Lara Adrian Giveaway

In honor of her release TOMORROW (Jan 24th) of Darker After Midnight (10th in the Midnight Breed Series) we are hosing a giveaway to help Lara Adrian promote.


What do we have?  

Book 1 Kiss of Midnight in Audiobook

We also have a few other swags prices (bookmarks, pens, etc)

Kiss of Midnight description

INSATIABLE DESIRE. ENDLESS SEDUCTION. ONE TOUCH IS JUST THE BEGINNING.

He watches her from across the crowded dance club, a sensual black-haired stranger who stirs Gabrielle's deepest fantasies. But nothing about this night--or this man--is what it seems. For when Gabrielle witnesses a murder outside the club, reality shifts into something dark and deadly. In that shattering instant she is thrust into a realm she never knew existed--a realm where vampires stalk the shadows and a blood war is set to ignite.

Lucan Thorne despises the violence carried out by his lawless brethren. A vampire himself, Lucan is a Breed warrior, sworn to protect his kind--and the unwitting humans existing alongside them--from the mounting threat of the Rogues. Lucan cannot risk binding himself to a mortal woman, but when Gabrielle is targeted by his enemies, he has no choice but to bring her into the dark underworld he commands.

Here, in the arms of the Breed's formidable leader, Gabrielle will confront an extraordinary destiny of danger, seduction, and the darkest pleasures of all . . . .(courtesy of laraadrian.com)




So here is what you have to do - - comment on either the 2 reviews posted today (A Taste of Midnight and Darker After Midnight) or this post.  Make sure you are a follower here on the blog.  Leave your email addy in the comment, or send it do us in private message to seducedbybooks at gmail dot com.  Make sure you comment on the posts to be entered.  


Only 1 comment per post from you will be entered (but that means you get 3 entries if you comment on each post)  And comment by end of release day - January 24th.  


There will be 1 winner of the audiobook (and they will get some swag too) and 5 winners of swag from Lara Adrian ..and maybe we'll throw in a few extra pieces.  

Darker After Midnight by Lara Adrian

In the dark of night, a blood war escalates within the hidden world of the Breed. After existing in secret for many long centuries, maintaining a fragile peace with the humans who walk beside them unaware, a single act of retaliation has put the entire vampire nation at risk of discovery. It falls to the Order--a cadre of Breed warriors pledged to protect their own and humankind alike--to stop Dragos, the power-mad vampire at the center of the conflict, before his push for domination can explode into catastrophe.

At the center of the Order’s quest is Sterling Chase, once a morally rigid enforcer of Breed law, now a warrior fallen from grace, whose biggest battle is the one he wages against his own savage nature. With addiction beckoning him toward eternal darkness, Chase’s path to redemption has never seemed more out of reach--until he finds himself drawn to a beautiful young woman who may be something much more than she seems . . .(courtesy of laraadrian.com)

This is the 10th book in the Midnight Breed series.

This book has to have some of Adrian's hottest romp scenes. I've been a fan of this series, and Adrian knows how to do passion as well as action.  Adrian takes a different take on the 'vampire' origin, and after the first book, when you are introduced to it, she really makes it work.  It's there, it's the 'truth' and he stories have just flowed.  (i'm sure i've said that before)  Darker After Midnight, takes the plot that the Order has been working so hard to defeat and gives us some wicked twists.  Man Dragos was really out there!  

Chase and Tavia are amazing.  Tavia in herself is unexpected and pushes this book in the right direction.  Adrian wraps you up in Chase's insanity and it work.  There is never a loss of action in these books, they are definitely one to grip you, as you turn each page hoping for a chance to run to the restroom, there's more and you can't stop.  As you've been with each of these brothers for a few years now, you can't let them go.  My heart ached for a few of them, and to find the perks in the ending; leaves you ready for the next book and with a warm settled feeling.  

I'm extremely impressed (not just by the sex scenes LOL) but with how Adrian takes the book and brings a closure to the plot while sprinkling in the opening for her next books.  This is not the last in the series, Adrian has a few more tricks up her sleeve. Everyone of Adrian's books in this series has been strong, there's not been a low point yet! 

