Who's Your Celebrity Crush? #LongandShortReviews #BlogChallenge

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

This week's topic: My Celebrity Crushes

The problem with the topic this week is that I have too many celebrity crushes and its difficult to narrow it down! I am a life-long romantic and I fall in love quite easily. I'll try to keep this short, but I can't promise!

Jensen Ackles

I dare you to not fall in love with this man. I say it is impossible! Not only is he an excellent actor, sexy as sin and can sing, but from all that I've heard, he's a genuinely nice, kind-hearted, caring and loving person. 

If you don't know who he is (where have you been?), let me have the pleasure of introducing you to the man who plays Dean Winchester on the TV show Supernatural. Go find it on Netflix. Now! You have to watch it if you want to be my friend. Go on!

Gerard Butler

I fell in love with Gerard the first time I watched Dracula 2000 and have been following him with every movie he plays in ever since. Some of my favorites are Phantom of the Opera, Reign of Fire, Nim's Island, The Bounty Hunter, Olympus Has Fallen and London Has Fallen. One of his best known roles was playing King Leonidas in 300.

Oh, yes, did I mention he's Scottish? I do love men with Scottish accents!

Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Jeffrey is my newest celebrity crush. I fell for him as John Winchester in Supernatural (haven't you watched this yet? Go, I tell you! You don't know what you're missing!). And then he completely captured me with his role as Negan in The Walking Dead. Oh, how I hated him! So much! And that's what pulled me in. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is another one of those excellent actors that can make you fall in love with a bad guy with just a smile.

Some of my other celebrity crushes...

Tom Hiddleston

Richard Armitage

Richard Dean Anderson

Of course, I also need to add some of my girl celebrity crushes...

Mila Jovovich

Kate Beckinsale

Rachel Weisz

Lauren Cohen

I better stop here. I could keep going. Seriously, I love everyone, but these are some of my favorites. Who are your celebrity crushes?

Be sure to check out the other blogger's celebrity crushes at ...

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Beth-Ann Miller returns to her Tennessee moutain home to find chaos erupting between her family and their shape-shifting neighbors. Her father is convinced the were-cougar clan is responsible for the murders occurring in their area and interrogates one of the shifters, Boone Evans, her childhood sweetheart. When Boone declares several members of his shifter family have gone missing including his little brother, Beth-Ann suspects someone else is behind both the murders and abductions.

Boone never expected to see Beth-Ann again. When she frees him from her father's cabin and promises to help find his brother, Boone doesn't plan on rekindling their passionate love affair or facing the pain of past mistakes. Nor does he plan on coming face to face with the man responsible for altering his family's life forever.

With men hunting the were-cougars, can Beth-Ann and Boone risk all to have a future together? Or is loving Boone too high a price to pay? 

AMAZON

#BookReview ~ World War II Love Stories by Gill Paul #nonfiction #romance

World War II Love Stories by Gill Paul

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

September 1939 saw Adolf Hitler drive the world into one of the greatest conflicts the world has ever known. The atrocities unleashed by the Nazi regime were unprecedented; families were torn apart, millions were murdered, and a cloud of fear cast over the world. But somewhere, love and hope remained ignited.

World War II Love Stories tells the unforgettable stories of those couples brought together by war. They are enduring tales of great love, intense passion, and often tragedy, but most of all they are tales that celebrate the human spirit at its time of greatest trial.

Hardcover, 191 pages

Published 2014 by Prospero Books

My Review: 

I admit, I almost put this book back on the shelf. Not for lack of interest, but I have so many books at home to read. I really should read some of those before I buy more, but as I'm an avid reader this inner debate usually ends badly for my bank account. Yes, I bought this one, too. I found this particular hardcover at the local B&N in the bargain section so the price was just right. The cover with the large bold words WORLD WAR II caught my eye first. I'm usually on the lookout for WWII books for my husband, but the smaller LOVE STORIES beneath called to me in particular. And I'm so glad that I read this book!

There are 14 chapters within these 191 pages each featuring a couple who discovered love and romance during the time of World War II. It was compelling reading. I enjoyed each story, even those that ended sadly. I'm all about the happily-ever-after, that's why I typically read romance, but tragically not all true-life stories end happily. Still, there was enough love to overshadow most of the sadness. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read about some interesting true-life romances, and also to those who would like to learn more about this time period in history. As well as learning about the love these people shared, I also learned about the war and how these men and women lived and survived during that tragic time. It was an informative book written in a very fast-paced style that kept me turning the pages.

Here are the couples you'll read about:

Coco Chanel & Hans von Dinklage
William & Kathleen Anderson
Bill & Norma Kay Moore
Desmond Paul & Louisa Henry
Etienne & Violette Szabo
Charley & Jean Paul
Dwight D. Eisenhower & Kay Summersby
Roger & Rosemarie Williams
Allen Dulles & Mary Bancroft
Hudson & Betty Turner
Bob & Rosie Norwalk
Raymond & Lucie Aubrac
Hedley & Dorrit Nash
Roy Sather & Pill Denham




View all my reviews

The First Romance Novel I Ever Read - Spring Fling Blog Hop

Welcome to the Spring Fling Blog Hop happening March 20-23. For a full list of participants, visit Romance Blog Hops. There are over 100 blogs, so that means lots of great prizes at each stop so be sure to check them out!

Today, I've been thinking a lot about how I ended up as a romance author, meaning the books that influenced and inspired me to write. But more than that, these books inspired me to become a READER first. So, I've dug through my boxes of books that contain all of my keepers. Oh, I wish I had a room filled with shelves to display all these wonderful gems! I love to pull these books out and reminisce. It's like visiting old friends. 

The first romance novel I ever read was The Romance of the Rose by Claire Delacroix. I bought it at the Hills Department store that was about a ten minute walk from my house. I can't remember exactly how old I was, somewhere between 12-15. It was after my mom died, which is one of the reasons I picked up this book. 

My mother was an avid romance reader and I missed her so much. The only think I could thing of to be closer to her was to read a romance novel. It was something I'd seen her do for as long as I could remember. I used to tease her about the covers of the half-naked men and women (this was the '80s). She never hid the covers nor did she make any excuses for reading them. They were enjoyable stories. So enjoyable, she had a whole room devoted to her books. Yes, my mother had a library in our small four bedroom house. My father built the bookshelves and she filled them completely! 

So, I wanted to share something with her since I missed her so much, but I never expected to become like her with my reading! I became addicted! Every week I'd check the store's shelves for more. But, it wasn't fast enough for me, so I subscribed to Harlequin Historicals to have the books delivered directly to my house. What a joy that was to receive that box of books each month! And so began my life as a romance reader. I love romance novels so much that now I write them! 

And now, I can share my books with readers! If you're interested, you can find out more about my books here.

PRIZE: 

I'm offering a 

$10.00 Amazon Gift Certificate. 

Just comment on this blog post to be eligible. 

The winner will be picked at random. 

Answer this: 

What was the first romance novel you ever read? 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks to Jane Wakely for setting up this blog hop! And special thanks goes out to Blushing Books and authors Sue Lyndon, Patty Devlin and Cara Bristol for their contributions to the Grand Prizes!! :)

Enter the Rafflecopter 

to participate for one of the 

GRAND PRIZES: 

1 Kindle Fire (Donated by Blushing Books)

1 $75 Amazon (or B&N) Gift Card

1 $25 Starbucks Gift Card (Donated by Sue)

1 $25 Blushing Books Gift Card (Donated by Patty)

1 $25 Loose Id Gift Card (Donated by Cara)

And please be sure to check the next blog on this hop!

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