WICKED LITTLE SECRETS! A Review by Tina

Smart, sexy fun -- if you love characters with wit, charm, and a certain predilection for trouble, then hie thee to the bookstore and grab  this novel. Dashiell is a rake of the highest order, but he's got a heart of gold in that fantastic chest of his, and while it beats with a hunter's zeal for all things archaeological, his truest and most unrequited passion is for Vivienne. Clever, desperate and most sweetly conniving, Vivienne tries to crush her own passions in order to be a Victorian good girl -- the only way she can see out of her particular predicament being to land a solid husband -- but her spirit proves uncrushable, especially her own feelings for her rakehell neighbor Dashiell. A ripping good plot -- blackmail! murder! brothels! -- and two irresistible leads make this one well deserving of its place on the Best of 2013 lists, including Barnes and Noble's Romance list (which you can read here).

Happy Release Day WICKED LITTLE SECRETS!

IT'S HERE! IT'S OUT! GO GET YOURS!

(or better yet, leave a comment telling us your favorite funny fictional character and we'll enter you in a drawing for YOUR VERY OWN FREE COPY! Thanks to Susanna Ives for the giveaway!) 

"With Wicked Little Secrets' intriguing plot, quirky characters, witty escapades and heartfelt dialogue, Ives has created a read that's as thought-provoking as it is romantic. 4 1/2 Stars" -- 2013 RT Reviewer's Choice Best Book Awards - First Historical Romance Nominee

"Vivienne and Dashiell are joyfully silly, but deft sensuality and love turn the novel -- crooning, cross-dressed hero and all -- into a love story that is a pleasure to read." -- Eloisa James' Best of 2013 list in the Barnes and Noble Review - Reading Romance column.

The Twelve Days of WICKED LITTLE SECRETS: The Twelfth Day

On the twelfth day of Wicked Little Secrets, my true love gave to me . . .

Twelve Tastefully Erotic Masterpieces!

On the wall above them was a massive painting of a lady with moonlit skin and honey-colored hair reposing on the gentle waves of a blue silk sheet. One hand rested behind her head, while the dainty fingers of her other hand entwined the fine curls of her most feminine area. Her breasts were round and more than a little generous. Yet to Vivienne, the most scandalous detail of this painting wasn’t the tantalizing breasts or the slight parting of the lady’s limbs, but the enticing smile on her lips as she gazed boldly at the viewer.

The Twelve Days of WICKED LITTLE SECRETS: The Eleventh Day

On the eleventh day of Wicked Little Secrets, my true love gave to me . . .

Eleven Intellectual Societies for Women ONLY!

 “My friend Amelia Stone is visiting. A brilliant, brilliant writer and fellow member of the Society for Educated Ladies in the Fields of Literature, Science, and History. We meet here every Thursday. You should come.”

“I would love to,” Dashiell answered.

“Don’t you dare attend that meeting, Dashiell,” Katherine barked. “I invited Miss Taylor, who I can tell is excessively intelligent despite her association with you.” She patted Vivienne’s arm and began to lead her up the stairs. “Anyway, Amelia is writing an article about women who are attracted to terrible men, such as Dashiell. She believes women possess wild, dark natures that male-dominated society has sought to stifle. She says some women express these stunted desires upon rakish men.” She glanced over her shoulder at her cousin. “Well, don’t just loiter about down there, Dashiell.”

“Yes, do hurry up. We’re waiting on you,” Vivienne admonished in her sweet voice, pursing her lips to repress her laughter. Saucy minx. 

“Are you going to express your stunted desires on me?” he asked.

The Twelve Days of WICKED LITTLE SECRETS: The Tenth Day

On the tenth day of Wicked Little Secrets, my true love gave to me . . .

Ten Deranged Cockatoos! 

 A blur of white and pink flashed before Dashiell’s eyes. A fluffy Cockatoo landed on Fontaine’s shoulder. Twisting its head, the bird studied Dashiell with one black, round eye. Then it opened its beak, stuck out a stubby, red tongue and hissed, bouncing up and down. “Frederick, stop that,” she gently admonished, as she soothed its feathers. “Please excuse him. He doesn’t like men. I don’t know why.”

The nervous bird edged across Fontaine’s shoulder and put its beak near her ear. “I love you. I love you,” he cawed.

“I know you do, my darling,” Fontaine cooed to the bird.

Shop Small! SAFE IN YOUR HEAD by Laura Valeri

I know Laura -- she is awesome and generous and talented, and I'm not the only one saying this. Her latest collection of short stories, Safe in Your Head, was published this year by Stephen F. Austin University Press.  Here's what I said about it:

The stories in Safe in Your Head are pure conjuration, a trick of light and magic, words woven and weaving, piercing the veil between. Which is one of this book's recurrent themes -- the power of story to transcend even fact or truth, to become them after a while -- all of it tied to loss and grief, all of it leavened by the raw beauty of Valeri's words. History is permeable, chimerical, but is it ultimately knowable? As a reader, your perception shifts with each new story, each new voice, all of it becoming more than the sum of its parts. There are spells and recipes and dreams and shifting time, and I enjoyed every second I spent in these pages.

You can order them through Amazon -- here's the link -- but even better, go to your local independent bookstore and ask for it. You'll be doing the world a good deed.