Lori L. Clark's Blog, page 30

Book Review: Ruined

Ruined (Ruined #1)by Amy Tintera (Goodreads Author) 3.81  ·   Rating Details  ·  1,545 Ratings  ·  426 ReviewsA revenge that will consume her. A love that will ruin her.

Emelina Flores has nothing. Her home in Ruina has been ravaged by war. She lacks the powers of her fellow Ruined. Worst of all, she witnessed her parents’ brutal murders and watched helplessly as her sister, Olivia, was kidnapped.

But because Em has nothing, she has nothing to lose. Driven by a blind desire for revenge, Em sets off on a dangerous journey to the enemy kingdom of Lera. Somewhere within Lera’s borders, Em hopes to find Olivia. But in order to find her, Em must infiltrate the royal family.

In a brilliant, elaborate plan of deception and murder, Em marries Prince Casimir, next in line to take Lera’s throne. If anyone in Lera discovers Em is not Casimir’s true betrothed, Em will be executed on the spot. But it’s the only way to salvage Em’s kingdom and what is left of her family.

Em is determined to succeed, but the closer she gets to the prince, the more she questions her mission. Em’s rage-filled heart begins to soften. But with her life—and her family—on the line, love could be Em’s deadliest mistake.
Lori's thoughts: 5 STARS! I read Cait's (Paper Fury) review on Ruined and due to her enthusiasm over how great this book was, I promptly one-clicked. I don't normally like to spend so much money on my Kindle books unless I know that I won't be disappointed. I loved the book. Was it an original storyline? Maybe not so much. But the writing was wonderful. Romance didn't overshadow the plot. The characters were well-developed and enjoyable. The banter was fun, the sarcasm felt like old home week. Now, when Cait raves about a book, I'll listen! The only downside to reading this book is now I have to wait for the next one in the series. But, from what I understand, the talented Amy Tintera has other books to read in the mean time!

Book Review: The Glass Magician

The Glass Magician (The Paper Magician Trilogy #2)by Charlie N. Holmberg (Goodreads Author) 3.85  ·   Rating Details  ·  15,024 Ratings  ·  1,270 ReviewsThree months after returning Magician Emery Thane’s heart to his body, Ceony Twill is well on her way to becoming a Folder. Unfortunately, not all of Ceony’s thoughts have been focused on paper magic. Though she was promised romance by a fortuity box, Ceony still hasn’t broken the teacher-student barrier with Emery, despite their growing closeness.When a magician with a penchant for revenge believes that Ceony possesses a secret, he vows to discover it…even if it tears apart the very fabric of their magical world. After a series of attacks target Ceony and catch those she holds most dear in the crossfire, Ceony knows she must find the true limits of her powers…and keep her knowledge from falling into wayward hands.The delightful sequel to Charlie N. Holmberg’s The Paper Magician, The Glass Magician will charm readers young and old alike.
Lori's Thoughts: I wish I could say that I loved this book. The Goodreads rating is 3.85 and that's about how I feel after reading it. Maybe a little lower, closer to the 3 star range. I thoroughly enjoy reading Charlie N. Holmberg's work. I loved the Paper Magician. This one wasn't as good as the first one, in my opinion. Overall, an enjoyable read, just not as good as I had hoped. 

Cover Reveal: Maybe Forever

“The definition of family only requires one word…love.”
MAYBE FOREVER by Keyanna ButlerRelease Date: July 19, 2016Publisher: Limitless PublishingCover Designer: REDBIRD DESIGNS{{ SYNOPSIS }}Family. Harper Montgomery has been trying to define the term for years…

When Harper got pregnant at fourteen, her family abandoned her to be a single mother with no support system. She survived the only way she knew how—hard work and determination. Now she is a nurse in her early thirties, and her son Jamie is ready to embark on high school. Harper can finally say they’ve made it. She can’t take all the credit, though. 
Dakota Daughtry isn’t family, but when he signed on to be a Big Brother to Jamie, he finally felt at home…

Joining the Big Brother community program was only meant to boost Dakota’s resume while working on his GED. Once he met Jamie and his mother Harper, he finally found a place where he belonged. Years later, Jamie is graduating the program, and his obligation to hang around is over, but he can’t make himself leave. Jamie is more like a son than a little brother now, and Harper…well, he’s been trying to deny his feelings for her all along.

