Explore This! Eigg and Mallaig, Scotland

In my wildest dreams, I have all the money I could want and I’m able to buy myself a cottage in Scotland. This fantasy has been fueled even further in my current read, Midnight’s Master by Donna Grant. The story takes off from Mallaig in Scotland, which is also the harbour you would travel from to reach Eigg. Once I started looking for pictures of the area, I got all dreamy-eyed at the thought of a quaint life in Scotland *huge sigh*.

Eigg is a small island in Scotland’s Inner Hebrides. With a population of 67 (according to Wiki), I certainly wouldn’t have to worry about busy body neighbours, right? But with it’s small number of inhabitants, it makes it a great place for a greener living, environmentally speaking as well as with regards to the lush scenery.

Mallaig is no less picturesque, with it’s harbour and town. It is …

Explore This!: Staten Island, New York

Today we’re heading off mainland America, to the destination of Staten Island, thanks in part to Clarissa Yip’s True Connections. I’ve heard the name before but don’t really know much beyond the need to travel by ferry to get there. Funny, when I was looking for images, more often that not, it was the ferry that was highlighted.

Yip’s story takes place in Grant City, part of Staten Island, but I thought we’d take a look at the whole thing. For me, Staten Island means summer rides, boardwalks, and amusement parks. Let’s see how my knowledge compares:

The boardwalk…necessary for any summer locale.

Amusements and rides, including roller coasters *shudders*

The ferry and other boating traffic.

A quaint summer home…or perhaps a commuter's.

This veranda would be perfect for lounging on hot days with lemonade.

The botanical …

Elements in Lit: Isn’t that convenient?!

Recently, several of the books I’ve been reading have brought something to my attention and I thought we’d take a look at this today. What is it? Well, it’s the artful way that authors either explain certain character knowledge or they methods they use to push a story along.

It was written in the stars…sort of.

Ah, fate! This is when it seems that all factors in a story point to the inevitable meeting of characters. I found this to be the case in The Marriage Bargain by Jennifer Probst. Each of the two main characters were in need of something and as it turns out, they could solve each other’s problems quite easily together. BUT, and fate seems to always have a twist, there was history between the two which meant that neither one would have considered that particular person as the solution. Fate’s totally funny that way though, …

The International Giveaways Café (38)

Hello all and welcome back for another week of great giveaways! It’s been a weird week around here with temperatures fluctuating wildly. They even mentioned snow again! Ugh! What that means here at the café is we’re never quite sure if it’ll be iced coffees all around or a nice hot cup of java…

One thing is consistent though: our love of books! So check out the giveaways below or enter your own info and let the winning begin 🙂 (A refresher for our café idealogy can be found here: Week 1)

Remember to let us know if you’ve won anything recently; the Book Lovers would love to hear! At Book Lovers Inc., it’s our pleasure to share the bookish love! Good luck to everyone and hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Here’s the fine print for entering your link:
Guidelines:
If you have a giveaway you would …

Explore This!: Newburgh, New York

I’ve been reading The Marriage Bargain by Jennifer Probst recently. Her book takes place in Newburgh, New York, which I had never heard of until picking this book up. Of course, I had to take a look and see.

According to the all-mighty Wiki, Newburgh is “located in Orange County, New York, United States, 60 miles (97 km) north of New York City, and 90 miles (140 km) south of Albany, on the Hudson River”. In researching this post, I found lots of information about Newburgh’s restoration attempts which is featured prominently in Probst’s book too. A nice little tie in, I think. So let’s take a tour and check out this quaint area:

The male lead is an architect, so it's only natural that we take a look at the great buildings in the area.

Dutch Reformed Church.

The Westshore train …

Guest Post: The Stealth Knights by Gail Barrett + Giveaway

Gail in the Pyrenees Mountains

Today, we at at BLI are really pleased to welcome author Gail Barrett for a guest post about her latest work. She’s already authored a host of award-winning romances in the romantic suspense subgenre. Please show her a warm welcome as she chats a bit about the worldwide background research and inspirations for her stories and characters.

