Heather Gunter's Blog, page 43

Book Blitz: Fighting Redemption by Kate McCarthy

We are so pleased to have the opportunity to re-promote Fighting Redemption by Kate McCarthy.  This was Tami's number 1 in her top ten of 2013 and she thinks everyone should read it!!  

There's a stack of other blogs that have thought the same thing with Fighting Redemption hitting 22 'Top Read' lists for 2013 - that's a fine achievement!! Congratulations Kate!!



Title: Fighting RedemptionAuthor: Kate McCarthyGenre: Contemporary RomanceRelease Date: December 2, 2013


✦★☆ Reviews by Tammy & Kim voted Fighting Redemption BEST BOOK OF 2013!☆★✦
✦★☆ Give Me Books voted Fighting Redemption TOP BOOK OF 2013 and ALL TIME FAVOURITE! ☆★✦ 
✦★☆ Sinfully Sexy Book Reviews voted Fighting Redemption AND Give Me Strength in their TOP BOOKS OF 2013!☆★✦
What Reviewers are saying about Fighting Redemption6 Stars! I just want to shout from the rooftops -- READ THIS BOOK, EVERYONE!!!! Fighting Redemption was everything I could want in a story and more!! It's an unforgettable story about a broken soldier's undying love for a woman who'd always held his heart. I loved every word of this powerful, captivating and emotionally charged book. This is a must-read!! Truly breathtaking! Aestas Book Blog

"5 ++++ Beautiful and Emotional Stars! This was a love story in every sense of the word. It was highly emotive, beautiful, moving, tragic, romantic, passionate, haunting and breathtaking which all makes up to this being one of our favourite reads of 2013." Totally Booked

"Fighting Redemption is heartbreaking, gut punching, inspiring, and beautiful. This is an amazing, poignant journey that I will never forget and goes beyond 5 stars for me and is one of the rare ones that I have to give 6 stars." Reviews by Tammy & Kim

"5 stars - 6 if I could! It's nigh on impossible to put into words how much I loved this book and how much it touched me. Fighting Redemption is unforgettable, powerful, incredibly moving and it will live on my heart for months and years to come." Sinfully Sexy Book Reviews




Ryan Kendall is broken. He understands pain. He knows the hand of violence and the ache of loss. He knows what it means to fail those who need you. Being broken doesn’t stop him wanting the one thing he can’t have; Finlay Tanner. Her smile is sweet and her future bright. She’s the girl he grew up with, the girl he loves, the girl he protects from the world, and from himself.

At nineteen, Ryan leaves to join the Australian Army. After years of training he becomes an elite SAS soldier and deploys to the Afghanistan war. His patrol undertakes the most dangerous missions a soldier can face. But no matter how far he runs, or how hard he fights, his need for Finlay won’t let go.

Returning home after six years, one look is all it takes to know he can’t live without her. But sometimes love isn’t enough to heal what hurts. Sometimes people like him can’t be fixed, and sometimes people like Finlay deserve more than what’s left.

This is a story about war and the cost of sacrifice. Where bonds are formed, and friendships found. Where those who are strong, fall hard. Where love is let go, heartache is born, and heroes are made. Where one man learns that the hardest fight of all, is the fight to save himself.














I’ve just finished reading Fighting Redemption and I feel like I’ve had my heart ripped out, sewn back in and then ripped out all over again.  It is an incredible roller coaster of emotion to read and so powerful in its story telling.  Congratulations Kate McCarthy - this was pure awesome.
Before I touch on the story I want to acknowledge all of the wonderful people that choose a life in the armed forces.  Reading Fighting Redemption I felt so incredibly proud and immensely grateful for the freedoms they ensure.  Fighting Redemption was an absolute celebration of those that serve to protect our country and I am so humbled by what they sacrifice.  Simply telling their story in such an accessible way and hopefully helping more people to understand exactly what they do give, makes Fighting Redemption worthy of five stars in my mind, let alone how wonderful the love story is that surrounds Ryan and Fin.

Ryan Kendall is broken. He understands pain. He knows the hand of violence and the ache of loss. He knows what it means to fail those who need you. Being broken doesn’t stop him wanting the one thing he can’t have; Finlay Tanner. Her smile is sweet and her future bright. She’s the girl he grew up with, the girl he loves, the girl he protects from the world, and from himself.


Ryan was a wonderful character.  So strong and purposeful.  Driven by his one ‘failure’ to protect others.  He deserved so much and yet felt that he deserved nothing.  His connection with Fin was so much a part of both of them that to deny it was like denying a part of himself and yet he fought and fought against his feelings because he didn’t believe he was enough for her.


“Don’t let anyone stop you from being who you need to be, okay?”


I loved Fin too.  Smart, quirky, clumsy and feisty enough to hold her own with the boys.  Her love for Ryan was something she didn’t fully understand and watching her battle him as much as herself dragged me through every emotion possible.  Sometimes I wanted to crack their heads together and tell them to sort their shit out, and yet that was exactly what they were doing, despite how painful it was to watch.  Even with the challenges they faced, one thing that always shone through was the depth and intensity of their love – the challenge was for them to find their way through their own personal mine fields.
The brotherly bond between Ryan and Jake, Fin’s brother was amazing and the strength of their commitment to serve their country simply radiated off the pages.  They both knew without doubt that they had each other’s backs.  Fin was left to wait for both of them to come home from their tours in Afghanistan and how on earth she survived those waits I will never know.
This story was one of the most heartbreaking, love filled stories I have read in a while.  As an Australian I felt connected to the people and places in way that made it all seem incredibly real.  I could relate the characters to people I know and the heartbreak and sadness I felt at times was overwhelming.  So much so that I had to put my kindle down, despite desperately wanting to know what was going to happen I needed the reprieve just in case it went really badly.
There is an amazing cast of characters in Fighting Redemption that will stay with me - Ryan, Fin, Jake, Kyle, Rachael - and even though there could be more story told, there doesn’t need to be.  Fighting Redemption is impeccably written.  Not only does it tell a beautiful love story, but it celebrates the many nameless/faceless soldiers that give us the freedoms that we take for granted on a daily basis.  At the end I sat there, with a quiet tear, so thankful for what I have and for the gentle reminder to make the most of every moment and treasure those dear to me.  The ending, along with the rest of the story, was perfect - thank you Kate McCarthy for this brilliant book.

