The Monthly Herd--What happened in January!

Thinking of doing a monthly recap post with different happenings on the blog and such. Would that be something yall would like? Or a weekly recap maybe to catch posts you might have missed? If not no worries. Just thought I'd give it a go. 

And with that...January 2014. 

Big month! Turned 2 years old (still picking winners--yall keep an eye out on emails please!).

Reviewed way more books than I thought coming in at 21 of them. Had a few interviews and guest posts. 

Started up a  listing of Author Book Signings & Book Events--If you have one you'd like added let me know! 

Did a little remodeling on the blog and gadgets. 

Yep. Big months. Check out all the goodies below...

Melting the Ice (Play-by-Play #7) by Jaci Burton

Carolina Preston has only one goal in mind—launching her new fashion line. She needs only one last thing to make it perfect—hockey phenom Drew Hogan. But Carolina and Drew have a history that goes back to their college days, and Carolina doesn’t want the embarrassment of her past to cloud the brightness of her future.

Drew is eager for the chance to show Carolina he isn’t the boy who hurt her back then, but a man now, with the skills necessary to melt the icy exterior of her cold heart.

Type: Erotic Romance
Heat: 3 out of 5
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Amazon | All Romance | Book Depository | BAM | Goodreads

*girly effing swoon* Okay. First off...the cover. It's absolutely covergasm-worthy. And all the little bits inside those pages *fans self* steamy, sexy, fun and just a damn good time. Melting the Ice. Yeah. It totally had me melting. I chuckled, teared up, swooned a little. Okay. A lot. And just enjoyed the hell out of watching Carolina and Drew take each other on as he helps model her new clothing line.

Spotlight--Avenger's Heat by Katie Reus--Excerpt & Giveaway!

Just a quickie spotlight today for Katie Reus and her next release... Avengers Heat! It comes out Feb 4th and is all kinds of shiftery goodness. Check out the except and giveaway below :)    ~Anna

Enforcer Erin Flynn has dedicated her life to protecting her kind. But keeping her heart safe from Noah Campbell, the smoking-hot shifter who saved her life last year, is more difficult. The deadly beauty would love to sink into his arms and become his mate, but she knows she can’t—he must never know about her dark past.

When Erin is sent to investigate the disappearances of pregnant shifters in New Orleans, Erin and Noah find themselves involved in a mystery more sinister than anyone expected. And as Erin delves further into the crimes, chilling information about her own past is revealed. The people who wanted her dead in the first place are trying to finish the job, and Noah wants nothing more than to shield her from harm. But can Erin truly trust Noah and let him see the wounded beast she’s hidden for so long?

Amazon | Book Depository | BAM | Goodreads | TOUR

Cat Thursday---Potted cat...

Welcome to the weekly meme hosted by The True Book Addict that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats!

Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of kitteh!

Because...cats are weird.

Freakn' Cougar (Freakn' Shifters #6) by Eve Langlais

Someone’s killing shifters in prison, and Patricia needs help catching the culprit. The cougar enlists the help of Stu and Ricky, a techno geek and a reformed criminal, a mismatched pair, who turn out to also be her mates. But Patricia’s already loved and lost one man. Does she dare allow herself to care again?

Older isn’t just wiser, it’s sexier, or at least that’s what a socially challenged wolf and a bad boy panther think. Forced to work together to catch a killer, Stu and Ricky soon find out they’ll have to learn to do more than tolerate each other when they realize one hot forty-something cougar is their mate. Can they find a way to work together and make their cougar purr?

Type: Paranormal Romance, Erotica-menage, Shifters (wolves, kitties)
Heat: 4 out of 5
Rating: 4 out of 5

Amazon | All Romance | Goodreads

Ahhh Langlais and her crazy shifery goodness. The woman is just brilliant and always puts together a fun read that's unexpected and entertaining as hell. They're always a bit quirky, funny and just flat out sexy. And Freakn' Cougar--an older shifter heroine and her two younger shifter heroes definitely entertained as they set out to hunt down a serial killer praying on incarcerated shifters. And, maybe, get a little nekkid fun time squeezed in along the way too.

Letting Go (Surrender Trilogy #1) by Maya Banks

Josslyn found perfection once, and she knows she’ll never find it again. Now widowed, she seeks the one thing her beloved husband couldn’t give her. Dominance. Lonely and searching for an outlet for her grief and wanting only a brief taste of the perfection she once enjoyed, she seeks what she’s looking for at an exclusive club that caters to people indulging in their most hedonistic fantasies. She never imagined that what she’d find is the one man who’s long been a source of comfort—and secret longing. Her husband’s best friend.

