Rumor Has It Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

RUMOR HAS IT
Animal Magnetism #4
Jill Shalvis
Adult Contemporary Romance
304 pages
Berkley
Available now
Source: Finished copy from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Special Ops soldier Griffin Reid doesn’t exactly have happy memories of growing up in Sunshine, Idaho. He’s only come back to recover from a war injury, and while he refuses to admit he’s in a weakened state, he finds comfort in the last person he’d expect.

Kate Evans teaches fourth grade science in Sunshine, the place she’s always called home. Dreaming of graduate school and a happily-ever-after, she’s desperate to break out of the monotony of Sunshine. Luckily, a certain sexy man has just come back into her life.

To Griffin, Kate as always been his little sister’s friend, but now he’s finding her to be so much more. As both attempt to forge their paths, they must decide if their passionate connection can turn into something lasting…

MY THOUGHTS
Rumor Has It is an absolute gem of a contemporary romance, filled with sexual tension and romantic sparks galore in addition to humor and charm, starting us off with a smile that never once slips from our faces as Kate and Griffin find their happy ending. Those who haven’t read the first three books in this series (like myself) will have absolutely no trouble settling into the story, Kate and Griffin’s romance something that easily stands on its own, the only thought we have with regard to the books that came before it is the mistake we made in not trying them sooner.

Many times with romances of any genre it’s the hero who is the standout, the one we female readers swoon over and pine for, wishing against all the laws of physics and the universe that the heroine’s shoes might magically fit on our feet so we can slide into them for real in order to bask in the attention of the alpha, beta, nerd, warrior, or any other type of delicious hero. While Griffin is no doubt worthy of an increased heart rate and rapid breathing, it’s Kate who is the highlight of this story; a woman so adorably awkward when she’s nervous that we fall in love with her instantaneously. Where some of us freeze in the presence of a good-looking man or perhaps even run away with all haste, Kate blurts out random and little-known science facts that have us wincing in sympathy for her even as we can’t help but smile at how cute she is.

In addition to her nearly uncontrollable tendency to regurgitate factoids whenever in Griffin’s presence, she is also extraordinarily low key, something we are eternally grateful for as we know with her leading us through this story we’ll never have to worry about dramatic meltdowns or gross overreactions. She’s upfront about what she wants with Griffin and is the first to give voice to her feelings, never really expecting anything from him in return but rather just putting them out there so he knows where she stands. When he fails to communicate (which to his credit isn’t often) or hurts her, instead of trying to hurt him in return or covering her hurt with attitude, she simply states her case about why she thinks he’s making a mistake. She’s never argumentative or confrontational, which is not to say she’s a pushover or a saint in any way, she undeniably has her own flaws, but she handles the murky waters of emotional attachment with far more grace than she does situations that make her nervous.

Overall, Rumor Has It is funny and light-hearted, with enough chemistry between Griffin and Kate to keep us devouring chapter after chapter, ravenous for the addictive happiness we feel whenever they’re together.

Rating: 4/5
 

Find Jill:

Website • Blog • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

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Q+A

As part of the promotional tour for Rumor Has It, Jill answered a variety of questions about romance, writing and of course this newest Animal Magnetism book, but there was one question in particular that jumped out at me and I simply had to share it with all of you. Jill and her husband are eerily similar to Kevin and me if the below conversation between them is any indication. I think we're pretty much the exact same couple ;-)

The interactions shared between you and Alpha Man always entertain; what is a recent “He Said, She Said” between you and Alpha Man that we may not have heard yet?
 
Me: What are you eating?
 
Him (mouth full): Nothing
 
Me: It smells like Oreos.
 
Him: …
 
Me: Are you … eating Oreos? I thought we were out of cookies!!
 
Him: There’s only four left.
 
Me: I need two.
 
Him: I’ll give you one.
 
Me: No! You can’t eat just one cookie!!! There’s a rule!!!
 
Him: Show me the book where this rule lives.

Me: I’LL WRITE YOU THE $%#!#$!@ book, give me a second cookie and no one gets hurt!
 
Him: Is it possible that you need something to go with that cookie?
 
Me: Milk?
 
