Hallowed Ground by Rebecca Yarros…Blog Tour Stop & Review

Blurb

There are some debts you can’t repay.

Josh Walker is loyal, reckless, and every girl’s dream. But he only has eyes for December Howard, the girl he’s craved since his high school hockey days. Together they have survived grief, the military, distance, and time as they’ve fought for stolen weekends between his post at Ft. Rucker and her college at Vanderbilt. Now that Josh is a medevac pilot and Ember is headed toward graduation, they’re moving on—and in—together.

Ember never wanted the Army life, but loving Josh means accepting whatever the army dictates—even when that means saying goodbye as Josh heads to Afghanistan, a country that nearly killed him once before and that took her father. But filling their last days together with love, passion, and plans for their future doesn’t temper Ember’s fear, and if there’s one thing she’s learned from her father’s death, it’s that there are some obstacles even love can’t conquer.

Flight school is over.

This is war.

My Review:

Hallowed Ground is the fourth book in author Rebecca Yarros’ Flight & Glory Series and if you know anything about me, you know how much I adore this series. Since the very first book there was something insanely special about these characters and the lives they lead. That feeling has continued for me through all four books and now to reach the end with Hallowed Ground I am hit with incredibly mixed emotions. As sad as I am to say goodbye to this group, this was an exceptional send off and I loved every gut wrenching and poignant moment.

If you haven’t read any of the books in this series leading up to Hallowed Ground, you really need to before picking this latest installment up. Otherwise you may be quite lost and you certainly won’t have developed the bond I have with this cast of characters and trust me, you certainly want to. They’re all amazing in their own way and forged such a strong bond as a mini family and I just adore them. (I promise I’m not crying right now….ok I lied.)

So this book focuses mainly on Josh and Ember and is almost full circle to where it all began. Only now, relationships and emotions are a lot stronger. Not just between Josh an Ember but in the friendships that have been formed. This time, the guys are out of flight school and headed into very real danger. War. Now, I’m not going to ruin anything for you by giving away any parts of what Josh, Ember, and all of the group go through but I will say this was one of the most touching and emotionally charged book I’ve ever read. Ever. There were complete chapters I couldn’t see because I was crying so hard. I went through an entire box of tissues by the time I finished this book. I experienced such a wide range of emotion as I read. I was terrified for these brave men and the women they left behind while fighting for peace. I hurt when they said their goodbyes, not knowing if they would ever return. I was in awe of the bravery all of them showed in the face of unimaginable obstacles. I was heartbroken when they experienced a huge loss. (I promise I’m not crying…I just got some dust in my eyes.) But beyond all of that I think what stuck me most is that people do this every day. It’s real life. All of it. These people have different names but rest assured they are all out these somewhere, living similar situations and I was completely humbled while being drawn into the pages of this book. Filled with ups and downs this book ripped my heart out and put it all back together in one sitting. And I loved every second of that experience.

Of course all of this emotion and the bond I feel for these fictional characters is truly the mark of one hell of a story-teller. All of the little nuances each character has. The little quirks. The things that make them unique and enjoyable to read. All of that is a gift Rebecca has and one I am so thankful she has shared with us.

While I am sad to have reached the end of Flight & Glory I am so excited to see what Rebecca has in store for us next. I have no doubt it will be amazing.

Thank you, Rebecca, for bringing Josh, Ember, Paisley, Jagger, Sam, Grayson, and Will, into our lives.

Five Loves

Excerpt:

I pulled her onto my lap, gently squeezing the sweet curves of her hips.

“Behave,” she whispered into my ear, but ran her tongue along the edge.

My fingers flexed, teasing under the edges of the black skirt that had slid higher on her thighs as she sat. I couldn’t help it—her skin was a magnet for my hands. “You like it better when I don’t,” I answered.

She locked those blue eyes on mine, and for that second, I wanted everyone to go the fuck away so I could get my remarkable girlfriend out of her clothes. Not a girlfriend for long. Not if I found the perfect moment for that little velvet box hidden upstairs.

Mrs. Walker. December-fucking-Walker. Sounded perfect to me.

“Earth to Josh and Ember,” Jagger called, waving his hand like he’d been at it a while.

“Yeah, yeah, a toast,” Ember said, wiggling against my now-hard lap. I locked her down with my hands, and she threw me a smug grin, well aware of what she’d done.

Jagger raised his beer. “To friends. Hell, that doesn’t even cut it. You guys, all of you…I wouldn’t be here”—he looked over to Paisley—“or even the man I am, without you. So more than friends…to family.”

We glanced around the fire at the family we’d made, and I felt it—one of those moments you can’t forget, the kind that stay with you when it’s long past, so you try to memorize everything. It was a deep peace, a contentment laced with the silent knowledge that we wouldn’t be together again for far too long. “To family,” we all said in scattered rhythm, and I kissed the underside of Ember’s jaw.

**VIEW THE Hallowed Ground TRAILER HERE: https://vimeo.com/148520997 **

About the Author

Rebecca Yarros is a hopeless romantic and lover of all things chocolate, coffee, and Paleo. In addition to being a mom, military wife, and blogger, she can never choose between Young Adult and New Adult fiction, so she writes both. She’s a graduate of Troy University, where she studied European history and English, but still holds out hope for an acceptance letter to Hogwarts. Her blog, The Only Girl Among Boys, has been voted the Top Military Mom Blog the last two years, and celebrates the complex issues surrounding the military life she adores.

