W... W... W... Wednesdays ~ November 27, 2013

W... W... W... Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should by Reading. To play along, just answer the following questions:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you'll read next?

What am I currently reading? I am currently in between books right now because I just finished my last book shortly before writing this post. :) I have to put some of my thoughts down on paper before starting a new book...more like a rough draft. 

What did I recently finish reading? I just finished reading A Perfect Mess by Zoe Dawson, and I loved it! Hopefully I can get a review up soon! Not sure how much time I'll get to write with the holidays coming up. 

I also finished reading Snow Fence Road by Phyllis Edgerly Ring. It was a good read. It's a sweet, inspirational  romance. I enjoyed it. 

What do I think I'll be reading next? Up next is Undressing Mr. Darcy by Karen Doornebos. Super excited to read this! What can I say? With a title like that, you have to love it! Am I right?? ;) Beautiful cover, too! 

So, what are you reading?  

Winners of the The Subsequent Proposal Giveaway!

Hey Everyone! We have our winners!

But first I would like to say

THANK YOU!

to

Joana Starnes

for generously offering to giveaway two copies of 

The Subsequent Proposal

Without further ado! Rafflecopter has picked...

For the paperback:

Warmisunqu Austen!

and

For the e-copy:

Luthien84!

Thanks so much to all who entered! I do appreciate that you took the time to stop by, and I enjoy your comments!

I have emailed the winners. 

Almost Persuaded by P.O. Dixon ~ Review and GIVEAWAY!

Almost Persuaded: Miss Mary King by P.O. Dixon 

Publication Date: October 17, 2013 
Publisher: Regents and Cotswold Book Group 
Pages: 48 
Received: E-copy from the author 
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars


A Pride and Prejudice Short Story

 

In Pride and Prejudice, there is a lady, named Mary King, who, for a short period of time, gains the attention of Mr. Wickham. We really only know a few things about her, but it’s fascinating to think about whom she is. What kind of person is she? And what could have been going through her mind in regards to Mr. Wickham?  Dixon delves into Mary’s story and takes us on a little side trip into Mary’s life. We learn how Mary was “almost persuaded”.

Poor Mary, she thinks she has no chance of gaining a husband when she has to compete against the five Bennet girls. Jane is known for her beauty, and Elizabeth is known as “the brightest jewel of the country”.  Mary feels as if she doesn’t stand a chance. She is taken with Mr. Wickham, but he is always occupied with either Elizabeth or Lydia! When Mary’s grandfather dies leaving her a considerable sum of money, Mary finds herself suddenly capturing the attention of Mr. Wickham.

I found Mary rather naive. She is so focused in trying to secure Wickham she doesn’t listen to the wise advice of her companion, Miss Heston. Of course, what girl does at that age? She is so taken with Mr. Wickham that she believes his lies, causing her to make some bad choices, and soon finds herself in a compromising position. Will Miss King regret or rejoice in escaping such a man?

I really enjoyed Almost Persuaded! This is a short story, and perfect if you need a quick read, perhaps while soaking in a hot tub!

Disclaimer: I was given an e-copy of the story for my honest review.

Buy: Amazon

Add to goodreads.

Connect with P.O. Dixon

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~ ~ ~ GIVEAWAY ~ ~ ~

P.O. Dixon has offered to give away two e-copies (kindle version only) of 

Almost Persuaded! 

Thank you, Ms Dixon!

• Two winners will be chosen. 
• Kindle version only (one per winner).
• Open Internationally.
• Last day to enter: December 2, 2013.
• To enter please fill out the Rafflecopter below! 

GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Any thoughts? I'd love to hear from you!
*Remember you MUST fill out the Rafflecopter above to ENTER the giveaway. :)

W... W... W... Wednesdays ~ November 20, 2013

W... W... W... Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. To play along, just answer the following questions:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you'll read next?

What am I currently reading? I've just started reading Snow Fence Road by Phyllis Edgerly Ring.

What did I recently finish reading? I finished reading Three Broken Promises by Monica Murphy. I had really high hopes for this, but unfortunately it wasn't as good as the first two books. I'll have a review up soon.

What do I think I'll be reading next? I want to read A Perfect Mess by Zoe Dawson, and I just got Undressing Mr. Darcy by Karen Doornebos in the mail! I'm super excited to read this! Maybe with the holiday coming up I can read both!

What are you reading? 

The Subsequent Proposal By Joana Starnes ~ My Review and GIVEAWAY!

