Cover Reveal: A Crown of Bitter Orange by Laura Florand

If you have been following my blog for a while, then you would know that I’m a huge Laura Florand fangirl. She’s an auto-read author for me ever since I discovered and fell in love with The Chocolate Thief back in 2013. I’m a (slightly) bigger fan of her La vie en Roses series set in Provence and featuring a family that has been in the perfume business for generations. Two of the earlier books in the series, Once Upon a Rose and A Wish Upon Jasmine, were included in my best of 2015 list so I’m pretty excited to read the next installment. I’m also itching to reread a novella in the series, A Rose in Winter, because it’s such a charming story set during Christmastime in the South of France. The next book in the series will be released early next year, and the cover and premise have been shared just this week:

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A Crown of Bitter Orange by Laura Florand
Book 3 – La Vie en Roses – on sale February 2016

Laura Florand, bestselling author of The Chocolate Kiss, combines lush description, smart dialogue, provocative sensuality, and the perfume of love itself in A Crown of Bitter Orange, an irresistibly lush novel that is an ode to the scents and pleasures of the south of France and the beauty of falling in love.

Childhood friends. Tristan Rosier might have asked Malorie Monsard to marry him when he was five years old, but things had only gone downhill from there. She’d spent the rest of their lives ignoring him, abandoning him, and destroying his perfumes. Now she was back, to wreak who knew what havoc on his life.

Lifelong enemies. Tristan might choose to dismiss the generations-long enmity between their two families, but Malorie didn’t have that privilege. Like all the other privileges wealthy, gorgeous Tristan took for granted that she couldn’t. But if she was going to restore her family company to glory, she might just need his help.

Or the perfect match? They’d known each other all their lives. Could these childhood friends and lifelong enemies ever uncross their stars and find happily ever after?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Laura Florand burst on the contemporary romance scene in 2012 with her award-winning Amour et Chocolat series. Her international bestselling books have appeared in ten languages, been named among the Best Books of the Year by Romantic Times and Barnes & Noble, received the RT Seal of Excellence and starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist, and been recommended by NPR, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal, among others.

After a Fulbright year in Tahiti and backpacking everywhere from New Zealand to Greece, and several years living in Madrid and Paris, Laura now teaches Romance Studies at Duke University. Contrary to popular opinion, this means she primarily teaches French language and culture and does a great deal of research on French gastronomy, particularly chocolate. For more information, please see her website: http://www.lauraflorand.com.

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I can’t wait to read this book! I had initially thought that the next book would have a title like Love in Lavender or something like that, but I’m not picky. It would be interesting to find out what the significance of bitter orange in the story is. I think the cover is beautiful and I’m loving the redesign of the earlier books to match this one. Behold the prettiness:

What do you think of these new covers? Do you like them as much as I do? If you haven’t read any of Laura Florand’s books, you should definitely get started on them as soon as you can.

Cover Reveal: Iris After the Incident by Mina V. Esguerra

Iris After the Incident is the latest book in Mina V. Esguerra’s Chic Manila series, and will be released on August 5. These are books set in the Philippines that have some overlaps (e.g. cameos of characters) but each can be read on its own. If you’ve been following my blog for a while, then you know that I’m a strong supporter of Mina’s books. My reviews of her Chic Manila books can be found here, and all my other posts about her books can be found here. The cover for Iris After the Incident was just released today! Cover design by Tania Arpa, photography by Pach R. Urrea and features one of the shots from #romanceclasscovers. I think it’s awesome how Mina keeps trying to properly represent her characters through her book covers. She has partnered with Filipino fashion bloggers for some of her other covers, and the photo for Iris After the Incident was from a shoot specifically intended for Asian/Filipino book covers. How cool is that? I really like the simple and clean design of this cover, and it seems like the photo matches the book description well. The cover makes Iris look like she’s at a turning point in her life. I still need to read the book to find out if the cover is a good fit for the story… looking forward to it!

Which moment has defined your life so far?

Whether she likes it or not, Iris’s life has been divided into two: Before the Incident, and After the Incident. Something very private was made very public, and since then life has been about recovering from being shamed, discovering her true friends, and struggling to find a new normal.

