Elton Hall Chronicles Series

You’ve gone to class with Violet, explored your options with Annabelle, and rode off into the sunset with Christie, but are you ready for all three of their stories in one amazing box set? The Elton Chronicles box set is available now on Amazon for only $.99 and it’s free on Kindle Unlimited.

Book One: First Semester

Violet is just a freshman, off on her first adventure, when she meets a man she dubs her “hipster Hercules”. He’s tall, dark, handsome, British…and her professor. But the heart wants what it wants and her heart sure as hell wants Professor Bernelli. However, someone isn’t too keen on keeping the two secret lovers hidden from the watchful eye of the dean and before she knows it, Violet is forced to fight for her relationship…and her life.

Book Two: Second Snowfall

Annabelle is a relationship virgin. True love has been her dream all her life and when red hot firefighter Kingsley drops into her lap, she thinks she might have found the one. But her heart really longs for another man, one that she can never have. And when her picture perfect romance begins to crack, Annabelle is left to pick up the pieces…before it’s too late.

Book Three: Third Wheel

Christ has her life all planned out. First she’ll graduate college, then marry her childhood sweetheart, and live happily ever after in the traditional American Dream….the traditional, boring American Dream. Christie breaks all the rules and even meets a boy who sets her soul on fire. But life with street racer Shane has its dangers and she’s about to learn first hand that living on the edge isn’t easy.

• Order First Semester in ebook or paperback HERE
• Order Second Snowfall in ebook or paperback HERE
• Order Third Wheel in ebook or paperback HERE

Or if you want to get the whole series in a neat, little package, you can preorder the boxset HERE now!

Walking in Fire

This book has been sitting in my kindle, waiting to be read for quite some time. But between work, a toddler, and editing my own books, I’ve been terrible neglectful. However, I finally got some time to crack open this lovely read, and let’s just say that it brightened my weekend.

Heat Level: ♥♥♥♥

Overall Rating: 6/6 Glass Slippers

Genre: Paranormal Vacation Romance

Freckle faced Melia Carson is the first star we truly meet. She’s a young chef and terribly likable, but also terribly heartbroken. She hopes that the warm waters and pure sands of Kona can heal it…or maybe the hot Polynesian man with the golden, tattooed skin would have a better chance of doing in. She sure as hell would let him try, if only she thought the Hawaiian god of a man would be interested.

David “Malu” Ho’omalu isn’t cruising the island looking for mainland babes on vacation, something he has no problem finding. He’s on a mission to save his people, and plans on using his special skills in order to accomplish his task. Drugs have invaded his peaceful domain and the help of one magnetic, freckled tourist may help him stop the deadly invasion before it’s too late…and maybe help him clear his name in the process.

I enjoy a bit of history and facts with my story, when the plot allows, and it’s clear that Cade has done her research about Hawaiian customs and language. While the location is made up, you still get the feel of the islands with every page. Including the language and culture was done, most importantly, in a very respectful manner.

Overall, this book was literally the perfect one to take to the beach. Why not sit on the sand alongside Melia or swim in turquoise water with Malu, who in my head looks exactly like Jason Momoa? But if you aren’t living seaside, you certainly feel it when you read Walking in Fire. But beside the beautiful scenery, there’s a lot of action and intrigue, making it a bit different than the usual (hot vacation spot+hot guy+hot sex=hot romance). It goes a bit deeper, something I can’t find any issue with! So pick up a copy HERE and enjoy your vacation.

The History Behind ‘The White Queen’

I’ve been a huge fan of Philipa Gregory for a long time. I loved how she was able to use history, legend, gossip, and lore to make enthralling books. With all the hype that the show version of The White Princess is getting, I wanted to go back through my notes and talk about both books/shows and the true history that inspired them! We’ll go into The White Queen first and then delve into The White Princess…

Melusine

Melusine is a mythical mermaid-like creature that exists in various European folklore, but exists mainly France. Historically, the Luxembourg family is one of many who claims ancestry from Melusine. It fed into the thought that Jacquetta claimed strong heritage from Melusine, as well as mystical powers. The fact that a text of the tale of Melusine was found in her personal collection didn’t help matters, but seeing as it was a popular story of love and loss, it wasn’t rare and her involvement in the legend is probably very much exaggerated.

To give you a short version of the legend of Melusine, she was a beautiful half woman and half mermaid/serpent that only took on her mythological form once a week. A man hunting came upon her and offered her marriage. She accepted as long as he would leave her alone in total privacy once a week to bathe. For a time, they were happy, but the man soon grew too curious and spied on his wife, seeing her true form. Enraged, Melusine flew from the castle, never to be seen again, although she still thought of herself as the protector of her family and would wail when a member passed and help them if she could.

BTW Does this double tailed beauty look familiar? If you’re a coffee drinker like I am, you’ll recognize her as the Starbucks mermaid. Think about that next time you stop for your morning cup.

