Lori L. Clark's Blog, page 101

Book Review & Giveaway: Even The Moon Has Scars

Title: Even the Moon Has ScarsAuthor: Steph CampbellAge: YAGenre: Contemporary Romance

Cover Designed by The Cover LureScheduled to release: October 28, 2014

Goodreads

Amazon | Kobo | iTunes
Blurb:

Two strangers. Two broken hearts. One night to set each other free.
Almost dying from an undiagnosed heart condition means every second of your life is a precious gift to be guarded.Lena Pettitt was born a miracle.And her parents never let her forget it.Even if that daily reminder kept her from experiencing the one thing they were trying to protect most--her life.
Gabriel Martinez’s heart has been ripped out.His pride has been stomped on.Oh, and he now has an arrest record that’s caused an even bigger rift between him and his DA mother. All for a love that wasn’t really true.
Now he’s exiled to his grandmother’s, working on his late grandpa’s old Corvair when a shivering girl knocks on the garage door. Lena, left alone for the first time ever, has locked herself out of her house--in the snow. Gabe knows he could help this girl get back inside her house--but that may mean missing the next train to Boston to pick up the part he’s spent eight weeks tracking down. She can wait for him at his grandmother’s or…
A few hours, an aluminum valve cover, and some strong coffee later, neither Gabe or Lena can feign disappointment when they race to the station and arrive just as the last train home from Boston is pulling out.
As jaded as he is, Gabe can’t deny the fact that he’s excited to spend the night exploring a city he knows nearly every corner of, with a girl who sees magic in the simplest things.
Lena has been waiting for her tiny world to crack open her entire life. Now that it’s finally happened, she finds the only thing she can focus on is the unexpected tour guide who opens her eyes to possibilities she never imagined.
All they have is this one night, together, under the bright moon in a city full of hidden beauty.

It’s one night that will change how they see the world and the paths their hearts will take forever.

Lori's thoughts:  What a sweet, wonderful story. I loved Gabe and Lena separately. I loved Gabe and Lena together. I know some will argue that the book was too short, they wanted more Gabe and Lena. I think it was just right. Yes, I could always read more about Gabe and Lena, but sometimes the author just knows when it's time to save good-bye. Their time together was fun and it served its purpose. They both learned so much during their one night together. About each other and about themselves. The story is clean and, like I said, sweet. Not angsty, not bad boy-good girl. Just right. Perfect, gorgeous cover, very fitting title. Thank you, Steph Campbell. I think your decision to write their story was the right one! I look forward to reading more of your work.










GIVEAWAY (1) Kindle Fire and ebooks: Grounding Quinn, Delicate, Beautiful Things Never Last, and Even The Moon Has Scarsa Rafflecopter giveaway



About the Author:
Steph Campbell grew up in Southern California, but now lives in the hot, humid south. She has one husband, four children and a serious nail polish obsession. When she's not writing or taking care of her brood, she's reading or scouring travel sites, always ready for life's next adventure.

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorstephcampbell

blog: stephcampbell.blogspot.com

twitter: @stephcampbell_

instagram: _steph_campbell

 

Liz Crowe: Love Brothers Giveaway!

LOVE GARAGE PRE-ORDER LINK

Love Garage
Book 1
January 5, 2015 (ebook)
March 14, 2015 (Print)
Goodreads Link

Blurb

Antony Love is the quintessential responsible oldest brother of a boisterous, Italian/Irish family, placed in charge at a young age by his parents who are busy running the family business. He manages his siblings with a fair but iron hand, until his life is shattered by personal tragedy leaving him the shell of the man he once was.

When outspoken matriarch Lindsay Halloran Love becomes ill, the youngest brother Aiden shows up at Antony's garage, having dropped out of school (again), needing work and a place to crash. Antony provides both, with three caveats: "Don't smoke in my truck, don't be late for work, and don't mess with my girlfriend."

But Aiden Love, budding novelist, gets one glimpse of Rosalee Norris, young widow of Antony's lifelong best friend and all bets are off.

Set in horse country near Lexington, Kentucky, The Love Brothers Series is a saga of family devotion that runs as wide and deep as the Ohio River--except on Sundays when brothers Antony, Kieran, Dominic and Aiden work out their frustrations on the basketball court, Love brother style.

The Love Brothers: A family saga with humor, heat and heart—not to mention beer, bourbon and basketball.

Love Garage Excerpt:

Love Garage opened bright and early the next morning, a Saturday, a day Aiden had hoped to spend recovering.

“I get so many oil changes and random small jobs on Saturdays, it doesn’t make sense to be closed and let the jackasses with the Quickilube at Walmart get the business,” Antony insisted when Aiden groaned with dismay upon being awakened after two hours of drunken sleep. It didn’t help that the awakening occurred at the business end of a thrown pillow. “Get up, Romeo. You owe me rent money.”
He did, slowly, queasily hitting a shower, sore all over, his skin mottled from bug bites. But nothing topped the glorious agony of a bourbon hangover like the one that had him firmly in its evil grasp.
He slouched out the door, cursing Antony, cursing Tricia, cursing her ex-husband for throwing her in his path last night. But mostly cursing his own weak-ass uselessness. He rested his head against the cool comfort of the truck window until Antony hit a bump or two, which sent extra pain jolting down his spine.
“Sorry,” his brother muttered, glancing over at him.
“No, you’re not.”
“Got me there. And you’d better warn me if you’re about to toss your cookies. I won’t have that in my vehicle, got me?”
Aiden rubbed his neck and nodded, swallowing the urge to throw up all over the pristine interior on principal. “Why d’you hate me so much? You used to like me.” He stared over at his brother, heart thumping, ears humming, throat closing up with nausea. He despised waking up still drunk.
“I don’t hate you.” Antony turned onto the main road headed into town.
“Could’ve fooled me. You’re a real asshole anymore. Worse than Dom.”
Antony merely shrugged, not rising to that tried-and-true bait. So they spent the rest of the ride to the garage in silence. Once there, Antony sat gripping the wheel. Aiden waited, hoping he’d get something out of him—something he would assure him that the man he thought he remembered as the protective, funny, and loving guy he’d grown up with still existed inside the guy walking around wearing Antony’s skin.
Finally, he let go of the wheel, exhaled, and squared his shoulders as if prepping for battle. Aiden made a mental note to talk to Kieran about how badly Antony had descended into his life of non-stop mourning and jerk-hood.
“So, Rosalee, not putting out for you or what? You need to get laid maybe? Knock the edge off?”
The glare Aiden got for saying those particular words did make him worry Antony might punch his aching head through the passenger-side window.
He clenched his jaw in the way Aiden remembered from their childhood. “That is so far outside the realm of your business as to be in another galaxy. Get to work and don’t say her name to me again.”
And with that, Aiden was left with the fleeting thought that mentioning Rosalee directly was probably not a good idea. He surely didn’t need Antony to guess that her name was on his lips, or front and center of his mind.
He shook his head—a Bad Plan because it summoned the pounding agony back with a vengeance. Groaning, he climbed out and shuffled over to the door.
A new day began at Love Garage.



