Winning Love by Abby Niles….Review

Winning Love cover

 

Synopsis:

Mac “The Snake” Hannon has spent years throwing himself into cage fighting as a way to lash back at the natural disaster that destroyed his future. A call for help has Mac returning to the one place he swore never to return: Kansas—in the height of tornado season.

There he meets free-spirited Gayle Andrews. At first he wants nothing to do with the infuriatingly, persistent woman, but the crazy challenges she tosses his way are impossible to resist. As she thaws years of bitterness, bringing back the Mac he believed long gone, he starts to make peace with the past and see the future again. Until he learns she chases his worst nightmare, then he can’t get away fast enough.

Meteorologist and storm chaser, Gayle Andrews is no stranger to being left behind and now believes in living in the moment. She wants to do just that with the handsome extreme fighter with the achingly sad eyes. As she works to replace the sorrow with desire, she finds herself breaking her one rule: have fun, but don’t fall in love. When he suddenly pushes her away and she discovers the horrifying reason why, she issues one more challenge: face his fear and come on a chase with her.

Will squaring off with the past lead to a victory for heartache or love?

 

My Review:

Winning Love is the third book in author Abby Niles’ Love to the Extreme series and the first in the series I have read. I’m a little sad I hadn’t picked up this series earlier because this book was amazing. Like read in a day, can’t put it down, ignore all responsibilities kind of amazing.

Mac “The Snake” Hannon has been running from his past for four long years. He’s tried to push the nightmare aside and ignore it every time it rears its ugly head. The problem is, you can never truly outrun your past. It always comes back to haunt you. Never before has that been more true than right now when he returns to the very place that holds those nightmarish memories. Kansas. Where his hopes and dreams were crushed when a tornado came through and took it all away from him. The only reason he was back was because his old friend needed him and he would never leave his friend hanging. Hopefully he could be distracted enough while he was here to ignore the ever-present pain of his broken past. Enter Gayle. The feisty, fun, entertaining and beautiful neighbor. She could certainly be a great distraction for Mac while he was here. But he didn’t do relationships of any kind. Not anymore. He just needed to look to his past to be reminded of why.

Meteorologist and storm chaser, Gayle Andrews sure was intrigued by the handsome man staying with her neighbor…not only because he was built and gorgeous but because he had a permanent scowl that was just begging to be erased. Of course she would happily volunteer to do just that. She has learned the hard way to live life to the fullest, every day, because you never knew when it could be your last. She had a feeling he would be a tough nut to crack but she had plenty of time to work on it. Tornado season hadn’t started yet and even though she watched her neighbor’s, and Mac’s friend’s, daughter from time to time, she still had plenty of calendar to fill. Mac didn’t know it yet, but he’d be that filler, and he’d be doing it without a scowl…come hell or high water.

Together both Mac and Gayle have heartbreaking pasts and have both dealt with crushing loss in their own ways. Mac has tried to hide it, and shove it down inside while Gayle has tried to learn from it and come away stronger. With two very different ways of coping, can they be united in their grief and learn to live and love again?

I am typing this while in a serious book hangover. Man, I loved this book. This wasn’t the typical fighter book in the sense that Mac’s MMA fighting really took a back seat to the rest of the story. Mainly this was a story about healing and overcoming tragedy and it was done so damn well. (I don’t want to give away the reasons behind Mac and Gayle’s loss so bear with me) Mac has been trying, pretty unsuccessfully, to ignore his pain. He left his former career, got into fighting and hasn’t looked back. Which really only lead him in succeeding in letting the old wound fester and never truly heal.

Gayle has been through her own personal hell but has really risen above and turned it into the driving force behind her current work with tornadoes. Two very different ways of coping. Fitting because Gayle and Mac are two very different personalities. You know what they say, though…opposites attract. The attraction is almost immediate and even though Gayle has her work cut out for her, she didn’t give up on Mac. Little by little she worked her magic and it was beautiful to read Mac opening up. However there was that one subject that Mac had to warm up to sharing….his past. It almost proved to be the end of their yet-to-develop relationship. I was a nervous wreck that Mac would never be able to move on. But he had never had Gayle by his side, willing to help him, supporting him along the way. I went through so many emotions while reading this book. My heart broke for Mac. I wanted him to have his happy ever after and I wanted it to be with Gayle. Luckily Abby wrote one hell of a fantastic ending and it made all my angsting over the two of them worth it!

Also, another great aspect of this story was Abby’s writing on the storm chasing scenes. Whoa, they were intense and played out like a movie in my mind’s eye while I was reading. Well done, Abby.

Ok…hopefully I haven’t bored you with this really long review and you get an idea of just how amazing this story was. Full of emotion and intensity with just enough heat added in, Winning Love made it to my list of faves for this year. Thank you, Abby, for a phenomenal read.

5LovesRLBFive Loves

 

Book links:

 Amazon  |  B&N  |  iBooks  |  Kobo 

About the author:

Ever since Abby Niles picked up her first Sweet Valley High book in sixth grade and fell in love with Elizabeth and Todd, she’s been hooked on romance. By the time she reached high school, she was devouring meatier romances with pirates, cowboys and knights. She never imagined that those years of reading would one day lead to her becoming a published author.

In her late twenties, after having twins and becoming a stay-at-home mom, she started doodling stories to keep her sanity. Next thing she knew, she was actually submitting to publishing houses. And was immediately rejected. That didn’t stop her though. She found some kickass critique partners, honed her craft, and continued submitting.

And eventually sold.

Today, she juggles work, being a single mom, and writing. It’s not always easy, but hey, who said life was easy?

Abby is the author of the contemporary MMA romance, Extreme Love, the first book in her Love to the Extreme series. Fighting Love is scheduled to release in December of 2013 and Winning Love is scheduled for 2014. She is also the author of the dark paranormal romance series The Awakening: Aidan and the The Awakening: Liam and The Awakening: Britton. Both series are with Entangled Publishing. She also has a geeky romantic comedy, Defying Convention, with Carina Press.

She is represented by Maureen Walters at Curtis Brown, LTD.

No Limits by Lori Foster…Blog Tour Stop & Review

No Limits COVER

 

Synopsis:

A surprise inheritance reunites a mixed martial arts fighter with the woman he’s never forgotten in the first in a smoldering new series from New York Times bestselling author Lori Foster…

Cannon Colter is quintessential hero material: chiseled jawline, shredded body—the works. He’s also the guy who rescued Yvette Sweeny from kidnappers, only to put an end to her romantic dreams. These days, she’s older, smarter, determined to face whatever life throws her way. Even the prospect of sharing a house and business with Cannon.

Cannon knew Yvette wanted him three years ago. But she was young—and some things are worth waiting for. Thrown together by her grandfather’s legacy, he realizes how deep Yvette’s scars really go, and how much danger lurks in their quiet town. As pent-up desire explodes between them, protecting her becomes the only fight that matters. And he’ll break all the rules to do it…

 

My review:

No Limits is the first book in author Lori Foster’s Ultimate series and starts with Cannon, a character we met in her Love Undercover series. Let’s just say I fell in love with Cannon immediately and was eagerly waiting for his book….and it was everything I had hoped for and more!

