Heather Gunter's Blog, page 54

Blog Tour: Searching for Tomorrow by Kathryn McNeill Crane

Welcome to our stop on the blog tour for Searching for Tomorrow by Kathryn McNeill Crane.  We get a little insight to Kathryn with her top five favorite places and the top five things from her bucket list and you can check out the playlist too!!






Some people are blessed to find that one certain person who completes them.

Wrynn’s yesterdays were what others only dream of having. She and Tripp were the best of friends before they even thought about love. They had the fairy tale life where ‘like’ turns into ‘love’, and ‘love’ becomes ‘happily ever after’.

What happens when life conspires against you, and snatches your soul mate from your arms?

…only her forever love ended much too soon.

Broken beyond her own ability to repair, Wrynn boxes up her grief and attempts to raise her three girls the best she can on her own. As time slowly passes, Wrynn relives her life with Tripp while struggling most days to get out of bed. She is reminded of him at every turn.

How do you set your grief and anguish aside? How do you pick up the shattered pieces, put those pieces back together again, and try to move on?

Wrynn tries to find the joy in life every single day through her daughters, family, and friends. Her twin brother Liam has dedicated himself to helping Wrynn put her life back together after losing his own love. On the other hand, her mother-in-law lives to torment her at every turn. Wrynn can't even find a chance to breathe, much less a desire to somehow search for her tomorrow.







Five Favorite Places
Anywhere my family isHighlands, NCHot Springs, NCGordonsville, VANapa/Sonoma
Top Five on my Bucket List
Visit Scotland and IrelandWrite a novel. Wait, I can cross that one off!Learn to fluently speak a foreign languageBe debt freeTake ballroom dance lessons, and then go dancing with my hubs.



If you are reading this, I think you should know that "About me" sounds so very pretentious to me. I guess that is what I am supposed to write about, so here it goes!

Kathryn is a simple country girl who likes to spend time with her hubba, hunka hubby, her three kids and her friends. She loves to cook and really loves to eat! During the spring and summer, you will more than likely find her outside puttering around in her garden. When the veggies start coming in, she will probably be sweating over a hot canner in the kitchen, canning all the goodies she is blessed with. Kathryn likes to hike and go camping, and as a Girl Scout leader, she gets to do this pretty often! On cold winter nights, you will probably find her wrapped in a warm blanket, lost in a good book, while sitting in her rocking chair on the front porch!

Kathryn was born and raised in North Carolina, and while she loves to travel, she can't imagine ever leaving the mountains that she has come to call home. Not a day goes by that Kathryn doesn't thank God for abundantly blessing her. He has been so good to her, and she is very grateful. She holds Jeremiah 29:11 very close to her heart and believes it with every fiber of her being. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Kathryn loves flip flops, chocolate, sweet tea and dirt between her toes. As far back as she can remember, she's had a book in her hand. Reading has carried her to places she will never go. It has introduced her to people that she will never meet. When life is great and when it is rough, she's always been able to find a book to carry her through. She finally decided to write down some of the stories in her head (yes, be scared) and heart after dawdling around and wasting years dreaming. She hopes you enjoy reading those stories as much as she loves writing them!



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Cover Reveal: All the Pretty Lies by M. Leighton

All the Pretty Lies by M. Leighton has a cover and we get to share it with you today! Check out how pretty it is and then look below to read all about the title and M. Leighton! That's right! M. Leighton is bringing us a new series!!



Isn't it gorgeous?!?  All the Pretty Lies  is a New Adult Contemporary Romance filled with heat, lies, and romance. It is scheduled to be released November 12, 2013.

All the Pretty Lies“Live, no regrets”
Her...
Sloane Locke has led a sheltered life. However, with a history like hers, she can understand why her brothers and her father want so much to protect her. She has gone along with it for twenty long years, but those days are over. For the girl who never makes promises, Sloane has made a pact with herself that things will change on her twenty-first birthday. So when the clock strikes midnight, Sloane strikes out to spread her wings and break a few rules.

Him…

In addition to inking skin, Hemi Spencer possesses many talents. Controlling himself has never been one of them. It’s never had to be. He’s lived a life of indulgence for as long as he can remember. Right up until tragedy struck. Now, he’s nothing but controlled. He’s a man on a mission, one who will let nothing and no one stand in his way.

Them…Nothing in their lives could’ve prepared Sloane and Hemi for what they’d find in each other—distraction and obsession, love and possession. But the one thing they can’t find is a future. Neither one has been totally honest. And they’ll soon learn that the devil is in the details. In the details and in the lies.

How far will two people go to live in the now when the now is all they’ve got?ALL THE 


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. 
For more about M. Leighton, visit her website at www.MLeightonBooks.blogspot.com or follow her on Twitter@mleightonbooks.


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Book Blitz: Captured Series (If Only and Release) by Louise J

Today we're showcasing not one, but two books by author Louise J!  If Only and Release are books 1 and 2 in the 'Captured' Series - and as part of the blitz they're currently on sale for just 99c!


Title – If Only (Captured, #1)Author – Louise JGenre – Adult Contemporary RomanceRelease Date – December 16, 2012

Callie
What’s a girl to do when she meets a man who claims the heart that she’s already given to someone else? My boyfriend is everything I’ve ever wanted, he’s perfect, but when I met Joe ... I can’t even describe the intensity of my attraction to him. I’d never experienced anything like it before. Since then, it’s become something so much deeper and I’m finding it impossible to ignore what I feel for him. I know I’m already with the man I should be with, yet I want Joe. I can’t seem to get my head and my heart to agree on this. I’m not about to cheat and I won’t just drop the man I love. But what do I do about Joe?

