Review: FIFTY SHADES OF GREY by E L James

For those of you have been following my reviews, I tend to only write reviews on books that I felt were well written and kept me interested.  Fifty Shades of Grey has had so much publicity and people who don’t typically read romance, including men, have heard of the novel, so I decided to read it and review it no matter what I concluded.

Anastasia Steele graduates from a Washington college, fresh into the work world and a virgin in the sexual world.  The first man she meets, Christian Grey a billionaire, through a final project for school decides to claim her.

Christian wants Ana to sign a contract as his submissive.  This means she must do whatever he wants sexually as he’s the dominant. 

Ana falls in love with Christian, yet he doesn’t seem to reciprocate more than many sexual acts minus the emotion. 

I became intrigued with E L James’ novel at the point of Christian offering Ana the contract and wondered how she would react. 

After further reading, I felt a subplot or two would have moved the story deeper.  The conflict remained stagnant as it didn’t shift in intensity at any point as Ana’s reaction to the different sexual escapades mirrored one another.

I did enjoy E L James variation in word choice and the ending leads you directly to the next novel - Fifty Shades of Grey is the first of a trilogy.  E L James is commendable in her ability to market her work, originally self-published, to create growing interest and have her work currently retained by Random House. 

I’ve talked with many who’ve also read the novel and have heard everything from “boring” to “I devoured all three novels.”  Guess you’ll have to read it for yourself :-)      

Enjoy,

Dawn

         

Guest Author Interview: Laura Breck

Today we are interviewing Contemporary Romance Writer Laura Breck. She is giving away a copy of DANCING IN A HURRICANE.

Alexis: Hi Laura, thank you for coming back to visit Happily Ever After Thoughts. Can you start by telling us why you set your romances in big cities?

Laura: Hello, Alexis! Thanks for having me here today. I love your blog, and I'm excited to chat with you and your readers. 

Big cities have always fascinated me. I live in a little-big city, Saint Paul, Minnesota, and I love the variety of businesses and people here. A big-big city like Miami is even more exciting. The cultural variety, the nightlife, the beach! I enjoy traveling, and exploring cities always gives me inspiration for writing.

Alexis: Well, your trip to Miami was a great inspiration because I absolutely loved this book! Why don't you tell our readers what DANCING IN A HURRICANE is about.

Laura: I'd love to. Bree Prentis is from a relatively small town near Seattle, Washington. She's been estranged from her identical twin sister for five years because of a life-altering prank her sister played on her. When her sister is accidentally killed, Bree inherits everything from her: a beautiful home in Miami, an extremely lucrative, but mysterious business, and a sexy Cuban-American housemate and business partner, Sixto Doria.

Sixto is drawn to Bree's honest, wholesome personality, but he's hiding a secret from her. He knows the amoral, semi-legal secret behind the business they own. His reasons for keeping it from her are justifiable, but the guilt of his dishonesty puts an emotional wall between Bree and Sixto.

Alexis: This is a great set-up and your subplot strains their relationship as well. Where did you get the idea for this story?

Laura: I dream up my story plots. Literally. I woke one morning with the idea for the book. Everything from Bree and Sixto's first encounter to the secondary characters, Marisa and Rico who have their own story, to the darkest moment when all four characters' stories converge. 

Alexis: Wow, you have a great muse! What are your favorite character traits of Bree and Sixto?

Laura: I enjoyed writing Bree's sheltered, conservative background. The culture shock she experiences in Miami was much like what I felt the first time I traveled to Florida. Sixto's dedication to his family is his strong quality. He would, and does, do anything to protect them.

Alexis: I know you write fast. Can you share with us what your writing process is like?

Laura: I do write fast on my first draft. I throw it down and clean it up later. My first draft flows quickly onto the page, then in the second and third revisions, I add details and flair. I usually plot the story very heavily, and write from that, but lately I've found myself 'pantsing' - writing by the seat of my pants. It's been working well so far!

Alexis: I understand pansting as that is what I do as well, but it makes for lots of revisions for me, (sigh). What can we expect next from you? Do you have any new releases coming or a work in progress?

Laura: I have a shorter story coming out soon (200 pages compared to DANCING IN A HURRICANE's 400 pages.) It takes place right here in Minnesota. I wanted to write a book about the most beautiful place on earth (in my humble opinion), the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness on the Minnesota/Canada border. 

