Wednesday, July 25, 2018

My share in the conversation...The 26th of November

It is such a pleasure for me to be part of the blog tour for Elizabeth Adams' latest, The 26th of November. I loved her first book, The Houseguest. It has always been one of my favorites, so I was eager to read the newest book. I was not disappointed. My part in the blog tour is a review, and I will get to that a little later.

Thanks to Claudine Pepe for organizing the blog tour, and to both ladies for including me. Elizabeth, I hope you are enjoying the blog tour and I wish the best with The 26th of November. I love your cover and the statement on the front. Clever!

Book Title: The 26th of November
Authors: Elizabeth Adams
Tour Dates: July 9 – August 9, 2018
Genre: Fiction-Romance,
British-Classics and Fiction-Historical
Purchase link: Amazon
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Book Description

The Netherfield Ball: Classic. Predictable. Immortalized.
But, what if Elizabeth were forced to relive it over and over and over again? Night after night after night?

Elizabeth: Clever. Witty. Confident.
Suddenly, her confusion and desperation make her question things she long thought she knew.

Mr. Darcy: Proud. Unapproachable. Bad tempered.
In this world where nothing is as it seems, Elizabeth must learn to see through new eyes.
Including a man she thought she hated.

Let the hilarity ensue.
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Author Biography
Elizabeth Adams is a book-loving, tango-dancing, Austen enthusiast. She loves old houses and thinks birthdays should be celebrated with trips - as should most occasions. She can often be found by a sunny window with a cup of hot tea and a book in her hand. 

She writes romantic comedy and comedic drama in both historic and modern settings.

She is the author of The Houseguest, Unwilling, On Equal Ground, and Meryton Vignettes: Tales of Pride and Prejudice, and the modern comedy Green Card

You can find more information, short stories, and outtakes at elizabethadamswrites.wordpress.com
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My share in the conversation...

The story beings after the Netherfield Ball. In Elizabeth’s eyes, the ball was a disaster. She was embarrassed and disgusted with the behavior of her relations. The day after the ball, found Elizabeth once again in an embarrassing and awful situation, all thanks to Mr. Collins. Thursday morning dawned “bright and clear,” and Elizabeth was hopeful that this day would be uneventful. It was not to be. This time the pain was Jane’s, and Lizzy felt her family was partly to blame. As Lizzy lay in bed that night, she wished her family had behaved better, at least in public. With that wish the cycle of a repeated day begins.

There are many things about this book that I loved. In fact, I cannot think of anything that I did not like. One of the first things that impressed me was the way the author handled the reliving of the same day over and over. She didn’t recount exact details of each day. She kept the plot moving along. The day might be repeating but Ms. Adams telling of it was not. She kept it lively and varied. I found that refreshing, as each day held something new and fun. When Elizabeth realized she could do or say anything and no one would remember – until “he” did – it made for some great and well-deserved conversations and actions. Superb job, Elizabeth Adams. 

As usual for Ms. Adams, her writing was good and her story telling, excellent. I laughed and I sighed. There were many really good scenes with Darcy, and some hilarious scenes with other characters. The story was well done and made me feel happy. That brings me to another thing I loved, which was the ending. I wasn’t ready for it to end, but when it did, the ending left me feeling good and warm inside. I want a book to leave me feeling satisfied, and this one did. Thank you, Elizabeth Adams, for another novel well done. The first book I read by Ms. Adams, The Houseguest, was awesome. I loved her Mr. Darcy in it and I loved him in this last one, The 26th of November, another awesome book. I highly recommend it.
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Blog Tour Schedule


July 9 / From Pemberley to Milton / Book Review & Giveaway
July 13 / From Pemberley to Milton / Guest Post & Giveaway
July 19 / Of Pens & Pages / Book Review & Giveaway
July 20 / Babblings of a Bookworm / Book Review & Giveaway
July 21 / My Love for Jane Austen / Character Interview & Giveaway
July 25 / More Agreeably Engaged / Book Review & Giveaway
July 28 / Just Jane 1813 / Book Review & Giveaway
August 2 / Diary of an Eccentric / Book Review & Giveaway
August 6 / Austenesque Reviews / Excerpt Post & Giveaway
August 8 / My Vices and Weaknesses / Book Review & Giveaway
August 9 / Margie’s Must Reads / Book Review & Giveaway


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Giveaways


Elizabeth Adams is offering five copies of The 26th of November for your readers,
5 audiobook codes, each one is good for one of her audiobooks



and two autographed paperback copies of one of her books, readers’ choice from her catalog.