Dash has lived in an untenable position for years. In love with his best friend’s wife and unwilling to act on that attraction. He’d never betray his best friend. And so he’s waited in the wings, offering Joss unconditional support and comfort as she works past her grief, hoping for the day when he can offer her more.

When he finds her in a club devoted to the darker edges of desire, he’s furious because he thinks she has no idea what she’s getting herself into. Until she explains in detail what it is she wants. What she needs. As realization sets in, he is gripped by fierce, unwavering determination. If she wants dominance, he is the only man who will introduce her to that world. He is the only man who will touch her, cherish her…love her. And the only man she’ll ever submit to.

Type: Erotic Romance
Heat: 4 out of 5
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Cover-- Flowers on acid. I could pass on this one.

Book Depository | All Romance | Amazon | BAM | Goodreads

Oh . Yes. Dominant sexy men abound! Be still my heart. Letting Go was a fun, sexy and emotional start to the Surrender Trilogy. I loved the characters, the set up of finding love in an unexpected place, the little bits of humor and the delicious steam that heated up the pages as Joss and Dash figured out their new relationship and everything that came with it...

Reaper's Legacy (Reapers MC #2) by Joanna Wylde

Eight years ago, Sophie gave her heart—and her virginity—to Zach Barrett on a night that couldn’t have been less romantic or more embarrassing. Zach’s step-brother, a steely-muscled, tattooed biker named Ruger, caught them in the act, getting a peep show of Sophie he’s never forgotten.

She may have lost her dignity that fateful night, but Sophie also gained something precious—her son Noah. Unfortunately, Zach’s a deadbeat dad, leaving Ruger to be Noah’s only male role model. When he discovers Sophie and his nephew living in near poverty, Ruger takes matters into his own hands—with the help of the Reapers Motorcycle Club—to give them a better life.

Living with outlaw bikers wasn’t Sophie’s plan for her son, but Ruger isn’t giving her a choice. He’ll be there for Noah, whether she wants him or not. But Sophie does want him, has always wanted him. Now she’ll learn that taking a biker to bed can get a girl dirty in every way…

Type: Contemporary Romance
Heat: 3 out of 5 (though very little)
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Amazon | All Romance | Book Depository | BAM | Goodreads

Aaaannnd we have a pierced cock! *whispers* Is it bad that that was totally my favorite part of the book? I mean, I am just fascinated by them. And yeeeaaah. Yall just learned a little too much about me, huh? *looks around oh-so innocently* Okay, to the book. Reaper's Legacy. Not bad, not bad at all. I enjoyed it. But for me? It was a pretty mainstreamed, prettied up and polite MC read. Again, not a bad thing. Just not what I was expecting.

Quote-tastic (39)-- so gosh-darned hot...

Join us every Monday and share a favorite quote that's grabbed ya for one reason or another. 

Everyone's welcome to join in. Authors, bloggers, readers. The more the merrier!

Just grab the button and toss up your post :) 

Don't have a blog? No worries, just leave your favorites in the comment section.

Okay so I read my first from Joanna Wylde today. And it was entertaining even if it wasn't quite what I was expecting. My review is HERE. Anyways. This scene. It cracked me up especially with all the talk we do about naughty bits and what to call them.

One Lucky Vampire (Argeneau #19) by Lynsay Sands

When Nicole Phillips agreed to hire a housekeeper, she pictured someone a little frumpy and almost certainly female. Instead, she gets gorgeous, unmistakably male Jake Colson. The man is proving indispensable in the kitchen—and everywhere else. Except Jake might not be a mortal man at all.

Who wouldn't want to be a tall, dark, powerful vampire? Jake, for one. He's barely had time to adjust to his new state before he's roped into a family favor. Still, secretly playing bodyguard to sweet, sexy Nicole is turning out to be the wildest ride of his life. First he'll put a stop to whoever's targeting her. Then he'll prove that this kind of love, and luck, happens only once in an eternity.

Type: Paranormal Romance, Vampires/Immortals
Heat: 3 out of 5
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Amazon | All Romance | Book Depository | Goodreads

Yes, yes, I know! *hangs head* I am so late to the Lynsay Sands game but I'm luuuurving her books and totally making up for it now. And going about it backwards apparently starting with book 19 (eep!) of the series. LOL But thankfully that's okay and One Lucky Vampire totally worked without reading the previous installments. A reluctant runaway vampire, a heroine in denial, vampirical meddling and sex induced faints? Yeah. Good times. Good times.

