Love At Any Cost by Julie Lessman

In Author Julie Lessman's own words from interview on MY FAVORITE PASTIME April 5, 2013:

Tell us about upcoming releases and works in progress.

Julie Lessman:Well, the “Heart of San Francisco” series, which launches April 15, 2013, is kind of a poor-man, rich-man scenario among three cousins during the Irish-political landscape of 1902 San Francisco. Think Little Women meets Dynasty.  And for those too young to remember the TV show Dynasty, think family wealth and poverty in a political setting.

This series is a bit of a departure for me because it’s a lot lighter and I hope a lot more fun than the angst and high drama of my two prior series.  It will be shorter and less complicated than the O’Connor saga, which means the books will be about 400 pages rather than my usual 500+, and the plots will be two-tier instead of three- and four-tier.

You’ll have the romance between the hero and heroine front and center, of course, but also a second-tier love story between the older couple in the series, just like there was with Patrick and Marcy O’Connor. Only instead of a happily married mother and father such as we had in the O’Connor saga, Caitlyn McClare is a godly widowed matriarch who butts heads (and hearts) with her rogue brother-in-law Logan McClare, with whom she was once in love. Engaged to Logan at a very young age, Cait broke the engagement when she discovered Logan’s infidelity, resulting in her marrying Logan’s brother instead. Now, twenty-seven years down the road, Cait is a widow and Logan is determined to win her back, so the romantic tension between these two undergirds the romantic tension between our heroine, Cait’s niece Cassie McClare, and the hero, Jamie MacKenna.

The one-line premise for Book 1, Love at Any Cost is: “A spunky Texas heiress without a fortune falls in love with a handsome pauper looking to marry well.” And here’s the jacket blurb:

Fooled by a pretty boy once, shame on him.

Fooled by a pretty boy twice, shame on me.

Jilted by a fortune hunter, cowgirl Cassidy McClare is a spunky Texas oil heiress without a fortune who just as soon hogtie a man as look at him … until Jamie MacKenna, a handsome pauper looking to marry well, lassoes her heart. But when Jamie discovers the woman he loves is poorer than him, Cassie finds herself bucked by love a second time, sending her back to Texas to lick her wounds and heal her heart. In her absence, Jamie discovers money can’t buy love, but love built on faith can set a heart free, a truth he discovers a little too late … or is it?

I guarantee you there’s a lot of sass and fun in this new series, so I’m really looking forward to introducing my readers to this lighter style and the San Francisco McClares!

Check out the full interview featured HERE.

Here is an awesome video of the book:

MY THOUGHTS:


Make no mistake, when Julie Lessman says that there is a lot less drama and angst in this book, that does not translate into "boring"! LOVE AT ANY COST is anything but boring! There is drama, there is angst and there is romance and humor. And all of that squished into about 100 pages less than what Julie's novels normally are. While LOVE AT ANY COST gave my heart less of a workout than former Julie Lessman books I can't say that it gave it a total rest! The romance between Jamie and Cassie is fraught with humor and tension. Jamie is determined to do whatever it takes to win Cassie even if he has to fake a faith that he doesn't have. Cassie is determined to never be taken in by a pretty-boy again. When Jamie's plans are thwarted and Cassie's heart is once more broken it seems that nothing can bring them together again. As with all of Julie Lessman's books there is a secondary romance going on. Or at least Logan wishes there was a romance going on! He was once engaged to Cait, but she married his brother instead. Now she is widowed and Logan hopes to win her heart once more. One thing Cait has taught Cassie is that the man she courts needs to share the same faith as her. Now Cait finds that she must remember her own advice. With so many hurting hearts in this book one wonders how Julie will wrap it all up, because as she has always assured me all of her books have a happy ending and that is what keeps me reading to the end! I definitely recommend LOVE AT ANY COST and I am looking forward to the next book in the Heart of San Francisco series.

FUN FACT:

I was one of the winners in a contest that Julie was having to have a character named after me in LOVE AT ANY COST. Julie Lessman asked me whether I would like to have a lady of the evening or a socialite named after me. I chose the lady of the evening character! Why? Honestly I thought it would be interesting to choose something more edgier, totally opposite of what people would expect of me. So if you go to page 42(Chapter 4) Julie, a lady of the evening in the Barbary Coast is introduced. And this is the part of the story where I fell in love with the character of Jamie MacKenna!

 

Mental-Pause And Other Midlife Laughs by Laura Jensen Walker

This book totally made me laugh out loud! So many stories that the author told I would say, " I have had that happen to me!!" In fact one of the first stories in the book was how women in menopause can look at an object and the word for it not even come to mind. I had just gotten done trying to tell my daughter something about a box and couldn't figure out the word box!!! I was making the shape of the box with my hands, the word box was in my head somewhere, it just wouldn't come out of my mouth! Oh my! So when I read that in the book I was much relieved that other women experience the same thing. For a light-hearted look at hot-flashes, age spots and the mid-life spread Mental-Pause is the book for you!

Sequins, Secrets and Silver Linings by Sophia Bennett

   Nonie loves fashion. She has her own style that sometimes stumps her friends and family. At the beginning of the book you get the impression that she and her mother don't have much of a relationship, but towards the end it seems they develop a mutual respect for one another. Nonie seems closest to her older brother Harry.

