May 9, 2017

Visiting with Dracula's Mistress

My regular posts Oddities of all kinds and Mysterious Romania will be postponed for a while, until I sort, hopefully in a positive way, my health  problems.
 
Meanwhile I was honored to be, virtually, invited abroad with the main characters in Dracula's Mistress and an author interview.
1. On 10th May  http://flossiebentonrogers.com/spotlight-on-draculas-author/

2. You can find tomorrow, 10th May, an interview with Vlad the Impaler, aka Dracula, at Bonnie Phelps, Author blog. 
Here is the link:
http://bonniephelpsauthor.blogspot.com/2017/05/meet-characters-interview-with-vlad.html



3. And on Thursday, 11th May another  interview. Angela, Dracula's mistress, is Lisa Burton's guest. Here is the link:
  https://coldhandboyack.wordpress.com/2017/05/11/draculas-mistress-on-lisa-burton-radio/

 
 Remember the links will not work until they go live.

I'd be happy if you could visit the posts and see what Vlad and his lovely lover have to share. 
           Thank you in advance for your time!

May 7, 2017

Book Review LILY AND THE GAMBLER by Linda McLaughlin




Respectability is in the eye of the beholder. Or so Lily Penhallow hopes when she assumes the guise of the widow Albright. She has learned the price of flaunting convention and is determined to obey society's rules from now on. After her lover, Nigel Albright, was killed in a duel over a card game, Lily dons widow’s weeds and travels to Grass Valley, California where she plans to marry the man her uncle works for, a respectable mine owner named Hugh Ogilvie. Then, on the riverboat from San Francisco, she meets Creighton 'King' Callaway, a professional gambler, just the kind of man she should avoid.

King believes that since life is a gamble, there's no point in planning for the future. You have to trust Lady Luck. After meeting Lily, King knows he has found his Queen of Hearts. But can he convince her to pass up a sober businessman for a foot-loose card sharp?

Only Lady Luck knows for sure.




 Buy link: Amazon
My Review
Linda McLaughlin, one of my favorite authors, writes another winner!  If you've read any of  Linda McLaughlin’s books you know she doesn't disappoint.  From the first page to the last. This author is entertaining in her storytelling and keeps you flipping pages.

As always, the author comes through with an entertaining, smart and well written book that keeps you involved to the very end.

Lily Penhallow  posing as the widow Alright and King Callaway are fantastic characters and their story is everything you hope for in a Western Historical Romance.  The heroine was smart and strong despite her young age. The hero was enticingly rakish.  What King did, seemed not right to Lily, but I was able to see glimpses of his true, kinder, more gentlemanly self  as well. It was an intoxicating combination. Although they may protest, women love a "bad boy" regardless of the era. The seduction scenes were wonderful. Hot and spicy and deliciously drawn out. For me, there is nothing better than the anticipation as long as it culminates in a HEA. The road to this HEA was paved with obstacles and misunderstandings and a little bit of danger that made this one of the best stories for in a Western Historical Romance I have read this year.

I highly recommend this book, it is so worth your time to read it.

May 6, 2017

Book Promo - Guardian of the Deep by Flossie Benton Rogers



 For fans of fantasy and romance - just 0.99$ for a few more days


Forbidden love in the fae realm…

The Succubus Layla has one job: to seduce dreaming men. Although emotional attachments are strictly prohibited, Layla has powerful feelings for the Guardian of the Deep.

Samael is a dark lord charged with maintaining order in his submerged domain. The Guardian is enamored of Layla, and they fuel their passion in his undersea home.

With forces stirring against them, the fae world becomes dangerous. Samael suggests a hideaway in the human dimension – a 1950 Montana ranch. Layla is thrilled. They can escape the threat looming over them, and she can indulge her cowboy fantasies with Samael.

When Samael disappears before their rendezvous, Layla’s dream turns to a nightmare. Peril is closer than ever. She must call on her deepest reserves and risk everything for the truth to come out. Is her love strong enough to hold the bond with her Guardian of the Deep?
Buy linkAmazon

April 29, 2017

Book Review - Shardai by Sandra Cox



Shardai is a large sleek cat with attitude. He has the courage of a tiger and the disdain of a king. The fearless feline has only one weakness: his guardian. He would do anything, even come back from the afterlife, for her.
 Buy link:Amazon.com

My Review


 I am a firm believer in rebirth so, if I admit it is possible for us, humans,  why shouldn’t it be also possible for the animal world?

As a pet owner – cats and a dog – I think I can characterize Shardai in two  words.  Delightful, touching. They describe Shardai to a tee. Other descriptions?  World building that doesn’t quit.  Wonderful  cat hero. The author has a way with words that makes the reader want to keep reading.  And so much more.

Even if Mrs. Cox’s book may be also  read as a story for kids , in my opinion,  it is much more than this. It is full of symbols and meanings. Shardai’s quest is full of dangers but he goes on looking for his human owner with whom he spent 12 years once and 7 years before that.  

A rainbow bridge links Catarau ( cats’ heaven)  to human Heaven.  I think it symbolizes the mutual love we, humans, and our pets share. I was hooked from the beginning. No matter what most members of the cats’ council say and the warnings they give him about dangers  - snakes, foxes, dogs, hawks, bad water,  toms, lack of food, but above all “MAN”,  Shardai must get back to his beloved mistress in the cruel and callous human world.

The feelings pervading the whole story – love, understanding, compassion, devotion. The end of this heartwarming book left me with a smile on my face and a tear in my eyes.

  Highly recommended to readers of all ages.