Audio: Caught up in a cowboy - Jennie Marts

Rockford James was raised as a tried and true cowboy in a town crazy about ice hockey. Rock is as hot on the ice as he is on a horse, and the NHL snapped him up. Now, injuries have temporarily benched him. Body and pride wounded, he returns to his hometown ranch to find that a lot has changed. The one thing that hasn't? His feelings for high school sweetheart and girl-next-door Quinn Rivers. Quinn had no choice but to get over Rock after he left. Teenaged and heartbroken, she had a rebound one night stand that ended in single motherhood. Now that Rock's back-and clamoring for a second chance-Quinn will do anything to avoid getting caught up in this oh-so-tempting cowboy . . . 

Audio CD, 9 h
Published May 1st 2018 by Tantor Audio
Cowboys of Creedence #1
Contemporary romance
for review

My thoughts:
Rock and Quinn were childhood  best friends and then High School sweethearts,, until he left for College and a  NHL career. Breaking her heart.

So yes he did leave and yes they should at least have tried to make it work. But then they were kids and idiots. It's more like he should not have broken it off and she should have fought for him.

Right so they meet again years later. He is nursing injuries and taking it easy.

She is a single mom (with the cutest kid!) and her ex, omg, omg I just wanted to hit that no good piece of work.

They are so meant to be, cos they should always have been together. They try to work things out, becoming friends, becoming more. Everything is easy and nice.

Until the drama, which I shall not mention, but arghhhh I wanted to kick some butt!

My thoughts

A nice romance about second chances. Some are just meant to be!

Narrrator Abby Craden

I liked her voices. And what I really liked is that even though I really upped the speed it still sounded really nice. Even when I upped it to 2x cos I was dying to know what was going to happen and I wanted to get to the end at once!

Sample

Author Post and Giveaway. Jane Austen's Rakes and Gentlemen Rogues

Jane Austen’s Rakes & Gentlemen Rogues Tell Their Side of the Story by Christina Boyd

Jane Austen’s masterpieces are littered with any number of unsuitable gentlemen—Willoughby, Wickham, Churchill, Crawford, Tilney, Elliot—adding color and depth to her plots but often barely sketched out to the reader. Have you never wondered about the back story of her rakes and gentlemen rogues? Surely, there’s more than one side to their stories.

I have always been drawn to characters that are not simply one dimensional. Through first person point-of-view, Philippa Gregory masterfully created empathy in her Tudor and Plantagenet books; one novel I would find myself championing a queen and in the very next, she had become the villain! Even my own anthology The Darcy Monologues gave voice to the previously concealed wit and charm of the proud, brooding, and officious Mr. Darcy, allowing us some quality time in his handsome head.

After publishing The Darcy Monologues in May 2017, murmurings began about another project. Maybe from Miss Elizabeth Bennet’s point-of-view? With a surfeit of quality Jane Austen fanfiction recounting Lizzy’s story, I thought it might be a more titillating challenge to expose the histories of Jane Austen’s anti-heroes. It is a universal truth, despite our wisdom, we are captivated by smoldering looks, dangerous charms … a happy-go-lucky, cool confidence. Alas, some of us fall for the one that needs to be mended. All the while, our BFFs are shouting to deaf ears, “He is a cad! He is a brute! He is all wrong!” But isn’t that how tender hearts are broken…by giving credit to the undeserving? How did they become the men Jane Austen wrote? The challenge was just too delicious to not undertake.

Once again, a Dream Team of authors were approached to join this project. Titles were bandied about: everything from “Consequently a Rogue” taken from the Jonathon Swift quote “He was a fiddler and consequently a rogue” to “Rakes and Rogues” to “Jane Austen’s Gentlemen Rogues”. “Mad, bad, and dangerous to know,” the very phrase used by Lady Caroline Lamb to describe Lord Byron, married the previous suggestions and—voila! A title was born.

As an editor, I have been extremely fortunate to work with some incomparable authors in the past. This project is a testament to my providence. The intent: create short stories, each told from one of Austen’s male antagonists’ eyes—a backstory and, or parallel story from off-stage of canon—all the while remaining steadfast to the characters we recognize in Austen’s masterpieces. As in The Darcy Monologues, these authors certainly can turn up the heat with but the turn of a phrase!

Here are a few quick lines from a sampling of the authors to whet your appetite: 

We arranged to fight our duel at that place where all the most elegant duels were fought: the secluded gardens near the Circus, accessed by the Gravel Walk; naturally, the occasion was to be held at dawn. I had been in my chair, subject to the shavings and combings and clippings of old Morley until at last, I cried out, “’Tis enough man! I am not gone to my wedding day!”

Morley frowned at me, his dark eyes sharp with disapproval. “Your wedding day? That is not a day I shall likely live to see so I must keep at my art on these, more common, events.”—Captain Frederick Tilney, For Mischief’s Sake, Amy D’Orazio

I smiled drowsily as she caressed my chest. “I love you, Clémence.”

Her fingers stilled as I closed my eyes in pleasurable exhaustion and drifted towards sleep. 

