Spotlight – Man Candy

22 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Blog Tour, Contest, Sneak Peek

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Jewel Quinlan, Man Candy, The Cougar Journals

Y’all, we’ve got quite a sexy book today – I can’t wait to get my hands on this one!

*****

Man Candy

The Cougar Journals Book 1

by Jewel Quinlan

Genre: Contemporary

Publisher: Evernight Publishing

Date of Publication: January 9, 2015

Word Count: 13692

Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

Blurb:

Commercial real estate agent, Ava Baldassari, is done with being a good girl. Recently having revamped her self-image, home and wardrobe she finds there is one thing left that needs updating; her sex life.

She runs into her friend and running partner, Cole, one night when she is out with a friend. A bit drunk she flirts with him and is surprised by the enthusiastic response he gives back.

Things reach a point where she has to make a decision whether or not to cross a line she never has before.

Ava is forty and Cole is twenty-five, is she really ready to become a cougar?

Where you can buy Man Candy:

*****

Excerpt:

“I’ve been wanting to do this for a while,” he whispered in my ear, still pressed against me as he unzipped my dress.

Me too, I wanted to say. But I didn’t. I was adrift in the onslaught of sensation as he slid the fabric from me, trailing kisses down my back as it went. Making me aware as I never had been of how sensitive the skin there could be. When he reached the small of my back, he lingered, kneading my skin with his tongue and teeth.

His hands ran down my legs and then back up to my breasts, and I savored the feel of his fingers. My breaths came heavier. I had been needing this for too long.

He rose and turned me toward him, towering over me. His cap was gone and his dark hair was askew, as though he had run his fingers through it, giving him that sexy just-woke-up look. I slid my fingers from the waist of his jeans, underneath his shirt, to his muscled back. The ridges of strength there were too tempting beneath my fingertips. How did he find the time to work out that much? I had to see with my own eyes. Fisting the hem of his shirt in my hands, I pulled his t-shirt up to remove it. Why should I be the only one standing here naked? With a chuckle, he complied, lifting the shirt over his head and flinging it away in the casual manner of an underwear model on TV.

Sure, I had imagined what he looked like with his shirt off, but the reality was ten times better. He had a runner build, but that was filled out with muscle. The planes of his chest were topped by strong shoulders and arms, which seemed to blossom over the lean ridges of his abdominals, creating a definite contrast. I couldn’t help reaching out and touching him. I ran my hands over his skin, tracing my way upward to the light coating of black hair on his pectorals. He leaned his pelvis into me, forehead on mine, his erection pressing into me, making me shiver with anticipation.

We were on the brink of something oh-so-good, and I was dying to plunge ahead. Yet, I hesitated. Questions burned in my mind. I tried to hold them back, knowing serious talk would ruin the moment. That lasted about two seconds before I gave in.

“Um…” I said.

He lifted his head from mine and looked at me.

I cocked my head at him. “Did you just say you’ve been wanting to do this for a while?” Had he been scoping me out all this time, as I had him?

He nodded. “Who wouldn’t? Look at you. You’re gorgeous.”

I glanced down at myself. My ample buxom looked perfect in the black, lace push-up bra I wore, and the matching thong sat just right, low on my hips. I still had on my red heels, which added a lady-killer effect.

Then I glanced at him. The smoldering look he gave me trumped anything I observed on the physical plane. The messages coming from him on a subliminal level promised pleasure that made me squirm with heat.

“You know it’s going to be good between us, Ava,” Cole said.

*****

Author Info:

Jewel Quinlan had an abundant imagination and a strong desire to write novels from a young age. She particularly enjoys writing paranormal and fantasy romance but also writes contemporary as well.

An avid traveler, she has visited fifteen countries so far (which she enjoys using as settings in her novels) and has plans to see more of the world. She has a particular fondness for Bavaria and studies the German language as one of her hobbies.

During the day, she works as a pharmaceutical sales representative and, at night, she writes romance. She currently lives in Orange County, California with her dog Penny.

For more information about Jewel Quinlan

Or join Jewel’s newsletter if you just want to get the most important updates

Jewel will be attending RomCon in Denver CO September 25-27.

Readers can get tickets to sit with her at the luncheon event, she would love to meet you!

*****

Giveaway:

5 copies of Stealing Cupid’s Bow (print version open to US Shipping)

5 e-copies of Man Candy

2 audio copies of Rock Star Ex

2 audio copies Surrender Sweet Succubus

2 audio copies of Extreme Heat

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/ba112ffc925/

*****

Tour Info:

Click on the banner below for to check out the rest of the tour

Book Review – The Make Believe Wedding

21 Wednesday Jan 2015

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Book Review

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Book Review, Montana Born Brides series, Sarah Mayberry, The Make Believe Wedding

The Make Believe Wedding

Montana Born Brides Book 9

by Sarah Mayberry

Everyone in Marietta, Montana, is in love and getting married – at least that’s the way it feels to Andie Bennett the night of the Valentine’s Ball. As she watches the man she’s loved from afar for half her life dance with another woman, Andie allows herself a moment of sheer fantasy as she fills out a stray entry form for the Great Wedding Giveaway. Andie channels years of fantasy and yearning for Heath McGregor onto the page, but she never intends to actually enter the Giveaway. Only a crazy woman would do that. But fate has other ideas….

When Heath learns he and Andie are last minute finalists in the Great Wedding Giveaway, he’s completely baffled. How on earth could anyone make such a ridiculous mistake? When it becomes clear that Andie will be humiliated if the slip-up becomes public, Heath does what any good friend would – he suggests they pretend the engagement is real until the Giveaway is over and then quietly “break up” when no one is paying any attention. It’s the perfect solution, except Heath very quickly realises that pretending Andie is his is no hardship at all. In fact, it may just be the best thing that’s ever happened to him…

Once again I joined a series in the middle … do you guys sense a theme? This time though I feel that maybe I missed out on some of the nuances that make this series so great. There were relationships and moments that probably would have been better appreciated if I had a grasp of their history. But the main story itself was definitely complete and totally enjoyable.

I loved Heath and Andie together. The idea of the friends to lovers storyline has always been one of my favorites and this one has a little Ugly Duckling thrown in just to make me extra happy. The premise might seem a little far-fetched, but Mayberry makes it work. And once the two are a couple for real, it is wonderful.

At about 150 pages, The Make Believe Wedding is a little more than novella length but it reads super-fast. With a years-long friendship to guide them, the interactions between Heath and Andie are both fun and sweet. Heath is strong and caring, but just hasn’t found the right woman yet. When he realizes that Andie has gotten herself into an embarrassing situation, he’s got a big enough heart that he’s willing to help her out. But it might lead to more than he expected.

Andie is convinced she’s the woman that Heath needs and has been right in front of him forever. Logically she knows that if he wanted her romantically he would have done something by now but the brain and the heart are not always connected. There are times when her feelings for Heath will break your heart but it is well worth it to get to their HEA.

There are a lot of secondary characters that I feel like I would know more about if I’d read the other stories. It wasn’t that big a deal but I think I would have enjoyed having them around a little more if I’d been more informed. Overall though it didn’t hurt the main plot and was just a minor irritant.

Full of angst and warmth, The Make Believe Wedding will grab your heart and hold on until the last page.

Spotlight – Going Under

20 Tuesday Jan 2015

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Blog Tour, Book Review, Contest, Sneak Peek

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Book Review, Emma Weylin, Going Under, Secret Blood series

Today I’ve got another great paranormal romance – and I even was lucky enough to read this one so I shared a little of what I thought as well.