Two years into this new life and she finally connects with a guy again. He lives in the apartment down the hall, he’s hot, and he doesn’t look at her that way. He doesn’t know what happened. But he also won’t give her his name, not right away—which has to mean he’s got something to hide too.

Iris wants to start over. Should she do that with the only person who will understand, or is this the same idiotic decision that got her in trouble in the first place?

Social media sites for Mina:
Website
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
#romanceclass

Cover News: Cloudwish and In-between Days

I know I just did a cover reveal post yesterday and here I am, doing another cover-related post. But I just wanted to share the news about two Aussie YA novels that I’ve been looking forward to reading: Cloudwish by Fiona Wood and In-between Days by Vikki Wakefield. I found out yesterday that both of them will be published in the US (and will therefore be readily available internationally)! This is exciting news because I’ve previously enjoyed reading books from these two authors (my reviews of Six Impossible Things, Wildlife and All I Ever Wanted). I also think both covers look pretty, the type of covers that would encourage me to pick up the book even if I don’t know anything about the contents.

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I found out about Cloudwish’s cover reveal in this announcement. To be released October 18, 2016.

Here’s the summary from Goodreads:
For Vân Uoc, fantasies fall into two categories: nourishing or pointless. Daydreaming about attending her own art opening? Nourishing. Daydreaming about Billy Gardiner, star of the rowing team who doesn’t even know she’s alive? Pointless.

So Vân Uoc tries to stick to her reality–keeping a low profile as a scholarship student at her prestigious Melbourne private school, managing her mother’s PTSD from a traumatic emigration from Vietnam, and admiring Billy from afar. Until she makes a wish that inexplicably–possibly magically–comes true. Billy actually notices her. In fact, he seems to genuinely like her. But as they try to fit each other into their very different lives, Vân Uoc can’t help but wonder why Billy has suddenly fallen for her. Is it the magic of first love, or is it magic from a well-timed wish that will eventually, inevitably, come to an end?

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I found out about In-between Days from a tweet from the author. To be released August 30, 2016.

Here’s the summary from Goodreads:

Sixteen-year-old Jacklin Bates (aka “Jack”) believes the only way to soar beyond her life is to drop out of school and move in with her free-spirited sister, Trudy. But Jack quickly discovers her sister isn’t the same person she used to be. And when Jack loses her job and the boy she loves breaks her heart, she becomes desperate for distractions.

She strikes up an unlikely friendship with Pope, a lost soul camping in the forest behind her house. And then there’s Jeremiah, the boy next door with a kind, listening ear and plenty of troubles of his own. Together, over an endless summer, Jack and Jeremiah fix up the abandoned drive-in theater at the edge of town. But even as a fragile romance builds between them, Jack knows deep down that she can’t stay in limbo forever.

When Jack faces losing Jeremiah, she searches for a way to repair their relationship — beginning with the other broken pieces in her life. Only, sometimes the hardest part of starting over isn’t choosing a path… it’s figuring out how to take that first step forward.

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Now I just need Summer Skin by Kirsty Eagar to be published in the US and I’ll be all set! But I heard it’s available from the Book Depository so maybe I should try ordering it from there. Aussie readers are so lucky that these books are readily available to them.

What do you guys think of these covers and book summaries? Do they make you curious about the books? Also just wondering in general, are you familiar with Aussie YA?

Cover Reveal: Chase Me by Laura Florand

I’m delighted to be a part of the cover reveal for Laura Florand’s next novel, Chase Me. It’s the second book in the Paris Nights (previously Paris Hearts) series featuring three young women striving to make their way in the male-dominated world of French haute cuisine. I’ve been a huge Laura Florand fan since I discovered her books back in 2013 and I feel like I keep talking about her here on the blog. Two of her releases last year, Once Upon a Rose and A Wish Upon Jasmine, were included in my best of 2015 so I’m looking forward to reading more from her this year!

Both the cover and premise for Chase Me look intriguing, and I find it very interesting that we’re going to get a Navy SEAL hero from the author. As always, I think it’s good that Chase Me’s cover design matches the cover of All for You, the first book in the series. The leather-clad blonde looks totally fierce and I look forward to finding out more about her when this book is released.

