In My P.O. Box!

Guess where I went this past Friday??? The opera! I was really happy with the performance (Tosca), mainly because the main character had a lovely, soaring soprano. I may post something about that night in the near future...

In book news, Justina Chen Headley's North of Beautiful hit the shelves this morning, so everyone should go out and buy it. If you need some more descriptive adjectives before you are convinced, check out my review here: http://not-so-cg.blogspot.com/2008/12/north-of-beautiful-justina-chen-headley.html

Justina is extremely nice, and you can meet her at her book launch party which she talks about on her myspace blog over here: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfmfuseaction=blog.view&friendID=66246717&blogID=467922438
I'm really sad that I don't live in WA. Erggg.

She's also hosting a North of Beautiful: Find Beauty Contest where contestants have a chance at winning an iTouch! http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=66246717&blogID=467922781

I hope everyone who attends/enters has fun!

Now here, of course, is this week's In My P.O. Box, a feature inspired by The Story Siren's In My Mailbox (www.thestorysiren.com):

A Red Hot Valentine's Day by Various Authors
Cupid is hot to trot!
One fateful weekend at a country estate, a beautiful, well-bred widow is caught between a rock and a very hard place when she must choose between two deliciously irresistible lovers...in Lacy Danes's seductive tale of courtship à la mode, Torn Desires.

Long-distance lovers Edie and Ty are counting the hours until their scorching Valentine's Day reunion, each titillating the other with steamy letters describing their erotic journeys. And getting there is definitely half the fun in Megan Hart's wickedly wild Get There.

Eternal damnation has its perks—especially for a voluptuous succubus who is about to receive a very special, very hot Valentine's Day "gift" from her demon lover...in Jackie Kessler's ode to paranormal passion, Hell Is Where the Heart Is.

London's most irresistible rake has one week to prevent the woman he loves from marrying another. And he plans to do so by adeptly employing his most well-practiced arts—seduction...sensation...and erotic love—in Jess Michaels's sumptuous feast of juicy Regency romance, By Valentine's Day.

What can I say? Valentine's Day is coming up, and look at that cover! The first page has this little TO/FROM section so the book is a bit like a valentine, which is very adorable.

Her Notorious Viscount by Jenna Petersen (To Be Released March 31, 2009)
Beauty and her beast . . .
Viscount Nicholas Stoneworth is infamous—even being mentioned in the same breath with him is enough to ruin a lady's reputation. Why, the man's spent years in London's underworld pursuing every sort of vice while parlaying his hard muscled body into fame and fortune as a fighter! With his brother's untimely death, Nicholas must assume the title and relearn the civilized ways of the ton . . . and proper Jane Fenton is more than willing to teach him everything she knows.

Circumstances may have forced Jane into the role of ladies' companion, but she knows the danger of associating with a notorious man like Nicholas, a man who could tempt any woman into certain scandal. But her brother disappeared into the same underworld four long years ago, and if she transforms the libertine into a gentleman, he will use his connections to find him. Still, Jane will not—cannot—lose control. She must ignore the promise of sinful pleasure in his eyes . . . and her own wild desires desperate to break free.

I loved Jenna Petersen's Lessons From a Courtesan, so I'm really excited about getting this one. Halley is working on the Lessons review, and I'll be working on Viscount. And, to top it all off, Jenna has agreed to do an interview for the NSCGs! So keep your eyes open...

Becoming Chloe by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Meet Jordy. He’s on his own in New York City. Nobody to depend on; nobody depending on him. And it’s been working fine.

Until this girl comes along. She’s 18 and blond and pretty–her world should be perfect. But she’s seen things no one should ever see in their whole life–the kind of things that break a person. She doesn’t seem broken, though. She seems . . . innocent. Like she doesn’t know a whole lot. Only sometimes she does.

The one thing she knows for sure is that the world is an ugly place. Now her life may depend on Jordy proving her wrong. So they hit the road to discover the truth–and there’s no going back from what they find out.This deeply felt, redemptive novel reveals both the dark corners and hidden joys of life’s journey–and the remarkable resilience of the human soul.

I love this cover, and the description is so interesting!


Daughter of the Flames by Zoe Marriott (To Be Released February 10, 2009)

Inside an ancient temple in the mountains, fifteen-year-old Zira trains in the martial arts to become a warrior priestess who can defend the faith of the Ruan people. Bearing a scar on her face from the fire that killed her parents, the orphaned Zira is taught to distrust the occupying Sedornes.

Terror strikes when the forces of the tyrannical Sedorne king destroy the only home she knows. To survive, Zira must unravel the secrets of her identity, decide her people’s fate — and accept her growing feelings for a man who should be her enemy.

I stumbled across this book somewhere on the web and decided to try it out. And let me tell you, I am so thankful that I did. It was fabulous.

The Season by Sarah Mac Lean (To Be Released March 1, 2009)

Seventeen year old Lady Alexandra is strong-willed and sharp-tongued -- in a house full of older brothers and their friends, she had to learn to hold her own. Not the best makings for an aristocratic lady in Regency London. Yet her mother still dreams of marrying Alex off to someone safe, respectable, and wealthy. But between ball gown fittings, dances, and dinner parties, Alex, along with her two best friends, Ella and Vivi, manages to get herself into what may be her biggest scrape yet.

When the Earl of Blackmoor is mysteriously killed, Alex decides to help his son, the brooding and devilishly handsome Gavin, uncover the truth. But will Alex's heart be stolen in the process? In an adventure brimming with espionage, murder, and other clandestine affairs, who could possibly have time to worry about finding a husband? Romance abounds as this year's season begins!

I love strong-willed sharp-tongued heroines, so I new I had to read this. The Season turned out being wonderful, and I think Angela would be perfect for reviewing it.

always,

~bella aire~