Him: I was thinking Midol…

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GIVEAWAY

Thanks to the extraordinarily generous team at Berkley, I have one copy of Rumor Has It to give away on the blog today. To enter, please just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is open to US residents only.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Critique: Special Guest Post Edition

Today I have a very special guest temporarily taking over the cover critique reins, so I'd like to give a big Supernatural Snark welcome to my dad. For those of you that missed last week's cover critique commenting debacle, let me briefly explain why he's on the blog today. You see, my dad thought it would be hilarious to pose as disgruntled romance cover designer Mark and give me a lengthy dressing down in the comments–threatening to sue while also making a plethora of snarky comments of his own regarding the covers in question. Not amusing. When I was finally informed that Mark was actually my very own father and not a real commenter, I decided he should put his creative sarcasm to better use and do an actual post. So, this week I've asked him to give us a man's perspective on one of my very favorite covers I've critiqued in addition to one completely new design masterpiece, thinking what better way to celebrate a Friday than to dazzle you all with his impressive wit? And, by the way, my dad's name is actually Bruce, not Mark. Hope you enjoy!



Okay, Jenny, I will accept as just punishment for pulling your leg last week that I should have to provide my perspective on some of these covers you have so much fun with. And after all, I’ve read a lot of books (not these books, but books) and judged them by their covers like everyone else, so I’m thoroughly qualified to comment. Sort of.

I read your critique of this cover and found your bafflement puzzling. It’s quite plainly obvious that our hero character has, quite literally, “thrown over” one woman in favor of another. I assume this is a murder mystery story, and that the feet we see are those of the victim. And I will admit, it seems a little tacky that our hero would carry on with his true love right there in front of the corpse and everything. But hey, maybe Woman No. 1 killed Woman No. 2 (or vice versa) and hero boy is most grateful. You have to read the book to find out–that’s the whole purpose of the cover, after all.

What I find baffling is, what kind of car is that? Clearly it’s a station wagon–how else could the corpse be in that position? Our hero drives a station wagon? And it looks like a new Lexus (but it can’t be because they don’t make station wagons) with a nice curved handle anchored by real African rosewood trim. But then the window must have come from a 1949 Plymouth with that ungainly window divider.

And why is the headliner falling down? And why is it red when the interior of the car is blue?

Those are the things that baffle me. (See, I can find fault too when it’s deserved.)

Oh, and one other thing. Your critique mentioned a reason why in your view, the hero must have a “tongue like a giraffe.” Where did you learn such things, young lady?

*BLUSHES* You were supposed to gloss over that part of my commentary Dad, that way we could both continue to live happily in our father/daughter bubble of denial that either of us is anything other than virginal and celibate. Making mention of the giraffe tongue situation threatens to pop that bubble, and I need it in place to function properly on a day to day basis, so your acknowledgments of my use of sexual innuendo must cease and desist immediately!

And only a man would be more interested in the car aspect of this cover than the weird contortionist sexual extravaganza taking place on (or seemingly through) its seats.



Well, gee, this is just about the perfect cover. You looked just like that when you were a baby, all cuddly in your little pink sleeper with the little bunny hat. Yes, even the blurry focus reminds me of all the pictures we took when you were a little girl. Ahhhhh.

This being a “romance” novel (says so right there on the cover), obviously we’re viewing the RESULT of the romance, and it looks to have been a happy conclusion. I do wonder what’s happened to Mommy here; perhaps that’s the intrigue contained inside the book. Maybe Daddy did something nefarious, creating another murder mystery. Maybe that’s not Daddy but a kidnapper. Or maybe it’s Hugh Hefner in his very early days raising Playboy Bunnies from the get-go. Yeah, that’s the ticket! It’s a book about a guy raising an entire army of beautiful, sexy women who will go on some kind of mission like “The Dirty Dozen” (in that case, I guess it would be more like a platoon) and save the country from some dastardly doings.

See, it’s the perfect cover. Probably be a 3D movie and video game someday.

And I bet you’ll never ask ME to do a cover review again!

