Rachel Bailey's COUNTERING HIS CLAIM

My sincerest apologies for being so late in naming a winner. This past week has been horrid to say the least.  Visits to the dentist, the endodontist, back to the dentist and now back to the endodontist for a root canal next week, yuck!  On top of that, my mom has been having neck issues and there was testing and then xrays for that and physical therapy.  She's doing much better and I'm hopeful the craziness will stop.

 

The name I drew was Crystal - congratulations, Crystal!  I have your email address and will be in touch this afternoon to confirm your book choices.

 

Thanks to everyone who commented and again, I apologize for being late with the winner.

 

Rachel Bailey was a new author to me until I read COUNTERING HIS CLAIM (in exchange for an honest review). I'm oh so very pleased to have found her!  Her latest book, COUNTERING HIS CLAIM (Harlequin Desire) is a positively lovely story. To top it off, look at how classy this cover is! It's definitely one of the best I've seen in a long, long time.

About the book:
Never be distracted by a woman is hotel magnate Luke Marlow's golden rule, especially when the woman just inherited half his late uncle's luxury cruise liner. But ship's doctor Della Walsh is the exception. Her dignified beauty ignites Luke's desire despite his suspicions. Even so, he will gain full control of the ship at all costs.
For Della, the ship has been a sanctuary. Now she has just three weeks to change Luke's mind and save the ship—until passion comes along and steers them off course….

Della Walsh is a doctor on the  Cora Mae cruise ship. When the owner of the ship dies, Della is heartbroken and, like everyone else working on the ship, is more than a little anxious to learn what the owner's nephew, undoubtedly the beneficiary of the ship, will do with it. When the will is read and Della and Luke each receive a one-half interest in the ship, Della is stunned and Luke is not pleased.
Luke's family has been in the business of hospitality and Luke wants to buy Della's share and dock the ship and turn it into a floating hotel. He understands where Della is coming from in wanting to keep the ship active as a luxury cruise liner, but refuses to let his attraction to her get in the way of his plans.
Della and Luke are each more than a little damaged from events in their pasts. Della, having grown up on cruise ships, feels very strongly about keeping the ship out on the water and Luke is equally determined to turn it into a hotel. Their attraction to each other is instantaneous, but they don't act on it immediately which is a nice example of story building. Ms. Bailey's work should be enjoyed by all romance readers. I'm off to shop her back list!

I've decided to do a giveaway of two books from Ms. Bailey's back list in Kindle or Nook version (subject to availability) to one lucky reader here.  If you're interested, please leave a comment. Have you ever been on a cruise? Have you read Rachel Bailey's work? Which two books would you choose if you win?  Any and all comments are welcome! You know the drill, if you send a friend over who mentions you in their comment and you'll each get your names in the draw an extra time.  I'll draw the winning name on Monday, October 14. Leave your email with your comment and I'll contact you if you're the winner.  Otherwise, be sure to check back.

Thanks to Rachel Bailey for allowing me to read and review COUNTERING HIS CLAIM for you - I absolutely loved Della and Luke and look forward to reading more of your work.

Laurie

Winners named!

Good evening!

Because so many of you took the time to read my review and leave a comment, I decided that there would be two winners.  The names I pulled are robertsonreads and KarenJ.  Both ladies left their email addresses, so I'll be getting in touch with them directly.

Thanks to everyone who commented - I hope you'll get your hands on Rowdy's book - and please stop back and let us know your thoughts, ok?

GETTING ROWDY, the latest from Lori Foster

Hey ladies! I'm sure you know by now that Lori Foster has a new release, GETTING ROWDY. Lori was kind enough to send me a review copy and I've gotta say this is one of my favorite covers ever - who agrees?  My start of the book didn't start out as bright and shiny as I'd wished, because Rowdy just didn't start out as one of my favorite characters, regardless of how sumptuous his cover is. He was perfectly likable in the previous books in this series but I was slow to warm up to him in his own book.  Poor Rowdy!

About the book:
Charismatic bar owner Rowdy Yates isn’t the kind of man women say no to. So when he approaches waitress Avery Mullins, he fully expects to get her number. However, the elusive beauty has her reasons for keeping her distance—including a past that might come back to haunt them both.
Avery spends her nights working for tips… and trying to forget the secret Rowdy is determined to unearth. But when history threatens to repeat itself, Avery grows to rely on Rowdy’s protective presence. As the sparks between them ignite, she will be forced to choose between the security she’s finally found… and the passion she’s always wanted.

I'll admit that GETTING ROWDY is the only Lori Foster book I've started and after the first chapter, I put it down. It took me a bit to pick it back up. I didn't like Rowdy's actions in the very beginning and while the heroine, Avery, got past it and moved on, it took me a little longer. Am I getting old and square? Maybe so. To be honest, I thought Rowdy was just a bit of a dick and his redemption would be difficult to pull off.  But Lori did it. I finished the book and was ridiculously pleased that I went back to it.

My review:
Avery takes a bar tending job at Rowdy's bar and he knows that Avery is hiding something, and quite possibly, herself. He's determined to find out her secrets while he protects her from them.
Rowdy is well-known as a womanizer and Avery knows she's playing with fire when she takes the leap and goes after him. Before long Rowdy has to question whether his growing feelings for Avery are lust or something much deeper. His determined struggle with this was interestingly endearing.
Typical of Lori Foster's work, GETTING ROWDY has an over-the-top alpha male and an intelligent, independent woman with a troubled past. What every romance reader loves, right? Clever banter between all of the characters keeps the story fresh and fun, and for readers who love a romantic, sensual love story, I highly recommend GETTING ROWDY.

I'll give one reader here the choice of the Kindle or Nook version of either of the previous books in this series, RUN THE RISK or BARE IT ALL. Just leave a comment and you'll be entered.  Of course, I'd much rather your comments be about your favorite Lori Foster books, characters, etc.! If you wish to leave your email address with your comment, I'll contact you directly if you're the winner. Otherwise, you'll need to be sure to check back because I likely won't track you down. I'll draw a winner on Sunday, October 6th.

Thanks, Lori, for allowing me to read and review GETTING ROWDY for you!  I hope we can get together before/for the holidays!