Avon Addict Blog Hop / Giveaway (Int) - Who's your favorite author?

One of the questions I was asked when I became an Avon Addict was who is your favorite Avon author? At first I thought, "Piece of cake, hands down Julia Quinn." She is one of my top 5 all time favorite historical authors. Then I realized Avon also represents Jeaniene Frost and therein began my dilemma. Jeaniene Frost is in my top 5 all time favorite paranormal romance authors. Gah! What's an addict to do? I usually categorize my romance authors by what type of romance they write and never even considered who would be at the top of the list if they were all combined. They are all so different.

Vs.

Jeanine Frost  ~ Versus ~ Julia Quinn

So let's start out with the authors themselves. Jeaniene was gracious enough to do a Q&A with my Goodreads so I adore her for that. She could answer any question you could put forth to any book or character in her series with no problem. You view the Q&A CLICK HERE. Julia, on the other hand, loves to dispel the myth that smart women don't read (or write) romance. In 2001 she did so in grand style, competing on the the game show The Weakest Link and walking away with the $79,000 jackpot. Yes, she earned a special place in my heart for that. But truly while I can like an author for who they are and what they do, the real questions when picking my favorite lies within their books. So it's truly not Frost versus Quinn in this fight for my favorite. Nope, what it really boils down to Bones versus Bridgertons. Now there's a fight. Wouldn't that be the ultimate showdown? Bones against 8 Bridgertons. Well, if it was a fight of might, I think Bones would win.

But I'm not talking that kind of fighting. lol 

Bones ~ Versus ~ The Bridgertons
(The ultimate book showdown)

  (me)

You see the Bridgertons appeal to my good girl side. They're upstanding members of society. The Bridgerton men are handsome, intelligent and while definitely not saints, they come from a solid family background and are good men deep down where it counts. It's no wonder everyone's momma would love to make a match between their daughters and them.

Bones, on the other hand, most definitely appeals to my bad girl side (Shhhhhh......don't tell anyone I've got one. It will be our little secret. lol). He's devilishly good looking, sexy as all get out with a wicked sense of humor. *sigh* The kind of guy a girl's momma most definitely wouldn't approve of.

So I decided to tackle this problem logically. I decided to look at some of my favorite quotes to refresh my memory about why I love these two series. So without further ado let's let the books 'speak' for themselves.

First up, some of my favorite quotes from the Bridgertons series:

     “I am asking you to marry me because I love you,” he said, “because I cannot imagine living my life without you. I want to see your face in the morning, and then at night, and a hundred times in between. I want to grow old with you, I want to laugh with you, and I want to sigh to my friends about how managing you are, all the while secretly knowing I am the luckiest man in town.”

     “What?” she demanded.
     He shrugged. “A man’s got to keep up appearances. I’ll be universally detested if everyone realizes how perfect you are.”
― Julia Quinn, It's in His Kiss; Page 264

     “Listen to me," his voice even and intense,"and listen well, because I'm only going to say this once. I desire you. I burn for you. I can't sleep at night for wanting you. Even when I didn't like you, I lusted for you. It's the most maddening, beguiling, damnable thing, but there it is. And if I'm to hear one more word of nonsense from your lips, I'm going to have to tie you to the bed bloody bed and have my way with you a hundred different ways, until you finally get it through your silly skull that you are the most beautiful and desirable woman in England, and if anyone else doesn't see that they're bloody fools.”
― Julia Quinn, The Viscount Who Loved Me; Page 274

     “He murmured her name, tenderly taking her face in his hands. “I love you,” he said, his voice low and fervent. “I love you with everything I am, everything I’ve been, and everything I hope to be.”
"Colin..."
     “I love you with my past, and I love you for my future.” He bent forward and kissed her, once, softly, on the lips. “I love you for the children we’ll have and for the years we’ll have together. I love you for every one of my smiles, and even more, for every one of your smiles.”
     Penelope sagged against the back of a nearby chair.
     "I love you," he repeated. "You know that, don't you?"
 ― Julia Quinn, Romancing Mister Bridgerton; Page 338

