Category: Excerpt

Respect by Jay Crownover… Release Day Launch

 

 

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Jay Crownover, comes the next title in her The Breaking Point romantic suspense series, RESPECT. Don’t miss the amazing excerpt below, and order your copy today!

 

 

About RESPECT:

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess who called a corrupt kingdom home sweet home.

Protected and sheltered from the worst the world had to offer, she fell in love with the crumbling city that burned and blazed around her. Every dirty corner, every scary shadow, found a place within her heart. So did a man who was violent and dangerous, just like the streets she claimed as her own.

He was all business and brutality, except when it came to her. With her, he was calm, caring, and heartbreakingly patient.

He warned her over and over that he wasn’t the man for her, but she refused to listen. She never expected either the streets or their enforcer to hurt her, since she’d given her heart so completely to both.

She should have known the streets in the Point were always going to be savage, and so was the man committed to keeping control of them in the hands of criminals and bloody kingpins.

Blindsided by a betrayal which cut so deeply she was sure the wounds would never heal, the princess fled the home she loved and the man who broke her heart. Throwing away her rusted, twisted crown was supposed to help her forget. All it did was make her long for everything she left behind.  She told herself she would never go back, but in this tormented kingdom, family is everything. Eventually, she has no choice but to return.

While she was gone, the people who loved her worked hard to make the city safe, and the man who destroyed her sank deeper into the darkness. Going back shouldn’t feel like surrender… but it does. As this pretty princess hovers on the edge of the unknown, the past attacks with a vengeance. It’s a good reminder that puppy love eventually grows up and turns into something with sharp teeth and one hell of a bite.

She never asked for the keys to the kingdom. She’d much rather go out and build her own.

 

 

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EXCERPT:

~Karsen~

I had no plans to leave the Point. It was ugly, mean, hard, and unforgiving, but these streets were home and I couldn’t imagine being happy anywhere else. This place had long since made my hands and the edges of my soul dirty. It was something I would be hard-pressed to hide should I go anywhere else. I’d have to spend my days trying to camouflage the filth I was so familiar with. Here, no one looked twice at the pretty teenager with shadows in her eyes and blood on her hands. I was one of many.

I wasn’t interested in leaving behind my sister or her fiancé, Race. We were an odd, dysfunctional family, but we made it work.

I didn’t want to be too far away from my mother, who was living in a group home as she slowly, painfully tried to recover from her alcoholism and PTSD from an accident she caused that ended up taking the life of a young mother and her child.

But more than anything, I absolutely didn’t want to leave him.

I couldn’t imagine a day going by without catching a glimpse of Noah Booker. I mean, he was impossible to miss. Six-and-a-half-feet tall, body built like a professional athlete, dark and brooding with the prettiest gunmetal-gray eyes, he was the entirety of every one of my teenage fantasies. I barely noticed the jagged scar dividing one side of his face. White and raised, it cut one of his black eyebrows in half, slashed over a high cheekbone, and ended somewhere under the chiseled edge of his hard jaw. He never talked about it, but Race, Booker’s boss, let it slip that Booker got the scar when he was locked up. Or maybe it wasn’t as much of a slip-up as a thinly veiled warning. Race never kept it much of a secret that my infatuation with his massive, dangerous, ex-con enforcer made him extremely uncomfortable. He’d warned me over and over again that Booker wasn’t for me. And he’d made it clear to the man who broke knees and smashed heads for a living that he was to stay as far away from me as possible.

They called it puppy love. It wasn’t.

To me, it was a vicious kind of love, filled with teeth and claws that I could feel digging at my insides every single time someone patted me on the head and told me how young I was, how much life I had yet to live. This love was rabid, and I was tired of having it on a leash. I wanted to let it free, wanted to let it sink its razor-sharp fangs into the man who had awoken the primal need inside of me. It was only fair he felt the same kind of crushing bite and painful pressure around his heart that I did every single day.

I was solely focused on getting to Booker. It barely registered I was done with high school and had new doors opening all around me. I couldn’t care less about getting my hands on my diploma. A piece of paper with Karsen Carter written on it in pretty calligraphy meant exactly nothing to me. The only thing I was focused on was the fact I was finally old enough to make my own choices. And I’d always picked Booker. Over and over again he was my number one priority.

 

 

 

And don’t miss the first titles in The Breaking Point series, HONOR and DIGNITY! Grab your copy today!

 

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About Jay Crownover:

Jay Crownover is the international and multiple New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men Series, The Saints of Denver Series, the Point Series, the Breaking Point Series, and the Getaway Series. Her books can be found translated in many different languages all around the world. She is a tattooed, crazy haired Colorado native who lives at the base of the Rockies with her awesome dogs. This is where she can frequently be found enjoying a cold beer and Taco Tuesdays. Jay is a self-declared music snob and outspoken book lover who is always looking for her next adventure, between the pages and on the road.

 

 

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Release Day Blitz…As Dust Dances by Samantha Young

 

The New York Times Bestselling author of the On Dublin Street series and PLAY ON returns to the world of the arts in this intense and emotional standalone romance about love, sacrifice, and surviving both. AS DUST DANCES is now available on all retailers! Grab your copy today!

 

About AS DUST DANCES:

Once upon a time Skylar Finch was the lead singer of a hugely successful American pop-rock band. But fame made her miserable. When years of living a lie suddenly ended in tragedy, Skylar fell off the map.

Eighteen months later she’s sleeping in a tent in a cemetery in Glasgow, making just enough money to eat by busking on the streets. She manages to avoid recognition, but not the attention of one of Glasgow’s ambitious A&R executives.

Killian O’Dea works at Skyscraper Records, Scotland’s most successful record label. Raised by his uncle and owner of the label, Killian’s upbringing would have been devoid of affection entirely if it wasn’t for his loving sister. Killian is unflinchingly determined to bring the label more success than ever, and the young homeless woman who busks on Buchanan Street is going to help him do that. Her music speaks to him in a way he refuses to over-analyze. All he knows is that if it can touch his dark soul, it’ll set everyone else’s alight.

Skylar makes it clear that she doesn’t want to sign with him. But when she experiences the dangerous reality of a woman sleeping rough, Skylar has no one else but Killian to turn to. An undeniable connection forms between them. But Skylar doesn’t want the career Killian is trying to forge for her, and when her past comes back to haunt her Killian will be faced with a decision that could ruin him. He must either free Skylar from his selfish machinations and destroy everything he’s ever worked for, or lose a woman who has come to mean more to him than he ever thought possible…

 

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EXCERPT:

When I finished, O’Dea was sitting on the chair, his elbows braced on his knees. He was staring at the floor, like he was lost in thought. Then he looked up at me and my breath caught at the million heartbreaking emotions roiling in his gaze.

And then they were gone, as if they’d never been there.

“That’s all I have so far,” I whispered, so confused by him. “No more songs.”

His expression was unreadable. “Your visitor’s visa is about to run out.”

Bewildered by the response, I could only nod.

“You’ve no money.”

I tensed.

“You’ve run away from your identity, from your life in the band, in the US. You’ve no family to speak of, and you abandoned your friends.”

The man was the soul of sensitivity. “Your point?”

“My point is that you don’t have many options. I think you were living in some naive fantasy that you could keep running from your problems and live a relatively peaceful life as a homeless person. Somehow, miraculously, you survived unscathed for five months. But last night you were given a giant fucking look at the reality and dangers of homelessness. I wish it hadn’t happened that way, but there was never any other way it was going to end. And it has ended, am I right?”

“So, do you get, like, a bonus at the end of every day if you say a hundred patronizing things in a twenty-four-hour period or something?”

He ignored me. “You can’t go back to sleeping rough.”

“I think I got that, thanks.” I waved my cast at him.

“So … it’s either call your old manager, your band—”

“Not an option,” I snapped.

O’Dea smirked. “Then I’m all you’ve got. And I’m no fucking Mother Teresa. I’m in the business of making money, Miss Finch. You’ve already proven you’re good at making it. And from what I heard today and have heard you playing when you busk, I think the world hasn’t even seen a fraction of what you can do.”

There was really nothing to do but glare and hope that he withered under it.

“I’ll let you stay here in this flat free of charge, give you a weekly stipend for clothes, groceries, a new guitar. You can heal up here. But all of it in exchange for a record contract. A one-album deal, that’s all I ask. When you’re healed up, you’ll be straight into the studio to record.”

The thought made my stomach pitch. “I don’t want to be famous again.”

“Tough shit. There is no being famous again. You are famous. And you’ve got more talent in your pinkie finger than most do in their entire being. And that talent deserves more of a platform than standing on a street busking. It’s a goddamned insult to all those people out there trying to make the big time. I don’t care what it is you’re running from. I care that you sort yourself out and make some music again. Music that matters. Music that will heal you.”

I bristled. “I’ve made music that matters. I’ve got the fan mail to prove it.”

“Your music in Tellurian did its job. It was catchy, appealing, and teenagers related. But your voice is meant for something else. The songs you just sang to me … those are songs that will really make people feel. It’s vulnerable and brutally honest and that’s the stuff that resonates with people. People want songs that make them feel good, but they also just want songs that me them feel, even if it breaks their fucking heart. You’ve been through a lot, Skylar. Even if I couldn’t read a newspaper, I’d know that by listening to those songs you sang.

“Two years ago, you were a leader on social media and the lead singer of a pop-rock band that teens and college freshman loved. I’m not asking you to go back to that. I’m asking you to become an artist in your own right. If you don’t want the social media exposure, we’ll have someone else run that stuff for you. And we’ll do what we can to minimize the tabloid exposure. It will be hard at first considering your disappearance, but once it dies down, we can make it so you’re not hounded. It is possible.”

“It doesn’t matter whether they hound me or not. I hate the fame. I hate the touring. I hate it all.”

“No.” His expression hardened. “You don’t…”

 

 

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About Samantha Young:

Samantha Young is the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of adult contemporary romances, including the On Dublin Street series and Hero, as well as the New Adult duology Into the Deep and Out of the Shallows. Every Little Thing, the second book in her new Hart’s Boardwalk series, will be published by Berkley in March 2017. Before turning to contemporary fiction, she wrote several young adult paranormal and fantasy series, including the amazon bestselling Tale of Lunarmorte trilogy. Samantha’s debut YA contemporary novel The Impossible Vastness of Us will be published by Harlequin TEEN in ebook& hardback June 2017

Samantha has been nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award 2012 for Best Author and Best Romance for On Dublin Street, Best Romance 2014 for Before Jamaica Lane, and Best Romance 2015 for Hero. On Dublin Street, a #1 bestseller in Germany, was the Bronze Award Winner in the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2013, Before Jamaica Lane the Gold Medal Winner for the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2014 and Echoes of Scotland Street the Bronze Medal Winner for the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2015.

Samantha is currently published in 30 countries and is a #1 international bestselling author.

 

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Excerpt Reveal….Mixed Up Love by Natasha Madison

 

 

 

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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Walking into the restaurant, the hostess stands there with a smile on her face while I look around and see if maybe there is a guy sitting alone. I notice a couple of guys at the bar, but they look like they are together. Most of the tables are taken but none of them with a single man. “Good evening. How many I help you?” she says.

“I’m supposed to be meeting someone, and I don’t see him, reservations under Anthony,” I say, still looking around. The clanking of plates and cutlery fill the room along with soft music coming out of the speaker. She looks down at the pad in front of her.

“Yes, Anthony, table for two?” she asks, and I look at her and nod. She grabs two menus and another one that I’m assuming is the wine list. “If you can follow me,” she says and walks to the right of the restaurant. Passing a couple of tables, she sits me at a table for two near the bar and in front of the outdoor patio. “Here you go. Your waiter will be right with you.” I take the seat facing the front door so I can see everyone coming in and out. I grab the linen napkin on the table under my utensils and place it on my lap. I grab the brown menu and open it, my eyes scanning to see what they serve here.

I’m not sitting here for more than a minute when the waiter comes to the table, pouring water into the two glasses on the table. “My name is Henry, and I’ll be your server for the evening. Can I start you off with a cocktail while you wait?”

“Oh, that sounds so good. I’ll have two.” I laugh, not really joking. “Give me two martinis, two olives with one ice cube.”

“Very well,” he says and nods at me. I giggle to myself, scanning the restaurant and people watching. I see a couple of men sitting at the bar facing me as they talk to each other. I look out at the street and watch as cars zoom through and around other cars. Henry comes over a couple of minutes later with two martinis on his tray. He places them both in front of me. I smile at him, raising a glass to him, then take a long gulp. Yup, no sipping here, not after the news I just got. “This is fantastic,” I say. “I’ll take another.” He just nods and walks away, no doubt judging me in his head. But it’s not every day you find out that your gay ex-boyfriend is engaged to another woman. I don’t even think there is a greeting card for that shit, but I could be wrong.

I finish off the first martini in record time. The heat of the alcohol slowly creeps up, making my cheeks flustered. I’m glad I took an Uber, I think as I grab the second martini and bring it to my lips. I’m one sip into drinking my second martini when I see a man walk in the door, and the glass stops midair. The only thing going through my mind is holy shit.

His black suit molds to his body with a crisp white button-down shirt underneath, and he left the top two buttons open, showing a hint of his tan skin. His black aviator glasses hide his eyes, but it doesn’t matter. His hair is cut short, his face is clean shaven, and his lips—oh my god, his lips are so full, which conjures an image of me sucking his bottom lip to run through my mind. I shake my head; it must be the vodka. “No more drinks for me,” I say under my breath, looking down at the drink in my hand. Then I make the mistake of looking up again, and I see the woman at the hostess stand turn and look around the room.

Her eyes stop on me as she points at me, smiling at the man who doesn’t even pay attention to her. He dips his head to her and makes his way over to me. I still can’t see his eyes, but there is no denying that I feel his stare right through me. “Oh, shit,” I whisper to myself, and as he comes closer, I see that his jaw is square, and his chest is wider than I thought. I don’t think I inhale or exhale a breath while he walks around the tables, finally stopping at mine. He takes off his glasses, and I finally see his smoky gray eyes. “Are you Laney?”

I don’t know what happens, but my throat closes. I try to talk, but no words come out of my mouth, so I don’t say anything. My mouth opens and then closes again, but not a sound is made. Instead, the waiter comes back, smiling. “Here are two more.” I look at who I think is my blind date as he glares at the man, and I laugh nervously.

“It isn’t what it looks like,” I tell the man standing beside the table.

“Really? I find it hard to believe. It looks like you’re sitting here waiting for something bad to happen.” He then looks around, eyeing everyone in the place, and it’s a good thing I’m not standing because my legs would give out.

 

 

 

 

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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Bedfellows by Lola Leighton…Release Blitz & Review

 

 

 

 

I wasn’t looking to fall for one man. Let alone two…

Sullivan and Will are as close as two friends can be. Growing up in the system forced them to rely on each other, and they’ve become accustomed to sharing everything—including women.

Now they’re ready for more. To find love. To start a family. To see the dreams they’ve shared since childhood come true.

Apparently I tick off every box on their list—brains, beauty, and sass. I never hesitate to put both men in their places—which they find sexy as hell.

One problem, I’m a traditional girl, with traditional values—one man, one woman, till death do us part—kind of values.

They’re willing to work to prove how very right the three of us could be, but what happens next is anyone’s guess…

 

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I was extremely excited when I heard this author was branching out of her normal writing style with a bit more edge. While at first I was a bit put off that she wanted to write under a different name, after reading this book, I totally understand why. Some of her normal readers may not be into erotic and ménage but this fan is and I loved this book. Dare I even say – I wish there a bit more ménage scenes in this book.

To say that this book is hot, would be an understatement. While I do wish there were a bit more ménage scenes in the book, what Lola gave us was AMAZING!! I had to fan myself at times the scenes were that great that!

Will and Sullivan are looking for a woman who can complete their ménage-a-trois relationship and don’t want anyone looking for a good time or some action on the wild side. They wanted a committed female who is ok with this life-style. So when they approach Adrienne with this relationship, she is for a whole new treat.

While I enjoyed how they approached everything with Adrienne and they all discovered new things about themselves and between them all, the book moved a bit fast for my taste. I wish there was more of a “learning curve” for Adrienne because she seemed to accept everything completely and then the story progresses quickly from there spanning anywhere from weeks to months to even years. I felt there were a lot of important growing pains in this relationship that would have been new growth for them all.

Overall, it was a hot and sexy read – I just wish there was some further development in the plot and that things played out in a smoother way and definitely some more ménage scenes, especially after things got a bit hotter near the end.

 

 

 

 

“Tonight has been great, Sullivan. It’s just, when I think about adding Will into the equation, I get …”

“Scared?”

She shook her head. “Butterflies.”

“Butterflies are good, right?”

“I think so.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. I leaned in closer, captivated by her. Everything about her drew me in—from the swell of her full lips, to her uncertainty about this, and especially her willingness to try.

“He’s not here now. Put the butterflies away.”

“Okay.” She smiled.

I leaned in closer. “I’ve wanted to kiss you all night.”

She wet her lower lip with the tip of her tongue and it was all the answer I needed. She wanted this, too. Wanted me.

My heart pumped faster with that secret knowledge.

Tilting her chin so that her lips met mine, I took her mouth. Gently at first, and then with a growing sense of hunger as her warm, wet tongue came out to meet mine.

She tasted incredible. Slightly sweet from the wine, and feminine and simply perfect.

 

 

 

 

Lola Leighton is the pseudonym for a New York Times bestselling romance author who wanted to write steamier stories that her mother is most definitely not allowed to read.

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Playboy by Katy Evans…Excerpt & Review

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Playboy by Katy Evans
Publication Date: July 29, 2018
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Playboy

Synopsis:

A brand new contemporary romance from New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author Katy Evans.

It started as a game.

We flirted. We played. Most importantly—we won.

Then I discovered who he was: Gambler. Famous playboy. Silver-eyed player who never plays to lose…

And my best friend’s soon-to-be brother in law, Cullen Carmichael.

He needed a good luck charm, I needed a distraction.

So we made a gamble and set off for Vegas—but pretty soon—I was in too deep.

My heart, soul, and body weren’t supposed to be part of the deal.

But somewhere between big wins and long nights, my house of cards started to tumble.

What was this devil with those piercing eyes doing to me?

I’d given up on love, but the wicked, all-in Cullen Carmichael was upping the ante and wouldn’t stop until he’d won it all.

Playboy-AN

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Excerpt:

“So you just kissed me because you wanted to.” I speak on a breath.

“Very good. You’re perceptive. Intuitive.”

I realize he’s teasing me in that low, terribly rumbly voice and I wish he would smile at me.

He takes my hand and fingers my palm with his thumb as he leads me to our suite.

I’m sizzling where he touches me, nervously prying my hand free when he leads me into the biggest, most spectacular two-bedroom penthouse suite I’ve ever seen. Not that I’d seen one before in person, only movies.

There’s a kitchen area, and windows from floor to ceiling. A living room, a pool table, gold brass chandeliers, a brown-and-beige-patterned carpet, dark woods, Italian leathers. Gorgeous! I could move in here.

Now I see the appeal but won’t admit as much.

Thinking of our bet, I pay attention to the art on the walls. It’s expensive. I can tell by the numbered print and the signature. Painters with indecipherable and artistic signatures are often the artists to watch. It’s like they know from the moment they paint their first work that they’re on to something big, something that will distinguish their work from all others.

I wish Cullen loved art as much as I do. Maybe I could drag him away from the tables to a local gallery.

“Wow. I could just live he—” I spin around and bump into his big warm body, and he bends his head and kisses my words right out of me.

Kisses me stupid. Kisses my toes curled. Kisses my brain blank. Kisses my heart crazy.

7 win at any cost

This is the fifth book in the ManWhore Series it can be read as a standalone so feel free to jump right into this one and see why everyone loves Katy, this series and her writing style!!

Playboy is Cullen and Wynn’s story and wow does it start off perfectly. Cullen is known in the poker as the Playboy for various reasons but mostly the fact that he has never once been with the same women twice. He never wines and dine them – they are poker babes who are there for one thing – a piece of the man.

Wynn is coming off of a four year long relationship. She’s trying to move on and realizes that maybe she needs to have some fun before throwing herself into another long term relationship. But then she finds herself making a bet with Cullen – a bet she’s not sure she wants to win – cause Cullen! LOL

I won’t give you much more because the plot is how this bet plays out and who’s playing what game and who’s gambling with what. It is very entertaining, very enticing and let me tell you – HOT AS HELL!! I loved the banter between Cullen and Wynn – they both keep each other on their toes and definitely dish out what they can take.

While I have hard time finding that they fell in love so quickly – I enjoy how everything comes together in the end. The ending may have been too sweet for me but overall, the whole book as really good.

Katy – you have delivered another delicious book that I couldn’t stop once I started.

 

 

About the Author:

Katy Evans is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. Her debut REAL shot to the top of the bestselling lists in 2013 and since then 9 of her titles have been New York Times bestsellers. Her books have been translated into nearly a dozen languages across the world.

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Twitter: @authorkatyevan
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Break by Cassia Leo….Blog Tour

BREAK by New York Times Bestselling Author Cassia Leo is out now and #FREE in Kindle Unlimted! Read it now!

 

Synopsis

A humorous and heartbreaking second-chance stand-alone romance from the New York Times bestselling author of the Shattered Hearts Series.

For six years, she was the only one. My best friend. My kitten. My world. Then, I broke us by getting caught in a web of lies.

Hard to believe, after everything we’d been through, I could do what I did to her… in front of 600,000 people. I doubt she’ll ever believe I did it because I love her.

Three years later, my music career is booming. I have a movie deal in the next comic book reboot. And now the only parent I have left has been given a death sentence. I have to go home, but going home means facing what I did to her.

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BREAK PLAYLIST

 

 

I’m about to turn around and head back to the Uber, when Charley stands up from the chair and begins making her way toward the entrance. It’s like watching an angel coming at me, but from the stony expression on her face, I can’t decide if she looks more like a guardian angel or an angel of death. Either way, she’s gorgeous: tall and slender, with hips that would make a grown man cry; her dark hair cascades over her shoulders in luscious waves; round, hazel eyes and full lips framed by soft cheekbones and a perfect oval face.

She always complained about the tiny bump on her nose, or that her top lip wasn’t as full as her bottom lip. I used to tell her that complaining about those things is like looking at a gorgeous sunset and complaining that the sun is too bright.

Michelle glares at Charley and says something that looks like, “What are you doing?”

Charley says something to her that I can’t make out, but Michelle shakes her head adamantly. Charley glares at her, then says something that looks like, “Do it.”

Michelle rolls her eyes and they both continue toward me as Michelle pulls a ring of keys out of her apron. My heart soars as I realize Charley is forcing her friend to open the door. Maybe she’s not as angry with me as I anticipated.

The whole time Michelle is unlocking the door, I keep my gaze focused on Charley, willing her to look at me and give me some kind of smile or nod or something to let me know I’m right. But her eyes are trained on Michelle’s hands. Finally, the door pushes out toward me and Charley emerges with an expression on her face I’ve never seen before. I can’t explain it any other way except a stone-cold lack of emotion.

“Charley, I just want to talk to you. Just give me five minutes.”

Her expression doesn’t change. “I don’t want to talk to you, Ben. You should leave before Mason gets here.”

“It’s probably better that he’s here. I owe him an apology, too,” I say, taking a step toward her.

Michelle steps sideways, half her body shielding Charley now. “That’s close enough.”

Charley puts her hand on Michelle’s arm. “You can go inside. I can handle this.”

“Are you sure?”

Charley nods and we both watch in silence as Michelle shoots me one last burning glare before she heads back inside. “Look, Ben, I’m sure you’ve probably made up some kind of excuse that justifies what you did to me. But there’s nothing you could say that will make me understand or forgive what you did. So, once again, I’m asking you to leave. I really don’t want to see what Mason will do to you when he gets here.”

The cool expression on her face and the even tone in her voice chills my blood. What have I done to her?

“You know damn well Mason’s never been able to take me.”

“He’s been rage-lifting,” she replies coolly, using the phrase I made up for when I would take my aggression out at the gym. “I don’t want him to get in trouble with the cops when he kicks your ass.”

I suppress my laughter, so I don’t further piss her off. “Baby, I’m not here to get in fights or make excuses. And—”

“Don’t call me baby.”

I pause for a moment and take a deep breath. “Look, I don’t expect you to forgive me. Not tonight, anyway.”

She clenches her jaw and lets out a puff of laughter through her nose. “You really are just as cocky as always if you think I’d ever forgive you.”

I close my eyes for a second to collect myself as anger roars inside me. “You…have no fucking idea why I did what I did.”

“I don’t care why you did it!” she shouts, her stony expression crumbling. “You broke us! I don’t want to see you ever again. Go back to L.A., Ben.”

I step forward and grab her elbows. “This isn’t over, Char.”

“Don’t touch me!” she yells, wrestling her arms from my grip.

I’m close enough to smell her now, that sugared-strawberry scent I remember so fucking well it makes my arms ache to hold her. “You have no fucking idea how sorry I am.”

“Are you drunk? I can smell alcohol.”

I blink at her question, standing my ground as I see the headlights of a car approaching.

She glances toward the lights and her eyes widen with panic. “Go home, Ben. Please. As much as I hate you, I don’t want to see you hurt.”

I shake my head. “It’s too late for that.

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About Cassia Leo

New York Times bestselling author Cassia Leo loves her coffee, chocolate, and margaritas with salt. When she’s not writing, she spends way too much time re-watching Game of Thrones and Sex and the City. When she’s not binge-watching, she’s usually enjoying the Oregon rain with a hot cup of coffee and a book.

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Moore Than A Feeling by Julie A. Richman…Excerpt & Review

 

Just when you thought there wasn’t any MOORE…

From USA Today bestselling author Julie A. Richman, comes a companion title to her Needing Moore series, MOORE THAN A FEELING. Order your copy of MOORE THAN A FEELING today!

 

About MOORE THAN A FEELING:

“Holly and Aiden broke up? Seriously? No way. Not those two.”

Dumped.
No, not only dumped.
Blindsided and dumped.

I thought that Aiden McManus was my forever, my soulmate,
That was until he told me he was still in love with his ex.

I didn’t want to believe him.
So, I convinced myself that our break-up was because of his upcoming deployment,
and not because he didn’t love me.
Believing that, helped me get through those first months.

But after a while, I realized I just might be lying to myself.
And it was time to move on…

So, I moved on. Or tried to move on, anyway.
But that didn’t work out so well for me, either.
And it practically got me disowned from my family.

After that, I finally started to get my life back together,
I had everything back under control…
…Or so I thought.

Until I found out Aiden was back

And now he’s everywhere I turn,
Still pushing me away,
telling me he doesn’t want me.

But every time he calls me Angel or reaches out to touch my cheek,
I know what he’s not admitting to himself –
He still loves me.

And I’m going to prove it to him.

 

Order your copy of MOORE THAN A FEELING today!

Amazon | iBooks | Barnes & Noble

 

 

 

Leaning down from behind the couch, it looked as if he were going to kiss the cool blonde’s cheek, but instead he whispered in her ear, “You are a guest in our home. I expect you to be civil.”
Craning her alabaster neck, she smiled, a close-mouthed smile, at her ex-husband. “Always a pleasure to see you, too, Schooner.”
Standing, she smoothed down her pencil skirt, and walked toward the kitchen, without a second glance at her ex.
“Mia, may I have a moment with you?”
“Sure, give me one sec.” She put down the slotted spoon and washed her hands. “Let’s go talk in Schooner’s office.” Mia led the way, closing the door behind them, not really knowing what to expect.
Being in a room alone with CJ had only happened once before in her life and the results had been disastrous for her as CJ convinced her that Schooner never loved her and only saw her as an obligation and charity case, causing Mia to flee before ever confronting Schooner. That conversation was the life-altering genesis of a twenty-four-year separation from the man she loved.
“I wanted to talk to you before Holly gets here,” CJ began.
“Her well-being is something you and I share.”
“Good, then will you please fill me in on the details. I need to know what I’m dealing with here.”
“We had no idea that she had met Tom. I had not seen the man in like twenty years, so we were really shocked.”
“What’s he like?”
“Intelligent, charming, talented, handsome. Female students love him. Male students want to be like him. He’s not very good at monogamy.” Mia strained to find the right words, not really knowing what they were.
“Is that why you broke up with him?”
“Yes. I caught him in our bed with one of his students. Keeping his dick in his pants was not his strong suit.” There. It was out.
“Once a cheater, always a cheater.” CJ nodded, as she stared at a spot on Schooner’s desk. Inhaling deeply, she looked back at Mia, pointing a finger at her. “I’m going to take one for the team. So, don’t you forget it.”
“What are you going to do, CJ?” Mia, of all people, knew the lengths this woman would go to in order to get her way.
“It’s best you’re not complicit.”
“Well, thanks for that.” Not knowing what she would pull, it was a relief to know that.
“Thank me later.” CJ brushed past Mia, exiting the office.

 

Add it to your Goodreads today!

 

 

 

Julie is back with my favorite family – the Moore’s!!! I was so excited when I learned she was writing another book involving this family and she did not disappoint.

This Needing Moore series is one of my all-time favorite series and these spin-off books are perfect to keep the family’s legacy moving along. Julie does a great job brining the family back together and making Moore Than a Feeling a great read.

Moore Than A Feeling is more than just about the two main characters. We actually get to see how this whole family interacts with one another now. It has this overall vibe of family togetherness. If you have not read any of the previous books in relation to this one, you may not feel that whole vibe, but you also won’t be too lost on what is going on. I am hoping that reading about the other family members and how they all came to be this huge family will make you go back and read the others.

Anyway – this book. This is Holly and Aiden’s story. It was very much a heart wrenching yet beautiful story. I don’t want to give away too many details but Julie really gives these characters depth and it helps relate to them and their decisions. They both have a lot of issues to overcome, both together and individually.

This book is about forgiveness, truth and hope. The value of family and the support system that you get from a strong family unit. There are a lot of tears, laughs and frustration throughout this book. You feel the emotions of these characters and I love that.

Julie delivers another great story with the Moore’s. She keeps us on our toes with a few surprises but I love the overall family vibe of this story. When this family gets together – there is no telling what could happen!!

 

 

Julie A. Richman’s MOORE THAN A FEELING – Review & Excerpt Tour Schedule:

July 23rd

Adventures in Writing – Excerpt

Devilishly dirty book blog – Review & Excerpt

MSquaredBookBlog – Review & Excerpt

Sassy Moms Say Read Romance – Review & Excerpt

TMBA Corbett Tries To Write – Excerpt

July 24th

Book Boyfriend Blog – Review & Excerpt

Cinta Garcia de la Rosa – Excerpt

FMR Book Grind – Review

I Love Romance – Review & Excerpt

Nanasbookreviews – Excerpt

July 25th

A Book Nerd, a Bookseller and a Bibliophile – Review

Book Addict – Review & Excerpt

Reads All the Books – Review & Excerpt

Snarky snarky reviews – Excerpt

July 26th

Blog of Books – Review

Brandy Paige Roberts Blogger page –Review & Excerpt

Read more sleep less – Review & Excerpt

Scandaliciousbookreviews – Review

July 27th

6 Feet Under Books – Excerpt

Book Loving Pixies – Excerpt

My Life Loves and Passion – Excerpt

Shameless Book Club – Review & Excerpt

The Wayfaring Bibliomaniac – Review & Excerpt

July 28th

Book Lovers Reviews and Recommendations – Review & Excerpt

Eye Candy Bookstore – Excerpt

Kari’s Book Reviews and Revelations – Review & Excerpt

Read Love Blog – Review & Excerpt

Smut Book Junkie Reviews – Review & Excerpt

July 29th

Booked All Night – Review & Excerpt

Lynn’s Romance Enthusiasm – Excerpt

Reviews by Tammy and Kim (Rachel and Jay) – Review & Excerpt

Sultry Sirens Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

July 30th

Becky on Books – Excerpt

For the love of romance – Review

Life Books & Loves – Review & Excerpt

Nerdy Dirty and Flirty – Excerpt

Wicked Reads – Review & Excerpt

July 31st

All Things Dark & Dirty – Excerpt

Bookgasms Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

Michelle Parkerton – Review

Three chicks and their books – Review & Excerpt

We stole your book boyfriend – Excerpt

August 1st

Bobo’s Book Bank – Excerpt

Jax’s Book Magic – Excerpt

My Girlfriend’s Couch – Excerpt

Stressed Rach – Review & Excerpt

What Is That Book About – Excerpt

August 2nd

Becca the Bibliophile – Review & Excerpt

Books are love – Review & Excerpt

My Girlfriends Nook Korner – Review & Excerpt

Once upon a romance blog – Review

Simply Crystal – Review & Excerpt

August 3rd

As You Wish Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Hopelessly Addicted to romance book blog – Excerpt

Ramblings From This Chick – Excerpt

Romance Schmomance – Review & Excerpt

Sharing My Book Boyfriends – Excerpt

August 4th

3 Amigos Wicked Book Review – Review

Blushing babes are up all night – Review

KDRBCK – Review & Excerpt

One-Click Chocolate Chick – Review & Excerpt

Romance Book Explosion – Review & Excerpt

 

 

 

About Julie A. Richman:

USA TODAY Bestselling author Julie A. Richman is a native New Yorker living deep in the heart of Texas, home to great music, BBQ, and awesome Tex-Mex. An award-winning nature photographer plagued with insatiable wanderlust, Julie spent many years scratching the travel itch while helping non-profit organizations and corporations with their marketing and advertising programs.

Currently, Julie has published Searching for Moore, Moore to Lose, Moore than Forever, Bad Son Rising, Needing Moore:The Complete Series, Henry’s End, Slave to Love, The Do-Over and Love on the Edge of Time. She has works included in Pink Shades of Words 2014 & 2015, Tempting Fate Boxed Set, Intense Boxed Set, Intense 2 Boxed Set and the Cocktales Anthology.

 

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Envy by Rachel Van Dyken…Blog Tour

 

From New York Times Bestselling author Rachel Van Dyken, comes ENVY, a new novella in her Eagle Elite Series, brought to you by 1,001 Dark Nights! Be sure to grab your copy today!

 

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Rachel Van Dyken comes a new story in her Eagle Elite series…

Every family has rules, the mafia just has more….
Do not speak to the bosses unless spoken to.
Do not make eye contact unless you want to die.
And above all else, do not fall in love.
Renee Cassani’s future is set.
Her betrothal is set.
Her life, after nannying for the five families for the summer, is set
Somebody should have told Vic Colezan that.
He’s a man who doesn’t take no for an answer.
And he only wants one thing.
Her.
Somebody should have told Renee that her bodyguard needed as much discipline as the kids she was nannying.
Good thing Vic has a firm hand.

 

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon Canada

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Heat wrapped itself around my body. It soothed my soul. I think I took my first deep breath in those seconds, my first big exhale, followed by another deep breath. I pressed my hand against the heat, and came into contact with a hard chest. I didn’t even care that it was the chest of my father’s murderer.
I was sick.
Sick that my murderer made me well.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and breathed him in. We were walking. I didn’t want to spoil the moment by speaking, so I kept my eyes closed, my voice silent as he walked and walked some more.
A door opened and closed.
It smelled like cigars and Christmas spices.
Gently, I was being set down. My body came into contact with something deliciously soft, and it wrapped around me.
And then whatever I was on moved, dipped under the weight of the one carrying me. Maybe if I just kept my eyes closed I could imagine that it was Vic without the word murderer hanging over his head like a blazing red sign.
Maybe I could give in to the fantasy that he was just a guy, I was just a girl. Spending the night in each other’s arms, using each other’s heat for energy.
Blankets were piled over my body, pushing me into the mattress with their weight. And then bulky arms pulled me back against the rock-hard chest again.
“Sleep.” His voice carried like a gunshot in the dark; it was a harsh whisper, a command I wasn’t allowed to say no to. Sometimes, you just need to be forced into rest—and when he’d walked in, I’d been tossing and turning in that stupid chair trying to get comfortable for hours.
But now? Now my body was heavy. My mind was silent.
“Did you kill anyone tonight?” I asked the dreaded question. I wanted to know if the hands that were holding me were hands that had washed off blood. I’d tortured myself with ideas of what he was really going to do tonight. Tortured myself with visions of my dad’s face begging for death.
His body was rigid as he bit out, “No, Renee. I didn’t kill anyone tonight.”
“Are you going to kill anyone tomorrow?”
He sighed. “Well, it is a Friday, those are my favorite days to take a life. What do you think?”
I smiled even though it wasn’t funny. “Sorry, stupid question.”
“Which earned an equally stupid answer.”
“Hey, Vic?” I turned to face him. His eyes were so bright in the darkness that it startled me a bit before I could gather my thoughts. “Did he really beg you?”
“Don’t make me talk about it. Not now. Not when you’re tired and upset. Not when you look at me like you’re disappointed. I can handle a lot of things, Renee, your disappointment in me is not one of them.”
I nodded. “I don’t want to be.”

 

 

 

 

 

Rachel Van Dyken’s ENVY – Review & Excerpt Tour Schedule:

July 25th

All about reading – Review

Booknerdingout – Review & Excerpt

Ceej’s Life Reads – Review & Excerpt

Chatterbooks Book Blog – Review

Fun Under the Covers – Review & Excerpt

Lost to Books – Review

Marta Likes do Read – Review & Excerpt

The Bookish Sisters – Review & Excerpt

July 26th

abibliophobia anonymous book reviews – Review

AMPed Up Books –Review & Excerpt

Beyond The Covers Blog – Review

Bobo’s Book Bank – Review & Excerpt

Bookworm Misfit – Review & Excerpt

iScream Books Blog – Review & Excerpt

Read-Love-Blog – Excerpt

S3OC – Review & Excerpt

July 27th

A Fortress of Books – Excerpt

Bloggin’ With M.Brennan – Review

BJ’s Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

Book Freak – Review

East Coast Book Chicks – Review & Excerpt

Reads All the Books – Review & Excerpt

Smut Book Junkie Reviews – Review & Excerpt

The Book Disciple – Review & Excerpt

Wicked Cool Flight – Review & Excerpt

July 28th

Ariella’s Bookshelf – Excerpt

Bookaholic Confessions – Review & Excerpt

Canadian Book Addict – Review

Confessions of a Pinay Bookaholic – Review

Ginreads – Review

Melena’s Reviews –Review & Excerpt

Romance Book Review For You – Review

Two Book Pushers – Excerpt

July 29th

All Things Dark & Dirty – Review & Excerpt

Bad boys and bedtime stories book blog – Review

Kari’s Book Reviews and Revelations – Review & Excerpt

Life with Lesley – Review & Excerpt

My Book Filled Life – Review & Excerpt

Musings of the Modern Belle – Review & Excerpt

Novel Grounds – Review

Three chicks and their books – Review & Excerpt

July 30th

Blogging For The Love Of Authors And Their Books – Review & Excerpt

Brittany’s Book Blog – Excerpt

Heart and Soul Book Blog – Excerpt

Jenn Avery Romance Lover – Review & Excerpt

Joandisalovebooks – Review & Excerpt

Kick Back & Review – Review & Excerpt

Lover of Big Books Cannot Lie – Review & Excerpt

My Girlfriend’s Couch – Review & Excerpt

Thestarslisten – Excerpt

July 31st

Book Lovers Reviews and Recommendations – Review & Excerpt

Cup of Tea Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews – Excerpt

Ebook Indulgence – Review

Friends Till The End Book Blog – Excerpt

Lisa Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

Reading Between the Wines Book Club – Excerpt

The Heathers Blog – Review & Excerpt

August 1st

3 degrees of fiction – Review & Excerpt

Between The Lines – Review & Excerpt

Book Lovers Hangout – Review & Excerpt

Desperately Seeking HEA’s Book Blog – Excerpt

Little Read Riding Hood – Review

Naughty and nice book blog – Review & Excerpt

Ramblings From This CHick – Review

The Book Boyfriend Addict – Review & Excerpt

August 2nd

Babbling Chatter Reads – Review & Excerpt

I’m A Sweet And Sassy Book Whore – Review

Jax’s Book Magic – Excerpt

Kiss and Tell Book Blog – Review & Excerpt

One-Click Chocolate Chick – Review & Excerpt

Reese’s Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Romance Schmomance – Review & Excerpt

Sentranced Jem – Review & Excerpt

August 3rd

Blushing babes are up all night – Review

Morning Books and Coffee – Review

Naughty Mom Story Time – Review & Excerpt

Nightbird Novels – Review

Romance Readers Retreat – Review

SA Clayton – Excerpt

Tales-of-a-bookworm23 – Review

The Divas Book Lounge – Review & Excerpt

 

 

About Rachel Van Dyken:

Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she’s not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.

She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband, adorable son, and two snoring boxers! She loves to hear from readers!

Website | Facebook | Twitter

 

 

Saving Beck by Courtney Cole…..Blog Tour & Review

 

Reminiscent of the beloved novels by Mary Kubica and Jodi Picoult comes a chilling portrayal of a son’s addiction and its harrowing effects on both him and his mother from New York Times bestselling author Courtney Cole. SAVING BECK is now available! Check out the excerpt below, and pick up your copy of SAVING BECK today!

 

SAVING BECK Synopsis:

There comes a time when offering your life for your child’s doesn’t work, when you realize that it’ll never be enough.

The cold needle in his warm vein was a welcome comfort to my son at first. But then it became the monster that kept us apart.

Heroin lied, and my son believed. It took him to a world where the last year didn’t happen, to a place where his father was still alive. What Beck didn’t understand was that it couldn’t bring his father back from the dead. It couldn’t take away his pain, not permanently.

You think it can’t happen to you, that your kids, your family, will never be in this situation.
I thought that too. But you’re wrong.

Step into our world, and see for yourself.
Watch my golden boy become a slave to this raging epidemic. Watch me try and save him.

Drug addiction comes with a price.
Trust me, you’re not equipped to pay it.

Don’t miss this heart wrenching, evocative, yet hopeful novel—it will leave you forever changed.

 

Grab your copy of SAVING BECK here!

Amazon Hardcover | Kindle | Nook | Barnes & Noble Hardcover

iBooks | B-A-M | Kobo | IndieBound | Audible

 

 

 

EXCERPT

 

The nurse grasps my arm, and I can’t stand anymore. My legs are tired and the adrenaline… it numbs me. I collapse beside her and she tries to hold me up, but she can’t… I’m on the ground.
My face is wet, when did I start crying?
“You have to save my son,” I beg her, my fingers curled into her arm. I stare into her eyes. Hers are green, ringed with blue, and she looks away. Something about her seems so familiar, something about those eyes.
“We’ll try, ma’am,” she says uncertainly. It’s the uncertainty that kills me. “We’ll do everything we can. I’m going to take you to a quiet room, and give you a blanket. Is there anyone I can call for you?”
I shake my head. “No. I already called my sister.”
“Okay,” the nurse says quietly and her name tag says Jessica. She takes me to a waiting room, a quiet private one, the ones they use when the outcome might not be good. I know that because I’ve been here before.
I swallow hard and she puts a cup of coffee in my hand.
As she does, she pushes a stray hair out of her face and her bracelet catches my eye. A simple chain with a silver dolphin on it. I’ve seen it before.
“You were here the night my husband was brought in,” I realize slowly. “Weren’t you? Do you remember me?”
It was a year ago. A year, two months… I check my watch… six days and twenty-two hours ago. Of course she doesn’t remember me.
But Jessica nods.
“I’m so sorry about your husband,” she tells me now, her voice quiet and thick. “I swear to you, we did everything we could.”
“I know,” I tell her. Because I do. The accident was so bad, there’s no way anyone could’ve survived. Except for Beck. He lived. But Matt…his injuries were insurmountable. That’s what the doctor told me that night.

Add it to your Goodreads Now!

 

 

 

5+++++++++++ Stars

If I could, I would give this book ALL THE STARS!!!!

I knew going into this book that it was going to be an emotional read for me. I knew that going in, this book was loosely based on Courtney and her son’s battle with addiction. Watching a loved one battle any addition in any way, is so hard for those of us standing on the side lines wanting to help and having no idea what to do.

I had tears in my eyes at the dedication and they were only the beginning of the many tears I shed reading this book. They were lots tears from so many different emotions; the biggest tears were from empathy.

I won’t go into details on this book. Just know that this book is powerful. Even though it’s a work of fiction, Courtney’s words telling a harrowing tale of mother’s love wanting to save her son with everything she has. When you feel that same desperation, that same anxiety and hopelessness as Natalie does in this book – you become her – you empathize with her.

Courtney delivers an emotional story on how easily opioids sink their claws into a person and quickly turn them into an addict. It’s a raw and honest look at how drugs easily alter an addict’s mind and personality and turn them into a totally different person.

This book is brutally honest and will dig deep into your soul. You won’t be the same after reading it and you won’t look at addiction the same way either. Addiction is an ugly disease that takes away everything from not just the addict, but their loved ones too.

If there is one book you read this year, let it be this one. Your emotions will run the gamut and in the end, leave you feeling hopeful – yes, hopeful. Your eyes, heart and soul will forever be changed.

 

 

 

 

About Courtney Cole:

Courtney Cole grew up in rural Kansas and now lives with her husband and kids in Florida, where she writes beneath palm trees and is still in love with the idea of magic and happily-ever-after. She is the author of Saving Beck.

 

 

 

 

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The Museum of Mysteries by Steve Berry and M.J. Rose…Excerpt Blog Tour Stop

 

Cassiopeia Vitt takes center stage in this exciting novella from New York Times bestsellers M.J. Rose and Steve Berry. THE MUSEUM OF MYSTERIES is now available! Check out the tour below, and pick up your copy of THE MUSEUM OF MYSTERIES today!

 

THE MUSEUM OF MYSTERIES Synopsis:

In the French mountain village of Eze, Cassiopeia visits an old friend who owns and operates the fabled Museum of Mysteries, a secretive place of the odd and arcane. When a robbery occurs at the museum, Cassiopeia gives chase to the thief and is plunged into a firestorm.

Through a mix of modern day intrigue and ancient alchemy, Cassiopeia is propelled back and forth through time, the inexplicable journeys leading her into a hotly contested French presidential election. Both candidates harbor secrets they would prefer to keep quiet, but an ancient potion could make that impossible. With intrigue that begins in southern France and ends in a chase across the streets of Paris, this magical, fast-paced, hold-your-breath thriller is all you’ve come to expect from M.J. Rose and Steve Berry.

 

Grab your copy of THE MUSEUM OF MYSTERIES here!

Amazon | iBooks | B&N | GooglePlay | Kobo

 

Excerpt:

Movement to the left caught my attention.

A form sprang from the trees and shoved me to the ground, the weight of a body forcing my face into the wet dirt. I decided to kick and roll, taking my attacker with me, and caught a quick glimpse of the face.

Hildick-Smith.

Interesting he’d not used his gun. Instead, he’d opted for hand-to-hand. No nerve? Or something else? An underestimation? Maybe. But enough playtime. I thrust my legs upward and recoiled his body off me, his head ending up on my belly. I shoved him off to the muddy ground, but not before driving a quick jab of my left fist into his windpipe. I sprang to my feet as he gasped, trying to find air to breathe. But I’d been careful. The force had been just enough to get his attention, but not enough to kill him.

I spat the mud from my mouth and asked, “Was all this necessary?”

He pushed himself up into a sitting position, his breathing still stabilizing. “I must…have…that box.”

Which was nowhere to be seen. “Where is it?”

He motioned and I saw the knapsack propped near the trunk of a tree. “Over there.”

My best option for learning what was going on seemed to be conciliatory. He was tall, gangly, maybe mid-thirties, with a thick black mat of hair, wet and not combed in any particular direction. Clearly he wasn’t all that good at stealing, fleeing, or fighting. Nothing about him seemed even remotely dangerous. I stood and retrieved the knapsack, laying it on the ground beside him. Trees overhead shielded us from the majority of the rain.

“That box doesn’t belong to you.”

“Yes, it does.”

“Not according to my friend, Nicodème.”

“I tried to buy it from him. It belongs to my family. Your friend, Nicodème, bought it a few years ago in Paris at an auction house once half owned by my family. The box should have never been placed for sale. Someone did that hoping I wouldn’t notice. But I did. It’s how I knew your friend owned it.”

“And who would do that?”

“That’s what I am trying to find out.”

 

 

Add it to your Goodreads Now!

 

Steve Berry & MJ Rose’s THE MUSEUM OF MYSTERIES – Review & Excerpt Tour Schedule:

July 18th

Book Junkie Reviews – Excerpt

Literature Goals – Review & Excerpt

July 19th

Clarissa Reads It All – Review & Excerpt

Read-Love-Blog – Excerpt

July 20th

Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Smut Book Junkie Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt

July 21st

Ginreads – Review & Excerpt

Simply Crystal – Review & Excerpt

July 22nd

Cinta Garcia de la Rosa – Excerpt

Wild and Wonderful Reads – Review & Excerpt

July 23rd

Puja Mohan – Review

We do what we want Book reviews and more – Review & Excerpt

July 24th

A Book Nerd, a Bookseller and a Bibliophile – Review & Excerpt

Rachel Loren’s Love of Reading – Review & Excerpt

July 25th

Book Lovers Hangout – Review & Excerpt

CJR the Brit – Review

KDRBCK – Review & Excerpt

July 26th

Forward Writes – Review

What Is That Book About – Excerpt

July 27th

Jax’s Book Magic – Excerpt

Shelf_Life – Review

 

 

About Steve Berry:

STEVE BERRY is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of fourteen Cotton Malone novels and four stand-alones. He has 23 million books in print, translated into 40 languages. With his wife, Elizabeth, he is the founder of History Matters, which is dedicated to historical preservation. He serves on the Smithsonian Libraries Advisory Board and was a founding member of International Thriller Writers, formerly serving as its co-president.

 

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About M. J. Rose

New York Times bestseller, M.J. Rose grew up in New York City mostly in the labyrinthine galleries of the Metropolitan Museum, the dark tunnels and lush gardens of Central Park and reading her mother’s favorite books before she was allowed. She believes mystery and magic are all around us but we are too often too busy to notice… books that exaggerate mystery and magic draw attention to it and remind us to look for it and revel in it.

Please visit her blog, Museum of Mysteries at http://www.mjrose.com/blog/

Rose’s work has appeared in many magazines including Oprah magazine and she has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, Time, USA Today and on the Today Show, and NPR radio. Rose graduated from Syracuse University, spent the ’80s in advertising, has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and since 2005 has run the first marketing company for authors – Authorbuzz.com

Rose lives in Connecticut with her husband the musician and composer, Doug Scofield.

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Broken Love Story by Natasha Madison…Blog Tour & Review

Title: Broken Love Story
Series: Love Series #3
Author: Natasha Madison
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: July 10, 2018
Kindle Unlimited

 

Samantha: 
 
I had the perfect life; a husband who loved me, and two kids who were my world. 
 
Until someone else answered his phone and my perfect life shattered. 
 
When he died, I was left with answers he couldn’t give me and a box full of lies. 
 
He left me broken. 
 
 
Blake: 
 
I fell in love when I was fifteen, knowing she was the one. 
 
For five years, she was my everything—my every breath, every heartbeat, every thought. 
 
She made me promise to move on, promise to find love again, but I broke those promises because I can’t move on. 
 
Two broken souls brought together by tragedy and heartbreak. 
Can a broken love story be fixed?

Oh this story broke me so much more than the first book in this trilogy and I loved it!! Sounds crazy but I love when an author is able to make me feel so much in books.

The title pretty much explains this book – your heart will get broken but Madison does mend it right back up. I was so very excited to read this story since the beginning because I wanted to see what Samantha had endured during this all this. Before I continue – let me clarify that you must read these books in order or you will be so lost and not understand everything.

As I was saying, this book is Samantha’s (and Blake’s) story. They are both broken souls who happen to drift one another when her husband is killed and she finds out that he has been cheating on her (this surprise is let out of the bag in the first book).

Not only does she have to mourn the death of her cheating husband, she has to live with unanswered questions and continue to do so while raising their two daughters. But that is not all that she has to deal with – her new start just gets worse (read the book to find out more). But through it all, she finds compassion and strength in Blake – a man who would not have entered her life had her husband not cheated on her with Blake’s sister. Oh yea – let the shit hit the fan!!

I won’t say anymore on this book. I feel like I have already given too much away, even though it’s pretty much what the synopsis gives you. LOL

Natasha writes a very enticing, heart-pounding romance where love is found in the most unexpected places. Some readers may feel that she did not grieve long enough and fell in love too fast (honestly, I am surprised that I don’t feel this way). But it’s Natasha’s writing that makes this all flow so smoothly and seamless that it feels natural.

This series is one I highly recommend to read. Just prepare for your heart to go through some beatings and need a few stiches in the end.

Samantha

Standing in front of the full-length mirror in my room, I smooth down my black skirt. My blond hair is tied up in a ponytail, my cheeks are sunken in more than normal, and the blackness around my eyes indicates I haven’t slept well since this whole thing happened. Since I found out that not only did my husband die, but that he also married someone else. 

I sit on the made bed and look down at my wedding band. My thumb of my right hand touches it, and the lone tear that falls out of my eye lands straight on it. “Mommy.” I look back at Lizzie, who is standing in the doorway wearing a black one-piece dress similar to mine with ballerina flats. 
My mother-in-law went shopping yesterday and bought us all new outfits for today. “We need to put our best foot forward,” she said as I watched her walk in with the six bags. “We can’t let people talk.”

I turned around and walked out of the room, going upstairs. Shutting myself in my bathroom with my back against the door, I cried quietly, trying to hide my sobs. “We can’t let people talk,” I whispered to myself. The hatred I had begun feeling when I remembered my husband.

Lizzie walks to the side of my bed and sits next to me. “I hate this dress,” she says when I put my hand around her shoulder and bring her to me, kissing her head.
“I know, baby,” I whisper, “but after today, it’s going to be all over.”

