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Romance Books

Tag: New Adult (page 1 of 3)

Review: Heartbreaker by Kat and Stone Bastion

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Author: Kat & Stone Bastion

Book: Heartbreaker

tl;dr recommendation: This friends to lovers romance made me swoon and smile. 4 stars!

Book Summary:

Kiki Michaelson wants one wild night to forget her starving-artist worries. Simple.

Only instead of Darren Cole becoming her one-night stand, he taunts her with a challenge. Then while she’s trying to best him at his own game, he turns out to be the last thing she’s prepared for: someone she wants to keep.

Which means all he can ever be…is a friend.

Darren Cole never allows a girl to get close—not close enough to matter.

Then storms in Kiki Michaelson, a beautiful, fearless temptation that rocks his world off-balance. But he fights their attraction, unwilling to gamble something physical with their close ties. Until the passionate sculptor exposes her heart and breaks his wide open.

In that moment it becomes clear: she could never be just a friend.

Sometimes what you run from…is exactly what you need.

***HEARTBREAKER is a standalone, full-length new adult romance told in dual POV. Due to mature themes and adult language, this book is for those 18 and older.***

Longer Review:

Heartbreaker is fun, flirty and sweet. Kiki and Darren are friends to lovers that you want to watch fall together. The Bastions write extremely well and know how to throw a hot sentence…or scene together. I could absolutely feel the heat rising from the pages with each flirt, smirk and wink.

HOWEVER, Darren is really hot. I mean, twist your hands in your lap and try to not stare hot. He’s also one of the most stand up guys there is – but due to his obligations he’s unable to fully commit to Kiki. Whereas Kiki is only after Darren for his potential at being her next one night stand. Until he changes the rules.

While I don’t entirely understand the title in relation to the actual words in the book (Darren is certainly not a heartbreaker insomuch that he’s not a serial manwhore – and neither is Kiki either, even though she is somewhat of a serial womanwhore) and the cover literally has nothing to do with the plot, I still enjoyed the story itself.

This friends to lovers romance made me swoon and smile. 4 stars!

Review: The Deepest Blue by Christina Lee

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Author: Christina Lee

Book: The Deepest Blue (Roadmap to your Heart #2)

tl;dr recommendation: If you need to satisfy your craving for love, romance, and multiple dicks – Christina Lee is your girl and The Deepest Blue is your cure. 5 stars!

Book Summary:

Rugged and conventional Callum Montgomery enjoys running Shady Pines hunting preserve, except for the secret that’s eating him alive. When his sister brings a date for a family wedding, he can’t stand the arrogant city slicker with the stick up his perfectly fine ass. He doesn’t understand his draw to Dean, who pushes his buttons at every turn, but he’d never dream of betraying his sibling over some lust fueled fantasy.

Handsome and conscientious Dean Abbott is a research assistant in his university’s biology lab. When his roommate, Cassie, begs him to be her pretend date in front of her meddling family, he begrudgingly agrees to help. He doesn’t anticipate being enchanted by the countryside, the colorful cast of characters, or her sexy and brooding straight brother.

When contempt turns to passion and leads to stolen moments in a sugar cane field, Callum can’t help longing for the kind of connection he believes he can never have. But not even the world’s most heart-melting kiss can bridge the vast philosophical differences between the men.

Dean’s return to his urban lifestyle leaves him restless, his mind continually wandering to the charming setting that spoke to something missing deep inside him. Because you can take the city boy out of the country but you can’t make him forget the intriguing man he left behind.

Longer Review:

Be still my ovaries. They really shouldn’t be making noise at all AND YET, they don’t care. Callum and Dean made them throb and scream and beg to be invited into their inner circle. They are ADORABLE together. I may have a thing for m/m books. pshhhh. whatevs.

The basic premise is simple: Dean agrees to be his BFF’s date to her cousin’s wedding so that they stop bugging her about marrying a certain ex who would serve to expand their family’s land. When Dean shows up and runs into Callum they banter back and forth like they’ve been married for years.

Except that Callum isn’t out. He’s never been out. And he’s not sure he can be without putting his family’s business in jeopardy. But he feels a pull to Dean that he’s never felt with anyone before – the crazy part is that for a good portion of this book neither of them know that the other is available or interested…and YET you could feel the intensity with every glance and slight touch.

A little angsty but with so much more love, Lee develops deep characters with deeper feelings. I genuinely liked each guy and I LOVED when they decided that they liked each other too. If you need to satisfy your craving for love, romance, and multiple dicks – Christina Lee is your girl and The Deepest Blue is your cure.

Release Blitz & Review: Catching To Win by Carrie Aarons

 

 

Title: Catching to Win
Series: Over the Fence #3
Author: Carrie Aarons
Genre: New Adult/Sports Romance
 Release Date: December 1, 2015
Blurb

Kelsey O’Brien is the definition of a free spirit. She goes where she wants, when she wants, and takes to bed who she wants. And when she arrives back at Grover University after eight months on an African animal preserve, it’s her best friend, who recently sprouted abs and a panty-dropping beard, that has caught her eye. As their friendship turns physical, Kelsey begins to form feelings she swore she’d never have for anyone. But when the past she’s not ready to face finds her, she must make a decision whether to stop running, or confront the truth

The first time Clint Bellows laid eyes on Kelsey, he fell hard. Too bad she looked right through him. A year and countless hours in the gym later, she’s back and hardly recognizes him and his new body. After a drunken encounter takes them over the line of friendship, Clint agrees to Kelsey’s proposal of a benefits-added relationship. Only he’s playing for keeps, and is willing to round all of the bases trying to score the self-proclaimed gypsy.
 She’s running from her demons. He’s committed to winning her over. Can he catch her in time, or will she be out of his grasp before he can blink?

