Tara Chevrestt's Blog, page 93

Godiva by Nicole Galland

Blown away by this book. I was expecting a historical fiction about a woman who to repeal a tax, rode a horse naked through a town a very long time ago. I got that, but I also got an incredibly brave heroine, a nun with a scandal, glimpses into the early days of "Christianity" taking over "paganism" and becoming political and corrupt and fantastic bursts of humor.


At first, I was put off by the heroine. She uses her eyelashes and sexual promises she has no intention of delivering to get her way. She ends up rubbing the kind--a man not fond of women to begin with--the wrong way. And when you end up on the king's bad side, there's always repercussions  especially when it's a new king who needs desperately to exert some power and influence over someone. In Edward's case, it's Godiva.

First of all, her and her husband have the most charming and sweetest marriage. I'm going to say this is one of my favorite couples of all time. Her friendship with her abbess friend is not perfect, but is so real. I love the conflict they faced, how the are there for each other, even when one's meddling causes problems.

Most of all, I love how Godiva handles herself in the end, starting down men will ill intentions, standing up for her people, not showing shame or fear, turning their own bulliness around on them.

The novel is also really rich in historical detail. At times it was more than I needed, namely when it went on and on about towns or the history of some people. BUT I've heard of many of them before so some of it wasn't new to me. Some of it was though--such as the decorated eggs. I had no idea this is how that started.

The humor....Godiva has a terrific sense of humor--her husband too. I highlighted examples, but I fear the review will be too long. She's witty, sarcastic, and portrayed like a woman before her time, but it made for great reading.

"Edey, it is plain as wheat. There is a glow around the two of you. The spirits of the unborn babes who want you as their parents are shrieking at you to disrobe."

The plot: Lady Godiva disputes a very high and no longer necessary tax. King Edward--not fond of her--gives her a choice: he'll tax ONLY her town and not the rest of England, meaning she will pay everything she owns. OR she can give him the town, which he wants, putting her people directly under a tyrant's rule. OR she can ride naked through her town, losing respect, tarnishing her reputation, humiliating her husband, and being declared a heathen and excommunicated from the church--which has serious consequences.

How Lady Godiva manages to turn things around...is awesome and I'll say no more.

Bravo to Nicole Galland. Bravo. Five bikes. I received an egalley of this from the publisher.

STRONG IS SEXY T-SHIRT GIVEAWAY!

It's here!!! I'm pleased to say I finally got the shirts and for the month of July, I'm going to be collecting entrants for a winner. One lucky person is going to win a size Large fitted T for ladies. 

Here's the deal...I'm not gonna do a rafflecopter. People "like" me just until the contest is over and then they're gone. I'm tired of it. This is strictly for true supporters of Book Babe. If I get a few new ones, great, I hope they like what they see and stick around for a while. :)

So..no rafflecopter, no tweeting, no nothing. How do you enter? The old-fashioned way!!!! LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW, telling me your favorite feature on Book Babe and why.

You must be a follower here on blogger or GFC and a United States resident. I LOVE my International fans, but too often, shipping is more than the item is worth. No disrespect intended.

Please leave your email address in the comment. If there is no email address, you won't be entered. At the end of July, all qualified entrants will have their name dropped in a dog bowl and one of my canine sidekicks will choose. The winner will have 48 hours to reply to my email with their snail mail addy before I choose another winner.

And that's all! Thank you, everyone for following Book Babe, for your supportive comments, your FB shares, your tweets, your ideas. You have all made Strong is Sexy a success!

What Were They Looking For???

I'm starting something new. At the end of every month, I'm going to share with you...blogging...err...what's the word? Funny Blogger Dashboard Keyword Searches.

See, in our dashboards, we have this page of stats and it tells us what keywords led someone to our blog. Sometimes I've had to scrape my eyebrows off the ceiling after viewing this page. I'm amazed at what people search for...even more amazed their searches leading them here...

Take this one for example:


Cock longer than your boot??? Um, you know, there is such thing as too big...

A fellow blogging acquaintance helped me figure out Google search (Ok. I'm lying. I honestly don't know how she did. I did all kinds of searches on google, yahoo, and my blog with the words "cock is longer than your boot" and I couldn't figure this out) and she figured out that the post they were finding with this search is Pink Boots  and a Machete, a book by Mireya Mayor I featured on here a while back.

Ok, wait up. How could I be talking about cock in a post like that?