Jacquetta of Luxembourg

The Luxembourg family is an old French one, claiming lineage from the fabled Melusine. Jacquetta had many royal ties in different countries due to her high birth, and her first marriage was to a son of King Henry IV of England. They had no children by the time he died two years later, leaving Jacquetta a young and extremely wealthy duchess. As her title made her the second most powerful woman in the English court, next to the queen, she could have had her choice of husbands…

Lowly English knight Richard Woodville was tasked by the king to bring the newly widowed Jacquetta to court. But the pair fell in love. Despite it being illegal due to their difference in status and their refusal to wait for royal permission, they still married in secret. When it came out, no one could really be the mad, and they were merely fined. But Jacquetta was BFFs with Henry’s queen Margaret and Margaret made sure Richard got a title to put him on more even footing with his wife. So, he became Earl Rivers and the Lord High Treasurer.

Jacquetta and Richard had 14 children during their marriage, including “The White Queen”, Elizabeth. As she, obviously, made sure her children received titles, position, and even a crown, she was thought to be a witch by many. Most notably, she was accused of using sorcery to seduce King Edward into the bed of her daughter Elizabeth. While the charges were later dropped due to lack of evidence, the gossip followed her until her death…and followed her daughter for the entirety of her life as well.

Elizabeth Woodville

Born around 1347 to a well respected genteel family. She married first to a man who died a Lancaster supporter, leaving her a widowed mother of two sons. Luckily, she was still young enough to marry again and was “the most beautiful woman in the isle of Britain…with heavy lidded eyes like those of a dragon.” Might not sound like a compliment, but it totally was. If it wasn’t for being named a Lancastrian traitor, the obviously fertile mother of two boys could have married again easily. But it was almost lucky for Elizabeth that she wasn’t one to hop on the first man who came by her home. No, Elizabeth had her sights set on a man worthy of her.

Anyway, historians can’t agree as to how Elizabeth met the young King Edward IV, although the general lore says that Elizabeth dressed plainly and waited by the side of the road for Edward to pass with her two sons. Her original plan is said to have been to merely receive some sort of pardon for her dead husband (who fought and died after fighting against Edward and his York army, thus losing his wealth). But when Edward saw her, he was taken by her innocence, her maternal glow, and the graceful elegance she held even when not decked out in jewels. Edward wanted Elizabeth and would do anything to have her, even defy his family and his advisers to marry her in secret.

They had a strong marriage where 10 children were born and no matter what mistresses Edward took, he always came back to his wife. Again, not suuuuper romantic, but there weren’t many kings out there without a bevy of mistresses, and at least Edward actually did love Elizabeth. Their marriage is said to be one of the early examples of true love in a royal marriage. But her ability to sway the gaze of a king and make herself his queen made some believe that she was witch, just like her mama.

Edward IV

Yeah, not the glowing blonde god we saw in the show, but for a guy back then, he was the Jake Gyllenhaal of his time. He is noted as being “a man so vigorous and handsome that he might have been made for the pleasures of the flesh”. His hot bod got him at least 15 children that history knows of, but I’m guessing there were more little Eddies stashed around England. For Edward, he was born in France, the oldest living son of Richard of York, who believed he was the true king of England….Well, he might have been, or he might have been the illegitimate product of an affair by his mother. That story was drug up throughout his reign, and even after his death, to weaken his claim to the throne as well as that of his children’s. No matter who is daddy was, Edward really took the York mission to heart and fought to become the first York king of England…and the tallest one in history! He and his two brothers were known as the three suns in the sky and the three sons of York.

As I’ve said, he spied Elizabeth and her boys and thought she’d make a hell of a wife. She was a bit older and not a princess like he “should” have wed, but when Edward wanted something, he was sure to get it. Besides, the fact that she was obviously capable of birthing children mainly sons, was particularly attractive. So he put a ring on it and made her his queen. It ended up that the ex-Lancaster supporter was well loved but the people! Elizabeth’s 12 unmarried sisters soon found top notch marriages and Edward was basically surrounded by his in-laws. Much of the other nobility was angry, but Edward told them to shut up or shove off.

There was some rebellion against Edward’s reign, sometimes headed by his own brother George, but there was no other strong claim to the throne besides a little guy named Henry Tudor who was living in exile. The rest of Edward’s short life kept him in power and when he died at the age of 40, he made his brother, Richard, the protector of England until his son Edward could be crowned.

Richard III

Spoiler alert! Prince Edward (now known as lil’Edward) was never crowned and Richard became king. When King Edward died, he thought his little brother Richard would keep his crown safe for his son, but he was super wrong. Richard placed his nephew in the Tower of London to await the coronation that would never come.

To take the crown, he began by ousting the Woodvilles from power, imprisoning the men and forcing the women into hiding. Queen Elizabeth herself went into sanctuary with her daughters and youngest son Richard (now known as lil’Richard) while Richard worked on making her marriage to King Edward illegitimate, thus ruining lil’Edward’s claim to the throne. He ended up imprisoning both boys in the tower, where they never left (more on that later).

Richard finally got his just desserts when he was killed in battle by Henry Tutor’s forces at the age of 32. Recently, his battered bones were found in during construction and it was found that he did have uneven shoulders and a curvature of the spine as many have said. He was also found to have been mutilated before being unceremoniously dumped in a ditch. While he wasn’t a handsome man in his prime, it’s a wonder that he was able to start some kind of relationship with his niece Elizabeth of York..but that’s a tale for my next post.

