October 2020 Book of the Month Giveaway
November 14, 2020 03:42 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
I had a few good reads during the month of October, but only one rose to that all-important five-star mark for me to feature it in this column. It’s a paranormal romance by a relatively new-to-me author who I’ve never featured before, and it’s the second in her most popular series. It’s the story of Breed warrior Dante who is plagued by visions of his own death, and veterinarian Tess Culver, a Breedmate who harbors an extraordinary gift. After chasing a vampire he believes has gone Rogue, Dante is nearly blown to bits, the explosion tossing him into the river, where he’s swept away. He manages to crawl out and ends up in the storeroom of Tess’s veterinary clinic, where he feeds from her in an effort to heal himself. It’s not until afterward that he realizes she bears the mark of a Breedmate, and by Breed law, what he’s done makes her his. He tries to fight it, but the bond with her is strong, making it impossible for him to stay away from her. Then he discovers that the vampire he chased that night was actually hopped on a new drug called Crimson that is rapidly turning many youths of their kind into Rogues, and it’s Tess’s ex-boyfriend who is manufacturing and dealing the drug at the behest of the Order’s mortal enemy. Dante tries to gently woo Tess before revealing the entire truth of what they are, but when her life is threatened by Rogues, she gets a quick initiation into his dark and dangerous world.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: Lara Adrian
September 2020 Book of the Month Giveaway
October 17, 2020 04:10 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
I had several really good reads during the month of September, but wanting to bring my readers the best of the best, I only feature books in this column that I’ve rated five stars. I had just one five-star read during the month that was a true romance, and since it’s already available for free in ebook anyway, I’ve opted to step outside the box and feature a non-romance book this month that also happens to be non-fiction. In all honesty, it was my favorite read of the month anyway. I realize that this might be a slight disappointment to some of you. However, I hope that many of you will still find it as interesting as I did, because it’s truly an awesome read.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: Bryan Stevenson
August 2020 Book of the Month Giveaway
September 19, 2020 02:47 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
I had some really great reads during the month of August, but only one romance rose to the five-star level. It was the continuation of a popular, paranormal romance series by a favorite author that has produced a lot of keepers for me. It pairs Limos aka Famine, the only female Horseman of the Apocalypse, with Arik, a member of the R-XR, which is a secret branch of the military that deals with paranormal phenomena. These two shared a brief sexually-charged moment in the previous book of the series, and as this story opens, they finally share a passionate kiss, which lands Arik in literal hell, where he’s tortured for a month before finally escaping. Afterward, Limos nurses him back to health, during which time things gradually heat up between them even more, but she is supposed to become the bride of Satan, and at first glance, there doesn’t appear to be an out-clause in her contract. So they spend the better part of the book trying to figure out if there’s a way for them to be together, while still battling her brother Pestilence, who has regrouped and is once again wreaking havoc on the Earth.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: Larissa Ione
July 2020 Book of the Month Giveaway
August 15, 2020 07:08 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
For the month of July, I read only one romance that I rated the five-stars necessary to receive the honor being named Book of the Month. It’s an inspirational that has been held up as the gold standard, not only for this sub-genre but for the romance genre as a whole and has come to be regarded as something of a classic. It actually was a reread for me and I’m happy to report that I loved it every bit as much now as I did upon first reading it about twenty-five years ago, so it has definitely held up to the test of time as well. The book was inspired by the biblical story of Hosea and Gomer, and is set against the backdrop of California during the gold rush days. It tells the story of a young woman who was sold into prostitution as a child and hasn’t known any other life since, nor does she believe in love. However, a simple but kind farmer who falls in love with her at first sight and feels like God is telling him that this is the woman who is meant for him sets out to change her mind, a process that takes a lot of patience and persistence over the course of four years time.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: Francine Rivers
June 2020 Book of the Month Giveaway
July 15, 2020 07:30 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
With regards to quantity, I didn’t read many books during the month of June, mainly because I was reading an epic novel that took this slow reader most of the month to complete. However, it was an excellent book that ended up being my favorite five-star read of the month. Although now six years old, it’s the most recent book in this equally epic series that follows star-crossed lovers Jamie and Claire. I know now that I’ve mentioned their names, it will obvious to most exactly what series I’m talking about, and it’s been a favorite of mine for over twenty-five years. Much like Jamie and Claire’s love for each other, my love for them and this series is just as strong now as it was when I first picked up the inaugural volume of the series all those years ago, and I don’t anticipate that I’ll ever get tired of it. I’m always eager to see what happens next, which is why I simply couldn’t put this or any other book of the series down.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: Diana Gabaldon