I'm not. LOL

"She travels to South America and the Congo both and braves worms in her feet, scorpion bites, killer bee stings, cock roaches in her pants, possible gorilla attacks, blood infections, and all for the love of monkeys."

Pretty crazy, huh? And "hearing aid boyfriends?" Does someone want a boyfriend who specifically wears a hearing aid? Nothing wrong with that, but what an odd way to try to find one. Maybe it's a woman who is known for her incessant nagging and has finally admitted a deaf man may be the way to go...he can turn his aids off.

Another odd one. Is this a foreign language? Now you can see I'm also having fun with these screen shots.


babec booms sixey? 

What do you think that is? A Google search pulled up a site called Sexy Babe With Very Nice Boobs. Well, thank you! NOT! It's actually a porn site and I didn't enter.

How about this one below? Dancing nude. Sex slaves. I'd say we're a sex-obsessed society! Are we not getting enough of it at home??



And here, apparently someone wants to see my sister author, Laura DeLuca's....errr...assets. I'm afraid I don't include that data in the author spotlights. Sorry, searcher.


And who is Courtney Dalton????

I'd like to know was babessins are. Babe assassins?


Now I've heard of barefoot and pregnant but barefoot and doing everyday things? A new fetish, perhaps? And what is vintage sex? Sex over sixty? Sex in the twenties? Sex when hubby's sleeping...that may be kind of hard. LOL

And yea, I guess I should explain why all those husband on a leash searches are leading people my way...*sheepish grin* It's not what you think...really.
It's a book review for a book called How to Keep Him on a Short Leash. It was a funny, silly thing I picked up one day and ever since, it's been drawing all these hits, though I'm sure people are looking for something a heck of a lot more racy with those terms!
What are some weird terms showing up on YOUR blogs?

Tip from Tara: Is Your Subject Performing Your Verb?

I've been leaving a lot of comments like this in the MSs I edit:

Your subject is the tree. The verb is staring. Are the trees staring? No... Your subject needs to be performing your verb. 

It's really that simple.

Staring at a spot in the darkness, the trees swayed to and fro.

I get what the author is trying to say, especially when I read the rest of the paragraph. A man is walking through the woods, spying on a cabin, but I shouldn't have to think about it. The subject should be clear and the verb even clearer. In the sentence above, the subject is the trees. There is no clear subject, really. I assume it's the trees. The action is...staring or swaying, one or the other. More confusion.

He stared at a spot in the darkness and noticed the trees swayed to and fro.

Now your subject is the man and your man is performing the verb. Both are clear.

Deepening the kiss, his hands caressed the bare skin under her skirt.

His hands are the subject. How can they deepen a kiss?

As he deepened the kiss, he caressed the bare skin under her skirt.

Now, HE is the subject and he's deepening the kiss and caressing her. It's more clear.

This often happens when a passive sentence is in use. Watch those passive sentences and make sure your subject is always performing the verb. While you don't want every sentence beginning with HE or SHE, neither do want them all starting with ING words.

Thanks for reading!

Lily's Leap by Téa Cooper

Born into privileged society, Lilibeth Dungarven finds herself married, widowed, and much to her distress, back under her father’s rule, all before her twenty-first birthday. But this feisty and independent young woman has a dream: she is determined to breed the perfect racehorse and restore the family’s flagging fortunes. An accomplished rider, she takes matters into her own hands and sets out to restore the Dungarven horse stud to its former glory.

When the devastatingly attractive Captain Tom and his mismatched band of bushrangers stumble across a mob of the best horses they’ve ever seen, and the daughter of the famed Dungarven horse stud, they know their fortunes have changed. Their catch is worth a king’s ransom. Surely it can’t be too difficult to contain this beautiful young woman with violet eyes and skin-tight riding breeches for seven days?

What I loved:

-The horses, the riding, the descriptions. Great balance of story vs descriptive details. It doesn't bore me to death by giving me too much at once or nattering on and on. It gives me the perfect amount.
-Lily's leap. Now that's a scene. I'm not saying any more than that.
-Lily's occasional spunk. When asked where she learned to ride like a boy, she retorts, "I didn't learn to ride like a boy. I learned to ride a horse." She later makes a very similar and just as witty comment during a game of chess. LOL
-The seamless narrative. It switches back and forth with ease. It flows.
-The horse race!!!!! Whoo hoo!!!!!!!!!!

