Literary Quote of the Month

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies," said Jojen. "The man who never reads lives only one." - George R.R. Martin, A Dance With Dragons

Sunday, February 14, 2016

The Sunday Salon and Perfect Valentines Day for Readers!

Welcome to The Sunday Salon! It's the day of the week we all gather virtually and talk books! And The Sunday Post, which is a weekly meme hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer, in which more bloggers share their bookish news!!And today is not only Sunday, but Valentine's Day as well! Happy Valentines Day! Any romantic plans for your day?! My dear hubby has bought tickets for us to go see Love Between the Covers, a documentary about the Romance publishing industry ! I really wanted to see this, but didn't think he'd be interested and it's only showing for one day - February 14th! So, without any hints or subtle emails sent his way, hubby saw this was going to be shown at our local art house theatre and bought the tickets! Yah! Here's the official trailer for the movie...
Love Between the Covers


Love Between the Covers is a feature-length documentary film about the little-known, surprisingly powerful community of women who read and write romance novels. Love stories are universal. Love stories are powerful.  And so are the women who write them. While romance novels and their signature covers are ubiquitous around the world, the global community of millions of women who read, write, and love them remains oddly invisible. Love Between the Covers is the fascinating story of five very different authors who invite us into a vast female community, running a powerhouse industry that’s on the cusp of an irreversible power shift.

And here's the blurb from The Palace Danbury (where I live)...

In the snooty world of books, romance is the bottom of the food chain! When it comes to the literary world, no one gets more grief than those who write or read romance fiction. Yet romance fiction grosses more than a billion dollars a year-- outselling mystery, sci-fi, and fantasy combined. The documentary, Love Between the Covers is the delightful film about the vast, funny, and savvy female community that has built a powerhouse industry out of telling love stories. Filmmaker Laurie Kahn followed the lives of romance authors as they built their businesses and earned a living doing what they love, while empowering others to do the same.

I'll let you know if I liked it next week, but in the meantime you can go to Lovebetweenthecovers.com to see if there is a screening of the movie coming YOUR way!

And what about a little romance on the pages?
Some of my favorite romance novels are ... Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (Oh, if you have not read this book YOU MUST READ IT!) The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, and Knight of Desire by Margaret Mallory. These are hot, but if you're looking for a bit more steam, Erotica may be your answer... Some names that come to mind are Lora Leigh, Maya Banks, Sylvia Day...

Rush by Maya Banks... Gab, Jace, and Ash: three of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the country. They’re accustomed to getting anything they want. Anything at all. For Gabe, it’s making one particular fantasy come true with a woman who was forbidden fruit. Now she’s ripe for the picking... When Gabe Hamilton saw Mia Crestwell walk into the ballroom for his hotel’s grand opening, he knew he was going to hell for what he had planned. After all, Mia is his best friend’s little sister. Except she’s not so little anymore. And Gabe has waited a long time to act on his desires. 

Part of a trilogy, with Gabe, Jace and Ash all getting their own stories, Rush is just book 1.

Forbidden Pleasure: 1 by Lora Leigh... John "Mac" McCoy gave up his membership to The Club a long time ago. Nothing gave him greater pleasure than to share his women with another male partner. That is, until he married Keiley Hardin. Tempting but innocent, sexy yet sweet, Mac knew Keiley would not be aroused by his desire to share her. But as his lust to fulfill his darkest fantasies burns hotter, Mac is bent on showing Keiley the pleasures that can only be found when two men love one woman.

This originally was published as a paperback many moons ago, but now it is only available as an eBook, in 3 parts. So, you can sample this sexy read a little at a time for $1.99 per part in Kindle, or buy all three parts at once for $5.95.

Pride and Pleasure by Sylvia Day... Wealth Has Its Dangers. . .There are disadvantages to being an heiress, as Eliza Martin knows well. Fortune hunters corner her, friends become opportunistic, and lately, someone is engineering "accidents" to propel her into marriage. Not one to be bullied, Eliza needs the right man to infiltrate the nest of suitors. . .So Do Certain Men. By all measures, Jasper Bond is the wrong man for the job. He can't dance, isn't known for his restraint, and his blood heats whenever he's near his latest employer. Eliza Martin insists no one will believe an intellectual like her could be seduced by a man of action like Jasper, but the combination of his desire and her mystery makes the case one he can't resist. Client satisfaction is a point of pride and it's his pleasure to prove he's just the man she needs after all. . 

