R.E. Hargrave's Blog, page 117

B@@K REVEAL: CHAOS by Jas T. Ward #PreORDER #TheGrid #GIVEAWAY

COVER & EXCERPT REVEAL CHAOS (The Grid Series - Book 8) by Jas T. Ward

Release Date: January 28, 2021

Cover Design: TE Black Designs

Genre: Dark Paranormal Romance

  

SYNOPSIS

Two twin souls share one dark power. The end of the world is around the corner. And there's only one heart to love and to save them.

Valya and Vadim have been owned by the Circus of Nightmares since their parents died as twins. They were days from breaking that contract when tragedy struck and both fell to their death. That should have been the end. A freedom they hadn't counted on.

They were wrong. Chaos needed a new host.

It found two.

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EXCERPT

“No. You can’t!” Valya grabbed his hand and then wrapped her arms around him. Brock could feel her cold tears as they soaked into his shirt. Sighing, he brought a hand up to cup the back of her head as she spoke into his chest. “You say you’ll feel bad if you stand in our way? How do you think we’ll feel if we made you go?” She angled her head up to meet his eyes with her chin resting on his pec. “I’d miss you. I know I would. You say you had that attraction you can’t explain? So do I. And I don’t want you to go. Please.”
“Val don’t make this harder on Brock than it needs to be. It’s probably best that he goes. It’s a big mess, like he said.” Vadim pulled Valya free from her desperate hug. She burst into sobs as her brother folded her into his arms.
Brock hated to see Valya cry. And knowing Vadim tasked him to handle the brunt of the unintended devastation he left in his wake by leaving. “I’m sorry, Valya. I really am. But your brother is right. Me going will be easier now than if I wait.” He reached out to touch her but pulled up short—no, he’d change his mind if his fingers grazed her amazing cool skin. “Fuck, I need to go.” None of it made sense. Brock, Valya and Vadim had known each other for less than a month. He felt like he was destroying a relationship, a strange, twisted one spanning years. Decades. Not days. But had any of this held a grain of logic? Easily categorized or described? No. Why would the connection he felt for the pair be any more explainable?
“It’s not fair!” Valya said angrily, slamming a fist against her brother’s chest. She then reached out to grab Brock’s hand, clutching at it to prevent him from going towards the door.
Thud…
Valya’s eyes widened in sync with Vadim’s. Her mouth fell open and Vlad’s expression was one awash with bafflement.
Thud…
Ah shit. No. You have got to be kidding me. 
“Oh, what the fuck is that? What is that?” Brock jerked from Valya’s grasp. His confused backsteps had him hitting a shelf and a small glass vase fell off to shatter at his feet. First that weird deep beat of his heart and then a strange voice apparently getting pissed about it in his head. He surged forward and snarled. “Are you using some Keeper thing on me? I said I was sorry for all of this!”
“No… it wasn’t us. Or I don’t think it was,” Valya whispered. She looked up at her brother. Vadim’s jaw hung slack and eyes still wide—as unsure as Valya. They exchanged a look, and both approached Brock.
He yelled, threw up both his hands and hit the shelf a second time. Another piece of Valya’s new décor paid the price. “No. Stay the fuck over there! Both of you.”  Gasping for air, doing his best not to freak out and run out the door. “Why do you two look like you don’t even know. Didn’t you feel that? Hear that?!”
Valya glanced at Vadim again and they nodded in unison. “We did,” Vadim answered. His voice shook and he blinked with a slow head shake. “And I think,” he met Brock’s eyes. “I think it was my heart. Our hearts. And if you heard the voice…”
“Chaos. You heard our dark power, Brock.” The twins took another step closer.
And Brock would have taken one further backward if there wasn’t a wall and that stupid shelf blocking his retreat. “I said stay back.” He tried to go sideways but then Vadim’s hand touched his arm and Valya’s took his.
The thud returned and it sent Brock to fall on his ass and his hand clutched his chest. His heartbeat painfully strong. An ache as if the chamber containing the organ would burst. The muscles rip and tear. As it fell into a cadence, the pain eased, and Brock sucked in a breath. He felt… strong. Lit up with each beat in his chest.
He sputtered to speak and failed. Valya’s free hand now covered her mouth and tears crashed over her fingers. Vadim kept his arm stiff. Keeping the space between them. But his face held a myriad of emotions. Brock might have stood a chance of deciphering if he wasn’t teetering on screaming like a girl in a horror show.
“It’s our hearts. All of our hearts,” Vadim choked out as he crouched down in front of Brock to decrease the distance. “All three of ours beating together.” He met Brock’s eyes. “I don’t know how. But you’re our heartbeat.”
Brock scrambled away, staggering to get to his feet. The strange beating of his heart stopped. The elevated strength vaporized. He stared at them. “What. The. Fuck.”
