Forgiven by Carrie Aarons…Blog Tour & Review

Today we are celebrating the release of a standalone title by Carrie Aarons. FORGIVEN is available for purchase now, and it is the second book in the Nash Brothers series! For a limited time, you can get the first book in the series, FLEETING, for 99 cents! You can follow Carrie for exclusive updates about the series.

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Forgiven by Carrie Aarons

AVAILABLE NOW | Nash Brothers, #2

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Book Blurb:

In a split-second, a car crash killed almost everything between them. Ten years later, can one accidental ride fix tattered spirits, uncertain futures, and broken hearts?

Lily Grantham has always done what she’s been told. The daughter of a senator, she grew up as the good girl of Fawn Hill, and carried that torch right on through to adulthood. Her only wild streak? Bowen Nash. She loved that boy since the day they laid eyes on each other, and it nearly ended them both. A decade later, and Lily still can’t move on. Even if Bowen has made it clear he doesn’t love her anymore.

Bowen Nash never wanted the life he’s trapped in. Destined for baseball fame and the love of his high-school sweetheart, that existence vanished in the flip of an old pickup. Now, he’s stuck in the town that produced his worst nightmare. Pretending to hate Lily Grantham guts him day in and day out. But to protect her from the ultimate secret, it’s necessary to break his own heart each time they pass on the street.

They’ve been fighting fate for as long as it’s been chasing them. And now, time is up.

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Forgiven is the second book in The Nash Brothers series. It’s Bowen and Lily’s story, which we got a glimpse of in the first book.

Bowen and Lily have a love that very few find – it’s a love that never stops, regardless of how much time has passed; regardless of how many hurt feelings have passed in between. For ten years, Lily and Bowen have been trying to move on with their lives but can’t get past what happened so many years ago.

Carrie sets this story up very well, but I was not in love with the reasoning behind the secret. I love that neither Bowen nor Lily ever deny their love for another (at least to themselves). Lily can’t move forward because she needs answers that Bowen refuses to give. Bowen can’t move forward because his heart belongs to Lily.

The story plays out nicely without a lot of drama. However, when a secret is held for ten years, I expected there to be a bit more drama and for the secret to be a bit more dire than it was. For me, this was the biggest let-down of the book. I loved getting to know Bowen an Lily a bit more and that there attraction wasn’t drug out. But I felt that the huge secret and how it all came out was equivalent to a deflating balloon – just meh.

Overall, it was good read but it didn’t give me the same vibes as the first book. I know a lot of people will love this one because there is no drama or angst and it’s truly a swoony romance. But when you lead the story with a huge secret that has taken ten years away from two people, I wanted there to be a more dramatic flare added in.

Definitely give the book a read – the characters are very likeable and I do love the small, home-town background these books are based around. I will definitely continue on with the series and see Carrie gives us with the twins, Fletcher and Forrest.

What Reviewers Are Saying about the Nash Brothers…

“So what do I need to do to find a quaint little town like Fawn Hill? And some Nash brothers? Because good golly Miss Molly I am in love with everything here!” -The Book Branch

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AUTHOR INFORMATION:

Author of romance novels such as Red Card and Privileged, Carrie Aarons writes books that are just as swoon-worthy as they are sarcastic. A former journalist, she prefers the stories she dreams up, and the yoga pant dress code, much better.

When she isn’t writing, Carrie is busy binging reality TV, having a love/hate relationship with cardio, and trying not to burn dinner. She lives in the suburbs of New Jersey with her husband, daughter and dog.

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Mixed Up Love by Natasha Madison….Excerpt & Review

Hunter

When my business partner asked me to do him a favor, I had no idea he was sending me on a blind date his mother arranged for him. I walked in the bar, saw the woman drinking her third martini, and knew I was in for an eventful night.

After the unexpected second date, she didn’t know my real name or who I really was. By that time, the lie was too far gone, and I wanted her too much to admit the truth.

Laney

It’s not every day you find out your ex-boyfriend is engaged.

I shouldn’t have agreed to the blind date. My mother insisted, and I wasn’t in any position to turn down a night out.

I will admit, I definitely shouldn’t have ordered that fourth martini before said blind date even arrived.

The man turned out to be swoon worthy, handsome, condescending—a perfect distraction. Then I found out he was a liar.

I’ve never been in over my head to this degree.

Then again, I’ve never been in love.

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I pull up to the front door, and the valet meets me at my door once I stop. “Good evening, sir,” he says once I open my door.

“Yeah, I won’t be here long,” I tell him as I get out, not bothering to take off my sunglasses when I hand him the keys.

“No worries, sir. It will be here when you are ready,” he says, handing me the ticket for later. I put it in the inside pocket of my suit jacket. I walk inside to the hostess table, where a woman who looks like she is eighteen stands smiling.

“How may I help you?” she asks sweetly. I stop and look around to see if I might recognize the woman I’m here to meet, even though I’ve never met her. I spot a couple of women at the bar, but I instinctively know they aren’t her. I also check for exits. It’s not my fault; it’s just instilled in me.

Looking to the left, I don’t see anyone sitting alone, but then I look to the right, and I see her. I don’t know why I know it’s her, but I just do. With curly long blond hair, she downs a martini, then picks up another one and brings it to her mouth. I spot a waiter walking with two more martinis on his tray, and I’m not surprised when I see him approaching her table. “Great,” I say under my breath. “I found her,” I tell the hostess and start walking toward the table. She spots me and watches my every move. Luckily, the glasses I’m wearing stop her from seeing my eyes.

The closer I get to her, the more my pulse speeds up. What the fuck? This is weird. I look around maybe to see if something else is piquing my interest or maybe I spotted something to elevate my pulse, but no, it’s her. The fact that a gorgeous woman is sitting by herself and drinking like a fish is enough to get any man’s adrenaline pumping. Isn’t it?

“Are you Laney?” I ask, taking off my glasses, and my gray eyes finally meet her blue ones. She opens her mouth, expecting, I think, something to come out, but nothing does. I continue looking around to see if anyone is watching her, and it’s no surprise that I spot two guys at the bar sizing her up.

“Here are two more.” The waiter smiles at her, putting two more glasses down on the table and taking the two now empty ones away. She laughs nervously, and I want to reach out and trip him when he walks away.

“It isn’t what it looks like.” Her soft voice breaks me out of my plan, and I turn back to her as she smiles at me, causing my heartbeat to skyrocket. The collar of my shirt suddenly feels tight, but it’s not even buttoned.

“Really? I find it hard to believe,” I finally say. Looking around again, I spot the same two guys in suits sitting at the bar watching her. This time, one of them spots me and looks back down at his drink. “It looks like you’re sitting here waiting for something bad to happen.” I pull out the chair and sit in front of her.

“Um.” She still doesn’t say anything.

