Thursday Give Away
For today’s Thursday give away, we have Sarah MacLean’s latest, One Good Earl Deserves a Lover
Here’s the official blurb:
Lady Philippa Marbury is . . . odd.
The brilliant, bespectacled daughter of a double marquess cares more for books than balls, for science than the season, and for laboratories than love. She’s looking forward to marrying her simple fiancé and living out her days quietly with her dogs and her scientific experiments. But before that, Pippa has two weeks to experience all the rest—fourteen days to research the exciting parts of life. It’s not much time, and to do it right she needs a guide familiar with London’s darker corners.
She needs . . . a Scoundrel
She needs Cross, the clever, controlled partner in London’s most exclusive gaming hell, with a carefully crafted reputation for wickedness. But reputations often hide the darkest secrets, and when the unconventional Pippa boldly propositions him, seeking science without emotion, she threatens all he works to protect. He is tempted to give Pippa precisely what she wants . . . but the scoundrel is more than he seems, and it will take every ounce of his willpower to resist giving the lady more than she ever imagined.
Although One Good Earl Deserves a Lover
So, for a copy of One Good Earl Deserves a Lover
What book have you read that has that magical, special something that makes it particularly viscerally compelling to you?
The winner will be announced on Sunday. And One Good Earl Deserves a Lover
There were many books that were compelling to me… for example, Eloisa James’ A Kiss At Midnight, because Cinderella’s story is one of my favourites. But there was also Princess of the midnight ball, by Jessica Day George, a retelling of the 12 dancing princesses. I fell in love with this book! Absolutely!
There were your books too, that I just couldn’t put down until I read the last page.
And so many others, it’s hard to pick just one, or even two!
There has been a few! One that really stands out in my mind is The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. I was so drawn into his marvelous world that I rushed out and bought the other two books in the series before I was halfway through Golden Compass. Luckily I was on holiday, I spent four days straight reading. Lyrical, thought-provoking, deeply moving; those three books were compelling and fired my imagination. Definitely magical
This sounds wonderfully similar to Lady Iona’s Rebellon by Dorothy McFalls where the beautiful young and very proper daughter of a duke is being forced into an unwanted marriage. She balks and seeks the company of a long-time friend Lord Nathan who has lately been accused of being a libertine rake-hell. Lady Iona pleads with him to show her the wilder side of life as she takes incredible risks against her reputation. Meanwhile, the earl only wants to reform his naughty ways and tries to persuade her to not go where he has been. The amorous adventures are wildly hilarious and they discover an irresistible smoldering erotic attraction between them that nothing can quench.
A Wrinkle in Time.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Distant Hours by Kate Morton. The prose was just so beautiful, and the story so haunting, I just got lost in it. My favorite by that author so far.
I fully intend to read the rest of this book! I started it at least thrice over throughout 2012!! :/ Life distracted me, but evenso, within the first two chapters, like you… I was completely lost into that beautifully gothic lit world! I cannot wait to see what happens as the heart of the story unfolds…
Goddess by Mistake (years ago) and Spymaster’s Lady both reminded me why I fell in love with reading romance!
Goddess by Mistake and Spymaster’s Lady both reminded me why I fell in love with reading romance!
Hmm… I know there are many, but yet, so few come to mind. One of the first isn’t romance, but it’s still a book that got me started with all the books of the field that I proceeded to get since – A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. So, yep, totally different subject, but yeah, it is up there. And I feel so left out, still haven’t read Sarah’s books yet! 🙂
Lois
Quite a few have been compelling to me and with all different genres! I loved the Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson and Harry Potter books will always hold a special place in my heart. Mermaid: A Twist on the Classic Tale by Carolyn Turgeon was also a beautiful story as I love all things related to fairy tales 😀 Oooh and I can;t forget When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James!
Yes for Eloisa James and that book! Also for Susanna Kearsley. All that I have read have taken me to another place. Books I wanted to finish to get to the ending, but books I did not want to finish because I wanted to keep reading.
