younts
Simon & Schuster, Howard Books
Beth Adams and Amanda Demastus, editors
Inspirational Romance

The Sweet Spot by Laura Drake
Grand Central Publishing, Forever
Latoya Smith, editor
Contemporary Romance

Contemporary Romance

Along Came Trouble by Ruthie Knox
Random House Group, Loveswept
Sue Grimshaw, editor

Beach House No. 9 by Christie Ridgway
Harlequin, HQN
Margo Lipschultz, editor

Country Roads by Nancy Herkness
Amazon Publishing, Montlake
Kelli Martin and JoVon Sotak, editors

Crazy Thing Called Love by Molly O'Keefe
Random House Group, Ballantine
Bantam Dell
Shauna Summers, editor

Fix You by Beck Anderson
Omnific Publishing
Jessica Royer Ocken and Cindy Robinson Campbell, editors
First Sale

Half Moon Hill by Toni Blake
HarperCollins Publishers, Avon Books
May Chen, Editor

Home to Whiskey Creek by Brenda Novak
Harlequin, MIRA
Paula Eykelhof, editor

Homecoming Ranch by Julia London
Amazon Publishing, Montlake
Maria Gomez, editor

It Had to Be You by Jill Shalvis
Grand Central Publishing
Alex Logan, editor

Letters to Nowhere by Julie Cross
Self-Published
Martha Trachtenberg, copyeditor

Rescued by a Stranger by Lizbeth Selvig
HarperCollins Publishers, Avon Impulse
Tessa Woodward, editor

Rumor Has It by Jill Shalvis
Berkley Publishing Group
Kate Seaver, editor

The Second Chance Cafe by Alison Kent
Amazon Publishing, Montlake
Lindsay Guzzardo, editor

Sleigh Bells in the Snow by Sarah Morgan
Harlequin, HQN
Flo Nicoll, editor

The Sweet Spot by Laura Drake
Grand Central Publishing, Forever
Latoya Smith, editor
First Sale

Talk of the Town by Beth Andrews
Harlequin, Superromance
Wanda Ottewell, editor

The Way You Look Tonight by Bella Andre
Self-Published
Shelley Bates, copyeditor

Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts
Penguin Group USA, G. P. Putnam's Sons
Leslie Gelbman, editor

Erotic Romance

Claim Me by J. Kenner
Random House Group, Bantam
Shauna Summers, editor

Private Practice by Samanthe Beck
Entangled Publishing, Brazen
Heather Howland, Editor
First Sale

When I'm Bad I'm Better
in It Stings So Sweet by Stephanie Darven
Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley Sensation
Cindy Hwang, editor

Historical Romance

Any Duchess Will Do by Tessa Dare
HarperCollins Publishers, Avon Books
Tessa Woodward, editor

The Autumn Bride by Anne Gracie
Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley Sensation
Wendy McCurdy, editor

The Chieftain's Curse by Frances Housden
Harlequin, MIRA
Kate Cuthbert, editor

The Countess Conspiracy by Courtney Milan
Self-Published
Robin Harders and Keira Soleore, editors

Darius by Grace Burrowes
Sourcebooks, Casablanca
Deb Werksman, editor

Dark Angel:  A Gothic Fairy Tale by T J Bennett
Entangled Publishing, Edge
Liz Pelletier and Shannon Godwin, editors

Duke of Midnight by Elizabeth Hoyt
Grand Central Publishing
Amy Pierpont, editor

The Lady and the Laird by Nicola Cornick
Harlequin, HQN
Ann Leslie Tuttle, editor

Love and Other Scandals by Caroline Linden
HarperCollins Publishers, Avon Books
Lyssa Keusch, Editor

The Luckiest Lady in London by Sherry Thomas
Berkley Publishing Group
Wendy McCurdy, editor

Never Desire a Duke by Lily Dalton
Grand Central Publishing, Forever
Michele Bidelspach, editor

No Good Duke Goes Unpunished by Sarah MacLean
HarperCollins Publishers, Avon Books
Carrie Feron, editor

Plaid Tidings by Mia Marlowe
Kensington Publishing Corp., Zebra
Alicia Condon, editor

A Rake's Midnight Kiss by Anna Campbell
Grand Central Publishing, Forever
Amy Pierpont, editor