Mixed Up Love is a very quick romance – both with how fast I read it and how quickly everything happens.

I really am not sure exactly what to say as I enjoyed the book but I really wish it was longer and the story more developed.

Hunter and Laney meet on a blind date and everything after that happens within 2 weeks. Everything just seemed to move along too fast for my taste. While I could see the attraction between the two, the love part just seemed too far fetched.

I really enjoyed the banter and the witty comments with all the characters involved. The side characters definitely helped add to the enjoyment of the book. I’ll be honest and state that I wish the side characters could have had their own books instead of their stories tying into this one and everyone practically getting their HEA in this book. I know that was author’s decision and I’m not taking that into consideration on my rating, but I am just saying that would have been nice.

Overall, it was very quick romance that was cute and sweet. I wish there was more development on the plot and that things took place over a longer time period.

When her nose isn’t buried in a book, or her fingers flying across a keyboard writing, she’s in the kitchen creating gourmet meals. You can find her, in four inch heels no less, in the car chauffeuring kids, or possibly with her husband scheduling his business trips. It’s a good thing her characters do what she says, because even her Labrador doesn’t listen to her…
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Lyric by Molly McAdams….Blog Tour & Review

Lyric

A stand-alone romance novel in the Rebel series – a Redemption series spin-off

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Molly McAdams delivers the first captivating, stand-alone novel in her REDEMPTION series spin-off—the REBEL series . . .

I’m not the kind of girl you forget.

I wish I was.

I wish I was normal.

That I could blend into a crowd. Have a future with the man I’ve loved my entire life…

Maxon James understands me in a way others can’t.

For as long as I can remember, he’s vowed that one day he would claim my wild, rebel heart. God knows I wanted him to try. I wanted the life he promised me in his lyrics.

But his assurances couldn’t change the past, and the infamous mafia blood in my veins guarantees my heart can’t be claimed.

Somewhere along the way, I slipped. I let myself believe we could have it all. Now a dark, menacing shadow hovers between us, mocking us for daring to hope for a normal future.

And it’s come to collect on a blood oath.

My name’s Elizabeth Borello—Libby for short. Don’t worry about forgetting it… He hasn’t.

Oh Molly, Molly, Molly – what you have you gotten me sucked into?!?! Lyric is the first book a spinoff series from Redemption. While I only read one book in the Redemption series, I was in no way confused or felt like I was missing anything as I read this story. Honestly, this story makes me want to go back and read the other books just to know what happened in that series.

“Your heartbeat will always be my favorite song.”

Libby and Maxon have been in each other lives forever. Maxon has always told Libby that they would be together forever. But it’s on his return from a tour that he comes back to a different Libby – stronger in new ways, but also more distant. Maxon knows he needs to change things in order to get Libby back and keep her. But can he really keep her??

“You’ve given me the greatest gift laced with the cruelest pain, because I know…damnit I know any day you’re about to take it away.”

Molly slayed me with this book. I love Maxon’s determination to prove to Libby that they truly are forever, regardless of every wall she throws up. Libby is not only crushing his heart at every turn, but she’s also hurting herself, but it’s for the best in her eyes. Maxon has no idea who her family is and she wants to keep Maxon from away from the harm that could come his way.

“And I’ve spent half my life with your eyes begging me to chase you and one of your hands pressed to my chest, keeping me from catching you.”

Molly delivers a perfect mix of romance and suspense in this book. I love how everything played out in this book so much. While I was correct in guessing who was behind the mysterious mask, I was no way deterred from continuing reading this one. I was super excited I was right because I doubted myself a few times.

Overall, I absolutely love this book and can’t wait to dive into the rest of the books. I couldn’t stop reading this once I started. I needed to know who was behind everything and how things would end for Libby and Maxon. Now I must go back and read the rest of the Redemption series.

Giveaway

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Molly grew up in California but now lives in the oh-so-amazing state of Texas with her husband, daughter, and fur babies. When she’s not diving into the world of her characters, some of her hobbies include hiking, snowboarding, traveling, and long walks on the beach … which roughly translates to being a homebody with her hubby and dishing out movie quotes. She has a weakness for crude-humored movies and fried pickles, and loves curling up in a fluffy comforter during a thunderstorm … or under one in a bathtub if there are tornados. That way she can pretend they aren’t really happening.

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Cake by Carmen Jenner…Blog Tour & Review

Cake, an all-new romantic and hilarious standalone from USA Today bestselling author Carmen Jenner is available NOW!

Poppy Porter’s ex is getting married … to her ex-best friend. To land her dream job of partner in the most prestigious firm on the Upper East Side, Poppy must now pull double shifts as their wedding planner and maid of honor. And the icing on a truly craptastic cake? Leo Nass. Handsome, infuriating, womanizer, and … the best man. Despite their longstanding loathing, Poppy doesn’t see Leo coming. Literally.

One ruined cake.

One archnemesis.

One hour to save the wedding.

Can they put their hatred aside long enough to save Poppy’s job and Bridezilla’s head from exploding?

Piece of cake, right?

Excerpt:

I sneak closer to the bed, my heart pounding as I throw the pillow at him. The guy shifts in his sleep, and his breathing slows, but a beat later the snoring starts again and I have to resist the urge to scream. Instead, I raise my poker and jab the sheet covered body. It’s not hard, just a quick jab or two, but he still doesn’t stir.

“Hey, asshole!” I shout, and whack him hard in the butt with my poker.

The giant freak jumps up and seizes my hand. His grip forces me to drop my weapon. He yanks me toward him—on top of him—and this is how I find myself eye to eye with the beast. He breathes his heavy, stinking breath on my face, and I wince and wrinkle my nose.

Leo’s eyes crinkle in the corners as he laughs. “Morning, Pop Tart.”

“Get the hell out of my bed. And brush your goddamn teeth. What are you doing in my house, Nass?”

“Ah, still feisty, huh? Is this like an all-day thing with you, or do you eventually turn from an angry sea witch into a person? Would coffee help?”

“Fuck you, Leo.”

“Darlin’, you wish.”

“You’re disgusting. I wouldn’t touch you if—”

“Yeah, yeah, if I were the last man on Earth. I’ve heard it all before, sweet cheeks, and I don’t buy it for a second.” He flips us so suddenly my head spins. I’m beneath him, my wrists pinioned to the bed above my head by just one of his strong hands. The other glides up my side. My sheets have twisted up around us, but from this angle it looks as if Leo Nass is very much naked in my bed.

“Goddamn it,” I complain once I find my voice. “I’m going to need to burn these sheets after you leave.”

His eyebrow quirks, and the grin he gives me is all-out salacious. He shifts his weight between my legs, then he drops his hips and grinds his erection against me. I’m stunned, speechless. I have no words. They’ve all left me because my brain has turned to mush and my vagina is the only one thinking, and I’m really not okay leaving her in charge. “Why burn them when we’re not done messing them up?”