The Three Musketeers.
Goddess by Mistake and Spymaster’s Lady reminded me of why l fell in love with reading romance!
It’s so hard to choose just one! I really enjoyed the Nell Sweeney series by P.B. Ryan.
Rainbow Rowell’s Attachments, because all three main characters are me. Any book that I can see myself in the character… I guess I’m vain like that.
Alison Croggon’s Pellinor series. It’s utterly magical. It’s sort of set in a medieval-fantasy, but based off a true culture. I love the journey, how the girl grows from a simple slave to a powerful heroine. I love how throughout the books, before they enter a new city/town/landscape there’s this beautiful poetry about the place they enter. I even used a poem or two from the book in a high school poetry project.
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein.
OMG THAT BOOK!
Oh I love Sarah MacLean!
THE book for me would have to be ‘To Kill A Mockingbird.” First read it in high school (as everyone else I’m sure) and can still remember that quintessential line,
“In the secret court of men’s hearts, Atticus had no case.”
A Prayer for Owen Meany. So good!! And it makes me think of knew (and deep) things every time I read it
pride and prejduice
Yes 🙂
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and the rest of the series so far (I’ve read up through book 5.) 50 pages in it grabbed me and didn’t let go. I was in love with every aspect of it.
Ok, I know that it is one of those “blockbuster” series, but I really found the Hunger Games series to be compelling and I felt like I had been through a sort of war when I finished reading it. I also passionately argue with people who saw the movie, that the movie ending changes the entire meaning of the book! If I was still in college, I would write my thesis on this series because I think it has that much to work with.
So if you have been avoiding the Hunger Games because it is “trendy”, try it away.
Actually, I was avoiding this, due to how intense, dark, and violent I thought the book {err, series} was going to be!? Several friends want me to read this, but I thought it was too much for me to handle!? I’m BIG into Harry Potter, yet, some of the films, esp the last two nearly put me over the brink of what I could get through. Is the Hunger Games on the same level OR more intense than the most intense Harry Potter!?
If you were going to suggest it to someone, what other books/films based on books would you say, “If you can handle ?(this)? you can handle this!? If you say Twilight, your out of luck, that was out of my league! :/
Oh man, what a question. The ones that have stayed with me the longest (since I was 9) are Tamora Pierce’s Tortall series. But more recently, I’d say The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, East of Eden by the immortal Steinbeck, and Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde.
Tamora Pierce’s Tortall series was amazing! Still have my original copies 🙂
Do ya have a few hours? I remember buying Melissa Nathan’s Pride, prejudice and Jasmin Field for .50 at a book sale. I fell in LOVE with her and hunted down the rest of her books, only to have my heart broken when I found out that she had passed away so young. I still think that the world could have used some more Melissa. Another gal who speaks to me is Katie Fforde. I learn about something new with every book. She really gives different occupations and experiences a try before she hands them over to her characters, so she speaks from quarky experience. Good times.
Ella Enchanted and A Wrinkle in Time were the first books where I experienced the magic. I think a large part of that is that both protagonists are girls who have trouble fitting in because they are so smart and independent.
More recently, I’ve discovered Pat Conroy, through A Prince of Tides which has had a huge impact.
Love Sarah MacLean too! I’ve got to support my fellow Smithies!
Reading aloud the Harry Potter books to my daughter will always be the highlight of my reading life. We spoke in those characters’ voices for years!
Bridge of Birds, by Barry Hughart. It’s truly magical.
My all-time favorite book is Ragtime. I read it in college for a paper. I not only got a great grade on the paper, my professor left me a note saying I must have enjoyed the book.
Recently, The Night Circus was a book that I didn’t want to put down. And I’m working my way theough Wolf Hall as well.
I’m with Theresa in #5 – Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I want to fall into the world of that book and walk around in it.
So difficult to narrow it down to one book, but I guess for me it would have to be Vikram Seth’s A suitable boy. It’s a long book and the main thread of the story is about a young Indian girl’s quest for a husband. It’s set in the time when the partition between India and Pakistan was created and details the effect of this on families from different backgrounds and how it affects their relationships. It’s a beautifully written book, and I highly recommend it!
