Monday, December 28, 2015

Book Blitz: THE FIRE TRILOGY by Devika Fernando


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BOOK ONE : PLAYING WITH FIRE 

If you’re playing with fire, prepare to get burned – or to fall in love.

Sparks fly when Felicia and Joshua meet. Discovering her inner fire and unleashing unimaginable powers makes her realize that all her life, she has been hiding her true self. When buildings burn and people are in danger, the tempting game of playing with fire becomes serious. Will their love and desperate struggle for control save her life, or will the fire magic turn itself against its mistress?






BOOK TWO : DANCING WITH FIRE

When a fire witch and an ice wizard flee to Iceland to build a new life, they never expect the one thing that could tear them apart – Kyle, adding his own magic into the mix. Felicia starts questioning everything they have. She is torn between the man who loves her but is her polar opposite, and the man who attracts her but means nothing but trouble. 
As if her confusing emotions weren’t enough, Felicia finds her life turned upside down when a terrifying natural disaster threatens the end of the country and the entire world. 
Will she be able to control her gift and play the part that is expected of her? Will she give in to temptation or will she save the world? 

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BOOK THREE : LIVING WITH FIRE

When a fire witch and an ice wizard flee to Iceland to build a new life, they never expect the one thing that could tear them apart – Kyle, adding his own magic into the mix. Felicia starts questioning everything they have. She is torn between the man who loves her but is her polar opposite, and the man who attracts her but means nothing but trouble. 
As if her confusing emotions weren’t enough, Felicia finds her life turned upside down when a terrifying natural disaster threatens the end of the country and the entire world. 
Will she be able to control her gift and play the part that is expected of her? Will she give in to temptation or will she save the world? 

BUY @



AN EXCERPT - FROM LIVING WITH FIRE

Joshua was gaping at her, his mouth opening and closing silently like a fish out of water. There was a sudden increase in icy coldness, and he froze into a statue, his face now expressionless and his eyes drawn and unfathomable as always when he was deeply distressed or too emotional for his own good. “Can you hear yourself? You sound like some fatalistic, maniacal sect member or the leader of a dangerously foolish occult movement,” he said with that unnerving, neutral calm of his. To cover up the disappointment and hurt and anger at his reaction, Felicia threw her head back and laughed coldly, mirthlessly. She tossed her hair over one shoulder, stood up straight and stared into his eyes. “Thanks for the suggestion. I think I’d rather like that. An occult movement revolving around the power of fire. I’ll be the terrifying fire goddess ruling mercilessly, with everyone falling at their feet and offering me their heart on a platter. I’ll make the world burn until it puts the sun to shame. Want to stick around and watch, snowman?” As soon as the words had left her mouth, she wanted to take them back. What had she just said? This wasn’t her, this wasn’t normal, this wasn’t right! This was her Joshua she was wounding and repelling…and yet, she would not take the words back. Didn’t she have every right to behave like this? The choice is yours. Rise and shine. Go out and rule! The voice inside her mind was so powerful she half thought she had spoken the words out loud. Beside her, Kyle was cackling and clapping his hands, and her fire dragon was turning cartwheels a little ahead. There was so much heat around her, inside her. It needed out.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Almost as soon as Devika Fernando could write, she imagined stories and poems. After finishing her education in Germany and returning to her roots in Sri Lanka, she got a chance to turn her passion into her profession. Having lived in Germany and in Sri Lanka with her husband has made her experience the best (and the worst) of two totally different worlds - something that influences her writing. Her trademark is writing sweet and sensual, deeply emotional romance stories where the characters actually fall in love instead of merely falling in lust.

What she loves most about being an author is the chance to create new worlds and send her protagonists on a journey full of ups and downs that will leave them changed. She draws inspiration from everyone and everything in life. Besides being a romance novel author, Devika is a faithful servant to all the cats and dogs she has adopted. When she's not writing, she's reading or thinking about writing. 


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Friday, December 18, 2015

Blog Tour: THE MADRAS AFFAIR by Sundari Venkatraman


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The Madras Affair 
by 
Sundari Venkatraman 





Blurb 
Sangita Sinclair was not always this successful & passionate lady, heading the NGO “Penn Urimai” for downtrodden, abused and homeless women….

When Sangita catches the eye of Gautam Sinclair she is a simple, homely girl; utterly unaware of her charms & capabilities. She has the devil’s own time in overcoming her inhibitions, hesitation, and her family’s orthodox and outdated rules before recognising her love for Gautam.

Will Gautam be able to solve Sangita’s Dilemma or will she be forever trapped in her past?

Meet Gautam 



Gautam has an Indian mother and American father. Built like a giant, he has brown hair and brilliant blue eyes. 