MMA fighter Cannon Colter’s fighting career started early on in life…out on the streets. He was the one always trying to keep the scum off his streets and away from his neighbors. He was the vigilante with a sense of honor and respect. Add that to being handsome and having a killer physique and the ladies loved him as much as the bad guys hated him. Yvette was one of those ladies. He had always had an eye for her but at the time she was too young. Legal, but young. Making matters worse was she and her grandfather had been the victim of a sickening crime, which Cannon had helped rescue them from, and didn’t that just add to the reasons why the timing wasn’t right. That was three years ago and even now with a successful fighting career, great reputation in his community and plans for growing his community center, he still thought of her. Fate always has a way of working things to her advantage and suddenly Yvette is back in town because of her grandfather’s death and as Cannon sits in the attorney’s office being read his will, he realizes he will soon be spending an awful lot of time with the woman who has haunted his memories for the past three years. Cannon wouldn’t let this opportunity slip away this time…

Steeling herself for the return to the town she both loved and hated, Yvette Sweeney was filled with mixed emotions. She had grown in the three years since she had left. Being the victim of a crime tended to do that to a gal. Sure she was worried about how seeing her old home and town would affect her but if she’s being honest, she was more unsettled with seeing Cannon again. She had always held a flame for him and she had worked hard on herself since leaving to make herself a stronger woman. Someone he wouldn’t have to worry about and fret over like he had before she left. She wasn’t the scared girl she was before. The question was, would it make a difference? It was time to face the music, head home, get her grandfather’s affairs in order and hopefully leave with her heart intact.

With so much history between them, would the time apart prove to be something of good or did it damage the friendship and attraction they both felt back then?

Oh man, if I didn’t already love Cannon from the pervious books, I sure as hell would love him now. This book was fantastic. Yvette has really changed from the last time we saw her and she has turned into one hell of a strong woman. She’s got her head held high and has tried to turn what happened to her into something to learn from. She was a very admirable character to read and I enjoyed her a whole lot. Now, as for Cannon, what can I say? He is the ultimate protector with a fierce loyalty to the people he holds close. Yvette being one of them. I loved everything about him. He has a quiet danger lurking underneath his handsome exterior and people know not to mess with him. He gets results, more often than not, just by eluding to the damage he is capable of….which comes in handy more than a few times in this book. Someone isn’t happy with Yvette being back in town and even though she wants to prove that she can handle whatever comes her way, he refuses to let her do it alone. Problem is, the dangers keep mounting. Which leads me to the other facet of this story that I loved: the mystery behind the threats. There were more than a few people it could have been and I was really kept guessing until the very end. When we found out who it was I was shocked. Never saw THAT suspect coming. I love that “whoa” moment! Really well done.

Now, I can’t go without mentioning Cannon’s friends and fellow fighters we meet in this story. They are all fantastic with big personalities that I am looking forward to reading in future installments in this series.

This is a book that has it all…mystery, emotions, tons of heat, and great characters and I highly recommend it. Thank you, Ms. Foster, for a phenomenal read!

 

4LovesRLB

Four Loves

 

Book links:

 Amazon  |  B&N  |  iBooks  |  Kobo 

About the author:

Since first publishing in January 1996, Lori Foster has become a USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly and New York Times bestselling author. Lori has published through a variety of houses, including Kensington, St. Martin’s, Harlequin, Silhouette, Samhain, and Berkley/Jove. She is currently published with HQN.

Lori hosts a very special annual “Reader & Author” event in West Chester, Ohio. Proceeds from the event have benefited many worthy causes, including the Hamilton County YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter, the Animal Adoption Foundation, The Conductive Learning Center for children with spina bifida and cerebral palsy, and The One Way Farm, Children’s Home.

Each year Lori donates all proceeds from one book to charity. You can see the benefit romance books here: http://lorifoster.com/benefit-books/

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Thin Love by Eden Butler…Blog Tour Stop & Review

Title: Thin Love
Author: Eden Butler
Genre: New Adult/Contemporary Romance crossover
Release Date: August 19, 2014
Tour Hosted by: As the Pages Turn
Synopsis
Love isn’t supposed to be an addiction. It isn’t supposed to leave you bleeding.
Kona pushed, Keira pulled, and in their wake, they left behind destruction.
She sacrificed everything for him.
It wasn’t enough.
But the wounds of the past can never be completely forgotten and still the flame remains, slumbers between the pleasure of yesterday and the thought of what might have been.
Now, sixteen years later, Keira returns home to bury the mother who betrayed her, just as Kona tries to hold onto what remains of his NFL career with the New Orleans Steamers. Across the crowded bustle of a busy French Market, their paths collide, conjuring forgotten memories of a consuming touch, skin on skin, and the still smoldering fire that begs to be rekindled.
When Kona realizes the trifecta of betrayal—his, Keira’s and those lies told to keep them apart—his life is irrevocably changed and he once again takes Keira down with him into the fire that threatens to ignite them both.

My review:

Thin Love is the latest work from author Eden Butler, an author I have really enjoyed reading. This book was different from her other works but just as great to read. Intense, emotional, and sexy…a rollercoaster of a read for sure!

Kona and Keira are the unlikely couple. She’s the intelligent and focused understated beauty with a good head on her shoulders and a desire to succeed and do well in life. Kona is the sexy flirt of a football star with girls lined up around the block with the desire to do just well enough in school to pass and get on with his NFL career. Two people who couldn’t be more different….sort of. After being paired together for a class assignment they realize they have more than a few things in common. A less than fabulous and comfy home life with less than stellar and supportive parents just to name two. Somewhere along the way, while working on their project, an undeniable attraction has caught them both off guard. An intense, beyond all things reasonable attraction, that after fighting off for bit, consumes them both. Consumes them with a passion and fire neither one has ever experienced. Unfortunately, the passion they share doesn’t appear to be enough to withstand the pressure of those less than supportive parents. Add those pressures to an unbearable tragedy and it all adds up to too much for their relationship to stand up against. Maybe it was never meant to be after all? Or was it…..

So, I mentioned this story was intense and I meant it. Not in a bad way, don’t get me wrong, but in a way that reminded me of just how insanely intense that first real relationship could be. This is almost a story dedicated to those sleepless nights after a fight, or those insanely jealous feelings when you saw your boyfriend talking to another girl at a party. Looking back on it now, sure, they seem ridiculously overkill but if you can just take yourself back, and put yourself back into those younger-self shoes, you will appreciate this book.

Kona and Keira were combustible in many ways but on the flip side they were good for each other in many ways. They made a good, albeit passionate, couple and their intensity was enjoyable to read. There are a few other aspects to this story that take it above the level of a typical college romance but I don’t want to ruin it for any of you so I’ll remain tight-lipped. It added a layer to the story that ratcheted the intensity up a few more notches and made it that much more of an uncertainty laced rollercoaster ride. It’s those aspects that led to the end of Kona and Keira’s college romance. And it was heartbreaking. I sobbed my eyes out but it was the ending they needed…at that time.

