Happy Halloween

The Taming of the Wolf by Lydia Dare (Guest Blog, Giveaway and Review)

Lydia Dare Guest Blog, Author of The Taming of the Wolf

There are two of us who make up the writing team of Lydia Dare, and as we sit on the cusp of our latest Regency Werewolf romance, The Taming of the Wolf, it seems only fitting for us to look back at where we began in this journey. Initially, we wanted to merge the paranormal world Tammy was writing about with the Regency era Jodie was writing about into one unique world. In doing so, we tossed around several ideas about various paranormal creatures and who we thought might be a good fit for the time period. Aristocratic wolves were born, and earlier this year we were thrilled with our debut Westfield Wolves trilogy – A Certain Wolfish Charm; Tall, Dark and Wolfish and The Wolf Next Door.


Four books later, we’re still writing about Regency Lycans, or werewolves, if you will. (But don’t say the “w” word around Simon, the oldest of the three Westfield brothers. It’s a bit of a slur and he’s been known to have a temper.) From the beginning, Aristocratic Lycans worked rather well with our plans. After all, the Regency gentleman has a reputation for being quite a rake. He’s powerful and commanding, and he is often growly and dark. So, casting a Regency nobleman as a Lycan seemed to be a perfect fit in blending our two worlds into one.


Of course, our Lycans only walk on four feet one day of the month, when the moon is full. The rest of the time, they live in polite society and no one is aware of their predisposition to grow a snout and fur. It’s a well-kept secret, who they are. But, as the moon waxes, their inner beasts come to the forefront. They get a little more lusty, a little more surly and they feel the need to take a mate as their very own. So, integrating a wolfish demeanor with a Regency gentleman is fairly easy and quite believable, and we had a lot of fun putting the traits of both beasts into one man.


With a Lycan’s exaggerated sense of smell, he can sense changes in people just by the way their bodies respond. He can smell fear, aggression, lust, and other body-changing emotions, but he can’t smell or hear love. Here, our heroes are completely in the dark. With their heightened sense of hearing, they are clued into subtle yet definable changes in someone’s heartbeat. He can hear insistent thrum of someone’s pulse when they’re excited, and he can hear the galloping beat of the heart when someone is afraid. Yet he has no way to differentiate between the various emotions. (Even Lycan men are clueless, at times…).


Keeping in mind the five senses --- Sight, hearing, feeling, smelling, and tasting, if you could have one sense that could be amplified, which would you prefer? Why?

Contest Time:  Answer the above question and leave your response along with your email addy to be entered to win one of two copies of The Taming of the Wolf by Lydia Dare.  Open to US and Canada only.  Thanks to Sourcebooks for this great contest.

THE TAMING OF THE WOLF BY LYDIA DARE—IN STORES NOVEMBER 2010

A fresh and imaginative world of noble werewolves, each of whom encounters nearly insurmountable problems in his quest to live a normal life among England’s Regency society.

Dashiel Thorpe has grown up with the sobriquet “The monster of Eynsford.” Each full moon, when he turns into a wild beast, he has been chained to the wall to protect those around him. He has never before encountered a creature like himself, until he goes to visit his university friend and encounters a family of Lycans living just next door.

When the full moon turns the pack of them into wolves, Dashiel’s feral ways bring him to near-disaster, and when he bites Caitrin McLeod he unknowingly sets off a chain of events that could lead to his ultimate destruction.

Banished to Scotland to find a mentor and get trained in how to be a proper werewolf, Dashiel must also find Caitrin and persuade her that she’s his only chance for salvation…

About the Author

Lydia Dare is the writing team of Tammy Falkner and Jodie Pearson. Both Tammy and Jodie are active members of the Heart of Carolina Romance Writers and live near Raleigh, North Carolina. They are working together on their next paranormal historical trilogy as Lydia Dare, which will be released by Sourcebooks Casablanca in 2011! For more information, please visit http://www.lydiadare.com/.

(Terra's Thoughts)  The Taming of the Wolf was a joy that I have patiently awaited and ever so glad it's finally here.  If you've enjoyed the previous books by Lydia Dare then this will not disappoint.  It's like coming home to a family reunion when a series of books comes as these have with characters you love, hate and love to hate.  LOL!

Caitrin Macleod is our heroine in this installment and oh my she is a fiery feisty Scot.  Having the power to for tell the future is a gift but unfortunately she doesn't see it that way for it can be a mighty curse when so many people are flooding your head at once when outside ones home.  She finds temporary relief in the least expected of areas and although it is a relief could it possibly be worth the cost?

