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Blog Tour & Review: The Total Package by Stephanie Evanovich

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THE TOTAL PACKAGE
 
THE TOTAL PACKAGE
Stephanie Evanovich
Releasing March 15th, 2016
William Morrow

 


Smart and sexy Dani Carr knows as much about football as any man–maybe more. It’s always been her dream to make a living talking about the game she loves. But Dani’s not interested in being just the usual eye-candy sideline reporter; she wants to be the first woman analyst on a pre-game show, the ultimate in exclusive boys-club jobs. And it turns out, that despite the odds, she has the talent to get her there.

Star quarterback-and heartthrob–Tyson Palmer always did things in spectacular fashion, including ruining his career after debuting as a first-round draft pick. When the head coach of the Austin Mavericks refuses to let him waste his million dollar arm, Tyson makes a Hail Mary pass at redemption and succeeds with everyone…except Dani, who appears to be using her high-profile commentator job to make a name for herself at his expense.

Dani refuses to let anyone forget about Tyson’s transgressions….and for good reason. There’s history between these two, sizzling history that dates back to their college days, and it ended in another spectacular flame-out of Tyson’s. He’s conveniently forgotten all about that episode because Dani is no longer the cute girl next door he barely remembers–she’s a bombshell with huge ratings and a long memory.

But can a woman trying to claw her way to the top and a quarterback who knows all about rock bottom make it to the Super Bowl without destroying each other in the process? And what will happen when Tyson-riding high on his career comeback-realizes he needs to make an even more important comeback with Dani?

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REVIEW:

Ahhhh, second chance love with a hint of sex makes for an actually pretty delightful quick and easy read. If you’re looking for downright dirty, you’ll need to turn your head because that’s not happening here. BUT, for the sexy romance fans, you’ll eat this book right up with it’s sweet story and easy going characters.
After throwing herself at Tyson and essentially only gaining a notch on her (and his) bedpost, Dani is heartbroken. She wanted more. She wanted to help Tyson build himself into the person she knew he could be. But he wasn’t there yet and he barely remembers their errrrr bang session? I feel like with this book I should use the word ‘coupling’ or something.
ANYWAY, of course when she meets up with him again she holds back. I mean, who wouldn’t? She doesn’t trust him even though he’s more than trustworthy at this point. Their relationship is ups and downs from the start. It’s basically a combination of second chance love and enemies to lovers – which means if you’re a sucker for those stories, you’ll absolutely adore this one.
While some of the story felt a little forced (I still don’t entirely understand the point of LaRue, one of the secondary characters), I overall loved Dani and Tyson and I was more than happy to be swept away on their journey.
Easy, light and quick, you’ll want to tackle Tyson to the ground and kiss him senseless. The Total Package makes a great play! 3.75 stars!
[I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review]
 

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New York Times Bestselling Author, Stephanie Evanovich is
a full-fledged Jersey girl from Asbury Park who began writing fiction while
waiting for her cues during countless community theater projects. She attended
New York’s School of Film and Television and acted in several improvisational
troupes and a few small-budget movies, all in preparation for the greatest job
she ever had, raising her two sons. Now a full-time writer, she’s an avid
sports fan who holds a black belt in tae kwon do.
 

 

 

Release Blitz & Review: Porn Star by Laurelin Paige and Sierra Simone

PS BANNER

Porn Star by Laurelin Paige and Sierra Simone
Release Date: March 8th

Porn Star Ebook Cover

Synopsis:

You know me.

Come on, you know you do.

Maybe you pretend you don’t. Maybe you clear your browser history religiously. Maybe you pretend to be aghast whenever someone even mentions the word porn in your presence.

But the truth is that you do know me.

Everybody knows Logan O’Toole, world famous porn star.

Except then Devi Dare pops into my world, and pretty soon I’m doing things that aren’t like me—like texting her with flirty banter and creating an entire web porn series just so I can get to star in her bed. Again. And again.

With Devi, my entire universe shifts, and the more time I spend with her, the more I realize that Logan O’Toole isn’t the guy I thought he was.

So maybe I’m not the guy you thought I was either.

 

Porn Star - AN

Buy Links

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REVIEW

Porn moves mainstream with Logan and Devi’s first scene. Paige and Simone create characters you want to fuck and hang out with, which is a great because that’s what both of these characters do. With each other and others.

Logan O’Toole is an unapologetic porn star. He owns his own company and fucks women for a living. His last relationship ended three months ago in epic flair – well, it was epic for him because he still isn’t sure he’s over it. Raven left him without a word and he spent a few weeks trying to find them at the bottom of a bottle.

When Logan meets Devi – or rather, re-meets her – he’s reminded of the intense connection they had during that one scene where she gave him a blowjob. That it wasn’t made up. That it wasn’t a figment of his imagination.

The fire between Devi and Logan is hella hot. The project they’re working on is almost too much for them to handle – is it real? is it fake? Are the feelings they’re having manufactured?