Purchase Links
AMAZON US / UK
Review

Catching To Win lights up the scoreboard with stubborn angst and fiery passion. Kelsey and Clint are sweetly but oppositely matched. Clint’s the former heavy baseball player who decides to change his life – and his looks – after one glance at Kelsey.

Kelsey’s a bit of hard person to get a handle on. She’s definitely an animal lover and she’s also as skittish as a cat – picking up and running away whenever things get tough. She’s a bit narcissistic and shallow, but a lot of girls are at her age so that didn’t turn me off as much as I had expected it to.

Clint may be sexually inexperienced but he’s like a strong anchor in Kelsey’s stormy world. What Kelsey starts as a friends with benefits arrangement quickly spirals into so much more than she thinks she can handle. Somewhat silly and occasionally worthy of a roll of the eyes, Kelsey’s not always the quickest lion in the pack, but she is the most loyal – to those who have earned her trust.

Clint is hot, sweet and romantically inclined. When he falls – he falls hard. I loved his willingness to take on Kelsey’s whirlwind life and his big heart that so quickly filled with all of Kelsey.

Catching To Win is New Adult romance meets baseball gloriousness. I mean, who doesn’t love hot men in tight white pants getting all sweaty and uhhhh yea. I most certainly do. YES, PLEASE. 4.25 stars!

[I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review]

 

Excerpt
When we got inside, the blaring hip­ hop music was only coming from one corner of the house. Kelsey’s corner.I waved the guys off, signaling that I would take care of the problem. As I got closer, I could make out the lyrics, “Drunk in loveee. We be all night! Loveee. Loveee. We be all night!”

Chuckling to myself on her choice of song, I knocked on the door. Waited a few seconds, nothing. This time I banged my entire fist in an effort to rattle the wood on its hinges. Still nothing.

“Roo…” I opened her door, letting myself in, and stopped dead at the sight in front of me. Kelsey was in the middle of the room, her hair piled on the top of her head like some fiery tornado, a glass filled to the brim with red wine in her hand. And she was dancing like a mad woman.

She donned a white tank top that exposed the sides of her breasts and entirely-too-large grey sweatpants that pooled over her feet, making her look like a dwarf. She was utterly adorable and fucking mouthwateringly sexy.

At the creek of the door she turned, her naturally red lips splitting in a megawatt smile.

“Hi!”

I could tell from her dancing and the slight blush of her cheeks that she was tipsy. It made her even cuter.

“Hi yourself. What’re you doing there?” I couldn’t help her infectious smile from spreading across my face too.

She shook her hips wildly as the song changed to something faster. Pitbull maybe. But I was never good with music. “I had a long, hard day. Kickass, but fucking hard! So I’m dancing.”

Kelsey makes this more evident by raising the wine glass to her lips, taking a huge swig, and then raising it above her head and twirling in circles.

I drop my baseball bag on her floor and toe my sneakers off. Then I join her in the middle of the floor, and begin to move.

She gives a happy shout and moves closer to me, joining her free hand with mine and swinging both of our arms.

“I had my fingers up a zebra’s ass today. Well technically, it was a whole fist!” She announces this like it’s the most normal thing in the world while I pull quickly out of her grasp. Kelsey giggles at my repulsion.

“Oh my god, bro! Don’t worry I had gloves on. But I did have to juggle her placenta in there…”

“Kels, stop. I am going to throw up.”

She did that sexy little giggle again and raised the glass to her lips. As she took it away and swallowed, she then raised it to mine. I let her pour some into my mouth, watching her cinnamon eyes over the brim. I knew the instant desire sparked in them, and I could feel myself harden in the mesh shorts I wore.

Reaching up, I held the delicate stem in my fingers and pried it out of her hand. Setting it down on the desk, I began to stalk toward her like she was the meal and I was ravenous.

 

Also Available
AMAZON US / UK

 

AMAZON US / UK
Author Bio

They say those who can’t do, teach. Well, Carrie has no hand-eye coordination, and her idea of romance is a Netflix marathon complete with Thai food. So, she writes sports romance novels instead.

Beginning her writing career as a journalist, Carrie wrote about real-life crime and scandal before turning to the fantasy world of fiction. She lives with her husband in an apartment they are constantly outgrowing.

Author Links

 

 

Blog Tour & Review: Enamor by Veronica Larsen

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He’s infuriating on purpose.

She’s too irresistible when she hates him.

~

The first step in solving a problem is recognizing there’s one to begin with. Here’s mine. My new roommate is a conceited, womanizing jerk. He pushes my buttons and drives me so crazy I want to strangle him daily.

There’s a million reasons why I should stay far away from him, the most obvious of which being that I hate him with the fire of a thousand suns.

Except that I don’t hate him.

I sometimes wonder if this back-and-forth between us is all just pretend. All part of a diversion, a line of defense against the heat we generate whenever we are near each other.

It’s a reckless game we’re playing, treading the edge of an attraction so intense it might as well be a grenade.

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REVIEW

The love in this book? It sneaks up on you. It comes out of nowhere and spreads everywhere. It’s the kind of all consuming, barrier breaking, heart warming, skin heating, line crossing love that exploded my heart and scattered my emotions.

Giles and Julia have a love/hate friendship that turns into a love/love friendship that turns into so.much.more. The banter and prank war between them was hilarious, but what really got me was how both of them changed so much in such definable ways by each other without either of them really knowing it.

They each have histories that make them insecure – but Julia isn’t going down without a fight. I absolutely loved the fire and spark within her. She’s exactly the kind of heroine I love: sassy, smart, and seriously silly. Julia’s been drug through the flames of a public humiliation that would have the strongest women cowering, but she’s determined to rise above the ashes of her life. She’s one of those women whose true strength is forged by heat. AND I LOVED HER.

Giles is a current manwhore whose curved grin drops panties without effort. There’s something about the look in Julia’s eyes that draws him in, makes him forget everything that tortures him – everything he’s trying to escape. But by letting her in to the darkest parts of his soul, he didn’t realize that she would fill those spots in a way that no one else ever has.

His struggle to believe in something permanent is beautifully believable and wonderfully worrisome. As the line between them keeps shifting, the tension and heat keeps growing. Their intimacy is this gorgeous gift that we get to peek into while they figure out what exactly they are.

ENAMOR is new adulty without being new adulty. You don’t get a stupid girl who falls apart at the first sign of trouble or a fumbling college boy who does idiotic things with his dick. This book combines the best of contemporary romance with the best of new adult and I could not love it any harder.

Thanks for making me cry, Veronica. If it’s any consolation it was a sweet cry of relief and heart tugging happiness that surprised me. I adore ENAMOR. It had me falling from the very first scene. Best book Veronica’s written to date. hands down. #MustRead

[I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review]

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Julia

I walk over to the rack of cue sticks and grab one, testing it out in my hand. It’s been a while since I’ve played pool. After grabbing a second stick, I turn to hand it to Giles and the sight of him sitting on the edge of the pool table, watching me, catches me off guard.

He’s still shirtless, wearing a pair of red swim trunks that fit him too well. I’m used to seeing him this way. He’s always shirtless around the house. I’ve pretty much memorized every inch of his upper body. It’s hard not to, when he’s all compact and lean muscles under smooth skin.

I know he can’t see himself. I know he didn’t plan for the room’s lighting to hit him in just the right way, casting shadows in the hollows of his shoulders, biceps, and abs, accentuating his build. He’s set in a spotlight of sorts, which allows glints of the copper tones in his hair to make his eyes glow as if they’re lit from within.

Damn it.

I stare for too long, but he pretends not to notice and reaches for the second cue stick in my hand.

“Ladies first.” He gestures to the table behind him.

I pass him and, reaching the pool table, I rest my forearms on the edge of it. With careful aim, I lunge my cue stick forward and send the cue ball crashing through, balls scurrying in all directions, three finding their pockets.

“Impressive,” he says, from somewhere behind me, though I could’ve sworn he was off to my left just seconds earlier. “You landed two solids. Looks like I’m stripes.”

I move around to find my next target and as I lean forward to make a strike, a hand lays on the table, centimeters from my waist. The surprise makes me miss my shot, and though I hit the cue ball, it jerks forward only an inch or two.

My skin prickles with awareness as I turn to face Giles. He’s standing right there, face barely six inches from mine. So close I swear he’s about to kiss me. My breath gets trapped in my chest and I’m not sure if I’d stop him.

“Can I tell you something without you getting offended?” he asks, voice just loud enough to reach me.

I nod, unsure how he could say anything that could offend me when he’s standing so close with that look in his eyes.

His gaze moves down my face, to the space between us, to my body, and I hope he doesn’t notice I’m breathing just a little harder than before.

“You have the most beautiful body I’ve ever seen.”

He looks and sounds so genuine that I couldn’t make a joke if I wanted to. Lost for words, I bring my lower lip in between my teeth. And now he’s looking right at my mouth.

My head spins. The air is just so thick all of a sudden and my thoughts are too fast and too slow at the same time.

“Thanks,” I say, looking down at the way his arm stretches out beside me, his grip closing over the edge of the table. If he set his other arm the same way, I’d be trapped between them.

And I realize I’d like that, a lot.

But he doesn’t cage me in. Instead, he brings his hand up to my face and runs a finger over the edge of my forehead, collecting my hair and tucking it behind my ear. He’s never touched me before. His fingertips grazing my face make my heartbeat go off rhythm.

“I came here for a reason,” he says under his breath, almost to himself, “and now I can’t remember what that reason was.”

I feel the same way. My cue stick is still in my hand, the only reminder we came here to play pool, but suddenly the thought of that game isn’t as enticing as standing here so close to him. His hand lowers from my face to my arm, caressing my skin along the way, triggering trickles of sensations that spread across me. His touch is foreign and yet strangely familiar, as though my body has imagined this moment even while my mind has refused to consider it.

“I get the weird feeling you’re hiding your body,” he says. “That you don’t feel comfortable in your skin but…”

“But what?”

He shakes his head. “But I’ve seen your body, Julia. And I swear, I can’t stop thinking about how it’d feel under mine.”

Oh my God.

Did he just say that? The room warms ten degrees in an instant.

“Giles…”

What do I even want to say?

Stop talking. Keep going. Touch me.

My thoughts are turning me in a dozen directions, making it hard for me to know for sure what to say, what to do. My eyes are on his lips, despite not wanting him to spy just how badly his touch and proximity affect me.

“I keep wondering if the curiosity is mutual,” he says, hopeful.

“I can’t say I haven’t thought about it,” I hear myself respond in a voice I barely recognize.

I’ve never seen this look in his eyes. It’s like he’s been pulled under a spell, lids lowering, words slow. His hand comes up again and he brushes his thumb over my bottom lip, pulling it slightly down. I let him.

Desire, hot and thick, spreads wider across his face with each passing second.

“And this mouth? I think about it a lot, too. What it would taste like…what it would feel like…”

My lips part farther as I exhale in surprise.

Is this happening? I wait for the inkling to pull away from him, to stop this before it goes further. But no part of me wants this to stop. The heaviness between my legs makes every other thought in my mind seem so small and trivial. And Giles? I bet he’s anything but.

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Veronica Larsen is a contemporary romance novelist who aims to write layered characters and compelling story-lines. Her romance novels are equal parts angst-driven and steamy. They tend to feature strong, but flawed female leads who keep their male counterparts on their toes. Veronica has a thirst for understanding the inner workings of character’s minds, a curiosity propelled by her degree in psychology. She’s an avid reader of all genres, coffee addict, and an unapologetic Potterhead.

Author Links

Twitter Facebook Web Amazon author page Goodreads

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Review: Let Love Live by Melissa Collins

Author: Melissa Collins

Book: Let Love Live (Love #5)

tl;dr recommendation: Oh hi tears. Welcome. Good to see you again. 4 stars.

