November 2008 Issue # 4

Hello and welcome everyone!

I’m Phoebe Jordan also known as The Voice of Romance here on Romance Writers United, but you probably already know that but for those of you who are just tuning in this is my very, very late November column. This is my fourth column for RWU and I have to say that I have been having a hard time trying to write up this column because I’ve been very busy with midterms since I’m a 19-year-old full-time college student working towards her BA in English. I’m a bit more secure about writing this column now and I am enjoying every time I sit down at my laptop and think about all the novels I’ve read lately and trying to pick the ones that I should mention in this column. Well unfortunately this month none of the RWU member authors both published and unpublished have posted any current, upcoming or work-in-progress information. So for this month I will have time to discuss some of awesome new authors and books that I’ve recently discovered this month.

Well I’ve been very curious about this Young Adult series that I felt had romance elements in it called Twilight. I’m sure that if you haven’t read this series then you must have heard about it because there are large amounts of fans who have Twilight mania going on for the past couple of months since the movie was announce to come out at the end of 2008. It comes out on November 21st instead of the original date of December 21st. I’m glad that it was coming out a whole month earlier than expected because after reading all four books in the Twilight series I really was excited about seeing it come to life in a movie. I won’t say I’m a Twilight fan after reading the books but I did enjoy reading all the books even though I’ve heard gossip and rumors that some people thought they sucked or that it was terrible especially the last book which got a lot of controversy reviews because of some event in the book that got people angry.

I’m not much for reading Young Adult even though right now I’m 19 and that is the type of book that should be my reading material but it wasn’t when I was younger and there are only special exceptions that I have read Young Adult like the Harry Potter series and now the Twilight series. I’ve reviewed all four novels on my blog Talk About My Favorite Authors if you want to check it out and I’ve written about my likes and dislikes about each book because they aren’t perfect but they aren’t horrible novels. Also Stephenie Meyer is working on her fourth Twilight book called Midnight Sun which is Edward Cullen’s point of view of the book Twilight and one that had been leaked to the media before Breaking Dawn came out. I’m not sure I would buy and read that book but it would be interesting to see if she actually gets it done and published even though she said that it was indefinitely on hold.

Happy Reading!
~ Phoebe

Twilight
Copyright © 2005 by Stephenie Meyer
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Blurb:

About three things I was absolutely positive:

First, Edward was a vampire.

Second, there was a part of him—and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be–that thirsted for my blood.

And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

“I’D NEVER GIVEN MUCH THOUGHT TO HOW I WOULD DIE—I’d had reason enough in the last few months—but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this.... Surely it was a good way to die, in the place of something else, someone I loved. Noble even. That ought to count for something.”

When Isabella Swan moves to the gloomy town of Forks and meets the mysterious, alluring Edward Cullen, her life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. With his porcelain skin, golden eyes, mesmerizing voice, and supernatural gifts, Edward is both irresistible and impenetrable. Up until now, he has managed to keep his true identity hidden, but Bella is determined to uncover his dark secret. What Bella doesn’t realize is the closer she gets to him, the more she is putting herself and those around her at risk. And, it might be too late to turn back....

* * *

New Moon
Copyright © 2006 by Stephenie Meyer
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Blurb:

I knew we were both in mortal danger. Still, in that instant, I felt well. Whole. I could feel my heart racing in my chest, the blood pulsing hot and fast through my veins again. My lungs filled deep with the sweet scent that came off his skin. It was like there had never been a hole in my chest. I was perfect—not healed, but as if there had never been a wound in the first place.

I FELT LIKE I WAS TRAPPED IN ON OF THOSE TERRIFYING NIGHMARES, the one where you have to run, run till your lungs burst, but you can’t make your body move fast enough…. But this was no dream, and, unlike the nightmare, I wasn’t running for my life; I was racing to save something infinitely more precious. My own life meant little to me today.

FOR BELLA SWAN, THERE IS ONE THING more important than life itself: Edward Cullen. But being in love with a vampire is even more dangerous than Bella ever could have imagined. Edward has already rescued Bella from the clutches of one evil vampire, but now, as their daring relationship threatens all that is near and dear to them, they realize their troubles may be just beginning….

