I got my author copies so wheee! This one comes out December 11 and it’s a holiday themed red hot. Wanna win an ARC? Easy enough - just reply to me with your favorite type of romance set up and a book or movie with it that you love. For instance, this one is friends to lovers with that hot guy crush you’ve had since you were twelve. I’ll choose a winner at random on Sunday the 9th at noon pacific!
Blurb:
Since she could pick up a pencil, Belle Taylor has used lists and charts to map out her life. When she achieves a goal, she marks it off her to do list. Simple. But now, just steps away from her corner-office, name-on-the-letterhead goal, she realizes that the life she thought she wanted may come at too high a price.
Exhausted, she retreats home for Christmas vacation to rethink her life, complete with all-new lists. What she hadn’t expected is Rafe Bettencourt, her brother’s best friend, the man who she thought only saw her as a pesky younger sister. But when he kisses her under the mistletoe, Belle finds herself with a whole new set of goals to balance with what she thought she always wanted.
Rafe knows Belle is trying to figure out what to do with her life. He also knows he’s done loving her from afar, and he’s not beneath making it as hard as possible for her to choose to return to San Francisco.
Because Rafe can make to-do lists too—and his plan is to seduce Belle back home where she belongs. At his side. And in his bed.
TO DO LIST BY LAUREN DANE
Copyright 2007, Lauren Dane
All Rights Reserved, Samhain Publishing
Releasing December 11~
He heard her muttering and tapped on her door. When she opened it, she stood there tousled and holding a legal pad and three different colored pens.
“Hi.”
“Hi there. You want to come in?” She stood back and he took the bottle of tequila and the shot glasses in with him.
“You look stressed. I say we do a few shots, make out a lot, you let me get to, oh say third base and we call it a night.”
Her brow furrowed and the cutest little line etched between her eyes. “Really?”
“Belle Taylor, I know you’re not offended. You get a totally different look on your face when you’re offended. Why are you confused?” He put the bottle and glasses down before tossing himself on the bed.
She put the pad on the desk on the far side of the room and lined her pens up, horizontally, one by one, in a neat and orderly row. Then she exhaled and pursed the lips he knew tasted like heaven.
“I’m confused because you’ve always treated me like Brian’s pesky little sister and tonight out of the blue you kiss me and then tease me and talk about sex and show up in my room and suggest third base!”
“I did indeed. I’d suggest more but I want to drag that out. At least for another day or so.” He laughed, loving the way she snorted at him.
“I could use a drink. Move over. Jeez, you’re a bed hog.” She smoothed out the blankets before she sat. “What? No salt or lime?”
“If I had it, you could lick it off my belly.” Wait, that wasn’t a tease, that sounded just fine to him as a matter of fact.
“Well do you?” One of her regal eyebrows slid upward and her mouth struggled against a smile.
He sat up and filled both glasses with the tawny liquid. “Go on, you first. God knows you look like you could use it.” He could too after her little tease.
She took the glass and drained it, her eyes watering a bit as she wiped her mouth on the back of her hand very characteristically.
“Belle Taylor, did you just wipe tequila off your mouth with the back of your hand like, oh I don’t know, like me?” He laughed before doing the same thing and refilling their glasses.
“When does the kissing start?” Her eyes widened and she quickly drained the next shot. “Crap, I can’t even blame that on the alcohol yet.”
“You want another?”
“Why not?”
ARC WINNER: The winner of the ARC Contest is - Stefanie D!! Stefanie, email me and let me know what format you’d like and I’ll get the book your way.
December 7th, 2007 at 9:51 am
Great excerpt. I like the friends to lovers concept and the falling in love with older brother’s best friend concept.
December 7th, 2007 at 11:41 am
I liked the set up in the movie Nottinghill, falling in love isn’t about the money, it’s about the heart.
December 7th, 2007 at 11:48 am
Cathy M. Nottinghill is one of my all time favorite movies.
I like the friend to lovers concept. My husband and I were actually friends. We were friends in high school but never would have thought to date then. Eight years after we graduated we ran into each other and well now were married.
The excerpt is great! This sounds like a very fun book Lauren!!!!
December 7th, 2007 at 11:50 am
Long-time crush, friends to lovers, love from afar… those are all great plot devices. I love those.
December 7th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
This looks so great! Hmm my favorite premise… I always love a kidnapping book. Don’t ask me why. It works in any genre and is just hooooot.
