Interview with Louisa Edwards – & giveaway!

Louisa Edwards

Louisa EdwardsContemporary romance novelist Louisa Edwards is one of the romance community’s rising stars—a status she’s cemented with the release of her latest novel, Hot Under Pressure, which is the last in the Rising Star Chef series.

Louisa’s books are smokin’ hot, but more than just delivering high-quality romance novels, she also gives readers delicious recipes. And, having met her in person and hung out with her online for a long while, I can also tell you she’s a wonderfully warm, funny woman—qualities which shine through her writing.

She’s giving one commenter a copy of Hot Under Pressure (see details below). I’m so happy to welcome her here today. Welcome, Louisa!

Thank you so much for having me! And for the lovely introduction. I’m thrilled to be there!

1. Beck, the hero of your latest release Hot Under Pressure, is a mysterious man throughout the series. How much of his story did you have worked out when you started writing the first in the series, or did he reveal himself slowly to you just as he did to his workmates?

Hot Under PressureActually, I knew almost nothing about Beck when I started the first book, other than that he was going to be the hero of the third book. There was a period where I was just like Win, the curious, gossipy line cook who spends a lot of time speculating about Beck’s background. Was he an ex-con? In witness protection? An exiled prince of some foreign land?

But it didn’t take very long to figure out that Beck, super disciplined, focused, loyal, used to cooking for large crowds—Beck was in the military. Until I introduced Skye in SOME LIKE IT HOT, however, I didn’t know the rest of his history…

2. Your first series—Recipe for Love—has very sweet, slightly suggestive covers. Your current series features drool-inducing abs and chests. What’s your favorite cover?

Honestly, my favorite is HOT UNDER PRESSURE, with TOO HOT TO TOUCH a close second. I just adore those guys, the colors, and the kitchen backgrounds.

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Contemporaries to covet in May – and giveaway!

Rescue Me

Ahh, May! When Spring finally arrives and so does a boatload of great romance!

You know the drill. Every month I tell you about the contemporary romance novels coming out that I’m most looking forward to. One person who leaves a comment will win a $10 gift certificate for herself AND for the contemporary romance author she mentions. Details are below, but first, here are the books that’re rocking my world this month.

Somebody to Love by Kristan Higgins

Somebody to LoveAfter her father loses the family fortune in an insider-trading scheme, single mom Parker Welles is faced with some hard decisions. First order of business: go to Gideon’s Cove, Maine, to sell the only thing she now owns—a decrepit house in need of some serious flipping. When her father’s wingman, James Cahill, asks to go with her, she’s not thrilled…even if he is fairly gorgeous and knows his way around a toolbox.

Having to fend for herself for the first time in her life, Parker signs on as a florist’s assistant and starts to find out who she really is. Maybe James isn’t the glib lawyer she always thought he was. And maybe the house isn’t the only thing that needs a little TLC…

Read an excerpt

My two cents

This is a bit of a cheat, because Somebody to Love actually came out at the end of April, but I swear that when I downloaded my advance review copy at NetGalley, it said it was coming out on May 1st.

Somebody to Love is one of the best romance novels I’ve ever read. You can read my review – or, even better, go buy the book because it’s absolutely perfect.

Buy it on Amazon.com
Buy it at Barnes & Noble

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Review: Not Just Friends by Kate Hoffmann

Not Just Friends

Not Just Friends by Kate Hoffmann

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Not Just FriendsWhen Julia McKee’s friends buy the summer camp where they had all spent a decade of summers, she’s more than happy to take a week away from her bakery and help them with renovations. But on her first night sleeping in one of the cabins, she’s awoken by the boy she spent all those summers fantasizing – and writing in her diary – about.

Well, Adam Sutherland’s not such a boy anymore. He’s definitely become a man. And unbeknownst to Jules, he spent more than his fair share of time fantasizing about her when they were teens. Now that he sees the confident woman she’s become, he’s ready to explore whether they could keep the chemistry going beyond summer camp.

There were parts of this novel I really enjoyed. Jules and Adam feel very realistic, and not only do they have great chemistry as lovers but as friends, something that’s hugely important to me as a reader. They laugh together just as easily as they turn each other on.

Take this scene, for example, when Jules is trying to repair one the of the cabins.

“Sonuva bunny,” she cried again as she hit her thumb with the hammer.

“Sonuva bunny?” he said.

Julia jumped at the sound of his voice, then slowly turned to face him. “I guess I’m falling back into old habits. We weren’t allowed to swear at Camp Winnehawkee.”

“Why would you need to swear?”

