July 2020 Book of the Month Giveaway
August 15, 2020 07:08 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
For the month of July, I read only one romance that I rated the five-stars necessary to receive the honor being named Book of the Month. It’s an inspirational that has been held up as the gold standard, not only for this sub-genre but for the romance genre as a whole and has come to be regarded as something of a classic. It actually was a reread for me and I’m happy to report that I loved it every bit as much now as I did upon first reading it about twenty-five years ago, so it has definitely held up to the test of time as well. The book was inspired by the biblical story of Hosea and Gomer, and is set against the backdrop of California during the gold rush days. It tells the story of a young woman who was sold into prostitution as a child and hasn’t known any other life since, nor does she believe in love. However, a simple but kind farmer who falls in love with her at first sight and feels like God is telling him that this is the woman who is meant for him sets out to change her mind, a process that takes a lot of patience and persistence over the course of four years time.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: Francine Rivers
June 2020 Book of the Month Giveaway
July 15, 2020 07:30 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
With regards to quantity, I didn’t read many books during the month of June, mainly because I was reading an epic novel that took this slow reader most of the month to complete. However, it was an excellent book that ended up being my favorite five-star read of the month. Although now six years old, it’s the most recent book in this equally epic series that follows star-crossed lovers Jamie and Claire. I know now that I’ve mentioned their names, it will obvious to most exactly what series I’m talking about, and it’s been a favorite of mine for over twenty-five years. Much like Jamie and Claire’s love for each other, my love for them and this series is just as strong now as it was when I first picked up the inaugural volume of the series all those years ago, and I don’t anticipate that I’ll ever get tired of it. I’m always eager to see what happens next, which is why I simply couldn’t put this or any other book of the series down.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: Diana Gabaldon
May 2020 Book of the Month Giveaway
June 14, 2020 03:08 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
May was another good reading month for me with lots of four and four-and-a half star reads, but only one book rose to the top and received the five stars necessary to earn Book of the Month status from me. Written by one of my favorite authors, it’s the second book the series that introduced her to me. I featured the first book of this same series a couple of months ago, and this one was another awesome re-read. I just adore the entire Knight clan and this book has long been one of my favorites in the series. It’s the story of two lonely souls finding comfort and understanding in each other’s arms, while fighting the forces of evil who want to destroy, not only their burgeoning love, but also the lives of others. This book has a little something for everyone: heart-pounding action and suspense, spy intrigue, a rich and detailed historical setting, and best of all, swoon-worthy romance.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: Gaelen Foley
April 2020 Book of the Month Giveaway
May 16, 2020 07:04 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
After having only a couple of five-star reads during the first three months of the year, I found myself with so many in April that I had a hard time choosing which one to feature as my Book of the Month. I finally settled on the newest book of one of my all-time favorite series that I’ve featured several times before. This book is a turning point in the series that essentially makes it the end of one era and the beginning of a new one. That’s because the war that has dominated the series from the beginning finally culminates as readers get to see whether a long-held prophecy is fulfilled, and if so, in what way. But in addition to some major changes in the overall series story arc, we also have a beautiful, love-conquers-all romance between our main hero and heroine that of course makes it all worthwhile.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: J. R. Ward
March 2020 Book of the Month Giveaway
April 17, 2020 07:21 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
These first few months of 2020 have been very light on five-star reads for me. As with January, I only read one five-star book in March, but it was an excellent one. It was actually a re-read of a book by a favorite author, the same one that started me on my reading journey with her. It’s also the first in a seven-book series, centering around the Knight siblings, whose mother’s scandalous exploits led to most of them having different fathers. In it, our titled hero, Robert, seeks to take down Dolph, the man he believes killed the woman he loved. In order to accomplish that, he teams up with Belinda, the object of his quarry’s obsession and a beautiful, famous courtesan, who has only recently taken London by storm. Bel has every reason to desire retribution against Dolph as well, so when Robert makes his offer, she gladly accepts. She becomes his mistress in name only, but the more time they spend together, the more admiration and respect they gain for one another. Before their mission is complete, they find themselves hopelessly in love, but a real future between a duke and a courtesan is all but impossible.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: Gaelen Foley
