Weightless by Kandi Steiner…Release Day Blitz & Review

Title: Weightless

Author: Kandi Steiner

Genre: New Adult/Contemporary Romance

Release Date: June 16, 2016

I remember the lights.

I remember I wanted to photograph them, the way the red and blue splashed across his cold, emotionless face. But I knew even if my feet could move from the place where they had cemented themselves to the ground and I could run for my camera, I wouldn’t be able to capture that moment.

I had trusted him, I had loved him, and even though my body had changed that summer, he’d made sure to help me hold on to who I was inside, regardless of how the exterior altered.

But then everything changed.

He stole my innocence. He scarred my heart. He took everything I thought I knew about my life and fast-pitched it out the window, shattering the glass that held my world together in the process.

I remember the lights.

The passionate, desperate, hot strikes of red. The harsh, cruel, icy bolts of blue.

They symbolized everything I endured that summer.

And everything I would never face again.

Amazon | Goodreads

Ok. So I will probably be in the minority where I wasn’t in love with this book. I enjoyed reading this book. But where I can’t love it is the blurb doesn’t exactly fit the whole nature of this book. I was expecting a totally different story than what I got.

Kandi has always written great stories. Her plot lines are always interesting and keep you glued to your seat. Her characters are always intriguing and you can relate to them. And Kandi delivered this in Weightless. However, again I felt a little mislead with blurb.

Natalie is a girl a lot of us could probably relate to you in many ways. She struggles with her weight but has never let that hold her back. She’s always accepted her looks and has been comfortable with it.

Rhodes I am torn on. I had a harder time connecting to him because he seemed so wish washy. He’s a kid from the other side of the tracks, had run-ins with the law and grew up in foster homes. I kind of the got the feeling that Kandi was trying to make him seem like the dangerous type but when you are working on at the swanky country club, and no is afraid of you, it’s hard to keep that vibe going. So yea – he’s meh for me.

Rhodes becomes Natalie’s trainer at the gym. They slowly become friends and Natalie gets him to open up little by little. The majority of the book is watching their relationship develop, which I absolutely loved. Kandi wrote this portion of the book flawlessly. It’s why the book gets the 3.5 stars! These two know how to pull each other out from behind their walls. And watching them grow not just together but individually was amazing.

There’s another part to this story, which I won’t reveal, that I felt could have been more developed and made the book even better. This is where I was let down with the book. I felt the ending was too rushed and this portion of the plot was glazed over way too much. The blurb is based on this portion of the book and it only occupies a small part of the book – it’s misleading when the majority of the book is based on something else completely.

With that being said, the book is written beautifully and I loved it. I wish I could explain all the thoughts going on in my head. It’s almost like there was two different plots going on. The one was well developed and thought it, while the one that’s based on the blurb was glossed over and made not so important in the book. This is where I find myself struggling to rate this book higher.

“I just don’t understand,” he said as he began rolling the ball up my calf. I moaned out loud, realizing that area was packed with trigger points, as he had called them.

“Don’t understand what?” I asked, still holding my breath as he rolled over my other calf. I leaned up on my elbows and turned my head back to meet his eyes.

He paused, holding the ball in place as he gazed back at me. “How could I never have noticed you before?”

I swallowed, almost more afraid of the brief tenderness I caught in his eyes in that moment than the usual hardness that existed there.

Shrugging, I answered his question just above a whisper. “I’m easy to miss.”

I held his eyes for a moment more before laying my chest back to the ground, resting my head on my arms. He started rolling the ball up my hamstrings and I closed my eyes tight. I thought I might explode from the mixture of pain and pleasure that rocked through my body. After a few moments, he spoke again.

“Maybe I just wasn’t looking.”

“Kandi Steiner takes words and creates magic. A million stars aren’t enough. Weightless left me breathless.” – Brittainy C. Cherry, Amazon #1 Bestselling Author

“Weightless is so full of heart, it’ll spill off the pages and into your soul. One of my favorite contemporary romances of 2016.” – Bestselling Author Staci Hart

“Weightless is a book of FEELS. From the first to the last page, it’ll wrap you in emotion and hold you captive. Between the writing, the story, and the characters, it was simply unforgettable. A favorite read of 2016 for me.” – Angie, Angie’s Dreamy Reads

“Flawless. Phenomenal. Breathtaking. Weightless will undoubtedly be my top read of the year.” – Erin, Southern Belle Book Blog

“Weightless left me challenged and breathless. It’s an emotionally-charged story that carved a place in my soul. I knew Kandi could write, but this book takes it to a whole new level.” – Tina, Typical Distractions Book Blog

Kandi Steiner is a Creative Writing and Advertising/Public Relations graduate from the University of Central Florida living in Tampa with her husband. Kandi works full time as a social media specialist, but also works part time as a Zumba fitness instructor and blackjack dealer.

Kandi started writing back in the 4th grade after reading the first Harry Potter installment. In 6th grade, she wrote and edited her own newspaper and distributed to her classmates. Eventually, the principal caught on and the newspaper was quickly halted, though Kandi tried fighting for her “freedom of press.” She took particular interest in writing romance after college, as she has always been a die hard hopeless romantic (like most girls brought up on Disney movies).

When Kandi isn’t working or writing, you can find her reading books of all kinds, talking with her extremely vocal cat, and spending time with her friends and family. She enjoys beach days, movie marathons, live music, craft beer and sweet wine – not necessarily in that order.

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Website | Goodreads

Bet On Me by Rachel Higginson…Release Day Blitz

Today is the release day for Rachel Higginson’s BET ON ME! I am so excited to share this fantastic contemporary romance with you! Grab your copy today and be sure to enter Rachel’s giveaway!

About Bet on Me:

One night. One big mistake. One boy that changes everything.

Britte Nichols has a plan.

And it’s a good one. College. Med School. Illustrious career. Then maybe a husband. Possibly children, but she doesn’t want to get ahead of herself.

Britte decided at a young age that she wasn’t going to let love get in the way of her future. She has things to do. Places to go and all that.

Until the night she has one too many drinks and lets lust override logic.

Beckett Harris is gorgeous, talented and completely bad for her. But she wasn’t the only one feeling fireworks that night. Now Beckett wants to explore their chemistry and his timing couldn’t be more inconvenient.

Her heart wants what her head knows she can’t have. But a girl has needs. So when Beckett bets her a few weeks of harmless fun, she wants to say yes.

She’ll just have to bet that Beckett doesn’t fall for her too.

Buy Links:

Amazon | ibooks | Kobo | Smashwords

Exclusive Excerpt:

Other students had dressed warmer than me, apparently prepared for the day to continue dipping toward frozen. I’d grabbed my huge blanket scarf, but opted to leave my coat at home.

Stupid.

Stupid mistake.

Still, the kids I passed, had their heads dipped low and their arms wrapped around their bodies as they fought against the wind on their way to class or the cafeteria.

“Nichols!” A muffled shout carried on the wind. I could have almost believed I’d imagined it. But then I heard it again. “Nichols!”

I turned around, and the wind hit the back of my head, but I could hear clearly. “Britte!”

My gaze moved to the source of the sound. Beckett. Shit.

It was too late to pretend I hadn’t heard him now. Even though I could have gotten away with it just three seconds earlier. Damn, why had I turned?

He wore a goofy grin on his face, and a maroon and gray school polo beneath a black fleece zip up. He jogged toward me, and I realized how unfair life was.

It shouldn’t be so difficult to turn around and walk away from him. I had acted like the biggest idiot the other night. Surely he hated me.

And if he didn’t, he should. I wasn’t too self-absorbed to realize he had done nothing wrong except been oblivious to all of my issues. I’d bit his head off for just mentioning my mom.

There was no way he could have understood the deeper issues I had with her and why it was so impossible for me to ever see her or speak to her. He assumed the entire world revolved like his world, where everything was set out perfectly before you and opportunities just fell into your lap.

Beckett was in grad school with the perfect job lined up for him. And if he didn’t want that job, he could chase his dream job instead and be a coach. Sure, he was having an existential crisis, but it was between two fantastic options.

And no matter what, his picture-perfect family would be there to support him through everything.

Sure, I had the support system in my dad too. But my future was less certain, less neatly lined up. My future was not a Hallmark movie.

It was a series on the Disaster Channel.

Oh, there wasn’t such a thing? Because nobody wanted to watch tragedy after calamity after catastrophe. It was painful.

He stopped in front of me, shoving his hands into his pockets and keeping his boyish smile. “Hey.”