A Taste of Midnight by Lara Adrian

A shimmering holiday gala lights up an ancient castle in the Scottish Highlands, but beautiful widowed Breedmate Danika MacConn feels alone in the crowd. Even among the friends and festivity of the Darkhaven celebration, she can’t forget her lost love, a fallen warrior of the Order. Her brief return to her mate’s homeland has become treacherous after rejecting the advances of a dangerous Edinburgh crime boss with a taste for blood sport.

As Danika seeks to expose the vampire and his dark trade, she discovers an unexpected ally in his forbidding, enigmatic henchman, Brannoc, a man who exudes heat, danger, and dark menace--and seems somehow achingly familiar. Bran has his own reasons for wanting to keep Dani out of his employer’s business . . . and his own secrets he means to keep buried. The last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a woman who tempts the wildest part of his Breed nature--especially when that woman is Danika MacConn, the one woman capable of bringing him to his knees. (courtesy of laraadrian.com)

This is a novella set to work with the Midnight Breed series, although it does not wrap into the plot as a necessary read.  Adrian was kind enough to give us a 'taste' of the breed before book 10 releases on 1/24/2012 (TUESDAY!!)

While it may not be around the Order we know and love, there is some reference to the series and having known the series, you can fall right into this book and know exactly what the background is.  Adrian keeps the story moving along for the European side of the Order and Breed.  It's amazing how your body will always recognize the one you love.  Danika feels the connection as soon as she sees Bran.  

As a quick read, Adrian doesn't leave out any action.  Of course, we all love the erotic intensity.  Adrian doesn't leave us with out.  I was overjoyed that this came out to give us a break in our wait time, and it surely made me ready for Darker After Midnight just bringing in her writing style and our Breed.  

4 Slices

Darkness by Joann Martin Sowles

Not long ago, Laney Alexander was living a carefree life, that is, until she was thrown into a world full of creatures only the imagination thought possible. Now, after surviving a terrifying night, Laney and Oliver are lying low at Julz's place, relieved to be in each other's arms once again. But fate seems to have other plans...

Julz is not happy to have visitors in her home and emotions run high. Laney is pushed to her limits as she watches Carter fight for his life and her relationship with Oliver becomes strained as she discovers secrets about Julz that could tear them apart.

As she reaches her boiling point, disaster strikes and her life is shattered. Laney must come to terms with what has unfolded. Will she lose her way and let the darkness consume her or will she find her light in Oliver?

Secrets will be revealed. Hearts will be broken. Lives will be lost. Darkness will fall. (courtesy of back cover)

Sowles brings us book 2 in the Brookehaven Vampires series. 

This is not your run of the mill YA vampire read, Sowles keeps the dark vampires in play tossing in a little drama and twisted up with intense action.  

As we pick up where Laney (book 1) left off, we have so much going on.  Laney just wants to be with Oliver, but there is so much left for her to learn.  Sowles brings in the mysteries behind our characters.  We've met Laney and Oliver, but we finally get to dive into the background of their friends.  It's not all roses for Laney either.  I enjoy how Sowles puts in characters that you can relate to, and when we are learning their back story, it's quick but detailed, so the book doesn't drag on.  I didn't hit a low point in the book.  The passion of our leading couple leaves you breathless as the two figure out their love.  

I enjoy that Laney is a strong character, only perhaps once or twice was I aggravated by her stubborn streak :).  Sowles doesn't set her leading guy up to be a push over either, he's laid it out and he's got to do what can be done to protect his love and family.  We also don't have everything working perfect for the leading couple.  I admire how Sowles makes that work in her book, as she takes you on the flips and turns of the story.  Some added drama and tension between friends, and out right possessive vampire instincts tossed in pull together strong emotions for the characters and Sowles gets you feeling it as well. Carter was a big win for me in this book.  

This series is one that I keep on my list - Oliver intrigues me to see where the story will lead, there are so many directions and possibilities.  If I could complain about anything, was it ended too soon quickly, but really, Sowles did that right by not dragging out the drama. (although, I'm a little shocked about Carter in the end)

5 slices 

Not Her Type by Kay Jaybee

When Jenny’s regular film courier, John, reveals how she has become the center of his sexual dream world, Jenny’s quiet existence is thrown into an arena of desire that she thought she’d long since abandoned.