5 out of 5 stars






Kate McCarthy grew up in a small town outside of Port Macquarie, Australia. Raised in a house just a short walk to the beach, Kate enjoyed the peaceful, relaxed atmosphere and friendships that come from being raised in a friendly, small town area.

She now resides in Brisbane, Australia, a city in the state of Queensland where she works as an accountant, along with a sideline wedding cake business and her writing.
She is married with two children, has two dogs and house in the suburbs, and a pile of friends and family dotted all over the country that help keep her sane.

When she’s not busy running after naughty kids, filthy dogs, crunching numbers, piping buttercream and writing books, you can find her curled up in bed in the early hours of the morning reading new books and re-reading old favourites. Her favourite books are the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward in which she longs to eventually join the brotherhood and change her name to Phierce Mutha.




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Blog Tour: Two Roads by L.M. Augustine

Welcome to our stop on the blog tour for Two Roads by the incredibly talented L.M. Augstine.  This is a gorgeous read that follows Cali and Logan through the tumultuous journey that is falling in love.  It is sweet, funny and all those things that simply make you smile with pleasure as you read.



Title: Two RoadsAuthor: L.M. AugustineHosted By: Romance Addict Book Blog

The only person poetry-loving Cali Monroe hates more than herself is Logan Waters, the geeky kid who lives in the dorm building next to hers.

Ever since Cali's parents told her she would amount to nothing, she has felt entirely inadequate. Friendless and alone, she takes on the mean girl role in hopes it will make her feel better--and Logan serves as the perfect target. He infuriates her with his obnoxiously long lashes, his all too perfect dimpled smile, and his complete lack of personality outside of his intelligence. It doesn't hurt that he's part of the reason her brother is dead, either. So Cali hates him, and he returns the favor. Thus, their prank-filled, insult-driven rivalry is born, and torturing Logan quickly becomes the highlight of her life.

But when Cali's parents set them up on a blind date, she begins to realize Logan might not be as boring as she always thought. He shares her love of poetry, takes a sadistic pleasure in making fun of crepes, and he makes her blush when he calls her smile pretty.

And hey, maybe those long lashes of his aren't that obnoxious after all…


Two Roads is New Adult Romance about finding love, standing out, and learning to embrace who you are. It contains some language and mild sexual content.







The truth is, when Logan and I are going at it like this, we’re in our own little world. A world full of fire and passion and hate and dying puppies, sure, but our own world all the same. It’s just us, just me and him, just our insults and our pranks and our twisted, refreshing, perfect and so screwed-up hate for each other. In a really really really strange way, it’s kind of nice. Actually, “nice” does not even begin to describe it. My hatred for Logan is terrible and refreshing, wonderful and horrible all at once. “Asshole,” I say, letting the hatred seep into my voice, taking a sip out of his hot chocolate. “Bitch,” he replies, and he gulps down more of my precious coffee. Heat pulses between us, and the laughter and gossip and all the other sounds in The Dungeon disappear. The world seems to go silent, and when I glare at Logan, he is all I see. He--in all of his innocence and wit and completely frustrating geekiness. He--with his deep blue eyes and glasses and perfect dimples. He--the guy who ruined my life.



The loss of someone close to you has devastating consequences.  Different people deal with their grief in different ways and often, sharing the pain and loss with those close to you is the hardest thing to do.
Cali is devastated by the loss of her brother.  Not only does she miss his love and support, but she feels guilty that she didn’t do more for him, she is angry at her parents for insisting he be something he wasn’t and she is furious at his best friend Logan for moving on so effortlessly.
In an effort to mask her despair Cali adopts the person of carefree party girl.  She is popular and sought out, the quintessential ‘mean girl’ really - all the while hiding her true self from everyone around her.  Her love of poetry in particular.
When Logan transfers to the same college as Cali an intense rivalry between the two unfolds - punctuated by pranks and name calling:
It’s on, the gesture says, and Logan just smiles.“Loser,” I continue, trying to sound as cold and calm as possible.“Heartless freak,” he shoots right back.“Dickhead.”“Asshole.”“Bastard”“Jackass.”“Guy no one wanted.”“Girl whose parents hate her.”His friends keep jerking their heads back and forth between us.  “Idiot.”“Jerk.”“Imbecile.”“Moron.”“Asshat.”“Oaf.”At that, Logan stops, bites his lip like he’s trying to stop himself laughing, and we both silently declare me the victor of this round.
Some of the pranks the two pull on each other are astonishing and hilarious, to say the least.
Despite the outward animosity between the two there is the solid connection of Ben: Cali’s brother and Logan’s best friend.  And as much as the pranking and insults could be hate filled, it is clear there is something else driving the exchanges between the two.
Unexpectedly they discover a shared love of poetry and there is a subtle shift to their exchanges.  The poetry references are gorgeous (and clearly popular among readers given the number of visible highlights).  They’re subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, messages about love, life and offer inspiration to choose the road less travelled.
Cali allows her love of poetry to relax some of her defences and in doing so, comes to a number of realisations about her life, her parents, her brother Ben and most importantly Logan.
Two Roads is a beautifully written love story, with some inspiring messages about life’s journey.  It sensitively tackles the subject of suicide and the impact this has on those left behind.