What I did not like:

-How easy it was for Lily to be captured. Except for one escape attempt, Lily just kinda saunters right into her kidnapper's arms. This really didn't suit her otherwise headstrong character.
-How quickly the hero and heroine ended up draped over each other. They didn't even have two serious conversations before they were lip-locked.
-The fact the hero kidnapped the heroine for ransom never seems to be an issue...even with the heroine. Though I appreciated the perp/victim thing became a partnership, he never apologized for his actions and nobody said a word about his crime. It was just instantly water under the bus as they fell in love. Personally, if you kidnap me for ransom, I'm not going to offer you money, or fret over you doing prison time, or anything else. I'm gonna kick you in the nuts, hard. Again, this didn't work with what I felt otherwise was a very strong woman.

3.5 bikes or 3 bikes and a frame and engine. ;) For the most I really enjoyed it. I just had a hard time with those little bits.

Strong is Sexy Heroine of the Week: Cynthiana Davenport

Book: Homerun
Author: Ruth Roberts
Heroine: Cynthiana Davenport

This week, we have something a little different for you...we have the hero--Roberto--telling us what he sees in the heroine...strength and sexiness.



When I first met Cynthiana Davenport, I was captivated by her beauty. A fiery red head with flashing blue eyes and porcelain skin. But her appeal goes far beyond her sexy smile, or the way all eyes turn to her when she walks into a room. She is strong because she survived being raised by wealthy parents who neglected her, when they did show any interest in her it was to serve their own purposes. Affection and love were bad words in her home and any attempts to display them were harshly rejected. She was primed to take her place in the highest echelons of society, but getting there was less than fun. 

Because of her strength of character she triumphed and turned herself into a caring, giving person. Spending her time teaching children and planning charity events for underprivileged youths. I can't imagine what it was like when the two people who were supposed to nurture and love, instead did everything they could to crush her heart and spirit. I am so thankful they didn't succeed because the woman I love is like a flower after a rain storm, who despite the harsh beating from the rain still blooms bright.

Blurb:  Cynthiana, beautiful, intelligent, and by all appearances, a spoiled socialite, finds herself as chair of the Inner City Youth League Charity Gala. Her Co-Chair, Roberto Luque, is Major League Baseball’s newest playboy from the Dominican Republic. Far from being in the league of men her parents expect her to choose from, which is just fine with her, since she has sworn off playboys. But, as they work together she discovers his devotion to the inner city children and wonders if there is more to him than his playboy reputation. Will she break her no playboy rule long enough to find out?

Roberto fought his way into the Majors. Now a successful pitcher for the Texas Rangers, he is living the life he always dreamed of--until he faces off with a bad-tempered, blue-eyed, redhead that is not his type. Why is he so drawn to her? The Charity Gala gives him a chance to find out. What he finds beneath that socialite veneer captivates him, heart and soul.

When her powerful father threatens to tear them apart, destroying not only their love, but also Roberto’s hard won career, will he be willing to give it all up for love?

Excerpt:



A determined Cynthiana strode up the front steps of her parents twenty-thousand square foot palatial home. She walked right in the front door, even though they had asked her countless times to ring the doorbell instead. She refused to act as a guest in her childhood home, where her parents still lived.The shocked housekeeper entered the foyer and started sputtering when she saw her. “Oh miss, I didn’t hear the doorbell. I’m so sorry. If you’ll have a seat in the front parlor, I’ll let your parents know you are here.”
“No need, Molly. Is my father in his office?” she asked as she brushed by.
“Yes. But you can’t just go in—”
Cynthiana ignored her and approached the double mahogany doors to her father’s office, hurled them open, stepped inside and slammed them behind her.
Her father glanced up from what he was writing, then returned to his writing without saying a word. More furious than hurt by his dismissal, Cynthiana went to his desk and slammed her hands on top to get his attention. “Leave Roberto alone. That is not a request.”
He threw his pen on his desk and scooted his chair back, but remained seated. His glacial blue eyes meant he was angry—Cynthiana had seen that glare many times before.
“You do not give me orders, young lady. I will do whatever needs to be done to protect my family, and that includes you. Whether you like it or not, you are a Davenport.”
Cynthiana met his angry gaze with one that matched his in color and intensity. “Oh, please. All I’ve ever been to you and mother is an accessory that you could show off to your friends when needed, then pushed to the background once I had served my purpose. If it hadn’t been for the Howards, who took me in whenever the two of you abandoned me, I would have never known the true meaning of a family.”
“Spare me your theatrics. It wasn’t the Howards who clothed and fed you or who paid for the best education money can buy. While you were playing house with the Howard’s, your mother and I were busy making the money that you benefited from, that made you a Davenport of the Dallas Davenports. And now you are threatening to tarnish that good name? I won’t allow it Cynthiana.” Somewhere during his tirade he had stood and now towered over her.
Never one to back down, she fired at him, “You are not attempting to protect me, you are trying to maintain an image and if my happiness has to be sacrificed along the way, then so be it. Isn’t that right, Daddy? You want me to be a true Davenport? Fine, I will. I’m warning you now, if you hurt the man I love I will use all the weapons in the Davenport arsenal to bring you down.”
His face glared red with rage. “How dare you threaten me?”
“It’s a warning, Daddy. Stay out of my life. Leave Roberto alone.” She turned and walked away, out of his office and out of the house, ignoring his yells.
“Get back here, Cynthiana! We aren’t finished!”
She smiled in satisfaction—maybe she was more of a Davenport than she thought.