It's remote wilderness camping where you head into the lake-dotted forest in a canoe, carrying everything you need on your back. The perfect setting for an ex-military hero, a city-girl heroine, sabotage, and romance!

I'm currently writing the sequel to DANCING IN A HURRICANE. WADING INTO A RIPTIDE is where I tell the stories of four characters introduced in Dancing: Élian, Cara, James, and Dayami. I'm having a blast writing it! 

Alexis: Excellent! That means we have a lot to look forward to from you. Thank you so much for sharing your stories with us. It's a pleasure having you visit.

Laura: Thank you for the great interview questions, Alexis. I'd love to hear from your readers. Do you enjoy a book about a big city? A small town? A remote wilderness? What's your favorite setting and why?

Alexis: For a chance to win Laura's DANCING IN A HURRICANE, be sure to leave a comment for her. If I have contact information, I will let you know when you win, otherwise, check the side column for your name on Wednesday under WINNERS :-)

For more information on Laura's books, go to http://laurabreck.com/

Alexis: Check out this excerpt from DANCING IN A HURRICANE.

Excerpt:

Two hours later, Bree had gotten in an hour nap and was almost finished with her yoga workout.

At a knock on her  door, she called, "Come in," from the down dog position.

He laughed. "All I can see is your butt."

"Because it's so big?"

He shook his head. "You're not okay with that, are you."

"Sixto, I'm fine with my body. It's not what defines me."

"Profound, chica."

She looked at him from between her feet. "I'm an enigma."

He sat on her bed and watched her movement. "Does that hurt?"

"Being an enigma?"

He laughed. "No, yoga."

"Mmm. At first, then it feels good." She knelt and sat back on her heels. "Want to try?"

He scratched his cheek. "Not with you watching. But to prove that I'm open to trying new things, I'll borrow your DVD. Someday."

"That's the sweetest thing you've said to me all day."

He stood, but she put out her hand. "A couple more minutes?"

She balanced the top of her head on the yoga mat, put her hands on the back of her head, elbows down to make a triangle, and slowly lifted her legs in the air.

He walked over to her, standing in front of her. "Cariña, this is a view of you I've never seen.

She toed him in the chest. "Don't bother me while I'm opening my blood vessels."

He ran his hands down her calves. "Sexy blood vessels."

She giggled. "You have hair on your legs."

He glanced down at her face. "You're just noticing?"

A vision of him in his swim trunks crossed her mind. "But you don't have any hair on your chest?"

He stepped back and sat on the bed. "Weird, isn't it?" A teasing smile quirked his lips. 

"Do you shave?"

"Yup. For photo shoots, I shave my chest and trim my leg and arm hair."

She lowered her legs and lay on her side, feeling the blood circulating through her body. "Does it bother you?"

His eyebrows drew together. "Not until now. Does it bother you?"

She sat up and crossed her legs, pretzel style. "Not at all." Leaning forward, she touched her forehead on the mat. "I shave my legs every day. Does that bother you?"

"Uh uh." He cleared his throat. "But that's what women do, shave their legs."

She sat up and looked at him. Did he think she found him less masculine because he shaved? She stood and walked slowly toward him, swaying her hips. "I like your chest smooth." Stopping in front of him, she stood with her knees between his. "But I'd love to see it with hair sometime." She put her hands on his t-shirt over his chest and rubbed circles. 

He grabbed her and pulled her down on top of him.

"Yikes! Sixto!"

"Cariña, I'll stop shaving. For you." He ran his hands up her back under her shirt. "No bra?"

She grinned her naughtiest smile. "Nope."

"Kiss me, Bree."

She touched her lips to his, slowly kissed him, enjoying the building tension. His body vibrated, but he didn't grab or overpower. He let her lead.

She ran her tongue along his lower lip. "Mmm. You taste good." He opened his mouth and she deepened the kiss, touching his tongue with hers. When she shifted, her nipples rubbed his chest and they both moaned.

Lifting her head, she looked into his eyes. "Too much?"

His voice choked. "Yeah."

She slid off him, avoiding his hard member and sat next to him. "Sorry. I know better." 

"Yeah." 

She smiled. "You bring out the naughty in me."