Luckily Eden gives us a fast-forward to 16 years later, to the present day, and that made for a beautiful ending! I’m so glad she wrote Kona and Keira’s story in that way. It made al of the earlier intensity and tragedy worth it in a way and had me so happy for them as a couple. Again, I can’t give too much away so you’ll just have to trust me.

Thank you, Eden, for one hell of an intense ride…and for all of the music mentions that took me right back to my senior year of high school/freshman year of college. I loved it!

4LovesRLBFour Loves

Excerpt:

“What’s the matter, Wildcat?” Kona lay on top of her, held her hip with his long fingers. “You nervous?”

She could only manage a nod and Kona smiled, moving his mouth to her neck, down her shoulder, kissing lightly. “We don’t have to do this. I can wait.”

“No!” She panicked at the thought. He laughed at her excitement and that touch on her hip got tighter. “No,” she said, voice a bit calmer. “I want you, Kona.”

He looked at her, smile gone, expression relaxed. “I’ve wanted you for weeks and weeks.” Keira exhaled, moving the hair off her forehead. “It’s just been a while and you’re so…” She flicked her eyes down then quickly back up again. “You’re a lot bigger than I expected.”

“Ha, sweetheart, you’re good for my ego, but it’s just me.” Kona kissed her again, slipping just the tip of his tongue into her mouth before he pulled away. “I’ll be easy with you, Wildcat. I’ll be so slow and good, but maybe this will help.” Kona’s hand left her hip, slipped between her thighs easily and he coaxed more wetness from her, teasing her lips, taking his time to touch her clit. Keira shuddered, held her hand against his wrist as he continued and Kona took her lead, rubbed once more over her clit before he slipped two fingers inside her. He’d learned her body in the past few weeks and Keira had been grateful that she didn’t have to tell him what she wanted, what felt best. He always seemed to know. His mouth was warm, tongue eager as he kissed her, as those large fingers curled and his knuckles touched the spot that sent her mind swimming. He never had to touch her for long, always knew exactly how to read the lift of her voice, the collection of sounds that gave away just how good she felt when he touched her. That night was no exception. Just a few sure rubs of his knuckles against her G-spot and Keira was flying, hips off the mattress as her body chased that orgasm.

“Beautiful. Every time, Wildcat. So beautiful.” Another kiss against her neck, with Keira still spinning on the crest of her orgasm and Kona slipped inside of her.

“God…” Kona moved his hips slow, barely moved an inch and already Keira felt full, felt she couldn’t be stretched any further. When he slid deeper, she hissed, not from the pain but from how sensitive she already was.

“You okay? You want me to stop?”

“No,” she told him, opening her eyes so he’d know she wasn’t hurting. “God, no, please keep going. You just fill me up. It’s so good, bebe.” Kona stilled inside her and a small quirk of his mouth told Keira he was pleased. “That’s the first time you’ve ever called me that.”

“I’ll say it again just to keep that smile on your face.”

Then Keira lifted her legs, wrapped them around Kona’s hips and she let herself be filled as he worked inside her. Everything about Kona was huge; his body, his cock, his voice, his presence and all of it filled Keira’s room as well as her body, moved around them and through them and she felt high, so high on him, on the sensation of him moving inside of her, his hands on her breasts, his fingers clasped with hers as he lifted her hands above her head on the pillow and pinned them there.

Sweat pooled over their skin, met together in the twist of their bodies and when Kona stared down at her, kissed her like her lips would give him breath, Keira shuddered, squeezed against him. The light was thin and Keira could only make out the outline of his features, the small glint in his eyes and it was too much, too overwhelming, but she would not run this time, she wouldn’t tell herself she could do without this. Not again. Not anymore. She belonged to him. Her body, her heart, no matter how beaten and worn it was, belonged to Kona Hale. Keira squeezed against him again and Kona stilled, stared down at her with a smile that told her he wanted to control this, lead her. “Don’t squeeze,” he said, pulling her hips up, hitting inside her deeper.

“If you open up, baby, go wide for me, relax, I can make you come hard, I can make it last for you.” A slow thrust, deeper, harder and Keira arched against him, relaxed her inner muscles even as she throbbed against him. “Perfect, so perfect.”

This was deeper, freer somehow, letting Kona move them, letting him control the moment and Keira held onto Kona like he would anchor her, keep her from floating above herself. “Come for me, baby. Give it to me completely and I’ll make it so, so good for you. I’ll take care of you when you shatter against me.”

And Keira listened, guessed that this is what Kona needed—that slip of control she gave to him. She let go, pushed out, relinquishing herself, giving her body to Kona, rather than closing off, pulling in, and the effect was substantial. He moved in closer, worked faster and Keira let herself open, relax until that heavenly sensation came upon her, urged on by Kona’s strong hands on her hips, his wide dick touching all the way inside her and when the orgasm came, it mirrored her heart—free, unyielding, explosive.

“God… ,” Kona said, voice rising higher and higher with each grunt he made, hips slamming into her hard, fast, faster, and Keira knew he was hitting his crest. Shoulders shaking, hips pumping faster and faster, Kona released a groan, filling her, throbbing inside her as he came. Then he pulled his hand from hers and held the back of her neck, stared down at her with his thumb on her cheek.

“This is always, Wildcat. You… you’re my always.

Teaser

About Eden
Eden Butler is an editor and writer of New Adult Romance and SciFi and Fantasy novels and the nine-times great-granddaughter of an honest-to-God English pirate. This could explain her affinity for rule breaking and rum. Her debut novel, a New Adult, Contemporary (no cliffie) Romance, “Chasing Serenity” launched in October 2013 and quickly became an Amazon bestseller.
When she’s not writing or wondering about her possibly Jack Sparrowesque ancestor, Eden edits, reads and spends way too much time watching rugby, Doctor Who and New Orleans Saints football.
She is currently imprisoned under teenage rule alongside her husband in southeast Louisiana.
Please send help.

Giveaway

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Whatcha Gonna Do With a Cowboy: A Deputy Laney Briggs Novella by Jodi Linton…Review

 

A thrilling suspense from Entangled’s Ignite imprint…

Jodi Linton COVER

Synopsis:

Some cowboys are worth getting dirty for.

In her latest adventure, sassy Deputy Laney Briggs discovers the local high school football coach passed out under the stadium bleachers wearing nothing but a smile…and his wife’s lingerie.

Things really start to get wild when she runs into the smoking hot Federal Marshal, Colt Larsen, snooping around the Granger’s house. Quicker than a cold snap comes and goes in Texas, Laney finds herself up to her eyeballs in a case involving a ruthless motorcycle gang, a Mexican drug cartel, a kidnapping, and a shoot-out to rival the O.K. Corral.

In over their heads, Laney calls in the big guns—her very own Texas Ranger, Gunner Wilson, who’s ready to fulfill every last one of her desires. But as things heat up between them, the stakes get higher than ever, and Gunner’s help may not be enough for Laney to get out alive…

 

My Review:

Whatcha Gonna Do With a Cowboy: A Deputy Laney Briggs Novella is the latest in author Jodi Linton’s Deputy Laney Briggs Series and packs a whole lot of mystery and heat into a quick read. I enjoyed it!

