Contest Alert: BookTrib's Mary Jo Putney Giveaway!

Below, check out the deets on a very cool and different giveaway brought to you by BookTrib. You can follow the button and enter!

Mary Jo Putney is a fixture on national bestseller lists including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USAToday, and Publishers Weekly. This spring Mary Jo has not one, but two releases to share with you. The first being a reissue of her classic, The Rake, available now! The second, coming out on April 24th, is No Longer A Gentleman. If you are a Mary Jo Putney fan you know this means historical romance at its best. If you haven’t read any of Mary Jo’s titles, now’s your chance to be swept away. In celebration of the two-title release Surroundings Flowers and Events of NYC has partnered with BookTrib for an amazing giveaway–


This giveaway includes One Grand Prize winner: Three consecutive months of exquisite fresh flower arrangements delivered to your door, plus a copy of THE RAKE and NO LONGER A GENTLEMAN by Mary Jo Putney.

Ten randomly selected winners: A copy of THE RAKE and NO LONGER A GENTLEMAN by Mary Jo Putney.

Enter Today! Good Luck!

Coming Soon: Anticipated Releases for April 2011

It may still be rather cold outside, but April showers are here, and that can only mean one thing: the start of SPRING...RELEASES! Oh, and the coming of Spring, the subsequent coming of Summer, someones Blogoversary..;) But I probably had the most important one right the first time! A new batch of reads are all waiting for their spot in your bookcase! Some amazing series are coming to a close, some equally great ones are still getting added to...WHAT TO CHOOSE!?
I hope my list of Anticipate Releases helps you pick some great books! I can't wait! Enjoy!

Here are the Anticipated Releases for April 2011!!!

'Loving A Lost Lord' by Mary Jo Putney -Review-

   The first Mary Jo Putney novel for me, and definitely not the last. The plot was great, the scenarios were engaging and the climax was exactly that.
    When Adam washes up on the Cumberland shore, he was lucky enough to still have a pulse.
  Mariah was all alone in the world and easily tempted to let the nefarious George Burke worm his way into her life, if only to stave off the loneliness. His persistence in vying for her hand induces her to tell a bold-face lie. She comes across Adam as he drifts along in the water and pulls him to safety. Suffering from amnesia, Adam proves to be the perfect temporary solution to Maraih's problem. But what happens when this temporary solution becomes a lifetime desire?

Read an excerpt: here

Book Trailer:
                   

   The book starts off on a somber note. 3 friends, members of this 'lost lords' brotherhood, visit their alma marer to tell their beloved headmistress and teacher, Lady Agnes Westerfield, that they have lost yet another of their ranks. Adam Darshan Lawford, Duke of Ashton was presumed dead after a mysterious boating accident. After their teacher informs them that presumed isn't good enough for her and that they should not accept defeat so easily, the 3 friends set off on a journey to discover the truth...
    Charles Clarke was a gamer. He loved his cards and his gambling almost as much as he loved his daughter, Mariah. Sans a mother for as long as she could remember, Mariah had lived with her Great-Grandmother Rose (Granny Rose) until her untimely death, and then went to travel from place to places, learning the gamer-ways with her father. Charles won Hartley Manor from fat-pocket George Burke, and decides to settle down a bit and give his beloved daughter a real home for a change.
   All is grand and splendid until Charles goes on an ill-fated 'family business' trip concerning some long estranged relatives , but never comes back. It is the pompous George Burke who stops by the Manor to inform Mariah that her father was found dead at the scene of a highwaymen robbery just outside of London. Obviously grief stricken but determined to manage as best she can, she continuously refuses Burke's immediate, insensitive and thereafter tenacious proposal of marriage and courtship.
   Fearing the biting loneliness will compel her to accept George's hand, she tells him that she is married. He has a hard time believing her, but when he comes a calling one day and tries to force his attentions on Mariah, he is take aback by the emergence and retalliation of a studly stranger who calls himself her husband.
   While thinking over her predicament late one night, Mariah ambles close to the shore and feels an inexorably force draw her closer to the sea. She happens upon Adams body, drifting in the sea and so close to death. Bringing him back to her home, she realizes he has amnesia and does something that shocks even her, by informing the stranger that he is her husband. She even tells him his name is Adam (although she has never met him before, the name presented itself to her so she provided that name when asked).
   Slowly, pieces of Adam's past start to come back to him, and when Mariah gives into temptation and lays with him, she is soon requied to come clean and tell him of her deception. Adam battles with his betrayal and undeniable tender feelings towards the woman who saved his life. Matters are complicated further once Adam's friends find him and inform him of his ducal rank. Mariah knows her station in society is no where near acceptable for a duke, but when Adam insists that she comes with him to his London home, she can't refuse.
   Family secrets start to surface, putting our characters through shared emotional trails and tribulations. But matters are complicated even further when attempts are being made on the duke's life, and it is realized that that mysterious boating accident was more than just an accident. Truths and choices all come to a spectacular head as Adam realizes that losing the woman who found him and captured his heart is just not an option.