Dashiel Thorpe, Earl of Brimsworth, has a bad habit of finding himself in bad situations.  He's under guard for his own safety when trouble comes to find him.  It's the full moon and oh how he wants to change into his alter form but alas it's not to be.  Even though he can't change doesn't keep him from sinking his teeth in for just a little nibble that will set off a chain of events that will test his wild nature to it's breaking point.  Who ever said that one taste would be enough!  :)

Our characters go from England to Scotland testing each others will and patience.  The friction is so electric that you can't help but feel as though your fingers are tingling as you turn each and every page.  Caitrin and Dashiel so different in so many ways but are truly both cut from the same cloth and oh what a weave that cloth is.

I tell you that I feel like this series is part of my family and each time I read about another hero and heroine I feel like it should involve me personally.  I love to sink my teeth in and enjoy something so light and enjoyable that it makes reality worth dealing with inbetween.

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca; Original edition (November 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1402244371
ISBN-13: 978-1402244377

Winner of Seducing the Duchess by Ashley March

*Jane

Please send your snail mail info to terraontop57 at yahoo dot com. You have seven (7) days to claim your prize or it will go to someone else. Congrats to our winner and I hope you enjoy your prize!

Hi Ashley and Welcome to Yankee Romance Reviewers. Your book Seducing the Duchess was quite a different take on women of the past. I so enjoyed the cat and mouse you played with your characters and OMG you made our heroine such a little shit with a spitfire temper and more strength of will and fight than most men.


Could you please give us 10 good reasons why our heroine should even contemplate being seduced by a man who not only has wronged her but whom she also totally hates?


Thanks for having me, Terra! With so many reasons for Charlotte to hate Philip, I better make these great…


Reason number 10: He looks quite a lot like Clive Owen. Perhaps this should count for five reasons. =)

Reason number 9: He disarms her, when she is determined not to let down her guard, by giving her presents. Not the least of which is a harp along with tutoring lessons, so that she can fulfill her childhood dream of learning to play the instrument. It almost appears as if he could be thoughtful.

Reason number 8: He apologizes and says he wants her forgiveness, when she has never heard him apologize for anything before.

Reason number 7: He allows her to see his vulnerability in regard to his family, when she previously believed he adored his grandfather. Though she tries to remain immune, his vulnerability softens her view of him.

Reason number 6: He tells her he hasn’t had a mistress in six months. She’s not impressed at all, but still…a part of her can’t help wondering, and perhaps hoping…

Reason number 5: As she plays the temptress in an attempt to control their relationship, she finds that each touch and seductive word work against her. To her surprise, her attraction to him hasn’t waned at all in the past three years of their marriage. She wants him, she desires him, despite everything.

Reason number 4: He writes a poem for her. And it’s terrible. He nearly even blushes when she reads it. The fact that Philip—self-controlled, arrogant, Philip—would chance such humiliation and embarrassment for her is amazing, bewildering…and yes, also endearing.

Reason number 3: He tells her he loves her. Not at the beginning, when she wouldn’t have believed him, anyway, but toward the end, when she has no other reason to stay and he has no other reason to keep her. It appears their relationship has run its course, but then he says it. And something in his eyes and in his voice—the way his ducal mask slips from his countenance, showing how truly wretched he is—takes her breath away. In a moment of vulnerability, she allows a small part of herself to believe he might be speaking the truth.

Reason number 2: She can see he is attempting to change. It begins with small steps—acting courteous and charming, trying to help her reconcile with her family—then leads to larger steps (sorry, no spoilers!) which make it appear that even if he can’t have her, he no longer wants to be the man he once was.


Reason number 1: Despite her outrageous acts and tendency to provoke Philip, beneath her anger and bitterness and strength and independence, she still loves Philip. Reluctantly so, to the point that she has a difficult time admitting it even to herself. And she won’t make it easy for him to win her back—he must prove himself to her—but in the end, her love is stronger than anything else, including her previous hatred of the man who betrayed her.


If you were our heroine Charlotte, which one of the reasons you have listed would be the most important to you in making a decision that could make or break you physically, emotionally and socially?


Reason number 1: the fact that I was still in love with him. If I didn’t feel anything for him at all, nothing he could do would break me. My heart would be hardened, and even my hatred would have turned into apathy. But I wrote this book on the premise that Philip and Charlotte are meant to be together—they are each other’s one true love—and despite all the failures and mistakes made in the past, their love is able to heal their wounds, make their marriage stronger, and give them a happily-ever-after.


I’d love to hear what others think, though. If the person you once loved betrayed you, what one reason would convince you to take them back? One random commenter will win a copy of my debut novel, SEDUCING THE DUCHESS, and get a chance to see exactly how Philip works to win Charlotte’s heart again (open to both US and international residents).