Joe

Tattoos, bikes and women – that’s been my life for the last two years and it suited me just fine. Until the day I swerved to avoid a raggedy old VW Bug heading my way, hit the sidewalk, and ended up sprawled on my back. I came around to a pounding headache and the most gorgeous girl I’ve ever seen. Don’t know if it was the effect she had on me, or the accident, but I somehow managed to let her go without exchanging information, more importantly numbers. Maybe it would’ve been better if things had stayed that way. Maybe then I wouldn’t be caught up in this dilemma. I should do what most guys would do and pursue her, regardless of her being in a relationship. Trust me, it’s tempting. The problem is, I’ve been on the receiving end of a situation similar to this, so I know the hurt I could cause and I don’t think I can do that. But I want Callie. I want her bad.

When Callie and Joe met, neither were prepared for the sequence of events that would follow, or the impact of the choices they would go on to make.

If only is book one in the Captured series. Adult Contemporary Romance. This series is not intended for those below 18 years old due to graphic sexual content and use of language.


         

Callie
I twist my upper body around and watch him pull out some white latex gloves. Oh, shit. For some reason, it only just hits me.

He is going to see me topless.

Abruptly, I turn to the front and stare at Su, wide-eyed. Nick is the only man who has ever seen my tits. Ryan felt them, but he never saw them, so that doesn’t count. And he was my boyfriend at the time. Maybe the nerves of getting the piercings done stopped the recognition of this factor when I first learned this guy was doing them, but right now, with it so close to happening, that realization has my gut twisting.

I point to my breasts and mouth the words I just thought to Su. She winks at me and sort of grins to ease me, but it’s impossible for me to smile back. I need to distract myself. “I don’t know your name. You told me your brother’s, but not yours,” I say, looking, but not looking at the display of photos along the white wall in front of me. I can’t recall what I was told when I booked, my brain won’t work right. The silence in here feels thick, and that’s not helping matters.

“My name is Joe,” he says as he sits down on a chair to the right of me.

Joe. Now I remember. I always wondered what his name was after our almost collision. Joe. I like it.

He wheels himself closer, stopping in front of me. The height of the table puts me above him, so I have to lower my gaze if I want to make eye contact with him. That’s the last thing I want to do. This really wouldn’t be so bad if he wasn’t hot. Why couldn’t I get the older guy who booked me in? Or Adam? He’s cute, too, but I could deal with him.

“Okay. So you want a tattoo as well,” he states, sitting upright with his lightly-fisted hands resting on his thighs, the gloves clutched within his right hand. I wish I could be as relaxed as he is.

I nod, looking level with his perfectly sculpted cheekbones. “Yeah.”

“Do you have in mind what you want, or would you like to see some designs?” I don’t know how, but he’s able to stare me straight in the eyes. Su was right about him being nervous before, but he’s definitely, absolutely not now. Maybe he was a little embarrassed about the almost collision thing.

With effort, I return his gaze as best as I can. Oh, God. My heart starts to gallop, threatening to burst out of my chest.

Those rich coffee beans have been imprinted on my memory since I first saw them. Sitting this near to reality is almost debilitating. There’s a deep tenderness in his stare that warms me, but the intensity of his focus pushes it up to a searing heat. It’s overwhelming, it makes me want to look away, but … I can’t. The brown is so rich with no intrusion of other tones and that only enhances the impact.

I thought my memory of his face was an exaggeration, the exceptional features and planes combining masculinity and beauty, but it’s true and very real. The tone of his skin is closer to olive than fair and appears incredibly smooth. I have an urge to slowly run the tips of my fingers along the lines and contours of his features, medium-thick eyebrows; narrow nose; high, defined cheekbones; softly-chiseled jaw, and then make a sculpture of his head, made to the exact likeness, but I wouldn’t go there, even with my skill, which, bias or not, I credit to be at a high standard. Thinking of this man as hot is easy to conclude, but it’s understated.

Joe is a powerful combination of man, beauty and sex.




Title – Release (Captured, #2)Author – Louise JGenre – Adult Contemporary RomanceRelease Date – July 23, 2013

Brooklyn

I knew from the start that I should stay away from Dane, and I would have – if he’d stayed away from me. Astoundingly sexy with a consuming presence of unspoken command, he enthralls me to the point of almost being incapable of rational thoughts, almost being incapable of resisting him. My hands want to explore him. My tongue wants to taste him. My body begs to experience him. I crave him. Now he’s starting to intrude on a level that’s harder to fight. I know what he wants from me. I also know that Dane is not the type of man you expect to keep.

Dane

Things are never straightforward with women like Brooklyn. She’s not the kind whose bed you can slip out of and walk away from without ‘special connections’ or ‘emotions’ expected or offered. She’s the type of woman I prefer to keep my distance from, but like an undersexed, hormonal idiot, I still pursued her. I swear getting turned on by her is like getting turned on for the first time in my life. Now I have her in my grasp, but I know where this will lead. And I’m never the one that gets hurt in situations like this.

A woman who has barely put her broken-self back together and a man who turned his back on love a long time ago. When Dane and Brooklyn first met it appeared to be a simple case of lust between two opposites, but it was the beginning of an intense, emotional journey that would bring forth the pain they both attempted to leave in their pasts, and an encapsulation of feelings neither welcomed but were powerless to stop. Sometimes in life there is no choice but to take a risk.

*Release takes place in the months leading up to the end of If Only (book one in the Captured series), and includes major spoilers from Joe and Callie’s story.