4 out of 5 stars




L.M. Augustine is a YA romance author who is obsessed with writing about dorky teenagers, love, and happy endings. He currently lives in New England, where he spends far too much time reading books and screaming at his computer, and he believes that the solution to the world’s problems can be found in chocolate cake.




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Feature Tour: One Tiny Lie by K.A. Tucker

Welcome to our spot on the Feature Tour for One Tiny Lie by K.A. Tucker.  Now available in paperback, One Tiny Lie is book two in the Ten Tiny Breaths series. We get to share with you an excerpt that will definitely make you chuckle as you watch Livie squirm with embarassment!
Be sure to enter the giveaway for a chance to enter a signed copy of Ten Tiny Breaths and One Tiny Lie.



Livie has always been the stable one of the two Cleary sisters, handling her parents' tragic death and Kacey's self-destructive phase with strength and maturity. But underneath that exterior is a little girl hanging onto the last words her father ever spoke to her. “Make me proud,” he had said. She promised she would...and she’s done her best over the past seven years with every choice, with every word, with every action.

Livie walks into Princeton with a solid plan, and she’s dead set on delivering on it: Rock her classes, set herself up for medical school, and meet a good, respectable guy that she’s going to someday marry. What isn’t part of her plan are Jell-O shots, a lovable, party animal roommate she can’t say ‘no’ to, and Ashton, the gorgeous captain of the men’s rowing team. Definitely him. He’s an arrogant ass who makes Livie’s usually non-existent temper flare and everything she doesn’t want in a guy. Worse, he’s best friends and roommates with Connor, who happens to fits Livie’s criteria perfectly. So why does she keep thinking about Ashton?

As Livie finds herself facing mediocre grades, career aspirations she no longer thinks she can handle, and feelings for Ashton that she shouldn’t have, she’s forced to let go of her last promise to her father and, with it, the only identity that she knows.





“Look, about Saturday night… Can we just pretend it never happened?” he asks, sliding his hands into his pockets.

My mouth drops for a second as my brain replays those words. The words I’ve been playing over and over in my own head for the last three days. Can I? I’d like to. It would make it easier if I could just press a Delete button on all the images that still blaze in my head, making me suddenly blush and lose focus on…everything. “Sure,” I say with a smile. “Well . . . as long as we can get my sister and Reagan to pretend as well.”

One arm lifts to rub the back of his head, pulling his shirt tighter against his chest, enough that I can see the curves. The ones I had my hands all over. “Yeah, well, I figure your sister can’t cause too much trouble, being from out of town.”


“No, she can’t,” I agree. She can just randomly text me pictures of a chubby bald man holding a tattoo gun to your ass, like she did yesterday. I promptly erased it, but I’m sure that’s not the last of them.

“And Reagan won’t say a word,” I hear Ashton say. Dropping his arm to his side, he looks off in the distance, muttering more to himself, “She’s good like that.”

“Okay, great, well . . .” Maybe I can just put all this behind me and get back to being me. Livie Cleary. Future doctor. Good girl.

Ashton looks back at my face, his eyes dropping to my lips for a second, likely because I’m chewing on the bottom one so much I’m about to gnaw it off. I feel as though I should say something more. “I hardly remember it, so . . .” I let my voice drift off as I deliver that lie with a degree of coolness that surprises me. And impresses me.

His head tilts to the side and he looks off again, as if deep in thought. Then an amused grin touches his lips. “I’ve never had a girl tell me that before.”

A tiny smile tugs at the corner of my mouth as I look down to study his sneakers, feeling like I’ve finally scored a point. Livie: one. Mortifying conversation: a million. “I guess there’s a first time for everything.”

His low, throaty laugh pulls my attention back up to see twinkling eyes. He’s shaking his head as if thinking of a private joke.

“What?”

“Nothing. It’s just . . .” There’s a pause, as though he’s not sure whether he should say it or not. In the end, he decides to, delivering my pinnacle of humiliation with a wide grin. “You had a lot of firsts that night, Irish. You kept pointing each one out.”

I can’t keep the strangled sound from escaping, as if I’m dying. Which I might be, given my heart just stopped beating. I don’t know whether my arms slackened or I actually threw them in the air to cover my gasp, but somehow I’ve lost the death grip I had on my textbooks. They end up scattered all over the grass. Right next to the last shred of my dignity.

I practically collapse to collect my books as I rack my brain. The problem is, I don’t remember talking to Ashton a whole lot. And I certainly don’t remember pointing out all my—

That stupid vault opens up in my brain, just enough to let another explicit memory slip out. A flash of that brick wall against my back and Ashton against my front and my legs wrapped around his waist and him pressing against me. And me, whispering in his ear that I’ve never felt that before and how it’s harder than I thought it would be…

“Ohmigod,” I moan, clutching my stomach. I’m sure I’m going to be sick. I’m going to become an exhibitionist vomiter.


Born in small-town Ontario, Kathleen published her first book at the age of six with the help of her elementary school librarian and a box of crayons. She is a voracious reader and the farthest thing from a genre-snob, loving everything from High Fantasy to Chick Lit. Kathleen currently resides in a quaint small town outside of Toronto with her husband, two beautiful girls, and an exhausting brood of four-legged creatures.



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Cover Reveal: Twice in a Lifetime by Ruthie Henrick

Title: Twice In a Lifetime
Author: Ruthie HenrickGenre: Contemporary RomanceExpected Release Date: January 24, 2014Cover Designer: Mae I Design and PhotographyHosted by: Love Between the Sheets Promotions

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Is it possible to find your one true love…twice?

Blind date. When Allie and Ben are thrown together to help their friends out of a bind, they find the unexpected – and unwanted - spark of attraction difficult to ignore. Surrendering to it, they marry and live their happyish-ever-after – until Ben’s death reveals a betrayal that rocks Allie’s world.

The sidelines. Where Jake has hovered for the past fifteen years, business partners with his best friend, in love with his best friend’s wife. He’s shocked by his friend’s duplicity, overcome by the guilt of a deathbed promise. But he’s waited half a lifetime for a chance to love Allie, and it’s time to make his move.

Marriage. Allie might be ready to take the slow slide from friend to lover, but a lifetime is a leap she won’t agree to. She can’t deprive Jake of the family he’s never had but longs for – the family she can no longer give him. How can she refuse him, though, when he sets out to prove the only family he needs – has ever wanted – is her



“I’m in love with you, Allie. I’ve always loved you.”

Allie gasped and jerked her hands from around his, slapping her fists to her chest like it would protect her. “No. Jake, no. You can’t. I can’t.” Frantic now, her eyes were wide with alarm, her breaths coming in short gasps. “I promised I’d take care of you, too. I…can’t.”

The corners of his lips lowered until his smile was but a flimsy substitute. He’d come so far already. He’d taken the first halting step, he couldn’t let her shut him down. To see this through he had to leap.

“I learned—a long time ago—to be your friend, Allie. It was the only way I could be a part of your life.” A lifetime of yearning clotted his throat as the words, full of emotion, spilled from his mouth like floodwaters breaching a dam. “But now, now Ben’s been gone a long time and we’ve both done a lot of healing.” He reached for her hands again, lifted them from where they’d drifted to her lap.

“You’re an amazing woman, resilient and strong. I want to be your friend, but I love you. I want more.” Amazingly enough, the words he was unable to rehearse earlier came instinctively now. He brushed his lips across her knuckles.

“I need you, Allie. I need to be with you. I need to come home to you at the end of the day. To share my life with you, and to share yours. To sleep with you at night, and wake with you in the morning. And I think you need me too.”

There it was. His heart - laid on the line for her to cherish or destroy. It cost him, but the past three years had cost Allie as well. Cost more than the time spent taking back her independence, but the reward was ineffable – Allie as a strong, resilient woman. Could he ever make her understand how proud he was of her?

A large gray moth fluttered against the screen of the open glass door. The antique Regulator clock ticked against the far wall. He sat, facing her, searching her eyes, searching her heart, waiting for a sign, scared to death.

Allie lifted her chin, determined steel gray eyes connecting with his, her fingers tightened around his, her face impassive.

“No, Jake. I don’t need you.

***

“Thank you for last night, Jake.”

He drew his eyebrows together in confusion, tightened his fingers around hers and drew her to a halt. “You waiting for me to say you’re welcome, Allie? Because thank you doesn’t begin to cover how I feel about last night.”


Hi there! I’m Ruthie Henrick and I write romantic women’s fiction and contemporary romance novels. A few things maybe you’d like to know about me: I’m an Arizona girl. Married to my high school sweetheart. We have three sons. I have a one-click compulsion. I’m in a committed relationship with coffee. And Facebook. Stop by and say hi. I love to chat with readers.


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Release Day Blitz: Shelter You by Alice Montalvo-Tribue

She's mine.

That was the first thought that came to my mind when I held my baby in my arms at seventeen. I didn't care that my parents had already promised to give her to a wealthy family. That they were forcing me to give her away.

She was mine.

I ran away from that hospital, from that family, from the only life I knew. I planned to start over with what little money I had, determined to make something of myself despite the odds.

Then Logan Tate came along.

Gorgeous and controlling, he claimed he was trying to help me, and he didn't care that I was just another teenage pregnancy story.

But I don’t trust him. I don't trust anyone. And if Logan knew the real secrets and lies I was keeping inside, he wouldn't dare try to shelter me.






Alice Montalvo-Tribue lives with her husband and daughter in New Jersey. She has a bachelors degree in communications and is currently working on her masters degree. She spends most of her free time reading, writing, and when the weather permits lounging out on a beach.




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Cover Reveal: Mending Heartstrings by Felicia Lynn

Just when life seems to be manageable, you’re thrown radically off course by “the one”. “The one” you weren’t expecting. “The one” who single handedly holds the key to the tattered and rusted lock to the walls surrounding your heart. Letting her into your protected sanctuary will only serve one purpose, intentional infliction of pain and heartache.

Jon is a man on a mission with only one agenda, to survive…to survive his past, and avoid letting his future be consumed by his history. It’s all really simple, until she walks into his world and turns it, on its axis. She makes him yearn for things he never wanted, or at least didn’t realize he ever would. Now his dreams and writings are consumed with the fantasy that this girl could change everything. But deep down he knows she deserves better. Better than him. Better than anyone he’s ever met.

He’s the lead guitarist for Garrett McKenna’s band. His life consists of touring, studio time, and writing music. That’s it. Staying healthy means keeping his routine, which has been easy enough until this little effervescent beauty rocks his world. Now he’s left questioning everything and doing some soul searching to decide if he’s equipped to give what he knows she needs and deserves.

Whitney avoids love at all costs. She’s not scared of it. She’s too strong to be that weak. She refuses to allow herself to lose her mind over another person, when there’s a high probability of getting her heart broken. She’s witnessed it more times than she can count, and she’s less than interested in taking the gamble.

Her strong will has served her well in life. Very few people know her secrets. She prefers to keep it that way. Her friends and family own her heart and deep devotion. She could easily do without the rest of the population but plays nice so she doesn’t appear to be the major bitch she knows she is on the inside.

Everything in her life makes sense. Her life is filled with more love and laughter than most will ever see, and it feels complete to her. She’s simply satisfied…until him.

He complicates things. His life isn’t something she understands or is willing to try to figure out. But she can’t keep her mind from wandering to the scruff faced, gorgeous guitarist, no matter how hard she tries.

He’s everything she’s never wanted, yet her heart is telling her differently. She fears she’s diving headfirst off the cliff of heartache. She’ll never recover from her brief no-strings weekend with this man. If she opens her heart it will be “the end”… no matter what. The question is what kind of ending will it be? Not all fairy tales have the happily ever after.



Felicia Lynn is a transplanted Florida girl, born and raised, who lives just north of Atlanta, GA. She spends most of her days holed up in a cozy chair with a cup of tea and her laptop, writing about the characters that live in her head. When she’s not writing you’ll find her hanging out with her family and friends! She loves reading, taking long walks, chatting with her Facebook family, and listening to music, especially live music. A self-declared lover of all things baseball, she is obsessed with every aspect of the game!!!

Felicia writes contemporary romance, because love stories make people happy. Even in the midst of anguish and turmoil, true love can turn life around, and the process is beautiful. Most of Felicia's stories are based on real life experiences, which she embellishes to tell a story. She will soon be releasing her second novel, Mending Heartstrings and is currently working on her third novel, titled Love’s Learning Curve.


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Paperback Release - One Tiny Lie by K.A. Tucker

 One Tiny Lie by K.A. Tucker is now available in paperback!   One Tiny Lie is book two in the Ten Tiny Breaths series. Make sure to check back tomorrow when we get to share an excerpt from this gorgeous book with you.  
Don't miss the giveaway for a chance to enter a signed copy of Ten Tiny Breaths and One Tiny Lie.



Livie has always been the stable one of the two Cleary sisters, handling her parents' tragic death and Kacey's self-destructive phase with strength and maturity. But underneath that exterior is a little girl hanging onto the last words her father ever spoke to her. “Make me proud,” he had said. She promised she would...and she’s done her best over the past seven years with every choice, with every word, with every action.

Livie walks into Princeton with a solid plan, and she’s dead set on delivering on it: Rock her classes, set herself up for medical school, and meet a good, respectable guy that she’s going to someday marry. What isn’t part of her plan are Jell-O shots, a lovable, party animal roommate she can’t say ‘no’ to, and Ashton, the gorgeous captain of the men’s rowing team. Definitely him. He’s an arrogant ass who makes Livie’s usually non-existent temper flare and everything she doesn’t want in a guy. Worse, he’s best friends and roommates with Connor, who happens to fits Livie’s criteria perfectly. So why does she keep thinking about Ashton?

As Livie finds herself facing mediocre grades, career aspirations she no longer thinks she can handle, and feelings for Ashton that she shouldn’t have, she’s forced to let go of her last promise to her father and, with it, the only identity that she knows.





Born in small-town Ontario, Kathleen published her first book at the age of six with the help of her elementary school librarian and a box of crayons. She is a voracious reader and the farthest thing from a genre-snob, loving everything from High Fantasy to Chick Lit. Kathleen currently resides in a quaint small town outside of Toronto with her husband, two beautiful girls, and an exhausting brood of four-legged creatures.



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Cover Reveal: All the Pretty Poses (Pretty #2) by M. Leighton

He never wanted to be a hero…until she needed him to be.


Strength…

It took Kennedy Moore years to put her life back together after Reese Spencer shattered it. But she did. Now, years later, strong and independent, she is in pursuit of a single dream—to dance with the Altman American Dance Theater. Unfortunately, Kennedy is learning that a girl from nowhere with no money and no contacts might never be able to reach her goal.

That is, until Reese reappears, offering a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that Kennedy just can’t refuse. In exchange for working on his yacht for a few short weeks, he’ll get her an audition with the famous dance troupe. All Kennedy has to do is keep her head down, work hard and resist Reese. That sounds easy enough, right?

Weakness…
Reese doesn’t want to make it easy for Kennedy. Seeing her again has started a fire in his blood—an unwelcome one. It took him years to forget about her before, so this time he has a plan. It’s simple: Get Kennedy on his yacht, seduce her, get her out of his system, move on with his life. That sounds easy enough, right?

But the one thing Reese didn’t plan for was Kennedy herself—a girl so strong yet so broken, she makes him want to rescue her, to take care of her. To save her. Even if he has to save her from himself.



 

M. Leighton is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Wild Ones and The Bad Boys romance trilogies. She is a native of Ohio, relocated to the warmer climates of the South, where she lets her mind wander to romantic settings with sexy Southern guys much like the one she married and the ones you'll find in her latest books. When her thoughts aren't roaming in that direction, she'll be riding horses, swimming in ponds and experiencing life on a ranch, all without leaving the cozy comfort of her office.


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All the Pretty Lies (Pretty #1) is available now

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Coming 26 January 2014

Release Day Blitz & Blog Tour: Permanent Lines by Ashley Wilcox

Welcome to our stop on the Release Day Blitz and Blog Tour for Permanent Lines by Ashley Wilcox.  There's lots for you to check out in this post: Book Trailer, Excerpt and a fabulous giveaway to enter.



Merrick Drake.

Bartender, dirt bike racer, and far from settling down…until that one race, and that one girl that changed everything.

Amelia Driscoll.

Amelia took Merrick by surprise, bringing out emotions that he never knew existed. Amelia stole his heart…

Only to break it.

When fate puts Merrick and Amelia back together, it doesn’t come without a price- it comes with vengeance, determination, and putting his life on the line for the one he loves.

But, how much is Merrick willing to put on the line to have a future with no reason to hide? In the end, fate will decide...

Who's permanent.





Chapter 1 
~ One week since Amelia ~ 
It was just past two o’clock in the afternoon. The sun was shining, the streets buzzing below…everything was just as it usually was except for one thing—it was another day on the imaginary calendar that I had in my head that counted the days I hadn’t heard from Amelia.

We completely hit it off the night of the race. We spent that entire night together, woke up the next morning wrapped around each other, then spent that whole next day together with breakfast at the local coffee shop, lunch at my favorite burger joint, and dinner ordered in and eaten naked on the couch. I was dumbfounded. Everything was fucking perfect, and now she’s just—poof!—gone.

The fucked up kid from Jersey wasn’t supposed to find a girl like her. I thought she was too good to be true, and now I see that I was right, because it’s been a week—seven long days since I woke up to an empty bed and no fucking clue what went wrong. No calls, no answers, just her voicemail, unanswered texts, and now a telephone line that’s no longer in service. Somehow the perfect girl wasn’t so perfect…at least not for me.

I couldn’t stand the douche that I’d become since she bounced in and out of my life. I was never the guy that moped in my apartment. I was never the guy that let my heart get in front of my dick. I wasn’t a player, an ass, or even a man-whore, I just didn’t do relationships. I’d always done my own thing, really. I hooked up with girls here and there, when the situation and girl were right, and always treated them with respect, not just like a piece of ass. But I never got attached. Never. Not because I didn’t want to or had commitment issues, I’d just never had that connection. I never had that mad desire (or any desire, really) to get to know them better.
Until Amelia.

Amelia was different. She caught my eye immediately. I didn’t meet her in my bar. She wasn’t begging for attention. She was chill, hot, and easy to talk to. The night of the race was one of the best nights of my life. Even with all the alcohol we consumed in those hours, I could remember it vividly—clear as fucking day…

“I can’t believe you own this bar!” Amelia’s eyes had spread open with shock when she stepped out of the taxi next to the curb.

“You’ve been by here before?”
“Well, yeah. I’m just a few blocks up,” she had said, speaking the obvious, her smile radiant against her flawless skin.

I couldn’t stop fucking staring. It was like she was an accident I couldn’t look away from; my eyes kept returning to her. I tried not to make it obvious, but she caught me a few times between the train and taxi ride back into the city. She smiled every time. Either she was just a nice ass girl or she could feel it…the connection. It was fucking ridiculous—I didn’t know what it was—some kind of draw, almost like an addiction. Being with her was intoxicating.

I placed my hand on my heart, acting hurt. “And you never stopped in?”
Her cheeks flushed an adorable pink as a smile peeked out of the side of her mouth. She glanced down to the ground, almost seeming embarrassed before she looked back up to answer. “Yeah, I don’t get out much. I guess you could call me a homebody.”

Though the smile remained on her face as she said it, there was distance in her eyes. They spoke. They spoke of heartache, of a past she wasn’t proud of. I wanted to ask what it was—what shit for life hand she had been dealt. Because through our non-stop conversations, I knew that I had totally misjudged her—she wasn’t the spoiled, rich bitch that I thought she was. Well, she still could be…possibly…but not the whole bitch part—she was far from that. She definitely was shaping out to be the total package actually: hot as hell and super easy to talk to. There wasn’t a second throughout the ride back that we weren’t talking, laughing and stealing quick glances from each other, but on top of everything, she was into dirt biking—what chick could you say was all of that? You couldn’t! Amelia was fucking perfect, one of kind, and if I knew girls the little bit that I did, I’d say that she wasn’t too opposed to me either. She did the whole blushing, bashful, sweet ass grin thing that girls did when they were interested, but on a whole different level. It wasn’t annoying or over the top—it was cute and I think actually shy, and hot as hell at the same time.

Still, I knew there was much more than what she showed on the outside. Only people like us could see more, could see the shitty part. She carried something dark and I wanted to know; I wanted to know it all, just like I wanted to know her inside and out. I was about to ask, so fucking intrigued, but I bit my tongue—too soon. I didn’t want to seem annoying, needy, or overindulgent, because I was far from that. I just…I don’t know…cared, I guess.

It dawned on me how much Amelia and I were panning out to be alike. She had a past just as I did, and one she wasn’t interested in discussing. She had a passion for riding just like me. She was someone that I’d not only like to see sprawled out naked below me, but someone that I felt a connection with, someone I had things in common with that I didn’t need confirmation about to understand. And those eyes… they spoke the same depths of pain that I’m sure mine had so many times.

“Well, with a fucking body like that, I don’t blame ya,” I joked, not believing the dumbass line that just came from my mouth. Fucking tool! I shook my head, looking down, embarrassed. Who fucking says that? Her being hot means she can’t go out in public? Good fucking God.

She didn’t say anything, but I was sure she was about to. I could see her cracking her knuckles, fidgeting as I tried to get my stupid shit together.

“Don’t respond to that,” I added once I finally had the balls to look up, taking her hand and turning to the entrance of the bar to get inside before making a bigger ass of myself.

I unlocked the deadbolts then held open the door for her to walk in first. Micah and the guys were already there—they had a key to the back entrance that they used at their leisure. They all started shouting and acting obnoxious when they saw us walk in. I shook my head and smiled.

“If it ain’t number one and number two,” my buddy Grant greeted us immediately.
I nodded my head with a grin. “Grant, Amelia. Amelia, Grant,” I introduced, motioning my hand back and forth between them.

Grant wiggled his eyebrows, impressed, making me punch his arm. He immediately gave me a dirty look. “What the shit, Drake?”

He looked totally confused and I guess I could understand why. He knew there wasn’t shit going on with Amelia and I. She was available…to the naked eye. But I don’t know…maybe not from my point of view. Dammit, what the hell was going on?

“She’s not a fucking piece of meat, bro,” I told him, trying to play it off neutral, respecting her as female and not as anything more.

But did I want more? Dammit…maybe.

“Sorry, they can be a little much,” I whispered into Amelia’s ear after Grant gave me a suspicious glance then walked away.

She shrugged her shoulders, a smile reaching both sides of her face, seeming amused. “They’re fun!”  I blew out air, relieved. She didn’t see my cock block, claiming her from Grant. Shit, I might as well piss on her leg, too while I’m at it for the guys here to acknowledge.

It didn’t get much better once we got a few more feet in. We were getting high fives and pats on the back, and alcohol was handed to us from all angles, which was cool, but the looks—holy shit were my friends fucking pigs. Not that I could blame them, Amelia was fucking hot as hell, but Jesus fucking Christ did my blood boil each and every time one of the dumbasses said some wise-ass, perverted remark to her. She laughed it off, probably used to it, but not me. I, for some reason, inched closer to her each and every time. Apparently I was still pissing on her leg. I was being a fucking idiot, leaving my balls back somewhere at the damn track.

“Aw, thanks, man,” Micah said as he reached for the pint of beer in my hand.

I took it back, giving him a “yeah, right” smirk before handing it to Amelia. “Get your own fucking beer! This one’s for my girl.”

Amelia raised her eyebrow, intrigued with my statement. Micah mirrored her movement.

“You’ll see, sweetheart,” I told her with a mischievous grin. “You’ll be my girl in no time.” I looked at my watch and winked. “Probably by the end of the night.”

“Quite confident, aren’t we?” she practically purred.

God, her voice was sexy. How in fuck’s sake I thought she had an annoying voice, I don’t know, because it was damn near impossible to resist her once her beautiful lips moved. She was intoxicating as fuck!

“I’m just…um…gonna go over here,” Micah said as he backed up, bumping into Maddy as he did.

I laughed at his awkward voice. Apparently he was seeing what I was feeling with Amelia. It was that fucking obvious.

As soon as Amelia and I were somewhat alone again—as much as we could be when the bar’s packed—I leaned in and whispered in her ear, “I’m quite confident, by the way.”

She snickered with an adorable grin, but her flushed cheeks were unmistakable. She was affected by my words, just as I was with hers. I didn’t need any verbal confirmation—she wanted me just as much as I wanted her. It was crazy as fuck how quickly the spark between us was growing, but it was there, clear as fucking day. Only a dumbfuck would deny it, and as much of a stupidshit I was, there was no way in hell that I would be walking away from this one. I was hooked.

By two in the morning, Amelia and I were quickly moving from flirtatious comments to wandering, needy hands. We were by no means acting like two hormonal teenagers eager to get to the next base, but our bodies were definitely finding ways to touch and our lips were getting dangerously close to connecting. The space between us was minimal and the hardness in my pants wasn’t going away anytime soon. If anything, my fucking cock felt like it was going to explode if it didn’t get some relief.

Needing to adjust myself, I walked over to the bar to get us another drink. I poured two perfect drafts and turned around to see her sexy ass black thong showing above her jeans. It wasn’t hanging out purposely, like some slutty ass bitches in the bar have shown, it was peaking out just enough; just enough to get a vivid picture in my head, the elastic only skimming the top of her jeans, showing the “T” it formed. Immediately, I was envisioning what the rest looked like—was there a pattern on the front? How far did it cut down? Was it barely covering her sweet little…

Dammit Merrick! I shook my head. I was about to have a wet dream just by staring at her, picturing the damn panties alone! This girl….shit, did she do some crazy shit with my head.
I took a deep breath before walking over. I had to. My sanity was teetering. “Your thong is showing,” I whispered into her ear before handing her the beer.

Her body visibly sank into the stool as her tongue wet her lips. Another deep breath was needed. My fucking cock was beginning to ache—that tongue…that mouth…fucking shit, she was hot!

Amelia’s eyes glanced up, peaking through her thick batting eyelashes, making me melt even more. “So?” she answered.

Oh man, I was borderline caving, ready to throw her over my shoulder and carry her upstairs, but there was something holding me back. I couldn’t understand why, because I wanted her so fucking bad it hurt and I was sick of diverting my horny ass head. There’s only so many times you can think about baseball—talk about fucking blue balls—but as much as I wanted to have Micah lock up and carry her away like a caveman, I wanted to wait just as much. I didn’t know why, but treating her like I just wanted to fuck her right this second didn’t seem right. Amelia wasn’t just any girl. I wanted to take my time with her, savor each second. And I really was enjoying just hanging around and talking and drinking. That can’t be said for other females.

Conversation aside, controlling myself wasn’t easy, and when she looked up at me like that—Jesus. That girl knew exactly what she was doing with the lost-little-girl eyelash thing. My hand was already working with a mind of its own, sliding down her back, slipping under the top of that black thong, pushing it down and away from anyone else’s eyes. Christ, her skin was warm; it felt like silk beneath my fingers, and I didn’t want anyone getting a look but me, because that bit of fabric, the sight mixed with the feeling… Damn. Amelia may not be technically mine, but she definitely was tonight.