Are you an author with a strong heroine in your book? Want to see her featured? Find out how here.

Vanquished (The Roxbury Trilogy #1) by Hope Tarr

This story took me by surprise, and for that alone, it gets a few extra points. I'm tired of reading the same done over and over again story lines and I like to be surprised.

The plot alone is unique. You have the leader of suffragettes, a woman who hasn't known the touch of a man in a very long time...you could say she's a man-hater. You have a photographer being blackmailed into somehow obtaining a naughty photograph of her. How in the world can he get under skirts?

This leads to romance, to falling in love with the forbidden. For Hadrian, there is no way out. He must get that photo or lose his life. The two engage in a love affair that's scorching-hot as he opens her eyes to plight of the London people. Callie realizes it's not just women being untreated unfairly, but the less fortunate, period.

Hadrian must face up to a torrid past and come to terms with who he is and was. Callie learns to come out of her shell, to be a woman for a change, and learns there is more to life than the right to vote. Though the cause doesn't diminish in her eyes, she realizes there's a lot more she needs to see and do as well.

But how in the world can they find happiness once he helps see her vanquished? What woman is going to forgive a man who sullies her reputation with a scandalous photo? How can he get out of this mess?

There was a rape sidestory that somewhat rattled me. While I appreciate being reminded rape is not necessarily confined to women, it jarred me with its brutality. The erotic scenes though well done, I didn't necessarily need them. I don't pick up historical fiction for the butt sex.

I appreciated the match factory and women on strike side story, however brief. The author explains the real facts in her author notes as well. I found this interesting. I also liked both the hero and heroine and this surprised me as the hero is technically a jerk and a man-whore and he's out to ruin her, but I was able to connect with him on some level and see more to him.

Major LOL moment: "She came then, little pulses that sent her woman's flesh fluttering against his mouth like the beating of butterfly wings.

That's quite a vagina!!!!!

Four bikes. I bought this on Amazon a while back.

Meet the Strong Women from Lavender Road, Introduced by Helen Carey

Strong women – don’t you love them? Especially if they don’t start off that strong but grow as the book progresses. That’s why I enjoy writing about the Second World War - that’s when so many women (particularly in the UK) started to realise that they had the same skills and abilities as men. With most men away at war they found the chance to take on new roles and responsibilities, often surprising their men and themselves too!      Jen Carter in LAVENDER ROAD dreams of making a name for herself on the stage despite her unpromising and entirely unsupportive family background. She suffers repeated knockbacks, both in her career and her private life, but her gritty determination wins through in the end. 
Katy Parsons in SOME SUNNY DAY has always been over-cosseted by her anxious publican parents. Trying to gain some independence she enrols as a nurse but finds it far more gruelling and exhausting than she imagined. But when her father is killed in the Blitz and her new husband is missing overseas she eventually finds the courage to reopen the pub herself in order to provide for her unborn baby.Lady Helen de Burrel in ON A WING AND A PRAYER is fed up with everyone treating her as a brainless debutante. Against her better judgement she offers her services to the Secret Operations Executive and finds herself battling to hold her own among a group of tough ambitious men during the brutal agent training. But her real test comes when she is asked to parachute into France to help blow up the ships in Toulon harbour before the Nazis can get them.
In my recent contemporary suspense novel, SLICK DEALS, Ella Crossley, a young, city girl oil trader, finds herself way outside her comfort zone when she gets embroiled in hunting down the kidnappers of her boss’s son. Much more used to business lunches and dinner parties, the last thing she wants to do is get involved with the irritatingly laid back environmentalist, Nick Jardine, and a group of eco warriors in the wilds of West Wales. But she rises to the occasion and between them they not only rescue the child but also prevent a massive oil disaster.
In THE ART OF LOVING, young artist Kelly James arrives in Heidelberg to work with an eminent German painter. She has been offered accommodation with her aunt but is immediately thrown off balance by discovering that her aunt is dying and that her husband’s nephew the wealthy, arrogant scientist Max Dreiecke von Hardwald believes Kelly has come to try and get her name in the will. Battling both her own nervousness about her artistic ability and her attraction for her antagonistic host, Kelly needs all the strength she can muster.
HAPPY READING!Helen Carey
Lots more about my books at: http://www.helencareybooks.co.ukVisit my blog for writing and reading tips: http://helencareybooks.wordpress.comOr join me on Twitter at: @helencareybooks

