Erin McCarthy continues to amaze me. This book is no exception. Her story line is unique and her characters are so flawed, you cannot help but feel for them. I love Gabriel and Sara. Both of the characters have a lot of depth, just enough that the reader can truly connect with them. Her descriptions of New Orleans are so accurate the reader feels as though they have been there and seen the places she describes. With each book Ms. McCarthy releases, her stories get better and better. This is one book that you should be running out to buy.

Read the Review

Erin McCarthy’s Web Site

Cindi Myers worked as a newspaper reporter, travel agent and medical clinic manager before turning to writing full time. She’s written both historical and contemporary romance, as well as dozens of short stories and nonfiction articles. Cindi thinks writers have the best job in the world.

Ms. Myers has captured the feelings of pain, loss, and worry that any loved one feels when they send a soldier to war. This story is an outstanding tribute to the men and women who serve our country and their families. I smiled and I cried while reading this story. The emotions are strong and her characters have many conflicts to overcome in order to find happiness again. This book quickly stole my heart and captured my attention. I will be reading this book again and again. Liadan, Reviewer of A Soldier Comes Home

Cindi’s Web Site

Thank you Karenne for giving me this opportunity to share my thoughts and a little about myself as well. I truly enjoyed this and hope to do this again. You are the bomb, baby! (and of course, the one with the whip. )

Don’t forget about the contest!  Go back and read the posts and stop by Rhyannon’s website.

Thank you all again for sharing this first ever Book Brew with the Coffee Crew.

This was sent to me from Susan Squires – http://www.susansquires.com/

She is the author of the Companion Vampire Series.

Oh, Liadan. What a wonderful review! I am so happy you liked it. And you told a complicated story simply and eloquently (I may steal from you!) Thanks so, so much. Made my day. Especially needed, since I’ve spent the last week recreating the 60 pages I lost on the next one when my hard drive died. Will I EVER learn to back up all the time? Apparently not.

Susan

It’s emails like this one that make me proud to be a reviewer and even prouder still to be a member of Coffee Time Romance & More.

Who wrote Half Wild with Rhyannon?

Once again, the answer is on Rhyannon’s website. www.rhyannonbyrd.com

Send an email to liadanbrodie@gmail.com with the subject Blood Runners Book Three.

Remember, these books can be read alone.

I’ll leave the contest running until noon eastern time tomorrow.

It’s very simple really. Just go over to www.rhyannonbyrd.com and email me the answer to the following question.

What are the names of the characters in Rhyannon’s book A Shot of Magick?

Send an email to: liadanbrodie@gmail.com, with the subject line, Blood Runners Book Two. I’ll leave the contest open until noon tomorrow. That’s eastern time.

1. I LOVE Gordon Ramsay! I’m a sucker for that man. He can come into my kitchen anytime.

2. I love British Comedy.

3. American football? Heck no! I’m a Manchester United fan and have been for years. GO RED DEVILS!

4. My bestest friend in the whole wide world is Nabila. We’ve known each other for six years, send pictures of our kids to each other and talk about girl stuff to the dismay of our DH’s. We’ve never met in person because she lives ‘across the pond’ in Luton, England.

5. My DH and I knew each other for exactly 30 days before we got married and this year we are celebrating 13 years together.

6. My oldest child is 16 and he stands 6′3″ to my ’short’ 5′9″. My youngest child is 11 and she’s almost as tall as me. I have her beat by three inches.

7. I was born and raised in Louisiana. My DH was born and raised in Houston. We didn’t meet until after we’d both been living in Virginia, though we played in the same neighborhood in Houston when we were children. He lived there and I was visiting my cousin.

8. I have sea monkeys on my desk.

Okay, enough about me. Heather, that should give you some decent blackmail material don’t you think?

What I look for in a book…

Character development. For most readers, we want to be able to connect with the character on a personal level. We don’t want our Alpha males to be all around superheros who can flatten a thug with just one look. We want him to have flaws and it’s okay if he gets emotional sometimes.

World building. Does the author show us what the characters are seeing in vivid detail or do they just scatter a few objects around the room?

Dialogue. Readers like stories where the dialogue flows smoothly and isn’t choppy or hard to follow. The easier a story is to read, the better.

The plot. Was I drawn in from the first chapter? Did I feel as though I couldn’t stop reading until I found out what happened to the characters? Did the author start out with a great story but slow down in the middle and then bring it back up to speed at the end? Was the ending satisfying? Was the plot believable?

Based on those four things, I give the rating I think would best suit the story. I give my honest opinion, even if the story was slow to start. As long as it keeps me hooked to the very end, I know whatever rating I give, it will be honest.

Well this year the best chat was live from RT when Andrei Claude dropped in.  That chat lasted almost six hours I think.

The guest authors usually have a prize or two to give away and we get the opportunity to ask questions about their older work as well.  It really gives the reader a chance to connect with them, get to know what it takes for them to sit down and start writing.  We also get to hear about their WIP’s and sometimes, they even give us a sneak peek at their next book.

If you haven’t stopped by one of our chats, you don’t know what you’re missing.  We always have a good time!  Stop by if you have the chance and join in the fun.  Tuesday nights at 9pm eastern.  http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/Chat.html

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m excited about the series because it was filmed in my hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana.

I absolutely love the Sookie books, though I still haven’t read the latest even though I do have it sitting on my dining room table.  I hope to have it read before the fall though.

If any of you haven’t read her series, not just the Sookie books either, but her other series, you must run out to your local bookstore and buy it.  NOW!!!

Ms. Harris keeps the reader interested and leaves them begging for more.  Even reading one of her books will make you an instant fan.  Though at times some of the characters make you wonder what the heck they were thinking. 