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Chase Me by Laura Florand
Book 2 – Paris Nights – on sale April 2016

Laura Florand, bestselling author of The Chocolate Thief, combines smart dialogue, provocative sensuality, laughter, a touch of danger, and two irresistibly strong characters in Chase Me, an ode to the romance of Paris and the beauty of falling in love.

A Michelin two-star chef at twenty-eight, Violette Lenoir could handle anything, including a cocky burglar who broke into her restaurant in the middle of the night.

Or so she thought.

Elite counterterrorist operative Chase “Smith” had been through things that made Hell Week look easy. But nothing had prepared him for a leather-clad blonde who held him at bay at knifepoint and dared him to take her on.

Now if only saving the world didn’t require he ruin her life.

Two people who thought they could handle anything now have to take on each other.
It’s a battle neither one expected.  But with their futures on the line, they have nothing to lose… but their hearts.

Warning: This book contains one arrogant Navy SEAL, nights of Paris passion, and a woman who wants to have it all.

Click here for a sneak peek of the first chapter.

Pre-order Links
Amazon
Kobo
iBooks

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Laura Florand burst on the contemporary romance scene in 2012 with her award-winning Amour et Chocolat series. Since then, her books have appeared in ten languages, been named among the Best Books of the Year by Library Journal, RT Book Reviews, and Barnes & Noble, received the RT Seal of Excellence and starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist, and been recommended by NPR, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal, among others. In 2015, NPR gave her the enormous honor of naming her Chocolate Kiss to its list of the Top 100 Romances of all time.

For more information, please see her website.

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Cover Reveal: Us by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy

Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen have both written awesome new adult hockey romances (The Ivy Years, Off-Campus) and I was thrilled when they decided to team up to write Him. I did both a cover reveal and review for it. I thought Him was going to be a standalone novel so it came as a pleasant surprise that the authors were inspired to write a sequel! It’s going to be so much fun to find out how Wes and Jamie have been doing. Both the premise and the cover look great. I like how the cover design matches the first book in terms of look and feel and muscles on display. Simple and such a good fit for the story.

Can your favorite hockey players finish their first season together undefeated?

Five months in, NHL forward Ryan Wesley is having a record-breaking rookie season. He’s living his dream of playing pro hockey and coming home every night to the man he loves–Jamie Canning, his longtime best friend turned boyfriend. There’s just one problem: the most important relationship of his life is one he needs to keep hidden, or else face a media storm that will eclipse his success on the ice.

Jamie loves Wes. He really, truly does. But hiding sucks. It’s not the life Jamie envisioned for himself, and the strain of keeping their secret is taking its toll. It doesn’t help that his new job isn’t going as smoothly as he’d hoped, but he knows he can power through it as long as he has Wes. At least apartment 10B is their retreat, where they can always be themselves.

Or can they? When Wes’s noisiest teammate moves in upstairs, the threads of their carefully woven lie begin to unravel. With the outside world determined to take its best shot at them, can Wes and Jamie develop major-league relationship skills on the fly?

Warning: contains sexual situations, a vibrating chair, long-distance sexytimes, and proof that hockey players look hot in any shade of green.

To be released on March 8! Check out its Goodreads page, and add it to your shelf.

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Social media links for the two lovely authors:

Sarina Bowen
Website
Goodreads
Twitter
Facebook

Elle Kennedy
Website
Goodreads
Twitter
Facebook

Cover Reveal: This Side of Sunny by Agay Llanera

I thoroughly enjoyed the first Agay Llanera book that I ever read, which was her YA novel Choco Chip Hips. It’s on my best of 2015 Filipino reads, and I even nominated it for the Cybils (because yay Filipino books). So when Agay mentioned that she’s working on another book that will be released in December, I was immediately curious. Here’s the cover (designed by Gerry Isaac) and book summary for her next title, This Side of Sunny:

Like her boyfriend back in the States, 18-year-old Mela Connor is spending Spring Break by the beach. But the difference is she’s spending it on an exotic island in the Philippines, where she’ll spend the next six days finding her estranged mother, of whom she has no memory. In the process, Mela meets her self-appointed tour guide, Paolo, who helps Mela make amends with her past while struggling not to fall in love with her.

