Review by Lauren Schmelz

Author: Nichole Chase
Publisher: Nicole Chase
Cover Design: Okay Creations
Page count: 464
Kindle version: $.99
Source: my wallet
Goodreads
Amazon

Summary: Samantha Rousseau is used to getting her hands dirty. Working toward a master’s degree in wildlife biology while helping take care of her sick father, she has no time for celebrity gossip, designer clothes, or lazy vacations. So when a duchess from the small country of Lilaria invites her to dinner, Samantha assumes it’s to discuss a donation for the program. The truth will change the course of her life in ways she never dreamed.

Alex D’Lynsal is trying to keep his name clean. As crown prince of Lilaria, he’s had his share of scandalous headlines, but the latest pictures have sent him packing to America and forced him to swear off women—especially women in the public eye. That is, until he meets Samantha Rousseau. She’s stubborn, feisty, and incredibly sexy. Not to mention heiress to an estate in his country, which makes her everyone’s front-page news.

While Sam tries to navigate the new world of politics and wealth, she will also have to dodge her growing feelings for Alex. Giving in to them means more than just falling in love; it would mean accepting the weight of an entire country on her shoulders.


Review: I've been eyeing this book for a while now, since the cover was exceptionally cute. I'll admit it right now, I'm a cover whore. I will fall for a cover no matter what is in the book, most often lucking out that the book is well written with a good plot, but on a occasion getting a real doozy.  Fortunately for Suddenly Royal and myself, the cover matches the insides. I was a very happy reader afterward. Good job, Nichole Chase. 


The Good: What Chase has done is give her readers something that every woman in some point their lives have dreamed about: becoming Cinderella, just minus the evil stepmother and stepsisters. Even though the female protagonist, Samantha Rousseau, is a very reluctant Cinderella or in this story a Duchess, she embraces her new found lineage and embarks on the unknown by traveling to Lilaria to find out about her past and possibly her future. And to accept the responsibility of her lands and the people dependant on them. All the while she's worrying about her sick father back home in the states and what the next headline will say about her. No pressure. 


Of course, like in Cinderella, there is a handsome crown prince. Alex D'Lynsal seems to be along for the ride when he and his aunt, another Duchess from the make believe country of Lilaria, happen to come to the college town where Sam lives. What turns into an amusing woman, soon turns into the dream of more for Alex. And he in turns becomes all swoony with Sam.


What more can a girl ask for? Well, Sam for one, wants reality instead of the dream. She has a firm head on her shoulders (she's a well-educated woman)  and doesn't want to get swept up in the fantasy like you would think she would (until this point her only concerns are her father's health and completing her degree)  She's skeptical, almost to a fault, which puts a strain on her budding relationship with Alex.  Top that with the constant invasion of the paparazzi following her every move and reminding her that her new "friend" Alex has been a philanderer in his past, it's wonder that Sam would be wary of her new station as Duchess of Rousseau. 


What I loved about Sam was that she asked all the questions I would ask, she was very real. Sometimes I want to have make believe and sometimes I was reality and Suddenly Royal was a good mixture of them both. She was a strong female character which is always refreshing to read and Alex had a perfect combination of charm and cockiness that makes the best playboy cocktail. Yum! 


I enjoyed seeing a little bit into what the royalty of the world would experience, albeit, a washed down version. In reality, I think things are a lot more secure. For example, the hottest new American Duchess wouldn't be dancing it up at the club with the princess and be easily accessible to anyone. There would be more security, blah, blah blah...


But this is a book....so I'll let this go. LOL. 


The Needs Improvement: I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Either it be with Alex, some conflict in Lilaria, Sam not being the actual descendant of the Rousseau family, or she found out some squandered her family's fortune. But none of that happened. I felt that they spent so much time in the States before going to Lilaria, it wasn't until the last half of the book that you see Sam taking part of anything pertaining to royalty. You didn't even really get into her "crowning" or her wedding so much. I was about eighty percent done when I wondered if there was going to be a sequel because I didn't think Chase could have wrapped up the book so quickly. But alas, she did. The ending felt rushed. 