While the name of the book is enough to think that there’s going to be dirty sex and massive orgies, it’s really not like that. Porn is a job, just like any other – except they have sex with other people as part of that job. The big question is what’s right for them and what’s right. Devi’s family is to die for – they’re pretty awesome, sweet and have cornered the market on oversharing. Logan’s family is similarly supportive, which is great (albeit not entirely realistic). There are a few parts of this book that made me go overly analytical, but I think that’s just my own perspective of the porn industry getting in the way of the story.

Regardless, the characters practically burst at the seems as they try to capture their feelings with words and sex. Porn Star builds romance and heat right into each scene – I’ll make porn with Logan O’Toole any day. 4 stars!

PS-Make-Porn-With-Me

Excerpt:

I spin around and throw my phone as hard as I can into the pool.

It lands with a small splash, sinking like a brushed-aluminum stone straight to the bottom. My momentary satisfaction is eclipsed by immense regret, because I just got that phone a few weeks ago. Fuck it, I can get a new one tomorrow. If that’s the price I have to pay to keep myself separate from Raven, then so be it.

I take a few healthy chugs of the Laphroaig.

“I hope you’ve got a good warranty,” a cheerful voice says from next to me. Even over the smoky scent of the whisky, I smell her. Cinnamon and sunshine.

I inelegantly swallow the Scotch still in my mouth, turning to face the person next to me. “Devi.”

She flashes me her sunny grin, and then returns the greeting by playfully bumping her shoulder against my arm. Heat flares across my bicep, emanating from the place where our bare skin touched, and the heat slowly migrates towards my chest, independent of the blood now pumping to my groin.

I am suddenly very aware of the fact that Devi and I have never been alone. Strange, given that we’ve given each other orgasms, but Raven’s Real Playdates was the only time we’ve worked together, and there are so many people on a porn set that it’s impossible to feel any sense of alone-ness, even when you’re staring them in the eyes while they suck you off. And even though we’ve seen each other at parties and events since then, we’ve only ever said hi or how are you or where’s the drinks? Not exactly the basis for a deep understanding of one another.

So I should probably explain why I just chucked a brand new phone into the water, and also maybe not reveal the fact that I have a massive crush on her.

I try to muster the casual, flirty guy I was earlier tonight. “Devi, I…”

I jack off to you almost every day.

“…I, uh, didn’t know anyone else was out here. Or I wouldn’t have, you know.” I mime throwing the phone.

She laughs and then bends down to unfasten her leather heel. “If it’s in a good case, it might still be okay,” she says. I watch, transfixed, as she kicks off both shoes, shimmies out of her shorts, and then walks to the edge of the pool. She’s wearing what legally might qualify as underwear, but only just barely.

Have I mentioned Devi Dare’s ass? Because I should. She has one of the best asses known to mankind. Plump and thick and juicy, the kind of ass that invites biting and squeezing, and the way it slopes out from her small waist is pure poetry. And those legs—despite the obvious muscles in her calves and thighs, they still move as she walks, like her ass does, and there’s something so healthy about it, so tantalizing about her body with its wide hips and slightly soft stomach and full breasts. She’s sexy in such a visceral, biological way, the kind of way that says you want to make babies with me. My cock lengthens as I watch her, tens of thousands of years of evolution telling me to haul her off and impregnate her.

She turns, hands on her hips. “Are you going to join me?”

“I was just enjoying the view,” I say, and it comes out a little too raspy, a little too honest, but then I follow it up with a weak grin and then she laughs and jumps into the pool. With a final gulp of whisky, I put the cork in the bottle and then fling myself in after her, clothes, shoes and all.

The water is cool and it’s the best kind of contrast to the dry heat of the night and the warmth of the Scotch in my stomach, and the new kind of warmth that’s agitating in my chest, something frictive and thrilling and pressing up against my anger and my broken heart. Something that started the moment Devi brushed up against my arm.

I jumped into the deep end, and so it’s a few beats before my feet press flat against the bottom and I can push myself back up. I break the surface, sputtering, and awkwardly try to swim over to Devi with one hand still clenched around my Scotch bottle. She treads water as steadily and gracefully as a water nymph, her long hair floating around her shoulders and her gold top drifting away from her skin, giving me just the barest glimpse of one nipple, dark rose and peaked into a tight furl. Water droplets cling to the thick fringe of her eyelashes.

“You’re not very good at swimming,” she points out as I make my way closer.

“Never liked it much,” I say, swimming past her and moving to where my feet can touch. With a sigh of relief, I set my feet down, examine the Scotch bottle to make sure no pool water leaked in, and then I take a long drink. I’m on my way to being drunk, but I’m intent on sealing the deal. What can I say? I’m a finisher.