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Carmen Jenner, bravo on this one!! I loved every bit of this book.

I was not sure what to expect when I started this book, as this is only my second book by Carmen, but I know that I enjoyed her writing on the first book I read. So I at least knew I would enjoy the writing; but I absolutely loved this whole story.

“Nass the Ass”

Those three words will forever be stuck in my head and will always remind of this book and why it is so great. “Nass the Ass” is Leo Nass, Poppy’s archnemeis and best friend of her now ex-fiancé. The ex-fiancé’s who’s wedding she is now assisting to her best friend, well now, ex-best friend. And let me make it clear that Poppy is not letting them walk all over her with this one. She’s doing it to keep her job and also get that damn promotion she’s wanted. So, Poppy is being the bigger person and taking one for the team.

But not only is she coordinating this wedding, her supposed best friend wants Poppy to be her maid of honor!! Oh people, let me tell you it’s just getting started. To top it all off, Leo is bestman. So everyone that Poppy would prefer to never deal with again, they’re all front and center of her life right now. And it’s quite the spectacle. LOL

I loved the interactions and banter between everyone. I don’t think there was a time I was not double over laughing at something. And it wasn’t anything too over the top or too cheesy either. It felt all flowed naturally with these characters and I felt like I was watching a TV show or movie play out.

This is one book that I highly urge EVERYONE to read!!

About Carmen:

Carmen Jenner is a thirty-something, USA Today and international bestselling author.

Her dark romance, KICK (Savage Saints MC #1), won Best Dark Romance Read in the Reader’s Choice Awards at RWDU, 2015.

A tattoo enthusiast, hardcore makeup addict and zombie fangirl, Carmen lives on the sunny North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, where she spends her time indoors wrangling her two wildling children, a dog named Pikelet, and her very own man-child.

A romantic at heart, Carmen strives to give her characters the HEA they deserve, but not before ruining their lives completely first … because what’s a happily ever after without a little torture?

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Heart Stronger by Rachel Blaufeld…Blog Tour & Review

“So exquisitely titillating, full of hope and second chances, and so honest, this is Rachel Blaufeld’s best and swooniest romance yet! I LOVED it!”

– Katy Evans, New York Times Bestselling Author

Heart Stronger, an all-new emotional romance from Rachel Blaufeld is available now!

“Sometimes, I feel like I’m watching a movie . . . that it’s not really me, Claire Richards, getting this second chance at life.”

“Open your eyes, it’s you, and I’m damn glad it’s with me.” ~ Aiken

Single mom and college professor Claire Richards only wanted a few hours of me time to soak in her tub, read a book, and drink wine.

But tragedy struck, and Claire found herself with a lot more me time than she bargained for.

Three years later, Claire is still mourning her losses when Aiken Fordham—who looks young enough to be one of her college students—moves in next door.

Forcing Claire to face her fears, Aiken almost forgets his reason for moving to Small Town, Pennsylvania. Falling for the sexy, smart, and strong professor next door was never in the plan.

But now it is . . . until their future intersects with their pasts.

Excerpt

The downpour stopped just as I did, soaked in rain and sweat. Rolling my neck, I took in my house. It was cute. Too cute for a single dude, but it was all fixed up, and I wasn’t in the mood for a renovation project.

I bent over to stretch, touching my toes, and before I could stand up, Smitty was at my feet, tail wagging, tongue lolling, begging to be petted.

“Smitty!” Claire came running out her front door, dark hair tied up in a messy bun, wearing tight black pants and a fitted green blouse. No shoes. She stopped in front of me, and I noticed her pink toes and tanned feet.

“Smitty, bad boy! You can’t leave the house.” She grabbed his collar and tugged him to her side.

“S’okay.” Wetness seeped into my eyes, and I swatted it away, making the burn worse. Squinting and blinking, I remained focused on the woman in front of me, and all woman she was. There wasn’t one girlish thing about my neighbor, and no—before you think it—I didn’t have mommy issues.

I had lean-muscular-legs and pouty-lips issues, both of which Claire had in earnest. Not to mention, I had a separate thing for independence after growing up around all these farming wives, who basically did all the heavy lifting for none of the credit. Then there was my dad, unable to move on, the epitome of lost.

“Don’t say that. He can’t be running out of the house.” Her breath was short at this point; she was almost panting. “He’s all I have.” It was a whisper of a sentence, but I heard it. Fuck it, I felt it. I got pain. Hated anyone else having to experience it.

She was eaten up with pain, but kept her head up—I could tell. I wanted to crack her veneers, let the pain ooze out, and see her smile in earnest.

Deep shit for a young guy, but I’d grown up fast. Like in the last forty-eight hours.

“I put my hand out to feel if it was still raining, and he bolted as soon as he saw you,” she continued to explain.

“Like I said, I’m cool with Smitty, but I get it. He can’t be escaping.”

“Thanks for understanding.” She stood, prim and proper, her gaze heavy on the concrete, clearly avoiding any direct eye contact.

“You okay, Claire? I’m sorry about last night.”

“I’m fine.” She turned back toward her house.

“Claire, listen, we got off to a bad start. Can we start over? Aiken Fordham, nice to meet you.” I held my hand out, flexing my bicep, waiting for her to return the favor.

“Claire Richards.” She took my hand, her smaller, dainty, and way smoother hand slipping into mine.

“Ugh. What do you want, Aiken? Look at you, shirtless, dripping from running in the rain.” Her hand whipped out of mine and began whisking up and down in the air, motioning at my very naked torso. “What could you possibly want from me? If you need an egg or a stick of butter, pop next door. Otherwise, let me be. I need to get out of here and beg Mary to give me a class full of students, probably not much older than you.” She alternated between eyeing me and her disobedient dog.

“You’re a beautiful woman, Claire,” I called, running up behind her. “And I’m a warm-blooded man, who’ll probably never have a need for a stick of butter. I’m a big boy. I know how to find a grocery store. All by myself too.”

She flung open her door and motioned Smitty inside. He stood at the screen door, staring us down with sad doggie eyes.

“Is there something wrong with getting to know my neighbor? I don’t know anyone here. Maybe you could be neighborly? Or are you so closed off you can’t do that? Because if so, that’s a damn shame,” I said through gritted teeth. Admittedly, I was more frustrated than I should have been. I was a man who desperately wanted the broken woman in front of me.

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Anyone who has been following my reviews over the year, knows that I love Rachel and her work. She’s always stood out to me with her unique characters and amazing story lines.

Heart Stronger is an emotional romance about a divorced professor, Claire and her new next door neighbor, Aiken. Many have been calling this a second chance romance and honestly, I personally do not see it as that. For me, a second chance romance is when the main characters are finding a second chance to be together again when it didn’t work out before and that’s not the case here. These two do not know each other til they become neighbors.

