Spotlight – Seduced by a Steele

15 Wednesday Apr 2020

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Brenda Jackson has been delivering awesome reads for years. Pick up her newest to find out just how good she is!

*****

Seduced by a Steele

by Brenda Jackson

Blurb:

New York Times bestselling author Brenda Jackson brings you a brand-new story in the Forged of Steele series. Perfect for fans of the popular Westmoreland series and readers of passionate contemporary romances!

A notorious heartbreaker is about to meet his match…Will a damsel in distress be his redemption?

When the “thief” caught driving his stolen vintage car turns out to be a stunning runaway heiress, Mercury Steele is conflicted. On the one hand, Sloan Donahue, penniless and on the run from her tyrannical family, triggers the billionaire playboy’s protective instincts. But she also triggers red-hot desire. Mercury refuses to think his simple seduction is becoming something deeper, especially when Sloan is keeping secrets…

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50832058-seduced-by-a-steele

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Seduced-Steele-Forged-Brenda-Jackson/dp/1335209018

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/seduced-by-a-steele-brenda-jackson/1136470582

Google: https://books.google.ca/books?id=jlK1DwAAQBAJ&dq=seduced+by+a+steele&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjroo72zrDoAhWEgXIEHQAWCNkQ6AEIKDAA

Indie Bound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781335209016

Harlequin.com: https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9781335209016_seduced-by-a-steele.html

*****

Excerpt:

A feeling of relief swept through Mercury when he located his car. Parking in the space beside it, he quickly got out and glanced around the shops in the mall, wondering where the driver had gone.

He was pissed when he pulled his phone out of his jacket to call the police again to give them his exact location. Putting his phone back, he walked around his car and was glad not to see any dents. Other than need-ing a good wash job, the old girl looked good. Deciding to check the interior, he pulled his car keys out of his pocket to open the door.

“Get away from my car!”

Mercury snatched his head up and was instantly mesmerized by the beauty of the woman’s dark brown eyes, shoulder-length curly hair that cascaded around an oval face, high cheekbones, the smooth and creamy texture of her cocoa-colored skin and one pair of the sexiest lips he’d ever seen on a woman.

He immediately flashed her one of his wolfish smiles and was about to go into man-whore mode until what she’d said stopped him. Then he became blinded to all that gorgeous beauty. “Your car?”

“Yes, my car. Now get away from it before I call the police.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “This is my car. It was stolen from me three nights ago.”

“You’re lying,” the woman snapped.

Calling him a liar was a big mistake. The one thing he despised more than anything was for someone to question his integrity. “If you think that, then by all means call the police. However, you don’t have to call them since I already have. You’re the thief, not me.”

“I am not a thief,” she said, feeling brave enough to step closer and glare at him.

“Nor am I a liar,” he said, glaring back. Suddenly a police cruiser with flashing blue lights pulled up and two officers quickly got out. One was Sherman Aikens, one of Jonas’s old high school friends. “I see you’ve found your car, Mercury.”

Mercury frowned over at him. “No thanks to you guys who should have been looking for it. And my car was never lost, it was stolen, and she’s the person who has it.”

“It’s my car!”

Both officers glanced over at the woman and Mercury glowered. Instead of saying anything, they just stared at her, male appreciation obvious in their gazes. “For crying out loud, aren’t you going to ask to see her papers on the vehicle since she claims to be the owner?” he snapped out at the officers.

Sherman broke eye contact with the woman to frown at Mercury. “I was going to get to that.” In a voice Mercury felt was way too accommodating, considering the circumstances, Sherman said, “Ma’am, I need to see papers on this vehicle, because it resembles one reported stolen three nights ago.”

“It is the one that was stolen three nights ago,” Mercury snapped while ignoring Sherman’s frown. As far as Mercury was concerned, Sherman could become smitten with the woman on someone else’s time.

“Stolen! That’s not possible, Officer,” the woman said, looking alarmed. “Why would anyone want to steal that car? Look at it. It’s old.”

Mercury glared at her while Sherman and the other officer unsuccessfully tried hiding their grins. “It’s a classic, and if it’s so old for your taste, why did you buy it like you claim you did?” Mercury asked her.

“Because I needed transportation and it was in my budget,” she said, pulling papers from her purse. “I just bought it yesterday.” She handed the papers to Sherman.

Mercury thought it took Sherman longer than necesary to switch his gaze from the woman to the papers. He then said in a too-apologetic voice, “Sorry, ma’am, but these papers are fake.”

Shock flew to her face. “Fake? But that’s not possible. A nice gentleman sold the car to me.”

“That ‘nice’ man conned you into buying a stolen car,” Mercury said, ignoring Sherman’s narrowed gaze as well as the woman’s thunderstruck expression.

Switching her gaze from Mercury to Sherman, she said, “Please tell me that’s not true, Officer. I gave him three hundred dollars.”

“Three hundred dollars?” Mercury asked, not believing what she’d said.

Lifting her chin, she added, “Yes, I knew the car wasn’t worth that much, but the man looked a little down on his luck and needed the money.”

Mercury shook his head. “You got that car for a steal, no pun intended. Do you not know the value of that car? It’s worth over two hundred thousand dollars easily.”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous.” Ridiculous? She had bought a stolen car from some-one who she thought was a nice man, and she thought he was being ridiculous? He was about to give her a scathing reply, but Sherman’s look warned him not to do so.

“Yes, ma’am, unfortunately that man did run a scam on you,” Sherman said. “I hate you lost all that money. I need you to come down to police headquarters and give us a statement, including a description of the man who sold you the car. We will be on the lookout for him.”

“Like you guys were on the lookout for my car?” Mercury said under his breath, but when Sherman shot him a disapproving glare, he knew he’d been heard regardless.

Sherman turned to him. “We’re going to have to impound the car. You and Miss Donahue need to come down to police headquarters to give statements.”

“But I’m on my way to a job interview,” the woman said, suddenly looking distressed.

Mercury refused to feel an ounce of sympathy for her since he too would be late for an interview with a potential new client. Now he would have to reschedule. Every sports agent alive would want to sign on Nor-ris Eastwood, but the parents of the high school senior with plans to go straight into the NBA had sought out Mercury. He hoped being a no-show this morning wouldn’t be a negative against him. If it was, then he had this woman to blame.

“Are you okay with that, Mercury?”

When he heard his name, he glanced up. “Am I okay with what?” He saw the other officer had pulled the woman off to the side to take down some information. “Giving Miss Donahue a ride to the police station,” Sherman said.

“Don’t you have room in the police car? That’s the normal way you transport criminals, isn’t it? For all we know, she could be in cahoots with the person who stole my car.”

Sherman rolled his eyes. “You don’t believe that any more than I do, Mercury. It’s obvious she’s an innocent victim who doesn’t belong in the back of a patrol car. She’s no more a thief than we are. Look at her.”

Mercury didn’t want to look at her, but he did any-way. He immediately thought the same thing he had when he’d first seen her. She was a very beautiful woman. Her features were just that striking. And then there was that delectable-looking figure in a navy blue pencil skirt and white blouse. Sexy as hell. But still…

*****

Author Info:

Brenda Jackson is a New York Times bestselling author of more than one hundred romance titles. Brenda lives in Jacksonville, Florida, and divides her time between family, writing and traveling. Email Brenda at authorbrendajackson@gmail.com or visit her on her website at brendajackson.net.

*****

Spotlight – Temper

13 Monday Apr 2020

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Who else loves a good bad boy MC story? Throw in a dead body and I’m sold!

*****

Temper

Knights of Fury MC series, #3

by Chantal Fernando

Length: approx. 60,000 words (256 pages)

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Imprint: Carina Press

eBook On-Sale: April 20, 2020

eBook ISBN & Price: 9781488054037, $4.99 USD

Blurb:

New York Times bestselling author Chantal Fernando returns to the Knights of Fury series with her most complicated hero yet. He may be the epitome of cool, but this MC president isn’t called Temper for nothing…

Every year, the hot, tatted biker comes into Abbie’s bar, orders whiskey and asks her out. Every year, Abbie turns him down. After all, dating a man that goes by Temper seems like a really bad idea, no matter how attracted she is to him.