Devi drifts up next to me, holding something in her hand. It takes me a minute to realize that it’s my phone, the entire reason we spontaneously jumped into the pool in the first place. And somehow, miraculously, the pricey case the Apple Store girl talked me into buying has saved the phone. The screen still glows with my unwritten text message.

Somehow, between the pool and the Scotch and Devi Dare with no pants on, I’ve lost the urge to talk to Raven. I take the phone and toss it carelessly onto the concrete and then turn back to Devi.

You, on the other hand, seem like quite the swimmer,” I say with a smile, offering her the Scotch. She takes it and raises the bottle to her lips.

“I was raised in California, you know,” she says and then takes a drink.

“Well, so was I. But my parents are Boston transplants, so I guess they never saw swimming as a priority for me.”

She hands the bottle back to me. “I think I had floaties before I had a bicycle. My parents are very, uh…” She searches for the right words. “Natural people. They think it’s important to be periodically cleansed of negative energy, and flowing water is one of the best ways to do that. So we went swimming at least once a week.”

I can see the faintest blush coloring the apples of her cheeks, as if she’s embarrassed of what her parents believe. And then I wonder if she’s embarrassed because she believes it a little too.

God, that blush is so sexy. I want to lick it right off her face. And then pin her down and lick her everywhere.

She tilts her head to the sky. “You can see Cassiopeia tonight.”

I look up, following her gaze, but I see nothing other than the golden glow hovering above the city and a smattering of faint, twinkling stars. “Is Cassiopeia a constellation?” I venture.

She laughs and nods, and then she reaches over and takes my head in her hands. My pulse thrums, that warmth in my chest explodes into flames, and I want her to kiss me kiss me kiss me, but before I can turn my head to her, she trains my face to the sky, facing the right direction this time.

“Do you see it?” she asks. Her mouth is close to my neck, and I wonder what it would feel like if she bit me there. “It looks like a letter M.” She traces the shape of it with her fingers, until finally I see it–an underwhelming handful of tired stars.

“You can’t see it this far into the city sometimes,” she continues.

“Cassiopeia sounds like a porn name,” I say frankly and she laughs again.

“Ptolemy named it.”

I give her a blank look. I got pretty good grades in school, but it’s been more than ten years since graduation, and anything not intimately related to film or the kind of math I need to run my business has been filtered out of my brain.

“Ptolemy was a Greek astronomer,” she explains, giving me an amused glance. “He named it after a famous queen in Greek mythology. She was so beautiful and vain and boastful that she brought the wrath of Poseidon down on her kingdom.”

Beautiful, vain, boastful. My mind swerves back to Raven, possibly still in this very house, possibly still being screwed with that evil smile on her face. Where is Poseidon when you need him?

No.

No, I won’t let Raven crowd into my happy, drunk moment with Devi and the Scotch. I speak as much to drive away thoughts of my ex as to comment on Devi’s astronomy knowledge. “You know a lot about this shit,” I tell her, turning my eyes back to her face completely.

And now she really blushes. “I really like astronomy. Stars and galaxies and stuff. It makes life feel so…big…you know?”

The thing is, I do know. That big feeling, I mean. I get it every time I watch an amazing film, every time I imagine my own films with just the right setting and just the right cinematography and just the right score.

“I’ve never met a performer who’s told me anything like that,” I say. And it’s true. Not once have I been around another adult film star and had them confess a purely impractical fascination. A call toward something that makes them feel like life is magical.

She blinks, and the way her long, thick eyelashes brush against her wet cheeks is arresting. “Really?”

“Really. Devi Dare, I do believe you are my first.”

Smile-for-the-camera

Goodreads

Catch up with Logan O’Toole HERE

Enjoy a sneak peek of Porn Star’s Logan O’Toole now on iBooks: http://apple.co/1Vlrew9

 

About the Authors:


Laurelin Paige is the NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of the Fixed Trilogy. She’s a sucker for a good romance and gets giddy anytime there’s kissing, much to the embarrassment of her three daughters.

Sierra Simone is a USA Today Bestselling former librarian (who spent too much time reading romance novels at the information desk.) She lives with her husband and family in Kansas City

 

 

Connect with the Authors:

 

Laurelin Paige

Facebook / Twitter / Amazon / Goodreads / Instagram /

Website

 

Sierra Simone

Facebook / Twitter / Amazon / Goodreads / Instagram /

Website

 

 

Release Day Review: Us by Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen

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Authors: Elle Kennedy and Sarine Bowen

Book: Us

tl;dr recommendation: This is a story about what happens after the happily ever after. About love, life and truth. It’s also about really fucking hot sex with two incredibly gorgeous guys. Yup, you’re in.

Book Summary:

Can your favorite hockey players finish their first season together undefeated?

Five months in, NHL forward Ryan Wesley is having a record-breaking rookie season. He’s living his dream of playing pro hockey and coming home every night to the man he loves–Jamie Canning, his longtime best friend turned boyfriend. There’s just one problem: the most important relationship of his life is one he needs to keep hidden, or else face a media storm that will eclipse his success on the ice.

Jamie loves Wes. He really, truly does. But hiding sucks. It’s not the life Jamie envisioned for himself, and the strain of keeping their secret is taking its toll. It doesn’t help that his new job isn’t going as smoothly as he’d hoped, but he knows he can power through it as long as he has Wes. At least apartment 10B is their retreat, where they can always be themselves.

Or can they? When Wes’s nosiest teammate moves in upstairs, the threads of their carefully woven lie begin to unravel. With the outside world determined to take its best shot at them, can Wes and Jamie develop major-league relationship skills on the fly?

Warning: contains sexual situations, a vibrating chair, long-distance sexytimes, and proof that hockey players look hot in any shade of green.

Longer Review:

Oh my sweet wes and jamie. I wanted to coddle them and get between them (for pure comfort purposes only of course). It’s like the world will not give them a goddamn break. While Wes is in his rookie season, he’s living with Jamie, and they’re more in love than ever, that doesn’t mean that life won’t get in the way.

Wes and Jamie aren’t out. They’re out to the people who matter to them the most but not to their teammates and not to the world. Wes is terrified that it will ruin his rookie career and Jamie is terrified that Wes will never actually want to come out to the world. Their relationship isn’t fragile but it’s certainly not as solid as they’d like.

For those who already love these two you’ll be thrilled and saddened to read everything that they go through but let it be known – I love love love these characters. I ran through the gamut of emotions while reading, hitting the highs and lows with each of them.

This is a story about what happens after the happily ever after. About love, life and truth. It’s also about really fucking hot sex with two incredibly gorgeous guys. Yup, you’re in.

5 stars!

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

Review: With Ties that Bind by Trisha Wolfe

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Author: Trisha Wolfe

Book: With Ties that Bind

tl;dr recommendation: Trisha blows me away EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

Book Summary:

This series is a spinoff of the Broken Bonds serial which must be read prior to beginning this first book. Contains spoilers to the Broken Bonds serial.

Detective Ethan Quinn has questions. The Arlington Slasher case is closed, the UNSUB no longer a threat—but Quinn can’t quiet the suspicion he harbors toward his partner and the young, attractive M.E. Not only does he loathe his uncertainty, he’s torn between doing his job and protecting his team.

But burying himself in cases no longer works. He’s restless. On edge. And tired of fighting his compulsions. Quinn has always viewed the law in black and white. Only now his world is swirling with a murky gray that threatens to devour him.

When lead medical examiner Avery Johnson careens toward a dangerous path, she pulls the unwitting detective into a dark web of deception and lust, triggered by a spree of recent killings.

Is this new player linked to the Bathory murders, or is it another copycat?

Time almost took Avery from him once before. As the clock ticks, Quinn will stop at nothing to protect her, refusing to let Avery become a victim again. Against his uncompromising logic, Quinn can’t deny his feelings. Avery forces him to acknowledge his darker desires, tempting his control—which weakens with every second he spends with the feisty M.E. as they hunt down the perpetrator threatening to tear them apart.

Longer Review:

Trisha blows me away EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Her plot twists are unlike anything I have ever read before – she has a completely crazy mind that I want to get lost in over and over. While yes, this is a second in a series, it can also be read as a standalone.

Ethan Quinn is a seriously hot detective. He knows that something deeper is going on with Avery – I mean, she was just abducted afterall. But he’s so used to seeing things in black and white, he’s starting to get concerned that he’s letting gray cloud is vision. When a potential new serial killer starts up again in Arlington, everything starts to get twisted quickly.

Avery is once again at the center of everything. She’s made some choices that thrust her right into the danger zone – exactly where she had just left. I freaking loved her though. Even though she’s been through a lot she’s strong, smart and completely awesome.

Trisha writes characters that have just enough dark to balance out the light – there’s seriously hot sex scenes, tons of secrets and the fast paced thrilling ride that you need. This cover is hot as hell and the story is well developed, smart and scorching. Get to know Trisha NOW.

[I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review]

Review: Curvy by Alexa Riley

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Author: Alexa Riley

Book: Curvy

tl;dr recommendation: My hunger for the instalove, breeder nation was strong and only more possessiveness borderlining stalkery could quelch it.

Book Summary:

The first time Flynn Long sees her, she’s lying on a bed in lingerie. The picture is soft, just like her curves, and instantly he’s obsessed.

Cali Carr is at the end of her full-figure modeling career when she’s hired for a new campaign. But when the owner of the company steps out of the shadows and starts calling the shots, a job is the last thing it feels like.

Love at first sight isn’t supposed to be real. One touch isn’t supposed to ignite so much. A single picture isn’t supposed to drive a man insane. But luckily for us it’s happening in Curvy!

Warning: Over the top isn’t strong enough for what this short story is. It’s velvety sweetness coated in insta-love cheese, and it’s waiting for you to take a bite.