I should have just opened my mouth and apologized. That would have been the right thing to do. But I was so confused why he wasn’t avoiding me, that I stood there awkwardly until he raised his eyebrows. Then I managed a smoothly brilliant, “Hey.”

He was unfazed. “Just get done with class?”

I shifted my bag on my shoulder. “Yep.”

He took a big enough breath that his shoulders lifted and for the first time since he’d arrived, I realized he wasn’t unflappable. He didn’t know what to do with this strained energy between us anymore than I did.

No, that was a lie.

I knew I should apologize. I just wasn’t going to.

He glanced over his shoulder. “I have work to do. That’s why I’m here.”

My chin jutted forward. “I recognized the polo.”

His eyes glanced down at his chest as if just remembering what he was wearing. “Oh, right.”

Silence followed and stretched and thickened the air between us.

“I have to work tonight too,” I said just by way of filling up the space. “In like an hour.”

“Is Ellie working with you?”

I nodded. “Yep.”

He shook his head, and the smile reappeared. “I don’t know what Ty is thinking always scheduling you two together. You’re trouble.”

I bit my lip to keep from smiling. I had wondered the same thing more than once. “He loves us. And he loves our trouble.”

“It’s pathetic what you two do to men.”

I didn’t know how to reply to that, so I didn’t. We honestly didn’t really do anything to men. Other than mess things up with them.

Or maybe that was just me.

Ellie seemed to be doing fine with her man.

“Hey, Beckett, about the other night—”

He waved me off, “Don’t worry about it, Britte. I get it. I had no idea what I was talking about, and I shouldn’t have assumed my advice was welcome.”

“Well…” I had already started in on an argument to tell him the very same thing so when his words finally penetrated my brain, I didn’t know where to go next. “Yeah, er, right.”

His smile stretched to his eyes. “I’m the one that’s sorry, Britte. But you should know it might happen again. We’re just getting to know each other. I’m going to try to not stay stupid stuff. But odds are not in my favor.”

A smile finally broke free on my face. “You still want to get to know me?”

He took a step forward, “You’re kidding right? That’s pretty much all I want to do…get to know you…” His fingers brushed down my arm. “Every single piece of you.”

His hand encircled my wrist, and I suddenly found it difficult to breathe. And had I been complaining about the cold? Because now I was pretty sure I was burning up from the inside out.

His touch seared through me, straight to the bone. I found it comforting and unnerving and distracting and centering all at once. My emotions whirled through me like a brewing storm, dark on the horizon, filled with heavy weather and bursts of bright lightning.

“I don’t like how we ended our time together the other night,” he murmured, stepping closer.

His hold on my wrist felt like an anchor now. There was a part of me that wanted to run…to escape this intense moment that went against everything I had decided about Beckett and a relationship with him.

But his touch kept me in place. His touch erased doubt and concern and fear.

“What do you mean?” I managed to ask.

His head dipped toward mine. “I let you go,” he whispered. “When I should have chased after you.”

I closed my eyes against the assault of intense emotions. It was too much. Beckett was too much.

His lips brushed against mine, whispering words that made my heart pound in my chest and my skin tingle with anticipation. “And I should never have let you leave without this.”

And then he was kissing me and stealing all reason and logic and rational thought. I melted into him without a fight…without resistance.

He kissed me, and I kissed him back. That was it. Like it was supposed to happen all along. Like I was meant to kiss him. Like I was created just to bring his lips happiness.

His hand moved from my wrist to my waist, tugging me against him at the same time he tilted his head to deepen the kiss. Our tongues tangled together in blissful connection, and I made a sound in the back of my throat that I should have been embarrassed of.

It only encouraged him, though. His other hand joined the first on my waist, holding me against him until I felt his entire body pressed up against mine, all hardened muscle, and masculine power. I felt soft against him, delicate and feminine, but powerful in the same breath.

There was something about his hardness against my softness that gave me the advantage, not him. I felt it wash over him as his fingers curled into my hips and his kisses became hungrier…greedier.

My hands landed on his chest and then slowly smoothed over his shoulders to entwine around his neck. This position was better. This position let me feel him even more. My nipples tingled where they pressed into his chest and my belly burned with something primitive and needy.

His teeth bit into my lower lip, but his tongue was quick to follow, soothing the sting. I mimicked him a minute later, letting my teeth sink into his full bottom lip, enjoying the feel of it before running my tongue over the same spot.

He made a growly sound and tipped me back, supporting my weight with one hand on my lower back and the other cupping my nape, holding my head in place.

His kissed moved over my cheek, along the curve of my jaw and down my neck until he found the hollow of my throat. His tongue dipped into that spot and then he sucked, hard. I laughed, surprised by the sensation.

His chest rumbled with laughter too, but then he was kissing lower, brushing the tops of my breasts through my scarf and sweater. My fingers dug into his hair, desperate for support. I felt his smile as he slowly kissed his way back to my mouth, enjoying every single inch of me.

With one final, sweet kiss on my lips, he pulled back so he could stare down at me, still holding me to him, still keeping me wrapped in his strong, firm arms.

Looking up at him was like staring directly at the sun. He was too bright…too hot. His lids were only half-raised, droopy with lust and warmth. His pupils were dilated, nearly blocking out that heated gray. His smile was seductively crooked, promising wicked secrets I was desperate to know.

How could this gorgeous man be real?

He belonged in a romance novels and chick flicks.

I blinked, realizing that I didn’t. I wasn’t fiction worthy. I was bookish and awkward and neurotic. I also realized that we were standing in the middle of campus and that people had had to move around us while we made out on the sidewalk like two horn dogs.

I cleared my throat and stepped back. “I have to go to work.”

His hands grabbed mine, holding on loosely. “Me too.”

I licked my lips. “I’d rather keep doing that, though.”

His gaze dropped to my mouth. “Me too.”

I didn’t know what to say after that, so I took another step back, and our fingers reluctantly let go of each other.

“Bye, Beckett.”

Those heavy gray eyes lifted to mine. “I’ll text you later, Britte.”

I nodded, biting my lip to hide my smile. “I figured.”

His mouth kicked up in a half smile. “Good.”

I turned around quickly, afraid that if I stood there for a second longer with him staring at me like that, I would throw myself on top of him, wrap my legs around him like a spider monkey and attack his face with my mouth.

About Rachel Higginson:

Rachel Higginson is the author of The Five Stages of Falling in Love, Every Wrong Reason, The Star-Crossed Series, Love & Decay Novella Series and much more!

She was born and raised in Nebraska, and spent her college years traveling the world. She fell in love with Eastern Europe, Paris, Indian Food and the beautiful beaches of Sri Lanka, but came back home to marry her high school sweetheart. Now she spends her days writing stories and raising four amazing kids.

Connect with Rachel:

Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/rachelhigginsonauthor/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mywritesdntbite/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Mywritesdntbite

Website: http://www.rachelhigginson.com/

Enter Rachel’s Giveaway:

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Unchained by Elisabeth Naughton…Blog Tour Stop & Excerpt

Elisabeth Naughton’s UNCHAINED is a Fantasy/Paranormal Romance novella in Elisabeth’s bestselling Eternal Guardians Series that you will not want to miss. UNCHAINED is a standalone novella, brought to you by the amazing team at 1001 Dark Nights. Be sure you grab your copy of this novella today!

Amazon ** Paperback

ABOUT UNCHAINED:

PROMETHEUS – One of the keenest Titans to ever walk the earth. Until, that is, his weakness for the human race resulted in his imprisonment.

For thousands of years, Prometheus’s only certainty was his daily torture at Zeus’s hand. Now, unchained by the Eternal Guardians, he spends his days in solitude, trying to forget the past. He’s vowed no allegiance in the war between mortal and immortal, but when a beautiful maiden seeks him out and begs for his help, he’s once again powerless to say no. Soon, Prometheus is drawn into the very conflict he swore to avoid, and, to save the maiden’s life, he must choose sides. But she has a secret of her own, and if Prometheus doesn’t discover what she’s hiding in time, the world won’t simply find itself embroiled in a battle between good and evil, it will fall in total domination to Prometheus’s greatest enemy.

Excerpt:

“Who are you? And how did you get here?”

This was where she needed to be careful. Circe slowly pushed to her feet and brushed the thick curls over her shoulder. If he suspected too much, all her efforts would be for naught. She had to play this cool, had to stick to the plan, had to wait for just the right moment to strike.

“My name is Keia.” Not entirely a lie, she figured. For thousands of years, humans had called her a goddess pharmakeia, which was just a fancy nickname for witch or sorceress. She was simply borrowing from that label. “But I am not here. I am only an apparition.”