When she’s not writing, she’s tying on hockey skates for her kids, or sneaking in some guitar time. She is madly in love with her army-aviator husband of eleven years. They finally can call Colorado home along with their gaggle of rambunctious kiddos and snoring English Bulldog.

Stalk Rebecca here:

Website: http://www.rebeccaelizabethyarros.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RebeccaElizabethYarros

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/327562767450842/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RebeccaYarros

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

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7539785.Rebecca_Yarros

Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.com/Rebecca-Yarros/e/B00HYKBU1W/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1449029619&sr=8-2-ent

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Bait & Switch by Kendall Ryan….Excerpt Reveal

Love is a trap, a trick only other people fall for. Former Navy SEAL Nolan has no such illusions. The only things real in his life are his beloved bulldog and the two women in his life. One is soft and innocent, someone he could build a real future with. But the other is dark and gives him all of the wicked things he craves behind closed doors. What starts out as casual quickly becomes complicated. Can he walk away from a sure thing for something that’s foreign territory?

Nolan thinks we met by chance. We didn’t. I sought him out, seduced him, and in return got the sanctuary I needed to survive. But now, impossibly, I’ve fallen in love with him. I don’t care that he has another lover, because when he finds out who I am, it’s going to ruin any chance I ever had with him anyway. She’s the least of my worries.

Bait & Switch is Book 1 in the new contemporary romance series Alphas Undone, which will each feature a new couple.This is a standalone full-length novel. It does not contain cheating.

Amazon ➙ Amazon UK ➙ B&N ➙ iBooks ➙ Kobo

EXCERPT

She hooked one leg over mine, and I rocked my hips into her pelvis to let her feel what she’d done to me. Lacey groaned. “I take it you liked the massage.”

“What gave me away?” I asked, breathing hard against her neck.

“A certain wayward southern appendage.” She ground into me again, her hips moving against mine.

I almost chuckled. Almost called her out for being too prissy to say the word cock . . . until her hand slid down to my jeans to unbutton me.

“Maybe he needs some attention too,” she rasped against my throat.

I hadn’t come here for this and wouldn’t have pressed her, but I also wasn’t going to turn her away. We would take things at whatever pace she wanted.

Tugging down the zipper to her shorts, I was desperate to touch her and bring her pleasure. I pushed my hand inside her shorts, fumbling when she reached down to grip my denim-covered erection. Christ.

My fingers soon found what they were looking for. She gasped as I rubbed in slow circles through her panties. Even with the cotton barrier, I could feel the firm bud of her swollen clit. I sucked in a breath when she tightened her fist, kneading my hard cock.

“Together,” was all she said. But I understood. Only a little impatiently, I waited until she had unzipped my jeans before slipping my fingers under her panties.

I gave a soft groan at the feel of her hot, slick folds. “God, baby, you’re so wet already.”

“All for you,” she murmured huskily. “Touch me, please.”

I obeyed in a heartbeat, echoing her moan when she pulled my cock free and started stroking up and down with whisper-soft strokes.

Kendall Ryan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance novels, including Hard to Love, Unravel Me, Resisting Her and When I Break.

She’s a sassy, yet polite Midwestern girl with a deep love of books, and a slight addiction to lipgloss. She lives in Minneapolis with her adorable husband and two baby sons, and enjoys hiking, being active, and reading.

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

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Liberty States Create Something Magical Conference Speaker Interview Series: Hank Phillippi Ryan

Today the Liberty States Create Something Magical Conference Speaker Interview Series continues with author Hank Phillippi Ryan:

What made you want to become a writer?

That’s a fascinating question. A few years ago, I was at a conference, checking in, and the person at the desk said—are you Hank Phillippi Ryan, the writer? And I looked at her—almost wondering what to say. And with much joy back then, going on thirty-plus years as a reporter and five also as a mystery author, I realized I could say, “Well, yes!” But what made me want that? I can only say it’s a love of storytelling. When I was about seven years old, I devoured Sherlock Holmes and Nancy Drew books, up in the hayloft of the barn behind our house in rural Indiana. That’s when I knew I wanted to be either a mystery writer or a detective. Turned out, as an investigative reporter and crime fiction author… I’m a little of each. It just took a while.

Is there one piece of advice you would give an aspiring writer?

Don’t aspire. Write. Sit in the chair and stop making excuses for why you can’t or don’t have time or why you’ll do it later. There is no later. Believe me, I am the master of putting it off. Once I even decided I needed to alphabetize my spice rack. But if I had succumbed, I’d haven lovely spices and no books.

If you could co-write a book with any author, dead or alive, who would it be?

Oh! No one has ever asked me that. Ah. As an investigative reporter, I need to ask all the clarifying questions: What do you mean, co-write? Would we chat and discuss, and then do it together? And Shakespeare doesn’t count, because he didn’t write books? And we’d get equal billing on the cover? Wow, I love this. Okay, Edith Wharton. (Because she’s a wonderful brilliant story-teller, and we could go to her house, which is gorgeous, and assistants would type up what we wrote.) Or—Sue Grafton. Yes, Sue Grafton. But then I would be tempted to just let her write it. This is a very hard question, and I am ridiculously thinking about it.