*****

Going Under

Secret Blood, Book 3

by Emma Weylin

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Liquid Silver Books

Date of Publication: December 1, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-62210-169-6

ASIN: B00P6SGAVE

Number of pages: 257

Word Count: 64,000

Blurb:

Kenzie Butler is in love with the man who saved her life eight years ago. Her problem? He’s a Siberian were-tiger with the ability to scent his mate, and she wasn’t it. For years they lived across the hall from each other, helping one another with the aftermath from being tortured in a science experiment gone wrong. With each passing day, she falls more in love with him, even while knowing that one day Tiberius will find his true mate.

Tiberius Petrov leads a shadowed life. Kenzie is the only thing standing between him and the gruesome fate awaiting any shifter who goes rogue. For eight years the sound of her voice, the sweet intoxication of her scent, and the soft feel of her skin have kept him from turning down darker paths. But he’d always believed she could never be his. His nose was supposed to tell him who his perfect mate is, but it lied. He didn’t know if it was possible to develop a mate scent. All he knew was one day Kenzie didn’t smell like his mate, and the next day she did. Even after her scent changed, she kept insisting they were perfect as just friends.

After Kenzie survives a mysterious were-bear attack in her place of work, Tiberius learns the scientists altered more than his state of mind. Just when he thought he could take Kenzie as his mate he discovers he could be the biggest threat to her life.

Available at Amazon

*****

Excerpt:

He got off the creaking chair. He found his pants first, and tugged those on, and then started the search for his shirt. “Kenzie, I lost control with you, goddamn it. You need to go, no, stay here. I’ll send Chad over.” He scrubbed a hand down his face. “Where is my fucking shirt?”

She was standing in front of him in the next moment. Her soft breasts brushing against his chest. “Look at me.”

He growled. “Kenzie, I know when I am losing it, and I am losing it.”

She captured his face between her hands and pulled him down so they were at eye level. “It’s completely normal to fantasize about what you want to do while having sex.” She kissed his nose. “You fantasized about me and you being mated. It’s okay.”

He wasn’t safe for her, but here she was, trying to make it right for him. Hellcats! She was…she was supposed to be safe with him, and in one second of giving in to the fantasy of her, he’d have done the worst, most unforgivable thing a shifter could do. “I’m not safe for you, Kenz. Please, don’t make this harder than it is.”

“Ty, don’t do this. You need to calm down and think about this rationally.” “I need my shirt.” He pulled away from her and got down on his hands and knees to check under the bed.

Kenzie got down on the floor next to him. “It’s in your apartment.”

He darted back. “Put some clothes on. I’ll have Chad come here.”

“Tiberius.”

He retreated to the door. “Tiberius Petrov, you did not just make love to me so you could walk out on me.”

That was exactly what he was going to do. He should be her safe place, he should be the one thing in the whole world that would never hurt her, and he wasn’t sure until after the fact that he hadn’t hurt her. “I’m sorry, Kenz. I love you too much to stay.” Then he did the hardest thing he’d ever done. He walked away from her.

*****

Review:

I really enjoyed Going Under. Once again I joined a series mid-stream but thankfully once again it didn’t matter. Weylin has created a great paranormal world, one full of shifters and other intriguing beings, but most importantly the bad guys will do just about anything to exploit them. That element of danger adds that extra zing to her story (not that she needs it). Both Tiberius and Kenzie are appealing and their troubles engaging. I loved the interactions between the two and how they face their troubles together. The fact that their relationship is based on years of friendship and the extreme things that they had to survive makes the fight to get to their HEA all the better.

So if you like intrigue, danger, and fantasy mixed in with your romance, the Secret Blood series is definitely for you. Not only did Weylin keep me turning pages with her fun characters and their romantic troubles, but she kept me on the edge of my seat by having danger come at them time and again. By giving readers a nice big fantastical world, Weylin also gives us a ton of supporting characters to root for and a ton of material for future books – I’m excited, y’all!

*****

Author Info:

Emma Weylin fell in love with the written word as a child. She loves to create her own worlds full of magic and wonder. One of her favorite things is populating those worlds with interesting and true-to-life characters who experience everything from epic love and heartrending battles to seriously silly or embarrassing “duh” moments. She believes love can and does conquer all things. When she’s not writing, she enjoys her family and has a copious yarn addiction.

https://twitter.com/EmmaWeylin

https://www.facebook.com/EmmaWeylinAuthor

http://emmaweylin.com/

*****

Giveaway:

$25 Amazon Gift Card

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/ba112ffc918/

*****

Click on the banner below for more tour info

Guest Post – Grave Vengeance

19 Monday Jan 2015

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Blog Tour, Contest, Sneak Peek

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Grave series, Grave Vengeance, Lori Sjoberg

I’m so pleased to kick off this week by welcoming Lori Solberg as she shares a little bit about her newest, Grave Vengeance – the third book in her “Grave” series, which looks super sexy, with a terrific amount of angst and a fantastic paranormal twist.

*****

Have you ever worked with someone you really didn’t like? How about someone you outright despised? One who made you dread coming to work and avoided at all costs?

I once worked with a woman who was known as The Human Petri Dish. She came in to work sick. All. The. Time. Coughing and hacking like Typhoid Mary, and not bothering to cover her mouth. And every time someone said something about her going home, she’d insist it was her asthma, and that whatever she had wasn’t communicable. Yeah, right. Try telling that to all of the people who sat around her and ended up catching her funk.

In GRAVE VENGEANCE, Dmitri Stavitsky and Gwen Peterson have been enemies for over fifty years. And by enemies I mean they hate each other with a white-hot burning passion. During the Cold War, Dmitri was a Soviet KGB spy while Gwen worked counterintelligence for the FBI. And after their deaths, to their utter dismay, they both came back as reapers. Now they work on the same side harvesting the souls of the dead, but that doesn’t mean they have to like it. Normally, they avoid each other like the plague, but now they’re being forced to set aside their differences in order to apprehend a rogue reaper.

Which is a lot easier said than done. These two have enough combined baggage to weigh down an aircraft carrier. But working together under intense conditions ignites emotions neither is willing to acknowledge. After hating each other for so many years, can they accept the fact their feelings toward each other are changing? Maybe, if they learn to like each other, they might just fall in love…

I hope you all enjoy reading GRAVE VENGEANCE as much as I enjoyed writing it. It’s the third in a series, but can be easily read as a standalone. Thanks so much for having me here today!

*****

Grave Vengeance

The Grave Series Book Three

by Lori Sjoberg

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Kensington Books

Date of Publication: January 19, 2015

ISBN: 9781601832696

ASIN: B00M01756O

Number of pages: Approx. 284

Word Count: Approx. 93,000

Cover Artist: Kensington Books

Blurb:

The past doesn’t like to play dead…

Handsome and haunted, he’s a reaper who prefers to work alone. But Fate has other plans for him and the sassy secret agent who shot him in another life—if their pasts don’t catch up with them first.

Dmitri Stavitsky has never played well with others—a Soviet KGB spy in life turned reaper after death, his work of bringing souls to the other side is best done alone. But orders from the top soon place him alongside fellow reaper Gwen Peterson, the American counterintelligence agent who took his life so many years ago. Now, as a ghost from Gwen’s past resurfaces with the power to steal reapers’ souls, the two have no choice but to set aside their differences and apprehend the rogue together. But their cross-country mission soon ignites feelings Dmitri thought he was no longer capable of—for the woman who helped destroy him.

