Blog Tour - Blackmoore

I am extremely excited to be participating in the blog tour for Julianne Donaldson's newest book, Blackmoore.  I loved her first novel, Edenbrooke (in fact, I gave it a starred review here!) so much that I VOWED to be part of the blog tour for her next "Proper Romance" if it was humanly possible...and here we are, LOL. 

Blackmoore is the newest book in Shadow Mountain Publishing's A Proper Romance brand. 

A Proper Romance indicates a clean, smart, engaging, romantic story that will never embarass the reader. Now, I am not one to pass up any type of romance when I'm in the right mood, but I love the elegance and timelessness of the Proper Romance books.  They feel like absolutely anyone could read and enjoy them and I personally will recommend anything that Julianne Donaldson writes!

So, let's talk more about Blackmoore! 

Kate Worthington knows she can never have her heart’s desire and so believes she will never marry. But Kate’s meddlesome mother has other plans. Kate journeys to the stately manor of Blackmoore on the cliffs above the seashore, where she must face the truth and the man that has kept her heart captive.

Set in northern England, Blackmoore is a Regency romance that tells the story of a young woman struggling to learn to follow her heart. With hints of Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters, Blackmoore is a page-turning tale of romance, intrigue and devotion.

Once again, Donaldson won my heart.  I thoroughly enjoyed this romance.  Told through a series of flashbacks, readers get to see Kate's history unfold.  Learning the sordid truth about her older sister and her mother's scheming, scandalous ways... learning about how she lost her heart to the one man she can't have... 

This book actually reminded me a little of Austen's Pride and Prejudice. The intelligent, talented daughter with bigger dreams than just following her mother's wishes of a "good" marriage. As Kate must deal with laughable suitors, an embarassing family, and having to see the man that she doesn't want to admit she loves, she also fights to break free of the life she sees herself imprisoned within.  Her pluck and determination are admirable.  Kate's story grabbed my heartstrings and simply wouldn't let go.  

When I finished the book, I found myself sighing aloud and already mentally counting down until another is announced.  To me, that is the ultimate test...and Blackmoore passed with flying colors! 

Want to learn more about Julianne Donaldson and Blackmoore?

You can visit the following places: 

Julianne's Blog

Julianne's facebook page

Julianne's twitter (@AuthorJulianne)

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Goodreads

Blackmoore Blog Tour page


Full disclosure: Review copy received from publisher for blog tour 

My (*REALLY Belated) BEA 12 Wrap-Up Post...and a Giveaway!

Well...this is long overdue, but I've just been seriously overwhelmed lately.  Today is the first day since BEA that I really felt up to tackling a post of this size...

Anyway, on June 6th - ages ago, now!- I went into New York City to attend Book Expo America...my favorite day of the entire year.  I seriously love the experience every time I go. 

This year, I got up at 3:20a.m. so that I could drive down to the train station to meet my friend, Kim, and take the earliest train possible (well, for us anyway...) into the city in time to make the Children's Author Breakfast.  We got there in plenty of time so that Kim could check her roll-y bag, we picked out our seats (next year, we vowed to pay for the real breakfast table seats) and even got to chat with other Librarian friends before it started. I was super excited to catch up with my CT Librarians like Andrea, Kristi, and Heather!!  <3

If you want to read all about the Children's Author Breakfast (and I think you should - Chris Colfer moderated and it was amazing!!),  you can check out the write up I did for YALSA's The Hub. 

After the breakfast, Miss Kim and I were forced to split up. There is just so much to do and we had different things we desperately wanted to hit during the day. Of course, the first thing I wanted to do was get a signed copy of Throne of Glass by Sarah Maas, so I waited in line for more than an hour right off the bat. 

Having learned from going the last three years, I usually make a plan of things I'd like to do at BEA and then I  kind of take the day as it comes. While this year I did go in with certain signings that I *HAD* to attend, I  also made a point to give myself plenty of time to walk around and talk to the different people at Publishers' Booths. This worked out just great, as I was able to hand my blog card out to several different  people and I picked up some ARCs I never would have grabbed, based on the publisher's rep's recommendations. 

Alright, want to see what I got?

I was beyond excited to grab one of Chris Colfer's ARCs from the Children's Author Breakfast (bottom of the pile)! It came in the cutest little box, too. Another one I refused to leave BEA without was a signed copy of Diana Peterfreund's For Darkness Shows the Stars. That was a must-grab for me!!  I  was also super excited to meet Jonathan Maberry in person and to get a signed copy of  Rot and Ruin. 

I was so happy to grab Libba Bray's The Diviners, too! Miss Kim grabbed a copy of Prodigy for me (Thank you!!) and I picked up several others I can't wait to read.  :)

Throughout the day, I met tons of authors, which is always one of my favorite things about all of BEA. I have to say this year's highlights included having Julianne Donaldson (Edenbrooke) and her publisher recognize me from the blog tour and then getting to have a real-life one on one conversation with JOHN GREEN!  Yes, the John Green.  He thanked me for being a Librarian and working every day to connect kids to books. So, of course, I thanked him for writing such great books for us to connect them to!!  (Awesome moment!)

Overall it was a great, and exhausting day. I made new contacts, caught up with old friends, and got a whole pile of books that it will probably take me a whole 'nother year to plow through, LOL.

How would you like some spoils from my efforts at BEA? I grabbed a couple extra ARCs and decided to give them away!  :D 

I have an extra copy of Jessica Khoury's Origin and Sharon Cameron's The Dark Unwinding. (If you click  on each title, it will take you to the Goodreads page for each book, where you can find a description) 

If  you would like to enter to win *both* these ARCs, please leave me a comment below  before Wed., June 27th. Please include your email address, too, so that if your name is chosen by Random.org on Thurs, June 28th, I can get in touch with you to get your mailing address  (US only, sorry!).   The winner will have until  Sunday, July 1st to get me their mailing address or I will pick a new winner.  GOOD LUCK!!