Jamie is thrilled about the blossoming relationship between his mother and Dakota. His birth father Aiden, not so much…

Aiden doesn’t want Harper—he’s too focused on his career for that—but he doesn’t want Dakota to have her either, and he’s willing to play dirty to ruin Harper and Dakota’s chances at becoming a real family. But things get complicated when Aiden starts to develop actual feelings for Harper’s best friend, and a secret is revealed about Dakota’s past that could change everything…

Harper must choose…family or love? Or can she finally have both?


{{ MEET THE AUTHOR >> KEYANNA BUTLER }}Keyanna is a simple girl living in mostly fantasy worlds. She’s been writing since she was 13 years old, jotting down full length stories on construction paper and reading them to her childhood friends for entertainment. She’s a self-proclaimed dork extraordinaire and a library card carrying book nerd taking mental residence in the Wizarding World, coffee in an IV, collecting movie stubs like memories, and constantly contemplating what life would be like if she were one of the Avengers. Her hobbies include TV, sushi, Facebook, and incorporating movie quotes into everyday conversation.
Limitless Publishing: http://www.limitlesspublishing.net/authors/keyanna-butler/Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15103987.Keyanna_ButlerFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/keyannabutlerauthorTwitter: https://twitter.com/keyannabauthor

Review: Breaking Skin

Title: Breaking Skin Author: Debra Doxer Genre: Standalone Contemporary Romance   Release Date: June 20, 2016

Blurb
“Deep down, we all want a no-matter-what kind of love.”

Dancing is like magic. It makes me disappear. When I dance I’m not a sister or a daughter, not a lover or a friend. I exist in the moment, onstage, where I turn pain into art and pretend the illusion is real. My past is an abomination and my future is unwritten, but my present is pure, fluid, and focused. I’m content, or at least I think I am, until the night I meet a man who makes me want more.

He’s broken, just like me, but in different ways. He’s older and nothing like the men I’m used to. Compared to him, they’re all boys, immature and insipid, while he’s a force of nature, confident and virile. Virile is a word I’ve never used before, and I only use it now because he embodies it so completely.

At first, he fights the attraction between us almost as hard as I do. But when words like destiny and soulmate whisper through my thoughts, how can I ignore them? He can have any girl he wants, but he looks at me as if I’m the girl he’s waited for his whole life. How can I tell him I’m not that girl?
I wish I were enough for him, wish I were whole. But beneath my facade, I’ve been falling to pieces for a long time, and I don’t know if I’m strong enough to resist the downward momentum.
TeriLyn's Thoughts: 4 stars

**Breaking Skin generously provided in exchange for an honest review.**

Debra Doxer rocked this romantic contemporary suspense about two broken people finding each other during an unlikely time and never losing the feeling they get when together. I read this book in a day thanks to the lovely and compelling story telling of Doxer. She so easily allows the reader to naturally feel the gambit of emotions her characters feel.

Breaking Skin runs an emotional toll as Doxer weaves a story from the first person points of view of both heroine and hero, Nikki and Cole. As I don't want to spoil story I'm not going to give specifics about these two. The overall mood of their story is somber and mysterious, their coupling happening by chance after a series of unfortunate events. There's great build up to their situation, a friends to lovers type deal with a twist. Both characters have charm and a certain charisma in their melancholy that pulls you in from their very first encounter. You root for them even through the upheaval happening around them. 

Some instances gave me pause in the story where I wished things could have been different in reference to a specific secondary character but nothing to detract from my enjoyment of the tale Doxer wove. While the development and changes in both characters are light, there's an element of poignancy throughout the whole book. The story wouldn't be the same without the pain and for that and the risks Doxer took in her story telling I found it more compelling. It delves into a dark side of humanity but only minutely to clarify the hang ups of the characters. Secondary characters provide additional reinforcement to the story throughout even when I found one particularly out of sync. The story surrounding our heroine and her sister, said secondary character, had a few loose ends and things that didn't sit well with me. 

I really enjoyed reading Breaking Skin. Cole and Nikki are characters I felt connected to from beginning to end. I'd love to read a novella or extended epilogue about these two thanks to that connection. It's a great contemporary with an air of suspense. 

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Excerpt
“What can I do to help?” he asks.



“You can kiss me.”



Cole goes still.



