R.E. Hargrave's Blog, page 183

B@@K REVEAL: The Case for Temptation by Robyn Grady

The Case for Temptation
Robyn Grady
Published by: Harlequin Desire
Publication date: January 1st 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

“We can’t see each other again…and I think you know why.”After an impulsive one-night stand with Jacob Stone, Teagan Hunter is appalled to discover he’s a lawyer intent on suing her media mogul brother. They’re done. But Jacob pursues the understated heiress…and Teagan is tempted. Could the powerhouse attorney be the one to give Teagan the new lease on life she desperately needs? Or is this a star-crossed scandal waiting to explode?

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Author Bio:
Robyn Grady's stories have been published in 29 languages with millions of copies sold worldwide. Her books have appeared at award ceremonies including the National Readers Choice, the Booksellers Best, and Australia's prestigious Romance Book of the Year. Stories in her latest Harlequin Desire series, About That Night, will hit the shelves January and March, 2020. Stay up to date with the latest news at www.robyngrady.com.

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BOOK BLITZ: Slaying Monsters for the Feeble by Annette Marie #GIVEAWAY

Slaying Monsters for the Feeble
Annette Marie
(The Guild Codex: Demonized #2)
Publication date: November 1st 2019
Genres: New Adult, Urban Fantasy

I’m bound to a demon.For my entire life, I avoided magic at all costs. Now, I’m responsible for a demon who wields magic more powerful than the toughest mage or sorcerer.Demons are evil.That’s what my textbooks say. That’s what I see. He’s ruthless, he’s temperamental, he’s cold. But he protects me without fail. I wonder if he’s hiding a heart behind his hostility.My demon is a monster.Heartless or not, my contract with him is illegal and beyond dangerous. Together, we need to find a way to send him back to his own world before anyone discovers our secret. If that wasn’t difficult enough, there’s another problem:My demon isn’t the only monster I should be worried about.
—

From the author of The Guild Codex: Spellbound comes a new series that will plunge an unprepared young woman into the darkest magic of the mythic world.

Goodreads / Amazon—EXCERPT:I cautiously reached under the neck of my sweater and closed my fingers around the cool silver pendant. Withdrawing the infernus, I settled it on my chest. Darren’s gaze followed it, his expression torn between curiosity and derision.“Would you like to see my demon?” I asked him. “Right now?” He crossed his arms over his thick chest. “Yeah, let’s see it.”I ran my thumb across the infernus. Let’s play the game, Zylas.The pendant blazed with crimson light. Power spilled down, hit the floor, then pooled upward into my demon’s shape. The glow flared into solidity, then faded. Zylas stood still and silent, staring blankly at nothing in a flawless imitation of an enslaved demon with no autonomy.Despite his ornery defiance, Zylas was nothing if not intelligent. He knew this moment was too crucial for disobedience. Both our lives depended on his acting skills.At his appearance, gasps flew through the pub and I resisted the urge to shrink. We had everyone’s attention now. They were staring at Zylas, measuring him, judging him, and all he could do was stand there and endure it. At least no one laughed this time.“Seriously?”Or maybe the laughter hadn’t begun yet.“This is your demon?” Darren planted his feet almost on Zylas’s toes, smirking into the demon’s face. “I’ve never seen such a small, pathetic demon in my life!”The blond woman mock-whispered to the rangy guy, “Do you think she got it for cheap because it’s a runt?”When Darius, the Crow and Hammer’s GM, had allowed me to join, I’d hoped this guild would be different from the Grand Grimoire, but maybe all guilds were the same. Maybe Zylas and I were too small and weak for anyone to respect.The barbed tip of his tail gave the tiniest twitch, unnoticed by the watching mythics.“Forgetting something, dumbasses?” Tori’s acidic snap cut into my thoughts. “Robin and her demonkilled the unbound one on Halloween. Obviously they’re not weak.”She was defending us?“Not weak?” Darren scoffed. His hand rose toward Zylas. “This thing couldn’t—” Uh-oh, not good. “Don’t touch him.”Darren’s reach stuttered, then he boldly rammed his palm into Zylas. The demon didn’t move and Darren stumbled backward, thrown off balance. He shook his head and glanced at his hand, as though confused about how his powerful muscles had failed to affect the shorter, lighter demon.He thought we were weak. No one here respected us. Unwelcome and disregarded … but what had Tori said? Don’t let him push you around.I pressed my thumb against the sigil at the center of the infernus. Zylas?I didn’t need to finish the thought—his hand was already closing around Darren’s throat. With strengththe mythic could only dream of, Zylas swung him off his feet and slammed him down on the bar.Not too rough, I warned.He bent Darren backward over the bar. The mythic spluttered and flailed helplessly. Everyone else had withdrawn, shock and fear on their faces. I hated that we had to prove our strength, but this was much better than last time. Zylas was making the proper impression without having to pound half the guild into the floor.I straightened my glasses, turned toward the bartender, and forced a smile. “Could I have a water, please, Tori?”