Valya recovered first and came over to him. “I know. We’re all freaking out. We need to just take a minute.” She glanced back at Vadim. The shock had him unmoving. Like a beautiful carved man of stone. As her eyes swung back to Brock’s, she reached out to touch his cheek. Brock didn’t mean to flinch, but he did. She gave no sign of taking it personal. “Don’t you want to find out? See if it is what we think it is?” She gave him a nervous smile and whispered, “Please?” She reached out to Vadim. “V, we need to know. Don’t you want to know?”
Vadim looked as unsure as Brock, but he did take Valya’s hand albeit still staying as far as possible.
As Valya’s slender pale hand moved towards Brock, he started shaking his head. “I don’t want to know. No. Stop.” It was just too damn much. He brought a hand up as if she would strike him. Instead, her cool fingers intwined with his. A second later, his heart charged up along with the surge of strength.
“You’re warm…” Brock’s eyes skid up to Valya’s. “How?” He got to his feet and wrapped his opposite hand around their joined ones. “I feel your pulse.” He let out a shaky laugh borne from awe. “You feel alive.”
Valya laughed and Vadim moved timidly closer. His hand came out to join Brock’s and Valya’s. His too was warm. A pulse beat in the man’s wrist. Brock watched as their skin lost it’s paleness and brightened with life. “I’m doing that? Me?”
“Yeah, you are,” Vadim responded in a gruff tone. “But only when we’re all three touching.” He hesitantly slid his hand free and the triple-strong heartbeat thumped one last time and then returned to it’s normal state. Vadim began to pale as the life given by their touch faded. Vadim splayed a hand over his chest and let out a sigh. “It’s strange. I forgot how incredible it felt to be, well, alive.” His breath hitched as he reached out for the closest piece of furniture. Sitting on plush reading chair, he took great gulps of air. “As if we didn’t think this was a fucking mess before. It is now.” He lifted his eyes to Brock’s. “It doesn’t change anything. Just like you don’t want to be in the way of our finding our heartbeats.” He pulled Valya to him and Brock tried to keep her hand in his. Odd, even without Vadim to complete the triad of the connection, he didn’t want to sever it all together. “We don’t want you’re being our heartbeat to force you where you don’t want to be. Or with us. Not if it’s not what you want.”
“I want you both,” Brock said the words in a rush without thought. He squeezed his eyes shut as he scrubbed his hands over his face. “I feel the same connection. Some attraction to you both. Have since day one. Like,” his eyes darted around the room in an attempt to structure sentences and not sound like an idiot, “I’ve known you for years. Both of you. As if,” he looked down and said softly, “I needed to be close to you both. Was meant to be with you.” He took a step closer and whispered, “Both.”
Valya darted a look over at her brother and stepped up to Brock. “Me too. When you caught me in the club? I felt strange. Like I knew you would catch me. Even if I didn’t know you. I felt sure.”
The two of them turned to face Vadim. Valya whispered softly, “Brother. V?”
Vadim looked like the one that wanted to bolt out of the room. Run from the situation. Brock didn’t think the guy could get any paler. Vadim appeared confused and then angry. “How the fuck is that supposed to work? The three of us?”
Valya smiled, took her brother’s hand and hauled him against her. “I don’t know. But we’ll figure it out.” She leaned into Brock and he could feel her hand grow warm and her cheeks pinken as their hearts beat together. Her lips came to his and she kissed him softly as she palmed his cheek. “We can’t do that if you go, Brock. Will you stay? Help us figure out? How it can work for the three of us?”
“Ah, uh,” he said haltingly and then Vadim turned his face with a touch to meet his eyes. The man didn’t smile. He still looked pissed as fuck. But then his lips touched Brock’s and Valya curled up against his side.
Swallowing, Brock nodded as they hugged in a group. “Yeah. Together. The three of us. I’ll stay.” Valya let out a gleeful sound as she threw her arms around his neck. Vadim actually smiled and touched Brock’s neck. “But I have questions.”
Vadim snorted and stepped away. “If it’s about a threesome? Fuck no. I am not having sex with my sister. Nor watch her have sex. Nor watch the man I’m having sex with have sex with her. We may be circus people but it wasn’t that kind of circus.”
Valya’s face screwed up in disgust. “Eww. Gross. I don’t want to see my brother naked. Or having sex.” She giggled and smiled. “We’ll set up a schedule. I claim Monday, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Vadim can have you all to himself the rest of the days.”
Brock laughed as the twins started bickering and sighed in amusement. “I think I’m going to miss being able to walk.” Be worth it as he watched his—not one but two—lovers fight over him. A guy could get used to that.

