Valentines Blog Hop Special : Toot's Favorite Book Couples, A Very Personal Love Story and 4 Romance Book Giveaway!

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My Top Book Couples

So I was asked to post a love story for Valentine's day. The host said I could post anything I wanted as long as it was about love. So I racked my tiny little brain and was thinking about books of course and what some of my favorite love stories are. Well as you all know, I primarily read romances, so that really wasn't fair. I usually love the love story I'm reading and then like a cheap date, fall in love with the next one but if I had to say what are my favorite book romances, I'd say in no particular order:

PNR

Acheron and Tory - Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Cat and Bones - Night Huntress Series by Jeaniene Frost

Mercy and Adam - Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs

Kate and Curran - Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews

Charley and Reyes - Charley Davidson Series by Darynda Jones

Butch and Marissa - Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward

Adam and Karla - Nobody's Hero by Kallypso Masters

Mac and Barrons - Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning

Elena and Clay - Otherworld Series by Kelley Armstrong

Qhuinn and Blaylock - Soon to be released Lover At Last byJ.R. Ward

HR ~*Also giving away these 4 books*~

Catriona and Mark - The Lass Wore Black By Karen Ranney

Evie and Adam - A Notorious Countess Confesses By Julie Anne Long

Tessa and Charles - The Way To A Duke's Heart By Caroline Linden

Meg and Nicholas - How To Deceive A Duke By Lecia Cornwall

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My favorite love story

Now, on a personal note....when I was asked to think of a love story, the host said it could even be mine. I kind of groaned at that idea. Not that I don't love my hubby or that we've been married 15 years but that I wasn't keen on spilling my guts on how mushy I can be. So again I racked my brain and came up with the perfect love story and it's a very recent one.

Meet Cloe

Almost two years ago, we had a wonderful Rottweiler named Cloe, who sadly passed away in her sleep. It's very hard to talk about her because we loved her so very much and there's a huge hole in our hearts that only she occupied. Our other dogs felt the same. When Cloe left us, we were left with two others in mourning. My husband and I decided after a few months, that we wanted to look into adopting another dog to add to the pack and hopefully bring the others out of mourning as well. We bounced shelter to shelter but unfortunately no one screamed "take us home to your family!" We made one last stop at a shelter about 1 1/2 drive from us. We had previously adopted from them and thought it would be worth a look. That's when I met Lucy! My husband was looking more for a Rottie but Lucy was it for me, she just wrenched my heart. As soon as I saw her, I knew she was mine. It was like she wrapped herself around my aching heart with her fluffy Ewok-looking self and never let go. Unfortunately hubby did not feel the same. He was dead set on a Rottie and told me that if we didn't find a Rottie, then we might adopt Lucy but that I had to leave her behind. OMG, my heart absolutely broke in two! I couldn't imagine leaving my new baby behind and in a nasty city run pet shelter with cold concrete and iron bars holding her in but like any good marriage, we talked about it and I agreed to leave her behind. I walked away with my heart in pieces. We slowly made our way back home and soon my thoughts turned away from Lucy and back to the case at hand. We decided, we'd see how much a Rottie puppy goes for and maybe we could buy one. After calling a few pet stores.....let's just say....that was not an option. So then I checked online and called the local Rottie Rescue. They actually had a 1 year old female named Mitzy, who needed a home.  She had just been rescued from a "High Kill" shelter and was currently being fostered. We talked to them for awhile and decided to make an appointment to have Mitzy brought to our house and see if all the dogs could live together.

When Mitzy made her appearance at our house, she immediately fit right in. It was wonderful having a Rottie again and the other dogs didn't seem to mind her presence. Hubby was elated and the hole in our hearts seemed to grow a little smaller. Even though this seemed to be a perfect fit and the rescue people agreed, there still seemed to be something missing.....Lucy!

I hadn't forgotten about her and it was starting to look like we actually might need her. Mitzy was a great addition but she was quickly looking to take the alpha spot. Unfortunately for Mitzy, we already had an alpha dog. Cloe was the original alpha and when she passed, the mantle went to our Pit bull, Casey, by default. She was still in major mourning and really didn't want the title anymore but Mitzy was itching for it and Casey wasn't having any of that. So we ended up having a few dog fights and my leg has the scars to prove it. Unlike my leg though, something kept gnawing on me and when I finally realized what or whom it was, I popped right back to that shelter and got it. After signing the papers and promising to end world hunger, I now was the proud pet of Lucy. Sadly though, she couldn't come home for almost two weeks. She was on some pills and had to be followed up on. She also had to be "altered" and so on. Anyone who has adopted from a city shelter will know the drama I had to go through to get her. Anywho, 2 weeks ended up turning into almost a month! I thought she'd never come home.

