A Lot Like Love

A Lot Like Love is the latest book by Julie James. From the author’s website.~

The FBI wants her cooperation.

As the daughter of a billionaire and the owner of the city’s top wine store, Jordan Rhodes is invited to the most exclusive parties in Chicago. But there’s only one party the FBI wants to crash: the charity fundraiser of a famous restaurateur, who also happens to launder money for the mob. In exchange for her brother’s release from prison, Jordan is going to be there—with a date supplied by the Bureau.

Agent McCall just wants her.

As the top undercover agent in Chicago, Nick McCall has one rule: never get personal. This “date” with Jordan Rhodes is merely an assignment—one they’re both determined to pull off even if they can’t be together for five minutes before the sarcasm and sparks begin to fly. But when Nick’s investigation is compromised, he and Jordan have no choice but to pretend they’re a couple, and what starts out as a simple assignment begins to feel a lot like something more. . .

I’m so glad my friend Stacy suggested Julie’s books to me when her first book, Just the Sexiest Man Alive was released. I’ve been a huge fan every since. Julie gives her readers another winner with A Lot Like Love.

Jordan and Nick butt heads from their first meeting, but you could feel the sexual tension from the beginning. Jordan agrees to work with the FBI to help her twin brother get out of prison early. What should have been a one night job turns into an open-ended job. As Jordan and Nick spend more time together, it becomes harder and harder for them to fight their attraction to one another. It is super hot when Jordan and Nick finally get together. I loved Nick from the beginning, but Jordan is my favorite character from this book. She is such a strong woman and is willing to do anything to help her family.

We also get to meet Jordan’s twin brother Kyle, who everyone in prison calls Sawyer because he looks so much like Sawyer from LOST. I loved Kyle from his very first appearance and am so excited he is getting his own book, About That Night, which will be Julie’s 5^th book and is scheduled for release April 2012.

5K Training Begins Soon

So, I start my newest 5K training program on Tuesday evening. I've done the No Boundaries training before and it really helped me to stick to my goal. Since I've managed to gain back most of the weight I lost last year, I need something to kick my butt into gear. I've decided running, in combination with eating right will get me back on track.

Since I have done the training before, I'm hoping I'll be able to run more than walk/run through most of the training. The training is to prepare me to run a 5K on July 4th. My goal is to run as much of this race as possible and be in good enough shape by the end of October to run an entire 5K without walking.

I also plan on updating my blog each week. I currently have 4 book review to post as well as an update for the end of the week on how my first week of training goes. I've gotten behind on my blogging in the last few weeks, but it really is something I want to improve on this year.

Easter Blog Hop Winner

I had so much fun hosting my first ever giveaway! Thanks for all those who stopped by and all my new followers. My plan is to do a giveaway a month from this point forward.

I picked the winner using random.org. The winner is #33 librarypat! I'll send you an email out this morning. Silver shipped out some goodies to go with your new books, so I'll ship everything out once I receive those in the mail.

Easter Blog Hop featuring Silver James

I’m so happy to be part of the Easter Hoppin’ Blog Hop. As soon as I was asked to join, I knew which author and giveaway I wanted to feature. I’ve only been blogging for about 5 years. The very first blog I ever visited was The Plotmonkeys blog (www.plotmonkeys.com). I’ve made lots of friends while hanging out in the jungle. I count each of the Plotmonkeys as my friends as well as all of the jungle dwellers. One of the jungle dwellers, Silver James (www.silverjames.com), announced one day in the jungle that she had started a blog and asked everyone to swing by her blog. Since I’d been talking with Silver for a while at that point, I made sure I stopped by her blog. Silver told me I was the very first visitor to ever post a comment on her blog, and her blog is a daily stop for me. I’ve celebrated with Silver on-line when her first book was published and even was lucky enough to meet her in person and hang out with her at the 2010 RWA conference in Orlando.

I pulled Silver’s bio from her website and then asked her to answer a few questions so everyone could learn more about her.

From the author’s website.~
I’m Silver James and I write romance novels filled with magic and mystery! I’m a proud member of the Oklahoma Outlaws – the wonderful ladies of Oklahoma Romance Writers Association, RWA, and ESPAN, the digital chapter of RWA. I’ve been married to my best friend, who also happens to be an attorney, for twenty-seven years. Our wonderful daughter is a museum studies honors graduate pursuing her Masters in history, as love she came by honestly from her dad and me both. Over the course of my lifetime, I’ve been a military officer’s wife, state appellate court marshall, airport rescue firefighter and forensic fire photographer, crime analyst, and technical crime scene investigator. I’ve since retired from the “real world” and live in Oklahoma. I spend my days at the computer with my two Newfoundland dogs, the “lolcat” who rules us all, and myriad characters all clamoring for attention. Eventually, I’ll get around to telling each of their stories.

