MobileRead February 2012 - Book Club Nominations

[WT Sharpe]

MobileRead Book Club
February Nominations

Help us select the next book that the Mobile Read book club will read for February 2012.

The nominations will run through midnight EST January 30 or until 10 books have made the list. The first poll will then be posted and will be open for 4 days, followed by a 3 day run-off poll between the two* top vote getters.

Book selection category for February is:

Romance

In order for a book to be included in the poll it needs THREE NOMINATIONS (original nomination, a second and a third).

How Does This Work?
The Mobile Read Book Club (MRBC) is an informal club that requires nothing of you. Each month a book is selected by polling. On the last week of that month a discussion thread is started for the book. If you want to participate feel free. There is no need to "join" or sign up. All are welcome.

How Does a Book Get Selected?
Each book that is nominated will be listed in a pool at the end of the nomination period. The book that polls the most votes will be the official selection.

How Many Nominations Can I Make?
Each participant has 3 nominations. You can nominate a new book for consideration or nominate (second, third) one that has already been nominated by another person.

How Do I Nominate a Book?
Please just post a message with your nomination. If you are the FIRST to nominate a book, please try to provide an abstract to the book so others may consider their level of interest.

How Do I Know What Has Been Nominated?
Just follow the thread. This message will be updated with the status of the nominations as often as I can. If one is missed, please just post a message with a multi-quote of the 3 nominations and it will be added to the list ASAP.

When is the Poll?
The poll thread will open at the end of the nomination period, or once there have been 10 books with 3 nominations each. At that time a link to the initial poll thread will be posted here and this thread will be closed.

The floor is open to nominations. Please comment if you discover a nomination is not available as an ebook in your area.

* In case of a first or second place tie in the first voting poll, the run-off poll may have more than two choices.


Official choices with three nominations each:

(1) Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald [issybird, caleb72, hpulley]
It's available here at MR and here's the Inkmesh

Spoiler:

A partial blurb from Amazon says:

Set on the French Riviera in the late 1920s, Tender Is the Night is the tragic romance of the young actress Rosemary Hoyt and the stylish American couple Dick and Nicole Diver. A brilliant young psychiatrist at the time of his marriage, Dick is both husband and doctor to Nicole, whose wealth goads him into a lifestyle not his own, and whose growing strength highlights Dick's harrowing demise. A profound study of the romantic concept of character -- lyrical, expansive, and hauntingly evocative -- Tender Is the Night, Mabel Dodge Luhan remarked, raised F. Scott Fitzgerald to the heights of "a modern Orpheus."

(2) The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton [Synamon, hpulley, Hamlet53]
It's available here and on Project Gutenberg. Inkmesh link.

Spoiler:

Originally Posted by Goodreads Summary

Winner of the 1921 Pulitzer Prize, The Age of Innocence is Edith Wharton’s masterful portrait of desire and betrayal during the sumptuous Golden Age of Old New York, a time when society people “dreaded scandal more than disease.”

This is Newland Archer’s world as he prepares to marry the beautiful but conventional May Welland. But when the mysterious Countess Ellen Olenska returns to New York after a disastrous marriage, Archer falls deeply in love with her. Torn between duty and passion, Archer struggles to make a decision that will either courageously define his life—or mercilessly destroy it.

(3) Ripping the Bodice by Inara Lavey [Nyssa, Hamlet53, WT Sharpe]
Inkmesh Search

Spoiler:

"If you're looking for a big dose of fun to go along with your romance, look no farther than Inara Lavey's Ripping the Bodice. This story positively sparkles with wit and humor...Along with that humor, Ms. Lavey has given us an absolutely addictive cast of characters who are colorful and well-developed and almost larger than life."--Bookwenches.com "The story was well-written and I enjoyed it immensely."--4-martini review from The Girls on Books "Old school romance daydreams + embarrassing contemporary situations * two potential heroes = exponential fun." --Love Romance Passion "Had me laughing out loud..."--Nixy Valentine "Ripping the Bodice is a classy read that kept this reader's interest from beginning to end. Inara Lavey seasons sexual passion, love, romance and wonderful wit and charm into this delightful tale." --Coffee Time Romance Got sex and romance on the brain? So does Cassandra Devon. She also has hard-boiled private eyes, dashing pirates, jet-setting super spies and other sexy rogues entertaining her in her surprisingly explicit subconscious. All these erotic daydreams make it hard to stay focused on Cassandra's current dilemma: namely, rebuffing the advances of Connor, a wild Irish rascal who wants to play the starring role in her fantasies. Cassandra is only interested in getting together with Raphael, the tall, dark and handsome man of her dreams. May the best romance hero win! Walter Mitty meets Erica Jong in this wickedly funny and sexy hot comedy-romance. (from Amazon.com)