The Subsequent Proposal by Joana Starnes 

Publication Date: October 25, 2013 
Publisher: Createspace 
Pages: 194 
Received: paperback from author 
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars


A Tale of Pride, Prejudice and Persuasion

What would happen if.... After Darcy’s proposal to Elizabeth in Hunsford, Darcy meets Anne Elliot and proposes to her! (Instant angst! - for me anyway) Anne brings comfort to Darcy in her gentle ways, and she is good for Georgiana, helping to coaxed her out of her shell. Anne has suffered her own broken heart, and Darcy figures since he can’t have Elizabeth he can bring some comfort to Anne’s life. Together they decide a quiet life together would be beneficial to both of them. 

There are plenty of anxious moments in this story when Darcy is thrown into Elizabeth’s company again. Soon he discovers her feelings have changed toward him, but as he is engaged to Anne he cannot pursue her now! He is quite tormented about it, but he is a man of honor.

I thought it was fun having Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth in this story! I especially liked Captain Wentworth! Darcy is not happy with Wentworth being around, not when the Captain appears to be courting Elizabeth! But they set aside those differences when Wickham and Lydia elope, and work together to go after Wickham. (I really enjoyed that!!)

My one complaint is that I would have like to see more interaction between Darcy and Elizabeth. I missed the bantering that Darcy and Elizabeth are known for. Elizabeth was always so subdued when they were together. So much so, Georgiana thought Elizabeth was shy. 

All-in-all I really enjoyed The Subsequent Proposal! And no worries, Darcy and Elizabeth do have their happily ever after! I would recommend this to any Jane Austen retelling fan!

Disclaimer: I was given a paperback copy of the book for my honest review.

Buy a copy: Amazon

Add to goodreads.

Connect with Joana Starnes

twitter • facebook • website

~ ~ ~ GIVEAWAY ~ ~ ~

Joana Starnes is generously offering to giveaway one paperback copy and one e-copy of The Subsequent Proposal to two lucky people! 

Thank you, Joana!

• First person Rafflecopter picks will get a paperback.
• Second person Rafflecopter picks will get an e-copy of the book.
• Open Internationally.
• Last day to enter: November 26, 2013
• To enter please fill out the Rafflecopter below!

GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Anys thoughts? I'd love to hear from you! Remember you MUST fill out the Rafflecopter above to enter the giveaway.

W... W... W... Wednesday ~ November 13, 2013

W... W... W... Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should be Reading.  To play along, just answer the following questions:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you'll read next?

What am I currently reading?  I've just started reading Three  Broken Promises by Monica Murphy. This is the third book of the Drew and Fable series (One Week Girlfriend). I loved the first two! This one is about Jen and Colin from book two. This is also my first NetGalley book! I'm super excited about that!! 

What did I recently finish reading?  I finished two books this week. First, I finished The Subsequent Proposal by Joana Starnes. It was really good! I liked having Captain Wentworth and Annie Elliot in this story. My review should be up soon! 

Second, I finished Against His Will by Nancy Kelley. I loved this one! Romance and a mystery, it's the third in Kelley's Brides of Pemberley series and features Kitty Bennet and Sebastian Montgomery. The story flowed very well, making it an easy read.  

What do I think I'll be reading next? I have a couple books I want to read...A Perfect Mess by Zoe Dawson (another from NetGalley), and Snow Fence Road by Phyllis Edgerly Ring. It would be nice to read both! :)

What are you reading? I'd love to hear from you!

Project Darcy By Jane Odiwe ~ My Review

Project Darcy by Jane Odiwe

Publication Date: October 16, 2013 
Publisher: White Soup Press 
Pages: 326 
Received: ARC e-copy from author 
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars


Time Travels with Jane Austen

 

Ellie has a gift for seeing ghosts and being able to slip back in time. It’s not something she has any control over. Ellie, Jess and a few other girls have volunteered to work on an archaeological dig at the site of Jane Austen’s childhood home in Steventon.  As soon as Ellie arrived at Ashe Rectory, where she and the girls were going to be staying for the summer, she saw him. He was a handsome young man, and she had the distinct feeling that she knew him quite well. Then he was gone. This was just the beginning of seeing him. Soon she began to slip back in time as Jane Austen and the young man is Tom Lefroy. Sometimes Ellie would spend days as Jane, then return to the present to find only a moment had passed. It becomes hard for Ellie to separate her feelings from Jane’s as she falls deeply in love with Tom. Whenever Ellie would be back in the present, she would miss Tom badly. 

It was fun picking out the parallels to Pride and Prejudice in this story! Matching up the characters, like Ellie is Elizabeth, and Jess is Jane...you get the picture. And Jane and Tom’s story was excellent! I liked how you could see where Jane would get her ideas for her stories! 