She did not reply. —Mr. George Wickham, A Wicked Game, Katie Oliver

Yes, fellows, since you press me so hard, yes, I confess it: Cupid’s darts have winged me. If you must have the story, pass me that bottle first. I can lift it with my left hand without paining my collarbone excessively. Now, you may not like what you are about to hear. You think lightning will never strike you. But let me tell you, last year on Basingstoke Down, I was neither looking to fall in love, nor looking for someone to fall in love with me, when all unawares—but stay, I must go further back… —Mr. Tom Bertram, The Address of Frenchwoman, Lona Manning

What say you? Are you in? Everyone may be attracted to a bad boy…even temporarily…but heaven help us if we marry one. Dangerous to Know: Jane Austen’s Rakes and Gentlemen Rogues released November 2017 and in audiobook April 26, 2018. Our voice actor, Andre Refig, is an accomplished British actor on both the stage and voiceover. His range was perfect for our #RakesAndGentlemenRogues as well as all the other characters in this eleven-story anthology. He was definitely fit for the challenge! And he executed the project better than we ever hoped. 

Stay tuned for Rational Creatures as we continue The Quill Collective series with Jane Austen’s female characters in October 2018.

GIVEAWAY
1 audiobook of JA's Rakes and Gentlemen rogues :D
Open to everyone who can accept from audible

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TMST. Review books

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post on Rainy Day Ramblings where Rainy discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog.

May 15th: Are most of your review books for publishers or are you reviewing books of your choice?

At the moment, yes. I quickly did the math on the last 30 books I read and 2 out of 3 are review books. This mostly now that I read a loooot slower, and most books I manage are audiobooks, and those tend to be review books (or the awesome audio sync ones! They have been gathering dusts for years but I have managed some now).

And those book I get to review are those I have chosen so in the end I do review only books of my own choice :D

Except when Carole and I do a joint review, lol. Also, those will come back, but I am having technical problems as S loves to watch youtube and hit my tablet where the book meant for April is.

Last week it was spring, this week SUMMER :D

Audio: Dangerous to know Anthology

"One has all the goodness, and the other all the appearance of it." —Jane Austen

Jane Austen’s masterpieces are littered with unsuitable gentlemen—Willoughby, Wickham, Churchill, Crawford, Tilney, Elliot, et al.—adding color and depth to her plots but often barely sketched. Have you never wondered about the pasts of her rakes, rattles, and gentlemen rogues? Surely, there's more than one side to their stories. 

It is a universal truth, we are captivated by smoldering looks, daring charms ... a happy-go-lucky, cool confidence. All the while, our loyal confidants are shouting on deaf ears, “He is a cad—a brute—all wrong!” But is that not how tender hearts are broken...by loving the undeserving? How did they become the men Jane Austen created?

In this romance anthology, eleven Austenesque authors expose the histories of Austen’s anti-heroes. "Dangerous to Know: Jane Austen’s Rakes & Gentlemen Rogues" is a titillating collection of Georgian era short stories—a backstory or parallel tale off-stage of canon—whilst remaining steadfast to the characters we recognize in Austen’s great works.

Audible Audio, 14 h
Published April 24th 2018 by The Quill Ink
Jane Austen variations
For review

My thoughts

And here come the tales of all those rakes and rogues you find in Austen. Some that I like, some that I detest and some that are fun to hate. 

“Willoughby’s Crossroads” (John Willoughby, Sense and Sensibility) by Joana Starnes

Oh Willoughby, I so saw you there and then you went and made a mess of things. It is a look at what happened before he ever met Marianne, and the choices he made.

 “A Wicked Game” (George Wickham, Pride and Prejudice) by Katie Oliver

I actually liked Wickham! He was just a young fool, who later in life made so many mistakes. Poor guy. And then he married Lydia in the end, I mean poor guy will pay for that his entire life. 

 “Fitzwilliam’s Folly” (Colonel Fitzwilliam, Pride and Prejudice) by Beau North; 

Fitzwilliam has a bit of a rep with the ladies, but he is an honorable rake, and here he meets his match

“The Address of a Frenchwoman” (Thomas Bertram, Mansfield Park) by Lona Manning;

MP is the one I have seen the least, or read. I really can not recall anything of Thomas, but I liked how he was here and how he fell in love.

 “Last Letter to Mansfield” (Henry Crawford, Mansfield Park) by Brooke West;

Oh Henry, you dug your own grave. I still liked him

 “An Honest Man” (Frank Churchill, Emma) by Karen M Cox; 

Nope, I will never like Frank. It was not a good thing he did, and here we see how he and Jane fell in love, or lust.

“One Fair Claim” (Sir Walter Elliot, Persuasion) by Christina Morland; 

Oh he was such a pompous fool!

“The Lost Chapter in the Life of William Elliot” (William Elliot, Persuasion) by Jenetta James;

I found myself liking him as he fell in love and I felt sorry for him

 “As Much as He Can” (General Tilney, Northanger Abbey) by Sophia Rose;

Yes, NA is another one that I do not know that well, but I take it from this that the General was not a good guy ;) But here, awww, I get man, I get it

 “The Art of Sinking” (John Thorpe, Northanger Abbey) by J. Marie Croft; 

Well this guy is just an idiot. Interesting to hear about, but what a rogue! You had it coming

“For Mischief’s Sake” (Captain Frederick Tilney, Northanger Abbey) by Amy D’Orazio

.THis even had me snorting. At first I was not sure what to make of him, but I guess I get it in a way, and then when he finds love. All is forgiven.

Conclusion:
All these rakes and rogues. Some I can not forgive, some are shown in such a good new light here, that I am inclined to forgive them. But they are all interesting to hear about. What made them into rakes and how it shaped their lives.

Narrator Andre Refig

I like his rake voice ;) They sound so very snobbish at times (in a good way) cos it is just so fitting.