Seducing the Duchess by Ashley March (Terra's Review)

After three years of ignoring her, Philip Burgess, the Duke of Rutherford, realizes he wants his wife, Charlotte, back. The problem is that Charlotte doesn’t seem to want to Phillip back, as evidenced by her scandalous behavior and repeated requests for a divorce. Of course, when Phillip finally does offer to grant Charlotte the divorce she so desperately desires, she is somewhat suspicious, especially since the offer comes with a condition. Phillip wants Charlotte to “teach” him how to be a better husband, supposedly so that he can successfully court his former fiancée, Lady Joanna Grey. What Charlotte doesn’t know is that the lessons are really a ruse, a way for Phillip to win back the only woman he truly loves: his wife.


(Terra's Thoughts)  I found this book addicting and thoroughly delicious.  Our debut author has herself a great start in the right direction with a book that will make you enjoy all the little tastes of seduction and romance with a flair for licking your fingers.


Charlotte, Duchess of Rutherford has been married to her husband three long years.  She marrying for love has heartbreak right from the onset with the louse and so our dear Charlotte becomes quite creative at the old phrase, "Payback is a bitch"! 


Lucky for Charlotte she is a raving beauty, lucky for her that she can have any and every male begging at her feet for just a little bit of what she has to offer. 


She has developed a shell hard as steel but what will it take for her husband to be able to make just a tiny crack in that shell that will open further with more and more nurturing from a royal pain in the ass that he is.


Philip Burgess, Duke of Rutherford is a conniving royal bastard.  Even though he is easy on the eyes and many a woman would love his attention, his betrayal to the woman he married on their wedding night makes that betrayal a murderous torture that will plague them for the rest of their days.  Why would any man in such a high position do something so cruel is beyond my imagination.


Now our Duke it seems has come to his senses and will do anything and everything in his power to try and make amends with his wife.  Will a man that has a hard exterior and an even harder heart with a calculating prowness be able to change his stripes or will his old self rear it's ugly head and allow the woman he supposedly loves to slip through his fingers forever.


Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Signet; Original edition (October 5, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0451232364
ISBN-13: 978-0451232366

A Season of Seduction by Jennifer Haymore (Terra's Review)

Although the widowed Lady Rebecca has sworn off marriage, men are another matter. London's cold winter nights have her dreaming of warmer pursuits-like finding a lover to satisfy her hungry heart. Someone handsome, discreet, and most importantly as uninterested in marriage as she is. Someone like Jack Fulton.


A known adventurer and playboy, Jack seems like the perfect choice. There's just one problem: Jack isn't interested in an affair. He needs the beautiful, mysterious Lady Rebecca to be his wife. And he doesn't have much time to persuade her. A secret from Jack's past is about to surface, and by Christmas Day he'll be either married to Rebecca or dead.


(Terra's Thoughts)  This is a delight that will tickle your Christmas fancy for sure.  Lady Rebecca and Jack make wonderful character partners and they keep the story innocent and deceptive at the same time.  Jennifer Haymore did a phenomenal job on this story line and I'm so glad I got the chance to read it.

Lady Rebecca has been in widow's weeds for long enough now and decides she would like to have a relationship without having all the mess that comes with one.  Actually it's more of a tryst here and there and she's not sure if she wants to have just one man or a couple different ones for a change of scenery so to speak.  The Lady's husband had been a wonderfully generous man and good to her but he had one foot in the grave even before she met him.  What do you say ladies, a rich man with one foot in the grave.  Hmmm......yah my type of marriage if I was going to go that route again.  :)

Jack Fulton is the Adonis of all male creatures and swings heads no matter where he goes.  He could have his choice of any female willing or not quite willing to warm his bed but he sets his sights on the Lady Rebecca for all the wrong reasons for her good.  Too bad the Adonis feature has to be such a two timing scuz bucket.

The story starts out innocently for Lady Rebecca and she is quite nervous since this is not exactly something the ton would approve of if they got wind of it.  Jack sets his marbles in motion even before the story starts so that when the going gets mighty tasty he will hopefully have all those marbles falling in the right places.  It does take some time before Jack gets a conscious and realizes that to hurt Rebecca would be like stabbing himself in the heart.  Let's hope he can keep the angel on his shoulder pushing him in the proper direction before the devil on his other shoulder catches wind of things.

As with all things, karma has a way of throwing in a monkey wrench and screwing up even the best laid plans but the million dollar question is who's plans will be the ones that will make the upcoming Christmas Holiday a nightmare to remember!


Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Forever; Original edition (October 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446540285
ISBN-13: 978-0446540285

Happy Thanksgiving to our friends in Canada

Happy Columbus Day

Looky Looky this F.Y.I.

If you don't already know then you should, I am a Sourcebooks junkie and all the gals there have been so good to me over the last 2+ years.  I wanted to take a minute to share two beautiful covers for books coming next Spring from two really remarkable Ladies.  Linda Wisdom was one of my first authors to come onto YRR and Cheryl Brooks wasn't far behind.  To these two ladies I give thanks for making me think of all things that go bump in the night including some explicit male organs that can indeed smell like a rose.  So here are the covers and I can't wait for the story lines that I'm sure will make us chuckle and salivate slobberingly all over the place.