Claire not only had to survive through a divorce, but while she was coming to grips on that, she loses her daughter in a horrific incident. Since then, she has buried herself in her work and hasn’t truly lived her life since the day her daughter died. Aiken moves to the are in hopes of finding his mother, who left him and father. He came looking for closure but what he found was hot neighbor that he just couldn’t walk away from.

Rachel has this way with her writing where I find myself so enraptured by them and cheering them on. Aiken won my heart over immediately. I love that nothing Claire did would deter him from continuing to persue her. He saw more than what she showed everyone. Claire is one tough cookie. She is deadest in her ways and just truly believes because she was selfish one night and lost her daughter, that she no longer deserves any sort of love. I love how everything unfolds along with the mystery behind Aiken’s quest to find his mother.

Rachel delivers another fantastic story with great characters that will stay with us. While this book is a standalone, she does end it with a cliffhanger about Claire’s best friend, Mary. So I will be anxiously awaiting for that book next.

About Rachel:

Rachel Blaufeld is a bestselling author of Romantic Suspense, New Adult, Coming-of-Age Romance, and Sports Romance. A recent poll of her readers described her as insightful, generous, articulate, and spunky. Originally a social worker, Rachel creates broken yet redeeming characters. She’s been known to turn up the angst like cranking up the heat in the dead of winter.

A devout coffee drinker and doughnut eater, Rachel spends way too many hours in local coffee shops, downing the aforementioned goodies while she plots her ideas. Her tales may all come with a side of angst and naughtiness, but end as lusciously as her treats.

As a side note, Blaufeld, also a long-time blogger and an advocate of woman-run anything, is fearless about sharing her opinion. She captured the ears of stay-at-home and working moms on her blog, BacknGrooveMom, chronicling her adventures in parenting tweens and running a business, often at the same time. To her, work/life/family balance is an urban legend, but she does her best.

Rachel has also blogged for The Huffington Post and Modern Mom. Most recently, her insights can be found in USA TODAY, where she shares conversations at “In Bed with a Romance Author” and reading recommendations over at “Happy Ever After.”

Rachel lives around the corner from her childhood home in Pennsylvania with her family and two beagles. Her obsessions include running, coffee, basketball, icing-filled doughnuts, antiheroes, and mighty fine epilogues.

When she isn’t writing, she can be found courtside, tweeting about hoops as her son plays, or walking around the house wearing earplugs while her other son, the drummer, bangs away.

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The Next Generation by S.C. Stephens…Blog Tour & Review

S.C. Stephens’s THE NEXT GENERATION is available TODAY and paranormal lovers won’t want to miss this one! Read an excerpt below and pick up your copy today!

About THE NEXT GENERATION

Fitting in can be hard for anyone. But for Julian and Nika Adams, it’s especially challenging. Born as partial vampires, a rare offshoot of pureblood vampires, the twins have had to deceive people their entire lives—distancing themselves from their peers.

Nika desperately wants a hero, a soulmate, someone she can trust with every fibre of her soul—someone as amazing as her father. The boys at her high school aren’t impressing, but luckily for Nika, Hunter Evans has moved into the neighborhood.

Julian desperately wishes he could sever the empathic bond he has with his sister. While it was fun to experience each other’s emotions when they were kids, now that Julian finds himself pining for a girl he can’t have, sharing his feelings is the last thing he wants to do.

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Read an excerpt of THE NEXT GENERATION now:

A slice of anger ran up my spine—I shivered with the strength of it. As I closed my eyes, intense, rolling hatred seared my body, tightened my muscles. I wasn’t angry at Arianna’s comment; I actually found it rather amusing. No, the anger scorching my soul wasn’t coming from me, but from Julian. And it was strong. He was pissed.

My eyes snapped to where I could feel him in the gym. He was moving away from the massive room, hopefully coming out to join me. Curiosity and concern blossomed in my chest. I really wanted to know why Julian was so angry. Although, knowing him, I did have one guess…

“I’ll work on that…” I murmured to Arianna as I felt Julian leave the gym and enter the boy’s locker room. Frowning, I wondered what the heck he was doing. His anger had spiked as he’d left the gym, not diminished. My concern heightened. I should go see what’s wrong with him.

Knowing Julian could feel me just as well as I could feel him, I tried to squelch the worry bubbling inside my stomach. I even tried sending calming feelings Julian’s way, but it wasn’t working. Whatever had him riled up wasn’t letting go; he was getting angrier and angrier.

Arianna laughed, then she started going into elaborate detail about all the dates she wanted to go on, and which boy she wanted to take on them—she had about five or six mapped out already. Tuning her out, I tried listening for my brother. I couldn’t hear him through the people and structures in the way though. My ears just weren’t enhanced enough. It irritated me sometimes that my family’s gifts were weaker in Julian and me—the two of us were much more human than vampire. But that allowed us to feel more normal than the others, and I did appreciate that fact. The limitations were just really inconvenient at times. While any of the other vampires in my family could have easily picked out the conversation Julian was having, all I was getting was low, husky murmuring. But his emotions were simmering, and that was all I needed to know.

Glancing at Arianna, I gathered all my stuff and zipped up my bag. She raised an eyebrow, but didn’t pause in telling me all about her imaginary date rock climbing with Jake McKinley. Giving her a soft smile, so she didn’t get too suspicious, I started to stand. “I’ll be right back, Arianna, I—” Dread locked up my muscles, and I halted mid-sentence and mid-stance. Fear. Julian was feeling fear now. His anger had been rising to a boiling point, but now it had shifted to stark terror, and I had no idea why. Dropping my bag to the ground, I hauled ass across the football field.

“Nika? Where are you going? What’s wrong?”

I ignored Arianna’s concern and kept running. I had to get to Julian. I could have blurred to him in a split-second, but hampering my abilities had been drilled into me since birth, and I wouldn’t go against that training unless the situation absolutely demanded it. And when Julian’s fear shifted to panic…I began to believe that the situation demanded it.

But knowing that Arianna was staring at me as I ran away curbed the desire to blur to Julian. I wouldn’t freak out my friend if I could help it. And aside from extreme panic and lingering fear, Julian was okay. Well, he wasn’t in pain at any rate.

Pulling open the doors to the gym, the metal singing in complaint at my force, I suddenly felt a rush of agony. Gasping, I paused in my step. The zing of hurt had exploded over me, almost like I’d felt it myself. I hadn’t, though; it was separate from my own feelings of fearful concern. The pain had come from Julian…and renewed anger came right behind it.

Once I was inside the gymnasium, my hearing finally picked him up. He was cursing, and there was a lot of scuffling. It sounded like he’d gotten himself into a fight. Odd. Julian wasn’t one to pick on people. But then again, if what had happened earlier in the gym to make him so happy was what I was afraid it was…then yeah, he might have started this fight.