Jenny had a small part in a recent hit movie. At first every time she shows up on the red carpet everything she wears looks totally disastrous on her. Instead of looking like a young starlet she looks miserable. She also has a crush on the boy who played her brother in the film. He is the new drool-worthy hot young hunk that all the girls are screaming about.

Edie is the humanitarian of the group. But for someone who has empathy for the downtrodden she can be brutally honest.

While shopping one day they meet Crow. She has set up a booth to sell her homemade clothing. They take her under their wings, and provide a place for her to create her clothing. They learn that she is from Uganda sent to live with her Aunt to get her away from her village and away from the rebels that kidnap children and make them into slaves or soldiers.

When approached to do a fashion show the girls set out to help Crow reach her dream of creating fabulous clothing. They also have the goal of raising awareness of what is going on in Uganda and to provide help for families to find their abducted children.

I really enjoyed this story. I enjoyed getting to know each girls' character. It was light-hearted yet there was compassion in each of the girls. The next book in the trilogy comes out in Spring 2012 entitled: Beads, Boys, and Bangles.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After by Steve Hockensmith-REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth should be enjoying wedded bliss, but lately Elizabeth has been feeling dissatisfied. As a married woman she is no longer allowed to be the dreadful slayer that she has been trained to be. While out strolling the grounds of Pemberley Mr. Darcy is attacked and bitten by a wandering dreadful. Elizabeth quickly hides the fact that he was bitten by a dreadful. She knows that she should have immediately decapitated her husband. She has heard rumors though that her enemy Lady Catherine knows of a cure for this dreadful disease.

Lady Catherine quickly comes up with a plan to save Darcy. She must take him to her home. Elizabeth must go to London to steal the cure from the gentleman that has created it. Lizzie must find a way into Bethlem hospital for the insane in order to find the cure. The Ninja’s that Lady Catherine used to send to attack Lizzie(for stealing Mr. Darcy from her daughter Anne), are now sent to help Lizzie find the cure.

In the meantime Darcy is having nightmares of eating raw flesh. Lady Catherine is giving him doses of a medicine that slows down the process of turning into an unmentionable, but the infection is still in his body. He slowly gains strength under the care of his cousin Anne. He can’t understand why his precious Elizabeth is not there nursing him back to health.

Back in London, Lizzie and family are having very little success in finding the cure. Lizzie’s sister Mary arrives and takes matters into her own hands. She is a warrior after all. Subterfuge is not in her nature. She manages to get into Bethlem hospital, but unfortunately she also manages to get caught.

Lizzie too is tired of deception. It is time to reclaim her true warrior nature. During a dreadful attack in London she and her family manage to get into Bethlem hospital. Will they be able to find the cure for Darcy before it is too late?

I really enjoyed this book. I cracked up at the antics of Mary and Kitty. The scenes where the zombies were described cracking open skulls to get to the succulent brains inside made me laugh as did many other parts of the book. The final battle scene was thrilling and I couldn’t wait to see how it all ended! Quirk Classics is aptly named as these stories are very quirky and probably not for everyone, with their descriptions of fresh- from -the -grave zombies eating their own flesh or someone else’s. I’m quirky enough that it all makes me laugh!

Go to facebook and "like" the  Dreadfully Ever After page to be entered into a giveaway that Quirk Books is doing.

NOW FOR MY GIVEAWAY! Comment on this post to be entered to win all 3 Pride and Prejudice and Zombie books. They are:

 One lucky winner will be chosen on Monday March 28th 2011. I will use Random.org to do the drawing. Be sure that when you leave a comment that you also leave your email address to reach you. If you do  not leave an email address I will go to the next person randomly drawn.  U.S. ONLY PLEASE!

Can't wait to hear what other bloggers have to say about this series!

We Be Big by Rick Burgess & Bill "Bubba" Bussey with Don Keith

We Be Big is the story of two "sexy fat guys" that do a morning radio show in Alabama. Their story is told in alternating chapters between Rick and Bubba. They tell how they became the successful morning show stars that they are today. The premise of their success throughout their career has been to "keep it real". They share their lives on the air. In the book they share about their successes and failures leading up to the Rick and Bubba show. On the air they have shared humor and heartache and even when it is not popular with their sponsors or bosses, they share their faith. Throughout their story they share how God has brought them every step of the way in their success. They give Him the glory.

I really enjoyed reading their story. I have never heard the Rick and Bubba show but it sounds like it would be very entertaining. There is something about them sharing their lives that draws people in. Their stories brought a smile to my face and at times tears to my eyes.

Finally by Wendy Mass

Rory is counting the minutes until she turns 12. She has a list of things that she wants to do once she is 12. A couple of the things that she will be allowed to do  are get a cell phone, get a pet, shave her legs and get her ears pierced. One mishap after another follows.

Wendy Mass did not disappoint me with this book! It made me laugh- out- loud in some parts. I think my favorite part was when Rory tried shaving her legs for the first time~oh my goodness it was funny! Even though there were laugh-out-loud moments in Rory's attempts at working through her list you could see the life lessons that she was learning and the maturity that she is reaching by the end of the story. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!