But this year is different. Abbie’s different. Older, wiser and tired of being stuck behind the bar in a sleepy town. This year, she’s ready for whatever adventure the sexy but sweet biker has in store for her.

Or so she thinks…until an elegant candlelit dinner ends with a dead body.

Now Abbie finds herself on the ride of her life, whisked away to the big city in Temper’s protective custody. She should be scared, but—despite his nickname—it’s clear the last thing Temper would ever do is hurt a hair on her head. And when danger catches up with them, Abbie soon realizes that holding tight to her man while straddling a Harley may be the safest place of all.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YCQPTBW

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/temper-chantal-fernando/1133792899

iTunes: https://books.apple.com/us/book/temper/id1481346510

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/temper-13

Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Chantal_Fernando_Temper?id=e-WxDwAAQBAJ

*****

Excerpt:

It’s been a while since I’ve seen [Temper], and he looks good. It’s like the man doesn’t age. He’s tall, strong, and kind of mean looking, but he’s been nothing but nice and respectful toward me. We kind of have a routine going every time we see each other. We chat, we flirt, he asks if he can buy me dinner, and I say no. He accepts that and leaves, until next time.

I don’t know why I always say no anymore. The first time was a combination of him being a biker and feeling so much older than me. But the age thing doesn’t bother me that much anymore. Truth is I’ve never said yes, to any man, to any date. I get asked out by people coming into the bar, but you don’t have to be experienced to know what they are really looking for, and it’s not a loving, long-lasting relationship. My experience is severely lacking, aside from prom and the mistake I made after it, and there’s no saving me now. I’m going to be a spinster. Hopefully Ivy will give me some nieces and nephews I can claim as my own.

Temper places money on the table, with a huge tip, like he always does. “Seriously? Who tips that much?”

His lip twitches. “You can take yourself out to a nice dinner with it, since I know you’re never going to let me take you out.”

“You giving up that easily?” I tease, giving him a flirtatious smile. I don’t know where this sudden boldness is coming from, other than the fact that I don’t want him to stop asking me out, and I’ve only just realized this.

I’ve never met another man like Temper, and I don’t think I ever will. I see how people treat him, avoid him, and make sure not to challenge him. Hell, my own mother warned me to be friendly with him, but never too friendly. He has this air of menace about him, but over the years I’ve also seen how he treats his MC brothers like family, and he’s always respectful, even to the people who work here. I’ve seen him vulnerable when he talked about his Prez… Hammer was his name, I think. He’s never rude, or arrogant—to me, anyway—and he’s always generous and polite. When he speaks to me, he always uses a humble, gentle tone, one that I’ve come to enjoy listening to. I know there is another side to him, and I can’t help but want to get to know that more.

“It only took a few years of rejection,” he jokes, lifting the whiskey glass to his lips. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him make a joke before.

“Maybe this was the year I was going to say yes,” I reply, clearing my throat. I don’t know what’s come over me, but I have the feeling like if I truly do want to take a chance and go on this date, it’s now or never. I’m stuck here, in the same job, doing the same thing every damn day, and I deserve to have a little fun and do something reckless for once in my life. I’ve always been the good girl, the trusted daughter, and the responsible older sister, taking care of my family as much as I can, since my dad has never been around. I know his name, Cohen Pierce, and that he lives in California somewhere. But he wanted, and still wants, nothing to do with me, and that’s fine. I’ve accepted that.

But what have I ever done for me? Other than college, which I had to drop out of anyway, I can’t think of one single thing.

Temper lowers his glass and studies me, brown eyes filled with surprise and suspicion. “You want to go on a date with me? Why now?”

Shrugging, I lower my eyes to the counter before returning them to him. “Time for me to live a little.”

Being safe hasn’t gotten me anywhere in life.

*****

Author Info:

Chantal Fernando is the New York Times bestselling author of the Wind Dragons Motorcycle Club series, the Cursed Raven Motorcycle Club series, and the Maybe series, along with several other novels. She lives in Western Australia, where she is working on her next book. Find her online at AuthorChantalFernando.com, and on Twitter and Facebook.

Website: http://www.authorchantalfernando.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChantalFernando

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7056719.Chantal_Fernando

*****

Review – Scoring Off the Ice

08 Wednesday Apr 2020

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Moving on from cowboys … to hockey players so I think that’s an OK trade.

*****

Scoring Off the Ice

Ice King series

by Stacey Lynn

Blurb:

Sometimes scoring off the ice leads to the greatest rewards.

I’ve had only one goal in life since I first strapped on a pair of skates—make America’s pro hockey league.

I left Denmark. I made it to the top. Now, I’m determined to be the best. No distractions. I eat, sleep, and breathe hockey.

Until my birthday when my teammates convince me to live a little.

But living a little takes on a whole new meaning when less than a year later I’m confronted with a crying baby on my doorstep, drooling on a note that declares he’s mine.

Suddenly, I’m a single dad in way over my head.

There is no playbook for situations like this.

Luckily, I have Paisley.

My gorgeous neighbor, my long-time crush, and now—my savior.

She’s there any time I need her.

Helping. Guiding. Gazing at me with those green eyes that make me feel capable of this after all.

With her at my side, I’m quickly learning there’s more to life than winning a hockey game.

Download your copy today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3bNmxdu
Apple Books: https://apple.co/3bPr1Aj
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/scoringofftheice
Nook: http://bit.ly/2SG7iLN
Kobo: http://bit.ly/37y3OPS
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2uX74ae

Add SCORING OFF THE ICE to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/37I5oyC

*****

Excerpt:

“Who are you?” I don’t like calling her the woman. I’ve wondered her name for months since she started appearing in that doorway so close to mine.

She turns to me and in her arms is the baby. She’s holding a bottle and the baby is drinking. Quiet little sounds come from it and she grins down at the baby in her arms before tilting her head at me.

“What?”

“You. What is your name?”

“Paisley. Are you Mikah?”

She must want money if she knows my name. Perhaps she’s a fan. A puck bunny—that’s what my teammates call the girls who follow players and only want one thing from them.

“How did you know?” I wish she wasn’t so pretty. Sometimes it hurts to talk when all I want to do is look at her.

She points to an envelope on the table. The note.

“It’s on the outside. I didn’t know if it was your name or the baby’s, so I took a guess. Are you… are you okay?”

“A stranger shows up at my door with a baby in her arms, saying it’s mine. How okay am I supposed to be?” I wander to the table while I ask.

I’m surprised by her gentle laugh.

“I suppose this isn’t your typical Friday night.”

She is funny. If I didn’t think I might throw up, I might laugh. No. This is not my typical Friday night. Mine are for resting. Not life-changing drama.

I say nothing and grab the envelope. I stare at it for a moment. Perhaps if I do not open it, I can pretend this didn’t happen. My fingers shake as I tear it open.

The envelope is larger than normal and thick and I’m careful as I pull out several folded papers.

The top one is the most important though as I instantly see my name, written in scrolling black ink.

MIKAH,

His name is Angelo.

*****

Review:

Scoring Off the Ice is a sweet, slow-build romance about a couple of strangers (who have been long-distance lusting after each other) getting thrown into sending time with each other thanks to an unexpected bundle of joy. Time spent with baby Angelo allows Mikah and Paisley to get to know each other and to finally figure out if their attraction to each other can turn into something more.

I didn’t realize that when I chose this one that it falls into the New Adult category. I don’t usually read these – I’m a woman of a certain age (*snicker*) and I tend to just not connect with the characters or their situation. And while this one was better than some I’ve read, I did feel like the ending was a little rushed and handled poorly by the characters.

You knew going in that there was definitely going to have to be some baby-mama drama, and there was, but Mikah handled it very poorly and I felt that Paisley forgave him a little too easily. It was in the last 10% of the book, so since it happened at the end that’s what I left with instead of the many enjoyable pages of Mikah learning to be a dad and Paisley & Mikah getting to know each other … but I do think maybe a little more attention should have been given to the issue.