There’s never a dull moment in Deputy Laney Briggs’ life and finding the high school football coach passed out drunk in women’s lingerie in the football stadium, you could say it was just another day for her. Of course, this discovery only leads to another bigger mystery when the coach’s wife is nowhere to be found and a sexy Federal Marshall shows up looking for that very same missing wife…who just happens to have a few aliases. For such a small town, there sure was an overabundance of drama. Now Deputy Briggs finds herself working alongside this sexy and pain in the ass Federal Marshall all while missing her handsome Texas Ranger, Gunner Wilson, and wishing for a dull moment or two. But if we know Laney, we know that surely won’t be happening any time soon.

From start to finish this story kept packing a punch. There was never a dull moment when it came to unraveling the mystery of the coach’s wife and why she had the interest of the Federal Marshall’s office. It definitely ended up not being any of the scenarios I was leading to in my imagination while reading. Laney sure had her hands full with her less than savory section of her town, the Marshall, her co-workers, and her sexy Texas Ranger. Of course Laney brought her usual no-nonsense attitude and colorful language, which I adore about her. There was also plenty of heat packed into the scenes with her and Gunner. They are one hot couple!

Over all, this was a great, action packed, quick read that fans of Deputy Briggs would surely enjoy. Thank you, Jodi, for a great read!

3andaHalfLovesRLBThree-and-a-Half Loves

 

About the author:

Jodi Linton lives and works in Texas, with her husband and two kids. She can be found cozied up to the computer escaping into a quirky world of tall tales, sexy, tight jean wearing cowboys, and a protagonist with a sharp-tongue quick enough to hang any man out to dry. She writes the Deputy Laney Briggs Series.

Website   |  Twitter 

WHATCHA GONNA DO WITH A COWBOY, August 18,2014.

Cover Reveal….Never Too Late by Dawn Robertson

nevertoolateamazon

 

Synopsis:

Amelia Taylor O’Connor fell victim to the charming Ben O’Connor a decade ago, little did she know he was only after her family’s money. After a decade of abuse, and the ultimate betrayal she filed for divorce. Embarking on a new chapter of her life, she vows to finally find love.

Captain Brendan Sullivan is a career fireman, and a widow. After his late wife, Joyce passed he never thought a woman would catch his eye. Until he meets his Lieutenant, Avery Martin’s, sister-in-law Amelia. Can these two find love in a sea of insecurity and dark secrets? Will they continue to run from their undeniable attraction? Or are they destined for — the single life?

 

nevertoolatecomingsoon

 

Author Dawn Robertson Links:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Website  |  Amazon

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The Hexed by Heather Graham…Blog Tour Stop & Review

The Hexed COVER

 

 

Synopsis:

A place of history, secrets…and witchcraft.

Devin Lyle has recently returned to the Salem area, but her timing couldn’t be worse. Soon after she moved into the eighteenth-century cabin she inherited from her great-aunt Mina—her “crazy” great-aunt, who spoke to the dead—a woman was murdered nearby.

Craig Rockwell—known as Rocky—is a new member of the Krewe of Hunters, the FBI’s team of paranormal investigators. He never got over finding a friend dead in the woods. Now another body’s been found in those same woods, not far from the home of Devin Lyle. And Devin’s been led to a third body—by…a ghost?

Her discovery draws them both deeper into the case and Salem’s rich and disturbing history. Even as the danger mounts, Devin and Rocky begin to fall for each other, something the ghosts of Mina and past witches seem to approve of. But the two of them need every skill they possess to learn the truth—or Devin’s might be the next body in the woods.

 

My review:

The Hexed is author Heather Graham’s thirteenth novel in her Krewe of Hunters Series and can absolutely be read as a stand alone. Being intrigued by Salem and the practice of witchcraft I was excited to read this book. Ms. Graham delivered mystery, murder and history sprinkled with romance and a charming ghost. I loved everything about this story and didn’t want it to end!

Children’s book author Devin Lyle was accustomed to the allure surrounding Salem and her nearby town. She was knowledgeable of the history and knew a great deal about Wicca and the truths and myths about being a Wiccan. She wasn’t one herself but many of her fellow townspeople were as was her best friend. Now, residing in the quaint cottage her beloved Auntie Mina had left her upon her passing, she spent her days quietly writing and speaking to her aunt’s ghost. Yes, it was a bit startling to realize she wasn’t seeing things after all and her aunt was indeed here in ghost form, but I guess you could say stranger things have happened…maybe? The bigger problem now, however, was the nearby murder of a young woman and that it was appearing that someone was trying to make it look as though Wicca had something to do with it…and that it wasn’t a harmless worship of mother earth but something evil instead. Devin knew that couldn’t be true and was visited by yet another ghost who seems to be trying to lead Devin to the one responsible for the heinous crime. Would anyone believe a woman getting clues from a ghost?

Newly appointed to the Krewe of Hunters division of the FBI, agent Craig Rockwell (aka Rocky) was back in his hometown and investigating a murder that was eerily similar to one that had happened when he was a teenager. He would never forget that murder. A crime that took away one of his closest friends and one that made him realize he had the gift to see and hear ghosts. That crime was never solved and now, coming back to town, he vowed to bring his friend justice. With the help of old friends and his new unit, it seemed more possible now than ever and also proving to be invaluable was the help of an interesting and beautiful local author who had stumbled across the body. Turns out she has s similar gift with the departed and didn’t that just add to her intrigue. But he was here for official reasons and come hell or high water he will solve this case. Now, if only the murders would stop….

With more murders happening faster than clues coming in, Rocky has his hands full and with time running out the help he is receiving from Devin and her ghostly grandmother turn out to be invaluable. But when Devin seems to be in the killer’s sights, Rocky realizes his feelings for her are growing and he prays he can solve this case before someone else gets hurt…mostly Devin.

The Hexed weaves an amazing tale of modern-day Salem with the area’s tragic past while adding a murder mystery and a dash of romance. I was kept wondering about the identity of the killer until the very end, and it was a person I never expected. To me, that is the gift of a great read. There were bits and pieces along the way that would lead me one way but then throw my suspicion in another direction entirely. I loved that. Rocky had been haunted by his friend’s murder for far too long and now being back it has really pushed his resolve. Combining his childhood friends (which includes a local police detective and lawyer) who were united in their grief, with his new Krewe team members was fantastic to read. Rocky is a professional, a gentleman, and has one hell of a sense of determination. I loved reading him. Devin is fabulous as well. Smart and witty, she is loyal to her friends and has a deep connection to her town. I appreciated her willingness to lend a hand and help with the investigation. Of course, the connection that grew between Rocky and Devin was just as amazing as every other aspect of this story.

I have to say, though, what I loved most was the way Ms. Graham made me feel as if I were a part of all of it. As if I was actually there in the cottage with ghostly Mina, Poe the raven and Devin. Every point was illustrated beautifully…even the history of the witch trials. I really adore that feeling and always appreciate when a book takes me away in such vivid ways.

Thank you, Ms. Graham, for a beautifully written suspenseful and mysterious story.

4andahalflovesFour-and-a-Half Loves

 

Book links:

Amazon  |  B&N  |  iBooks

About the author:

Also published as Heather Graham Pozzessere and Shannon Drake.