(4) Candy by Maxwell Kenton (pseudonym of Terry Southern) [hpulley, Asawi, Hamlet53]
Inkmesh Search - fictionwise

Spoiler:

Maxwell Kenton's bawdy masterpiece, first published by the Olympia Press in 1958 and the subject of innumerable lawsuits, piracies and bad film adaptations since, is a modern take on Candide (from authors Terry Southern and Mason Hoffenberg in tandem). Candy Christian, a beautiful girl who just happened to be born on Valentine's Day, writes a paper on Contemporary Human Love for her instructor, Professor Mephesto, saying that "to give of oneself--fully--is not merely a duty prescribed by an outmoded superstition, it is a beautiful and thrilling privilege."

(5) Outlander by Diana Gabaldon [drofgnal, JaneD, issybird]
Inkmesh search

Spoiler:

From goodreads: The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon--when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach--an "outlander"--in a Scotland torn by war and raiding Highland clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into intrigues and dangers that may threaten her life...and shatter her heart. For here she meets James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, and becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire...and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

(6) Sex on Tuesdays by June Whyte (Erotica) [Nyssa, WT Sharpe, JSWolf]
Inkmesh Search Amazon link not included on Inkmesh: Amazon

Spoiler:

Subjects: Fiction, Romance, Crime & Thriller
Description: When the Tribute's sex-therapist chokes to death at her desk, Danielle Summers takes over the woman's daily Sex On... column. Dani, unlike her predecessor, Daisy Mae, has no qualifications or background knowledge for the job. Instead she procures her answers from the Internet, self-help books and Megan, a retired prostitute who's had sex with thousands of guys. About to turn 50, Dani yearns for more than one toothbrush in the bathroom, more than one car in the garage and definitely more than a greyhound with flatulence sharing her bed at night. The solution, she decides, is to start dating. Meanwhile, one of Dani's readers (known only as Distinctly Frustrated) has written in asking her for advice. He complains his wife is not concentrating during sex, so Dani suggests foreplay using chocolate sauce and dress-ups. However, much to Dani's horror, a saboteur changes her reply to 'Shove something hot down the bitch's throat.' The following morning, Distinctly Frustrated discovers his wife dead. Someone has indeed followed Dani's advice and 'shoved something hot' down the wife's throat. A red hot poker. After first suspecting Dani due to evidence in her handbag and her sabotaged column suggestion, the police take the husband in for questioning. Could the killer actually be Jack Rivers, sleazy bad boy from Gape, a rival newspaper? Did he really pretend to be Dani's blind date just to get her in an uncompromising position so he could publish photos of her rolls of fat and cellulite in his trashy magazine - or was it all to do with slipping incriminating evidence into her handbag while she was otherwise engaged? Or what about Alice? The Tribute's spaced-out receptionist-cum-tea-lady, who was Daisy Mae's stepsister. When Daisy Mae died, Alice thought she'd get the job of writing the Sex On... column. Jealous of Dani's success, she adds salt to her tea, spills hot coffee on her lap and sticks pins in a Dani Summers lookalike voodoo doll. But would Alice take such a giant step forward and kill DF's wife to frame Dani for murder? While chasing a killer, Dani discovers Mr. Right is slap bang under her nose. He's the guy who's been looking out for her all along. The guy who's there for her when her blind dates turn dangerous. The guy who shoves her out from under a lethal four-wheel drive intent on leaving its tire prints straight down the middle of her body. Can Dani survive investigating the murder long enough to find true love? A new romantic mystery from the acclaimed author of CHASING CAN BE MURDER. (Some scenes in this novel are inappropriate for readers under age 18.) (from Diesel eBook Store)

(7) Remember When By Nora Roberts and J.D. Robb [JSWolf, CarolineNH, Nyssa]
BooksOnBoard.com (audiobook), Amazon

Spoiler:

A perfect marriage of sensuality and suspense, this sparkling new offering from Roberts (Birthright, etc.) and her alter ego, Robb (Imitation in Death, etc.) takes readers on a two-part journey-first to the quaint burg of Angel's Gap, Md., and then to New York City, 56 years in the future. A multimillion-dollar diamond heist connects the two halves and fuels the first story, which focuses on the romance between sexy PI Max Gannon, who's working for the company that insured the diamonds, and smalltown antiques dealer Laine Tavish, daughter of a notorious thief. Laine has worked hard to overcome her heritage, but when her father's best friend is killed outside her shop, she becomes the target of a ruthless killer who thinks she has her father's share of the take. Because the story skips ahead in time, Max and Laine have little time to explore their affection for each other, but Roberts still manages to make their whirlwind romance both believable and charming. A nerve-shattering encounter between Laine and the villain shows Laine to be as capable and crafty as Lt. Eve Dallas, who's the driving force behind the novel's second half. Set in the year 2059, the continuation finds Eve on the trail of a murderer who's after the diamonds that were never recovered from the decades-old heist. Though the identity of the criminal is apparent midway through, Eve's charismatic personality and colorful crew-including her former thief husband, Roarke, and her partner, Peabody-keep the energy level high. A true master of her craft, Roberts has penned an exceptional tale that burns with all the brilliance and fire of a finely cut diamond.

(8) I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith [sun surfer, issybird, Asawi]
BooksOnBoard (Unavailable in eBook format in the USA.)

Spoiler:

I Capture the Castle tells the story of seventeen-year-old Cassandra and her family, who live in not-so-genteel poverty in a ramshackle old English castle. Here she strives, over six turbulent months, to hone her writing skills. She fills three notebooks with sharply funny yet poignant entries. Her journals candidly chronicle the great changes that take place within the castle's walls, and her own first descent into love. By the time she pens her final entry, she has "captured the castle"— and the heart of the reader— in one of literature's most enchanting entertainments.

(9) Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller [sun surfer, mikaelalind ,Synamon]
Inkmesh search

Spoiler:

Now hailed as an American classic, Tropic of Cancer, Henry Miller's masterpiece, was banned as obscene in this country for twenty-seven years after its first publication in Paris in 1943. Only a historic court ruling that changed American censorship standards, ushering in a new era of freedom and frankness in modern literature, permitted the publication of this first volume of Miller's famed mixture of memoir and fiction, which chronicles with unapologetic gusto, the bawdy adventures of a young expatriate writer, his friends, and the characters they meet in Paris in the 1930s. Tropic of Cancer is now considered, as Norman Mailer said, "one of the ten or twenty great novels of our century."

(10) Anyone But You by Jennifer Crusie [mikaelalind, Asawi, Synamon]
Inkmesh search ( Since it is a Harlequin novel it might be available from your local public library)

Spoiler:

For Nina Askew, turing forty means freedom—from the ex-husband whose career always came first, from their stuffy suburban home. Freedom to have her own apartment in the city, freedom to focus on what she wants for a change. And what she wants is something her ex always vetoed—a puppy. A bouncy puppy to cheer her up. Instead she gets…Fred.

Overweight, smelly and obviously suffering from some kind of doggy depression, Fred is light years from perky. But for all his faults, he does manage to put Nina face-to-face with Alex Moore, her gorgeous, younger downstairs neighbor.

Alex looks great on paper—a sexy, seemingly sane, surprisingly single E.R. doctor who shares Fred’s abiding love for Oreos—but a ten-year difference in age, despite his devastating smile, is too wide a gap for Nina to handle. Ignoring her insistent best friend, some interfering do-gooders and the ubiquitous Fred—not to mention her suddenly raging hormones—Nina thinks anyone but Alex would be a better bet for a relationship. But with every silver-haired stiff she dates, the more she suspects it’s the young dog-loving doctor she wants to sit and stay!

The nominations are now closed.

[WT Sharpe]

Wondering if a particular book is available in your country? The following spoiler contains a list of bookstores outside the United States you can search. If you don't see a bookstore on this list for your country, find one that is, send me the link via PM, and I'll add it to the list. In addition, if members let me know that an ebook is unavailable in a particular geographic location, I'll note it in this post, right beside the Inkmesh search for that particular book.

Spoiler:

Australian
Angus Robertson
Booktopia
Borders
Dymocks
Fishpond
Google

Canada
Amazon. Make sure you are logged out. Then go to the Kindle Store. Search for a book. After the search results come up, in the upper right corner of the screen, change the country to Canada and search away.
Google
Sony eBookstore (Upper right corner switch to/from US/CA)
Chapters
Penguin Canada
McNally Robinson (These are only Adobe Digital Editions.)