*This book contains graphic sexual content.


       

BrooklynAs I pass the rear of the Volvo, one space away from my car, a smooth voice stops me in my tracks.

“Brooklyn,” is all he said.

He wasn’t calling me. He was simply saying my name, low and curious. Stupidly sexy, too, but let’s not get caught up in that detail.

I know who that voice belongs to. I recognize it from last night.

Correcting my stunned expression, I turn around. Everything sort of ... falls out of focus, becomes non-existent. When I stop, barely two feet away, I realize I’ve walked over to him. We’re standing at the boot of my car.

Dane’s hazel eyes are lethally enticing. I can’t do anything but look into the golden brown of his irises, touched with flashes of varying shades of green. I don’t know what to say to him, and he isn’t speaking, he’s just standing there looking at me. I’d like to shrink and disappear.

“I’ve been warned not to talk to you,” I say just to give me something to say. I instantly feel guilty for being such a blabber mouth.

“Kayla told you that.”

Smoothest, sexiest voice I’ve ever heard, and so, so sure. He doesn’t seem to mind what I said. I owe my friend a big apology.

“Apparently, I’m too nice for you. Too nice a girl, that is. Not too good looking for you. Not your usual type.” Now I’m talking shit. My cheeks feel warm, too. Please, don’t let me be blushing.

Dane’s expression is unreadable, but he answers. “That might be true.”

He pauses for one long, powerful moment.

There’s something commanding about him. This is definitely a man who gets exactly what he wants, when he wants, without having to make much effort for it.

“Maybe you are too nice for me, but I’d really like you to be the one who decides that for yourself. You’ve been given a heads up. That gives you an advantage, right?”

Oh, he’s good. What do I say to that? I don’t know. I’m taken aback by his honesty and tempted at the same time.

Tempted by a man I have been firmly warned to stay away from.

Find your brain, Brooklyn, and say “Thanks, but no thanks.”

I still can’t speak.

His lips start to turn up at the corners, but his gaze remains intense.

I still don’t know what to say. It’s been about thirty seconds. Forty, maybe. Suddenly, I burst into laughter and slap my hand over my mouth to shut myself up. Typically in awkward situations, or at times when it’s most inappropriate, I laugh. I hate it, but I can’t help it.

“I’m sorry,” I say, trying to pull back my outburst. “It’s not you, it’s me. I mean, I’m not laughing at you. I really don’t know what to say to you.”

He’s still smiling, no less focused about his stare. “It’s not every day a woman laughs in my face, but I like your laugh.”

I straighten up and curl my arms tighter around myself, still wrapped in my nice warm cardigan, which also feels like a protective barrier. Though I still want to giggle at my ridiculous self, I’m wondering if his complement is genuine or part of the charming process. My friends describe my laugh as loud and dirty, and I’ve never been complemented on it.

“Where do you live?” he asks.

“Where do I live?” I ask back, unable to stop my eyebrows reaching for my hairline. That’s a bit forward, did I hear him correctly?

“Yes.” He looks me straight in the eyes. This guy is unbelievable, he’s serious.

I swallow hard with my now tight throat. “Um, the corner of Sutter and ...” Am I really giving up this information? “Franklyn.”

“That’s good. Do you know the Purple Cafe, on Bush Street?”

I nod. I haven’t been in there, but I’ve passed it a couple of times. Maybe I should’ve said no.

“Meet me there for breakfast tomorrow morning. I start work around nine, let’s be there for seven, outside. Think of it as your chance to decide for yourself.”

I’m speechless, again.

Dane turns around and walks away. “See you tomorrow, Brooklyn.”

Standing astonished, all I can do is watch his departure. In motion, he’s even more fascinating. He strides away with a feline grace, that air of command remaining.

I feel a weird temptation to follow him.

What the fuck just happened?

Louise J has always been a daydreamer, but never considered writing a novel until days before typing the first words to If Only. Joe and Callie (and Gerard) appeared in a dream and her mind has never been her own since then, and she’s never alone. When she’s not writing she spends a lot of time missing out on huge chunks of conversation, movies, and TV shows thanks to many wonderful, but highly invasive characters bouncing around in her head, showing her their stories. In the name of research, those fabulous characters have led her to parts of the world she never would have dreamed of, and, as a result, has gained some of the most amazing memories. The rest of the time Louise J is trying to be a good wife to the greatest husband she could ever have asked for.



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Release Day Launch: Greed by Fisher Amelie

Fisher Amelie is at the top of Tami's favorite Author list.  The Understory (Book 1 in the Leaving Series) was one of the very first indie books Tami read and since then she has not missed a Fisher Amelie release.  Tami is currently reading Greed so she can share her review with you in a just a couple of days - but in the meantime we get to celebrate Release Day with all the details of the book - including an excerpt to tempt you into picking up a copy and an amazing giveaway!


Book 2 in the Seven Deadly Series


Gather ‘round, love, because I want you. I want what you have, I want what you don’t have, I want more of what I already have. I want. But if you so much as ask for something in return, go ahead and walk away. Know if you want to play in my world, it’s every man for themselves and the weak become mine. Leeches will be obliterated because I make it my job to destroy them. I protect what’s mine and I take what’s yours...because that’s what I do. I want.

My story will not endear me to you and, frankly, I could care less if it does because I’m in this for the money and nothing else. There’s nothing redeeming about me. I’m a corrupt, money hungry, immoral asshole from Los Angeles. I’m every man’s worst nightmare and every girl’s fantasy.

