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.

Emily has watched from the sidelines as her three closest friends have fallen in love and gotten married. She sees how much her friends’ husbands adore them, and she wants that kind of love for herself. However, since her father is so deeply in debt, she finds herself in the unwanted position of having to marry for money instead of love in order to save her family from financial ruin. She views Logan as part of the problem, because he’s one of her father’s creditors. In order to prevent herself from being forced into a loveless marriage, Emily comes up with a brilliant scheme. She’s written a story about a lady vampire, but thus far, no publishers are interested. So she decides to “market” the book by masquerading as a female vampire and making fleeting, mysterious appearances at society functions in order to get the ton talking, which she in turn hopes will fuel interest in stories about vampires and lead to her book being published. In the meantime, a few more chance meetings with Logan lead to more steamy kisses like their first and a deeper understanding of the man she hasn’t viewed as a suitable marriage prospect despite his wealth. Emily is a very spirited and stubborn young lady, qualities that serve her well in her quest to rescue her family from debt, but which also put up an obstacle to a potential relationship with Logan. She has understandable reasons for disliking him at first, but as the story progresses, she slowly comes around. She’s also a kind, caring, compassionate person who deeply loves her family, is a loyal friend, and also desires to help those in need.

Logan lost his parents at a young age and had to survive on the streets alone until a kindly mentor took him in and taught him everything he now knows about being a businessman. He’s worked hard to become a wealthy, self-made man, but his life is a lonely one with few friends to share it with and his idea of fun is making business deals. After kissing Emily the first time, she becomes a temptation that’s nearly impossible for him to resist, but at the same time, he thinks she’s nothing more than a shallow hothouse flower until he really gets to know her. Then he finds a woman who he grudgingly admits he’s starting to like. When Emily’s life is threatened multiple times, and each time, his heart nearly stops at the thought of possibly losing her, he can’t ignore his feelings anymore. Logan was a wonderful man, who like Emily, has a kind, compassionate heart, and he takes his responsibilities very seriously as well. He feels accountable not only for the attacks against Emily but also for the loss of two crewmen on one of his ships. I like how Emily challenges him and shows him there’s more to life than business. She and her family also offer Logan all the love and affection that he’s been missing in his life.

Overall, this was a wonderful book. I’m not usually a fan of the enemies to lovers trope or of heroes and heroines who tend to stubbornly fight their feelings for one another, but here both were done quite well and didn’t irritate me. It was obvious from the beginning that Logan and Emily had strong feelings. It just took them a while to admit it. In the meantime, they heat up the pages with some scorching kisses. I loved the theme of them always ending up in a library alone together, which never fails to fuel their passion. It had all the feels that I’ve come to expect from this author and was the absolute perfect finale to the series, making me kind of sad that it’s over, but I’m looking forward to reading more of the author’s work. That’s why I’m naming Jacquie D’Alessandro’s Tempted at Midnight as my November Book of the Month. If you enjoy historical romance with a feisty heroine, a gallant hero, and a romance that’s equal parts tender, emotional, and sexy, then you should definitely give this book a try. Keep reading to learn how you can win a copy for your own library.

Tempted at Midnight Book Cover

Cover Blurb-

A desperate beauty concocts a perfectly outrageous scheme for success—and not only attracts the attention of the Ladies Literary Society of London, but also the last man she'd ever expect to tempt.

Lady Emily Stapleford never dreamed that the burden of saving her family from financial ruin would rest on her lovely, resourceful shoulders. Since she is only willing to marry for love, and not money, Emily pens a story she hopes will bring her fortune—only to have it rejected by every publishing firm. After all, what respectable reader would dare embrace a vampire heroine?

Not to be dissuaded, Emily decides to create public interest with a vampire pretense. Overnight, London is abuzz with stories about sightings.

With new interest in Emily's book, she's guaranteed success—if it weren't for the mysterious American, Logan Jennsen. He's onto Emily's duplicity, and he has every intention of using this knowledge to his advantage. If only he weren't falling in love with this unabashedly creative female. And if only he didn't have a scandalous secret of his own—one that's putting both their lives in danger.

Read my complete review of Tempted at Midnight.

Giveaway
If you would like to win a copy of Tempted at Midnight to see how wonderful it is for yourself, just enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Please note, this book is currently not available in ebook, and the paperback version is out of print. Therefore, the winner (if inside the US) will receive a “new” or “like new” copy (at my discretion and based on availability and cost) that will be mailed directly to them via Amazon or one of their third-party sellers. If I’m unable to find a reasonably priced copy in excellent condition at the time the contest ends, I will send the winner a $10 Amazon gift card instead. Good luck!

International Entrants: You are welcome to enter my contest, but due to the lack of availability of the book and the high cost of shipping overseas, if the winner is outside the US, they will automatically receive a $10 Amazon gift card instead. Please note, though, that the gift card will be issued from Amazon.com (the US site), as I am unable to purchase one on any international Amazon sites. It’s my understanding, however, that the card can only be used to purchase items on Amazon.com, and not any other Amazon sites. So please be aware of this limitation when entering.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways

Tags: Jacquie D'Alessandro