New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Heather Graham majored in theater arts at the University of South Florida. After a stint of several years in dinner theater, back-up vocals, and bartending, she stayed home after the birth of her third child and began to write, working on short horror stories and romances. After some trial and error, she sold her first book, WHEN NEXT WE LOVE, in 1982 and since then, she has written over one hundred novels and novellas including category, romantic suspense, historical romance, vampire fiction, time travel, occult, and Christmas holiday fare. She wrote the launch books for the Dell’s Ecstasy Supreme line, Silhouette’s Shadows, and for Harlequin’s mainstream fiction imprint, Mira Books.

Heather was a founding member of the Florida Romance Writers chapter of RWA and, since 1999, has hosted the Romantic Times Vampire Ball, with all revenues going directly to children’s charity.

She is pleased to have been published in approximately twenty languages, and to have been honored with awards frorn Waldenbooks. B. Dalton, Georgia Romance Writers, Affaire de Coeur, Romantic Times, and more. She has had books selected for the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild, and has been quoted, interviewed, or featured in such publications as The Nation, Redbook, People, and USA Today and appeared on many newscasts including local television and Entertainment Tonight.

Heather loves travel and anything have to do with the water, and is a certitified scuba diver. Married since high school graduation and the mother of five, her greatest love in life remains her family, but she also believes her career has been an incredible gift, and she is grateful every day to be doing something that she loves so very much for a living.

Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter 

 

 

 

Break the Sky by Nina Lane…Review

break the sky cover

 

Synopsis:

“Do you ever let go, storm girl?” he asked. “Ever lose control? Ever surrender?”

“Never,” I whispered. “I never surrender.”

A smile of both promise and warning curved his beautiful mouth.
“You will.”

Atmospheric scientist Kelsey March is under siege. Her tornado research project is on the skids and she’s fighting conflict in her university department. So when irresistible bad boy Archer West suggests a hot, wild fling while he’s in town, Kelsey is unable to resist his sexy offer.

Kelsey and Archer embark on a intense, exhilarating affair. But soon their differences and private battles encroach on their desire, and Kelsey discovers that Archer is a storm she can’t control.

 

My review:

Break the Sky is a spin off from author Nina Lane’s Spiral of Bliss Series and admittedly the first of Ms. Lane’s work that I have read. Now that I’ve finished it I know I have another author to add to my list. This book was hot, sexy, emotional, and even had a bit of action.

Atmospheric scientist and college professor Kelsey March is in a fight. A fight to save her tornado research project as well as her job as a professor and nothing seems to be going right. Which lead her here, to this bar, to just let off some steam and try to regroup. It also leads her to cross paths with a very sexy and dark stranger. But before a little harmless flirting has the chance to turn into something she would most likely regret in the morning, she leaves. But fate being the mischievous gal she is, wouldn’t let Kelsey off the hook that easy and just when she thinks the hot, tattooed stranger from the bar was a distant memory, he shows up at her university and turns out to be the brother of one of her closest friends. The brother she had heard too many stories about. The brother she knows is bad news and she should stay away from. Too bad she never was good at staying away from danger. Whether it is tornadoes or this tattooed sex on a stick man, she learns sometimes you just have to hold on and enjoy the ride.

The attraction and sexual tension between Archer and Kelsey is fast and intense. It’s delicious to read and you can feel the heat radiating off of the pages. Archer is the bad boy we all know about. But unlike most of these bad boys I’ve read lately, he wasn’t the norm. There was just something about him that was different. He was who he was without apology. He lives a pretty simple life as far as monetarily and possessions wise and he’s ok with that. His history is painful and he’s not proud of some of the things he’s done or how he’s behaved but he really wants to make things different now. And he wants no one more than Kelsey to believe that. He’s got a strike against him before they even have one full conversation because she knows his brother. The brother he’s hurt and the brother he has been avoiding for years. The brother who has no doubt told her about him and his past.

Kelsey needs a bit of convincing to take a chance on him and the chase was fantastic to read. Oh, and when Kelsey does give in? Wow. Archer can talk some dirty talk and has more than enough sexual talent to back it up. They both agree to a bit of a short term fling but as they spend more time together we start to see there’s a much bigger connection building between them. Archer pushes Kelsey to follow her dreams and even though she rejects the idea at first, she knows he’s right. Archer turns out to be the piece Kelsey was missing in her life and vice versa. There was a whole lot of push and pull throughout the entire read and it lead up to an ending that was totally movie worthy and so damn good!

If you love motorcycle riding bad boys, steamy attraction and intense emotion, this is a read for you. Thank you, Nina, for a fantastic read!

4LovesRLB

Four Loves

 

Book links:

Amazon  |  B&N  |  iBooks

About the author:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Nina Lane writes hot, sexy romances and spicy erotica. Originally from California, she holds a PhD in Art History and an MA in Library and Information Studies, which means she loves both research and organization.

She also enjoys traveling and thinks St. Petersburg, Russia is a city everyone should visit at least once. Although Nina would go back to college for another degree because she’s that much of a bookworm and a perpetual student, she now lives the happy life of a full-time writer.

Website

Worth Forgiving by Vi Keeland…Release Day Blitz

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Book Information

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Cover designed by Romcon.com
Model: Jamie Dominic
Photographer: Jamie Dominic Photography

Genre: A New Adult/Adult Contemporary Romance novel

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1wbsJEK

iTunes: http://bit.ly/XBTLFX

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1kWP4ka

Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18742801-worth-forgiving
RELEASE DATE: August 21st 2014

Blurb
They say men like a lady in the living room and a whore in the bedroom. I never knew the sentiment was reciprocal. Until I met Jax Knight. A gentleman in public, a commanding, dirty talking rogue in the bedroom.
Daughter of legendary fighter “The Saint,” Lily St. Claire knows firsthand how fighters can be. As the owner of a chain of MMA gyms, she’s no stranger to aggressive, dominating, and possessive men. That’s why she’s always kept her distance. But the day Jax Knight walks through her door she’s captivated by his charm. Stunningly handsome, well mannered, Ivy League educated, and confident, he shatters all the preconceived notions she’d come to think were true about men who trained to fight.
But falling for someone so soon after her breakup wasn’t something she’d planned on. And definitely not something her ex plans to allow.
worth forgiving teaser

MMA Series Reading Order

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Worth the Fight (Book One)

worth the fight

CURRENTLY ON SALE for ONLY $0.99 (limited time)

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It didn’t matter that the ref called it a clean hit. Nico Hunter would never be the same.

Elle has a good life. A job she loves, a great apartment, and the guy she’s been dating for more than two years is a catch and a half. But it’s boring…and she strives to keep it that way. Too many emotions are dangerous. Her own past is living proof of what can happen when you lose control.

Then Nico walks into Elle’s office and everything changes…for both of them. But what can the tattooed, hard-bodied MMA fighter and the beautiful and always steady attorney have in common? A lot more than they bargained for.

***Author’s note*** THIS IS A STAND-ALONE NOVEL. Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.

 

Worth the Fight Excerpt - Elle on Nico

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Worth the Chance (Book Two)

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Meet Liv Michaels
It may have been seven years, but I’d know him anywhere. Sure, he’s grown, filled out in all the right places, but his captivating blue eyes and cocky grin are exactly the way I remember. Even though I’d much rather forget.

