Historical Romance Blog Tour and Giveaway

I am super excited to announce that Peace Love Books is a stop on the Secrets of an Accidental Duchess blog tour today! Here's a little bit about the author, Jennifer Haymore...

Why writing? Have you always loved it or was there a point in your life where you discovered that's what you wanted to do?

I’ve always loved it. I thought I’d spend my life just doing it for fun because I had it in my mind for the longest time that becoming published was a pipe dream.

Why did you decide to write historical romance?

I actually started off writing historical fiction--my first completed novel was a historical fiction novel. But my critique partner was a romance writer, and she told me that my book was really focused on the relationship between the hero and heroine and that she thought romance might be the way for me to go if I was serious about getting published. She was right. J


If you could be anyone from any of your books, who would you be and why?

I’d be Jessica Donovan, the youngest Donovan sister. She has so much spirit and goes after what she wants with everything she has (and she usually gets it). She makes an appearance in SECRETS OF AN ACCIDENTAL DUCHESS, but she finds her happily ever after in book 3, PLEASURES OF A TEMPTED LADY, which comes out in August, 2012.

Secrets of an Accidental Duchess

By Jennifer Haymore

Release Date: January 31, 2012

Summary: With her pale hair and slim figure, Olivia Donovan looks as fragile as fine china, and has been treated as such by her sisters ever since a childhood bout with malaria. But beneath her delicate facade, Olivia guards a bold, independent spirit and the kind of passionate desires proper young ladies must never confess... 

It was a reckless wager, and one Max couldn't resist: seduce the alluring Olivia or forfeit part of his fortune. Yet the wild, soon-to-be Duke never imagined he'd fall in love with this innocent beauty. Nor could he have guessed that a dangerously unpredictable rival would set out to destroy them both. Now, Max must beat a madman at his own twisted game-or forever lose the only woman to have ever won his heart.  ***Check out my review of this wonderful book right here***

***Giveaway***

For being a part of this tour, I have two copies of Jennifer Haymore's book to giveaway! Just fill out the rafflecopter below! US only! Giveaway will end February 10th!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

In My Mailbox (24)

In My Mailbox is a meme that I picked up from The Story Siren's blog. It's where we share the new books that we've gotten for that week with our readers. These books could be from the library, the store, or from the writers/publishers for review. Whatever the reason, I will share my new books every Sunday!

From the Library 

I had quite the successful trip to the library! I am so excited to start reading these books, especially THe Perks Of Being a Wallflower because I want to get through it before the movie comes out! Now if I just had time to pick them up in between all of the books I have to review, I'd be happy even happier!

From the Publisher

I love contemporary retellings of old stories, and this one is the retelling of Anne Boleyn set in LA. I love the color of the cover and it just sounds like a great read! The blog tour is on Tuesday, so make sure to come back then to check out my review! 

That's it! What did you all get in your mailbox this week? Please share! 

Movie Review: Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol

Summary: In the 4th installment of the Mission Impossible series, Ethan Hunt and his team are racing against time to track down a dangerous terrorist named Hendricks, who has gained access to Russian nuclear launch codes and is planning a strike on the United States. An attempt by the team to stop him at the Kremlin ends in a disaster, with an explosion causing severe destruction to the Kremlin and the IMF being implicated in the bombing, forcing the President to invoke Ghost Protocol, under which the IMF is disavowed, and will be offered no help or backup in any form. Undaunted, Ethan and his team chase Hendricks to Dubai, and from there to Mumbai, but several spectacular action sequences later, they might still be too late to stop a disaster.


Review: I haven't seen the other three Mission Impossibles (at least if I haven I don't remember them), so I went into this without any big expectations. That being said, I feel like it ended up being just okay. It seemed like the entire movie all they said was "this is impossible" or "oh well, guess it's all over" and it got annoying really fast. Yes, I know this is Mission Impossible, but it's not like you have to remind us every 5 minutes. Other than that little thing, the rest of the movie had its ups and downs. 


The action was pretty good; the fight seems were awesome and the gadgets were cool but I felt like there could have been more. The storyline was just okay and I got confused at some parts, especially because some characters weren't really explained so I had no idea who they were. Some scenes were pretty cool though, especially Tom Cruise scaling an insanely tall building or Tom Cruise chasing a bad guy through an insane sand storm in India. His team was okay, but I feel like the girl's story wasn't really believable because she just complained about her boyfriend or whatever he was who had died. I really liked the other two guys though, so I guess they made up for her. 


So overall, the fourth installment of this movie was just average when it comes to the big hype that comes with it. It wasn't as amazing as I though it would be, but it still wasn't bad. I would give this movie a 3.5 stars, but more on the lower side. I just don't think it was good enough to deserve a whole 4 stars. I don't really know what this movie was missing, there just could have been more. 