Mini Reviews-- A Gentleman Seduced by Sharon Page & Secrets for Seducing a Royal Bodyguard by Vanessa Kelly

Doing a couple mini-reviews today for two historicals I've read recently. One erotica--A Gentleman Seduced and one mainstream--Secrets for Seducing a Royal Bodyguard. Both were pretty entertaining...

A Gentleman Seduced by Sharon Page

Lucien Northcote, Viscount Pembroke has seen everything and done everything. Years of experimentation and decadence have left him seeking more and more extreme pleasures to find his satisfaction.

The last thing he expected was to be bewitched by an innocent. But there is just something about the masked figure watching the carnal games at Madam Ivory’s from the shadows. Her keen interest belies her maidenly blushes, and he wants nothing more than to rip the mask from this mysterious beauty, along with the rest of her clothing.

Type: Historical Erotica
Heat: 4 out of 5
Rating: 4 out of 5

Amazon |All Romance | Goodreads

Tasty Delights-- Mashed "Potato" Cauliflower

Tasty Delights and Dazzling Disasters is all about playing in the kitchen and having some fun.

I'll share my delights or my disasters. Yall feel free to join in and create your own posts, share your favorite recipes, what have you. 

Mashed potatoes are my downfall. I'd so eat them every day if I could. 

But, alas, trying to be good so that's not happening.

I kept seeing mashed cauliflower toted as the thing to try for a substitute so gave it a go. 

Not bad. Not mashed potatoes. But not bad. 

Okay. Second try wasn't bad. First try *hangs head* not so much.

Spotlight-- Hand of Miriam by Eva Gordon

Morning chickies--Just a quickie spotlight today. This one looked pretty interesting to me and the cover so drew me in. Check out the excerpt and let me know what you think! ~Anna

"A Victorian world of supernatural creatures, magnificent airships, a secret society, and one bluestocking adventuress who, threatened by evil seeks protection by awakening the golem.

The Sinners Club (Sinners #1) by Kate Pearce

Unsure of his reception, Jack Lennox adopts the guise of his own secretary upon returning to his ancestral home to claim his father's earldom. When he arrives, he's stunned to discover the previous earl's lovely young widow, a woman of beguiling curves and sensual smiles, warming the bed...

Mary Lennox is determined to remain in Pinchbeck Hall and a mere secretary isn't going to tell her otherwise. But Jack Smith is a man of many talents and soon she's succumbing to his erotic games of pleasure. Only Mary may have underestimated the intensity of her wanton longings and the depths of Jack's dark desires...

Type: Historical Erotica
Heat: 4 out of 5
Rating: 4 out of 5

Amazon | All Romance | Book Depository | BAM | Goodreads

Well. The Sinners Club...was quite the surprise. A fun one. But, damn, a surprise. Starting with...a lot of male on male sex. *blinks* Yeah. I, uh, didn't see that coming. LOL Really nothing was as I expected with this one other than it being one hell of a steamy and entertaining read. The characters were charming and damaged, the romance...rather peculiar but intriguing and the storyline filled with twists and curiosities. Which was all just excellent.

The quick of it is that Jack has found out he's to inherit a title. Only when he arrives he finds the former earl's wife...pregnant with a potential heir. And his dreams of having a home of his own kind of crash down around him. But all is not as it seems on either side.

Cat Thursday--ahhh...the tp!

Welcome to the weekly meme hosted by The True Book Addict that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats!

Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of kitteh!

Guest Post w/ Catherine Bybee + giveaway!

KAREN JONES: The petite blonde married a Hollywood star, yet she’s the one who spends every day playing a part: The part of a happy wife. A year ago, she agreed to wed a famous actor to diffuse rumors about his personal life. Now, her divorce sits just around the corner, along with a five million dollar payout. However, as she prepares to exit her fake marriage gracefully, her drop-dead-gorgeous brother-in-law walks through the door… and into her heart.

ZACH GARDNER: Dark-haired, blue-eyed hunk, Zach, crashes Michael and Karen’s fancy one-year anniversary party, determined to meet the wife his brother hid from their family. But sparks fly the moment he and Karen see each other. When the famous couple decides to visit the whole Gardner clan, Karen must keep Michael’s secret under wraps in front of his questioning relative… including Zach, the man who could be the real love of her life.

