Tour: 136. Stronger Than Sin by Caridad Piñeiro...

Today, I am one of the tour stops for Caridad Piñeiro's Stronger Than Sin!

About the author:
Caridad Piñeiro is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who wrote her first novel in the fifth grade when her teacher assigned a project: write a book for a class lending library. Her love of writing continued through high school, college, and law school. Shortly after the birth of her daughter, her passion for the written word led to a determination to publish and share the stories she loved with others. In 1999, Caridad's first novel was released and a decade later, she is the author of more than twenty novels and novellas. Find Caridad online at her website www.caridad.com, on facebook and on twitter.

About the book:
Title: Stronger Than Sin
Author: Caridad Piñeiro
ISBN-13: 9780446543842
ARC: 317 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, 2010
Source: Hachette Book Group

It's been six months since Liliana Carrera helped her brother rescue Caterina Shaw from Wardwell Laboratories, a group of fringe scientists experimenting on human beings. Now, Liliana--with funding from the FBI--has set up a new facility to continue testing the inhibitor complex, a cure for the patients of Wardwell. What's even better is the FBI has managed to recover another of the patients, Jesse Bradford.

When Jesse arrives at Liliana's facility, he has been drugged and displays violent erratic behavior. As Liliana helps him detox, Jesse demonstrates strange powers--superhuman strength and the ability to heal quickly.

Despite their growing attraction, Jesse is secretive and Liliana remains fearful of him. Eventually he admits that Wardwell scientists threatening his sister's life in order to maintain control over him and his powers. As they try to locate her, they begin to suspect that the scientists may have corrupted the FBI. Unless they can discover Wardwell's master plan soon, Jesse's sister, the other patients, and an unknown number of innocent people, will pay the price.

drey's thoughts:
Caridad Piñeiro sure knows how to mix up interesting characters, great back-stories, and fast action. Stronger Than Sin continues with the devious plot first brought to us in Sins of the Flesh, with Wardwell scientists still experimenting on human beings. Only this time, they're also trying to get theirs hands on Liliana's inhibitor compound, so that their genetically-modified humans don't die away so quickly... After all, if she found a way to save Catarina's life, why not the others'?

When the FBI brings Jesse Bradford to Liliana, she finds a guy who's slowly being calcified to death. And as she tries to find out how to stop the process, she realizes that people are not always who you think they are, and has to decide whether Jesse is worth going all-in for, even if that means she might not survive the experience.

Stronger Than Sin offers an interesting plot to go with the romance. Pick it up if that's how you like 'em!

drey's rating: 3/5 Good

Check out Stronger Than Sin:

Giveaway!
Like what you see? Then enter this giveaway! 5 lucky ducks will get their very own copy of Stronger Than Sin, US and Canada only (no PO Boxes please!). To enter, comment with why you're interested in this book. Remember to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win. Do it before 6pm CST November 21st.

Extra entries:
+1 for tweeting (comment with the link to your tweet)
+1 for linking on your blog sidebar (comment with the link to your blog)

Can't wait? Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon, The Book Depository

Challenges: 100+, Pub

Tour: 200. Sins of the Flesh by Caridad Piñeiro...

Today's tour is for Caridad Piñeiro's Sins of the Flesh. Come and check out what she has to say about why she writes romance...

It’s not unusual that during the course of an interview I’m asked if I write full time and people are always surprised when I say that I don’t. I suspect their surprise is due to the fact that I normally have two to three books a year from various publishers and it seems unbelievable to them that I could write that many books, blog, do workshops, attend conferences, etc. while also holding down a full time job.

As I recently commented to one of my editors, “If you want something done, give it to someone who is busy.” An old adage, but true in most cases that I’ve seen. Busy people seem to know how to manage their time and get the job done when necessary.

But the question that follows after the “job question” is the one that really throws people for a loop. When I tell them that I’m also an attorney, they are flabbergasted because what I am writing is romance.

Romance and the law just don’t seem to be a good mix apparently, although writing and the law is quite common. The publishing world is filled with attorneys who write and while the more visible ones usually write crime, suspense or thrillers, you would be surprised at the number of romance writers who used to be, or currently are, attorneys.

There is something about your legal training that naturally fits being a writer. Maybe it’s learning to take a legal argument from beginning to end, considering all the variables and possible defenses/weaknesses, etc. that you can apply to writing a plot. Both are very similar in scope.