Cursing under my breath as another bout of pain lashed Julian’s body, I glanced around the empty halls. Seeing it was clear, I sped off after Julian. In mere seconds, I was at the edge of a group of people in the boy’s locker room. They were all cheering on a couple of guys going at it in the center. Two bodies were sprawled on the tile floor of the open shower, wild punches being slung everywhere.

From the blood bond and our emotional connection, I knew Julian was amid the melee. Silence shocked me for a second as I stood on the periphery and watched my brother through the cracks in the teenagers surrounding him. He’d gained the upper hand and was straddling a senior: Russell Morrison. I watched in horror as Julian successfully landed a punch to Russell’s jaw. So many racing heartbeats thudded in the room…it was nearly deafening. What the hell?

Knowing that our supernatural strength was superior to every other kid at this school made fear cut through my startled state. Julian could seriously hurt Russell if he wasn’t careful, and with the amount of pain and anger Julian was feeling right now, he didn’t seem to be worried about being careful anymore. He was completely out of control.

“Julian!” I screeched, an edge of panic to my voice. He could not get in a fight with a pure human. He’d accidentally kill him.

How I was unaware that S.C. wrote a paranormal series before now, is a little upsetting to me. I love paranormal reads and I love S.C. so I am little baffled that I am just now finding this out. This may be the fourth book in her Conversion series, but it’s also a spinoff off the first three books. I can attest that you don’t need to read those books to read this one; however, I would recommend reading them if you can before reading this so you understand the whole background on the family and how everyone came to.

Now that I have gotten over living under a rock and not knowing about this series, I am seriously fixing that and reading the previously three before continuing on with the next book (I am assuming there’s another book based on the open ending in this one).

The Next Generation is the twins book and is told from both their POV’s. I love the bond that they share. It’s unique that they can sense each other’s feelings and where they are in relation to them. I get that at times that will get annoying (no privacy) but to share that strong of a bond with someone is quite cool if you think about it.

S.C. really knows how to build her stories and characters. Nika and Julian are typical teenagers going through normal life problems at their age, but they are also part of a vampire family. Their true family has to remain a secret to protect not only them but everyone else too. Watching these two juggle their teen issues along with their struggles on being secret vamps, it’s quite interesting.

I know I am not giving a whole lot away and being vague but it’s hard not to give anything away by saying one thing. It’s a great start to spin off for this series and I look forward to reading more about Nick and Julie’s elders in the previous three book. And then continuing their story in the next book in 2018.

About S.C. Stephens

S.C. Stephens is a bestselling author who enjoys spending every free moment she has creating stories that are packed with emotion and heavy on romance.

Her debut novel, Thoughtless, an angst-filled love triangle charged with insurmountable passion and the unforgettable Kellan Kyle, took the literary world by storm. Amazed and surprised by the response to the release of Thoughtless in 2009, more stories were quick to follow. Stephens has been writing nonstop ever since.

In addition to writing, Stephens enjoys spending lazy afternoons in the sun reading fabulous novels, loading up her iPod with writer’s block reducing music, heading out the movies and spending quality time with her friends and family. She currently resides in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her two equally beautiful children.

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Goodreads

Archer’s Voice by Mia Sheridan…Blog Blitz

“5 stars!!! Read this book, guys!! Archer’s Voice was one of the most heartwarming and uniquely beautiful stories I have ever read. Mia Sheridan’s ability to convey strong emotions and vivid imagery through her writing is absolutely captivating. This was a gorgeous tale of survival and the healing power of love. I strongly encourage everyone to read it!! Without a doubt, it is now one of my top-favorite books!” –Aestas’ Book Blog

“5 stars! Flawlessly and poignantly written, Bree and Archer’s heart-wrenching but truly beautiful love story touched my heart in so many exquisite ways, I felt ruined at the end of it…. In a world that celebrates ‘bad boys’ and their antics, Archer Hale stands as a God among men.” –Natasha is a Book Junkie

“5 stars! Best book of the year…. From intense sweetness to intense hurt and jealousy to sorrow and heartache (and not necessarily in that order), this story has it all. And this author does it right!” –Maryse’s Book Blog

A New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling book

EBOOK AVAILABLE FROM FOREVER ROMANCE ON NOVEMBER 1 FOR $0.99!*

INCLUDING EXCLUSIVE ALL-NEW BONUS SCENE FROM ARCHER’S POV!

When Bree Prescott arrives in the sleepy, lakeside town of Pelion, Maine, she hopes against hope that this is the place where she will finally find the peace she so desperately seeks. On her first day there, her life collides with Archer Hale, an isolated man who holds a secret agony of his own. A man no one else sees.

Archer’s Voice is the story of a woman chained to the memory of one horrifying night and the man whose love is the key to her freedom. It is the story of a silent man who lives with an excruciating wound and the woman who helps him find his voice. It is the story of suffering, fate, and the transformative power of love.

*$0.99 sale price in effect from November 1, 2016 to November 14, 2016. On November 15, 2016 the price will be $4.99

Buy the Book!

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2e9IFzR

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2fnwHbJ

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2f1q8dD

iBooks: http://apple.co/2eUnN0Z

Google: http://bit.ly/2e5LgKZ

About the Author:

Mia Sheridan is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. Her passion is weaving true love stories about people destined to be together. Mia lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband. They have four children here on earth and one in heaven

Social Media Links:

www.miasheridan.com

www.twitter.com/MSheridanAuthor

www.facebook.com/MiaSheridanAuthor

Add Archer’s Voice to your shelf on Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2erX8I8

Collared by Nicole Williams….Blog Tour & Review

Buy the Book

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When a seventeen-year-old girl vanishes,

A community is shaken.

Parents turn desperate.

Friends hold vigils.

And the boy who loves her searches.

When a year goes by,

The community is recovering.

Parents feel hopeless.

Friends feel helpless.

And the boy who loves her continues his search.

When ten years go by,

The community has forgotten.

Parents cling to the past.

Friends move toward the future.

And the boy who loves her . . .

Brings her home.

Jade Childs spent ten years in captivity, but now that she’s back, the real battle for survival begins. The media shadows her. Flashbacks haunt her. Her old life evades her. Her so-called new life rejects her. She spent too many years in the dark to recognize the light. She spent too long repressing her feelings to remember how to express them. She spent a decade abandoning hope and cannot dare letting it back into her life. Jade’s not just defined by what happened to her—she’s collared to it.

When the twenty-seven-year-old woman is found,

A community wants to know the story,

Parents want to forget the story,

Friends want to be a part of the story,

And the man who still loves her faces the greatest challenge yet: letting her go.