1.  I have made some outstanding friends who have stood beside me when things weren’t going so well.  You know who you are Karenne and Karen and I can’t thank you enough.

2.  Those same friends are now considered family and when I start slacking on writing they are there to use whips and cattle prods on me.  Though sometimes they use those on me just for fun.

3.  I have met authors through our chats and our e-loops and then have had the pleasure of meeting them in person.

4.  Publishers are another group of people I’ve met and have even submitted work to, thanks to Coffee Time.

5.  Through Coffee Time, I found a new Beta reader who isn’t afraid to tell me, “I’m not talking to you if you kill the dog.”  Heather, thank you again for bringing me and R together.

6.  I haven’t had to buy books in FOREVER! Which happens to make the DH very happy.

7.  I’ve learned to handle criticism better and rejection as well.  I know all I need to do is keep trying to get it right.

8.  I signed my first two book contracts after joining Coffee Time.

If I’ve forgotten anyone in particular for making my life brighter since I’ve been a member, please forgive me.  Remember I have kids and they use all my brain cells.

I also like to read m/m/f and m/m stories.  I’m not crazy about f/f.  I will read erotica because I must have some spice in with the more tame romances.

My favorite authors:

Sherrilyn Kenyon, Karen Marie Moning, Kelley Armstrong, Suzanne Brockmann, Sierra Dafoe, Rhyannon Byrd, Diana Galbaldon, C J England, Laurell K. Hamilton, Cheyenne McCray and there are many, many more.

So you see, my tastes roam all across the board.  You never know what you’ll find me reading next.  It could be Sci – Fi or a Harlequin Super Romance or a J. M. Snyder book.

Luckily, there are more books in this series yet to come. But the next one won’t be out until next year. Rhyannon knows I’m chomping at the bit to get my hands on that book.

So are there any questions anyone would like to ask or shall I just talk about some of my favorite authors and genres?

There was nothing simple about what Brody Carter had to do…

With any other woman, it would be.  But not with Michaela Doucet.  He barely knew the provocative Cajun, but already her beautiful face haunted his dreams.  True, women like Michaela never took an interest in guys like him–ones who were scared and bitter enough not to care what the world thought about them.  But that had no bearing now that he had to protect Michaela from the Lycans who wanted her dead.  Even if this decision would change his entire life.  Even if it was pure madness.

Brody had no other choice.  He never had…

Visit www.rhyannonbyrd.com for an excerpt.

Coming home, Jeremy Burns realized his life had all been an act…

As if sending the next rogue back to hell was his life’s mission.  But after seeing Jillian Murphy for the first time in a decade, Jeremy knew he could no longer ignore his desire.  By rights of nature, the Spirit Walker belonged to him.  Yet fate and fear had worked against these two headstrong lovers in their youth–and cast the Bloodrunner from his home.

Now Jeremy and Jillian must join forces to uncover the betrayal that threatens to destroy the pack’s stability.  And when they’re done–well, Jeremy’s not about to again deny himself the one thing he wants most in this world…Jillian belongs to him, and this time his little witch is going to know it!

Check out the excerpt at:  www.rhyannonbyrd.com

To start off, I’ll introduce myself. I’m Liadan Brodie. I’ve been a reviewer for Coffee Time Romance and More for over a year and have loved every minute of it. I’ve reviewed over 100 books and I have also done interviews. I’ve had the pleasure of reading some really wonderful authors and know I’ll have a chance to read many more.

The first books I’d love to talk about are from Rhyannon Byrd. She is the author of the Blood Runner series now available from Silhouette Nocturne, a division of Harlequin. We have as a bonus today, two prizes. Her second and third books in the series and no, you don’t have to read the first book in the series to understand them, which makes them even better. I honestly have not been this excited over a paranormal series since reading my first Sherrilyn Kenyon Dark Hunter novel.

The first book in the series is Last Wolf Standing Blood Runners Book One. Here’s the blurb:

Five seconds earlier, Mason Dillinger would have sworn it could never happen…

That a woman who was his perfect match even existed. And that he’d find her in a bustling cafe. Yet just the scent of sweet, mortal Torrance Watson ignited a driving, explosive need to claim her that he knew his pack would never sanction. Worse, the rogue werewolf he’d been hunting had sensed that attraction and made Torry his prey. Forced to safeguard her from this ruthless assassin, who already posed a threat to his pack, Mason now faced the ultimate challenge. Did he have the courage to cross the line by sealing the blood bond that would make Torry his alone–a disloyalty few of his kind ever survived–or would he live an eternity without love?

I’ll post blurbs for the other two books in the series a little later. But for now, if you have any questions about how I choose what cup rating to give a book or what genres I like the best or just basic things about being a reviewer for Coffee Time Romance and More, please feel free to ask.

Also, don’t forget to stop by Rhyannon’s website and read an excerpt of Book one. www.rhyannonbyrd.com

We at Coffee Time Romance & More are dancing in our seats to present our First Reviewer’s Awards to Lise Fuller! Congratulations!!! Job Well Done!

Lise Fuller’s work has the unique style that grabs and holds the reader’s very own realm. Transforming their world into one that the next line could make them slip into the characters life.. Myself while reading her stories found it impossible to put the books down until the last page. Thank you Lise for the magic you have brought to us.

Ms. Fuller has proven that she can write suspense and keep a reader interested. The story is riveting to say the least, and you feel for Brodie and Elena. This book will keep you guessing the entire time, never knowing what lay in store for Brodie and Elena. Ms. Fuller has done her research well and the story flows with a smoothness that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I loved the book for the flow of the story and the characters discovering what they thought was lost. The emotions are real and the scenarios are very convincing. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a well written suspense mixed with passion. Liadan, Review of Intimate Deceptions