UK
BooksOnBoard (In the upper right corner is a way to switch to the UK store)
Amazon
Google
Waterstones
WH Smith

Nominations:

*** Ripping the Bodice by Inara Lavey [Nyssa, Hamlet53, WT Sharpe]
Inkmesh Search

Spoiler:

"If you're looking for a big dose of fun to go along with your romance, look no farther than Inara Lavey's Ripping the Bodice. This story positively sparkles with wit and humor...Along with that humor, Ms. Lavey has given us an absolutely addictive cast of characters who are colorful and well-developed and almost larger than life."--Bookwenches.com "The story was well-written and I enjoyed it immensely."--4-martini review from The Girls on Books "Old school romance daydreams + embarrassing contemporary situations * two potential heroes = exponential fun." --Love Romance Passion "Had me laughing out loud..."--Nixy Valentine "Ripping the Bodice is a classy read that kept this reader's interest from beginning to end. Inara Lavey seasons sexual passion, love, romance and wonderful wit and charm into this delightful tale." --Coffee Time Romance Got sex and romance on the brain? So does Cassandra Devon. She also has hard-boiled private eyes, dashing pirates, jet-setting super spies and other sexy rogues entertaining her in her surprisingly explicit subconscious. All these erotic daydreams make it hard to stay focused on Cassandra's current dilemma: namely, rebuffing the advances of Connor, a wild Irish rascal who wants to play the starring role in her fantasies. Cassandra is only interested in getting together with Raphael, the tall, dark and handsome man of her dreams. May the best romance hero win! Walter Mitty meets Erica Jong in this wickedly funny and sexy hot comedy-romance. (from Amazon.com)

*** Anyone But You by Jennifer Crusie [mikaelalind, Asawi, Synamon]
Inkmesh search ( Since it is a Harlequin novel it might be available from your local public library)

Spoiler:

For Nina Askew, turing forty means freedom—from the ex-husband whose career always came first, from their stuffy suburban home. Freedom to have her own apartment in the city, freedom to focus on what she wants for a change. And what she wants is something her ex always vetoed—a puppy. A bouncy puppy to cheer her up. Instead she gets…Fred.

Overweight, smelly and obviously suffering from some kind of doggy depression, Fred is light years from perky. But for all his faults, he does manage to put Nina face-to-face with Alex Moore, her gorgeous, younger downstairs neighbor.

Alex looks great on paper—a sexy, seemingly sane, surprisingly single E.R. doctor who shares Fred’s abiding love for Oreos—but a ten-year difference in age, despite his devastating smile, is too wide a gap for Nina to handle. Ignoring her insistent best friend, some interfering do-gooders and the ubiquitous Fred—not to mention her suddenly raging hormones—Nina thinks anyone but Alex would be a better bet for a relationship. But with every silver-haired stiff she dates, the more she suspects it’s the young dog-loving doctor she wants to sit and stay!

*** Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald [issybird, caleb72, hpulley]
It's available here at MR and here's the Inkmesh

Spoiler:

A partial blurb from Amazon says:

Set on the French Riviera in the late 1920s, Tender Is the Night is the tragic romance of the young actress Rosemary Hoyt and the stylish American couple Dick and Nicole Diver. A brilliant young psychiatrist at the time of his marriage, Dick is both husband and doctor to Nicole, whose wealth goads him into a lifestyle not his own, and whose growing strength highlights Dick's harrowing demise. A profound study of the romantic concept of character -- lyrical, expansive, and hauntingly evocative -- Tender Is the Night, Mabel Dodge Luhan remarked, raised F. Scott Fitzgerald to the heights of "a modern Orpheus."

*** Sex on Tuesdays by June Whyte (Erotica) [Nyssa, WT Sharpe, JSWolf]
Inkmesh Search
Amazon link not included on Inkmesh: Amazon

Spoiler:

Subjects: Fiction, Romance, Crime & Thriller
Description: When the Tribute's sex-therapist chokes to death at her desk, Danielle Summers takes over the woman's daily Sex On... column. Dani, unlike her predecessor, Daisy Mae, has no qualifications or background knowledge for the job. Instead she procures her answers from the Internet, self-help books and Megan, a retired prostitute who's had sex with thousands of guys. About to turn 50, Dani yearns for more than one toothbrush in the bathroom, more than one car in the garage and definitely more than a greyhound with flatulence sharing her bed at night. The solution, she decides, is to start dating. Meanwhile, one of Dani's readers (known only as Distinctly Frustrated) has written in asking her for advice. He complains his wife is not concentrating during sex, so Dani suggests foreplay using chocolate sauce and dress-ups. However, much to Dani's horror, a saboteur changes her reply to 'Shove something hot down the bitch's throat.' The following morning, Distinctly Frustrated discovers his wife dead. Someone has indeed followed Dani's advice and 'shoved something hot' down the wife's throat. A red hot poker. After first suspecting Dani due to evidence in her handbag and her sabotaged column suggestion, the police take the husband in for questioning. Could the killer actually be Jack Rivers, sleazy bad boy from Gape, a rival newspaper? Did he really pretend to be Dani's blind date just to get her in an uncompromising position so he could publish photos of her rolls of fat and cellulite in his trashy magazine - or was it all to do with slipping incriminating evidence into her handbag while she was otherwise engaged? Or what about Alice? The Tribute's spaced-out receptionist-cum-tea-lady, who was Daisy Mae's stepsister. When Daisy Mae died, Alice thought she'd get the job of writing the Sex On... column. Jealous of Dani's success, she adds salt to her tea, spills hot coffee on her lap and sticks pins in a Dani Summers lookalike voodoo doll. But would Alice take such a giant step forward and kill DF's wife to frame Dani for murder? While chasing a killer, Dani discovers Mr. Right is slap bang under her nose. He's the guy who's been looking out for her all along. The guy who's there for her when her blind dates turn dangerous. The guy who shoves her out from under a lethal four-wheel drive intent on leaving its tire prints straight down the middle of her body. Can Dani survive investigating the murder long enough to find true love? A new romantic mystery from the acclaimed author of CHASING CAN BE MURDER. (Some scenes in this novel are inappropriate for readers under age 18.) (from Diesel eBook Store)

*** Remember When By Nora Roberts and J.D. Robb [JSWolf, CarolineNH, Nyssa]
BooksOnBoard.com (audiobook), Amazon

Spoiler:

A perfect marriage of sensuality and suspense, this sparkling new offering from Roberts (Birthright, etc.) and her alter ego, Robb (Imitation in Death, etc.) takes readers on a two-part journey-first to the quaint burg of Angel's Gap, Md., and then to New York City, 56 years in the future. A multimillion-dollar diamond heist connects the two halves and fuels the first story, which focuses on the romance between sexy PI Max Gannon, who's working for the company that insured the diamonds, and smalltown antiques dealer Laine Tavish, daughter of a notorious thief. Laine has worked hard to overcome her heritage, but when her father's best friend is killed outside her shop, she becomes the target of a ruthless killer who thinks she has her father's share of the take. Because the story skips ahead in time, Max and Laine have little time to explore their affection for each other, but Roberts still manages to make their whirlwind romance both believable and charming. A nerve-shattering encounter between Laine and the villain shows Laine to be as capable and crafty as Lt. Eve Dallas, who's the driving force behind the novel's second half. Set in the year 2059, the continuation finds Eve on the trail of a murderer who's after the diamonds that were never recovered from the decades-old heist. Though the identity of the criminal is apparent midway through, Eve's charismatic personality and colorful crew-including her former thief husband, Roarke, and her partner, Peabody-keep the energy level high. A true master of her craft, Roberts has penned an exceptional tale that burns with all the brilliance and fire of a finely cut diamond.

*** The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton [Synamon, hpulley, Hamlet53]
It's available here and on Project Gutenberg. Inkmesh link.

Spoiler:

Originally Posted by Goodreads Summary

Winner of the 1921 Pulitzer Prize, The Age of Innocence is Edith Wharton’s masterful portrait of desire and betrayal during the sumptuous Golden Age of Old New York, a time when society people “dreaded scandal more than disease.”

This is Newland Archer’s world as he prepares to marry the beautiful but conventional May Welland. But when the mysterious Countess Ellen Olenska returns to New York after a disastrous marriage, Archer falls deeply in love with her. Torn between duty and passion, Archer struggles to make a decision that will either courageously define his life—or mercilessly destroy it.

