To Read, or Not To Read

Title: Jane Austen and the Twelve Days of Christmas (Jane Austen Mysteries #12) Author: Stephanie Barron Publisher: Soho Crime Published: October 28, 2014 Ebook, ARC ISBN13: 9781616954239 Genre: Historical Mystery Source: NetGalley Goodreads Summary: Jane Austen turns sleuth in this delightful murder mystery set over the twelve days of a Regency-Era Christmas party. Christmas Eve, 1814: Jane Austen has been invited to spend the holiday with family and friends at The Vyne, the gorgeous ancestral home of the wealthy and politically prominent Chute family. As the year fades and friends begin to gather beneath the mistletoe for the twelve days of Christmas festivities, Jane and her circle are in a celebratory mood:Mansfield Park is selling nicely; Napoleon has been banished to Elba; British forces have seized Washington, DC; and on Christmas Eve, John Quincy Adams signs the Treaty of Ghent, which will end a war nobody in England really wanted. Jane, however, disco

Title: I'm Dreaming of an Undead Christmas (Half Moon Hollow 2.7) Author: Molly Harper Publisher: Pocket Star Published: November 17, 2014 Ebook, ARC ISBN13: 9781476784540 Genre: Paranormal Source: NetGalley Goodreads Summary: Experience the vampire world for the holidays through the eyes of Gigi Scanlon in this e-novella prequel to The Dangers of Dating a Rebound Vampire from beloved paranormal romance author Molly Harper! College co-ed Gigi is headed home to Half-Moon Hollow for her first Christmas since her sister, Iris, was turned into a vampire by her beloved undead husband, Cal. Iris is working overtime to make this holiday as normal and special as possible. After all, it’s taken her months of working with Jane Jameson and the Hollow’s vampires to convince herself that she won’t bite her baby sister on sight. Gigi has her own worries. She’s falling out of love with her high school sweetheart, Ben, and has no idea how to tell him. She’s got a secret j

Title:   Secrets of a Scandalous Heiress Series:  The Matchmaker Trilogy #3 Author:  Theresa Romain ISBN:  978-1-4022-8405-2 Pubdate:  January 6 th , 2015 One good proposition deserves another… Heiress Augusta Meredith can’t help herself—she stirs up gossip wherever she goes. A stranger to Bath society, she pretends to be a charming young widow, until sardonic, darkly handsome Joss Everett arrives from London and uncovers her charade. Augusta persuades Joss to keep her secret in exchange for a secret of his own. Weaving their way through the treacherous pitfalls of a polite world only too eager to expose and condemn them, they begin to see that being true to themselves is not so bad…as long as they’re true to each other… Historical romance author  Theresa Romain  pursued an impractical education that allowed her to read everything she could get her hands on. She then worked for universities and libraries, where she got to read even more. Eventually she starte

Title: The Ghost and Mrs. Muir Author: R.A. Dick Publisher: Vintage Movie Classics Published: September 23, 2014 (first published in 1945) Paperback, 174 pages ISBN: 978-0-8041-7348-3 Genre: Paranormal, Historical Source: Publisher Goodreads Summary: Burdened by debt after her husband's death, Lucy Muir insists on moving into the very cheap Gull Cottage in the quaint seaside village of Whitecliff, despite multiple warnings that the house is haunted. Upon discovering the rumors to be true, the young widow ends up forming a special companionship with the ghost of handsome former sea captain Daniel Gregg. Through the struggles of supporting her children, seeking out romance from the wrong places, and working to publish the captain's story as a book, Blood and Swash, Lucy finds in her secret relationship with Captain Gregg a comfort and blossoming love she never could have predicted. Originally published in 1945, made into a movie in 1947, and later adapted into a

UNTIL MIDNIGHT is here…and it’s FREE! Happy Holidays, everyone! I’m Melissa Landers, author of the Alienated series, and I have a present for you—a brand new e-short from Disney Hyperion! UNTIL MIDNIGHT takes place onboard an intergalactic transport, soon after ALIENATED ends and before the sequel INVADED begins. The story details Aelyx and Cara’s last day together before he returns to Earth to mend the alliance and she continues to his home planet. It’s sweet and romantic, and as a bonus, it includes a four-chapter preview of the sequel, which releases February 3 rd . Oh, and did I mention the best part? IT’S FREE! You can download UNTIL MIDNIGHT from the following e-tailers: Kindle: http://amzn.to/1walSLX Nook: http://bit.ly/1zshdpx iBooks: http://bit.ly/1sT4CnM Kobo: http://bit.ly/1AIb45a Google Play: http://bit.ly/1v06kVd *If you live outside the USA, no worries. I’ve uploaded the story to Scribd for you. (The only downside is it doesn’t

When was the last time you received a post card in the mail. Not an e-card, but a physical card? I received a couple this summer from friends who traveled Europe. I can't describe to you the joy I felt upon receiving each postcard. Or receiving any mail that wasn't a bill. The art of letter writing and post card sending is assumed to be dead, but I refuse to believe it! And now Wilhelm Staehle has come out with two postcard books that will change your mind also. If you're not familiar with Staehle, let me summarize him in a nutshell: Wilhelm Staehle is a silhouette artist with an uncanny sense of humor. The first book is called Stars and Swipes: 30 Postcards of Awkward America . They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll let the pictures do the talking: The next post card book is titled Hugs and Misses: 30 Postcards of Awkward Romance.  These cards are so great, you're probably going to want to keep them all for yourself instead of mailin