Liv Michaels is almost there. She’s smart, determined and weeks away from landing the job she’s dreamed about for years. Time healed old wounds, even her broken heart from the devastation of being crushed by her first love.

Meet Vince Stone
Women love a fighter, especially a good one. Lucky for me, I’m damn good. But there’s one woman that isn’t interested. Not again, anyway.

Vince ‘The Invincible’ Stone is every woman’s fantasy…strong, sexy, confident and completely in control. Growing up surrounded by chaos, he’s learned never to get too attached. Love will drag you down. He adores women, treats them well, puts their own needs before his own…for the night anyway. With the biggest fight of his life coming up, his focus should be on training.

When fate brings Vince & Liv back together again, there’s no denying the chemistry is still there. But can Vince erase the old scars their past left behind? Or will Liv hurt him instead?

***Author’s note*** THIS IS A STAND-ALONE NOVEL. Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the 18.

 

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Additional Books by Vi Keeland
First Thing I See
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1qLL4ET
Belong to You (A Cole Novel, Book One)
Amazon US : http://amzn.to/1jdAlRk
Made For You (A Cole Novel, Book Two)
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1qLLdIk

About the Author:
vi keeland bioVi Keeland is a native New Yorker with three children that occupy most of her free time, which she complains about often, but wouldn’t change for the world. She is a bookworm and has been known to read her kindle at stop lights, while styling her hair, cleaning, walking, during sporting events, and frequently while pretending to work. She is a boring attorney by day, and an exciting smut author by night!

Stalk Her:

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The Dog Park by Laura Caldwell…Blog Tour Stop & Excerpt

The Dog Park Badge

 

Synopsis:

A couple’s best friend?

Stylist Jessica Champlin knows it takes more than a darling goldendoodle to save a marriage. She and her ex-husband, investigative journalist Sebastian Hess, had too many irreconcilable differences for even their beloved dog, Baxter, to heal. So they’ve agreed to joint custody, and life has settled into a prickly normalcy.

But when Baxter heroically rescues a child and the video footage goes viral, Jess and Sebastian are thrown together again, and her life takes some very unexpected twists. The line of dogwear she creates becomes wildly successful, and suddenly she’s in the spotlight with everyone watching—the press, the new guy she’s seeing, Sebastian and the past she never imagined she would face again. Soon there’s only one person by her side—and it’s the person she least expected. She’s willing to open up to a new normal…just as long as Baxter approves.

 

Excerpt:

“Jess, enough with this, okay?” Sebastian said in a weary-trending-toward-cranky tone. He held out a small bag that read Neiman Marcus. My divorced mind ruffled through a few statements and questions — What is it? He never used to shop at Neiman Marcus. Judging by the size of the bag it would have to be an accessory. Jewelry? For me?

But the tone of my ex-husband’s voice had pretty much eliminated the possibility that it was a gift. Also, Sebastian hadn’t bought me jewelry in a long while, and except for my engagement ring, Sebastian never bought jewelry in the United States. Always it was when he was overseas, on a story. Like the beaded chandelier earrings from a country in Africa I’d never heard of and the vintage Iraqi headdress that I wear as a necklace.

Baxter — our blond, fluffy dog — was in my arms. I kissed him on the head. “I missed you, Baxy,” I said. “I missed you so much.”

He licked my chin, and his butt squirmed as he wagged his tail. Baxy’s fifteen pounds of dog against my chest was the most comforting weight in the world to me. When I finally put him down, he tore into my bedroom where he had toys stashed under a chaise lounge, which he hadn’t seen in a week while Sebastian had him.

As Baxter rounded the corner, I looked in the bag. I laughed.

“It’s not that funny,” Sebastian said.

“Oh, c’mon.” I lifted from the bag Baxter’s blue collar and leash that I had sewn gold stars onto — stars that had come from an old Halloween costume of Sebastian’s.

The party had been Harry Potter-themed, and as much as Sebastian would normally have dismissed it as ridiculous, it had been hosted by a journalist he had always emulated. And so Sebastian had been a wizard, dressed in a purple robe with stars and a pointed hat. It’s not that he hadn’t pulled it off, I just liked to needle him when I could. I also liked the idea of a guys’ guy like Sebastian having to walk around with a dog in bedazzled gear. Or maybe I hoped the goofy collar could lessen the pain of our weekly exchange — Here’s the dog back. It’s your turn to take care of this thing we both love like a kid, the dog we got when we were trying to keep our marriage intact.

“I mean, why would you even spend your time doing something like that?” Sebastian asked.

“You know that’s what I do, right?” I said. “I’m a stylist. I style.”

Sebastian said nothing.

“I don’t know why I’m surprised,” I said. “It’s not like you ever took my job seriously.”

“Jesus, Jess, that’s not true. Why do you say that?”

“I’m a stylist. You’re a journalist. You’re the legit one.”

“You’re saying that. Not me. I never said that.” Sebastian scoffed and shook his head.

Here we were again — in the ruts of a much-treaded argument.

He pointed at the bag. “That stuff is not what you do with your styling business anyway. You dress people.”

“Do you even know what that means?”

Why did I do this? What made me want to bug him, to try and draw him into this crap?
Because it’s all you have left.

That was the thought that answered me, and it rang like a bell, a few loud chimes. Then the sound died into the distance, drifting away, just like we had done.

The strong muscles of Sebastian’s jaw tensed, clenched. He ran a hand over his curly brown hair that was cut extra short for the summer. “Of course I know what that means. To an extent.”

In total, Sebastian and I had known each other for seven years — five of them married, the last of them divorced — and yet we still didn’t have a handle on what the other did for a living. Sebastian deliberately withheld, and so I guess I did it, too, in retribution.

“Look, Jess—” Sebastian fake-smiled “—we’re talking about the collar, right?”

I looked in the bag. “The collar and the leash.” I picked them up and jangled them together for effect.

“First of all, look at those.” Another shake of his head. “Baxter is a boy. Hell, he’s three years old. Bax is a man now.”

At the sound of his name, Baxter tore into the kitchen and dropped a white rubber ball at our feet, his tail thumping. Throw it for me, I could hear him thinking. C’mon, throw it for me.

Like a true child of divorce, Baxter always seemed to know when to deflect the situation.

I picked up the ball and threw it down the hall. He scampered after it, sliding a little on the hardwood floors.

“He’s a man who likes this collar and leash,” I said, lifting the bag a little.

“How do you know he likes it?”

“He prances around.”

“Baxy does not prance,” Sebastian said.

“You know he does.”

I both hated and loved the familiar feel of the conversation, the verbal poking at one another.

“He’s a fifteen-pound prancing machine,” I added, another jab.

“He only prances,” Sebastian pointed out, “when he’s really happy.”

“Exactly. And he prances when he’s wearing that collar. Point made.”

Sebastian just looked at me.

“Anyway…” I said, then let my words die.

“Anyway,” he repeated.

