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Tag: Midwest Review

Stella’s Sexy, Savvy, Strong Heroines

Published by stella on December 7, 2016

…and the alphas strong enough to love them.

I can’t wait to see what adventures Stella writes next! …Lauren, Romance Novel Giveaways

Ms. Alden is now on my ‘go to’ author list. I can’t wait for the next story.  …Emma, Night Owl Romance

you-become

 

 

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Some people have asked me recently, why do you write?

Others ask, are you making a lot of money?

LOL!

Not yet.

So why DO I write?

One of my goals is to give back, but I am a little geeky, a little shy, and don’t have buckets of money to give away.

How can I throw good karma into the world?

I do it with my stories.

When I started writing, I vowed I would write about strong heroines facing adversity and overcoming. Why? Because I truly believe that we become what we think about all day long.

If we dream about having someone dominate us, that is no doubt what we will attract. I’m not saying don’t ever read those fun books, I’m suggesting to balance your reading.

Read and imagine yourself as more.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

I do hope you will become a fan and sign up for my bi-monthly newsletter. I hate spam, too.

You can also read samples here or go right to Amazon and pick one up for this weekend.

Or… just log in and leave a comment below! I love to respond!

 

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Midwest Book Review of ‘How To Seduce a Queen’

Midwest Book Review of ‘How To Seduce a Queen’

Published by stella on July 14, 2016

Review
D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

Given the fact that Stella Marie Alden’s prior medieval romance books in the series are winners, it’s a given that those who know her name will realize they’re in for a treat with How to Seduce a Queen, a new addition to the series – but it should also be emphasized that newcomers will have no difficulty entering Alden’s world if they start with this title, either.

Set in 1283, the prologue opens with a mad dash to his brother-in-law’s castle by one Nicholas, who has been shot with an arrow by the Lady Fay. In the mad rush to save his life, a twin sister and a host of characters are introduced in a vivid opener that compels readers to learn why a romantic interest with a long history could possibly lead to murder.

After setting the scene with an intriguing question, the first chapter goes back in time three months’ prior to introduce the politics and purposes of Nicholas, who is charged with the idea of kidnapping the royal Lady Fay.

There’s more than the seduction of a queen going on, here: readers will quickly be seduced not just by political cross-purposes and evolving romance, but the stormy relationships between families, political intentions, and arrogant suitors and fathers alike.

Alden’s gift for bringing to life the atmosphere and setting of medieval England’s wild countryside and challenges are equaled only by her ability to draw a feisty, strong female protagonist into the picture, who is more likely to get her way via arrow than wooing.

It’s refreshing to feel the tongue-in-cheek humor and delightful clashes and contrasts of personalities throughout a novel that takes as much time to create winning and different characters as it does to present a sense of the wildness and wilderness that was medieval England.

The fiery temperaments and encounters between the main characters, the blossoming and often-reluctant romance (“There would be no wedding banquet. Not while she lived and breathed.”), and the determination of a woman who will not “marry a monster” and who would rather kill than cuddle all lend to a rollicking, fun, action-packed story.

Romance readers with an affinity for historical settings, feisty characters, and medieval times will find How to Seduce a Queen engrossing and refreshingly different from the usual romance read.

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The TBR Pile! Recommended Read!

The TBR Pile! Recommended Read!

Published by stella on April 1, 2016

Check this out! Go Visit!

http://thetbrpile.weebly.com/reviews/giveaway-how-to-marry-your-wife-by-stella-marie-alden

TBR Reviewer: Amy

Rating: 4 Stars – Recommended Read!

Heat: 3/5 – Blush Worthy!

Six long years have passed without a word from Merry’s Knight. When Sir Thomas shows up he’s singing poetry one minute then denying their son the next. She is not the young woman he used to know. Merry is now a woman with a sharp tongue and knife, not afraid to use either or both on him.  She vows to never marry him. Sir Thomas cannot understand her attitude towards him. He had no choice to leave her six years ago. Will this tear them apart for good or will they discover the love they have for one another again?

The moment I finished the prologue of the story I knew I was in for a good time.

From the start it seems these two are cursed. Their first joining to the many years apart and miscommunication has set Merry and Thomas in opposite directions. It seems that Merry, once timid and shy is now more vocal. She’s not afraid to speak her mind. Although she has had to bare so much from a young age she is still a delightful person and I love her character.  Sir Thomas has me on an emotional roller caster. One minute I love him, then love becomes hate, then laughter, just when I thought all is lost with him he redeems himself. These two are great together and their dialogue is so good. I did enjoy that the story doesn’t only focus on their re-connection but of the plots and ploys that involve them. I really like Nicholas and I hope to read more about him in a future story.