One unexpected, head swimming romp later, and Jenny is left wondering if her courier will ever visit her again, and if he does, will he mention the hot sex they had on her living room floor that Tuesday afternoon, or will he pretend that it hadn’t happened?

When the following Tuesday arrives and John reappears on Jenny’s doorstep, the scene is set for a continuation of intensely kinky weekly meetings. There is only one problem. John really really isn’t Jenny’s type...(courtesy of OC Press http://oceroticbooks.com/ebooks/not-her-type)

When a book starts you smack dab in the middle of a good romp – you have to think – can it get any better?

Well it does.  I was definitely humming with anticipation as I read and finished this book.  On a random Tuesday, a chance encounter has you desperately waiting for the delivery next week.  Do we every really truly know what our “type” is?  I mean on the outside you could have your ultimate package and then when you get them home…well, you can stand their toes, or something silly to the like.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying there are not great partners out there.  I’m just saying that, you might not think you like a guy with tattoos until he rocks your world and has you aching for more!  The saying ‘opposites attract’ isn’t just for magnets! 

That being said, imagine Jen’s (character from book, not our blog) excitement when she’s got her delivery boy challenging her previous expectations.  And she gives as good as she gets!  Even better.  I loved that she looks at John’s creative bedroom desires and hits them head on (any and all puns intended).  John is the complete opposite of what Jen’s history on the dating scene includes.  The intense passion from these two as they set off to top each other’s fantasies is beyond HOT!

Erotic romance guaranteed to heat you up!!  In the end, from all the seduction, it’s a great romance.  If you are not up for erotica, bedroom fun, or appreciating reading about it, this may not be for you…but here at Seduced, we have no problems with that!

5 slices.  Thanks to OC Press for topping off the new year!

Order yours here - http://oceroticbooks.com/ebooks/not-her-type

We Shall Rise by JE Hopkins

War surrounds him, yet for vampire Kaden Gaspard, there is no greater battle than the one his mind has waged against his heart. He knows he should stay away from her. Reysa. The half-breed vampire warrior who had risked her life to prove his innocence for the seven murders for which he was accused, but had not committed. This stubbornly loyal woman who dedicated her life to her family of misfits - immortals shunned and abandoned by their clans for their impurity of blood and genetic mutations. This courageous and valiant African warrior who Kaden fears could never love the monster that he is destined to be. As Kaden and Reysa struggle to accept the undeniable bond between them, they must come together to stop the emerging terror that threatens to destroy all immortals. The lesser immortals – witches, sages, shifters, demons, hybrids, charmers and foreseers – have declared war against the pureblood vampires and lycans who have used their purity of blood and greater strength to enslave the weaker races. No immoral is safe. This is a fight for freedom and a fight against genocide. There can be no true victor as death looms for them all.(courtesy of Amazon)

Book 2 in the Misfits of the Lore series – see Book 1, Lover’s Betrayal reviewed by us earlier this year.

When you find your true love, your mate, there is nothing that will keep you apart, or isn’t that how all the fairy tales go?  Hopkins gives us the real life fairy tale.  Your mate may not be the person you expected, and you may have to work through your issues before you can be together.  I think that’s why I enjoy these books so much, it’s something that sucks you in. 

The Lore that Hopkins has created, gives us mixed breeds, and it works.  These misfits are thrown in together and uncover the makings of a war.  In order for strong, independent mates Reysa and Kaden to be together they have to lay out their weaknesses and accept each other.  I could feel the tension between them as if I was in the same room.  The heat Kaden literally puts off was enough to keep me warm J

Hopkins keeps the story moving with quite a bit of battle action.  Rey truly holds her own as she saves and protects her family and friends.  Gripping my reader as the book twists and at the end, I couldn’t believe it.  I’m hanging by a rope.  I figured it would end with just the final comments from Kaden – never expected more…

I am hoping for Julian next, but I wonder if Hopkins will keep us waiting for him and give us someone different as the war begins to unfold. 

5 slices easy 

Welcome Stephanie Rowe & a Feel Good Holiday

Today we WELCOME – Stephanie Rowe!!