A beat went by. Baxter ran into the kitchen again, dropped the ball. He was a mini goldendoodle — a mix of golden retriever and poodle — and the golden part must have had strong genes because the dog would retrieve all day if we let him.

Sebastian lifted the ball, tossed it again.

“Baxter brought something else back,” he said, pointing at the bag.

I looked inside again. A white plastic bag was folded over and lay at the bottom. I picked it up and lifted a cellophane bag from inside. “Rawhide,” I read from the package. “Huh.” I looked at it — half-eaten. I looked back up at Sebastian. “Did you feed him this while he was with you?”

Sebastian raised his eyebrows, gave a slight smile.

That mouth, with its fuller bottom lip. It still got me sometimes. There was the rest of Sebastian, too — the strong body, wide shoulders and long arms that felt so good wrapped around me. But it was that lip most of all that used to get me. I ignored it, looked instead somewhere in the area of his forehead.

“You know that’s like giving your kid a bowl of taffy?” I said. “It’s completely unhealthy.”

“He’s got to eat more than raw chicken and raw eggs,” Sebastian said.

“That was one week that I did that!” I said. “One week.”

I’d been led by our dog trainer to give Baxter a raw diet, lured by the promises of a glossy coat and exceptional health. But when you have your dog every other week, raw foods are hard to keep around all the time. (And kind of unpleasant to serve.)

Sebastian sighed a little and searched my eyes with his. But then he opened his mouth. “I’m on my way to the airport.”

Wounds, no longer old, felt jabbed, hurt again. Sebastian was a war correspondent, one of the most well respected. His job had long been our sticking point — his need to go overseas, and his agreeing to not tell anyone, including his spouse, where he was headed. I knew military spouses had to deal with that, but I hadn’t married military, and I hadn’t realized the extent of his investigative writing — the embedding with the troops, the being in the middle of the action.

So he was off once more. I knew better than to ask where he was going.

But apparently he felt some kind of duty to try and make nice. “It’s a small conflict.”

A “small conflict” could mean a bloody, ruthless battle in a small Middle Eastern territory. But “small conflict” did not mean small casualties. Sebastian himself had returned from a “small conflict” with a gash across his collarbone that looked a lot like someone had tried to cut his throat. He still hadn’t told me what had happened.

I still didn’t know where he’d been because the newspaper never published his piece for whatever reason.

Baxter ran back into the foyer, a blue earthworm toy hanging from his mouth.

“C’mere, Dogger,” Sebastian said. His own nickname for Baxter. He picked him up. “I suppose you’re going to the dog park now?” he asked me. I thought I heard another small sigh.

“You know that you can still go to the dog park, right? I didn’t get that in the divorce.” I paused, made my voice kinder. “I don’t know why you don’t go when he’s with you.”

Sebastian shrugged, petted Baxter. “I thought I would find a park by my neighborhood. But they’re not the same. He doesn’t have his buddies.”

I stayed silent. Even when we were together, I was the one, more than Sebastian, who took Bax to the park. And even when Sebastian did, he didn’t often talk to the owners of Baxter’s dog buddies, like I did. Sebastian was intent on quality time with the dog, throwing Baxy’s ball over and over, then having him sit and stay for minutes on end before he could retrieve it. He taught Baxter tricks that his father had taught their family golden retrievers over the years. We got the dog shortly after his dad died.

So it seemed obvious to me that Sebastian could continue to do those things in another park. I hadn’t expected him to miss the park that we went to, as he apparently did. But I guess change is tough for everyone, even a tough guy like Sebastian.

He stood. “I should go.”

I knew better than to ask when he’d return, because I knew the answer. When I have the story. That’s what he always said.

I used to think, Why aren’t we your story? I want to be your story.

We had made a plan — move from New York, where we were living at the time, to Chicago (his hometown) where he would work as a regular journalist. It “worked” for a little while. A year or so. But ultimately Sebastian couldn’t stop. He couldn’t explain why, but he had to be the correspondent who crossed enemy lines in the middle of the night. I encouraged him to let me in. Keep the job, I’d said. I’d get used to worrying about him, I’d told him. That was okay. But bring me into the fold, tell me what you do, what you feel when you’re there, how I can support you when you’re here.

He decided that it would be breaking confidences and so he couldn’t tell me — not about the stories he was covering, where he was covering them or who he was covering them with. I could read the pieces in the paper, usually a day or two ahead of everyone else. So I would know then, for example, that he’d been in Afghanistan, embedded with a Navy SEAL team that took out a top-level terrorist. I would also read the byline and see that he sometimes had cowriters. But he couldn’t fill in any blanks. He couldn’t answer questions. And if the story had been killed and never published, he couldn’t give me any clues. Or he wouldn’t. Same thing.

His inability showed me the gaps in our relationship. I had to decide if I could live with the not knowing, the having to make a leap of faith to trust him, when the fact was I knew little about how my husband spent his professional life. And, therefore, much of his life.

I decided I couldn’t do that. Or maybe I just couldn’t live with the disappointment of not having the kind of love I wanted. I’d thought that with Sebastian I’d had the kind of love my parents had, the kind I’d felt once before. But neither turned out to be true. And eventually, with Sebastian, the ball I’d been pushing uphill for so long started to roll back over me.

Now I looked at Sebastian, said nothing, just stared into his eyes, and some bigger strength kicked in. I was past that, I told myself. I was way past it, and I was past him.

I’d started my life over once before. And under much, much, much worse circumstances. I knew I could do it again. I could survive.

Neither of us said anything. But I felt a joint sense of tiredness. We’re done.

“Okay,” I said, just to say something.

When Sebastian didn’t reply, the moment of pause gave me time to make a decision. I decided then I wasn’t just going to survive. I was going to thrive. I was going to come alive.

Right now. Those words intoned through me.

And suddenly it seemed clear what I had to do right then, how I had to conduct myself going forward. There would be no more seeing life as an endurance exercise. No more considering dates just because a software program told me I should. I wouldn’t just react to Sebastian or the lack of him. I would stop seeing everything as a reminder of the lives past. I would open my eyes and see things differently.

I would be different.

“Have a good trip,” I said, and I opened the door.
Excerpted from the book THE DOG PARK by Laura Caldwell.  Copyright © 2014 by Story Avenue, LLC.  Reprinted with permission of Harlequin.  All rights reserved.

 

Book links:

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About the author:

Laura Caldwell is a Chicago-based lawyer turned novelist. Her first book, Burning the Map, was selected by Barnes & Noble.com as one of The Best of 2002. Following that, A Clean Slate received a starred review from Booklist. The release of The Year of Living Famously and The Night I Got Lucky prompted Booklist to declare, “Caldwell is one of the most talented and inventive…writers around.”

Website

Mean Streak by Sandra Brown….Blog Tour Stop & Review

Mean streak Cover

 

Synopsis:

Dr. Emory Charbonneau, a pediatrician and marathon runner, disappears on a mountain road in North Carolina. By the time her husband Jeff, miffed over a recent argument, reports her missing, the trail has grown cold. Literally. Fog and ice encapsulate the mountainous wilderness and paralyze the search for her.

While police suspect Jeff of “instant divorce,” Emory, suffering from an unexplained head injury, regains consciousness and finds herself the captive of a man whose violent past is so dark that he won’t even tell her his name. She’s determined to escape him, and willing to take any risks necessary to survive.