::Rating:: 3 1/2 "Aww's" ::Rating::

My Favorite Part of the Book: Is when Adam, still weak from his near-fatal shipwreck, rushes in to the drawing room and saves his wife from the unwanted attentions of George Burke. Burke was still leery about Mariah's purposed husband and decided to press his suit more aggressively. Adam immediately needs to relax after exerting so much energy fending off the fiendish Burke and he and Mariah take a seat on the couch. They share little intimacies (through words and little actions). It was a beautiful sequence of scenes.

   In retrospect, I started this book with a few expectations. The plot was one that brought specific ideas to mind. Heroine having to play the role of concerned spouse. Little flash-backs of Hero's past. An amazing consummation scene. And I can safely assure you, it's all there. I enjoyed the plot, the characters and most of the scenarios. The story got a little too 'convenient' for me, and just a bit improbable. Character reactions, such as Mariah's to her father's death was a bit off to me, a bit rushed, but still held some merit. I loved the progression from Hartley Manor to Ashton House, and enjoyed the many different twists, turns and side plots that kept everything interesting but tied together nicely at the end. A 3-E (Entertaining, Exciting and Enjoyable) read for sure!

*Give the next book in 'The Lost Lord' series a read, 'Never Less Than A Lady', Major Randall's Story/ My Review can be found: here

*Or try something from the acclaimed 'The Fallen Angel' Series, 'One Perfect Rose'

-Read an excerpt from 'One Perfect Rose': here

Coming Soon: Anticipated Releases for May 2010

This month will feature a barrage of new releases. Two of which I've spoken of recently with unabashed anticipation! In an Industry where literally thousands of books are published and released yearly, it's up to the bloggers of the world to shift through the sand and find the gems!



Here's what you should look for in the Month of May:

*Today is May 1st; we've got a great new release to pick up and gorge on! After reading the synopsis on this one, I know I've got to speed up these blog updates, get some shut-eye, and amble on down to the nearest book retailer tomorrow!

*'Never Less Than A Lady' by Mary Jo Putney

"As the sole remaining heir to the Earl of Daventry, battle weary Major Alexander Randall knows his duty: find a wife and sire a son.  The perfect bride for a man in his position would be a biddable young girl of good breeding. But the woman who haunts his imagination is Julia Bancroft—a quiet village midwife with shattering secrets that thrust her into Randall’s protection.

Within the space of a day, Julia has been abducted by her first husband’s cronies, rescued, and proposed to by a man she scarcely knows—yet has been unable to forget. Though a union with the handsome, enigmatic major offers safety, she fears she can never trust any man again.  But as passion slowly warms Julia’s damaged heart, she starts to hope that perhaps a Lost Lord can teach her what a true marriage can be…" Source

-Read an excerpt: here

*May 4th will send a sizzling new Vanessa Kelly novel to a bookstore near you! With a title straight from a lifetime movie (Yes, I find time to indulge on an occasional lifetime movie; is there anything more feminine?) and a cover that will have you takeing a second look, this book looks to be a must-read!

*'Sex And The Single Earl' by Vanessa Kelly

"Their marriage was convenient...
Simon St. James, fifth Earl of Trask, knows he could do worse in the marriage of convenience department. Sophie Stanton may be a bit of a social liability, with her ungovernable ways and flighty nature, but Simon has responsibilities as an earl that far outweigh happiness in the household. As for happiness in the bedroom...he has to admit he sees Sophie’s potential in that arena...

Their passion was not!

But Sophie isn’t some bargaining chip to be traded, and she’s not about to let Simon St. James tell her how to live her life—even though she has nurtured a crush on the handsome young earl for as long as she can remember. If his idea of courtship is telling her what to do, then she is not interested, or at least she is trying not to be. But when his scolding words turn to scorching kisses, suddenly Sophie starts paying attention..."Source 

-An excerpt can be found: here



*On May 11th, a wonderful new anthology written by three equally wonderful authors will be hitting the shelf's.

*'Three Times A Bride' by Catherine Anderson,     

 Loretta Chase and Samantha James

"Three times a lady.
Three times a beauty.
Three Times a Bride
Three brides, three beginnings, three stories of incomparable romance from USA Today bestselling authors Catherine Anderson, Loretta Chase, and Samantha James.
Celebrate the glorious, magical moment when man and woman become husband and wife with these three couples, joined by a passionate promise of forever—and inspired by true love. Wedded bliss has never been this wicked . . ." Source


-Read an excerpt of Samantha James' contribuation to the anothology! (it was originally released in 1996 under a two book mini-series titled 'Married at Midnight' and 'Every wish Fulfilled'. Now it has been re-released in 'Three Times A Bride'): here

* May 11th, get ready for something a little...Notorious.

*'The Notorious Scoundrel' by Alexandra Benedict

"Like an irresistible siren, the veiled dancer with the bewitching green eyes lures dukes and earls down into London's underworld to see her dance-and succumb to her spell. Some say she's a princess, but only one man knows her darkest secret.
She is Amy Peel, an orphan from the city's rookeries, and she believes the bold rogue who unmasks her to be nothing but a scoundrel-albeit a dangerously handsome one. He may have rescued her from an attempted kidnapping, but she will not give in to his sensual seduction or to the wicked desire she begins to feel . . .
He is Edmund Hawkins, swashbuckling pirate turned reluctant gentleman, and he will not let the lovely Amy slip through his grasp, especially when he learns she's in greater peril than she could possibly know. He will do everything in his power to protect her-for this notorious scoundrel has truly, unbelievably, lost his heart . . ." Source

 *May 18th, The secret will be unveiled.

*'A Secret Affair' by Mary Balogh

"  The Devil was about to be tamed.” Her name is Hannah Reid. Born a commoner, she has been Duchess of Dunbarton ever since she was nineteen years old, the wife of an elderly duke to whom she has been rumored to be consistently and flagrantly unfaithful. Now the old duke is dead and, more womanly and beautiful than ever at thirty, Hannah has her freedom at last.
And she knows just what she wants to do with it. To the shock of a conventional friend, she announces her intention to take a lover—and not just any lover, but the most dangerous and delicious man in all of upper-class England: Constantine Huxtable.
  Constantine’s illegitimacy has denied him the title of Earl, so now he denies himself nothing . . . or so the ton would have it. Rumored to be living the free and easy life of a sensualist in his country estate, he always chooses recent widows for his short-lived affairs. Hannah will fit the bill nicely.
   But once these two passionate and scandalous figures find each other, they discover that it isn’t so easy to extricate oneself from the fires of desire—without getting singed. For the duchess and the dark lord each have startling secrets to reveal, and when all is said and done, neither will be able to say which one fell in love first, who tamed whom, and who has emerged from this game of hearts with the stronger hand." Source
-an excerpt can be found: here

THE BIG DATE: MAY 25th, the following novels will all be release.. who will top them all?

* 'A Gentelman Always Remembers' by Candace Camp

"Married young to a charming but improvident army officer, Eve Hawthorne was widowed with little left except for a few extravagant trifles. Desperate to avoid her domineering stepmother, she accepts employment as chaperone to the Earl of Stewkesbury’s American cousins. Who better than a levelheaded widow to remind these young girls that they no longer live on a frontier? But when she flirts with a handsome stranger who turns out to be the earl’s brother Fitz, Eve worries she’s given the wrong impression. Trying to prove herself responsible—with Fitz challenging her at every turn—is hard enough, but a blackmailer with an interest in Eve’s prior marriage proves far more troubling. With the earl away, Eve can turn only to Fitz for help. But dare she confide in him, when getting too close to this confirmed bachelor might risk her heart to his alluring ways? " Source