When did you start writing?
I think I’ve written all my life—or maybe it just seems that way. I scribbled out stories when I was in grade school and I actually wrote a “novel” when I was in junior high—staring my best friend, me, and the two rock stars we had crushes on.

Who is your biggest supporter of you writing?
My husband, aka Lawyer Guy. He’s been my biggest cheerleader for thirty years now. But a close second would have to be my friends and fans, of which you are a main one! (No, I’m not sucking up to you. Really. ;-P)

How did you celebrate your first published book?
Lawyer Guy brought me a dozen roses, a framed print of my cover, and a leather journal that had the Celtic heart symbol embossed on the cover. All together now, “Awwwwww!” He really is a romantic at heart and I’m lucky he puts up with all those sexy men in my imagination.

Who is your favorite author/writer?
Wow. This is a tough one. My “chicken soup” author is JD Robb. I can read her IN DEATH series over and over and those are the books I reach for when I need a boost. There are others on my automatic buy list, like Jennifer Lyon, Roxanne St. Claire, Leslie Kelly/Leslie Parrish, and now Larissa Ione, as I’ve just succumbed to her Demonica series.

Name 5 of your favorite books.
1. NAKED IN DEATH (the first Eve Dallas book – JD Robb)
2. NIGHT MAGIC (Jennifer Lyon’s Wing Slayer series)
3. THE MOONSPINNERS (Mary Stewart – and nothing like the Disney movie starring Hayley Mills)
4. THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (Ian Fleming – and again, NOTHING like the James Bond movie of the same title.)
5. TRINITY (Leon Uris – my introduction to Irish politics in fictionalized form)

Describe your typical day.
Ah, the joy of being a writer! I get up between six and eight. That’s A.M.! The exact time depends on LG and the dogs. Once everyone is cared for, I grab my first cup of coffee and head to my office, switch on the computer and proceed to waste an hour or so on blogs, twitter, and email. Then I get my third cup of coffee, open my current WIP and work for an hour or so. If I need to run errands, I get dressed and head out. If not, I remain in my jammies and keep writing. In the afternoon, I deal with planning dinner, dogs, the lolcat who rules us all, write, and visit on-line with friends. About five, I break to fix dinner, visit with LG when he gets home, we eat, I clean up, and then I either head back to the computer to finish up the scene I’ve been working on or to conduct more research. (Finding menu items for Saturday Brunch is hard work but somebody has to do it! Ah, the sacrifices I make for my friends. ;-) ) Sometimes, I get to view more TV than what LG and I watch during dinner, or I’ll head to bed to curl in with a good book. I never have enough time to read!

When will your next book be published?
My second novella in the Class of ’85 Reunion series comes out April 27th. It’s in digital only. Sadly, I don’t have contracts on any of the current crop of novels. Secret Agent Lady has three different manuscripts and I’m working on more! Hopefully, I’ll have good news to report sooner than later.

What stories are you currently working on (Faerie Fool, hint, hint, hint)?
Ha! Just for you, I opened the MS for FOOL this week and added some new words to it! Are you happy now? Rory and Delaney were not cooperating and I’ve had a running feud with Abhean over the story. That pesky fae will be the death of Iffy yet! (Iffy is my Muse, FYI.) We’ve called a truce though, and I now have a better idea where the story is supposed to go. I’m also working on a steampunk romance with a vampire and zombies and a werewolf anthology about some very…gifted soldiers. Good thing Iffy runs with scissors, right?

I’m a huge fan of Silver’s work. I’ve read everything she has written that has been published, and most of her stories before they were published. I especially love her Tir Nan Óg series. As part of the Easter Hoppin’ Blog Hop, I’m giving away the first two books in the series, Faerie Fate and Faerie Fire, as well as some goodies Silver has agreed to throw in. Due to shipping cost, this giveaway is limited to US/Canada. Please include your email address in your comment if not listed in your profile. I'll post the winner on my blog at the end of the Blog Hop, as well as email the winner. Winner must respond within 7 days or a new winner will be drawn.

