With: Naima Simone
Congratulations to "Kim", the winner in Naima's giveaway. Thank you to all who participated!
Okay, so yeah, I love millionaires.
Beauty and the Bachelor, my new release from Entangled
Publishing’s Indulgence line, is based on Beauty and the Beast. When Sydney
Blake mistakenly bids on Lucas Oliver at a bachelor auction, she finds herself
at the mercy of the Beast of Bay Bridge. The enigmatic millionaire serves up a
little blackmail...followed by a marriage proposal Sydney has no choice but to
accept in order to save her father’s business and reputation—and freedom. Now
she’s engaged to a darkly handsome beast intent on destroying her entire
family...along with her heart.
Congratulations to "Kim", the winner in Naima's giveaway. Thank you to all who participated!
Now, now, there will be no millionaire-shaming here. I
can’t help it. I’ve loved these moneyed-powers-all-to-themselves for years.
Like ever since sitting on my grandmother’s front porch and digging through her
boxes of Harlequins, these financial titans have always drawn me. I think it
might be because they run international businesses or rule countries. Or that
they can own a small island or jewels that rival the Hope Diamond. Yet—as the
old saying goes—they can’t buy love. Okay, that’s not the exact saying, but
it’s the gist of it. Their money can’t purchase happiness, peace or a
happily-ever-after. Only the perfect heroine can do that for them. So seeing
them humbled by love is one of the main reasons I love my millionaire books…why
they’re one of my guilty pleasures.
Now, I have tons of guilty pleasures. Real Housewives
of (fill in the blank), Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, New Kids on the Block,
Symphony chocolate bars, Cherry Cokes… But there are certain book-related guilty
pleasures that I will ask you not to judge me over…
1. Secret baby.
Again, one of those tropes that I blame on my grandmother and her stash of
Harlequins. Now if the heroine doesn’t have a good reason for keeping the
hero’s baby from him, then I’m shutting the book or powering down the Kindle.
The reason needs to be better than he didn’t want her or she couldn’t find him.
I mean, in the age of social media? Hell, we can find Waldo these days! But if
she believed he was dead or his a-hole father convinced her the hero knew of
her and the baby and didn’t want either of them… Yeah, two words: One. Click.
2. Manwhores.
Oooh. This sounds so bad, I know. But
let me clarify that the hero is a manwhore before
he meets the heroine. Definitely not after, ‘cause cheating is a straight deal
breaker. But there’s just something about seeing that man who is very well versed in sex, and for
whatever reason—wounded past, bitterness, never been in love—doesn’t believe in
monogamy fall for The One. I love watching him succumb to love, and how he
suddenly finds the thought of kissing or touching another woman distasteful. Oh
yeah. Manwhore Down is definitely a guilty pleasure.
3. MMA and
underground fighters. Does this really need an explanation? Hard-bodied. Warriors.
Sometimes half feral. Disciplined. Tortured. And HAWT!
4. Ugly
ducklings. Seeing how my fave movies are almost all from the 80’s, this
really isn’t shocking. What’s greater than the gangly, awkward, not-size-two
girl transforming into a brickhouse and winning her man? Or better yet, what’s
greater than the gangly, awkward, not-size-two girl winning her man with Lord of the Ring references, sexy
librarian glasses, and a wit that cuts like Sting? There goes that Lord of the Ring reference… Whether she
transforms into a swan or remains a duckling, I love reading about the underdog
landing her hero!
5. Fairy tales.
Cinderella. Sleeping Beauty. Snow White. Beauty and the Beast. These were the
stories we grew up on. The original happily-ever-afters. These were the tales
that made us dream, introduced us to princes and heroes, taught us about love
so strong and huge they conquered magical spells and evil witches. So books
that are based on them are my Easy Buttons. And auto buys.
Soooo speaking of fairy tales…
Beauty and the Bachelor, my new release from Entangled
Publishing’s Indulgence line, is based on Beauty and the Beast. When Sydney
Blake mistakenly bids on Lucas Oliver at a bachelor auction, she finds herself
at the mercy of the Beast of Bay Bridge. The enigmatic millionaire serves up a
little blackmail...followed by a marriage proposal Sydney has no choice but to
accept in order to save her father’s business and reputation—and freedom. Now
she’s engaged to a darkly handsome beast intent on destroying her entire
family...along with her heart.
Giveaway:
So tell me what is your fave fairy tale or
guilty pleasure! I’m giving away a $5.00 Amazon gift card to a commenter! All
right, dish with me!
Giveaway ends 11:59pm EST Aug. 12th. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email maureen@JustContemporaryRomance.com with a subject title of JCR GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway. There may be delays in announcing the winner of this giveaway.
Giveaway ends 11:59pm EST Aug. 12th. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email maureen@JustContemporaryRomance.com with a subject title of JCR GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway. There may be delays in announcing the winner of this giveaway.
Fave fairy tale has always been Beauty and the Beast (yes, I can recite the entire movie lol) so I'm looking forward to reading this book! There's always been something so compelling about it. It goes hand in hand with my love for Ugly Duckling stories. Or Geek to chic. Nerd heroes are my ultimate guilty pleasures!!