Who is on your bookshelf?Ha. If you saw the bookshelves in our house, you would howl with laughter. They are double and triple packed! It’s out of control. But they are heavily weighted with thrillers, and novels of suspense. They say write the kind of books you love to read, and that is exactly what I did.

Can you tell us about one of the most memorable moments in your writing career thus far?

So many of them! But how about this: You have to picture me at the party in Manhattan where they were about to give the Mary Higgins Clark award. Mary Higgins Clark, the queen of us all, was there in person. I was nominated for THE OTHER WOMAN, and deliriously happy. I was also very calm, because there was no way I was going to win, and I was simply luxuriating in being nominated. So—true story—Mary Higgins Clark gets up on the podium, resplendent in couture and emeralds, and she’s introducing the award.

And a thought struck me, so powerful I almost yelped.

I grabbed the arm of the pal who was standing next to me—and whispered: “Oh, my gosh. I could win.”

She smiled, and whispered back: “Take off your name tag for the photos and remember to thank everyone.”

Ten seconds later, my name was called. I still get goosebumps.

Tell us about your newest release/current work in progress.

I am at the glorious nexus of having WHAT YOU SEE, a Library Journal Best of 2015 on stores shelves now, and SAY NO MORE (Oct 2016) all tucked in and done and edited and in the publication process with my dear publisher Forge Books, and inching through the beginning of OUT COLD, the sixth in the Jane Ryland/Jake Brogan series of standalones, which will be out in October of 2017. So you can imagine my brain! It’s revving into the red at every moment.

So work in progress is SAY NO MORE. I can safely say my stories are ripped from my own headlines—part of the joy of my dual career as investigative reporter and crime fiction author. In SAY NO MORE, reporter Jane witnesses a run of the mill fender bender—which turns out to be the key to a murder. But if she tells what she saw—it puts her own life in danger. Detective Jake–tracking down the death of a beautiful college professor—uncovers a devastating and destructive campus code of silence. I was so surprised by the ending! And I’m always delighted when that happens.

About the author:

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN is the on-air investigative reporter for Boston’s NBC affiliate. She’s won 33 EMMYs, 13 Edward R. Murrow awards and dozens of other honors for her groundbreaking journalism. A bestselling author of eight mystery novels, Ryan has won multiple prestigious awards for her crime fiction: five Agathas, two Anthonys, the Daphne, two Macavitys, and for THE OTHER WOMAN, the coveted Mary Higgins Clark Award. National reviews have called her a “master at crafting suspenseful mysteries” and “a superb and gifted storyteller.” Her 2013 novel, THE WRONG GIRL, won both the Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel and the Daphne Award for Mainstream Mystery/Suspense, and is a seven-week Boston Globe bestseller. TRUTH BE TOLD is the Agatha Award winner for Best Contemporary Novel, an Anthony Award nominee and a Library Journal BEST BOOK OF 2014. Ryan also won a second Agatha Award in 2015 for Best Nonfiction, as editor of WRITES OF PASSAGE, an anthology of essays by mystery authors, which was also honored with a Macavity Award and Anthony Award. Ryan’s newest novel, WHAT YOU SEE, is a RT Book Reviews Top Pick for “Exceptional suspense!” and named a Best Thriller of 2015 by Library Journal, which raves, “Mystery readers get ready: you will find yourself racing to the finish.” She’s a founding teacher at Mystery Writers of America University and 2013 president of national Sisters in Crime. Visit her online at HankPhillippiRyan.com, on Twitter @HankPRyan and Facebook at HankPhillippiRyanAuthor.

Dare Me by Rebecca Shea…..Cover Reveal

We are so excited to bring you the Cover Reveal for Rebecca Shea’s DARE ME! DARE ME is a sexy contemporary romance releasing March 28, 2016. We can’t wait for you to fall into this novel…if you dare!

Cover created by Regina Wamba with Mae I Design.

Preorder Exclusively at iBooks

Add to your Goodreads

About DARE ME:

Five coworkers.

Four drinks.

Three glances.

Two fleeting smiles.

One dare.

A dare that will change my life.

That’s all it takes to send me plummeting into the arms of the mysterious Holt Hamilton. Behind his crystal blue eyes is a secret, one that screams danger but calls to me anyway.

My name is Saige Phillips.

I never walk away from a dare.

EXCERPT:

“I was watching you, Saige. I enjoy watching you.” Maybe that was bold of me, but I don’t care.

She audibly gasps, her chest rising and falling with each quick breath she takes.

I fix my eyes on hers and continue. “And I saw you watching me.”

Her upper lip twitches as she thinks of a sarcastic comeback. I can see the vein in her neck throbbing, along with the beat of her pulse before she finally whispers, “We shouldn’t do this.” She pulls a green olive off the toothpick floating in her martini, then she pops it into her mouth. The green olive matches her eyes perfectly.

I watch her shift uncomfortably in her chair for a few seconds before I respond. “Why not?”

“Because you’re my boss.” So naïve, sweet little Saige is.

“I’m actually not,” I tell her.

She frowns. “You own the company I work for, same thing.”

I clarify, “I’m part owner of the company you work for.”

She sighs. “Holt, this is just drinks. That’s all.” But her eyes tell me she wants more.

I lean closer to her. “It’s never just drinks, Saige.”