The giveaway runs until midnight, August 11, 2018.

Terms and Conditions:

Readers may enter the drawing by tweeting once a day and daily commenting
on a blog post or a review that has a giveaway attached for the tour.
Entrants must provide the name of the blog where they commented.
If an entrant does not do so, that entry will be disqualified. 

One winner per contest. Each winner will be randomly selected by Rafflecopter
and the giveaway is international.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Saturday, July 7, 2018

And the winners are...Proof of Love

Good news! I have some winners to announce!

Three lucky readers have been randomly selected to receive
Brenda J. Webb's newest release, Proof of Love!


Congratulations to each of you!

 Signed Paperback Winner: KateB!

Two eBook winners:
Maria
Mary

Thank you, Brenda J. Webb, for your generous giveaway.
All of the winners were super excited to have won! 

Thank you to all who commented. I appreciate
your support more than you know!

Wednesday, July 4, 2018

My share in the conversation...The Darcy Legacy

Available on Amazon
Joana Starnes is such a sweet person and promoter
of all things Austen. I feel it an honor to call her a friend.
I have been following her writing career from the beginning
and love all her books. I was extremely excited when I heard she
had another book almost ready to release! I could hardly wait
to get my hands on it and READ! Here I am today, taking part
in the blog tour for The Darcy Legacy, Joana's latest. It is a book
that I highly recommend. My review of the book is below under
"My share in the conversation..." Thank you for joining me today.
I would love to hear your thoughts on my review or on the book,
if you have read it or plan to read it.

Joana has a fabulous giveaway. There are going to be some
very lucky winners. Thank you, Joana, for your generosity.

Before getting to my review, I posted the book description,
the author links, and author biography.

*****

Book Description:


‘Pemberley’s ancient halls harbour many secrets. Which one will affect Fitzwilliam Darcy
and the love of his life? How is Mr Bennet to enjoy the comforts of a well-stocked library,
when his wife’s premature demise had left him with the task of finding suitable matches
for their daughters? What of a misleading encounter on a muddy lane in Hertfordshire,
that renders a country-town assembly rather more tolerable than some might have thought?


Shades of mystery, meddlesome relations – not least a drenched Adonis – raillery, old errors
and a very recent union make for a challenging courtship when Fitzwilliam Darcy is not
on his own ground. Yet when love is the reward, challenges make it more worth the earning.
“A fraught courtship? So, let it be fraught,” Colonel Fitzwilliam said with a nonchalant flourish
of his hand. “A good challenge never hurt anyone.”’


Author Links






Author Biography


Joana Starnes lives in the south of England with her family.
Over the years, she has swapped several hats – physician,
lecturer, clinical data analyst – but feels most comfortable
in a bonnet. She has been living in Georgian England
for decades in her imagination and plans to continue
in that vein till she lays hands on a time machine.


She is the author of eight Austen-inspired novels:
From This Day Forward ~ The Darcys of Pemberley,
The Subsequent Proposal, The Second Chance,
The Falmouth Connection, The Unthinkable Triangle,
Miss Darcy’s Companion, Mr Bennet’s Dutiful Daughter
and The Darcy Legacy, and one of the contributing authors to The Darcy Monologues,
Dangerous to Know and the upcoming Rational Creatures (due in October 2018).
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My share in the conversation...

The Darcy Legacy is an utterly delightful novel. It is a fresh, unique approach, and different from anything I’ve previously read by Joana Starnes. She still tortures Darcy, just a little, but not with her usual vigor! Of course, she gives him his HEA, but he still has to earn it.