With an ancient force and a small army against them, he’ll have to let go of old grudges or risk his future with Gwen…as Fate hangs dangerously in the balance.

Available at Amazon BN iTunes Kobo Google Books

*****

Excerpt:

Some men were nice to look at. Others, you couldn’t look away from. And then there was Dmitri Stavitsky.

He was taller than her, around six foot four, and had the powerful build of a gymnast. The shirt he wore did nothing to conceal his thick, corded arms or the broad expanse of his chest. His thighs strained against the confines of his jeans. He carried himself with an air of confidence that most men found intimidating and most women found irresistible. And even though Gwen despised him as much as he despised her, she had to admit he wore it well.

Gwen could feel his eyes moving over her while she drove, and she resisted the urge to squirm in her seat. “What?”

The passing streetlights played over the planes of his face. He hadn’t shaved in a day or two, and his jaw was shadowed with stubble. It made him look almost as dangerous as he was.

Almost.

Back in the day, he’d been one of the KGB’s top agents. For nearly a decade, he worked within the borders of the United States, stealing some of the country’s most valuable secrets. What he couldn’t steal he usually destroyed with calculated and ruthless efficiency. He killed defectors before they could spill their secrets as well as killing anyone else deemed an enemy of the Soviet Union. The full extent of his treachery was never determined; he’d taken those secrets to the grave.

“You cut your hair.” During the Cold War, he spoke with a flawless American accent to mask his true identity. The habit died when the Iron Curtain fell, and now his rich, deep voice contained a blend of both Russian and American, with the former growing more pronounced whenever he got pissed off.

Like now.

“So nice of you to notice.”

One corner of his mouth twitched. “It makes you look like a boy.”

Bastard. Her grip tightened around the steering wheel. “Like I give a damn what you think.”

He laughed under his breath. “I think you do.” The smirk on his face vanished when she ground the gears. Careful! It took me two days to rebuild the transmission.

“Sorry.” Not really. She totally meant to do that. “Third’s a little sticky.” She held back a smile as she hooked a right onto Alafaya Boulevard.

Dmitri raked his hands through his short, dark hair. He was a few weeks past the time for a cut, and the ends curled around the nape of his neck. “Why are you here, Gwen?” Her name sounded like poison on his tongue.

Good question. Her current base of operations was on the opposite side of the country, along the American side of the border with Mexico. Samuel had been vague on the details when he contacted her late last night with orders to fly to Orlando for a special assignment. She hated the idea of working with Dmitri, but knew better than to refuse an order. After all, the Big Kahuna wasn’t known for his gentle demeanor. The quicker they got the job finished, the quicker they could return to their normal routines and forget the other existed.

“Samuel sent me,” she replied with a shrug, knowing he’d understand the way the boss operated.

He nodded, his expression grim. “And why did you steal my car?”

“Because I could.” And because she knew it would piss him off. It was the way things had always worked between them. They’d lost their humanity and become reapers together, and had been at each other’s throats ever since. Two Cold War relics, passing through the modern age. “You really need to install a better anti-theft system.

Anybody with a screwdriver can hot-wire this thing in less than five minutes.” She’d done it in three.

She could have sworn he growled.

An uneasy silence fell between them. She darted a quick glance in his direction and saw the unwashed hostility darkening the blues of his eyes. The muscles along his jaw clenched and unclenched, his full lips pressed into a thin white line.

The light ahead switched from green to yellow. After checking for cops, she punched the gas to make it through the intersection before the yellow turned to red. “You know, I’m not happy about this either. The sooner we do whatever Samuel wants, the sooner we can go our separate ways.”

With a huff of annoyance, Dmitri rolled down the passenger side window and propped his arm on the sill. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

For once, they were in perfect agreement.

*****

Author Info:

Growing up the youngest of three girls, Lori never had control of the remote. (Not that she’s bitter about that. Really. Okay, maybe a little, but it’s not like she’s scarred for life or anything.) That meant a steady diet of science fiction and fantasy. Star Trek, Star Wars, Twilight Zone, Outer Limits – you name it, she watched it. It fed her imagination, and that came in handy when the hormones kicked in and she needed a creative excuse for being out past curfew.

After completing her first novel, she joined the Romance Writers of America and Central Florida Romance Writers. Now she exercises the analytical half of her brain at her day job, and the creative half writing sensual paranormal romance. Grim reapers are her specialty, but she loves to write about all creatures of the night.

Web: www.lorisjoberg.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLoriSjoberg

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6574214.Lori_Sjoberg

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lori_Sjoberg

*****

Giveaway:

$20 Amazon.com gift card

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/ba112ffc924/

*****

Click on the banner below for more tour information

January 19 Guest blog

Romantic Reads and Such

http://romanticreadsandsuch.wordpress.com

January 19 Spotlight

Books N Pearls

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January 20 Interview

Urban Fantasy Investigations

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January 20 Spotlight

The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom

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January 21 Interview

Author Karen Swart

www.authorkarenswart.blogspot.com

January 21 Spotlight

Roxanne’s Realm

www.roxannerhoads.com

January 22 Interview

Shut Up & Read

http://shutupandreadgroup.blogspot.com/

January 22 Spotlight

Fang-tastic Books

www.fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com

January 23 Guest blog

Anya Breton Author’s Blog

http://blog.anyabreton.com

January 23 Spotlight

The Bookish & The Romantic

http://thebookishandtheromantic.blogspot.com

January 26 Guest blog

ARe Cafe

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January 26 Character Interview

Eclipse Reviews

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Spotlight – The Love Brothers

16 Friday Jan 2015

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Blog Tour, Contest, Sneak Peek

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Coach Love, Liz Crowe, Love Brewing, Love Brothers, Love Garage

We’re going to end our week with a group of super sexy brothers who come with a whole parcel of trouble.

*****

Love Garage

The Love Brothers Book One

By Liz Crowe

Genre: Contemporary Romance for Real Life

Publisher: BeerWench Enterprises LLC

Date of Publication: 1/5/2015

ASIN: B00P4GJCL8

Number of pages: 268

Word Count: 67,000

Cover Artist: Fiona Jayde Media

Blurb:

Antony Love is the quintessential responsible oldest brother of a boisterous, Italian/Irish family, placed in charge at a young age by his parents who are busy running the family business. He manages his siblings with a fair but iron hand, until his life is shattered by personal tragedy leaving him the shell of the man he once was.

When outspoken matriarch Lindsay Halloran Love becomes ill, the youngest brother Aiden shows up at Antony’s garage, having dropped out of school (again), needing work and a place to crash. Antony provides both, with three caveats: “Don’t smoke in my truck, don’t be late for work, and don’t mess with my girlfriend.”

But Aiden Love, budding novelist, gets one glimpse of Rosalee Norris, young widow of Antony’s lifelong best friend and all bets are off.

Set in horse country near Lexington, Kentucky, The Love Brothers Series is a saga of family devotion that runs as wide and deep as the Ohio River–except on Sundays when brothers Antony, Kieran, Dominic and Aiden work out their frustrations on the basketball court, Love brother style.

The Love Brothers: A family saga with humor, heat and heart—not to mention beer, bourbon and basketball.

Available at Amazon

Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/CefA1aGVkpg

Book Trailer Featured on USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/story/happyeverafter/2014/11/14/recommended-book-video-liz-crowe-al-goulden/18979137/

*****

Love Garage Excerpt:

Love Garage opened bright and early the next morning, a Saturday, a day Aiden had hoped to spend recovering.

“I get so many oil changes and random small jobs on Saturdays, it doesn’t make sense to be closed and let the jackasses with the Quickilube at Walmart get the business,” Antony insisted when Aiden groaned with dismay upon being awakened after two hours of drunken sleep. It didn’t help that the awakening occurred at the business end of a thrown pillow. “Get up, Romeo. You owe me rent money.”

He did, slowly, queasily hitting a shower, sore all over, his skin mottled from bug bites. But nothing topped the glorious agony of a bourbon hangover like the one that had him firmly in its evil grasp.

He slouched out the door, cursing Antony, cursing Tricia, cursing her ex-husband for throwing her in his path last night. But mostly cursing his own weak-ass uselessness. He rested his head against the cool comfort of the truck window until Antony hit a bump or two, which sent extra pain jolting down his spine.

“Sorry,” his brother muttered, glancing over at him.

“No, you’re not.”

“Got me there. And you’d better warn me if you’re about to toss your cookies. I won’t have that in my vehicle, got me?”

Aiden rubbed his neck and nodded, swallowing the urge to throw up all over the pristine interior on principal. “Why d’you hate me so much? You used to like me.” He stared over at his brother, heart thumping, ears humming, throat closing up with nausea. He despised waking up still drunk.

“I don’t hate you.” Antony turned onto the main road headed into town.

“Could’ve fooled me. You’re a real asshole anymore. Worse than Dom.”

Antony merely shrugged, not rising to that tried-and-true bait. So they spent the rest of the ride to the garage in silence. Once there, Antony sat gripping the wheel. Aiden waited, hoping he’d get something out of him—something he would assure him that the man he thought he remembered as the protective, funny, and loving guy he’d grown up with still existed inside the guy walking around wearing Antony’s skin.

Finally, he let go of the wheel, exhaled, and squared his shoulders as if prepping for battle. Aiden made a mental note to talk to Kieran about how badly Antony had descended into his life of non-stop mourning and jerk-hood.

“So, Rosalee, not putting out for you or what? You need to get laid maybe? Knock the edge off?”

The glare Aiden got for saying those particular words did make him worry Antony might punch his aching head through the passenger-side window.

He clenched his jaw in the way Aiden remembered from their childhood. “That is so far outside the realm of your business as to be in another galaxy. Get to work and don’t say her name to me again.”

And with that, Aiden was left with the fleeting thought that mentioning Rosalee directly was probably not a good idea. He surely didn’t need Antony to guess that her name was on his lips, or front and center of his mind.

He shook his head—a Bad Plan because it summoned the pounding agony back with a vengeance. Groaning, he climbed out and shuffled over to the door.

A new day began at Love Garage.

*****

Coach Love

The Love Brothers Book 2

By Liz Crowe

Genre: Contemporary Romance for Real Life

Publisher: BeerWench Enterprises LLC

ASIN: B00PHLU0CK

Number of pages: 229

Word Count: 58,000

Cover Artist: Fiona Jayde Media

Blurb:

The smoldering intensity of first love ~ the forbidden fantasy of temptation ~ the cold hard facts of real life.

When one man’s hopes are dashed apart in a split second after years spent chasing a dream, he returns home to Kentucky furious at the world and everyone around him.

Kieran Francesco is the middle son of the volatile, tight-knit Halloran-Love family. His role as peacemaker and the one true athlete is well established. He now faces life devoid of the sport he adores after a horrific, career-ending accident, which places him in a new and entirely uncomfortable position—that of the brother with no future.

Over the course of a few tumultuous months Kieran is plunged back into life at the center of the Love family, where he must cope with one self-destructive brother, one ill-timed reconnection to an old flame and a series of bad choices that land him in more trouble than he’d ever known existed.

COACH LOVE, book 2 of The Love Brothers, a family saga of sibling loyalty that runs as deep and wide as the Ohio River—at least until Sunday, when Antony, Kieran, Dominic and Aiden work out their frustrations at the weekly Love brother pick-up basketball game.

Available on Amazon

Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/CefA1aGVkpg

Book Trailer Featured on USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/story/happyeverafter/2014/11/14/recommended-book-video-liz-crowe-al-goulden/18979137/

Coach Love Excerpt:

As he drove the twenty or so miles from his parents’ house into town Kieran’s head began to clear. The windows were down and the tunes cranked. The sun shone. Signs of summer–one of his favorite seasons–were all around him. Parks packed with families, all the basketball courts and swimming pools overflowing. The sight of a gaggle of boys on bikes riding alongside him for a while, singing along with whatever random, crappy rap song currently polluted the airwaves made him smile.

“Hey, it’s Kieran Love!” one of the punks shouted after a few blocks. “Can you come over and shoot a few with us?”

He waved and drove on, gratified but sad, the sound of their cheerful unhappiness at his refusal filling his ears, taking the stretch of four lane road at seventy miles an hour, pressing the gas pedal to the floor, the throaty, powerful roar of the car’s engine revving him from head to toe.

It would be all right because he and Melinda loved each other. They had from the moment they’d met. He passed some grandpa in a Toyota, as the deep green fields surrounded by picturesque white fences and dotted with horses filled both sides of his vision.

He’d been home and recuperating from radical knee surgery with the best prognosis he could hope for after such a nasty break–to walk normally, much less play the occasional pick up game. His depression had been deep, wide, and terrifying. He woke every day at his parents’ house, unwilling even to get out of bed, not that he could without help for the first few weeks.

Antony had tossed a laptop computer at him one day when he’d been sulking, unshaven, and eating an entire bag of potato chips, something he’d not done since the age of ten when his fate–bound for basketball fame and fortune–had been determined.

“Here, find a job, find a date, find something,” he’d said before yanking the empty chip bag away and smacking Kieran’s head hard enough to make his ears ring.

“Ow. Leave me alone, asshole. I’m grievously injured,” he’d said, not caring about the swear-free zone he inhabited.

“That’s three dollars young man,” his mother had called out from the kitchen.

“You live with this, jerk, and see how you feel about finding ‘a date.’“ He’d hooked his fingers around the words, heart in his throat at how badly he’d wanted to call Cara right then.

But by the next weekend he was caning and limping his way toward the door to some faux-fancy Italian restaurant in Lexington, rubbing his freshly shaved face and trying not to sweat through his dress shirt. The woman from the internet site sat at the bar, twirling an olive-laden swizzle stick in her martini glass, long, slim, bare legs crossed, feet encased in sky-high patent leather heels. He’d exhaled, beyond relived that he’d not been cat-fished by some troll, or worse, a dude.

He’d hesitated then, something in him telling him to turn around and leave, fast. But at that moment, she’d flashed him the whitest, most perfect smile he’d ever seen and he’d been hooked. He still didn’t know how. They’d gone out for three weeks before she let him kiss her. It’d been another three weeks before he got anywhere near her tits. It had been a solid four months before he scored but that encounter had been, in a word, epic.

Melinda liked to talk dirty, wear heels and a garter belt while he fucked her. Loved doing it with all the lights on and in semi-public places. She gave head like a pro at first, before he’d given her an engagement ring.