​This was an excellent historical romance that kept me on the edge throughout the story!

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Midwest Review gives ‘How to Marry Your Wife’ a rating of ‘exquisite’

Published by stella on January 11, 2016

How to Marry Your Wife #4c copy

 $3.99 or available on Kindle Unlimited.
Soul Mate Publishing
by Diane Donovan, Senior Reviewer
Fans of Alden’s prior book How to Train Your Knight might remember the protagonist Thomas in her latest How to Marry Your Wife, who was featured under main character Marcus in the first book.  Set in England in 1276, Templar Knight Sir Thomas D’Agostine has found the ideal woman with whom he will handfast; only a love potion hastens matters and changes their lives – and this is only the beginning.

Anticipate the same solid attention to medieval history and detailed sexual scenes as in How to Train Your Knight; only from a different perspective as a minor character assumes major proportions in this novel. Time moves swiftly using two different, alternating timelines identified by chapter headings, so readers need to be on their toes to absorb a satisfyingly fast-paced story line that revolves around romance.

But the marriage (when it happens) is a farce and is completed only because Thomas won’t have Merry bedding another man nor raising his son, and so love seems to vanish as the consequences of sex and love potions evolve. It’s not often that a brand new bride hates her husband before the marriage takes place, but Merry has been branded a harlot because of Thomas, and her hatred of him is just as intense as her reluctantly ongoing attraction.

The process of turning hate into love and rekindling more than the physical fires of passion is the theme of a rollicking good medieval read that infuses its protagonists with the lingo, culture and social mores of its times, yet includes a healthy dose of sexual description for spicy reading.

Romance readers with an affinity for early history will relish its passionate, powerful protagonists and their diametrically opposing personalities, and will find this saga of scoundrels, secrets, idiots and wise men (and women) is filled with satisfying medieval atmosphere and twists and turns of plot.

Under Alden’s hand, the sexual encounters reinforce and flavor events and the juxtaposition of battle scenes, romance, and the era’s political overtones is exquisite. There’s no need for either a prior familiarity with How to Train Your Knight or with medieval history and culture. As events unfold, Thomas and Merry are continually challenged both in their stormy relationships and in their stubborn natures which will ultimate lead to not just survival, but real love.

Without revealing spoilers, suffice it to say that the conclusion of How to Marry Your Wife leaves the door wide open for more – and readers who relish historical romances will welcome this possibility!

 

 

 

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Happiness

Published by stella on June 30, 2015

Last weekend I read and reviewed a book by a woman, about my age, who lives with Bipolar. We exchanged a few emails. The weekend before I tweeted to a woman who has been a ‘mum’ to a child who has grown into the body of a man, but with the mind of a toddler.

These are remarkable heroines with incredible strength and I am blessed to have their lives intersect with mine, even so briefly. I am changed just by knowing them.

Everyone knows that likes attract so I humbly pondered how I got here.

Long ago, I remember my first foray into goal-setting. I had chastised a younger worker for his shoddy work on the repair of a video tape machine. My boss figured I needed a few lessons in how to deal with people and sent me off to a Dale Carnegie course. About the same time, the company decided we needed to be more productive, and a few of us headed off to NYC for a course in Time Management.

Of course, they sent me home with brochures to buy tapes, (it was the eighties), and more self-help tapes. I gobbled everything down because I was starving. I was thirty, stuck in a job I hated, had two young kids, a mortgage, and no way out. I cried a lot.

It took a lot of hard work to change my thoughts but I did. After my thoughts changed, my life changed, and here I am.

Believe

Where am I? Content. Not complacent, by any means, but most of the time, pretty happy.

When I need to ‘pay it forward,’ I write about strong women, facing adversity. A romance is the perfect place to do it. If thoughts become reality, (and I believe they do), then my life’s goal is to empower women as they imagine themselves as my heroines.

That makes me happy.

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Midwest Book Review

Published by stella on June 9, 2015

MidwestBookReviewHow To Train Your Knight
Stella Marie Alden
Soul Mate Publishing, Macedon, NY 14502
ASIN: B00WRNKOOU $2.99 Free with Kindle Unlimited
www.stellamariealden.com http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WRNKOOU

D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

Most medieval novels don’t offer up a steamy romance theme; but then, How To Train Your Knight isn’t your usual historical novel, but offers a gripping love story set in 1276 that opens with the bang of a screaming woman accosting Sir Marcus Blackwell, a holy crusader forced into a marriage with a foul-tempered widow.

