Posts Tagged ‘Lisa Kleypas’
Tuesday, May 21st, 2013
I started reviewing for AAR when I was pretty young – 18 years old, and still fairly new to the genre. My tastes have changed and evolved quite a bit in that time. Looking at my reviewer profile, which hasn’t been updated since I started, I am rather skeptical of my “favorites,” some of which I don’t even remember anymore. I couldn’t tell you a damn thing about Hidden Fires by Sandra Brown, except that 6 years ago it was apparently one of my favorites.
My philosophy in choosing favorites is two-fold. One, my Top Ten should be more than a fleeting “books I’m enjoying now,” and therefore aren’t recent reads, or ones that I’ve read only once. Two, they should have something in them that would appeal beyond the romance. I think there is a subtle distinction between “books that a romance reader would enjoy” and “books non-romance readers would enjoy.” There are definitely some stories that I would recommend to fellow romance readers, but not anyone else. The best books are the ones that I think, “I could give this to a friend, and they would understand why I love romance novels.”
So, here we go: my top ten. (more…)
Tags: All About Romance, Courtney Milan, Delilah Marvelle, Diana Gabaldon, j.D. Robb, Julie James, Lauren Willig, Lisa Kleypas, Meg Cabot, meredith duran, Tessa Dare, Top Ten lists
Posted in All About Romance, Books, Jane AAR | 12 Comments »
Tuesday, August 14th, 2012
Lisa Kleypas has finally made the announcement, which means I am free to reveal the news I’ve been sitting on for months. Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor will be an ABC and a Hallmark channel movie this year called Christmas with Holly. Better still, unlike some other past “movie deals,” we know it’s the real thing because the movie is already shooting up in Canada for airing this holiday season.
Here’s the Hallmark press release:
Filming begins this week in and around Halifax, Nova Scotia on the newest Hallmark Hall of Fame production, Christmas with Holly. It will premiere on ABC in December, 2012, with encore presentations on the Hallmark Channel.
“I’ve been holding on to my old dreams. But I realize I need to make room for new ones.” So says Maggie Conway, played by Eloise Mumford (The River, Lone Star), in the film. She’s decided to move on in life after being left at the altar months earlier.
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Tags: Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor, Lisa Kleypas
Posted in Authors, Book news, Books, Sandy AAR | 23 Comments »
Monday, August 6th, 2012
Summer is 2/3 over and it’s a perfect time to relax with a great book – even better when it’s a highly anticipated book by a much-loved author. Thanks to the generosity of Lisa and her publisher, I’ve got five copies of Dream Lake to giveaway to five lucky readers.
Honesty alert: I’m in the middle of this one now and I’m loving it. The third in the author’s series of books set on Washington state’s San Juan Island, this one is Nolan brother Alex’s story. Here’s what the publisher has to say about the book:
“Dream Lake takes readers once again to the exquisite setting of Friday Harbor, and tells the story of Zoe Hoffman, an innkeeper who has all but given up on love. She’s a gentle, romantic soul, but has been so hurt in the past that she dare not trust her heart with anyone. Especially not Alex Nolan. Alex is the most haunted of all the Nolan brothers. He drinks to keep his demons at bay and not only has he given up on love, he has never, ever believed in it. Zoe and Alex are oil and water, fire and ice, sunshine and shadow. But sometimes, it takes only a glimmer of light to chase away the dark. Dream Lake is classic Lisa Kleypas: romantic, powerful, emotional, and magical.”
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Tags: dream lake, Lisa Kleypas
Posted in Authors, Books, Books with Buzz, giveaways, Romance, Sandy AAR | 99 Comments »
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012
At long, long last after a draught of one solid year without a book from Lisa Kleypas, her loyal readers catch a break at last when Rainshadow Road is finally released on Tuesday, February 28th. To celebrate, we’ve got Lisa herself to answer a few questions and she doesn’t come empty handed. Lisa has 10 books donated by her publisher to give away to 10 lucky winners. To enter, all you need to do is comment to this blog by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, February 24th. Winners will be notified by email on Saturday morning and will have 24 hours to respond. If we don’t hear from a winner within that time, a new winner will be selected. This contest is designed for readers, so please don’t enter if you review for another Web site or blog. Due to the high cost of international postage, entries are open only to those from the U.S. and Canada.
