Love is in the Air Giveaway Hop

Thank you once again to one of my favourite blogs, Under the Covers for a great blog hop. 

February must be a romance book lovers favourite month of the year. Let's celebrate romance all month long!

I want to spread as much romance as possible this blog hop so I am going to give away 5 box sets of eight novels, Unforgettable Heroes, to five different winners in the US or Canada. 

• This box set will be awarded to US and Canadian winners. 
• I will be purchasing from Amazon to gift to the winners. 
• Age 18+ entries please

a Rafflecopter giveaway For WordPress sites (not self hosted)

Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn

Honoria Smythe-Smith and Marcus, the Earl of Chatteris




Just Like Heaven (Smythe-Smith Quartet #1) 

By Julia Quinn
Narrated by Rosalyn Landor

Book Blurb:
Quinn’s Just Like Heaven is the dazzling first installment of a delightful quartet of Regency Era-set tales featuring the romantic exploits of the well-meaning but less-than-accomplished Smythe-Smith musicians—in this case, a beautiful violinist in the pitiful group who has her sights set on marrying the last unwed Bridgerton…unless her handsome, love-struck guardian has anything to say about it. Bridgerton fans will cry, “Encore!”—as will every reader who adores England’s Regency period and great love stories that are smart, witty, and lighthearted.

I listened to the audio book of Just Like Heaven. I've recently discovered how easy it is to borrow and download audiobooks from my local library. This lending system is perfect for me because when I walk, I'd much rather listen to a book than music. 

I wanted to love Just Like Heaven. It had all the makings of a story that I would fall in love with; but I didn't. I felt it drag by in many spots. Listening to the narrator in her perfect English voice was really pleasant though. 

I completely loved the epilogue of Marcus and Honoria's childhood. I just adore stories where the protagonists have a long history and really know each other. It was an excellent epilogue and reason number one why I was sure I was going to love this story.

As the story progressed, another reason that I was sure that I would love Just Like Heaven is because Honoria really wanted to get married. She wanted to find herself a husband.  So many times in historical romances the heroine is fighting her matrimonial future and it was a breath of fresh air so read Honoria want it. I also liked that Honoria wasn't a wallflower and there wasn't anything unusually different about her. She just wanted a family of her own and that it'd be a great bonus if she loved her husband. 

In her hunt for a husband, Honoria devises a rather silly plan using a man-made mole hole and it had me smiling. It was at this time that Marcus entered the picture and I have to admit that the book was a complete winner for me up until just after this mole hole meeting. It was after here that it started to lose it's whimsical touch for me. 

I did love that Marcus had a sweet tooth. It is about time a man enjoyed eclairs and tarts just as much as women did. Another enduring trait with Marcus is that he does not thrive being the center of attention. He is definitely an introvert and that worked for me. 

The musical quartet part of the book was very long, dragged out and highly boring. As I was listening to Just Like Heaven instead of reading, I was not able to skip forward. 

There was a lot to like in Just Like Heaven but there was also quite a bit that I would have happily skipped over. Because of my desire to skip forward over much of the story, I am rating only a 2. 

Undone by Lila DiPasqua

Angelica and Simon's book




Undone (Fiery Tales #4)

by Lila PiPasqua

Book Blurb:
Maintaining her ruse as a commoner, and trusting no one has kept Angelica safe. But a chance encounter with a handsome stranger lands her right where danger lies. Now, this sinfully handsome man with arresting blue eyes and a polished manner thinks he’s saved her life, when in fact he’s placed her in great peril. She’s intent on keeping him and everyone else at arm’s length. Yet, the smoldering attraction between them is difficult to deny. And impossible to ignore . . .

As commander of a number of privateer ships, Simon Boulenger dresses and speaks like an aristocrat, and has obtained wealth. But he is still not a noble. Or an officer in the King’s Navy. His lifelong dream to elevate himself from his station of birth and attain a respectable place in society is dead. Worse, he’s ensnared in a deadly scheme, and must get out. But how is he to stay focused on his dangerous mission when the mysterious beauty has him utterly intrigued? He can’t afford the distraction any more than he can resist the carnal hunger she stirs. Simon soon discovers that she’s not only a passionate soul mate, but a woman born into privilege. A woman he can never have. But they’re in too deep. Their hearts are at risk . . . as well as their lives.

I have to admit, I was not a fan of this story. Unfortunately I did not connect with the characters nor did I particularly like them. The cover art is beautiful and Undone just happened to be an Amazon freebie when I downloaded it. There are a lot of high ratings for Undone so it confuses me on why I didn't care for it as much as others. Hopefully I can accurately explain why it didn't do it for me. 


Angelica literally runs into Simon right outside her home at night. Her home just happened to be a convent. Through the moonlight, Simon couldn't help but notice her beauty. She continued on her path and ran into the convent. Simon felt compelled to run in after her. 

The story started out interesting enough. Almost immediately Simon was thrown into the role of hero and Angelica was ungrateful for his heroic efforts. Right off the bat I had a feeling I was not going to really enjoy the story. I loath stories where miscommunications are used to drive the plot forward. From withheld secrets to misinterpreted conversations I was beginning to dislike the story as I started to move through the pages. 

It was also driving me nuts as Simon's penis seemed to have a mind of it's own. It was unruly and hard pretty much each and every page and I was getting bored with reading about Simon constantly fighting his raging hard-on. Angelica really hadn't done anything enduring enough to earn such strong feelings. Okay, she was stunning to look at in her plain grey convent garb but really, there was nothing that would make me understand Simon's feelings toward her. 

There is a scene on ship where Angelica is locked away on in a cabin. I get her anger. I understand her anger. As a woman I want to side with her but the way she handles the situation like a immature, spoiled child throwing furniture and screaming made me rather wish someone would just throw her overboard. She orders someone to get Simon (the ship's captain) and he comes to her aid. She is so freaking spazzy and as soon as Simon sees her with her messy hair, guess what? He gets a hard on.  

There is a good setup where by the author draw parallel lines of Simon's background and Angelina's background. Both hate and despise the same man, Fouquet but since both refuse to talk to each other about their lives, a major opportunity to join forces is completely lost. Instead they both walk around aroused, attracted, mad and in Simon's case, hard. 

One of my other main dislikes was mostly centered around the writing style. I don't like being constantly told how each of the characters feel on practically every single line. As a reader I like to experience the emotions along with the protagonists. I'd rather feel the anger, lust, embarrassment or whatever the emotion is by reading about their expressions. It is okay to have the emotions laid out once in a while but it was so constant and just seemed way over done. 

"She felt warn and right in his arms"
"He felt disgust down to the very marrow..."
"He felt like a complete imbecile"
"she felt...feminine."

It just "felt" like every other sentence was having it explained to me. I hope I am explaining this well enough.

Undone does get better the second half of the book but maybe because I kept picking up the book up and putting in down, Undone lost the drive for me to embrace the story.  

Undone may be the forth book in the series but you can 100% read this story as a stand alone.