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Title: Going Topless

Author: Renee Knowles

Publisher: Siren Publishing

Genre: Erotic romance

ISBN: 1-933563-74-5

Susannah, her sister, Chelsie, and their friend, Mattie, embark upon a vacation to Amsterdam to enjoy life, relieve stress, and resolve secret issues.  Normally, I don’t care for books that have numerous povs, but this novel sucked me in and held me in its grip like a Pitt bull’s steely jaws. The author handled multiple povs like a professional. I found myself wrapped up in the life of each woman, crying with them (something that’s hard to make me do when reading fiction), rooting for them, wanting to smack each one at times, then suddenly wishing I could hug them.

Susannah is recently widowed, but finds out her husband was cheating on her. She finally lets her hair down and finds a lover much younger than she is. Through him, she realizes why her heart is so wounded.

Chelsie is bent on winning back the man she fell for years ago, but she must come to grips that he never wanted her to begin with. She also knows that if her sister ever found out….

Mattie doesn’t feel like she fits in anywhere, so her story is that of a late bloomer who wows not only her first real lover, but her friends too.

This is the best damn contemporary romance I have read for years! Yes, I said years! Also, this novel has humor in it that had me cracking up. One particular line involves a secondary character trying to enjoy his morning routine in the bathroom with a newspaper while the apartment is full of women who want to use the toilet and the mirror. Going Topless if full of lines that sparkle with beauty, and deep emotion that encompasses things that many of us wish we could talk about with those close to us, but never do.

Never have I read an e-book that kept me spellbound like this. I hated to see Going Topless end, but the ending is beyond satisfying; it’s life at its richest, its fullest, and it gives the reader hope that each woman is healing and on a new, bright life path.

This author needs to have an agent and a bright shining contract with a NYC publisher.

Well done. {insert applause }

Part of the One Touch, One Glance Romance Anthology coming to Freya’s Bower.com December 9, 2008

Do two wrong guys and a pair of pink mittens spell doom for Lana’s love life, or will a kiss under the Christmas stars prove that love was right under her nose?

Midway through the party, Lana received her bonus and was extremely pleased with the amount. Alone, she stood in a corner, sipping spiked punch and nibbling a sugar-sprinkled cookie. What was keeping Derek? It was time to leave for the skating pond; several co-workers had already left the party. A few stragglers by the door debated about the stock market during Christmas, and, clustered round the Christmas tree, the wallflowers discussed something about plans for New Year’s. Worried and sensing the worst, Lana grabbed her things and hurried out to the smoker’s area to see if Derek had left the building.

Cars pulled out of the icy parking lot. Down the street, the traffic light blinked from red to green and back again. Lana picked her way across the pavement toward Derek’s Mustang. A filigree of frost had spread across the windshield and the passenger’s side. She checked the driver’s door and found it unlocked. Maybe she’d get lucky and find the keys in it too. That way, she could listen to music with the heater on while she waited for Derek and Melody to come out. Surely they would realize she wasn’t in the office and come looking for her.

Sliding behind the steering wheel, Lana shut the door. Damn. No keys. Come to think of it, she recalled Derek slipping them into his coat pocket. Headlights swept the Mustang’s interior. A disturbing thought flittered through her brain, and Lana twisted to look out the rearview window. Many of the employees had carpooled to the farm and would pick up their vehicles later. She hoped that Derek and Melody hadn’t carpooled to the farm without her.

She started to get out of the car, but something in the backseat caught her attention.

Her mouth dropped open. Pain stabbed her gut.

A pair of fuzzy, pink mittens.

Oh, no. Not again.

“I can’t seem to find my pink mittens anywhere. I just wore them yesterday.”

Furious, she stepped out of the car and slammed the door-hard. How could she be so stupid again?

Determined to find Derek and confront him, Lana stormed across the parking lot. As she passed the side entrance to the building, a giggle erupted from the breezeway where the janitors had curtained it off to keep the wind from drifting snow there. She paused and backtracked. Dread pooled in her heart. She peeped around the edge of the tarpaulin, sensing the worst.

My new site is da bomb! I’m so thrilled with Celia’s work and creativity! Here you’ll find classiness mixed with the paranormal and just a touch of eroticism thrown in. Celia, thank you for your amazing work!

I’ll be moving the occassional reviews that I do to this blog. Since this is my website, this will now be my main blog too. Oh, don’t worry…if you prefer to visit my myspace blog I’ll either leave a link or I’ll be sure to copy posts to it.

Btw, check out the Cool Stuff page. Not only are there some nice links there, but you’ll find two free PDFs to download, so enjoy!

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