Title: The Dress Shop of Dreams Author: Meena van Praag Publisher: Balleatine Books Published: December 30, 2014 Ebook, ARC ISBN13: 9780804178990 Genre: Fiction Source: NetGalley Goodreads Summary: Since her parents’ mysterious deaths many years ago, scientist Cora Sparks has spent her days in the safety of her university lab or at her grandmother Etta’s dress shop. Tucked away on a winding Cambridge street, Etta’s charming tiny store appears quite ordinary to passersby, but the colorfully vibrant racks of beaded silks, delicate laces, and jewel-toned velvets hold bewitching secrets: With just a few stitches from Etta’s needle, these gorgeous gowns have the power to free a woman’s deepest desires. Etta’s dearest wish is to work her magic on her granddaughter. Cora’s studious, unromantic eye has overlooked Walt, the shy bookseller who has been in love with her forever. Determined not to allow Cora to miss her chance at happiness, Etta sews a tiny stitch

FEATURE: On The Move by K.V. Flynn BLURB: Callum Vicente and his four best middle school buddies live in a Southern California beach town, and narrowly miss being grounded for life after they sneak out of town on the bus for a great skateboard day just before promotion from 8 th grade. Their pal Justice ends up with a wicked broken leg, but their parents soon forget about it because weird, tense things are happening in the news. So Callum, Levi and his bff Apollo are soon deep into their best summer ever at PEAK skateboard camp where they learn tricks from the pros, grind on endless street courses, and careen off one awesome ramp straight into the lake. It is mad fun until the War breaks out: the teens watch major cities blown up on TV, have no idea what’s happened to their parents, and then lose virtually all communication with the outside world. Stranded, the boarder buddies strike out on their own to find their families, travelling north through all of California a

Title: Texts From Jane Eyre And Other Conversations with Your Favorite Literary Characters Author: Mallory Ortberg Publisher: Henry Holt and Company Published: November 4, 2014 Hardcover, 240 pages ISBN: 978-1-62779-183-0 Genre: Humor Source: Publisher Goodreads Summary: Hilariously imagined text conversations—the passive aggressive, the clever, and the strange—from classic and modern literary figures, from Scarlett O’Hara to Jessica Wakefield. Mallory Ortberg, the co-creator of the cult-favorite website The Toast, presents this whimsical collection of hysterical text conversations from your favorite literary characters. Everyone knows that if Scarlett O’Hara had an unlimited text-and-data plan, she’d constantly try to tempt Ashley away from Melanie with suggestive messages. If Mr. Rochester could text Jane Eyre, his ardent missives would obviously be in all-caps. And Daisy Buchanan would not only text while driving, she’d text you to pick her up after she totaled her c

Review: Jane Austen Cover to Cover (200 years of Classic Covers) Author: Margaret C. Sullivan Publisher: Quirk Books Published: November 11. 2014 Hardcover, 224 pages ISBN: 978-1-59474-725-0 Genre: Nonfiction Source: Publisher Goodreads Summary: Jane Austen’s six novels are true classics, still immensely popular some 200 years after their first publication. But although the celebrated stories never change, the covers are always different. Jane Austen Cover to Covercompiles two centuries of design, from elegant Victorian hardcovers and the famed 1894 “Peacock” edition to 1950s pulp, movie tie-in editions, graphic novels, foreign-language translations, and many, many others. Filled with beautiful artwork and insightful commentary, this fascinating and visually intriguing collection is a must for Janeites, design geeks, and book lovers of every stripe. My Thoughts: A picture is worth a thousand words, but how about a book cover. A book cover is one of your first introdu

Title: Mr. Darcy's Challenge (The Darcy Novels #2) Author: Monica Fairview Publisher: White Soup Press Published: November 24, 2014 Ebook ISBN13: 9781310714689 Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance Source: From Author Goodreads Summary: In this humorous Pride and Prejudice Variation, Mr. Darcy is determined to win Elizabeth Bennet's hand in spite of her rejection, and he has a strategy worked out. He will rescue Lydia Bennet from Wickham and will return to Longbourn to convince Elizabeth to marry him. But when a chance encounter prompts Darcy to propose once again to Elizabeth before he has rescued Lydia, his plans go horribly wrong. Broken hearted, disillusioned and bitterly regretting his impulsive action, Darcy sees no point in assisting Miss Bennet. After all, rescuing Lydia might save Elizabeth’s reputation, but why should he care when they have no future together? His code of gentlemanly conduct, however, demands that he fulfill the terms of his promi

A Prince with a quest. A commoner with mysterious powers. And dragons who demand to be free—at any cost. Moth and spark By Anne Leonard “ MOTH AND SPARK  is hands down one of the best books I've read this year, and it's absolutely an addition to my favorite's shelf.  With a mixture of  Eragon ,  Game of Thrones ,  Cinderella , and buckets of original personality, Anne Leonard has written a fantasy you don't want to miss. ” — Fresh Fiction “Winning characters and the inclusion of dragons...  Fantasy fans who enjoy books with a hefty dose of romance, such as Juliet Marillier’s “Seven Waters” series, will want to give this one a try .” — Library Journal “While the introduction of dragons would make this accessible to fantasy readers as well,  MOTH AND SPARK  is actually  a vivid story of conflict, change and confrontation and will immerse any historical novel reader in a fantasy setting all too real .” — Midwest Review of Book