Eclair Books

So. I've decided to use a pen name.

I know it's a bit unusual to switch to a different name after you've published a book, but I think I've got a pretty good reason. I love the name Tess Harper. It is my name, after all, and I've always thought it was a good one. However, there is also a very famous actress named Tess Harper, and when I (and my friends) searched for my books in the B&N and iTunes stores, all of Tess' movies came before my books (which makes sense, since she's been in TV shows like Breaking Bad and movies like 12 Monkeys).

I'm going to go with a first name that starts with the letter E and the last name clair, because as someone who writes books with extra sprinkles and loves tastefully smutty novels, I think the name "eclair" fits :)

I'm sorry if this has caused any confusion. I'm going to leave the name "Tess Harper" on my books as a co-writer or editor for a while to help people looking for Tess find Emma Clair's books. However, this has been bothering me for a while and I think it's important to make the change now before I publish any more books.

This book reminded me why I love historical romance. I don't recommend it to those looking for a very subdued, historically typical romance. However, if you want something fun, funny, and unique, then look no further!

This book has some of my all-time favorite tropes done to perfection. I LOVE stories about the rake and the spinster. I love these stories even more when the rake is likeable and the spinster actually seems intelligent. Tessa Dare goes one step further by giving the rake a very sympathetic reason for needing the companionship of a woman at night, and giving the heroine passion for a cause and genuine insight (and it's just great that this woman's passion is rocks). Minerva must carry a gigantic rock all the way to Scotland to share her findings with the Royal Geological Society, and decides that Colin should be her escort (she decides to ruin herself for science!) The two fake a relationship/elopement and take off on one of the funnest and funniest road romances I've ever read, and since I LOVE road romances, that means a lot

This book is so much fun. The banter between the hero and heroine had me laughing uncontrollably. The secondary characters were people I actually liked and enjoyed learning about. Just remembering this book puts a smile on my face :) In fact, it's been a while since I read it (I read it when it first came out), so I think I'm due for a re-read. 5/5 stars!

Well, I should have figured that I'd get nothing done when I saw that Unattainable was out. I've been looking forward to this book ever since I finished Unbeautifully. It's almost 6am on Wednesday, and my head hurts from lack of sleep and all the craziness I just went through.

I LOVED TEGAN!!! For me, this book was all about the heroine. Sure, Cage was sexy, but I've met many sexy badasses before. I haven't met another heroine like Tegan. Though I really like the previous heroines in this series, Eva and Danny, they're a little too...perfect. They were biker princesses, so even though they live in this crazy, violent world, I felt like they existed inside of a safety bubble. Tegan was the daughter of a club whore. She never lived in a protected bubble, and she was never seen as untouchable. She watched her mother do everything for a married biker who never left his wife or treated her with love and respect. When she realizes just how much she loves Cage and sees how little he cares about her, she's determined to make sure she doesn't become her mother and lashes out against him and the world he (and she) came from.

I loved how honest Tegan was about her feelings for Cage. Sure, she didn't tell him what those feelings were, but she also didn't try to sugarcoat them. She hated him and loved him, and she felt both of those emotions completely throughout the story. I also loved that Tegan lived her own life. I loved how she tried to kill or numb her feelings for Cage with random sexual encounters. I loved how she kept a grudge for so many years and made Cage really work before she fully accepted his apology. I loved how she went crazy and started yelling at Deuce and the other bikers in the story. Was it stupid and immature? Yeah, maybe, but that wildness and disregard for her own safety just showed how passionate she was. Tegan is both fragile and strong, and I loved watching her come to her own in the story. And finally, I loved how she took care of Cage at the end and came through when he needed her most.

I didn't love the romance in Unattainable one as much as I loved the romance in Unbeautifully. It's kind of hard for me to put my finger on why. I think part of it might be how much time passed in the book. I kind of wished it was more condensed (though that would have made the secondary romance less believable). Cage and Tegan were so wild and raw and passionate that I wish their romance had felt more like one huge explosion rather than a bunch of little explosions that kind of fizzled out at the end.

The romance between Danny and Ripper in Unbeautifully is pure magic. It's dark and intense and twisted and beautiful and unlike anything I've read before. Well, except maybe for the secondary romance in Unattainable. A lot of people seem to be going wild for this romance and it's really easy to see why since it's like the tumultuous romance between Danny and Ripper on steroids. Even though my heart broke for Dirty, I just couldn't forgive him for how he treated Mama Vi and the many club whores, and ended up skimming these sections.

I can't wait for the next story! It's going to feature Tegan's mom and I just know it's going to be amazing. Madeline Sheehan set it up so well, and as a writer she really shines when her romances take place over many years, and this romance is going to need lots and lots and lots of years. ZZ also makes an appearance, and I'm excited (and afraid) to see what's going on with him!

The paperback proof of The Summer I Said Yes just arrived! It's amazing to feel it in my hands. I know the book's been out for a few months, but it really feels real now :) Can't wait until the paperback is up on Amazon!!!

The title says it all on this one :) The Summer I Said Yes has already been published, but Tess put an excerpt up on her Wattpad page and I wanted to spread the word.

I love everything about this book.