I truly have no idea where to even start this review. I knew what I was getting into when I read the blurb of Collared – Hell, it’s what made me want to read it. What I didn’t expect was to feel so much with this book.

“He’s not supposed to be the one…but he always has been The One.”

Nicole wrote one hell of a story. And it’s not just the screwed up things that happen. It’s how you feel every single emotion that Jade goes. From scared to hopeless. From forgotten to broken. From relief to confusion. From fear to learning to love. Learning to live life.

“It doesn’t take long to lose yourself in such a way you almost find yourself hoping you’ll never be found.”

I will not give tell you one thing that happens in this book. Even the smallest parts will take away from the true nature of this story. The story isn’t an easy one but Nicole wrote it beautifully. There wasn’t one moment where I wasn’t having some sort of emotional “breakdown.” Whether it be totally gutted or unbelievably happy to feeling so much empathy for not just Jade, but everyone involved.

“You found me alive. But then you brought me back to life.”

The characters in this book will touch you and leave a mark. Nicole wrote these characters flawlessly. Not only will you easily see what’s going on, you can seamlessly view everything happening through their eyes. This story is told from Jade’s POV but as Nicole describes how the other characters feel and what they’re going – it’s just so easy to be in their shoes.

“Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”

Nicole, I can’t thank you enough for writing what I can call one of my favorite books of all time. Even though this book took me through so many emotions. I have grown attached to these characters and they have a place in my heart. Thank you!

I feel something swirl at my ankle, then it grabs me. I’m sucked under instantly as the undercurrent slams me to the ocean bottom and tumbles me around. It’s happened before, so I don’t panic. I know that once it’s done with me, it will let me go. Once it’s twirled me around a few times, it will leave me alone.

I can feel it starting to lose momentum when two arms brace around me and break me free. When we pop through the surface, Torrin spins me around, terror drawing up his expression.

“Are you okay?” He holds me with one hand, inspecting me with the other like he’s going to find an elbow or organ missing.

I’m totally wet. I feel ocean water draining out of my ears and nose. My hair feels like a cyclone just had its way with it, and I know my skin’s red and blotchy from the sand exfoliation treatment I just received free of charge.

I laugh. This is what alive feels like. I remember.

It’s adrenaline pulsing so hard in my veins they feel about to burst. It’s feelings that twist my stomach into knots. It’s feeling so cold my body goes numb and so attracted to someone my body feels the opposite of numb.

This is it. Living. I can almost feel the blood warm in my veins as it starts to run again.

“Why are you laughing?” Torrin’s face flashes with relief when he sees I’m okay, but he doesn’t let go of me.

On the beach, my parents slowly make their way back to the beach blankets once they’ve seen I’m okay.

“That was fun.” I rub my stomach because it hurts. From the laughter. I’d forgotten stomachs could hurt from laughing.

“Fun? Not my idea of fun.”

I wipe the water from my face and find just as much sand pasted to it. “What’s your idea of fun then?”

Torrin’s still shaking his head when he suddenly shouts, “This!”

He pulls me under the water with him. He lets me go right away, but I don’t want him to. I don’t want him to ever let go.

I splash him when he resurfaces a few feet away. “Did you just dunk me?”

He splashes back. “I just did.”

“You’ve heard of payback, right?” I move a little closer, ignoring the way I can feel my parents watching us from the beach.

“I’ve heard of it. Not really a big fan though.”

When I lunge at him and try to knock him under, he’s clearly bracing for it because all I do is smash into him. My wet body against his, our arms tangled together, our faces too close to not be aware of where each other’s mouths are . . .

“What’s this payback thing again?” He’s practically gloating, so I come at it from a different angle.

My eyes drop to his mouth and stay there until his lips part from his breaths coming faster. When my hand curves against the side of his face, sweeping down the line of his jaw, I feel his chest moving hard against mine. His arms tangle tighter behind me because I’m slipping through them. When that doesn’t work, he hoists me higher, and his arms form a net beneath my backside.

I need to clear my head before I can’t remember what I’m doing.

My eyes lift to his and hold there. When he blinks, a drop of water rolls off his eyelashes. My hand slides lower until my thumb is touching the corner of his mouth.

“Torrin?” I whisper, my mouth lowering.

“Yeah?” His voice is rough, coming from low in his throat.

I move my mouth just outside his ear. “This . . . is . . .”—I burst free of his hold and slide his legs out from beneath him with my foot—“payback!”

He goes down with a surprised shout and an explosive splash. I’m laughing again, and so is he when he pops his head above the water.

“Well played, Childs.”

“Thank you very much,” I say with a bow, hoping he can’t see right through me the way I feel he can sometimes.

If he does, he’ll know. He’ll know I would have rather kissed him. I would rather still be kissing him. He’ll know that while I’m content to put most of the past behind me, there’s one part I want to pack and bring with me to the future.

Him.

I think he might see it though, because I think I might see it in him too.

The sun catches his eyes just right when he looks at me. “You always had a way of taking the ground right out from beneath me.”

Nicole Williams is the New York Times and USATODAY bestselling author of contemporary and young adult romance, including the Crash and Lost & Found series. Her books have been published by HarperTeen and Simon & Schuster in both domestic and foreign markets, while she continues to self-publish additional titles. She is working on a new YA series with Crown Books (a division of Random House) as well. She loves romance, from the sweet to the steamy, and writes stories about characters in search of their happily even after. She grew up surrounded by books and plans on writing until the day she dies, even if it’s just for her own personal enjoyment. She still buys paperbacks because she’s all nostalgic like that, but her kindle never goes neglected for too long. When not writing, she spends her time with her husband and daughter, and whatever time’s left over she’s forced to fit too many hobbies into too little time.

Nicole is represented by Jane Dystel, of Dystel and Goderich Literary Agency.

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He Will Be My Ruin by K.A. Tucker….Review & Excerpt Tour

We are absolutely thrilled to bring you the Review & Excerpt Tour for K.A. Tucker’s HE WILL BE MY RUIN! HE WILL BE MY RUIN is a Romantic Suspense novel, published by Atria books, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, and is set to be released February 2, 2016!