Chase kept hinting around to Alex's whorey ways, but you never really see anything. I was expecting him to be a bad boy who falls in love with the right woman (Sam) but he really was the good boy who falls in love with the right woman (Sam). No conflict, no resolution. She didn't trust him because he was rumored to be a womanizer, but in the end there was no big turning point for them. It only took Sam's new assistant, Chadwick, and the crown princess, Cathy, to tell her that she was being too pigheaded to see that Alex was in love with her and she should trust him. Done. Goo Goo eye for Sam. 


I felt like i needed something....more. 


But the UST was out of this world! When Sam and Alex finally do get together....

Because, damn, that shit was hot. 

Editing: Top notch! It was a joy to read this. 

Rating: Four lip bites for a nice tight story that engaged me from the beginning to the end. 

About the Author: 

Nichole Chase is a daydreamer. No, really, just ask any of the math teachers that had the misfortune of seeing her name appear on their class schedule. For years she has had storylines and characters begging for attention, but she resolutely pushed them aside to focus on more normal (read, boring) jobs. Well, no longer! She is currently heeding the voices in her head and frantically writing their stories. Nichole resides in South Georgia with her husband, energetic toddler, super hero dog, Sulcata tortoise, and two cats. When not devouring novels by the dozens, you may find her writing, painting, crafting, or chasing her daughter around the house while making monster noises. 

Find her other work here

by Lauren Schmelz

Congrats to Amazon for furthering dominating another outlet: fan fiction. Amazon announced today that they are launching Kindle Worlds, a new publishing tool for authors to monetize their fan fiction from specific copyrighted books, movies, and television shows. So already listed as permissible are: Pretty Little Liars, Gossip Girl, and Vampire Diaries which are all big genres in fan fiction. 

While this new could be groundbreaking for the small time fan fiction author, being able to make some money or potentially a lot of money of their popular fics while not having to worry about copyright infringement  But what does it mean for the big publisher? It could mean one of two things: small publishers will suffer because as we all know, publishing popular P2P fics are a hot commodity and why would a fan fiction author bother with a publisher when in essence they can be their own boss and produce a body of work not controlled by another entity  It also could mean nothing at all because there will probably be many authors or production companies who own rights to popular books and such who will never sell permission. Which leaves big markets like Twilight, Fifty Shades of Grey, Harry Potter, and The Mortal Instruments untouched should the authors deny Amazon and copyrights. Giving the small or big publishers an open outlet for converted fan fiction to publish. 

Only time will tell. 

While I'm sure Amazon will likely get chased through the forest by an angry mob wielding pitchforks and torches, Amazon thinks this will be very beneficial to the fan fiction author. "At Kindle, we’re not only inventing on the hardware and software side of the business, we’re inventing new ways to create books,” said Philip Patrick

, Director, Business Development and Publisher of Kindle Worlds. “Our goal with Kindle Worlds is to create a home for authors to build on the Worlds we license, and give readers more stories from the Worlds they enjoy. We look forward to announcing additional World licensing deals in the coming weeks.”


Authors already on board like Sara Shepard, author of Pretty Little Liars, thinks this will be an incredible opportunity for fledgeling authors. “Seeing Pretty Little Liars fans adapt and create their own stories is both exciting and flattering and I think what Amazon Publishing is offering through Kindle Worlds is a great way to reward their ingenuity,” said Sara Shepard.

While this looks like a promising future for fan fiction authors, it's also giving Amazon another arm in it's already oversaturated place in publishing. When is enough, enough for them? They just bought Goodreads, now they are aiming to take over the large market of fan fiction. What will happen to sites like Fanfiction.net, The Writer's Coffee Shop, Wattpad, and other independent sites who publish fan fiction? Could this be the death of free fan fiction?


It very well may be. 