Wide-eyed, I gaze up at him. I can’t believe I just said that. God knows I want to kiss him.



“It doesn’t have to be anything more,” I say when he doesn’t move. “Just a simple kiss to relieve the tension, because we want to, because it will feel good. It doesn’t have to be a complication.”



Surprise flickers in his eyes as they search mine. He licks his lips but still he hesitates, and I want to scream in frustration. Where’s the Cole I met two years ago, the one who homed in on me like a laser at Blackburn’s? The one who in his own quiet way made it impossible to refuse him.



Before I can think better of it, I push up onto my toes and wrap my arms around Cole’s neck, pushing my body flush against his.



“Please,” I whisper, ashamed that I have to beg but willing to do it anyway.



His jaw flexes and thoughts war behind his eyes, but finally his arms come around me as his lips slant over mine. He pulls me closer, and when his hand fists in my hair and gently tugs my head back to deepen the kiss, I’m lost to him.



Cole takes control and there’s no slow buildup, no gradual descent. Passion consumes us, and it wouldn’t matter if a tornado came tearing through the yard. I wouldn’t notice. But somehow Cole keeps his wits about him. He drags his mouth from mine.



“Langley,” he says, his gaze focused above my head toward the slider into the kitchen. Thinking quickly, he moves us to the side, out of view.



“Did she see?” My heartbeat is frantic, my body strung tight.



“I don’t think so.”



We stand there and catch our breaths together. He rests his chin on my head because neither of us have relaxed our arms. We still have them wrapped around each other.



“A kiss between us is complicated, Nikki. Let’s not fool ourselves.”



Slowly, I unwind my arms from his neck. “Why? Because of Renee?”



He leans back to look at me. “Because of us. Because of how this feels.”



This feels incredible, but I can already sense him pulling away. He’s shutting down again, and my racing heart beats even faster because I’m going to ask the question that hangs between us. The one reason I’m most afraid is the source of his hesitation.




Author Bio

Debra Doxer was born in Boston, and other than a few lost years in the California sunshine, she has always resided in the Boston area. She writes fiction, technical software documents, illegible scribbles on sticky notes, and texts that get mangled by AutoCorrect. She writes for a living, and she writes for fun. When her daughter asks when she’ll run out of words, her response always is, “When I run out of time.”



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Book Review: Say You'll Stay

Say You'll Stay (Return To Me #1)
by Corinne Michaels

One word.
Stay.

It was all he had to do. Instead, he got on that bus and took my heart with him.

That was seventeen years ago.

I moved on. Marriage. Kids. White picket fence. Everything I ever wanted, but my husband betrayed me and I was left once again.

Alone, penniless, and with two boys, I had no choice but to return to Tennessee. He wasn’t supposed to be there. I should’ve been safe. However, fate has a way of stepping in.

This time around, the tables are turned. It’s my decision. Second chances do exist, but I don’t know if we can repair what’s already been broken . . .

** This is a STANDALONE **
TeriLyn's thoughts: **Say You'll Stay generously provided in exchange for an honest review.**

A lovely second chance romance charged with sexual chemistry and lots of angst. Corrine Michaels wrote Say You'll Stay from the intertwined, dual points of view of both her hero, Zach, and heroine, Presley. Each born and raised in a small town where everyone knows everyone, Zach and Presley longed for big dreams and a life together. A certain circumstance, one situation viewed very differently from their individual perspectives, forced a separation from each other not to be heard from again until 17 years later after tragedy leads Presley back to her small town roots.

Zach and Presley's romance had to start anew. Old hurts and new wounds are open and festering as the two see each other after almost two decades. I really enjoyed reading their romance. It was full of angst in a setting where you feel calm and peaceful. Michaels created this second chance love story and embedded it in a story of going home and remembering your roots when your wings need a little help flying. The frustration simmering between Zach and Presley makes for intriguing reading. Their energy towards each other is palpable, a connection undeniable thanks to Michaels subtle prose. The banter infused as they remember fondly their pasts and even as they hash out the painful pasts make their connection deeper. In addition to the main characters I fell in love with a few secondary ones too. Their humor injected a lot of personality into the ranches of Bell Buckle where we so often are with these characters.

For second chances, high angst, and a satisfying love story between high school sweethearts ripped apart by dreams who return to the one place they wanted to leave you should definitely try Say You'll Stay. Corinne Michaels writing transports you to her fictional town and keeps you rooted there from the first words to the last in her story.

Release Blitz: Man Candy

Man Candy by Melanie Harlow
Release Date: June 20, 2016
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Synopsis:He’s back.Not just back in town, but living in the flat right beneath mine. And he looks good enough to eat, which is just one more reason to stay away from him.But I can’t resist.The sex is incredible (pretty sure we’ve shaken the house right off its foundation), but he can’t fool me—not this time. A degree in marketing and five years in advertising have taught me that “true love” is a fairy tale used to sell lipstick, diamonds, and perfume. It doesn’t exist.He thinks I’m wrong, and he wants to prove it.I think he’s crazy, so I dare him to try.It might be the biggest mistake of my life.
Add to your TBR on Goodreads

Buy Links:
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About the Author:

Melanie Harlow likes her martinis dry, her heels high, and her history with the naughty bits left in. When she's not writing or reading, she gets her kicks from TV series like VEEP, Game of Thrones, House of Cards, and Homeland. She occasionally runs three miles, but only so she can have more gin and steak.Melanie is the author of the HAPPY CRAZY LOVE series, the FRENCHED series, and the sexy historical SPEAK EASY duet, set in the 1920s. She lifts her glass to romance readers and writers from her home near Detroit, MI, where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and pet rabbit.
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Review: To See You

To See You
by Rachel Blaufeld

A new emotional standalone from Rachel Blaufeld.
Available today!
No cliffhanger, only hard-earned unexpected love.
And angst.

What is it about this guy?
On paper, he’s one hundred percent wrong for me. His e-mails are equal parts annoying and funny.
Okay, more funny than annoying. More like refreshing. Different. Exciting.
But as I stand next to him now, he’s giving me head-to-toe tingles, and I find myself dwelling on his e-mails.

Meet smart, sexy career girl and New York snob, Charli Richards. She has everything except happiness until the day she meets Layton Griffin. It’s a random encounter on an airplane; it couldn’t mean anything, right?

Layton isn’t even remotely close to who Charli sees herself hooking up with . . . ever. Her mom and best friend agree he’s not for her, but he makes her feel something exciting, awakens her world.

But then Layton changes, going to great lengths for Charli to see him for who he really is.
Will those changes bring them closer together, or will she never be able to see him in the same way again?
TeriLyn's thoughts: **To See You generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.**

Rachel Blaufeld's ability to write distinctly unique romance stories constantly and pleasantly surprises me. She takes contemporary romance to different level by circumventing cliche plot tropes and characterizations. Her first person POV writing style always grabs your attention from the very beginning feeling a connection the characters almost immediately, even it's a connection you may not want to admit.

In To See You, Blaufeld takes two career-oriented people, one a stressed out busy body and the other a laid back pleaser, and pitches them together in the unlikely event sparks will fly. It's not a love at first sight story but rather the story of an unassumingly lonely pair who find something each other they're missing in their own lives. Quite unexpectedly hero and heroine, Layton and Charli respectively, aren't what you find in your average romance novel. Layton isn't an uber alpha but he's not quite a beta either. He's a regular man with normal thoughts and proclivities not heightened for effect. Charli's a more typical A-type woman you meet in everyday life. Yet each of them possess traits to make you understand and support them. Judgements are passed unfairly and feelings are hurt yet from the rubble of that comes a lovely friendship.

They way in which Blaufeld demonstrates the development of their relationship makes you feel like you're reading about two normal people rather an unattainable goal or dream relationship. She humanizes her characters to show weaknesses and vulnerabilities as much as strengths or maybe even a little more. The ability to feel and forgive is a big theme in her books and provides this very real, human element especially in To See You.

This book is lovely. The characters as much charming as they are faulted. The prose flows from beginning to end creating an entertaining romance reading experience. Blaufeld's writing style doesn't labor over angst but rather provides it in short blasts making it so simple to get lost in her words. I fell hard for Layton and Charli rooting for them until the end. I loved what they discovered together. To See You is heart-warmingly real stand alone that I urge you to read.

Release Day for Rachel Higginson's Bet On Me

Today is the release day for Rachel Higginson’s BET ON ME! I am so excited to share this fantastic contemporary romance with you! Grab your copy today and be sure to enter Rachel’s giveaway!



About Bet on Me:



One night. One big mistake. One boy that changes everything.

Britte Nichols has a plan.

And it’s a good one. College. Med School. Illustrious career. Then maybe a husband. Possibly children, but she doesn’t want to get ahead of herself.

Britte decided at a young age that she wasn’t going to let love get in the way of her future. She has things to do. Places to go and all that.

Until the night she has one too many drinks and lets lust override logic.

Beckett Harris is gorgeous, talented and completely bad for her. But she wasn’t the only one feeling fireworks that night. Now Beckett wants to explore their chemistry and his timing couldn’t be more inconvenient.

Her heart wants what her head knows she can’t have. But a girl has needs. So when Beckett bets her a few weeks of harmless fun, she wants to say yes.

She’ll just have to bet that Beckett doesn’t fall for her too.

Buy Links:

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Exclusive Excerpt:

Other students had dressed warmer than me, apparently prepared for the day to continue dipping toward frozen. I’d grabbed my huge blanket scarf, but opted to leave my coat at home.

Stupid.

Stupid mistake.

Still, the kids I passed, had their heads dipped low and their arms wrapped around their bodies as they fought against the wind on their way to class or the cafeteria.

“Nichols!” A muffled shout carried on the wind. I could have almost believed I’d imagined it. But then I heard it again. “Nichols!”

I turned around, and the wind hit the back of my head, but I could hear clearly. “Britte!”

My gaze moved to the source of the sound. Beckett. Shit.

It was too late to pretend I hadn’t heard him now. Even though I could have gotten away with it just three seconds earlier. Damn, why had I turned?

He wore a goofy grin on his face, and a maroon and gray school polo beneath a black fleece zip up. He jogged toward me, and I realized how unfair life was.

It shouldn’t be so difficult to turn around and walk away from him. I had acted like the biggest idiot the other night. Surely he hated me.

And if he didn’t, he should. I wasn’t too self-absorbed to realize he had done nothing wrong except been oblivious to all of my issues. I’d bit his head off for just mentioning my mom.

There was no way he could have understood the deeper issues I had with her and why it was so impossible for me to ever see her or speak to her. He assumed the entire world revolved like his world, where everything was set out perfectly before you and opportunities just fell into your lap.

Beckett was in grad school with the perfect job lined up for him. And if he didn’t want that job, he could chase his dream job instead and be a coach. Sure, he was having an existential crisis, but it was between two fantastic options.

And no matter what, his picture-perfect family would be there to support him through everything.

Sure, I had the support system in my dad too. But my future was less certain, less neatly lined up. My future was not a Hallmark movie.

It was a series on the Disaster Channel.

Oh, there wasn’t such a thing? Because nobody wanted to watch tragedy after calamity after catastrophe. It was painful.

He stopped in front of me, shoving his hands into his pockets and keeping his boyish smile. “Hey.”

I should have just opened my mouth and apologized. That would have been the right thing to do. But I was so confused why he wasn’t avoiding me, that I stood there awkwardly until he raised his eyebrows. Then I managed a smoothly brilliant, “Hey.”

He was unfazed. “Just get done with class?”

I shifted my bag on my shoulder. “Yep.”

He took a big enough breath that his shoulders lifted and for the first time since he’d arrived, I realized he wasn’t unflappable. He didn’t know what to do with this strained energy between us anymore than I did.

No, that was a lie.

I knew I should apologize. I just wasn’t going to.

He glanced over his shoulder. “I have work to do. That’s why I’m here.”

My chin jutted forward. “I recognized the polo.”

His eyes glanced down at his chest as if just remembering what he was wearing. “Oh, right.”

Silence followed and stretched and thickened the air between us.

“I have to work tonight too,” I said just by way of filling up the space. “In like an hour.”

“Is Ellie working with you?”

I nodded. “Yep.”

He shook his head, and the smile reappeared. “I don’t know what Ty is thinking always scheduling you two together. You’re trouble.”

I bit my lip to keep from smiling. I had wondered the same thing more than once. “He loves us. And he loves our trouble.”

“It’s pathetic what you two do to men.”

I didn’t know how to reply to that, so I didn’t. We honestly didn’t really do anything to men. Other than mess things up with them.

Or maybe that was just me.

Ellie seemed to be doing fine with her man.

“Hey, Beckett, about the other night—”

He waved me off, “Don’t worry about it, Britte. I get it. I had no idea what I was talking about, and I shouldn’t have assumed my advice was welcome.”

“Well…” I had already started in on an argument to tell him the very same thing so when his words finally penetrated my brain, I didn’t know where to go next. “Yeah, er, right.”

His smile stretched to his eyes. “I’m the one that’s sorry, Britte. But you should know it might happen again. We’re just getting to know each other. I’m going to try to not stay stupid stuff. But odds are not in my favor.”

A smile finally broke free on my face. “You still want to get to know me?”

He took a step forward, “You’re kidding right? That’s pretty much all I want to do…get to know you…” His fingers brushed down my arm. “Every single piece of you.”

His hand encircled my wrist, and I suddenly found it difficult to breathe. And had I been complaining about the cold? Because now I was pretty sure I was burning up from the inside out.

His touch seared through me, straight to the bone. I found it comforting and unnerving and distracting and centering all at once. My emotions whirled through me like a brewing storm, dark on the horizon, filled with heavy weather and bursts of bright lightning.

“I don’t like how we ended our time together the other night,” he murmured, stepping closer.

His hold on my wrist felt like an anchor now. There was a part of me that wanted to run…to escape this intense moment that went against everything I had decided about Beckett and a relationship with him.

But his touch kept me in place. His touch erased doubt and concern and fear.

“What do you mean?” I managed to ask.

His head dipped toward mine. “I let you go,” he whispered. “When I should have chased after you.”

I closed my eyes against the assault of intense emotions. It was too much. Beckett was too much.

His lips brushed against mine, whispering words that made my heart pound in my chest and my skin tingle with anticipation. “And I should never have let you leave without this.”

And then he was kissing me and stealing all reason and logic and rational thought. I melted into him without a fight…without resistance.

He kissed me, and I kissed him back. That was it. Like it was supposed to happen all along. Like I was meant to kiss him. Like I was created just to bring his lips happiness.

His hand moved from my wrist to my waist, tugging me against him at the same time he tilted his head to deepen the kiss. Our tongues tangled together in blissful connection, and I made a sound in the back of my throat that I should have been embarrassed of.

It only encouraged him, though. His other hand joined the first on my waist, holding me against him until I felt his entire body pressed up against mine, all hardened muscle, and masculine power. I felt soft against him, delicate and feminine, but powerful in the same breath.

There was something about his hardness against my softness that gave me the advantage, not him. I felt it wash over him as his fingers curled into my hips and his kisses became hungrier…greedier.

My hands landed on his chest and then slowly smoothed over his shoulders to entwine around his neck. This position was better. This position let me feel him even more. My nipples tingled where they pressed into his chest and my belly burned with something primitive and needy.

His teeth bit into my lower lip, but his tongue was quick to follow, soothing the sting. I mimicked him a minute later, letting my teeth sink into his full bottom lip, enjoying the feel of it before running my tongue over the same spot.

He made a growly sound and tipped me back, supporting my weight with one hand on my lower back and the other cupping my nape, holding my head in place.

His kissed moved over my cheek, along the curve of my jaw and down my neck until he found the hollow of my throat. His tongue dipped into that spot and then he sucked, hard. I laughed, surprised by the sensation.

His chest rumbled with laughter too, but then he was kissing lower, brushing the tops of my breasts through my scarf and sweater. My fingers dug into his hair, desperate for support. I felt his smile as he slowly kissed his way back to my mouth, enjoying every single inch of me.

With one final, sweet kiss on my lips, he pulled back so he could stare down at me, still holding me to him, still keeping me wrapped in his strong, firm arms.

Looking up at him was like staring directly at the sun. He was too bright…too hot. His lids were only half-raised, droopy with lust and warmth. His pupils were dilated, nearly blocking out that heated gray. His smile was seductively crooked, promising wicked secrets I was desperate to know.

How could this gorgeous man be real?

He belonged in a romance novels and chick flicks.

I blinked, realizing that I didn’t. I wasn’t fiction worthy. I was bookish and awkward and neurotic. I also realized that we were standing in the middle of campus and that people had had to move around us while we made out on the sidewalk like two horn dogs.

I cleared my throat and stepped back. “I have to go to work.”

His hands grabbed mine, holding on loosely. “Me too.”

I licked my lips. “I’d rather keep doing that, though.”

His gaze dropped to my mouth. “Me too.”

I didn’t know what to say after that, so I took another step back, and our fingers reluctantly let go of each other.

“Bye, Beckett.”

Those heavy gray eyes lifted to mine. “I’ll text you later, Britte.”

I nodded, biting my lip to hide my smile. “I figured.”

His mouth kicked up in a half smile. “Good.”

I turned around quickly, afraid that if I stood there for a second longer with him staring at me like that, I would throw myself on top of him, wrap my legs around him like a spider monkey and attack his face with my mouth.



About Rachel Higginson:



Rachel Higginson is the author of The Five Stages of Falling in Love, Every Wrong Reason, The Star-Crossed Series, Love & Decay Novella Series and much more!

She was born and raised in Nebraska, and spent her college years traveling the world. She fell in love with Eastern Europe, Paris, Indian Food and the beautiful beaches of Sri Lanka, but came back home to marry her high school sweetheart. Now she spends her days writing stories and raising four amazing kids.

Connect with Rachel:

Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/rachelhigginsonauthor/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mywritesdntbite/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Mywritesdntbite

Website: http://www.rachelhigginson.com/



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Cover Reveal: The Hard Count

Check out this amazing cover for THE HARD COUNT by Ginger Scott! Don't forget to add it to your TBR and pre-order your copy today!



THE HARD COUNTMature YA Contemporary Romance-Stand AloneScheduled to release: July 15, 2016GoodreadsB&N: http://bit.ly/1U3XJgEiBooks: http://apple.co/21hVw5HKobo: http://bit.ly/25T2zbx
BLURB:Nico Medina’s world is eleven miles away from mine. During the day, it’s a

place where doors are open—where homes are lived in, and neighbors love.

But when the sun sets, it becomes a place where young boys are afraid,

where eyes watch from idling cars that hide in the shadows and wicked

smoke flows from pipes.



West End is the kind of place that people survive. It buries them—one at a

time, one way or another. And when Nico was a little boy, his mom always

told him to run.



I’m Reagan Prescott—coach’s daughter, sister to the prodigal son, daughter

in the perfect family.

Life on top.

Lies.

My world is the ugly one. Private school politics and one of the best high

school football programs in the country can break even the toughest souls.

Our darkness plays out in whispers and rumors, and money and status trump

all. I would know—I’ve watched it kill my family slowly, strangling us for

years.



In our twisted world, a boy from West End is the only shining light.

Quarterback.

Hero.

Heart.

Good.

I hated him before I needed him.

I fell for him fast.

I loved him when it was almost too late.



When two ugly worlds collide, even the strongest fall. But my world…it

hasn’t met the boy from West End.



EXCERPT:

“Why are you mad at me, Reagan?”

He says my name, and the word falls from his lips soft and sweet. No judgement, no challenge. My lip falls loose from the hold of my teeth and my eyes flutter shut for a long blink. I open again to find him still waiting, still looking at me.
“I don’t know,” I say, with a small shake of my head.
“But you are,” he says, and I nod with the same slight movement, sucking in my bottom lip and breathing through my nose.
“Yeah,” I say, my lip falling away and my eyes only able to look at his
cheek.
I’m holding myself tighter than I ever have, my fingers actually digging into my sides, my nails rough against my skin through the fabric of my gray Cornwall sweatshirt. Nico doesn’t flinch once. His eyes stay on mine when I give in, and his expression doesn’t shift from the gentle, sweet
one he’s held.
His right hand lets go of my elbow, moving to the few strands of hair resting against my forehead, falling over one eye. Nico takes them with his thumbs, moving them behind my ears, his eyes watching his movement then settling back on mine.
“You’ve worn your hair down ever since I said I liked it,” he says.
I breathe in long and deep, letting myself feel this moment—all of it. I have worn my hair down. I did it hoping he would touch it, but never once actually thinking he would.
“That’s how I knew,” he says, and my forehead crinkles. He smiles on one side, repeating the gesture and moving the long wave of blonde hair from my face again. “That’s how I knew I was more than just some guy you wanted on your dad’s football team.”




Join us in celebrating the release of THE HARD COUNT by Ginger Scott!


Teaser Blast: June 21, 28, July 5, 12Release Day Blast: July 15Review Tour: July 15-23Promotional Event: July 24-August 6*Mature YA Stand AloneSIGN UP!

About the Author:





Ginger Scott is an Amazon-bestselling and Goodreads Choice Award-nominated author of several young and new adult romances, including Waiting on the Sidelines, Going Long, Blindness, How We Deal With Gravity, This Is Falling, You and Everything After, The Girl I Was Before, Wild Reckless, Wicked Restless and In Your Dreams.



A sucker for a good romance, Ginger’s other passion is sports, and she often blends the two in her stories. (She’s also a sucker for a hot quarterback, catcher, pitcher, point guard…the list goes on.) Ginger has been writing and editing for newspapers, magazines and blogs for more than 15 years. She has told the stories of Olympians, politicians, actors, scientists, cowboys, criminals and towns. For more on her and her work, visit her website at http://www.littlemisswrite.com.



When she's not writing, the odds are high that she's somewhere near a baseball diamond, either watching her son field pop flies like Bryce Harper or cheering on her favorite baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ginger lives in Arizona and is married to her college sweetheart whom she met at ASU (fork 'em, Devils).

Social Media Links:

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/GingerScottAuthor

Twitter: @TheGingerScott

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/thegingerscott/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/GingerScottAuthor

Google: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+GingerScottAuthor/posts

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/GingerScott

Website: http://www.littlemisswrite.com

Release Blitz: Wildly Seductive Night

Lauren’s hottest and most passionate couple ever, Julia and Clay, return in this brand new novella! Set a few years after the end of ONE MORE NIGHT, this new novella answers the question of what if your fantasy becomes your reality.What if all your nights were seductive?What if your life with that sexy, handsome man turned into one deliciously dirty fairytale?Cocktails, dirty talk and one fantastically filthy fairytale in a brand new novella for Lauren Blakely’s sexiest couple ever, Julia and Clay, in A Wildly Seductive Night.Come inside the world of Seductive Nights for a glimpse at a dirty, naughty, seductive happily ever after in A WILDLY SEDUCTIVE NIGHT!





Come inside the world of Seductive Nights one more time in A WILDLY SEDUCTIVE NIGHT!
Once upon a time there was a very happy couple who had wild, hot, passionate, seductive nights every day, and every night. But that’s not all they had between them. They had love, and trust, and respect. He adored her and treated her like a queen. She was so very good to him, and made his life complete. Their sexy marriage was the stuff dirty fairytales were made of.
But there was one thing they didn’t have.
One thing they both secretly wanted.
One thing better than pearls.
Enjoy another visit with Lauren Blakely's sexiest couple ever, Julia and Clay, in this brand new novella!Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | iBooks | Barnes & Noble Kobo | Google Play | Paperback | Amazon CA


Lauren’s sexiest couple ever, Julia and Clay, are back! That’s right! Fans asked and Lauren is delivering!The one question Lauren has received regularly in the last two years since the publication of ONE MORE NIGHT, the final novel in the Julia and Clay story in the Seductive Nights series, is “Can you please tell us what Julia and Clay are up to now?”
A WILDLY SEDUCTIVE NIGHT is the answer to that reader request!






And be sure to check out the new look for the Julia and Clay books in the NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING SEDUCTIVE NIGHTS SERIES…

NIGHT AFTER NIGHT



AFTER THIS NIGHT



ONE MORE NIGHT

If you’re new to the Julia and Clay books, you can find NIGHT AFTER NIGHT, AFTER THIS NIGHT, and ONE MORE NIGHT here .


ABOUT LAUREN BLAKELY:Since self-publishing her debut romance novel CAUGHT UP IN US three years ago, Lauren Blakely has sold more than 1 million books. She is known for her sexy contemporary romance style that’s full of heat, heart and humor. A devout fan of cake and canines, Lauren has plotted entire novels while walking her four-legged friends. She lives in California with her family. With ten New York Times bestsellers, her titles have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Lists more than forty times. Her bestselling series include Sinful Nights, Seductive Nights, No Regrets, Caught Up in Love, and Fighting Fire as well as standalone romantic comedies like BIG ROCK and MISTER O, which were both instant New York Times Bestsellers. To receive an email when Lauren releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter at laurenblakely.com/newsletter.
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