Thank you so much for inviting me to chat! I’m honored and thrilled to be here. I’m especially excited since so many of you live in Europe, which is the setting for my new miniseries for Harlequin Romantic Suspense, The Stealth Knights.

Despite their medieval-sounding name, the Stealth Knights are a very modern — and unconventional — group of heroes. Here’s how they came about. I was hoping to create an open-ended series without a set number of books — something I could add to as inspiration struck. …

Explore This! Toronto, Ontario (Canada)

The ferry heading from the city to Toronto Island.

Today, we’re hitting up Toronto as our destination. Not only is Toronto (and its outskirts) home to authors like Margaret Atwood, Guy Gavriel Kay, Lesley Livingston, and Lila DiPasqua, but it is also the site where many Hollywood movies are filmed, especially ones that are set in New York. (Though there’s a running joke about how clean Toronto streets are in comparison and they need to be dirtied up for filming.) If you are a fan of the TV show Lost Girl, you’ve probably seen the CN Tower in one or two shots because that show is also filmed in the T-Dot. How do I have the inside scoop on Toronto? Because it is the city where I was born and grew up in…and The Danger Lover is also from these parts 🙂

Have I convinced you yet of Toronto’s …

Elements in Lit 201: Exceptions to the Rules

I’ve finally just finished reading Sarah MacLean’s Love by Numbers series with the last installment of Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke’s Heart and I’ve discovered some recurring ideas, character, themes that bring the taste of life at that time to us, through historical romance novels.

The Regency Romance is made that much more appealing to its readers by the descriptions of the strict rules of society and of course, the main characters attempts to thumb their nose at said rules. With this in mind, I bring to you the top 6 exceptions to real Regency era rules. as portrayed in romance novels:

1- I’m bigger than you! We talked about the hierarchy of the British peerage before, but even if one character out ranks another, if they are smaller in demeanor and have done something to displease the hero of any tale, an intangible thing like rank …

The Good, the Bad and the Are-You-Kidding-Me?

Welcome or should I say Howdy! Yes you’ve heard right this week in our new edition of  The Good-The-Bad-and-the-Are-You-Kidding-Me? we’ll be talking about cowboy covers! We’ll be honest this post was inspired by Susi’s cowboy addiction of the week. Let’s say she’s been gobbling down Lorelei James books and I fear we’ve lost her to the Cowboy-Fever *wink*
So what makes a good Wild Wild West cover? We aren’t sure but while we thought about it we came up with some genre tropes that cover artist love to use. Some book would actually fit more than one trope but we choose the most fitting one. So buckle up ladies and come take a ride with us. Yeehaaa!

1 The Hat
What would a cowboy be without a Stetson to accompany the tough as nails look.

Caro: I really like the Maya Banks cover, it’s pretty and not overdone. On the other hand we have …

Review: Eye of the Tempest by Nicole Peeler

Format Read: Paperback
Length: 319 Pages
Series: Jane True – Book 4
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release Date: 26 July 2011
Publisher: Orbit
Formats Available: eBook, paperback,
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository

Book Blurb:

Nothing says “home” like being attached by humans with very large guns, as Jane and Anyan discover when they arrive in Rockabill. Seeing Anyan fall awakens a terrible power within Jane, and she nearly destroys herself taking out their attackers.

Jane wakes, weeks later, to discover that she’s not the only thing that’s been stirring. Something underneath Rockabill is coming to life: something ancient, something powerful, and something that might destroy the world.

Jane and her friends must act, striking out on a quest that only Jane can finish. For whatever lurks beneath the Old Sow must be stopped…and Jane’s just the Halfling for the job.

My Thoughts:

Eye of the Tempest was another fast paced instalment in this fantastic series.

Jane accidentally short …