The book begins at Pemberley in 1806, shortly after the elder Mr. Darcy’s death. We get a glimpse of life there before Fitzwilliam Darcy makes the fateful trip to meet Mr. Bingley at Netherfield. Strange happenings are afoot at Pemberley. Objects are moved, ink is repeatedly spilled on the desk, and papers are scattered. What can be the meaning of this? Is there truly a ghost haunting the estate. According to the servants, yes, there is!

Move forward to 1811 when Darcy is going to Hertfordshire at Bingley’s invitation. While trying to find Netherfield, he comes across Elizabeth. This meeting, of sorts, is priceless. I laughed out loud, but I laughed even more when he glimpsed her at the Meryton Assembly. Did the Fitzwilliam Darcy just deliver a Mr. Collins action? I believe he did! That was so unexpected and well done. Different from canon, Darcy and Lizzy do dance, and it is rather pleasant. In the days that follow, they get better acquainted, getting on quite well.

When Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam travel to Kent, there is a different group at Rosings. This makes for some fun reading and happenings. Elizabeth is there but not as Charlotte’s guest. Darcy eventually attempts his proposal, and as usual is making quite a mess of it. As he blunders along, he has unexpected outside help. He thinks he’s losing his mind, and he very well may be. Oh, how I adored this! Although it had some comical moments, it ended up being quite touching.

All the characters in the book are engaging. Colonel Fitzwilliam is hilarious and is the perfect counterpart to Darcy. Mr. Bennet’s actions were a big surprise, but were to my liking. Anne deBourgh was a nice and agreeable person who had a few surprises of her own. I even “kind of” liked Lady Catherine, well, only part of the time. She had her moments.

Joana Starnes never fails to deliver. Her writing is so good and makes me live everything with her characters. I experience what they are experiencing. I get totally absorbed in Joana’s books. I enjoyed every aspect of The Darcy Legacy and will be reading it again. The book begins with a bang and comes full circle at the end. It is such a tender and loving ending, and gave me a feeling of complete satisfaction. I loved it!

Thank you, Joana Starnes, for such a well-written story full of twists and turns, a fun and awesome read.

Giveaways


Joana is offering 10 copies of The Darcy Legacy for your readers, 20 audiobook codes,
each one is good for one of her audiobooks and a $25.00 Amazon gift card.
Thank you for your support with these giveaways. The giveaway runs until midnight, July 16, 2018.





a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour Schedule


July 2 / Austenesque Reviews/Excerpt Post & Giveaway
July 3 / Diary of an Eccentric/ Guest Post & Giveaway
July 4 / More Agreeably Engaged/ Book Review & Giveaway
July 5 / Of Pens & Pages / Guest Post & Giveaway
July 6 / So Little Time... So Much to Read/ Guest Post & Giveaway
July 7 / My Love for Jane Austen / Excerpt Post & Giveaway
July 8 / Babblings of a Bookworm/ Book Review & Giveaway
July 9 / My Vices and Weaknesses/ Book Review & Giveaway
July 10/ Obsessed with Mr. Darcy/ Book Review & Giveaway
July 11 / Pemberley to Milton/Book Review & Giveaway
July 12 / Just Jane 1813/ Tour Finale & Giveaway


Be sure to stop by all the blogs participating in the tour. Joana Starnes is sure to have some fantastic posts for us. I, for one, am looking forward to each one. Thank you, Claudine Pepe, for inviting me to participate in the blog tour. Thank you, Joana, for giving us another awesome book. I'm sure it will be a huge success.


Tuesday, July 3, 2018

And the winner is...True Love Comes to Delaford

It is almost July 4th and the celebration
of independence here in the US.
Happy Fourth to all my readers, friends, and family! 

Since we are about to be celebrating, I have a winner to announce! She is getting to celebrate the win of a book
she was looking forward to reading! :)

Vesper Meikle is the eBook winner of
True Love Comes to Delaford by Virginia Kohl


Congratulations! 

Thank you, Virginia, for visiting my blog
and for hosting the giveaway. 

Thank you, Vesper, for your continued support of my blog!
Enjoy your read!