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Peace by Piece by S.J. McGran….Blog Tour & Review

by Courtney

Title: Peace by Piece

Author: S.J McGran

Release Date: June 29, 2015

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Synopsis

There’s an expiration date on every life. A ticking clock counting down the seconds until you no longer exist in this world.

Each tick of the clock is louder for me.

I don’t have an eternity. I have one year. Just twelve short months.

If life promised an infinity he could have been my forever, and without a doubt I should have been his always.

Excerpt

“Been waiting for you, Genevieve. I know it. You were made for me.” He continues
assaulting my lips and neck with his kisses, pausing at the hollow of my throat
to whisper there, “You feel that? You feel the world tip on its axis when we’re
together? It’s earth-shattering. It’s like we can fix everything that’s wrong
in this world just by being together. Do you feel it, V?”

I let out a needy moan from the back of my throat. I want to feel it. I want his
words to be true. I want more than anything in this world for our relationship,
for his kisses to have healing powers.

Standing there in the middle of my tiny cabin, with the most
beautiful, amazing man holding me in his arms, with his lips driving my pulse
through the roof, I send up a silent prayer to every God that might be
listening to let his words be true.

Please, let him heal me. Let this
pain, this suffering be worth something. Give me this man, please. Give him to
me and I’ll never ask for anything again. I’ll be your greatest servant, your
best disciple. Just give me this man. Please.

He pulls back and I feel the loss of his touch immediately. “Come on, sweetness,
we need to get you washed up.” Grabbing my hand in his he pulls me through the
one room cabin to the small closed-off bathroom. Picking me up he sets me on
the vanity while he goes to the shower to test the water temperature. Once he’s
apparently satisfied, he turns back to me
and takes my breath away with the strength of
his stare.

This wasn’t supposed to be our fate. He’s just a kid. He’s not supposed to fall in
love, yet.

And, yet I know it is inevitable. I see it in the way he looks at me, the way he
touches me. It doesn’t make sense and yet there it is. I recognize it because
if I were to force my eyes off of him and look at myself in the mirror I’d see
the same emotions reflected back at me.

This is the moment where I either push or jump.

And, I have no idea what to do.

“Don’t shut me out,” his words are whisper quiet but they bounce off the tiled walls
mockingly. “Don’t push me away, V. Don’t fight this.”

“I have to, Levi. I can’t let you fall in love with me.”

He steps up to me and once again nestles my face in his steady grasp. “You don’t
have a choice.” He absorbs whatever argument I was going to say with his kiss.
Expertly he pushes back my excuses, making me focus on nothing but the way he
makes me feel. He completely surrounds me and I get lost in him. Just like he
wanted.

Review

I have not read any books by MJ but after this, I will start reading more of her.

Peace by Piece will make you stop and think. Stop and look back over your life. It will make you question everything. It will make you want more out of life. It will make you treasure life more.

There are many books that have hit home for me because I have gone through those experiences in my life. And this book is no different in that fact. But this book also shows me what all take for granted every day – life.

The story of Levi and Genevieve will make you smile, cry and laugh. The love, strength, hope you will feel as you read this will make you heart grow.

You can’t read this book and not feel touched by it. I won’t give any details away about their story. You just have to read it. It’s a story that will stay with you long after you finish.

MJ wrote about something that many people unfortunately have to go through daily. However, it’s the basis of the love and strength that is filled throughout this book that really makes this book stand out.

We all make choices every day but always remember, tomorrow is not promised to any of us.

Thank you MJ for writing a book that is so heart-felt and touching.

Buy Links

Amazon – Barnes & Noble – iBooks

Smashwords – Kobo

About S.J McGran

One day I woke up and realized there were people living inside of me. Their words were too potent to ignore. So, I started writing them. I started telling their stories. And, now I’m too addicted to stop.

When I’m not writing and talking to imaginary people I’m probably curled up on the couch with my husband, and one of our fur babies.

My other obsessions include reading smutty romance, the Detroit Tiger, ice cream, pizza, coffee, and craft beer.

Connect with S.J

Facebook – Twitter – Blog/Website – Monthly Newsletter – Readers Group

Blog Tour June 2015 New Releases New Reviews

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Relinquish by M.N Forgy….Blog Tour & Review

by Courtney

Blurb

***WARNING*** This novel contains explicit language, sex, drugs, violence, and sexual situations that some might find offensive. This book is intended for adults 18+ years of age.

In my world, there is no such thing as love. It is just a lie we whisper into our client’s ear. Love is foreign and hazardous. What I did not expect was to bare my soul to a man who is as egotistical as he is dangerous.

His name is Landon. Despite his blackened soul, he tried to save me, but what he didn’t expect was my torturous fate to catch up with me.

To your father, I’m the escort.

To your mother, I’m the whore.

To the legal system, I’m the prostitute.

In the end, I’m just the other woman.

I have no idea if I will continue to survive, if I will ever find my path aside from the gritty streets I know so well. There is a good chance I will wind up in the ditch like most women in my position. Surrendering to my fate is the only choice I have. I must relinquish it all.

Are you ready to meet Landon Blackwell?

RELINQUISH IS NOW AVAILABLE!

**Can be read as a stand alone**

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1R6h9zJ

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

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

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

Following Jayden across the way, I skim the crowd at the café and land on a pair of handsome eyes. So handsome, I stop walking.

Sitting at a table full of sexy men is a short, blond-haired guy, his face hard and chiseled. My God, his arms are pumped with muscle as his hands flex around a brown football. My core blossoms with incredible need as I eye his toned arms, and what I assume is a matching hard chest beneath his jersey.

“Charlie, let’s go!”Jayden yells, making me realize I’ve been standing here like an idiot, staring at a sexy stranger in a café. The guy smirks at me and tosses the football in the air, breaking eye contact.

I tuck my hair behind my ear, giving a small smile in return before walking forward. I suddenly crash into something, the impact throwing me back on my ass hard.

“Shit!”I shout with pain.

“Fuck!”roars a male voice standing above me. My eyes jolt upward to find a broad-shouldered man in a black suit, holding a broken plastic cup in one hand with coffee spilled all down his front. My stomach tangles into a bundle of tight knots, and my hands tremble from the strength and power this man radiates. Oh, shit.

“I am so sorry!”I stand up and start frantically brushing at the man’s very expensive-looking suit. My God, it’s like rubbing a rock. His body is so toned and strong beneath my palms, which isn’t helping me get a grip on myself. My eyes skirt up his arms, finding the fabric stretched tight around his biceps and causing me to swallow the lump forming in my throat. The knots in my stomach crawl into a fit of butterflies, and my heart races. He’s handsome—intimidating, really. The way his toned body and squared shoulders take up the space takes my breath away. His jaw is chiseled to perfection with scruff claiming it perfectly. I bite my bottom lip to keep from moaning.

“It’s fine, really,”he states, his voice deep as he grabs my wrists to stop me from slapping at his stained shirt pathetically. My body sparks with electricity where he grips me firmly. My mouth parts and my breathing shallows as I slowly trail my eyes from his hold on my wrist to his eyes. They’re green with little brown flecks thrown around them. They’re captivating. His jawline is strong and defined, his nose broad, and his dark hair is smoothed back with just a trail hanging loosely out of place on the front of his forehead from our sudden run-in. He’s fucking gorgeous, and I can’t look away.

“Are you all right?”he questions, raising an eyebrow. His voice is low and rough, making my eyes focus on his mouth.

“I-”I stutter, completely lost in the thought of his luscious lips on mine. These lips are not like any belonging to the guys at my high school, that’s for sure. When you look at them, his lips look like they’re made to make love to a woman’s body. The thoughts of the glorious pleasure they could bring make my cheeks warm, my chest ache.

“Charlie, let’s go!”Jayden hollers, catching mine and Sexy Man In a Suit’s attention.

“That your friend?”he asks, his lips that hold the perfect cupid’s bow turn into a slight smirk.

I open my mouth to speak but a wild hiccup noise escapes instead, caused from the wild beat of my heart against my chest. I close my eyes, humiliated.

He chuckles, releasing his hold of my wrists. The way he laughs causes my skin to rise with goose bumps.

“I gotta go,”I whisper nervously. I look down and stride quickly toward Jayden, praying I don’t bump into any more hot men on the way.

“Lord, give me strength. Vegas is already becoming a bad influence,”I mutter, catching up with Jayden.

Review

I knew jumping into Relinquish, that it was going to be different than Forgy’s MC series. What I was not expecting was to absolutely love this more than her MC series.

Relinquish is about Charlie and Landon. Charlie is a girl raised in the foster system since the age of 9. Now an adult, Charlie is trying to earn a living and make something out of herself. However, she has a few bumps and roadblocks to overcome. And they aren’t exactly easy or pretty to get around. Landon has been raised in his father’s estate and that lifestyle is all he knows. But he’s used to women like Charlie, or so he thought. And I won’t say anything more than that. But I will tell you that there is a few twists thrown in that will have you going “OMG” and “WTF.”

“I just wanted to pay my rent, not feel so lonely, and be free. Have some control over my life. But in the end, I’m owned again.”

Forgy does a fabulous job of writing this style. I have had the privilege of watching her grow with each book she has written and she just gets better and better. I was pulled into Charlie’s world immediately and just couldn’t let go. Forgy wrote Charlie as such a strong woman, yet dainty that is just guts when you she feels any pain or hurt. Landon – what can I say. The man is terrifyingly handsome. He exudes such a strong and alarming persona, yet he intrigues you. Jayden, Charlie’s best friend, I love that girl! She definitely knows how to hold her own and doesn’t take shit from anyone.

Like I said before, Forgy wrote this story amazingly well. It is by far, my favorite by her. This proves, that not only can she write a story, but she is able to make a story come to life with her words. I love when the suspense in the story has me holding my breath and trying to figure out everything. Somethings, you will easily guess as the story goes on. However, Forgy has a few tricks up her sleeve that smacks you in the face.

Outstanding job Forgy! You will definitely be winning over a new set of fans plus your exiting followers with this one!

About the Author:

M.N. Forgy was raised in Missouri where she still lives with her family. She’s a soccer mom by day and a saucy writer by night. M.N. Forgy started writing at a young age but never took it seriously until years later, as a stay-at-home mom, she opened her laptop and started writing again. As a role model for her children, she felt she couldn’t live with the “what if” anymore and finally took a chance on her character’s story. So, with her glass of wine in hand and a stray Barbie sharing her seat, she continues to create and please her fans.

Stalk Her: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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King by T.M. Frazier…Blog Tour & Review

by Courtney

KING. IS. HERE!

NOW AVAILABLE

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1ALhF4i

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1AOJb0q

iBooks: http://apple.co/1KreL6J

Nook: http://bit.ly/1B7H73R

Blurb

Homeless, hungry and desperate enough to steal, Doe has no memories of who she is or where she comes from.

A notorious career criminal just released from prison, King is someone you don’t want to cross unless you’re prepared to pay him back in blood, sweat, pu$$y or a combination of all three.

King’s future hangs in the balance. Doe’s is written in her past. When they come crashing together, they will have to learn that sometimes in order to hold on, you have to first let go.

Warning: This book contains graphic violence, consensual and nonconsensual sex, drug use, abuse, and other taboo subjects and adult subject matter. Although originally slated to be a standalone, KING is now a two part series.

Excerpt

“Hey there,” a deep voice rumbled against my ear.
When I turned around, I was eye level with a wall of leather with white patches sewn into it. One read VICE PRESIDENT and the other, BEACH BASTARDS. The man wearing the vest had long blonde hair that draped over to one side of his head, revealing the shaved area beneath. He had a beard, not stubble, a full-on beard that was a few inches long and very well groomed. He stood well over six feet, his frame lean yet very cut and muscular. I couldn’t tell what color his eyes were because his lids hung heavy and were slightly reddened. His entire neck was covered with colorful tattoos and when he went to light a cigarette I noticed that the backs of both of his hands and were covered in ink as well.
“Hey,” I answered back, trying to assert my newly found false confidence.
He was beyond attractive. He was gorgeous. If I had to end up in someone’s bed, I imagined that being in his wouldn’t be half-bad. He sniffled, drawing attention to the light dusting of white powder trapped in his nostrils.
“They call me Bear. You belong to anyone?” he asked seductively, leaning in toward me.
“Maybe…you?” I winced at my choice of words. Of all the fucking things I could have said, THAT was what came to mind? Stupid fucking mouth. Nikki was right. I spoke first and thought second.
Bear chuckled. “I’d love that, beautiful, but I got something else in mind.”
“Oh, yeah? What would that be?” I asked, trying to keep my tone light although my mind and heart were racing.
“This party? It’s for my buddy. And he was down here for a total of thirty minutes before he hightailed it upstairs to drown himself in a bottle of Jack. He’s like a cat in a tree, can’t seem to talk him down. It’s understandable, seeing as he’s been away a while, but I figure you can help me out.”
He hooked his finger into the front of my skirt and slowly dragged me toward him until my nipples were flush up against his chest. He pressed his fingers into the skin right above my public bone and I resisted the urge to jump back by biting down on my bottom lip.
“The BBB’s have never really been his thing.” He paused when he saw the confused look on my face at his abbreviation. “Beach Bastard Bitches.” He explained. “But you? You’re new. You’re different. You’ve got this cute little innocent thing going on, but I know you’re not or you wouldn’t be at this kind of party if that was your deal. I’m thinking he’ll like you.” Bear brushed his lips against the side of my neck. “So maybe you go up there. Make him happy for me. Make little him happy by wrapping those gorgeous lips around his cock for a while. Then when you’re done, bring him back down here to civilization. And maybe later, if you’re a good girl and do what you’re told, we can go back to the clubhouse and have some real fun.” He grazed his teeth along my earlobe. “Think you can you do that for me?”
“Yeah, yeah I can do that,” I said. My skin prickling from his touch. And I could do it.
I think.
“What’s your name anyway?” Bear’s hand slowly traveled up the back of my leg, pushing up my skirt, it came to rest on my ass cheek, which was then exposed to anyone who might have been looking in our direction.
“Doe. My name is Doe,” I breathed.
“Fitting.” He said with a chuckle. “Well, my innocent looking little Doe.” Bear leaned in close and surprised me by planting a soft kiss on the corner of my mouth. His lips were soft, and he smelled like laundry detergent mixed with liquor and cigarettes. I was just beginning to think that the kiss meant that he’d changed his mind and didn’t want me to send me away to his friend, but no such luck. He pulled away abruptly and turned me around by my shoulders so that I was facing the stairs. He swatted me on my ass, propelling me forward. “Up the stairs you go, sweetheart. Last room at the end of the hallway. Be good to my boy, and me and you will get to play later.” He sealed his words with a wink and as I made my way up the stairs I turned back and flashed him a fake smile. I hoped the guy at the end of the hallway was like Bear, because then maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.
Then a thought hit me that had me fighting back the tears that sprung from my eyes with a sudden force that almost took me to my knees.
I’d officially sold myself, and the price was far more than any dollar amount.

Review

How do I even start this review. It’s been days and I still can’t put all my thoughts together and make them coherent. This story is haunting beautiful and I told T.M that myself.

This is a story unlike no other I have read before. I was happily reading along with all the crazy and twisted crap going on and then BAM – I am thrown through a freaking unexpected loop and everything changes. And that is all I am giving you about the plot. The blurb gives you what you need and the rest you just have to read and find out for yourself.

T.M. does an outstanding job with writing the characters so well and telling the story from their POV’s. I love her writing technique and how it just draws you more and more into the story as you read. She does a phenomenal job of putting you in their shoes and not just reading what is happening, but you feel as though you are experiencing everything – their pain, love, anger, fear, hope, and betrayal.

This story will put you through the ringer. It is dark and rough, but also it’s pure and honest. It’s hauntingly beautiful. I read this in 2 sittings (only because I had to work and sleep and also tend to my family) but the actual hours was probably 4-5. You will be immediately sucked into this book and won’t want to put it down. And if you have to, you will find yourself constantly thinking about it. King (both story and the character) is still on my mind and I don’t foresee either one leaving going away any time soon. I am so ready for the next book!!

I have to say that this is definitely one of my favorite reads so far in 2015!! T.M. – you have written a superb story!

About the Author:

T.M. (Tracey Marie) Frazier resides in sunny Southwest Florida with her husband and three feisty fur kids.

She attended Florida Gulf Coast University where she specialized in public speaking. After years working in real estate and new home construction, she decided it was finally time to stop pushing her dreams to the back burner and pursue writing seriously.

In the third grade she wrote her very first story about a lost hamster. It earned rave reviews from both her teacher and her parents.

It only took her twenty years to start the next one.

It will not be about hamsters.

Stalk Her: Website, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, and Goodreads.

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Blog Tour June 2015 New Reviews

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Verite by Rachel Blaufeld….Blog Tour & Review

by Courtney

That’s me––Tingly Simmons––athlete, foreign-language major, professor lover, obsessed idiot girl. Definitely not a frat rat or sorority slut. I’ve never even played beer pong.

I ditched the vapid, soulless high-society life of Los Angeles for the promise of something more meaningful in rural Ohio. Accepting a track scholarship for college, I tried running my way to happiness, but instead I ended up sleeping with my French professor and falling head over heels for him.

When that relationship fell apart, so did I.

Barely hanging on by a thread and using the most absurd coping skills, I was determined to hide behind my past indiscretions. That was, until I met Tiberius Jones. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d learn the truth about love from a six-foot-five basketball player.

Verite is the first book I have read by Rachel and I completely fell in love with this story.

Verite is such a sweet and warming read, that you can’t help but smile and feeling all sorts of gooey warm and loving all over. Rachel does a wonderful job giving us a beautiful and heart-felt romance that’s not all about the hot an heavy, although there is some of that too.

“Everything was better when it meant something.”

Ty and Ting are two college athletes from two complete opposite worlds. But their story will prove that it doesn’t matter where you are from, it’s who you are and what you do now, that matters. Ty – he melts my heart, he really does. He’s a baller with the heart of gold. Ting will infuriate you at times, but will also make you want to push her to move forward and not let her past dictate who she is. The woman is very strong and it takes a warm and honest heart to make her see her true self. But what made me absolutely fall in love with this story is watching their relationship grow. It’s not all hot and heavy – it’s sincere, heart warming and gives you that “falling in love” feeling all over.

You will love every single character in this book (minus a few asshats). Rachel wrote these characters very well – you will feel the emotions they go through and really pulling for them. Ty’s patience and persistence with Ting is so honest and truly shows how he feels about her. Ting’s view of herself and her past actions are truly genuine – you can understand why she puts those walls and up and guards herself. And the secondary characters flowed perfectly with the story and really show the love and support in this book.

Verite is one book that many readers need to pick up and read this summer. It will make you fall in love with romance all over again. I can’t say enough this book. I found myself highlighting and bookmarking so many pages as I was reading this. This book definitely has woven a piece into my heart and will stay there. It’s a captivating and refreshing read.

Bravo Rachel!!

Amazon US:

http://amzn.com/B00ZM532HG

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1G3fTay

iBooks:

http://apple.co/1ecgp06

Kobo:

https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/verite-6

He stood there patiently, grinning as he waited for me to move through the doorway or answer him, and pinned me with his unusual blue eyes, so pale in his handsome face against his deep brown skin. His gaze seared right through me, just like it had earlier, before dinner in the courtyard.

Completely unnerved, I didn’t respond. His size was daunting, his large frame loomed over the threshold, and I was struck speechless. Uncertain whether it was his obvious good looks that threw me, or the overtly friendly wide grin on display, I simply stood there for a moment, trying to figure out his angle.

As I took in his long athletic shorts, tight gray athletic hoodie, and the pair of spiky Air Jordan slides on his feet, his left eyebrow cocked up at me like I was the next sideshow. Well, I’d already played that act countless times at home, including but not limited to last year when I was caught with the professor’s dick deep inside me. Now I was all about slipping under the radar, getting by silently and with little fuss.

“Hey, you okay?” he asked, his deep voice interrupting my thoughts. “I’m talking to you . . . you coming in? I’m over here holding the door.”

His pale blue eyes scanned my brown ones as his smile faded. I imagined him knowing who I was and what I did, perhaps mentally undressing me one piece of clothing at a time, wanting to give the slut a whirl.

Oh God, was my name being passed around—again?

Self-disgust consumed me, spurring me to action. “Um, yeah. I am,” I answered, averting my gaze as I shifted my backpack up on my shoulder and stomped through the doorway.

I turned ever so slightly to witness him ducking to fit through the doorframe. It was crazy how insanely tall this guy was. Obviously, he was a basketball player, probably with a huge ego to boot.

I managed to mutter, “Thanks,” as I swept past him, and the door clanged shut behind us.

“Bad day?” he called after me.

What was with him being all smiling and friendly? Was he for real, or was he trying to bait me? I couldn’t help my self-doubt; skepticism was woven so deeply into my personality, I questioned everyone’s motives.

“Bad life,” I tossed back without thinking. For some reason, I felt the need to share my feelings with this stranger, and it scared the shit out of me.

So I did what came naturally to me—I ran. As I sprinted toward the elevator, I caught him heading toward the staircase out of the corner of my eye. I got off on my floor feeling relieved until I heard a heavy pair of footsteps coming around the corner.

Shit.

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. She currently shares her reading recommendations on HEA at USA Today.

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, antiheroes, and mighty fine epilogues.

Find me on my website / Twitter / Facebook

Blog Tour June 2015 New Reviews

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Shut Up and Kiss Me by Madeline Sheehan and Claire C Riley… Blog Tour and Review

by Courtney

She ran from her past.

After relocating from a small town in Tennessee, Mila has been living in New York City for a year in half, more than happy to be lost in the crowd. Living vicariously through her best friend and roommate Nikki, Mila spends her day’s waitressing and her evenings at home. Then, one night, after getting exclusive tickets to a nightclub downtown, Nikki is able to convince Mila to let loose for once.

He’s running from his future.

Having lived a privileged life, William is used to getting what he wants, and who he wants. Now though, in his thirties, he’s bored, and seeking more from his life than mindless sex, and even worse—mindless women. Spotting Mila from across the club he senses right away that she’s different from what he’s used to, an observation that proves true.

One night together will change everything for both of them. Pasts and futures will collide, secrets will be revealed, and the results will transform both their lives forever.

Court’s Review

Madeline Sheehan and Claire Riley have joined forces again and given us, Shut Up and Kiss Me.

You’d think you’d know what to expect when it comes to one author of an MC series and a Fantasy/Post-Apocalyptic series teams up with the author or horror stories, you’d get one hell of a crazy-ass book like their compilation, Thicker Than Blood?!?! Nope – you get the exact opposite with this one and they will blow your minds!

I must say that I was quite surprised to read such a contemporary romance story from these two and I really enjoyed it. But what I love the most about this story, was the way it was told. This wasn’t about the hot and heavy sex scenes but more about them falling in love. Will and Mila are characters that readers are going to enjoy getting to know, their courtship and exploring their love for one another. Will isn’t the typical alpha male and Mila is just the average woman. However, they are both keeping secrets from one another that could crush everything they’ve built up.

Sheehan and Riley definitely show their true writing talents by giving us another side of them and writing this book exceptionally well. This story is filled with it all – love, fear, anger, suspense, lies and it flows seamlessly. You will completely forget that two authors wrote this. You will love all the characters, both main and supporting characters. They all add an important part to the story and make the book that much more enjoyable.

I have to applaud both these ladies for always keeping us on our toes and writing, yet again, another outstanding story and showing us why you both rock!

BUY LINKS:

iBooks: https://itun.es/gb/mZOR7.l
KOBO: http://tinyurl.com/q849gwv
BN: http://tinyurl.com/ocvuybh
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1QxLUTi

About The Authors:

Madeline Sheehan

Fantastical realm dweller Madeline Sheehan is the USA Today bestselling author of the Holy Trinity Trilogy and Undeniable Series. More of her published works include, Thicker Than Blood and Shut Up and Kiss Me.

A Social Distortion enthusiast, lover of mud and anything deemed socially inappropriate, Madeline was homegrown in Buffalo, New York, where she can be found engaging in food fights and video game marathons with her husband and son.

https://www.madelinesheehan.com

https://www.facebook.com/MadelinesheehanBooks

Claire C Riley

Claire C. Riley is an international bestselling author and a #1 Bestselling British horror writer.

A reader and writer of dark paranormal romances and zombie and apocalyptic horror. I live in the United Kingdom with my three young daughters, husband and one scruffy dog!

I am represented by Michelle L. Johnson of Inklings Literary Agency.

My work is best described as the modernization of classic, old-school horror. I fuse multi-genre elements to develop storylines that pay homage to cult-classics while still feeling fresh and cutting-edge. I write characters that are realistic and kill them without mercy.

I am an avid reader of all genres, book collector, general procrastinator and have a great zombie apocalypse plan in place thanks to a questionnaire I asked my readers to fill in for me.

Thanks for showing an interest in me, and my work, and supporting Indie authors everywhere.

https://www.facebook.com/ClaireCRileyAuthor

www.clairecriley.com

Blog Tour June 2015 New Reviews

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Better When It Hurts by Skye Warren… Blog Tour & Review

by Courtney

What Colin doesn’t know can’t hurt him.At least that’s what I tell myself about the secrets I keep. I don’t have a choice, not if I want to keep my daughter safe. And keep him Colin safe too. There are enemies in the shadows waiting to strike from all sides. I’m holding them out with my bare hands, but it’s hard not to get crushed in the process.And the truth has a way of coming out.If I’m not careful, the past I’ve been working so hard to hide, the pain I’ve been fighting so long to outrun, will wipe out the man I love.

Court’s Review

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and it won’t be my last.

Better When It Hurts is a very gritty and fairly dark read. The premise tells you exactly what you are getting into and doesn’t sugar coat anything. The story isn’t all rosy and pretty – it’s terrifying and gripping and you won’t be able to stop reading.

Lola does what she needs to do to pay the bills and keep a roof over her head. Blue has returned and wants nothing but to get what he is due from Lola. Blue doesn’t hide what he wants and Lola knows that she will give him whatever he wants, anyway he wants. The interactions between these two is real and raw – nothing is fancy or pretty. Without giving anything away outside of the blurb – what you see is what you get. Blue doesn’t change who he is because of a woman. It’s because of that one woman, he is how he is. Lola may have a new persona to everyone else, but Blue knows what and who is underneath her façade.

Skye does a fantastic job of painting the perfect atmosphere for this story. The Grand where both Blue and Lola work is an old luxury hotel stripped of it’s glory and turned into a strip club where sinners bask in their glory. Blue is an arrogant asshole who has been put their the ringer and back. Lola grew up in the same foster system as Blue and did what she had to in order to survive. Skye doesn’t mask the truth of their relationship or what happens between them.

“He’s beautiful and terrifying. He’s everything I loved and everything I’ve come to hate – a man who takes what he wants. Even if what he wants is me.”

If you enjoy darker reads, you will definitely enjoy this book. Skye does an outstanding job of writing this twisted love story. Not every love story is rainbows and sunshine.

I am looking forward to her next book in this series and will definitely be going back and reading the first one.

EXCERPT

The door slams open, and Blue strides into the room. A burst of sound follows him in the seconds before the door swings shut. I shrink back against the lockers before I can help it. That doesn’t stop him. It doesn’t even slow him down as he steps right into my space, just inches from my face, still breathing hard.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” His eyes are still wild from the fight, violence and victory mixed together.

I try not to flinch. “I wanted to…to talk to you about something.”

“How did you know I was fighting tonight?”

I’m not going to tell on Candy, even if he’ll figure it out as soon as he sees her here. Instead I bite my lip and try to remember the speech I was going to give him. “Congratulations?”

That wasn’t it.

He shakes his head. “No, Lola. This isn’t one of your little games. I’m not one of the men you can lead around by my dick. Not anymore.”

And then I do flinch, because the reminder of our past is too painful not to. “I’m not trying to lead you anywhere,” I whisper.

His lips curve into a cold smile. “No? You brought me here, didn’t you? Just you and me and the rest of the world locked out. You made that happen.”

Something pricks my eyes—tears. No no no. I can’t possibly cry in front of him. I don’t know why I’d cry at all. This is my life. I’m long past wishing for something different, aren’t I? I look down at the concrete floor so he won’t see me struggle.

Of course he doesn’t accept that. His fingers—sweaty and gloveless—lift my chin. “Why’d you come here, Lola?” His voice is suddenly lower and strangely seductive. Maybe that’s how fucked-up I’ve gotten, that cruelty turns me on. “What do you want?”

My fingers fumble as I pull the wallet from my back pocket. It’s still warm from my body as I hold it up. “This is yours. I stole it. I—I took it by accident.”

That wasn’t what I’d meant to say at all. I’d meant to explain the situation like it happened—that I’d woken up with the wallet in my bed. That I had no memory of it, but obviously there had been a mistake. I’d taken nothing from the wallet, no harm no foul.

Instead I’d stuttered like I was thirteen again, stealing everything I could slip into my pockets, confessing to my foster dad before he whipped me with his belt.

Blue takes the wallet from me, his expression speculative. It’s almost as if he’s never seen it before, even though I know it belongs to him. I rifled through his things, touched the stone-faced plastic image on his license. And he knows I invaded his privacy that way, just like I invaded his pocket when he brought me home.

He tosses the wallet onto a bench behind him, dismissing it. His hand lands on the locker beside me, blocking me in. His eyes meet mine. “You still steal.”

“No,” I say, but his wallet calls me a liar. Naturally he’d remember the worst thing about me. I’d helped him remember. “Not anymore. Not usually except…I must have been drunk or something.”

“You didn’t used to drink.”

“A lot’s changed.” I used to hate the taste of beer. It reminded me too much of foster brothers with groping hands and tongues. I still couldn’t touch the stuff, but every now and then I used alcohol to try and numb the pain. It was just a shame it never worked.

His gaze scans my body, unapologetic as it measures me, probes me, demands all my secrets. “I can see that.”

I shrug, pretending to be unaffected. No, I am unaffected, damn it. “You see more than this every night.”

“Less. When you’re naked up there onstage, that’s what you show to every man.” His eyes are hooded. “This is what you wore for me.”

AUTHOR BIO

Skye Warren is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of dark romance. Her books are raw, sexual and perversely tender. For those new to her work, consider the bestseller Wanderlust, Prisoner or the Dark Nights series starting with Trust in Me.

AUTHOR LINKS: Website | Amazon
| Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

GIVEAWAY

The author is offering 1 e-copy of the first book, Love the Way You Lie, (both the books in the series can be read standalone) to each stop of the tour.

The giveaway ends June 19th.
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Blog Tour June 2015 New Reviews

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The Undergrad Years by Avery Aster…. Blog Tour

by Courtney

For fans of the dark comedy film Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down comes an erotic exploration in domination and submission where Ivy League students let their naughtiest desires run wild…

If you think my besties Lex, Taddy, and Vive have had some bad luck earlier this year, cut to me at Glamorama. Last thing I remembered was dancing with Diego and Miguel from my English class, when the room started… spinning. And not in a good way! We got sick. Think Regan in The Exorcist. Taddy was rushed to the hospital. Holding on for dear life, I was carried out by the boys and taken back to their dorm.

Now I’m waking up in Diego’s bed and Miguel keeps staring at me from across the room. I’ve wanted to get into these dudes’ pants since the first day of class. But Diego told me he likes to be tied up and—wait for it—spanked. WTF! The news on TV reports that last night we all got roofied. And Vive just texted me saying that someone is out to kill her. Could this semester get any more bizarre? -–Blake Morgan, college freshman, gay best friend, virgin.

Court’s Review

The third installment in The Undergrad Years, XO, Blake, is all about Blake, the Gay Best Friend (GBF).

Blake is the sweetheart of the group and the only one who doesn’t come from fame, fortune and money. But he’s definitely in a league of his own.

The gang is finally at college and Blake is pining after two Latino men that make his blood boil. But once again – mayhem creeps in. It seems as if none of them can catch a break. However, the silver lining for Blake is that he definitely lands in good hands.

Lex, Vive, Taddy and Blake get through the trauma together and keep their whit and humor at the forefront. This one isn’t as hilarious at the previous two books, but it still has it’s charm.

We get to see the closeness of Blake and his parents and see where he gets his awesome personality from. Avery does an exceptional job of writing this series and keeping this characters very honest and raw.

I really recommend this series – each book is very quick and can be read alone.

Jetting to Martinique for a modeling assignment with three of Europe’s hottest magazine photographers—Gustave, Fabian, and Leon—should’ve been easy, breezy beautiful. Never did I expect to look up and see a hole in the ceiling of our plane that was bigger in size than my Birkin bag.

Shit! We’re nose-diving toward Eden Island. I pictured how my New York Times obituary might read when I’m gone, “Taddy Brill, Manhattanite, dethroned descendant of the Austrian House of Brillford royalty, dies at age eighteen, penniless, unloved, and a virgin.” I swear this crap only happens to me. Suddenly, Leon pulls me with Fabian and Gustave. Adrenaline racing through me, our bodies clung as one. We prepared to…crash.

The Undergrad Years is a New Adult contemporary miniseries about first loves, independence, and everlasting friendships. Interact with Avery while reading Love, Lex on Instagram and Twitter @AveryAster using the hashtags #UndergradYears #NewAdult. Swag and reader contests can be found on Avery’s blog at: AveryAster.com

Join The Undergrad Years cast as Taddy, Lex, Blake, and Vive welcome you to Invitation to Eden, a series from 27 of the biggest names in romance…an island where anything…and everything can happen. We hope you’ll enjoy your stay! Eden is located just a two hour plane ride from Miami, Florida, in the mysterious Bermuda Triangle. Once it was wild and untouched, but now is inhabited by the Master and his staff. The Master wanted to share the magic of the island with others who needed it, so he had a European castle reconstructed on the small outcropping of land in the southern Atlantic ocean. Log on to the Smutketeers’ Invitation to Eden Book Club!

Court’s Review

Yours Truly, Taddy is the second installment in the Undergrad Years and is just as hilarious as the first.

This story is all about Taddy, Lex’s BFF and her travels abroad for a modeling gig. These four – Taddy, Lex, Vive and Blake have the greatest friendship around. These four definitely will do anything and everything together and not bat an eye.

The story is told from Taddy’s POV and is quite entertaining. She needs the money from this modeling opportunity to pay for her college tuition or she won’t be attending with the other 3, like they have all planned. However, nothing ever goes according to plan.

Their adventure begins before they ever arrive at their destination. The interaction between the secondary characters and these four is quite entertaining. Filled with lots of humor and whit, you will find yourself laughing and chuckling throughout this whole book.

Avery does a really great job of writing this light-hearted and very humorous book. And I really enjoy getting to know more about these characters as we go along. They are quite the group.

If you want a quick, easy and funny read – pick up this series.

This summer, I’d planned to celebrate my eighteenth birthday in Europe with my fellow Manhattanites—Taddy Brill, Blake Morgan, and Vive Farnworth—until I caught my boyfriend screwing my mother. According to the police report, this vomit-inducing incident happened around the same time I’d supposedly blown-up my mother’s penthouse. Like I’m walking around Soho with a stick of dynamite in my Louis Vuitton purse—not! Now, my besties and I are in jail.

Officer Ford Gotti, the Harley-wheelin’ biker cop who arrested us, keeps sticking his perfectly-sculpted nose into my case. His inked body is jacked like a superhero, and he says I can trust him. He wants me to fess up. I won’t. Not again. Why should I? My friends and I had a previous stint in juvie that nearly destroyed us. I gotta protect them and keep my mouth shut. Right?

—Lex Easton, women’s studies major, motorcycle enthusiast, and virgin.

Court’s Review

Love, Lex is the first installment in The Undergrad Years and gets things off with a very quick start.

I love Lex’s whit and humor in this book. She isn’t your typical slender, drop dead gorgeous popular socialite. She’s normal and has all the insecurities most girls do. However, her parents are famous and so are her friends.

As Lex is turning 18, they she wanted to celebrate it doesn’t pan out so as she expected. Her humor, friends and an unexpected person however make sure it’s a memorable one.

Lex, Vive, Taddy and Blake are definitely a group of friends I would want. This book had me laughing the whole time and I truly enjoyed the dialogue in this book.

Avery does a great job of giving you a quick synopsis of things from their pasts that help enlighten what is currently going on in the story. These characters are all unique and definitely add their individuals quirks into the story.

In this Coming of Age Romance book – this one will stand out as it mostly based on humor and the wittiness in these characters. It is a quick read and you will find yourself smiling the whole time.

This series is one you will find yourself running to when you need that pick-me-up or a good laugh!

Bring on the next book!

We’re giving away SEVEN fabulous prizes and one of those prizes has THIRTY winners!

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30 ARCS of Always & Forever, Vive

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1 autographed copy of Yours Truly, Taddy

Win your name (as a character) in Avery’s next book

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New York Times, USA Today bestselling author Avery Aster pens The Manhattanites, a modern romance series of juicy melodramas multilayered on love, friendship, scandal, and drama to the hilt. As a resident of New York’s Upper East Side and a graduate from New York University, Avery gives readers an inside look at the city’s glitzy nightlife, socialite sexcapades and tall tales of the über-rich and ultra-famous. “I write about what I see in my metropolis that never sleeps–beautiful people on the quest for a passionate thrill,” Avery says. By and large, Avery’s characters are ripped straight from the headlines, speak their minds and always get what they want.

Undressed #1 (Lex & Massimo) launched The Manhattanites series. Unscrupulous #2 (Taddy & Warner) is the prequel. Also, stay tuned for the sequel with Unsaid #3 (Blake & Miguel) coming summer 2014.

The Manhattanites is for fans who miss TV shows like Sex & The City or watch Girls (HBO), Revenge (ABC), and The Bold & the Beautiful (CBS) . Avery’s characters are over the top. They have cray-cray fun, speak their minds and always get what they want. Each novel may be read as a stand alone.

Note: Avery Aster practices “follow my ass and I’ll follow you back!”

Join Avery’s Newsletter and get a free ebook: http://eepurl.com/CQ665

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Blog Tour June 2015 New Reviews

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Forever A Jett Girl by Meghan Quinn… Review and Release

by Courtney

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Justice. Faith. Power.

The words I live my life by, the three keys to my success, the foundation I built my entire empire on and now Goldie holds them all in the palm of her hands.

She once was a Jett Girl, a piece of me, a safety net I grew to depend on.

She once was mine…heart, body and soul.

But now she’s gone.

I fell for a girl I should have left alone. I let her consume my life, control my feelings and own every aspect of my being. I tried to keep her, to make her see what she was doing to me, to clue her in that breathing was impossible without her around.

But she ran, she gave up and she returned the one thing that claimed her as mine, she gave me back her collar.

This is the story of a desperate man who lost everything that ever mattered to him… my little one.

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Meghan’s Release Party will be on her Facebook Page on June 5th, time is TBD.

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Forever a Jett Girl is the conclusion to this series and probably my favorite in this series.

I must say that normally come book 3 or 4 in a series, I am bored by what is happening and things are starting to become redundant. But that is not the case here. Meghan saved all the good shit for last!

Goldie/Lo has taken things into her own hands. She has no plans but knows what she wants the end results to be. She is playing in a world where anything goes and with the right amount of money, anything can be achieved.

Jett is clueless and has no control – something he has never dealt with before. Jett needs control and having that one thing taken from him, well let’s just say the man isn’t himself.

“She shifted the atmosphere of the entire club. The girls always held the cards, but she turned into the fucking dealer.”

Jett and Goldie are both working towards the same thing but neither has any idea what the other is doing. Everything comes to a blow and things start to get even more hairy for Jett and Goldie. Nothing can ever go right for these two.

Meghan does a fantastic job of writing this from various POV’s but never gets anything tangled or loses the focus. It flows really well and keeps the excitement alive. I enjoy reading what is going on in other character’s minds as things are happening around them and how it affects them.

Meghan’s quirkiness is a highlight for me as I am reading this book. I love the witty humor and the crap that just flows out of Goldie’s mouth. The banter between all the characters really gives the book life – makes it feel more real. I find myself laughing ALOT but it never deterred from the seriousness of what was going on.

This is one series that I will always find myself going back to. Bravo Meghan!!

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Born in New York and raised in Southern California, Meghan has grown into a sassy, peanut butter eating, blonde haired swearing, animal hoarding lady. She is known to bust out and dance if “It’s Raining Men” starts beating through the air and heaven forbid you get a margarita in her, protect your legs because they may be humped.

Once she started commuting for an hour and twenty minutes every day to work for three years, she began to have conversations play in her head, real life, deep male voices and dainty lady coos kind of conversations. Perturbed and confused, she decided to either see a therapist about the hot and steamy voices running through her head or start writing them down. She decided to go with the cheaper option and started writing… enter her first novel, Caught Looking.

Now you can find the spicy, most definitely on the border of lunacy, kind of crazy lady residing in Colorado with the love of her life and her five, furry four legged children, hiking a trail or hiding behind shelves at grocery stores, wondering what kind of lube the nervous stranger will bring home to his wife. Oh and she loves a good boob squeeze!

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Blog Tour June 2015 New Releases New Reviews

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ARC Review…Enemies on Tap by Avery Flynn

by Jilly

Synopsis:

Brewing up trouble one pint at a time.

Enemies …After years away, Miranda Sweet returns to Salvation, Virginia to save her family’s brewery, but her fate is in the hands of her lover-turned-enemy, Logan. What’s a girl to do when the only person who can help her is the man who betrayed her?

Lovers …Logan Martin can’t believe his luck when the woman who smashed his heart to smithereens walks into his bank asking for his help. What she doesn’t know is that he needs the land her brewery is on–and he’ll do whatever it takes to get it.

An Irresistible Combination …Their wager becomes a battle between their attraction and their determination to win. But it’s in each other’s arms that they realize there might be more at stake now than their bet. With the town against the Sweet Salvation Brewery’s success, Logan has to choose between what’s expected of him and what he really wants…

My review:

Enemies on Tap is the first book in author Avery Flynn’s newest series, Sweet Salvation Brewery, and kicks the series off with a fantastic start!

Miranda Sweet really never wanted to come back to her hometown of Salvation. Her family had a decades long reputation for being a tad on the crazy side and after having to endure that reputation herself for her time in Salvation, you could say she wasn’t thrilled about being back in town. But the family’s brewery was left to her and her two sisters and despite not wanting to be back, she knew she had to be here. Now her plans included bringing life back into the dying brewery. Unfortunately that meant she had to ask her former boyfriend for help. Making matters worse is not only was Logan a former lover, he was also a member of the family that the Sweet’s had an undying conflict with. Oh, and the fact that she was still attracted to the deliciously sexy Logan isn’t helping matters. Will Miranda have what it takes to look down on the Sweet family reputation, ignore her feelings for Logan, and make the brewery a success once again?

Logan Martin had heard rumors that Miranda Sweet was back in town and he thought eventually he would run into her…but he never expected she would walk into his family’s bank and ask him for help. Talk about being in a pickle. He knows his father would never allow their bank, and family name, to help the Sweet’s but he also knows he would like nothing more than to get back into her good graces and rekindle the relationship they had years before. She was pretty back then but now she was stunning. There had to be a way to make things work. Would Logan go against his family and prove to Miranda that he didn’t give a damn about family rivalry and offer to help make Sweet Salvation Brewery what it once was?

Small town living and small town reputations threaten Logan and Miranda from the word go. Could they be the ones to finally cut those ties once and for all and turn the Sweet/Martin contention into a thing of the past?

Enemies on Tap is one of the best enemies to lovers stories I’ve read. Avery did a fantastic job in building the backstory behind Logan and Miranda’s current situation. The family history, the failed relationship, the rekindled attraction…all of it was done so well! Miranda is a real spitfire and her determination is admirable. She isn’t going to back down even when there are threats against her and the intended resurrection of the brewery. She just turns her nose up and battles forward. I loved that about her. Logan has the reputation for being the sexy golden boy with the good family name to back it up. But he also knows just because things have been run the same way in his town doesn’t mean it’s the right way. The sexual tension between them is delicious and burns hotter as the story progresses.

But besides a great heroine/hero combination, Avery has built one hell of a foundation for the series. The town and townspeople have such a real feel to them and I loved how that layer was assembled. Oh, and the ending? Freaking movie worthy! I could picture it in my mind’s eye as I was reading and was left with a big ol’ happy grin plastered on my face.

I cannot wait to read more in this series! Thank you, Avery, for one hell of a book and one hell of a great series opening!

Five Loves

Book links:

Amazon | B&N | Goodreads

About the author:

Avery Flynn has three slightly-wild children, loves a hockey-addicted husband and is desperately hoping someone invents the coffee IV drip.

She fell in love with romance while reading Johanna Lindsey’s Mallory books. It wasn’t long before Avery had read through all the romance offerings at her local library. Needing a romance fix, she turned to Harlequin’s four books a month home delivery service to ease the withdrawal symptoms. That worked for a short time, but it wasn’t long before the local book stores’ staffs knew her by name.

Avery was a reader before she was a writer and hopes to always be both. She loves to write about smartass alpha heroes who are as good with a quip as they are with their *ahem* other God-given talents. Her heroines are feisty, fierce and fantastic. Brainy and brave, these ladies know how to stand on their own two feet and knock the bad guys off theirs.

Find out more about Avery on her website, follow her onTwitter and Pinterest, like her on her Facebook page or friend her on her Facebook profile. She’s also on Goodreadsand BookLikes.

Join her street team, The Flynnbots, and receive special sneak peeks, prizes and early access to her latest releases!

Also, if you figure out how to send Oreos through the Internet, she’ll be your best friend for life.

Contemporary Romance Five Loves New Releases New Reviews

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Hunter by Night by Elisabeth Staab… Review & A visit from Lee

by Jilly

Hunter by Night releases June 3

Synopsis:

She wants out

Party girl Alexia Blackburn is only hanging around the vampire compound until her best friend—the queen—has her baby. After that, nothing is going to stop Alexia from getting back to daylight, safety, and feeling like a normal human being. But leaving the vampire world has one big catch…

He needs her to stay

Head of vampire security Lee Goram has hated and distrusted humans for centuries. Feeding on vampire blood has kept him strong…but now it’s killing him—and he’s horrified to discover that Alexia may hold the key to his cure. He’d rather die defending his king than admit his weakness, but time is running out for the great vampire warrior…

My review:

Hunter by Night is the third book in author Elisabeth Staab’s Chronicles of Yavn Series and the book I have been most looking forward to in the series after falling in love with Lee form the very first book. Well, I was not disappointed. This book was everything I had hoped for and more.

Alexia Blackburn is slowly losing her mind. Being the only human stuck in a house full of vampires with the constant threat of war from their enemies, the wizards, is just a tad bit taxing. Especially to someone like Alexia. Someone who has been on her own for as long as she can remember. Her childhood kind of sucked and the minute she got free she had been in charge of herself. So to be stuck here was driving her crazy. If it weren’t for her best friend’s pregnancy and impending delivery, she’d so be outta here. But she would stay, for her best friend. She’d be lying to herself if she said she wasn’t also staying for a certain royal guard vampire named Lee. Sure, he’s made it clear that he could never be with a human, but she knows there’s some sort of connection there. And if she was wrong? Fine. She’d be gone before she could let his rejections sting any more than they already have.

As head of security for the king and their community, vampire Lee Goram had a lot on his plate. Every day there were new threats emerging and with the uncertainty with the wizards, you could say his plate runneth over. Making matters worse was that the queen was due to give birth any week. Talk about a security nightmare. So he’s been blaming his chest pains on all of that stress. Certainly vampires didn’t get sick and die from something like that so he’d put it on the back burner until all of this wizard nonsense went away. Also adding to his stress was Alexia. That human was always trying to plead her case as to why she should be allowed to go out into the day, without any protection. Didn’t she know as the queen’s best friend she had a huge target on her back? But he knew she didn’t care. She had a stubborn streak a mile wide and was beyond independent. She wasn’t going to listen to him. Of course, his annoyance with her isn’t helping squash his underlying attraction to her. But he just kept coming back to that fact that she was a human. Surely he could never be with a human. But Lee has been known to be wrong a time or two and this may just be one of those times….

Tensions are higher than high within the mansion and the sexual tension between Lee and Alexia is adding a deliciously tense layer to the situation. Will they ever put all their differences aside and take a chance on the pull they feel between themselves?

Oh man how I loved this book. Lee is the quintessential stubborn alpha vampire with a deep-rooted disgust for human/vampire relationships. Alexia is just as stubborn and is also stronger than anyone could guess. She’s got a sharp tongue and a beautifully smart assed wit that I adored about her. She wasn’t going to let Lee push her around. She wasn’t going to let anyone push her around. The push and pull between them had started in the first book and reached a fevered pitch in the second book and left me dying for the ending to their story. Elisabeth gave them an ending they both needed and truly deserved. They pissed each other off at every turn, bantered constantly but the underlying level of care and concern for one another was so touching. Even if they didn’t want to admit what had developed between them as going from annoyance to one of love, I knew eventually they would. If for no other reason than even though they may be stubborn characters, they are also honest, and when the walls of defense crumble between them their honesty is amazing. Heartfelt and touching. I went from being pissed off to crying and then laughing with happy tears being shed. I love all the feels!

Also, there was a bit of closure for Siddoh and a few of the other members of the vampire clan we’ve met along the way. That was another gift to read.

Thank you, Elisabeth, for giving Lee and Alexia their happy ending. I loved every minute of it!

Four-and-a-Half Loves

And, as a special treat, I was so lucky to have Lee stop by with his take on loving a human…. (oh, how I freaking LOVE Lee!)

Okay, listen up…. people: I may not be old by the standards of my kind, but seven hundred years sure ain’t child’s play. I’ve trudged through a whole hell of a lot of history, fuck you very much. I’ve kicked my way through plagues, wars, and what have you, and I’ve seen the best and worst of humanity can do to itself. What it can do to my kind. So I hope you’ll understand if I don’t jump on the warm and fuzzy bandwagon about getting up close and personal with you folks. I drink the blood of vampires, I live among vampires, and if I have to brush up against the occasional person at the gas station once in awhile, I try not to get any of ‘em on me.

You know what I mean.

Shoulda known one day the gods or karma or whatthefuckever would nail me right between the eyes with that shit. No humans? How about living with one right down the hall. One small, stubborn, intensely aggravating and completely feminine human, who sways her hips when she’s stomping away from you. Yeah. Perfect. Damn me straight to hell.

Shoulda known, right? For all my love and loyalty to my kind, I mated first with a succubus hybrid, so that was my own damn fault. See, that one didn’t work out though, and I told myself I’d never get attached again. Not to someone of impure blood, maybe never to anyone.

Never say never.

Still, Alexia, she’s something. And being with a human, it’s forced me to learn some things I never expected I’d have to learn. Never wanted to. Never wanted to learn to use a blender, either, but I guess you roll with the times—and those protein shakes come in handy.

So today—because Jillian here is such a sweet gal, I’m sharing what I, Lee Goram, learned about loving a human. Buckle up, assholes.

They’re stronger than they look. With all of her five-foot-nothing and her barely a hundred pounds, I swear I could break Alexia if I so much as bump into her. Still, she’s more passionate than any female I’ve known, and get your mind out of the gutter, people. She holds her own, ‘s all I’m saying.
They’re not like vampires. All right. Don’t give me the “no shit,” and the eye rolling. Some things you take for granted after centuries of knowing it, okay? Their fertility cycles don’t run with the moon, so you can’t bank on that shit. And that “birth control” stuff? I’m not convinced that’s all it’s cracked up to be. Don’t even get me started on condoms. I don’t wanna put my dick in some kind of weird-assed rubber wrapper.
What is up with their undergarments? I’ll cop to it, I haven’t got this one figured. All I know is Alexia’s underwear barely passes as an eye patch and her brassieres could double as body armor. God help the man who rips it in half, is all I know. Been there, done that, got the lecture.
Sometimes they just don’t stay where you put ‘em. I mean, vampire females? I guess it’s not hard and fast, but centuries of tradition says you defer to your mate and your elders. Alexia, she doesn’t defer to anybody. I don’t know if that’s all human females, or only her, but it’s damned aggravating. She has a mind of her own, and she decides she’s gonna do what she’s gonna do, fuck what I say. Nobody has the brass ones not to heed my command. Most of the time, even our king listens to me. Still, it’s a sexy mind, full of wicked thoughts and sharp-tongued jabs, that hurt in an oddly pleasant way when they land. I can’t help it… I love them. Her. Maybe tradition’s not all it’s cracked-up to be.
That fucking sunlight thing. No getting around that problem. Not much of one, anyway. I found out there’s a thing you can do, but it ain’t worth doing unless you’re sure your woman is worth the pain. Alexia’s worth the pain. Alexia is worth everything. She loves the night, too, which kind of cuts both ways. Goes back to the problem of staying where I tell her to.
Fuck biology, after all. See, I got all up in my head about her humanity. Wanting to sleep with the woman was one thing. Living a life together, that’s an animal I didn’t have the magic powers to take down bare-handed. Why try to wrestle with the idea that I’ll only have to say goodbye again in a handful of years? Well, screw that selfish nonsense. For starters, anything worth having is worth having for any time at all. A lot, a little, whatever you can damn well get. And for finishers, it turns out if we look back at my first point, humans aren’t so wimpy as I thought. There’s a way around this biology BS after all. We’re gonna make it work. That human, she’s mine. Besides…
In the end, you love who you love. So fuck off, all of you.

(….I mean, really, how freaking great is he?!) Thanks, Lee, for stopping by! XO

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About the author:

Elisabeth Staab digs coffee, saucy stories, and sexy things that go bump in the night. Once, she ate dinner in a jail and liked it. She lives in the Washington DC area with her incredible family and does her best to juggle life while ignoring the laundry.

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One Night With a Cowboy by Elizabeth Otto…Blog Tour Stop & Review

by Jilly

Synopsis:

One night is never enough…

Jobless, broke, and struggling to support herself and her invalid mother, paramedic Sophie Miller doesn’t have time or energy for a relationship. Especially with her mother’s clock ticking down. So when the sexy cowboy she meets at a carnival proposes a no-strings, one-night stand, she’s all over it. Until her one-night stand shows up again and turns out to be everything she’s ever wanted.

Tucker Haywood has his hands full running Paint River Ranch and trying to deal with all the changes pulling the rug out from under him. His past has taught him it’s better to keep women at arm’s length, for their sake. Stubborn and temperamental, Tucker doesn’t have a clue how to deal with a city girl who’s scared of squirrels and dirt.

So when Sophie gets under his skin, he has to do whatever it takes to push her away. Even if it means losing the part of himself he never thought he’d find.

My review:

One Night With a Cowboy is the second book in author Elizabeth Otto’s Paint River Ranch series and after falling in love with the Haywood brothers in the first book, I was so anxious to get to Tucker’s story. Well, Elizabeth sure as hell gave this rugged cowboy one hell of story. I adored every second!

Sophie Miller really does have an overflowing plate these days and doesn’t know how much more she can take. City budget cuts have caused her to lose her job as a paramedic, her mother has taken a turn for the worse so she’s had to move to be closer, and the already strained relationship she has with her sister is only getting worse. Jobless and lacking any kind of support, emotionally or financially, Sophie is just about at her wits end. That all changes when she eyes the deliciously hot cowboy one night at the local fair. He is just the kind of temporary distraction she needs. Not one to normally go for a one-night stand, Sophie isn’t sure what draws her to him, only that she needs this. Anything to take her mind off of all of the negative in her life. And the denim wrapped, cowboy hat topped, tall drink of water is just that…a temporary distraction. Unfortunately with her mother getting worse, and with limited finances, Sophie finds herself staying longer than she expected in this town…and longer in her cowboy’s bed. Will she be able to leave when the time comes?

Tucker Haywood has learned a lot of lessons in his life. One of them being that he isn’t one for the long term relationship. His ex-fiancé will agree with him on that. He probably has his father to blame for his inability to love properly but looking at the happiness one of his brothers has found, he thinks instead that maybe it’s just him. Whatever the reason, he’s been happy with his one-night-love-‘em-an-leave-‘em mentality…up until he meets Sophie. What is supposed to be one night together turns into the desire for much more and Tucker soon realizes he’s in uncharted territory. And it scares him to death. He isn’t meant for this…love and commitment beyond the temporary. But every time he sees Sophie he realizes he’s only lying to himself. Tucker soon starts to wonder if he could be the man she deserves…and would she want him to be?

The hurdles Tucker and Sophie face are many…both as individuals and as a couple. They will have to face loss, unfamiliar emotions, and personal journeys that will either make or break their chances at a happy ever after together. Will they have what it takes to face what life throws at them?

I loved this book. I really, really, really, loved this book. I blame my puffy eyes today on this book. I cried, laughed, and my chest physically ached over this book. We met Tucker Haywood briefly in the first book in this series and I already knew he was a bit surly but sexy as hell. His father had royally screwed up Tucker’s emotions when he was a young boy when he decided to treat their mother like dirt and the boys just as badly. He had accepted his emotional lot in life and did the best he could…by keeping women at a distance and avoiding any kind of real relationship. He had tried it before and was proven right when he broke things off with his fiancé. Enter Sophie. This gal turns his whole world upside-down and it was magical to read. Sophie is strong with a touch of vulnerability that makes her such a real and believable character. She has so much weighing on her but never gives up. Her mother is dying, she doens’t have her father, and has a crap relationship with her only sibling, but always bucks up and keeps going. When she shows her emotion in this book it is earned and not some girly breakdown. It didn’t matter that neither Tucker nor Sophie wanted anything beyond their first night together…they had an unexplained pull that just kept getting stronger. Neither one wanted to admit there was something meaningful between them, and both of them were scared away when they contemplated the idea. There were a whole lot of tense moments between these two and I was so worried they wouldn’t see the forest for the trees, so to speak. That they wouldn’t be able to admit their feelings and they would miss out on their chance at happiness together. Luckily, Elizabeth knows how to write one hell of an ending. I was sobbing my eyes out for the last few chapters. It went from sad sobbing to big ‘ol happy tears of joy. I won’t give anything away but I will tell you that the covered bridge ending is one of my favorite endings of all time.

Oh, and the smoking hot heat and chemistry between Tucker and Sophie? From the very beginning is was on freaking fire. Amazing, intense and really well written.

If you love sexy cowboys, smoking hot chemistry, and beautiful emotion, One Night With a Cowboy is the book for you. Trust me, you will love it as much as I did! Thank you, Elizabeth, for another amazing trip to the Paint River Ranch. I cannot WAIT for the next in this series!

Five Loves

Author Bio:

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.

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Blog Tour Contemporary Romance Five Loves May 2014 New Reviews

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Hunter by Night releases June 3

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Four-and-a-Half Loves

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