Coach Love Pre order link available Dec. 15, 2014.

Coach Love
Book 2
January 5, 2015 (ebook)
March 14, 2015 (Print)
Goodreads 


Blurb
The smoldering intensity of first love ~ the forbidden fantasy of temptation ~ the cold hard facts of real life.
When one man’s hopes are dashed apart in a split second after years spent chasing a dream, he returns home to Kentucky furious at the world and everyone around him.
Kieran Francesco is the middle son of the volatile, tight-knit Halloran-Love family. His role as peacemaker and the one true athlete is well established. He now faces life devoid of the sport he adores after a horrific, career-ending accident, which places him in a new and entirely uncomfortable position—that of the brother with no future.
Over the course of a few tumultuous months Kieran is plunged back into life at the center of the Love family, where he must cope with one self-destructive brother, one ill-timed reconnection to an old flame and a series of bad choices that land him in more trouble than he’d ever known existed.
COACH LOVE, book 2 of The Love Brothers, a family saga of sibling loyalty that runs as deep and wide as the Ohio River—at least until Sunday, when Antony, Kieran, Dominic and Aiden work out their frustrations at the weekly Love brother pick-up basketball game.

Coach Love EXCERPT:
As he drove the twenty or so miles from his parents’ house into town Kieran’s head began to clear. The windows were down and the tunes cranked. The sun shone. Signs of summer--one of his favorite seasons--were all around him. Parks packed with families, all the basketball courts and swimming pools overflowing. The sight of a gaggle of boys on bikes riding alongside him for a while, singing along with whatever random, crappy rap song currently polluted the airwaves made him smile.

“Hey, it’s Kieran Love!” one of the punks shouted after a few blocks. “Can you come over and shoot a few with us?”

He waved and drove on, gratified but sad, the sound of their cheerful unhappiness at his refusal filling his ears, taking the stretch of four lane road at seventy miles an hour, pressing the gas pedal to the floor, the throaty, powerful roar of the car’s engine revving him from head to toe.

It would be all right because he and Melinda loved each other. They had from the moment they’d met. He passed some grandpa in a Toyota, as the deep green fields surrounded by picturesque white fences and dotted with horses filled both sides of his vision.

He’d been home and recuperating from radical knee surgery with the best prognosis he could hope for after such a nasty break--to walk normally, much less play the occasional pick up game. His depression had been deep, wide, and terrifying. He woke every day at his parents’ house, unwilling even to get out of bed, not that he could without help for the first few weeks.

Antony had tossed a laptop computer at him one day when he’d been sulking, unshaven, and eating an entire bag of potato chips, something he’d not done since the age of ten when his fate--bound for basketball fame and fortune--had been determined.

“Here, find a job, find a date, find something,” he’d said before yanking the empty chip bag away and smacking Kieran’s head hard enough to make his ears ring.

“Ow. Leave me alone, asshole. I’m grievously injured,” he’d said, not caring about the swear-free zone he inhabited.

“That’s three dollars young man,” his mother had called out from the kitchen.

“You live with this, jerk, and see how you feel about finding ‘a date.’“ He’d hooked his fingers around the words, heart in his throat at how badly he’d wanted to call Cara right then.

But by the next weekend he was caning and limping his way toward the door to some faux-fancy Italian restaurant in Lexington, rubbing his freshly shaved face and trying not to sweat through his dress shirt. The woman from the internet site sat at the bar, twirling an olive-laden swizzle stick in her martini glass, long, slim, bare legs crossed, feet encased in sky-high patent leather heels. He’d exhaled, beyond relived that he’d not been cat-fished by some troll, or worse, a dude.

He’d hesitated then, something in him telling him to turn around and leave, fast. But at that moment, she’d flashed him the whitest, most perfect smile he’d ever seen and he’d been hooked. He still didn’t know how. They’d gone out for three weeks before she let him kiss her. It’d been another three weeks before he got anywhere near her tits. It had been a solid four months before he scored but that encounter had been, in a word, epic.

Melinda liked to talk dirty, wear heels and a garter belt while he fucked her. Loved doing it with all the lights on and in semi-public places. She gave head like a pro at first, before he’d given her an engagement ring.

Her bitchiness had come across as extreme decisiveness, sort of hot in way, he’d admit, since he tended toward the spontaneous and unplanned--”wishy washy” as he now understood it thanks to Melinda’s re-categorization of his personality. Her tight grip on her emotions and her surroundings, the OCD way she ordered her life did grate on him at times but he figured she tolerated his innate sloppiness and willingness to wake on a Sunday without a plan in place for the rest of the day. When he realized he sat across from her at some overpriced, hipster restaurant near her office after going out with her for eight months, ready to present her with a ring he could barely afford, it had shocked him without seeming to even faze her.

“Well, of course I’ll marry you, but you’ve got to find a better job,” she’d drawled as she sipped her champagne.