Faerie Fate

If you could go back, do it over again, would you take a chance to find true love? What if you had no choice?
On her fiftieth birthday, the faerie send Rebecca Miller a thousand years into the past to find her happily ever after with Ciaran MacDermot, Chief of Clann MacDermot, the last Fenian warrior in his line. In the twenty-first century, Becca is old enough to be Ciaran’s mother. In the tenth, she’s young enough to be his bride.

The fae forgot to mention one slight stipulation. The lovers must be bound before the Festival of Light, or Becca will forever disappear into Tir Nan Óg , the faerie Land of the Ever Young. Will they discover the binding words before time runs out and they’re torn apart forever? Or will their eternal love defeat their Faerie Fate?

Faerie Fire

In the second book of the Tir Nan Óg, the feud between the two faeries, Manannan Mac Lir and Abhean the Harper, which has simmered throughout time, finally bubbles over. Continuing the theme of reincarnation and chances missed in the past affecting the present, Faerie Fire introduces new characters, descendants of the families first met in Faerie Fate.

Old grudges. Family secrets. Vows intended but never sworn. Memories of lives entwined then ripped apart…

When Moira O’Connor first touches SAS Captain Duncan Ross time turns topsy-turvy. She recalls memories of a former life, one in which Duncan was her lover—one in which he arrived too late to save Moira’s life as she was burned for a witch.

In their present life, while Duncan faces his own demons, he must save Moira from the Irish terrorist threatening her father, a US Senator. This time he’s determined to save the woman he loves, even if he must sacrifice his life for hers. Will Duncan and Moira survive to say the vows, binding their lives for all eternity?

On Midsummer’s Eve, when the veil between the realms thins, will faerie magic work miracles or will the lovers succumb to Faerie Fire? Without the words, history is doomed to repeat itself.

H

Treachery In Death

Treachery in Death is the latest release by J.D. Robb. From the inside cover flap.~

Eve Dallas and her partner, Peabody, are following up on a brutal, senseless crime-an elderly grocery owner killed by three stoned punks for nothing more than kicks and snacks. And for the first time, Peabody is primary detective on the case, which means she has to get used to a new level of authority and responsibility. Good thing she learned the ropes from a master like Eve.

But after rounding up the perps, Peabody stumbles upon a trickier situation. Determined to start working out as hard as she grills suspects, she chooses to do it at the old, rarely used gym at Central. After a grueling workout, she squeezes into one of the narrow shower stalls, happy to have the place to herself. Just after she shuts the water off, the gym door clatters open-and while she cringes inside the stall, trying not to make a sound, Peabody overhears two fellow officers, Garnet and Oberman, arguing. References are made to delivering product, and a house in the islands, and someone named Keener who’s supposed to look like an OD. It doesn’t take long for a naked and vulnerable Peabody to realize that both officers are crooked-guilty not just of corruption but of murder as well. Fortunately, the two clear out of the locker room without realizing there was a witness.

Eve Dallas may have trained Peabody well-but this is too dangerous for one person to take on alone. Now Peabody, Eve, and her husband, Roarke, must try to get the hard evidence they need to bring the dirty cops down-knowing all the while that the two have already killed to keep their secret, and are no doubt willing to do it again.

I believe Treachery in Death is the 32^nd installment in JD Robb’s popular In Death series. I’m a huge fan of the In Death series. So much so that I buy the books in hardback the day they are released and usually stay up almost all night reading. This time, I was in the middle of judging a contest, so I had to wait over a week after the release date to read it. I loved Treachery in Death! Fans get the usual kick-ass Eve Dallas moments with this book, but the added bonus to me was seeing how far Peabody has come since she became Eve’s partner. Peabody holds her own in this book, especially when she is hiding in the shower while Garnet and Oberman discuss their business. With the help of Roarke, Feeney, McNab, Dr. Mira, Webster, and even the Commander, Eve and Peabody work to bring down a group of dirty cops.

I personally thought Treachery in Death was more like the early books in the In Death series. I liked that we got to see a bit of Mavis, Louise, and Nadine in this book. I really miss when Eve’s friends don’t appear in each book. Of course, there is such an amazing group of characters in this series, it must be hard to fit everyone in for each book. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series, New York to Dallas, which is set to release on September 13, 2011. This will be the first time in the series that In Death will not appear in the title, and I’m hoping we will learn even more about Eve’s past in the next installment.