December Tour: His Mistress by Christmas by Victoria Alexander

His Mistress by Christmas
by Victoria Alexander
Genre:  Historical Romance
Publication Date: October 2011
Kensington Books

For three years, Lady Veronica Smithson has been perfectly happy as a widow — and thoroughly independent. Still, the right gentleman could provide the benefits of marriage without the tedious restrictions. And in Sir Sebastian Hadley-Attwater, renowned explorer and rogue, Veronica is sure she has found him. Sebastian will come into his inheritance in a matter of weeks — if his family deems him responsible enough. There’s no better way to prove his maturity than with a home and a wife. But though the lovely Veronica will share his bed, she steadfastly refuses to marry. However, Sebastian has a plan. An intimate sojourn at his new country house will surely change Veronica’s mind. For Sebastian never takes no for an answer. And even in the midst of mischief-making relatives and unexpected complications, he intends to persuade his Christmas mistress that they belong together — in this, and every season to come...

• Tour Dates:  December 10 - December 17
• Tour signups will close on October 3, 2011
• This book will be available in PRINT only.
• To sign-up - please leave a comment with your name, e-mail address, blog name, and the date you would like to post your review (check calendar below - first come, first-serve.  If a date is already taken, you must pick a different date.  Please click the arrow to move over to the correct month as it is set to the current month automatically).  
• This tour is open to USA bloggers only.

Participating Bloggers
12/10/2011  --  A Chick Who Reads
12/12/2011  --  Reviews by Molly
12/13/2011  --  Practical Frugality
12/14/2011  --  A Cozy Readers Corner

Reviews

Nov/Dec Tour: The Daughter She Used to Be by Rosalind Noonan

The Daughter She Used to Be
by Rosalind Noonan
Publication Date:  October 2011
Kensington Books

The daughter of a career cop, Bernadette Sullivan grew up with blue uniforms hanging in the laundry room and cops laughing around the dinner table. Her brothers joined New York's finest, her sister married a cop, and Bernie is an assistant District Attorney. Collaring criminals, putting them away - it's what they do. And though lately Bernie feels a growing desire for a family of her own, she's never questioned her choices. Then a shooter targets a local coffee shop, and tragedy strikes the Sullivan family. Anger follows grief - and Bernie realizes that her father's idea of retribution is very different from her own. All her life, she's inhabited a clear-cut world of right and wrong, of morality and corruption. As Bernie struggles to protect the people she loves, she must also decide what it means to see justice served. And in her darkest hour, she will find out just what it means to be her father's daughter.

• Tour Dates:  November 25 - December 9 
• Tour signups will close on October 3
• This book will be available in PRINT only.
• To sign-up - please leave a comment with your name, e-mail address, blog name, and the date you would like to post your review (check calendar below - first come, first-serve.  If a date is already taken, you must pick a different date.  Please click the arrow to move over to the correct month as it is set to the current month automatically).  
• This tour is open to USA bloggers only.

Participating Blogs
11/26/2011  --  Practical Frugality
11/28/2011  --  WV Stitcher
12/3/2011  --  Proud Book Nerd
12/7/2011  --  Review From Here
12/8/2011  --  Kritters Ramblings
12/9/2011  --  Books in the Burbs

Review Links

November Tour: The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory

The Lady of the Rivers
by Philippa Gregory
Publication Date:  October 18, 2011
Publisher:  Touchstone

Passion. Danger. Witchcraft . . .

The Lady of the Rivers is #1 New York Times bestselling author Philippa Gregory’s remarkable story of Jacquetta, Duchess of Bedford, a woman who navigated a treacherous path through the battle lines in the Wars of the Roses.

Descended from Melusina, the river goddess, Jacquetta always has had the gift of second sight. As a child visiting her uncle, she met his prisoner, Joan of Arc, and saw her own power reflected in the young woman accused of witchcraft. They share the mystery of the tarot card of the wheel of fortune before Joan is taken to a horrific death at the hands of the English rulers of France. Jacquetta understands the danger for a woman who dares to dream.

Jacquetta is married to the Duke of Bedford, English regent of France, and he introduces her to a mysterious world of learning and alchemy. Her only friend in the great household is the duke’s squire Richard Woodville, who is at her side when the duke’s death leaves her a wealthy young widow. The two become lovers and marry in secret, returning to England to serve at the court of the young King Henry VI, where Jacquetta becomes a close and loyal friend to his new queen.