But more importantly, how will free sites like Fanfiction and TWCS respond to Amazon? Again, only time will tell, but if I would have to make a bet, these free sites will no longer be free for much longer. Then again, the shift in reading fan fiction can go in such a way that this launch by Amazon can outrage readers so much so that this could be Amazon's first failed attempt to control and monopolize the publishing industry.--LS.




Source: here

Amazon Kindle Worlds 




, 

by Lauren Schmelz

   Being a lifelong fan of Saturday Night Live, I always get weepy when cast members leave the show. Last night was Bill Hader and Fred Armisen's last episode with the twenty-eight year old show. Here is Hader's clip of one of his most famous characters, Stefon. 

While Hader chose a more comical send off, Armisen paid an homage to one of his favorite character, Ian Rubbish and the Bazaaroos. Hader, having portrayed a member of the Bazaarros, was also seen in the skit called Top of the Pops. There wasn't anything comical about the skit, just a group of friends playing music together. Hadar said it perfectly in the skit, "We're always going to play together." It was very apropos for two of the oldest members and friends on the cast. 



This was Hader's eighth season and Armisen's eleventh.  Thank you for the laughs, fellas. 

But for the record, nothing made me cry like a hooker with a popped condom than Kristen Wiig's last show. 

by Lauren Schmelz
Title: Animate Me
Author: Ruth Clampett
Publisher: Clampett Studio Collections
Page Count: 394
Goodreads: HERE
Amazon: HERE
Source: My wallet

Summary: She seemed far beyond his reach…could love draw them together?
For years shy animator Nathan has carried a torch for Brooke, the beautiful and dynamic Director of Development at their animation studio, even creating B-Girl, a comic-book heroine in her likeness. When a new project throws the two of them together, lovestruck Nathan finally seizes his moment – only to find Arnauld, head of the animation studio, claiming exclusive rights to Brooke’s affections.

But Nathan, it turns out, is not giving up on his dreams so easily. With inspired determination, he sets out to be the super hero of wooing his girl. Threatened by his persistence, Arnauld plays dirty – only to spark an uprising at the studio that unleashes the sort of havoc only a building full of frustrated animators can create. While Nathan pulls out all the stops to win his B-girl, Brooke has to choose. Should she pursue the sparkling career that has taken her years to build…or follow her heart?


Review: Having known Ruth in the fandom, I was pleased to see she published her fan fiction, Animate Me. I started reading it long ago and remember liking it, but didn't finish it for some reason. When I saw that she was releasing it, what immediately drew me in was the book cover. What a clever and unique cover. I would like to give kudos to Ruth and Jada D'Lee for making such an eye-pleasing and perfect cover for this book. It simply blew me away. But the cover is not the only thing I really liked about this book. 

From when I read the first five chapters before, I thought that Clampett had a very strong start and I expected that to continue in this addition. Clampett definitely had the expression pegged "write what you know" down pat in this book given that she has a background and family history in animation. Her father was Bob Clampett, an animator/director who drew for Warner Brothers' Looney Tunes and most notably the Porky Pig and Tweety characters. (Wikipedia) Ruth herself runs her own studio and works for Warner Brothers much like her father. 


THE GOOD: The book starts off with a quotes from different cartoons or animated characters, which is very fitting considering the context of the story. I liked seeing the connection with the animated characters with her characters in the book. The tie-ins were very well done. 


Nathan is a twenty-six-year-old self-professed dweeb that has been secretly in love with Brooke for three years. They work at the same company, Sketch Republic. But he is a lowly animator while she is an exec in development. Little does Brooke know that in that time since Nathan first set eyes on her, she had inspired him to write and draw a comic called B-Girl which is starting to take off. They are complete opposites from the outside but on the inside are perfect for eachother. They soon spark a "friendship" and I put that term in quotes because it really isn't a friendship, it's the beginnings of a romance whether the characters want to admit that or not.  Both Nathan and Brooke have their insecurities, but since the book is told from Nathan's POV, you only see his side. On the outside, Brooke is a confidant, sauvy, and sexally aware buisnesswoman. It's pretty clear when she is hitting on Nathan from the get go in the start of the book. She compliments him, his looks, his appeal right away even after she's learned that they work for the same company.  But on the inside, Brooke has a pretty low self-esteem which is rooted from her own awkward adolescence and topped with her boyfriend, Arnauld's, constant criticizing of her body.  


