Review: Ten Year Dance by Ara Grigorian

Earlier this year I read a marvelous romance called Game of Love. The book introduced two fascinating people and a romance who overcame seemingly impossible odds to come to their happily-ever-after. Ara Grigorian delivers a powerful story, so when I heard he’d written another romance I jumped at the chance to read and review it.

I was not disappointed. Once again, we’re invited into the lives of two strong, intelligent, and multi-faceted people. The kind you watch in awe and wish you could emulate. Sophie is an attorney, sharp and driven. She’s also athletic, and soundly out-plays her best friend Pete. She’s endured a disastrous marriage and has finally made the decision to file for divorce. Pete is a successful architect. He loves his large, boisterous Greek family, but has given up on finding true love for himself.

Ten Year Dance takes you through Sophie and Pete’s lives from the time they meet in junior high, through the turbulent high school years, and culminating with their ten-year class reunion. Both of them have come to a point where they need to make important decisions about their professional lives. But before they can do that, they need to learn more about themselves and each other. 

The quality that sets a book apart is its ability to make the reader care about its characters. While reading this book there were times I wanted to hug both Sophie and Pete, and other times when I wanted to smack them silly for being so blind and foolish. I’m certain you’ll be caught up in their story, too.

Read more about the story below!

Best friends since sixth grade. A ten-year high school reunion. A truth they’ve danced around for a decade.

Unlucky-in-love Sophie Perez knows her divorce won’t be easy—but she doesn’t expect it to be dangerous. So when things get ugly, she agrees to move in with Pete Nicos, her commitment-phobic best friend since childhood. Pete has always been there for Sophie, just like she’s been there for him. At first, taking her in seems like the best option, but soon her tantalizing proximity blurs the lines of friendship. With their high school reunion on the horizon will they find closure, forgiveness, and new beginnings?

Ten Year Dance is a contemporary love story, rich with engaging and relatable characters trying to find themselves and each other. Ara Grigorian’s latest will stay with you long after you turn the final page.

Grab Your Copy Today!

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To Be A Spy by Jessie Clever

Blurb:

Samuel Black must make a decision: to be a spy like his father or follow his heart.

Either is likely to give his mother chest pains.

For Samuel is no longer a lad with the ambitious and noble wish of being a lamplighter to keep the seedy streets of London safe.  About to embark on university, his mind stirs with the thoughts of creating a policing force in London to safeguard its citizens.  Held back by his family’s legacy as spies, Samuel does not make his ideas known.

But when he stops a would-be purse-snatcher, his path unexpectedly veers into that of one Miss Penelope Paiget, and suddenly, Samuel must make a choice.

The short stories in the Spy Series:

1.     To Be a Spy

2.     To Be a Duke

3.     To Be a Lady

The Spy Series short stories take place after the conclusion of the Spy Series.

To Be a Spy is available at Amazon US, Amazon UK, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Google Play, Kobo, and All Romance ebooks.  Find it on Goodreads.

Excerpt:

London, 1822

It happened on Marlborough Street a little past two o’clock two days before Christmas.

Samuel had just returned from Eton the day before as his Greek studies had compelled him to stay longer than the rest of the students.  It all sounded rather dull, but honestly, it was quite thrilling as one of his tutors believed he had stumbled upon an undiscovered Biblical text.  The ramifications could be enormous, and so when asked to assist him in analyzing the text, Samuel had stayed on, of course.  It wasn’t as if he would miss the opportunity.

And thus two days before Christmas, he found himself on Marlborough trying desperately to find a present for Jane and Elizabeth.  He wondered briefly if any other man of ten and eighteen was stricken with not just one headstrong sister but two for whom to shop, and if those sisters were raised by an equally headstrong mother.  All three of them would not settle for the customary ribbons or baubles or fabrics that other ladies would surely drool over.  If it were anything less than divine, the Black women would not find it at all appealing.

Samuel stared in one window after another hoping inspiration would strike.  It was while waiting for inspiration that the crime was committed.