I’m Spencer Blackwell...And this is the story about how I went from the world’s most coveted guy to the guy no one wanted around and why I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.





Prologue

Greed is a strange, strange sin.

All you want to do is acquire. Acquire money, acquire material, acquire time, acquire energy, acquire attention. The running mantra is “I want, I want, I want” but that quickly turns to “I need, I need, I need.”
Suddenly there just isn’t enough time for friends, for family, for anyone. Your goal is to acquire and to make sure what you acquire stays acquired. Your life depends on it. You don’t see truth because the truth is shadowed by enormous homes, incredibly fast cars, in lavish spending. Your life no longer belongs to you, but you are blind to it all because those around you are seeking the same.

So you shuffle along at an impossible rate, and you pass the real world around you.

But what you’ll come to realize, altogether too late, is that it’s never enough. It’s simply never enough.

Chapter One

“It’s confirmed. Peter Knight of Evergreen won’t approve the acquisition. You know what to do,” my snake of a father told me, not two steps into his front door.

“I just got off a seven-hour flight. You can’t let me settle in? Possibly say hello?”

He stood, watching me, a slight tick in his square jaw. He tucked his hands into his Italian silk pants. His six-foot frame followed the steps up to the foyer and stopped a few inches away from my own. We were face to face. Although I fell an inch shorter, he no longer intimidated me. I knew if I had to, I could kick his ass.

“Hello, Spencer,” he said, a serpent’s smile spread wide across his mouth before falling flat. “Get to work. I don’t pay you to sit around. I don’t care if it is your Christmas break.”


We stayed where we were, each waiting on the other to back down. The tension was palpable. In the end, his face relaxed and he began to chuckle, stepping aside and making way for me. I picked up my bags and headed for my room, giving myself plenty of space to pass him without touching him.
When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I changed my mind and threw my bags on the second to last step, intending to pick them up later. I stretched my muscles, loving the feel of my back popping, and started for the kitchen.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” he asked, still standing in the foyer, watching my every move.

“If I don’t say hi to Mom and Bridge, they’ll think something’s up,” I told him and continued on.

He didn’t respond, but I felt his stare burning into the back of my head.About Fisher Amelie:



Fisher Amelie is the author of The Leaving Series, Callum & Harper and Thomas & January. She began her writing career as a copywriter for an internet marketing company wherein one of their client's said, 'Hey! You're funny. You should write books'. Which in turn she said, 'Hey, get out of here! This is the lady's restroom.' While washing her hands and the embarrassment from her face, she thought they may have had a valid point. So, she took the thousands of hours of writing stories growing up, tucked them into her pocket and began writing and writing and writing.





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Greed

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Vain

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Blog Tour: Wish I May by Lexi Ryan

Welcome to our stop on the Wish I May blog tour!  


WISH I MAY by Lexi RyanOctober 2013


I grew up wishing on stars.

My father taught me to believe…in destiny, in magic, in happily ever after. Dreams were my scripture and the starry night sky was my temple. Then Mom stopped believing, left him, and took us with her. At the age of sixteen, I cashed in my dreams to pay the rent, pawned my destiny to keep my sisters together.

Now, seven years later, I’m returning home, grieving the death of my mother, and settling my sisters back into the life Mom threw away. I never intended to stay. I don’t want to deal with my father, who is so invested in the spiritual world he forgets the physical. I don’t want to face William Bailey, whose eyes remind me of the girl I was, the things I’ve done, and the future I lost.

This would all be easier if Will hated me. As it is, I have to hold my secrets close so they won’t hurt him more than they’ve already hurt me. But he wants to be in my life. He wants what I can’t bring myself to confess I sold. He wants me.

I find myself looking to my stars again...wondering if I dare one more wish.



Wish I May was a beautiful story about love.  Taught from a young age by her father to wish on the stars and believe in destiny Cally Fisher has her world turned upside down by the harsh realities of a drug addicted mother, two younger sisters to care for and no money.  Forced to make choices that she truly didn't understand the consequences of Cally separates herself completely from her past and her boyfriend William Bailey.  It is not until she must return to her home town of New Hope that she realises sometimes physical distance means nothing to the heart and sometimes, even the unforgiveable can be forgiven.
I really liked Cally.  She was so incredibly strong and so responsible - despite not having had the best of role models in either of her parents.  She was selfless and did everything she could to care for her sisters ... and the price she paid was enormous.  It was wonderful to watch her character blossom a little and see others rally around and support her, rather than judging her on the actions of her mother. 
William is wonderful.  Heartbroken when Cally was forced to leave town with her mother he never fully understood why Cally broke off all contact with him.  When faced with her seven years later he is once again captivated by her and fights hard to have the chance to be with her again.  The chemistry between the two is fabulous - nothing moves too quickly and they each battle with their conscience as they start to explore what might be possible.
Cally's past choices bring a number of darker elements into her life and these are not as absent as she would truly like, even as she tries to move towards a brighter future.  She is torn between disclosing everything to the man she has come to love again and risk losing him or just walking away, to spare him any further pain.  There are some other minor twists thrown in that mean the final outcome is not entirely predictable, although the romantic in me was always hoping that Cally and William would get their happily ever after.

Ryan has a gorgeous writing style that is so easy to get lost in.  Wish I May is book 2 in the New Hope series but can be read as a stand alone.  I haven't read the first book and didn't feel that I was missing anything while reading Wish I May.  Of course now I'm inspired to pick up book 1 - Unbreak Me to learn a little more about some of the characters I met in this beautiful story. 
4 out of 5 stars  

Lexi Ryan, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, writes romances with humor, heat, and heart. A former college English professor, Lexi now writes full time from her home in Indiana, where she lives with her husband and two children. Please visit www.lexiryan.com




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Lexi is giving away 4 $25 Amazon or B&N Gift Cards and the grand prize winner will also receive a signed copy of UNBREAK ME during the tour! Open internationally.