Now, let’s hear from Lisa!
Lisa, thanks so much for joining us today. Could you please tell our readers a bit about Rainshadow Road?
Sandy, thank you so much for inviting me! Rainshadow Road is the first in a series of contemporary romances set in Friday Harbor, Washington. It’s about a young glass artist, Lucy Marinn, who is dumped by her boyfriend at the beginning of the story–and if that’s not bad enough, she discovers that he’s dumped her for her younger sister! So about fifteen minutes after this happens, she sees this handsome stranger on the beach, who happens to be Sam Nolan, a local vineyard owner.
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Tags: Lisa Kleypas, Rainshadow Road
Posted in Authors, Book news, Books, Books with Buzz, Contests, giveaways, Interviews, Sandy AAR | 258 Comments »
Tuesday, April 12th, 2011
Notes from the Underground, written by Fyodor Dostoevsky begins with the famous opening line, “I am a sick man… I am a wicked man”. In the novel, Dostoevsky creates a hero who possesses all the characteristics of a villain: sarcasm, disillusionment, and a general lack of care for the well being of others. The hero is in actuality an anti-hero, a man who acts like a villain, but who ultimately possesses a core of goodness to redeem himself through words and actions.
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Tags: All About Romance, Anne Stuart, Laura Kinsale, linda howard, Lisa Kleypas
Posted in Heroes, Jacqueline AAR | 37 Comments »
Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011
Even though there’s still snow on the ground, I can feel spring around the air. Unlike many people, I mourn the loss of the winter when spring comes – I’m not really one for rain and flowers. So as I was happily shoveling the snow the other day, I thought about my favorite winter romances.
Except I couldn’t really think of any, except one: Devil in Winter, by Lisa Kleypas. The story of Evie Jenner and the utterly ruined Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent, is one that has remained readers’ favorites since it came out five years ago – it climbed four spots to land at #3 on the recent Top 100 Romances poll. It’s pretty hard to ignore the appeal of St. Vincent, who is so deliciously, unrepentantly bad, but who learns to love the stuttering Evie over a backdrop of frigid winter. Their race up to Gretna Green remains memorable for those thick sandwiches of thinly sliced meats and cheeses; the hot bricks and fragrant wine that St. Vincent procures for the freezing Evie; and their quick growth to intimacy while cuddled for mutual warmth in the rocking carriage. I love this section every time I read it, and I spent a happy fifteen minutes with my shovel on the driveway while I thought of Evie and St. Vincent.
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Tags: amanda Mccabe, devil in winter, Lisa Kleypas, the winter queen, winter
Posted in Books, Jean AAR, Reading, Romance reading, Settings | 16 Comments »
Friday, February 25th, 2011
I’ve been thinking lately about what is it about some writers that make their books magical for readers in ways that others aren’t.
First, a confession: I read contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and paranormals, but historical romance was my first love and remains my absolute favorite. So, with my bias fully admitted and setting aside the continuing gush of wallpaper historicals in which you can’t even tell the time period a book is supposedly set in unless the author tells you, there are some talented writers out there I’ve come to admire and who have become auto-buys for me. Still, the ones I’m watching have yet to come up with one of those scenes.
I’m talking about those hit-you-in-the-heart scenes. The kind you remember. The kind you share with other readers who very often respond “Yes!” The kind that make you feel what the characters are feeling.
I love the scene in which Bobby Tom realizes that Gracie made an “X” over his heart in Heaven, Texas. Equally, the “you are my Egypt” scene from Connie Brockway’s As You Desire has to rank as one of the greatest declarations of love in all of romance. And I’ve sighed since I was 14 over the scene in Devil’s Cub in which Mary attempts to break up hotheaded Vidal’s sword fight by stepping in the middle of the action. Vidal’s reaction makes Mary realize for the very first time that her spoiled and haughty Devil’s Cub really loves her. I felt it too and I will never forget the first time I read it.