This one is getting a lot of positive reviews so just because NA is not my cup of tea doesn’t mean that it isn’t a good read. Lynn is a strong writer and her storylines are solid with interesting characters. I enjoyed getting to know both Paisley & Mikah and I’m definitely intrigued by some of Mikah’s older teammates so I’ll be giving other books in this series a go.

*****

Author Info:

Stacey Lynn likes her coffee with a dash of sugar, her heroes with a side of bossy, and her wine a deep shade of red.

The author of over thirty romance novels, many of which have been best-selling titles on Amazon, AppleBooks, and Barnes & Noble, she loves being able to turn her vivid imagination into a career that brings entertainment and joy to her readers. Focused on sports romance and emotional, small-town romance, she also loves stretching herself in different genres.

Born in Texas and raised in the Midwest, she now makes her home in North Carolina and loves all things Southern. Together with her ultimate tall, dark, and handsome hero, she has four children. Her life is a chaotic mess that fights with her Type-A, list-making, neurotically organized preferences and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Connect with Stacey:

Facebook: http://bit.ly/379Te19

Twitter: http://bit.ly/3bjzOKx

Instagram: http://bit.ly/3bn1e2o
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2H8K22u
Amazon: https://amzn.to/375UpP7
BookBub: http://bit.ly/2G52o5q

Website: http://bit.ly/2uyDibF

Stay up to date on Stacey’s latest news! Subscribe to her Newsletter today!
http://bit.ly/36zXy9R

*****

Spotlight – Cowboy Firefighter Heat

07 Tuesday Apr 2020

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Continuing the firefighter theme but adding in firefighter to make it even more interesting!

*****

Cowboy Firefighter Heat

A Smokin’ Hot Cowboys Novel

by Kim Redford

Publication Date: 3/31/2020

She’s back and hotter than ever. Good thing this firefighting cowboy can handle the sparks.

When country singer Fern Bryant returns to her cabin in Wildcat Hall Park, the last thing she expects to find is Craig Thorne in her home…asleep in her bed. Fern had big dreams, and chasing those dreams required sacrifices. Unfortunately, Craig was the cowboy singer and firefighter she left behind. Much to her surprise, now they’re the co-owners of her beloved Wildcat Hall Park.

Craig hasn’t seen Fern since she left Wildcat Bluff County—and him—to sing on a cruise ship. When she storms back into town, the sparks between the two aren’t only rekindled but burn hotter than ever. As long days turn into long nights, Craig is determined to show Fern that she belongs in Wildcat Bluff…and his arms.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3aehZw0

B&N: http://bit.ly/2RqWMpV

Apple: https://apple.co/2TkQdaL

Kobo: http://bit.ly/32PYVAN

IndieBound: http://bit.ly/38nZ5ka

BAM: http://bit.ly/32NHZLg

Bookshop: http://bit.ly/39maaDy

*****

Excerpt:

Fern Bryant yawned as she lay down, slipped under the covers, and breathed a sigh of relief. Home…finally. And then she realized the mattress didn’t feel the same. No lumps. Had Ivy—her sister— replaced it? That’d be wonderful. She snuggled a little deeper. And she realized something else. Heat. The bed was way too warm. In fact, if she wasn’t mistaken, and surely she was, there was a…

“About time you came home,” a man said in a deep, melodic tone from the far side of the bed.

She screamed in shock, even as she recognized the unforgettable voice she’d tried so hard to forget. She leaped out of bed and switched on the nightstand lamp. “Craig Thorne! What are you doing in my bed?”

“I could ask the same of you.” He sat up, the covers slowly, suggestively sliding down to his lap to reveal the chiseled planes of his bronzed, muscular chest. A slight smile tugged at the corners of his full lips, and his hazel eyes gleamed more jade than amber.

Now she understood why she’d found firefighter gear and a dirty mug. He was a cowboy firefighter…and he drank coffee. But what was he doing here? She sucked in her breath, ready to put him in his place, but instead she inhaled the scent of citrus and sage as it swirled outward from the heat of his body. That sight and scent sent her spiraling back in time to a hot and hungry place.

She traced him with her gaze but wished she could use her hands. She’d run her fingers through his thick chestnut hair, with just a touch of wave, that brushed his ridiculously broad shoulders. When she started to follow the dark line of hair down his bronze chest, she snapped her gaze back to his face. And those knowing eyes had turned dark as they roamed her in return.

“How are you?” Craig said in a raspy voice.

“Fine. And you?”

“Better now.”

She couldn’t help but smile. He always knew exactly what to say, whether it was on stage or off.

“Are you here to stay?” he asked.

“I finished the gigs.”

“Good ones?” He cocked his head to one side as if contemplating how it’d been for her.

“What’s not to like about cruise ships?”

“Bet we’ve got better gigs at Wildcat Hall,” he said.

“Yeah.” She needed to get control of the situation, but she was so distracted by the hot cowboy in her bed that she wasn’t thinking straight. Still, it was Craig, and she couldn’t go there again. He would try to corral her, like he’d attempted to do before she’d left for her dream job when he’d wanted her to stay. He’d offered marriage and babies, but there was plenty of time for a family later. She’d always wanted a gig on the high seas, and it’d been a once in a lifetime job. He hadn’t understood. He’d made it an ultimatum—him or work. She wouldn’t be fenced in, not when her sister could step in and run the Park for her. Besides, she’d always been a rolling stone.

“When are you leaving again?”

“I’m not.”

He shook his head, scolding her with his gaze.

“I’m back. And I’m taking control of Wildcat Hall.”

“Control, huh?” He gave her a little smile and cocked his head to one side as he contemplated her.

“Ivy is ready to get on with her life. Me, too.” She didn’t much like his smile. It looked cagey.

“Slade’s a lucky guy to be with her.”

“I’m happy for them.” Fern needed to get their conversation back on track, so she could get him out of her bedroom. “Look, you’re popular at the Hall. Well, more than popular. You’re a huge hit. Naturally, I still want you to play there. It’s just…there is no us anymore.”

“You made that pretty clear when you left.”

She nodded, feeling relieved he was agreeing with her. “I don’t want to be rude, but I’d be more comfortable if you went home. I’m not even sure why you’re here in the first place.”

He leaned toward her, still with that smile on his face.

She froze in place. She had an uneasy feeling life wasn’t going to be quite as simple as she’d imagined when she was on the high seas where everything was controllable—something Craig had never been in his life.

“This is my home now.”

“Ivy rented the cabin to you?”

“Not quite.”

“What do you mean?” She shivered, suddenly chilled to the bone. She clasped her arms around her middle for warmth and comfort.

“I’m willing to share the bed with you. After all, it’s only right.”

She was more confused by the moment. “I appreciate the offer, but—­”

“Fifty-one percent.”

She felt color drain from her face. “Surely, you can’t mean…my sister wouldn’t do that to me.”

“Ivy never had the same interest in the honky­tonk as you. Or me. It’s lifeblood to us. And she has a new life with Slade on his ranch.”

“Are you telling me straight out that Ivy sold you her percentage of the Park?”

“Yes.”

“But she didn’t discuss it with me or anything first.” Fern felt incredibly betrayed by her sister.

“Guess it wasn’t in the contract.”

She shook her head, feeling a ringing in her ears that tried to blot out what she was hearing from him. “I suppose it’s a done deal.”

“Official and everything.” He stopped, looking concerned about her. “It’s okay. We worked fine together in the past. We can do it again.”

“Forty­nine percent.” She tried to wrap her mind around that agonizing fact. “You’re in charge.”

“We’re partners.”

Excerpted from Cowboy Firefighter Heat by Kim Redford. © 2020 by Kim Redford. Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.

*****

Author Info:

Kim Redford is a bestselling author of contemporary Western romance novels. She grew up in Texas with cowboys, cowgirls, horses, cattle, and rodeos. She’s a rescue cat wrangler and horseback rider—when she takes a break from her keyboard. Kim Redford currently divides her time between homes in Oklahoma and Richardson, Texas.

Author Website: http://www.kimredford.com/

*****

Giveaway:

5 Copies of Cowboy Firefighter Christmas Kiss

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/54ca7af7877/

*****

Spotlight – Jace

06 Monday Apr 2020

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Let’s keep that cowboy theme going, whadayathink?