ReplyDeleteahui89 at hotmail dot com
Hi, Ada! Umm *raises hand with a guilty grin* yeah, I am right in there with you reciting Beauty and the Beast. LOL!! It's such a good movie though! And so romantic. *sigh* Ugly Duckling and Cinderella are right with my fave fairy tales, too. And love books based on them. And don't worry, your guilty pleasure about nerd heroes is safe with me. Hee-hee! And I hope you enjoy Beauty and the Bachelor!
DeleteSome of my book-related guilty pleasures are: older hero (at least 10 year age gap), super-intelligent hero with no social skills, and a marriage in trouble trope.
ReplyDeletenatalija(dot)shkomare(at)gmail(dot)com
Oh, Natalija (love your name, by the way! I might be stealing it!!), I'm with you on the intelligent hero with no social skills! They're always broody, and that's an Easy Button for me. :-D I just read a book with this kind of hero. It's Taking What's His by Jen McLaughlin/Diane Alberts. It was soooo good! I do love when the hero is older, but I think between 7 and 8 years are my limit---and they must be dominant. *lascivious grin* Thank you so much for coming by, Natalija!!
DeleteI guess Jack and the Beanstalk because I could always run away from the ogre. Couldn't always do that in real life....
ReplyDeleteHey, Laney!
DeleteOne of the things I love about books is we can create and change our own endings. Especially renditions of old stories. And we can live through them, even if it is fiction. I know when I read, I always find something to connect with in the hero or heroine. Whether it's if they are a survivor or over coming low-self-esteem or facing rejection and learning to love themselves. That's the beauty in books. And I don't know if you write, but penning your own version of Jack and the Beanstalk where the heroine (just 'cause I think a heroine named Jacqueline and called Jack for short would be awesome!!) escaped the ogres and defeated them would be a phenomenal idea! Matter-of-fact...you might want to write it first before I steal it. :-D Thank you so much for coming by and I'm sending you a fist bump!
I love stories about a widow with a child or two who falls in love with and ex-SEAL. SEAL stories draw me in because they always save the day. So he would, of course, save the woman and her children from their miserable life.
ReplyDeleteI love stories about a widow with a child or two who falls in love with and ex-SEAL. SEAL stories draw me in because they always save the day. So he would, of course, save the woman and her children from their miserable life.
ReplyDeleteI love books about any man who loves animals, and children, and would do anything to protect them. Love me some military men, firefighters,and cowboys! I think Cinderella would be my favorite fairy tale. The whole rags to riches thing would be nice! LOL
ReplyDeleteHi, Lea Ann!! *tackle hug*
DeleteD, all of the above. LOL!! One of my fave series is by Jo Davis about firefighters. It's sexy, and the men are courageous, honorable, and did I mention sexy? Hee-hee! Military men and cowboys have a soft spot in my heart definitely. Cinderella is one of my absolute favorite fairy tales! I love the rags to riches theme and that the poor, mistreated girl gets her man in the end. :-D And it's just so freakin' romantic!! LOL!! Thank yoouu, Lea Ann for coming through!
Hi, Jo-Anne!
ReplyDeleteI luvs me some ex-SEAL stories, too! Ex-military, period. They're so sexy as well as protective, fierce and warriors. And if they're tortured? Even better! :-D I enjoy writing about them for the same reasons. They make some of the best heroes! Thank you so much for visiting Jo-Anne!! :-D
I love so many types of romances... you get to meet so many characters and visit so many different locales... I really enjoy fairytale type books, Millionaires/ Billionaires, secret babies, mistaken identity, and oh so much more!
ReplyDeleteNot just another millionaire lover but secret babies, too?? Colleen, I think I'm crushing on you! LOL!! Everything you mention are auto-buys for me. Sigh. The great thing about loving all these tropes? There are so many authors and books to feed out habits! :-) This is one addiction Dr. Phil couldn't get me to agree to go to rehab for! LOL!! Thank you so much for visiting, Colleen!
DeleteHi Naima! Your new book sounds like it's right up my alley since I'm definitely on the Beauty and the Beast bandwagon! Growing up watching Disney movies, how can I not be a fan of fairy tales and HEAs? Between you and me, my guilty pleasures are reality music shows, like The Voice. *sheepish grin* Thanks for sharing your hot millionaire bachelor with us!
ReplyDeletethebigbluewall77 (AT) gmail (DOT) com
Hi, Anita! Rest assured what you said will remain between you and me...as long as no one bribes me with Symphony bars and Cherry Coke. Then things might get a little dicey. *snicker* I grew up watching Disney movies, too! My mom instilled the love of fairy tales in my and my sister's hearts, and Disney just keeps the passion going. Beauty and the Beast, the Little Mermaid, Cinderella...I even went and saw the latest Cinderella movie. I took my daughter, but honestly I would've went without her. LOL!! And it was wonderfuuul!! And between you and me? Not just The Voice but America's Best Dance Crew is suuuuch a guilty pleasure of mine. Hee-hee! Every week I'm glued to the TV. Thank you so much for coming by and letting me share my hot millionaire with you! :-D
Deletechocolate
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com
I luvs me some chocolate, too, bn100! Symphony bars, Snickers, Goobers...sigh. The list goes on and on, unfortunately. Hee-hee! Thank you for coming by and visiting!! :-D
DeleteSeriously, my guilty pleasure is reading, while munching on popcorn. Yeah, not always a good thing. But my favorite fairy tale is Cinderella. Not the evil family and cleaning parts, but the romance of the prince looking for her.
ReplyDeletekvmatlock at gmail dot com