“I don’t believe you.” Prometheus stalked forward. He reached out to grab her but his wide palm and long fingers passed through nothing but air.

His hazel eyes widened as he looked from his hand back to her. “What the hell?”

He was only a few inches taller than her nearly seven feet, but he was bigger everywhere. A wall of solid steel that stood between her and eternity. Power radiated from his broad shoulders and chiseled muscles. A power that made her heart beat faster and her blood warm in a way it hadn’t done in ages.

His dark hair was cut short, his jaw strong and square and covered by three days worth of stubble that made him look both dangerous and sexy. He was thousands of years old—like her—but he didn’t look a day over thirty. And when his eyes narrowed and his luscious lips thinned, she had an overwhelming urge to dive into his mouth to find out if he tasted as good as he looked.

“How did you find me?” he said. “What do you want with me?”

Circe blinked, his voice pulling her back to the moment. She’d not been sexually attracted to anyone in so long, she’d forgotten what that rush of excitement felt like. Then again, she’d not had the chance to be attracted to anyone. Zeus kept her locked up tight and had for way too long.

Focus. Sexy as hell you can use to your advantage.

She lifted a foot-long length of heavy chain. “Look familiar?”

His face paled as he looked at the chain Zeus had used to bind him to that rock. The rock where he’d been tortured daily by a giant eagle that had torn into his side and consumed his liver day after day. “Where did you get that?”

“Find me and I’ll tell you.”

ABOUT ELISABETH NAUGHTON:

Elisabeth Naughton is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. From Elisabeth: “I was never one of those people who knew they wanted to be an author at the age of six. I didn’t have imaginary friends. I didn’t write stories in my journal or entertain my relatives by firelight after Thanksgiving dinner. For the most part, I was just a normal, everyday kid. I liked to read, but I wasn’t exceptional at it. And when my teachers complimented me on my writing abilities, I brushed them off. I did, however, always have a penchant for the unique and absurd. And as my mother told me all throughout my childhood, I should have been an actress—I was a drama queen before my time.Visit Elisabeth Naughton’s website.

Website**Facebook**Twitter**Author Goodreads**Novella Goodreads

Elisabeth Naughton’s UNCHAINED – Review & Excerpt Tour Schedule:

June 15^th

Coffee-Books-Life Blog – Review & Excerpt

Read-Love-Blog – Excerpt

Reads All the Books – Review & Excerpt

June 16^th

Happy Tails and Tales Blog – Review & Excerpt

Paranormal Book Boyfriends – Excerpt

Vagabonda Reads – Review & Excerpt

Roxy’s Reviews – Excerpt

June 17^th

Write for Your Life – Review & Excerpt

Love Affair With Fiction – Excerpt

Obsessive Reading Disorder – Review & Excerpt

June 18^th

I Smell Sheep – Excerpt

Ash P Reads – Review & Excerpt

Becky on Books – Excerpt

June 19^th

Boundless Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Indy Book Fairy – Excerpt

Sofia Loves Books – Review

June 20^th

WTF Are You Reading? – Review & Excerpt

Deanna’s World – Review & Excerpt

Have Words Will Scribble – Review & Excerpt

Books Are My Friends Come See Why – Review

June 21^st

The Recipe Fairy – Review & Excerpt

SBB Reviews – Review

A Fortress of Books – Review & Excerpt

Paragraphs and Petticoats – Review & Excerpt

June 22^nd

The Romance Reviews – Review

Vampire Book Club – Excerpt

Majorly Delicious – Review & Excerpt

What Is That Book About – Excerpt

June 23^rd

Dark Faerie Tales – Review & Excerpt

Collector of book boyfriends – Excerpt

The Reading Cafe – Review

June 24^th

T&L Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Romance Book Nerd – Excerpt

Alphas Do It Better Book Blog – Review

Jax’s Book Magic – Excerpt

G & T’s Indie Café – Excerpt

Books 2 Blog – Review & Excerpt

Stealing Home by Nicole Williams….Cover Reveal

Coming July 10th

Pre-order exclusively on iBooks HERE

Add to your Goodreads shelf now.

Being the only woman working for a professional baseball team isn’t easy. As the San Diego Shock’s newest athletic trainer, Allie knows all about long hours, endless travel, and warding off players’ advances. Given she’s already the subject of a handful of rumors about how “lucky” she was to have earned such a coveted position, she can’t so much as flutter an eyelash a player’s way if she wants to be taken seriously.

But number eleven is doing more than fluttering eyelashes Allie’s way. Far more. Luke Archer is at the top of his game and doesn’t let the fear of striking out keep him from swinging. This is a motto he applies both on and off the field, but Allie appears immune, seeming to view Luke as nothing more than caution tape on legs.

He’s a player, and in Allie’s experience, they’re all the same. She won’t risk her job or her heart to another one, no matter how different this one claims to be. But as Allie gets to know him, she discovers the number eleven the public thinks they know is very different from the real Luke Archer. He seems too good to be true.

And maybe he is.

Allie will have to confront the stories attached to a player of Luke Archer’s stature and decide who she’ll put her faith in—The man she’s falling for? Or the rumors?

“Hey.” Archer slid next to me on the bench after jogging into the dugout.

“Hey,” I replied, trying to ignore that same mix of sweat and man closing in around me when he slid closer. Along with it came the hint of grass and leather. It should have been offensive, but it was the opposite. I loved this sport and everything that came with it—the scents included.

“So how do you like playing football?” I asked, keeping a straight face.

“Please, football players have it easy with all that padding and protection. I’m going to look like I got tuned up by a tire iron tomorrow.” He turned his forearms over, and I could already make out a few bruises breaking to the surface.

“You want something for the pain?” I reached down for my duffel bag.

“Do I ever want something for the pain?”

“Fine.” I tucked the bag back under the bench. The bruises weren’t bad—he’d survive.

“But I wouldn’t mind a nice deep-tissue massage later. Let’s say ten o’clock. My room. Clothing optional.” He kept his voice quiet, smirking at the field as the Rays threw a few warm-up balls.

“No pressure,” I said under my breath.

His smirk grew. “No pressure.”

When Coach paced down the dugout past us, Archer casually shifted farther down the bench from me, his smirk fading.

“I want to steal home.” Archer scooted back closer to me once Coach’s and the other players’ attention was on Hernandez stepping up to the plate.

“No one steals home anymore.”

“Doesn’t mean it can’t be done.”

His arm was brushing against mine, messing with my head. “Doesn’t mean it should be done either.”

“We need a run. We need a big play.” He sucked in a breath when Hernandez swung at the pitch . . . and missed. Strike one. “If Hernandez and Garfield can get on base and I hit a double or a triple, we’ll be in good shape.”

“Or you could just hit one of those homerun things you’re setting records for. That could work.” I glanced at him from the corners of my eyes.

He shook his head at me.

“Stealing home plate?” I repeated, realizing he was serious. “It’s like a one-in-a-thousand shot you’ll pull it off.”

“Never tell me the odds. It only makes me want to do it more.” His jaw ground when Hernandez chalked up another swing and a miss.

“Play it safe. I know you’re favoring your right leg.” My gaze dropped to his leg running down the length of mine. “I don’t know what you did to it, but I know it’s hurting. Don’t risk injuring it any more.” When his jaw set a little, I sighed. “Am I going to have to tell Coach?”

“I just twisted it weird. It’s fine. A little ice and rest and I’ll be good.”

“Is this when you tell me you’re going to walk it off?”

It wasn’t affecting his performance much, but he’d need speed and luck to steal home. With the way he was favoring his leg, speed was not in his corner tonight.

“No. This is when I show you I’m going to walk it off. Right after I add another point to our side of the scoreboard when I steal home.”

When Shepherd glanced down the bench, I reached into my duffel so it looked like I had a reason to be having a conversation with the star player. Instead of the real reason we were having a conversation.

“Don’t steal home,” I said once Shepherd’s attention went back to the game. When Archer sighed, I added, “Not as in not ever. Just wait until the time’s right. When you know you’ll be successful.”

He looked ready to argue when pitch number three sailed at Hernandez and he connected with the ball, sending a whizzing line-drive into left field. Hernandez turned on the jets and hauled to first base, making it right before the ball smacked into the first baseman’s glove.

The dugout let loose with a round of whistles and cheers.

“I’m on deck.”

“Good luck.” I nudged his leg with mine as he stood.

“Hey, I’ve got my lucky shirt on. I’m all set.” He slid off his ball cap and sailed it into my lap.

“Yeah, but it’s been washed a few times since I was in it. Not sure how much luck’s left in it.”