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo

IndieBound | Book Depository | Audible

K.A. Tucker’s HE WILL BE MY RUIN – Review & Excerpt Tour Schedule:

January 25^th

Wrapped Up In Reading – Review & Excerpt

Bookaholics Reading Haven – Review & Excerpt

For The Love of Fictional Worlds – Review & Excerpt

Krista’s Dust Jacket – Review & Excerpt

Lost in Literature – Review & Excerpt

Myriad Inklings – Review & Excerpt

TSK TSK What to Read – Review & Excerpt

January 26^th

thebookdragon – Review & Excerpt

The Book Hookup – Review & Excerpt

Reading Addict – Review & Excerpt

No BS Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Confessions of a YA and NA Book Addict – Review & Excerpt

Book Angel Booktopia – Review & Excerpt

Latte Nights Reviews – Review & Excerpt

January 27^th

Blushing Babes Are Up All Night Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

Dark Faerie Tales – Review & Excerpt

Ficwishes – Review & Excerpt

Reviews by Tammy and Kim – Review & Excerpt

Smut Book Junkie Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt

The Review Loft – Review & Excerpt

Three Girls and a Book Obsession – Review & Excerpt

January 28^th

Reading is Sexy – Review & Excerpt

Novel Ink – Review & Excerpt

Four Chicks Flipping Pages – Review & Excerpt

Desert Divas Book Addiction – Review & Excerpt

Curled Up and Cozy – Review & Excerpt

Obsessive Book Nerd – Review & Excerpt

January 29^th

Adventures in Writing – Excerpt

All Romance Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Grownupfangirl – Review & Excerpt

Love Affair With Fiction – Review & Excerpt

Typical Distractions – Review & Excerpt

Up All Night Book Addict – Review & Excerpt

January 30^th

Art, Books, & Coffee – Review & Excerpt

Book Baristas – Review & Excerpt

Girl Plus Books – Review & Excerpt

The Phantom Paragrapher – Review & Excerpt

Stormy Nights Reviewing &Bloggin’ – Review & Excerpt

Cocktails and Books – Review & Excerpt

January 31^st

Vera is Reading – Review & Excerpt

A Bookish Escape – Review & Excerpt

Her Book Thoughts – Review & Excerpt

Naughty and Nice Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

PBC – Review & Excerpt

MysteriesEtc – Review & Excerpt

February 1^st

Southern Belle Book Blog – Excerpt

Rock Hard Romance – Review & Excerpt

Book Bitches Blog – Review & Excerpt

Four Brits and a Book – Review & Excerpt

Red Cheeks Reads – Review & Excerpt

Short and Sassy Book Blurbs – Review & Excerpt

The Reading Date – Review & Excerpt

February 2^nd

Oh The Book Feels – Excerpt

Books to Breathe – Excerpt

Vi3tbabe – Review & Excerpt

Read Love Blog – Review & Excerpt

Mean Girls Luv Books – Review & Excerpt

Literati Literature Lovers – Review & Excerpt

February 3^rd

I Read Indie – Review & Excerpt

2 girls who love books – Review & Excerpt

BFD Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

The Book Bellas – Review & Excerpt

Summer’s Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

Sanaa’s Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

Brandie is a Book Junkie – Review & Excerpt

Got More Books – Review & Excerpt

February 4^th

Book Lovers Hangout – Review & Excerpt

Author Groupies – Review & Excerpt

Books I Think You Should Read – Review & Excerpt

Bridger Bitches Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

Collector of book boyfriends – Review & Excerpt

The Book Avenue – Review & Excerpt

Shayna Renee’s Spicy Reads – Review & Excerpt

Book Babes Unite – Review & Excerpt

February 5^th

The Book Hoarders – Review & Excerpt

Once Upon a Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

Itching for Books – Review & Excerpt

Liezel’s Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

Have Book Will Read – Review & Excerpt

Our Kindle Konfessions – Review & Excerpt

In Between The Pages – Review & Excerpt

LuLo Fangirl – Review & Excerpt

Nose Stuck In A Book – Review & Excerpt

About HE WILL BE MY RUIN:

The USA TODAY bestselling author of the Ten Tiny Breaths and Burying Water series makes her suspense debut with this sexy, heartpounding story of a young woman determined to find justice after her best friend’s death, a story pulsing with the “intense, hot, emotional” (Colleen Hoover) writing that exhilarates her legions of fans.

A woman who almost had it all . . .

On the surface, Celine Gonzalez had everything a twenty-eight-year-old woman could want: a one-bedroom apartment on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, a job that (mostly) paid the bills, and an acceptance letter to the prestigious Hollingsworth Institute of Art, where she would finally live out her dream of becoming an antiques appraiser for a major auction house. All she had worked so hard to achieve was finally within her reach. So why would she kill herself?

A man who was supposed to be her salvation . . .

Maggie Sparkes arrives in New York City to pack up what’s left of her best friend’s belongings after a suicide that has left everyone stunned. The police have deemed the evidence conclusive: Celine got into bed, downed a lethal cocktail of pills and vodka, and never woke up. But when Maggie discovers a scandalous photograph in a lock box hidden in Celine’s apartment, she begins asking questions. Questions about the man Celine fell in love with. The man she never told anyone about, not even Maggie. The man Celine believed would change her life.

Until he became her ruin.

On the hunt for evidence that will force the police to reopen the case, Maggie uncovers more than she bargained for about Celine’s private life—and inadvertently puts herself on the radar of a killer. A killer who will stop at nothing to keep his crimes undiscovered.

Holy geez…I still can’t get over this book! It’s been days since I finished this book and I can’t get it out my mind. K.A. wrote a brilliant book!

He Will Be My Ruin is K.A.’s first “stab” at a romantic thriller and holy hell, does she deliver!! I had so many different thoughts and opinions on everything as I going through the book. I had my doubts throughout when I thought it was one person and then another.

I won’t say anything about this plot. The blurb itself gives enough away. Tucker’s writing is what will keep you drawn to the story and have you trying to figure out all the ins and outs of everything.

There are so many different pieces to these puzzle. It’s almost impossible to figure out. You will find yourself doubting every reason you believe it to be this person and then when you think you got it, Tucker throws in another curve ball and you’re like “shit, back to square one.”

These are the books that I love to read. Yes it has a romantic side to it, but it’s not what you expect. The suspense and all the twists and turns will keep you glued to this book.

The characters are all quite interesting. They all have very unique backgrounds. And their qualities and characteristics make them all easily relatable and real. You find yourself quickly picturing everything going on including who these people are.

Tucker wrote a very interesting and unique story that just sucks you in from the beginning. I am hoping that she writes more stories in this genre because she is damn good!!

EXCERPT

Look, I’m just…” I stare at my reflection in the mirror, my eyes lined with bags, my skin sallow, my hair matted. I look like someone who sat in bed for twenty-four hours, eating cold pizza from the box I had delivered last night and polishing off a bottle of vodka, all while reading the deepest and darkest thoughts from the last fifteen years of Celine Gonzalez’s life. Discovering things that I could have happily gone the rest of my life without knowing.

Which is exactly what I’ve done.

I can barely keep my eyes open and yet I know that sleep will not grant me a reprieve. “I’m dealing with a few private matters.”

“Well, I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to fit you in when you decide that you’re ready.”

“You will, because your boss wants my money.” I hang up before I hear her snippy answer and stare at the journal in my hands.

I was torn between starting from the latest diary first and easing myself in with the oldest one, afraid that I wasn’t ready for what might lie within those last pages. That I wasn’t ready to witness just how Celine had lost herself.