Author Bio:
Annette Marie is the author of Amazon best-selling YA urban fantasy series Steel & Stone, its prequel trilogy Spell Weaver, and romantic fantasy trilogy Red Winter. Her first love is fantasy, but fast-paced adventures and tantalizing forbidden romances are her guilty pleasures. She lives in the frozen winter wasteland of Alberta, Canada (okay, it's not quite that bad) with her husband and their furry minion of darkness—sorry, cat—Caesar. When not writing, she can be found elbow-deep in one art project or another while blissfully ignoring all adult responsibilities. Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

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BOOK BLITZ: The Dirty Dozen (Vampire Edition) #GIVEAWAYS

The Dirty Dozen – Vampire Edition
Publication date: November 2nd 2019
Genres: Adult, Fairy Tales, Paranormal, Romance

12 Authors ~ 12 Novellas ~ 12 VampiresIt only takes one little bite to draw you in and hold you captive.Twelve authors have set out to ensnare you with their words.The stories of their vampires traveling the earth, hidden in the shadows and waiting for their one true love to surrender to their ways, will leave you searching for your own.Contributing Authors:
Ice Cold Justice – Scarlette AmourI’ve been hiding a terrible secret. One that’ll see the end of me if anyone finds out…Add an annoying old flame threatening to out my new secret…What’s a girl to do?

I Am Here – Ann Mickan
Morfran’s simple existence can become a life worth living and loving. But the price of a new life is the choices to be made.

Emma JamesOne night at Elysium with the dark, sexy stranger would unlock Miss Bennett’s secrets and rock her world.

Angel of my Nightmare – L. FirmingerWill Marcus find his maker?What secrets is she hiding? 

The Raven – N.L. HoffmannRule number one, don’t fall for the enemy.Will she end up battling against another assassin, or will their growing attraction have them breaking all the rules?

Donta Naughty – Nathalie M.L. RömerCould Donta and Carlotta be freed from the eternal curse that had made them both creatures of the night? 

Voices Beneath – A.D. SaddlerThe voices in her head brought us together.Blood and bones might tear us apart.

Blood Mated – Kate BonhamI was born from a forbidden romance, always hidden away. But the truth is out…and now my life is in danger.Mine and my blood mate’s, but if they think they’re going to hurt him, they have no idea who they’re messing with.

The Mad Hatter Vampire Prince – Kia Carrington-RussellThey called him a clown, who had a crown, and who would never look down on his left.She had a name, that he would soon learn–but perhaps it would already be too late.

Cardinal – Kathleen KellyJanardan ~ the world’s oldest Vampire.Liberator from the cycle of birth and death.

Tasting Her – Kay MareeMy mate is out there somewhere. She is the inferno I need to survive, and I will make her long for my taste as much as I long for hers.

Blood Lust – Gemma ArlingtonI knew the instant I walked into the club; I didn’t belong here.It was strange, odd… different but I liked places that were slightly out of the ordinary.

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BOOK BLITZ: The Black Widow by Christa Simpson

The Black Widow
Christa Simpson
(Dark Secrets Duet #2)
Publication date: October 28th 2019
Genres: Adult, Psychological Thriller

Day by day, piece by piece, he puts it all together. What will happen when he finally realizes what I’ve done?There was a time when I thought I was simply a magnet for trouble. Now I know better. If you want to call me the Black Widow, I’m going to own it. You want a monster? I’ll give you one. I’ll alienate you from everything you know and love. You will learn the hard way that evil doesn’t only lurk in our imaginations.The tall, dark and handsome cop would be well-advised to steer clear of me. He knows better than to get tangled in the web I’ve weaved. I warned him. I told him not to mess with me if he values his life. You’re probably wondering what’ll happen when my darkest truths unravel. It’s not my problem anymore. If he sticks around, he will be the author of his own misfortune.Caught in my own dangerous game of elimination, will he be the last nail in my coffin?

