Readers Choice Award! (Results)

Well, Happy New Year!

(what? It's not time yet? Shoot!)

Okay, so according to like everyone on the planet, it won't be 2011 for a few more hours yet, but as we say goodbye to 2010, let's celebrate and acknowledge all the wonderful books that made their way into out shelves (and our hearts) this past year! Some of you may have checked out the post I did on my favorite reads from 2010, but try as I might, I couldn't read all the books all the time.

I picked some of the highest rates, most raved about reads this year, put them in a poll, and had you (The Readers) vote on the one you thought was the best. I was so thrilled to see all the results come in and should really take the time to point out that while there can only be one winning book, all the nominees were voted on and spoken of highly.

But what's life with out a top dog? Without further adieu, time to give you guys the results!

The race was tight, but with 32% of the overall votes, The Readers Choice Award for Best Book in 2010 (historical) goes to:

New Year, New You? (More CSNStores Pimpage)

So Christmas is over and you're looking at a New Year filled with the same old happeneings or the same drab furniture and decor you've had since 93'? Use 2011 as a year for change. Go hiking for the first time (once the snow has melted and the temperature goes back into the positives), enroll in culinary school and start making plans to start your own restaurant, write that manuscript you've had burning a hole in your psyche since forever, re-model your kitchen or turn that extra bedroom into your own personal domain.

Whatever you decide you need to do this year, make sure you go to the best of the best for the materials you'll need. CSNStores has hiking boots and backpacks to aid in your adventures, modern dining furniture to hold and display all the fancy dishes you learn how to make, writing supplies to stock your office desk with, and everything under the sun you would need to decorate and luxuriate.

Whatever you plan to do, have fun with it and stay committed. Small budget, or big, you'll find what you need at CSNStores. =)

Rita's Best Reads in 2010!

It was hard trying to narrow down the field for the Best Book that I read all year. As you guys should know, I visit my library almost weekly and I've read so many books from the 90's and even the 80's. I try to stay up to date on the latest, but sometimes the oldies really are goodies. This year's crop had some real pleasers and it was so hard to choose just one as my fav. But I did, so without further adieu, My Pick for the Best Book in 2010:

'Till Dawn With the Devil' by Alexandra Hawkins

Click for: My Review

This book was just gold! The heroine wasn't some simpering miss or sassy blue stocking. She had a quiet grace to her and astounding dignity despite the fact that she was nearly blind and everyone around her treated her like some delicate cripple. It captivated our hero almost as much as it inspired me. And speaking of the hero, he was great to read about. Being a Lord Of Vice, you wouldn't expect to feel empathy for him, but you do. And combined with the fact that he brings the best out of an already amazing heroine, you can't help but love this pair!

Some other 'Best of the Best':

Recommendation of the Week: 12/26/10 - 01/02/11

'Not Another New Year's'

by Christie Ridgway

"After all, this year brought Hannah Davis nothing but the memory of her wandering fiancé marrying someone else behind her back. Now, sitting alone at a bar in Coronado, California, on December 31, she decides to do something radical . . . and lets a brooding good-looker take her to bed. But when a hysterical woman bursts into their room much too early on New Year's Day, Hannah realizes this guy's more complicated than she thought . . .

Ex-Secret Service Agent Tanner Hart screwed up, big-time! Hoping to temporarily boot some of the ghosts from his life, he hooked up with this sexy stranger for a hot one-night stand—only to discover she's the woman he's agreed to protect . . . from men just like him!

But a new year is a time for fresh beginnings. Despite the danger, the hoopla, and the hangovers, if Hannah's brave enough to risk her heart again—and Tanner's wise enough to realize he deserves it—maybe this one will be different."Source

[Read an excerpt: here]

My Thoughts: I just couldn't resist! lol! Not Another Romance Blog, Not Another New Years.. well actually, this is the blog's first New Year's, but I can't wait to spend it with you guys! This book looks real interesting. It strays from my norm of historical romance, but something tells me theres enough heat to pacify me! Lonely girl (that's me) spies hottie at the bar (that's Sam Worrington) and the hook up on New Year's Eve? Yep, sounds like my yearly fantasy! Check this book out and when your done, share your opinions!