About Rebecca Shea:

Rebecca Shea is the USA Today Bestselling author of the Unbreakable series (Unbreakable, Undone, and Unforgiven) and the Bound and Broken series (Broken by Lies and Bound by Lies). She lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her family. From the time Rebecca could read she has had a passion for books. Rebecca spends her days working and her nights writing, bringing stories to life. Born and raised in Minnesota, Rebecca moved to Arizona in 1999 to escape the bitter winters. When not working or writing, she can be found on the sidelines of her sons’ football games, or watching her daughter at ballet class. Rebecca is fueled by insane amounts of coffee, margaritas, Laffy Taffy (except the banana ones), and happily ever afters.

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Blood on the Bayou by Heather Graham…Blog Tour Stop & Excerpt

We are absolutely thrilled to bring you the Review/Excerpt Tour for BLOOD ON THE BAYOU by Heather Graham! BLOOD ON THE BAYOU is A Cafferty & Quinn Series Novella brought to you by 1001 Dark Nights. It is available now, so grab your copy of this sexy novella today!

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Heather Graham’s BLOOD ON THE BAYOU – Review & Excerpt Tour

January 27^th

Bea’s Book Nook – Excerpt

What Is That Book About – Excerpt

From the TBR Pile – Review & Excerpt

Read-Love-Blog – Excerpt

January 28^th

Books to Get Lost In – Excerpt

Collector of book boyfriends – Excerpt

Deluged with Books Cafe – Review & Excerpt

Reading Between the Wines Book Club – Excerpt

January 29^th

Brooke Blogs – Excerpt

Extreme Bookaholic’s – Excerpt

Only One More Page – Review & Excerpt

Parajunkee’s View – Excerpt

January 30^th

Evermore Books – Excerpt

TMBA Corbett Tries to Write – Review & Excerpt

The Consummate Reader – Excerpt

January 31^st

DayReader Reviews – Review & Excerpt

Us Girls & A Book – Review

Romeo &Roo Books – Review

February 1^st

Moonlight Rendezvous – Review & Excerpt

BooksPieAndCoffee – Review

Book-o-Craze – Review & Excerpt

February 2^nd

Write for Your Life! – Review & Excerpt

The Sassy Bookster – Review & Excerpt

Renee Entress’s Blog – Excerpt

Books-n-Kisses – Review & Excerpt

February 3^rd

Beneath The Covers Blog – Excerpt

Books Need TLC – Review

Liz’s Reading Life – Excerpt

The Two Brains of Book Reviewers – Review & Excerpt

February 4^th

Amazeballs Book Addicts – Review & Excerpt

DRC Promotions – Review

Fictional Reality – Excerpt

Indy Book Fairy – Excerpt

February 5^th

alpha book club – Review & Excerpt

Those Crazy Book Chicks – Excerpt

Love Affair With Fiction – Excerpt

About BLOOD ON THE BAYOU: A Cafferty & Quinn Novella

From New York Times bestseller Heather Graham…

It’s winter and a chill has settled over New Orleans, binding a stream of blood that leads a tourist to a dead man, face down in the bayou.

The man has been done in by a vicious beating, so violent that his skull has been crashed in.

It’s barely a day before a second victim is found . . . once again so badly thrashed that the water runs red. The city becomes riddled with fear.

An old family friend comes to Danni Cafferty, telling her that he’s terrified, he’s certain that he’s received a message from the Blood Bayou killer–It’s your turn to pay, blood on the bayou.

The two quickly become involved, and–as they all begin to realize that a gruesome local history is being repeated–they find themselves in a fight to save not just a friend, but, perhaps, their very own lives.

Excerpt:

“People in this area all know the legends about the rougarou. Someone out there might be using the legend. In this day and age, it’s quite possible to fake a monster.”

They both looked at him with huge eyes, seemingly wanting to trust in him.

“Sound like a plan?” Quinn asked Larue.

The detective nodded. “Let’s move, though. We have to get out to Honey Swamp. We’re going to help the task force with the investigation.”

Ten minutes later they were at the hotel where the young women were staying. Quinn inspected the balcony while they gathered their belongings together. The room sat on the second floor, but the balcony might have been easily accessed from the street. There was a heavy pipe near enough for someone to crawl up and gain a grip on one of the wrought iron rails. “How did someone walk through the French Quarter all dressed up without being noticed?”

“This is New Orleans,” Larue said. “Not far from Bourbon Street. Think about it, Quinn. Does anyone really notice crazy around here? I mean, there’s a lot of crazy.”

“Something like the rougarou? A giant man with a wolf’s head?”

“Somebody walked stark naked down Bourbon Street about two days ago, and it took that long for anyone to report it to the police,” Larue told him.

“That’s not a rougarou.”

Larue shrugged. “Okay. I’ll give you that.”

“To put a spin of logic on this, I’d say that it was more than possible for a man to dress up, then crawl up here to scare Jane and Lana. It’s also possible that whoever was here had nothing to do with the murder in the swamp, or maybe someone got wind of the situation and knew that the two young women had been on the tour and decided to scare them. They’re visitors, yes, but they know the city and they might have met a young man anxious to scare them. Then he comes along and offers his presence as protection against whatever has them frightened.”

Larue did not argue.

“At any rate,” Quinn said. “Let’s go meet your friends from Pearl River.”