“I’m feeling pretty damn lucky.” He pinched at the shirt before slipping a batting helmet onto his head. “But don’t worry. I fully plan on having my jersey draped around your body again soon.”

My eyes wandered down the dugout. No one was watching—they were too busy holding their breaths as Garfield sauntered up to the plate.

“Don’t steal home.”

“Make me a better offer, and I’ll consider it.” He paused for a heartbeat, challenging me with his eyes. When my lips stayed sealed, he climbed the steps out of the dugout. “Home plate it is.”

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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Dark Mafia Prince by Annika Martin…Excerpt Reveal

We are thrilled to share an excerpt of Dark Mafia Prince by New York Times bestselling author, Annika Martin! Releases on June 28th!

Blurb:

Aleksio 
Don’t look at me like that. So trusting.
Like you think I’m not a monster.
Like I won’t wrap your hair in my fist and bend you to my will.
Like I won’t sacrifice you, piece by piece, to save my brother.
I’m the most dangerous enemy you’ll ever have because every time you look at me, you see somebody good. That friend who died.
And when you look at me like that, I die again.

Mira
I spent years making myself invisible.
A good girl, apart from the noise. Then you came back, beautiful and deadly in your Armani suit.
Don’t look at me like you still know me, you say.
But I remember your smile and those sunny days.
Before they lowered your small casket into the ground.
Before they told us the prince was dead.

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EXCERPT

The way he uses me is violent. Primitive. Demeaning. And all I can think is, don’t stop.

He warned me he was going to be rough. He warned me I’d feel alarmed when he shoved his cock all the way down my throat. I was ready for that.

I wasn’t ready for the names he would call me.

Or to be so wildly turned on by it all.

It’s as if we crossed over to the right side of wrong, and everything is too hot, and his cock is too huge, and I have too many clothes. I want him to lay me out and use me. I want him to do anything to me. Everything to me.

I pull back, knowing he’ll shove my head back onto his cock, and he does, fingers digging into my scalp.

My nipples rub on his legs, heating—from the friction, maybe—and I nearly get off. It’s pure madness. Usually I need a lot of help.

But this is Aleksio being Aleksio. He always went too far, and I always loved him for it.

I feel when he’s going to come.

“No teeth. Don’t you fucking…” He jerks into my throat. The orgasm goes on forever. He holds my head firmly in his grip, panting.

I move my tongue a tiny bit and he clutches my hair. “God! Don’t move.”

I feel dazed. Heart pounding. This was the wildest and most powerful sexual experience of my life and I didn’t even come.

“Okay,” he whispers after a while, gently extracting himself from me. I sit on the coffee table, wiping my mouth and striking the tears from my cheeks.

His eyes shine, and I know he felt power of what just happened. The mad connection. Deep down, I know that neither of us have been here before. He reaches out and brushes my hair from my forehead.

That’s when I see the gun in his other hand, dark and cold and black.

He was holding a gun? Why? Why would he need a gun?

“Don’t worry, the safety was on.” He puts it aside, eyes averted, and then he swipes his phone off the floor. He presses something. A red light goes off.

My mouth falls open. “What the hell? What did you do?”

“Saved your finger.”

Red. A record light.

He tucks himself in, zips himself up.

He recorded us? Why record us like that? With him holding a gun? Why would he want to make it look like he was being a violent asshole, forcing me to do that?

Suddenly everything in the room gets too bright, too real. “No!” I go for the phone.

He grabs my wrist, hauling me up off the couch with him. “Leave it.”

“You’re going to show that recording to him? No!” I try to twist free. “You can’t!”

He can and he will.

I’m flooded with shame for how much I enjoyed it. And Aleksio made a movie out of it! To frighten Dad!

“Fuck!” I jerk and twist, trying to get at the phone. “You can’t! Please.”

“Sorry.”

“Oh my God!”

That’s when Viktor comes in. He regards us calmly, like it’s no big deal Aleksio is manhandling me. Aleksio tosses the phone to his brother. “Play it.”

“No! Don’t!”

Viktor taps the screen.

“Don’t watch it!” I go for Viktor now, but Aleksio has me.

“You can’t send Dad that clip.”

“We’re not sending him your bloody finger, isn’t that what you wanted?”

Aleksio. So cool, so smooth. Like it meant nothing to him. And me like an idiot, getting off on his rough treatment. Making myself vulnerable to him. Showing him something I never even showed myself. I want to die.

Viktor pockets the phone. “Her severed finger would be more extreme. More urgency. But this is more pain for the old man.”

“You guys are animals!”

Aleksio tightens hold on me. “You need to be done going crazy or we’ll handcuff and gag you.”

“You have to erase it!”

“You prefer the finger? That’s what you’re saying here?”

I trusted Aleksio. I followed him somewhere extreme, and he ripped my heart open. Cutting off my finger seems tame in comparison.

“You’re thinking about it? Fuck! No. Fuck that.” He turns to Viktor. “Call and see if the sack of shit’s awake.”

ADD TO GOODREADS

About the Author:

Annika Martin is a NYT bestselling author who enjoys writing dirty stories about dangerous criminals! She loves helping animals and kicking snow clumps off the bottom of cars around the streets of Minneapolis, and in her spare time she writes as the RITA award-winning author Carolyn Crane.

Connect with Annika:

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Idol by Kristen Callihan….Review Tour

IDOL
VIP SERIES
By Kristen Callihan
Release Day: June 7, 2016

Libby

I found Killian drunk and sprawled out on my lawn like some lost prince. With the face of a god and the arrogance to match, the pest won’t leave. Sexy, charming, and just a little bit dirty, he’s slowly wearing me down, making me crave more.

He could be mine if I dare to claim him. Problem is, the world thinks he’s theirs. How do you keep an idol when everyone is intent on taking him away?

Killian

As lead singer for the biggest rock band in the world, I lived a life of dreams. It all fell apart with one fateful decision. Now everything is in shambles.

Until Liberty. She’s grouchy, a recluse —and kind of cute. Scratch that. When I get my hands on her, she is scorching hot and more addictive than all the fans who’ve screamed my name.

The world is clamoring for me to get back on stage, but I’m not willing to leave her. I’ve got to find a way to coax the hermit from her shell and keep her with me. Because, with Libby, everything has changed. Everything.

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1TWfxJV
iBooks: http://apple.co/1NMnNj8

So, I am being extremely brave by saying this, but this is my first Kristen Callihan book I have ever read. And my only question is WHY?? What rock have I been hiding under that I have not read any of her books before?!?!

I absolutely loved Idol. I have come to realize I have slight obsession with the rockstar romance, but it has to be written perfectly. Otherwise, I am extremely judgmental. And Kristen, well she rocks this one!!

Killian is part of the band Kill John. He becomes a lawn ornament on Liberty Bell’s lawn one day. And well, she gives him the welcome of a lifetime. Only to find out that he is also her new neighbor. However, she is unaware of who he is.

Libby tends to keep to herself and doesn’t get out much. She’s not exactly a hermit, but she’s definitely anti-social. Libby is dealing with the loss of her parents and has a hard time moving forward from that.

Killian is on “vacation” when he literally crashes into Libby (or her yard). His band is sort of working things out and he’s lost his feeling to play anymore. That is until one night he hears Libby and everything comes into focus.

Libby blows Killian way with her voice, song writing ability and her grace on the guitar. She lights the fire that he thought was gone. These two have amazing jam sessions and begin writing songs and music together.

Killian and the boys are ready to go back on tour and Killian pulls Libby out of her funk and brings her on the tour with them. Not just to be by side, but to help her realize that her music isn’t a hobby, but a talent that everyone needs to hear. But as with every relationships – there are many highs and lows, up and downs. Especially when both are in the lime light of fame.

What I loved most about this book was how mature these characters were. They didn’t play childish games. They didn’t allow the world to infiltrate them. And their relationship blossomed from a solid base. They didn’t just jump into bed together – it was a true connection that gave them something to see it was more than lust. Don’t get me wrong, the sex scenes were hot, but a lot of it had to do with the honest and real love they had that made these scenes even steamier.

Another part that pulled me to this book was how well the music was written in this book. It’s not just the mentioning of the songs, but their interpretations and the feelings and vibes each of those songs has to someone. I LOVED THAT!!!

All in all, this book is 100% perfect for me in the rockstar romance!!! It’s very well rounded and has so much awesomeness, I couldn’t put it down once I started. This book can be read as a standalone in this series. I can’t wait to see what Kristen brings us next!