Four-time RITA® Award nominee and Golden Heart® Award winner Stephanie Rowe is the nationally bestselling author of more than twenty published books with major New York publishers, including HarperCollins, Grand Center and Harlequin. Stephanie has received starred reviews from Booklist and high praise from Publisher's Weekly. In addition to her teen series, she is also published in romance (paranormal, contemporary and suspense), teen fiction, middle grade fiction and inspirational non-fiction. A former attorney, Stephanie lives in Boston where she is actively working on her next project. For more information on Stephanie, visit http://www.stephanierowe.com/.

We are so thankful that with all that she has on her calendar she slipped some time in for us and with a great guest post.


Stephanie: Christmas is awesome! The holidays are great! Great music, friends, family, wonderful food, uplifting decorations, colorful lights, holiday cheer and of course, a sparkle in our hearts and a skip to our step. Fantastic!


Except, of course, for the times when the holidays make us sigh with weariness, when the holiday music makes us turn off the radio, and when the decorations galore feel like clutter.

Ah… yes… we've all be there. No matter how cheerful and upbeat you are, there are times when the holidays feel like a special torture created just for you. How nice of society to gift wrap a time of such stress, tension and angst just for you! Isn't that thoughtful?


Sometimes, our holiday misery is short-lived. It can be cured by an afternoon of errands to shorten your to-do list, a large glass of eggnog, an overdose of holiday cookies and a good sleep.


Other times, maybe it's a little tougher than that. Sometimes you've just got so much weight bearing down on you that you can't shake it, no matter how much eggnog you pour over your head (though, I must admit, pouring a mug of eggnog over my head does have its "I'll do what I want, so there!" appeal. I might try it someday…)


Despite the eggnog dripping from your earlobes, sometimes being around all that joy, exhilaration and shopping frenzy can make it even harder to stay positive. You miss people you used to celebrate with. You don't have the money to buy your kids the gifts you'd like to give. You are struggling with a grim health problem that has you terrified. It feels like an insurmountable effort beyond to pull back your shoulders, flash a smile at the world and dance down the street. In truth? You just want to crawl into a dark corner and pretend the holidays don't exist.


I get it. I've been there. Some years, I've actually managed to forget about Christmas until it's actually here. On the surface, that feels like success, right? But in my heart, it hurts. Why? Because I want to be feeling that love and joy that seems to be bouncing off me. I want to giggle with anticipation at all holiday planning. I want to sing along to the radio instead of turning it off? Quite frankly, it just feels better to be happy.


The truth is that those better feelings are accessible to us. We might not be skipping down the street throwing paper snowflakes at everyone and singing We Wish You a Merry Christmas at the top of our lungs, but those better feelings are there, within us, right now, and we can find them and hold onto them.


In our soul, we want to be happy. That's why it hurts when we're worried, scared, stressed or tense. That's why it's harder to stay happy when surrounded by the joy of the holiday season—because when we see that joy, it makes us resent our own misery, which, in turn, makes us feel even worse.

The truth is: it sucks to feel awful inside because in our hearts, we just want to feel okay.

I decided that I wanted to feel better, so I put on my detective hat and did a little sleuthing. I figured out that my holiday grumpiness wasn't really a twinkling star and candy cane issue. It was actually a reflection of the weight I was sporting around on my back all year wrong. It just got harder to cope with at the holidays. Ah…so it's not that I'm holiday impaired! I was year-'round impaired! That's so much better! (Isn't it? Hmm… maybe not).


So, yeah, the bigger thing to do was to start to fix myself during the non-holiday part of the year, when there wasn't quite so much pressure. But seeing as how it was mid-holiday festivities, I figured out the best thing to was hunker down and go into survival mode for the holidays. You can get through anything for a short time. Really!


For me, holiday survival mode was two things: (1) giving myself a break for not feeling in the holiday mood. It's the old "I'm okay, you're okay" thing, and it actually helps. (2) I decided that since the holidays weren't giving me love, I needed to find something that did. Something that made me happy. Then I could ignore the holidays and focus on what I liked, and use that thing to make me feel better.