Gautam lives with his maternal grandparents in Besant Nagar, Madras. He used to run a business with his father in Washington DC. Giving up his high-flying career, he chooses to teach at Loyola College in Madras. Yeah, Gautam had fallen in love with the city in Tamil Nadu during his visits to his grandparents. 

Despite his American upbringing, he’s comfortable living in the same house as his grandparents. And does he love teaching! 

He’s attracted to Sangita at first sight and pursues her relentlessly. 

Read The Madras Affair to find out if he’s able to get together with the love of his life.


Meet Sangita

Sangita has been battered by life. She’s been a victim of marital rape and is widowed after barely a year and a half of marriage. Though her husband’s death brings her relief from one end, it brings forth another set of problems. She’s a widow now and is made to suffer for it as if it’s her fault that her husband died in a drunken accident.

But does this situation faze Sangita? Not at all! With a three-month-old son to bring up and with her mother howling her heart out at every opportunity, Sangita braves her way through life until Gautam walks into the hospital she works in.

Young and beautiful, Sangita catches Gautam’s eye from the first moment. She isn’t averse to him either. But will her extreme aversion to men let her find new love?

Read The Madras Affair to find out if Sangita gives up her inhibitions to get together with Gautam.


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Meet Sundari Venkatraman


Growing up on a heavy dose of fairy tales and comic books, Sundari fell in love with the ‘lived happily ever after’ syndrome. It was always about good triumphing over evil and a happy end. 
     
Soon, into her teens, Sundari graduated to Mills & Boon romances. And that got her thinking – how about such breezy romances in Indian settings? Her imagination took flight and she always lived in a rosy cocoon of romance over the years. 
     
Then came the writing – a true bolt out of the blue! Sundari had just quit her job as a school admin and was taking a break. She was saturated with reading books. That’s when she returned home one evening after her walk, took some sheets of paper and began writing. It was like watching a movie that was running in her head – all those years of visualising a perfect Indian romance had to be put into words. The dormant romantic storyteller in her finally found its calling and The Malhotra Bride was born. While she felt disheartened when publishing didn’t happen, it was her husband who encouraged her to keep writing. 
   
 In the meanwhile, she landed a job as copy editor with Mumbai Mirror. After working there for two years, she moved to the Network 18 Group and worked with two of their websites over the next six years, as content editor. 
    
 Despite her work schedule, she continued writing novels and short stories and had them published in her blogs. She also started blogging voraciously, writing on many different topics – travel, book reviews, film reviews, restaurant reviews, spirituality, alternative health and more. 
    
Her first eBook Double Jeopardy – a romance novella – was published by Indireads and has been very well received by readers of romance.  
    
In 2014, Sundari published The Malhotra Bride (2nd Edition); Meghna; The Runaway Bridegroom; Flaming Sun Collection 1: Happily Ever Afters From India (Box Set) and Matches Made In Heaven (a collection of romantic short stories) in form of ebooks.

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Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Book Blitz: MORE THAN JUST DESIRE by Summerita Rhayne


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More Than Just Desire 
by Summerita Rhayne


Blurb 


The Bollywood diva who regrets nothing...
Piya walked out of an explosive situation three years ago. Now she's back in Bollywood and wants to regain the crown that she left behind when she ran away from Arfaaz. It seems everyone who used to idolize her has forgotten her. In the competitive world of starry glamour, the only way she can restart her career is trash the past and make some waves.

The man who wants her atonement..
Arfaaz is determined to get his revenge on Piya for making a farce of their marriage and then leaving him to face the mudslinging. He forces her to keep up the appearances and stay with him so she can play the loving wife and repent on her sins. But he finds Piya isn't so easy to handle. She drives him crazy with her antics. On the top of that the attraction between them sizzles and threatens to make him forget reason.

Conflict clashes with desire..
No matter how intense the passion between them gets, their ways are bound to diverge. Piya knows she cannot let this man find a way into her heart. There is too much to risk and she cannot afford to forget the real reason she has come back. Success is the only mantra she knows and really, all Arfaaz wants is revenge…