Shelf Candy Saturday (24)

Shelf Candy is a meme hosted by Five Alarm Book Reviews and every Saturday, bloggers choose a book whose cover really catches their eye. I know you're not supposed to judge a book by it's cover, but I always do, so I'm choosing books whose cover alone made me pick it up. So I hope you enjoy my shelf candy!

I remember seeing this cover and I knew right then that I had to read this book! Too bad it doesn't come out until June :( But it looks so good! I'm a sucker for any book where there's a couple that looks completely in love on the cover. When I looked at the summary, it said that the story is like Romeo and Juliet and I totally get that from the cover! They look "tempted" to kiss each other, but it's a temptation because they know it's wrong! And the lighting and colors behind them really make the cover work. I just love looking at this cover and am excited to see it in person when it finally comes out! 

Follow My Book Blog Friday (26)

This is a meme hosted every Friday by Parajunkee, where book bloggers answer a question each week and check out how others answered it. It's a cool way for bloggers and viewers to connect and learn more about each other!

Question: Define what characteristics your favorite books share. Do they all have a kick ass heroine or is the hot love interest the Alpha Male? 

Answer: Oh, I think you all know what my answer is going to be. All of my favorite books have to have sweet, romantic guys who will stop at nothing to get the girl that they want! As long as that happens, I am bound to love the book! Like having a guy write forever on your shoe because he wants to be with you forever...

Or when there's a guy who will do everything in his power to make your life perfect...

*sigh* Okay, I think you get the point. And now I'm going to watch a Nicholas Sparks movie for the thousandth time while eating a tub of ice cream and pretending that that's me in the movie. Because guys like the ones in those movies (and books) are what have made me addicted to reading :)

Book Review: Secrets of an Accidental Duchess by Jennifer Haymore

Secrets of an Accidental Duchess

By Jennifer Haymore

Release Date: January 31, 2012

Summary: With her pale hair and slim figure, Olivia Donovan looks as fragile as fine china, and has been treated as such by her sisters ever since a childhood bout with malaria. But beneath her delicate facade, Olivia guards a bold, independent spirit and the kind of passionate desires proper young ladies must never confess... 

It was a reckless wager, and one Max couldn't resist: seduce the alluring Olivia or forfeit part of his fortune. Yet the wild, soon-to-be Duke never imagined he'd fall in love with this innocent beauty. Nor could he have guessed that a dangerously unpredictable rival would set out to destroy them both. Now, Max must beat a madman at his own twisted game-or forever lose the only woman to have ever won his heart.

Review: I was so excited when I found out I was a part of this blog tour, but that was nothing compared to how I felt when I was actually reading this book! Everything about it was wonderful and I couldn't put it down! I had to know what was going to happen next and missed out on some very needed hours of sleep just so I could finish it! 

Olivia is probably one of the best heroines ever! She is so weak because of her Malaria, but she never lets that stop her from doing what she wants. And she's so innocent that she has no idea what to do when it comes to Max, the soon to be Duke of Wakefield. Even though Olivia is quite a character, Max can't help but fall for her as soon as he sees her. He has this primal instinct to protect Olivia, especially from the evil Fenwicke. 

The immensely sweet love story isn't the only thing I loved about this book. There's so much action and adventure in the last 100 pages that made the end even better than the beginning. There are secrets, kidnappings, and near death experiences that will keep you on your toes. And during all of this Max and Olivia can never stop thinking of each other. 

This was SUCH a good historical romance novel and I can't believe it went by so fast! I'm definitely picking up more books by Jennifer Haymore and I recommend all of you do the same as soon as you can!

Waiting on Wednesday (27)

This is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where every Wednesday bloggers highlight a book that they are eagerly anticipating the release of! 

Scarlet 

By A.C. Gaughen

Release Date: February 14, 2012

Summary: Many readers know the tale of Robin Hood, but they will be swept away by this new version full of action, secrets, and romance. 

Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the wrath of the evil Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only the Hood and his band know the truth: the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. Helping the people of Nottingham outwit the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham could cost Scarlet her life as Gisbourne closes in. It’s only her fierce loyalty to Robin—whose quick smiles and sharp temper have the rare power to unsettle her—that keeps Scarlet going and makes this fight worth dying for.

Ahhhhhhhh this book sounds so good!! I love Robin Hood, especially the BBC tv show adaptation, so when I figure out this book was about a girl posing as one of his bandits (and falling in love with him...) I couldn't wait to get it! The cove is super pretty and the summary of "action, secrets, and romance" sounds exactly like the book I want to read! Early reviews for this book have been awesome (it has an average of 4.11 stars on goodreads), so I know it's going to be a good read! Can't wait for this one to come out and read a new take on my beloved Robin Hood :)