Longer Review:

I don’t know exactly what it was about this book, but the second I finished it I wanted to devour every single thing that Alexa Riley has every written. My hunger for the instalove, breeder nation was strong and only more possessiveness borderlining stalkery could quelch it.

Seriously. I’m being serious. Curvy is fantastic. It celebrates a normal woman without making her seem like she’s anything other than a normal fucking woman. I hate when BBW books that talk about the woman’s curves seventy hundred times. It’s almost like you want me to hate her because she likes to eat more than kale. But not this book.

The plot isn’t heavy on substance, but it’s undeniably fun. It hit all the right notes when it comes to fast falls and alpha men. I loved the effect that Cari had on Flynn without even trying. Literally the second he catches a glimpse of her picture he’s taken – and so is she.

Go throw on some lingerie and revel in your sexiness. This book is all about loving yourself and that huge, powerful, sexy man who will fuck your brains out if anyone else so much as glances your way. LOVED. 5 stars!

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

Review: Bad Boy Valentine by Sylvia Pierce

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Author: Sylvia Pierce

Book: Bad Boy Valentine

tl;dr recommendation: This is second chance romance packed tightly into a novella. And it’s done well.

Book Summary:

“Favorite flavor? Well it sure as hell ain’t vanilla. Bend over, Valentine.”

Kate Molina isn’t looking for love; she just needs a reliable contractor to finish her bakery remodel. Hiring the bad-boy convict who broke her heart? Definitely not part of the plan. So what if he’s the only guy who ever gave her the big O, and—ugh, fine—even hotter than she remembered? Toe-curling orgasms aside, it’s way too late to forgive and forget.

If only she could forget the hot slide of his tongue between her thighs…

Eight years ago, Jagger Barnes made the biggest damn mistake of his life, costing him his freedom and the only woman he ever loved. Now out on parole, he’s determined to work hard, stay the f*ck out of trouble, and leave the past behind. But as usual, fate has other plans… starting with his sexy-as-sin, mad-as-hell ex.

One look at Kate’s lush little ass, and Jagger’s more than ready to make up for all those lonely nights…

Love may be naughtier the second time around, but when Cupid takes aim at the reformed bad boy and his sugar-sweet baker, will the arrow finally hit the mark, or is their smoking hot reunion a recipe for disaster?

** A sexy, standalone Valentine’s Day novella with an HFN and no cliffhanger! ** Bad Boy Valentine is part of the Bad Boys on Holiday novella series. Each book is a standalone erotic romance and can be read in any order

Longer Review:

Are you missing Valentine’s Day already? Yea, uh, don’t worry about it. Pick up this lovefest and get ready to swoon. This is second chance romance packed tightly into a novella. And it’s done well.

Both characters are strongly developed and seriously fun. Kate’s a spitfire who is terrified to let Jagger back in – especially when he so clearly shut her out eight years ago. But she can’t help it. When he reinserts *snort* himself back into her life by complete chance, is it a sign? Are they meant to be together or is this just the universe torturing her?

This book is thankfully told from both sides so we know how tormented Jagger is. How he never wanted to leave Kate’s side, how they were so perfect together. This is a sugary sweet high that made me undeniably smile and want to lick….yea, well, I wanted a cupcake. Or something.

Get ready to enjoy this morsel of goodness! 4 stars!

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

Review: The Heart of It by Molly O’Keefe

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BUY HERE:

Amazon

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Blurb:
On the outside rich and successful Gabe Paterson has everything.
No one would guess the ghosts from his past are tearing him apart.
Desperate, he reaches out to Elena – a resilient call girl, with her own childhood scars – for help.
In their moments of honesty, the two forge the most surprising relationship of their lives.
But will they be brave enough to make it into something more?
Review:
The Heart Of It is heartbreakingly breathtaking. I wasn’t expecting such a deep story from a novella, but then again, I should have known better because this is Molly O’Keefe who has a habit of taking me off guard with a story full of characters I probably shouldn’t love but who take my heart anyway.
Gabe is living a lie – well, he’s only lying to Elena, his escort…his prostitute. The woman that he pays to spend time with; who he pays to pretend that every lie is the truth. She plays the part well, she sucks in his falsities like a cold drink on a hot summer day. She lets him be someone else so that he can try to shed the person that he really is.
What Gabe doesn’t realize is that while he thinks that Elena is saving him, he’s really saving her too. He’s not the only one who needs to be enlightened and needs to figure out what to do with…well, LIFE.
There are so many complexities to this story that are fully developed despite the page count. O’Keefe takes your hardened heart and splits it right open. The Heart of It made me smile and cheer when it ended sweetly and exactly how I wanted.  4.5 stars!
[I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review]
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Excerpt:
“She slipped her hand into his, curled the back of it against his palm like some warm trusting thing, and his body exploded into physical life. He felt his blood vessels, the blood thudding through them, the twitch of his hamstrings. The ache of his lungs. He felt all of it. All of himself. In the presence of her.
“Mike?”
He lifted his eyes to hers, a starving man, helpless under her brown gaze. No doubt he was revealing all of his desire. No doubt he was practically drooling.
Mike. Right. That’s me.
Before he could say anything she leaned forward and short-circuited his brain with the warmth of her cheek inches from his. “Would you like to go downstairs?” she whispered in his ear. “To my room?”
Excerpt From: Molly O’Keefe. “The Heart Of It.” iBooks.