*** Outlander by Diana Gabaldon [drofgnal, JaneD, issybird]
Inkmesh search

Spoiler:

From goodreads: The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon--when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach--an "outlander"--in a Scotland torn by war and raiding Highland clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into intrigues and dangers that may threaten her life...and shatter her heart. For here she meets James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, and becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire...and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

*** Candy by Maxwell Kenton (pseudonym of Terry Southern) [hpulley, Asawi, Hamlet53]
Inkmesh Search - fictionwise

Spoiler:

Maxwell Kenton's bawdy masterpiece, first published by the Olympia Press in 1958 and the subject of innumerable lawsuits, piracies and bad film adaptations since, is a modern take on Candide (from authors Terry Southern and Mason Hoffenberg in tandem). Candy Christian, a beautiful girl who just happened to be born on Valentine's Day, writes a paper on Contemporary Human Love for her instructor, Professor Mephesto, saying that "to give of oneself--fully--is not merely a duty prescribed by an outmoded superstition, it is a beautiful and thrilling privilege."

*** I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith [sun surfer, issybird, Asawi]
BooksOnBoard (Unavailable in eBook format in the USA.)

Spoiler:

I Capture the Castle tells the story of seventeen-year-old Cassandra and her family, who live in not-so-genteel poverty in a ramshackle old English castle. Here she strives, over six turbulent months, to hone her writing skills. She fills three notebooks with sharply funny yet poignant entries. Her journals candidly chronicle the great changes that take place within the castle's walls, and her own first descent into love. By the time she pens her final entry, she has "captured the castle"— and the heart of the reader— in one of literature's most enchanting entertainments.

*** Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller [sun surfer, mikaelalind ,Synamon]
Inkmesh search

Spoiler:

Now hailed as an American classic, Tropic of Cancer, Henry Miller's masterpiece, was banned as obscene in this country for twenty-seven years after its first publication in Paris in 1943. Only a historic court ruling that changed American censorship standards, ushering in a new era of freedom and frankness in modern literature, permitted the publication of this first volume of Miller's famed mixture of memoir and fiction, which chronicles with unapologetic gusto, the bawdy adventures of a young expatriate writer, his friends, and the characters they meet in Paris in the 1930s. Tropic of Cancer is now considered, as Norman Mailer said, "one of the ten or twenty great novels of our century."

[Nyssa]

The Romance genre is a bit of an unknown to me. I haven't really read any since high school...but I'll start the nominations off, anyway:

Ripping the Bodice by Inara Lavey

Inkmesh Search

Spoiler:

"If you're looking for a big dose of fun to go along with your romance, look no farther than Inara Lavey's Ripping the Bodice. This story positively sparkles with wit and humor...Along with that humor, Ms. Lavey has given us an absolutely addictive cast of characters who are colorful and well-developed and almost larger than life."--Bookwenches.com "The story was well-written and I enjoyed it immensely."--4-martini review from The Girls on Books "Old school romance daydreams + embarrassing contemporary situations * two potential heroes = exponential fun." --Love Romance Passion "Had me laughing out loud..."--Nixy Valentine "Ripping the Bodice is a classy read that kept this reader's interest from beginning to end. Inara Lavey seasons sexual passion, love, romance and wonderful wit and charm into this delightful tale." --Coffee Time Romance Got sex and romance on the brain? So does Cassandra Devon. She also has hard-boiled private eyes, dashing pirates, jet-setting super spies and other sexy rogues entertaining her in her surprisingly explicit subconscious. All these erotic daydreams make it hard to stay focused on Cassandra's current dilemma: namely, rebuffing the advances of Connor, a wild Irish rascal who wants to play the starring role in her fantasies. Cassandra is only interested in getting together with Raphael, the tall, dark and handsome man of her dreams. May the best romance hero win! Walter Mitty meets Erica Jong in this wickedly funny and sexy hot comedy-romance. (from Amazon.com)

[Nyssa]

I have a question before I make a 2nd Nomination: Are we allowed to nominate Adult/ Erotica novels?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Nyssa

I have a question before I make a 2nd Nomination: Are we allowed to nominate Adult/ Erotica novels?

The type not for those under 18?

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The type not for those under 18?

Correct.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Nyssa

Correct.

Go for it. The raunchier the better. Just make sure it's got plenty of guyless scenes.

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Go for it. The raunchier the better. Just make sure it's got plenty of guyless scenes.

Ha! Ha! Ha!

Seeing as anything I nominate will be completly new to me, there is no way I could even pretend to take your suggestion under advisment. Oh Well!

[mikaelalind]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Go for it. The raunchier the better. Just make sure it's got plenty of guyless scenes.