Her body immediately went straight, stiffening. I smiled. Hell fucking yeah, I smiled. She liked my hands on her body so much that she was fighting it, trying to control the sensation moving within.

Our eyes were glued together, glossed over with a mutual understanding—we wanted each other…badly. My mind was racing. I wanted to say something, but didn’t know what. I wanted to just invite her upstairs but I didn’t know how without sounding like a douche. I was sweating, almost nervous, like a virgin waiting for someone to make the next move.

Amelia’s eyes drifted to my mouth then carried back to my eyes before she stood from her stool. “I have to use the bathroom,” she said, her low, warm breath radiating off my skin.

She was so close that it would have been easy to just lean in and kiss her, and I wanted to—damn, I wanted to so bad—but I didn’t. I smiled an amused, captivated, douchebag grin, before responding, “K.”

She stared a moment longer, our faces only inches apart, her teeth clamped on her lower lip. My chest was visibly rising and falling and my heart was beating out of chest. And then I did it. I leaned in and placed my lips on hers. They were as soft, as pure, and just as silky as her skin. She kissed me back, helping my free hand find the back of her head to hold her in place in front of me.

We stayed like that for minutes. No tongue, just lips, but the most amazing kiss I had ever had in all of my life—I felt it in every inch of my body—it was real, tantalizing, and a moment I would never forget.

I ran my hands over my face. I had to stop thinking about Amelia and that night. It was done. Over. The past. It was just another night with just another girl.

Amelia was just another girl.







Living in Syracuse, New York, Ashley Wilcox is happily married to her husband of over six years, and a mommy to two little boys, and one little girl who is expected to be here in March 2014. Through her addiction for reading, Ashley has discovered her passion for writing. She loves reading and writing about anything romance. Some books that Ashley is most commonly known for are The Forever Series, Summer Rush, and her latest, Permanent Lines.

To find out more about Ashley and what she is currently working on, please visit her website at ashleywilcoxauthor.com.Author Profile Links:



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Book Blitz: Let Love Shine by Melissa Collins

What comes after “they lived happily ever after?”

Maddy and Reid have seen their fair share of trials and tribulations, of love and loss. Facing down the biggest challenges of their young lives, they managed to survive and endure. With the future stretching out before them, they must learn to navigate new and unfamiliar paths.

Being new parents, starting new jobs, and continuing college is enough to overwhelm any couple. New challenges come up daily, as do small victories. Watch Maddy and Reid grow stronger together in this “one year later” tale of the everyday stuff that happens in real life.

With a solid foundation of love under their inexperienced feet – and with the help of their family and friends – Maddy and Reid learn how to let love shine, lighting the way for a beautiful future to come.





Here we are a year later and we couldn’t be happier to have Braden’s first birthday party tomorrow with our friends and family. Between prepping for the party, me working overtime, and Maddy finishing her last summer course, we’ve barely been able to stay awake past eight every night.

But watching them dance and laugh in front of me makes it all worth it.

I pull them both into my arms and just hold them for a quick second before Braden starts shimmying out of Maddy’s arms. He’s caught sight of his Lightning McQueen racecar on the floor and is reaching for it. Handing him his car, Maddy puts him in his bouncy seat. The sight of my wife taking care of our son, talking baby talk and kissing him sweetly should warm my heart. But all I can see is her ass right now. Yep, I want her.

“Get over here.” I pull her back to me once Braden is situated and brush her hair out of her eyes. “You look beautiful, you know that?” I trail sweet, soft kisses behind her ear and down her neck.

“Hmmm,” she mumbles and it makes me smile against her skin.

Moving from her neck across to her mouth, I feel her lean into my lips. This is something else of which I’ll never get tired. Her full, luscious lips pressed against mine; the taste of her sweet mouth still drives me crazy. “Well, hello there.” Pulling away from our kiss, Maddy arches her eyebrows as she presses her hips into my groin. The last motion surprises me more than a little. To say that our sex life has been different in the last year is, well, it’s an understatement to say the least.

“What? I’m not allowed to want my wife.” I grab her ass and push her into my erection a bit more. Our hands roam as the kiss rises in intensity. I fist a handful of her hair and pull her mouth even closer to mine. It’s the hottest kiss we’ve had in a while. Just as her hips start to roll into mine, we’re distracted by a sound, and smell, to which we’ve grown all too accustomed in the last year.


Before I can even move my hands from her body, Maddy’s pinching her nose closed. “Not it!” She calls out and laughs.

“Damn, you’re getting quick!” It’s kind of been our thing to decide who gets to change him. I scowl playfully at her and she just laughs at me.

“Dude, you’re killing my game.” Braden smiles as I hold him out in front of me. “Holy crap! What the hell did you feed this kid today?” Seriously, he’s lethal.

“He ate the same as usual. He’s just a stinky little monster.” She says the last sentence to Braden in that ridiculous baby talk. You can talk sweet about it all you want; it’s still poop.


I’ve always been an avid reader. Majoring in English Literature was a no brainer. Becoming a teacher and instilling my love for reading into my students was also a no brainer. I’ve spent the last ten years teaching and I’ve loved (mostly) every minute of it. When I was home on maternity leave for my third son, I discovered a new genre that sparked my creativity. My passion for writing sprang from my love of reading and once I knew I had a story to tell, I couldn’t wait to get it out there. I only hope that my readers enjoy reading my story as much as I enjoyed writing it.




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Other books by Melissa Collins

Let Love In:  Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | KoboLove Love Stay: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | KoboLet Love Heal: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo



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