September 28, 2015

Release Day Blitz: Beyond What is Given by Rebecca Yarros



Lt. Grayson Masters is focused on graduating the Apache helicopter course, and the last thing he needs is his gorgeous new roommate Samantha Fitzgerald distracting him. While her smart mouth and free spirit are irresistibly irritating, he can’t deny their off-the-charts chemistry, no matter how hard he tries.

Having just been expelled from college, Sam has no business digging for Grayson’s secrets while she’s hiding her own, but that doesn’t stop her from trying to tear down his walls. Each barrier she busts through drops one of her own, though, and she’s not prepared for the truth: another woman laid claim to Grayson’s heart long ago.

Falling in love is something neither Grayson nor Sam can afford, and when that line is crossed and secrets are exposed, they’ll learn that sometimes it’s the answered prayers that will put you through hell.

Beyond What is Given is available for purchase:




Excerpt

“Samantha?” His eyes softened, revealing the give in him, and it cracked my own defenses.

“Have you ever made a mistake, Grayson? And I don’t mean the kind that costs you an apology. I mean one that destroys you? Where you lie awake at night, unable to sleep, because you’re terrified of what’s going to happen the next day, and the one after that? Where you’d give anything, and I do mean anything to go back and make a different a choice? Where you’re sick all the time at the thought of what you’ve done? Because I have. I’ve crumbled my entire future, shredded any hope of finishing college, and killed off who I used to be. And I don’t…I don’t know how to come back from something like that.”

“You don’t.”

I jerked back, but he held me immobile against him.

“Stop, and listen to me. I’m not going to belittle you by saying nothing is that bad, because some things are. Things happen that change who we are, and what we’re capable of. So you’re not going to ‘come back’ from that any more than you’re going to erase whatever you did. You have to decide if you’re going to try to keep patching yourself up or if you’re going to tear down and rebuild.”

“I don’t know how to do that.”

“You wade through the pain, and the guilt, and the excuses you make to yourself. Stop drowning in alcohol to numb the fear, and suck up the bitter taste of accountability. You move on with who you are now. It’s not easy. If you think you screwed up that badly, then maybe you did, but you also have to leave room for the chance that you didn’t. Have you talked about it?”

I shook my head. There were two of us who knew the whole truth, and that circle was big enough. “I’m not sure I’m ready to let go of everyone’s vision of who I am. It’s so much prettier than the truth.”

“Not even Ember?”

“Definitely not think-through-everything-twice Ember. She wouldn’t understand, and I’m not sure I could handle her reaction.”

He swallowed and broke our stare like it had become too much because we both knew the truth—it had. “That’s the hardest part, letting someone see who you really are—scars and all. I’m…” He cleared his throat. “You need to trust someone enough to tell them the truth. Make peace with it before it eats you alive. I listen really well if you don’t have anyone else.”

I scrambled to throw up a wall between us. It was safer when he was hurling snotty comments at me. That, I knew how to handle. But this Grayson? The one holding me carefully, keeping me warm while the storm raged outside, offering to help carry the crippling weight destroying me? I didn’t know what the hell to do with that one.

“Why would you even offer? Everything you know about me is a mess. I drink too much, wear too-little clothes, dance on bars, and impose on everyone around me because I can’t get my shit together.”

“You can get your shit together, you’ve just chosen not to up until now. You took that first step with Maggie. I’m offering because I’ve made that kind of mistake, Sam, the one you don’t come back from. I look at you, and I see what I went through. It’s too late for me.” He took a deep breath. “But you? You’re going to spring back, so yeah, I’m offering.”

“As friends?” I held my breath, needing to hear it. The push and pull, the attraction, it was all there on my side, but I wasn’t sure about his, and I wasn’t about to make an ass out of myself. We were roommates, and this could get complicated really quickly.

Our eyes locked, and heat skimmed down my limbs, leaving chills in its wake. “We’re both adults—”

“Well, trying to be,” I joked.

His lips quirked up at the corners. Almost a smile. “Right. I’m not going to say that I’m not insanely attracted to you. I don’t lie. Ever. Plus, I’d have to be dead not to realize the way you affect me. But I’m also not in any position to act on it, and let’s be honest—you’re not, either. But I think we can stop picking each other apart and be friends.”

“Friends that are insanely attracted to each other?”

He inhaled sharply, like my attraction to him had been some secret. Yeah right. I’m pretty sure my body threw out “screw me now” signals the minute he walked into a room, even when I was angry with him. Hell, perversely, especially when I was angry with him.

The siren wailed again, and I jumped, despite the exhaustion pummeling me.

“An hour to go,” I muttered, looking at my iPad.

“Relax and try to get some sleep.”

“Like there’s a chance of that.” But he tucked the comforter up to my chin and drew me closer, so my head rested on his chest.

“Just try. Some of us have to get up for work in the morning.” His tone was light and teasing, so I didn’t jump his case about giving me shit.

I yawned, feeling my body betray me and start to shut down like he’d flipped some magic Sam-sleep button. “I’m glad we can be friends.” Sleep slurred my words.

“Me, too.”


About the Author

Rebecca Yarros is a hopeless romantic and lover of all things chocolate, coffee, and Paleo. In addition to being a mom, military wife, and blogger, she can never choose between Young Adult and New Adult fiction, so she writes both. She's a graduate of Troy University, where she studied European history and English, but still holds out hope for an acceptance letter to Hogwarts. Her blog, The Only Girl Among Boys, has been voted the Top Military Mom Blog the last two years, and celebrates the complex issues surrounding the military life she adores.
When she's not writing, she's tying on hockey skates for her kids, or sneaking in some guitar time. She is madly in love with her army-aviator husband of eleven years, and they're currently stationed in Upstate NY with their gaggle of rambunctious kiddos and snoring English Bulldog, but she would always rather be home in Colorado.

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September 25, 2015

Cowboy Valentine by Mia Hopkins

Forget chocolate and flowers. This homegrown honey is all the sweetness he craves.

Small-town life is nothing but a waiting room for eighteen-year-old honor student Corazón Gomez. Work and school leave little time for love, but with a full-ride Ivy League scholarship and a one-way ticket out of the boondocks, who needs it?

The answer appears on Valentine’s Day when her old cowboy crush ambles into the ice cream parlor where she works, inviting her to go on a late-night ride in his truck. For the first time she wavers between staying on the straight and narrow, and going off-road with the handsome heartbreaker.

After four years working on ranches all over the country, Caleb MacKinnon is back on the family farm helping out his mom and brothers while his father fights cancer. The one bright spot: smart, funny, and wickedly sexy Cora.

From the start, they both know this blazing-hot love affair can’t last. But when autumn comes and Cora has to leave for the East Coast, Caleb must find a solution to keep himself—and his heart—from falling apart.

Warning: Contains hard, cherry-poppin’ sex in a pickup truck and a cowboy charmer who talks dirty in two languages.



Maybe it was because Cora and Caleb fell into each others arms the first night they really met, but their story didn't really do it for me. It left little to the imagination as you go through them having sex everywhere and anywhere you can think of...and there's a bit of story sprinkled in there somewhere. I prefer a little more meat to the story, especially when there's a cowboy involved! If you want to just read some blazin' hot scenes, this book is for you--don't be looking for too much lovey-dovey, though...

September 23, 2015

How Forever Feels by Laura Drewry

From USA Today bestselling author Laura Drewry comes a warm and witty new Friends First novel—perfect for readers of Jill Shalvis and Susan Mallery. How Forever Feels is a sweet tale about the one that got away . . . and the one that came back.

Maya McKay’s heart is as big as Jack Rhodes’s shoulders are broad. Their chemistry is out of control, but it could never work between them because Jack is more than just best friends with her cheating ex-husband—they’re like brothers. Maya, the sensitive, practical florist, has given up on love and is ready to settle for like. But now that Jack’s around again, he’s stirring up old feelings—and turning Maya’s fantasies into irresistible reality.

Jack blew his chance with Maya years ago when he stepped aside for his best friend, Will, and he’s still kicking himself about it. Maya was promised forever once before, and she got burned. But when Jack realizes that second chances aren’t going to fall out of the sky, he seizes the moment—and the woman he’s always loved—to show her how forever truly feels.



Maya McKay is in one tough situation. In her shoes, I'd be totally torn. Jack, being her ex-husband's best friend is pretty much the biggest taboo you could find--maybe only topped off by a brother. ANYWAYS. I loved the angle of the story because of that. Why not find love in the most unexpected place? I say it makes Jack that much more worthy of Maya's time now--clearly he knows what he wants and he's loyal to that! Laura's writing in this book is consistent with the writing in the other books of this series. I actually can't choose one book that I've liked more than the others. Definitely a solid finish to a great series. I definitely recommend!


September 21, 2015

Blog Tour: Doing It for Love by Cassie Mae



Cassie Mae’s charming, sexy new novel, perfect for fans of Emma Chase, puts a steamy twist on modern love as one bride-to-be tries to put the spark back in the bedroom—by any means necessary.

Elizabeth Fanning’s life looks pretty perfect, judging by the diamond ring on her finger. Her fiancé, Landon, is sweet, handsome, and hilarious. The trouble is, before they’ve even tied the knot, their sex life has gone from mind-blowing to “meh”—and Liz isn’t ready to be part of an old married couple. After a cathartic call to her best friend, Liz comes up with a brilliant idea. She and Landon may never be able to re-create the magic of their first time, but how amazing would their wedding night be if everything below the neck was off-limits until then?

Liz thinks it’ll bring them closer together. Landon’s convinced she’ll cave first. So they raise the stakes: Whoever lasts longer gets to pick their honeymoon destination. With her heart set on the Bahamas and Landon fighting for snowbound Utah, Liz simply has to win. But pretty soon, her body is screaming for attention, and Landon’s never seemed so far away. Has Liz’s experiment backfired? Losing their little competition would be frustrating—but the one thing she can’t afford to lose is him.


Doing It for Love is available for purchase:



Excerpt

My cell vibrates, so I speed through washing my hands to answer it.
“Hey,” I say, really trying the innocent thing, but I’m too stoked to pull it off.
“Are you in the bathroom?” Theresa sleepily chuckles. “Your voice is echoing.”
“I’m not peeing.” I crack the bathroom door and check on Landon. His entire body is covered with the comforter minus one leg dangling off the edge. I press the door closed and whisper into the phone. “So, can I cash in?”
“For real?”
“Hell yes.”
“You need a maid of honor?” Her voice squeaks on the last word, and I do a total Snoopy dance, buck naked in my bathroom, stifling my squeals with my girlfriend. Theresa asks question after question, but she’s rattling them off so fast I don’t understand them.
“Wait, what?” I say through my smile.
“When? How?”
“Few hours ago.” A large sigh flits through my lips as I grab a towel for my waist and slide to the chocolate brown bath mat. “It just fell out when we were in the shower.”
She snorts. “It wasn’t in the middle of sex, was it?”
“No. It was . . . sweet.” I let my mind replay Landon’s eyes, his words, his hands. “Perfect.”
“Good. You deserve nothing less.”
“Thanks.” My fingers splay across the bath mat, and I mindlessly pick at the fraying edge. “We did it after though.”
“Ah, engagement Chocolateville.” She sighs now, and I laugh picturing her taking that huge bite of cheesecake. “I’ve heard it’s up there with make-up sex.”
A weird weight sinks into my stomach. “It was nice.”
“Nice?” She gasps. “Oh no. Less than stellar, huh?”
“It was fine. I’ve just had so many mood swings. Then we couldn’t find a condom, so we had, like, a halftime breather. So, you know, not totally revved up. Not his fault.”
“That’s too bad. I’ve heard that engagement sex is better than the actual wedding night.”
“What? No.” I wrap my finger around a loose string in the mat and pull. “The wedding night will beat out everything.” It has to. I am determined to find our spark again specifically for that night.
“Think about it. You’re running around all day. Waking up early, getting dressed, undressed, standing in heels, hugging a million people you don’t know, lugging the presents up to your apartment after, or even worse . . . you might jump right onto a plane and the second you get to your hotel you’re jet-lagged and beat. You’ll probably draw straws for who can just lay there while the other person does the work.”
“Wow, thanks for that thought of encouragement.” I pull my towel around my chest and rest my forehead on my knees. “I was really looking forward to that night. First time with him as my husband.” My heart thumps hard when the word tumbles out. “He unzips my wedding dress, and I rip off his tie. We’re on a California King somewhere tropical and fun.” The honeymoon had better be somewhere tropical. My Southern ass freezes here on Long Island. I constantly have to put my feet against Landon’s legs to warm them up at night.
I blow out a breath, making the line fuzz. “Kind of ruins the whole picture if you’re telling me the sex will suck.”
“I’m just saying you’ll be tired.”
“I’ve been tired before and had epic sex.” Landon was gone for a month visiting his parents, and I jumped him the second he got off the plane. It was four in the morning, I hadn’t slept all night, and he was majorly jet-lagged. Did not matter at all. We started up in the car, he had me screaming in the front seat, screaming against the door when we got home, and we made it as far as the living room couch before landing double-fudge raspberry cheesecake together.
But that was, oh hell . . . I don’t know, a year ago? Maybe more.
“Well, do whatever you did that time.” Theresa laughs, and I sort of chuckle with her, my buzzed brain skipping tracks left and right. It was epic sex because we’d been waiting for it . . . anticipating it.
“Hmm . . .”
“What?” she asks through a yawn.
I pull at the bath mat again. “Do you think . . . ?” My thoughts steal my voice as they run through my head. Sex with Landon is good. Always fun. It’s just not new. It’s . . . longtime- relationship sex. Scheduled, predictable, and usually ends with a snoring Landon and a bowl of ice cream. So how can I make sure I land a ticket to Chocolateville the day we become husband and wife? Oh my hell . . . will we even have sex on our wedding night?
Theresa clears her throat. “Do I think what?”
“You think maybe . . . we should wait?”
“Wait for what?”
“Like no sex until that night. Then it’ll be amazing because we’ll be dying for it.” It’s ridiculous. I don’t think Landon will go for it. But Theresa will tell me if I’m totally craz—
“I’ve heard of couples doing that,” she says, her tired voice picking up. “Sounds like a test in great restraint if you ask me, but also could be . . . well, fun.”
“You think?”
“Totally. When was the last time you guys went as far as you could without going there? I think it’s exciting. Might bring something back . . .”
I want to defend my sex life, but my mind is on the track she painted. My heart warms and thumps as a grin spreads across my face. Foreplay without sex could amp us both up so much our wedding night will be one I can guarantee we won’t forget. I have to clench my legs together just thinking about it.

It will be like new relationship sex all over again.


My interest in this novel was mainly due to the fact that I'm a great fan of Cassie Mae's prior novels. Her humour is translated into her writing and carried on through her characters. Doing It for Love is no different in those aspects. I was kept amused by her nerd-culture references and I loved that she took a different approach to hot and steamy scenes. They were not (all) in-your-face sex scenes but they were still fully loaded and left enough for one's imagination to take flight. I enjoyed that Doing It for Love wasn't your typical A and B meet and fall in love but rather it's about a couple who are dealing with their relationship and life after the initial honeymoon phase is over. Personally, I find that there aren't enough novels that are about what happens after the 'Happily Ever After'. I read so many of the 'A meets B, they fall in love and The End' that I am often left wanting more. Doing It for Love is that 'something more'. The perfect splash of sexy-times and the more real-life issues (think Raisin Bran) is what gives Liz and Landon that realistic feel to them which makes for a totally relateable novel. I definitely enjoyed Cassie's humour in a new adult genre and I look forward to the next book in this series!



About the Author

Cassie Mae (who dons the name Becca Ann on occasion) is the author of a few hundred—okay, maybe not that many—books. Since writing her bestselling debut, Reasons I Fell for the Funny Fat Friend, she has published books with Random House, Swoon Romance, and Tulip Romance. She has a favorite of all her babies, but no, she won’t tell you what it is (mainly because it changes depending on the day). Along with writing, Cassie likes to binge-watch Teen Wolf and The Big Bang Theory. She can quote Harry Potter lines quick as a whip. And she likes kissing her hubby, but only if his facial hair is trimmed. She also likes cheesecake to a very obsessive degree.

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September 18, 2015

Blog Tour: She Writes Love by Sandi Lynn


The circle of life. It's something we all know about but are never truly prepared for the unexpected. The unexpected that comes out of nowhere. No warning, no heads up, nothing. Just God giving us pure bliss and happiness and then taking it away in the blink of an eye. For me, losing my husband to a massive heart attack on our one-year wedding anniversary, and at the age of twenty-seven, was something I didn't think I could ever heal from. The emptiness, the loneliness, the numbness, and the need just to get through the day was overwhelming. My name is Paisley Logan and this is my story.

I'd never lost anyone before. I'd never experienced death. I felt like God was playing a cruel joke on me. How could he bring her into my life and then take her away so young. Even the best laid plans in life get altered. Mine did. Everyone kept telling me that time would heal all wounds, but this was a wound that would never fully be healed. Trying to get back to the normalcy of life was exhausting, so I didn't try anymore. My name is Ben Preston and this is my story.


She Writes Love is available for purchase:

Excerpt

Ben

I was a fireman for the Los Angeles Fire Department. It was something I’d wanted to be ever since my mom bought me my first fire truck at the age of six. Now, twenty-three years later, I was doing a job I loved. My wife, Amy, passed away almost a year ago. I thought about her every single day and I still hadn’t had the courage to clean out her things from the house. Our closet still housed all her beautiful clothes and our bathroom still had all her makeup in it. I missed her like hell and hated God for taking her away from me. I was angry, bitter, and lost without her in my life. My mom told me that I needed to seek counseling, but the only thing a counselor was going to do was tell me that I needed to move on with my life and, little by little, the thought of Amy would disappear. I didn’t want her to disappear. My memories. Our memories were all I had left and I was holding on with every last breath I had. Cancer had taken her and our dreams away.



Can anything good come of tragedy? Sometimes. That some people have to go through such tragedy is so sad. I don't think I could ever put myself in the shoes of these characters. The story they shared was truly beautiful, though. I think by half way through the book, I had my suspicions about a certain character (I'm really trying to not spoil things here). He gave this story a haunting element that just really hits you. I actually really liked this book...the only reason I'd give it more a 4 than a 5 star is because I found the actual dialogue (text messages included) between Paisley and Ben too formal. For me, it took away from their chemistry since, at times, it got a bit awkward. Story-wise, though, great novel. The content was heartbreaking and the love found between Paisley and Ben was heartwarming. Well worth the read!



About the Author

Sandi Lynn, A New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, spends her days writing full-time to provide her readers romance novels that will whisk them away to another world. She has a severe coffee addiction and can usually be found hanging out at the local Starbucks with her laptop, sipping lattes, and writing her books.

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