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GIVEAWAY

Signed Paperbacks - The Grid Series (7 books total), $25 Amazon Gift Card and a fantastic Swag Pack of goodies.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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AVAILABLE NOW

 

CANDYMAN (The Grid Series #1)
UNIVERSAL LINK: https://books2read.com/WardCandyman
  
MADNESS (The Grid Series #2)
UNIVERSAL LINK: https://books2read.com/WardsMadness




BOUNCE (The Grid Series #3)
UNIVERSAL LINK: https://books2read.com/WardsBounce




LUST (The Grid Series #4)
UNIVERSAL LINK: https://books2read.com/WardsLust




COWBOY (The Grid Series #5)
UNIVERSAL LINK: https://books2read.com/WardCowboy




MURDER (The Grid Series #6)
UNIVERSAL LINK: https://books2read.com/WardMurder




ENVY (The Grid Series #7)
UNIVERSAL LINK: https://books2read.com/WardEnvy ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ms. Ward was born and raised in Texas. Ward is a mixed bag of creativity spinning tales of paranormal, urban fantasy, and even dark romance and horror; wrapped within a love story. She's been dared to write a few contemporary romances but even those reads have characters that are real and twisted by their creator.
Ward publishes her wildly popular Paranormal/Sci-Fi romances as an indie and her contemporary romances were picked up for traditional publication with Hot Tree Publishing in 2020.
A mother of three diverse and independent bold children, Ward prides herself for being the "Queen Niche' Bitch" which is her handy way of saying she sucks writing to market.But her readers don't seem to mind.

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B@@K REVEAL: Cutter's Mission by Rosie Jarvis #PreORDER

Cutter’s Mission
Rosie Jarvis
(Valhalla Warriors, #1)
Publication date: February 9th 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

An Immortal Biker Daddy walks into a bar…

Abbott McClain is on the run.

An infamous human trafficker and murderer is hot on his heels, and he has nowhere to go. When his car breaks down in a small Texas town, he has no choice but to seek help from a biker bar in the middle of nowhere. After a lifetime of rejection, he doesn’t want to trust anyone ever again. But when he meets a blue-eyed bear at the bar who promises him kindness and protection, he desperately wants to believe that this time things will be different.

James Alan Cutter is on a mission.

As a member of an immortal motorcycle club entrusted with protecting humanity, he shouldn’t be taking time off for romance. But something about Abbott stirs his Daddy nature.

When evil stalks the boy Cutter has fallen for, his brothers in arms come together to protect their love.

Cutter’s Mission is a 48K motorcycle club romance with an age gap, size difference, and hurt/comfort.

Add to Goodreads / Pre-order

Author Bio:

As an author, I'm looking to bring my readers joy. The Valhalla Universe is full of Amazonian Warriors, Valkyrie, gods, goddesses, war heroes who ride motorcycles, and the humans who love them. The Valhalla Warriors is an LGBTQ Series that is insta-love, low angst, light kink romp of fun and steam.

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B@@K REVEAL: Black Water Magic by Leslie Scott #PreORDER

Black Water Magic
Leslie Scott
Publication date: January 12th 2021
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy

Teagan Blackwater’s biggest problem used to be hiding her relationship with a demi-demon from her grandmother, Nola, the most powerful witch in all of Florida.

When Nola is murdered, Teagan learns how insignificant her secret really was. And how rare it is she only had the one. Firewater Springs is a small town, and every one of its residents seems to have secrets of their own. Including the friendly cop Teagan had a crush on in high school and the Demi-demon she’s been sleeping with.

But the person with the most secrets was Nola herself, and Teagan needs to unravel them to break a curse and solve Nola’s murder. It’s no secret Teagan doesn’t feel up to the task, but she is the new Swamp Witch of Firewater Springs, so what choice does she have? Everyone is counting on her.

No pressure.

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Author Bio:

Award nominated author of Two Hearts, One Stone and the Arkadia Fast Series, Leslie Scott has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. The happier the ending, the better. Currently, she lives and writes amidst her own happily ever after with her soul mate, son, and domestic zoo. http://lesliescottromance.com/

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BOOK BLITZ: The Ultimate Betrayal by Kat Martin #GIVEAWAY

The Ultimate Betrayal
Kat Martin
(Maximum Security #3)
Publication date: December 29th 2020
Genres: Adult, Romance, Suspense

To prove her father’s innocence, she’ll have to turn a killer’s sights on herself

When her father is accused of espionage and treason, journalist Jessie Kegan has no doubt the man she looked up to her entire life is innocent. Worse yet, before Colonel Kegan can stand trial, he’s found dead of a heart attack…but Jessie knows it was murder. Forcing aside her grief, she’s determined to use her investigative resources to clear her father’s name. But going after the truth means Jessie soon finds herself in the crosshairs of a killer who wants that truth to stay buried with her father.