“A new job?” He’d gotten the teaching gig at his old high school and couldn’t imagine any job he’d want or like better. She made six figures for Christ’s sake, at least he thought she did.

Elated, drunk with lust and achievement, he’d tried to get his long legs adjusted under the small table jammed between all the others and covered with small plates of “tapas” which, best he could tell were “appetizers” only twice the price and half the helpings.

“I’ll do anything you want, Melinda. You saved me, honest to God you did.”

She’d fluttered her inky black lashes and gazed at him with an expression that convinced him he’d made the drastic move for the right reasons. The following year had been a combination of frustration, anger and high school level blue balls. The double drama Antony and Aiden had foisted on the Love family during that time hadn’t helped but it had distracted him. He’d taught his classes, helped out with the basketball team pro bono without telling Melinda and had been happier than he’d ever been as a pro athlete.

The fact that she maintained her uber-bitch persona around his family killed him. But he was hooked.

Still.

Mostly.




Love Brewing
Book 3
March 1, 2015 (ebook)
March 14, 2015 (Print)
Goodreads

Blurb:
Every family has one—the black sheep, the problem child, the prodigal. But Dominic Sean Love could teach all of those guys a lesson or two. Stuck in the middle of a boisterous group of siblings, he’s given “acting out” a new meaning from the day he drew his first breath.
While he’s the one son who follows his strict father’s footsteps into the Love family business, he’s also the one who butts heads with him the hardest. Their epic clashes are the stuff of family legend. But they have made peace and work side by side to take Love Brewing to the next level of success.
Until Dominic does the one thing his father can never forgive.
Diana Brantley has been Dominic’s friend, girlfriend and ex-girlfriend so many times she’s lost count. When he shows up at the farm she’s slowly transforming into a wildly popular farm-to-table resource for restaurants all over the U.S. her first impulse is to shoot first and ask questions later. But she doesn’t. And their lives entwine once more, for good, bad and ugly.

Working (pre-edited) Excerpt:

Dominic would give anything be able to talk to Kieran. They’d gotten close in the last months since he’d required a rather alarming rescue from a jail down in Georgia and his brother had shown up, very few questions asked. But no, Kieran had his own issues and likely at that very moment was busy trying to convince his high school girlfriend to marry him, even as she was poised and ready to marry someone else.
“You need dry clothes,” Diana said, interrupting his pity party.
He shrugged and kept his gaze fixed on the view of rain. “Your garden looks like shit. When’s the last time you bothered to pull weeds?”
She snorted. He smiled. He used to love it when she’d do that. He’d honestly had no intention of showing up here today. The Brantley farm remained way off the beaten track, if the track around Lucasville could be considered “beaten” in any way. When he’d raced out of the stifling hot sanctuary and hotwired Kieran’s car he’d driven off without a single thought in his addled head other than “escape.”
But when he’d finally released his death grip on the steering wheel he’d looked through the windshield and found himself facing the old two-story farmhouse where he’d lost his virginity—not to Diana but to her sister Jen, an older version of the girl he’d been hanging around with since God was a boy. The whooshing sound that had deafened him for the last couple of days had receded ever so slightly at the sight of the place.
He’d not been anywhere near it in over six years, ever since he’d run out here to get solace from Diana when Gina had bolted for New York. Her reaction to his surprise visit had been decidedly less hostile then. He groaned and ran a hand down his wet face.
No one to blame but yourself for this reception, numb nuts.
As if on cue, one of the dogs whined and bumped his leg with its huge muzzle.
“Bossy bitch,” he said softly, giving her another scratch behind the ears. The animal gazed at him adoringly.
Yeah, at least dogs always loved him.
He glanced up and caught sight of Diana tugging on something dry that looked way too big for her. The sight of it sent a thrill of something he didn’t want to acknowledge as jealousy down his spine.
You have less than no place being jealous of anything about her, he reminded himself. She stared at him as she buttoned up the light blue, obviously man-sized shirt. He had to restrain himself from blinking too fast at the onrushing memories threatening to mow him down.
“Put on a few pounds eh Di?” he said, leaning back against the rough barn wall. The dog practically crawled up onto the hay bale and laid its head in his lap. Damn thing weighed over eighty pounds and smelled like rancid pond water, but he didn’t stop it.
“Fuck you,” she said, turning away and giving him a lovely view of the backs of her slim, tanned legs. “Come up to the house and get some dry clothes on, you dumbass.” She stood there, wearing that shirt that made his chest tight, pondering where it had come from, her legs bare and beautiful. It made him want to weep. He set his jaw and turned away from her.
“I missed you and your ladylike ways,” he said, almost absently, as he turned back to study the rain pounding against the window. “Ow!” The towel pop flicked his neck, then his thigh. “Damn girl, you on your period or what?” He rubbed his leg and noted that he was, indeed, soaked through and could use a change of clothes. Too bad he hadn’t thought of that when he ran away from what remained of his former life.
“I can feel your crybaby BS from clear across this barn,” she said. “Makes me wanna laugh.”
He turned fast, angry at her words. But her gaze comforted him. And suddenly, he realized why he’d found himself here, on what could be labeled as the worst day of his sorry-ass thirty years.
“How’d married life work out for ya,” he said, shoving the dog off his lap and getting to his feet.
“How d’you think? I mean, I’m sure it was the talk of the town.” She kept staring at him, not moving. For a split second, Dom found himself headed toward her, needing to feel her skin, taste her lips. But he stood, keeping the four or so feet between them, the dogs milling around their ankles making worried noises. An errant drop of water fell from a lock of hair over his eyes. The moment felt fraught and he cursed himself for causing her pain, again. And again.
“Well, I guess the guy was lucky to escape with his balls intact,” he said, finally. “You’re still as ugly as homemade sin,” he lied.
The corner of her lips lifted. He let himself exhale.
It was on now. And he knew she’d let him stay here as long as he needed.

*****************
TRAILER, produced by Fiona Jayde Media, starring model Scott Nova, photography by Taria Reed. Narrated by Daniel Dorse, who will record all the books for Audible.com




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Liz Crowe bio
**************
Amazon best-selling author, beer blogger, brewery marketing expert, mom of three, and soccer fan, Liz Crowe is a Kentucky native and graduate of the University of Louisville currently living in Ann Arbor. She has decades of experience in sales and fund raising, plus an eight-year stint as a three-continent, ex-pat trailing spouse.

Her early forays into the publishing world led to a groundbreaking fiction subgenre, “Romance for Real Life,” which has gained thousands of fans and followers interested less in the “HEA” and more in the “WHA” (“What Happens After?”). More recently she is garnering even more fans across genres with her latest novels, which are more character-driven fiction, while remaining very much “real life.”

With stories set in the not-so-common worlds of breweries, on the soccer pitch, in successful real estate offices and at times in exotic locales like Istanbul, Turkey, her books are unique and told with a fresh voice. The Liz Crowe backlist has something for any reader seeking complex storylines with humor and complete casts of characters that will delight, frustrate and linger in the imagination long after the book is finished.

Don’t ever ask her for anything “like a Budweiser” or risk bodily injury.

WebsiteBeer, Books & More BlogFacebook Fan PageFacebook Fan GroupTwitter FeedAmazon Author PageGoodreads PageBeer Blog
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Release Blitz & Giveaway: Nocte

We are beyond excited to bring you the Release Day Launch for Courtney Cole's NOCTE! NOCTE is a New Adult dark romantic psychological suspense novel. Hang on tight because this book will blow you away...


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



EXCERPT:

Glancing up, I suck my breath in when I find dark eyes connected to mine, eyes so dark they’re almost black, and the energy in them is enough to freeze me in place.

A boy is attached to the dark gaze.

A man.

He’s probably no more than twenty or twenty-one, but everything about him screams man. There’s no boy in him. That part of him is very clearly gone. I see it in his eyes, in the way he holds himself, in the perceptive way he takes in his surroundings, then stares at me with singular focus, like we’re somehow connected by a tether. He’s got a million contradictions in his eyes….aloofness, warmth, mystery, charm, and something else I can’t define.

He’s muscular, tall, and wearing a tattered black sweatshirt that says Irony is lost on you in orange letters. His dark jeans are belted with black leather, and a silver band encircles his middle finger.

Dark hair tumbles into his face and a hand with long fingers impatiently brushes it back, all the while his eyes are still connected with mine. His jaw is strong and masculine, with the barest hint of stubble.

His gaze is still connected to mine, like a livewire, or a lightning bolt. I can feel the charge of it racing along my skin, like a million tiny fingers, flushing my cheeks. My lungs flutter and I swallow hard.

And then, he smiles at me.

At me.

Because I don’t know him and he doesn’t know better.



Book Trailer:





NOCTE Synopsis:

SAVE ME AND I'LL SAVE YOU....

My name is Calla Price. I’m eighteen years old, and I’m one half of a whole.
My other half-- my twin brother, my Finn-- is crazy.

I love him. More than life, more than anything. And even though I’m terrified he’ll suck me down with him, no one can save him but me.

I’m doing all I can to stay afloat in a sea of insanity, but I’m drowning more and more each day. So I reach out for a lifeline.

Dare DuBray.

He’s my savior and my anti-Christ. His arms are where I feel safe, where I’m afraid, where I belong, where I’m lost. He will heal me, break me, love me and hate me.
He has the power to destroy me.

Maybe that’s ok. Because I can’t seem to save Finn and love Dare without everyone getting hurt.

Why? Because of a secret.

A secret I’m so busy trying to figure out, that I never see it coming.

You won’t either.







ABOUT COURTNEY COLE:

Courtney Cole is a novelist who would eat mythology for breakfast if she could. She has a degree in Business, but has since discovered that corporate America is not nearly as fun to live in as fictional worlds. She loves chocolate and roller coasters and hates waiting and rude people.

Courtney lives in quiet suburbia, close to Lake Michigan, with her real-life Prince Charming, her ornery kids (there is a small chance that they get their orneriness from their mother) and a small domestic zoo.

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Amazon Top 10 New Adult Books: November 2, 2014

Amazon Top 10 New Adult Books: November 2, 2014. These are the top 10 bestselling New Adult books as listed on Amazon.com at the time of posting! (Single titles only - No box sets. Also: No pre-orders! Sorry.)

Top 10 Paid:

1. Addicted After All (Addicted Series) by Krista Ritchie, Becca Ritchie
5.0 out of 5 stars

2. Wreck Me (Nova) by Jessica Sorensen
4.8 out of 5 stars

3. Rowdy: A Marked Men Novel by Jay Crownover
4.7 out of 5 stars

4. Saltwater Kisses: A Billionaire Love Story by Krista Lakes
3.9 out of 5 stars

5. Mr. Miracle: A Christmas Novel by Debbie Macomber
4.0 out of 5 stars

6. Master Over You: A Dark Romance Novel (Extended Version, Author's Preferred Text) by Cerys du Lys, Ethan Winters
4.2 out of 5 stars

7. Risk (Gentry Boys#2) by Cora Brent
4.7 out of 5 stars

8. Kisses From Jack: The Other Side of a Billionaire Love Story (Saltwater Kisses Book 2) by Krista Lakes
4.2 out of 5 stars

9. Alex: A Cold Fury Hockey Novel (Carolina Cold Fury Hockey Book 1) by Sawyer Bennett
4.6 out of 5 stars

10. That Man 2: (That Man Trilogy) by Nelle L'Amour
4.7 out of 5 stars

Top 10 Free:

1. Crash (Billionaire New Adult Romance) by Vanessa Waltz
3.8 out of 5 stars

2. Feels Like Home: A Southerland Family Contemporary Romance (Southerland Series Book 1) by Evelyn Adams
4.9 out of 5 stars