Amazon | Book Depository | BAM | Goodreads

Guest Post:  Top 5 Things For Couples To Do At A Cabin

There are a lot of cabin scenes in Single by Saturday, as our heroine finds herself vacationing in one. Of course, that’s not the only the she finds herself doing…

5. Have lots and lots of sex! Slow sex, fast sex, in the shower sex... I can think of many things a couple alone can do in a cabin.

Interview w/ the ladies from Bring on the Heat!

Morning yall. We've got a slew of ladies here today to chat about their box set release...Bring on the Heat. Check it out and leave them some love :)

Breaking Skye by Eden Bradley

BDSM. Submission. Spanking. Skye thought one night with the perfect Dominant might purge these dark desires from her system. But Adam has other ideas…and soon all he can think of is breaking Skye—and keeping her for himself.

Caught by Cassandra Carr

Callie left her Dominant, Jack, three years ago, believing he’d never love her. Yet when their paths cross, she agrees to submit to him and is drawn deep into Jack’s world once more. This time, Jack knows he needs to overcome his fears and claim Callie forever or lose everything.

4 stars! Believe (True Believers #3) by Erin McCarthy

Robin used to be a party girl… until she got black out drunk and woke up in bed with her best friend’s boyfriend. Now she’s faced with being THAT girl, and couldn’t be more disgusted with herself. She can’t even tell her friends the reason for her sudden sobriety and she avoids everyone until she meets Phoenix—quiet, tattooed, and different in every way that’s good and oh, so bad…

Phoenix is two days out of jail when he meets Robin at his cousin’s house, and he knows that he has no business talking to her, but he’s drawn to her quiet demeanor, sweet smile, and artistic talent. She doesn’t care that he’s done time, or that he only has five bucks to his name, and she supports his goal to be a tattoo artist.

But Phoenix knows Robin has a secret, and that it’s a naïve dream to believe that his record won’t catch up with them at some point. Though neither is prepared for the explosive result when the past collides with the present…

Type: New Adult, Contemporary
Heat: 3 out of 5
Rating: 4 out of 5

Amazon | All Romance | Goodreads

I don't know how McCarthy manages it but she's got me falling more and more for this group with each addition book. They're just incredible reads and Believe was no different. McCarthy created a rich, unique and heart warming romance that completely captivated me as Phoenix and Robin found an unlikely friendship and helped each other heal from the pains of their pasts.

So, Phoenix and Robin. These two. Whew. I freaking LOVED Phoenix. His life has been a real bitch. He's never gotten any breaks, his family is beyond dysfunctional and he really doesn't have anything to call his own. But this guy totally doesn't let it break him. He's got his issues, for sure, but he's sweet, keeps plugging along and is just a great guy and damn sexy to boot.

When the Rogue Returns (The Duke's Men #2) by Sabrina Jeffries

Victor Cale never imagined that his sweet, shy bride, Isabella, would use her talents for creating exquisite imitation jewels criminally. But there's no denying that her handiwork was used in the theft of the Dutch royal diamonds-- right after Isa disappeared into the night.

Ten years later, Victor is sent to Edinburgh to investigate a wealthy baron's mysterious bride-to-be... who turns out to be Isa, masquerading as an alluring widow. No longer the meek girl he once knew, Isa boldly asserts that it was Victor who abandoned her, after he helped steal the royal diamonds!

Piecing together the truth of the past reawakens their volatile passions, which burns hotter than ever. But with a decade of secrets between them, Victor and Isa must trust each other to bring the real thieves to justice-- without getting burned themselves.

Type: Historical Romance
Heat: 3 out of 5 (though not much)
Rating: 4 out of 5

Amazon | Book Depository | Goodreads

I just love those second chance romances. And man alive if there's anyone who deserves a second chance it's Isa and Vicor who had their young marriage ripped apart by malicious family members as the truth was twisted and deceptions thrown in their way and who have suddenly found themselves faced with the one person they thought they'd never see again. The one person they think is responsible for changing everything by stealing a set of royal jewels years earlier from the jeweler they worked for and ripping them apart.

Cover Reveal--Seth by Eve Langlais!

Woot! Just a quickie cover reveal today for one of our faves. Eve Langlais' Seth! It's book 5 in her cyborgs series. And...yum!

His mission: Blend in with the humans. Save the cyborgs. And seduce the only woman he ever loved, without getting killed.

Cybernetic spy models are different from other humans turned machine. For one thing, they never completely lost touch with their humanity, or their memories. But retaining their identity doesn’t mean the military didn’t mess with their lives. Seth lost the woman he loved because of their web of lies. When the chance arises to make things right, he relies on his superior intellect—and irresistible charm—to prove his innocence, and make Anastasia his again.