The Woodvilles soon achieve a place at the very heart of the Lancaster court, though Jacquetta can sense the growing threat from the people of England and the danger of royal rivals. Not even their courage and loyalty can keep the House of Lancaster on the throne. Henry the king slides into a mysterious sleep; Margaret the queen turns to untrustworthy favorites for help; and Richard, Duke of York, threatens to overturn the whole kingdom for his rival dynasty.

Jacquetta fights for her king, her queen, and for her daughter Elizabeth for whom Jacquetta can sense an extraordinary and unexpected future: a change of fortune, the throne of England, and the white rose of York.

A sweeping, powerful story rich in passion and legend and drawing on years of research, The Lady of the Rivers tells the story of the real-life mother of the white queen.

• Tour Dates:  November 14 - November 28 
• Tour signups will close on September 2 *New* September 11
• This book will be available in both PRINT and EBOOK formats.  Ebook copies will be available through Netgalley.
• To sign-up - please leave a comment with your name, e-mail address, blog name, format preference (print/ebook), and the date you would like to post your review (check calendar below - first come, first-serve.  If a date is already taken, you must pick a different date.  Please click the arrow to move over to the correct month as it is set to the current month automatically).  
• This tour is open to USA bloggers.

Participating Bloggers
11/14/2011 -- A Bookish Affair
11/15/2011 -- Proud Book Nerd
11/16/2011 -- Review from Here
11/17/2011 -- By the Book
11/19/2011 -- The Bookish Mama
11/20/2011 -- Ravishing Reads
11/21/2011 -- A Chick Who Reads
11/22/2011 -- Kritter's Ramblings
11/23/2011 -- The Book of Secrets
11/25/2011 -- Sinnful Books
11/26/2011 -- Sherri's Jubilee
11/27/2011 -- Hippies, Beauty, and Books Oh My!
11/28/2011 -- Book Snob

Reviews

Signups CLOSED: November Tour: Triangles by Ellen Hopkins

Triangles
by Ellen Hopkins
Publication Date:  October 18, 2011
Publisher:  Atria

In this first adult novel by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the unforgettable Crank trilogy, three female friends face midlife crises in a no holds-barred exploration of sex, marriage, and the fragility of life.

Ellen Hopkins has made her mark as the wildly popular author of several novels for young adults—every one of them a New York Times bestseller, and every one a hard-hitting exploration of tough-to-tackle topics. Now, in Triangles, Hopkins brings her storytelling mastery and fearlessness to take on the challenges of adult dramas.

In this emotionally powerful novel, three women face the age-old midlife question: If I’m halfway to death, is this all I’ve got to show for it? Holly, filled with regret for being a stay-at-home mom, sheds sixty pounds and loses herself in the world of extramarital sex. Andrea, a single mom and avowed celibate, watches her friend Holly’s meltdown with a mixture of concern and contempt. Holly is throwing away what Andrea has spent her whole life searching for—a committed relationship with a decent guy. So what if Andrea picks up Holly’s castaway husband? Then there’s Marissa. She has more than her fair share of challenges—a gay teenage son, a terminally ill daughter, and a husband who buries himself in his work rather than face the facts. As one woman’s marriage unravels, another one’s rekindles. As one woman’s family comes apart at the seams, another’s is reconfigured into something bigger and better. In this story of connections and disconnections, one woman’s up is another one’s down, and all three of them will learn the meaning of friendship, betrayal, and forgiveness before it is through.

• Tour Dates:  November 1 - November 18
• Tour signups will close on September 2 
• This book will be available in PRINT format only.  We have limited copies available, so if it comes to that, we may need to do a random draw for who is selected to participate.
• To sign-up - please leave a comment with your name, e-mail address, blog name, and the date you would like to post your review (check calendar below - first come, first-serve.  If a date is already taken, you must pick a different date.  Please click the arrow to move over to the correct month as it is set to the current month automatically).  
• This tour is open to USA/CAN bloggers
• The author is open for Q&As along with your scheduled review.  Please indicate in your post if you would like to interview Ellen in conjunction with your review.