But what about the law can you apply to romance? In actuality, not much that I can think of and so you may ask, “Then why are you writing romance?”

The answer is fairly simple – I believe in the power of love. I believe that love can overcome the most impossible of odds. I believe that love sustains us through both good and bad times. In my case, I like to throw in a lot of bad times in the paranormals that I write because that only makes the reward at the end of the novel that much sweeter.

I also believe that love between a man and a woman is a partnership of equals. So in the romances I write, it’s imperative for me to not only show that equality, but bring out how when one person is weak, the strength of the other can help lift them up.

Those positive messages in romance are, in my humble opinion, what keep romances alive and thriving in even the most difficult of economic times. It also helps that the romance genre is one of the most diverse genres in the industry. Whether the romances are heterosexual, multicultural, homosexual, historical, futuristic, paranormal, suspense, etc., the diversity of stories and characters in romance reflect our modern world in ways that few other genres do.

So I guess that’s why I write romance. Long live the Happily Ever After!

About the author:
Caridad Piñeiro is a multi-published and award-winning author whose love of the written word developed when her fifth grade teacher assigned a project – to write a book that would be placed in a class lending library. She has been hooked on writing ever since.

Caridad was born in Havana, Cuba, and settled in the New York Metropolitan area. She attended Villanova University on a Presidential Scholarship and graduated magna cum laude. Caridad earned her juris doctor from St. John’s University and became the first female partner of Abelman, Frayne & Schwab, an intellectual property firm in midtown Manhattan.

Find her online at her website, www.caridad.com.

About the book:

Caterina Shaw's days are numbered. Her only chance for survival is a highly experimental gene treatment-a risk she willingly takes. But now Caterina barely recognizes herself. She has new, terrifying powers, an exotic, arresting body-and she's been accused of a savage murder, sending her on the run.

Mick Carrera is a mercenary and an expert at capturing elusive, clever prey. Yet the woman he's hunting down is far from the vicious killer he's been told to expect: Caterina is wounded, vulnerable, and a startling mystery of medical science. Even more, she's a beautiful woman whose innocent sensuality tempts Mick to show her exactly how thrilling pleasure can be. The heat that builds between them is irresistible, but surrendering to it could kill them both . . . for a dangerous group is plotting its next move using Caterina as its deadly pawn.

drey's thoughts:
This was an interesting read--it's a romance, it's a mystery, and it's kinda-sorta sci-fi/paranormal-ish. Kudos to Caridad for blending the three such that it didn't feel more like one or the other specifically.

The heroine, Caterina, is confused and doesn't remember much other than the fact that there's a dead body, with lots of blood. Add to that confusion, the fact that she's not normal, and you have the beginnings of a major headache... She knows she's running. And she learns that she needs help to stay one step ahead of her pursuers. When that help comes in the form of a mercenary who's been paid to apprehend her, she has to decide if she can trust him, literally, with her life.

And Mick. Nice-guy-turned-mercenary who's on Caterina's trail. When something smells fishy, he naturally looks for the bait and hook. Where there's smoke, there's usually fire, right?

The mystery will keep you reading till you're done. The romance will give you warm fuzzies. And the sneak peek at the next installment of this series will have you wondering when you can get your mitts on that book...

Giveaway!
Thanks to Hachette Book Group, I have up to five copies of Sins of the Flesh for you...
Rules:
-- Contest is open to US and Canada residents, no PO Boxes please!
-- To enter, comment. That's it.
-- Follow for 1 extra entry.
-- Share for 2 extra entries (let me know what & where, please).
-- Every 10 people entered gets another copy in the hat, so tell everyone! =)
-- Do it all before 6:00 pm CST November 22nd. Good luck!

Challenges: 100+, Pub

Disclosure: My copy of Sins of the Flesh was provided by Hachette Book Group for this blog tour.

Tour stops:
11/9: drey's library, My book addiction and more, Just Another New Blog
11/10: Readaholic, A Book Blogger's Diary
11/11: Maria's Space, Book Soulmates
11/12: Wendy's Minding Spot, Froggaritaville's Bookcase
11/13: Parajunkee's View
11/16: All About {n}, Found Not Lost
11/17: Razlover's Book Blog
11/18: Confessions of a Romance Book Addict
11/20: Book Junkie, Morbid Romantic
11/21: Starting Fresh, 'Manda Blogs About...
11/22: My Overstuffed Bookshelf, I ♥ Book Gossip