Protecting Jessie Kegan is a job bodyguard Brandon Garrett can’t refuse. Jessie isn’t just a client at Maximum Security—she’s the sister of his best friend, Danny, who was killed in Afghanistan. With dangerous enemies gunning for Jessie from every angle, keeping her safe will mean keeping her close, and Bran finds their mutual attraction growing, though being Danny’s sister puts Jessie out of bounds.

With their backs against the wall, Jessie and Bran will have to risk everything to expose her father’s killer—before his legacy dies with his daughter.

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

They ordered-in Chinese and Bran turned the TV on in the living room, but neither of them were in the mood to watch. Jessie knew exactly what she was in the mood for. She hadn’t thought about sex this much in the last three years. Now, every time she looked at Bran, having sex with him was all she could think of.

Everything about him turned her on. The cadence of his voice, the way he laughed, the way he moved. Just watching him amble across the living room sent a curl of heat into the pit of her stomach.

What would it be like to kiss him? Run her hands over all the lean, hard muscles she had seen and couldn’t get out of her head? What would it be like if he made love to her?

Would she ruin it the way she had when she had tried before? Start thinking about Ray Cummings and the intimate way he had touched her? Conjure images of the rape he had planned to carry out the third night if she hadn’t managed to escape?

Fidgety and unable to relax, she headed for the pool, Bran reluctantly accompanying her. Exercising in the warm water was the perfect stress reliever. She glanced over to where he paced the deck at the opposite end of the pool, tall and lean-muscled, blue-eyed, and built. Nothing better than swimming–except for hours of erotic sex with the man of her fantasies.

It seemed so outrageous she found herself grinning as she stroked to the far end of the pool. She was still smiling when she came up out of the water, dripping and adjusting her swimsuit, just a few feet away from him.

“What’s so funny?” Bran asked, as grumpy tonight as he had been the night before.

She looked into his hard, handsome face and some little devil made her say it. “If you really want to know, I was thinking what it might be like to have wild, uninhibited sex with you.”

Hunger flashed in his eyes so quickly she took a step back. “Is that so,” he drawled, his gaze running over her, assessing every curve her orange-striped bikini displayed.

Her whole body flushed with heat as she realized she wasn’t the only one who’d been thinking about sex.

She swallowed. “I was imagining what it might be like, but I… I know if we tried, I’d screw it up. After Ray, I’ve got, you know, hang-ups.”

His gaze grew more intense. “What kind of hang-ups?”

She picked her towel up off the mesh table next to a lounge chair and quickly dried off, then slipped on her white terrycloth robe. Fortunately, the overhead lights began to flash, signaling it was time for the pool to close.

“Time to leave.” She started walking back to the room, wishing she’d kept her mouth shut. By the time Bran opened the door and checked inside to be sure it was safe, she was starting to relax.

“What hang-ups?” Bran he as he closed the door behind them.

Jessie’s stomach instantly knotted. What had possessed her to mention it? But Bran had opened up to her yesterday, which meant she owed him the same courtesy today.

Trying to appear nonchalant, she shrugged. “You know, kissing’s okay, but if a guy starts touching me, my mind flashes back to Ray Cummings and I-I start thinking about the way he touched me, where he touched me, and pretty soon sex is the last thing I want to happen.”

Bran’s jaw looked iron hard. “He rape you?”

She swallowed and shook her head. “On the third day, just before he got home, I managed to get loose. I couldn’t get out of the basement, so I searched for a weapon.” Her lips trembled as the memory became all too clear. “I found a wooden box and pried a board loose. The board had a nail in the end so I held it like a bat, and I-I waited till he came down the stairs.”

“Go on,” Bran said so softly she felt a chill.

“He always wore this black knit ski mask with a red ring around the mouth, which made him look even more terrifying. Knowing what he planned to do gave me courage. The minute he stepped off the bottom step, I swung the board as hard as I could and smashed him in the side of the head. As soon as he hit the floor, I starting whacking him over and over with the nail in the end of the board. He was unconscious and bleeding when I took off running.”

“Finish it,” Bran said when she paused, more a demand than a request.

Her voice trembled. “The woman in the house next door let me in and called the police. Ray was still unconscious when they got there. Turned out he was a serial rapist. He had abducted four other women and locked them up just like me. Eventually, he released them somewhere, but they couldn’t identify him or the place he had taken them. I was the only one who escaped.”

She was shaking. She didn’t realize she had tears in her eyes till Bran pulled her into his arms.

Author Bio:

Currently living outside Missoula, Montana, Kat Martin is the New York Times bestselling author of over sixty-five Historical and Contemporary Romantic Suspense novels. Before she started writing, Kat was a real estate broker. During that time, she met her husband, L. J. Martin, an author of Westerns and high-action Thrillers. Kat is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara where she majored in Anthropology and also studied History. She spends her winters in Arizona.

"I love to travel and especially like visiting the places where my books are set," Kat says. "I love history and enjoy spending time in museums and art galleries. My husband and I often stay in out-of-the-way inns and historical houses. It's fun and it gives a wonderful sense of a by-gone era."

To date, Kat has over seventeen million copies of her books in print. She is published in more than two dozen foreign countries, including Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, China, Korea, Bulgaria, Russia, England, South Africa, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Japan and Greece.

Kat is currently writing her next Romantic thriller.

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NEW RELEASE: The Busker and the Barista by M.B. Feeney

It's finally time for readers to meet Ash Kane and Camille Rogers!

The Busker and the Barista by M.B. Feeney

Book One of The Rare Breed Series

Blurb:

Ash Kane knows he’s a disappointment to his parents for not going to college. Instead, he splits his time between his band and busking outside a coffee house in Los Angeles. The cute part-time barista is just an added bonus.

When he finds out she hates the 90s alt rock he plays on the street, he makes a point of playing even more to get a reaction out of her, and relishes in her distaste.

When his band needs a new rehearsal space, they take over Camille Rogers’ dad’s disused garage which she isn’t completely unhappy about, even if it means she needs to make more excuses to visit her dad and younger brother. The cute lead singer of the band in the garage is just an added bonus.

Buy Link:

http://mybook.to/BuskerandBarista

JOIN the release PARTY on January 8, 2021 from 9am to 5pm EST in the Indie Girls Readers Group on Facebook! About the Author: M. B. Feeney is an army brat who finally settled down in Birmingham, UK with her other half, two kids and a dog. She often procrastinates by listening to music of all genres and trying to get 'just one more paragraph' written on whichever WIP is open; she is also a serious doodler and chocoholic. Writing has been her one true love ever since she could spell, and publishing is the final culmination of her hard work and ambition.Her publishing career began with two novellas, and she currently has multiple projects under way, in the hopes that her portfolio of what have been described as "everyday love stories for everyday people" will continue to grow. Always having something on the go can often lead to block which eventually gets dissolved by good music and an even better book.Her main reason for writing is to not only give her readers enjoyment, but also to create a story and characters that stay with readers long after the book is finished, and possibly make someone stop and think "what if..."Stay in touch:Amazon Facebook Instagram BookBub Twitter

BOOK BLITZ: Eventually Evie by Cat Lavoie #GIVEAWAY

Eventually Evie
Cat Lavoie
Publication date: January 4th 2021
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Romance

How are you supposed to get your life back on track when the Universe won’t stop messing with you?

After a series of personal and professional setbacks, interior designer Evie Glass has lost faith in herself and the world. The last thing she needs is her loud, boisterous family poking their noses in her business, so that’s why she avoids opening up about anything—especially her love life—during their weekly dinners. Thankfully, her bestie and next-door neighbor, Matilda, always has her back.

When Evie is asked to cat-sit Matilda’s beloved rescue, she’s not thrilled at the prospect. One well-meaning mistake later and a distraught Evie is rushing her furry charge to the ER where she meets and is instantly smitten with Fletcher West, a charming veterinarian who seems to return her interest. That is until they both realize they’ve met before—ten years ago when he was dating her temperamental cousin. Fletch’s break-up with Bee put him at the top of her family’s hit list and makes him the last person Evie should be dating.

In addition to navigating a secret romance with Fletch, Evie must also deal with a demanding new job, an eccentric client from her former life, and an ex who’s suddenly blowing up her phone. She convinces herself she’s got it all under control, but what happens when things start falling apart and Evie learns she’s not the only one keeping secrets?

One thing’s for sure…

Eventually Evie’s got to take a chance—on love, on life, and on herself.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

—

EXCERPT:

T ext to Matilda:

Someone just threw a meatball at my face. Talk about kicking a girl when she’s down. Rescue me?

I don’t know what I did to piss off the Universe, but she’s had it in for me for a while. And because of her latest stunt, I now have bits of ground beef stuck in my hair and Aunt Pina’s famous tomato sauce streaking my face and shirt. You could easily mistake me for an extra on the set of a mediocre horror film—one who just realized her real life will never be the quirky rom-com she desperately wants it to be. This is not what I signed up for. Who approved these script changes?

It’s my fault for allowing myself to get distracted. I sent an urgent text to Matilda, my best friend, over twenty minutes ago, and I was just checking my phone to see if she answered—she hadn’t. And then a three-year-old sniper attacked me.

My cousin Frankie’s son has been going through a phase where he throws everything that isn’t glued down as if he’s trying out for the Yankees. I’m his favorite target, so I need to stay on my toes when he’s around. Thank goodness he’s adorable and I’m a sucker for dimples. All of my adult family members are too busy screaming at each other to notice—or punish—the meatball-throwing toddler. Their voices are getting louder and louder, and even though I love everyone sitting at this table, I sometimes wish my family enjoyed the sound of silence a little bit more.

But the scene before me is completely normal. All the sharp objects on the table will be used to eat a delicious dinner, not to stab someone in the heat of the moment. Despite the loud voices and animated gestures, no one is angry.

In fact, it’s a joyous occasion. My cousin Bianca—Bee to friends and family—has just announced she’s getting married. Obviously, the earth has stopped spinning on its axis at the very news and the presses have screeched to a halt. It’s also my birthday today, but my measly milestone has once again been eclipsed by something involving Bee. It’s almost become a beloved family tradition, and I’m so used to her claiming all the attention for herself that I can’t be mad at Bee. I’m not in the mood for attention anyway.

“Isn’t it gorgeous?” Bee is holding up a bunny-eared iPhone so we can see a picture of the ring Mike is going to buy her—a princess cut diamond surrounded by two smaller pink stones on a white gold band. I crane my neck to get a closer look. As per the ring website, this model is their biggest seller and a wonderful way to tell her you want to spend all of eternity by her side. Gag me. But why isn’t the ring on her finger?

“Wait. Wait. Wait. Hold on a minute,” my cousin Fabrizio says between bites of crusty bread dripping in the extra virgin olive oil one of my uncles brings back from Italy every year. “Why am I looking at a picture of this ring on your phone? Shouldn’t it be on your finger?” He’s clearly reading my thoughts. (And he’s also spewing crumbs with every word, but we’re on opposite sides of the table, so I’m safe. Aunt Pina—not so much.)

Bee flicks her long, chocolate-colored hair off her shoulder and gives her brother a stern look. “We’re not technically engaged yet. But it’s going to happen. Soon. We’re just waiting for the ring to be delivered.” It’s obvious by her narrowed eyes that follow-up questions will not be accepted at this time.

It takes all the willpower in the world for me not to groan in annoyance. Does Mike know he’s just a UPS delivery window away from proposing? And won’t he wonder why no one is surprised when Bee makes her official announcement?

“You’re going to make a beautiful bride.” Aunt Pina—one of my mother’s four sisters—can’t get the words out without choking up, and she brings a linen napkin to her face to delicately wipe away a tear. Bee is her only daughter—a much-prayed-for miracle baby after five boisterous sons—and her wedding day has been planned since the second she was born. It will be a night fit for a princess—a big fat Italian wedding to top all other big fat Italian weddings. Every single guest will marvel at how delicious the food was, how gorgeous the bride looked in her designer dress, how no expense was spared from the finest champagne to a dessert table guaranteed to induce a diabetic coma and widespread jealousy and envy.

Author Bio:

Cat Lavoie is a chick lit writer from Montreal, Canada.She loves writing fun and quirky romantic comedies and is the author of BREAKING THE RULES, ZOEY & THE MOMENT OF ZEN, PERI IN PROGRESS and MESSING WITH MATILDA.

A fan of all things feline, Cat loves cats and hopes to someday have a house full of them in order to officially become a crazy cat lady. (But one or two cats will do for now.)

If she isn't reading or writing, Cat enjoys listening to podcasts (mostly comedy and true crime) and watching way too much TV. She fell in love with London many years ago and hopes to go back one day. Cat is currently at work on her next novel.

To connect with Cat and find out more about her books, visit CatLavoie.com and follow @CatLavoieBooks on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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BOXSET SALE BLITZ: Shopping for a Billionaire Boxed Set (1-5) by Julia Kent #99c #GIVEAWAY

Shopping for a Billionaire Boxed Set (Parts 1-5)
Julia Kent
Publication date: January 9th 2015
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Romance

Ever meet a hot billionaire while your hand’s in a toilet in the men’s room of one of his stores?

No? So it really is just me. Hm.

When you’re a mystery shopper, you get paid to humiliate yourself, all in the name of improving customer service. Romance isn’t in my job description.

But the day I met Declan McCormick it was love at first flush.

Until I nearly castrated him with my EpiPen.

How Hot Guy and Toilet Girl became an item involves my crazy mom, a trip to the ER, my homicidal cat, my fake wife, and true love.

Don’t look at me like that. I’m just doing my job.

I’m shopping for a billionaire.—The Shopping for a Billionaire collection from New York Times bestselling author Julia Kent is a 600+ page, hilarious romantic comedy with heart, heat, and laughs.

This boxed set contains the previously published:Shopping for a Billionaire 1Shopping for a Billionaire 2Shopping for a Billionaire 3Shopping for a Billionaire 4Christmas Shopping for a Billionaire

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Only 99¢ for a limited time!

—

EXCERPT:

Whoosh! Whoosh! I flush both urinals, then rush over to toilet #1. Whoosh! I stand in front of the stall to #2 and get ready to flush that one.