He grinned and sat up, put his arm around her shoulders. "It's going to get worse." He kissed her neck then bit her shoulder.

A shiver of delight scuttled through her. "I know." She ran one finger down his clavicle to his stomach. "Help me be good."

He grabbed her finger, brought it to his mouth, and kissed it. "Do you realize, Bree, that your lips say no, but your body says yes?"

She narrowed her eyes. "What does that mean?"

"There's a term for a woman who wants to make love, but always says no."

"You're calling me a tease?" She grinned. She was never accused of that before. It was kind of exciting to have that much power over a man.

He stood. "You're gloating, but it's not much fun on this side of it."

"I…" She stood. "It's been difficult for me too, Sixto. You have to understand that while you have no doubts, I'm conflicted."

"Ha." He shook his head. "No doubts? Hell, woman, I'm second guessing everything I do when it comes to you." He backed up a step. "This is all new to me. I've never felt this way about anyone before."

She closed her eyes for a second, the sweet emotion of his disclosure made her chest ache. She reached for him, put her hands on his arms. "It's the same for me, Sixto." 

Alexis: For a chance to win this great story, be sure to leave a comment for Laura :-)

When First They Meet

In your opinion, how soon is soon enough for your hero and heroine to meet? First page? First chapter? Normally, I like the love interests to meet rather quickly….within the first or second chapter.

           

 However, I recently read a novel by one of my favorite authors and surprisingly, the hero and heroine didn’t meet until a couple chapters into the story. And it was fine. Actually, better than fine. The beginning of the story was the setup. In my humble opinion, the setup was absolutely necessary. The rest of the story, the romance of it, the falling in love, would not have made a bit of sense if I hadn’t known before hand the “why” of it. And because I knew the “why” of it, the anticipation of when these characters would meet for the first time grew….and grew….until I couldn’t wait. I knew it would be good.

            

 Not only good, but outstanding.

           

 And it was.

            

 This author did such a fantastic job of building my expectations, my eagerness, I couldn’t help the long sigh that escaped me or the rush of goose bumps when the hero and heroine laid eyes on each other. Anticipation is a good thing!

            

 So, how soon is soon enough? First page? First chapter? If it’s done well and the anticipation builds, I don’t think it matters, as long as they fall in love by the end of the story.

As always, happy reading!

Marie

Guest Author: Charlene Keel

Hybrid Author Charlene Keel Talks About THE LODESTONE

Thanks, HEAT, for the opportunity to share my books. It seems fitting as we in the U.S. prepare for Independence Day that I introduce readers to Cleome Parker, liberated, independent woman and budding feminist—not easy to be in 1830s England, especially if you’re the illegitimate daughter of a madwoman.

As if that doesn’t make Cleome’s life hard enough, along comes handsome, arrogant Drake Stoneham who wins her grandfather’s inn and tavern in a card game. Alone and penniless when the old man hangs himself in shame, Cleome convinces Drake to let her run the inn for him.

Writing this book has been a journey. It began as The Tavern House (Dorchester, 1976) after I read Catherine Cookson’s The Dwelling Place and was inspired to try a historical. While I was fortunate to have been published so early in my career, I was also at a disadvantage because my publisher put out whatever I turned in without assigning an editor to work with me—and I had no idea what I was doing.

Some 30 years later I got the book out and read it again and was absolutely horrified. There were holes in it that you could drive a coach and four through! I got the rights back, rewrote it and changed the title. It was probably the most uplifting creative experience I’ve ever had.

The Lodestone had a brief life on my now-defunct e-pub site, Tantalizing Tales, where I published it under my pseudonym, Kathryn Fairfax (I thought that was a better name for a romance author). On Kindle, it’s under my own name only because I couldn’t figure out how to include a pseudonym in my account—perhaps a happy accident. Of all the books I’ve written I think this one is my favorite.

I recovered rights to all my old titles and self-published them as ebooks, which makes me a hybrid author since I also publish with traditional houses. HCI Books/HCI Teens has just released Ghost Crown, the second book in my new YA paranormal adventure-romance trilogy—and my co-author J. Gabriel Gates and I are delighted with the reviews. 