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Cover Reveal: Better by S. Walden

Today we get to share with you the cover for Book 2 in the 'Too Good' Series by S. Walden
Better. To celebrate Good (Book 1 in the series) is currently on sale on Amazon - so be sure to grab a copy.  There's also a giveaway to enter for an e-ARC of Better!
So with no more fuss - here is the cover of Better!

Title: Better (Too Good #2)Author: S. WaldenExpected Release: November 19, 2013Hosted By: Romance Addict Book Blog

Their relationship has been exposed, and now their lives are changed forever.

For Cadence Miller, the fast track to adulthood proves intimidating and frustrating. She’s a little girl lost—abandoned by her parents and uncertain of her future. She doesn’t think she “fits” anywhere. She’s eighteen. She wants to be older. And the result is both comical and heartbreaking.

Mark Connelly will do anything to provide Cadence a stable, loving home—to be her protector. But he’s just as broken and lost, and his heart won’t let go of his past so easily. He knows he must share his secret with Cadence. And he hopes his revelation won't tear them apart. He hopes it will draw them closer, and make their love better.



She made sure to look as inconspicuous as possible for her first day of classes: jean shorts, tank top, flip flops. She kept her hair down but pulled it off her face with a headband. She wore a tad bit of makeup. Nothing showy, but she thought first day classes warranted mascara and lip gloss, at the least.

She slid into a seat in the row closest to the windows. She didn’t bother to look for Michael. Or save him a seat. She still wasn’t sure about that guy. She felt guilty for not telling Mark about Michael’s kissing comment. She wanted a friend, but she was unsure if he was a good one. She scanned the room for somebody better. She needed a girlfriend. And there was one sitting directly behind her.

“Hi,” Cadence said tentatively.

“Hi,” the girl replied.

Cadence wasn’t sure what else to say. Neither was the girl. That was until she recognized Cadence.

“You went to Crestview High.”

Cadence’s face fell. “Yeah.”

“My friend went there. She graduated with you.”

Cadence nodded.

The girl leaned in and whispered, “Did you really have an affair with your math teacher?”



Book 1 in the 'Too Good' Series Good by S. WaldenAdd to GoodreadsAmazon | Paperback | Smashwords | Kobo | Barnes & Noble
SaleGood by S. Walden is current on is currently on sale for .99¢ on Amazon for a LIMITED TIME to help celebrate the release of Better!


S. Walden used to teach English before making the best decision of her life by becoming a full-time writer. She lives in Georgia with her very supportive husband who prefers physics textbooks over fiction and has a difficult time understanding why her characters must have personality flaws. She is wary of small children, so she has a Westie instead. Her dreams include raising chickens and owning and operating a beachside inn on the Gulf Coast (chickens included). When she's not writing, she's thinking about it.

She loves her fans and loves to hear from them. Email her at swaldenauthor@hotmail.com and follow her blog where you can get up-to-date information on her current projects.



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Cover Reveal: Fighting Redemption by Kate McCarthy

Today we get to share with you the cover of Fighting Redemption from the fabulous Kate McCarthy.  We cannot wait to read this one - the excerpt we get to share with you will have you marking your calendar so you don't miss it either!
Check out the cover ...


Title – Fighting RedemptionAuthor – Kate McCarthyGenre – Contemporary RomanceCover Designer - DamonzaExpected Release Date – December 2, 2013

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.






Later that morning after their workout and shower, Jake fell asleep on the couch. Feeling at a loss with nothing but time on his hands, Ryan wandered down the hall towards Fin’s room. She was sitting at a little study nook in the corner, laptop open with one foot resting on her chair. She was wearing a tank top and a little pair of shorts. Leaning up against the doorframe, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from those long, delectable legs.


As though sensing his presence, she turned in her chair. He forced his eyes upwards, catching a sexy flush fill her cheeks at his blatant perusal. 


“Morning, Ryan.” She took off her black framed reading glasses and tossed them on the desk. 


“Morning, Fin,” he replied.
Against his better judgement, Ryan pushed away from the door and walked farther into the room. Fin hadn’t changed at all and neither had his desire for her. His heart kicked over when she met his eyes. He knew everything he was feeling right now was written all over him, but he couldn’t seem to shut it off. 


Her eyelids fluttered closed and she whispered, “Why now?” 


Ryan took a deep breath. “I don’t know,” he replied honestly. 


He shouldn’t still be feeling this way after so many years. Why was he doing this to her, and to himself? It was better for everyone if he stayed away like he was supposed to. 

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come. I’ll go stay at the barracks.” He turned to leave.

“Ryan!” she called out. Scrambling out of the chair, she grabbed his arm as he was halfway out the door.

“Fin,” he warned, looking down at her hand pointedly. 


She took a step closer and he breathed her in, her scent like jasmine on a hot summer’s day. He was surprised when he looked into her eyes and saw anger burning hotly in their depths. 


“Six years, Ryan. Do you know how hurt I was, each day passing by and getting nothing—not even a note or an email? I didn’t just lose you. I lost my brother too. Both of you left me, and I was okay with that. I understood that this was what you needed to do, so I moved on. I built a life that doesn’t include you. That was what I had to do.” She paused and raised a shaky hand to cup his cheek. “I’d have given you my entire heart if you’d only asked, but it’s not yours now. It’s not yours.” 


Ryan closed his eyes, agony for losing what was never his rose in his chest until he felt strangled by it. He placed his hand over hers, holding it there until she tugged it away. 

“You’re right,” Fin told him. “You should stay on the barracks … but I don’t want you to. Damn you, Ryan,” she whispered fiercely. “I don’t want you to.”

Ryan used his bulk to crowd her against the wall until there was no room for her to move. Leaning one hand against the wall, he grabbed her hip with the other. Her breathing rose rapidly and he leaned in, ducking his head until their mouths hovered a mere breath apart.

“Why can’t I force myself to leave?” He rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. “I hurt too. For six years I fought every day not to think of you, and I lost, because every day you were all I could see. You were the best thing in my life—so sweet and innocent, and so goddamn tempting.” His hand strayed from her hip and slid down to grip her ass. He swallowed the groan. “I stayed away so you could move on.”



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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ARC Tour: Off Chance by Sawyer Bennett

Welcome to our stop on the tour for Off Chance by Sawyer Bennett. 
Off Chance is her latest New Adult Contemporary novel and book five in the 'Off' Series and with that cover, how can you possibly resist grabbing yourself a copy?


Title: Off ChanceAuthor: Sawyer BennettExpected release: October 21, 2013Genre: ContemporaryAge Group: New AdultTour organized by: AToMR Tours


He is seeking absolution.

Flynn Caldwell has a hero complex and it’s one of the reasons he joined the New York City Fire Department. He has spent his entire professional career trying to atone for that one person he failed to save. Because, if he can do that, then perhaps he can be worthy of love again.

She is seeking escape.

Rowan Page’s life is nothing short of a disaster. Always immersed in trouble, she has only herself to depend on. She’s determined to pull herself out of this mess and make something of her life, despite the hard years she has lived on the streets of New York.


Together, they have the chance to become complete.

Flynn and Rowan’s worlds exist miles apart, but when a chance meeting brings them together, neither of them can deny the instant pull that connects them to each other. What starts as a tiny spark eventually flares into a fire so hot, it refuses to be extinguished.


Both are willing to jump feet first into the flames to see where it takes them, despite the risk of being burned.

Facts about Off ChanceMost importantly, this was supposed to be the last book in the Off Series but I’ve had such an outpouring of requests to keep writing… I’m happy to report that this is NOT the last book. There will be others, but after I get a few other projects complete!Not to give away a spoiler, but there is a huge scene in the book involving Emily and Nix from Off Limits and it’s based almost exactly off a very important moment in my personal life.Fire fighters are hot! It’s a fact!There is a really cute, fuzzy and rambunctious dog in this book named, Capone! He’s based off of my own puppy goodness… my Bernese Mountain Dog, Atticus.I sobbed like a baby when I finished writing the prologue. Warning: It might make you cry, too.You will get really good updates in this book on all of the past Off characters… Ryan, Danny, Emily, Nix, Linc, Ever, Renner and Cillian!

After silently watching for a few minutes, I ask, “Okay, here’s a question for you... what’s that yellow line on the field?”

Fil doesn’t answer me so I poke her in the ribs. “Teach me, Yoda.”

She looks at me with frustration and then looks back at the TV. “That splits the field in half.”

“Liar,” I hear from the doorway and I turn to see Flynn there with a plate of pie in his hand.

Fil turns around and looks guilty for just a second, then her face splits into a grin. “Busted.”

“Wait... that line doesn’t split the field in half?” I ask, because that made damn good sense to me.

Chuckling, Flynn walks in and comes over to the couch. “Scoot down,” he says.

I try to move to the left, but Fil is ignoring me in favor of the football game. I jab her in the ribs again, she moves over a quarter of an inch, and I move along with her. It gives enough room for Flynn to jam his body in between the end of the couch and me, and the heat of his leg against mine sends my pulse dancing.

He takes the last bite of pie and sets the plate down on the coffee table. After he swallows, he says, “Okay... the yellow line represents the first down marker. You do understand the concept of downs, right?”

“Sort of,” I tell him. “Not really. And what’s the blue line?”

“That’s the line of scrimmage,” Flynn says and, before he can explain further, Fil lets out a curse. “I can’t believe he got sacked. The offensive line sucks.”

“What’s a sack?” I ask.

Flynn chuckles. “Slow down there, Speedy. One question at a time.”

He takes my hand and turns it palm up. “Here’s the easiest way to understand it. See these two lines running parallel on your palm?”

I glance down and his fingertip traces two of my lifelines, which do indeed run exactly parallel across my hand. The feel of his skin against mine causes me to shiver slightly and I’m mesmerized by the movement.

“Yeah,” I say and it feels like it comes out in a croak.

“So, this line right here is the line of scrimmage. It’s where the offensive line starts and the quarterback will be roughly in the middle of the line.” Flynn traces the line of scrimmage on my palm and then taps the area where the quarterback would stand.

“And this here,” he says, as he runs his finger across the other line. “This is the first down line. This is the distance, which is ten yards, that the offensive line has to get the ball to be able to advance further. They have four tries to get there... and those are called downs.”

I want to know more, not because I give a shit about football but because I want Flynn to keep holding my hand and tracking patterns on my skin. Which is decidedly not within the purview of a regular friendship.

“And a sack?” I remind him.

He pushes his index finger into my palm and holds it there. “When the quarterback starts the play at the line of scrimmage, he will most times step backward to get some distance from the defensive players that are coming toward him. If at any time they get him behind this line,” and here he pauses to drag his finger across my palm, “that is called a sack. Understand?”