Lies, ladies, she-witches, murder and love are vividly portrayed as characters are well-developed and dialogue and description nicely done to capture the sounds, scents, feel and lingo of Medieval times (without resorting to confusing vernacular, which makes for an exceptionally smooth read).

Where other romances would fall into modern description, How To Train Your Knight stays true to its times, tailoring its graphic sexual encounters with a sense of the decorum and trappings of Medieval times. From the period clothing of the era which is removed with a different touch (“…finally he undid the leather ties holding the three sheaves, and her knives clunked to the floor.”) to a woman’s acceptance of the pleasure involved in making babies (which doesn’t translate to the usual confession to a priest if a husband is involved), Stella Marie Alden excels at presenting powerful protagonists who both express their sexuality and discover riches of the heart in the process.

Because romance is the key, binding factor in How To Train Your Knight, audiences should be genre readers looking for a healthy dose of history to spice the steamy interludes. These factors contribute to a powerful story line that is as much about sexual awakening and love as it is about the process of becoming a powerful partner and surviving the medieval world.

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Midwest Book Review

Published by stella on June 9, 2015

How To Train Your Knight- credit to D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

MidwestBookReview

  • Stella Marie Alden
  • Soul Mate Publishing, Macedon, NY 14502
  • ASIN: B00WRNKOOU     $2.99  Free with Kindle Unlimited

Most medieval novels don’t offer up a steamy romance theme; but then, How To Train Your Knight isn’t your usual historical novel, but offers a gripping love story set in 1276 that opens with the bang of a screaming woman accosting Sir Marcus Blackwell, a holy crusader forced into a marriage with a foul-tempered widow.

Lies, ladies, she-witches, murder and love are vividly portrayed as characters are well-developed and dialogue and description nicely done to capture the sounds, scents, feel and lingo of Medieval times (without resorting to confusing vernacular, which makes for an exceptionally smooth read).

Where other romances would fall into modern description, How To Train Your Knight stays true to its times, tailoring its graphic sexual encounters with a sense of the decorum and trappings of Medieval times. From the period clothing of the era which is removed with a different touch (“…finally he undid the leather ties holding the three sheaves, and her knives clunked to the floor.“) to a woman’s acceptance of the pleasure involved in making babies (which doesn’t translate to the usual confession to a priest if a husband is involved), Stella Marie Alden excels at presenting powerful protagonists who both express their sexuality and discover riches of the heart in the process.

Because romance is the key, binding factor in How To Train Your Knight, audiences should be genre readers looking for a healthy dose of history to spice the steamy interludes. These factors contribute to a powerful story line that is as much about sexual awakening and love as it is about the process of becoming a powerful partner and surviving the medieval world.

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Sneak Peak “How to Train Your Knight”

Sneak Peak “How to Train Your Knight”

Published by stella on April 28, 2015

Marcus was up and comfortably saddled before dawn the next day. When his wife appeared from out of the bathhouse, the sun had not yet appeared, but a soft yellow light had spread across the sky.

“Not a word from you.” He eyed Charles with suspicion. The stable lad responded with a wide-eyed nod, just as she ran across the green and into the church.

“I’ll be right back. Keep Midnight in readiness.” He dismounted and gave his disappointed horse a pat on the rump. Entering the stone abbey by the back door, he was surprised to land in the monk’s quarters. The sparse room held a table, a clay lamp, two pallets, a hearth, and some furs. James, kneeling quietly in prayer, stood slowly, frowned, and regarded him with a furrowed brow.

“I’m sorry to disturb you, but I’d like to join the mass unseen.” Marcus held palms open and up.

“What’re you up to, Blackwell? I’m not sure we’re on the same side. Lady Ann has been like a daughter to me and the manner of your wedding pleased me not.”

“Truly?” He raised his eyebrows. “I’ve yet to even enter relations with her. I’m the one who should be affronted. She’s the one who’s dressed as a lad, running about like a wild hellcat. I’m merely watching out for her safety. How does the church allow it?”

James regarded him for a moment more and gave a quick nod. He led him down a narrow stone hallway to a pew set up behind the altar and out of view of the congregation. “Blessings upon you, my son. And good luck.”

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