So I decided to take a wee little break last night, and it turned into at least an hour, probably more. I headed on over to eHarlequin.com to browse through recent SSE titles. The bad, yet unsurprising news, is that several variations of my several title variations have been used. (Bonus points if you didn’t have to reread that last sentence because it’s badly written.) The wicked good news—Karen Templeton’s February SSE was available! :boogie: I checked, and Erica Orloff’s February Nocturne was, too! :boogie:

So I popped over to Amazon because I :heart: Prime, but they were in pre-order status. Okay, so I figured I’d experiment and see if I could get them before my Walmart does. Of course, if you spend over $25 the shipping is free. After much time shopping, I lamented that I was falling prey to a marketing gimmick. I was going to spend more than if I just paid the shipping for the two books. Then Angie pointed out to me at least I’m getting books for the money, not just shipping.

I can live with that. Then it took me a while to find the book that put me over the top. Long enough that it wiped out my cart! I understand they won’t hold books forever, but I hadn’t left the site, dammit. So I had to go find them all again. If it wasn’t for KT’s Feb SSE being up there, I’d have flipped them a cyber-bird and left the building. But…I persevered.

The books I ordered and want now—RIGHT NOW—are listed after the jump! (I think I remembered them all. eHQ will, of course, let me see that my order is processing but won’t give me a list of what I ordered.)

The Prodigal Valentine by Karen Templeton (Feb SSE)

He’s back…which raised a whole host of questions for Mercy Zamora—because when hometown boy Ben Vargas shot out of town ten years ago, he also left Mercy behind. And though she had led the chorus of no strings/no wedding bells/no babies, ten years can change a girl. If only it had changed her feelings for him…

And as for Ben—he’d had his reasons for leaving, but Mercy had never been one of them. And so he was home—at least for now. And he should know better than to start something, once more, that he couldn’t finish.

Know better than to think that once he had her in his arms, he’d ever be able to let her go…

Blood Son by Erica Orloff (Feb Nocturne)

Her brother had been abducted by vampires, and now Elizabeth Martin was on a wild-goose chase halfway around the world to save him from madness. She didn’t believe a word of his cryptic e-mail about vampires and drinking blood. Nor did she believe the drunkard who spoke of vampires ruling the small Czech village where he was last seen. Until she was put in contact with a mysterious Dhampir—the offspring of a vampire and a human. Reputed mercenaries who’ll do anything—or betray anyone—for a price.

Elizabeth takes an instant disliking to Josef Darecky. He’s too edgy, intense and moody…and he arouses desires that could compromise her mission. But he’s also the only man who can save her brother, who is half-turned already. And, as she forms an unlikely bond with the half-blood mercenary, she senses that only by trusting him—and winning his trust—can the vampires be fully destroyed.…

From the Dark by Michele Hauf (Nov 06 Nocturne)

Centuries past, through mists of a dark time where vampires and witches lived side by side, vampires gained power by enthralling a witch, ultimately draining her of her strength and depriving her of immortality. Until the enslaved witches rebelled—and cast a spell making the blood of a witch deadly to a vampire.

Now, past and present are about to collide.

Michael Lynsay is a man in the spotlight, at the height of his career, with the ability to mesmerize audiences. But he has a secret—he is a vampire, fighting the darkness of his nature. And it looks like it’s a losing battle—until he meets Jane Renan, the only woman who can understand his conflicted nature. And the only woman who can destroy him—through love.

I got the above because I remembered wanting to read it, but I missed it somehow. (Not somehow—my Walmart is so dedicated to Leigh Greenwood books, they pile the category on top of one another and if you forget to dig through, you can miss them.) She had said this in my comments a while back, which is why I wanted it:

Well, you know the Nocturnes are going to be dark and sexy. Not a lot of fuzzy. For my November release it’s pretty darn dark. The romance is there. Much more than my Bombshells. But it IS dark. I mean, heck, the heroine really needs the hero’s heart. I mean, literally.

Vivi Anna also commented on the same post:

Blood Secrets by Vivi Anna At least wait until March to give judgement…that way you’ll get a chance to read my contribution BLOOD SECRETS, about a paranormal CSI team. Think Gil Grissom as a vampire.

I’m on the lookout for that one, too, even though I keep thinking “Hey, at least they don’t have to bring a bag lunch to work!”

The Couple Most Likely To by Lillian Darcy (Jan SSE)

When Jake Logan joined the Children’s Connection, the hospital was overjoyed to have one of the country’s top fertility specialists on staff. But when I first laid eyes on the esteemed doctor, I was shocked. The hotshot hire was my former high school sweetheart!

There was a time I thought I’d be with Jake forever. When “Stacey and Jake” were the perfect couple. But after I got pregnant on prom night, everything changed. Now I’m a divorced mother of two—and I can’t believe that Jake’s back in my life. Because this doctor might be medicine that’s just too bitter to swallow….

Hometown Cinderella by Victoria Pade (Jan SSE)

It was her first time back in Northbridge since graduating from high school and Eden Perry still felt like an ugly duckling. Yet her gorgeous transformation impressed her small-town neighbors, not to mention long-ago crush Cameron Pratt. And as luck would have it, Cam’s dark good looks had only improved with age. Now forced to work with him on a local investigation, Eden couldn’t slow her racing pulse or control her sweaty palms. But as the intimacy between them grew, could the way she looked on the outside conquer the fears of the vulnerable teenager living inside?

Nelson in Command by Marin Thomas (Jan HAR)

Nelson McKade was a Fortune 500 CEO—until his eccentric grandfather decided he needed to learn humility. Now the Chicago power broker is knee-deep in the manure of a small dairy operation set to go “udders” up any day.

The owner of the farm is something else. Even though the gorgeous Widow Tanner is in over her head—business is slow and she’s single-handedly raising a rebellious teenage son—she won’t tolerate sass from the hired help.

Taking orders from a set of flying pigtails almost kills Nelson, and he’s ready to choke on the words Yes, ma’am. But button his lip he will. He’s got a few masculine wiles in mind to get his feisty boss to see things his way….

That last one I know nothing about other than I love the blurb! Even though “But button his lip he will.” makes me wonder if Yoda wrote it. But it looks funny, and I love me some funny.

So, with the combined time of shopping and then blogging about it, there’s two hours I’ll never get back. :lmao: