May 2013 – Read-Love-Blog

Can’t Resist A Cowboy by Elizabeth Otto….Blog Tour Stop & Review

CAN’T RESIST A COWBOY

By Elizabeth Otto

A Paint River Ranch Novel

He’s always been her weakness…

Injured and discharged, Marine Levi Haywood has returned to his family’s ranch to heal and start a new life. After all, once a cowboy, always a cowboy. The only problem? Life at the ranch has moved on since he joined the service, and suddenly his role in the family business is much less clear. And things get a lot more confusing when the woman he left behind returns home.

Carrie Lynn Waite has never known a time when she didn’t love Levi. They were childhood sweethearts, but because of her health, she was forced to move to the city, away from the ranching life. Now Carrie’s come home only to learn her family’s ranch is in trouble and Levi is back, along with an undeniable attraction she can’t resist. But some things never change, forcing Carrie to choose the future laid out before her…or the cowboy she could never resist.

Buy Links: Amazon * Barnes & Noble * iTunes * ARe * Kobo

My review:

Can’t Resist A Cowboy is the third book in author Elizabeth Otto’s Paint River Ranch series, a series I have loved from the beginning. This book is Levi’s story and, hands down, is my fave of the series thus far.

Being back in her hometown, Carrie Lynn was only dreading one thing: seeing Levi Haywood. Of course that would be easier said than done seeing as though their famiy properties were neighboring lands and he was back working on that land after being injured in the war. Her injuries, in the form of a broken heart thanks to Levi, still hadn’t healed. Hopefully she would be able to visit with her father, tell him the devastating news about her failing health due to her diabetes, and go back without seeing too much of the devastatingly sexy Marine she had said goodbye to all those years ago…

Levi Haywood had never forgotten his sunshine: Carrie Lynn. He left her when he joined the Marines, and had never really gotten over it. He knew she would be coming to visit her father and he wanted nothing more than to have a second chance. He had already been given a second chance at life after almost dying overseas, and he was probably being greedy asking for one with her, but he would be damned if he didn’t at least try. The memories they had made when they were young and in love had gotten him through some of the roughest parts when he was a Marine and he would do anything to show her how much she still meant to him. If only she would give him the chance.

Can love be rekindled between two injured souls? If fate had anything do to with it, it will…

Oh my, how I loved this story so damn much! Author Otto has had me hooked on these Haywood boys from the very beginning and I look forward to each new book but this one, THIS one, was just amazing. Levi is just too much. He is sweet, battered, caring, loyal, and so strong both emotionally and physically. I loved him so much. He was equal parts vulnerable and resilient and the balance was amazing. Carrie Lynn was the same balance of vulnerability and resiliency with her issues with diabetes. Where they may have been a great match before Levi left for the Marines, they are an even better pair now, leaning on one another when things get rough and learning to embrace their individual shortcomings in order to grow stronger together as a couple.

But above and beyond, Ms. Otto wrote so many touching scenes into this story that I couldn’t help but laugh and cry along with these amazing characters. From private talks between Levi and his niece, to the tender moments shared between Carrie Lynn and Levi and the lengths he will go to in order to get her to stay with him were just so emotional and special.

Packed with raw and tender emotion and a ton of heat, Can’t Resist A Cowboy is a total win. Thank you, Ms. Otto, for another amazing read and for giving us Levi and Carrie Lynn! I sure hope we will see more of the Paint River Ranch gang in the future!

Five Loves

About the Author: Elizabeth Otto grew up in a Wisconsin town the size of a postage stamp, where riding your horse to the grocery store, and skinny dipping after school were perfectly acceptable. No surprise that she writes about small communities and country boys. She’s the author of paranormal romance, and hot, emotional, contemporary romance, and has no guilt over frequently making her readers cry. When not writing, she works full-time as an Emergency Medical Technician for a rural ambulance service. Elizabeth lives with her very own country boy and their three children in, shockingly, a small Midwestern town.

FIND THE AUTHOR HERE: @EAOtto Facebook Website Good Reads

Synopsis:

Injured and discharged, Marine Levi Haywood has returned to his family’s ranch in order to heal and start a new life. After all, once a cowboy, always a cowboy. The only problem? Life at the ranch has moved on since he joined the service, and suddenly his role is much less clear. And things get a lot more confusing when his childhood sweetheart shows up.

Carrie Lynn Waite has never known a time when she didn’t love Levi. They were childhood sweethearts, but because of her illness, she was forced to move to the city, away from the ranching life. Now Carrie’s come home only to learn her family’s ranch is in trouble and Levi is back, along with an undeniable attraction she can’t resist. But some things never change. Now Carrie must decide between her future…and the cowboy she could never resist.

Guest Review….Clockwork Mafia by Seleste deLaney

Please welcome my friend, Phoebe Chase, and her guest review of Clockwork Mafia by Seleste deLaney:

Buy from Amazon ~ Buy from Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:

Inventor Henrietta Mason is retiring from airships and adventuring to return home to Philadelphia. Determined to erase all trails leading to her late father’s duplicity, she dismantles his lab and removes all records of the Badlands gold. While in the city, she can’t resist the lure of a charity gala but winds up regretting the whole experience. Well, everything except a heart-racing dance with a certain U.S. Marshal.

His career and vengeance on the line, Carson Alexander must prove a connection between Senator Mason and the mafia. He lucked out happening across Mason’s strikingly beautiful daughter, only to have her slip through his fingers. On a desperate hunt to track her down, he never expects his search to take him into the brutal Badlands.

With a mechanically enhanced enforcer after them, only Carson knows the extent of the danger they face. He’ll have to win over Henrietta’s trust, and her heart, before it’s too late…

Phoebe’s Review:

Lots of adventure mixed in with a little romance and, of course, gadgets.

This is my second steampunk novel, the first being Delaney’s prequel to Clockwork Mafia–which I recommend both because I liked it and it helps set up this book–and I’m now calling myself a steampunk fan! Also, a Seleste deLaney fan.

The thing that shines the most in Clockwork Mafia is the adventure. If you like a fast-paced, fun romp that includes corsets, airships, strong females, and steampunk gadgetry, this is the story for you. Let me get back to that list for a minute and talk about the strong females. Delaney does an excellent job of creating women who have strength in one way or another that doesn’t make you roll your eyes with it’s over-the-top, hear-me-roar-I-am-woman feel. I love her characters.

The romance is secondary to the action, but it’s sweet and is weaved in quite nicely. I like Henrietta and Carson’s first encounter. The instant attraction is believable, but as always, I have a hard time buying the depth of those feelings right off the bat. Delaney does a good job of building on that through the rest of the story.

The steampunk elements are fun. And cool. And a little nerdy. I loved them. Animals and people enhanced by clockworks to become something stronger and, in some cases, very hard to kill. Henrietta’s own inventions are pretty and can be functional or deadly–or both.

I’m looking forward to more from this author!

Four Loves

About the guest reviewer:

Phoebe Chase loves books. Keep your eye on her, she may just tempt you with some stories of her own. You can catch a little of what goes on in her head at Wickedly Twisted Tales.

Twitter ~ Facebook

About the author:

Author of speculative romance (aka Julie Particka, young adult author).Two series coming soon from Entangled Publishing!My steampunk romance series is from Carina Press: BADLANDS and CLOCKWORK MAFIA (coming April 2013).The Blood Kissed novels (KISS OF DEATH and, coming soon, KISS OF LIFE) are available from Mundania Press.

The short stories that begin the Blood Kissed series (OF COURSE I TRY and THE GHOST OF VAMPIRE PRESENT) are available at Decadent Publishing.

My short stories YES,ALANA, THERE IS A SANTA CLAUS; MAKING THE NAUGHTY LIST; and A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS are part of Evernight Publishing’s holiday anthologies, in addition, Evernight is the home of the Cupid’s Conquests multi-author, shared world series. (GUNSHY–book 1, and LOVE & OTHER INDOOR SPORTS–book 4)

Also writes young adult fiction as Julie Particka.

Goodreads ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Website

Rina’s Quick Audio Bytes ~ Audiobook Reviews in Short: NOS4A2 by Joe Hill

NOS4A2

By Joe Hill

Narrated by Kate Mulgrew

Story: 5 stars

Performace: 5 stars

Overall: 5 stars **Rina’s Audio Hall of Fame**

Genre: Horror

“I felt like it needed some color down there, so I painted the walls with the m***** f******.”

Victoria McQueen learns at the tender age of eight, she has an incredible ability to find things by way of a covered bridge; things that may even be hundreds of miles out of reach. Vic must only travel through the darkness, on her Raleigh Tuff Burner, with the object in mind, to end up exactly where she needs to be.

In search for more answers, Vic meets Maggie Leigh and learns there are others with similar gifts, including a stealer of children known as the Wraith. Disregarding Maggie’s warning to never seek out the sinister Rolls Royce with the license plate NOS4A2, Vic comes face to face with it’s driver, Charlie Manx, in turn initiating a war she might not be strong enough to win.

NOS4A2 is an epic roller coaster ride for the mind, full of characters that resonate long after the story has ended. I applaud Joe Hill for creating such a strong female lead in Victoria McQueen, compelling the readers themselves to cheer, cry and bite their nails, as she takes on the evil that is Charlie Manx. Although NOS4A2 is at times gruesome and graphic, the author brilliantly keeps certain aspects off book, allowing the reader’s imagination to do it’s job. A detail I appreciate dearly, considering some of the subject matter.

Kate Mulgrew’s performance reaches hall of fame territory, when Charlie Manx makes his first appearance in NOS4A2. So eerily spot on, I may hear that voice in my nightmares for years to come. I highly recommend the audio version in conjunction with the actual hardcover, which contains illustrations by award-winning Locke & Key artist, Gabriel Rodríguez. If you love a story chock full of exciting ups and emotional downs, weaved expertly by a talented author and performed by an incredible narrator, give NOS4A2 a listen.

~ Rina

Review….Brave Girl by Kate Baum

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Synopsis:

Eve is beyond excitement for her new adventure. Only a truly brave girl could move thousands of miles from home to begin a five year commitment teaching on an American Indian Reservation. As soon as she arrives, she finds that many of the tribe’s people are not very welcoming. They are suspicious of the college students that work and live on the reservation in exchange for free graduate tuition. After a misunderstanding, Eve decides she absolutely despises a certain tribal police officer. Circumstances cause her to keep running into him.

Lou regrets the awkward situation where he first met Eve. He had been openly distrustful of the college girls who have come to live on the reservation. In the past, some of the girls were disrespectful of the tribe’s culture. There is something different about Eve. He can’t get her out of his head. The more he tries to get to know her, the more she pulls away. What will it take for Lou to convince Eve that their attraction for each other cannot be denied?

Eve has given up on men. She has had unsatisfying sex in the past and decided that men are just not worth the trouble. She’s a modern young woman and decides that using a handy tool is all she needs to relieve her sexual frustration. The problem is……there’s a gorgeous sexy police officer that stirs her blood like no man has ever done before. Eve is tough and strong and brave. She doesn’t like the fact that her legs shake and her voice trembles whenever she crosses paths with him. Maybe if she keeps running from him, she won’t have to face what her body…..or her heart is telling her.

****Warning – for adults only. Contains graphic sex including a group sex scene and a m/m sexual situation.*

My Review:

Brave Girl is the second installment of the Girl Series by Kate Baum. I really enjoyed the first in the series, Nice Girl, but I adored and devoured Brave Girl! This is Eve’s story….and what a story it was.

Eve O’Malley has been accepted into a graduate program that placed her teaching on an American Indian Reservation. As much as Eve admires and is interested in American Indian cultures and history, she soon realizes that the local tribe’s people aren’t very welcoming. Add that to the fact that she is living with three strangers and this surely is a situation only a brave girl would be able to handle. Lucky for Eve she has the support and weekly chats with her best girlfriends to keep her spirits up. The girlfriends she has known since forever, they chat about any and everything. These days the main topic of their weekly web chats is the orgasm pact they all made before splitting up in different directions for school. You see, none of them have ever had an orgasm courtesy of a man, and now they are determined to experience just that. Only with the lack of friendly faces here, there’s no way Eve is going to win. Or so she thinks. When a handsome, rugged police officer catches her eye, things start to get interesting.

Lou Red Wolf immediately notices the new red-haired spit fire teacher…probably because she is currently giving a fellow officer a verbal bitch slap after a few undeserved rude comments his peer has made to her and her roommates. These new teachers weren’t exactly welcome here. Not after the debacle the last teachers this program had brought to their Reservation. But no matter what the previous situation, Lou knows his fellow officer is out of line and feels terribly for what had just been exchanged. He knows he owes her an apology on behalf of his department and now has an excuse to come back to see her. Hopefully he will be able to cut through her temper long enough to hear his apology and hopefully give him a chance to introduce himself properly…because he absolutely wants to get to know her better.

Eve and Lou have a whole lot to deal with on their way to a friendship….let alone attempting to take things further. Their attraction is undeniable. Unfortunately also undeniable is the contempt his family, friends, and well, most of the town feels towards these new girls. The odds are stacked against them from day one.

This book was a-freaking-mazing. Eve has so much life, spirit and determination. She knows who she is and why she is the way she is and has no apologies for any of it. She has a short fuse, speaks (hell, sometimes yells) her mind and fights for what she believes is right…consequences be damned. She also had a side she rarely shows, and we were lucky to see it. When she lets her guard down, it only adds to her amazing personality and gives her a depth I could feel. Lou is absolutely delicious. He was an alpha male that simmered slowly and came to a rolling boil before our eyes. He always had a dominating presence but when he showed it in a sexual manner, it was delectable! Together, Eve and Lou are a fantastic match and compliment one another beautifully!

The secondary characters in this story were all equally well-developed and I feel like I could pick up the phone and invite them to dinner. Along with the original BFF’s of Grace, Dee, and Janie, the newbies we meet, Cora, Joe, Julia, Lauren, Lane and Cash are a group I hope we get to see more of. There were a few twists in this story that I totally didn’t see coming but only added to my adoration to each one of them. I find that it’s rare to be able to get to build that relationship to a whole cast of characters, but I did it with Brave Girl….Well done, Kate!

I will continue to look forward to the releases in the Girl Series (Funny Girl and Smart Girl) and have to thank Kate for giving us Eve and Lou. This book should absolutely be on your summer reading list!

Five Loves

About the author:

I have always been a voracious reader. My favorite genres were tailored to YA type of horror, fantasy and science fiction. I guess it fit being that I am a middle school librarian. I have a young adult series in mind that I always told myself I would one day write. Then, at the young age of 46, I picked up an erotic romance book. I only read it out of curiosity. It was a best seller and ALL the teachers in my school were talking about this particular book. You know the one. It had a certain “tie” on the cover. Instantly, overnight, I became of fan of erotic romance. That summer, I think I read twenty erotic romance books. Since I work in a school, I have the beauty of summers off. I read day and night. My face was always plastered in front of my e-reader. I couldn’t get enough of erotic romance. The passion was exciting and contagious!
What this genre did for me was to bring out characters in my head that I had been dreaming about for years. I became obsessed at the idea of writing my own fantasies. Reading other talented authors gave me the inspiration to write stories about my favorite sexy alpha men. I created the “Girl Series”. Please email me with your comments. I would love to hear what you think!

Website ~ Goodreads

Cover Reveal…Malicious Mischief by Marianne Harden

I am pleased to bring you the cover reveal for Malicious Mischief by Marianne Harden! We also have a great excerpt and a great giveaway from Marianne (rafflecopter below)! Enjoy!

Book Links:

Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ Barnes and Noble

Synopsis:

Career chameleon, Rylie Keyes, must keep her current job. If not, the tax assessor will evict her ailing grandfather and auction off their ancestral home. When a senior she shuttles for a Bellevue, Washington retirement home winds up dead in her minibus, sticky with a half-eaten s’more, head clad in a cellophane bag, and a pocketed complaint letter accusing her of driving by Braille, her goal to keep her job hits a road bump.

The deceased was thought to be a penniless Nazi concentration camp survivor with a silly grudge against Rylie. However, the victim has enemies who will stop at nothing to keep their part in the murder a secret.

Forced to dust off the PI training she’s kept hidden from her ex-detective grandfather, Rylie must align with a circus-bike-wheeling Samoan to solve the murder, all while juggling the attentions of two very hot police officers.

Excerpt:

~When the chips are down, the buffalo is empty~

Am I a flake? Sort of. But I’m trying to change. My grandfather has property tax issues, and what troubles Granddad, troubles me. Good thing I’ve held down a steady job for months. A major big deal. Not the getting a job part—I’ve had lots—but the held down aspect. Somehow, I always end up unemployed, but not today.

Today, I am Rylie Tabitha Keyes, chauffeur to the seniors at Fountain of Youth Retirement Home (FoY.)

It was dawn Sunday as I eased my employer’s van from one freeway onto another. After that, I concentrated on the wet asphalt up ahead. I didn’t want to think about my job history or our financial woes. Instead I focused on the summery sunrise over the Cascade Mountains due east. I stared at it a moment, charmed by its contrast to the more typical Bellevue, Washington gloom brooding overhead.

I should’ve been asleep, but I needed to toss trash from a fundraiser rolling around in the back of the van. Leland Rosenberg, my boss at Fountain of Youth Retirement Home, had asked me to dump the bags at his second business, Rosenberg Laboratory, as FoY’s Dumpsters were full from a recent bathroom remodel. His mood had been edgy, kind of insistent I dispose of them last night. I confess, before I could carry out this task, a minor traffic accident and an all-important overnight obligation had waylaid me. I didn’t bother to sigh over how blunders always seemed to pepper my work performance. Some things were fated to be. After all, I slogged at my job for money not joy. It isn’t that I don’t like working at FoY, it just isn’t my dream gig. You see, I yearned to be a private detective, a Veronica Mars 2.0. Problem is, my grandfather is against the idea. Dead set against it.

So with the stench from the trash bags mounting, I steered FoY’s van onto the off-ramp and headed toward Rosenberg Laboratory just off the freeway exit. My mind was filled with thoughts of a steamy shower, maybe a few hours of shut-eye before punching the clock at nine. I stared forward, squinted. And iced over. Up ahead. Wrong-way traveling. A panel truck advanced, peeling rubber.

Faster.

Closer.

Zeroed in to hit me.

I whipped the van off the road, the red, white, and blue panel truck whizzing past. I slammed on the brakes, fighting to control the wheel. I wrestled with it, panicked, my mind flashing on one fortunate thing: no seniors were in the van.

Tons of hazards burst before my eyes. I struggled to absorb them. A mangled guardrail zigzagged up ahead; its many gaps from other out-of-control vehicles big as life. Worse was the wall of giant Douglas-firs growing beyond, lower trunks scarred, limbs low and swaying.

I was going to careen through the railing.

I was going to hit the trees.

I was going to die.

Enter to win! Marianne is giving away a $25 gift card to the book retailer of the winner’s choice!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the author:

Marianne Harden loves a good laugh. So much so, she cannot stop humor from spilling into her books. Over the years she has backpacked through the wilds of Australia, explored the exotics of Asia, soaked up the sun in the Caribbean, and delighted in the historic riches of Europe. Her goals in life are simple: do more good than harm and someday master the do-not-mess-with-me look. She divides her time between Switzerland and Washington State where she lives with her husband and two children.

Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Goodreads

Release Day Blitz….Avenging Angel by Cynthia Eden

Welcome to the Avenging Angel by Cynthia Eden Release Day Blitz!

Book Blurb:

EARTHLY DELIGHTS

With a messed up family background and a tendency to grow claws and fangs, Tanner Chance isn’t exactly the boy next door. But he’s a decent cop, and he keeps himself on the side of the good guys. Convenient, because when he rescues a survivor of a horrific shifter attack he finds himself instantly smitten—with an honest-to-goodness angel, as innocent as she is irresistible.

Marna may be angelic, but she’s not stupid or weak. She can take care of herself. Tanner is more temptation than protection anyway. Or so she thinks, until someone wearing her face starts taking out some of New Orleans’ more unsavory paranormals. With police and predators both gunning for her blood, Marna has no choice but to trust Tanner…even though what’s sparking between them is hotter than anything holy.

“Avenging Angel” By Cynthia Eden

EXCERPT

The delicate angel had broken.

Did she even realize that tears slid down her cheeks? Tanner Chance kept guard by her side. His hand was on her arm, stroking her.

He couldn’t seem to stop touching her.

They’d found her body in the swamp. At first, he’d thought that she was already dead.

So much blood.

Then she’d moved, and he’d realized just what his sick freak of a brother had done.

Sliced the wings right off an angel.

Her lashes lifted and her eyes, the palest blue he’d ever seen, locked right on him. No, those eyes seemed to see right through him. Tanner cleared his throat. He was a cop. He’d spent too many years seeing blank expressions like that on the faces of victims. “You…you’re safe now.” He’d keep her safe. “You just need to rest.”

She didn’t speak, and he didn’t know what else he was supposed to say to her. He never knew what to say to the victims. He just knew how to make the bastards who hurt them pay.

He was very good at delivering justice. But this time…

An angel.

She had to hate him. She knew who he was. Knew that his brother was the fucked-up asshole who’d tortured her. Tanner cleared his throat and finally managed to tell her, “I’m not like him.”

Her eyes never left his.

And he was still touching her. Her skin was the softest he’d ever felt. The smoothest. Her flesh was golden and perfect.

Or, it had been, until claws had ripped into her back and torn that flesh wide open.

Her breath exhaled softly. “When I’m stronger…”

Tanner leaned closer because he could barely hear her words. “What is it? What do you need?” Anything. He’d do—

“When I’m stronger, you should…stay away from me.”

He glanced at her small hands. They’d had to bind her wrists when they strapped her down. Not to hurt her, but to keep the little blond angel from hurting them.

The angel before him—Marna—she wasn’t some sweet and gentle guardian angel.

She was an angel of death. One who could, and had, killed with just a touch.

He could touch her all that he wanted. That was the way the game worked with angels. But the instant her hand touched him…

Dead.

If she wanted him dead, all she had to do was touch him, and she could send him straight to hell.

She smiled at him. The smile made her seem even lovelier and then the angel said, “When I’m stronger, when I’m free…get as far away from me as you can.” The faintest of pauses then, “Because I’ll have my vengeance.”

She didn’t look so broken anymore.

“Remember…to run, shifter.”

He didn’t move, and he damn well kept touching her. “I’m not the running kind.” Not anymore. The scared kid he’d been had died long ago. Now he fought any bastard who came his way—and he made sure to win his battles.

His angel kept her cold smile and told him, “Wait and see…you will be…”

Book Links:

Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Books A Million ~ IndieBound

About the Author:

USA Today Best-selling author Cynthia Eden has written over twenty-five novels and novellas. She was named as a 2013 RITA^® finalist for her paranormal romance, ANGEL IN CHAINS, and, in 2011, Cynthia Eden was a RITA finalist for her romantic suspense, DEADLY FEAR.

Cynthia is a southern girl who loves horror movies, chocolate, and happy endings. She has always wanted to write (don’t most authors say that?), and particularly enjoys creating stories about monsters–vampires, werewolves, and even the real-life monsters that populate her romantic suspense stories.

Cynthia’s foreign sales for her books include translations to Japan, Germany, Thailand, Greece, and Brazil.

(Back in the day…) Cynthia graduated summa cum laude from the University of South Alabama where she studied Sociology (because people interest her) and Communication (because she likes to write about said people). Cynthia has worked as a college admissions counselor, a teacher, and as an editor. But now, Cynthia is thrilled to be spending her days making up stories.

Website/Blog ~ Twitter ~ FB Author Page ~ Goodreads

Release Day Event….South of Surrender by Laura Kaye

South of Surrender Release Day Blitz Giveaway

From the amazing Laura Kaye:

“I am thrilled to welcome Chrysander Notos to the world today! Chrys is the hero of South of Surrender, the third book in my Greek-mythology inspired Hearts of the Anemoi series. The Anemoi were wind gods the Greeks associated with controlling the wind, the weather, and the seasons, and as the summer god, Chrys is the hottest of them all! Need more proof? Check out this hot excerpt and the giveaway that follows!”

Unable to resist the draw to her any longer, Chrys claimed her mouth, devouring, searching, taking.

Laney froze, then was right there with him.

Their tongues met, dueled, twirled. He fisted his hand in her hair and guided her, deepening when he wanted, restraining her when he needed.

Her hands slid up his chest toward his neck.

Chrys gasped into the kiss, but fought the reflexive desire to pull away. Instead, he pushed her back one step, then another, until her back encountered the door. He grabbed her arms and pressed them to the surface over her head. The control flooded relief through him and fueled his arousal another notch.

“I want to touch you,” she whispered around a kiss.

His brain scrambled for a moment, and then he wedged his body in tighter, the ridge of his cock coming in snug against her belly. She unleashed a strangled moan as Chrys plundered her mouth, relished her sweet taste, bathed in her life-giving heat.

Good gods, her body was absolutely alive with her arousal. She clenched and unclenched her hands, her arm muscles flexing where he restrained her. Her abdomen writhed against his, creating a maddening friction against his erection. Her thighs shifted and squeezed.

It was only with the barest of restraint that he resisted willing her clothing away, turning her to face the wall, and tugging her hips out so he could bury himself deep.

Lost in the imagery, Chrys didn’t notice the change in her movements until she slowly dragged her injured leg up the outside of his. Her wrists pressed against his hold and a yearning moan worked up her throat. “Chrys,” she whimpered, her thigh moving higher and wrapping around.

His pulse lunged into a sprint. Damnit. He pulled back and stepped away, the phantom feeling of her flesh trapping his spiking fear through him. “I’m sorry,” he said, rubbing his lips, regret a rock in his stomach. He could still feel her, taste her. Making sure she was steady on her feet, he dropped his hands from holding hers.

GIVEAWAY!

Win 1 of 5 $50 gift cards to winners’ choice of Amazon/B&N/iTunes!

HOW TO ENTER?

Did you have a favorite line from the excerpt? Comment with your email address to enter to win! Open to international! Giveaway runs for one day and ends at midnight PST on May 28!

Visit more participating Blitz Day sites for more excerpts and more ways to win! And look out for the South of Surrender Blog Tour to start next week with more excerpts and giveaways! Check out the awesome early reviews coming in for the book, too!

Thanks for reading!

Laura

About South of Surrender:

She’s the only one who can see through his golden boy façade to the broken god within..

Chrysander Notos, Supreme God of the South Wind and Summer, is on a mission: save Eurus from his death sentence and prove his troubled brother can be redeemed. But Eurus fights back, triggering vicious storms that threaten the mortal realm and dangerously drain Chrys.

Laney Summerlyn refuses to give up her grandfather’s horse farm, despite her deteriorating vision. More than ever, she needs the organized routine of her life at Summerlyn Stables, until a ferocious storm brings an impossible—and beautiful—creature crashing down from the heavens.

Injured while fighting Eurus, Chrys finds himself at the mercy of a mortal woman whose compassion and acceptance he can’t resist. As they surrender to the passion flaring between them, immortal enemies close in, forcing Chrys to choose between his brother and the only woman who’s ever loved the real him.

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Add to your Goodreads Shelf!

About Laura Kaye:

Laura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over a dozen books in contemporary and paranormal romance. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.

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Review….Tangled by Emma Chase

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Synopsis:

Drew Evans is a winner. Handsome and arrogant, he makes multimillion dollar business deals and seduces New York’s most beautiful women with just a smile. He has loyal friends and an indulgent family. So why has he been shuttered in his apartment for seven days, miserable and depressed?

He’ll tell you he has the flu.

But we all know that’s not really true.

Katherine Brooks is brilliant, beautiful and ambitious. She refuses to let anything – or anyone – derail her path to success. When Kate is hired as the new associate at Drew’s father’s investment banking firm, every aspect of the dashing playboy’s life is thrown into a tailspin. The professional competition she brings is unnerving, his attraction to her is distracting, his failure to entice her into his bed is exasperating.

Then, just when Drew is on the cusp of having everything he wants, his overblown confidence threatens to ruin it all. Will he be able untangle his feelings of lust and tenderness, frustration and fulfillment? Will he rise to the most important challenge of his life?

Can Drew Evans win at love?

Tangled is not your mother’s romance novel. It is an outrageous, passionate, witty narrative about a man who knows a lot about women…just not as much as he thinks he knows. As he tells his story, Drew learns the one thing he never wanted in life, is the only thing he can’t live without.

My Review:

Tangled is the debut from author Emma Chase. By the third page I was laughing out loud and completely hooked!! This book was deliciously AMAZING!

This story open up with Drew Evans, über successful investment banker and ladies man extraordinaire, complaining to us about his awful bout with the flu….or so he is trying to convince us (as well as trying to convince himself). Turns out Drew is the newest member of the Broken Heart Club, something he’s totally unfamiliar with. You see, Drew is a wealthy, handsome, successful, young and single playboy. He loves his life. Working hard and playing harder. It’s a new girl every weekend and that’s how he likes it. He has no desire to be tied down…well, at least in the whole relationship sense that is *wink*. It’s at the start of one of those bachelor weekends that he meets a stunningly beautiful brunette who turns him down flat….a concept he’s also unfamiliar with. Naturally he can’t stop thinking about her…and as luck would have it, he won’t have to wonder about her for too long as she is the newest member of his family’s investment firm. Drew isn’t sure whether to curse or thank the fates for this little surprise. Kate is totally off limits…not only does she work with him, she’s engaged to another man and there’s also that little problem of her shutting down every advance he makes. Drew has never wanted anyone more than he wants Kate. Ever. Will he be as successful with Kate as he is in every other aspect of his life? God, he sure hopes so.

So as I had said, by page three I was HOOKED! This book is effing HILARIOUS! I will say, I have never read a romance told from the guy’s perspective, but Emma kicked ass! Drew is seriously a guy any gal would be lucky to have. He is funny, charming, handsome, the whole package. He’s loyal to his bro-friends. He loves his family, even if he has a colorful nickname for his sister and although he’s pretty much a womanizer, he does it in the cutest way! What’s most enjoyable about this story is that he talks to the reader. Actually speaks to us. It plays out like a Ferris Bueller movie! Like, in the middle of a scene, Drew stops and makes side notes to the reader. I LOVED that! It was such a different reading experience and will be really hard to beat. I loved Kate as well. She is a perfect match for Drew. And she knocks him to his knees…hard and fast and it is delicious to watch play out. Oh, I should probably mention there are some of the hottest and well-written smexy scenes I’ve had the pleasure of reading and had me drooling! Damn, Emma can write a sex filled weekend like no other! Over all I LURVED this book and devoured it. It was one of those take-your-ereader-everywhere-you-go-in-case-you-have-a-mesely-five-minutes-to-spare kind of reads.

If you’ve started your summer reading list, move this one to the TOP! And if you haven’t started your summer reading list, who cares….buy this book and read it now! You will not be disappointed! Thank you, Emma, for a kick-ass, fresh and addictive read….I will certainly be looking for more of your work in the future!

Five Loves

About the author:

By day, Emma Chase is a devoted wife and mother of two who resides in a small, rural town in New Jersey. By night she is a keyboard crusader, toiling away the hours to bring her colorful characters and their endless antics to life. She has a long standing love/hate relationship with caffeine.

Emma is an avid reader. Before her children were born she was known to consume whole books in a single day. Writing has also always been a passion and with the 2013 release of her debut romantic comedy, Tangled, the ability to now call herself an author is nothing less than a dream come true.

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Frisky Friday featuring Ruby & Troy from His Risk to Take by Tessa Bailey

This Frisky Friday features Ruby and Troy from Tessa Bailey’s latest release: His Risk to Take….Enjoy!

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When his hot gaze landed on her mostly naked body, he sucked in a breath. She forced herself to stand still, keep her hands from covering her breasts like they were tempted to do. Let him look his fill. Finally, when she thought she might catch fire under his heated gaze, he stalked toward her.

Troy kept coming until he’d forced her back up against the hallway wall. His arms shot out to rest on either side of her head, his gaze burning a path from her breasts down to her bare legs and back up again. Her skin felt bathed in fire everywhere he looked. Her nipples puckered for his attention. Goose bumps broke out along her arms. She couldn’t take it a second longer.

“Are you going to spend all night looking? Or are you actually going to do something about it?”

He took another step closer, bringing their bodies flush, growling deep in his throat at the contact. She watched as a transformation took place in him. Gone was the man concerned for her safety who’d cooked her an omelet. He’d been replaced by someone raw and assertive. The change should have intimidated her, but she couldn’t deny feeling a rush of excitement. Anticipation. “You might get away with running that smart mouth to other people. But you won’t get away with it here. If you continue to challenge me with every word out of your mouth, I will fuck you repeatedly until you learn to play nice.”

Part of her screamed in offense, the other half wanted to beg him to do it. In this moment, with a thousand sensations pouring through her, the latter half won hands down. “You’d better get started, then.”

“You’re going to regret that.”

His mouth descended, hard and punishing, on hers. Her desperate moan collided with his as he forced her lips open and licked into her mouth. Ruby immediately went light-headed, her balance deserting her. She clutched the front of his shirt to ground herself, give herself the leverage to return his kiss, but his mouth dominated hers, rebuking her for challenging him. She fought back, pulling him closer to suck his tongue, bite at his lips. He sunk his hands into her hair, tugging just enough to let her know how close to the edge she’d pushed him. Finally, he pulled away for breath, air racing in and out past his lips.

When he spoke, his voice sounded raw. “What changed your mind?”

“Does it matter?”

“Yes.” He leaned in and nipped the underside of her jaw. “It damn well matters.”

Heat pooled between her legs, stealing even more of her breath. She couldn’t think of anything but the truth. “Maybe I just decided to live in the moment.”

Troy pulled back to study her, scrutinizing her expression. Base hunger clouding his features, he shook his head once. “No.”

“What do you mean ‘no’?”

Using his teeth, he scraped a path up the side of her neck. “I mean, when I sink my cock between those insane thighs, I need to know you’re not going to regret it afterward.” He dropped his hand to the underside of her panties, where he palmed her roughly. “I need you right there with me, loving every second of me riding you. Knowing I’m going to do it all over again within the hour.”

She bit back a moan as he applied pressure right where she needed it. “You’re turning me down? It doesn’t feel like it.”

“I’m not capable of turning you down,” he said on a pained laugh, gaze devouring her breasts. “I’m going to take you to my bed and pleasure the fuck out of you. But the panties stay on. It’s nonnegotiable.”

Her entire system rebelled against his words. How could he touch her, kiss her like this, and refuse to take it all the way? It didn’t make sense. Men didn’t have that kind of willpower, did they? She certainly didn’t have that kind of willpower. “W-what? Is it too late to give a different answer about why I changed my mind?”

“Yes. But don’t worry, baby.” Before she could register his intention, he’d swung her up into his arms. “Even with your panties on, it’ll still be the best sex of your life.”

Book Blast….Horn Gate by Damon Suede

I am beyond excited to be a part of the Book Blast for Horn Gate by Damon Suede! Enjoy and don’t forget to enter the rafflecopter below!

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Book Blurb:

Open at your own risk.

Librarian Isaac Stein spends his lumpy, lonely days restoring forgotten books, until the night he steals an invitation to a scandalous club steeped in sin. Descending into its bowels, he accidentally discovers Scratch, a wounded demon who feeds on lust.

Consorting with a mortal is a bad idea, but Scratch can’t resist the man who knows how to open the portal that will free him and his kind. After centuries of possessing mortals, he finds himself longing to surrender.

To be together, Isaac and Scratch must flirt with damnation and escape an inhuman trafficking ring—and they have to open their hearts or they will never unlock the Horn Gate.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the author:

Damon Suede grew up out-n-proud deep in the anus of right-wing America, and escaped as soon as it was legal. Though new to romance fiction, Damon has been writing for print, stage, and screen for two decades. He’s won some awards, but counts his blessings more often: his amazing friends, his demented family, his beautiful husband, his loyal fans, and his silly, stern, seductive Muse who keeps whispering in his ear, year after year. Get in touch with him at DamonSuede.com.

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ARC Review….Lockout by Maya Cross

Lockout releases May 22

Synopsis:

Who is Sebastian Lock?

Sophia had never felt attraction like that before. Raw. Electric. Irresistible. Swept off her feet by the dashing, enigmatic billionaire Sebastian Lock, she was taken on a journey of self-discovery, taken to places she never dreamed she’d go.

But things are never as simple as they appear. Sophia’s trust is a fragile thing, and Sebastian seems insistent on testing it. He has his own demons to battle, and nobody has brought them to the fore like she has.

As their relationship deepens, and Sophia begins to break down his walls, all that greets her are more questions. Why is Sebastian fighting so hard to keep her at a distance? Who is the girl on the background of his phone? And why does the strange tattoo on his chest seem so familiar?

These puzzles plague her, but as Sebastian’s mysteries begin to unravel, she must face an entirely different truth. Staying in the dark may be painful, but finding the answers could be deadly.

My Review:

This is the second installment of The Alpha Group Series by Maya Cross and picks up where book one, Locked, left us. I was eagerly awaiting this story and finding out what was to come next for Sebastian and Sophia.

Sophia is enjoying what started out as a casual fling with Sebastian, but is slowly turning into something much deeper…to her at least. She has been burned in the past and knows that Sebastian wasn’t looking for a serious relationship when they first got together but she knows she sees the same feelings developing in Sebastian that she has developed herself. Now she must decide if she’s ready to lay it all out on the line and express what Sebastian is coming to mean to her. Will he reciprocate?

Sebastian is a mysterious man with a lot of secrets. Some secrets he is willing to share with Sophia, as she is coming to mean much more than a casual fling to him. Some secrets aren’t his to share. He knows Sophia is going to want more from him besides great sex…and the problem is he is finding he wants the same things from her. Sebastian realizes it’s only a matter of time before she asks him to open up and let her in, and he knows not being able to let her in completely will break what they have found.

Together, Sophia and Sebastian will have to walk a perilous line between letting a relationship grow or cutting off the sunlight and letting it wither and die completely.

As I had said earlier, I was anxiously awaiting part two in the Alpha Group Series, Lockout, and I wasn’t disappointed. Sophia and Sebastian continue their hot and heavy love affair with heated nights together and delicious chemistry…this time, however, we get to see the bliss spent in the hours after which eventually turn into mornings after. Sophia, of course is thrilled but something is bothering Sebastian. Eventually Sophia calls him out on his aloof attitude, because honestly, that’s what kind of a kick ass heroine she is. He shares some things about his past, and we learn to love Sebastian for more than his wealth and devastating good looks. He has come from some very humble beginnings and has loved, and lost, along the way. But it’s when Sophia wants to know more about his work that turns things into an ugly direction. All of this, added with more hint of mystery and an unsolved murder, has Lockout earning a spot on my recommendation list!

I am looking forward to seeing what Ms. Cross has in store for Sophia and Sebastian as the series continues! Thank you, Maya, for another fabulous read!

Four Loves

About the author:

Maya Cross is writer who enjoys making people blush. Growing up with a mother who worked in a book store, she read a lot from a very young age, and soon enough picked up a pen of her own. Her previous work spans many genres including horror, science fiction, and fantasy, and she has now started this pen name as an outlet for her spicier thoughts (they were starting to overflow). She likes her heroes strong but mysterious, her encounters sizzling, and her characters true to life.

She believes in writing familiar narratives told with a twist, so most of her stories will feel comfortable, but hopefully a little unique. Whatever genre she’s writing, finding a fascinating concept is the first, and most important step.

The Alpha Group is her first foray into erotic romance, and she absolutely loved writing it.

When she’s not writing, she’s playing tennis, trawling her home town of Sydney for new inspiration, and drinking too much coffee

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