February 2020 Book of the Month Giveaway
March 21, 2020 02:50 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
Out of the four novels, one graphic novel, and one novella I read in February, all were good reads, but none made it to that all-important five-star mark for me to feature it as my Book of the Month. I’m pretty sure this is the first time this has ever happened, since I started this monthly feature. I only want to pass along books that I deemed perfect reads, so I’m going to do something a little different this month. Rather than giving away a book that you can read, I’m going to give away another kind of book while introducing you to one of my favorite, non-reading-related hobbies – coloring.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: Marjorie Sarnat
January 2020 Book of the Month Giveaway
February 19, 2020 12:36 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
I don’t know that I’ve ever featured the same author two months in a row for my Book of the Month, but such is the case this time around. Out of the five novels and two short stories I read in January, only one hit that all-important five-star rating to become my Book of the Month, but it was a totally awesome romantic suspense story that was an absolute pleasure to read. In this one, we have psychiatrist Tess Ciccotelli whose patients begin committing suicide. It’s pretty obvious to police detective Aidan Reagan right away that they were deliberately driven over the edge, and it looks like Tess is the one who did it. Tess isn’t exactly loved by the police department, so at first, Aidan is all too eager to nail her to the wall. But as more evidence comes to light, he realizes that she couldn’t possibly have done it, and the more he gets to know her, he finds that he actually likes her. When they discover that her apartment is being surveilled, he offers her a safe place to stay, which makes things really heat up between them. In the meantime, the bodies keep piling up, and neither the cops nor Tess have any idea who hates her so much that they would go to such lengths to ruin her life.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: Karen Rose
December 2019 Book of the Month Giveaway
January 25, 2020 03:53 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
During December, I read four full-length novels and four novellas and short stories. All but one of the novels received four stars or higher from me, including two five-star reads, but one stood out a little above the other one as my favorite read of the month. It was a story by my favorite romantic suspense author who I haven’t yet featured in my Book of the Month. This author usually writes pretty chunky books, but this one was one of her shorter works that is probably in the range of a long novella/short novel. I wondered how she would handle this shorter format, and as it turns out, the answer is extremely well. It’s the story of two people who were very good friends in high school, but who drifted apart and lost touch over the years. Then while the heroine is cleaning out her dead husband’s belongings, she runs across an old high school yearbook in which she finds a love letter written to her by her friend. She’d never read it before and feels badly for leaving him hanging all these years, so she looks him up. They reconnect and fall in love while evading a killer who is murdering his graduate students.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: Karen Rose
November 2019 Book of the Month Giveaway
December 16, 2019 06:43 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
Overall, November was a good reading month for me. Out of the five novels and two short stories I read, only the short stories failed to garner at least four stars from me. I had a couple of five-star reads as well, but one of the two edged out the other for the top spot as my favorite read of the month. It’s a historical romance that’s the final installment of a series by a favorite author that was a clean-sweep of perfection for me. It has an enemies to lovers vibe with our hero and heroine being a little bit at odds and stubbornly insisting that they don’t like each other in spite of sharing some smoldering kisses that always seem to take place in a library. However, once the blinders are removed and they start seeing each other as more than just the uncouth colonial and the pampered society miss, they begin falling for one another. Still, it takes the hero’s old nemesis threatening the heroine’s life for our hero to finally realize that he can’t imagine being without her. This was such a fun, sweet story that I couldn’t resist featuring it this month.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: Jacquie D'Alessandro
October 2019 Book of the Month Giveaway
November 23, 2019 07:20 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
October was a good reading month for me. I was able to rate everything I read, with the exception of one short novelette, four stars or higher. However, there was only one romance that rated the all-important five stars to receive Book of the Month status from me. It’s a paranormal romance that’s part of a favorite series by a favorite author of mine, but somehow, she’s one that I haven’t yet featured before. Her books are usually a bit more on the lighthearted side, but still nearly always give me all the feels I’m looking for in a romance. I also love her characters and think that the series is very unique and innovative. The majority of the books in the series that I’ve read so far have been big winners, so I’m very pleased to finally be recommending this author’s work.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: Kerrelyn Sparks