EXCERPT

“You know,” I say conversationally, as I kick back, “I want to fuck you right now.”
Libby jerks as if pinched and sits a little straighter, before getting a hold of herself and slouching as if she’s completely chill. Cute.
She gives me a smirk and sips her water before drawling, “And what? Mark your territory? Assert your manly dominance?”
“Yep.” I slide my gaze to hers. “But mostly I just want to fuck you all the time.”
God, I love the way her lips part and body flushes with heat. So subtle, but there all the same. It makes me hard as steel, my balls squeezing tight. I don’t look at her but pretend I’m observing the room. The lights are dimming for the movie now, the empty chairs in front of us obscuring our lower halves.
Slowly my hand falls to space between us and smooths along her hip. She delicately shivers as my fingers trace down her thigh.
“What about you,” I murmur, lightly toying with her skirt in the darkening room. “You want to fuck me, baby doll?”
“Right now, I want to kick you,” she gets out between clenched teeth. “Keep your hands to yourself. There are nosy ass people everywhere.”
“They’re all watching the movie. Not us.” Focusing on the screen, I keep my expression neutral as I ease my hand under her skirt. Her skin is smooth and warm. The movie starts in a blast of music and the familiar old logo as I trace over her knee and up her soft thigh. “And that wasn’t a ‘no.’”
She makes a cute growl in the back of her throat, but her legs part just enough to give me room to delve between them. Her inner thighs are hot and damp, and my cock twitches.
The storyline rolls along, my touch idly roams. Libby remains utterly still but I can practically feel the tension vibrating within her. When the tip of my finger skims the crease where her thigh meets her hip, her breath catches, legs parting wider.
“Have I mentioned how much I appreciated this new skirt-filled wardrobe?” I whisper, lightly drawing circles along her skin.
“Brenna’s idea.” Her hips shift just a bit, following my touch. “Right now, I’m missing my shorts.”
I smile, my eyes on the screen, my fingers drifting to the edge of her panties. “Later, you can put them on and we’ll play ‘Fuck the Farmer’s Daughter.’”
She grunts, a stifled laugh, which turns to a strangled whimper when I pluck her panties. Her voice turns breathy. “I’m trying to watch the damn movie. I’m not interested in fooling around.” She moves a tiny fraction, nudging against my finger.
In the dark, I grin, heat and lust pulling my abs tight. “I’m sorry,” I say, not sorry at all, “But I don’t believe you. I’m gonna have to check.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kristen Callihan is an author because there is nothing else she’d rather be. She is a three-time RITA nominee and winner of two RT Reviewer’s Choice awards. Her novels have garnered starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly and the Library Journal, as well as being awarded top picks by many reviewers. Her debut book FIRELIGHT received RT Magazine’s Seal of Excellence, was named a best book of the year by Library Journal, best book of Spring 2012 by Publisher’s Weekly, and was named the best romance book of 2012 by ALA RUSA. When she is not writing, she is reading.

Website: http://www.kristencallihan.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KristenCallihan/?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kris10Callihan
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Kristen-Callihan/e/B00640PEVU/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_3?qid=1463012240&sr=8-3

Hitched by Kendall Ryan….Excerpt Reveal

Today we are bringing you the first look inside Kendall Ryan’s upcoming book HITCHED!

Marry the girl I’ve had a crush on my whole life? Check.

Inherit a hundred-billion-dollar company? Check.

Produce an heir… Wait, what?

I have ninety days to knock up my brand-new fake wife. There’s only one problem—she hates my guts.

And in the fine print of the contract? The requirement that we produce an heir.

She can’t stand to be in the same room with me. Says she’ll never be in my bed.

But I’ve never backed down from a challenge and I’m not about to start now.

Mark my words—I’ll have her begging for me, and it won’t take ninety days.

On the heels of her smash hit and New York Times bestselling SCREWED series, Kendall Ryan brings you HITCHED, a romantic comedy that delivers heart and heat. A NYC playboy turned business mogul has ninety days to win over the woman he’s always desired in order to save his father’s company. One tiny problem: She hates his guts.

Add to Goodreads

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Amazon | Amazon UK | iBooks | Nook | Paperback

I give him a skeptical look. “You want to show me your dick?”

“If it’ll help convince you.” He drains the last drops of his Scotch and stands up. “Come on, let’s go.”

I stare after him as he walks away.

Is he serious? He’s just going to whip it out? I look around to see if anyone is watching me, then I get up and follow him to the bar’s back hallway, near the restrooms, unable to comprehend why the hell I’m humoring him. This is ridiculous.

Once we’re safely in a private corner, Noah undoes his belt, opens his fly . . . and pulls out a fucking fire hose.

Holy mother of God. My hands fly to my mouth. I want to gasp in shock, but there’s no way I’m giving him the upper hand.

He was right. His cock is nothing short of massive, and it’s not even fully erect right now. Nine inches may actually be a conservative estimate of what it might look like hard. He must destroy men’s egos every time he walks into a locker room. And I don’t even want to think about what he destroys with women . . .

“Meh. I’ve seen bigger,” I force out, fighting to maintain my composure.

Noah chuckles. “I don’t think so, sweetheart.”

“Well, th-that monster is not coming anywhere near my uterus. No, thank you. I prefer to keep my organs intact.”

Noah’s grin widens. “I doubt that, but just to be on the safe side, I’ll ease it in nice and slow. Piece of cake. Plus, you’ve got good health insurance, right?”

“That is not funny, Noah. Now, put that thing away or I’ll remove it.”

I try to sound stern, but my shaking voice and bright red cheeks surely give me away. Why the hell can’t I stop staring?

He chuckles—yeah, the jerk can definitely see right through me—but he obliges, tucking the beast back into its lair.

A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than a dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold over 1.5 million books and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world. She’s a traditionally published author with Simon & Schuster and Harper Collins UK, as well as an independently published author. Since she first began self-publishing in 2012, she’s appeared at #1 on Barnes & Noble and iBooks charts around the world. Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than three dozen times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine.

Visit her at: www.kendallryanbooks.com for the latest book news, and fun extras

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Dirty Stolen Forever by Nazarea Andrews…Cover Reveal

Today we are having a cover reveal for DIRTY STOLEN FOREVER by Nazarea Andrews. This book will release July 11th and is up for pre-order. Dirty Stolen Forever is an adult contemporary romance, standalone novel, that is the second book in the Green County series.

Click here to add DIRTY STOLEN FOREVER to Goodreads

Title: Dirty Stolen Forever (Green County, 2)
Author: Nazarea Andrews
Release Day: July 11th

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Amazon

Book Blurb:

Colt Rayburn loved Aiden Delvin, once. A lifetime ago. Before duty and the Marines took him a world away, chewed him up and spit him out.
Aiden would have waited forever for Colt to come back. But Colt didn’t want that, and he’s rebuilt his life. Without the man he loves.
When Colt comes home from a deployment that went wrong, Aiden is there. Inexplicably back in Green County and impossible to resist. He swore he’d never go back to that place, never destroy Aiden the way he had when he walked away the first time.
But Aiden grew up and changed too, while Colt played war hero.
Both of them know what they want. After all this time. But can a love story that destroyed them once be rebuilt, when life and duty still hangs over them both…

Exclusive Excerpt:
Hell is being forced to look. To watch Colt from behind the lens of my camera, his sexy little smirk, and the not-quite bedroom smile, a soft twist of the lips that tugs hard at me.
It’s not the smile I got, after sex when we were lazy and he was half asleep against my shoulder. It’s just a little bit guarded. But it’s close enough.
Close enough that desire skitters like a living thing along my skin as I watch him.
I don’t have to tell him what to do. Colt was my first live subject, a lifetime ago. Photographing him is as easy as breathing, and as painful as stabbing knives.
I want to demand to know why he was pushing, in the USO building.
He had wanted to kiss me.
“Aiden!” Colt calls, and it snaps me from my thoughts. He looks amazing in a dark green t-shirt that’s too tight across his broad chest, and camo pants that hang like pure perfection on his lean hips.
He looks every inch the Marine.
When Colt told me he was leaving, I didn’t believe him.
And then he did, and it was so….wrong. So unbelievable, that I did the only thing I knew how to do—I shoved everything that remotely reminded me of him away. I left Green County, and I left Remi and Brian and Shelly. The family that had adopted me because Colt Rayburn loved me.
I left my favorite brother, and the entire world that I knew.
All of it was like a knife, straight to the gut, and when I got off that plane in New York, I pulled the knife out.
I let the wound heal.
Except.
There was always a piece that was left behind. The tip of the knife, broken off and lodged under my skin. Colt was lodged under my skin, and as much as I wanted to be free of him, I couldn’t be.
Even when I healed, and allowed myself to move on—even when I was with other people—Colt was with me. A part of me.
And now….
Now he’s here, and he’s giving me that smirk, all Marine Corps bad boy. The favorite son of Green County, the fucking war hero.
And it twists, that damn piece of Colt deep inside me, twists and it’s pure agony.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Nazarea Andrews (N to almost everyone) is an avid reader and tends to write the stories she wants to read. Which means she writes everything from zombies and dystopia to contemporary love stories. When not writing, she can most often be found driving her kids to practice and burning dinner while she reads, or binging watching TV shows on Netflix. N loves chocolate, wine, and coffee almost as much as she loves books, but not quite as much as she loves her kids. She lives in south Georgia with her husband, daughters, spoiled cat and overgrown dog. She is the author of World Without End series, Neverland Found, Edge of the Falls, and The University of Branton Series. Stop by her twitter (@NazareaAndrews) and tell her what fantastic book she should read next.