Here’s a bit of The Lodestone:

Excerpt: THE LODESTONE

He sprawled nearby in the regal-looking easy chair, which bore the eagle’s head insignia on each of its massive arms. Pleading her case would be more difficult than Cleome first thought, with him sitting so close to her, the firelight reflecting off his hair. Once more his dark appeal assaulted her senses. Heavy brows accented his wide forehead and arched above large hazel eyes. A little smile, as if he were humoring a small child, played at his lips as he gazed at her.

“Pray,” he continued more gently. “Tell me what’s on your mind, Miss Parker. I promise I’ll not bite you or harm you in any way.”

She took a deep breath and before cowardice could overwhelm her, she plunged ahead. “It has occurred to me, Mr. Stoneham, that—as you have no plans to reside here throughout the year—you will need someone to see after the place in your absence. I have, for some time, performed many tasks in helping my grandfather run the inn. I have kept the ledgers, supervised the staff, ordered menus, purchased supplies, and the like.”

“You are suggesting that you, a mere slip of a girl, become the innkeeper?”

“It’s true I’m young, sir, but the staff all respect me. And I believe they will vouch for my efficiency.”

“My eyes can do that,” he said curtly, shifting his weight in the chair. “So you want to remain here and serve me?” He paused, but she remained silent. “Is that it?” he prompted.

“Yes, sir.” She could feel her self-control wilting under his penetrating stare. Her hands clasped tightly in her lap to prevent them shaking, she pressed her lips together, determined not to cry. She had not shed a tear as yet, and she would die before giving him the satisfaction of reducing her to feminine histrionics.

“But you cannot even heed the simplest order,” he protested calmly. “I was not out of this house an hour but you instantly disobeyed my wishes.”

“I explained why I prefer to work.” She wanted to jump to her feet and pound his unfeeling chest, but she forced herself to remain seated.

“Did you stop to consider what my reasons might be?” he asked. “Perhaps it was in my mind to sell the place. What then?”

Her gaze did not falter beneath his as she responded, “Then perhaps, if the work I’ve done in your absence is satisfactory, you’d be kind enough to recommend my services to the new owner.” A flicker of hope came to life within her. If he were to sell the inn, perhaps a more understanding employer would take her on.

“Put your mind at ease, mademoiselle,” he grumbled. “I have no plans to sell. And so you are offering your services to me, when it’s obvious you cannot bear the sight of me. With good reason, I might add.” The quick, surprised look she darted at him gave her away completely and she wished, for her mother’s sake, she could recall it. She didn’t like him, it was true; but she did not wish to make him angry. There was too much at stake. “Well?” he demanded.

She had to look away from him as she struggled to hold her emotions in check. “I must see that my mother has lodging and a little food every day,” she said at last. “We have no relatives to whom I can appeal and she will not survive if we are set upon the road. I would suffer anything rather than allow it.”

He leaned close to her and placing his hand beneath her chin, he drew her face up so that she was looking directly into his eyes. And then he spoke one distinct word.

“Anything?” he asked softly.

To buy THE LODESTONE: http://www.amazon.com/The-Lodestone-ebook/dp/B006YYW0S6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340303185&sr=8-1&keywords=the+lodestone+by+charlene+keel

For more about Charlene's books, visit her at www.charlenekeel.com/

Review: TWICE KISSED by Lisa Jackson

The only similarities between twins, Maggie and Mary Theresa, are their California upbringing and their looks.  Oh yeah, and Mary married the man Maggie loved.

Thane Walker lived on the other side of the tracks from the twin’s family.  He’s rugged with an attitude and a killer body.  Maggie can’t keep her eyes or hands off him after she discovers him working on the ranch her horse is boarded at. 

Thane and Maggie.  True love forever until Mary steps in as her sister and seduces an unknowing Thane into marriage.

That’s the beginning of Mary’s dark side and the many-sided faces she portrays for fame. 

Many years later Mary disappears.  Now her ex-, Thane travels far to confront Maggie and ask for help.

 The years evaporate when Thane and Maggie are reunited, yet how can Maggie, with a still wounded heart, trust the man who’s the number one suspect in her sister’s disappearance?

Jackson creates a luckless life for former lovers and finds a way to twist their worlds back together.  As a master at suspense, Jackson makes it hard to imagine Maggie and Thane can ever resolve the past, but I cheered for the unimaginable.       

Enjoy,

Dawn