Her bitchiness had come across as extreme decisiveness, sort of hot in way, he’d admit, since he tended toward the spontaneous and unplanned–”wishy washy” as he now understood it thanks to Melinda’s re-categorization of his personality. Her tight grip on her emotions and her surroundings, the OCD way she ordered her life did grate on him at times but he figured she tolerated his innate sloppiness and willingness to wake on a Sunday without a plan in place for the rest of the day. When he realized he sat across from her at some overpriced, hipster restaurant near her office after going out with her for eight months, ready to present her with a ring he could barely afford, it had shocked him without seeming to even faze her.

“Well, of course I’ll marry you, but you’ve got to find a better job,” she’d drawled as she sipped her champagne.

“A new job?” He’d gotten the teaching gig at his old high school and couldn’t imagine any job he’d want or like better. She made six figures for Christ’s sake, at least he thought she did.

Elated, drunk with lust and achievement, he’d tried to get his long legs adjusted under the small table jammed between all the others and covered with small plates of “tapas” which, best he could tell were “appetizers” only twice the price and half the helpings.

“I’ll do anything you want, Melinda. You saved me, honest to God you did.”

She’d fluttered her inky black lashes and gazed at him with an expression that convinced him he’d made the drastic move for the right reasons. The following year had been a combination of frustration, anger and high school level blue balls. The double drama Antony and Aiden had foisted on the Love family during that time hadn’t helped but it had distracted him. He’d taught his classes, helped out with the basketball team pro bono without telling Melinda and had been happier than he’d ever been as a pro athlete.

The fact that she maintained her uber-bitch persona around his family killed him. But he was hooked.

Still.

Mostly.

*****

Love Brewing

The Love Brothers Book 3

by Liz Crowe

Blurb:

Every family has one—the black sheep, the problem child, the prodigal. But Dominic Sean Love could teach all of those guys a lesson or two. Stuck in the middle of a boisterous group of siblings, he’s given “acting out” a new meaning from the day he drew his first breath.

While he’s the one son who follows his strict father’s footsteps into the Love family business, he’s also the one who butts heads with him the hardest. Their epic clashes are the stuff of family legend. But they have made peace and work side by side to take Love Brewing to the next level of success.

Until Dominic does the one thing his father can never forgive.

Diana Brantley has been Dominic’s friend, girlfriend and ex-girlfriend so many times she’s lost count. When he shows up at the farm she’s slowly transforming into a wildly popular farm-to-table resource for restaurants all over the U.S. her first impulse is to shoot first and ask questions later. But she doesn’t. And their lives entwine once more, for good, bad and ugly.

Book 3: LOVE BREWING available in ebook format March 1, 2015

All 3 books available in print March 14, 2015

FREE NOVELLA AVAILABLE FEB. 1, 2015 ON AMAZON ONLY: “SAFE LOVE.”

Book 4: FAMILY LOVE available Summer 2015 in ebook and print

*****

Author Info:

Amazon best-selling author, beer blogger, brewery marketing expert, mom of three, and soccer fan, Liz Crowe is a Kentucky native and graduate of the University of Louisville currently living in Ann Arbor. She has decades of experience in sales and fund raising, plus an eight-year stint as a three-continent, ex-pat trailing spouse.

Her early forays into the publishing world led to a groundbreaking fiction subgenre, “Romance for Real Life,” which has gained thousands of fans and followers interested less in the “HEA” and more in the “WHA” (“What Happens After?”). More recently she is garnering even more fans across genres with her latest novels, which are more character-driven fiction, while remaining very much “real life.”

With stories set in the not-so-common worlds of breweries, on the soccer pitch, in successful real estate offices and at times in exotic locales like Istanbul, Turkey, her books are unique and told with a fresh voice. The Liz Crowe backlist has something for any reader seeking complex storylines with humor and complete casts of characters that will delight, frustrate and linger in the imagination long after the book is finished.

Don’t ever ask her for anything “like a Budweiser” or risk bodily injury.

Website | Beer, Books & More Blog | Facebook Fan Page | Facebook Fan Group

Twitter Feed | Amazon Author Page | Goodreads Page | Beer Blog

*****

Giveaway:

Prize Pack #1:

$40 Amazon Gift Card from Liz!

Free (.99) ebook of choice from Renee Entress!

3 Signed Sarah Robinson bookmarks from Summer’s Book Blog!

FREE ebook from Liz’s backlist (winner’s choice)!

$10 Amazon Gift Card from Drue Hoffman!

Prize Pack #2

$20 Amazon Gift Card from Liz!

$10 Amazon Gift Card from Perusing Princess Blog!

Free ebook (up to $2.99) from Keisha Carpenter!

Ebook set of Breaking My Heart and Healing My Heart by Aleya Michelle

Free ebook copy of one of Liz’s brewery-based novels (Paradise Hops, Cheeky Blonde or Honey Red)!

Prize Pack #3:

$10 Amazon Gift Card from Liz!

Entire Black Jack Gentlemen Series (ebook) from Liz!

Free ebooks of Holding Out and Climbing Out from Lila Rose!

Set of bookmarks from various authors from Jen Widner!

Enter at:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/5071b5864/

*****

Click on the banner to check out the rest of the tour

Book Review – Sugar’s Twice as Sweet

15 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Book Review

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Book Review, Marina Adair, Sugar Georgia series, Sugar's Twice as Sweet

Sugar’s Twice as Sweet

Sugar, Georgia: Book 1

by Marina Adair

“Marina Adair writes with heart and sizzling heat. SUGAR’S TWICE AS SWEET will charm you!” –Jill Shalvis, New York Times bestselling author

“A can’t miss read with small town sweetness, endearing characters and a unique quirky flair.” –Carly Phillips, New York Times bestselling author on SUGAR’S TWICE AS SWEET

He’s trouble she doesn’t need . . .

Thanks to a cheating fiancé, Josephina Harrington’s perfect life just crashed and burned. Moving in with her overbearing parents is definitely not an option. No, she needs to prove she can make it on her own. And she will-by turning her great-aunt’s old plantation house into a destination getaway. She’s just not expecting her contractor to be so hands-on-and so totally irresistible.

. . . but everything she wants

Bad-boy golf champion Brett McGraw figured his hometown of Sugar, Georgia was the perfect place to lay low and get his life back up to par. The leggy blonde with a pint-sized pup is the kind of sweet ‘n sassy trouble he never saw coming. She doesn’t know a nut from a bolt and before long, he’s renovating her house . . . as she steals his heart. Can he convince Josephina that his womanizing ways are in the past and he’s ready for forever?

Y’all, I haven’t loved a Southern golfer this much since Kenny Traveler in Lady Be Good (and if you haven’t read Susan Elizabeth Phillips book yet, you are SOOO missing something fantastic). And while no one will ever completely replace Kenny in my heart, Brett does come in a solid second. And just like Phillip’s Wynette, Sugar is full of quirky characters, with big hearts and a touch of crazy.

Joie is trying to find herself after years of living in someone else’s shadow. Add in being a Yankee coming to the small-town South, you know things are not going to go so smoothly. Luckily she’s got super-sexy, hometown hero Brett in her corner. Unfortunately for him, she’s fighting their attraction with everything in her because she’s determined to not lose herself in a man again. From opossums in the attic to gun-toting grandmas, Joie has a hilarious journey ahead of her as she tries to discover her place in the world and we’re there for every laugh-out-loud and heart-tugging moment.

