May 20, 2015

Blog Tour: Rush by Gina Gordon





Everly Parker is about to graduate from law school, always busy, and can’t stop rushing through life. Her late grandmother left her a bucket list of meaningful, can’t-miss experiences, but she hasn’t completed a single one. Then searing-hot Max Levin bursts into her world. As a casting director for a porn production company, Max is loaded, cocky, and all wrong for Everly. Still, she’s tempted enough to cross the first item off her list: Go out with someone you’d never give the time of day.

Inheriting a porn empire isn’t every guy’s dream (well, actually, it probably is), but Max isn’t complaining. It’s just that until he meets Everly, he has no idea what he’s been missing. As the pressure mounts to take over the family business, Max can’t help wondering what would happen if he chose Everly instead. So far, his life has been a wild ride, but only Everly promises the greatest rush of all: love.


Rush is available for purchase:


I picked up this book not knowing what to expect. The blurb was interesting--never read a book where pornography was a central theme. Max and Everly's story didn't disappoint me or prove to be too awkward. Rush, for me, actually made pornography much less of a taboo topic/theme than usual--it almost normalizes it, if that makes any sense. I think it also helped that the book really honed in on the development of Max and Everly's relationship rather than on the porn industry. Porn takes a bit of a backseat and just makes the story better!

I was a big fan of Max. He proved to be such a sweetheart despite the preconceived notions of how the heir of a successful producer and a porn star would be. His character was totally on the other end of the spectrum. His determination to become a better person than what was expected of him really drove this story. Max convinces his audience (and, in the end, Everly) that he can be so much more than what anyone expects of him. 

Everly is about as different from Max as one could ever imagine. She's totally straight edged, sheltered and everything Max isn't. She's on a path to become a successful lawyer but she's not sure that that's what she wants to do with her life. However, it takes her awhile to come to terms that her life is what she makes of it. When she meets Max, he makes it his mission to spice up her life. Seeing how she fits/doesn't fit into Max's world is uncomfortable at times but to see how it ends up working out in the end is really sweet. Everly and Max work well together--they have the chemistry and they also compliment each other in every way.

This book was enjoyable. There's ample sex (obviously) throughout the book--a lot of it pornography-esque (whatever that means, right?) but there's just as much story to go with. I went in with no expectations but I was more than pleasantly surprised. Can a story be so very hot but just so sweet at the same time? Apparently so...



Excerpt

“I’m in the business of bringing fantasy to life, Ms. Parker.” I was mesmerized by the soft swell of her breasts that poked above the neckline of her shirt. So subtle and delicate. “I bet you’ve got a few stored away for a rainy day.”

A sharp snap brought my attention back to her face. “Don’t you know it’s rude not to look someone in the face when talking to them?” When I finally brought my eyes up and away from her breasts, she was glaring at me. Her shoulders had migrated to her ears in annoyance.

I was usually a lot subtler when checking out the opposite sex. Not that I had to be. It was my job to analyze every curve and swell of a woman’s body, but served me right for giving in to my baser desires. She had totally called me on it.

“Hmm . . . I guess I don’t.” I stepped forward and walked around her, just as the hard crunching noise of the coffee grinder went off in the distance.

I liked this girl. She may be hiding what I was positive was an above-average body behind those frumpy clothes, but she had gumption. Confidence. Yet not the confidence I was used to. I made my living working with women who found their sense of self with their bodies. But not this woman. I had an inkling that her confidence originated from being first in her class.

Her head swiveled with my movements and I heard her tiny gasps for breath as I hovered, each time getting closer. Finally, I leaned in and whispered, “Want to teach me a lesson?” I grinned then stepped away, but not before I saw the shiver race up her spine.

So you do have an effect on her.

But when I turned to face her, she had already forgotten my affect on her body. “Somehow I have the feeling you’ve already got a long line of scorned women ready to teach you a lesson in manners.”

I heard Ben chuckle behind me, then clear his throat.

“Touché, Ms. Parker.”

“I have studying to do, so . . .” She lifted her chin, eyes blazing at me. “I’ll leave you to
your meeting.”

“It’s too bad.” I squeezed myself back into the booth and kicked out one leg, resting my arm along the top of the seat back. “Guess I won’t be getting the lashing I so deserve.”

She laughed me off. Actually laughed at my words. Not that cute little giggle women
usually got when I laid it on thick, but laughed at me. “Goodbye.” She walked away, but not before giving me one last look that cut right through me.

I’d been eyed before. By women and men. Always with a glimmer of seduction or the blatant go-ahead to bring them to my bedroom. But never like this. Never with such disregard for everything I was and everything I stood for. This woman didn’t know me. She was just like the others. Judging a book before she looked between the covers—and being a student, she should know better.

But I was used to people belittling my work and my character. I’d dealt with it my whole life. I knew what it was like to have people call my mother a dirty slut. How it felt to have my father compared to a pimp. But even after all the teasing and taunting that only adolescents could hammer at me, never had I ever felt the need to defend myself so thoroughly.

I returned my attention to Ben, Jade, and Stella, almost forgetting why I was here.

“Sorry about that,” Jade said. “Everly can be a bit uptight sometimes. She’s just stressed out with studying.”

“So, where were we,” Stella asked, leaning against me. From across the table, Ben stared with a curious, but shocked face. “I think we were going to give you a little sneak peek of our skills.” She purred and pawed at me like a cat in heat.

I wasn’t interested in watching a show. I was . . . confused. Confused at the fact that I was more interested in the bookworm three tables away than the two beautiful women in front of me.

Was it because I was taken aback by her quick wit and innocent smile? Or was it something more? Was it because she saw right through me? She knew I was Max Levin, the porn guy. But she . . . didn’t care.

I had walked into this café with the intent of meeting and signing two escorts to short- term contracts. Instead, I wanted nothing more than to figure out why that Plain Jane had just woken up my cock. More importantly, why her indifference toward me actually hit a nerve. Women usually batted their eyelashes and looked at me with a dreamy gaze. Not this girl, she wasn’t wooed by my charms or status. And it was fucking intriguing.

“Would you excuse me a minute?”

Ben shot me a quizzical look. “Where are you going?”

“Ladies, would you mind discussing with Mr. Lockwood your boundaries? The type of scenes you’d be willing to film.” I stood and pulled out a draft contract from my pocket. “He’ll also discuss the average payouts.” I looked at him and clapped him on the shoulder. “Page twelve.”

The bookworm had just presented me with a challenge.

I wasn’t done with her. Not by a long shot.


About the Author

When her dream of becoming a mafia princess didn’t pan out, Gina Gordon went after her second dream: becoming a writer. And she hasn’t looked back. A self-proclaimed happily-ever-after junkie and cupcake connoisseur, Gordon loves spinning contemporary tales of knee-bending first kisses, unconditional love, and super-hot sex. She lives in Milton, Ontario, with her husband and their lovable dog.

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May 8, 2015

Cover Reveal: Drowning to Breathe by A.L. Jackson


Drowning to Breathe (Bleeding Stars #2) by A.L. Jackson
Release Date: Summer 2015


iBooks Exclusive Pre-Order here



The danger in pretending is it becoming real...

Sebastian Stone, Sunder front man and guitarist with a rap sheet about ten miles long, escaped to Savannah, Georgia, to get away from the trouble he’d caused.

Not find more of it.

    The moment he saw Shea Bentley, he saw beneath all her sweet and innocence to something that went deeper.

Darker.

Their relationship was built on secrets; their love built on lies.

Sebastian never imagined how deep her secrets went.

When the past and present collide, Sebastian and Shea find themselves fighting for a future neither believed they deserved. Their passion is consuming and their need unending.

Now, holding the truth in his hands, Sebastian is faced with sacrificing everything he’s come to love to protect Shea and his family.

Two pasts intertwined.

Two lives bound. 

Will their demons drown them or will Shea and Sebastian finally learn to breathe?


About the Author

A.L. Jackson is the New York Times bestselling author of contemporary and new adult romance.

She first found a love for writing during her days as a young mother and college student.  She filled the journals she carried with short stories and poems used as an emotional outlet for the difficulties and joys she found in day-to-day life.

Years later, she shared a short story she’d been working on with her two closest friends and, with their encouragement, this story became her first full length novel. A.L. now spends her days writing in Southern Arizona where she lives with her husband and three children. 

Connect with A.L. Jackson online:www.aljacksonauthor.com

To stay up to date with important news on A.L. Jackson, including new releases, sales, and exclusive specials and excerpts, text “jackson” to 96000 to subscribe!

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