He was standing innocently enough outside of Rugbottom’s Books admiring a particularly ornate illustration of Shakespeare’s sonnets when the commotion began behind him.  Having been raised in less than ordinary circumstances, the time that lapsed between when the commotion began and when Samuel noticed it was rather exaggerated.  But commotions were quite common in the Black family, and he thought nothing of it.

Until Lady Delia Witherspoon screamed.

“He’s stolen my reticule!”

Samuel turned at this in time to see Lady Witherspoon pointing at a fleeing figure clutching the offended reticule under his arm.

And then Lady Witherspoon screamed again.

“That man!  He’s stolen my reticule!”

The fleeing man charged at Samuel directly, as it was previously noted, Samuel merely stood in the middle of the pavement staring into a window.  He was obviously ripe for any interaction with a passerby on the pavement, even should that passerby be a thief.

As he watched the thief approach, Samuel’s mind took that opportunity to think on matters.  He wondered briefly if other gentlemen stepped out of the way of fleeing criminals or if they advanced.  He wondered if they cowered at the thought of getting their waistcoat ruined.  And then he wondered what the wives of said gentlemen would think if their noble husbands did not act to avenge the slight against a lady.

Samuel thought none of that likely as the gentlemen of the ton that he had had the pleasure of meeting were all sopping idiots.  The apprehension of criminals was not something that suited such personalities.

And then Samuel sighed.

He sighed because he quite liked his waistcoat.  It was a fine cranberry color that went well with his breeches, and if he had learned anything from his Uncle Alec, it was that a man who showed care for his dress showed care in every aspect of his life.  And that was why Samuel was rather despondent to put his cranberry waistcoat in danger.

About the Author:

In the second grade, Jessie began a story about a duck and a lost ring.  Two harrowing pages of wide ruled notebook paper later, the ring was found.  And Jessie has been writing ever since.

Armed with the firm belief that women in the Regency era could be truly awesome heroines, Jessie began telling their stories in her Spy Series, a thrilling ride in historical espionage that showcases human faults and triumphs and most importantly, love.

Jessie makes her home in the great state of New Hampshire where she lives with her husband and two very opinionated Basset Hounds.  For more, visit her website at jessieclever.com.

Connect with Jessie on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

Please Welcome Author Moriah Densley

It is my pleasure to introduce you to fellow EsKape Press author Moriah Densley! Moriah is the author of one-third of the books currently available from EsKape Press. She writes regency romances with strong, dynamic heroes and and equally strong, determined heroines. There's also a paranormal romance series due to release at Entangled Publishing next year.

Today Moriah is sharing details from her newest regency, The King of Threadneedle Street. Read on to find out about this treasure, and then be sure to enter the rafflecopter to win some of her fabulous jewelry!

BLURB for The King of Threadneedle Street:

He owns three shipping companies, a diamond mine, and his own castle.

He knows Portuguese, Hindi, Mandarin and Morse code.

His assets net thirteen million.

Everyone thinks Andrew Tilmore, Lord Preston, the financial prodigy dubbed “The King of Threadneedle Street,” has it all, but he wants the one prize money can’t buy: his childhood sweetheart.

Alysia Villier can’t say if it’s worse having Andrew’s father in control of her inheritance or Andrew in control of her heart. He’s ruined her for any other man, but she simply can’t give in to him. She knows he’s destined for great things — marrying a courtesan’s daughter would jeopardize everything he stands for.

Keeping Alysia out of trouble and away from eager suitors becomes a cross-continental quest for Andrew, and he won’t be stopped by his old-fashioned family or the disapproval of the ton. After all, he’s a man with the power to play newspapers and investors like pawns, tumble world markets and incite riots… but can he win the biggest gamble of his life?