3. That Man 1: (That Man Trilogy) by Nelle L'Amour
4.3 out of 5 stars

4. Hard Glamour (The Glamour Series Book 1) by Maggie Marr
4.6 out of 5 stars

5. The Arrangement 1 by Abby Weeks
3.7 out of 5 stars

6. The Trouble With Goodbye (Fairhope Book 1) by Sarra Cannon
4.3 out of 5 stars

7. Sisters in Love (Love in Bloom: Snow Sisters, Book One) by Melissa Foster
4.1 out of 5 stars

8. One More Day: The Alexanders, Book 1 by M. Malone
4.4 out of 5 stars

9. HIDDEN (To Love A Killer) by Lexie Ray
4.6 out of 5 stars

10. The Highlander's Hope - A Contemporary Romance (THE HUNT) (The Highland Heart Series Book 1) by Cali MacKay
4.1 out of 5 stars

Book Review: Ruin

Ruin (Songs of Corruption #2) by C.D. Reiss: **Ya gotta read Spin before you read Ruin**

Antonio is a killer.
He's beautiful, educated, a prodigy of a thief and as violent a motherfucker as ever came of the boat from Napoli.

Theresa knows it, but that doesn't stop her from getting emotionally and physically entangled with him, and this is how, maybe, she got it in her head that she can protect him.

But it's not her job to save him, and she's just not getting that. Every time she tries to protect him, she practically gets him killed, and the tighter he grips her, the more dangerous she becomes.

It's almost as if...well, he'd never admit this....but it's almost as if protecting her the way he does is the one thing he should stop. As if the only way he's ever going to find a moment's peace is to just embrace her as a partner, rather than a defenseless creature.

But he'd never do that. Not this violent motherfucker.

WARNING: This book contains delicious sex scenes with a hot man dirty-talking in Italian; women handling firearms and explosives; and scenes of violence with a crystal Virgin Mary cigarette lighter.
Teri Lyn's thoughts: **Ruin generously provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
“This is my Neapolitan camorra. These are my rituals, my sold souls, my men of honor. This is my Los Angeles.”

C.D. Reiss pens a novel like no other writer. Each tale she tells twists, corrupts, and layers the pages with enticing plots, intriguing characters, and red-hot passion. Each love story told from a point of view both logical and illogical but never straying from the raw truth and honesty of her characters. Reading a Reiss book likens itself to watching a good film. Each plot becomes acutely more tragic than the next. My journey on the Reiss train began a little over a year ago and I’m pleased to find I’m still taking the trip, more and more excited at every stop her train makes.

Ruin proves to another classically phenomenal, tragically nuanced C.D. Reiss tale of corrupt savagery, unbridled passion, and tainted triumph. Like a modern, Reiss-style Shakespearian story, the beauty of the love between Antonio and Theresa is found in the tragedy. Her writing draws you into their story full force waiting with bated breath. It’s complex and simple all at once, her writing – much like her plots. It's the understanding of the knowledge she gives that enlightens us to their present, to the bond these characters share. The story leaves us with questions, doubts, and worries yet still, we hopelessly believe.

The beautifully flawed love story of Antonio Spinelli and Theresa Drazen enamors the reader in a way only C.D. Reiss can enamor her readers. The way that leaves us panting through every sordid paragraph of the love her characters fight to preserve. Antonio’s love for Theresa compounds throughout the story so much so the reader wants to earn it in the ways Theresa earns it. Antonio wants to atone for his sins while loving her. Is Theresa his atonement? Will his sins be forgiven with the purity of her love? Or will he be punished further? Theresa – gorgeous, unscathed by life, brilliant beyond words – is she a savior? A savage? Or Both? Will she convince Antonio she can be a part of his life? Will the beautifully protective man believe her? And my most favorite question I asked from the book: Will her corruption ultimately save them or destroy them? I still don’t know the answer and I don’t care to know. I’m a willing participant in the games of Reiss’s mind. I trust this author implicitly to take me there, to answer my questions in her way on her own time.

“I prayed God would forgive me for loving her, and feared only the devil would answer.”

Their broken these two. Broken in a way only each other can fix. Each fighting to save the soul of the other; to save the innate goodness they believe each other possesses. Too bad time stands in their way. Antonio’s flawed past lurks around every corner. Theresa’s past creeps around seemingly tarnishing her life. Too bad the ordinary events that brought them together led to extraordinary events catastrophically changing each of them. Antonio Spinelli and Theresa Drazen are bound by an unexpected, beautiful love. They dance with the devil as they sing with the angels - a simple jig combined with a chaotic aria. It’s a juxtaposition of tragedy vs. victory; good vs. evil. What prevails? Who judges which path is the right choice? Will these choices pave way for the demons surrounding Antonio & Theresa to rip them apart? Or will those choices lead to the promised land? I have not one damn clue. But I look forward, as always, to when the Reiss train starts moving again because I can’t fucking wait to find out.

Book Review: Her Hot Number

Her Hot Number by Talia Hunter: One bad boy billionaire plus one sexy geek equals one hot fling.

It's a travel nightmare for mathematician Caylee Reynolds. It's bad enough that her luggage was lost en route to her conference, but when she arrives at the Australian resort and learns that she's also lost her reservation, Caylee’s ready to break down. Then things get even worse. The resort is owned by Blake Sampson―the bad boy who once took everything from her...

Blake thought he’d left his troubled past far behind him. Then the sexy-but-proper math guru he’s never been able to forget walks into his lobby. Hoping to show Caylee he’s changed, he offers to share his suite. Except the attraction between them only grows in such close quarters―exponentially.

Even though Blake’s incredibly successful—and hot—Caylee’s not sure she can risk her heart again. Not after the way he destroyed her trust when he disappeared years ago. But if she's wrong in her calculations, she could lose everything...

TeriLyn's thoughts: **ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review**

Her Hot Number provided a simple, fast-paced read for me. The story of Caylee, math geek and introvert happens to bump into Blake, self-made billionaire boy from her past while she’s in the middle of a travel crisis. Boy helps girl with crisis, old feelings long buried resurrect from the depths of their beings, and a push/pull of emotion ensues.

The writing in Her Hot Number engages the reader in a way that makes the story easy to read. This was surface level reading, entertainment only reading – an easy beach read. The emotions from the past I thought would have served greater purpose had they been expounded upon more. Even the depth of the conflict both characters are fighting against could have ran a bit deeper to give the characters a more dimensional feel.

The feelings the two of them had for each other seemed forced based on residual feelings from the past – there wasn’t a lot of present as each kept referring back to the past without really revealing much depth about it. Their relationship progressed rather quickly with Caylee making changes encouraged by Blake. Those parts I loved – billionaire orchestrates a confidence boost because he recognized geek’s inner beauty so innately he exploits an outer beauty she hides.

I never lost interest in their story and felt content to finish until they reached their inevitable resolution and happily ever after - this made the book okay for me. The epilogue gave me a great feeling of satisfaction about the story and probably helped bump up my rating. I think the story was okay but didn’t love it. It’s a shorter book and easy to get through. Contentment is the best way to describe how I felt about it. Not overly satisfied or dissatisfied.

Book Review: After

 1/2

After (After #1) by Anna Todd: Tessa is a good girl with a sweet, reliable boyfriend back home. She's got direction, ambition, and a mother who's intent on keeping her that way. But she’s barely moved into her freshman dorm when she runs into Hardin. With his tousled brown hair, cocky British accent, tattoos, and lip ring, Hardin is cute and different from what she’s used to.

But he's also rude - to the point of cruelty, even. For all his attitude, Tessa should hate Hardin and she does — until she finds herself alone with him in his room. Something about his dark mood grabs her, and when they kiss it ignites within her a passion she’s never known before.

He’ll call her beautiful, then insist he isn’t the one for her and disappear again and again. Despite the reckless way he treats her, Tessa is compelled to dig deeper and find the real Hardin beneath all his lies. He pushes her away again and again, yet every time she pushes back, he only pulls her in deeper.

Tessa already has the perfect boyfriend. So why is she trying so hard to overcome her own hurt pride and Hardin’s prejudice about nice girls like her?

Unless… could this be love?
Lori's thoughts: **ARC generously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

I give this book 5 hearts, and that's probably overly generous, but I have my reasons. Liza gave it 4--hence the 4 and 1/2 heart overall rating at the top.

I struggled with the book in the beginning. I liken it to a bad train wreck. I wasn't sure I could keep reading, but I wasn't able to look away, either. It kept me up late into the night voraciously flipping through page after page. I wanted to run over Harden with the Goddamn train before it was all said and done. But you know what? As soon as I finished the book, I started having Harden and Tessa withdrawals. So I found myself over at Wattpad downloading the raw, unedited version of book two to read. Because I have to see what happens next. Fair warning...if you decide to do this, the Wattpad versions are unedited, and the names are different from the published, cleaned up version.

Yes. I know there are people who absolutely hated these books. Admittedly, the writing is not all that great, but the storyline is like crack. Some argue that it's an abusive relationship. He never physically abused her, but he put her through hell in other ways. A real mind f*cker he is. She was a good girl. She was completely naiive and in retrospect, I know she wishes she would have followed her mother's advice that very first day.

No, the relationship isn't technically abusive (not physically, anyway) ... but it reeks to the high heaven of co-dependency at it's ever-loving worst. I've got other obligations at the moment, but I can't wait to get back to the saga and continue with book two!!!



Liza's thoughts: **ARC generously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

Be still my heart I love me some Hardin! Tattoos, lip ring and a British accent makes me swoon. Tessa does not stand a chance.

I love this book. I had a little difficulty with the use of the "F" bomb but I am about to go insane wanting more. It has a mix of sweet, sexy and hot. Good girls wanting the bad boy or the boy they should not want anyways is always a great pull. Anna Todd did an amazing job pulling you in and at the end leave you begging for more. Through her writing I could hear Hardin's accent and feel every emotion Ms. Todd was describing in her book. The characters are fantastic and the plot is well developed.

I would would highly recommend this book and any future books she writes.

Release Blitz & Giveaway: Songbird Freed

The 3rd and final book in the Songbird Trilogy by Lisa Edward is now LIVE!!!

Blurb My name is Tara O’Connell, and I’ve
always believed we control our own fate. That life is a journey with many
roads, and the choices we make can shape our future.
Life has presented me with two paths
and I’ve chosen one.
Was it right? Did I make the best
decision?
After the uncertainty of the last
twelve months, my destiny is now crystal-clear to me. I have a man I love more
than words can express, a thriving business, and the best friends anyone could
ask for. But just when I thought I could put the turmoil of my past behind me
and move on, a life-changing phone call has rocked me to the core and turned my
life upside-down once more.
To make matters worse, influences
outside my control have taken hold and are shattering my perfect world.
But some things are worth fighting
for.
Dreams
can come true and I’ll do everything in my power to make them happen. But
dreams can also be smashed into tiny pieces, and no matter how hard we fight or
how hard we wish for something to be, sometimes with the hand we’ve been dealt,
we can never win.



Buy Links Amazon US- http://amzn.to/ZUXD5hAmazon UK- http://amzn.to/1w9gvKNAmazon CA- http://amzn.to/1rNAxFlAmazon AU- http://bit.ly/1tARzL9


Author Bio While Lisa Edward has called Melbourne Australia home for her
entire life, she has lived and worked in England, and travelled through most
parts of Europe and the United States. She loves nothing more than spending
time with her husband and beautiful daughter, or curling up into the early
hours of the morning with a great novel. By day, Lisa works in the analytical
IT field, so relishes the opportunity to foster her creative side through
writing. Her deep appreciation for literature was nurtured from a young age,
being taught to respect books and get lost in their stories. She enjoys reading
honest and realistic novels that are relatable, thought provoking and leave a
lasting impression. She can’t write without music playing, using the emotions
from different songs to invoke that of her characters. Lisa takes inspiration
from her own life experiences, the people around her and those she has met in
her travels.www.facebook.com/AuthorLisaEdward

www.goodreads.com/LisaEdward

Other books in the series
Songbird (Book 1) Amazon US- http://amzn.to/1u5zN2A Amazon UK- http://amzn.to/1ruF01T Amazon CA- http://amzn.to/1pACMtF Amazon AU- http://bit.ly/1uVLaYR B&N- http://bit.ly/1DPi4Rj Smashwords- http://bit.ly/1t9Qvts Kobo- http://bit.ly/1xthwPm

Songbird Caged (Book 2)
Amazon US- http://amzn.to/1xth3N9 Amazon UK- http://amzn.to/1CziWb4 Amazon CA- http://amzn.to/1opaaEf Amazon AU- http://bit.ly/YCTySI Smashwords- http://bit.ly/1vmYfgi


Giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal: A Beautiful Star

I am so excited to share this cover reveal with this you! Today we have the gorgeous new cover from A Beautiful Star. Lilliana is also sharing an exclusive excerpt with us!!!



Title: A Beautiful Star

Author: Lilliana Anderson

Release date: November 17

Genre: Contemporary Romance

iBooks preorder link - http://bit.ly/1qaAnvv




Blurb

***CONTENT WARNING*** New Adult Romance for ages 18+ due to sex scenes and adult situations.



BEAUTIFUL SERIES, BOOK FIVE - MAY BE READ ON ITS OWN OR AS A PART OF THE SERIES.



When Jonathan decided to help Lisa, he was trying to atone in some way for his past sins. He certainly wasn't expecting to be pulled into a night full of hiding out from the press with a journalist called Sandra Haegen, and almost being choked to death by a rockstar in love with his ex.



When Sandra decided to help Lisa by feeding Perry, she was just trying to be a good person. She also wasn't expecting to spend the night hiding from the press. Even more so, she wasn't expecting to spend the night with one of Australia's hottest young actors, Jonathan Masters. She also wasn't expecting to save his life.



And that's just the beginning.



From there, these two must find a way live with the past and look to the future - no matter what the personal cost.



Exclusive Except:

The next morning, I head into work to find yet another gift waiting for me on my desk. It’s a small white box with a blue ribbon tied around it, and the sight of it makes me stop in my doorway and immediately pull out my phone.

“This needs to stop,” I say to myself with an annoyed shake of my head as I pull up Jonathan’s number and dial. He picks up within two rings.

“Good morning, Red,” he chirps.

“Stop sending me things,” I demand immediately.

“You’ve got the wrong guy this time. Whatever you have, it wasn’t me. Maybe it was from that pretty boy you were kissing in the papers the other day.”

“He’s not a pretty boy. You’re a pretty boy.”

“That’s very sweet of you to say,” he jokes.

“Well, I’m a sweetheart, what can I say. Listen, sorry to attack you, I should have checked the card first.”

“You can call me anytime, for anything. I won’t hold it against you.”

“Ok,” I laugh. “I’m hanging up now.”

“Alright, you do that. But, Red, when am I going to see you again?”

“I haven’t decided on that yet.”

“You’re hurting me. I just want to be your friend and you’re putting up road blocks.”

“I’m totally not buying this friend act.”

“You should, because it can’t be more unless you want it to be. Besides, we have fun. We get along. You want fun, right?”

“You’re trying too hard, Jonathan. I’m going now.”

I can hear the smile in his voice. “Bye, Red.”

Hitting the end call button, I walk over to my desk and pull the blue ribbon on the box to get to the card.

For your tastebuds.

Call me.

Brad

Smiling, I open the box and find a red velvet cupcake inside. When I bite into it–and yes­, I eat it immediately–it’s the softest, most flavour-filled baked treat I have ever had the pleasure of eating–and I’ve eaten a lot, so I know what I’m talking about.

“You are very popular lately,” Erin, our receptionist comments on her way past my office. “You’re getting more deliveries than anyone else here. And the guy who dropped that off was H-O-T. Oh my lord, you are one lucky woman.”

“He was here?” I ask, pointing at the box as I talk through a mouthful of cake.

“I think so. Dark hair, brown eyes, tatts all over his arms? He was wearing a white bonds shirt, a pair of jeans, and some Vans. He didn’t seem like a courier to me.”

“That’s him alright. How long ago?”

“Maybe an hour? I told him you don’t get in until nine.”

I swallow the last of the cake and lick the crumbs off my fingers and my lips, apologising that there was only one in the box as I do. Then I thank Erin for dropping by and when she leaves, turn to my phone again, this time ringing the correct person for a thank you.



***Beautiful Series***

A series of stand alone novels and companions novellas (The Beauty in Between). Each Beautiful Series novel follows many variations on the love triangle, where one couple gets their happy ending, and the character who misses out becomes the main character in the next instalment.



The Beauty in Between are companion novellas that give fans of the main series background information on some of their favourite characters, or a short continuation of a couple's story.

Readers can choose to read every book and its companion in order, or they can choose only those that interest them.

For those wishing to read the series entirely, there is an easy to refer to reading order below -

Reading Order (novellas)

(Too Close)

A Beautiful Struggle (book 1)

(Phoenix)

A Beautiful Forever (book 2)

(Commitment)

A Beautiful Melody (book 3)

A Beautiful Rock (book 4)

(Devotion)

A Beautiful Star (November 2014)

A Beautiful Reunion (March 2015)

A Beautiful Scent (TBA)



Lilliana Anderson Bio:

Bestselling Author of the Drawn Series, the Beautiful Series, and the Confidante Trilogy, Lilliana has always loved to read and write, considering it the best form of escapism that the world has to offer.

Australian born and bred, she writes New Adult Romance revolving around her authentically Aussie characters as well as a biographical trilogy based on an ex-Sydney sex worker, named Angelien.

Lilliana feels that the world should see Australia for more than just it's outback and tries to show characters in more of a city setting.

When she isn't writing, she wears the hat of 'wife and mother' to her husband and four children.

Before Lilliana turned to writing, she worked in a variety of industries and studied humanities and communications before transferring to commerce/law at university.

Originally from Sydney's Western suburbs, she currently lives a fairly quiet life in suburban Melbourne.



Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Author Goodreads | Newsletter | Website

Release Blitz & Giveaway: Returning Home

Returning Home (Return to Me #4)

A.L. Parks

Genre: Contemporary / Adult / Romance

Release Date: October 28, 2014



Clarissa wants nothing to do with her father – even in his death. But she can’t escape returning to Newport to settle her father's estate. The safe world she has established starts to crumble and secrets she has locked away threaten to be exposed. Meeting Griff, her father’s partner, provides the only peace and happiness in the darkness that suddenly surrounds her.

Griff has built his custom bike shop from nothing into a thriving success. After the sudden death of his silent partner, Griff finds himself in a fight to save his business from the grieving widow. But falling for his partner's headstrong daughter may cost Griff everything.

Brandi has become accustomed to certain amenities in her life - money and men. She refuses to allow the death of her philandering husband to inconvenience her comfortable lifestyle. Setting her sights set on her husband’s very young, very sexy partner, nothing will get in the way of what she wants - even if it means destroying Clarissa to get it.



He had his back to her completely unaware she was standing there. She was about to announce her presence, when she heard him singing softly along with the music. Her eyes travelled over his tight black t-shirt. The bike shop logo was imprinted on it, and pulled across the taut muscles of his back and the broadness of his shoulders. He had on worn jeans that looked as if they had permanent oils stains on them. They were faded and frayed, and formed perfectly to his body. He had an ass to die for, at least what she could tell from the way the jeans clung to the near perfect roundness of it.

How had she missed how hot this man was when she had seen him at her father’s house a day or two earlier?

He turned and caught sight of her standing in the doorway staring at him.

“How long have you been here?” he asked. There was no amount of cordiality in voice.

“Good morning to you, too,” she snapped back. “I just came in a minute ago.”

“Well, manners would dictate that you announce your arrival when you enter a room, or does your net worth prevent you from having manners?”

Whoa! What the hell?

“One, I was just about to say something when you turned around. Two, my net worth doesn’t prevent me from doing anything. In fact, it allows me to do pretty much whatever I damn well please.” She never flaunted her wealth, it made her uncomfortable. But Asshole had tripped her meter, and she wasn’t going to stand around and let him insult her. At least she remembered why she didn’t find him attractive. His mouth negated any sexy he had.

They stood starring at each other, neither backing down, each assessing the other’s formidability as a foe. There was no way she was going to let this jackass get the better of her. She dealt with men not giving her credibility simply because she was a woman. It was a load of crap and she was getting a little tired of having these pissing matches just to prove she could go toe-to-toe with a man.

He dropped his head, shaking it slightly. When he raised his eyes to hers, they were less hard. “Okay, truce. Let’s try this again. I was making coffee, and haven’t had a cup yet, obviously. Can I offer you one while I get some for myself?”

Dragging in a deep breath, she attempted to relax a bit. “Yes, that would be great, thanks.”

“Take anything in it? Sugar? Cream? We only have the powdered stuff, though.”

She took a step into the room, closing some of the distance between them. “Black, please.”

“Really?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.

“Really. You learn quickly to drink it that way when you’re miles away from civilization with only a thermos and none of the extras. It’s a pain in the ass trying to add cream and sugar into a travel mug while perched in a tree getting a close-up of a nest of newborn birds before their mother comes back and starts pecking arms, hands…face. Black coffee is more conducive to those situations.”

He handed her a mug. His face was blank, but his eyes had softened and brightened a bit. Clarissa wasn’t sure what that meant, but he didn’t seem to be pissed at her anymore, so that was at least something.

“Yeah, I guess I’d switch to drinking it black, too.” He smiled, sending flutters through Clarissa that invaded her stomach. The smile, along with the beautiful eyes, where enough to make her forget her own name. Sweet, but in a sexy way. And Clarissa was sure no man had ever smiled at her that way in her life. He looked away, snapping her back to reality.

Get a grip, girl. You do not fall for men like him that can’t decide if they resent you or just want to fuck you.

“I guess we’ve never been properly introduced. Robert, right? Or do you go by Rob?”

“Neither. Griff,” he said, and left it hanging there like unfinished business.

“Griff?” she asked with a touch of disdain she hadn’t intended.

His eyes went dark and flat. “Yeah, Griff. Not quite as sophisticated as Clarissa, but we can’t all be as high and mighty as you.”

“Were you born with that chip on your shoulder, or is it something you’ve cultivated over time?”

“Just calling it like I see it, sweetheart.” He walked past her and out the door.

“Maybe you should look into getting some glasses, then,” she murmured, following him down the hallway and into the office. He pointed to an empty chair as he made his way behind the desk and sat down.

“Let’s just get this over with so you can be on your way back to merry ol’ England.”

“That sounds lovely, Robert.”

“Griff.”

“Whatever.”















Born and raised in the Rocky Mountains, A.L. Parks has spent the last 25 years moving all over the United States. Married to the Navy - well a man in the Navy - Parks has lived in various places throughout the United States. She currently resides in the Washington D.C area, with her husband, four children, and one spoiled German Shepard.

2013 marked her debut in publishing. Her first novel, Strangers, released on her 45th birthday. She was amazed at how many people fell in love with a story about two people dealing with grief, and finding love again. Abby and Bryce were the perfect couple to introduce Parks as an up-and-coming author.

She released the first of the Return To Me series (an anticipated 4.5 book series) in December 2013. A wonderful Christmas romance, The Return introduced readers into the whirlwind romance of Eve and Jake, and proved that second chance romance can be even better than first love. Book two, Return To Newport, followed the struggles that come while on a journey to happily ever after.

Parks unique style of writing, along with her depth of characters and emotions, is carving out a niche in romance for those who crave love and romance a second time around. While many current novels focus on first love, Parks' novels seek to find happily ever after when first love has failed. They are a testament to second chances at true love that lasts forever.

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