Unexpectedly, however, the two have a dangerous encounter with people who adhere to a code of justice all their own. At the center of the dispute is a desperate young woman whom Emory can’t turn her back on, even if it means breaking the law.

As her husband’s deception is revealed, and the FBI closes in on her captor, Emory begins to wonder if the man with no name is, in fact, her rescuer.

 

My review:

Mean Streak is the newest novel from author Sandra Brown and a novel I was beyond lucky to have read early. I was intrigued from the synopsis and by the end of the book I was completely in love with every single aspect of this story. Amazing doesn’t even begin to do it justice.

Pediatrician Emory Charbonneau’s love for long distance running has been a bone of contention in her marriage for quite some time now but that won’t deter her from heading off a hundred miles into the mountains on a training run. In fact, it’s just the weekend break she needs to take a breather from the latest argument she had with her husband. Things were looking more and more bleak in her marriage and she would deal with it…when she got back. Unfortunately that wouldn’t be on Sunday as she had planned. Emory sets off on her run and wakes in a small cabin with a gash on her head, a headache from hell, and a stranger taking care of her. Her immediate reaction is one of fear and confusion but almost as quickly as those feelings settle in she senses this stranger wouldn’t hurt her and with bad weather rolling in and no way to contact her husband or friends, she would be stuck with him for a day or two. Hopefully her second set of emotions ring true and this stranger won’t be putting her in danger while she recovers a bit and tries to figure out how she ended up in this situation in the first place.   Was she attacked? By this man? Did she fall? By the time her stay in the mountain cabin is over she will be warring with too many emotions to name and will have to reconcile with the fact that maybe the people she has trusted aren’t the ones she should and maybe this stranger was….

You all know I read. A lot. And every once in a while a book comes along that touches me on a different level and when it happens it’s magic. This was one of those books. While there are a few things I can’t give away, I can tell you that this is without a doubt a book you need to have in your library. Emory’s story starts off with quite a bang and doesn’t let up until the very end. There were so many twists and turns and questions along the way and it all had me glued to this book. Emory’s husband was suspect from the start and I didn’t know if he was the one behind her accident or even if it was an accident. Ms. Brown did an amazing job with giving the reader warring emotions when it came to him. There was also the stranger to consider. Emory’s savior…or was he? I will tell you that from the time we meet him you just know the story behind him is going to be emotional…good or bad, it was going to be rough. He is one of the most memorable and incredible characters I’ve ever read. No, he doesn’t speak a whole lot. No, we don’t know his name until the last few chapters. No, we don’t find out his story until the very end but that didn’t make one bit of difference. His actions and mannerisms said more than words. He is rigid and tough, living simply but has a soft side he shows only a few times in this story. But still we are left to wonder if he’s dangerous or if he’s one of the good guys. We are lead to believe from the hints he gives of himself that he isn’t exactly one of the good guys but it didn’t matter to me…I loved him anyway.

Of course, while Emory is in the woods, her husband and friends are looking for her and that leads to more than a few revelations that had me gasping audibly more than a few times. I can’t give anything away but be ready for a heaping spoonful of “I never saw THAT coming”!

Just trust me when I say this is a book you need to read. Suspense, mystery, and high emotion are just a few of the facets that make Mean Streak one of the best books I have ever read. Thank you, Ms. Brown, for a phenomenal story that will stay with me for a very long time.

5LovesRLB

Five Loves

 

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About the author:

Sandra Brown is the author of sixty-three New York Times bestsellers, including DEADLINE (2013), LOW PRESSURE (2012), LETHAL(2011), TOUGH CUSTOMER (2010), SMASH CUT (2009), SMOKE SCREEN (2008), PLAY DIRTY (2007), RICOCHET (2006),CHILL FACTOR (2005), and WHITE HOT (2004).

Brown began her writing career in 1981 and since then has published over seventy novels, bringing the number of copies of her books in print worldwide to upwards of eighty million. Her work has been translated into thirty-four languages.

A lifelong Texan, Sandra Brown was born in Waco, grew up in Fort Worth and attended Texas Christian University, majoring in English.

She is much in demand as a speaker and guest television hostess. Her episode on truTV’s Murder by the Book premiered the series in 2008. She appeared in 2010 on Investigation Discovery’s new series, Hardcover Mysteries.

In 2009 Brown detoured from her thrillers to write Rainwater, a much acclaimed, powerfully moving story about honor and sacrifice during the Great Depression.

Brown holds an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Texas Christian University where she and her husband Michael Brown, have instituted the ELF, a scholarship annually awarded to a student pursuing a fiction writing career. In 2008, she was named Thriller Master, the top award given by the International Thriller Writer’s Association. Other awards and commendations include the 2007 Texas Medal of Arts Award for Literature and the Romance Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2011 she and four colleagues went on a week-long USO tour to Afghanistan, meeting with service members on numerous bases.

Sandra is the past president of the Mystery Writers of America in 2012. She lives in Arlington, Texas, with her husband, Michael Brown.

 

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Thin Love by Eden Butler…Release Day Event

Title: Thin Love
Author: Eden Butler
Genre: New Adult/Contemporary Romance crossover
Release Date: August 19, 2014
Synopsis
Love isn’t supposed to be an addiction. It isn’t supposed to leave you bleeding. 
 
Kona pushed, Keira pulled, and in their wake, they left behind destruction. 
 
She sacrificed everything for him. 
 
It wasn’t enough. 
 
But the wounds of the past can never be completely forgotten and still the flame remains, slumbers between the pleasure of yesterday and the thought of what might have been. 
 
Now, sixteen years later, Keira returns home to bury the mother who betrayed her, just as Kona tries to hold onto what remains of his NFL career with the New Orleans Steamers. Across the crowded bustle of a busy French Market, their paths collide, conjuring forgotten memories of a consuming touch, skin on skin, and the still smoldering fire that begs to be rekindled. 
 
When Kona realizes the trifecta of betrayal—his, Keira’s and those lies told to keep them apart—his life is irrevocably changed and he once again takes Keira down with him into the fire that threatens to ignite them both.
Buy links:

Amazon → http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MUX3UUM
Amazon UK → http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00MUX3UUM
iTunes → https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/thin-love/id910225577?mt=11
Smashwords → http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/468207

♥ About Eden ♥

Eden Butler is an editor and writer of New Adult Romance and SciFi and Fantasy novels and the nine-times great-granddaughter of an honest-to-God English pirate. This could explain her affinity for rule breaking and rum. Her debut novel, a New Adult, Contemporary (no cliffie) Romance, “Chasing Serenity” launched in October 2013 and quickly became an Amazon bestseller.
When she’s not writing or wondering about her possibly Jack Sparrowesque ancestor, Eden edits, reads and spends way too much time watching rugby, Doctor Who and New Orleans Saints football.
She is currently imprisoned under teenage rule alongside her husband in southeast Louisiana.
Please send help.

♥ Giveaway ♥

(2) $10 gift card for either Amazon or B&N. Winner’s choice.  Open internationally.

a Rafflecopter giveaway