But, for me, three scenes stand out that perfectly exemplify just what I’m talking about.
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Tags: connie brockway, Georgette Heyer, judith ivory, Lisa Kleypas, loretta chase, susan elizabeth phillips
Posted in Authors, Books, Characters, Heroes, Heroines, Historicals, Reading, Romance, Romance reading, Sandy AAR | 50 Comments »
Thursday, December 30th, 2010
I’m a romance reader who loves series books. Give me books for all the brothers, sisters, cousins, friends, pack mates, or even coven members and blood brothers an author can come up with; I’m good with’em all if they’re well done of course. Luckily for me, my three most favorite series books will all soon to be released installments and while I’m looking forward to the releases, each one will be somewhat bittersweet. My love for them, tied to my angst and worry over seeing them end, makes me wonder if I’ll find other books to take their place and who else out there feels the same way about these books and others.
I’ve written about Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series before and I’m still just as addicted to it today as I was when I read Faefever for the first time. I’m sad to see it end. I began with the third in the series and it didn’t take me long to get sucked into MacKayla Lane’s world of Seelie and Unseelie Fae. The first person narration, suspense plot, and unique setting work for me in almost every way. With four books already released in the series, the final installment, Shadowfever, will be released on January 18, 2011. Hopefully, as many questions as possible will be answered and Mac will finally be with Barrons, but if not, I won’t be completely surprised because I have visions of the Lost finale with it’s lack of answers and have a feeling this will be similar since there are so many questions that need answers. Plus, I read on Moning’s site that she’s signed with Random House for three more books set in the Fever World, so while Mac’s story arc may conclude the problems may continue. Regardless, I’ll miss Mac and Barrons and hate to say goodbye.
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Tags: Dreams of a Dark Warrior, J.R. Ward, Karen Marie Moning, Kresley Cole, Lisa Kleypas, Shadowfever
Posted in Authors, Books, Characters, Heather AAR, Heroes, Heroines, Reading, Romance reading | 24 Comments »
Saturday, October 16th, 2010
The giveaway is over and here are the winners: socalgal51, LisaA, Kathy, elainec, Lynda X, Kim in Hawaii, Jessika, Jane O, marcela, and Debbie. Winners have been notified by email.
We thank Lisa Kleypas for taking the time and St. Martin’s for so generously donating the advance copies of Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor. Thanks as well to everyone who commented. The good news is that if you didn’t win, the wait is short. Lisa Kleypas’ next book – and her last until 2012 – will be released on October 26th.
And stay tuned for more interviews and giveaways. We’ve got some great ones coming up soon.
- Sandy AAR
Tags: Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor, Lisa Kleypas
Posted in Contests, giveaways, Sandy AAR | 3 Comments »
Monday, October 11th, 2010
It’s been a while since we had our Buzz on here at AAR and we’re happy to break our drought with a good one: An interview with Lisa Kleypas and a 10-book giveaway courtesy of St. Martin’s of the author’s October 26th release, Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor. To enter for your chance to win, simply comment to this blog by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, October 14th.
Before getting right to the interview, a few caveats to the giveaway. Due to high postage costs, only U.S. and Canadian readers are eligible to enter. Since this giveaway is designed to get early copies into the hands of readers who otherwise wouldn’t have a chance to get them, if you review for another Web site or blog, please don’t enter.
And, now, here’s Lisa.
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Tags: Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor, Lisa Kleypas, Lisa Kleypas interview
Posted in Authors, Book news, Books, Books with Buzz, Interviews, Reading, Romance reading, Sandy AAR | 200 Comments »
I started reviewing for AAR when I was pretty young – 18 years old, and still fairly new to the genre. My tastes have changed and evolved quite a bit in that time. Looking at my reviewer profile, which hasn’t been updated since I started, I am rather skeptical of my “favorites,” some of which I don’t even remember anymore. I couldn’t tell you a damn thing about Hidden Fires by Sandra Brown, except that 6 years ago it was apparently one of my favorites.