About Heather Graham:

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

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

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

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Extreme Honor by Piper J. Drake…Release Day Event

EXTREME HONOR by Piper J. Drake (January 26, 2016; Forever Mass Market; True Heroes #1)

HONOR, LOYALTY, LOVE
David Cruz is good at two things: war and training dogs. The ex-soldier’s toughest case is Atlas, a Belgian Malinois whose handler died in combat. Nobody at Hope’s Crossing kennel can break through the animal’s grief. That is, until dog whisperer Evelyn Jones walks into the facility . . . and into Atlas’s heart. David hates to admit that the curvy blonde’s mesmerizing effect isn’t limited to canines. But when Lyn’s work with Atlas puts her in danger, David will do anything to protect her.

Lyn realizes that David’s own battle scars make him uniquely qualified for his job as a trainer. Tough as nails yet gentle when it counts, he’s gotten closer to Atlas than anyone else-and he’s willing to put his hard-wired suspicion aside to let her do the same. But someone desperate enough to kill doesn’t want Lyn working with Atlas. Now only teamwork, trust, and courage can save two troubled hearts and the dog who loves them both . . .

Buy the book!

Excerpt:

His kiss wasn’t light or gentle or teasing. His lips came down on hers with heat and firm pressure. His hand moved from her chin to cup the back of her head, urging her to tilt for him. She did, opening her mouth and giving him access, too. His tongue swept in, hot and searching. She answered in kind and they explored each other.

This was . . .wow. More than wow. Heat swept through her and she reveled in the sensation he sent coursing throughout her body with his kissing.

It was a long time before he let her up for air and when he did, she realized she was clutching the front of his shirt with both hands. Oh hey. How about that?

“You need to get over this.”

What?

Shocked, she started to step back but David’s hand was still on the back of her head and his other arm came around her waist. Tucked against him, she looked up to see him glaring at Atlas through the chain-link fence.

The big dog had reared up and put his front paws on the fence.

“You can deal,” David said to Atlas. “Don’t even tell me you gave Calhoun this kind of interference when he was with somebody.”

Butterflies tickled her and she buried her face in David’s chest as she giggled.

“What? That’s seventy-five pounds of canine jumping up on me if it weren’t for this fence.” Despite his words, amusement colored his tone and his arm remained firmly around her waist.

“With the two of you, there isn’t anything that can keep me worried.” She smiled up at him, enjoying the fit of their bodies against each other.

David gave her a lopsided grin. “Good. I’d like to say we make a solid team but Atlas here is working for you but not with me, if you get what I mean.”

“Ah well, he’s a free agent for the time being.” She didn’t want to ruin the mood. But it’d be stupid to pretend Atlas wouldn’t be returned to duty once they’d gotten him back to one hundred percent responsiveness. The big dog was too good to retire yet.

“True.” David pressed a kiss to her temple. “So.” She could barely believe her own audacity but the last few days, the last few minutes in particular, were all about personal evolution, apparently. “Where were we before Atlas expressed his opinion?”

Because she’d like to get back to that. And explore. In detail.

Okay, maybe she wasn’t as daring as she could be. Yet.

“Here.” David caught her mouth for another hot, fantastically mind-blowing kiss.

And don’t miss the second book in the True Heroes series, ULTIMATE COURAGE, on sale July 26, 2016!

Elisa Hall is good at starting from scratch. Leaving an abusive relationship in her rearview, she packs everything she owns into the trunk of her car and heads for refuge with her friend in Hope’s Crossing, North Carolina.

Alex Rojas returned from his second deployment as a Navy SEAL to find his condo empty and divorce papers on the breakfast table. Now he’s building a life for himself and his daughter at Hope’s Crossing kennels training younger dogs and handlers to search and rescue, struggling to adjust to life back in the States and as a single father.

When Elisa shows up at the kennels, it’s obvious she’s running from something. Luckily, the dogs and trainers at Hope’s Crossing are more than capable of warding off trouble. And with every minute he spends with Elisa, Alex becomes even more and more determined to protect the woman he’s certain he won’t be able to live without…

Pre-order the book!

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About the author:

Piper J. Drake (or “PJ”) spent her childhood pretending to study for the SATs by reading every interesting novel she could find at the library. After being introduced to the wonderful world of romance by her best friend, she dove into the genre. PJ began her writing career as PJ Schnyder, writing sci-fi & paranormal romance and steampunk, for which she won the FF&P PRISM award as well as the NJRW Golden Leaf award and Parsec award. PJ’s romantic suspense novels incorporate her interests in mixed martial arts and the military. The True Heroes series is inspired by her experience rescuing, owning and training a variety of retired working dogs, including Kaiser, a former guard dog, and Mozart, who was trained to detect explosives.

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Blood on the Bayou by Heather Graham….Release Day Event

We are so excited to bring you the Release Day Launch for BLOOD ON THE BAYOU by Heather Graham! BLOOD ON THE BAYOU is A Cafferty & Quinn Series Novella brought to you by 1001 Dark Nights. Grab your copy of this sexy novella today!

Amazon eBook Amazon Paperback**

Excerpt:

Michael Quinn heard the hysterical crying the minute he entered the police station. The young woman creating the commotion was inside Detective Jake Larue’s office. Someone else was trying to soothe her while not becoming hysterical herself.

“This one is right up your alley,” Larue told him as he approached.

“My alley?”