AUTHOR LINKS:

Idol by Kristen Callihan….Release Day Blitz

Libby

He could be mine if I dare to claim him. Problem is, the world thinks he’s theirs. How do you keep an idol when everyone is intent on taking him away?

Killian

As lead singer for the biggest rock band in the world, I lived a life of dreams. It all fell apart with one fateful decision. Now everything is in shambles.

Until Liberty. She’s grouchy, a recluse—and kind of cute. Scratch that. When I get my hands on her, she is scorching hot and more addictive than all the fans who’ve screamed my name.

The world is clamouring for me to get back on stage, but I’m not willing to leave her. I’ve got to find a way to coax the hermit from her shell and keep her with me. Because, with Libby, everything has changed. Everything.

AMAZON / iBOOKS

“You know,” I say conversationally, as I kick back, “I want to fuck you right now.”

Libby jerks as if pinched and sits a little straighter, before getting a hold of herself and slouching as if she’s completely chill. Cute.

She gives me a smirk and sips her water before drawling, “And what? Mark you territory? Assert your manly dominance?”

“Yep.” I slide my gaze to hers. “But mostly I just want to fuck you all the time.”

God, I love the way her lips part and body flushes with heat. So subtle, but there all the same. It makes me hard as steel, my balls squeezing tight. I don’t look at her but pretend I’m observing the room. The lights are dimming for the movie now, the empty chairs in front of us obscuring our lower halves.

Slowly my hand falls to space between us and smooths along her hip. She delicately shivers as my fingers trace down her thigh.

“What about you,” I murmur, lightly toying with her skirt in the darkening room. “You want to fuck me, baby doll?”

“Right now, I want to kick you,” she gets out between clenched teeth. “Keep your hands to yourself. There are nosy ass people everywhere.”

“They’re all watching the movie. Not us.” Focusing on the screen, I keep my expression neutral as I ease my hand under her skirt. Her skin is smooth and warm. The movie starts in a blast of music and the familiar old logo as I trace over her knew and up her soft thigh. “And that wasn’t a ‘no.’”

She makes a cute growl in the back of her throat, but her legs part just enough to give me room to delve between them. Her inner thighs are hot and damp, and my cock twitches.

The storyline rolls along, my touch idly roams. Libby remains utterly still but I can practically feel the tension vibrating within her. When the tip of my finger skims the crease where her thigh meets her lip, her breath catches, legs parting wider.

“Have I mentioned how much I appreciated this new skirt-filled wardrobe?” I whisper, lightly drawing circles along her skin.

“Brenna’s idea.” Her hips shift just a bit, following my touch. “Right now, I’m missing my shorts.”

I smile, my eyes on the screen, my fingers drifting to the edge of her panties. “Later, you can put them on and we’ll play ‘Fuck the Farmer’s Daughter.’”

She grunts, a stifled laugh, which turns to a strangled whimper when I pluck her panties. Her voice turns breathy. “I’m trying to watch the damn movie. I’m not interested in fooling around.” She moves a tiny fraction, nudging against my finger.

In the dark, I grin, heat and lust pulling my abs tight. “I’m sorry,” I saw, not sorry at all, “But I don’t believe you. I’m gonna have to check.”

About Kristen Callihan:

Kristen Callihan is an author because there is nothing else she’d rather be. She is a three-time RITA nominee and winner of two RT Reviewer’s Choice award. Her novels have garnered starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly and the Library Journal, as well as being awarded top picks by many reviewers. Her debut book FIRELIGHT received RT Magazine’s Seal of Excellence, was named a best book of the year by Library Journal, best book of Spring 2012 by Publisher’s Weekly, and was named the best romance book of 2012 by ALA RUSA. When she is not writing, she is reading.

WEBSITE / FACEBOOK / TWITTER / AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

Empire by Rachel Van Dyken….Blog Tour & Review

EMPIRE

BY Rachel Van Dyken

Release Date: May 31, 2016

Must Read ELUDE prior to Empire

SYNOPSIS:

I have lost everything.

My purpose

My love

My soul

Death knocks on my door, I want to answer, but every time I reach for the handle — the promise I made her brings me back.

So I breathe.

I live.

I hate.

And I allow the anger to boil beneath the surface of a perfectly indifferent facade. I am broken, I don’t want to be fixed.

But the Empire is crumbling and it’s my job to fix it.

My job to mend the pieces that were scattered over thirty years ago.

A trip to New York, only one chance to redeem a lost part of our mafia family.

The only issue is, the only way to fix it, is to do something I swore I’d never do again.

An arranged marriage.

Only this time,

I won’t fall.

Or so help me God, I will kill her myself.

My name is Sergio Abandonoto, you think you know my pain, my suffering, my anger, my hate?

You have no idea.

I am the mafia.

I am the darkness.

Blood in. No out.

BUY LINKS:

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

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1TQ63n3

Amazon AU: http://bit.ly/1Rl9LAj

Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/1QqTxJE

B&N: http://bit.ly/1MF17K8

iBooks: http://apple.co/1SkQ283

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

WOW! WOW! WOW! Where do I start???

Empire is part of the Eagle Elite series. All of the books up this point, can be read as a standalone. However, you MUST read Elude before reading Empire. Trust me – you’ll regret it if you don’t.

And FYI – if you have not read Elude before reading this review, my review contains spoilers of Elude. So again – read Elude before reading Empire. PLEASE!!

Empire starts off where Elude finished – Sergio mourning the death of Andi. In Elude, Sergio won me over with this changing ways when it came to Andi. In Empire, he owned my heart and soul.

Sergio once again is asked to fulfill and honor a family promise. And Sergio being a man loyal to his family, will do anything to protect his family, even when he’s struggling to move forward.

“Some of the most important treasures are ones we haven’t yet discovered.”

Sergio throws the same walls up that he did when he first met Andi. He has felt love now and lost it. He refuses to go through that again.

Val is the exact opposite of Andi. She’s never been exposed to her true family secrets and is completely ignorant of what truly goes down. She’s young, innocent and pure. I loved Val from the start. Even though she looks fragile, she is done being pushed around and left in the dark.

To say that Val and Sergio have a rocky start would be slightly off balance. These two are at each other throats. He shuts her out of his life and wallows in his despair. Val does what she can to survive in her new life and surroundings. There’s a lot of tension, hated and confusion between these two.

“Sometimes what we say we don’t want is exactly what we need, what we crave.”

I thought I cried a lot in Elude. Rachel gutted me in Empire. Yes, her humor and wit was there but the book had me crying a lot more. Watching Sergio go through his stages of grief is gut wrenching. Plus everything else that we read about, my heart just hurt.

I can say enough about this book. Rachel’s writing style always pulls me in and keeps me glued to the pages til the end. You will feel everything that Sergio goes through. You will find yourself rooting for Val and offering your support of kicking Sergio’s ass. LOL

Another fabulous hit by Rachel. I can’t ever get enough of her writing.

“Even those who accepted the state of being lost…dream of being found.”

EXCERPT:

“Taxi.” I held up my hand. “It’s too cold to walk.”

“Is it?”

“For those of us who have hearts,” I said under my breath.

He paused and then burst out laughing. “Holy shit, was that a dig at me?”

I shrugged as the taxi pulled up.

“Damn, and you’re not even apologizing.”

“It was more of a passing comment under my breath…” I got into the taxi and slid across the cold, worn vinyl seat. “But true.”

Sergio slammed the door after him. “And here I thought I was making a good impression.”

“You offered to kill me if I kissed you.”

The taxi driver frowned into the rearview mirror.

“She’s kidding,” Sergio reassured him.

I refused to let him get off that easy. “You also look at me like you want to throw up.”

Mr. Taxi Driver’s nostrils flared.