It's clear that Nathan and Brooke want to be together.  The only thing holding themselves back are each other. Without getting far too into the story and revealing spoilers, I will say that Clampett concocted a storyline that wasn't altogether unique in regards to Nathan pretending to be interested in his co-worker, Dani, in order to get closer to Brooke (Brooke wanted to help him "discover" his sexuality so he would be more experienced for dating--ya right! LOL She was horny, and thought Nathan was hot). I've read it before, but it kept me interested. Her characters were so cute to read, so fun to follow that I didn't care if I read this scenario before, it just worked.  I will say that I wanted Brooke to be a little more hesitant with Nathan and being his "friend" considering she was an exec and dating the president of the company. She was so carefree about it. Maybe that was just her personality, but for a woman who is so concerned with her image in the company, she sure did throw caution to the wind. 


The character development was excellent! I could really picture the characters and then with the addition of the cute cartoons inserted in the book, really drove that home. I loved seeing the coffee cup drawings. I had a clear picture of what the characters looked like without being told as much. Clampett did a wonderful job on show vs. tell in this book and she should be applauded for it. It's a hard thing to do for writers.  The animation backdrop, the studio, everything in this world that Clampett created was great.  


I enjoyed seeing the evolution of the relationship between Nathan and Brooke. I read the book fairly quickly. But I had issues with some things, which leads me to my next evaluation of the book: 


THE BAD: I hate to say this but when I was about 60% into this book, I started skimming. It was around the time of the "week of woo" that I really lost some interest. Yes, it was nice to see Nathan and Brooke together but I kept thinking, why hasn't this happened sooner? Brooke was a forward woman, she went for what she wanted, but with Nathan she always did it in a roundabout way: the lessons being a good example. They both had many times to tell eachother how they felt but never did. It got old after a while and by the time they did profess their love, I was waiting for when the other shoe would drop and it took awhile for that as well. I guess you can say, the book was a little long. Really, I would have loved to see it about 300 hundred pages instead of the 394 it is. A lot of the interactions with Curtis or Nathan's parents felt like filler. They were basically just telling him things he already knew: Brooke was good for him, he loved Brooke, wait for Brooke to make up her mind, don't push Brooke. I felt like some of this could have been cut down. I would have loved to see the climax with Arnauld and the conference room reveal happen a lot sooner. Then the last part of the book, Nathan and Brooke could reunite and mend their communication problems. 


PLUS I WANTED TO STRANGLE BROOKE EVERYTIME SHE RAN AWAY WHEN THINGS GOT ROUGH! AGH!! Grow a pair, why doncha! 


THE EDITING: The editing wasn't bad, but it needed a polish edit. A seasoned editor would have caught the obvious things like taking the "s" off toward, backward, onward...all the ward words and some American grammar that needed corrected.  Also some disembodied actions, many missing commas, too many creative dialogue tags, the syntax seemed way too old sounding for a twenty-six and thirty-year-old. 
All in all, it wasn't terrible, just mistakes that could have been avoided. 


Rating: 
A solid four lip bites. The sex scenes were hot. I liked how Clampett kept the scene sexy but not raunchy. You knew that Nathan has very good oral skills but you weren't told step-by-step on how he was good. She romanticized the scenes perfectly while still giving the reader enough visually in their minds about what was happening. It was a good balance. 


I would highly suggest this book to anyone wanting a fun, quirky romance with some hot sauce peppered throughout. I really enjoyed it and would read anything by Ruth Clampett again. 

reblogged by Lauren Schmelz
I don't care what you say, I love this woman! She's shockingly hilarious and so unashamed. 

reblogged by Lauren schmelz
Golden Globe winner Jonathan Rhys Meyers ("The Tudors") stars in this provocative new drama as one of the world's most iconic characters.