Marriage Matters by Cynthia Ellingsen

Weddings are pretty stressful affairs, especially considering it's supposed to be the best day of a woman's life... Imagine walking down the aisle, however, with your mother and grandmother! All three of you getting married on the same day!

Chloe is the granddaughter and she's engaged to a man who just may want her around solely to take care of his daughter...hum. Kristine has been married 25 years and it's going stale (he'd rather go hunting with his buddies than go to Italy with her!), but she's expected to renew her vows. Does she want to spend another 25 years with him? June swore off men since she was widowed, but she has this love/hate thing with her neighbor.
The story is funny with bits of humor here and there as all three women prepare to walk to down the aisle and plan their triple wedding. I laughed out loud at June's antics at destroying Charley's garden and her old lady friends competing for the same man. Chloe...I had a harder time with her. I was like "Are you blind???" Kristine--I totally got her. Her story had the most effect on me. She's tired, feels like her husband doesn't love her anymore, and is tempted by another man. It's a rut I imagine most marriage face at some point. And the way the author handled this was fantastic. At no point was this subplot distasteful or dirty.
I especially loved watching June and Charley move on from widowhood and into each other's arms while at the same time, maintaining the sweetest respect for their dead spouses. The family time between the three women warmed my heart too.
What was especially wonderful about this book though besides the laughs, was the theme: you always have your family.
Yea, they  meddle, but sometimes meddling is necessary.
Quibble: There really wasn't enough Ben considering how important he was to the story.
LOL moment:
June: "If I end up missing, he's buried my body in the garden."Chloe: "You always say he doesn't know how to buy a decent fertilizer."
Four bikes. I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

A Beautiful Heist by Kim Foster

There's a lot to like about this book. You have a tough heroine who steals things for a living, believing she's righting an old wrong. Her jobs had me on the edge of my seat. They were heart-stopping. Many times I didn't think she would make it. I loved her sense of humor and sarcastic wit too.

"...was there a specific reason they made church pews so damn hard and uncomfortable? I mean, stained glass here, gilded whatnot there--surely there wasn't a lack of money in the budget."

There's a romance with fellow, very hot thief. There's a good side story about morals and whether what she does it bad or good and is she still a good person even though she does something bad? Her dad and dead sister play into this a lot. I appreciated the points this brought up and the things it makes you think about.

The narrative switches seamlessly between first person and third, depending on who it's following.

It's a terrific yarn, really, as this woman dodges the FBI, the IRS, a Russian casino-owning family, a former thief turned author, and also tries to get a promotion within the company of thieves. This was rather cute. I loved a peek into the lifestyle and gadgets: gloves with blood-packed fingertips for one.

In the middle of it all is a Faberge egg and some possibly religious artifacts.

I enjoyed this, very much, but I have some quibbles. I found the entire Brooke thing just kind of crazy. This lady just seems to stalk her and make trouble for her every which way, and in the end this sub plot left me feeling very unsatisfied. I also didn't buy the lady FBI agent showing up everywhere. It seemed so obvious to me something wasn't right. There were just too many coincidences. The romance...I'm disappointed with the heroine. One man risks life and career to help you but you end up in the arms of another? No....that's not where I was was hoping this would go.

The ending overall is very vague. I'm still not sure what all these people had to do with everything, how everyone is connected, why Cat is praised when in the end, she was empty-handed. I'm beyond confused. I get this continues into another book, but the ending left me with more questions than answers. I also found the "I have to keep stealing to avenge my sister's death" side story a bit lame.

But quibbles aside, I enjoyed this action-packed read featuring a strong heroine and I look forward to book two.

Four bikes. I received this on netgalley.