The Rogue's Proposal by Jennifer Haymore
Grand Central Publishing, Forever
Selina McLemore, editor

Sins of a Ruthless Rogue by Anna Randol
HarperCollins Publishers, Avon Books
Tessa Woodward, editor

Sonata for a Scoundrel by Anthea Lawson
Self-Published

Inspirational Romance
Five Days in Skye by Carla Laureano
David C. Cook
John Blase and Tonya Osterhouse, Editors
First Sale

Promise to Return by Elizabeth Byler Younts
Simon & Schuster, Howard Books
Beth Adams and Amanda Demastus, editors
First Sale

 Paranormal Romance
The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas
HarperCollins Publishers, Balzer & Bray
Donna Bray, editor

Caged Warrior by Lindsey Piper
Pocket Books
Lauren McKenna, editor

Demon Hunting in a Dive Bar by Lexi George
Kensington Publishing Corp., Brava
Alicia Condon, editor

The Devil's Heart by Cathy Maxwell
HarperCollins Publishers, Avon Books
Lucia Marco, editor

Diamond Dust by Vivian Arend
Samhain Publishing
Anne Scott, editor

The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley
Sourcebooks, Landmark
Deb Werksman, editor

Heart of Obsidian by Nalini Singh
Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley Sensation
Cindy Hwang, editor

His Clockwork Canary by Beth Ciotta
Signet
Jhanteigh Kupihea, editor

Immortally Ever After by Angie Fox
St. Martin's Press
Monique Patterson, editor

Shadowdance by Kristen Callihan
Grand Central Publishing, Forever
Alex Logan, editor

Skies of Gold:  The Ether Chronicles by Zoe Archer
HarperCollins Publishers, Avon Impulse
Amanda Bergeron, editor

Teardrop by Lauren Kate
Random House Group, Delacorte
Tamar Schwartz, editor

Witch Bound by Eleri Stone
Carina Press
Gina Bernal, editor

Romance Navella
The Bridesmaid by Julia London
Sourcebooks, Casablanca
Deb Werksman, editor

Defending Truth by Shannon McNear
in A Pioneer Christmas
Barbour Publishing
Becky Germany, editor

How to Marry a Highlander by Katharine Ashe
HarperCollins Publishers, Avon Impulse
Lucia Marco, editor

How to Misbehave by Ruthie Knox
Random House Group, Loveswept
Sue Grimshaw, editor
Imagine Me and You by Maisey Yates
in Animal Attraction
Harlequin, HQN
Margo Lipschultz, editor

Mine Under the Mistletoe by Kat Latham
Carina Press
Angela James, editor

Take Me, Cowboy by Jane Porter
Tule Publishing, Montana Born Books
Tessa Shapcott, editor

Take What You Want by Jeanette Grey
Samhain Publishing
Jennifer Miller, editor

Too Fast to Fall by Victoria Dahl
in Be Mine
Harlequin, HQN
Tara Parsons, editor

Romantic Suspense
Justice for Sara by Erica Spindler
St. Martin's Press
Jennifer Weiss, editor

The Killing Game by Toni Anderson
Self-Published

Off the Edge by Carolyn Crane
Self-Published

Thrill Ride by Julie Ann Walker
Sourcebooks, Casablanca
Leah Hultenschmidt, editor

Short Contemporary Romance
A Conflict of Interest by Barbara Dunlop
Harlequin, Desire
Charles Griemsman, editor

Free Fall by Karen Foley
Harlequin, Blaze
Brenda Chin, editor

Her Accidental Boyfriend by Robin Bielman
Entangled Publishing, Bliss
Stacy Adams and Wendy Chen, editors

Her Secret, His Baby by Tanya Michaels
Harlequin, American Romance
Johanna Raisanen, editor

A Royal Without Rules by Caitlin Crews
Harlequin, Presents
Megan Haslam, editor

Why Resist a Rebel? by Leah Ashton
Harlequin KISS
Meg Lewis, editor

So there you have it! The fabulous lineup of romance novels of 2013 that made the cut for a chance at the coveted RITA Award! Go, get them, read them and watch www.rwa.org on the 26th of July for the winners.

Still want more authors to keep an eye on? The Golden Heart - the Unpublished version of the RITA Awards - list can be found here!
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