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—EXCERPT:Ignorance truly is bliss. My car pulls away from the curb, my tousled hair dancing in the wind as if our autumn is unseasonably warm. You can’t believe everything you see. In all honesty, it’s not that warm. I have a chill running through my body that I can’t escape. I probably would have closed my car window a long time ago, if I could have, but it’s stuck halfway down. I’m just lucky the raincloud over there is keeping its distance. Lucky. Hah! I’m lucky like that man up ahead.Look at his tidy pile of leaves. He probably spent his entire morning raking those things into a heap next to the curb and is proud of himself for beating the rain. I smirk at the rotund, older man in his front yard. He hasn’t even had enough time to put away his rake. Instead, he stands there proudly, leaning against the handle and scratching his overfed belly. I can’t resist. Someone has handed this opportunity to me, and I simply can’t pass it up.My foot presses deeper into the accelerator, thrusting my small car forward. I glare at the old man from beneath dark lashes. His eyes immediately connect with mine, begging me to rethink what I’m about to do. That only encourages me further. I veer toward the pile, blasting through the leaves and cheering with a crazed depth to my voice.“Woooooo!”I feel so alive. When the old man stumbles after me, frantically waving his hands with leaves raining around him, I smile harder. A smile. For the longest time, I forgot my mouth could even do that. It feels like my world has shifted, though, and maybe, just maybe things are looking up for me. I force the images of my tormented childhood down, forgetting about my mother’s wasted apologies and the gurgling sound that came from my father’s throat when he drowned before my very eyes. I’ve blown through enough of my life boo-hooing over them. No more.I carry on down the road, wearing a real smile—not the fake one I wore throughout my unfortunate youth, being spread between perverted foster fathers and overbearing relatives who wanted to make themselves feel better by sporadically treating me like family. No, remembering how I was pawned off to the system never helps. This is why my smiles never last long.With a deep breath, my smile wilts, but I remind myself that I’m not a teenager anymore. I’m finally free of those people and their unanswered promises. No one’s in charge of my destiny but me. I have to grab life by the balls and make shit happen. Just because my late parents had a few screws loose, doesn’t mean I have to be stuck in my own self-inflicted hell, right? Right?I pause at a yellow light and proceed into the intersection, flicking on my left turn signal as I make the turn in front of an oncoming sports car. It’s a dumb move. Traffic is thick, and the dude driving the small, black car is in a hurry to go nowhere. He swerves around my rear bumper and lays on his horn. I flip him the bird and hold it there for a few long seconds, completely lost in my own world. I forget to reacquaint myself with the car in front of me. Traffic is now at a standstill.I quickly jam onto my brake, but I’m screwed. My balding tires argue with the pavement and make a loud screeching noise while my front-end slams into the car in front of me. A loud popping noise is the only warning I have before wearing a face full of airbag. I don’t care if it looks like a fluffy cloud; it feels like a brick wall, and I wonder if I have a broken nose. I struggle to breathe as I push the bag out of my face and clutch at my nose, sighing deeply, choking on the stale air.Way to go, Clarisse.“Are you okay?” a man shouts, reaching through my half-open window and tearing my car door from its hinges to pull me free of the wreckage. He thinks my window is broken because of the accident, and I’m going to let him keep on thinking that.I’m still holding my nose when I collapse into his arms and look up into apologetic eyes. “I’ve had better days,” I admit.“But you’re alive.”The corners of my lips quirk upwards oh so slightly. “There’s that.”He helps me right myself, and I push off of him once I regain my footing. “My bumper didn’t even see you coming,” he says with a smile.I assess the damage. My scrappy little car is banged up pretty good, but it’ll drive. The back end of his car sits on the ground in a heap of ruin. “Is it true that they can pick that thing up and reattach it?” I ask, already knowing the answer.“I don’t know. See the way the fender is curled under. That’ll be a hard fix.”I nod, wondering if I should throw my entire first year of college away and run for the hills. The dark cloud that had been following me finally catches up. My eyes wander to the bystanders who scatter for cover as droplets of rain start to pelt the pavement.“I can’t afford to fix your car.” I look back to him, trying not to admire his clean-cut military hairstyle. “I’m sorry but I just can’t.”His eyes sink into mine while he thinks on it, the rain quickly dampening his clothes and mine. He takes my hand to get my attention. It works.“What do you say we talk to these nice policemen over here and then I take you out for a coffee? I’m sure we can work something out.”

Author Bio:
Christa Simpson is the Bestselling Author of contemporary romances with a twist and dark, twisty psychological thrillers. Her stories are loaded with passion, suspense and sarcasm. She’s a small-town Canadian girl living in Southwestern, Ontario, with her husband and two beautiful daughters. Check out her stories and get ready for some emotionally charged entertainment!