I was absorbed into both stories! Not only are we seeing Jane and Tom fall in love, but or course, there is romance in the present day story also. As Jess finds her Mr. Bingley, will Ellie find her Mr. Darcy? 

There is a twist at the end that I did not see coming! I confess, at first I wasn’t sure if I liked this twist, but in the end it worked out alright. My only complaint is that I thought it ended too soon! I would have liked to have gotten to know one of the characters better.

I really enjoyed Project Darcy! It's a fun read! I would recommend this story to both Jane Austen fans and time travel fans alike! It is the second book in Odiwe's Time Travels with Jane Austen series. I haven't read the first, but I'm going to have to read it soon! 

Disclaimer: I was given an e-copy for my honest review.

Buy: Amazon

Add to goodreads.

Connect with Jane Odiwe

blog • twitter • facebook • website

Any thoughts? I'd love to hear from you!

W... W... W... Wednesdays ~ November 6, 2013

W... W... W... Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. To play along, just answer the following questions:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you'll read next?

What am I currently reading? I'm currently reading The Subsequent Proposal by Joana Starnes. Told from Darcy's POV, Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion come together in this story. So far I'm enjoying this, although, right from the prologue the angst begins! Also, I'm loving Colonel Fitzwilliam and Bingley in this one! :)

What did I recently finish reading?  I finished reading Hopeless by Colleen Hoover. Wow! It was good! It was also intense in ways I wasn't expecting. There are some scenes dealing with sexual abuse of a small child that was hard for me...nothing explicit, but you know what has happened. These are memories (flash-backs) that happen pretty quickly.

What do I think I'll be reading next? I think I'll be reading Against His Will by Nancy Kelley. This is the 3rd book in Kelley's Brides of Pemberley series. This is Kitty Bennet's story. I'm so excited that Sebastian Montgomery is in this story! He captured my attention in Loving Miss Darcy (Brides of Pemberley, Vol. 2).

What are you reading? I'd love to hear!

The Road to You by Marilyn Brant ~ My Review

The Road to You by Marilyn Brant 

Publication Date: September 29, 2013 
Publisher: Twelfth Night Books 
Pages: 300 
Received: ARC e-copy from author 
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars


Sometimes the only road to the truth...is one you’ve never taken.

 

I really enjoyed reading The Road to You! It was a pleasure for me to step back in time and take a trip down Route 66 in this coming-of-age romantic mystery! 

When Aurora finds her brother’s journal (her brother and his best friend, Jeremy have been missing and presumed dead for two years now) she turns to the only other person whom she can trust to help her on her quest to find out what happen to them... Donovan. The thing is... Donovan, who is Jeremy’s older brother, is also the last person she wants to be around. He makes her nervous, every nerve in her body comes alive just thinking about him. Together they set off on an adventure with the hope of finding their brothers alive.

I love the chemistry between Aurora and Donovan! Aurora has always been attracted to Donovan, and he’s always felt there was something special about Aurora, but in the past she was too young. Spending so much time on the road together only intensify these feelings, but they need to put them aside to concentrate on the task at hand; finding Gideon and Jeremy.

Donovan, who Aurora calls Mr. Tall, Dark and Intense, is really very sweet and protective of Aurora - even though he’s a tough guy on the outside.

I liked Aurora’s intuition; her ability to read people. She can see much deeper into people than what’s on the surface. (It’s a quality that appeals to Donovan too.) Aurora always felt everyone might be wrong about Gideon; that maybe he was still alive. After all his body was never found, and the investigation ended all-too-soon to Aurora's way of thinking. 

I also loved that The Road to You is set in the late 70’s. Aurora and Donovan are without many of the conveniences we have today, like cell phones, internet and GPS. To do research, they would have to find a library in whatever town they were in and study old newspapers that were stored on microfiche.

It was fun trying to figure out the mystery with the clues in the journal and the information Aurora and Donovan picked up along the way. The Road to You kept me guessing all the way to the end!

I loved The Road to You! I found myself wanting to listen to some of my favorite bands from the 70’s! I definitely would recommend this one!

Disclaimer: I received an ARC e-copy of the book for an honest review.

Buy a copy: Amazon | B&N

Add to goodreads.

FTC Disclaimer: Link to Amazon. I am an Amazon Associate. Should you purchase a copy of the book through the link provided, I will receive a small commission. Thanks!

Connect with Marilyn Brant

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Any thoughts? I'd love to hear from you!