Yvonne
This week my ‘Mailbox Monday’ post, is the result of a visit to my site by author Felicia Rogers, who followed up with an email request for me to read her latest contemporary fiction novella ‘The Perfect Rose’ and then let her know my thoughts.
The book already has quite a few things going for it and I haven’t even opened the PDF file yet …
Felicia has a great web site on which she is very actively blogging as well as discussing her own writing career …
Felicia has given the job of publishing ‘The Perfect Rose’ to a relatively new, but very active publishing company Astraea Press, who have a quickly growing number of new authors signing up to its brand …
I love the cover art of ‘The Perfect Rose’. The artist Elaina Lee has many strings to her bow; cover artist, graphic designer and author in her own right.
I can’t wait to get started on this one …
 ‘The Perfect Rose’ by Felicia Rogers
Abandoned by his wife and left to raise a child alone, Caleb Reed falls short of the ideal work-from-home dad. He needs a woman to help him, in every sense of the word. At the suggestion of a friend, Caleb agrees to hire Ariel Lauren on a trial basis.
As an orphan, Ariel has more issues than just how to make it on her on. Yes, she needs the money that Caleb offers her, but more than anything she finds she desires his love. One calamity after another befalls her and jeopardizes her new job and her chance at having a family. But through it all, Caleb is by her side, his gruff exterior threatening to melt in the face of their shared attraction. Will they decide to continue life alone or will the magic of Valentine’s Day bring them together?
 —
So What Is ‘Mailbox Monday’?
I hope The Perfect Rose exceeds your expectations.
Hi Kathy,
Thanks for stopping by.
As it is quite a short book, it will need to be some pretty good descriptive writing to fulfil a storyline in so few pages.
I seldom read short stories as a rule, so this will be a good testing ground for me.
I hope you enjoy The Perfect Rose. It sounds good.
Hi Melissa,
Thanks for stopping by, it is always great to ‘meet’ new people.
I am not really big into ‘soppy’ romantic stories, so I am hoping that there is something of a ‘backbone’ to the plot, which will give it a bit of a twist.
That story reminds me of a couple of different movies—from a long time ago–I cannot thibk of the name of any of them but, the idea of a Widower hiring a woman to help him raise his child and then they fall in love—Loretta Young and William Holden…(I will have to check out the name….) Anyway….I’m not saying it is exactly the same, just that the premise sounds familiar to me. Do let us know your opinion of the book, my dear……
I was checking out the movie online, how could you forget to mention that the delicious Robert Mitchum was also in the film!!!
Although having said that, he wasn’t playing one of the lead roles by the look of things … but still!!!
“RACHEL & THE STRANGER” (1948)… They may be nothing alike–just that it is about a Widower and a woman he hires to care for his child…..
Hi Naomi,
I can see why you thought about the scimile of the two, the storylines do seem to run on a parallel, don’t they? They do say that the old ideas are generally the best, so let us hope that follows true and I have an enjoyable read.
I love the cover on The Perfect Rose! It sounds like a lovely book! Looking forward to your review. Have a great week 🙂
Hi Leah,
The cover art is particularly eye-catching, isn’t it?
It is not very often that you find credit given to the cover art designer, so I think that the author is to be commended for that.
I love to be able to research as many different aspects of a book as possible, so with everyone getting a mention, I have had great fun checking out all the websites today.
I hope you love it, Yvonne! Have a great week.
Hi Mary,
Being so short, I should be able to read it quite quickly, so I am looking forward to it.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope your week turns out well also.
I haven’t heard of this one before, but it does sound pretty good! I’ll have to add it to my list!
Hi Megan,
Thanks for visiting today and for leaving comment, it is much appreciated.
If you are anything like me, I can add to my reading list very easily, but then work out that I could never possibly get to read all the books I could potentially be buying!!!
At the moment I am ticking over quite nicely with author and publisher review copies, but just can’t resist the lure of the bookstore!
I think you either love romances or hate them–the plots are generally pretty standard. The Perfect Rose looks good to me, but I’m a romance reader.
Hi RAnn,
I will read just about any genre of book, including romances, although not exclusively.
I am not too keen on the really sloppy, syrupy romances, but prefer them to have a bit of a plot to give some structure.
Hopefully this novella will fill all of the criteria for a great read, so that perhaps I can then recommend it to you, as a romance reader.
New to me but I do hope you enjoy it.
Hi Mystica,
I think that Felicia is a relatively new author on the scene, with this book being her third publication, her previous couple of books being in the YA genre. There is already another book in the pipeline, which she describes as a ‘Historical Suspense’, so I shall be looking out for that.
Thanks for stopping by.
The Perfect Rose has a beautiful cover. I hope you enjoy it.
Hi Beth,
The cover was the first thing that struck me about the book I have to say.
I am hoping that the storyline lives up to the title, the synopsis doesn’t seem to gel with it so far, so I can’t wait to get started on it to find out.
I hope you enjoy it! Sounds like a good story.
Hi Diana,
Caleb doesn’t sound like a very competent father, does he? Lets just hope that Ariel is a bit more practical than her name suggests.
I can see why you would be attracted to the cover – it’s just beautiful and the story sounds interesting. Have a great week, Yvonne, and enjoy your new books!
Hi Kaye,
Thanks for stopping by and for your great recommendations this week, my out of control reading list just got worse!!
I try not to go by the cover art on a book, as it is the story that realy counts, but I couldn’t help but be entranced by this cover. The artist has certainly done some great work, as well as writing her own books, although they seem to be very erotic by nature, so I’m not sure whether I shall venture to buy any … we’ll see!!
The Perfect Rose sounds really good, nice mailbox.
http://tributebooksmama.blogspot.com/2011/09/mailbox-monday-great-place-for-seizure.html
Hi Mary Ann,
It will certainly be a change from some of the murder/mysteries that I have read just lately. I do like a good romance occasionally.
Oh, this one looks great! Enjoy.
Hi Jennifer,
I am sure I shall enjoy this one immensely, I am just about ready for some easy reading romance right now.
Thanks for stopping by, your comments are appreciated
Thank you for featuring Felicia! If you want or need any more books of ours to review, just contact me directly! And thanks for the kind words about Astraea Press. We’re rocking the industry right now and we’re soooo pumped! And? We’re upping production in 2012!
Hi Stephanie,
Thanks for taking an interest in Fiction Books, stopping by and leaving
comment, it is most appreciated.
It has been great fun talking with Felicia over the past few weeks and
fantastic that she has taken the time and trouble to participate in
discussions about ‘The Perfect Rose’, other readers genuinely value author
input to the conversation.
I hope that you don’t have a problem if your authors contact me direct, as
I heard from another of them, Meg Mims yesterday and she has furnished me
with a PDF file for her book ‘Double Crossing’, for me to read.
If you ever want to send me any new or pre-releases for review, please feel
free to contact me. I can’t always promise to start on them instantly, but
in general any delays are only minimal, whilst I finish any book that I am
in the middle of reading.
It is always so good to see new publishers entering the marketplace, from
both sides of the Atlantic and I shall be following your progress with
genuine interest.
Kind Regards,