Book Tour & Review: 9 Letters by Blake Austin

9 LETTERS BOOK TOUR

Meet Luke Crawley in Blake Austin’s debut novel of loss, redemption, and ever-enduring love!

9 letters cover

NOW AVAILABLE!

9 LETTERS LIVE

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1VCbvci

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/20TgV3N

9 letters teaser for excerpt reveal

Blurb

Luke Cawley is a broken man. After his wife’s tragic death, he lost everything that mattered in the world. Now, his life is filled with hard days, harder nights, and a steady stream of alcohol and the wrong kind of women. Nothing helps.

Until the letters arrive on Luke’s doorstep.

Nine envelopes. Nine messages. Nine chances to find his way back.

Rae Goode is looking for the real thing. After fighting her way out of a string of bad relationships, she’s ready for something different–something true.

She meets Luke while piecing her life together, and right away she can tell that he’s different. Drawn together by fate and the desire to heal, Rae and Luke discover new ways to mend their broken hearts–one letter at a time.

Discover Blake Austin’s debut novel of loss, redemption, and ever-enduring love.

9 LETTERS TEASER

REVIEW

The emotional connection between Luke and his wife Emily is undying. It extends through time, heartbreak, sickness and death. It’s the kind of love that you only find once in a life time – or is it? To say that Luke is devastated by his wife’s death is an understatement. He’s barely functioning. He blames himself. He’s working at job that is beneath him because he feels that he deserves it. He’s trying to escape his pain in the arm of a woman or the bottom of a bottle.

Nothing is working. And his wife knew it. While I have to wonder why the hell his wife had the letters delivered A YEAR after her death if she knew what kind of state he was likely going to be in (why not six months?!) I loved the sentiment. Her letters are full of passion, promise, forgiveness, and every other emotion that Luke needs to start to rebuild. Both literally and figuratively.

9 Letters pulls at your heartstrings and touches an emotional chord that had silent tears slowly tracking down my face. Dying spouses are my kryptonite when it comes to crying. I can’t help it. I’m done for. While that was certainly enough to keep me engaged, I did wish that there was more of a connection between Luke and Rae. I wanted something else to tie them together, something deeper. But that’s just me.

Overall this is a gorgeous story that will no doubt fill you up until tears spill over. Great debut, Blake! 4 stars!

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

9 LETTERS TEASER BT

Excerpt

I was about twenty minutes early for my shift, but I got up to the bar, grabbed a rag, started wiping it down, bussing some dishes.

“Damn, Luke,” Jake said, watching me work. “You win the lotto or something? Royals win the pennant last night and I forgot to watch?”

“I’m just in a good mood, that’s all,” I said.

I thought about it a moment longer, decided I should tell him more. Impart some wisdom learned from my not-particularly-advanced years.

“When everything’s dark for so damn long and your eyes get used to it,” I said, “just a little glimmer of sunshine lights up the whole world.”

He nodded, then grabbed a bus bin and headed back into the kitchen.

Warren though, Warren wasn’t impressed. He was sitting by one of the daytime barflies, but he’d stopped talking and was just watching me. I was on thin ice, and I knew it. I couldn’t afford to lose my job. A heartbroken, drunk, angry widower is probably as unemployable as the average ex-con.

I came on at the end of the day shift. Warren liked tending bar during the day, because it meant just shooting the shit with the regulars. That day I had a smile for every customer, sparse words of wisdom like day drunks want to hear. Tending bar wasn’t my dream. But to hell with letting that make me lazy. I kept the place clean, I poured drinks like I cared.

I was getting into the swing of it when happy hour kicked in and a few more people filtered through the door. Couple of middle-aged bikers, a retired couple that parked their RV out front.

The door swung open again, letting in a little bit of that early-evening cold, and I glanced up to see a crowd of three women, with two men. One of the women was a reddish blonde, radiant. Sort of stole the light out of the room. It was Rae. Our eyes met and her smile gave the room back its light.

She’d been in jeans at the shelter, but she was in a blue dress now and she looked damn fine in either. Took my mind right off Maggie, faster than I thought it would be possible. I met her eyes, and she gave out a little gasp and giggle. I was probably smiling in surprise myself.