“Yes,” I say but really, no. I don’t remember a damn thing he just told me and could care less. I am, though, trying to think of other questions to ask so he can teach me more palm football.



Having read other books in the 'Off' Series by Sawyer Bennett I was very much looking forward to finding out more about Flynn Caldwell in Off Course . Bennett has created some fabulous characters in this series and Flynn was no exception.

The prologue of Off Course is intense and it sets the context for the Flynn's character perfectly. A New York City Fireman, hot, built and with a hero complex - Flynn is really every woman's dream. He is driven to fix or save anyone who needs it in response to what he considers a failure to save his first love.
Flynn recues Rowan Page from a burning house, surrounded with some rather suspicious circumstances. He finds himself drawn to helping her - potentially yet another 'broken' woman for him to 'fix' - only what he discovers is a strength of character and a firey personality that really show that Rowan is not so broken after all.
Flynn was perfect and the approach he took to befriending Rowan used a balance of wit, flirty banter and honesty that allowed Rowan to slowly develop a level of trust in someone that she never had before. Rowan, having left her family behind five years earlier, doesn't trust anyone, and with that comes a lack of willingness to take risks and share herself. She has the added challenge of a drug dealing ex trying to find her. Fortunately for Rowan she also has the complete loyalty of a Bernese Mountain dog named Capone, who is probably the one and only creature that Rowan has been able to give her heart to.

The two find themselves thrust into circumstances that aren't what you would describe as normal and a friendship slowly blossoms. The question they find themselves asking is could there be more? I'll confess I expected more from the drug dealing ex angle, although I wasn't disappointed with how that contributed to the over all story line.

I loved that we got to reconnect with characters from other books in the 'Off' series and see how things had further developed for them. Off Chance was a relatively quick read and I was completely engaged, keeping my fingers crossed for a particular outcome. The story is told from both Rowan and Flynn's point of views - which I love. There are some steamy scenes but I think I loved the flirty banter between Flynn and Rowan the most.

Bennett has a wonderful writing style. It is engaging and she manages to build the tension between the characters in an incredibly realistic way. If you haven't read any of books in this series you really are missing out - I think once you’ve read one, you’ll be going back for more - and you won’t be disappointed. And the good news is that while Off Course was touted as the last in the series, Bennett has suggested we may still get some more from these characters!!
4 out of 5 stars




Each book in the Off Series can be read as a standalone.



USA Today Best-Selling author, Sawyer Bennett, is a snarky southern woman and reformed trial lawyer who decided to finally start putting on paper all of the stories that were floating in her head. She is married to a mobster (well, a market researcher) and they have two big, furry dogs who hog the bed. Sawyer would like to report she doesn't have many weaknesses but can be bribed with a nominal amount of milk chocolate.


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To see other stops on the tour for reviews, guest posts, and excerpts click here or the tour button below.

Promotional Tour: Rose of Thorne by Mia Michelle

Rose of Thorne Series by Mia Michelle Rose of Thorne - Book 1Thorneless - Book 2 - Coming in November 2013Wilted - Book 2.5
Rose in Bloom - Book 3
A Rose by Any Other Name - Book 3.5


When a drunk driver tragically orphans Skylar Rose at the age of sixteen, she leaves her dreams behind and takes on the daunting task of helping her elderly grandmother raise her young sister. While other girls her age were living a typical carefree life, she was picking up double shifts at a local café and struggling to pay the bills.

Always putting her sister’s needs and school first, Skylar has never had time to date or develop relationships. Now a senior in college, she has her sights set on an amazing internship opportunity. The last thing she needed was for a sexy distraction like Sebastian Thorne to walk into her life.
Sebastian Thorne had been an entitled and reckless nineteen year old when he got behind the wheel of his new sports car that night. When his night of indulgence goes tragically wrong, Sebastian hesitantly turns to the one person, he knows can make everything go away…the one person he hates ..his father.

Now twenty-six, Sebastian is the young enigmatic and powerful CEO of his late father’s design company, Thorne Enterprises. With both millions in the bank and a new woman on his arm almost every night, the world never knew the dark secret he carried inside. Still plagued with nightmares from the night of that horrific accident and having to leave the beautiful girl behind, Sebastian vows to find the one that haunts his dreams. Sometimes the choice of revisiting our past opens the door to a future that we never thought possible.

Haunted by their past, these two want nothing more than to have their life given back to them. But what do you do when the person who gave you back your life, was the very one that took it from you in the first place?










**I'd Die Without You by P.M. Dawn not available on Spotify


Mia fell in love with the literary world at a very young age and began putting her active imagination to pen and paper at the age of six. Over the years, she has filled up numerous shelves with her notebooks and journals of her favorite stories. Twelve years ago, Mia began drafting The Thorne Series and through encouragement of a close friend, decided to finally take the leap of faith to bring her dream to life. She openly admits to having a hopeless infatuation with her Kindle and suffers from the one-click book addiction (No intervention required).

Mia is currently a stay at home mom who has mastered the fine art of making a PB&J sandwich in between laundry and shuttling kids to ballet and school. In her spare time (“What spare time?” She laughs), she enjoys photography, traveling, and having a girls night out with her pals. She enjoys the simple things in life, such as sleeping more than 3 hours per night and 10 minute showers without being interrupted by children yelling “mommy” from the other side of the bathroom door.

Mia Michelle resides in Tennessee with her soul mate and husband of 18 years and their 2 beautiful young children. She is currently drafting her new Chase series.


