I found a ‘must read’ in debut novelist Erin Kellison’s latest release “Shadow Bound”.  This book has been categorized as an urban fantasy/paranormal romance.  Personally I don’t think it can be categorized.  The plot and the writing are fresh and captivating, making this a book to put at the top of your list this summer.  See my review at the Barnes & Noble, Heart to Heart blog.

I recently read Rosemary Laurey’s Kiss Me Forever and was swept away by the characters she created.  I was also delighted to have found this ‘new-to-me author’.  You can read my full review at Barnes and Noble Heart to Heart Blog.

Pieces of Sky, the first in the series was released last year.  Open Country, the second in the series was released this week.  I loved both books and I’m talking about them over at the Heart to Heart blog at Barnes and Noble.

We can’t thank you enough, but we’d especially like to thank the women that helped create RNTV each week, Kati Dancy, Buffie Johnson, PJ  Ausdenmore, Stacy Ahlgren. Stacey Agdern, Gannon Carr,  Andrea Williamson and Kate Garrabant.  We couldn’t have done it with out them and it certainly wouldn’t have been half the fun.  Thank you ladies one and all for your tremendous contributions to the site. We also want to give special thanks to authors Anna Campbell, J.R. Ward and Trish Milburn – amazing authors and amazing women! Class acts every one.  A huge thank you for everything.

We certainly won’t disappear from the blogosphere – but we’ll be putting more of our efforts into our television productions and social media projects. You can visit Maria at her TV production website – www.marialokken.com, or follow her on Twitter @Maria_56.

Thank you all for giving us the opportunity to laugh together, read together, and have terrific discussions.

With love,
Maria & Marisa

I loved this book and was enchanted with both the characters, the time period and the locale.  I’d like to start off by asking everyone what appeals to you about Victorian England and the concepts of ghosts?

For the next five days, join other readers and author Leanna Renee Hieber for our book club discussion on Leanna’s new release, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker.  Click here to join the discussion



I’ve recently finished Kay Stockham’s Simon Says Mommy. I enjoy Kay’s books because she ALWAYS tackles the difficult subjects. Weight, adoption, spousal abuse, etc. and somehow manages to turn them into stories you want to keep reading, With Kay, you not only get your happy ending, but a view on a topic that’s not always prevalent in romance.





Chole Neill’s second book in the Chicagoland Vampires series, Friday Night Bites will be released at the end of the month. I loved the first book, Some Girls Bite, but this one started a little slow for me. However, after chapter two, I couldn’t put it down. Chole has a way of developing her characters and their world that has you the reader totally invested. She also keeps you hanging a bit – but that is part of the fun of this series; it’s not at all predictable.



The Lone Texan will also be out later this month, and once again Jodi Thomas has woven a story I couldn’t put down. This is the fourth in the Whispering Mountain series, and there really isn’t anything Jodi can’t write. She paints big, bold pictures with her pen, and it’s always a pleasure to visit with her characters. This is Sage’s story in the series, and Jodi has created two love stories within the book – so there’s  lots of warm smiles and good feelings waiting for you in this one.


Tell me what are you reading? And tell me how you liked it.

This was a very satisfying read, I would go so far as to say it’s a comfort read. Sunset Bay is a romance with a happy ending, some major pitfalls in the middle, and a lot of realism thrown in just to keep you on your toes.

Meagan Green has dreams of being a fashion designer. Unfortunately, her family doesn’t subscribe to those dreams. Her mother, a border line “mommy dearest” case, wants Megan to be practical, her sister will do everything she can to make Megan’s life hell, and her father is adoring, but wants to make sure she gets a degree and becomes an accountant. It’s clear that Megan doesn’t have much in the way of family support.

Megan’s in love with the town’s bad boy Travis, fresh from his stint at juvenile detention. The attraction between them is strong and off they go to Las Vegas, phony ID’s at the ready, for a weekend of getting to know each other better. When Megan’s father finds out – she’s forced to make a choice between Travis and her father. The decision doesn’t go well for the ex-juvenile offender.

Ten years later her dreams of living in NYC with Travis and being a fashion designer are behind her as she prepares for her upcoming wedding to the very handsome cardiologist Adam. She’s working her way to the corner office of her firm and life really couldn’t be any better. That’s when the author throws in a couple of left turns that puts Megan’s life in total chaos. Nothing is what it seems. She can no longer trust her father, her fiancé or her upwardly mobile career. Megan’s got troubles. Before you think that the author piled it on too thick, this is where I believe Ms. Mallery created a total comfort read. Yes, she gives the heroine lots of problems to overcome before she gets her HEA, but they were realistic situations. They were the kind of situations that pose the question; “What if you were in the middle of your life and you suddenly realized, it’s not the life you thought it was or even wanted?” She doesn’t give Megan any quick answers, in fact, she doesn’t even solve all of her problems, but what she does do is give me the romantic happy ending I want, with a few dangling particles allowing me to really jump into the world of Meagan and Travis and be completely satisfied.

