Friday Reads: Act Like It by Lucy Parker

Hey, look, I finally have a Friday Reads for you! :) 

They say word of mouth is a book's best friend, and I have to agree. The reason why I picked up this book was absolutely word of mouth (or word of Twitter) as the case may be. I kept seeing it pop up everywhere. And though I don't read a lot of straight-up contemporary romances, I couldn't resist the buzz.

I'm happy to report the buzz was justified. This was a really cute and funny story. It's set in London in the world of theatre. I love reading a book set in a world I'm not very familiar with and feeling like I got an inside peek to something. 

You get a very Darcy-like hero--grumpy, above-it-all, impatient. And the heroine isn't standing for it. She's feisty and strong-willed and doesn't let him get away with much. This is also a "let's fake a relationship" book, which is a trope I enjoy. 

I'm not going to go into the plot because you can get that in the blurb, but if you're looking for a funny, light-hearted romp, this is a good choice. Note: It has a sexy tone but the love scenes are mostly closed door or glossed over. I felt that kept with the tone, so I didn't mind. But if you're looking for something super steamy, this isn't it.

Here's the info:

Act Like It

By Lucy Parker

Back cover:

A sharp-witted heroine and an infuriating-but-swoon-worthy leading man bring down the house in this utterly charming contemporary romance debut from Lucy Parker

This just in: romance takes center stage as West End theatre's Richard Troy steps out with none other than castmate Elaine Graham

Richard Troy used to be the hottest actor in London, but the only thing firing up lately is his temper. We all love to love a bad boy, but Richard's antics have made him Enemy Number One, breaking the hearts of fans across the city.

Have the tides turned? Has English rose Lainie Graham made him into a new man?

Sources say the mismatched pair has been spotted at multiple events, arm in arm and hip to hip. From fits of jealousy to longing looks and heated whispers, onlookers are stunned by this blooming romance.

Could the rumors be right? Could this unlikely romance be the real thing? Or are these gifted stage actors playing us all?

---

Buy the book: Kindle | Nook | iBooks 

So have you read anything good lately?

I'm a Double RITA Award Finalist!!!!!

So I totally had another post planned today and I was going to tell you about this great book I just read, BUT my brain cells are now only operating at half-capacity because I got the call today that I'm a double nominee for a RITA® Award (the romance writer's version of the Oscars)!!!!

BREAK ME DOWN is nominated in the erotic romance category!

and

NICE GIRLS DON'T RIDE is nominated in the novella category!

I'm over the moon excited. My morning has mostly consisted of this: 

The Carlton Dance - snap you fingas!! in #happy

and this...

GIF in #excited

Here's the list of all the nominees if you want to go on a book buying binge. I know I'm going to be doing that, lol.

Now I have to go shop for a fancy dress for the San Diego conference. :D

Have a great holiday weekend, y'all! 

COVER REVEAL! - Loving You Easy

The cover for LOVING YOU EASY, the next book in the Loving on the Edge series, is here!

And here's the blurb:

Three lovers really click in the latest from the New York Times bestselling author of Call on Me— 

Cora has an amazing sex life. She’s beautiful, daring, and the most popular submissive in Hayven. Too bad none of it’s real... 

IT specialist Cora Benning has figured out the key to her formerly disastrous love life—make it virtual. In the online world of Hayven, she’s free of her geek girl image and can indulge her most private fantasies with a sexy, mysterious master without anyone in her life discovering her secrets. Until her information is hacked and she finds herself working to fix the breach under two very powerful men—one who seems all too familiar...

Best friends and business partners Ren Muroya and Hayes Fox were once revered dominants. Then Hayes was wrongfully sent to prison and everything changed. Ren wants to get back to who they were. Hayes can’t risk it. But when they discover the new IT specialist is their online fascination, and that she’s never felt a dominant’s touch, the temptation to turn virtual into reality becomes all too great…

This one will be out in September. What do you think? I love the colors of the cover and that it's fiber optics, which ties to the meeting online theme of the book. :)

The book can be pre-ordered from Amazon and B&N. Other retailers should be available soon as well.

Big Book Sale at Samhain Publishers

There was sad news last week about Samhain, one of the first e-publishers, winding down their business to eventually close up shop. This was sad on a number of levels. First, I know many authors who write for Samhain, and I'm sad for them. But secondly, over the years I have gotten great books from Samhain and discovered many new authors, so I'm sad that I won't have that resource anymore. They were one of the first publishers to get behind erotic romance and gay romance. They were on the cutting edge and discovered a lot of talent. If you go through their list of authors, you'll see a lot of names of authors who have gone on to be big names, particularly in my genre of erotic romance.

But the publishing industry is constantly in flux and smaller publishers have gotten hit hard. HOWEVER, you can still get Samhain books and support their authors. AND they're running a big 40% sale right now if you buy through their site. I'm not sure how long the sale will last, but I can tell you I bought 8 books yesterday and that took restraint to only buy that many. So go over and get you some.

If you're wondering who I bought, I grabbed some Megan Hart, Barbara Elsborg Amy Jo Cousins, ZA Mayfield, and A.M Arthur--all authors I've read and enjoyed in the past. I also picked up a couple new-to-me authors. You can see some of the ones I bought in the pic of my bookshelf above. But there are also books by Maya Banks, Lorelei James, Lauren Dane, Beth Kery, Heidi Cullinan, etc. I already had a lot of those so didn't need to buy them, but you may want to check them out.

If you love erotic romance, contemporary romance, gay romance, horror, or suspense, they'll probably have something for you.

Happy hunting!

*These are not affiliate links. Just passing along the info.

Which Books Made You a Romance Reader?

Today in the Author Life Month Instagram challenge, the topic was "A favorite book outside of your genre." I ended up picking the books that made me want to become a writer: A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle and The Neverending Story by Michael Ende.

I read both around 4th or 5th grade, and though I was already an avid reader by then (there was much Babysitter's Club consumed), those were the first books I remember sweeping me away completely. I felt transported to a new world and experienced that unique magic only books give you access to. And I knew then--I need to do this. 

But this week I also saw this Harlequin ad that made me smile.

Go ahead and watch, but it's the journey of a girl discovering her mom's romance novels and then getting hooked for life and passing that addiction along. Really sweet. And very true for many of us. Most romance readers I talk to have had similar experiences of stealing their mother's or another relative's books and "sneaking" them. Is there really anything better than a kid sneaking books? Sure, maybe some content is a little older than our parents wanted us to read. But being unable to resist reading is a pretty awesome thing.

For me, my mom wasn't a romance reader per se. She has always read more suspense and mystery, though many of those were romantic suspense. But I do distinctly remember what books I "stole" from her. The Flowers in the Attic series by V.C. Andrews. I still have the actual copy I stole because I haven't ever given it back, lol.

They are not romance. They are family saga and tragic and gothic. BUT there was romance in there and love scenes. That was very eye-opening to me at an innocent fourteen years old. "They can write this in books?!" Of course, I was hooked, lol. I think I read every series V.C. Andrews had at the time after that. And my mom, to her credit, let me read what I want. I mean, I was already reading Stephen King at that age so I'd jumped to adult books anyway.

But that opened the door to reading romance for me. I bought a few teen romances. Here's one I found in my mom's attic from 1993. :)

In adult books, I stuck to more romantic suspense and the occasional vampire book. I honestly didn't know there was this whole enormous world of romance. But in adulthood, I discovered the richness of the romance genre and how many subgenres were out there. The obsession was born. So I've been playing catch up ever since. :) 

So now I want to know yours. What book made you a romance reader? Or what book made you fall in love with reading?