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Blog Tour: Redemption Red by Delancey Stewart

Welcome to our spot on the Redemption Red blog tour.  Book 2 in the Wine Country Romance series by Delancey Stewart this story continues the Wine Country theme but provides a stand alone read.





Love, loss, and a smoky red…
When Audrey Montgomery’s carefully planned life collides with the self-destructive path Tyson Dawes is on, neither of them can predict what will happen next.

Audrey is a diligent and self-reliant culinary student at Portland’s prestigious Cordon Bleu. She has a clear picture of her future in mind, and it allows little room for the steely-eyed and tormented young man she bumps into by chance while wine tasting with friends.

Tyson Dawes had a perfect childhood, raised among the vines in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. But even the most idyllic of upbringings couldn’t have prepared him for what he would face as a Marine. He returns to his childhood home angry and haunted by the storms of what he has faced and by those he has lost.

Do opposites truly attract? Can the lure of Audrey’s apparent clarity and innocence offer Tyson hope in the face of his emptiness?



THE WINDOWS OF the restaurant were tinted to the point where Tyson couldn’t see more than a dark shape approach as he stood outside the door waiting. He thought that the people who’d started the place could’ve probably stretched a bit to come up with something more original than “Fork,” but that’s what they’d gone with. He shook his head, chuckling at the lack of irony in the name as the door swung open. On the other side of the door, in the tall industrial space of one of the hottest restaurants in Portland, was Audrey, the girl Tyson hadn’t been able to banish from his mind since the day before.

Even though their interaction hadn’t exactly been rewarding, Tyson found himself fantasizing about the girl with the thick dark hair and coppery eyes almost constantly. He wasn’t fantasizing anything particularly sexual, though his mind would have gone there willingly if he’d let it. He just wanted to talk to her, be near her for some reason.

“Tyson.” She said his name simply, quietly, as if she’d fully expected that he would show up here.

Suddenly, he felt uncertain of himself. The heavy bag of wines was pulling down on his shoulder, making him feel lopsided and awkward. Anxiety began to claw its way up his throat, and he felt his vision beginning to darken. He pushed the sensation away.

“Audrey, right?” He willed his body to stop shaking and focused on her amber eyes, feeling himself calm.

“Right.”

“I had no idea you worked here.”

“Of course not. There’s no way you could have known.”

“So we’ve established that I’m not stalking you.” He smiled.

She tilted her head, and the thick hair fell away from her graceful neck on one side. Tyson fought back an urge to run his hand along her delicate jawline. Something about her was a contradiction. She appeared fragile and delicate, but there was such strength in her eyes and attitude.

“Was there some question that you might?” The half smile again. Tyson felt butterflies jump into action in his gut. Why does this girl have such an effect on me?

“Of course not,” Tyson laughed easily then. He nodded down toward the cooler bag. “You didn’t really get a chance to taste through the wines. Think we could try a…”

Just then a loud squealing sound erupted from the street, followed by the sickening crunch of metal. A Volvo SUV had just rear-ended a much smaller Kia, and the entire rear end of the Kia was crumpled and smashed.

As the noise began, Tyson felt his entire body start to vibrate. His heart exploded in his chest and adrenaline flooded his body. Before he knew it, he had pushed Audrey inside the restaurant, one hand on her chest, sending her flying inside where she landed hard against the long table. He slammed the door shut behind himself and ended up in a crouch behind it, hands frantically searching for his weapon. He peered out the tinted window at the street, his hands still uselessly seeking anything he could use to protect himself.

Inside the restaurant, Florence and the Machine played loudly, and a longhaired skater guy was jabbering away on the phone at the podium. Tyson glanced around to find another woman, a redhead with a serious expression, sitting at the bar and staring at him with her pen raised in mid-air, while Audrey had slipped down into a chair at the table and was eyeing him with a mixture of fear and irritation.

His breathing slowly returned to normal and he stood up, wishing he could just disappear. He smoothed his clothing and eventually shoved his hands into his pockets where he hoped they would stay still.

“Um…” he looked up at Audrey.

She was rubbing her shoulder.

Horror crept through him as he started to remember exactly what had just happened. He’d shoved her. Hard.

“Oh, God,” he said, crossing the floor to where she sat, looking dazed. “Are you hurt?”




Delancey Stewart is the author of the Wine Country Romance Series, featuring A Rare Vintage and Redemption Red. She is also writing the Girlfriends of Gotham series for Swoon Romance. The first book in that series, Men and Martinis, will publish in December 2013. 
Stewart has lived on both coasts, in big cities and small towns. She's been a pharmaceutical rep, a personal trainer and a direct sales representative for a French wine importer.

A military spouse and the mother of two small boys, her current job titles include pirate captain, monster hunter, Lego assembler and story reader. She tackles all these efforts at her current home near Washington D.C.




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3 eCopy sets of “A Rare Vintage” & “Redemption Red”2 signed paperback copies of “Redemption Red”Oenophilia Wine Glass Puzzle & 1 eCopy of “Redemption Red”Wine Wars: A Trivia Game for Wine Geeks and Wannabes & 1 eCopy of “Redemption Red”Fashion Women Bubble Bid Bead Statement Party Necklace & 1 eCopy of “Redemption Red”Lova Jewelry "Days of Wine and Roses" Reddish-Purple Murano Glass Beaded Stella Fashion Bracelet & 1 eCopy of “Redemption Red”
***Please Note that all shipped prizes are open to US winners only and an eBook or eBook set can be offered in lieu of for international winners***
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