* * *

Eclipse
Copyright © 2007 by Stephenie Meyer
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Blurb:

In the dead silence, all the details suddenly fell into place for me with a burst of intuition. Something Edward didn’t want me to know. Something that Jacob wouldn’t have kept from me. Something that had the Cullens and the wolves both in the woods moving in hazardous proximity to each other…. Something I’d been waiting for anyway. Something I knew would happen again, as much as I might wish it never would. It was never going to end, was it?

“BELLA?” Edward’s soft voice came from behind me. I turned to see him spring lightly up the porch steps, his hair windblown from running. He pulled me into his arms at once, just like he had in the parking lot, and kissed me again. This kiss frightened me. There was too much tension, too strong an edge to the way his lips crushed mine—like he was afraid we had only so much time left to us.

AS SEATTLE IS RAVAGED BY A STRING OF mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob—knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?

* * *

Breaking Dawn
Copyright © 2008 by Stephenie Meyer
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Blurb:

“Don’t be afraid,” I murmured. “We belong together.”

I was overwhelmed by the truth of my own words. This moment was so perfect, so right, there was no way to doubt it. His arms wrapped around me, holding me against him….

If felt like every nerve ending in my body was a live wire. “Forever,” he agreed.

WHEN YOU LOVED THE ONE WHO WAS KILLING YOU, IT LEFT YOU NO OPTIONS. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give, how could you not give it? If it was someone you truly loved?

TO BE IRREVOCABLY IN LOVE WITH A VAMPIRE is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to a werewolf Jacob Black, she has endured a tumultuous year of temptation, loss, and strife to reach the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the fate of two tribes hangs.

NOW THAT BELLA HAS MADE HER DECISION, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating and unfathomable consequences. Just when the frayed strands of Bella’s life—first discovered in Twilight, then scattered and torn in New Moon and Eclipse—seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed…forever?

* * *

Now for current releases that I’ve bought and have on the top of my To Be Read pile. The first one I will be talking about is Nora Robert/J.D. Robb’s newest In Death book which would be her 27th in the series that has been going on since 1995. This is one of my favorite series because it is a romantic suspense series set in the future of NYC in the year 2058 to 2060 so far and it only gets better with each book that comes out because the characters just get more intense and you learn new things about them with each book. I’m very exciting about reading this novel and I recommend this series to everyone especially if you are new to romance or just new to Nora Roberts and her J.D. Robb books. This is a must have series in my opinion because it has everything you should be looking for in a romance novel especially in a series and it also has 27 books which means if you start now you still have plenty of reading to go before you have caught up to the recent release.

The second current release that I’ve bought and have on the top of my TBR pile is by another of my favorite authors Dorothy Garlock. I stumbled upon her books at Barnes and Noble and I’m always grateful about it because she is one amazing author. This is her current release that I’ve been looking forward to all year and the cover is amazing to look at. Dorothy writes mostly about the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s in the United States and those are some of the most fascinating time periods that I’ve heard and read about. This is set in current times but it still has me very excited about reading it because she also writes amazing books in this time period too. Okay I’ve rambled enough about what I think about the books let’s get to what the books are about so here they are.

Current releases by NYT best-selling romance authors:

Salvation in Death
Copyright © 2008 by J.D. Robb/Nora Roberts
Published by Penguin Group USA

Blurb:

In the year 2060, cutting-edge investigative tools can help catch a killer. But there are some questions even the most advanced technologies cannot answer….

At the most solemn moment of a Catholic funeral Mass, the priest brings the chalice to his lips. Seconds later, he is dead on the altar. For the mourners packed into the pews, Father Miguel Flores’s sudden demise is an unimaginable shock. When Detective Lieutenant Eve Dallas confirms that the consecrated wine contained enough potassium cyanide to kill a rhino, she’s prepared to plunge in and find out why, despite her discomfort with her surroundings. It’s not the bodegas and pawnshops of East Harlem that bother her, though the neighborhood is a long way from the stone mansion she shares with her billionaire husband, Roarke. It’s all that holiness flying around at St. Cristobal’s that makes her uneasy.