The Princes in the Tower

Once lil’Edward was already in The Tower of London “for his safety”, Richard plucked lil’Richard from sanctuary and had him join his brother. Over the next few months, Richard was made king, Elizabeth and Edward’s marriage was made illegitimate, and the boys were seen less and less until they were never seen again.

It is widely accepted that Richard had a hand in the boy’s disappearance and even at the time he was thought to be the murderer, well that he ordered it anyway. With them out of the picture, he thought there wouldn’t be any issue with him retaining the throne.

But there’s another theory that at least one of the boys survived. Now Elizabeth Woodville was a smart woman and knew how hard it had been for Edward to keep his throne. She knew that if she let lil’Richard go to the tower like lil’Edward, he would never come back. It’s thought that she was able to smuggle lil’Richard out of sanctuary to take a new identity with a trusted family and replaced him with a local boy. For years afterwards, several people came forward claiming to be the lost prince, but none was ever confirmed. Since then, two sets of children’s skeletons have been found, but neither have been tested. So it’s possible that we will never know what happened to Elizabeth’s sons.

♦♦♦

I hope you found this little look into the world of The White Queen fun and informative. I’ll be working on something for The White Princess soon, so keep checking back for more historical fun! And if Scottish history is your thing, read some historical articles with a fun twist on our Outlander page HERE!

If you enjoyed this write up, you’ll probably love my book, Queen of Emeralds! It’s a historic romance set in the highlands that you can get HERE in paperback, ebook, or free on kindle unlimited!

Their Confession

It’s finally here! The third and final installment of Sophia Valentine’s Black Door Trilogy, Their Confession. I’ve read and reviewed the first two, His Confession and Her Confession, and really enjoyed both. So grab all three on Amazon if you’re into spicy spring reads.

Heat Level:♥♥♥♥♥♥

Overall Rating: 6/6 Glass Slippers

Genre: Erotic Romance

Gabrielle and Darion have been through a lot, but it seems that Darion has truly decided to be a one woman man. He’s left behind his scandalous life at the club in favor for something more mainstream with Gabrielle. In fact, he ditches it all together just to be the man he thinks she wants and deserves. But she fears that the easy life won’t be enough to keep him satisfied in the long run.

Still, the pair work together to keep the spark alive, which seems to be no problem for the two of them! They can barely keep their eyes, and hands, off each other. Still, the insecurities Gabrielle feels seem to never let her rest. Darion’s inability to be completely emotionally available, thanks to his ex-wife, doesn’t help things either. And when Gabrielel finally learns Darion’s biggest secret yet, will it be too much for her to take?

Ugh, I love a good trilogy and Valentine did not disappoint. There was steamy sex, passionate love, and the heartbreak of insecurity that felt very real. I think it’s great when characters are allowed to be fully fleshed out over time so you can feel more of their emotions when you real.

Much like when I finish any series, I’m a little sad that it’s done. The red carpets of the club have been rolled up for me and I’m no longer on Darion’s list! But if you didn’t have the change to read The Black Door Trilogy, you can be a VIP now and experience all the forbidden has to offer.

The Way To Her Heart

Here’s a new one for you; a twisted teen drama with a dash of romance and killer cooking skills. The Way To Her Heart by Amy Reece really gets down and dirty with what it’s like growing up in a troubled home and the complicated ways young relationships can pull at a couple. I wasn’t sure what I was going to get, going in, but I was more than pleasantly surprised.

Heat Level:♥

Overall Rating: 6/6 Glass Slippers

Genre: Suspenseful Teen Romance

Bernie lives a tough life. The only child of a drug addict mother with a long list of boyfriends, she often leans on her friend Gabby for support through the hard times. But, Gabby’s been hanging with an increasingly sketchy crowd and, when she goes missing, everyone seems to think that she’s just run away. However Bernie, who now lives in her car after one of her mom’s boyfriend’s gets too handsy, thinks there’s something more going on, and no one will listen to her.

Josh has been paired with Bernie for a class assignment. The pair will act as a married couple, something Josh doesn’t find unappealing. However, he did have something keeping him away from his fake wife, his real girlfriend, Kayleigh. He also has a lot of pain in his life; a series of tragic deaths have left him wounded and unable to relate easily to his peers, something he used to excel at as a rich, former, football player.

They are woven into each others lives through a series of events that force them together. Well, maybe ‘force’ is the wrong choice of words. They need each other for the events ahead. Gabby’s still missing, Bernie’s mom is still a mess, and high school is tough when you’re just trying to get by until graduation. Together they make an odd, but still strangely complimentary, pair. Both have secrets and darkness in their lives, and work hard to appear strong on the outside.

Reece was able to put real feeling into her characters and highlight the growing epidemic of missing, and homeless, children. It’s not very often you read a book to be entertained and come out of it with a lesson. There’s also a nice little addition in the end of the book. You see, Josh is a passionate cook and Reece has added a lovely little recipe section in the back that features all of Josh’s best dishes. Certainly a tasty read.