“That young woman is certain she saw a rougarou. She was on a bayou tour in Honey Swamp last night.”

He smiled. No kid grew up in Southern Louisiana without hearing about the rougarou. Every region of the world had their own particular brand of monster. The rougarou belonged to the Cajun region of Southern Louisiana, stretching right into the city.

“Honey Swamp?” he asked. “Doesn’t a problem in that area go to the Pearl River police?”

“Yep,” Larue said. “But she’s here because she believes the rougarou followed her home, showing up in the window of her hotel last night.”

He arched a brow at the ridiculousness of the statement. “I’m assuming there’s more.”

“A dead man in the swamp. Head bashed in, throat ripped.”

Which grabbed his attention.

“I want you to talk to them,” Larue said. “I told them that you’re a rougarou expert and that you’ll get to the bottom of things. They were out on some night ghost tour in the bayou and their boat came upon the dead man. Right now, she’s so hysterical that she’s not making sense. But you rougarouexperts are used to dealing with that.”

He shook his head at Larue’s sarcasm. He was no more a rougarou expert than someone was a ghost expert. Once upon a time, he’d worked with Larue as partners in the NYPD. Before that, Quinn’s life had been anything but normal. He’d actually been a pretty horrible person, not as in deadly or criminal, but as in vain and egotistical. His prowess in sports had led to excess, which eventually led to him being declared legally dead.

Which changed everything.

About BLOOD ON THE BAYOU: A Cafferty & Quinn Novella

From New York Times bestseller Heather Graham…

It’s winter and a chill has settled over New Orleans, binding a stream of blood that leads a tourist to a dead man, face down in the bayou.

The man has been done in by a vicious beating, so violent that his skull has been crashed in.

It’s barely a day before a second victim is found . . . once again so badly thrashed that the water runs red. The city becomes riddled with fear.

About Heather Graham:

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

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Newsletter Sign Up | BLOOD ON THE BAYOU on Goodreads

Dolce by Rachel Blaufeld….Book Tour

Dolce, the newest stand alone to the

Love at Center Court Series is NOW LIVE!

GET YOUR $0.99 COPY AT:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1MZUe6f

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

“Who just stole my thunder across the Hafton airwaves, you ask? Right now, right this very second, listeners, I have Hafton’s one-and-only, the main man with the ball in hand, Blane Steele is in the studio. Mark my words—he’ll not only steal the ball, but your lady’s heart too. Watch out, gentlemen, the Stealer is in the house!”

— Sonny Be Knocking Boots, Hafton Radio 96.9

Coed antics.

Chaos.

Angst-ridden twists in fate.

Caterina is an intern. Sonny is her shock-jock boss. And Blane is a good-hearted baller…except when he steps on the court. Between on-air dares, an evil feminist professor, a straight-shooter of a coach, and rumors from the league surrounding Steele, these three are destined to screw it all up.

Rather than a love triangle, this is a friends-to-lovers story where the disc jockey acts as the catalyst, and a basketball player finds his life transformed when center court intersects with love.

REVIEW

Rachel Blaufeld has another hit on her hands The Court Series. It can be read as a standalone but I highly recommend reading Verite just because the series is just that awesome.

Dolce is about Catie and Blane. It takes you from their first encounter through all their ups and downs and all the craziness that happens. I love how this isn’t an instant love fest and these two keep their priorities in order too. They just don’t just get blinded by their feelings.

What I loved the most about this book was the issue that Rachel brought to the forefront – feminism. Rachel takes a very unique take on this and I absolutely loved how she ran with it.

Catie is very feisty and opinionated young woman. However, we watch her grow and finally find her “place” in this world. Blane is known as the ladies man on campus but at some point he knows he needs to grow up. And he starts to realize that and things around him change. These two have very unique backgrounds and I think many people will relate to them on man levels.

Rachel wrote an amazing story with fantastic characters. I loved the banter between everyone, both the main and secondary characters. They all added their own distinct characteristics to the story. The camaraderie between the players was perfect for any sports team. And even the people that became close friends of Catie’s, they all brought their own qualities to the story.

I can’t wait for the next book in this series!

EXCERPT

“I’m not doing anything. I’m hanging with a friend.”

Almost instantly, the spark winked out in her eyes. “What?”

Most girls would have bitten their tongue off rather than respond to the friend comment, but not Cate.

She glared at me. “You’re making my head hurt. You’re nice, and we’re friends. Then you wrap your arm around me, hug me tight, chat about porn, and ask me out for a drink, which seems like more than friends. And now we’re back to being friends again.”

“It’s complicated, like you said, with Sonny and the radio station. I’ve never done this before, actually liked someone or been intrigued. Whatever this is.”

“Well, I guess there’s a first time for everything.”

“It’s fucking just my luck, you know,” I said, shaking my head sadly. “I meet someone like you when Sonny throws down the gauntlet, and I can’t mess up because I’ve got Coach breathing down my neck. Everyone’s watching me. It’s been all eyes on deck since last season, when I decided to finish school before I go pro, and do what’s right. I must be jinxed or some shit.”

“Exactly,” Cate said firmly. “I may be all ‘I am woman, hear me roar,’ but I’m not about to trash your career over a silly friendship. You do what you need to do.”

She stood on her tiptoes, grabbed my shoulders, and placed a quick kiss on my cheek. “Take care of yourself, Blane. See you around. Thanks for walking me.”

