Exquisite Review, Author Interview & Giveaway!

by Jewels E 11/23/2012 3 comments

Hey Everyone!

So, I hinted I had something special to share with all my lovely readers and blog followers. Ella Frank, the author of Exquisite recently asked me to read and review her book Exquisite. So today, I have the pleasure of launching my first give away, a copy of Exquisite provided by Ms. Frank, who also took some time do an author interview with me. Read on folks, and enjoy! A special thanks to Ms. Frank for providing me with a copy of her wonderful novel, and for agreeing to being interviewed.

Summary from Goodreads

ebook, Kobo

Published October 30th 2012 

by Ella Frank (first published July 27th 2012)

ISBN13 1230000027763

Her heart was guarded…

Tormented by self-imposed guilt, Dr. Lena O’Donnell has spent the last nine years in survival mode. Struggling through days that seem to blend together and battling her way through each horrifying night, she’s determined that this is what she deserves…

Until he tore down the walls…

Mason Langley’s life is going exactly the way he planned it, until her. A confirmed bachelor and the successful owner of the hottest restaurant to hit Chicago, he never expects to be blindsided by an angry woman in a pair of scrubs. No matter how hard he tries, he can’t seem to shake the doctor, and he finds himself liking the way she makes him feel.

Almost over night Lena finds her world turned upside down by Mason and the sexual desire they discover together. Slowly, she lowers her guard and invites him inside but when tragedy strikes she begins to believe that sometimes it’s better to be alone and safe than to love and lose…

Review

I didn't exactly know what I'd be getting into when I started this book, but I wasn't expecting to love it so much even though it sounded like a delicious read. But I do, I do, love it! 

From the first chapters of this novel, I found myself smiling as I was reading. For me, it was the banter and sexual tension that just hooked me in. Mason and Lena didn't exactly like each other at the beginning of this read, but they certainly knew how to bait each other. The banter between them was sharp, funny and plain unbelievable. I never knew what either one of them was going to say or do next, and I loved that  about them. 

Mason and Lena's romance was highly entertaining, sexy and romantic. I really enjoyed how they got under each other's skin, and how both of them were wishing each other away, but never really meaning it, though Lena probably did at the beginning. Mason wasn't having it though, and what struck me as truly compelling was the way he kept challenging Lena. She pissed him off with her sass, and he'd pushed back. Lena would rise to his bait, and the next thing she knew, he'd slip past her defenses and she was in love with him. Which serves her right, it was high time Lena learned to let someone get close to her again. She'd been alone and closed off for far too long, and I enjoyed seeing her morph from a rather rigid, stiff woman into a woman who was warm and funny and loving.

On to Mason...I don't think I've ever read a hero quite like Mason. Sweet, stubborn, he seems like just the hot guy next door that you could love to be friends with as much as you'd love to be romantic with. Cuz, you know, he's a really good guy. But wow, there is something primally sexual about this character that I just wasn't expecting. I'm thinking about his fantasies...he certainly has some wild ones and that we get to see him and Lena bring them to life, so to speak, often made my eyes pop out of my head. I'm thinking the shower scene. I'm thinking the scene in Mason's bedroom about six months into their relationship--which I totally thought was going to be a proposal scene! But I think the scene that Frank penned was better than a proposal scene would have been!!! 

Exquisite was sizzling. From the well paced plot, to the characters that were sharply drawn out and the quick witted humor, as well some OMG bedroom scenes, this is one romance novel that I highly recommend. 

5 glittering stars 

Interview with Ella Frank

1. Lena and Mason were both strong characters. Their witty banter kept me smiling throughout the entire novel. What was your inspiration for the characters of Lena and Mason?

Well I work in the medical field so it seemed like a no brainer to set my story in that environment. A lot of people associate Lena with being harsh. To me she is damaged, tortured and hides behind snark and sarcasm. I guess if I'm being honesT, lol, I myself am somewhat sarcastic.

Mason came from my mind - pure and simple. I will admit the loving sweet side of his nature and the need for him to take care of his family and eventually Lena was stolen from my own husband, who is very supportive and cooks for me too ;-)

2. Catherine says she believes in fate, and she believed that Mason and Lena were meant to be together. Is fate something you believe in? Will it be a reoccurring theme in the series? 

I definately believe in fate. After all I'm Australian and my husband grew up all the way on the otherside of the planet to me, who knew I'd end up here - that had to be fate right? As for a reoccuring theme - I suppose maybe a little bit, it isn't pointed out that way but the man who comes into Shelly's life is from Mason's, and Rachel's eventual HEA is....well I can't say it will give too much away but lets say by the end of Shelly's story you will have an idea!

3. What is your favourite scene in the novel, and why? 

I have two. I really loved the scene in the flower shop where Lena finally opens up to Mason. To me it is a pivotal moment in their lives. It's the moment she gives her trust to him and basically says - please don't hurt me - and he in turn gives her something no one else has, comfort.

My second would have to be the jogging scene and what comes ...ha ha...literally after that. When I first wrote it and came up with what Mase wanted as a reward I had no idea where it would go, but now? Well now it is still a fav of mine!

4. As a new author, what advice can you offer aspiring writers? 

Finish a story! I think a lot of writers get caught up in perfecting their work and they flip out and think it's not perfect. I'm here to say WHO CARES? Lol. Do your first draft - get it out and THEN go back and critique it, find some people to help you crit it and then hire an editor. That's my honest advice.

5. Exquisite is the first novel in your series. Can you share with us what we have to look forward to in Entice? 

I sure can. Entice is full of the same fun, loving people and a couple of new faces. We have a wedding to look forward too, nosey friends, some sexy loving and a HEA for the fiesty Shelly Monroe. I really think people will enjoy meeting Joshua Daniels, he truly is delicious!

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