“Uh.” Sergio laughed uncomfortably. “I just have a lot on my mind.”

“The wife.”

Taxi Driver’s eyes looked like they were going to bug out of his head. Yeah, this was probably the best entertainment he’d had all day.

“I don’t talk about it,” Sergio said in a drop-the-subject voice.

“Maybe you should.”

“I have enough money to afford a therapist, thank you,” he said through clenched teeth.

“Money doesn’t buy happiness,” I fired back.

Sergio released a string of pithy curses. “Did someone spike your milk this morning during show and tell?”

“Lactose intolerant.”

“Sorry. Your Kool-Aid.” His eyes narrowed. “It’s like you’re trying to piss me off.”

Bingo. I smiled. “Funny, that’s what Dante says to me all the time. Just think of all the things you get to look forward to. Isn’t that what you said you wanted?”

Sergio looked ready to strangle me. “No. I don’t believe I asked for an annoying little sister, but if that’s what you’re offering, please don’t let me stop you. Just know, I won’t hesitate to put you over my knee if you get out of hand.”

The minute the words left his mouth. I froze.

He froze.

The taxi driver stared little laser-like holes into the rearview mirror.

And Sergio leaned toward me.

I swallowed as tension swirled around us.

He gripped me by the chin and turned my head to the side, his lips brushing my ear. “It’s like you have a death wish.”

“You wouldn’t do it.”

He pulled back as both of his eyebrows shot up, and then he looked down, like something had caught his eye.

I followed the direction of his gaze and let out a little gasp as a gun dug into my stomach.

“It’s been directed at you for the last four minutes,” Sergio said through a practiced smile. “I meant what I said. Listen well. I keep my word. Kiss me, and blood will be spilled.”

“Y-you’re a crazy person!” I hissed, shoving at his chest. “And I wasn’t going to kiss you!”

“Sure you weren’t.” He put the gun away. “Good talk though, right? Oh look, the movie theater.”

To say that I scrambled out of the car like a kid running away from her kidnapper would be a gross understatement, but the minute my feet hit the pavement, I paused.

My body told me to run.

The guy had pulled a gun.

On me.

I didn’t even watch violent movies, I’d just panicked and said the first thing that popped into my head!

And I was about to go to the theater with a guy who probably showered in blood on a daily basis and by the looks of it — got off on it.

Shivering, I forced myself to take a deep breath and wrapped my jacket tighter around my body.

That was the thing about men like Sergio, or maybe just loyalty in general. He’d promised he would keep me safe, but I wondered if that promise was only extended until I was more trouble than I was worth.

I was safe, not because of what I was to him.

But because of who my dad had been to him.

I was nothing.

And yet, a part of me still yearned to be… something.

Anything really.

Pathetic.

“Change your mind?” Sergio’s smooth voice interrupted my thoughts. He was the type of man you felt even when he wasn’t speaking. His presence was impossible to ignore, kind of like his ridiculous good looks.

Weren’t mafia guys supposed to be old?

Fat?

Chain smokers who bought Cuban cigars and sat behind large desks while counting money and ordering hits on people who pissed them off?

“No.” I finally found my voice. “I was just thinking….”

“About?” His hand touched my back, ushering me forward, but not pushing, almost as if he was giving me the option of still saying no.

I increased my pace so that I couldn’t feel the warmth of his fingertips. “Popcorn.” I turned and winked, hoping it would hide the fact that my body was shaking.

Maybe I was the crazy one.

Because he was armed.

The man was armed.

And he had no qualms about pointing his weapon at me whenever I got too close.

Huh, we’d have a happy marriage.

I guess we’d never argue, since I liked living.

And, you know, breathing.

It would suck not to make my twenty-first birthday because I didn’t fold the towels just right.

And again, I froze.

Was he that neurotic? Or was it just the closeness?

“On a scale of one to ten…” I was proud of the way I kept the shaking out of my voice. Why was I so scared? Oh right, because he’d pointed a gun, no, shoved a freaking gun into my stomach and done it with a smile on his face. “How OCD are you?”

An easy laugh escaped him as he glanced around the movie theater lobby and then back at me. “What makes you think I’m OCD?”

“Things.” I gulped then forced a smile that I didn’t feel. How was I supposed to go through an entire movie knowing he was one uncomfortable conversation away from losing it? “So?”

“What can I get you?” A teen boy looked at Sergio then smiled wider when his eyes fell to me.

Immediately, Sergio wrapped a protective arm around me, basically forcing my body to curve into his warmth. “My wife and I will have two buckets of popcorn, two packs of Sour Patch Kids, and a bottled water.”

I didn’t correct him about the water.

“Wait.” Sergio held up his hand. “Sorry, Dr. Pepper mixed with Coke.”

The teen scrunched up his face then rung us up. His eyes fell to me again then back at the register, like he was trying not to look but couldn’t help it, which was comical, since I didn’t really think I was anything to look at.

When he handed Sergio back his change I could have sworn I heard a growl from my “husband.”

As it was, he jerked the candy so hard out of the kid’s hands that I was surprised he didn’t do a front flip over the counter.

“He’s a boy,” I whispered under my breath. “No need to shoot him too.”

Sergio glanced down at me, muttered a curse. “He was staring.”

“He looked about one science project away from solving world hunger via his mom’s basement… hardly the type of guy that I’d date.”

“Date?” Sergio said it so loudly the people in front of us waiting to show the attendant their tickets jumped and then turned around. “What the hell do you mean date?”

Crap. I’d messed up again.

My palms went sweaty while my face felt numb with fear. Regardless of how pretty he was to look at — I was finally fully aware of how dangerous he was to me.

To everyone around me.

Sweat trickled down my lower back as I gulped down more soda and shrugged. “I just mean, he’s not my type.”

“No shit he isn’t, because you don’t get a type anymore.”

“Right.” I licked my lower lip, pretending not to be scared, pretending to be the brave person I wasn’t was wearing on me.

By the time we made it into the theater I was dizzy.

It was too much all at once.

“So…” Sergio’s voice was in my ear. I jumped a foot. He frowned as if he couldn’t figure out why I’d be so jumpy. “Dante sits behind you, right?”

“Right.” I exhaled in relief. I forgot. It wasn’t a date. It was a challenge. He’d called me his sister, so therefore he was my brother, right? Hah. I relaxed a bit as I pointed to a seat a few rows back and quickly stole the goodies out of his hands then made my way to my own seat before he could object.

The credits started rolling.

And I found myself ducking in the chair.

The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.

As if I was being watched — because I was.

Ten minutes into the movie, I was so stressed out, I almost burst into tears. My back was to him.

Wasn’t that a big no-no? My back was to the dude with the gun.

Even though he was supposed to protect me with the gun, all bets were off now.

Sweat pooled in the palms of my hands.

The music rose as one of the actresses ran down the stairs screaming.

I couldn’t take it.

And then, a body sat down next to me.

Sergio gave me a suspicious look then put a seat between us.

I exhaled.

But it wasn’t relief.

At least I knew where he was.

And where the gun was, he was right handed, so there was that.

I finally allowed myself to relax enough to watch the movie when I saw Sergio’s right hand duck into his jacket.

I gripped the plastic arm rests, my fingers digging into the cheap sticky plastic material as he slowly pulled something out.

He turned.

And I flinched so hard that there was no mistaking what I thought he was doing.

Even though he had grabbed a black cell phone.

The damage was done.

My entire body shook as a big fat tear escaped, I tried to wipe it away but I wasn’t fast enough.

“S-sorry.” I shoved past him and ran.

But my body was too scared.

Too tired

To make it very far.

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!
Want to be kept up to date on new releases? Text MAFIA to 66866!

You can connect with her on Facebook www.facebook.com/rachelvandyken or join her fan group Rachel’s New Rockin Readers. Her website is www.rachelvandykenauthor.com.

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Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/8l7hP

Get the beginning of Sergio’s story in Elude on sale now.

Twenty-Four hours before we were to be married–I offered to shoot her.

Ten hours before our wedding–I made a mockery of her dying wish.

Five hours before we were going to say our vows–I promised I’d never love her.

One hour before I said I do–I vowed I’d never shed a tear over her death.

But the minute we were pronounced man and wife–I knew.

I’d only use my gun to protect her.

I’d give my life for hers.

I’d cry.

And I would, most definitely, lose my heart, to a dying girl—a girl who by all accounts should have never been mine in the first place.

I always believed the mafia would be my end game–where I’d lose my heart, while it claimed my soul. I could have never imagined. It would be my redemption.

Or the beginning of something beautiful.