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What a bright and eye-catching cover! It’s definitely the type of cover design that would make you take a second look to check out the details. Based on the summary, it looks like the cover matches the story. It has a vacation/summer vibe going for it, with the suitcase, scooter and halo-halo (a type of Filipino snack). It makes me curious whether these things will play a part in Mela’s journey. Good thing the book will be released soon because I’m looking forward to reading this.

What do you guys think of this cover?

Cover Reveal: Learning to Fall by Mina V. Esguerra

I previously posted the covers for the first two books in the Addison Hill new adult series by Mina V. Esguerra, and today, we are presented with the cover for the third book: Learning to Fall. I’m very excited for this book to be released in the wild (release date is sometime next week) because it has one thing that I’ve always wanted to seen in the books that I read: a book blogger main character! One day, I asked Mina if she would ever consider writing a book with a book blogger for an MC and *BOOM*, here we are today.

About Learning to Fall

“Go out with a stereotypical romance novel hero WHO ISN’T YOUR TYPE.”

Avid reader and art student Steph is participating in a monthly blog challenge to Live Like Fiction, and this was the task for October. When Grayson, former co-captain of her university rugby team, walks into her class, she knows it’s meant to be – she has to go out with this guy. Even if she’s never been attracted to big, hunky, athletic types. With Grayson’s “player” reputation off the field, Steph thinks he’ll be good for one date that’ll be worth blogging about, and that’s it.

But you know how it goes: Soon, it becomes more than just one date – and Steph and Grayson are caught up in “living like fiction.” How long can they keep up playing their roles, before reality steps in?

This title was previously published as Someone Else’s Fantasy.

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I read an early copy of this, and I’m planning to review this with the rest of the series. I just need to find time to sit down and write those reviews! So what do you guys think of this cover? I really like the consistency in the designs of all the Addison Hill books – mint and white color scheme, couples kissing, pictures edited in the same style (high contrast, high brightness, low saturation). I hope the relaunch of these titles will encourage more readers to pick up the books. 😀

Cover Reveal: The Fifteenth Minute by Sarina Bowen

Ahem, ladies and gentlemen, we have a book cover for The Fifteenth Minute by Sarina Bowen! This is the next installment in the Ivy Years series which I glommed through late last year. Sarina made me realize how much I enjoy sports romance novels, and I can’t wait to read her one. Boy, does she write fast! I’m thrilled that we’re getting another Ivy Years book before the year is out, considering that The Shameless Hour was just released a few months ago.

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Announcing: Ivy Years #5
The Fifteenth Minute
by Sarina Bowen

Freshman Lianne Challice is known to millions of fans as Princess Vindi. But sometimes a silver screen sorceress just wants to hang up her wand, tell her manager to shove it, and become a normal college student. Too bad that’s harder than it looks.

She’s never lived a normal life. She hasn’t been to school since kindergarten. And getting close to anyone is just too risky — the last boy she kissed sold the story to a British tabloid.

But she can’t resist trying to get close to Daniel “DJ” Trevi, the hot, broody guy who spins tunes for hockey games in the arena. Something’s haunting his dark eyes, and she needs to know more.

DJ’s genius is for expressing the mood of the crowd with a ten second song snippet. With just a click and a fade, he can spread hope, pathos or elation among six thousand screaming fans.

Too bad his college career is about to experience the same quick fade-out as one of his songs. He can’t get close to Lianne, and he can’t tell her why. And the fact that she seems to like him at all? Incredible.

