Follower Love Giveaway Hop ~Win a signed copy of Fateful!

Welcome to an awesome Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and The Reader's Antidote. Please click on either one of those links for MANY more chances to win free stuff.

This giveaway just ended. Thanks to everyone who entered!

The Prize:

I love, love, love my followers, so I'm going to do something I don't usually do... One winner will receive a signed copy of Fateful with a handmade beaded bookmark! USA only please.

To Enter:
Simply follow my blog via GFC or email subscription and fill out the form at the bottom of this post so I know who to contact if you win.

Note: Winners are chosen via Virtual Hat. Winner will be contacted via email. Please allow 1-3 weeks for shipping. :)

~XOXO~

Synopsis:
A huge fan of Jane Austen, Danielle hopes to find her own Mr. Darcy when she leaves Colorado to attend art school in London. Of course she knows it's silly to wish for that, naive even. But she's met enough males who lacked respect for women, a growing trend it seemed. And at nineteen...well.... However, on only her second night there she gets lost and is threatened by a stalker who proves to be immune to her martial arts training. Before she is completely overpowered, she is then saved by Ethan Deveroux.

While Danielle does find the romance she seeks in Ethan, he's no Mr. Darcy. Her hero is held by a spell which fractures their chance at a happy ending. During the day Ethan is closer to mortal than immortal and can date her like any other man. Yet, as the sun sets, the powerful magic of an ancient curse returns and the evil of that spell is revealed. When that magic begins, Danielle's fairytale romance ends because Ethan Deveroux is a vampire.

Review by The Library Mouse one of my favorite UK readers:
(This review is of the entire series and does contain spoilers...Read on if you're just too curious to mind...)

The Fateful series was what I can only describe as a beautifully sweet vampire tale narrated using the style of Jane Austen.

Set in the present day, Danielle isn't your usual main female character. She's not a tomboy trying to act tough, she's not an antisocial creature because she's peculiar in some unexpected way and she hasn't got a personality that sets her apart from the usual crowd. Danielle is a regular girly girl. She doesn't do blood, gore, violence, injuries or dead bodies (undead or otherwise). It almost felt like she had been literature-transplanted out of a Jane Auste novel and into modern day time with a couple of upgrades. With a penchant for wearing skirts and dresses, a fondness for pastel colours and a rather strong artistic streak for painting scenery; Danielle was a typical girl and not what most recent heroines are like. Her parents were so concerned with her fragility and female defenselessness that they insisted she have karate lessons, to the extent that when we meet her she is a lethal-when-necessary black belt. The good this will do her, in the paranormal world she is rudely awakened to, I'm not sure of.

The combination of strength and weakness in this character was complex and forever changing depending on the perceived angle, forcing me to stop and reflect several times. The fact that she was able to defend herself in our reality, but that when put into the context of a paranormal one she was weak and harmless made her all the more real to me.

Through all her trials, adventures, fortunes and misfortunes, unlike most characters who adapt quickly to the knew knowledge, Danielle remained faithful to her beliefs, ideals and female squirmishness.

From what would appear a very simple and easy to understand character, I would not have expected the depth and incredible number of facets that I found. Danielle's simplicity was endearing and eye opening, making me dwell and appreciate aspects of a paranormal romance and situations I had not previously considered.

Of course this series would not be complete unless our Austen-like fan, found her corresponding Mr Darcy.

Ethan was a worthy Mr Darcy alter-ego for this paranormal romance. Forever a gentleman despite the course of centuries having passed him by, he held fast to his upbringing, ideals and traditions. The only modern thing about him were his clothes (which he had no choice in unless he wanted to arouse suspicion and generate medical mental health interest) and his love for his cars. I found his jealous and slightly possessive streak surprisingly sweet and funny, considering he had nothing to fear as Danielle had eyes for no other.

He was a Mr Darcy attempting to adapt to the current century whilst desperately trying to cling to his ways of life, and I loved every second I read of it. He was a knight in regular clothing but who knew how to wield a sword, treat a girl like a lady and get any parents' blessing. What can I say, he was without a doubt too good to be true.

True to his century he was looking for someone special, a girl and not a tomboy; someone to whom he'd be willing to give the world and his life.

Unlike most romances, Ethan and Danielle didn't fight what they felt for each other. They knew it to be true and real, which is all that mattered to them. What they did have to fight was everyone else, to preserve what they had and their future.

Cheri Schmidt narrated their sweetly moving story, that revealed itself to be more than I expected. Confronting present day issues and morals, the more I read the more I enjoyed it.
I particularly appreciated Cheri Schmidt's ability to describe beautifully romantic scenes that made me feel at peace whilst sitting alongside the characters.

Everything about this series screamed Jane Austen, from the setting, the manner of speaking, down to the behavioural quirks. Being an admirer of Jane Austen's work, narrative style and storyline I very much enjoyed this series. Unlike most paranormal romances which are described as forever but feel more like an immediate lightning passion, The Fateful series spoke of a steady strong burn that would last forever where it counts the most: heart and mind.

The Fateful series was a sweet and tender paranormal romance that I would recommend to anyone in search for a tale of modern nights in shining armour with a hint of magic.

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