*****

Jace

Kings of Country series

by Sasha Summer

Publication Date: 3/31/2020

Music is all he has…but is it enough to heal them both?

Jace Black went from an oilfield roughneck to an overnight singing sensation. Now he’s working on a duet with country music legend Krystal King, and he’s determined to earn his way to the top. But the more time he spends with Krystal, the more he finds himself falling for her—and he’s beginning to be more interested in her than he is in making a name for himself.

Krystal King grew up on stage and in the spotlight. No matter how golden her life appears, her past left deep wounds. But Jace Black makes her wish things were different. To do that, she’d have to risk letting him in… And that might be too big a risk for her battered heart to take.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2NvhST4

B&N: http://bit.ly/3an81s4

Apple: https://apple.co/2OT1Kv9

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2SLKA3V

IndieBound: http://bit.ly/31PgMaI

Bookshop: http://bit.ly/31QRDwg

BAM: http://bit.ly/38mUrCT

*****

Excerpt:

“How’d you get here?” she asked, a smile on her face.

“My sister. She entered me in that reality show and everything changed.” He shook his head. “All this”— he pointed around the studio—“is still a shock to my system. Your dad in there. Your sister. Being opposite you. Singing with you?” His voice deepened. “I am in my head a little.”

Her expression shifted, from curious to…concerned. “I’m guessing there’s a reason you’re working so hard?” She cleared her throat. “Wife? Kids?”

“No.” Not anymore. Thinking about what he’d lost still tore him up inside. Talking about it here, now? No way. “Little sister. A lot of medical bills to pay off.” He didn’t elaborate. “She’s a freshman in college now.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “She’s a kid. A good kid. Deserves having her chance.”

“What about you?” she asked. “Ever stop to think this is your chance?”

This was definitely his chance. But he’d been putting Heather first for so long, putting her first now just made sense. “A chance I can’t afford to screw up,” he agreed.

She grinned. “Jace Michael Black. My daddy thinks you can sing. And if my daddy thinks you can sing, you can’t be all that bad.”

He laughed. Was it wrong that hearing her say his name felt good? And her grin. Damn but she was a pretty thing. Even without all the makeup and fancy clothes she’d been wearing the other night. If anything, he preferred her like this—young, natural, casual. And then he realized, she was relaxed, all the defensive tension and anger gone. She loved this, loved music. They had that in common.

“What’s your sister’s name?”

“Heather,” he said.

“She’s named Heather and you get stuck with Jace?” She shook her head.

“Still not over the name yet?” he asked, his gaze falling to her long neck.

“Told you, I’m not sure what I think yet,” she said.

“I’m fine. I mean, I’m ready now.” He rolled his head. He could do this.

“You sure?” she asked, picking up her headphones. “We could go once, no music. If you want?”

He shook his head and put on his headphones.

Krystal gave the sound booth the thumbs-up and a slight hum flooded his ears. The yearning strains of the guitar flipped a switch inside. The melody was sweeter than he’d expected. And when the lead-in notes rolled over him, he closed his eyes and sang, “I remember you, standing in the sun, smiling at me, and suddenly the world caught fire. Blinding, beautiful fire.”

The music kept going, but Krystal was silent.

He opened his eyes to find her staring at him, her lips parted and her eyes wide. He’d screwed up? His gaze bounced from the pages to Krystal. She just kept right on staring. Shit. What had he done? He glanced at her, skimmed the lyrics, then turned to the sound booth. “Aw, was my timing off?” As far as he could tell, he’d been spot on.

Hank King chuckled. “No. You were great. You just blew her socks off, son.” He was still chuckling. “How about we start again? Will that work for you, Krystal?”

Jace looked at Krystal then, really looked at her. There weren’t many musicians he admired like Krystal. She was the real deal, what singers and songwriters should strive to be. And he’d impressed her. He’d impressed her? “Did I?” he asked, disbelieving. “Knock your socks off?”

She shook her head but didn’t say a word.

“I did.” He sat a little straighter, more than a little pleased.

“Don’t let it go to your head,” Krystal teased. “Besides, I’m not wearing socks.” She smiled at him. “You keep singing like that and you’re going to do just fine.” She blew out her breath. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

One minute, he was feeling pretty damn proud of himself. The next, he was drowning in the heat of those green, green eyes.

“Let’s go,” Hank said.

He slid his earphones back on, the swell of the music flooding his ears. She liked what she heard. And this time, he didn’t close his eyes. He watched her. “I remember you, standing in the sun, smiling at me, and suddenly my world caught fire. Blinding, beautiful fire.”

She blinked, green eyes flashing before she closed her eyes to sing, “I remember you, taking my hand, holding me close, and suddenly my world caught fire. Blinding, beautiful fire.” Her voice—damn, her voice. It reached inside and grabbed hold of him.

“You were everything. My breath, my home, my night, my day. Didn’t care what people said. Didn’t need a thing but you,” he paused a beat. “Till the flames inside burned too hot, and you tried to run from the heat.”

“You were everything. My hope, my fear, my night, my day. Didn’t know my heart was gone. Didn’t know you took it all.” The words gutted him. “And your words, your lies, your promises were the sweetest pain of all.”

The chorus was together. Her gaze met his then, locked together as the words hung in the air between them. “Love isn’t love when the flames burn it down. There’s no hiding or forgiveness from the damage that it’s done. When the smoke clears away, you’ll still find me searching here. Searching for the ashes of my heart.”

He was lost in her green-eyed gaze by the time they’d finished the second verse. And the chorus, together… Singing with her was more than he could ever have anticipated.

Her lyrics were powerful and real. He knew what it was to love someone and suffer betrayal. The anger and pain took some of the joy out of life. If he thought about Nikki and Ben too long, the pain made it hard to breathe. How many times had he replayed that night, over and over, wishing he could go back and change it?

Excerpted from Jace by Sasha Summers. © 2020 by Sasha Summers. Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.

*****

Author Info:

Sasha Summers’s passions are storytelling, romance, and travel. A bestselling and award winning-author of more than 20 romance novels and novellas, Sasha continues to fall in love with each hero she writes. She lives with her family in the suburbs of the Texas Hill country near San Antonio.

Author Website: https://sashasummers.com/

*****

Giveaway:

3 Copies of Jace

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/54ca7af7878/

***

Review – Cowboy for Hire

03 Friday Apr 2020

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I think I just found my new book boyfriend!

*****

Cowboy for Hire

Wishing River #2

by Victoria James

Publication Date: March 31, 2020

Genres: Adult, Entangled: Amara, Contemporary, Cowboys, Overcoming Odds, Romance

Blurb:

When a shy woman inherits a ranch, she’ll have to find an inner strength to succeed—and open herself up to love—in this heartwarming novel from New York Times bestselling author Victoria James.

Sarah Turner has led a very sheltered life. So when her parents pass away tragically, suddenly she’s left in charge of the family ranch with little know-how but plenty of will to keep it afloat. Determined not to lose her parents’ legacy or her newfound independence, she needs a hero fast—not to save her, but to show her how to save herself. But she’s unprepared for the ruggedly handsome cowboy who answers her ad.

“Cowboy for Hire,” the ad said, and Cade Walker is quick to respond. Betrayed as ranch manager by his former boss, he’s looking for a new place to put down roots—without the pressure to prove himself again. Except when he meets his new boss, it’s clear he’s not only there to run a ranch but to also teach Miss Independent how to run it. But as they struggle to make the ranch flourish, they’ll both need courage if they hope to find a family…together.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/39ni9j3

Mass Market Paperback: https://amzn.to/3dJkl7Y

iTunes: https://apple.co/33S6sjd

B&N: https://bit.ly/3bwxteB

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3dDia5U

Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/39noQl2

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/39qdpJr

Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/2xwm3bW

*****

Excerpt:

“You’re really lucky I’m not prone to violence, Cade.”

He almost laughed, but she was looking even more pissed, and her face was turning red. “You wouldn’t hurt me.”

“Y-You should at least be sitting at attention or something when someone walks toward you with their hands fisted,” she sputtered.

He crossed one ankle on the other and tried not to let his gaze wander over her, because he hadn’t touched her in all of two minutes, and he was already longing for her, not just for the moment or the night, and that was why he linked his hands behind his head and took on the role he’d once been most known for—troublemaker. Her gorgeous mouth curled into a half smile, and damn if he actually physically responded to the sight. Except she ruined the moment by picking up one of the decorative pillows he’d already removed from the bed. 

There was a dangerous gleam in her eyes as she approached him slowly.

“Hell, Sarah, put down the damn pillow. We already went down that road with the dangers of upholstered fabrics in here. No need to get crazy,” he choked out, scrambling into a sitting position.

She laughed. At him. And raised her arm with the filthy pillow.

“You wouldn’t.”

She raised her eyebrow, an adorable—if not slightly evil—smirk on her lips. “People think I’m boring and I don’t take risks.”

He swallowed hard, his gaze darting from the pillow to her dancing eyes. “You don’t have friends, remember? No one knows if you’re boring or not. I don’t think you’re boring. You’re very dangerous, you take lots of risks, and you’re the scariest person I know.”

She laughed.

He took no chances. He grabbed her wrist and she half screamed, half laughed as he pulled her onto the bed, but she still managed to hold on to that damn pillow. They were laughing as he tackled her gently and rolled until he was on top of her. She kept her arm raised, the pillow dangling off the bed. He didn’t think he’d ever laughed so hard in his life, certainly not as an adult. He was still laughing when he lowered his head to kiss her.

Wait. Hell, what was he doing?

*****

Review:

Cowboy for Hire is a sweet, awkward romance involving a couple of sweet, awkward characters. There’re a lot of issues between these two, but I think that they work well here. Cade is caring and supporting, exactly what Sarah needs in her life. She’s spent a lot of years being repressed and she’s ready to stand on her own two feet. She’s a little like a newborn colt, all gangly legs and clumsiness, but she’s determined to stand on her own and finally do what makes her happy.

Cade has spent all of his life trying to show that he’s useful, as his childhood taught him that if he wasn’t then he wouldn’t be kept around. It’s hard for him to believe that someone, anyone, would want him around just for himself and not what he can do for them. He’s made a lot of progress in the last few years, finally finding friends that treat him like family, but he’s still not quite there.

This definitely causes moments of conflict between the two – his need to solve problems and her need to be involved. But together, with a little help from those who love them, they might figure out how to make things work.

While there are a lot of awesome moments with these two, Cade’s struggling with his feelings and Sarah sometimes being bold then other times uncertain does create a very push/pull type of relationship that readers have to be OK with. It’s handled realistically, between two characters who are trying their best to handle their hangups and a growing attraction, but some may be looking for something a little more straightforward.

I really enjoyed getting to know Cade and Sarah. They are good people and, while life hasn’t always treated them well, they’ve managed to come out of it stronger (with a little baggage). It’s sweet, complicated, and heartwarming, perfect for readers looking for a book with a little slower of a pace and not very much heat.

(Note: James starts the story with a humorous little mix-up that totally set a tone that didn’t play out throughout, which I think throws readers off a little. It’s something that she could have played throughout the book but unfortunately it’s kind of a throw away after the first handful of pages. And while the book technically can stand on its own, there’s a lot of references to things I didn’t understand and I wonder if I would have had an idea about Cade’s character, and an affection for him, coming into this story.)

*****

Author Info:

Victoria James is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance.

Victoria always knew she wanted to be a writer and in grade five, she penned her first story, bound it (with staples and a cardboard cover) and did all the illustrations herself. Luckily, this book will never see the light of day again.

In high school she fell in love with historical romance and then contemporary romance. After graduating University with an English Literature degree, Victoria pursued a degree in Interior Design and then opened her own business. After her first child, Victoria knew it was time to fulfill her dream of writing romantic fiction.

Victoria is a hopeless romantic who is living her dream, penning happily-ever-after’s for her characters in between managing kids and the family business. Writing on a laptop in the middle of the country in a rambling old Victorian house would be ideal, but she’s quite content living in suburbia with her husband, their two young children, and very bad cat.

Sign up for Victoria’s Newsletter to stay up to date on upcoming releases and exclusive giveaways, follow her blog for daily antics and insight into her daily life, and get to know her on twitter and Facebook. She loves hearing from readers!

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bookbub | Goodreads | Newsletter | Amazon Author Profile

*****

Giveaway:

Enter to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/5440a3541851/

*****

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Spotlight – Let’s Get Physical

31 Tuesday Mar 2020

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After The Sweet Spot, I’m excited to get my hands on Cassie Cross’s next book in the Love Is… series.

*****

Let’s Get Physical

Love Is… series

by Cassie Cross

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Blurb:

Corinna McKnight is a chronically single girl in need of toned abs and a hot date for a wedding that her highly successful, deliriously happy lifelong frenemy will be attending. The wedding is only six weeks away and she doesn’t have much time to make it look like she has her life together. Luckily, her best friend’s boyfriend owns the hottest gym in town and sets her up with Noah, the best personal trainer he has on staff.

Noah Cutter is at a pretty good place in his life. He has a job and he loves working for his best friend, Hunter. Noah is in high demand, mostly for his talent, but sometimes for his body and Hunter has one very firm rule: no fooling around with the clients.

It’s an easy rule to follow until he meets Corinna, who makes him want more out of life and leaves him straddling the line between breaking a promise and betraying his heart.

Let’s Get Physical is the standalone second book in the Love Is…series!

Get Your Copy Today!

*****

Excerpt:

Noah’s standing there with this wild, desperate look in his eyes. The heartbeat that I so carefully returned to normal speed kicks up again, pounding in my ears.

There’s just a moment, one beat of anticipation before he rushes forward, wrapping me up in his strong arms, pressing his lips against mine. He does some kind of magic ninja move, moving us inside the apartment without breaking the kiss. He kicks the door shut.

We kiss like our lives depend on it, like we’ll stop breathing if we don’t. My whole world narrows down to the softness of his lips, the taste of his tongue, and the silky feel of his hair threaded through my fingers.

I’ve kissed a lot of people in my life, but this feels like the first time I’m actually being kissed. It’s different, it’s…more, somehow. I know Noah feels it too, because the franticness gives way to softer, gentler kisses. I feel like I’m floating, like if the two of us completely drifted away in this moment, everything would be just fine.

We part too soon, totally breathless.

“I wanted to do that since I was fourteen,” he says, smiling. I think his post kiss smile is my favorite. The dimples are on display, he looks relaxed and happy. The best.

“I don’t think it would’ve been that good at fourteen,” I tease, playfully brushing my nose against his.

He laughs. “Probably not.”

His arms are wrapped around my waist, holding me close. It’s the safest feeling in the world. He squeezes me closer for a second, and then…

“I want you, Corinna. It’s just…”

“I know,” I breathe. I don’t want to hear all the reasoning for it right now. What I want is to take him to my bedroom and do the dirtiest things to him, then let him lay on me like a warm, sweaty human blanket. “It’s just once, to get it out of your system.”

“Once could never be enough.”

*****

Author Info:

Cassie Cross is a Maryland native and a romantic at heart, who lives outside of Baltimore with her two dogs and a closet full of shoes. Cassie’s fondness for swoon-worthy men and strong women are the inspiration for most of her stories, and when she’s not busy writing a book, you’ll probably find her eating takeout and indulging in her love of 80’s sitcoms.

Connect with Cassie:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CrossWrites
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cassiecrosswrites/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cassiecrosswrites

*****

Spotlight – Tough Talking Cowboy

30 Monday Mar 2020

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I think a cowboy is the perfect escape for this Monday morning!

*****

Tough Talking Cowboy

Wild Rose Ranch series

by Jennifer Ryan

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Avon Books

Publication Date: March 31, 2020

Blurb:

Return to Montana as a tough-talking cowboy meets his match in Jennifer Ryan’s newest Wild Rose Ranch novel.

Ex-Army Ranger Drake McGrath has come home to Montana, locked in a battle with himself, lashing out at those who love him most—driving away his ex-fiancée and alienating his family. But Adria Holloway sees beyond Drake’s tough talk to the raw pain beneath.