May 2020 Book of the Month Giveaway
June 14, 2020 03:08 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
May was another good reading month for me with lots of four and four-and-a half star reads, but only one book rose to the top and received the five stars necessary to earn Book of the Month status from me. Written by one of my favorite authors, it’s the second book the series that introduced her to me. I featured the first book of this same series a couple of months ago, and this one was another awesome re-read. I just adore the entire Knight clan and this book has long been one of my favorites in the series. It’s the story of two lonely souls finding comfort and understanding in each other’s arms, while fighting the forces of evil who want to destroy, not only their burgeoning love, but also the lives of others. This book has a little something for everyone: heart-pounding action and suspense, spy intrigue, a rich and detailed historical setting, and best of all, swoon-worthy romance.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: Gaelen Foley
April 2020 Book of the Month Giveaway
May 16, 2020 07:04 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
After having only a couple of five-star reads during the first three months of the year, I found myself with so many in April that I had a hard time choosing which one to feature as my Book of the Month. I finally settled on the newest book of one of my all-time favorite series that I’ve featured several times before. This book is a turning point in the series that essentially makes it the end of one era and the beginning of a new one. That’s because the war that has dominated the series from the beginning finally culminates as readers get to see whether a long-held prophecy is fulfilled, and if so, in what way. But in addition to some major changes in the overall series story arc, we also have a beautiful, love-conquers-all romance between our main hero and heroine that of course makes it all worthwhile.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: J. R. Ward
March 2020 Book of the Month Giveaway
April 17, 2020 07:21 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
These first few months of 2020 have been very light on five-star reads for me. As with January, I only read one five-star book in March, but it was an excellent one. It was actually a re-read of a book by a favorite author, the same one that started me on my reading journey with her. It’s also the first in a seven-book series, centering around the Knight siblings, whose mother’s scandalous exploits led to most of them having different fathers. In it, our titled hero, Robert, seeks to take down Dolph, the man he believes killed the woman he loved. In order to accomplish that, he teams up with Belinda, the object of his quarry’s obsession and a beautiful, famous courtesan, who has only recently taken London by storm. Bel has every reason to desire retribution against Dolph as well, so when Robert makes his offer, she gladly accepts. She becomes his mistress in name only, but the more time they spend together, the more admiration and respect they gain for one another. Before their mission is complete, they find themselves hopelessly in love, but a real future between a duke and a courtesan is all but impossible.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: Gaelen Foley
February 2020 Book of the Month Giveaway
March 21, 2020 02:50 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
Out of the four novels, one graphic novel, and one novella I read in February, all were good reads, but none made it to that all-important five-star mark for me to feature it as my Book of the Month. I’m pretty sure this is the first time this has ever happened, since I started this monthly feature. I only want to pass along books that I deemed perfect reads, so I’m going to do something a little different this month. Rather than giving away a book that you can read, I’m going to give away another kind of book while introducing you to one of my favorite, non-reading-related hobbies – coloring.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: Marjorie Sarnat
January 2020 Book of the Month Giveaway
February 19, 2020 12:36 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
I don’t know that I’ve ever featured the same author two months in a row for my Book of the Month, but such is the case this time around. Out of the five novels and two short stories I read in January, only one hit that all-important five-star rating to become my Book of the Month, but it was a totally awesome romantic suspense story that was an absolute pleasure to read. In this one, we have psychiatrist Tess Ciccotelli whose patients begin committing suicide. It’s pretty obvious to police detective Aidan Reagan right away that they were deliberately driven over the edge, and it looks like Tess is the one who did it. Tess isn’t exactly loved by the police department, so at first, Aidan is all too eager to nail her to the wall. But as more evidence comes to light, he realizes that she couldn’t possibly have done it, and the more he gets to know her, he finds that he actually likes her. When they discover that her apartment is being surveilled, he offers her a safe place to stay, which makes things really heat up between them. In the meantime, the bodies keep piling up, and neither the cops nor Tess have any idea who hates her so much that they would go to such lengths to ruin her life.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: Karen Rose