It's the late 19th century, and the mysterious Dracula has arrived in London, posing as an American entrepreneur who wants to bring modern science to Victorian society. He's especially interested in the new technology of electricity, which promises to brighten the night - useful for someone who avoids the sun. But he has another reason for his travels: he hopes to take revenge on those who cursed him with immortality centuries earlier. Everything seems to be going according to plan... until he becomes infatuated with a woman who appears to be a reincarnation of his dead wife.

From the producers of the critically acclaimed, Emmy Award-winning hit "Downton Abbey" comes "Dracula," a twisted, sophisticated and sexy take on Bram Stoker's classic novel, proving that some stories never die. One-hour drama.

This looks pretty bad ass for a NBC show. Not gonna lie...

by Lauren Schmelz

Oh yes, I know. Mr. David Gandy is quite a looker. In fact, he's so fine his first campaign for D&G Light Blue cologne ranked in over eleven million Internet hits the first day it started. Quite impressive for a pretty boy. 

But not only is he the male supermodel equivalent of Gisele Bundchen, he is also the face to many fictional male characters in certain books such as Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James, Gabriel's Inferno by Sylvain Reynard, and Bared to You by Sylvia Day.

Some people are pretty creative with their love of the Gandy as Christian Grey or Gideon Cross. But nothing compares to the comparison of Gandy to Gabriel Emerson from Gabriel's Inferno. There's even Pinterest boards dedicated to the love of Gandy as Gabriel. It's full of memes and manips based on the books. Looky below...

These people are attainable in a way, flesh born from the word of your favorite authors.  You can look at pictures of these celebs as your favorite characters all you want, it makes you excited to read the books again and again. Maybe it's borderline stalkerish? Maybe it sounds a little crazy. Or a lot crazy. Maybe the author hates the person readers compares their characters too. 

Does it really matter? 

Not really. 

Our society today is fascinated with realism. Look at reality TV. Even if it's not truly real anymore, the whole basis was raw and real once upon a time. But that's whole other discussion. Let's take for example, Twilight. I didn't read the books before I saw the movie. In fact, the reason why I read the books was because I thought that this Robert Pattinson dude looked cute in the trailer. Then as I read the books, I only thought of Edward as Robert Pattinson. I only thought of Kristen Stewart as Bella, blah, blah, blah. Fanfiction helped create and solidify the idea of Pattinson wearing Edward Cullen's shoes. Online communities, Facebook groups, and Twitter handles seemed to pop up overnight. The more popular Fan Fiction became, especially the Twilight kind, the more memes, manips, and photoshopped images started surfacing. Granted, using real life people as models for book characters wasn't invented by the Twilight fandom, but in my opinion it was popularized because of it. Since then with the success of 50 Shades, Gabriel's Inferno, etc the trend of comparing these make believe sex gods has risen to even bigger heights.

It's a form of escapism. I'll be real, I don't mind putting a sexy male model's face to my favorite character. And I'm not going to slight anyone who wants to make memes, banners, manips, etc. Because all in all, the author has done their jobs: They have created an image in their readers' heads that spurred a creativity to mass produce images inspired by popular books which is really a form of promotion for each author. BRILLIANT!! 

Bravo, our favorite authors, you have in extension helped your readers take part in the creative process of your book while bringing more awareness to your brand. 

Now, who can play these characters in the movies? I hear Gandy is available. He's got the acting chops, see below. 

For shits and giggles, here are some bad manips...Enjoy

I hear this dude's name is Pepe, aye carumba! Holy hot trailer! Check out the other ones official book trailers...

Isn't it pretty?

Veronica Roth unveiled the last book in the Divergent Series, Allegiant. The book is set to be released October 22, 2013. 

Summary: One choice will define you.

What if your whole world was a lie?
What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything?
What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?

The explosive conclusion to Veronica Roth’s #1 New York Times bestselling Divergent trilogy reveals the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.


Can I just say how FREAKING EXCITED I AM FOR THIS!!!