Raised with her twin sister Juliana by a neglectful mother at the Wild Rose Ranch, Adria also struggles to put the trauma from her past behind her. To help them both, she makes Drake a shocking deal—a no-strings relationship that’ll help them both face down their demons. Maybe it’s a way for her and Drake to heal each other, one sizzling night at a time…

The heat between them is instant and incredible. But the biggest challenges are yet to come. With Juliana battling her addiction and Drake working on his issues, Adria realizes she can’t save everyone. But Drake and Adria discover love can survive tragedy and loss—and they can have the life they never thought possible if they just hold on.

Amazon  https://amzn.to/2IImMsQ

Barnes & Noble  http://bit.ly/2WbWSWm 

Kobo  http://bit.ly/2vduOqG

iBooks  https://apple.co/39ENH4O 

Goodreads  http://bit.ly/2wRn7XS 

BookBub  http://bit.ly/3aFfVwu

*****

Excerpt:

“We saw each other in the driveway. I smiled at you. I wanted to meet you. You stared at me. You didn’t want your brother to touch me even in a friendly way.” Her eyes went wide. “You want me.”

Feeling surly, he lashed out. “Conceited much?”

“Oh, I think I’m right on the money. You wanted me and came up here and destroyed my stuff because you didn’t think I’d want you because of a few scars and a bad temper.”

He raked his fingers over his head. “That’s not it.”

“Yes, it is. Melanie didn’t want you, so you think no one will.”

He tried to hold it together, but his anger flashed. “She tried. I tried. But I couldn’t. I can’t. Not anymore. So what good was I to her? I’m no use to any woman now?” 

Adria shook her head. “You’re kidding, right?”

He held his hands out wide. “Does it look like I’m kidding?”

She braced her hands on the back of the sofa, leaned in, locked eyes with him and said the unexpected again. “There is nothing, and I mean nothing, wrong with you.”

“How the hell would you know?”

“Because I’m the one you held wrapped in your arms with your thick, rigid, I-want-to-fuck-her dick pressed against my ass for nearly an hour.”

He went still. “You’re lying.”

“Why would I lie about something like that?” 

Dr. Porter chimed in again. “Maybe one of you should explain what really happened.”

Adria ignored the doctor, just like he did. She got up from the couch and walked around it to face him.

He stared down at her, everything inside him wanting her to be right, for it to be true.

Hope rose up inside him.

“I don’t know what happened between you and Melanie. Maybe the way she looked at you, or didn’t look at you with a longing and need to be with you, turned you off.”

He started thinking out loud. “I thought because she loved me, she wouldn’t care about the scars and that I couldn’t move the way I used to. We’d figure it out.”

“But she hesitated. The moment felt like you needed to show her that you could be the man she remembered. But overwhelmed by what happened to you and trying to fix something in your life and make it work, you couldn’t. Too much pressure. Too much riding on it. Her not showing you the compassion and patience you needed to quiet the nightmares and fall into her. She couldn’t see past the damage to the man she loved. You took her rejection and turned it into every woman rejecting you. You convinced yourself you couldn’t be with any woman, that every woman would only ever see the bad, the damage. You let your insecurity, guilt, and anger win.”

“I don’t know why you need me,” Dr. Porter interjected, startling both of them as they stared at each other. “Sounds like she’s got you pegged. Listen to her, Drake.”

“Just because it worked once, doesn’t mean it will work again.”

“You’ll never know unless you try,” she challenged.

His mind went blank for a second. She didn’t mean with her. She meant for him to give it a go by himself. Well, he’d tried. And failed. And gotten more pissed and despondent about it, because without sex, what the fuck was the point of surviving all he had if he couldn’t be with a woman, make a life and have a family with her.

That’s what he’d always wanted. But right now, he’d take a willing woman who’d give him a chance to see if he could get it up again.

“Juliana once said that my sisters and I carry around our baggage like an apology we owe the world. I’ve been thinking about that lately. I was with a couple of guys, but I could never really get past my own inhibitions and remembering what happened to me.

“My mother is a prostitute. She loves sex and doesn’t care who knows it. I’d like to stop thinking men will believe I’m like her if I just have fun and enjoy it.”

“Uh…” He really didn’t know what to say to that, except, “Shouldn’t everyone enjoy sex.”

“Exactly. But I get hung up on her past, my past, and get it all in my head that I’m doing something wrong because that despicable man made me do things that made me feel icky. I knew it was wrong and I did it anyway because I needed to protect my sister.” She rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “We have that in common: trying to protect everyone around us and scarring ourselves in the process. So if you’re willing to try, so am I.”

His fucked up brain did not compute. “What are you saying?”

“Maybe we can face down our demons together. No strings attached. No expectations. Judgement-free sex. I’ll show you, you’re not impotent, and maybe you can help me let go and enjoy myself.”

The idea appealed a lot, but they didn’t know each other well, and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her feelings or disappoint her. “You’re serious?”

“How long do you want to go without knowing if you really can or can’t have sex? How long will you deny yourself that pleasure? How many women will you let get away because you think you can’t be with them?”

He tried to find a rational reason why this was a bad idea when everything inside him wanted to try. But he didn’t want to use her like that. “You’re my sister’s friend and business partner.”

“You guys, this might not be such a good idea.” They’d completely forgotten about Dr. Porter.

Drake wished he’d shut up because the more Drake thought about it, he wanted to do it. Or at least try. And he had to admit, he felt a stirring inside him he hadn’t felt in a long time. 

Anticipation. Need. Hunger. They all started to wake up inside him.

Adria walked back to the coffee table and held up the laptop and stared at Dr. Porter. “Talk therapy is good and all, but I think what we both need is a little sex therapy. And you’re not invited.” She closed the laptop lid on whatever Dr. Porter’s reply might have been.

Adria held Drake’s gaze. Mind made up, she didn’t back down. “How long should I go without knowing if I can let go, feel like a whole woman, and find satisfaction with a man? I deserve to feel wanted and needed and be okay with that, don’t I?”

He nodded because he’d always made sure the woman he was with enjoyed it as much as he did.

“Whatever and whoever we are outside this cabin makes no difference. In here, you and me, we’ll give each other what we’ve both been missing.”

Drake still hesitated. “Don’t get me wrong, I want to, but I’m not sure how this will go between us. We barely know each other.”

That seemed like it should have been her line. 

“I don’t need you to love me, Drake, I just want you to want me. It seems like something about me appealed to you, enough that when you held me, your body responded.”

*****

Author Info:

NY Times & USA Today bestselling author JENNIFER RYAN writes suspenseful contemporary romances about everyday people who do extraordinary things. Her deeply emotional love stories are filled with high stakes and higher drama, love, family, friendship, and the happily-ever-after we all hope to find. Jennifer lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and three children. When she finally leaves those fictional worlds, you’ll find her in the garden, playing in the dirt and daydreaming about people who live only in her head, until she puts them on paper. For information about her upcoming releases, sign up for her newsletter: www.jennifer-ryan.com/newsletter.

Website http://jennifer-ryan.com/index.html

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jennifer-Ryan/520021168037391?ref=hl 

Twitter http://twitter.com/JenRyan_author 

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4693347.Jennifer_Ryan 

BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jennifer-ryan

Amazon http://amzn.to/2xBr7GG

*****

Giveaway:

To celebrate the release of TOUGH TALKING COWBOY by Jennifer Ryan, we’re giving away a Wild Rose Ranch hardcover set to one lucky winner!

http://bit.ly/38Kvxx8

GIVEAWAY TERMS & CONDITIONS:  Open to US shipping addresses only. One winner will receive a hardcover set of Dirty Little Secret, Restless Rancher, and Tough Talking Cowboy by Jennifer Ryan. This giveaway is administered by Pure Textuality PR on behalf of Avon Books.  Giveaway ends 5/31/2020 @ 11:59pm EST.

*****

Spotlight – The Sinner

27 Friday Mar 2020

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J. R. Ward’s books are some of the most popular paranormal romances ever … must reads!