The crowd came over to the bar. I’d thought the other four were two couples, but I realized pretty quick that the black girl with the afro was dating the quiet white guy in a beard and glasses and tattoos, and that the other guy was trying to impress Rae. He had a John Deere hat, but his clothes were way too clean for me to buy it that he worked on a farm. I hated him, right off. I probably would have hated him if he was the best guy in the world, though. The other girl, she was tall, latina, and for some indiscernible reason was interested in the poser farmer.

Most of the time, I’m awful at reading people. But for some reason, at work I can tell you everything about everyone who walks in the door. About who’s into who, about who had a bad day at work. Who wants to get drunk and miserable, who wants to get drunk and happy, who wants to get drunk and start trouble. Maybe it’s some magic of the job, maybe it’s just how people carry themselves at a bar. Helps with tips, that’s for certain. You wingman right, and the money flows in.

Warren, he likes to upsell them drinks when he’s doing that. Get them excited about the top shelf. Not me.

“Hey, Rae,” I said.

“Luke,” she said.

John Deere looked at me like I was the scum of the earth. And maybe I was, but if I was the scum then he was… I don’t know, something worse than scum. Wannabe scum.

She introduced me to her friends. Nicole had the afro, her boyfriend was Eric. The girl with bad taste was Irina, and John Deere had some name but honestly it went in one ear and out the other. He was John Deere to me. Yeah, maybe I’m an asshole.

“So, how do you know this guy?” Deere asked, tossing me a look that said I clearly wasn’t good enough to be friend with someone like Rae.

“Oh, he came in just the other day. Adopted the sweetest dog, a bloodhound.” She turned to me, flashing that dimple high on her cheek. “How is he? You guys call a truce yet?”

“King’s great,” I said. “I mean, he’s probably at home right now, eating everything I’ve ever owned, but I figure I was due for a purge anyway, right?”

It was a lame attempt at humor, but Rae laughed.

“What can I get you all? Friend of Rae’s is a friend of mine.”

 

About the Author

Blake Austin is a guitar playing father of one, who lives in Los Angeles. He’s written music for as long as he can remember and was inspired to add book writing to his repertoire. 9 Letters is his debut novel.

For updates: Follow Blake Austin on Facebook here:  http://on.fb.me/1ZUj6sR

GIVEAWAY

$20 Winner’s Choice Book Retailer Gift Card & Signed Paperback (1 Winner)

Review: Wolf Bite by Nina West

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Author: Nina West

Book: Wolf Bite (Wolf Cove #2)

Wolf Bait (Wolf Cove #1)

tl;dr recommendation:  I’m all fucking in when it comes to this series. Nina writes a teasing, sexy and sultry book without being scandalous. 5 stars.

Book Summary:

Isolated in the luxurious Wolf Cove Hotel in Alaska, Abbi Mitchell is thousands of miles away from her family and friends.

In the hands of a predator. Potentially.

After discovering condemning information about the mercurial man who controls her day-to-day work life and, now, her most intimate private life as well, Abbi’s not sure she can continue on with… whatever is going on between her and Henry Wolf. Especially when he’s about to be thrown into a fiery media circus ring, and she, along with her reputation, will undoubtedly get dragged into it with him.

But breaking things off with the Big Bad Wolf now likely means losing her job and her summer of freedom, and going back to the farm and her controlling mother.

She’s not doing that.

Abbi does have something to hold over Henry’s head. If he forces her hand. If she has the guts to do what amounts to blackmail.

But will the all-powerful Henry Wolf concede, or will she finally feel his bite?

Wolf Bite is Book 2 in the Wolf Cove series and should be read after finishing Wolf Bait (Book 1).

Longer Review:

This book flat out turned me the fuck on. It’s the second in the series, so you need to read the first one, but really – it’s worth the investment. This review is going to be hard as hell to not spoilerize, but I’m going to give it my best shot.

Nina teases us with some of the hottest sex scenes I have ever read. This is a no joke, emergency vibrator situation. With the amount of sex that I read I sometimes get a little desensitized to it. It becomes clinical. It loses the shock value. NOT THIS BOOK. I was so built up and full of sexual tension that I grabbed my husband after a very specific truck scene and looked around for the nonexistent third guy that was going to live out this fantasy for me. When he never appeared I decided my husband would have to do. And he most certainly did.

But back to the book. Henry Wolf is a dick. We knew this from book 1, but we’re getting to know this even more in book 2. However, he’s a dick that’s completely infatuated with Abbi Mitchell. He’s under a teensy bit of other stress insomuch that his slimy brother is trying to squeeze the resort, Wolf Cove, from his grasp and an ex-paramour is trying to sue his ass, making false threats of forcible sexual assault. There’s a lot going on.