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BOOK BLITZ: Angel Blue (Season One) by Jennifer Silverwood #GIVEAWAY

Angel Blue: Season One
Jennifer Silverwood
(Seven Deadly Sins, #1)
Publication date: August 14th 2019
Genres: Adult, Urban Fantasy

All Eanna wants is to forget the night she lost everything, but fate has other plans. A lifetime ago, the cursed burned her home and everyone she loved. Now she’s haunted by a dangerous legacy.Her guardian, Etlu is determined to make Eanna into a queen, even if it means sacrificing his happiness. Surrounded by enemies, Eanna and Etlu have no choice but to give in to destiny.Wil and his sister Isabol are searching for the chosen princess, but Wil finds more than he bargained for in Eanna. He doesn’t plan on falling in love with her. A love like theirs can only end in tragedy and death.There can only be one outcome when chosen and cursed collide: a world bathed in fire and blood.

Goodreads / Amazon—EXCERPT:In the end, it takes Eanna tapping into her accursed gift before she’s able to give the fire life. She hasn’t been here in months, maybe longer. The door was difficult to open at first, and evidence of rodents and birds is scattered across the floor of the cabin. The makeshift pillows and blankets are frozen stiff as she lays her guest down to sweat over them. The cold never bothers her, but her guest is shivering.From shock, she dimly thinks. She plops him on her pallet and begins her impossible task. The stench of his blood and sickness is overwhelming.You should have killed him…burned out his damned soul…Eanna shivers and adds kindling to the blue flames dancing in the hearth. Her fire will last longer, at least. As long as she doesn’t lose control again.“I will not lose control,” she says to the flame.Wil moans, and Eanna reluctantly turns. Dim firelight plays over his exposed, scarlet-streaked skin.She looks to the bucket of snow beside her and the clean rags she made from an old blanket. It’s not ideal, but it will have to do.“They are cursed, Anu,” Etlu’s voice chants in her head.Eanna stiffens her spine as she wills her flame to grow. She brings the bucket and rags to his side and sets to work. Her hand trembles as she hesitates just above his ruined torso.Wil’s voice rolls against her ear as his hips lazily press against hers, insistent and yet undemanding. “What are you doing celebrating your birthday alone, in a place like this?”She turns her head, so her lips graze his scruff. “Enjoying myself.”“Are you?”She mops blood off the hard planes of his chest. With each brush of her rag, the ruby stains give way to a coppery gold. His skin is so much warmer than her own, warmer than a human’s.I should have noticed that night in the bar.He had fooled her, in that den of human sweat and lust.Sweat beads on his forehead as his face twists in pain. Eanna cannot look at his face without remembering their kiss. She watches the rise and fall of his chest. She dips the rag into the melting snow and brings it back to clean his bullet wounds. His legs are worse.“They feel no pain, remorse, or compassion,” Etlu told her.It doesn’t help assuage her guilt. This isn’t the first time she hates herself, but it is the first time she has betrayed everything her parents died for. He wears the face of a man she found comfort and connection with, nothing more.He is cursed.No matter how normal he looks now, all Eanna sees is the fire his people used to destroy hers. She should have killed him when she had the chance. If they are caught, no mercy will be granted to her, no matter her lineage.This goes above and beyond sneaking outside the compound.Her hand stills as her thumb accidentally brushes his golden torso. Heat from his skin shoots through her fingertip and up her arm. Her pulse accelerates.“They will take off your head as soon as they look at you. They are hollow shells of nothing,” Etlu would remind her.But Wil looks helpless now, so near to death. It is her fault. And no matter what he is, he made her feel alive for one stolen moment.

Author Bio:
Jennifer Silverwood was raised deep in the heart of Texas and has been spinning yarns a mile high since childhood. In her spare time, she reads and writes and tries to sustain her wanderlust, whether it's the Carpathian Mountains in Transylvania, the highlands of Ecuador, or a road trip to the next town. Always on the lookout for her next adventure, in print or reality, she dreams of one day proving to the masses that everything really is better in Texas. She is the author of three series--Heaven's Edge, Wylder Tales, and the Borderlands Saga--and the stand-alone titles Stay and She Walks in Moonlight. She released her first serialized Urban Fantasy, Angel Blue in August 2018.

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BOOK BLITZ: On His Bended Knee by Shanae Johnson #GIVEAWAY #PurpleHeartRanch

On His Bended Knee: a Sweet Marriage of Convenience series
Shanae Johnson
(The Brides of Purple Heart Ranch, #1)
Publication date: October 11th 2018
Genres: Adult, Romance, Western