*****

The Sinner

The Black Dagger Brotherhood series

by J. R. Ward

On Sale: March 24, 2020

Blurb:

A sinner’s only hope is true love in this passionate new novel in J.R. Ward’s #1 New York Times bestselling Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

Syn has kept his side hustle as a mercenary a secret from the Black Dagger Brotherhood. When he takes another hit job, he not only crosses the path of the vampire race’s new enemy, but also that of a half-breed in danger of dying during her transition. Jo Early has no idea what her true nature is, and when a mysterious man appears out of the darkness, she is torn between their erotic connection and the sense that something is very wrong.

Fate anointed Butch O’Neal as the Dhestroyer, the fulfiller of the prophecy that foresees the end of the Omega. As the war with the Lessening Society comes to a head, Butch gets an unexpected ally in Syn. But can he trust the male—or is the warrior with the bad past a deadly complication?

With time running out, Jo gets swept up in the fighting and must join with Syn and the Brotherhood against true evil. In the end, will love true prevail…or was the prophecy wrong all along?

Purchase Link:

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Sinner/J-R-Ward/The-Black-Dagger-Brotherhood-series/9781501195099

*****

Excerpt:

Route 149

Caldwell, New York

Behind the wheel of her ten-year-old car, Jo Early bit into the Slim Jim and chewed like it was her last meal. She hated the fake-smoke taste and the boat-rope texture, and when she swallowed the last piece, she got another one out of her bag. Ripping the wrapper with her teeth, she peeled the taxidermied tube free and littered into the wheel well of her passenger side. There were so many spent casings like it down there, you couldn’t see the floor mat.

Up ahead, her anemic headlights swung around a curve, illuminating pine trees that had been limbed up three-quarters of the way, the puff y tops making toothpicks out of the trunks. She hit a pothole and bad-swallowed, and she was coughing as she reached her destination.

The abandoned Adirondack Outlets was yet another commentary on the pervasiveness of Amazon Prime. The one-story strip mall was a horseshoe without a hoof, the storefronts along the two long sides bearing the remnants of their brands, faded laminations and off -kilter signs with names like Van Heusen/Izod, and Nike, and Dansk the ghosts of commerce past. Behind dusty glass, there was no merchandise available for purchase anymore, and no one had been on the property with a charge card for at least a year, only hardscrabble weeds in the cracks of the promenade and barn swallows in the eaves inhabiting the site. Likewise, the food court that united the eastern and western arms was no longer offering soft serve or Starbucks or lunch.

As a hot flash cranked her internal temperature up, she cracked the window. And then put the thing all the way down. March in Caldwell, New York, was like winter in a lot of places still considered northerly in latitude, and thank God for it. Breathing in the cold, damp air, she told herself this was not a bad idea.

Nah, not at all. Here she was, alone at midnight, chasing down the lead on a story she wasn’t writing for her employer, the Caldwell Courier Journal. Without anyone at her new apartment waiting up for her. Without anyone on the planet who would claim her mangled corpse when it was found from the smell in a ditch a week from now.

Letting the car roll to a stop, she killed the headlights and stayed where she was. No moon out tonight so she’d dressed right. All black. But without any illumination from the heavens, her eyes strained at the darkness, and not because she was greedy to see the details on the decaying structure.

Nope. At the moment, she was worried she was about to provide fodder for True Crime Garage. As unease tickled her nape, like someone was trying to get her attention by running the point of a carving knife over her skin—

Her stomach let out a howl and she jumped. Without any debate, she went diving into her purse again. Passing by the three Slim Jims she had left, she went straight-up Hershey this time, and the efficiency with which she stripped that mass-produced chocolate of its clothing was a sad commentary on her diet. When she was finished, she was still hungry and not because there wasn’t food in her belly. As always, the only two things she could eat failed to satisfy her gnawing craving, to say nothing of her nutritional needs.

Putting up her window, she took her backpack and got out. The crackling sound of the treads of her running shoes on the shoulder of the road seemed loud as a concert, and she wished she wasn’t getting over a cold. Like her sense of smell could be helpful, though? And when was the last time she’d considered that possibility outside of a milk carton check.

She really needed to give these wild-goose chases up.

Two-strapping her backpack, she locked the car and pulled the hood of her windbreaker up over her red hair. No heel toeing. She leftright-left’d it, keeping the soles of her Brooks flat to quiet her footfalls. As her eyes adjusted, all she saw were the shadows around her, the hidey-holes in corners and nooks formed by the mall’s doorways and the benches pockets of gotcha with which mashers could play a grown‑up’s game of keep away until they were ready to attack.

When she got to a heavy chain that was strung across the entry to the promenade, she looked around. There was nobody in the parking lots that ran down the outside of the flanks. No one in the center area formed by the open-ended rectangle. Not a soul on the road that she had taken up to this rise above Rt. 149.

Jo told herself that this was good. It meant no one was going to jump her.

Her adrenal glands, on the other hand, informed her that this actually meant no one was around to hear her scream for help.

Refocusing on the chain, she had some thought that if she swung her leg over it and proceeded on the other side, she would not come back the same.

“Stop it,” she said, kicking her foot up.

She chose the right side of the stores, and as rain started to fall, she was glad the architect had thought to cover the walkways overhead. What had been not so smart was anyone thinking a shopping center with no interior corridors could survive in a zip code this close to Canada. Saving ten bucks on a pair of candlesticks or a bathing suit was not going to keep anybody warm enough to shop outside October to April, and that was true even before you factored in the current era of free next-day shipping.

Down at the far end, she stopped at what had to have been the ice cream place because there was a faded stencil of a cow holding a triple decker cone by its hoof on the window. She got out her phone.

Her call was answered on the first ring.

“Are you okay?” Bill said.

“Where am I going?” she whispered. “I don’t see anything.”

“It’s in the back. I told you that you have to go around back, remember?”

“Damn it.” Maybe the nitrates had fried her brain. “Hold on, I think I found a staircase.”

“I should come out there.”

Jo started walking again and shook her head even though he couldn’t see her. “I’m fine—yup, I’ve got the cut through to the rear. I’ll call you if I need you—”

“You shouldn’t be doing this alone!”

Ending the connection, she jogged down the concrete steps, her pack bouncing like it was doing push-ups on her back. As she bottomed out on the lower level, she scanned the empty parking lot—

The stench that stabbed into her nose was the kind of thing that triggered her gag reflex. Roadkill . . . and baby powder?

She looked to the source. The maintenance building by the tree line had a corrugated metal roof and metal walls that would not survive long in tornado alley. Half the size of a football field, with garage doors locked to the ground, she imagined it could have housed paving equipment as well as blowers, mowers, and snowplows.

The sole person-sized door was loose, and as a stiff gust from the rainstorm caught it, the creak was straight out of a George Romero movie—and then the panel immediately slammed shut with a clap, as if Mother Nature didn’t like the stink any more than Jo did.

Taking out her phone, she texted Bill: This smell is nasty.

Aware that her heart rate just tripled, she walked across the asphalt, the rain hitting the hood of her windbreaker in a disorganized staccato. Ducking her hand under the loose nylon of the jacket, she felt for her holstered gun and kept her hand on the butt.

The door creaked open and slammed shut again, another puff of that smell releasing out of the pitch-black interior. Swallowing through throat spasms, she had to fight to keep going and not because there was wind in her face.

When she stopped in front of the door, the opening and closing ceased, as if now that she was on the verge of entering, it didn’t need to catch her attention and draw her in.

So help her God, if Pennywise was on the other side . . .

Glancing around to check there were no red balloons lolling in the area, she reached out for the door.

I just have to know, she thought as she opened the way in. I need to . . . know.

Leaning around the jamb, she saw absolutely nothing, and yet was frozen by all that she confronted. Pure evil, the kind of thing that abducted and murdered children, that slaughtered the innocent, that enjoyed the suffering of the just and merciful, pushed at her body and then penetrated it, radiation that was toxic passing through to her bones.

Coughing, she stepped back and covered her mouth and nose with the crook of her elbow. After a couple of deep breaths into her sleeve, she fumbled with her phone.

Before Bill could say anything over the whirring in his background, she bit out, “You need to come—”

“I’m already halfway to you.”