Read a Review of 'Not Another New Year's' at The Romance Reader: here

This is your Recommendation for the Week of December 26th, 2010 thur January 1st, 2010

Until Next Post (and Next Year) <3...

Giveaway Winners Round-Up! (And Have Yourself A Merry Christmas)

Just call me Mrs.Klaus ;) (not married to one of Penny Watson's Klaus Brothers; but i am working on it *points to Oscar!) What a wonderful few weeks this has been! I can't believe Christmas is here! I've got all my gifts set aside, dinner has been preped in the over, and there are some lucky winners to announce!:

The first few winners are from giveaways that started in Late November and carried over into this month. The rest are Christmas Blog Party giveaways. This being the thick of the holiday season, there may be a varying on times and/or delays with prize delivery. I will be contacting all winners via the email provided in their comment very shortly. All winners have until Wednesday, December 29th to claim their prize and/or send mailing info. If any winners do not meet the deadline, there will be a redrawing for a new winner.

The Winners of: 

"Christmas at an English Country House": X-mas Guest Post and Giveaway with Nicola Cornick

Christmas at an English Country House

Thank you very much for inviting me to visit the blog and join in the Christmas celebrations here!

This year I’m celebrating Christmas at an English Country House. Not my country house (though I’m working on that!) but the one where I work when I’m not writing. Ashdown House is a seventeenth century hunting lodge in the most romantic setting imaginable, an ancient forest. In the deep midwinter it looks like a fairytale castle.

How do we dress a historic house for Christmas?

Author Preview: Nicola Cornick

Nicola Cornick

"Nicola Cornick was born in Yorkshire, England, within a stone's throw of the moors that had inspired the Bronte sisters to write Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. One of her grandfathers was a poet. With such a background it was impossible for Nicola not to become a writer.

Nicola studied history at London University and has done a variety of jobs, from sticking price tags on shoes in a factory to serving refreshments on a steam railway. She lived for seven years in a cottage haunted by the ghost of a cavalier. It was here that she wrote her first historical romance for Harlequin Mills and Boon. Since then she has written 15 books and 2 novellas for Harlequin, and been nominated for a number of awards including the RNA Romance Prize, a RWA RITA, and a Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice award!"

Find Nicola Cornick on the web: Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

Some of Nicola Cornick's works: (click image for info page)

Nicola's Latest Release:

'Mistress By Midnight' (December 2010)

"A wicked duke’s bed is no place for a lady…

Lady Merryn Fenner is on a mission to ruin the Duke of Farne. A beautiful bluestocking with a penchant for justice, Merryn has waited twelve years to satisfy her revenge against Garrick Farne. Her family name had been tarnished at his hands, her life destroyed.

For twelve years Garrick, Duke of Farne has kept the secret of what really happened on the night that he killed his best friend, Stephen Fenner, in a duel. Now Stephen’s sister is intent on discovering the truth and putting at risk all those secrets Garrick has protected.

When a disaster traps Merryn and Garrick together, white-hot desire stirs between the two sworn enemies. Merryn's reputation is utterly compromised and she is forced to do the one thing she cannot bear; accept the scandalous marriage proposal of the man she has vowed to ruin.

Beware of scandalous women..."

--
What To Expect in 2011:

The 4th title in the Scandalous Women of the Ton series will hit the shelves in August 2011. Notorious is the story of the outrageous Susanna Burney, who makes her living as a heartbreaker! Book 5, Desired, the story of Tess Darent, Joanna and Merryn's much married sister, will follow in December. Covers, blurbs and lots more will on the website in the New Year.

"Christmas and Passion": X-mas Guest Post and Giveaway with Cathy Maxwell

Christmas and Passion 

      I want to talk to those of you who don’t have anyone to love. The reasons are many:  you haven’t met “the one” yet, you broke up with someone who could have been “the one,” you divorced “the--used to be--one,” or like myself you’ve lost someone dear to you. 
      Christmas can be a tough time when you are alone.  And don’t get me started on St. Valentine’s Day or as I call it, “Singles Awareness Day.”  The holidays often emphasize what we feel we are lacking.
      I have the antidote:  PASSION.
      Yup, passion.