Book Summary:

Who would you become if you lost the only person who ever mattered?

For twenty-six year old Dylan Hopkins, the answer is easy. He’s become no one. Memories of the happier times are all he has left as he finds himself meandering numbly through his now dull life. Though he cares about his work and family dearly, he’s yet to let himself find love again. Afraid of letting go of what he once had, Dylan chooses to keep his heart buried, where it belongs, having died a long time ago.

Conner Michelson is about to change everything Dylan knows. He’s every bit the bad boy persona – tatted up, ex-MMA fighter, but after an injury leaves him unable to fight, he has to rethink his goals. Having just opened his own gym, Conner can cross his first major life accomplishment off his very short list. Next up: find a man he can settle down with and build a family. Seems simple enough – a dream most people have, but when he meets Dylan, his carefree, easy-going life is thrown into a tailspin.

Determined to keep Dylan in his life, Conner vows to resurrect Dylan’s long ago buried heart and let love live once more.

Longer Review:

Oh hi tears. Welcome. Good to see you again.

I’m not sure quite how I feel about Melissa throwing us to the wolves in the past portion of this book, making me CARE, and then ripping my heart out. I knew that Dylan has been through a traumatic experience from reading the blurb, but I didn’t realize that we too were going to travel with him back to the past and watch him and Shane fall in love before tragedy strikes. Good lord, a girl could use a warning. So this is yours.

I sometimes felt that I was speed reading the past – not because it was badly written – because I knew it ended badly and my poor heart couldn’t take it. We spend a good fifty percent of this book with Shane and Dylan’s love story. It’s a beautiful NA m/m love story that I could have read all day – I just really fucking wanted a happier ending. And then we move on to what I call the Connor-half of the story – but Melissa doesn’t let you off the hook. Once we got to the present, the emotions don’t go away.

Connor, the former MMA fighter turned gym owner, hasn’t exactly had an easy go of life and watching the two imperfect men come together to find each other was sweet and wholesome. It was also really fucking hot. Dual cocks is one of my favorite romance subgenres (I renamed it, okay?) and Let Love Live let me enjoy every inch of these men. thankyouverymuch.

This book is well written and emotion inducing. I would blame the fact that it was 2am when I was reading this for the tears that rolled out of my eyes, but truth be told, Melissa hit me in the heart and sucked the feels out of me. Emotional while still sexy as hell, Dylan was worth the fight. 4 stars!

Release Day & Review: A Lover’s Lament by K. L. Grayson & BT Urruela

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It’s the release day of A Lover’s Lament by KL Grayson & BT Urruela! I love this fantastic contemporary romance so much. Today, we have an excerpt and a fantastic giveaway, so be sure to check out all of the release day fetivities!

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About A Lover’s Lament:

In a matter of seconds my entire world changed, and it was in that moment that I stopped living and simply began to exist.

In my grief, I sent a letter to the first boy I ever loved. I hoped in writing it I’d find some peace from the nightmare I was living, some solace in my anger.

I didn’t expect him to write back. I wasn’t prepared for his words, and I certainly wasn’t ready for the impact this soldier would have on my life. A deep-rooted hate transformed into friendship, and then molded into a love like I’d never known before.

Sergeant Devin Ulysses Clay did what I couldn’t: he put the shattered pieces of my heart back together, restoring my faith in humanity and teaching me how to live again.

But now that I’m whole, I have a decision to make. Do I return to my life as I knew it and the fiancé I left behind, or do I walk away from it all for the only man to ever break my heart?

***

I’ve been living in hell, but you won’t hear me complain.

These men depend on me, as I do them, and this brotherhood is the only family I’ve ever known.

The Army saved me from a callous mother and a life on the wrong side of the tracks that was quickly spiraling out of control. So unlike most of the men in my platoon, going home wasn’t something I longed for.

I was content overseas, spending my days defending this country that gave me my life back. Fighting became my new normal … until her.

A letter from Katie Devora—a letter that I almost didn’t open. Her words put a fire back inside of me that I didn’t know I’d lost. She gave me hope during a time when I was fighting every day just to stay alive, and now it’s time I fight for her.

Buy Links:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Goodreads

Devin Teaser

Review:

Wow. What a poignant, beautiful, and heartbreaking story full of love, loss, war, life & death. This book held me close to tears the entire time, rocking me over my breaking point more than once.

Katie’s dealing with loss and after loss – she’s been through a tragedy that she’s not sure that she can recover from and she’s hiding her hurt in anger. She’s pushing away everyone that can possible feel anything for her and it’s ruining her life. When her therapist suggests writing to a soldier and she sees the name of the only man to ever break her heart on that list, she knows that she has to try. Try to live again. Connect with a man who was once her best friend. A man she called her soulmate.

Devin’s story is so captivating it hurt to read at times. He’s in the Army and is deployed. While he doesn’t want to be there, he doesn’t want to be anywhere else. He doesn’t have anyone at home waiting for him and everyone he cares about is right in front of him – except for those who he has already lost in battle. His story touched me deeply and I felt that it was portrayed in such a respectful and accurate way.

Their letters turn to phone calls and so much more – this book is real and manages to describe the indescribable feelings of love, loss and fear. Emotional doesn’t even begin to cover it. I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish this one and I couldn’t stop the wave of feelings that crashed over me. The writing is unbelievable, hooking you into the story like you know characters. I was head over heels for each of them for completely different reasons and was fighting for their love just as much as they were.

This raw and gorgeous book captured my heart. If you crave a book with All The Feels, you need A Lover’s Lament. You need to read this book. 5 stars!

[I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review]

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Exclusive Excerpt:

I wake before the sun has checked in for the day and scan the tent, noting my men still sleeping heavily. My morning ritual, at least the days I have time to do it, requires a bit of privacy, and I make certain I have it before I begin. Most of these clowns will just jerk it from their cots in the middle of the night with the rest of us passed out around them. There’s always been something odd about that to me. On a regular basis, I’ve woken up to the sounds of heavy breathing and skin slapping skin, and it pisses me the fuck off. If I’m not dog-tired, they’ll get a boot heaved in their direction, aimed straight for the dick and with the express purpose of putting them out of business for a while.

No, jackin’ the beanstalk in public isn’t for me. Unfortunately, that leaves only one other place to do it—the Drop Zone. Porta-shitters, as we like to call them, sit for weeks without being emptied and capture every bit of the sun’s heat. It’s like a fucking greenhouse in there, and one breath in that motherfucker while beating off and your dick is in full retreat.

So there’s a trick to doing this just right; you have to prep him first. You get him up and going, and then you quickly finish in the shitter. For most of these guys, the bikini-clad chicks above their cots or the porno mags stashed in their bags are a necessity for a proper jerk-off, but I’m an imaginative guy. I close my eyes and my mind becomes like a time machine of fuck. Marilyn Monroe in Some Like it Hot … bam! … cum everywhere. Farrah Fawcett in her iconic red swimsuit bent over the counter … set the time machine and go.

This time my mind goes for none other than Jackie O. She’s spread-eagle, with my tongue lightly flicking her throbbing clit while she’s begging for my dick. And, of course, I’m making her call me Mr. President. I laugh at the last thought but notice it’s at least gotten the job started. Since my dick is half-mast and ticking its way to full form, I slink my way to the tent’s entrance.

Stepping out, I’m met by the sun creeping softly over the tops of the barriers, and I hurry toward the porta-shitters, positioned just past the Humvees in front of the eastern wall. This two-hundred-yard walk is the most important part of the process. You have to walk with speed but not urgency, in hopes that you don’t attract attention from the few others also awake—all while the imagined porn still reels in your head.

I manage to make it into the shitter undetected and quickly go to work on my shaft while my left hand pinches my nose like a vise and my eyes squeeze tightly shut. Only this time it isn’t someone famous that I picture. It’s Katie.

Even as early as it is, the Drop Zone is like a sauna, and beads of sweat collect on my forehead. I try desperately to hold in my breath as the seconds tick down. Just as my lungs begin to demand air and my body stiffens, I toss my head back with a stifled groan. My body recovers from its high much quicker in this setting, but at least the job is done. Two weeks of combat stress gone, just like that.

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About the Authors:

Kirby_9135K.L. Grayson resides in a small town outside of St. Louis, MO. She is entertained daily by her extraordinary husband, who will forever inspire every good quality she writes in a man. Her entire life rests in the palms of six dirty little hands, and when the day is over and those pint-sized cherubs have been washed and tucked into bed, you can find her typing away furiously on her computer. She has a love for alpha-males, brownies, reading, tattoos, sunglasses, and happy endings…and not particularly in that order.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/KL-Grayson/1403900879892076?ref=hl

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorklgrayson

IG: @booksbyklgrayson

IMG_3638Taylor Urruela was an infantryman in the US Army from August 2004 until February 2011. At the end of a year long tour in Baghdad, IQ, his vehicle was hit by two roadside bombs, which took his right leg below the knee and the life of his commander. He was awarded the Purple Heart for his wounds, an Army Commendation Medal and Combat Infantryman’s Badge. He medically retired from the Army in 2011 and moved to Tampa, FL where he currently works as a Director and Brand Ambassador of VETSports, a veteran community sports nonprofit he co-founded in 2012. He also conducts speaking engagements and he’s a personal trainer for Tampa Sports Academy.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BTUrruela?fref=ts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BTUArmy

IG: @BTUrruela

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Blog Tour & Review: Sacked by Jen Frederick

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LINKS:
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BLURB

What he wants he gets…

Knox Masters is a quarterback’s worst nightmare. Warrior. Champion. And…virgin. Knox knows what he wants–and he gets it. All American Football player? Check. NFL pros scouting him? Check. Now, he’s set his sight on two things. The national title. And Ellie Campbell. Sure, she’s the sister of his fellow teammate, but that’s not going to stop him. Especially not when he’s convinced Ellie is the one.

…but he’s never met her before.

But Ellie isn’t as sure. She’s trying to start a new life and she’s not interested in a relationship…with anyone. Beside it’s not just her cardinal rule of never dating her brother’s teammates that keeps her away, but Ellie has a dark secret that would jeopardize everything Knox is pursuing.

Knox has no intention of losing. Ellie has no intention of giving in.

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REVIEW
SACKED comes with a free book hangover. It is perfection. My heart is bursting and I’m smiling stupidly and I’ve stayed up way too late to finish this book and IDGAF. If every book made me laugh and swoon like this one, I may never leave the house. This book plucked at all my feels, like it was fine-tuning a guitar, and I loved every second of it.
Knox is the most popular football player at college – he’s the Head Jock of All Jocks and he wears the title proudly; however, he’s not the jerk you’d make him out to be. Knox is, by far, my favorite player…and not the way it sounds. He’s a virgin – and proud of it. His kisses are disarming, his spirit is pure and so is his virtue. Good lord, I loved every fucking second of his deflowering.
Eliot, or Ellie, is the girl with the boys name, who is constantly looked at as second to her older brother, a teammate of Knox’. He’s the reason she’s at the same school. He’s the reason she takes extra classes. He’s the reason she can never get out from under her parents’ thumb. But the thing is, she loves her brother. Their relationship is symbiotic, awesome, and really sweet. Frederick plays up the sibling rivalry but also shows us the nice side of having a sibling who is close to you in age.
I thought that the drama would stem from Ellie’s relationship with Jack’s teammate. And I was wrong. Ellie has been so used to being known as second best that she can’t seem to understand how she’s first to Knox. Fuck, the sexual tension. It’s outstanding, boiling and completely hot.
Not only does Frederick know how to write, but she also writes new scenes that I’ve never read before. A bathroom scene where neither touches the other but yet so much is released. I was nearing combustion myself by the time Ellie and Knox came together. SO HOT.
While I loved every sexy bit of this book, STACKED is about so much more than sex. Witty banter and solid feelings moved this story straight into my favorites column. I’m floored with adoration for every little piece of this book, it’s characters and their love. I didn’t want this story to end. ALL THE STARS!
[I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review]
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​EXCERPT

I lock my legs to keep from falling over and pull out the biggest barrel I have. “Masters, there are things about me that if you knew you wouldn’t want to spend another minute in my presence.”

He considers my words, the silence taking on a heaviness and part of me already aches for what I could have if I was just any other girl at Western. “Have you killed anyone?” he finally asks. I can feel his eyes assessing me and I keep my gaze averted afraid of what

I’ll see in his moss green gaze.

“No.”

“Have you slept with my brother?”
“What?” I can’t prevent myself from gawking at Masters, who’s smiling as he asks the question. “No! God, I’ve never even met him!”

“Are you catfishing poor athletes from Auburn? Wait, don’t answer that because I don’t think I’d find that objectionable. Oh, I have it—” He snaps his fingers.

“This isn’t a joke, Masters.”

He tucks a stray piece of hair behind my ear. “Until you tell me what it is, it’s not a reason to be apart either.”

I suck in my lower lip to prevent throwing myself at him and telling him to take me.

“Why?” I ask helplessly.

“Because I like you.”

He grips me by the chin and lays down gentlest, sweetest kiss. In that kiss he tells me everything. That he wants me. That he’s willing to take it slow. That he’s not giving up.

He kisses me as if this is the only thing he wants to do for the next ten hours.

His lips barely move but I can feel everything in me surge toward him. The short wedges
I shoved on this morning suddenly feel precarious. I grip his shoulders to steady myself and then find myself rising up on my tiptoes to press deeper against him. He hauls me flush against him until I can no longer touch the floor.

His one hand palms nearly my entire back while the other angles my head for better access. He may be a virgin, but the guy knows how to kiss. His tongue is finding places inside my mouth that I didn’t even know would feel good.

All the pent up desire that has been boiling in me for days comes pouring out of me. I attack him with my next kiss, biting his lower lip, sucking on his tongue.  Against my belly I can feel the hard ridge of his erection.

“God,” I breathe as he abandons my mouth to trace the line of my jaw with his lips. He growls in response and pushes me back against the bookcases but I don’t even mind that the shelves are biting into my back. I just want more.

And he gives it to me. We cling to each other, feeding off of each other’s seemingly endless need until I hear a gasp and then a muted giggle. And those two faint sounds somehow manage to break through the haze of lust and bring with it the realization that

I am in a very public place. I wriggle against him and he sets me down reluctantly.

“We’re in the bookstore,” I say in a scandalized voice.

“You’ve never kissed a guy in the bookstore before?” He grins, the wicked mischievous one I’m beginning to associate with something tremendously naughty. “There’s a first time for everything.”

Blog Tour & Review: Pulled Under by Sarah Darlington

Pulled Under by Sarah Darlington

Synopsis:
man-child. noun.
: a grown man who is very immature, therefor considered a man-child

manwhore. noun.
: a promiscuous man who has no regard for his sexual partners or the emotional value of his relationships

Rhett Morgan couldn’t have been more wrong for me. The guy drank beer in the shower, for crying out loud. He had no prospects for the future, had slept with half the women in our beach town of Kill Devil Hills, and had no desire to change his manwhore ways.

And when Ben Turner, the guy I had loved from afar for the past four years, died and I couldn’t get over his death, I desperately needed a distraction. A distraction like Rhett. So I used him for a one-night stand. Because, after all, that’s the only thing a guy like Rhett is good for…right?

***New Adult Romance. This novel is the third book in the Kill Devil Hills series, however it can be read as a standalone. Recommended for 18+

PURCHASE NOW:
***FREE on Kindle Unlimited!***
$0.99 for release day!

Review:

I really loved Rhett. He’s funny, sweet, charming and adorable. He also has a bit of a reputation. However, there’s something about Syndey though that makes him stop and completely change course. Right after he meets Sydney (for the second time…the time that counts) he immediately stops his manwhoring ways, falls into a vat of love and tracks down Sydney, who legit just used him for sex since he’s known as the town manslut. *awwwwww*

I loved that Sydney calls him on his bullshit and I really really loved the hotel ice machine room scene. HOLY HELL. I also adored that Sydney began to stand up for herself when it counted the most. Of course, there are times where she’s an idiot and I wanted to shake her, but when it came down to it – she showed up.

While I found the plot somewhat predictable and it really could have really benefited from an epilogue (I needed just a bit more to come down off of the climactic high), there’s a lot to love about this book. The characters are likable, the sex is outstanding, and the player-turned-whipped-puppy-dog gets me every time. This is a New Adult manwhore redemption story that put a smile on my face. 3.75 stars!

[I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review]

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Other novels in the Kill Devil Hills Series:

#1: KILL DEVIL HILLS
Noah is determined to escape his past and keep his life under control. Then he saves the life of his best friend’s little sister, Georgina Turner — who is battling her own demons. He can’t get her out of his head, even if Georgina tears down the emotional walls he so carefully built.
Read chapter 1 and 2 here
Amazon ~ Amazon UK
**FREE on Kindle Unlimited**

#2: CHANGING TIDES
Ellie Turner is a lesbian. She knows who she is, loves who she is, and couldn’t care less what the rest of the world thinks of her. Then television star Nate West comes along. All thick muscle and alpha-male testosterone. When Ellie meets him on an airplane, he ignites something inside her she never knew existed.
Amazon ~ Amazon UK
**FREE on Kindle Unlimited**

About Sarah Darlington

Sarah Darlington, a New Adult and contemporary romance author, resides in Virginia with her husband, three-year old, and one more little one on the way. Best known for her Kill Devil Hills Series, she’s also a former flight attendant, with a degree in school counseling, and harbors a huge passion for traveling. She’s especially set on visiting all 50 states.

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Blog Tour & Review: Ready to Love by Franca Storm

ReadyToLoveTour

Ready to Love
by Franca Storm
A Damaged Hearts Novel #1
Publication Date: August 10, 2015
Genres: Contemporary, Romance

Tour: Ready to Love by Franca Storm

Purchase on Amazon.

She is the one woman who is always off limits…

College rocker and infamous playboy, John Kingston, has screwed his way through most of the women on campus. But there’s one woman he will never touch: his best friend and band mate, Nicki. For four years, he’s been her protector and her confidant.

When arrogant frat guy, Axel, attempts to make a claim on her, John suffers a painful wakeup call, quickly realizing that his feelings for Nicki are not purely platonic. Recognizing that Axel’s intentions are anything but innocent, John’s possessiveness spirals out of control, sparking a dangerous feud.

Nicola Lewis can’t bear to be touched. Haunted by an awful past that she has been unable to escape, she has kept her distance from the opposite sex. And she’s been just fine living her life that way: safe and uncomplicated with no chance of getting hurt again.

Until an unexpected kiss changes everything…

But John and Nicki must decide whether the burgeoning desire between them is worth the risk. Is this a case of love conquers all, or a huge mistake that could destroy everything?

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Review:

Rock band romance slams into a stalker trope New Adult story in Franca Storm’s Ready To Love! Bad boy, playboy John has always been there for Nikki. They’ve practically grown up together, write songs together, and play in the same band together. John saved Nikki from a traumatic event that has scarred her deeply and he continues to save her again and again when the nightmares return.

Yet, they never let themselves cross that line. John just isn’t ready to give up the groupies – until his rival starts to show interest in Nikki, slapping him in the face with reality. But that’s only a snippet of this wild love story. Nikki and John have plenty of obstacles to overcome while they attempt to build a new part of their relationship and imbed it onto firm ground.

Full of disagreements, boxing, music & love, the plot was enjoyable, but a bit cumbersome. I occasionally felt that there was just too much going on and the immature fighting was a little over the top. The ending was sort of rushed – but on the whole, this book still made me smile. John and Nikki are fun and sweet, even though their youth betrays them. I loved how patient John was with her, how he fell completely head over heels, and how he loved being whipped.

If you love a reformed manwhore, an inexperienced heroine, overcoming of inner demons wrapped in a new adult package, you’ll love this one! **3.5 stars**

[I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review]

Add to Goodreads

About Franca Storm

Franca was born in Surrey, England and currently lives in Niagara Falls, Canada with her husband and their labrador, Rocky.

She is a long-time lover of erotica and romance novels, especially those with sexy-as-sin alpha males. She decided to try her hand at writing her own and writing romance is now her obsession and the perfect way to put her dirty mind to good use!

Her writing spans many different sub-genres of romance: contemporary, biker romance, paranormal romance, new adult, romantic erotica and romance suspense. She’s got a ton of stories to tell and many more works up her sleeve.

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Blog Tour & Review: Delayed Penalty by Sophia Henry

delayedpenalty

Author: Sophia Henry

Amazon | B & N | iTunes | Kobo

 Link to Follow Tour | Goodreads Link | Goodreads Series Link

tl;dr recommendation: This Russian hockey themed NA novel had my heart actually twitching. 4 stars!

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Book Summary:

She closed her heart long ago. He just wants to open her mind. For fans of Toni Aleo and Sawyer Bennett, the debut of Sophia Henry’s red-hot Detroit Pilots series introduces a hockey team full of complicated men who fight for love.

Auden Berezin is used to losing people: her father, her mother, her first love. Now, just when she believes those childhood wounds are finally healing, she loses something else: the soccer scholarship that was her ticket to college. Scrambling to earn tuition money, she’s relieved to find a gig translating for a Russian minor-league hockey player—until she realizes that he’s the same dangerously sexy jerk who propositioned her at the bar the night before.

Equal parts muscle and scar tissue, Aleksandr Varenkov knows about trauma. Maybe that’s what draws him to Auden. He also lost his family too young, and he channeled the pain into his passions: first hockey, then vodka and women. But all that seems to just melt away the instant he kisses Auden and feels a jolt of desire as sudden and surprising as a hard check on the ice.

After everything she’s been through, Auden can’t bring herself to trust any man, let alone a hot-headed puck jockey with a bad reputation. Aleksandr just hopes she’ll give him a chance—long enough to prove he’s finally met the one who makes him want to change.

Longer Review:

This Russian hockey themed NA novel had my heart actually twitching. All of the whispers and building tension sent shockwaves through my body and I’m pretty sure my heart actually skipped a few beats.YES, пожалуйста! (google tells me that means ‘please’ in Russian).

Auden is a naive, yet likeable, character who rebuffs the possibility of any relationship – especially with the man she’s been hired to translate for. It doesn’t matter that he’s an insanely hot hockey player. Actually, it sort of does matter – because she’s determined not to be a bunny. She’s been let down by every person she’s ever let into her life and she’s not about to give someone else the chance to do the same.

Aleksandr, who also goes by Sasha, is not at all what I was expecting. At the beginning he is King Asshole and I was waiting for manwhoring to be his downfall. However, his douchebaggery hides kind words and a deep soul. While there is very little actual sex to be had in this book, the romance had me swooning. Sasha is a fantastic character who you will gladly fall in love with.

Of course Sasha and Auden start to grow closer while their lives begin to take them further apart. Jealousy creeps in & insecurities start to show themselves. The drama hits a fever pitch, as you’d expect; however, the predictability didn’t really bother me, as I was all too happy to go along with their journey. If you’re looking for an NA book with a ton of love, complete devotion and sweet kisses, then you must one-click!

[I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review]

Excerpt:

When you’re twenty years old, there’s nothing music and a drink can’t cure.

At least that was my best friend’s response when I told her I’d been cut from Central State’s women’s soccer team that morning.

The overzealous stylings of two drunk chicks bellowing “It’s Raining Men” wafted through the air, and I’d just received my vodka club from the bartender, so why did it still feel like someone scratched my heart out with a serrated shovel?

Maybe “It’s Raining Men” wasn’t the right song?

Or maybe my friend’s remedy lacked one vital piece. Like, five minutes locked in a bathroom stall with the crazy-haired hottie approaching me. His head was buzzed short on the sides, leaving a thick patch of dark locks, gelled into a neat pompadour in front. Sort of like 1920s gangster, except less slicked, more height.

Every muscle in Crazy Hair’s body rippled under his clothing as he walked. He had to be over six feet tall, with a broad chest and massive arms stretching the seams of his long-sleeved black Henley. His skin was smooth and pale, a contrast to the thick dark eyebrows resting above his jump-in-and-drown-in-me blue eyes. From the scar on his left cheek to the smug smirk of his lips, he was exactly my type: dangerous, confident, and totally lickable.

I flipped my long blond hair behind my shoulder and glanced to my left, pretending Crazy Hair’s advance had no effect on me. In reality, I’d checked to make sure that he wouldn’t pass me up on the way to some beautiful bombshell I hadn’t noticed standing in the vicinity.

Like when you see someone wave, so you wave back. Then you realize they weren’t waving at you but the person behind you. So you try to play off your lame wave like you were batting away mosquitoes, which aren’t there because it’s December in Canada. Just trying to avoid an awkward situation like that.

Crazy Hair continued to close in, before stopping just inches away.

I’d opened my mouth to ream him out for stepping too far into my personal space, but the sweet scent of clove cigarettes flooded warmth through me like a sip of hot chocolate on a January morning in the Upper Peninsula.

“You work at post office?” he asked in a thick Slavic accent.

“Um, no.” I took a swig of my drink. Though I was unsure where he was going with that line, he was hot enough for me to stick around.

The left corner of his mouth curved into that sexy little smirk. “Because I see you check out my package.”

Carbonation stung my nose as I snorted and choked trying to hold in my laugh. Without time to turn my head, I sprayed vodka club and saliva across the front of Crazy Hair’s shirt.

Awesome.

“Weak!” I heard from somewhere behind me.

I turned to see who had yelled, still coughing as I noticed a group of guys and girls at the high-top table behind me. Shaggy blond hair bounced against one guy’s forehead as he snickered. The dude next to him held his fist in front of his mouth in a horrible attempt to hide his laughter. A brunette in a tight red sweater didn’t look amused. At all.

Crazy Hair threw the guys not one but both of his middle fingers.

“That girl’s a fucking smoke show. Why’d he use a shitty line like that?” the blond one said.

Smoke show? I bit down hard on my lip to fight back a smile. The last time I’d heard that phrase was in high school from my hockey-playing best friend, who’d informed me that “smoke show” was player lingo for “hot girl.”

Unsure of how to recover any semblance of cool after spitting my drink across Crazy Hair’s muscular chest, I spun around and shuffled back to the table my friends occupied in front of the karaoke stage.

It felt weird to drink in public, though we’d been to Canada on multiple occasions. As lifelong residents of Detroit, Michigan, we thought of Windsor—the Canadian city connected to Detroit by a bridge and a tunnel—as the next town over, rather than a foreign country. Nineteen was the legal drinking age in Windsor, so it made sense for underage Americans like us to cross the border for some legit cocktails.

My butt had barely brushed my seat when I heard my name, and my name alone, called over the speakers. I lifted my eyes to the outdated popcorn ceiling, as if the voice resonated from the heavens beyond, rather than the karaoke host.

“Why is he calling my name?” I asked Kristen.

“I picked you a song,” she responded, taking a swig of her beer.

“You picked us a song, you mean?” Emphasis on the us, because I’d never sung alone in my life—not counting the shower and car, of course.

“Nope. Just you.” Kristen placed both hands on my back and pushed me toward the stage. “You need to sing it out. Keeping shit bottled up never works.”

I had no problem singing it out if I was singing with other people, but not when it was just me. Hadn’t I been embarrassed enough today?

My short-lived “smoke show” happiness vanished, and the embarrassment of making a fool of myself in front of Crazy Hair returned. I tried to reverse, but Kristen’s trampoline-like hands propelled me back toward the stage.

Climbing onto the stage, I snatched the microphone out of the host’s hand. I almost felt bad about taking my anger out on him until I saw the lyrics to “Proud Mary” light up in white against the teleprompter’s blue screen. Fuck.

What the hell? I exhaled and lifted my eyes to Kristen.

“Girl power!” She saluted me with her glass.

Was “Proud Mary” a girl-power song? I thought it was about a boat.

“Do you have ‘Good Feeling’?” I asked the karaoke host. He was around my age, with big brown eyes matching his neat, trimmed beard and his shoulder-length hair.

“Flo Rida?” he asked, as disapproving wrinkles formed on his smooth forehead.

“Oh, no,” I said. “The Violent Femmes.”

A smile spread across his lips, and he nodded. “Give me a second.”

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Author Info

Sophia Henry, a proud Detroit native, fell in love with reading, writing, and hockey all before she became a teenager. She did not, however, fall in love with snow. So after graduating with an English degree from Central Michigan University, she moved to North Carolina, where she spends her time writing books featuring hockey-playing heroes, chasing her two high-energy sons, watching her beloved Detroit Red Wings, and rocking out at concerts with her husband.

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads

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