I love Ellie. She’s tough and vulnerable. She’s beautiful and scarred. She’s willing to do anything to accomplish her goals but she has a big heart. And she’s a grifter. I can’t remember the last time I read a contemporary romance novel with a heroine like Ellie. Some of my favorite historical romances have similar characters (Crooked Hearts by Patricia Gaffney comes to mind), but that story wasn’t nearly as introspective and bleak as this Sins & Needles. Halle unflinchingly dives into Ellie’s complicated past, and it isn’t pretty. Ellie betrays her friends. She does selfish things to feel “normal”. She’s an opportunist. And while you bleed for Ellie for all the ways she’s been hurt, you also have to face the fact that she’s hurt people too. People who were just as wounded as she was and never deserved her cruelty. People like the hero.

I love twisted hate-love relationship between Ellie and Camden. Ellie did something horrible to Camden when they were teenagers, and when the story opens, she’s planning on doing something horrible to him again. Something unforgivable. Something she knows is wrong, but is willing to do anyways, because she’s lived to take revenge on the person who hurt her as a child for so long that she no longer sees any other path she could take. And at the moment she’s about to follow through with her plan…the unimaginable happens. And whatever you think it is, it isn’t that.

I don’t want to say anything more about this book because I don’t want to give anything away. It is an amazing thrill-ride that never lets up and never stops. Just buy it and devour it. And thank God that the next book is already out because if it wasn’t you’d scream and tear out your hair :) 5 out of 5 shooting scars.

This is a book that has gotten a lot of attention recently. As in, even my mother knows about this book and she doesn’t even read romance novels. Though it was recommended to me by a few different people, I resisted buying it for a long time because I just honestly didn’t know if I wanted to read about a bully.

The bully in Penelope Douglas’ debut novel isn’t the Twilight type of bully who flares his nostrils and looks kinda scary when he encounters the heroine. He’s mean. Really mean. Since I read a lot of reviews before buying the book, I thought I knew what to expect, but damn, Jared was just such an asshole.

I’ve read a lot of books where the heroes are assholes. Some of my favorite books, in fact, feature bad boys. Jared isn’t physically abusive, but as her former childhood friend, he knows exactly what to say or do to get under Tate’s skin, and does everything he can to isolate her from her peers. Douglas does an amazing job of showcasing the fears and uncertainty teenage girls go through as they learn to be strong and go after what they want. And that’s exactly what makes the first part of the novel so difficult—seeing Tate’s youth and vulnerability.

After a trip to France, Tate comes back a new person ready to face her biggest fear: her bully. This is where the book really takes off. You begin the novel cheering for Tate, and it’s incredibly satisfying to see her grow, take charge, and stand up for herself. Let’s just say I really loved Tate. But as I read the novel, I feared that I would never love Jared.

Well, thankfully, Ms Douglas redeemed him. As Tate begins to gain her confidence, Jared slowly begins to lose his. As Tate gets stronger, Jared becomes more vulnerable. And when Jared realizes that he can’t break Tate anymore, he begins to break. This transformation isn’t easy. It’s messy. There’s a lot of back-and-forth, and Jared’s behavior gets crueler as he tries to break Tate’s strength so he doesn’t have to face his own weaknesses, but when he finally does, he becomes the hero Tate knew as a young girl.

I love these kinds of transformations, but they’re easy to mess up and it takes a very skilled author to pull them off. I’m so thrilled Penelope Douglas did. Bully is a dark, complicated and beautiful story that sticks with you long after you finish it. It deserves 5 out of 5 stars, and my recommendation :)

You know you’ve read a good book when you remember it days later and just thinking about it puts a smile on your face. There are so many things to love about Mimi Strong’s Stardust, because instead of just creating a wonderful romance, she’s created:

• A town I’m upset is fictional because I want to visit it. Seriously, there are so many interesting places in this town, from Peaches’ bookshop to the DeNirro’s Italian restaurant. I want to get my Beaverville passport and just start walking around, visiting places!

• Beautiful, realistic friendships. Sometimes friendships in NA books can feel a little too…how do I put this?…well, I guess I’ll be boring and just say ‘unrealistic.’ The friends in these books often do nothing but prop up the heroine. They don’t seem like real people, but are instead just there so that the heroine can hear that no, that hot dress really doesn’t make her look fat and yes, it’s alright to let yourself go once in a while and kiss that really hot guy. These girls can love and care about each other, but that doesn’t mean their relationship is always smooth sailing. They can act bitchy, jealous or resentful. Not in an overly dramatic way, but in a way that shows you that these people are separate from the heroine and can sometimes make mistakes while trying to do the right thing. It was really refreshing, and made me believe in their friendships even more.

• A cast of really hot guys, and every single one of them has major flaws. I’m not going to say anything more about that because…major spoilers! However, I will say that there are so many cute guys in this town that I ended up being drawn to one that I (unfortunately) don’t even think is in the running—the cute, red-headed delivery boy who delivers books to Peaches’ store!

• An amazing heroine. I didn’t really get the #teampeaches thing before reading this book, but I do now, because more than hoping Peaches ended up with any specific guy, I finished the book wanting Peaches to be empowered and happy. Just think about that for a second: can you think of a single other NA book with a cast of beefcakes were you weren’t rooting for any of them, but for the awesome heroine?

Alright, if those four weren’t enough for you, you should read this book because it’s super funny. It’s one of those books where your friends and family will look over at you and ask what’s wrong because you’ll be laughing so hard. I love books like that!

The cliffhanger in this book is heartbreaking. It’s not shocking because it’s completely unexpected, but instead shocking because every single event in the story and romance has led up to it. You don’t see it coming because you just don’t want to believe it can happen. It is Peaches’ worst nightmare, and when her heart breaks yours does too.

So what’s my rating? 5 OUT OF 5 PEACHES! And it’s super cheap. You can’t go wrong :)