Monday, June 18, 2012

Blogoversary Giveaway: Four Weeks, Four Genres! (Week 3)




It's Contemporary Week here at TBQ's Book Palace as part of my 4 year blogoversary celebration!

This post kicks off the rest of the week's events. Plus, did I mention there's a giveaway involved? :) Read on!

Oh, and for all my international readers--check out this post for your chance to win during my blogoversary. :)

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I'll admit--for the longest time, I wasn't a huge fan of contemporary romances. I didn't really see the appeal--why would I want to read about love stories set in much the same time and place as I already live? Historicals allow me to visit another time, fantasy allows me to visit another place. But contemporary...?

Ah, summer love....
Looking back, I wish I had braved this genre earlier! :)

When I first started reading romance novels (of any kind), Nora Roberts was one of the first authors I was introduced to, and she remains one of my favorite. There are very few of her books that I HAVEN'T read, and even fewer that I didn't love. I don't care what others may say or think about her, I think she's a great author, and whether we are talking about her straight contemporary romances or the few she wrote that had magic elements in it, you can't go wrong with one of her books!

Other than Nora's books, I didn't read many contemporaries for, well, years, as I've already said. I never got into the Harlequin line of books; perhaps its the (no offense!) horrible covers and titles? Remember, I'm a cover whore, after all. :)

But now, after reading a few good contemporaries, and hearing rave reviews and recommendations for hundreds of others, I'm DYING to really dive into this genre. The only thing holding me back from going contemp. crazy is lack of funds, lack of time, and lack of space for more books. But this will only hold me back for so long. As soon as I get the great TBR mountain down, I'm going to do a contemporary binge to try and catch up! :)

One of the few contemporary romances I remember reading, years ago, and loving is a book by Luanne Rice.

My copy of Summer Light is almost falling apart from all the times I've read it over the years. I simply love it; there is something about it that keeps drawing me back, again and again, even years after it was released. I think this was one of the first books where I cried like a babe towards the end of it. And I'm not one to cry during books, really, so that's saying a lot!

If you haven't read this book, I highly suggest you do--it's more than just a romance story, it's a book with an actual story to it, one that is beautifully done, and the characters are great!

Did I mention the hero's a hockey player, who, because of various injuries over the years, eventually goes blind? Yeah, this helped to make me cry, and I loved Martin! Watching him with May, as well as with his young daughter, was simply magically--and no real magic was ever used! :)



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To celebrate Contemporary Week during my blogoversary, I'm going to give ONE lucky reader a special prize pack!








Prize Pack Includes:
~ONE print copy of Summer Light by Luanne Rice

~ONE Romance Lover Journal (see picture of it here!)
 

OPEN TO U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY!


How to Enter:
Mandatory: You must leave a comment on this post--Do you love contemporary romances? If so, why? If not--what is it about them that you don't like?


Mandatory: You must fill out the Rafflecopter's first option (all other options are for extra entries and therefore are not required).


^A note on email addresses: Your email address must be visible to be entered into this contest. Why? This makes it easy for me to contact the winner and therefore get the prize out! Visible means: a) Email is left in your comment (ninja style is perfectly fine); b) Email is visible on your Blogger profile (or other such website--Twitter, Facebook, Blog, etc); or c) Email is used to log-in and fill out the Rafflecopter.



Giveaway open June 18th through June 24th! I will pick and announce the winner Monday morning (June 25th). Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


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See what else is going on for Contemporary Week!
Enter the Contemporary Week Giveaway (US)











Enjoy!



Until Next Time,
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*TBQ's Book Palace is a member of both the Amazon and Barnes and Nobles affiliates program. By using the links provided to buy products from either website, I receive a very small percentage of the order. To read my full disclosure on the matter, please see this post!


Enjoy!


Until Next Time, Photobucket
*TBQ's Book Palace is a member of both the Amazon and Barnes and Nobles affiliates program. By using the links provided to buy products from either website, I receive a very small percentage of the order. To read my full disclosure on the matter, please see this post!

8 comments :

Melody May said...

I haven't read to many contemporary romance novels. I tend to love historical ones the best. I'm always interesting in finding new books to read.

Unknown said...

I don't think I have read any contemporary. I'm like you, those covers and titles really push me away. They look so cheesy! :)

The_Book_Queen said...

:) I doubt I'll ever love contemporary more than historical, either, but I do enjoy being able to pick up different books as the mood strikes.

Enjoy!
TBQ

The_Book_Queen said...

I know, I know. And for those of us that look to the cover first, it's hard to pick them up! But there are some out there that, bad covers aside, are actually quite good.

It just so happens that these books require a slip-on book cover so we don't have to look at it while reading. LOL. ;)

Enjoy!
TBQ

Forget the Housework, I'm Reading... said...

I love all Romances but I like contemporary b/c sometimes you just want something non paranormal and in modern times!

Thanks for another giveaway! <3

April Alvey said...

I Absolutely Love Contemporary. Romance books It s the love of something that will warm my heart when I need it to. I do have a fondness of paranormal romance but contemporary romance books was the first ive ever read.

June M. said...

I do read some contemporary books. I like them because I can visualize the world easily, understand exactly what the author is describing. But I read a variety of books from all sub-genres of romances.

Denise Z said...

I used to read a lot of contemporary romance, but tended to move on to the mystery, then fantasy, and then paranormal. I still am open to genres across the board. I do recall reading some of Luanne Rice's work a while back and definitely enjoyed her writing style. I just like a well written read and then the genre generally does not matter to me :) Thank you so much for sharing with us today and for the lovely giveaway opportunity.