Verite (Book One) Love at Center Court ONLY $0.99

**stand alone**

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1SGDN61

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1O9CKGj

Meet Rachel

Rachel Blaufeld is a social worker/entrepreneur/blogger turned author. Fearless about sharing her opinion, Rachel captured the ear of stay-at-home and working moms on her blog,BacknGrooveMom, chronicling her adventures in parenting tweens and inventing a product, often at the same time. She has also blogged for The Huffington Post, Modern Mom, and StartupNation.

Turning her focus on her sometimes wild-and-crazy creative side, it only took Rachel two decades to do exactly what she wanted to do—write a fiction novel. Now she spends way too many hours in local coffee shops plotting her ideas. Her tales may all come with a side of angst and naughtiness, but end lusciously.

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

Stalk Rachel at: website / Twitter / Facebook

GIVEAWAY

Rachel is giving away this coffee mug (perfect for sports romance lovers) filled with swag, along with signed copies of Vérité and Dolce!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Restaurant Critic’s Wife by Elizabeth LaBan….Blog Tour Stop & Review

Synopsis:

What could be better than being married to a restaurant critic? All those amazing meals at the best restaurants…pure nirvana, right? Well, Lila Soto, the heroine of Elizabeth LaBan’s charming new novel, The Restaurant Critic’s Wife (Lake Union Publishing; January 5, 2016), might tell you otherwise. Sure the food is heavenly, but the downsides are considerable—especially being married to a man who is obsessed with his job and paranoid to the point of absurdity about being “outed” from his anonymity. Add to the scenario the fact that Lila has given up her own career to follow her husband’s job to a new, unfamiliar city, and that she is now a fulltime stay-at-home mom—a gig she never aspired to, despite loving her kids—and you begin to see why Lila is doubting every life decision she’s ever made.

Though it is not an autobiography by any means, it can’t be overlooked that Elizabeth LaBan is herself married to Philadelphia restaurant critic Craig LaBan. “This book wouldn’t exist without my husband,” she says, “who brings excitement, adventure, love, and great food into our lives every day, and has always been open to my writing a novel about a woman who is married to a wacky restaurant critic. For the record, Craig is not obsessive or controlling like Sam—and Craig did not tell me to say that.” But, even if her main characters are fictitious, there is no denying that Elizabeth draws on aspects of her own life to lend a delicious verisimilitude to the novel.

The Restaurant Critic’s Wife is a charming portrait of the complexities of life that many women face when dealing with their marriages, their children, their friendships, and their careers. All the talk about exquisite food is merely the icing on a one-of-a-kind cake.

“A tender, charming, and deliciously diverting story about love, marriage, and how your restaurant-review sausage gets made. The Restaurant Critic’s Wife is compulsively readable and richly detailed, a guilt-free treat that will have you devouring every word.” —Jennifer Weiner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Good In Bed, Best Friends Forever, and Who Do You Love

My Review:

The Restaurant Critic’s Wife is the first work from author Elizabeth LaBan that I’ve read. I will admit that immediately the cover caught my attention and after reading the synopsis I was really excited to start reading this book. Overall it was a mix of hits and misses for me.

Being a resident of the Philadelphia burbs, I really enjoyed the setting of the story. It was really great to read about the places that are only a short drive away for me. Primarily where the book fell a little flat for me was the overall plot. This book is basically a look into the daily life of a stay at home mom with a work obsessed husband and her back and forth internal debate about going back to work. That’s a debate I can totally relate to and I felt for Lila and her struggle. It’s hard when you start to lose yourself with motherhood, especially if you had been a career woman previously. It also doesn’t help that her husband almost forbids her to go back to work. Her husband, Sam, is a restaurant critic held in very high regard…he’s also managed to keep his identity a secret and is now borderline obsessed in keeping it that way. He sort of drove me crazy. But on the flip side, I could understand his stress in that kind of charade so I couldn’t completely hate him. I especially couldn’t hate him for it because I know how Philly people can be and goodness knows if he wrote up a bad review for a beloved Philadelphia restaurant, he’d be heckled everywhere he went! We don’t take kindly to people speaking badly of things we love.

So overall, while the story fell a bit flat for me at times, it was well-written and I enjoyed that aspect of things.

Three Loves

Book Links:

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

About Elizabeth LaBan

Elizabeth LaBan lives in Philadelphia with her restaurant critic husband and two children. She is also the author of The Tragedy Paper, which has been translated into eleven languages, and The Grandparents Handbook, which has been translated into seven languages.

Connect with Elizabeth

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Elizabeth LaBan’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, January 4th: A Lovely Bookshelf on the Wall

Tuesday, January 5th: Why Girls are Weird

Wednesday, January 6th: All Roads Lead to the Kitchen

Thursday, January 7th: Bibliotica

Monday, January 11th: Kahakai Kitchen

Tuesday, January 12th: Chick Lit Central – author guest post

Wednesday, January 13th: Thoughts on This ‘n That

Thursday, January 14th: A Chick Who Reads

Friday, January 15th: Kritter’s Ramblings

Monday, January 18th: Books a la Mode – author guest post

Tuesday, January 19th: Bookchickdi

Wednesday, January 20th: I’m Shelf-ish

Thursday, January 21st: Patricia’s Wisdom

Friday, January 22nd: From the TBR Pile

Monday, January 25th: Read. Write. Repeat.