Suddenly I am tempted to nominate a Josh Laymon novel.... Nah. Not my cup of tea. Even if I have heard good things about his books.

I nominate Anyone but you by Jennifer Crusie. Which coincidently is next on my TBR list.
Inkmesh search ( Since it is a Harlequin novel it might be available from your local public library)

Spoiler:

For Nina Askew, turing forty means freedom—from the ex-husband whose career always came first, from their stuffy suburban home. Freedom to have her own apartment in the city, freedom to focus on what she wants for a change. And what she wants is something her ex always vetoed—a puppy. A bouncy puppy to cheer her up. Instead she gets…Fred.

Overweight, smelly and obviously suffering from some kind of doggy depression, Fred is light years from perky. But for all his faults, he does manage to put Nina face-to-face with Alex Moore, her gorgeous, younger downstairs neighbor.

Alex looks great on paper—a sexy, seemingly sane, surprisingly single E.R. doctor who shares Fred’s abiding love for Oreos—but a ten-year difference in age, despite his devastating smile, is too wide a gap for Nina to handle. Ignoring her insistent best friend, some interfering do-gooders and the ubiquitous Fred—not to mention her suddenly raging hormones—Nina thinks anyone but Alex would be a better bet for a relationship. But with every silver-haired stiff she dates, the more she suspects it’s the young dog-loving doctor she wants to sit and stay!

[issybird]

I'd like to nominate Tender is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald's last completed novel.

A partial blurb from Amazon says:

Set on the French Riviera in the late 1920s, Tender Is the Night is the tragic romance of the young actress Rosemary Hoyt and the stylish American couple Dick and Nicole Diver. A brilliant young psychiatrist at the time of his marriage, Dick is both husband and doctor to Nicole, whose wealth goads him into a lifestyle not his own, and whose growing strength highlights Dick's harrowing demise. A profound study of the romantic concept of character -- lyrical, expansive, and hauntingly evocative -- Tender Is the Night, Mabel Dodge Luhan remarked, raised F. Scott Fitzgerald to the heights of "a modern Orpheus."

It's available here at MR and here's the Inkmesh link.

[Nyssa]

Okay. So if Erotica is actually allowed, I would like to nominate:

Sex on Tuesdays by June Whyte
Inkmash Search

Spoiler:

Subjects: Fiction, Romance, Crime & Thriller
Description: When the Tribute's sex-therapist chokes to death at her desk, Danielle Summers takes over the woman's daily Sex On... column. Dani, unlike her predecessor, Daisy Mae, has no qualifications or background knowledge for the job. Instead she procures her answers from the Internet, self-help books and Megan, a retired prostitute who's had sex with thousands of guys. About to turn 50, Dani yearns for more than one toothbrush in the bathroom, more than one car in the garage and definitely more than a greyhound with flatulence sharing her bed at night. The solution, she decides, is to start dating. Meanwhile, one of Dani's readers (known only as Distinctly Frustrated) has written in asking her for advice. He complains his wife is not concentrating during sex, so Dani suggests foreplay using chocolate sauce and dress-ups. However, much to Dani's horror, a saboteur changes her reply to 'Shove something hot down the bitch's throat.' The following morning, Distinctly Frustrated discovers his wife dead. Someone has indeed followed Dani's advice and 'shoved something hot' down the wife's throat. A red hot poker. After first suspecting Dani due to evidence in her handbag and her sabotaged column suggestion, the police take the husband in for questioning. Could the killer actually be Jack Rivers, sleazy bad boy from Gape, a rival newspaper? Did he really pretend to be Dani's blind date just to get her in an uncompromising position so he could publish photos of her rolls of fat and cellulite in his trashy magazine - or was it all to do with slipping incriminating evidence into her handbag while she was otherwise engaged? Or what about Alice? The Tribute's spaced-out receptionist-cum-tea-lady, who was Daisy Mae's stepsister. When Daisy Mae died, Alice thought she'd get the job of writing the Sex On... column. Jealous of Dani's success, she adds salt to her tea, spills hot coffee on her lap and sticks pins in a Dani Summers lookalike voodoo doll. But would Alice take such a giant step forward and kill DF's wife to frame Dani for murder? While chasing a killer, Dani discovers Mr. Right is slap bang under her nose. He's the guy who's been looking out for her all along. The guy who's there for her when her blind dates turn dangerous. The guy who shoves her out from under a lethal four-wheel drive intent on leaving its tire prints straight down the middle of her body. Can Dani survive investigating the murder long enough to find true love? A new romantic mystery from the acclaimed author of CHASING CAN BE MURDER. (Some scenes in this novel are inappropriate for readers under age 18.) (from Diesel eBook Store)