Apparently my dad is somewhat preoccupied with murder mysteries and feels it necessary to rationalize away all sexual content into something involving brutal death. Interesting. Perhaps this has something to do with his own coping mechanisms with regard to the aforementioned father/daughter bubble of denial. While I think he is on to something with his Playboy Bunny line of thought, I just want to point out that the title of this book is actually very creepy when read in conjunction with this image. The title has a sexual undertone given that it's a Silhouette Romance but yet we are shown a man nuzzling an actual baby. Not a woman he calls baby. An actual chubby-cheeked infant with an unfortunate hat on her head. It's just uncomfortable really.

Also, I will neither confirm nor deny that my cheeks were this chubby when I was little, I think Dad grossly exaggerates in our comparison! And this baby looks constipated, I'm quite certain my baby bowels always worked properly and such a look never graced my angelic face;)

Thanks for stopping by Dad, and happy Friday everyone!

Cover Critique: Rumor Has It

Let me preface this post by saying that my design critiques of these covers are in no way, shape or form a reflection on the author, the content or the publisher. I know the authors have very little, if any, control over the design. These are strictly my thoughts stemming from my design experience.

Um. Anyone want to try and explain what's going on here? I spent a solid five minutes attempting to wade through these tangled limbs in an effort to formulate a hypothesis as to what is taking place other than what seems to be a game of naked Twister gone terribly wrong. Because this cover reminds me of one of those posters where you stare at it, squint at it, cross your eyes, and then maybe you see what your supposed to if you look just right, I'm just going to list the things I think I know about what's happening as opposed to a formal critique.

1. They're in a car. (I've astounded you with my brilliance again haven't I? It's intimidating, I know).

2. As this is a Harlequin Blaze novel, I'm guessing the shirtless fellow here is engaging in a, uh, pleasurable oral activity with a female companion. If that's the case, our male friend must be endowed with the tongue of a giraffe as his head seems to be only at her knees and not nearly close enough to reach his destination for the suggested activity.

3. Her legs seem closed. How is his head in between them if they're closed? It almost looks like Ms. Calves of Steel has decapitated him. There really is no sign of life from him at all. For all I know, he's draped over the seat completely unconscious while she's acting out a praying mantis-like fantasy. Ew. That's not sexy at all now is it? No. And if his head isn't between her legs, where is it and what is he doing?

4. What is the blue bit in the lower left corner? Is it the front seat? Is he leaning over it to get to her, or are they both in the back seat? I originally assumed they were both in back, but that blue corner confounds me. If it is the front seat, our female lead has superpowers as her hand would have to have physically gone through the seat to get to him. So confused.

5. This woman, for all the femininity of her legs, has incredibly masculine hands. Are there three people in this car? Perhaps it really is a game of Twister, and this mass of body parts is the end result. Pity I wasn't invited, I rule at Twister. Rule, I tell you.

6. I think in addition to having freakishly strong, potentially murderous calves, our heroine is also graced with the ability to stretch her limbs to extraordinary lengths. Seriously. Just stare at their positions for a moment, how is it even physically possible? Quick, someone run out to your car and see if this is could even happen. She must be contorted beyond all recognition for her arm to be able to reach around his back like that while her legs are up in the air. Is her face smashed against the back of the front seat? Where is the rest of her? Perhaps I don't want to know, ignorance is bliss after all. Maybe she's related to our gumby-bride? I guess we all should sit back and admire her flexibility, he certainly seems to be enjoying it.

7. It appears as though a ghost wants in on the action as well and is attempting to invade the pants of our gentleman caller. There's an odd, white, vaporous blob hovering right over his no-doubt rock solid cheeks, what's that about? I guess he could have passed gas, but that would ultimately kill the moment wouldn't it? Nothing puts a stop to romance quite like a good fart, especially when in the confines of a car with the windows rolled up. How decidedly unpleasant.

I find this cover utterly baffling. I'm flummoxed. Befuddled. Downright bewildered. So please, please, leave me your thoughts and theories as to what is happening here, maybe we can all figure it out together. We're all intelligent people right? This cover can't beat us. It won't. I refuse to let it. Darn you Harlequin Blaze! Just give me a cover with some pecs and abs and a title having to do with a millionaire and the virgin mistress he's purchased for pregnancy and call it a day!