She needed a place to stay. He needed to save his ranch. Together they just might make a home.Sgt. Dylan Banks lost more than just his leg in the war. His fiancée and family turned their backs on him as well. Now, he’s determined to create a safe place where wounded warriors like himself can heal. But a hidden zoning law requires all residents of the Purple Heart Ranch to be married. To save his dream, Dylan and his men will have to tie the knot—but can a man with such deep scars inside and out believe in love again?Maggie Shaw lost both her job as a veterinary technician and her apartment on the same day. Who knew her unreasonable landlord would kick her out for being four dogs over the one pet limit? Now, she and her gang of special-needs dogs are in trouble. Fate puts her in Dylan’s path with a proposal that seems too good to be true—but can her heart bear a loveless marriage of convenience?Dylan yearns to reach out for Maggie’s healing touch, but he keeps his distance, convinced his wounds are too deep for her embrace. Maggie sees past Dylan’s injuries, but if she fails to capture his heart they both could lose it all: her beloved animals, his ranch, and each other.Find out if love can truly heal all wounds in this light-hearted, sweet romance of convenient arrangements that unfold into lasting love. On His Bended Knee is the first in a series of marriage of convenience tales featuring Wounded Warriors who are healed with the power of love.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google PlayOnly 99¢ for a limited time!The complete series:
—EXCERPT:“Wives? As in married? To women?”“Unless there’s something about you that we should know, Ramos.”Xavier Ramos reached over and tried to smack Reed Cannon in the head, but the other man raised his prosthetic arm to ward off the attack. There was nothing wrong with his reflexes. Ramos’s flesh hit Cannon’s metal and Ramos winced.“Can’t we get the zoning changed?” asked Sean Jeffries. He had his sunglasses off now that they were all inside one of the ranch’s barns.The men had converted the old barn into a gaming room complete with large flat screens, an old-fashioned record player and tape deck, and every gaming console including an antique Atari which Rees had brought back to life with his techno-genius.“It would be a long process,” said Dylan. “And in the meantime, we’d all have to leave the ranch while the powers that be waded through all the red tape.”The men were lounging in recliners or sitting on bar stools, but an anxious hum went around the room. The ranch was their haven, their home. Even for those who had somewhere that they could go, leaving was not an option.Unlike with Dylan, Jeffries’s family hadn’t rejected him. They called the ranch on a regular basis. It was Jeffries who didn’t want them to see him. It wasn’t just the scar on his face that shamed him. He suffered from PTSD and was prone to flashbacks. He could be taken back to the war-torn deserts of the Middle East when he slept, or with loud noises he could readily identify. The men surrounding him knew how to manage his episodes. But Jeffries was terrified of hurting someone he cared about. And so he stayed away from his family and wouldn’t receive their calls.“Aren’t you all missing the obvious?” They all turned to Reed and waited for his revelation. Reed took his time. The man had a bit of the flare for the dramatic at times. “We just need to get married.”Eyes and heads rolled as everyone turned away from the proclamation. Except Fran.“It’s not a bad idea,” Fran said. “People do it all the time. For green cards, for financial stability, some fools even do it for something called love.”Dylan had been such a fool who wanted to get married for love. Or what he thought was love. He had no idea where the plan came from as his own parents hadn’t been in love.Catherine and Charles Banks had married for social standing. The irony was that they couldn’t stand each other. Though the rest of society would never know it. At parties, they put on a show of devotion and compatibility. They used to put on the show at home for Dylan when he was a kid. But they soon stopped caring about what he saw behind the closed doors of their many homes, which they often occupied separately.“Who would want to marry a bunch of broken soldiers?” asked Sean.“Hey, we’re not broken.” Dylan almost believed the words coming out of his own mouth. “We served our country. We are highly skilled. We are loyal, dedicated men.”Though the speech was impassioned, the faces around him looked doubtful.“Frances might have a point,” said Xavier, using the feminization of the name to get under Fran’s skin like they all did from time to time. “There are a lot of hard-up women out there. Some probably need a place to stay, money in their pocket, or just a good lay.”Now it was Dylan who rolled his eyes and neck at the preposterous direction the discussion was taking. He needed his men to focus on viable solutions to this very real problem. But the other men were listening to Xavier’s nonsense.“Dr. Patel is always saying we need a good woman to heal our hearts.” Reed picked up the gauntlet of the insanity. He was a romantic at heart and still believed love was waiting to come into his arms. “Maybe now’s the time.”“Patel had an arranged marriage,” said Fran. “And it worked for him.”“This is the Wild West,” said Reed. “This kind of stuff happened here all the time. Remember the Gold Rush Brides?”“That was California,” Sean said. The man was a walking encyclopedia. “You mean mail order brides.”“It would be email now,” said Fran. “No one uses the postal system.”“We are not finding women on Craig’s List,” said Dylan, pinching the bridge of his nose and squeezing his eyes shut in exasperation.“Then how are we gonna stay here?”Dylan wasn’t sure which man said it, but he knew they all were thinking it. He opened his eyes and faced the room full of men. They’d looked to him for leadership when they were in combat, and they looked at him the same way now. How would they win this particular war on the home front?“We’ll petition the court,” said Dylan. “I have a few contacts in the government.”“We have more recruits coming in a couple of month. What are we gonna do with them?”Dylan didn’t have an answer for that. He didn’t know how he would take in another wounded soldier only to potentially turn the man away. As he prepared to turn around, a flash of fur ran through the room.No, ran wasn’t exactly the right word. Two front paws ran. The two back paws were not there. Instead, two wheels acted as legs that the little dog used to propel himself onward.Dylan wasn’t the only one who spotted the animal. The other soldiers turned and stared at the creature. The dog stared back. It also slowed down as it looked up at all the big humans eying it.The dog had had a grin on his face, but under the close scrutiny, his muzzle closed. He pulled his lolling tongue back into his mouth and let out a low whimper.Dylan bent down to be on the dog’s level. He rested on his good knee, which was a difficult feat for him after a long day. But he had to get a closer look at this dog and his apparatus.The dog made a slow beeline for Dylan. Dylan put his hand out to the dog. The dog gave the back of his hand a tentative sniff and then a lick.Who would do such a thing as to take a dog’s hind legs? But more importantly, who would take the time to make a contraption that gave the animal back a semblance of the life he once knew?“I’m so sorry,” said a feminine voice. “That’s my dog.”Dylan looked up into the face of the woman. She was dressed in a T-shirt and jeans. Her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail. She wasn’t wearing a lick of makeup. She looked fresh, clean, capable.She marched into the room, not like she was on a catwalk, but like she was on a mission. She reached for the dog and he saw her hands were un-manicured. When one of her rough fingers brushed the skin of his forearm, Dylan felt a spark. His breath caught and so did hers.