“That’s what Grandpa A said.” She mentions the name she calls my father-in-law. Grandpa A because you can’t get better than an A. 

“Is everyone ready?” I hear Ethan yell from downstairs. “The limo is picking us up in twenty.”

“Let’s go, baby,” I tell her, getting up and holding her hand while we walk downstairs. My in-laws are both sitting in the kitchen. My mother-in-law in a black skirt and top while my father-in-law has on a black suit. “Where is Daisy?” I ask them.

“Elliot is upstairs changing her. She spilled milk on her dress,” Judy tells me, looking at Lizzie. “You look like such a big girl.” She blinks her tears away.

Elliot comes down the stairs with Daisy on his hip, smiling at me when he walks in. “Okay, you girls go sit in the living room while us grown-ups talk,” my father-in-law says, and the girls both know to leave the room. When he knows they are both out of earshot, he starts. “Today is going to be tough, tough for us all, but we have to stand together. We have to be the family that we are.” I lean against the counter while he talks. “The situation with the other one has been taken care of, and she has been served papers.” I look at him and then at Elliot and Ethan, both of them looking down when our eyes meet. It’s almost as if they feel guilty for meeting this woman. My father-in-law continues, “After all this is done today, we are meeting with the lawyers in person, so we can go over the will, start the paperwork for the insurance, and make sure she doesn’t touch a thing that belongs to him.” I stop listening at this point, turning to look out the window at the backyard.

The swing set that he built in one day to make sure the kids could use it when he left the next day. The patio set he had delivered to us, so I could have somewhere to sit while I watched the girls while he was living with another woman. I shake my head, walking out of the room. I sit on the couch, and the girls come to sit next to me, one on each side. “Today is going to be really hard,” I whisper to them, “but we have to be strong for Daddy.” They both look at me, their eyes exactly like their father’s. “But, if at any time, you need to leave or you need me… I don’t care who is talking to me or who is around; you come and get me.”
“Grandpa A said we had to sit and wait,” Daisy whispers just as Elliot comes into the room and kneels in front of us.

“What is this meeting about?” he asks, smiling at us. The circles around his eyes are just as black as ours. He hasn’t left our house since this happened. 

“Mommy said if we need her that we can go to her,” Daisy says, looking at him and then me, “even if Grandpa A said no.”

He leans in, whispering, “You can come to me too, and I’ll make sure that you get Mommy.” 

“Okay,” Lizzie and Daisy both whisper at the same time, and then the doorbell rings.
We get up, put our jackets on, and one by one file into the black limo that has come to take us to the funeral home. We arrive before everyone else. “We get an hour with him, and then they will open the door,” Adrian says as Judy grabs her tissue and dabs her eyes. 

I look around the funeral home. I’m not sure what I’m looking for, not sure where he is. I haven’t seen him since he kissed me goodbye four days earlier. His last words to me were, “Call you when I can.” That phone call never came.

I follow my in-laws to the big brown door that is closed. “I want to go in before the girls.” Everyone turns to look at me.

“We can keep them in the lobby,” says the lady who greeted us at the door. She told me her name, but I just didn’t listen. 

I nod at her as she turns to ask the girls if they want hot chocolate. Daisy’s eyes get big as Lizzie turns to look at me. I nod my head, giving her permission, so she can go with the woman.
The doors open, and I don’t even know what to expect. I’ve never been to a funeral. Never known anyone well enough to pay my last respects. Judy and Adrian walk in first, followed by Ethan, and Elliot waits with me. I step foot into the room, and it’s so cold that I shiver. The smell of flowers hits me right away, making me turn my head. The number of flowers and wreaths shocks me; the whole room is almost full. Some wreaths blocking others. Rows and rows of brown chairs line the room, all facing toward the front of the room. My eyes land on the brown wooden casket at the front of the room. The open half showing you the white satin inside. I walk down the aisle toward him, and then my eyes land on him. Eric. I can’t take another step forward because my knees give out, and I fall. Elliot isn’t fast enough to hold me up, and my knee lands with a thud. But the pain doesn’t matter because nothing could take the place of the pain in my heart. The sound of wailing fills the room as I look up at my dead husband. 

I feel arms around me; I feel myself lifted; I feel myself almost floating. He isn’t the Eric who kissed me goodbye; he isn’t the Eric who I made promises to; he isn’t the Eric who made all my dreams come true. This isn’t him.

The man with makeup caked on his face isn’t my Eric. My sobs overtake my body as I look at him, expecting him to open his eyes. Expecting something, anything but this. “I want the casket closed,” I say, my voice soft. “I want it closed.”

“Samantha,” my father-in-law starts, “it’s—”

I shake my head. “I don’t want the kids to see him like that,” I say softly. I know that for me they wouldn’t even consider it, but for the girls, they would move heaven and earth. “They need to remember him alive and smiling, not like that,” I say, pointing at the casket.

“Dad,” Ethan says after me, “I agree.” 

“Me too,” Elliot says from beside me. “Close it.”

He just nods at us, then walks to the man standing in the corner. The man looks at him as they have a hushed conversation and then just nods his head. “Do you need some water?” Ethan says to me, and I nod. I don’t bother listening to what else he says; instead, I get up and go to the casket. Standing before the brown box, I look at him, really look at him. You see some bruising under the makeup, and his nose is a little swollen. His hands are folded over his stomach, resting on his black suit. The suit he wore when we got married. Why? I ask him in my own head. Why did you do it? I ask him, hoping I can hear him whisper something to me, whisper anything back. To answer my questions, to give me something; anything to make me understand why he did what he did. Why he left me with so many fucking questions and not one answer. 

The man comes over to close the casket. Eric’s face disappears slowly, the shadow filling his face till the casket finally shuts. “I’m sorry for your loss,” the man says, nodding at me. “If at any time you want it open, we can open it back up.” I turn around now, looking at the chairs that will fill up as soon as the people start coming in. Ethan consoles my mother-in-law, and Elliot stands where we were just sitting, his hands in his pockets. 

“I’m getting the girls,” I tell them and then walk out with my head held high but my shoulders slumped. Defeated is a word that you use so many times not really understanding what can actually defeat you. I know now, my husband dying, him cheating on me, my kids without a father, my dreams of growing old with him gone. Beaten straight down to my core, straight down to my bones. 

I walk over to them as they look up. “Let’s go, girls,” I tell them as they both get up and walk to me. Lizzie takes one hand, Daisy takes the other, and we walk back into the room that holds a piece of our hearts. The room where their father lies, with no answers and no tomorrow.

We stand in that room for four hours while people come up to me and give me their condolences. I nod my head and play the part of the grieving wife. I am the grieving wife, but I’m also the wife whose husband didn’t love her enough to just be with her. The wife who knew her husband was slipping away but couldn’t catch it in time. The wife he said he would love and protect. The wife who stands here between his girls wishing that for one second he suffered horribly. The wife who has to pick up the fucking pieces and lie to her girls about what a great guy he was. The wife who, at the end of the day, just wasn’t good enough. 

We listen as people tell us how amazing he was, how much he loved his family, and how much he loved his girls. The whole time, I’m yelling on the inside, ready to stand in the middle of the room, throw my head back, and yell at the top of my lungs. But I don’t do what I want. I don’t tell them what a fraud my husband was. I don’t tell them that it was almost all lies. I don’t tell them that the day he died, they called his other wife and not me. I don’t tell them that I wasn’t the one with him when he died.

I stand here thinking about this other person—his other wife—and wonder how she would handle this. How she would be with my in-laws. Would she just let them control her and do everything for her? Would she want it to be open and weep for him beside the casket instead of standing next to it? 

I look around the room at all the people who came to pay their respects, and my eyes find someone I’ve never met before. Someone I’ve never seen before, and our eyes connect. His green eyes stare into mine as I watch him nod to me and turn to walk out. As he walks out of the crowded room, I strain my neck to watch his back. I don’t have long to think because Elliot comes up and whispers, “It’s time.”
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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