Participating Bloggers:
11/1/2011 All I Ever Read
11/3/2011 Taming the Bookshelf 
11/4/2011 Oodles of Books
11/5/2011 Ravishing Reads
11/7/2011 Review from Here
11/8/2011 Proud Book Nerd
11/9/2011 The Book Swarm 
11/10/2011 Tiffany's Bookshelf
11/11/2011 Kritters Ramblings
11/13/2011 Hippies, Beauty, and Books Oh My!
11/15/2011 So Many Books, So Little Time
11/16/2011 Book Snob 
11/17/2011 Reader Girls 
11/18/2011 Colloquium
11/19/2011 Reflections with Coffee

Review/Interview/Guest Post Links:

SIGNUPS CLOSED: October/November Tour: Holy Ghost Girl by Donna Johnson

Holy Ghost Girl:  A Memoir
by Donna M. Johnson
Publication Date:  October 13, 2011
Gotham Books

A compassionate, humorous story of faith, betrayal, and coming of age on the evangelical sawdust trail. 
 
She was just three years old when her mother signed on as the organist of tent revivalist David Terrell, and before long, Donna Johnson was part of the hugely popular evangelical preacher's inner circle. At seventeen, she left the ministry for good, with a trove of stranger-than-fiction memories. A homecoming like no other, Holy Ghost Girl brings to life miracles, exorcisms, and faceoffs with the Ku Klux Klan. And that's just what went on under the tent.

As Terrell became known worldwide during the 1960s and '70s, the caravan of broken-down cars and trucks that made up his ministry evolved into fleets of Mercedes and airplanes. The glories of the Word mixed with betrayals of the flesh and Donna's mother bore Terrell's children in one of the several secret households he maintained. Thousands of followers, dubbed "Terrellites" by the press, left their homes to await the end of the world in cultlike communities. Jesus didn't show, but the IRS did, and the prophet/healer went to prison.
Recounted with deadpan observations and surreal detail, Holy Ghost Girl bypasses easy judgment to articulate a rich world in which the mystery of faith and human frailty share a surprising and humorous coexistence.

Since this one is also on TLC Book Tours, we are going to start our tour when TLC ends.

• Tour Dates:  October 28 - November 11
• Tour signups will close on August 15. 
• This book will be available in both PRINT (10 copies) and EBOOK (25 copies through Netgalley) formats.
• To sign-up - please leave a comment with your name, e-mail address, blog name, format preference (print/ebook), and the date you would like to post your review (check calendar below - first come, first-serve.  Please click the arrow to move over to the correct month as it is set to August automatically).  
• This tour is open to ALL (USA, Canada, International) book bloggers, with this caveat:
• USA & Canada may request the print copy
• International bloggers can only request the ebook copy

Signups:

10/28/2011  --  Phantom Paragrapher
10/29/2011  --  Deco My Heart
10/30/2011  --  Laurie Here
10/31/2011  --  Colloquium
11/1/2011  --  Tiffany's Bookshelf
11/2/2011  --  Practical Frugality
11/7/2011  --  WV Stitcher
11/9/2011  --  Books in the Burbs
11/10/2011  --  StephTheBookworm
11/11/2011  --  Hippies, Beauty, and Books OH MY!


Reviews:

Signups CLOSED: October Tour: Death Plays Poker by Robin Spano (USA/CAN)

Death Plays Poker
by Robin Spano
Series:  Clare Vengel Undercover, Book #2
Publication Date:  October 1, 2011
Publisher:  ECW Press

World class poker players are being strangled in their hotel rooms, and Clare is given her second big assignment: to pose as a poker player in a major televised tournament, befriend the suspects, and find the killer in their midst.

Her cover role? A trust fund princess who thinks the poker tour is a better idea than college. Posing as Tiffany helps her infiltrate the tour's inner circle, but uncovering the truth is harder than ever among people who lie for a living.

As more players fall prey to the Poker Choker and Clare's cover comes under attack, the stakes get even higher. Should Clare fold and return to her life as a dull beat cop, or go all in and prove her worth?

• Tour Dates:  January 16 - 24, 2012
• Tour signups will close on August 14. 
• This book will be available in both PRINT format and through NETGALLEY.  Both options will not be available until early September for shipping/downloading. 
• To sign-up - please leave a comment with your name, e-mail address, blog name, format preference (print/e-book), and the date you would like to post your review (check calendar below - first come, first-serve.  Please click the arrow to move over to the correct month as it is set to August automatically).  
• This tour is open to both USA and CANADIAN book bloggers.

Participating Bloggers


Reviews