      “As his hands moved to his trousers, he saw that she was pulling the bed sheets over her. "Don't," he said, barely recognizing his own voice. 
     Her eyes met his, and he said, "I'll be your blanket.” (Simon)
― Julia Quinn, The Duke and I; Page 260

     He shook his head in wonder. "You are magnificent."
     "I keep telling everyone that," she said with a nonchalant shrug, "but you seem to be the only one to believe me.”
― Julia Quinn, To Sir Phillip, With Love; (end of Chapter 14 - no pages on kindle verison/Location 3675)

    But when Anthony kissed her, she felt as if she were losing her mind. And when he kissed her twice, she wasn't even sure if she wanted it back!
― Julia Quinn, The Viscount Who Loved Me; Page 250

     “Men are sheep. Where one goes, the rest will soon follow."

Lady Whistledown's Society Papers 30 April 1813
― Julia Quinn, The Duke and I; page 121

Next, some of my favorite quotes from the Night Huntress series:

     “Kitten, you need to make a decision. Either we stay here and behave or we leave now and I promise you”—his voice dipped lower and the words fell against my lips—“if we leave, I won’t behave.”
― Jeaniene Frost, Halfway to the Grave; Page 117

     “I love your hands," he sighed. "You think I look like an angel? Well, Kitten, your hands are my heaven and your eyes are my home."
― Jeaniene Frost,  This Side of the Grave; Page 201

     “You once told me you could stand many things.” My voice was raspy from all the emotions battering against those well-honed inner defenses. “So can I. I can stand whatever Apollyon dishes out, can take the bigotry from others over what I am, the freaky ghost juju from Marie, all the craziness my mother can throw at me, and even the pain of my uncle dying. But the one thing that I would never, ever recover from would be losing you. You made me promise before to go on if that happened, but Bones”—here my words broke and tears spilled down my cheeks—“I wouldn’t want to.”

     He’d been near the side of the bed when I started talking, but was in my arms before the first tear fell. Very softly, his lips brushed over those wet streaks, coming back pink from the drops still shimmering on them.
      “No matter what happens, you will never lose me,” he whispered. “I am forever yours, Kitten, in this life or the next.”

― Jeaniene Frost,  This Side of the Grave; pages 244 - 245 

     "Ask me if I sparkle and I’ll kill you where you stand.” (Bones)

― Jeaniene Frost,  This Side of the Grave; page 82

     There were words for what he meant to me, but if I studied every language ever spoken for the next thousand years, I still wouldn't find enough of them to describe it.
― Jeaniene Frost,  One Grave at a Time; page 263

It was a close call, but what ultimately decided this one was Chapter 32 of One Foot in the Grave. Haven't read it? Well, you definitely should. It is a love scene like no other. *giggle* They even created a shirt for it:

Can be purchased at: http://www.printfection.com/jeanienefrost/Chapter-32/_s_375552

Therefore, the Winner (for me) ended up being

Bones and Jeaniene Frost. Check out some of these gorgeous pictures from the stepbacks of the Night Huntress series:

So Avon has some great authors and my favorites won't necessarily be your favorites. So leave a comment and let me know who is your favorite Avon author and/or character?

The Giveaway
One book of your choice from Avon (the publishers) with a value of up to $8.00 (US Dollars) from AMAZON (if in the US) or The Book Depository

Rules of Eligibility:

- Only residents of the Countries included in the following list created by The Book Depository who are 18 years old or older are eligible:
http://www.bookdepository.com/help/topic/HelpId/3/Which-countries-do-you-deliver-to#helpContent
- Please leave either your email address or a link to your Goodreads profile so I may get in contact with you to get your mailing address. No P.O. Boxes, please.
- Become a follower of my blog, if you aren't already.

- If for any reason The Book Depository prohibits the sale of the requested book to US residents (had this happen once) or the book is unavailable, another book must be selected.

Winner will be randomly chosen. Giveaway ends December 26th, midnight eastern time. Winners will be posted on my blog and notified by email or message posted to them via Goodreads. Winners will have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be selected. Good Luck!

For a list of Avon Authors, check out this link: http://www.avonauthors.com/authors/

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