Anastasia might possess upgraded parts and programming, but the scientists never could cure her of her biggest weakness, jealousy. The volatile emotion made her walk away from love once. Can she overcome it and recognize the truth? Or will she continue to let the military manipulate her emotional strings?

Coming Feb 28th!
Goodreads

Have you read Eve's Cyborgs series? What about her others? Me, I'm partial to the FUC series. I think it's a freaking hoot. I need to try these next I think. Check out the others in the series...

Quote-tastic (38)-- Just...do something about it!

Join us every Monday and share a favorite quote that's grabbed ya for one reason or another. 

Everyone's welcome to join in. Authors, bloggers, readers. The more the merrier!

Just grab the button and toss up your post :) 

Don't have a blog? No worries, just leave your favorites in the comment section.

Tasty Delights--Bloomin' Onion Bread

Tasty Delights and Dazzling Disasters is all about playing in the kitchen and having some fun.

I'll share my delights or my disasters. Yall feel free to join in and create your own posts, share your favorite recipes, what have you. 

Mmm. So this was another I saw on Pinterest I think and decided I'd give it a try today. 

It was pretty easy and I ate way too much of it. But dang. 

It was good! Now to try some different variations of it!

Ooo and something new! You should be able to hover over any of the photos and pin them directly to your Pinterest boards. Should be able to. lol Hopefully I did that little bit of code right. If not let me know!

Interview w/ Rebecca Zanetti & Debra Kayn--aaahhh dirty gnomes..and man candy too...

Morning chickies! So, today we have a double interview with Debra Kayn and Rebecca Zanetti! Woot! I've read both of them and LOVED them. And holy hell. Look at the #Covergasms happening here. Sweet Mary. Anyways. lol Come check out our interview and leave the ladies some love!  ~Anna

Weston--Amazon | All Romance | Goodreads

Forgotten Sins--Amazon | All Romance | Goodreads

Sweet Revenge--Amazon | All Romance | Goodreads

Morning ladies!! Welcome to herding cats & burning soup! Say you’re at the grocery store. And you’ve got 15 seconds to hook someone on your books. What do you tell them?

Zanetti: Thanks for having us over here today!  So, I’m at the grocery store because I have two teenagers, and I’m always at the grocery store.  If I’m at the store in my small town, I just say ‘hey, I’m from here and I wrote a book.”  That’d do it. :)  But, if I were in the city, I’d tell them that FORGOTTEN SINS is a sexy romantic suspense featuring an Alpha male with amnesia and a spunky heroine who can’t forget on the run from a deadly military group hunting them both.

Kayn: Do you like dominating, possessive men who only bend to one special lady? You should read Archer and Weston. Oh, and here's the phone number for when you get done. 1-800-ADDICTED 

New York to Dallas (In Death #33) by JD Robb

Twelve years ago, Eve Dallas was just a rookie NY cop when her instincts led her to the apartment of Isaac McQueen, a man she discovered to be a sick murderer and pedophile, who was keeping young girls in cages.

Now a homicide Lieutenant, Eve is one of the most distinguished officers in the city—and then she learns that McQueen has escaped from jail. Bent on revenge against Eve and with a need to punish more "bad girls" McQueen heads to Dallas, Texas—the place where Eve was found as a child, the place where she killed her own abusive monster when she was only eight years old. With Eve and Roarke in pursuit of McQueen, everything is on the line and secrets from Eve's past are about to be shockingly revealed.

Type: Mystery Romance, Slightly Futuristic
Heat: 2.5 out of 5
Rating: 4.5 out of 5


Amazon | All Romance | Book Depository | BAM |Goodreads

33 books into the In Death series and JD Robb continues to impress the hell out of me and leave me excited for more. I love the world she's created, the characters and finding out a little more about them--I'll admit it's my comfort series and one I can't get enough of and New York to Dallas? It was a little different than the rest of the books in the series--starting with the title, how things played out and the location since this time nearly the entire book took place outside of New York--and it was incredible.

Cat Thursday-- aaannnnd lick!

Welcome to the weekly meme hosted by The True Book Addict that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats!

Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of kitteh!

LOL this one just kills me.

Spotlight--Shifter Seduction Box Set--99cent sale!

6 Bestselling Amira Press Authors in one major bundle! Limited time only!

Just wanted to give yall a heads up this morning. One of my favorite ladies--Eve Langlais has a box set out now...Shifter Seduction. It's only going to be available for a short time so grab it while you can!