A search of the victim’s simple, sparsely furnished room reveals few personal touches, except for the carefully hidden religious medal with a mysterious inscription, and a couple of underlined Bible passages. The autopsy reveals much more: faint scars of knife wounds, a removed tattoo—and evidence of plastic surgery suggesting “Father Flores” may not have been the man his parishioners thought. Now, as Eve pieces together clues that suggest identity theft, gang connections, and a deeply personal act of revenge, she hopes to track down whoever committed this unholy act. Until a second murder—in front of an even larger crowd of worshippers—knocks the whole investigation sideways. The way Eve sees it, vengeance may be the Lord’s business, but if there’s going to be any earthly justice in this case, it’s up to her.

* * *

Leaving Whiskey Bend
Copyright © 2008 by Dorothy Garlock
Published by Grand Central Publishing

Blurb:

Schoolteacher Hallie Wolcott and her no-nonsense friend Pearl Parsons know there’s got to be a better place to live than the roughneck town of Whiskey Bend, Colorado. When their friend Mary is assaulted by her brutal stepbrother, it’s the last straw. Hallie and Pearl pull up stakes, rescue Mary, and put as many miles of Colorado wilderness behind them as they can. But a violent storm soon sends their journey careening in a different direction. Enter Eli Morgan, a quiet rancher deep in family troubles—and pursued by unseen, ruthless enemies. Now with Mary’s vengeful stepbrother closing in on them all, Hallie must learn strength, perseverance, and courage…if she is to claim the life and love that can be hers.

* * *

The following two novels are upcoming releases that I have been looking forward to for a long time and I can’t wait for them to come out. The first book is by a new author to me named Kathryn Caskie and this book is the first book of her new series called The Seven Deadly Sins. I’ve read her Royale Sisters Trilogy and thought I would see what her new series was about because it sounded very intriguing just by the title of the series alone. The series is about the sexy Sinclair family, who after being forced from Scotland for their wicked ways take London by storm and give all new meaning to the word sin. I’m very excited about getting and reading this book and I hope you all put this book on top of your wish list for Christmas which is coming soon.

The second book is by one of my favorite authors MaryJanice Davidson who has written a vampire paranormal series that I enjoy and another paranormal series about a mermaid that now is releasing the third book in the series. This book is in her Fred the Mermaid series and it is the third of a wonderful series that I have enjoyed very much reading since it came out. In the second book in the series Davidson left me intrigued and wondering what would happen to Fred the Mermaid next because it left of in a sort of cliffhanger for me. Okay I’ve rambled enough about what I think about the books let’s get to what the books are about so here they are.

November releases by NYT best-selling romance authors:

To Sin with a Stranger
Copyright © 2008 by Kathryn Caskie
Published by HarperCollins Publishers
Release date: November 25, 2008

Blurb:

Meet the “Seven Deadly Sins”

The seven Sinclair brothers and sisters live for scandal and delight in disgrace...until their father decrees that they must reform. Propriety has never come easily, but now they have no choice. Marry in haste…Or regret in poverty!

The Sinclairs of Scotland are known throughout society as The Seven Deadly Sins. Cast out by their father and denied their inheritance unless they mend their wild ways, they travel to London to seek respectability. No member of the clan is more scandalous than Sterling Sinclair, the Marquess of Blackburn. The ladies of the ton are powerless to withstand his rakish charms…until Miss Isobel Carington comes along.

Ten thousand pounds if she marries Sinclair!

Isobel is horrified to learn that’s the amount wagered at White’s Club—and now all of London is eagerly betting on her future! She’s already publicly spurned the Marquess, a man she hardly knows, but she’s sure he is up to something as he launches a bold campaign of seduction anyway. But soon she is surprised to learn there is much more to this man than reckless adventure and bad behavior…and, against her will, she begins to relish the thrill of sinning with this stranger…

* * *

Fish out of Water
Copyright © 2008 by MaryJanice Davidson/Alongi
Published by Penguin Group USA
Release date: November 25, 2008

Blurb:

Third in the hilarious New York Times bestselling series featuring Fred the Mermaid.

Fred the Mermaid has taken the bait and chosen to date Artur, Prince of the Black Sea, over human marine biologist Thomas. And just in time. The existence of the Undersea Folk is no longer a secret, and someone needs to keep them from floundering in the media spotlight. Fred has all the right skills for that job, but has a hard time when her real father surfaces and tries to overthrow Artur's regime.