Author Bio:
Shanae Johnson was raised by Saturday Morning cartoons and After School Specials. She still doesn't understand why there isn't a life lesson that ties the issues of the day together just before bedtime. While she's still waiting for the meaning of it all, she writes stories to try and figure it all out. Her books are wholesome and sweet, but her heroes are hot and her heroines are full of sass!And by the way, the E elongates the A. So it's pronounced Shan-aaaaaaaa. Perfect for a hero to call out across the moors, or up to a balcony, or to blare outside her window on a boombox. If you hear him calling her name, please send him her way! 

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BOOK BLITZ: Princes of the Lower East Side by Meredith Allison #GIVEAWAY

Princes of the Lower East Side
Meredith Allison
(A Scalisi Family Novel, #2)
Publication date: October 28th 2019
Genres: Adult, Historical, Thriller

Mia Scalisi returns in this highly anticipated follow-up to Blood & Whiskey!
Sicily is a paradise on earth Mia Angela Scalisi doesn’t want to leave, but after over a year of peace, obligations—like being Hyman Goldberg’s It Girl at his new nightclub—call her back to New York City.
But everything she’s known in New York has changed…and that might even include the men she once thought were her friends.
When a new, ambitious gangster threatens to take over the old neighborhood, bringing devastation to the poor families who live there, Mia can’t ignore the bonds that tie her to the underworld way of life that killed her brother and set her upon a merciless, bloody path of revenge.
With her brother’s widow, her niece, and a mysterious, devoted bodyguard at her side, Mia must reclaim her position as head of her dead brother’s business, establish herself as the reigning queen among the princes of the Lower East Side, and make the ultimate decision: who lives, and who must die.

Goodreads / Amazon—EXCERPT:Gloria said, hands on her hips. “You promised my husband to watch out for me and Em, but he would want me to watch over you, too. You need someone to look after you, Mia. To care for you. Even if you don’t think you need anyone.”
“I have Paolo.” Mia had asked him once if he’d known what she’d done in America. He understood English, so she spoke both Sicilian and English to him. Paolo had responded with a single, firm nod. And that had been the only time they had discussed it—as much of a discussion as could be had with a mute man.
When she’d announced to her family two weeks ago that she was returning to New York, there seemed an unspoken understanding Paolo would also make that trip. Nevertheless, Don Catalano, who had made the arrangements for her, had told her in no uncertain terms the fierce Sicilian man would be accompanying her as her bodyguard and remaining by her side in New York.
She had come to appreciate his silent presence, his protective hovering. It was hard to understand why he had chosen her to devote himself to, but it wasn’t a gift she was interested in questioning.
“I don’t trust Paolo,” Gloria said. “How do you trust a man who can’t talk?”
“I find him the most trustworthy of men for that reason alone.”
“You can’t travel and live on your own with a man you’re not married to,” she insisted. “You’re still just a young girl, after all.”
“I’ll be twenty-three in September.”
“You are a child,” Gloria repeated softly.
Mia smiled, a little bitterly, down at her small case of cosmetics, dropping the envelope on top. When she was a child, she’d lost both of her parents—her father to a heart attack when she was just a toddler. Her mother had died in a terrible fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, leaping from the top of the building in order to avoid being burned by the flames. Mia and Nick had been forced to hustle the streets, begging for handouts, learning poker to swindle the gangsters, stealing food, freezing nearly to death in their filthy tenement. She’d become a vaudeville performer, because young girls telling raunchy jokes to older men made money. When Nick had been drafted to the war, she’d worked a dozen hours a day for an abusive woman in a dress factory, just to keep a little food in her stomach. She’d known more about being an adult at twelve than most women her age knew now. Once she might have been proud of that, but now, it only made her sad.
Finally, she looked at Gloria. “I haven’t been a child for a very long time.”