Well when I was finally able to bring Lucy home, Mitzy almost had a heart attack! Mitzy immediately fell in puppy love with Lucy and the two bonded. Mitzy and Lucy became inseparable. The dog fights immediately stopped and it became the two of them against the world. Mitzy even became Lucy's body guard of sorts. If Lucy is ever in trouble, you have Mitzy to deal with and vice versa.  I remember one time when I thought Mitzy would end me, literally! I was grooming Lucy, in the spare bathroom and let's just say, she was a bit distressed. All of a sudden, there was banging and big "thud" sounds on the bathroom door. Mitzy almost broke down the door in order to save her Lucy and it was all over silent whimpers from Lucy because she was being bathed.

The two of them sleep together, cuddle together, and really don't do anything without the other. Where Lucy is, Mitzy is soon to follow.

Lucy and Mitzy

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~*Giveaway*~

Karen Ranney - The Lass Wore Black

Julie Anne Long - A Notorious Coutess Confesses

Caroline Linden - The Way to a Duke's Heart

Lecia Cornwall - How to Deceive a Duke

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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The Books

Catriona Cameron was once famed for her seductive beauty and charm. Now she saw no one, hiding from the world . . . and no one dared break through her self-imposed exile.

No one, that is, until Mark Thorburn burst into her home, and Catriona's darkened world began to have color again. Thorburn, secretly the heir to an Earldom, claimed he was a footman. But Catriona didn't care about the scandal their passion could cause . . . 
for his very touch sparked her back to a life of sensuality, one she thought she'd never have again.

Little does she know that Mark is part of a masquerade. One that will end when they become the target of a madman set on revenge. Mark realizes he will have to do more than win her love . . . he will have to save her life as well.

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She rose to spectacular heights . . .

From Covent Garden to courtesan to countess, beautiful, fearless, shamelessly ambitious Evie Duggan has riveted London in every role she plays. But the ton never could forgive her scandalous—if shockingly short—marriage, and when her star plummets amid gleefully vicious gossip, the countess escapes to the only legacy left to her: a manor house in Pennyroyal Green.

He never expected to fall so hard . . .

He has the face of a fallen angel and a smolder the devil would envy, but Vicar Adam Sylvaine walks a precarious line: resisting temptation . . . and the wild Eversea blood in his veins. Adam's strength is tested when scandal, aka the countess, moves to Sussex. But when a woman who fiercely guards her heart and a man entrusted with the souls of an entire town surrender to a forbidden desire, will the sweetest sin lead them to heaven . . . or make outcasts of them forever?

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Charles de Lacey, Lord Gresham, is running out of time, running from his responsibilities, and running from love.

Destined to be a duke, Charles de Lacey has led a life of decadent pleasure, free of any care for propriety or responsibility. It comes as a terrible shock to learn that he might be stripped of everything, thanks to his father's scandalous past. He has no choice but to find the blackmailer who would ruin him—and his only link to the villain is a woman who may be part of the plot…

To save his fortune and title, he vows he'll stop at nothing—in fact, he's all too eager to unravel the beautiful, tart-tongued Tessa Neville. She intrigues him and tempts him like no other lady ever has. With only his heart to guide him, and keenly aware that his entire future is at stake, Charles must decide: is she the woman of his dreams, or an enemy in disguise?

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When deception leads to desire . . .

When her stubborn sister runs off the night before her arranged marriage, Meg Lynton hardly hesitates before donning the wedding veil and walking down the aisle herself. It's the only way to save her family from sure destitution. By the time her wealthy groom discovers he has married the wrong sister, it will be too late to annul their vows. And too late for Meg to escape her wifely duty to a man reputed to be a devil in battle and the bedroom . . .

A bride is the last thing Nicholas Hartley, Duke of Temberlay, wants. Then he sees Meg and realizes that his wedding night will be a great pleasure indeed. But aside from the agreeable business of begetting an heir, Temberlay will never change his wicked ways for a wedding vow—until he discovers Meg's deception, and decides to teach the scheming beauty how to be a proper duchess, kiss by devastating kiss . . .

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Follow the rest of the hop for more giveaways!

1. Constance Phillips, Romance Author	2. Stephanie Keyes, Author	3. Regina May Rosss Blog
4. Natalie-Nicole Bates (INT)	5. L. J. Kentowski – Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance	6. Off on a Tangent
7. Redheaded Bookworm (US)	8. Angst	9. Toots Book Reviews

10. The Unconventional Convention – Viola Ryan blog

11. Demons do it Better

12. The Book Maven