I actually read this one in my reading group and loved it! Very sexy! The funny thing is, this cover is not the original cover, which resembles more of a victorian kind of woman, because the story is not a contemporary one. This cover seems to be trying to update it to modern times, but I think it's a bit deceptive. Loved the "older" cover! Definitely a good story behind the steam!

How about great stories featuring great "couples"?

Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan... The passionate and turbulent story of Robert Louis Stevenson and his tempestuous American wife, Fanny. A woman ahead of her time, Fanny does not immediately take to the young lawyer who longs to devote his life to literature, and who would eventually write such classics as Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In time, though, she succumbs to Stevenson's charms. The two begin a fierce love affair, marked by intense joy and harrowing darkness, which spans decades as they travel the world for the sake of his health. Eventually they settled in Samoa

Oh, I loved this book! It was one of my favorite books in 2014 and HERE is my original review. Fannie and Robert are intense!

Dracula in Love by Karen Essex... In this wonderfully transporting novel, award-winning author Karen Essex turns a timeless classic inside out, spinning a haunting, erotic, and suspenseful story of eternal love and possession. From the shadowy banks of the river Thames to the wild and windswept Yorkshire coast, Dracula’s eternal muse, Mina Murray, vividly recounts the intimate details of what really transpired between her and the Count—the joys and terrors of a passionate affair that has linked them through the centuries, and her rebellion against her own frightening preternatural powers. Mina’s version of this gothic vampire tale is a visceral journey into Victorian England’s dimly lit bedrooms, mist-filled cemeteries, and asylum chambers, revealing the dark secrets and mysteries locked within. Time falls away as she is swept into a mythical journey far beyond mortal comprehension, where she must finally make the decision she has been avoiding for almost a millennium.  

Oh how I love this book! It is sexy, hypnotic and delicious all at once! Count Dracula nd Mina have a love story that spans eternity! Read this if you haven't!

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green... Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green's most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love. Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

Hazel Grace and Augustus will have you rooting them on and at the same time you'll be crying your eyes out! I LOVED this book! What a wonderful couple and a heartbreaking beautiful story!

Hope you've found some interesting love stories here! 
And I hope you enjoy your Valentine's Day! 

In case you missed anything this week on Chick with Books...

Mon. Feb. 8th... Memoir Monday featured The Lovers by Rod Nordland

Fri. Feb. 12th...    First Lines Friday featuring The Expatriates by Janice Y.K. Lee

Sat. Feb. 13th... My Review of Concussion by Jeanne Marie Laskas

I don't think I can't possibly fit any more romance into one post, so I'll leave it here and you can share with me (and everyone who reads Chick with Books) what your favorite romance novels are! I'd love to hear about them!

Happy reading... Suzanne



9 comments:

Joy Weese Moll said...


Happy Valentine's Day! Love Between the Covers looks good -- thanks for sharing the trailer. Have a great time!

In honor of Valentine's Day, I'm reading Only a Promise by Mary Balogh, Book 5 of her Survivor's Club series of Regency era romances.

Shaz Goodwin said...

How fabulous that your hubby did that for you! I hope you've enjoy it.

Thank you for linking with #TalkoftheTown

Suzanne Yester said...

Hi Joy!
I love Mary Balogh! And I really enjoyed the movie too! I would highly recommend it! I also have a handful of new romance authors to try as a result of watching that movie too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Suzanne Yester said...

Hi Shaz!
Yes, Hubby was very nice to take me to a movie he obviously had little interest in. But, the movie was great! And even he found things to enjoy about it!

So glad I found Talk of the Town! Nice link up! And I love your personal blog!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

thecuecard said...

Hi Suzanne: Nice V-Day theme today. The documentary looks like good fun. Here I thought going out to dinner tonite with the Hub was good ....

Suzanne Yester said...

Hi Susan!
Dinner out would be wonderful, but we're not use to that minus 10 degree weather here in Connecticut, so we are in for the night! Actually it was -9 degrees at 6am and -25 with the windchill. Brrrrr!

Enjoy your dinner! And thanks for coming by!

P.S. The movie was great! You would enjoy it!

Rachel said...

Good for hubby. Wow, your mind was read. Hopefully you enjoyed the show!

Suzanne Yester said...

Hi H.L!
Hubby definitely knows me well! And the movie was great! I'm going to review it tomorrow on the blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

Heidi (Cosmochicklitan) said...

Love Between the Covers sounds brilliant. I hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day! I still haven't read the Fault in Our Stars (or seen the film). I really must get round to doing so soon. I have heard so many great things. Thanks for linking up to #TalkoftheTown!

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