Tuesday, January 26th: Read Love Blog

Wednesday, January 27th: Mom in Love with Fiction

Thursday, January 28th: View from the Birdhouse

Monday, February 1st: Just Commonly

Wednesday, February 3rd: Thoughts from an Evil Overlord

Friday, February 5th: Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

Set the Pace by Kim Karr….Cover Reveal

Title: Set the Pace

Series: The Detroit Love Duet #1

Author: Kim Karr

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: February 21, 2016

Every city needs a hero, but Detroit’s white knight just might be a villain.

A rough childhood branded Jasper Storm trouble. A bad boy. Not worth a damn. His love of cars was the only thing that could battle his delinquency. With the need for speed in his blood, he overcame his wayward ways. Mostly. Now the broken city of Detroit hails him their shining star. And the man behind a new cutting-edge automobile is ready to turn this bankrupt town around.

Charlotte Lane was the tomboy who lived next door. She was his best friend. He was her protector. Then tragedy struck and she disappeared, forever—or so he thought.

Everything Jasper does in life is fast. He talks fast, f*cks fast, and drives fast. But when one reckless turn brings him face-to-face with the childhood he has tried very hard to forget, he finds himself on the edge of wondering if he shouldn’t slow down.

Time hasn’t erased who they are though. Jasper has many reasons to hate Charlotte and keep his distance, which is easier said than done. Soon she’s infiltrating his every thought and he can’t stay away. Back in town with an agenda of her own, she should push him aside. Make him turn around. Walk away herself. Yet she can’t.

With the past lurking between them, they proceed with caution. That is until one sex-filled night leads to murder, and things are forced to change. Now that Detroit’s biggest ally has suddenly become suspect number one, will Charlotte—the girl Jasper once kept safe—be the one to save him?

Reader * Writer * Coffeelover * Romantic

Kim Karr is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She is a daydreamer. So much so that if daydreaming could be a hobby it would be her favorite. It’s how her stories are born and how they take root. An imagination that runs wild is something to be thankful for, and she is very thankful. 🙂

She grew up in New York and now lives in Florida with her husband and four kids. She’s always had a love for reading books and writing. Being an English major in college, she wanted to teach at the college level but that was not to be. She went on to receive an MBA and became a project manager until quitting to raise her family. Kim currently works part-time with her husband and with the rest of her time embraces one of her biggest passions–writing.

Kim wears a lot of hats! Writer, book-lover, wife, soccer-mom, taxi driver, and the all around go-to person of her family. However, she always finds time to read.

She likes to believe in soulmates, kindred spirits, true friends, and Happily-Ever-Afters. She loves to drink champagne, listen to music, and hopes to always stay young at heart.

Blood on the Bayou by Heather Graham….ARC Review

Blood on the Bayou releases tomorrow, 1/26!

Synopsis:

From New York Times bestseller Heather Graham…

It’s winter and a chill has settled over the area near New Orleans, finding a stream of blood, a tourist follows it to a dead man, face down in the bayou.

The man has been done in by a vicious beating, so violent that his skull has been crushed in.

It’s barely a day before a second victim is found . . . once again so badly thrashed that the water runs red. The city becomes riddled with fear.

An old family friend comes to Danni Cafferty, telling her that he’s terrified, he’s certain that he’s received a message from the Blood Bayou killer–It’s your turn to pay, blood on the bayou.

Cafferty and Quinn quickly become involved, and–as they all begin to realize that a gruesome local history is being repeated–they find themselves in a fight to save not just a friend, but, perhaps, their very own lives.

My Review:

Blood on the Bayou is the second novella in the 2016 1,001 Dark Nights lineup as well as part of author Heather Graham’s Cafferty & Quinn series. Being a big fan of Ms. Graham’s work, I’m sad to say I hadn’t read any of the previous Cafferty & Quinn novels *gasp*. That being said, I will now be heading over to Amazon to check out the rest in this series because I loved this story!

In true Ms. Graham fashion, this novella is filled with spooky tales of old legends and someone using that old legend to cover up a string of murders. Being set in New Orleans really notched up the creepiness for me and I loved that.

Cafferty and Quin are a couple and are frequently called upon to help solve crimes in their little area of NOLA and while I didn’t know anything of them before this, I can tell their relationship is something special. I loved their interactions and how they truly worked as a team to get to the bottom of what was going on, which was two heinous murders being blamed on an old wretched tale. I do love everything spooky, and I will admit I was glad I read this in the daytime as I got some chills while reading…of course I love that in a book. From start to finish I was truly kept on the edge of my seat and had no idea who would end up being responsible for these murders. I was also a nervous wreck when things get a little too close for comfort for one of our sleuths! More than a few times I thought maybe the legend of the rougarou was actually true. I won;t ruin anything by telling you off it was or not though 😉

I also loved meeting the other people in Cafferty and Quinn’s daily lives. These seem like a great bunch and I can’t wait to read more about them!

Consider me a new fan of Ms. Graham’s Cafferty & Quinn Series. I love finding new books, especially from an author I always look forward to reading more of! Thank you Ms. Graham for a chilling and exciting read!

Five Loves

Book links:

Amazon | 1,001 Dark Nights

About the author:

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

Visit Heather Graham’s website