“It’s the only thing I can do. My carpentry skills are almost non-existent. my fingers are all smashed.”

“Can I show you a little trick?” he asked, opening the door.

“If it involves finding a way to make my fingers stop throbbing, I’m listening.”

“Well,” he said. “First things first.” Adam grabbed her hand and brought it up to his lips, then gently kissed the tip of each finger. “Better?” he asked.

She released a tightly held breath, then shook her head. “Not quite.”

He pressed his lips to the center of her palm. “How about now?”

“That feels a little better. But the pain is kind of creeping up my arm.”

Laughing, he pulled her into his arms. “And has the pain reached your lips yet?”

On the down side, the conflict keeping them apart didn’t seem strong enough. From the start, I kept feeling like Jules was making a bigger deal out of than really suited her character or the situation, and it was easy to see how it would be resolved.

But overall, this is a fun, entertaining read.

View all my reviews

Have you read any of Kate Hoffmann’s books? What did you think?

Winner of the Roxanne St. Claire giveaway!

Barefoot in the SandMany thanks to everyone who commented on my interview with Roxanne St. Claire - and of course, to Rocki for her time!

The lucky winner of Barefoot in the Sand is…Natalija!

Natalija, send me your mailing address to: romancingkatrina[at]gmail[dot]com

Everyone, this week you can win Sherry Thomas’ latest historical romance, Beguiling the Beauty. Just comment on my interview with Sherry Thomas for a chance to win!

Review: Barefoot in the Sand by Roxanne St. Claire

Barefoot in the Sand

The sultry Florida weather has nothing on Roxanne St. Claire when it comes to cranking up the heat!

Barefoot in the SandLacey Armstrong and her 14-year-old daughter barely survived when a Gulf of Mexico hurricane slammed into their home. They lost everything they owned.

Six months later, with only an insurance check and a dream, Lacey contacts an architect to help her rebuild her home and turn it into a B&B.

When hot-as-hell Clay Walker – son of the architect she wanted to hire – shows up and offers to do the work for free, Lacey is full of misgivings but eventually gets swept up in his vision of building a resort.

Unfortunately, the island Lacey lives on is firmly stuck in the 1950s with one family influencing all zoning decisions – a family that owns the only tourist accommodation on the island and wants to keep it that way.

I’ve been looking forward to Barefoot in the Sand for months, ever since I wandered onto Roxanne St. Claire’s website and saw she was bringing out a contemporary romance series. As a fan of her romantic suspense novels, I couldn’t wait to see what she would do with my favorite romance genre. And I wasn’t disappointed.

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Review: Under Fire by Catherine Mann

Under Fire

Under FireThe pararescuemen usually handle dangerous rescue missions – in Catherine Mann‘s December release, Hot Zone (aka, the novel I wish I wrote myself!), they dug through the rubble to find earthquake survivors in the Bahamas.

On that mission, Liam McCabe met Rachel, a seemingly fearless woman who trains dogs to sniff out people who are lost…or buried under earthquake detritus. Working under appalling, exhausting, dangerous conditions, Liam and Rachel were incredibly attracted to each other but nothing happened.

Now, months later, Liam is preparing for the last mission he’ll lead his pararescuemen on before he leaves active duty: handling the security for an international summit at NASA. He’s totally unprepared for a terrified Rachel to find him with a story of someone selling military secrets and threatening her life after she told the authorities.

Under Fire is romantic suspense at its best. Tense and gripping, it never loses sight of the emotion that cranks up the heat.

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My favorite quality in a romance novel

I went to an extremely small high school. There were only 46 students in my graduating class (36 girls and 13 boys – yep, pretty crappy odds for a chubby girl with a feathered mullet).

I babysat for my vice principal and our English teacher acted as a chaperone at one of my friend’s sleepovers.

I tell you this so it won’t seem strange that I remember my class getting into a personal conversation with one of my teachers in which we asked him about the women he’d dated before meeting his wife. And I remember how flabbergasted we all were when he shrugged and admitted, “I probably could’ve been happily married to any one of them.”

Shock horror!

We were incensed that he could believe such a thing. Surely marriage was about finding that one person you couldn’t live without, the one who made your life immeasurably better.

Fifteen years later, I still believe wholeheartedly that romantic love is about finding that one person who fulfills you, understands you, and (to borrow a cliche) completes you like no one else.

No. One. Else.

Strangely, it’s taken me twenty years of reading romance to realize that that’s my favorite quality in a romance novel. I want characters who are incomplete without each other.