Author Bio:
Meredith Allison has embraced her nerdiness from youth, with minor jaunts of attempting to be "cool" during high school and college. Spoiler alert: she was unsuccessful at fooling anyone. After this dark period, she returned to the light, embracing her bookish nature and penchant for action and horror films, bloody survivalist video games (she's looking at you, Resident Evil and Call of Duty) interspersed with the occasional sweeping fantasy adventure RPG (Final Fantasy, anyone?). Along the way, she developed her knack for storytelling, which began when she was a mere child-person many moons ago.
Meredith is a writer (and reader) of many kinds of fiction, but in particular spy thrillers, military-esque suspense, and historical crime. A native of Lincoln, Nebraska, she is by proxy a Huskers fan (GO BIG RED!), as UNL is her undergraduate alma mater, and moonlights as an obligatory Blue Jays fan due to completing her graduate MFA studies at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.
When she emerges from her writing cave, blinking in dismay at having to be exposed to the cruel light of day yet again, she can be found romping with her two Pomeranians, serving her overlord cat, hanging with her husband, battling it out with the undead or practicing a new kind of magery on her PlayStation, or simply huddled in a dark corner somewhere with just enough light to read a favorite book. Other interests include baking, cooking, and blogging about new restaurants.
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BOOK BLITZ: Shopping for a Baby's First Christmas by Julia Kent #GIVEAWAY

Shopping for a Baby’s First Christmas
Julia Kent
(Shopping, #15)
Publication date: November 27th 2018
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

My mother wants all her kids and grandkids to spend Christmas Eve at her house and wake up on Christmas morning together.Sounds reasonable, right?And it would be.If it weren’t my mother.My husband, Declan, is protesting any involvement, though he’s openly intrigued by the idea of claiming his territory by suggesting we have sex in my childhood bed.And by ‘suggest,’ I mean make a series of really hot offers that make me whimper when I have to say no.Wait – why am I saying no again?Mom has turned her house into a Christmas showcase that makes Frankenmuth look like the picked-over clearance rack at Target on December 26. You know those crazy people on Etsy who make felted gnomes out of belly button lint and use … a certain kind of hair… to make thatched roofs on little decorative elf homes?Those people are saner than my mother.There is no force of nature stronger — and more emotionally volatile — than a fifty-something grandmother determined to create holiday memories.Wait a minute. Maybe there is.My husband.

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—EXCERPT:“Mmmmm,” I hear myself purring as I open my eyes in the big king-size bed at our Victorian B&B here in the Berkshires. A bed that I can stretch out in, because I smell coffee from afar and Dec isn’t between the sheets.Neither is our seven-month-old daughter, Ellie.I have the entire bed to myself. I might be married to a billionaire, but when you’re the mother of a clingy baby, this right here is true luxury.A whiff of cinnamon accompanies that coffee and now I wonder if I’m dreaming. My naked body rolls against the high-thread-count Egyptian cotton and my legs are smooth. As I stretch, I realize my nipples are free. No one is touching me.This must be a dream.In real life, there would be a baby babbling “Da da da da da” in tones that either mean happiness, terror, hunger, or plain old pay-attention-to-me-now-because-I-am-the-center-of-the-universe, you-underling.But not now.In real life, there are always busy fingers exploring my ears and pulling my earrings and poking into my my mouth when I try to talk on the phone.And in real life, little teeth bite down, hard, when my milk runs out.So I must be dreaming, because as I open my eyes, a handsome, hot, endlessly naked man is smiling at me, hair tousled over his forehead as he holds two steaming mugs of coffee and says in a low, happy voice, “You’re up!”

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.Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub / Amazon / Newsletter

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B@@K REVEAL: All of Him {A Single Dad Collection}

All of Him: A Single Dad Collection
Publication date: November 29th 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

A broken relationship.A mother’s death.A mistake made.
Each of these men are struggling to put their lives back together. Whether it be from the loss of the woman who blessed them with their children or a decision made in the heat of passion that changed everything, all they know is they have to try — for their children and for themselves.From these amazing authors comes “All of Him: A Single Dad Collection.”

Before Her by Anita Maxwell

When Jenny arrives in River Falls, a sleepy little town in Montana, she sets herself on a mission to find a job and a place to stay for a few weeks. After traveling the west coast for the last couple of months, she is ready to chill and get some cash behind her before she leaves on the next leg of her journey.Enter the Lonesomes with their gorgeous twin baby boys. The three rugged cowboys steal her breath away and the little boys steal her heart. Before she knows it, she’s agreed to be their nanny for a few weeks while they look for someone permanent.But something Jenny didn’t know when she first entered River Falls was that the town was built on a polygamous way of life. Once the Lonesome brothers set their sights on Jenny, there is almost nothing that will stop these sexy single dads from making her their own.This is a Reverse Harem story, light on steam, but heavy on tension and angst.

The Baby Drop Off by Kelsie Rae

I’m not father material. Hell, I’m not boyfriend material, either. I’m looking-for-a-good-time material with a side of no-strings-attached.But when a baby shows up on my doorstep with a note saying I’m the father, everything changes. With no other options, I reach out to my neighbor.Tasha is the girl-next-door with a side of sugar who’s nice enough to step in as a nanny while I figure out what to do with a freaking kid. I never thought Tasha was my type until I see her loving on my baby.As lines start to blur, and rules get broken, some secrets stay hidden that hold me back from creating a life I never knew I wanted until it was tossed into my lap.I just wish I could convince her to give me a chance, but she won’t even let me try.

Only the Lies by Elle Thorpe

Him: Six foot, four inches. Thor look-alike. Kickass black belt ninja man, and gym owner.Me: Barely five foot. Resembles an overstuffed dumpling. Semi-decent receptionist of the office across the road.Match made in heaven? I think so. Which is why I get to work early each morning, and stare longingly out the window, desperate for my daily glimpse of him.The man doesn’t know I’m alive, and I don’t have the lady balls to do anything about it. Until the postman delivers the gym’s mail to my office. It’s the perfect excuse to strut over there and introduce myself, right?Wrong.When he mistakes me for someone else, I’m so blinded by his abs that I don’t correct him. And now he’s calling me someone else’s name, and I don’t know how to turn this around apart from to bolt back to my desk with my ass jiggling behind me.I never expected he’d follow me.Or anything that happened next.

Broken Down by Paige Taylor

As a teacher, It’s Savannah Torvel’s duty to make sure every student is given the best possible chance at education. When a little girl starts acting out, and calls to the parent go unanswered, it’s perfectly acceptable to storm the parent’s workplace and confront them, right?Broken Down follows the story of Savannah and Mason Bell, two people whose lives keep intersecting. Will they embrace fate or risk disrepair?

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BOOK BLITZ: The Traveler by Shannon Nemechek #GIVEAWAY

The Traveler
Shannon Nemechek
(Chimera Rebellion, #1)
Publication date: December 5th 2019
Genres: Adult, Romance, Time-Travel

As a self-professed book nerd, Army Major Katie Butler has hunted many rare books in her lifetime.While on leave in Savannah Katie visits with a voodoo priestess who tells the story of Eleanor MacAllister and a long-lost book, claimed to be cursed. With her curiosity piqued,Katie is determined to find the lost book and reveal the secrets it holds.What she finds could change everything.Swept back in time, Katie suddenly finds herself immersed in a country at war with itself. Determined to find her way back home, her plans begin to change when she meets the dashing Confederate officer, Captain Colm O’Donnell.Captain O’Donnell despises slavery and when his father leaves him the family plantation, Colm immediately sets out to make changes. Having devoted his life to military service and his family’s plantation, Colm has very little time for anything else. With his country embroiled in war, he has even less free time.Until he meets Katie Butler.Convinced the pretty young woman with sable hair and big blue eyes, is a spy, Colm is determined to find out the truth.Will their secrets destroy the love they have found? Or, will they find a future together?

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Author Bio:
Shannon is a USA Today Bestselling Author of over 18 novels and novellas.Shannon started her writing career while still serving in the US Army. Shannon grew up in Macomb, IL where she graduated from High School in 1987 and soon after joined the US Army. Shannon served from 1987 to 2015 during Operation Desert Storm and during Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. In April 2015 Shannon retired from the US Army with 23 years of service as a Unit Supply Sergeant. She is a mother of 4 children and a grandma to 2 beautiful Granddaughters. She has been married 26 years to her husband, Ken. They reside in Staunton, IL a small town along Old Route 66.Shannon is an award-winning author of multiple novels and short stories. She is best known for her Military Romance series A Warranted Series.Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

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