Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: joanne-guidoccio

  • SPOTLIGHT on CHATELAINE and Its Hall of Fame Authors – Romance Novels & Romantic Fiction in all its Forms!

    SPOTLIGHT on CHATELAINE and Its Hall of Fame Authors – Romance Novels & Romantic Fiction in all its Forms!

    Chanticleer Book Reviews is seeking today’s best books featuring romantic themes and adventures of the heart, historical love affairs, perhaps a little steamy romance, we will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

    Find out more about the stunning beauty that Dante Rossetti painted, Jane Morris, at the end of this blog post.

     

    Do you have a romance novel or manuscript ready for readers?

    Do you want to see how it stands up to others in its category?

    Then don’t delay! The CHATELAINE Book Awards division is accepting submissions from both recently published and complete manuscripts in romance and romantic fiction. But this year we’ve moved our deadline – to keep you on your toes!

    The new deadline for the Chatelaine Awards is AUGUST 31, 2020! 

    That’s right, the last day for submissions into the 2020 Chatelaine Book Awards is August 31, 2020. So, if you love Piña Coladas – and getting caught in the rain… I mean, if you like writing about those things, and other things having to do with matters of the heart, including these:

    The Chatelaine Awards Categories are:|
    Contemporary Romance
    Historical Romance
    Adventure & Suspense
    Romantic Steamy/Sensual (Not Erotic)
    Inspirational/Restorative

    Send them in today! What are you waiting for?

    Click here for more information and submission form! 

    Don’t Delay! Enter Today! 

    Insiders’ Tip: Other genre divisions of the Chanticleer International Book Awards have romance categories as well. Multiple submissions of the same work to a variety of  CIBA writing competitions divisions are accepted. Check out our divisions here. 

     

     

     

     

    Please join us in congratulating and reading these top works in this diverse range of all reads Chatelaine: Romance, Chick-Lit,  Women’s Fiction, Inspirational, Suspenseful, and, of course, Steamy and Sensual in the
    CHATELAINE HALL of FAME!

    Nicola Slade took home the Chatelaine Grand Prize Ribbon in 2018 for The House at Ladywell.

    Congratulations to the 2018 CHATELAINE Book Awards for Romantic Fiction  First in Category Winners!

     

    Leigh Grant’s MASK OF DREAMS  took home the Chatelaine Grand Prize Ribbon for 2017.

    The First Place Category Winners of the CIBA 2017 CHATELAINE Awards:

     

     

     

     

     

      M.A. Clarke Scott’s The ART of ENCHANTMENT took home the 2016 Chatelaine Grand Prize.

     

    The First Place Category Winners of the CIBA 2016 CHATELAINE Awards:

     

    Nicole Evelina’s DAUGHTER of DESTINY took both the Chatelaine Grand Prize and the OVERALL Grand Prize winner for 2015.


     

    The First Place Category Winners of the CIBA 2015 CHATELAINE Awards:

     

    Janet Shawgo’s FIND ME AGAIN won the 2014 Chatelaine Grand Prize.

    Find Me Again Janet Shawgo

    The First Place Category Winners of the CIBA 2014 CHATELAINE Awards:

    Kate Vale’s CHOICES was awarded the 2013 Chatelaine Grand Prize and took home the OVERALL Grand Prize for best book of the year!

     

    The First Place Category Winners of the CIBA 2013 CHATELAINE Awards:

    • Historical Romance: The Lily and the Lion by Catherine T. Wilson & Catherine A. Wilson
    • Southern Romance: Swamp Secret by Eleanor Tatum
    • Mystery: The Hourglass by Sharon Struth
    • Jane Austen Inspired: Pulse and Prejudice by Colette Saucier
    • Paranormal: Crimson Flames by Ashley Robertson
    • Christian Inspirational Romance: Chasing Charlie by C. M. Newman
    • Restorative: A Path through the Garden by Nancy LaPonzina
    • Classic Bodice Ripper: To Dare the Duke of Dangerfield by Bronwen Evans

     Who will win the CHATELAINE Book Awards Blue Ribbons for 2020?

    The judging rounds will commence in August! Submit your works today!

    The last day for submissions into the 2020 Chatelaine Book Awards is August 31, 2020. Winners will be announced at our CAC21 conference – scheduled for April

    Click here for more information and submission form! 

    Don’t Delay! Enter Today! 

    And remember our Insiders’ Tip: Other genre divisions of the Chanticleer International Book Awards have romance categories as well. Multiple submissions of the same work to a variety of  CIBA writing competitions divisions are accepted. Check it out here!

    A little information about the Chatelaine Book Awards icon:

    Romance Fiction Award

     

    We feel that Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s Pre-Raphaelite painting of Jane Morris (muse and wife of William Morris) in a Blue Silk Dress captures the many moods of the Chatelaine division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards.  Jane Morris (nee Jane Burden—little is known about her childhood but that it was poor and deprived) was known for her keen intelligence. William Morris fell in love with her when she sat for him as a model. She was privately tutored to become a gentleman’s wife upon their engagement. It is said that she was the inspiration for George Bernard Shaw’s character Eliza Dolittle of My Fair Lady fame. The Blue Silk Dress was painted in 1868 by Rossetti and it currently resides in the Society for Antiquaries of London.  She was 29 when Rossetti painted it. Rossetti and Jane Morris became closely attached until his death in 1882. To read more about the fascinating Jane Morris, click on this Wikipedia page.

  • A SEASON for KILLING BLONDES by Joanne Guidoccio – Cozy Mystery

    A SEASON for KILLING BLONDES by Joanne Guidoccio – Cozy Mystery

    Gilda has been absent from her hometown for 30 years, and when she returns with a pocket full of cash (19 million from a lottery win), she opens up a business. Everything is ready for the opening night – except the dead blonde in the dumpster out back wasn’t part of the plan. What’s worse, that dead blonde was Gilda’s first client! This is just the start – dead blondes seem to drop everywhere Gilda goes!

    In A Season for Killing Blondes, author Joanne Guidoccio introduces a bevy of Italian friends and relatives who are loving, clever, talented, overbearing, overprotective, erratic, abusive, etc., and who try to “help” Gilda manage her life, whether she wants their input or not. Some of the characters have double names—think of The Waltons 2.0—that in combination with some cousins, a few Aunts, and an Uncle, may initially seem confusing, but the author handles it with a deft touch. The names and behaviors add depth, texture, and suspects to the story.

    When lead detective, Carlo Fantin, comes onto the scene with a lot of pressure from the city to solve the crimes, he’s all business until he realizes that he knows Gilda from high school…30 years ago.  On the plus side, she accepts his dinner invitation to reconnect. On the negative, she’s a prime suspect who has a huge problem with alibis.

    But honestly, who wouldn’t love a relative willing to create a handy alibi on the fly?

    “Relax, Gilda. You’re not going to jail. I provided you with an alibi for last night. All those times that Roberto and I rehearsed worked.” Sofia (her mother) glanced over at me. “Aren’t you pleased? You’ve said very little since we left the station.” 

    or how about this:

    “I called Detective Fantin and left a message on his machine,” Uncle Paolo said. “When he calls back, I’ll make sure that he knows you and Sofia were with us Saturday night.”

    Talk about a support network.

    A Season for Killing Blondes is well crafted with solid character and setting descriptions that do not get in the way of pacing. For those readers who enjoy a good humorous mystery and whodunit, along with Italian food, Guidoccio’s cozy does not disappoint. Clues, hints, and some foreshadowing are mixed in with a few curve balls (and meatballs) that keep you guessing until the end.