Start with little steps. Teeny ones. Think of something you love to do, that makes you happy no matter what mood you're in. Oh, no, don't roll your eyes and say "Nothing. My life is hell." Yeah, maybe it is, but you're a human being, as a person, there are things that you love, that make you happy. Maybe it's watching an old episode of Friends. Maybe it's walking through leaves and kicking them so they spray all around. Maybe it's going to Walmart, buying some paints and paper, and then painting like you used to do as a kid. Maybe it's knitting. Maybe it's grinding coffee beans and inhaling that amazing scent. Maybe it's making ice cream from scratch. Maybe it's puppies. Maybe it's making Christmas cookies and taking them to your local fire station like you and your mom used to do when you were a kid. Maybe it's changing the oil in your car. Maybe it's gardening. Things you haven't taken the time to do in a really long time.

Look into your heart. There's something that makes you happy, even if you haven't thought about it in a years. Find it. It's there. Then go do it. Lose yourself in it. Buy the paint. Contact your local animal rescue group about fostering some puppies. Stir that ice cream. Let yourself feel how good it feels to be absorbed by something good. Remember what it feels like to feel happy. Then look up, look around, and realize that, hey, you felt good for a few minutes. How about them apples, eh? Triumph for you!

Honestly, who the hell cares that it's the holidays? If they're making you crazy, then blow them off and, instead of hiding, turn your attention to that which makes you feel good. When you do that, when you take care of yourself, suddenly everything will glow a little brighter, and you'll be on your way.


It takes time. It takes effort. But if you keep believing you deserve to feel better, than you can feel better, then you will. I bought a Christmas tree the first weekend in December this year. I had fun decorating it. I even smile at people on the street. Yes, everything isn't totally hunky dory, but I'm doing okay this year. And it feels good! If I'm doing this well now, imagine how fantastic I'll feel when I pour the eggnog over my head?


You. Can. Do. It.

And damn, it feels good when you do. Trust me, I know.


Happy puppy day. Happy art day. Happy change-the-oil day. Happy whatever-it-is-that-makes-you-happy day. That's the holiday you should be celebrating. Seriously.


SBB: You definitely said it right!! This time of year can bring up so many emotions and pressure. For our followers we wish you the best – and take Stephanie’s advice, do what makes YOU happy! A BIG Thank you to Stephanie for coming on and I know this post put a smile on my face as I read it and I’m ready to finish tackling what’s on my plate this weekend. Taking things one at a time and filtering out the drama are on my board to push me forward.

Known for her fun, unique, adventurous reads, it’s safe to say you won’t be disappointed with anything by Stephanie Rowe. Check out Stephanie’s latest – The Feel Good Life – just starting it here. Below see her latest romance – Touch if You Dare.

The Feel Good Life
I've been there.

I know what it's like to feel as if life is bearing down so hard and so ruthlessly that you can't take another step. I know what it's like to fall into bed at night and wish that a miracle would come, only to wake up in the morning and discover everything is still the same.


I also know what it's like to grit my teeth and shout, "I won't give up!"


We all deserve to feel better. We all deserve to feel relief instead of stress, misery or worry. We all deserve to feel the tension ease from our body and to breathe a little more easily.

Here's the thing: we can feel better. Bit by bit, little by little, we can start to get a grip on the storm that life is throwing at us. We can feel energy return to our bodies and our minds, we can feel a smile starting to build in our hearts, and we can start to feel alive and hopeful again.


This book is the collection of essays I wrote during some of those tough times, ideas that stopped my freefall and helped me redirect. People I've shared these with have sent me letters of hope and relief, finding peace for themselves within these pages. I hope they can help others. You, your kids, your best friend, anyone who needs a hand (isn't that all of us sometimes?).

You deserve to feel better. Don't give up. Fight for it. Starting right now.

Touch if You Dare
He's just about the hottest warrior she's ever seen...


Reina Fleming really appreciates a man who's on a mission-especially when he's a badass warrior doing his best to impress her. And Jarvis is charmed by the way Reina's magic touch can soothe his dark side.


But when Jarvis's attention puts her job, her home, and her family in danger, Reina has to decide whether love is worth the price...