Again by Elizabeth Reyes…Book Blitz & Review

again-bookcoverAbout AGAIN

No regrets. Just lessons learned.

Having lived through the torment of losing his first love to someone else—all because he never spoke up—Sydney Maricopa vowed never to repeat that mistake again.

So when he finally admits he’s fallen for his new best friend, he refuses to lose her too, especially once he realizes his feelings for her might be requited. There’s only one problem.

Her perfect boyfriend.

Still, Sydney’s determined to fight for the girl he loves this time. He has what it takes to go up against Mr. Perfect. Most importantly, he and his new best friend have something even her boyfriend can’t compete with—their profound connection. One he intends to use to win her over.

Until he finds out what she’d be giving up if she chooses Sydney.

Something no one should ever give up. Would he dream of selfishly asking her to? Or should he do the honorable thing and sacrifice his own happiness for hers? Allow the girl he loves to sail off into the sunset with another man as he stands back and watches in agony . . . again?

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review

I truly, truly enjoyed reading this book. It has been quite some time since I have read a book by Elizabeth Reyes (not on purpose). And this book just brought back all the reasons why I love reading her books. I will definitely be going back and reading books 2 and 3 in this series.

Again is Sydney and Emi’s story. Sydney is Sarah’s best friend from way back and I am so happy that he got his own book. Emi is part of the Moreno/Romero in an extended way. These two are living in the same building and don’t realize how close they really are til a family gathering.

They develop a beautiful friendship, one that neither expected due to not only their age differences but where they are in their lives. But their friendship grows and becomes one that neither can live without. That makes things extremely difficult when Emi becomes serious with Sly and he is not thrilled that her best friend is a guy. Unfortunately, that is the only obstacle or problem that Emi and Sydney face. I won’t give away much more about the plot or the storyline. Just know that this is one story where you are thrown a few curve balls at very unexpected times.

Elizabeth does a fantastic job of making this story so real and very relatable. The banter between all the characters is amazing. There isn’t one instance that seems too far fetched. The entire story moves at the perfect pace and keeps you entertained. There were a few scenes where I found myself having to put the book down because I was overcome with emotions and had to get myself together before continuing. But I found myself smiling a lot in this book.

Even if you have never read any of the previous books in this series or her other series, you will still thoroughly enjoy this book. Elizabeth does a fantastic job of giving each of the characters a brief overview of how they all intertwine and it doesn’t deter from the story line.

I am looking forward to reading more from Elizabeth in the future!

Giveaway

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About Elizabeth Reyes

Award winning, USA Today Bestselling Author, Elizabeth Reyes continues to answer her calling on a daily basis. Since releasing her debut novel FOREVER MINE (MORENO BROTHERS #1) in 2010 she has since published seven more in that series, FOREVER YOURS, SWEET SOFIE, WHEN YOU WERE MINE, ALWAYS BEEN MINE, ROMERO, MAKING YOU MINE, and TANGLED with more stories about the Moreno family and their friends to come. She’s also published a second series, 5th Street which includes, NOAH, GIO, HECTOR, ABEL. FELIX. Her Moreno Brother’s spinoff series FATE includes FATE, BREAKING BRANDON, SUSPICIOUS MINDS and AGAIN (Sydney’s story). Her debut traditionally published title is DESERT HEAT and her latest release is her first ever three part romance serial DEFINING LOVE.

When she’s not writing (which is rare) she spends as much time as she can with her husband of almost twenty-one years, two young adult children, her Great Dane, Dexter and big fat lazy cat named Tyson.

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Tap by Georgia Cates…New Series Announcement

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Tap Cover

 

 

Tap Cover

A faceless name. That’s all she was when I agreed to play a part in deceiving her. But then the unplanned happened.

We met. And all I wanted from her was a dirty weekend . . . until that wasn’t enough and I longed for so much more.

Lawrence Thorn suddenly means the world to me. And that’s a problem. She’s my business partner’s sister. Forbidden fruit. Pursuing her can mean trouble for me at Lovibond Brewery. But I don’t care.

 

 

I yearn for her skin against mine.

I crave her smell on my body.

I want to make her laugh and then hear her moan my name.

And she does for a brief moment in time.

 

But Lawrence wants more than I’m able to give. And it’s a damn shame because there’s no one on earth I want more than her.

 

An epic love.

A miserable ending.

Unless it’s not.

 

ADD TO GOODREADS

 

 

 

 

 

 

georgia-catesGeorgia resides in rural Mississippi with her wonderful husband, Jeff, and their two beautiful daughters. She spent fourteen years as a labor and delivery nurse before she decided to pursue her dream of becoming an author and hasn’t looked back yet.

When she’s not writing, she’s thinking about writing. When she’s being domestic, she’s listening to her iPod and visualizing scenes for her current work in progress. Every story coming from her always has a song to inspire it.

Representation: All questions regarding subsidiary rights for any of my books, inquiries regarding foreign translation and film rights should be directed to Jane Dystel of Dystel & Goderich.

Crashing Seriee by Kristen Hope Mazzola…Cover Reveal

Series: The Crashing Series
Titles: Crashing Back Down, Falling Back Together, Crashing: The Wedding
Author: Kristen Hope Mazzola
Find on Goodreads

Mags McManus has just become a war widow in her mid-twenties. Her late husband, Randy, left for the Army right after their wedding. Instead of celebrating his homecoming and living in marital bliss with her soulmate, Mags finds herself living in constant agony. Dealing with the guilt of still living without Randy, are Randy’s best friends and parents. 

Rising from the ashes of this tragedy, Mags starts to learn how to love and trust again, finally being able to find happiness. But sometimes things really are too good to be true and again Mags learns how cruel the world can be as she crashes back down.


“I don’t know if it’s fate, coincidence, or my curse, but I’m still breathing, and my breaths are for you.” 

Mags McManus is far from a normal woman in her mid twenties. Being a war widow, a business professional, and a brokenhearted train wreck only skims the surface of the layers of who Margret McManus truly is. Waking up in a hospital bed, alone and confused, Mags once again has to pick up the pieces of her shattered heart. With her best friends by her side, Mags slowly starts to learn the answers she so desperately longs for. But is everything going to continue to spiral out of control? Or is there a light at the end of this dark, twisting tunnel where all the broken pieces can finally fall back together?


**This Book is a Standalone** It is a companion novella to The Crashing Series and takes place before Crashing Back Down (book 1 in the series).
Well this is freaking great…
Right when my best friend’s wedding was in full swing, the flowers were paid for, the dresses were being tailored and the bachelorette party was planned and nonrefundable, the bomb gets dropped right on my doorstep at four in the morning.
“The Wedding is OFF!” Mags yelled right as I opened the door to my apartment.
Oh hell no! We’re not canceling these plans. I will make this work. I will get her and Randy on track to walking down that freaking isle. I am getting to go on a bachelorette weekend vacation to party with my best friend! This is happening whether Mags and Randy like it or not.
That’s what a best friend is for, right?!
***18+ for sexual situations, cursing, and adult content***
From Crashing: The Wedding
In my boots and cutoff jeans, I pulled open the heavy wooden door of The Saloon. Whiskey and cigarette smoke burned my nostrils as I weaved around the packed bar trying to find everyone. All of a sudden, I was scooped up from behind by my waist, feet dangling in the air and the sound of Mitch’s voice trying to yell over the music, “Mags! Found her! I found Cali!”
I playfully struggled in his arms, whipping around to throw my arms around one of my best friends in the world. Mags, Randy, and Walker weren’t too far behind and right as Walker put a drink in my hand, Mags’ and my favorite line dancing song came on. We handed our beers off to the guys and darted to the middle of the wooden floor to boot stomp to Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne.
By the end of the fast-paced song, we were sweating and panting as we giggled off the dance floor.
As he handed me back my beer, Randy shouted, “Thanks for everything, Cal. Mags told me you made her see clearly again.”
I shoved his shoulder. “Don’t mention it. Besides, who can ever deny making sure true love finds a way?”
He laughed at me and hugged me around my shoulders. It was palpable what a good guy Randy was and how much he cared about everyone. It was also so freaking shocking that he and Walker were as good of friends as they were.
Walker was a two-timing, womanizing bag of dicks that had no respect for anyone except himself, and I felt like I was the only one that saw through the fakeness of his coy smile and good looks.
“So how does it feel to be out of the bar business for good?” Mags beamed at me as Randy wrapped his hands around her middle.
I took a long swig. “Fucking fantastic!”
“Can you believe we’re all growing up?” Walker chimed in, handing each of us a shot.
I smelled the straight Jameson, shivers immediately radiating down my spine. “Whiskey? Really?”
Walker winked and held his shot glass in the air to make a toast. “To Cali and her new job, and to us, the five best friends!”

You want to know more about me? Well, let’s see…

I am just an average twenty-something following my dreams.  I have a full time “day job” and by night I am an author.  I guess you could say that writing is like my super power (I always wanted one of those).  I am the lover of wine, sushi, football and the ocean; that is when I am not wrapped up in the literary world.

Please feel free to contact me to chat about my writing, books you think I’d like or just to shoot the, well you know.

A portion of all my profits are donated to The Marcie Mazzola Foundation.

 

The Play by Karina Halle….Release Day Blitz

 

A troubled Scottish rugby player who doesn’t play by the rules.
A vivacious man-eater who’s given up on love.
When it comes to Lachlan and Kayla, opposites don’t just attract – they explode.

Kayla Moore has always been comfortable with her feisty, maneating reputation. At least it was fine until she hit her thirties and saw her best friends Stephanie and Nicola settle down with Linden and Bram McGregor, leaving Kayla to be the odd one out. Tired of being the third wheel with nothing but one-night stands and dead-end dates in San Francisco, Kayla decides to take a vow of celibacy and put men on the backburner.

That is until she lays her eyes on Linden and Bram’s cousin, hot Scot Lachlan McGregor. Lachlan is her sexual fantasy come to life – tall, tatted, and built like a Mack truck. With a steely gaze and successful rugby career back in Edinburgh, he’s the kind of man that makes her want to throw her vow right out the window. But Lachlan’s quiet and intense demeanor makes him a hard man to get to know, let alone get close to.

It isn’t until the two of them are thrown together one long, unforgettable night that Kayla realizes there is so much more to this brooding macho man than what meets the eye. But even with sparks flying between the two, Lachlan can’t stay in America forever. Now, Kayla has to decide whether to uproot her whole life and chance it all on someone she barely knows or risk getting burned once again.
Sometimes love is a game that just needs to be played.




 

 

 

Halle HeadshotWith her USA Today Bestselling The Artists Trilogy published by Grand Central Publishing, numerous foreign publication deals, and self-publishing success with her Experiment in Terror series, Vancouver-born Karina Halle is a true example of the term “Hybrid Author.” Though her books showcase her love of all things dark, sexy and edgy, she’s a closet romantic at heart and strives to give her characters a HEA…whenever possible.

Karina holds a screenwriting degree from Vancouver Film School and a Bachelor of Journalism from TRU. Her travel writing, music reviews/interviews and photography have appeared in publications such as Consequence of Sound, Mxdwn and GoNomad Travel Guides. She currently lives on an island on the coast of British Columbia where she’s preparing for the zombie apocalypse with her fiancé and rescue pup.

FACEBOOK TWITTER GOODREADS AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

 

When I Was Yours by Samantha Towle….Teaser Tuesday

When I Was Yours Teaser 11.3 [1565718]

Head over to Samantha’s FB page as she is giving away an e-book ARC of this book!

https://www.facebook.com/Samantha-Towle-230032170346603/

 

Goodreads Link: https://goo.gl/CF6eK2

Coming November 10th!

When I Was Yours

Pre-order:
Amazon US: http://goo.gl/GAEthD
Amazon UK: http://goo.gl/CH8hTA
iBooks US: https://goo.gl/pTpW3I
iBooks UK: https://goo.gl/88nT2O
Kobo: https://goo.gl/0jlM74
B&N: http://goo.gl/Lz9zGn
 

The Play by Karina Halle…. Blog Tour & Review

The Play AMAZON (1) [1241229]

The Play – Release Day – Nov 3rd

Synopsis:

A troubled Scottish rugby player who doesn’t play by the rules.

A vivacious man-eater who’s given up on love.

When it comes to Lachlan and Kayla, opposites don’t just attract – they explode.

Kayla Moore has always been comfortable with her feisty, maneating reputation. At least it was fine until she hit her thirties and saw her best friends Stephanie and Nicola settle down with Linden and Bram McGregor, leaving Kayla to be the odd one out. Tired of being the third wheel with nothing but one-night stands and dead-end dates in San Francisco, Kayla decides to take a vow of celibacy and put men on the backburner.

That is until she lays her eyes on Linden and Bram’s cousin, hot Scot Lachlan McGregor. Lachlan is her sexual fantasy come to life – tall, tatted, and built like a Mack truck. With a steely gaze and successful rugby career back in Edinburgh, he’s the kind of man that makes her want to throw her vow right out the window. But Lachlan’s quiet and intense demeanor makes him a hard man to get to know, let alone get close to.

It isn’t until the two of them are thrown together one long, unforgettable night that Kayla realizes there is so much more to this brooding macho man than what meets the eye. But even with sparks flying between the two, Lachlan can’t stay in America forever. Now, Kayla has to decide whether to uproot her whole life and chance it all on someone she barely knows or risk getting burned once again.

Sometimes love is a game that just needs to be played.

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GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26258265-the-play

Amazon http://bit.ly/ThePlay-Kindle

Amazon UK http://bit.ly/ThePlay-UK-Kindle

Amazon AU http://bit.ly/ThePlay-AU-Kindle

Because The Play revolves around a hot as sin Scottish rugby player who also rescues dogs, Karina Halle is donating $1 from every pre-order sale (that’s half of her preorder profits) to select animal charities, including Best Friends Animal Society and reader chosen ones that help promote adoption and rescues for animals. If you know of a deserving animal charity that needs attention and her donations, please let Karina know by emailing her with the headline Save the Puppies to Authorkarinahalle@gmail.com. Hopefully enough money will be raised to make a difference in the animal’s lives. Every preorder counts!

theplay6 [1241234]

review

This book will leave you feeling so much love and hope. Your heart will just be busting at it seams after reading this story.

We know Kayla from Karina’s previous two books, The Pact and The Offer. Lachlan is Bram and Linden’s cousin and he has come to San Francisco while he is healing for a rugby injury and also to help his cousin with a charity.

Kayla and Lachlan’s story is told in two different parts. The first part is in San Francisco where they get to know one another. The second part is in Edinburgh where he returns to continue playing rugby and owns an animal shelter.

Kayla and Lachlan are two very charismatic and passionate characters. Kayla is independent, feisty and extremely confident. Lachlan is an enigma. He’s brooding and doesn’t; really open up to the others. But somehow Kayla gets under his skin and he can’t just walk away.

Their story is explosive, full of angst, passionate, hot, and will suck you in. Kayla and Lachlan go through so much together and it really tests them at every corner. Can love conquer all? Are some demons just too much for a relationship to handle? Guilt is a bitch that will eat you alive, if you allow it. And these two both harbor a lot of guilt over points of their life that they truly had no control over.

There were parts of this book where I laughed hysterically, cried uncontrollably, felt my heart sore and also felt my heart tear apart. This book just felt so real to me. I enjoyed it from start to finish. Karina really knows how make you feel like you are right there with these characters. The writing was flawless and the whole story flowed at the perfect pace. All the small details were perfectly intertwined and added so much to the story.

Another huge hit for Karina Halle! I can’t wait to see what she bring us next!

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EXCERPT:

“Get a fucking hold of yourself,” I say out loud and crane my neck to look up at the floor-to-ceiling windows of Lachlan’s apartment building, trying to count floors and see which one is his. I anxiously open my compact and dot more lip stain on my lips, wondering how fast it will be rubbed off once I get into his apartment.

Is he going to kiss me right away?

Will this be a Netflix and chill night?

Immediate fucking?

The possibilities have me on edge.

With a deep breath, I get out of the car and walk over to the entrance. My finger hovers at the apartment number. I take a moment to eye myself in the reflection of the glass doors. I had sped home to change into a strappy black dress, something like the nightgown-trend of the 90’s, with hot pink platform heels. No bra. No underwear. What’s the point?

I press the buzzer and wait for a few moments, my pulse pounding in my wrist. Lachlan’s distinct voice comes through, – slightly drowsy, smooth as butter. “Kayla?”

“Hi,” I say. I’m about to say something else, probably something awkward but he immediately buzzes me through. I exhale loudly, trying to release tension and remain a fidgety mess all the way up the elevator. Last time I was in here, we’d just rescued the dogs. He was shirtless. He’d felt so close at that time and yet oh so far away. To think now, now, I’d had my hands and lips all over him and my need for him was stronger than ever before.

I knock on his door, biting my lip in anticipation, until it swings open and I see Lachlan, leaning casually against it. The dulcet tones of Fiona Apple’s “Slow like Honey” drift in from the room.

“You shouldn’t be wearing that,” he says, a faint smile on his lips. God, I’ve missed those lips.

“Why not?” I ask with a raise of my brow. In a second, all my nerves smooth out and I realize how easy it is to talk with him like this.

“You’ll make it impossible to get through the appetizer,” he answers, moving back and letting me inside. He’s back to casual gear, a white thermal shirt that’s partially unbuttoned, just enough to show a glimpse of tanned skin, chest hair and tattoos, a necklace with a small wooden cross, green cargo pants. I like him like this just as much as I like him in a suit.

I walk in, my heels echoing on the tiles. “I thought I was the appetizer,” I tell him, looking around. The two dogs are on the couch, curled up into each other like sleeping mice. In unison, they both lift their heads to stare at me. The pitbull gives a thump of its tail but the scruffy mutt shivers slightly, showing teeth.

“Don’t mind them, they’re still adjusting,” he says, closing the door and then gesturing to the table by the kitchen, where I had done my interview with him last week. “That’s the appetizer.”

On the table is a bottle of red wine, two glasses, and a cheeseboard topped with brie, cheddar, camembert, figs, jam, honey and crostini. “Wow,” I say softly. “You did all this?”

He shrugs, making a dismissive noise. “It was nothing.”

“This is romantic,” I tell him. “I didn’t peg you for a romantic.”

He raises a perfectly arched brow. “Oh yeah? What did you peg me for?” He slowly pours a glass of wine.

I just stand there, watching him pour a smaller amount into the other glass. His forearm flexes, the lion tattoo seems to roar. His forehead is creased with concentration, perhaps anticipation of my reply. He seems completely at ease with me but there’s always that wildness in his eyes that never seems to go away. The only time I saw peace in them was after he came last night.

“I pegged you for a man who wouldn’t give me a second glance.”

He gives me a crooked smile and corks the bottle “Well, love, you know that isn’t true.”

I slowly walk toward him, looking up through my lashes like some femme fatale. “Oh, it was true. You wanted nothing to do with me.”

His look softens for a moment before he heads over into the kitchen, grabbing small plates from the glass cupboards. “I want nothing to do with most people. Never take it personal.”

“Tell that to Old Kayla. She had no idea she’d get the chance to put your gorgeous cock in her mouth.”

The plates rattle against the counter. “You do have some mouth on you.”

“Exactly.”

He comes back in the room with his hulking swagger, putting the plates down. He nods at the seat pushed out. “Here, sit down. Please.”

I hook my purse on the corner of the chair and take a seat. Both dogs stare at me from the couch.

“So how are they?” I ask him.

He looks behind him and I take a moment to appreciate every hardened, strained muscle on his neck and shoulders. “As I said, adjusting.” He sits down and folds his hands in front of him. “Someone is coming by tomorrow to see about adopting Ed. But I think Emily will be coming home with me.”

“Which one is Ed?”

“The pit,” he says.

“Funny, I would have thought he would have been harder to find a home for.”

“Usually. But Ed is a big sweetie and people in this city are a little more tolerant of bully breeds than people in the UK. Emily, however, as sweet as she looks,” he glances back at the scruffy dog, who immediately bares her teeth to me, “has behaviour problems. She’ll need work.”

“And are you the one who teaches them?” I ask. “Because if so, then you are the dog whisperer, which means there’s pretty much nothing you can’t do.”

He looks down at his hands and gives a lazy one-shouldered shrug. “I found Lionel on the streets in Edinburgh. I was able to teach him. Maybe he taught me some things, you never know with dogs. But…it takes a special kind of person to train dogs, especially those who have been through trauma and abuse. I am not that kind of person. I will do whatever I can to save them but I’m not the person who can school them on obedience.”

“Really?”

A quiet, almost uncomfortable smile tugs on his lips. “A dog with behavioural problems shouldn’t learn from someone with behavioural problems.”

I expect him to laugh but he doesn’t. “Oh,” I say, trying to think of the right thing. “You just seem like a natural. These two were strays and now look at them. Just like that.”

“I can get the dogs to trust me,” he says in a low voice. “Because I trust them. But I can’t get them to trust others.”

“Because you don’t trust people…”

He slowly blinks and then reaches for the stem of his wine glass. “I think I may trust you. Here’s to that.”

“Here’s to that,” I say, raising my glass and clinking it against his. I’m more than meeting him the eyes, I’m diving in the green and grey. They seem darker somehow, moving shadows. Depthless. Behavioural problems? What kind? How much more can I learn about him before he’s gone?

I take a gulp of my wine. He barely touches his. Just a small sip, then puts the glass back down and pushes it away from him.

“I’ve never seen you drink much,” I tell him, hoping my tone is easy enough so he won’t take offense.

He gives me a long, measured look before he licks his lips and looks away. “No, I don’t.”

“Because of training,” I say, giving him an easy way out.

A slow nod. “Yes.”

He’s still not meeting my eyes, his focus on the cheeseboard and even though he’s not frowning like he usually his, his shoulders seem tense.

“What other things do you have to do for training?” I ask. I feel we’ve regressed a little bit and I want that sexy, casual banter back.

He drums his fingers along the edge of the table and I lean forward, trying to get some cheese on my plate. “Lot of work in the gym. Lot of work in the field. A good diet.”

“I assume it doesn’t include loads of cheese,” I tell him, drizzling the honey on top of my brie.

“Nah, just boring stuff. Chicken breasts, broccoli. It’s not a lot of fun but at my age, you have to do it if you want to keep playing. When I was younger I could have eaten whatever I wanted.”

“How old are you?” I ask.

“Thirty-two,” he says and I’m a little bit surprised. I guess because he looks so manly and distinguished – the lines on his forehead, his scruffy beard – I pegged him for someone in his mid-to-late thirties. Or maybe it’s his eyes.

I stare at them, even though they are now staring sharply at the fig as he hacks his way into it, as if the fig had done something personal to him. It’s those eyes that trip me up. The eyes of an old soul, of someone who has seen too much, done too much. There’s a war behind them at all times, a war I want to help him win.

“Does that surprise you?” he asks, glancing up at me briefly.

I take a delicate bite of the crostini. “Not really. You just seem more mature than that.”

He spreads the fig over goat cheese. “In rugby, being in your thirties is asking for trouble. All these years of being hit, all the injuries, the strain. It takes a toll. I don’t know what happened, but when I turned thirty it all started to slip, just a bit.” He offers me the fig and I take it from his hands, my fingers brushing against his. One simple touch and I feel it travel down the length of my arm, straight to my heart.

Bam. A shower of sparks.

I swallow, trying to ignore the feeling. “How long have you been playing for?”

He frowns, eyes squinting in thought. “Twenty-two. Yeah.” He nods. “Ten years.”

I blink, impressed. “That’s a long time. Is that normal?”

“I guess,” he says, pursing his lips, considering. “I’m good at what I do. They need someone fast and someone who will break everyone in their way. That’s my job. But I can’t do it forever. After I fucked up my bloody tendon…I know I don’t have long.”

“You almost make it seem like you’re dying.”

He briefly sucks in his cheeks. “Rugby saved my life. I’m not sure what I’ll do when it’s over.”

“Coach?” I ask him hopefully.

“Nah,” he says, munching on the crostini and leaning back in the chair. When he swallows, he adds, “I’m either in the game, or I’m not. There is no halfway. That’s not how I’m built. Once I’m done, I’m done.”

And when this is over? I think. Are we done?

But of course we are…we aren’t even a thing.

“Maybe you’ll just do the charity work…for the dogs.”

“Aye,” he says. He reaches for his wine and takes a small sip. He almost puts it back down, then takes another gulp, finishing the glass. “I’ll keep doing that. There’s no expiration on helping others. As bloody cheesy as that sounds.”

“That’s not cheesy,” I tell him. “That’s selfless and beautiful.”

“Come now,” he chides me, seeming embarrassed. He looks away, folding his arms across his wide chest, his unreal body stealing my attention again, turning my thoughts back into that sexual whirlwind. Well played, Mr. McGregor, well played.

“What’s the lion tattoo for?” I ask him. “What’s the story?”

That startles him. “What are you on about?”

I point to his forearm. “There. Lion. See. You said you would tell me some stories. About your tattoos. Why you have them.”

He rakes his teeth over his lower lip and looks me dead in the eye. “Did I now?”

“Yes,” I tell him impatiently. “Last night…maybe this morning. After some good fucking.”

“Ah, yes. That explains it.”

“Well give me something.”

“If I give you something, will you give me something?”

I can’t help but grin like a fool. “Of course.”

“Okay then.” He pushes his chair back slightly and takes his shirt off, tossing it on the floor beside him. He spreads his legs and pats the crotch of his pants, his gaze absolutely feral. “Have a seat.”

I am light-headed at the sight of his torso again. I manage to get up, drawn to him like a magnet. I put my hands on the hard breadth of his shoulders and straddle him. We are so close. Our mouths inches away.

He’s breathing hard. I’m breathless.

He’s a wall of muscle and ink. I’m soft, yielding against him.

“So ask away,” he says, that voice low, rough, yet cashmere cream. That voice I’ll hear in my dreams long after he’s gone.

His eyes never leave my lips.

I lean back to get a better look at him, even though the distance pulls at me. I run my fingers over his shoulder, taught, hard muscle. A storm rages in muted ink, an old ship with tall sails is masterfully shaded, spreading onto his chest.

“This one,” I say softly. “Why the storm? Why the ship?”

He chews on his lip for a moment, searching my eyes. “I was twenty-four. I backpeddled with life for a bit. I lost my edge in the game. But I pushed through and was better for it. A ship in harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.” He tilts his head, as if observing me, though I’m the one watching him. “It helps me when I get scared. To keep going.”

“You get scared?” I ask him, unable to picture him, this strong, powerful man, afraid of anything at all.

“All the time,” he says frankly. “How can life be anything except terrifying at times? We’re born here. We don’t ask for it. And we’re expected to somehow get through it, living each day without dying. We either live and if we don’t, we die.” He looks away, gives his head a shake. “Nah. We’re all scared, every last one of us.”

I know I am. Of so many things. My heart melts slightly to know that someone like him could feel the same way as someone like me.

I trail my fingers along the text on his collarbone. “Nunquam iterum,” I read out. “Latin, I assume?”

“Yes,” he says slowly, looking away. “It means never again.”

“Never again, what?”

His mouth quirks up into a sour smile. “Never again to a lot of things.”

“Is that all I’m going to get?”

“From that, yes,” he says, finally meeting my gaze again. His pupils are so large, they hypnotize me. “You get one more. Then you’re giving me something.”

I breathe in deeply through my nose and look over every inch of him. The lion. Words across his side “Hope before Death.” A paw print in his inner arm. A flock of ravens swirling into a tribal pattern down one bicep, making a sleeve. A crest with what looks like Latin on the other forearm. Another similar crest on his chest. I press on the one on his chest, with a boar at the centre. “Corda. Serrata. Pando,” I say, my finger tracing the words.

“I open locked hearts,” he says.

I still, watching him close. “What?”

“I open locked hearts,” he repeats. “It’s the Lockhart crest. I was born a Lockhart. That is the clan’s motto.”

“Again, that’s terribly romantic,” I tell him. “That must be where you get it from.” I touch his forearm, the other crest. “And I guess this is McGregor?”

“Aye, though it should be MacGregor, or Clan Gregor.”

“’S rioghal mo dhream,” I try to say but stumble over it. “What the hell.”

“Royal is my race,” he translates. He gives me a dry smile. “However, it’s not my race. So that explains a lot.”

I run my hand down the side of his cheek and he briefly closes his eyes. “I think I’d rather you a romantic warrior than one with fussy bloodlines.”

He leans in, slowly opening his eyes, gazing at me through his lashes. “Who said I was a warrior?”

I lower my voice. “I say you’re a warrior.”

You’re my warrior.

For now.

He lifts his chin. “What else do you say?”

I adjust myself on his hips, my hand slipping down toward his pants. I shift to undo the top button, bracing myself on his shoulder. “I say you need to get your cock out, warrior.”

He reaches out and lets his hands drift down over my hair. “Lead you into battle?”

“Something like that.” I bite my lip as I tug down his zipper.

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ABOUT KARINA HALLE

 

Halle Headshot [1241228]

With her USA Today Bestselling The Artists Trilogy published by Grand Central Publishing, numerous foreign publication deals, and self-publishing success with her Experiment in Terror series, Vancouver-born Karina Halle is a true example of the term “Hybrid Author.” Though her books showcase her love of all things dark, sexy and edgy, she’s a closet romantic at heart and strives to give her characters a HEA…whenever possible. Karina holds a screenwriting degree from Vancouver Film School and a Bachelor of Journalism from TRU. Her travel writing, music reviews/interviews and photography have appeared in publications such as Consequence of Sound, Mxdwn and GoNomad Travel Guides. She currently lives on an island on the coast of British Columbia where she’s preparing for the zombie apocalypse with her fiancé and rescue pup.

LINKS:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Karina-Halle/140649372629593

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MetalBlonde

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4785031.Karina_Halle?from_search=true

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE: http://www.amazon.com/Karina-Halle/e/B0050KE63C/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1407546895&sr=8-2-ent

Tough Enough by M. Leighton….. Excerpt Blitz

cooltext144169227680732cooltext144169437322481 (1)Oct 16, 2015

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I hear a racy rumble come roaring down my street, getting louder as it approaches. My heart thunders along at a somewhat similar cadence, like the noise alone triggered my internal throttle. No, I don’t know that to be Rogan on his way to pick me up, but then again, yes, I absolutely do. Somehow it sounds like him. I’m already getting a mental picture, even though I’m still sitting on my couch. He told me he might show me what he chooses to drive. Something tells me he’s about to.

When the throbbing engine reaches its peak and then dies right outside, I leap up from my seat and run to the window. My insides twist and slither like a clutch of snakes when I see what’s parked outside. A black-and-silver machine, reading Ducati along the shiny gas tank, rests along the curb. And on its back is Rogan.

Even with his head covered by a matching helmet, I recognize him. I recognize his body and his body language. I recognize the way I respond to him. Even when I don’t want to.

He’s wearing a snug white T-shirt and ratty blue jeans. Nothing that would identify him. It’s the way he wears his clothes, the way the fabrics hug his lithe form, even the way he sits on the bike, like he is one with a wild, untamable animal, that is uniquely Rogan.

When he pulls off his helmet, I’m aware of two things. One, that his hair sticks up all over his head in blond spikes that make my fingers itch to touch. And two, that his eyes are on mine. All the way across the yard and through the sheer curtains that cover the glass of the window, they’re trained on mine. I can feel it. It’s like he knows I’m looking at him, like he can feel it, too. And that he honed in on it, on me. Instinctively. It sounds completely insane, but I don’t doubt it. This isn’t the first time I’ve felt him watching me. And it only gets more and more disconcerting.

For a few seconds, he just stares at me. He’s not smiling; he’s just straddling his bike, holding his helmet between his big, strong hands. The intensity of his gaze burns along my nerve ends, causing me to feel both terrified and excited all at once. It also makes me wonder why I agreed to this. I’m not entirely sure I can be trusted around him. He makes me forget. And that’s dangerous.

Finally, his face breaks into a breathtaking smile and I jump away from the window. I keep backing away until I’m safely ensconced in the shadows on the opposite side of the room. I pull in several gulps of air, fanning my flaming face with my nervous hands. I wait impatiently for the moment when he’ll knock and I’ll be face-to-face with what could end up being a nightmare for me.

But he could end up being a dream for you, too

Oct 9, 2015

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October 5th

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Lux (Nocte series) by Courtney Cole….Release Blitz & Review

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The dramatic series finale to Courtney Cole’s bestselling Nocte trilogy!

Get LUX on Amazon | iBooks | Nook | Kobo
Add LUX to your Goodreads TBR

CourtneyCole-Lux-Cover-250pxMy name is Calla Price and I’m broken.

My pieces are all around me, floating on the wind, even as I desperately try to grasp them.

Who is dead? Alive? Insane?

What is the truth?

I don’t know.

I do know this: The darkness is strangling me. With every breath, I choke on another lie.

My mind has protected me, but that shield will soon be lowered.

All will be revealed.
Every answer to every question.

It’s all been leading to this.

Don’t be afraid.
Be terrified.

Get LUX on Amazon | iBooks | Nook | Kobo
Add LUX to your Goodreads TBR

review

Words absolutely fail me right now. My mind is still absorbing everything I read. Courtney has written a perfect twisted and suspenseful story. My review may be short but it’s only because I am still trying to comprehend everything and also, I do not want to give any of the plot away.

If you have not read any of the previous books in this series, do not read this book. You MUST read this series from the beginning. Granted you will still be going “WTF” but in a very odd and effed up way, things will make sense, sorta. Maybe. Once you read this series, you will totally understand what I mean.

This whole series is intoxicating, frustrating and absolutely exceptional. This story is layers upon layers. Everything in this series happens for a reason, but we have no idea what those reasons are. This book is about the supernatural, the mysticism. What is real? What is fabricated?

The end is the beginning. Lux gives us the answers we seek, but in a very distorted and unpredictable way.

I know it was a twisted journey, but don’t forget: I warned you. I told you at the beginning of NOCTE that the story was dark. And it has been.
It’s been twisty and unpredictable, and the end was the beginning and the beginning was the end. I know that, and I did it on purpose.
I wanted to take you down a path where your mind wasn’t your own, just like Calla’s.
-Courtney Cole

I had so many questions and theories going into Lux. I got my answers but in the way I had expected. Courtney wrote this story in a perfectly twisted way. I was lost, confused. Just when I thought I figured something out, only to find out that later on that theory was completely off. This book will keep you turning the pages.

“We’re all a bit mad, aren’t we?”

This series is unlike no others I have read before. It will blow your mind in ways you won’t expect. This series is definitely in my top 5 and will definitely be one that I will reread many times. Courtney said she was brining us something completely different from anything she has ever written before. And let me tell you, this is a complete 180 and she delivered!!!

CourtneyCole-Lux-Numbers-177death

Series reading order: Nocte (#1), Verum (#2), Initium (#2.5), Lux (#3).

Get NOCTE: Amazon | iBooks | Nook | Kobo | Audible (Add on Goodreads)
Get VERUM: Amazon | iBooks | Nook | Kobo | Audible (Add on Goodreads)
Get INITIUM: Amazon | iBooks | Nook | Kobo (Add on Goodreads)
Get LUX: Amazon | iBooks | Nook | Kobo (Add on Goodreads)

CourtneyCole-Headshot250pxCourtney Cole is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist who would rather write than eat chocolate. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business, but no amount of working in the corporate world could quell her urge to write.

Courtney was born and raised in Kansas, home of incredibly friendly people and the most horrendous weather on the planet. Because summer days were so hot, she grew up reading stacks of books… and when she didn’t like the ending, she wrote her own.

Courtney has relocated to Florida where she writes beneath palm trees. To learn more about her, please visit her website. To sign up for her newsletter and receive exclusive sneak peeks and super-fan perks, click here.

Surviving Ice by K.A. Tucker….Release and Review

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We are so excited to bring you the Release Week Blitz for K.A. Tucker’s SURVIVING ICE! SURVIVING ICE is a standalone romantic suspense novel and is the fourth book in K.A. Tucker’s Burying Water Series, published by Atria, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Grab your copy today!

 

Surviving Ice - Cover

Amazon ** Barnes and Noble ** iBooks ** Kobo ** IndieBound

 

SURVIVING ICE Synopsis:

The USA TODAY bestselling author of the Ten Tiny Breaths series and Burying Water—which Kirkus Reviews called “a sexy, romantic, gangster-tinged page-turner”—returns with a new novel packed with romance, plot twists, and psychological suspense.

Ivy Lee, a talented tattoo artist who spent the early part of her twenties on the move, is looking for a place to call home. She thinks she might have finally found it working in her uncle’s tattoo shop in San Francisco. But all that changes when a robbery turns deadly, compelling her to pack up her things yet again.

When they need the best, they call him. That’s why Sebastian Riker is back in California, cleaning up the mess made after a tattoo shop owner with a penchant for blackmail got himself shot. But it’s impossible to get the answers he needs from a dead body, leaving him to look elsewhere. Namely, to the twenty-something-year-old niece who believes this was a random attack. Who needs to keep believing that until Sebastian finds what he’s searching for.

Ivy has one foot out of San Francisco when a chance encounter with a stranger stalls her departure. She’s always been drawn to intense men, so it’s no wonder that she now finds a reason to stay after all, quickly intoxicated by his dark smile, his intimidating strength, and his quiet control.

That is, until Ivy discovers that their encounter was no accident—and that their attraction could be her undoing.

Surviving Ice - RDL teaser

 REVIEW

Surviving Ice is the first book I have read in the Burying Water series. And I will most definitely be going back and reading the other 3 books. Fantastic book!!

Ivy – what can I say?!? This young lady has a very hard exterior, but underneath is a very soft person. I get that she has had to put on a brave front and face everything with an “nothing will stop me” attitude. But once those layers are peeled back, she does have a soft interior. But still don’t think she wont’ come at you with her claws prepared to defend and attack.

Sebastian – HOLY GOOD GAWD!! This man is an enigma. I have no other words to describe him. But his mysterious and serene attitude is what keeps you drawn to him. His is completely irresistible.

Ivy witnesses a crime that unbeknownst to her, puts her in a unsafe situation. Sebastian just so happens to appear in her life when she least expects it. To her, he’s just a new client looking for a tattoo. But he has other motives.

I loved how KA weaves a thrilling and captivating ride in this book. I enjoyed watching this bond form between Ivy and Sebastian throughout the whole book. It’s like watching a game of tug-a-war with these two. The characters were well-developed and nothing seemed out of the ordinary in anyway.

Another huge hit for KA Tucker!

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And don’t miss the previous titles in the Burying Water Series!

 burying-water-9781476774183

BURYING WATER

Amazon ** Barnes & Noble ** iBooks ** Kobo ** IndieBound

 becoming-rain-9781476774206

BECOMING RAIN

Amazon ** Barnes & Noble ** iBooks ** Kobo ** IndieBound

 

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CHASING RIVER

Amazon ** Barnes & Noble ** iBooks ** Kobo ** IndieBound

 

 

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Author pic - KA TuckerAbout K.A. Tucker:

Born in small-town Ontario, K.A. Tucker published her first book at the age of six with the help of her elementary school librarian and a box of crayons. She currently resides in a quaint town outside of Toronto with her husband, two beautiful girls, and an exhausting brood of four-legged creatures.

 

 

 

 

 

Website ** Twitter ** Facebook ** Novel Goodreads ** Author Goodreads **

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Tough Enough by M. Leighton…. Excerpt Blitz

 

cooltext144169227680732cooltext144169437322481 (1)Teaser

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She gets all fidgety and nervous and adorable under my scrutiny, so I release her. Albeit reluctantly.

“So, a minivan,” she says, dropping her eyes and clearing her throat. I love that I put her off balance. I doubt much gets under this girl’s skin and I’m happy as hell that I appear to be making my way in, slowly but surely.

“A minivan,” I confirm, raising the wine bottle and glass questioningly.

“Oh, sorry. Kitchen’s through there.” Katie points to the most obvious doorway and I head in that direction. She follows after a few seconds. When I stop at the small island, she breezes past me, setting down the glass that I brought her and keeping her face averted. Makes me think she might be blushing again. After she rummages through a drawer for another minute, she turns her composed self back to me, a corkscrew in one hand. “There has to be a story behind it.”

“Behind what?” I ask, content to just watch her rather than talk. Or think.

Her grin is more pronounced this time. “Behind the minivan.”

“Oh, right. The minivan. I have a brother who came with me. He’s handicapped. I dropped him off at the gym on the way to the park.”

Her expression softens. Visibly. “Y-you have a handicapped brother?”

“I do.”

“And you . . . you take him places with you? You take care of him?”

I shrug. “Well, I don’t know about that. I mean, he’s grown, so . . .”

“Does he live with you?”

“For the most part.”

“That’s . . . that’s . . .” Katie is looking at me like she’s just now seeing me. Really seeing me. After several seconds, she glances down at the counter, at the glasses she’s arranging in a straight line with the bottle of red. “That’s very kind of you. I’m sure he appreciates it.”

“I’m sure he does, but like most guys, he’s got a piss-poor way of showing it.”

“Just like a damn man,” she says softly, glancing up at me from beneath her lashes, the hint of a playful smile still curving her lips.

“Bastards,” I reply.

Her eyes sparkle up at me and it takes every ounce of willpower I have not to haul her into my arms and kiss her senseless. Which might take a while. She’s got plenty of sense about her. Too much, maybe.

After a minute, when the temperature in the little kitchen is rising noticeably, Katie clears her throat again, pulling that swath of rich auburn hair over her shoulder like I’ve seen her do before. “So what is it that you drive when you’re not carting your brother around?”

“Maybe if you’re nice to me I’ll show you one day.”

She grunts indignantly, her lips parting yet still curved. “I’m always nice to you.”

“But you could be nicer,” I tell her with a half-grin.

She raises one dark brow, the sexiest damn thing I think I’ve ever seen on a woman. Besides her licking the corner of her mouth when she’s concentrating or nervous, that is. “And just how . . . nice are you expecting me to be?”

“Not that nice,” I answer. “Unless you just want to be that nice. I would never argue if you wanted to be extra, extra, extra nice to me.”

I give her my widest, most innocent smile. She laughs outright, an action that fills the kitchen with a delicate tinkle and turns her face from beautiful to breathtaking. A display like this from her is pretty rare, so pulling it out of her makes me feel like I’ve won the lottery.

“Do that again,” I request quietly, so drawn to her that I can’t stop myself from moving closer, from reaching out, from touching.

“Do what again?” she asks. When I cup her silky cheek in my palm, she straightens, but she doesn’t back away. A good sign.

“Laugh.”

“I can’t laugh on command,” she explains, her eyes flickering up to mine and away, up to mine and away.

“I swear to God, I think I’d do just about anything to hear that again, to see your face light up like that.”

My thumb blindly stroking the crest of her high cheekbone, I catch and hold her eyes this time. They’re like melted sapphires, a fathomless liquid that I could easily let myself drown in.

Katie’s lips open and close a couple of times, like she’s trying to find words where there are none. But the time for talk is over. I feel like I’ve waited patiently for an eternity to taste, and now it’s time for my reward.

Slowly, I bend my face toward hers, hoping she won’t move away, praying that she won’t stop me. “You’ve been on my mind since the first day I saw you, Beautiful Katie. It’s time you give me the answer to a question that’s been haunting me for weeks.”

I can feel the sweet, shallow puffs of her breath fanning my lips as I get closer. “W-what’s that?”

“Do your lips taste like cotton candy?”

“How would I know?” she asks a bit dazedly.

“Give me five minutes and I’ll tell you.”

I bring my other hand up to hold her face still as I brush my mouth over hers. When she doesn’t move away, doesn’t push me away, I sink into her lips like I might sink into a bed made of marshmallows. Sweet, plump, light-as-air marshmallows. And, God help me, Katie sinks right back.

 

Oct 5, 2015

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October 5th

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Until I Met You by S.L. Scott….Release Day Blitz

A BRAND NEW STANDALONE FROM SL SCOTT RELEASING ON OCTOBER 23, 2015!

Their love burned bright, white hot, and strikingly blue
around the edges.

Some thought them
careless.

Some thought them
crazy.

No one approved.

Taylor Barrett was looking for answers in a universe that
had abandoned him.

Jude Boehler flooded her dark world with charisma and
mystery, drawing everyone into her hurricane.

It was a most captivating of love affairs. They were
shooting stars, meteors in the sky, colliding to create a spectacularly
wonderful reckless romance, leaving them breathless and tethered.

But that’s what Love does. 

Their souls were exposed to the chaos, bare and vulnerable.
Can these two star-crossed lovers survive the madness that is life?

ADD TO GOODREADS 





 


EXCERPT



Entering his building made her feet lighter. She was being carried on the wings of euphoria, each step easier than the last. She wasn’t walking to her future. She was running toward it. Taking a breath, she held it, and knocked on his door.

The door opened and he stood there with his lips parted and confusion furrowing his brow. “Jude?”

Throwing herself forward, she jumped up and wrapped her body around his and kissed him. Then again. He kicked the door closed and held her against it. When they parted, they remained close enough to share their panting breaths. He said, “You’re here.” When he pressed his abs against her center her head knocked hard on the wood and he kissed the exposed skin of her neck where it met her shoulder.

He was strong. He was virile. “Hey,” she said, bringing his face up to see hers.

Lowering her down until her feet touched, he said, “I thought we were meeting at the park?”

“I couldn’t wait.”

His glorious smile chose to shine on her. “I’m glad you didn’t. Do you want to go to the bedroom?”

Giggling, she replied, “Yes, so much, but I need to talk to you first.”

“Okay.” He walked to the couch and she stared gob-smacked by his allure. Jeans that hung low. No shirt. Boxers peeking out the top, but a V that directed her eyes below the waistband. He was a tease as he stood there waiting for her to join him. Sitting on the couch, he patted it. “C’mere.”

She started walking on shaky legs. As she passed the bar, she debated if she should stay there to save her clarity. That seat next to him was tempting, but she knew she’d be flat on her back within seconds. So she hurried to his side and sat down. His hands were instantly on her. 












S.L. Scott is a former high-tech account manager with a journalism degree pursuing her passion for telling stories. She spends her days escaping into her characters and letting them lead her on their adventures. 
Live music shows, harvesting jalapenos and eating homemade guacamole are her obsessions she calls hobbies.
Scott lives in the beautiful Texas hill country of Austin with her husband, two young sons, two Papillons and a bowl full of Sea Monkeys. 

She welcomes your notes at sl@slscottauthor.com.