January 2017 Book of the Month & Giveaway
February 16, 2017 07:16 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
January was a stellar reading month for me. I read a total of six books and novellas, all but one of which rated five stars. The one that didn’t was still 4.5 stars. So that’s a near-perfect month’s reading. I’m not sure that’s ever happened to me before.
With this many wonderful books to choose from, one might think it would be difficult to pick just one to name as my Book of the Month, but in the end, it wasn’t too hard. Anyone who’s been following my blog with any regularity, probably knows that I’m now a huge fan of the series this book comes from. I’ve already named the first two book of the series previous Book of the Month winners, so it’s not too surprising that I would pick this final book of the trilogy as well. It took me on a tumultuous, emotional, roller-coaster ride, and I loved every minute of it. The only thing that could possibly make it any better is if I could flip a switch in my brain and forget the story, so I could read it all over again like it’s the first time.:-)
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: E. L. James
2016 Best of the Year & Choose Your Own Giveaway
February 16, 2017 01:33 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
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Long before I started writing my own novels, I was a reader/reviewer. I founded my review website, The Hope Chest Reviews, in 2008, and despite now being a busy writer, I’ve continued to write and post reviews there for all the book that I read for pleasure. At the end of my first year, I started my Best of the Year list. Back then it was actually called the Best & Worst of the Year list, but let’s face it, nobody wants to see their book on a Worst of the Year list. I know I certainly don’t, so last year, I changed the name and started posting only the very best of my reading. After all, as a reader, that’s what I would want to know. Which books are worth taking a closer look at? And as for which to possibly stay away from? Well, the reviews can speak for themselves. |
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Categories: Giveaways
Tags: Best of the Year
December 2016 Book of the Month & Giveaway
January 16, 2017 01:08 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
Between the busyness of the holiday season and the mad last-month dash to get my newest book ready for publication, I fell behind on my blogging. In order to catch up, that means that I’ll be bringing you two Book of the Month giveaways this month, one for November and one for December.
My favorite read for December was the eleventh book in the popular historical romance series, Maiden Lane. Again, if you’ve been following my blog, you’ll know just how much I love this series and the author. I’ve given away some of her books before. I just can’t seem to get enough of her writing and even had the privilege of meeting her in person and taking a wonderful writer’s workshop with her a few years ago. I feel like a broken record every time I review her new releases, because each one seems to entrance me as much as the others. This latest book features a relatively new hero, who was just introduced in the previous book, and a heroine who’s been around for most of the series in a supporting role. Their story is one filled with action, adventure, a touch of mystery, and some heart-stopping romance that didn’t fail to keep me engaged throughout.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: Elizabeth Hoyt
November 2016 Book of the Month & Giveaway
January 16, 2017 12:48 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
Between the busyness of the holiday season and the mad last-month dash to get my newest book ready for publication, I fell behind on my blogging. In order to catch up, that means that I’ll be bringing you two Book of the Month giveaways this month, one for November and one for December.
My favorite read for November was the second book in a wildly popular erotic romance series. If you’ve been following my blog, you’ll know that earlier last year, I absolutely fell in love with book #1 of the series and couldn’t wait to continue. To draw out the fun, I managed to wait two months before picking up book #2 and ended up loving it every bit as much as the first, maybe even more. I’ve found these books to be deeply romantic and emotionally complex in ways that many other romances aren’t. The characterizations are extremely well done, exhibiting depth and complexity as well. The hero and heroine each go through a fair bit of growth in this book, learning to compromise with each other in their relationship, while also dealing with some very stressful situations caused by external factors. Yet they always come out stronger as a couple in the end.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: E. L. James
It's Butterfly Serenade Release Day!
