Planned Reading for June 2015

Well, my friends, I had a disastrous month for reading in May! If you didn't know, I had an accident earlier this year which left me pretty immobile for a long time and during May I was given the go-ahead to get back to things, so I've gone from doing hardly anything except for sitting down to doing a lot which has had a bad effect on my reading. I got hardly anything read at all (sob!). I've also been doing a bit of early reading, which is enjoyable, but it doesn't count as a book read and I can't blog about it because everything is so subject to change.

I am hopeful I can get back to things in June, though I am going to be working full time for the first time since I had children which is going to take some getting used to. If you don't hear much from me in June you will know I'm either trying to catch up with the cleaning or I'm an exhausted husk of a person!

Aside from the books from May that I didn't manage to get to I have a couple of new reads planned in for June.

Winners - An Obstinate, Headstrong Girl by Abigail Bok

Earlier today I got my family to draw names for the winners of the giveaway for paperback copies of 'An Obstinate, Headstrong Girl', an update of 'Pride & Prejudice' set in California in 1999. Without further ado, the winners are:

Pride & Proposals by Victoria Kincaid - Guest Post and Giveaway

Today I am welcoming Victoria Kincaid to my blog with a guest post. She has also provided me with an excerpt of her new book, 'Pride & Proposals' for you to enjoy, and as if that wasn't enough, she is kindly offering an international giveaway!

Here's the blurb:

What if Mr. Darcy’s proposal was too late?

Darcy has been bewitched by Elizabeth Bennet since he met her in Hertfordshire.  He can no longer fight this overwhelming attraction and must admit he is hopelessly in love. 

During Elizabeth’s visit to Kent she has been forced to endure the company of the difficult and disapproving Mr. Darcy, but she has enjoyed making the acquaintance of his affable cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam.  

Finally resolved, Darcy arrives at Hunsford Parsonage prepared to propose—only to discover that Elizabeth has just accepted a proposal from the Colonel, Darcy’s dearest friend in the world.  

As he watches the couple prepare for a lifetime together, Darcy vows never to speak of what is in his heart.  Elizabeth has reason to dislike Darcy, but finds that he haunts her thoughts and stirs her emotions in strange ways.   

Can Darcy and Elizabeth find their happily ever after?

By the author of The Secrets of Darcy and Elizabeth, an Amazon Regency Romance Bestseller.

Read on for Victoria's guest post about how she came to write Austenesque fiction, and details of a giveaway...

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Review - An Obstinate, Headstrong Girl by H. Abigail Bok

This week I've had author Abigail Bok visiting the blog. She arranged for me to interview 'A Lady' who is mysteriously visiting from the past. Abigail is kindly offering an international giveaway for 3 commenters on the giveaway post to each to win a copy of 'An Obstinate, Headstrong Girl'. You can get an additional entry to the draw by commenting here on my review too. Read on to find out what I thought of 'An Obstinate, Headstrong Girl'...

Cover Reveal - Sun-Kissed: Effusions of Summer from Meryton Press

You may remember, a while ago, that Meryton Press had a short story competition. The four stories deemed best by the judges would be included in a summer anthology. The finished book is due to be released sometime in June so to whet your appetite for it, here is the cover and a bit more information on the authors:

Winner - ebook of No Cause to Repine

Thanks again to Rose Fairbanks for visiting my blog with the excerpt of 'No Cause to Repine', and for offering an ebook to one of the commenters. The winner, chosen at random was:

Jennie Coleen561!

Congratulations to Jennie, I will be emailing you very soon. Thank you to everybody who commented.

If you didn't win, why not check out one of Rose's other blog appearances? There are other chances for you to bag yourself a copy, I found this list on rosefairbanks.com:

14 May: Excerpt + Giveaway on Diary of an Eccentric.
18 May: Excerpt + Giveaway on My Jane Austen Book Club
20 May: Guest Post + Giveaway on Austenesque Reviews
23 May: Excerpt + Giveaway on My Love for Jane Austen
25 May: Giveaway on Stories from the Past
28 May: Giveaway on Austen Authors
30 May: Guest post + Giveaway on Laughing with Lizzie
9 June: Post + Giveaway (non-book) on More Agreeably Engaged

No Cause to Repine - Excerpt and Giveaway

Today I am welcoming Rose Fairbanks, who is sharing an excerpt of her new book, 'No Cause to Repine'.

Here's the blurb:
When a simple accident is misinterpreted and threatens Elizabeth Bennet's reputation, her fate seems sealed as Fitzwilliam Darcy's wife. While the bride is resigned, the gentleman could hardly be happier until betrayals and schemes threaten to entirely take the matter out of their hands. Overcoming the plots before them will take all the patience, perseverance and collaboration they can muster, but a partnership requires truth. Self-discovery and trust await Jane Austen's most beloved and willfully blind couple as they attempt to master their own destiny in life and love.

Sounds enticing, doesn't it! Read on for the excerpt, and a chance to win an ebook of 'No Cause to Repine', open internationally.

An Obstinate, Headstrong Girl – Questions for ‘The Lady’ + Giveaway

I recently read a book entitled ‘An Obstinate, Headstrong Girl’ by ‘A lady’. The book contained a note from the author as follows:

‘I do not pretend to understand how I came to find myself in America, or in the twentieth century. Nothing of the kind has occurred to me before, nor to any other person in the whole of my acquaintance. At one moment I was in our dear cottage at Chawton, opening a closet to search for my pelisse, and at the next I found myself deposited in an alien realm of bewildering speed and noise. 

Fortunately, I soon encountered a kindly person – Miss H. Abigail Bok, the author of “A Dictionary of Jane Austen’s Life and Works” – who professed sympathy for my bewilderment and undertook to be my guide and protector in this foreign circumstance. She encouraged me to continue in my writing, assuring me that even in this future world my efforts would find an appreciative readership. She it was who arranged on my behalf the publication of the work before you.  

It is my hope that one day I will return to Chawton and my beloved sister, Cassandra. In the meantime, I am determined not to repine, but to continue deriving pleasure from observation of the peculiarities of character that are to be discovered in any neighborhood.’

I have been given the opportunity to pose some questions to ‘the Lady’ in relation to ‘An Obstinate, Headstrong Girl’, and if you read on, there is also a giveaway opportunity.

Sense & Sensuality by Alicia Quigley

Last year I read an historical romance called ‘A Duchess Enraged’ which focused on the relationship between Adam, the Duke of Gravesmere and Allegra, the young woman he’d been forced to marry by his father. I didn’t warm much to either of the protagonists, but I enjoyed some of the secondary characters more, notably Adam’s widowed sister Caroline (Lady Eskmaine), and the rake causing mischief between Adam and Allegra, Lord Gresham. There was obviously some sort of spark between Caroline and Lord Gresham (Tristan). Caroline was a far better match for Tristan intellectually, they sparred verbally and also enjoyed outwitting each other where possible. Although Tristan tried to cause problems in the Gravesmeres’ marriage, he began to soften his cynical stance towards the end of the story, and you wondered if there was hope for him to change his dissolute ways. 'Sense & Sensuality' is Caroline and Tristan’s tale. Please note that this story is not in any way related to 'Sense & Sensibility' by Jane Austen.

Planned Reading for May 2015

It's the first of the month, which means it's time for me to share my planned reading with you. I did pretty well last month, reading many of the books that I'd planned, but it was an ambitious list, so I still have a few of those left over, but I have some other things planned in for this month too.