* ' Seven Secrets Of Seduction' by Anne Mallory

"  Scandalous and provocative, The Seven Secrets of Seduction is an intoxicating insight into the mind of men and the desires of women—and the book has all the ton talking. Secret #1: Every good seduction begins with a baited hook . . .
Well-educated, but not part of society, Miranda Chase is just as captivated by the erotic pages as everyone else in London. Intrigued by the layers she sees beneath the book's surface, she writes an editorial about it, never realizing that her passionate words will draw an actual viscount to her uncle's bookshop.
   Maximilian, Viscount Downing, has very particular ideas about passion and sees truth only in desire. He freely flaunts his sensual power and seeks nothing more than another conquest—the one that could justify his entire debauched existence. But Miranda's blend of innocence, trust, and love cause a strange thing to happen on the way to this seduction. Something that just might threaten the very fabric of his jaded heart . . ." Source

  * 'My Reckless Surrender' by Anna Campbell 

"Headlong into sin . . .
   A well-practiced rake, weary of easy conquests and empty pleasures, Tarquin Vale, Earl of Ashcroft, knows women—and his every instinct warns him to beware of this one. Diana Carrick's brazen overtures have thrown the haunted, sinfully handsome lord completely off his guard. Why, the exquisite temptress stated outright that she wishes to be his lover. But it is neither Diana's boldness nor her beauty that intrigues him so—it is the innocence he senses behind her worldly mask.
   Intent upon the seduction that will finally free her, Diana has set her sights on the notorious Ashcroft—never dreaming that there is much more to the enigmatic rogue than sin and deviltry. His kiss is bewitching, his caress intoxicating—and even the dangerous secret Diana must protect cannot shield her from Ashcroft's dark allure.
Unwittingly yet most willingly, they are playing with fire. Now the fuse has been lit and there is no escape . . . except surrender." Source
- An excerpt can be found: here

* 'When Marrying A Scoundrel' by Kathryn Smith (May 26th)

 "  A lady must be prepared for anything . . . when marrying a scoundrel.

Sadie Moon once thought she was in love. Then her dashing husband left her to seek his fortune, and she had no choice but to transform herself from a heartbroken waif into London Society's favorite fortune-teller. But even she could not have foreseen Jack's return—until their paths cross in the last place either would have expected: London's most exclusive house of pleasure.

  Now wealthy and successful, Jack Friday has everything he'd ever dreamed of . . . except Sadie. He swears he will never trust the woman who broke her promise to wait for him, though his passion for her burns as hotly as ever before. But love, like the past, comes back to haunt them—drawing them into a web of intrigue and betrayal that could save or destroy them both." Source

* 'Married By Morning' by Lisa Kleypas

 "  For two years, Catherine Marks has been a paid companion to the Hathaway sisters—a pleasant position, with one caveat. Her charges’ older brother, Leo Hathaway, is thoroughly exasperating. Cat can hardly believe that their constant arguing could mask a mutual attraction. But when one quarrel ends in a sudden kiss, Cat is shocked at her powerful response—and even more so when Leo proposes a dangerous liaison.

  Leo must marry and produce an heir within a year to save his family home. Catherine’s respectable demeanor hides a secret that would utterly destroy her. But to Leo, Cat is intriguing and infernally tempting, even to a man resolved never to love again. The danger Cat tried to outrun is about to separate them forever—unless two wary lovers can find a way to banish the shadows and give in to their desires…" Source
-An excerpt can be found: here
-featured in this previous post.

*'Ten Things I Love About You' by Julia Quinn

"Ten Things You Should Know About This Book
1. Sebastian Grey is a devilishly handsome rogue with a secret.
2. Annabel Winslow's family voted her The Winslow Most Likely to Speak Her Mind and The Winslow Most Likely to Fall Asleep in Church.
3. Sebastian's uncle is the Earl of Newbury, and if he dies without siring an heir, Sebastian inherits everything.
4. Lord Newbury detests Sebastian and will stop at nothing to prevent this from happening.
5. Lord Newbury has decided that Annabel is the answer to all of his problems.
6. Annabel does not want to marry Lord Newbury, especially when she finds out he once romanced her grandmother.
7 is shocking, 8 is delicious, and 9 is downright wicked, all of which lead the way to
10. Happily. Ever. After." Source

-An excerpt can be found: here 
-featured in this previous post.



You can find tons (the measurement, not society) of other releases, reviews and so much more from one of my favorite source sites historicalromancereleases.com/. Their site is amazing and so well designed. Before you take a trip to your local B&N to pick up something to read, make sure you check out this site and take their suggestions. And harperscollins (one of the leading publishing houses in the HR genre, keeps a thourogh 'upcomning releases' page under their 'books' tab on their website.

Happy Readings!!