The author turns what could have been a predictable plot into a very interesting story containing several layers. Each layer is another relationship that Megan either has to create or destroy. And as in real life, not all relationships are smooth or even worthwhile.

I highly recommend you pick up Sunset Bay when you’re in the mood for a contemporary romance that isn’t predictable and will give you complete satisfaction. I’m looking forward to more of Susan Mallery’s work.

See video below and let us know what you think urban fantasy is. We’ll be giving away an urban fantasy book to a random poster  (you must live in the United States to qualify).

You know me so well, it’s scary.

Okay, so let’s start with a bit of role play. Not that kind, my kinky friends, at least not yet! Imagine this: You’re a confident, successful person who feels good about yourself—for the most part. Your success, however, has come at a price, and the victim of years of neglect is your relationship with your longtime spouse or significant other. You’ve drifted apart, barely see one another much less burn up the sheets anymore. And to your astonishment, you discover he/she is on the verge of succumbing to an affair. You’re stunned and hurt. It may be too late to salvage the marriage/relationship, but you refuse to give up. What will you do?

If you’re Olivia Quinn, the heroine of my new erotic suspense, WHEN ALEX WAS BAD, you come up with a daring, provocative plan to repair the damage: An open marriage bargain in which your husband gets seven wicked liaisons with any lover he chooses. The catch? He must confess to each indiscretion in detail and agree to accept his punishment. And, oh yeah—you get to take any lover you wish. While the cat’s away and all that.
Does that scenario tempt and titillate you? Perhaps you’d entertain implementing an alternative lifestyle into your relationship, or perhaps you’re content to read erotica and fantasize from afar. Either way, you might think that Olivia’s type of bargain is nothing more than fantasy, with no basis in fact. Hmm, not so fast…

Research (and there’s a ton of it) shows that an increasing percentage of married men engage in extramarital affairs, and that most of these affairs do not last. In just about any study, most women know their spouses are cheating and deal with his indiscretion in a variety of ways, including divorce. The same is also true for cheating wives and their husbands.

What I find especially intriguing, however, is the sheer volume of accounts of real-life couples practicing exactly what Alex and Olivia Quinn undertake in WHEN ALEX WAS BAD—embracing an open marriage or ménage as a way to add another, satisfying dimension to their sexual and other personal relations. In this way, many couples thrive and actually avoid the pitfalls of cheating, hurt feelings, and failed relationships.

Before I began writing ALEX, I found myself wondering what would happen if a couple chose to fight to keep their love alive, yet in a way many of us wouldn’t dare. If they acted on the forbidden fantasies most of us only read about in our favorite, steamy books penned by our favorite authors. So began Alex and Olivia’s adventure. Of course, I couldn’t resist adding a twist to the story by involving Alex in a murder plot. Actions have consequences, and the Quinn’s newfound love revival is no exception.

Recall the role I had you play. What would you do? How far would you go to perform CPR on a love gasping for its last breath? The solution might include cutting back on the workload, spending more time with your lover. Sending flowers or leaving little love notes. Planning a surprise getaway or special evening, wearing sexy lingerie, or reading erotica together.

Or it might mean plopping a heaping scoop of caramel turtle fudge atop the ole vanilla cone.

But what do I know? I’m just an author of fun, fast-paced, dangerous, and frequently naughty stories. If I’ve shocked or tempted you? My work is done.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Jo Davis spent sixteen years in the public school trenches before she left teaching to pursue her dream of becoming a full-time writer. An active member of the Romance Writers of America, she’s been a finalist for the Colorado Romance Writers Award of Excellence, has captured the HOLT Medallion Award of Merit, and has one book optioned as a major motion picture.

Her new release, WHEN ALEX WAS BAD, is now available in books stores near you. Her next book in the Firefighters of Station Five series, HIDDEN FIRE, will be released on December 1, 2009. Visit her website at www.JoDavis.net.

P.S. Our very own Stacy Ahlgren is giving away a copy of WHEN ALEX WAS BAD to one lucky poster.

What’s the most decadent forbidden fantasy you’ve ever indulged with your spouse or significant other? Would you do it again?