Brett is laying low thanks to a sex video gone viral, which means he’s heading home to Sugar … and runs smack into Joie. The fact that she won’t go out with him (and even more so that HE really wants her to) throws the handsome playboy off his stride. But as their friendship grows and deepens, so do Brett’s feelings … and his urge to fight for something more. The fact that Joie understands him like no one else touches something in him and he’s not going to give up on it. Or them.

As engaging as Brett and Joie are, they are solidly supported by a wonderfully entertaining secondary cast of wacky characters – you will absolutely LOVE the Sunday School Mafia, which is as wonderful as it sounds. And since this starts a series there is plenty of material to keep me coming back from more (Brett has brothers who I hope are the first ones in line)!

When Sugar’s best-known son and the Yankee outsider get together, there are more fireworks than the 4^th of July. While Brett helps Joie rediscover the real her, she might just teach him a thing or two about the real him. And it is an entertaining ride every step of the way.

Spotlight – One Month of Elle

14 Wednesday Jan 2015

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Blog Tour, Book Review, Contest, Sneak Peek

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After Hours series, Book Review, Elle Kennedy, One Night of Scandal, One Night of Sin, One Night of Trouble

Today we’re celebrating One Night of Trouble, the newest in Elle Kennedy’s deliciously sexy After Hours series by taking a look at all three books, getting a very HOT peak into the first (One Night of Sin) and revisiting my review from last fall. And best of all, Elle is giving away a fantastic gift basket so don’t miss out!

*****

One Night of Sin

Sometimes it’s good to be bad…

When it comes to sex, good girl Skyler Thompson always plays it safe, choosing stable and sedate over wild and thrilling. She doesn’t do one-night-stands, but one look at sinfully sexy Gage Holt and she’s willing to reconsider. He makes her want to be bad for once in her life, and she’s prepared to take what she wants.

Danger follows former MMA fighter Gage Holt like a shadow. Despite his successes as part owner of Sin, an exclusive nightclub in Boston, Gage can’t risk getting involved with a woman, especially one as sweet as Skyler. Still, he can’t resist a taste—and it’s so damn good he has to see her again.

As addicted as he is to her, Gage knows there’s no future for him and Skyler—not with his past lurking in the dark corners of an MMA cage. But Skyler’s tougher than she looks, and she’s ready to fight for her man.

Goodreads Book Link: http://bit.ly/OneNightSinGR

Amazon Buy Link: http://bit.ly/OneNightSinAM

Barnes & Noble Buy Link: http://bit.ly/OneNightSinBN

Entangled Page: http://bit.ly/OneNightSinEP

One Night of Scandal

The wrong man never felt so right…

Ex-fighter Reed Miller has been secretly lusting over his best friend’s girl for months, but he refuses to jeopardize a friendship over a woman—especially one who doesn’t like him all that much. Now that Darcy’s on the market again, it’s even more imperative to stick to his strict hands-off policy. But the sizzling attraction between them is too powerful to ignore, and once he’s had a taste of her…all bets are off.

Darcy Grant is tired of walking the straight and narrow path. She’s on the hunt for passion, and there’s no denying Reed is just the man to give it to her. Although she has no interest in dating a bad boy, and certainly not her ex’s best friend, it’s impossible not to melt beneath Reed’s skillful touch. Now it’s just a matter of setting a few ground rules—and hoping her rule-breaking, sweet-talking bad boy agrees to follow them. But if she lets Reed into her bed, does she stand a chance of keeping him out of her heart?

Goodreads Book Link: http://bit.ly/OneNightScandalGR

Amazon Buy Link: http://bit.ly/OneNightScandalAM

Barnes & Noble Buy Link: http://bit.ly/OneNightScandalBN

Entangled Page: http://bit.ly/OneNightScandalEP

One Night of Trouble

No More Mr. Nice Guy…

The moment AJ Walsh sees the sexy, tattooed pixie walk up to his bar, it’s lust at first sight. He’s always been labeled the “nice” guy―opening doors, buying flowers, and never, ever having one-night stands. But with this wicked little angel with red lips and unfathomably dark eyes? Oh, yeah. Tonight, “nice” has nothing to do with it…

Brett Conlon is trying to convince her family that she’s put away her reckless wild girl side for good. Nothing―and no one―could be better for her reputation than golden boy AJ Walsh. So they make a deal: if he plays The Good Boyfriend for her family, he can be a very, very bad boy with her. Now their one naughty night is about to turn into a whole lot of trouble…

Goodreads Book Link: http://bit.ly/OneNightTroubleGR

Amazon Buy Link: http://bit.ly/OneNightTroubleAM

Barnes & Noble Buy Link: http://bit.ly/OneNightTroubleBN

Entangled Page: http://bit.ly/OneNightTroubleEP

*****

One Night of Sin Excerpt:

“I’m Skyler,” she said.

He nodded.

“Maybe you’re new to civilized society, but normally when people introduce themselves, you reply by providing your own name.” She arched one perfectly defined eyebrow.

“Is that right?” His lips twitched. “Well, what makes you think I’m at all civilized, Skyler?”

That made her falter. She bit her lower lip. Tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and the scent of her shampoo floated his way. She smelled like green apples. A sweet and feminine fragrance, serving as a reminder that he shouldn’t be out here talking to her.

“How old are you, sweetheart?” His voice came out rough.

“Well, my ID held up at the door, so I’m over twenty-one if that’s what you’re worried about. Twenty-four, actually. In some cultures that would make me a spinster.”

Gage swallowed a laugh. There was something truly refreshing about her sarcasm, especially when contrasted with the flush of her cheeks and the way she fidgeted with her hands. She didn’t belong here. Not at this club, not even in this neighborhood. She should be nestled between crisp white sheets right about now, snuggled next to a wholesome man while the two of them watched late-night talk shows before bed.

“Go back inside,” he said gruffly. “Your date’s probably wondering where you are.”

That made her snicker. “I doubt it. I think he wrote me off the second he realized I wasn’t going to fuck him tonight.”

Gage’s cock jerked in his pants. Jesus. That angel mouth wasn’t allowed to say things like that. Not in front of him, a man whose inner devil could be summoned at the drop of a hat.

“Go back inside,” he repeated.

“Why? You don’t like talking to me?” Hands planted on her slim hips, she moved closer, a pensive look on her face.

He shrugged. “I don’t like talking, period.”

“Huh. So what do you like to do?”

Gage met her eyes in another long, deliberate stare. Leaving no question as to what he enjoyed doing.

She visibly swallowed. And then she startled the hell out of him.

“So maybe that’s what we should do.”

A laugh rumbled out of his chest. “You’re playing with fire, baby.”

“Am I?”

She had the nerve to lick her lips. He didn’t think she’d done it as an intentional taunt, but damn, the response to seeing her tongue dart out was instantaneous. His erection pulsed against his zipper, hard and persistent, like it was trying to tunnel its way out of his pants and into her pussy.

Gage took a breath, trying to ease the ache down south. Nope, he wasn’t giving in, wasn’t going to acknowledge the awareness prickling over his flesh. He was fighting in two days, and he didn’t like to screw before a match. The frustration fueled him, gave him the edge he needed to send an opponent to his knees.

But at the moment, he wanted to be the one on his knees. With his head underneath Skyler’s skimpy dress, his face buried between her legs as he licked her up until she screamed.

“Yes,” he rasped. “You’re definitely playing with fire.”

“Maybe I like fire, did you ever think of that? Maybe I want to get burned.”

*****

One Night of Sin Review:

(Some of you may remember this review already – it was posted here just a handful of months back.)

Gage is haunted by his rough past and even though he’s tried to become a better man, circumstances keep him in the seedier world of him childhood. He believes he’s no good at relationships and that he can’t offer anything to someone as good and decent as Skyler. Skyler may be a good girl but she’s willing to play at being a bad girl if it means she can give in to her attraction for Gage. When their one night stand becomes a sex only relationship that begins to feel like more than just sex, things start to get complicated.

These two together are fabulous. Gage brings out a more daring side to Skyler, while she reminds him that he can be more than what he was. While One Night of Sin is novella in length, and a decent part of it is spent on the steamy interactions between the two (not that I’m complaining), Kennedy still does a good job of letting us see their relationship develop. We don’t get a lot of those more relationship-y interactions first hand, but we are told about them and we get to see their effect in the changes in their attitudes … and with how Gage starts to believe that he can be that better man. It’s a very fast read, a little over a hundred pages, but it moves well and left me with that happy feeling that I want from a good romance.

I totally got into this book and I kept thinking Elle Kennedy’s name was familiar. She’s the co-author of All Fired Up, the first book in the DreamMakers series with Vivian Arend, which I really enjoyed. (And I’m looking forward to reading the second book, Love is a Battlefield – review coming when I’m done.) I also think there is a good chance I’ve read one or two of her Harlequin stories, but I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for future stories. Based on her book list, it looks like she specializes in tough, troubled heroes and from what I’ve read so far she’s good at keeping them on their toes.

*****

Author Info:

A USA Today bestselling author, Elle Kennedy grew up in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, and holds a BA in English from York University. From an early age, she knew she wanted to be a writer and actively began pursuing that dream when she was a teenager. She loves strong heroines and sexy alpha heroes, and just enough heat and danger to keep things interesting!

Elle loves to hear from her readers. Visit her website www.ellekennedy.com or sign up for her newsletter to receive updates about upcoming books and exclusive excerpts. You can also find her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter (@ElleKennedy).

Website: www.ellekennedy.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElleKennedy

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorElleKennedy

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1935000.Elle_Kennedy

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/OR9cr

*****

Giveaway:

Enter to win a Seduction Gift Basket

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/1cb55495468/

Spotlight – Finding Hope

13 Tuesday Jan 2015

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Blog Tour

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Finding Hope, Nugget series, Stacy Finz

I’m excited to get my hands on this one – it looks like a super sweet love story.

*****

Finding Hope

A Nugget Romance

by Stacy Finz

Blurb:

The small mountain town of Nugget, California, is way off the beaten path. But somehow it helps the lost and lonely find a new beginning in life—and in love

One solitary day at a time is the only way cookbook writer Emily Mathews can restart her life—and cope with consuming loss. Still, the former city girl is finding all kinds of odd inspiration and advice from Nugget’s proudly eccentric residents on everything from new recipes to opening her heart again. Especially when it comes to her rugged rancher landlord …

His no-drama new tenant is the first break Clay McCreedy has had in a long time. He’s got his hands full enough dealing with his wife’s scandalous death and his sons’ unresolved grief. Clay can’t help but be drawn to Emily’s quiet understanding and strength. When their fragile trust turns into passionate healing, he longs for much more. And when both their pasts come calling, he’s determined not to walk away…

Buy Links:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

*****

Author Info:

Stacy Finz is an award-winning journalist. After more than seventeen years covering notorious serial killers, naked-tractor-driving farmers, fanatical foodies, aging rock stars and weird Western towns for the San Francisco Chronicle, she figured she finally had enough material to launch a career writing fiction. In 2012 she won the Daphne du Maurier Award for unpublished single-title mystery/suspense. She lives in Berkeley, California with her husband.

Website http://www.stacyfinz.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stacyfinzauthor/1463725697212295?ref=br_rs

Twitter https://twitter.com/sfinz

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8120448.Stacy_Finz

*****

Tour Schedule:

January 5

Book featured at 3 Partners in Shopping

January 6

Book featured at Review From Here

January 7

Book featured at Authors and Readers Book Corner

January 8

Book reviewed at I’m Shelf-ish

January 9

Book reviewed at From Me to You

January 12

Book featured at Lisa Loves Books

Book featured at The Writer’s Life

January 13

Book featured at Romantic Reads and Such

January 14

Book featured at What is That Book About

January 15

Book featured at Booklover Sue

Book featured at The Dark Phantom

January 16

Book featured at Talking Book Blogs

Guest Post – One Mad Night

12 Monday Jan 2015

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Blog Tour, Contest, Sneak Peek

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Julia London, One Mad Night, The Bridesmaid

I am a HUGE fan of Julia London’s work (both her contemporary and historical romances), so I was seriously stoked to get the chance to host her as she shared a little about her newest, One Mad Night.

About a year ago, I got the pleasure of reading half of this anthology, The Bridesmaid – my review can be found here. If you haven’t read it yet, make sure you do as soon as possible. Two-for-one y’all!

*****

One of the popular tropes in short romantic fiction is the idea of enemies or rivals becoming lovers.

I love this trope. There’s nothing like a little healthy competition between a man and a woman to get thing stirred up, right? Especially if the two people competing are sexy and neither of them are above using their sexiness to win. With that kind of sexual tension, the desire to win becomes an all-consuming need. If the two people are going head to head to win an important account that could make or break their career, the stakes just got that much higher. So as a writer, what do I enjoy about this situation? Creating a blizzard that shuts down the city and locks just the two of them in the office overnight with nothing but a couple of Lean Cuisines and a bar to entertain them. I suppose they could go back to their cubicles and work on their presentations, but that wouldn’t be any fun. Better for them to make a drink and go wandering around the other cubicles, right?

This is exactly what happens to Chelsea Crawford and Ian Rafferty in One Mad Night.

This kind of trope is perfect for a novella. It’s straightforward and the arc can be really explosive. The story opens with Chelsea and Ian flinging zingers at each other as they head toward the big showdown, then realize that they are stuck, and worse, going to have to work together to make it through the night, to the slow and dawning understanding that maybe, just maybe, there’s something more to their arch rival than an advertising campaign they privately know is great, but are each still clinging to the hope that it isn’t as great as their own. But is that enough?

And if you like blizzards, try The Bridesmaid. It’s a companion to this novella, packaged with it, and is about a couple caught travelling across the nation in the same blizzard. What if you had to share a travel space with someone who was just as determined to get the last seat on the train, plane, or car as you were? Blizzards are the best for romance.

I hope you enjoy the novella. Thank you for having me today.

*****

One Mad Night Anthology

By Julia London

January 6, 2015

Sourcebooks Casablanca

$5.99/£4.99

Blurb:

Two Romantic Adventures…One Mad Night

Two delightful contemporary romance novellas in one book from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julia London.

One winter’s night a blizzard sweeps across the country, demonstrating that fate can change the course of lives in an instant…and fate has got a sense of humor.

One Mad Night

Chelsea Crawford and Ian Rafferty are high profile ad execs in cutthroat competition for a client. When a major winter storm puts New York City on lockdown, the two rivals have to make it through the night together—oh, the many ways in which opposites attract…

The Bridesmaid – Bonus Novella

RITA Award Nominee for Best Romance Novella of 2013

Kate Preston has just moved to New York. Joe Firretti is contemplating a move to Seattle. When the weather wreaks havoc with transportation systems, Kate and Joe meet as they are both trying to rent the last car available… As Kate races to make her best friend’s wedding, and Joe races to a life-altering job interview, it looks like together is the only way they’ll make it at all.