EXCERPT: Seeing her “old flame” again

Author's note: Alysia Villier always knew she could never have Andrew Tilmore, her childhood sweetheart. A courtesan’s daughter is no match for a financial genius and peer of the realm. Alysia sees Romeo and Juliet’s story as a cautionary tale. Besides, who is truly in love as an adolescent? She expects to oversee the wedding preparations for Andrew’s sister, perhaps wave at Andrew from across the room, then never see him again.

A long shadow blocked the sun, accompanied by broad footsteps trampling the grass.

“What have we here, a unicorn caught sunbathing? Prime hunting,” came a familiar voice. A sonorous chocolatey bass, somehow deeper than when she had last heard it, and his Lancashire accent replaced by a genteel inflection she found jarring.

“Not at all,” she replied without opening her eyes, rattled by the jolt in her pulse. “Such plodding footsteps could only belong to a troll. Easily outrun by a unicorn. But trolls are really quite harmless, if you keep them fed.”

“On unicorn meat?”

“No. Pomeranians.” An old joke stemming from their mutual love of mastiffs and disdain for yapping small dogs.

His laughter almost stopped her heart. She distrusted the easy, boyish, tone tempting her to believe all would be well now that he was there. She opened one eye, unsurprised to find their years of separation had rendered him not at all like a troll. Over six feet of Gallic demi-god sharing the same body with the most bookish man she ever met. Andrew Tilmore, Lord Preston, heir to the illustrious Marquess of Courtenay. Drew, to her, or when he deserved it, Troll.

“Lisa,” he said in a tone he should reserve for a hot bath or rare cognac, and sat beside her on the grass. “As lazy as ever, I see.” Adolescent teasing which meant, So you managed to sneak away. Bravo.

“You weren’t expected until Friday next, Drew. Unfortunate timing you will no doubt regret.”

“Why? Is something amiss?”

“Only the apocalypse.”

Andrew snorted, waiting for her to explain. She would not. Lady Courtenay trying to run her household for the first time — while pretending to arrange a ducal wedding, which Alysia was truthfully in charge of — would not mix well with the problem Andrew’s presence would bring. Specifically, his being in the vicinity with Alysia.

She pushed herself up on her elbows, mindful of the buttons she’d loosed on her bodice. He wasn’t looking, but fastening them would draw his attention. She sat up and wrapped her arms around her bent knees.

Andrew leaned in to catch her gaze, and she suppressed her shock. She knew that expression he wore, as plainly as if she’d heard his thoughts. Still it made her stomach drop and her lips tingle with longing. Alysia pulled away, not trusting herself to look him in the eye.

If she had any hope of surviving two weeks under the same roof with Andrew, she had best set the precedent now for their behavior. She had just finished her last private conversation with him. Their last kiss had been more than two years before. After his sister’s wedding, she would never see him again

  

AUTHOR BIO

Bestselling author Moriah Densley sees nothing odd at all about keeping both a violin case and a range bag stuffed with pistols in the back seat of her car. They hold up the stack of books in the middle, of course. She enjoys writing about Victorians, assassins, and geeks. Her muses are summoned by the smell of chocolate, usually at odd hours of the night. By day her alter ego is your friendly neighborhood music teacher. She lives in Las Vegas with her husband, four children, and two possibly brain-damaged cats.

Moriah has a Master’s degree in music, is a 2012 RWA Golden Heart finalist, 2012 National Reader’s Choice Award winner, and ’12 NRCA “Best First Book” finalist. She’s the author of the bestselling “Rougemont” Historical Romance series from Eskape Press, and the “Network-One” Paranormal Romance series coming 2014 from Entangled Publishing. Moriah is represented by Courtney Miller-Callihan of Greenburger Associates.

BUY LINKS: The King of Threadneedle Street is available at Amazon,  Barnes & Noble,  Smashwords, Kobo, All Romance eBooks, and  Amazon UK.

AUTHOR LINKS: Moriah can be found at her Website and blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

And now for the giveaway! Moriah has some wonderful jewelry she's made in honor of her new release! Here's a picture of what you can win - just enter the rafflecopter below! Good luck.

a Rafflecopter giveaway