A Season of Seduction by Jennifer Haymore Blog Tour (5 books up for grabs)

Although the widowed Lady Rebecca has sworn off marriage, men are another matter. London's cold winter nights have her dreaming of warmer pursuits-like finding a lover to satisfy her hungry heart. Someone handsome, discreet, and most importantly as uninterested in marriage as she is. Someone like Jack Fulton.

A known adventurer and playboy, Jack seems like the perfect choice. There's just one problem: Jack isn't interested in an affair. He needs the beautiful, mysterious Lady Rebecca to be his wife. And he doesn't have much time to persuade her. A secret from Jack's past is about to surface, and by Christmas Day he'll be either married to Rebecca or dead.

I've got 5 books to give away, many thanks to Anna at Forever Romance (Hachette Books) for this fantastic giveaway!!
So This Is What You Have To Do To Get An Entry!
1. Leave a Comment +1
2. Follow Me +1 already a follower +2
3. Post this contest on your blog (can be on your sidebar or a post) +3
PLEASE put your email in your comments or no entry (no exceptions).
This is for the USA and Canada only please and no Po Boxes (publishers rule)!
Winners will be subject to the one copy per household rule, which means that if they win the same title in two or more contests, they will receive only one copy of the title (or one set in the case of grouped giveaways) in the mail.
Winners will be announced on October 19th 2010!

October Paranormal Romance Giveaway (3 sets up for grabs)

PLEASURE UNBOUND

By Larissa Ione

Format: MASS MARKET

Price: US$6.99/CAN$8.50

ISBN: 9780446401036

SINS OF THE FLESH

By Caridad Piñeiro

Format: MASS MARKET

Price: US$6.99/CAN$8.99

ISBN: 9780446543835

MY WICKED ENEMY

By Carolyn Jewel

Format: MASS MARKET

Price: US$6.99/CAN$8.50

ISBN: 9780446178235

MARKED BY PASSION

By Kate Perry

Format: MASS MARKET

Price: US$6.99/CAN$8.50

ISBN: 9780446541008

I've got 3 sets to give away, many thanks to Anna at Forever Romance (Hachette Books) for this fantastic giveaway!!
So This Is What You Have To Do To Get An Entry!
1. Leave a Comment +1
2. Follow Me +1 already a follower +2
3. Post this contest on your blog (can be on your sidebar or a post) +3
PLEASE put your email in your comments or no entry (no exceptions).
This is for the USA and Canada only please and no Po Boxes (publishers rule)!
Winners will be subject to the one copy per household rule, which means that if they win the same title in two or more contests, they will receive only one copy of the title (or one set in the case of grouped giveaways) in the mail.
Winners will be announced on October 31st 2010!

Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine (Terra's Review)

Two Women, Eight Hundred Years, and the Destiny They Share


"Barbara Erskine can make us feel the cold, smell the filth, and experience some of the fear of the power of evil men...The author's storytelling talent is undeniable."
-Times of London


With a story as mesmerizing as it is chilling, Lady of Hay explores how Jo, a journalist investigating hypnotic regression, plunges into the life of Matilda, Lady of Hay-who lived eight hundred years earlier. As she learns of Matilda's unhappy marriage, her troubled love for Richard de Clare, and the brutal treatment she received from King John, it seems that Jo's past and present are hopelessly entwined. Centuries later, a story of secret passion and unspeakable treachery is about to begin again-and she has no choice but to brave both lives if she wants to shake the iron grip of history.


(Terra's Thoughts)  This is a wonderful story but very heavy.  The emotions of the characters reel you in as if you were a prize catch on the line but believe me when I say that there is no struggling to put this down.  I found this real and engrossing as if you are watching a 3D movie in the best of theaters.


Our heroine Jo volunteers for an experiment on hypnotism.  Right from the start our secondary characters are in awe and pretty much scared half out of their wits with the intensity of Jo's regression. The results bring forth many physical manifestations that could bring about a costly price to Jo herself so her memory is wiped clean for her own safety. 


Upon seeking out a professional so that she can verify clinical results for an article she is working on, Jo gets caught up in the experiment these many years later.  Can she help herself to deal with what is about to start happening to her?  Will she be strong enough to change a past life for the good of a woman she never even heard of?  Will Jo's physical manifestations catapult around her sucking in people she knows as well as strangers to the point that not only is the past coming to life but the present is changing also.


This story has a double intensity as far as I'm concerned for I do believe in past lives belonging to one person.  One soul, multiple renditions of lives lived, loved and died only to become again.  Those feelings of, "gee have I been here before because it sure feels like it", as well as others just might have some credence to them.  Is there such a thing as luck or is it just our having learned from a mistake made in a previous life and making the right choice this time.


Paperback: 592 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark (October 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1402241186
ISBN-13: 978-1402241185