Amazon link not included on Inkmesh: Amazon

Well I am at something of a loss as to what could potentially please those who might look forward to this category. However, the nominations and posts up to this point lead me to think that this would be at least a within the category nomination since erotica is acceptable

Candy by Maxwell Kenton (pseudonym of Terry Southern) Inkmesh Search

Spoiler:

Maxwell Kenton's bawdy masterpiece, first published by the Olympia Press in 1958 and the subject of innumerable lawsuits, piracies and bad film adaptations since, is a modern take on Candide (from authors Terry Southern and Mason Hoffenberg in tandem). Candy Christian, a beautiful girl who just happened to be born on Valentine's Day, writes a paper on Contemporary Human Love for her instructor, Professor Mephesto, saying that "to give of oneself--fully--is not merely a duty prescribed by an outmoded superstition, it is a beautiful and thrilling privilege."

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by Hamlet53

Well I am at something of a loss as to what could potentially please those who might look forward to this category. However, the nominations and posts up to this point lead me to think that this would be at least a within the category nomination since erotica is acceptable

Candy by Maxwell Kenton (pseudonym of Terry Southern) Inkmesh Search

Spoiler:

Maxwell Kenton's bawdy masterpiece, first published by the Olympia Press in 1958 and the subject of innumerable lawsuits, piracies and bad film adaptations since, is a modern take on Candide (from authors Terry Southern and Mason Hoffenberg in tandem). Candy Christian, a beautiful girl who just happened to be born on Valentine's Day, writes a paper on Contemporary Human Love for her instructor, Professor Mephesto, saying that "to give of oneself--fully--is not merely a duty prescribed by an outmoded superstition, it is a beautiful and thrilling privilege."

Side note: Not available for the Kindle.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Hamlet53

Well I am at something of a loss as to what could potentially please those who might look forward to this category. However, the nominations and posts up to this point lead me to think that this would be at least a within the category nomination since erotica is acceptable

Candy by Maxwell Kenton (pseudonym of Terry Southern) Inkmesh Search

Spoiler:

Maxwell Kenton's bawdy masterpiece, first published by the Olympia Press in 1958 and the subject of innumerable lawsuits, piracies and bad film adaptations since, is a modern take on Candide (from authors Terry Southern and Mason Hoffenberg in tandem). Candy Christian, a beautiful girl who just happened to be born on Valentine's Day, writes a paper on Contemporary Human Love for her instructor, Professor Mephesto, saying that "to give of oneself--fully--is not merely a duty prescribed by an outmoded superstition, it is a beautiful and thrilling privilege."

I suggest you ask for your nomination back as I can only find this in PDF and if that's true, then it has no chance to win.

[JSWolf]

I'm going to nominate Remember When By Nora Roberts and J.D. Robb. It is available as an eBook in the US, UK, AU and CA.

A perfect marriage of sensuality and suspense, this sparkling new offering from Roberts (Birthright, etc.) and her alter ego, Robb (Imitation in Death, etc.) takes readers on a two-part journey-first to the quaint burg of Angel's Gap, Md., and then to New York City, 56 years in the future. A multimillion-dollar diamond heist connects the two halves and fuels the first story, which focuses on the romance between sexy PI Max Gannon, who's working for the company that insured the diamonds, and smalltown antiques dealer Laine Tavish, daughter of a notorious thief. Laine has worked hard to overcome her heritage, but when her father's best friend is killed outside her shop, she becomes the target of a ruthless killer who thinks she has her father's share of the take. Because the story skips ahead in time, Max and Laine have little time to explore their affection for each other, but Roberts still manages to make their whirlwind romance both believable and charming. A nerve-shattering encounter between Laine and the villain shows Laine to be as capable and crafty as Lt. Eve Dallas, who's the driving force behind the novel's second half. Set in the year 2059, the continuation finds Eve on the trail of a murderer who's after the diamonds that were never recovered from the decades-old heist. Though the identity of the criminal is apparent midway through, Eve's charismatic personality and colorful crew-including her former thief husband, Roarke, and her partner, Peabody-keep the energy level high. A true master of her craft, Roberts has penned an exceptional tale that burns with all the brilliance and fire of a finely cut diamond.