I’m in my own little world and let my guard down to ponder the question. I am also exhausted and most definitely not in top form, because I let a few seconds go by before realizing that someone is coming in the bathroom. Out of the corner of my eye I see a business shoe, and that becomes a blur as I scurry into one of the stalls and shut the door.

Heart pounding, I stare at the dented back of the stall door. Then I look down. Chipped red nail polish peeks up at me from my open-toed navy shoe. Aside from being outed as a transgendered person in here, there’s no plausible reason why any men’s room stall occupant should have red toenails.

I quickly scramble to perch myself on the toilet, feet planted firmly on either side of the rim, squatting over the open bowl like I am giving birth. Because I am genetically incapable of balance—ever—and as my heart slams against my chest so hard it might as well be playing a djembe, I lean carefully forward with one arm against the back of the stall door, the other clutching my phone.

The unmistakable sound of a man taking a whizz echoes through the bathroom. I can’t help myself and look through the tiny crack in the door.

It’s Mr. Sex in a Suit, his back to me. Thank goodness, because if I got a full-frontal shot right now, then how would I answer the “aesthetically pleasing” question from a strictly professional standpoint?

The tiny bit of shifting I do to peer through the crack makes my right foot slip, and I make a squeaking sound, then lose my grip on my phone as my arm flails.

Ka-PLUNK!

You know that sound, right? I know, and you know, that I’ve just dropped my smartphone in the toilet, but he thinks the man—he assumes it’s a man—in here just delivered something the size of a two-hundred-year-old turtle into the toilet.

I look down. My phone is still glowing, open to the question “Is the bathroom aesthetically pleasing?”

Author Bio:

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Julia Kent writes romantic comedy with an edge. From billionaires to BBWs to new adult rock stars, Julia finds a sensual, goofy joy in every contemporary romance she writes. Unlike Shannon from Shopping for a Billionaire, she did not meet her husband after dropping her phone in a men's room toilet (and he isn't a billionaire). She lives in New England with her husband and three sons in a household where the toilet seat is never, ever, down.

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BOOK BLITZ: Relic Bounty by Arwen Paris #GIVEAWAY

Relic Bounty
Arwen Paris
(Relic Legacy Series)
Publication date: December 30th 2020
Genres: Adult, Romance, Science Fiction

Kill the courier, retrieve the relic, collect the money.

Bounty hunter Janis Torzen finally has a chance to free himself from his indentured servitude to the mob. The brutal weather on planet Urrak is as unforgiving as the mob boss Janis Torzen works for, so of course a sudden sandstorm upsets his best laid plans. To make things worse, the courier, Everell, turns out to be a beautiful, smart-mouthed archeologist who has her own plans for the money. Unfortunately, powerful people will kill to possess the relic Everell carries—everyone from government officials to the social elite, and they will stop at nothing to get it.

Now on the run, Janis and Everell are forced to depend on each other to escape from Nadir Space Port. But when Everell and the relic are stolen from Janis, he must go back to the very man he’s trying to get away from and offer a deal with the devil. He’s got nothing to lose but his own life, so he bluffs the mob, willing to sacrifice his future to save the woman he’s fallen in love with—a woman he’s still not sure he can trust.

It’s a crazy plan, one so crazy it just might work. If he succeeds, it will pay out big for his wallet and his heart—if he doesn’t die trying. But with a bounty this high, it’s worth any risk…

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Author Bio:

Arwen Paris is the author of young adult fiction. Her debut YA Sci-fi Urban Fantasy novel FATE OF THE STARS released in 2017 and the second book in the series RIVAL in 2018. The actions packed pages of her novels are filled with characters that are forced to face fears they never expected. When she's not writing, you can see posts of her (too many) vacations that keep her sane. Arwen lives in Idaho, has a big crazy family & after the day job, she writes Fiction For the Fearless - #F3Fanatic

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B@@K REVEAL: Evil Villain by Rebel Hart #NowLive #GIVEAWAY

Evil Villain
Rebel Hart
(The Royal Court, #3)
Publication date: December 30th 2020
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

The man I love is missing, and there’s nothing I can do.

I need to find Deon.

All I want is to be in his arms again, but I don’t even know if he’s alive.

The Royal Court has changed dramatically, and we have to learn who we are again while trying to keep ourselves safe.

Will my new steely personality prevent my friends from accepting me?

Will our enemy get to Deon before we can?

Or will I be forced to mourn the death of the love of my life and my friends a second time?

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—

EXCERPT:

When Cherri and I entered the kitchen, all eyes turned to us. Across from me, and much to my surprise, Nathan looked like he was on the brink of tears. Everyone’s glances bounced between us, and even as uncomfortable as it made me, I had to admit it was good to see him. He took a step forward and so did I. He shook his head with a little chuckle and held his arms out for a hug.

And then Sicily jumped in front of him and threw his arms around me.

“Deon!” he whined. “It’s really you! I’ve been dreaming of this day!” Even though there was damn near a foot between us, he squeezed me tightly. “I kept looking for you! Your best friend never gave up.”

“I heard,” I said, finally managing to wedge between us to push him back a few feet, but I set my hands on his shoulders. “Thank you. You took care of Cherri, you never gave up on me. You really are the best friend a guy could ask for.”

What I’d learned about Sicily in the limited time that we had to develop a friendship was that he didn’t do emotions very well. He was a natural jester, and when his feelings started to get the best of him, he did what any good jester did—he played it off with a joke. His feelings about being reunited with me must have gotten the best of him, because he started out kidding, but in the wake of my earnest statement, I watched all of his inner jokester fade away.

“Deon,” he said in his serious tone, an octave lower than his usual jubilant tone. “You’re like, the first real friend I ever had, and as much as I hated thinking you were out there in a ditch somewhere, if that hadn’t happened…” He looked past me to Cherri. “I wouldn’t have made the second real friend I ever had.”

Cherri stepped forward and slid between Sicily and me to pull him into a big hug. When she released him, I pulled her back so her back was against my stomach and put a hand on Sicily’s head. “You’re the first real friend I ever had too. When I went missing, you looked after the most important people in my life, my queen…” I looked across at Nathan. “And my brother.”

In an instant, Sicily turned back into the class clown, and his typical tone was back. “Oh! He called me his friend! Nathan did.” He looked back at him. “Tell him.”

Nathan nodded. “I did say that, and I’ve regretted it ever since.”

Everyone chuckled a little, then Cherri stepped aside and dragged Sicily with her. I finished crossing the kitchen, and doing something I honestly never thought I’d do, I pulled Nathan into a huge bear hug. I closed my eyes and breathed in the moment—actually bonding with a brother I hated. We had something that bonded us more than anything else ever could.

The manipulation of Connor Loche.

“So,” Nathan said, pulling away. “How about that dad of ours?”

I shrugged. “I don’t see him as my dad.”

Nathan nodded. “Oh good, I don’t either.”

Colette raised her hand. “Don’t you have to acknowledge that he’s your dad to some extent? Otherwise you wouldn’t be brothers.”

“No,” Nathan and I said in unison, and it brought that concept to an end in a flash.

“He’s done all he needed to do in making us brothers by spreading his seed,” Nathan said.

I nodded. “And now it’s time to stop him so he can’t bring that level of harm to anyone else.”

Author Bio:

Rebel Hart is an author of Dark and Contemporary Romance novels. Her debut series is a #1 Amazon Bestseller called Diamond In The Rough. It's a High School Bully Romance with four books and a novella. Book one is Play With Me.

Text REBEL to 77948 so you don't miss any of her books (US only) or sign up at the bottom of the page to get an email alert when her next book is out.

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B@@K RELEASE: In Your Eyes by Jayne Townsley #PreORDER

In Your Eyes
Jayne Townsley
(Seasons of Love, #2)
Publication date: January 5th 2021
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Crystal Davis got her wish for the Crew’s long-awaited post-graduation trip. Sun and fun before focusing on her new career as a pediatric RN at St. Francis’ Children’s Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was just what she needed. Bonus? She met Troy Bennett, and she realized she wanted less frivolity in her life and a little more serious.

Troy Bennett is a man fighting the demons who tell him he is worthless every day of his life. Demons his mother conjured. He quiets them with alcohol and casual relationships, never allowing any woman to get close enough to him so he will never have to disappoint one. Then on the spur of the moment trip to Panama City Beach with his Ranger buddies, he sees the future he’s always been afraid to pursue exit a Jeep Wrangler at a local donut shop.

Just as Troy and Crystal are finding their footing, she gets the call she never thought she would earn: Crystal Davis is going to Hollywood to be a contestant on America’s Next Chart Topper. What started as a way to honor her murdered friend has now become her dream. Chasing her dream means leaving Troy behind for a bit, and she wonders if her absence will cause what they’ve built so far to come crashing down.

Chasing her dream also means she’s put herself in a place where she’s vulnerable to the side of Hollywood that no one wants to acknowledge. A place where people only care about her and Troy’s story for the audience while behind the scenes, evil, selfish people work to tear them apart.

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Author Bio:

Jayne Townsley lives with her multi-generational family in Northeast Oklahoma’s aptly named Green Country. A transplanted Okie from the Chicago suburbs, she has grown to love this state and its people with a passion, happily calling it home for the past 15 years.

Jayne shares her home with a rescued Shollie named Maui and two cats called Gamora and Nebula.

Jayne enjoys old-fashioned road trips and is in the process of planning one to tour Oklahoma’s Route 66. She is also something of a Disney World addict.

Run to You is her debut novel.

You can find her on the web at the following places:

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