December 7th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
I love reuniting past loves, or bringing people together who were antagonists. Heh, both stories I’m working on have these themes.
December 7th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
I like romances that have to do with fate/luck.
December 7th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
I like stories where the brainy heroine must work together with the hot government agent/soldier to stop a terrorist and save the world.
December 7th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
I love a good were story! really alpha male… but the girl cant be a push over either. She has to make him work for it!!
as for the real world lol… my favorite thing is alone time with the hubby with two special needs children that is not something that happens often so when it does it is very special
December 7th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
I also like the friends to lovers stories.
December 7th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Some of my favorites are the friends to lovers, the cinderella story and the type where the hero and heroine must work together to save their world.
December 7th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
Favorite set-up has to be when h/h start with mis-conceptions/-perceptions about each other, only to realize they no one suits them better. Some of my favorite examples (movies only because I can’t think of any specific books right now): 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU, THE BREAKFAST CLUB (Molly Ringwald and Judd Nelson’s characters), and YOU’VE GOT MAIL.
Ooo, just thought of a book: BEAUTY QUEEN by Julia London.
December 7th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
Argh, please strike “they” from preceding comment.
December 7th, 2007 at 5:14 pm
ive been thru ever kinda of genre there is in romance
irland, native amaericans, now im really into paranormal or suspsene
so wouol dlove to win a arc of this!!!!! times a changing
plus my mail man must like your pens or really hate me, either missiing ,(1ist time i sent for one, and 2nd time, it came in crushed!)
December 7th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
I love the friends to lovers & reunion stories. Can’t really think of any movie though! The excerpt was great.
December 7th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
I’m a sucker for twisted love, like Romeo and Juliet, or weirdos like in Natural Born Killers, or even better, a dark bad bad world and two people who fall completely in love, like the Neo/Trinity romance. Their condition almost dooms them, but they fall in love anyway.
December 7th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
lol my first boyfriend was first one of my bff. Thank good we decided to stay friends and let the other stuff go. I would have killed him long ago.
December 7th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
I love all genres. But I love lovers reunited. Or even unrequited love that is able to finally work it self out. Or even books about total opposites. Moonstruck or Affair to Remember
December 7th, 2007 at 10:01 pm
hmm i love variety so its hard to pick one.. i adore the old flames reunited after separations theme, but there must be some tension of course…lol.. as for movies or books. .well i adore Sarah Mccartys Promises series.. movies? well i dont do alot of that but if Gone With the Wind is on..i must watch. the tension in those romances is awesome..
December 8th, 2007 at 12:38 am
Friends to lovers are ok but my favorites are more strangers, like Jane Austen movies or Dirty Dancing…
December 8th, 2007 at 6:34 am
I also love Dirty Dancing!!!
What I like to read about, is love at first sight. Even more so if they don’t recognise the feeling. There are many books about love at first sight, but I just can’t think of one right now. :/
December 8th, 2007 at 7:57 am
I am trying again!!!!!!!!!! I like rekindled romance and older women, youynger men.
hugs ld.
~~h
December 8th, 2007 at 10:43 am
Since you’re releasing a red hot, I’m choosing alien sex as my theme. You can get away with a lot of stuff with that- anything goes (and often does) heh heh heh! My favorites this year are Zandia by Tilly Greene and Kidnapped and Spanked by an Alien by Pierce. Love it when other worlds are explored. My favorites are by Marly Chance. If any of you have read her, you’ve been waiting years for the third “Oath” book to come out.
December 8th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
My favorite theme is beauty and the beast. I suppose my favorite book on this theme would be Lord of Scoundrels. Amazingly this theme has been a favorite since I was a little girl.
December 8th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
I have to say, I’m a *huge* sucker for friends to lovers - and… for some reason the secretary/boss ones too. Maybe the similar theme is someone you didn’t really appreciate before becoming indispensable.
I’d say it actually fits with “Gone With the Wind” - one of my favorite movies. Scarlet doesn’t love or appreciate Rhett, but at the end… she realizes she does love and need him. (And I’m also of the firm belief that he can’t stay away and does go back to her. He has to.)
December 8th, 2007 at 5:05 pm
I like the friends to lovers premise as well. I also like the kick-@ss heroine who proves to the man that she can take care of herself…she doesn’t need him to save her.