And then I picked up a pink book with butterflies on it—the earliest dated journal—and read a thirteen-year-old Celine recount her major crush on my boyfriend at the time: a tall, gangly guy named Jordan who kissed her behind our house one day while I was changing into my bathing suit upstairs. She felt so guilty, she couldn’t sleep for a week. Through tears, I laughed—because I hadn’t even given that guy a moment’s thought in years—and I knew then that starting at the beginning of Celine’s story was the only way to do this.

And so I did, living the past fifteen years through Celine’s eyes, since the days she and Rosa still lived with me. It wasn’t hard to follow along. She dated every single entry. Some days she didn’t have a lot to say. Other days she’d fill an entire page, even writing along the margin. She seemed to follow a simple rule as the years progressed: one page per day, no more.

So many days.

So many confessions.

So many things that made my heart swell.

And so many that made my heart bleed with pain.

About K.A. Tucker:

Born in small-town Ontario, K.A. Tucker published her first book at the age of six with the help of her elementary school librarian and a box of crayons. She currently resides in a quaint town outside of Toronto with her husband, two beautiful girls, and an exhausting brood of four-legged creatures.

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Washington Romance Writers Post Thanksgiving Blog Hop with Kimberly Kincaid & Cristin Harber

Welcome to our stop on the Post Thanksgiving Blog Hop hosted by the Washington Romance Writers! I am so lucky to have Kimberly Kincaid and Cristin Harber here today with their favorite holiday memories…so sit back, relax, and enjoy 🙂

Kimberly Kincaid:

My Favorite Holiday Memory

We are admittedly huge on Christmas in my house. Always have been. So I’m not exaggerating when I say I have thousands of great holiday memories that could contend as my favorites. Getting all dressed up and going down to Ford’s Theater as a little girl to see A Christmas Carol, all the marathon baking sessions in my mom’s kitchen, being blessed enough to spend each holiday with the people I love and cherish…all of these are near and dear. But my best holiday memory came as a total surprise—both to me and everyone I know.

In 2001, I was busily preparing not just for Christmas, but for the arrival of my first baby. I had a little over three weeks to go, and I’d gotten the all-clear from my doctor to take a two-hour car trip to my mother-in-law’s. On the 22^nd, my doctor said, “You’re nowhere near to having this baby. As long as you’re feeling well, go and enjoy your last quiet Christmas for a while.”

Yep. You know where I’m headed, right?

At 5:30 AM Christmas morning, I shot upright in bed. Tapped Mr. K in that wake-up-wake-up-WAKE-UP kind of way. I said, “Um. My water just broke.” He said, “That’s not even funny. Go back to bed.” (oh my God, we all still give him a hard time for that! But he really thought I was kidding) Five minutes later, we both realized it was so not a drill, because my doctor sleepily said, “I’ll meet you at the hospital. Looks like you’re going to have a Christmas baby.”

While the rest of the day wasn’t as eventful as the slam-bang start (that epidural was the best present I ever got!), Reader Girl was born less than eleven hours later. The nurses put a little red and green beanie on her (usually the babies get either pink or blue) and called her the Christmas Angel, and I know I’m biased, but I’ve got to agree. She is sweet and funny and kind, and by far the very best holiday memory a girl could ever ask for. Now every year, we wake up on Christmas morning with “Happy birthday!” on our lips, and we get to celebrate the best of both worlds, all on the same day.

Cristin Harber:

One year friends and I decided to host a “Single in the City” Thanksgiving. We were fresh out of college, thought we knew basically everything, and decided that all of our families who had stressed years of making thanksgiving dinners were needlessly spazzed out.

So we opened a bottle of wine. We had a plan. Everyone had a task. The turkey was thawed. We had all day to cook our magnificent, stress free meal.

As it turns out, when no one who has ever made a Thanksgiving dinner before starts drinking in the morning, refuses to read directions, and lives in a house with sketchy appliances, things go wrong.

The dressing had sausage in it. Typical enough. The girl who made it didn’t know you were supposed to cook the sausage before putting it in. Thus, we all ate raw pork. #puke

The turkey wasn’t one hundred percent thawed. Who knew? We didn’t. No one checked. It just seemed like it defrosted long enough. So we popped that baby into the oven, giblets removed and stuffing inside. It was still frozen. The oven, which had been acting up, went into ‘oven clean mode’ where it locked itself and turned the heat to level—scorch. We literally had to find the breaker box, shut off the electricity to the house, wait for the oven to cool down before we could take out the bird.

Which was burned to a crisp on the outside, still frozen on the inside. The house stunk like burned bird, and when no one was looking (because we were drowning our sorrows in boxed wine), my girlfriend’s cat jumped on the counter and went to town on the charred bird.

In the end, we ordered pizza and called our families while slightly (very) intoxicated to apologize for not respecting the level of Thanksgiving day stress that they’d endured over the years.

I hope you never have to survive a turkey day debacle like that. Cheers! Xoxo, Cristin

About the authors and some of my fave reads by them:

Kimberly Kincaid:

Kimberly Kincaid writes contemporary romance novels that split the difference between sexy and sweet, taking the traditional idea of boy-meets-girl and infusing it with a sassy magic all her own. She believes in fiery yet flawed characters destined for a crash-course in falling in love– usually the hard way– and injects her trademark humor as well as poignant touches into her writing to create her stories.

Kimberly’s writing journey has led down some bumpy roads (that first manuscript is under the bed, where it is very likely to stay), but there has been some fresh pavement too (her second manuscript earned her very first contest final, and landed the fantastic Maureen Walters at the Curtis Brown Literary Agency). One thing is certain — the wild ride of being a writer is a lot richer in both its ups and downs because of friends and readers along the path.

When Kimberly’s not sitting cross-legged in an ancient desk chair known as “The Pleather Bomber”, she can be found practicing obscene amounts of yoga, whipping up anything from enchiladas to eclairs in her kitchen, or curled up with her nose in a book. She resides in northern Virginia with her wildly patient husband and their three daughters.

Email: kimberly.kincaid1@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kimberly.kincaid1
Twitter: @KimberlyKincaid
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com
Blog Link: kimberlykincaid.tumblr.com

Some of my fave reads from Kimberly:

Fire Me Up | The Line Collection | The Sugar Cookie Sweetheart Swap

Cristin Harber:

Cristin Harber is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling romance author. She writes sexy, steamy romantic suspense and military romance. Readers voted her onto Amazon’s Top Picks for Debut Romance Authors in 2013, and her debut Titan series was both a #1 romantic suspense and #1 military romance bestseller.

Cristin’s Facebook page
Team Titan Facebook page

Some of my fave reads from Cristin:

Only Series | The Titan Series Box Set | Hart Attack