And Abbi is young. and inexperienced. and naive. and so so ughhhhh STUPID. She interprets events in such a way that make you want to take off your comfy slippers and throw them at her head, hoping the rubber soles knock some sense into her. BUT without her idiocy we wouldn’t get to experience one of The Hottest Threesome Scenes Ever. *picks slippers back up, pats Abbi’s head*

Nina builds the tension in this book masterfully. I actually was questioning whether I even wanted Abbi to get back together with Henry – and that’s HUGE for me. Not because I disliked him, but because goddamnit, I fucking loved everything else about this book. I should note that I usually hate it when the heroine sleeps with or messes around with anyone else even when she and the Hero aren’t together. Welp, throw that requirement out the window. I’m all fucking in when it comes to this series. Nina writes a teasing, sexy and sultry book without being scandalous.

I loved the ending, even though it anticipates a book 3. There’s no huge cliffhanger, which I thanked the Sex Gods for, because the entire book was a goddamn cliffhanger. Be prepared to be addicted. 5 Stars.

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

Blog Tour & Review: The Master by Tara Sue Me

The Master by Tara Sue Me

Date of Publication: February 2, 2016

Blurb

Tara Sue Me’s New York Times bestselling Submissive series continues with a delicious new story that explores the thin line between pleasure and pain. . . .

She’s ready to try again. . . .

Sasha Blake is scarred from a BDSM session gone wrong, but she can’t deny how much a strong Master turns her on. Determined to overcome her fears and rejoin the Partners in Play community, she asks Abby and Nathaniel West to set her up with a Dom who can help her feel safe again as a sub. They know the very experienced Cole is exactly the kind of man who can push all of Sasha’s buttons—and she soon wants to go much faster than she had planned. . . .

Cole knows that Sasha is not the kind of submissive he needs. He wants someone who will serve him 24-7, not a part-time partner. Still, the further they go into their play, the more Cole begins to wish he could make Sasha his all the time. . . .

When forbidden desires turn into scorching action, Sasha and Cole come face-to-face with their demons—and realize their scorching relationship might be too dangerous to last. . . .

Available From

REVIEW


About Tara Sue Me

Tara Sue Me wrote her first novel at the age of twelve. It would be twenty years before she picked up her pen to write the second.

After completing several clean romances, she decided to try her hand at something spicier and started The Submissive. What began as a writing exercise quickly took on a life of its own. An avid reader of all types of fiction, she soon discovered she enjoyed writing a variety as well.

Tara lives in the Southeastern United States with her family, two dogs, and a cat.

Find Tara Sue Me Online

Excerpt

During a lull in the conversation, he leaned forward and lowered his voice. “There’s a play party next weekend.”

She froze and he could see her process his words and their meaning before she relaxed. “Yes.”

“Good job, Sasha. You did what I told you to do earlier, didn’t you?” She’d remembered he wouldn’t touch her without telling her where and how.

“Yes, Sir.”

He nodded. “A fast learner. I like that. I would like for you to attend the party with me.”

He paused, gauging her reaction. Her cheeks were flushed with excitement. “I would like that,” she said.

“Since the party will be held at Master Greene’s house and I don’t know if he has granite countertops, I won’t have you wear the black lingerie.”

Her voice was calm when she asked, “What will you have me wear, Sir?”

“I’ll have it sent to you this week.” Let her think about it for a while.

“I look forward to it.”

“We won’t formally participate in any scenes, but you will serve as my submissive.”

Her lips parted and she nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

“Master Greene has asked me if he can apologize for Peter’s actions.” He watched her carefully, looking for any hint of panic.

“Will Peter be there?” she asked quietly.

“No, in fact I understand that as a result of the phone call, there’s to be a meeting to determine if he should be allowed to remain in the group.”

Her eyes widened in shock. She hadn’t heard that. He was surprised Julie hadn’t told her, but then again, Daniel might not have told Julie.

She straightened her shoulders. “In that case, I’m good with Master Greene apologizing.”

“That’s what I told him, but I also said I wanted to check with you

She nodded, but then her gaze grew distant and she looked over his shoulder.

“Everything okay?” he asked. “Are you having second thoughts?”

She slowly returned her focus to him. “No, I’m just thinking about Peter. Now that I can think about him and not risk an episode, I often find myself wondering if I missed something, some sign.”

“I understand why you’d do that, but your time would be better spent asking yourself what qualities you’re looking for in a Dom.” He reached into his pocket and took a twenty dollar bill out. “Do you know how they train people to recognize counterfeit money?”

Her forehead wrinkled and she frowned in puzzlement. “Sir?”

He passed her the twenty. “They don’t give them the counterfeit bills to study. They only touch and hold the real thing. They become so accustomed to the real money that they immediately recognize the fraud.”

“I’m not sure I understand what you’re trying to say, Sir.”

“Focus on what you want from a Dom, how you want him to treat you. Think through the characteristics of a Dom you’d like to play with. That way when you meet someone and you get to know him, you’ll recognize if he’s a fraud or not.”

She nodded.

“To make sure you understand, I want you to make a list of your top ten requirements from a Dom. We’ll go over it next time we meet.”

Her gaze grew wistful again, but she smiled and replied with a soft, “Yes, Sir.”

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