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Pre-order on Amazon

LINKS for Sarina Bowen:
Website
Twitter
Facebook
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Gorgeous cover, right? I like the scruffy look that this hot guy is sporting. And I’m a fan of aviator sunglasses (I have two RayBans myself). I always appreciate series covers that have consistent matching designs – The Fifteenth Minute definitely has the same look and feel as the rest of the covers in the series. Partially hidden faces, sky background, and a color scheme that’s easy on the eyes. I’m not sure how to describe it but I also like the type of filters and faded effect used on the photos. Funny, but I just realized that all of the Ivy Years cover designs have nekkid people on them! How could I have missed that? Here, I’ll make it easy for the rest of you to check them out:

So, so, so, what do you guys think of this shiny, new cover? And if you haven’t read Sarina Bowen’s Ivy Years, you still have time to catch up before the release of The Fifteenth Minute. 🙂

Cover Reveal: Falling Hard and Fallen Again by Mina V. Esguerra

I’ve featured Mina V. Esguerra’s books on my blog often enough for followers to know that she is one of my favorite Filipino contemporary romance or chick lit authors. She recently branched out into new adult romances set in the States, and they’ve been revamped with a new series title: Addison Hill. That’s the name of the school where the MCs study. The books get new covers and titles too! The first two in the series are Falling Hard and Fallen Again and will be released sometime this month. Scroll down to check out the covers and blurbs.

About Falling Hard

She knows it won’t last…

Nicholas Cevasco is unlike anyone Daria Kramer has ever dated. But they aren’t really even dating – a fast fling is all they have time for. He’s heading to Japan to play pro rugby, and she’s graduating in three weeks with plans of her own.

That doesn’t mean they can’t have fun… as long as they don’t fall hard.

This title was previously published as The Harder We Fall.

About Fallen Again

It’s too easy to fall in love with Jake. Don’t do it.

Despite living in two different countries, Lindsay Kresta and Jake Berkeley have loved each other as friends since their senior year in college. She’s his emergency contact, his “zombie apocalypse buddy,” and his holiday dinner companion.

But now that he’s known as Jacob Berkeley, star of a wildly successful TV show, he shows up with big news days before her big work conference. He wants to save forests again, work in environmental research…and he wants her.

Don’t fall in love with Jake. Easier said than done.

This title was previously published as Never Just Friends.

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I really like these new covers because they have a vibe that’s perfect for this new adult series. I’m a fan of the white and mint color combination that was used for the titles too. Plus it’s always nice when books in a series get matching cover designs. I’ve read these two books and will try to post a review of the whole series closer to release date. 🙂 I’m also waiting for the cover reveal of the third book in the series, which has a book blogger MC!

Coming Soon: A Wish Upon Jasmine by Laura Florand

One of my favorite contemporary romance authors is Laura Florand. Her next release will be the second installment in the La vie en Roses series and will be called A Wish Upon Jasmine. Her post about the cover, premise and first chapter excerpt can be found here. I’ve read the excerpt and it’s so good! I think I now have an idea of what the fairytale inspiration will be in this book. 🙂 Nice play on the character’s name if I’m right.

I loved Once Upon a Rose and it’s one of my favorite reads this year so I’m pretty excited that we’re getting another Provence book soon. I thought we’d have to wait until next year!

Ruthless.
That was what they said about Damien Rosier. Handsome. Wealthy. Powerful. Merciless. No one messed with his family, because to do so they would have to get through him. No one thought he had a heart. Not even the woman he gave his to.

Cynical.
That was what they said about Jasmin Bianchi. A top perfumer of her generation, Jess had achieved commercial success by growing a protective shell over a tender heart. The one time she cracked it open to let Damien in, he crushed it—after a night of unbelievable passion.

Lovers.
That one magical night couldn’t survive the harsh light of dawn. When Jess woke up to discover the man in bed beside her had stolen her company, she fled.

Enemies.
Now she’s come to the south of France with a threat to his family heritage. If he wants to reclaim both it and the woman who walked away from him, he’s going to have to fight as dirty as only Damien can.

But Jess knows how to fight dirty, too. And these days, she has nothing left to lose.

Certainly not her heart.

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Doesn’t that look interesting? On her Facebook page, Laura posted cover ideas before finally settling on this particular cover design. I think it’s looks good because it matches the cover of Once Upon a Rose. I also like how the titles focus on a specific flower – rose and jasmine. Maybe the next ones will be something about lavender or lily of the valley or violet. Or mimosa! I had a Fragonard perfume that was mimosa scented. I guess we just have to wait and see. 🙂