January 15, 2017 03:12 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
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Butterfly Serenade is finally here. I'm so happy to announce that the eBook was released today. It's still on sale for the bargain price of only $0.99 at all major eBook retailers. Many thanks to everyone who pre-ordered it as well. Kindle | Nook | iTunes | Kobo | Smashwords If you prefer print, I promise it's coming. I ran into a few technical glitches that delayed me getting it uploaded until yesterday evening. I'm presently just waiting for Createspace to complete their review to make sure everything is as it should be, after which I'll approve the proof. It should be available for sale within the next day or so. |
Categories: News
Free ARC of Butterfly Serenade
January 11, 2017 12:19 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
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I'm really excited to announce that my upcoming book, Butterfly Serenade is now available at NetGalley. That means for a limited time you can download a free ARC (Advance Reader Copy) in exchange for an honest review. Want to read the book, but don't like writing reviews? Well, you can still pre-order a copy for only $0.99 at any major book retailer. But hurry, this price will only last for a limited time after release day. |
Categories: News
Tags: Butterfly Serenade, Free eBooks, NetGalley
Romance Novel Convention Swag Bag Giveaway #4
November 20, 2016 02:00 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
Last month I promised readers of my newsletter yet another Romance Novel Convention swag bag giveaway. I have two more of these bags to give away. Since the contents of each bag is a little different, I’m giving them away separately over the next few months. These bags aren’t quite as full as the first two I offered, but there’s still a nice selection of swag in them.
The lucky winner will receive this great RNCon prize package:
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RNCon 2015 Swag Bag – This one isn’t signed, but it does have fourteen lovely full-color romance novel covers along with the RNCon logo on both sides. Each side depicts different covers, so that’s 28 unique covers in all.
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Smashwords/Romance Authors 4GB flash drive loaded with 200 free ebooks.
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Lots of collectible bookmarks, postcards, rack cards, trading cards and more, a few of which have been signed by the authors.
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A magnet, a pen, notepads, an air freshener, health & beauty items, candies (including some naughty erotic ones ;-)), key chains, a bracelet, and lots more goodies.
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PLUS An eBook copy of your choice of one of my books, either His Heart’s Desire or Heart of the Season.
Categories: Giveaways
Tags: Romance Novel Convention
October 2016 Book of the Month & Giveaway
November 19, 2016 02:48 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
My October Book of the Month is the second book in a paranormal romance series that I unintentionally ended up putting on the back burner four years ago, even after reading and enjoying the first of the series. It’s set in a unique world that centers around a demon hospital called Underworld General. The mythology of the series is among some of the most detailed I’ve read in paranormal romance with many different breeds of demons and other supernatural creatures that span the full spectrum on the genre. The action and adventure keep things fast-paced and exciting, making this a world that I very much enjoyed inhabiting.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: Larissa Ione
His Heart’s Desire Audiobook Release Day
November 4, 2016 06:58 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
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I made the announcement in a recent newsletter that my very first novel, His Heart’s Desire, was in production to become an audiobook. I'm excited to announce that it's finally here! Yay! It's read by the talented Melissa Sternenberg who did a wonderful job of bringing my story to life. Currently it's only available on Audible and Amazon, but it will be coming to iTunes within the next few days as well. If you enjoy audio books, I hope you'll take a look. If you're new to Audible, you can get His Heart's Desire for free with an Audible 30-Day free trial. Just click though to either Audible or Amazon for more details. |
Categories: News
Tags: His Heart's Desire
My Introduction to Romance Novels
October 11, 2016 02:52 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
An integral part of my journey to becoming a romance author was my introduction to the romance genre. Throughout my life, even as a child, I was always drawn to fairy tales and other romanticized stories. When it came to movies, many of my favorites were Disney classics like Snow White and Cinderella. And no matter what medium the story came in, the part I liked the best was when characters fell in love and (hopefully) lived happily ever after. So I guess it’s no surprise that when presented with my first romance novels, I eagerly devoured them and immediately begged for more.
The first romances I recall reading were in high school when I was probably about fifteen or sixteen years old. I went to a small, private Christian school that was primarily self-taught. They didn’t have much of a library to speak of, but they did have a bookshelf in the main classroom with a few titles on it. We were welcome to borrow books from it if we finished our classwork. I was a bit of an overachiever and nearly always finished my work before the end of the day, so out came the books with which I happily immersed my imagination for the remainder of my time at school.
Categories: Slices of Life, Writing
Tags: Barbara Cartland, Janette Oke, Julie Garwood, June Masters Bacher, Little House on the Prairie, Outlander