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EXCERPT 

‘You’ll divorce me?’ The sense of anticlimax she felt annoyed her. Why wouldn’t he, for God’s sake? She’d been far from an ideal partner. No man wanted a three year estranged wife surely? Or why would he allow her to remain away for so long? For no logical reason, the knowledge had a sharp edge, stabbing her insides deeply. Arfaaz’s gaze was fixed on the flush deepening on her cheeks. The colour of anger...or joy at getting her freedom? It had been a mistake to pick her up in his arms, to give in to the urge to subdue that stubborn defiance. Three years since he’d touched her, yet her bones felt as delicate under his hands as the night he’d gripped her shoulders in anger. Evoking the same remorse one might feel for handling a bird badly. She had worn a metal colored dress that night. He could still feel the slithery fabric beneath his fingers. Another of her risqué dresses, with deceptively demure full sleeves while the shocker was the back. Which was missing. He had never objected to what she wore, though primitive instincts protested. She had a media image to maintain. He hadn’t wanted to act the possessive husband. A mistake, he thought again. Even the brief brush of her body against his had lit a spark that reminded him of how possessive he’d wanted to be. She had taken enough advantage of him. The grim thought rose from a host of emotions. He’d suffered, he’d been fooled, he’d been dumped. Was he going to take it all and let her go as easy as pie? ‘If you want a divorce, you’ll have to do a small favour for me first,’ he told her. ‘Favour?’ ‘Something which is important to me. Then you’ll be free to go.’ ‘I will?’ He shrugged, letting her make what she could out of it. ‘Anyway, we can’t stand here and talk it out. Come inside. We’ll discuss it over dinner.’ ‘Yes, divorce must be one of the prime discussable topics for dinnertime conversation,’ she said waspishly. ‘For everything spectacular Piya the topnotch actress has done, this must be the downslide indeed. To tamely sit across her husband and rationally chat over the break-up of her marriage,’ he jibed harshly. ‘However, I think it’s time for you to take a step down from the pedestal.’


Meet Summerita Rhayne 


Summerita Rhayne loves to write sensual and emotional romance. There's no knowing when some quirky - or sometimes even not so quirky - happening in daily life might trigger her right brain and then she's off craving a new story. She loves writing characters who learn and grow and find their way out of their troubles and emotional hang-ups. Hot, sensual heroes and sassy but sweet heroines mostly fit the bill in her stories. She also believes that a touch of humor never goes amiss in a book.


She divides her time between family, job and writing - and loves winding down with music, movies and the internet!

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Saturday, December 12, 2015

Blog Tour: SWEET REVENGE by Olivier Lafont

   

Sweet Revenge 
by 
Olivier Lafont 

FROM THE AUTHOR OF WARRIOR,  ANOTHER BOOK, ANOTHER GENRE - A ROMANCE. 



MY REVIEW

Disclaimer: I received a free e-copy of Sweet Revenge by Olivier Lafont via The Book Club in return for my honest review. I have NOT received any monetary compensation for the same.

Many male authors have recently begun writing for the romance genre in India; though this is the first time I am reading a book by one. Okay, that’s not counting the books of Sandilyan, a Tamil Historical Romance author who’s simply amazing. I adore his works and have read many of his 45+ novels.

I opened Sweet Revenge and was hooked from Page One. As a story goes, it’s simple and uncomplicated. The language is good and the book portrays the delicious romance between Guy and Eve. There are a few French words and phrases thrown in considering that the author originates from France. But the meanings have been interwoven without taking away from the story.

Spoiler warning from here on…

I loved the journey of the hero from poverty to super-rich. I truly believe that’s how a hero should be. And is he handsome!!!! Completely drool-worthy!

The descriptions of Eve’s artwork were really good. I liked her character that goes on with her life despite her heart break.

The reason the two of them break up seven years before is well presented and neatly portrayed. And am I glad that Guy’s Sweet Revenge fell apart!

The love scenes sizzle and make for a delicious read.

One thing that bothered me though: there were at least two points where I got confused with the flash back as I couldn’t understand where it was taking me. I had to go back and read it again to understand. This could have been improved upon.

Except for this, the book is a lovely romance that is a must read for romance lovers.




Blurb 


If revenge was a dish best served cold, then French Adonis Guy Leguerec knew exactly what to serve treacherous and desirable Eve Watson… 

Seven years after Louisiana, where Eve devastated his heart and ruthlessly wiped out his future, Guy finds her in Boston opening her first art showing. Now a wealthy and powerful shipping magnate, Guy lures Eve into his trap of seduction and opulence, intent on one thing only: getting revenge for her crimes. 

When American artist Eve Watson sees the only man she ever loved enter the art gallery, and re-enter her life, she feels helpless terror and frenzied desire. Seven years ago Guy Leguerec had seduced her heart, exploited her body, and then discarded her. Against her better judgment she accepts his invitation, and once again they spiral into a maelstrom of irresistible passion, divinely rampant sex, and the brutal politics of unknown intentions… 

Violently sundered by their volatile misconceptions, Eve flees Boston in emotional tatters, and Guy grudgingly lets her vanish, his revenge thwarted. 

But destiny has planned otherwise: Eve has taken an art job in Paris, ignorant of the fact that the company is one of many subsidiary businesses belonging to Guy. Flung together again in an even more precarious position, Eve and Guy must war with each other and themselves, and confront seven years of misapprehension and malign manipulation. Greed, family vendetta, and deception have eaten away at the intimacy they once shared — 

But is the truth enough to save their desperate, shipwrecked love? 