Argh. When people ask about my favorite book (or movie, or music) my mind goes blank! I should write stuff like this down when I have time to think so I’ll be prepared.
If we’re talking about romances, I’ll pick four:
–Valerie Fitzgerald’s Zemindar. I like that it has an imperfect H/h, sweeping historical setting, major trials, and second chances.
–Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander. This book changed the way I looked at romances. Not enough time to describe here what I love about this book.
–Sherry Thomas’s Not Quite a Husband. Flawed leads? Historical setting? Second chances? Check,check, check.
–Lisa Klepas’s Love in the Afternoon. In my view, romance perfection. Everything including humorous.
Now to check out other people’s picks.
Humor. (I really hate autocorrect sometimes.)
I loved The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and the Divergent series by Veronica Roth
The book that I haven’t been able to get out of my system is The Last Time I Saw Paris by Lynn Sheene. It absolutely captivated me and it took me months and many books to stop thinking about it all the time. It is about an American woman that ends up in Paris right before the Nazi occupation in WWII. She ends up working for the French Resistance, helping smuggle Jewish people out of Paris. This book presented such a realistic picture of humanity at its best and its worst that it really had an impact on me.
I read a book like this, only to be wrecked afterwards emotionally, but held on to pick up the next in the series… the opening chapter devasted me beyond repair, so I quit right then and there. However, if you want a book that focuses on how humanity and self sacriface played a part to do the greater good… I think you would appreciate this novel too: Vienna Prelude by Bodie Thoene. I simply had to let the story and the series go… for me, my emotions took over. I don’t mind emotonally convicting stories, but if you cannot walk away and see the light afterwards, it becomes too much.
*second attempt to post this comment* 🙁
I know the essence of what your asking us to respond too, but for the life of me, I cannot think of one book that has magical elements too it, but rather, I can list 3 books I’ve read over the past year that had *something!* inside them that swept me up into a new world… far from my own:
A Passion Most Pure, Daughters of Boston book 1 by Julie Lessman, which transplanted me into Boston during the time of World War I, 1916. The O’Connors are a family that you will not soon forget about long after you conclude this book, and run to a bookshoppe/library to pick up A Passion Redeemed which quite literally picks up after the first concludes! This saga literally picks me up and places me right where the heart of the action lies. And, I am always in happy spirits to return back to see how everyone’s life evolved or is evolving rather! 🙂
the Secret History of the Pink Carnation, your first Carnation series book! I was attempting to get into this series for a few years, but I finally decided, *this IS the year!* and once I picked it up, I couldn’t tell which sequence I appreciated more — being back in the folds of history and time, or present day London!? That’s a hard choice! Yet. I will always side on travelling back in time! I love how in modern times, your main character is researching everything through letters,… as being a letter writer myself, I find any story that involves letters one that touches my heart!
Having said all of that,… I would love to be caught up in a story where a woman has the brains and heart for science, but might need a bit of real world experiences to settle her yearnings for what she really wants and what she really needs. I’d love a chance to read this book, and so, here is my entry! And, for everyone mentioning science books… one of my favourites is Brain Greene’s the Elegant Universe, as much as Lucifer’s Legacy but I’m forgetting which scientist wrote it!? It involves the garden in France? I tend to drink in books on quantum physics like I do novels; as much as the lady who mentions Hawkings. For me A Wrinkle in Time elicpsed everything that I am on wonton precipation to find in the quantum world! 🙂
Magical books, hmm. The Cat’s Table (Michael Ondaatje), The Betrayal of the Blood Lily, and When You Reach Me (Rebecca Stead) come to mind.
Hmm. Diana Wynne Jones’ The Lives of Christopher Chant. I felt like it described how I dreamed. Later, while reading an Elizabeth Peters book I realized that I wanted the kind of life she wrote about, complete with funny romantic interest.