The beginning of her.

The end of us.

Amazon http://amzn.to/1JTAvrk
iBooks: http://apple.co/1DZlP2S
Nook: http://bit.ly/1FWBCpi

Last Kiss by Laurelin Paige…Excerpt Reveal

Last Kiss by Laurelin Paige

Series: First and Last #2
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Romantic Suspense/ Contemporary Romance

“Visceral, enticing, shining with white lies and dark truths, seductive twists and turns, and a love that takes your breath away.” – Katy Evans, New York Times bestselling author

Synopsis:

A GAME OF CAT AND MOUSE FILLED WITH DARK DESIRES AND DANGEROUS SECRETS…

Emily Wayborn has made a decision.

She might not fully trust handsome and deadly Reeve Sallis, but he is the one person that gives her what she needs. With Reeve she can finally be herself. Submitting to him is the only thing keeping her grounded as the rest of her life falls apart. But the hotelier is a master at keeping secrets and as she continues her quest for answers someone is making sure she doesn’t find them.

Time is running out and she is questioning everything she thought she knew about friendship and love. She must now make an impossible choice that will determine if she will survive with her heart…or at all.

Excerpt:

What he really wanted to hear were the other words, the words I couldn’t give. He’d danced around it, too, though. He’d suggested he loved me, but he’d never told me outright. Those words stood so prominently that they’d become a barrier between us. Either they’d been a lie, a cruel response to my scheming, or they’d been truthful—a possible doorway leading to something else. Something more.

Damn, how I wanted the more. Wanted it enough to brave broaching the subject. “You said things the other night, Reeve—”

He jumped in, turning his head to meet my eyes straight on. “I meant them.”

“Oh.”

Oh.

There was so much to say in response and yet nothing at all came to mind. And as wary as I was to fully trust him, I believed him. Many men had proclaimed their love for me—usually when I had my mouth around their dick—but it had never been sincere. The plethora of false variations had been enough to teach me that this version was the real thing.

But Reeve had said he’d loved Amber that night as well. And I believed that too.

“I want you sleeping in my bed, Emily.”

Or perhaps I was wrong about everything, and his devotion was tied up in sex like all the other men I’d known.

I considered retorting back something sassy about not always being able to get what you want. But I wasn’t quite sure that was an adage that Reeve understood. Besides, I wanted to be sleeping in his bed as well, and maybe I would be eventually. If it was really where he wanted me. If I was really the one he wanted there.

I knew I should just ask—how do you feel about Amber now? What happens next between us? It was on the tip of my tongue, the questions preformed in my mouth when I decided to swallow them instead. Because I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear those answers—whatever they may be—and, in this moment, at least, I was what he desired. And maybe it was just an excuse to not have to think about her for a minute, to not worry about feeling guilty or like I’d betrayed her. As long as I didn’t know, I could blame my behavior on ignorance, and I could please him too.

The swing rocked as I shifted to my knees. Ignoring the chill of the seat against my bare shins, I leaned forward and unfastened Reeve’s jeans.

“This isn’t my bed,” he said, not moving to either help me or stop me.

“It’s the best I can do right now.”

He’d gone commando, a sign that he’d likely tried to sleep as well, then had thrown his clothing on when he found the effort futile. I rubbed my hands together, heating them with friction before I reached in for his cock.

Just as I lowered my lips to his tip, he said, “That ‘right now’ insinuates that there will be a time that you can do more.”

I didn’t want to answer, afraid of giving too much of myself away. Afraid that he wouldn’t like my reasons for not being with him fully or that he’d try to talk me out of worrying about Amber’s place in all of this.

So I occupied my mouth in other ways that prevented talking.

Add to your TBR on Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1OYml8h

Pre-Order Links:
Amazon / Amazon UK / iBooks / Barnes and Noble / Google / Kobo

About Laurelin:

NY Times & USA Today Bestselling author Laurelin Paige is a sucker for a good romance and gets giddy anytime there’s kissing, much to the embarrassment of her three daughters. Her husband doesn’t seem to complain, however. When she isn’t reading or writing sexy stories, she’s probably singing, watching Game of Thrones and the Walking Dead, or dreaming of Michael Fassbender.

Category: Excerpt

Weightless by Kandi Steiner…Release Day Blitz & Review

Bet On Me by Rachel Higginson…Release Day Blitz

Unchained by Elisabeth Naughton…Blog Tour Stop & Excerpt

Excerpt:

Stealing Home by Nicole Williams….Cover Reveal

Dark Mafia Prince by Annika Martin…Excerpt Reveal

Exclusive iBooks Pre-Order
Kindle, Kobo, Nook, or google play: Sign up for an alert when Dark Mafia Prince is available: http://eepurl.com/b45Hsn

ADD TO GOODREADS

Idol by Kristen Callihan….Review Tour

EXCERPT

Hitched by Kendall Ryan….Excerpt Reveal

Today we are bringing you the first look inside Kendall Ryan’s upcoming book HITCHED!

Dirty Stolen Forever by Nazarea Andrews…Cover Reveal

Today we are having a cover reveal for DIRTY STOLEN FOREVER by Nazarea Andrews. This book will release July 11th and is up for pre-order. Dirty Stolen Forever is an adult contemporary romance, standalone novel, that is the second book in the Green County series.

Click here to add DIRTY STOLEN FOREVER to Goodreads

Title: Dirty Stolen Forever (Green County, 2)
Author: Nazarea Andrews
Release Day: July 11th

PRE-ORDER NOW

Amazon

Book Blurb:

Idol by Kristen Callihan….Release Day Blitz

AMAZON / iBOOKS

WEBSITE / FACEBOOK / TWITTER / AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

Empire by Rachel Van Dyken….Blog Tour & Review

Get the beginning of Sergio’s story in Elude on sale now.

Last Kiss by Laurelin Paige…Excerpt Reveal

Last Kiss by Laurelin Paige

Series: First and Last #2
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Romantic Suspense/ Contemporary Romance

“Visceral, enticing, shining with white lies and dark truths, seductive twists and turns, and a love that takes your breath away.” – Katy Evans, New York Times bestselling author

Synopsis:

Excerpt:

Add to your TBR on Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1OYml8h

Pre-Order Links:
Amazon / Amazon UK / iBooks / Barnes and Noble / Google / Kobo

About Laurelin:

Facebook / Twitter / Amazon / Goodreads / Instagram / Website
Don’t miss a release. Sign up for Laurelin’s Newsletter

Excerpt:

Exclusive iBooks Pre-Order Kindle, Kobo, Nook, or google play: Sign up for an alert when Dark Mafia Prince is available: http://eepurl.com/b45Hsn

EXCERPT

Today we are bringing you the first look inside Kendall Ryan’s upcoming book HITCHED!

Today we are having a cover reveal for DIRTY STOLEN FOREVER by Nazarea Andrews. This book will release July 11th and is up for pre-order. Dirty Stolen Forever is an adult contemporary romance, standalone novel, that is the second book in the Green County series.

Click here to add DIRTY STOLEN FOREVER to Goodreads

Title: Dirty Stolen Forever (Green County, 2) Author: Nazarea Andrews Release Day: July 11th

PRE-ORDER NOW

Book Blurb:

AMAZON / iBOOKS

WEBSITE / FACEBOOK / TWITTER / AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

Get the beginning of Sergio’s story in Elude on sale now.

Last Kiss by Laurelin Paige

Series: First and Last #2 Publisher: St. Martin’s Press Genre: Romantic Suspense/ Contemporary Romance

“Visceral, enticing, shining with white lies and dark truths, seductive twists and turns, and a love that takes your breath away.” – Katy Evans, New York Times bestselling author

Synopsis:

Excerpt:

Add to your TBR on Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1OYml8h

Pre-Order Links: Amazon / Amazon UK / iBooks / Barnes and Noble / Google / Kobo

About Laurelin:

Facebook / Twitter / Amazon / Goodreads / Instagram / Website Don’t miss a release. Sign up for Laurelin’s Newsletter

Exclusive iBooks Pre-Order
Kindle, Kobo, Nook, or google play: Sign up for an alert when Dark Mafia Prince is available: http://eepurl.com/b45Hsn

Title: Dirty Stolen Forever (Green County, 2)
Author: Nazarea Andrews
Release Day: July 11th

Series: First and Last #2
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Romantic Suspense/ Contemporary Romance

Pre-Order Links:
Amazon / Amazon UK / iBooks / Barnes and Noble / Google / Kobo

Facebook / Twitter / Amazon / Goodreads / Instagram / Website
Don’t miss a release. Sign up for Laurelin’s Newsletter