Blog Tour: Just Add Spice by Carol E. Wyer (Review, Guest Post and Giveaway!)

Just Add Spice
by Carol Wyer
on Tour November 2013

Book DetailsGenre: Romantic Comedy
Published by: Safkhet Soul
Publication Date: 25th July 2013
Number of Pages: 184
NOTE: Explicit sexual scenes
Purchase Links:    

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

Escape from reality comes in patent-leather Prada kneeboots

Dawn Ellis needs to escape from her painfully dull existence. Her unemployed husband spends all day complaining about life, moping around, or fixing lawnmowers on her kitchen table. The local writing class proves to be an adequate distraction with its eccentric collection of wannabe authors and, of course, the enigmatic Jason, who soon shows a romantic interest in her.

Dawn pours her inner frustrations into her first novel about the extraordinary exploits of Cinnamon Knight, an avenging angel -- a woman who doesn't believe in following the rules. Cinnamon is ruthless and wanton, inflicting suffering on any man who warrants it. Little does Dawn realise that soon the line between reality and fiction will blur. Her own life will be transformed, and those close to her will pay the price.

My Review

It took me awhile before I could get into this book, but I stuck with it and I'm glad I did.  It was a bit confusing at first going back and forth between Dawn and her alter-ego Cinnamon, but it was a nice contrast. It was like having two books in one.

Cinnamon is a woman many of us wish we were - she stands up for women who were wronged and doesn't let any man get away with treating women poorly.  She goes a bit beyond the norm, but the writer's concept is an interesting one.  Dawn's issues are faced by many women in the real world.  The story is laced with both humor and suspense.  I liked the mix of reality with fiction.  It's very well written with clever characters.

I would definitely read more by this author.

FTC Disclosure: The author provided me with a copy of this book to review for this blog tour. This did not influence my thoughts and opinions in any way. All opinions expressed are my own.

Read an excerpt:

Cinnamon Knight ground the stub of her Benson and Hedges’ cigarette into the pavement with the heel of her Prada leather motorcycle boot, where it now joined a small pile of tab ends. Strategically placed in a shop doorway, she watched the top left window of a block of flats opposite. She had been there almost two hours. Rain beat steadily on the pavement, drumming against the gutter with constant thuds, but this did not deter her. Her patience was rewarded as the light blazing from the window was finally extinguished. She sauntered across the road to the BMW parked in front of the block of flats along the kerbside, sandwiched between a Peugeot 205 and a C Class Mercedes.
Dressed completely in black, face partially obscured by her North Face hooded jacket; she was almost invisible next to the dark car. It took only a minute to fiddle with the lock, open the door, and slide into the car. She lowered herself down in the driver’s seat, casting a cursory glance out of the window. The streets were empty. The weather was on her side and no one was braving the downpour, not even the old man at the end of the road who rarely missed taking his dog out for an evening stroll.
She leant forward and pulled off the cover below the steering wheel with one deft movement. Extracting the screwdriver from a neat case, she stabbed it into the ignition lock. A quick fiddle, one sharp twist, and the car burst into life; the persistent thudding of the rain against the pavement hid the initial coughing of the engine. She pulled away from the kerb swiftly and headed up the road at speed.
Pushing the hood away from her head, she checked her face in the rear-view mirror. That’ll teach him to mess about with women, she thought. No one, but no one, messes about with Cinnamon—the rat!

Author Bio:

Carol E. Wyer is an award winning author whose humorous novels take a light-hearted look at getting older and encourage others to age disgracefully.

Her best-selling debut novel 'Mini Skirts and Laughter Lines' won five awards for humour.

'Surfing in Stilettos' which follows the further adventures of Amanda Wilson as she attempts to inject some fun into her life, was a Costa Award nominee.

Safkhet Publishing released 'How Not to Murder Your Grumpy' June 1st 2012, the first of three books in a 'Grumpy' series.

Carol has featured on numerous shows discussing 'Irritable Male Syndrome' and 'Ageing Disgracefully'. She has had articles published in national magazines such as Woman's Weekly' and on-line magazines. She writes regularly for The Huffington Post and author website Indies Unlimited.
She is a signed author with ThornBerry Publishing and Safkhet Publishing.

Author Guest Blog Post

Which actors and/or fictional characters are the perfect romantic heroes?

I’m not really a very romantic person at heart so I am probably the wrong person to answer this question. I don’t get swept away by dark flashing eyes and passionate outbursts, or heroes who always get their woman in the end. I must be missing a romantic gene or something, however, I can appreciate good Literature and there are some excellent examples of romantic heroes like Mr Edward Rochester in Jane Eyre who seems to appear top of every pole about romantic heroes.

However, I am more interested in the ‘real’ type of love that exists; love that is passionate but can equally confuse and in some cases destroy. Romance does not have to be about gestures and flowers.

For me, a romantic figure does not necessarily have to be gorgeous and lovey-dovey, or indeed perfect. They need to be strong but flawed; more human, if you like. I prefer men who make mistakes and regret them like Henchard in The Mayor of Casterbridge, or tragically flawed like Mark Antony in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra.

I am also drawn to men who, like Rupert Campbell-Black in Jilly Cooper’s The Rutshire Chronicles, are rascals. Rupert Campbell Black is sexy yet has a vulnerability that women find hard to resist. Most of Jilly Cooper’s men are proper heroes. They are caring, passionate, handsome and at times complete idiots, but they are also proper characters that we can find credible. Take Viking in Appassionata. He is not just a hunk. He is well-developed as a character, has sharp wit, plays First Horn in the RSO and has a sense of humour, something that lacks in the arrogant Christian Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey who is merely handsome, wealthy, arrogant and two dimensional. I suppose this is a throwback to my student days when I studied Shakespeare and decided that Benedick in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, with his rapier wit and humour, was far more likeable than the drippy Claudio. It is imperative that a man can make me laugh. (No, not in a wearing a red nose and large baggy trousers way.)

Men like Mark Darcy in Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’ Diary also have an appeal. Brooding and quiet with hidden depths, they have a magnetism that is hard to resist. Deep down they are kind and that resonates with me. The fact that Darcy likes Bridget Jones’ “Just the way she is” gives him a bonus romantic hero point in my book.

Emotionally unavailable men make me weak at the knees. I would happily iron Batman’s suit for him, if only he would notice me. That also explains why I love Neo in The Matrix series, Wolverine or John Reese in the drama series, Person of Interest and Dexter in Dexter.

So, I don’t swoon at Romeo, or get excited by Rhett Butler even though he is a rake. I don’t wish I could be carried away on the back of a white horse by a handsome Alpha male. I suppose I merely want my romantic heroes to be realistic, slightly reserved, appreciative, and humorous. Is that too much to ask?

E-Book Giveaway

Thanks to author Carol E. Wyer and Partners in Crime Tours, I can offer one e-book of Just Add Spice to one lucky winner. 

Just a few simple rules...

1) You must fill out the form below.

2)  For one entry:  Leave a comment for the author.

3) For an extra entry: Follow this blog

4) For an extra entry: Follow me on Twitter

5) For an extra entry: Follow me on Goodreads

6) For an extra 2 entries: Post this giveaway on your blog.

7) For an extra 2 entries: Tweet about this giveaway.

The giveaway begins on November 22nd (midnight est) and ends on November 29th (midnight est).

The winner will be notified by email and has 48 hours to respond, otherwise a new winner will be chosen.

Good luck!

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