Praise for Julia London:

“London knows how to keep pages turning…winningly fresh and funny.” —Publishers Weekly, on RITA Award nominee The Bridesmaid

Amazon | B&N | BAM | !ndigo | IndieBound

*****

Excerpt:

It took a moment for Chelsea to notice him, which gave Ian a moment to admire her. He was going to crush her tomorrow, but that didn’t stop him from appreciating a figure that guys like him dreamed about. Chelsea was wearing a skirt today. It hit about mid-thigh and was tight enough to show off all her curves. She looked a bit taller today too. He glanced at her feet and noticed the shoes. Chelsea was walking on stilts, and her legs, good God, her legs. She was smoking hot in that dress and those shoes.

“Hey!” she said sharply, her voice full of accusation.

Ian’s head snapped up. “Hey,” he said con-genially. “Practicing your pitch?” He settled one hip onto the conference table.

“Do you mind?” She gestured to the door in a be-off-with-you way.

“If you want, I could listen and give you some feedback.”

Chelsea’s mouth dropped open. And then her green eyes narrowed into little slits. “You have got to be the most arrogant man I’ve ever met.”

Ian smiled and shrugged.

“You can go, Ian,” she said, marching around the conference table to usher him out. “I think I’ve got it.”

“Suit yourself.”

“I will.”

“So hostile,” he said with a wink as he stood up. “I’m just trying to help. It never hurts for someone to hear the pitch, right? You’ve had someone listen to you go through it, right?”

“Yes, I’ve had—Hey, hey,” she said, poking him in the chest. “Are you trying to play me?” she demanded. “Because it won’t work. I’m not some junior account person, you know. You can’t intimidate me.”

“Well, obviously,” Ian said and poked her back. “You wouldn’t be pitching at all if you were a junior account person. I know I can’t intimidate you. It wasn’t a declaration of war, you know; it was an offer to help.”

“It wasn’t a let-me-help, best-friends-forever offer, either. I’m not playing games with you. This account means a lot to me—”

“Me too.”

“Oh yeah?” she said, shifting closer. “Well, don’t get too attached to the idea. I’ve got seniority, you know.”

“So why are you so afraid to show me what you’ve got?”

“Because it’s none of your business.”

“On the eve of the championship, it’s okay to go out and shoot some hoops with your competitor. It’s not going to affect tomorrow’s big game. It’s not like I can go out and change weeks of work overnight if I see you’ve got something better.”

She laughed. “Good try, Rafferty, but I think maybe the reason you want to see my pitch is because you’re worried about the strength of your pitch. Is it a little rough? Maybe I should listen to you.” She winked, and her green eyes shone with pleasure at her comeback.

“I’m definitely not worried about my pitch.”

“No? Seems to me if you’re presenting three,” she said, holding up three fingers and wiggling them at him, “then you must be uncertain which one is the winner.” Her smile broadened into sheer triumph, as if she thought she’d really zinged him.

She hadn’t zinged him, but Ian did wonder how she knew what he had…Zach. Of course. That rat bastard. “Have you been talking to Zimmerman?” he asked accusingly.

She shrugged and studied her manicure. “Maybe. Does it matter? I thought we were doing the let’s-help-each-other thing. But if we’re not, would you mind toddling off? I have a lot of work I need to do before tomorrow. I plan to hit the ground running with this account on Monday.”

She was amazingly and annoyingly confident. Ian was generally a confident guy, but she was making him a teensy bit nervous. “You really think you’re going to get this, don’t you?”

“I don’t think, I know,” she said, looking up.

He tilted his head to one side to study her. “Isn’t it obvious to you why they brought me in?”

“I don’t know—I haven’t given it the slightest bit of thought.” She lifted her chin, and Ian realized she lied about as well as she engaged in verbal volleyball. “I’ve been promised that this account is as good as mine. Didn’t they tell you that when they brought you in?”

A bit more of Ian’s confidence leaked out of him. He’d been in New York advertising long enough to know that the industry was full of snakes. He wouldn’t put it past anyone to feed him a bunch of half-baked promises to get him to commit. “Who told you?”

She grinned. “None of your beeswax.”

“Come on, tell me—” His phone rang, distracting him momentarily. He fished it out of his pocket and noticed the number was the Grabber-Paulson main number. That was weird. “Listen, I’ll just say this,” he said, clicking off the phone. “Don’t be so sure of things. People say things they don’t mean, especially in this industry.” He started for the door.

“Uh-huh, I know. And I would offer you the same advice, Mr. Rafferty,” she said in a singsong voice, and she flashed a dazzling smile, full of straight white teeth.

“Cocky too. I like that about you,” he said. “I’ll keep it in mind when I make partner.” He winked at her, smiled as if he was completely unbothered, and went out of the conference room.

*****

Author Info:

Julia London is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than thirty novels, including the Homecoming Ranch contemporary series, the Secrets of Hadley Green historical romance series, and numerous other works. She is a four-time finalist for the prestigious RITA Award for excellence in romantic fiction, and RT Bookclub award recipient for Best Historical Romance. She lives in Austin, Texas.

Connect with Julia London:

www.julialondon.com | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

*****

Giveaway:

Three copies of One Mad Night

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/54ca7af743/

***

Special thanks to Julia for joining us today!

Book Review – Julie’s Butterfly

09 Friday Jan 2015

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Book Review

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Book Review, Greta Milan, Julie's Butterfly

When beautiful Julietta meets aloof, handsome photographer Bastian, she immediately feels butterflies in her stomach.

But Bastian has a secret: Since birth, he has suffered from a very rare skin disorder that makes him exceptionally prone to injury. His life is riddled with pain and rejection; his thoughts are dominated by self-doubt and mistrust.

Julie wants to help him shake loose his inhibitions and open up to her, but can she reach deep enough to truly understand his suffering?

Inspired by her real-life love for a “Butterfly Child” and moved by the reactions of other people, Greta Milán wanted to find an unconventional way to raise awareness of the rare hereditary skin disorder epidermolysis bullosa. In her debut novel, Julie’s Butterfly, she deals with prejudice, describes the experience of EB sufferers, and gives rich and varied insight into life with EB. Greta Milán is married and lives near Frankfurt, Germany.

Knowing that Julie’s Butterfly is influenced by real people and the struggles that they experience makes a touching story even more heart-breaking. I’ll admit that I’m not always the most tactful of people. When you see someone who obviously is dealing with some physical … imperfection seems an awfully harsh word but I don’t know what else to use … sometimes you have no idea how to react. You don’t want to stare but you don’t want to turn away either and even at my age I haven’t always figured out the appropriate middle ground. And this book just reinforced for me how people can be cruel, sometimes without even realizing it.

Bastian is extremely sensitive about his condition and some very bad early experiences have shaped the way he deals with it. Meeting Julie though shakes up his world. He’s reserved, difficult, emotional, and very proud. He’s also very self-conscious about anyone seeing his body and his heart. Julie sees the man inside and is intrigued by him but she’s going to have a very long battle in front of her to break thru his walls.

It’s a very sweet and poignant journey for them, one that I took with my heart in my throat and sometimes tears in my eyes. It definitely wasn’t easy but the ending totally made every difficult step worthwhile.