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About The Author 


Olivier Lafont is a French author, screenplay writer, and actor. His novel 'Warrior' was published by Penguin Random House, and was shortlisted for the Tibor Jones South Asia Prize. He has just released his new contemporary romance novel 'Sweet Revenge' exclusively on Kindle. 'Purgatory: The Gun of God' is a fantasy novelette published in South Africa. 

Lafont has written a number of feature film scripts before. The first film he wrote opened at the Toronto Film Festival and went on to win seven awards at film festivals worldwide. 

As an actor Lafont has acted in Hollywood and Indian films, in TV serials, and in over 80 television commercials. He acted in '3 Idiots', one of India's all-time blockbuster hits, the critically-acclaimed 'Guzaarish', and the Lifetime film 'Baby Sellers', amongst other films. 

Lafont graduated with two degrees in acting and writing from Colgate University, USA, with academic distinction.


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Thursday, December 10, 2015

Book Blitz: ROOMIES/FOODIES by Lakshmi Ashwin and Meghana Chaudhary Joshi


Check out the Contest: Try the recipe in the excerpt and click pictures (with or without you). Share it on social media tagging us and win a free copy of the book!
Roomies / Foodies 
by 
Lakshmi Ashwin and Meghana Chaudhary Joshi
Publisher 



Blurb 
The year is 2001. Two young Indian girls arrive in the U.S. for the first time, to attend graduate school and be room-mates. One’s a non-cook. The other’s kitchen skills are strictly basic. As luck would have it, both are consummate foodies. And it’s not just advanced Molecular Biology they’ll come to tackle—the daily challenge is to feed their stomachs…and souls…on a thinner-than-spaghetti budget! Part memoir, part cook-book, Roomies/Foodies compiles the experiments and culinary adventures of Lux and Meg as they stick to their resolve of eating only non-boring food! Written in a slick, hip, conversational style, this well-organized handbook bubbles with anecdotes, tips, tricks, cheater’s methods and over 60 lip-smacking recipes. Spanning an easy-to moderate spectrum of skills, Meg and Lux’s “Eureka moments” in their own kitchen will help spare YOU some painful trial and error in yours!


EXCERPT FROM THE FIRST CHAPTER 

One day, exhausted, I fell asleep on the couch in the graduate student lounge at Roswell Park, waiting for Lux. Since we were on the same research campus, we commuted and ran errands together. In those early days, we were joined at the hip.

It was a lot to deal with, this new life, with its sudden and crushing study load, having to walk or take public transport everywhere (I missed my Kinetic Safari) and we were glad of each other’s company. We started taking advantage of the subway and other modes of public transport to explore our town, checking out affordable food joints. One such journey introduced us to crépes. I tried making them at home and discovered a really simple breakfast item in the process.


Serves 4

Ingredients:

Rice flour or refined flour (maida)                   1½ cups
Milk                                                                        1 cup
Egg                                                                          1
Slab of chocolate                                                     1
Butter
Sugar                                                                      3 tsp

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes for each crepe
               
Mix the flour with milk and sugar and beat in the egg.
Melt butter on a tava* or a flat non-stick pan on medium heat.
Pour the flour mixture evenly in a thin layer across the bottom of the pan, coating it completely.
Grate the bar of chocolate over the open side of the crepe, in a sufficient quantity to cover the top, while the other side is still cooking.
Gently lift up a side of the crepe to see if it is done. It should appear slightly browned and lift easily without tearing.
Fold the crepe in half over itself. The chocolate should melt and hold the 2 edges together. Remove and serve with a melting dot of butter on top.

Tip: For an interesting Cheese-n-Chocolate variation, sprinkle some grated cheese or small globs of cheese after you have sprinkled the grated chocolate. If you have no time for the grated chocolate step, make just the plain crepe and spread Nutella or jam, or cheese spread for an even quicker meal 

MEET MEGHANA CHAUDHARY JOSHI, LAKSHMI ASHWIN


Meghana Chaudhary Joshi (Meg) has worked in clinical research in the US, run her own socio-environmental venture and is currently Practice Manager with Mirai Health. She is a fitness freak who loves to travel and explore varied cuisines as much as the outdoors. Meg lives in Pune with her husband, daughter, and Golden Retriever. 

Lakshmi Ramachandran, a.k.a Lux, graduated from SUNY Buffalo with a PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology in 2006. She is presently a science writer at the National University of Singapore. Besides Science, she is passionate about food and loves to cook. She lives in Singapore with her husband and two children. 

MEET MEG AND LUX :)


Contacts them @
Twitter: @RoomiesFoodies
Email: roomiesfoodies@gmail.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bloodygoodbook
Twitter: @BloodyGoodBook
Website: www.bloodygoodbook.com

Contest 

Try the recipe in the excerpt and click pictures (with or without you). Share it on social media tagging us and win a free copy of the book!

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