And even more strangely, I’ve read a lot of romance novels where I just don’t feel this between the characters. These are the books that leave me feeling ‘meh’. But when an author creates characters who fit together like no one else…

that is a book that I’ll read over and over.

What’s your favorite quality in a romance novel? Do you believe it’s possible in real life to find the one person who fulfills you better than anyone else, or is there more than one possible “love of your life” out there?

Winner of my April Contemporaries to Covet giveaway!

Woo hoo! Loads of awesome readers let us know what contemporary romance novels they’re looking forward to this month! I love seeing how vibrant the contemporary romance genre is. Makes me feel all happy inside.

The winner of the $10 book gift certificate for herself and for the author she mentions is…Cindy Overton!

In her comment, Cindy said:

Wow – so not a fair contest. I love all 3 authors. Read them all and loved them all but since I just finished Catch Me A Cowboy by Katie Lane – that’s who my vote is for. It was such an emotional ride. Laughed so hard on the first two and was brought to tears in Catch Me A Cowboy…

So Katie Lane should also get a $10 gift certificate BUT…Katie has very generously said she’ll give Cindy her gift certificate AND her choice of any of Katie’s books! (Cindy, it sounds like you might’ve read all of Katie’s books, but maybe you have a friend you’d like to introduce to her.)

How cool is that?? Talk about an awesome author. :) Go give her some love on Twitter and her Facebook page (or, y’know, buy her books).

Friends, this week you can win Suzanne Johnson’s fantastic debut novel Royal Street. Imagine New Orleans after (the very unfortunately named) Hurricane Katrina. Now imagine the city filled with were-creatures, an undead pirate, and a wizard who’s supposed to keep the humans from knowing about them. Suzanne’s novel is amazing. Seriously – go try to win it! :)

Romance at a Slow Simmer: Writing a Series

Suzanne Johnson

Suzanne JohnsonThis is a guest post by Suzanne Johnson, my critique partner, friend, and author of the incredible Sentinel of New Orleans series.

Royal Street – the first in the series and Suzanne’s debut novel – came out last week to well-deserved rave reviews. She’s giving away a copy to a very lucky person who leaves a comment here.

I’d never read an urban fantasy novel before meeting Suzanne, but her books are so creative, funny and clever that she’s converted me! (Plus, the men in this series are smokin’ hot! Hands off, ladies – Alex Warin is mine.)

Take it away, Suzanne!

I was in a Houston bookstore for a signing last week, and the store owner had a confession: “I wasn’t sure where to shelve your book,” she told me. “The romance in it is light for paranormal romance, but it has too much romance to be pure urban fantasy.” Finally, she shelved half her copies in romance, and the other half in UF.

It didn’t come as a surprise. The slow-simmering romance you’d expect to be a staple of a series? Usually, it isn’t slow at all. I knew paranormal romance fans might read my recent release and cry foul for undeveloped relationships. I knew urban fantasy fans would grumble about it having too much romance. It’s hard to find a UF series these days where sex isn’t a given in book one, even if true love trails behind.

Royal Street
In Royal Street, the first book of my Sentinel of New Orleans series, my heroine DJ meets some potential suitors. (I should add here that Dj is a wizard.) First is Alex Warin, a big, macho, black-clad kind of monosyllabic guy who’s not nearly as tough as he pretends. There’s a strong attraction between DJ and Alex, but neither quite trusts the other, plus they have to work together, which raises ethical issues that the plot wouldn’t accommodate logically.

And there’s the undead early 19th-century pirate Jean Lafitte. What girl can resist a handsome, rakish pirate, alive or undead?

Then, there’s Jake Warin, Alex’s cousin. DJ likes him immediately—he seems sweet, he seems uncomplicated, he seems easy. Note I say “seems.”

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Review: Somebody to Love by Kristan Higgins

Somebody to Love

Quite possibly the perfect romance novel.

Somebody to Love

Parker Welles grew up filthy rich. Her father might not pay much attention to her and her five-year-old son, but money has never been an object.

Until the day he loses it all and goes to prison.

Parker’s only hope of an income is the house an estranged great-aunt left her in a Maine fishing village. But when she arrives to fix it up, she discovers it’s in much worse shape than she ever could’ve imagined. And the only person she can rely on for help is her father’s attorney, James, a man she’s never been able to stand.

I love Kristan Higgins’ books – I love her humor, the gut-wrenching emotion, and the communities she creates. But sometimes I find her heroines a little too goody-goody, or her heroes a tad too moody.

I can say that Somebody to Love is by far my favorite Kristan Higgins novel. It’s absolutely perfect.

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