“Good.”

“What’s going on—”

Jo ended the call again and got out her flashlight, triggering the beam. Stepping forward again, she shouldered the door open and trained the spear of illumination into the space.

The light was consumed.

Sure as if she were shining it into a bolt of thick fabric, the fragile glowing shaft was no match for what she was about to enter.

The threshold she stepped over was nothing more than weather stripping, but the inch-high lip was a barrier that felt like an obstacle course she could barely surmount—and then there was the stickiness on the floor. Pointing the flashlight to the ground, she picked up one of her feet. Something like old motor oil dripped off her running shoe, the sound of it finding home echoing in the empty space.

As Jo walked forward, she found the first of the buckets on the left. Home Depot. With an orange-and-white logo smudged by a rusty, translucent substance that turned her stomach.

The beam wobbled as she looked into the cylinder, her hand shaking. Inside there was a gallon of glossy, gleaming . . . red . . . liquid. And in the back of her throat, she tasted copper—

Jo wheeled around with the flashlight.

Through the doorway, the two men who had come up behind her without a sound loomed as if they had risen out of the pavement itself, wraiths conjured from her nightmares, fed by the cold spring rain, clothed in the night. One of them had a goatee and tattoos at one of his temples, a cigarette between his lips and a downright nasty expression on his hard face. The other wore a Boston Red Sox hat and a long camel-colored coat, the tails of which blew in slow motion even though the wind was choppy. Both had long black blades holstered handles down on their chest, and she knew there were more weapons where she couldn’t see them.

They had come to kill her. Tracked her as she’d moved away from her car. Seen her as she had not seen them.

Jo stumbled back and tried to get out her gun, but her sweaty palms had her dropping her phone and struggling to keep the flashlight—

And then she couldn’t move.

Even as her brain ordered her feet to run, her legs to run, her body to run, nothing obeyed the panic-commands, her muscles twitching under the lockdown of some invisible force of will, her bones aching, her breath turning into a pant. Pain firework’d her brain, a headache sizzling through her mind.

Opening her mouth, she screamed—

*****

Author Info:

J.R. Ward is the author of more than thirty novels, including those in her #1 New York Times bestselling Black Dagger Brotherhood series. There are more than fifteen million copies of her novels in print worldwide, and they have been published in twenty-six different countries around the world. She lives in the South with her family.

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*****

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Spotlight – Five First Dates

26 Thursday Mar 2020

Posted by in Blog Tour, Sneak Peek

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If this preview is anything to go by, Erin McCarthy’s newest is definitely a must read!

*****

Five First Dates

by Erin McCarthy

Blurb:

Every perfect rom-com has a twist that leads the heroine to her happily ever after.

Me? Somehow, in any room full of prince charmings, I always manage to find the one frog.

So this time, I’ve found my own twist. Four of my friends will each set me up. Four first dates. Four chances at my own happily-ever-after.

My brother’s best friend even offered to watch my baby while I’m out finding true love.

Only Maddox has sure grown up since I saw him last. The guy next door now looks more like the guy on a magazine cover. He’s inked and sexy. Muscular. Utterly irresistible. And . . . big.

Surely having a brother’s-friend-with-benefits won’t hurt my search for Mr. Right.

Especially if he’s my fifth first date…

Download your copy today for or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

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*****

Excerpt:

I woke up with a start, sitting up in panic. There was drool in the corner of my mouth. Why was I in bed? Where was my son?

I stumbled out of bed, heart racing.

I remembered almost immediately that Maddox had arrived and had told me to take a power nap. Right. Geez. I slowed down in the hallway, putting my hand onto my chest to take a deep breath and calm down. Sully was fine. He was with Maddox.

But when I went into the living room, they weren’t there. I realized the bathroom door was closed and the shower was running. Hold on. If Maddox was in the shower, where was Sully? Was he lying on my bathroom floor, which I had to admit, hadn’t been cleaned recently? The thought of my child rolling around on that cold, damp germ-riddled floor had me opening the bathroom door to rescue him.

Sully wasn’t on the floor. He wasn’t anywhere to be found.

My panic kicked into high gear again, and without hesitating, I ripped back the shower curtain to demand Maddox explain where the hell my child was. The words died on my tongue. Because Sully was in the shower with Maddox, looking pink and chubby and delighted, hand out in front of him to catch the water as he rested comfortably on Maddox’s hip.

Maddox’s naked hip.

Maddox, who didn’t look pink and chubby and delighted.

Maddox, who looked like a hard, sexy-as-hell, bad boy.

His head was under the water, body turned toward me so Sullivan was out of the direct line of the stream. Which meant I could see every single full-frontal inch of Maddox. He was hard. Everywhere. Muscles on muscles, decorated with tattoos over a good fifty percent of his incredible body. Incredible and firm body.

I tried not to look at everything. I really tried. But my gaze seemed to have a life of its own and took a peek at his lower body.

My mouth went dry. My cheeks hot.

That was a big cock.

Inches from me.

“Hey, is everything okay?” he asked, pulling me out of my dumbfounded stupor.

I yanked my gaze back to his face, mortified.

“You didn’t sleep very long,” he said when I just stared at him. He didn’t look even remotely uncomfortable with the fact that he was standing under a stream of hot water totally naked in front of me.

Finally, I pried my tongue off of the roof of my mouth. “I’m sorry, oh my God. I didn’t mean to…” I gestured to his body. “I just woke up and I didn’t know where Sully was and I freaked out. I’m not used to having help…” I trailed off, pressing my lips shut.

Maddox just gave me a grin. “Not a problem. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I should have told you I wanted a shower.”

Sully reached for me, bless his little heart. He saved me from further embarrassment.

“Grab a towel before you take him,” Maddox said. “He’s slippery.” He looked down at Sully and bounced him on his hip a little. “Aren’t you, little man?”

Now that my eyes were studiously focused above the waist, and I’d dragged my sex-deprived mind out of the gutter, I was amazed at how at ease Maddox was with my son. He’d been made to hold a baby, and as I reached for a towel, I felt a yearning for a father for Sully for the first time ever.

This was all really confusing, dangerous, and potentially disastrous.

I needed sleep and sex, clearly.

Towel in hand I got as close as was necessary to take Sully safely without touching any of Maddox’s naked body. My cheeks were hot. “Maybe I can take a shower after you,” I said. “I think I’m on day three without one.”

“You could hop in now,” he said. “There’s room.”

Maddox said it like it was totally normal. Like he wasn’t naked in front of a woman who’d never seen him naked before. Like he had seen menaked before, which he most definitely hadn’t. Like we were a couple with a baby and not old friends, if you could even really say that. It wasn’t like I knewMaddox. We’d never talked about anything real. He’d just always been around our house with Steven.

This new dynamic was bizarre for me.

“Why are you teasing me?” I asked, genuinely curious. And again, no filter. “It was always the other way around. I teased you because I was older.”

His eyebrows shot up as I took Sully from him and wrapped him fully in the towel. “Am I teasing you? Is that what I’m doing?”

“Well. Yes. Aren’t you?”

He put his head under the water and ran his hand over it. A few water drops arched out and landed on my arm. So much wet skin. Everywhere, just skin and wet. Lord, I was losing it.

“I was flirting, not teasing. There is a difference.”

That befuddled me. “Why?”

“Because you’re an attractive woman and I’m a normal guy who likes to flirt with women. Or maybe I’m just being friendly.”

I backed up, needing space. The room was warm and humid and I was having a very difficult time not looking where I shouldn’t look. “This arrangement isn’t going to work if you do that. Say suggestive things all the time.”

“Why? It’s not a big deal.” Maddox stared at me with those dark eyes. Intently. “Is it?”

What the hell was he really asking me? I had no idea.

I was flustered and I took another step backward. “Maddy. Stop. You’re barely out of high school and I’m a mother. You’re going to be my nanny. We have to be professional. Maybe that’s not the right word, but you know what I mean. Friends who are helping each other. Platonic friends. Not flirty. You’re like a little brother to me.”

The look he gave me was smoldering. His nostrils flared. His shoulders tensed.

He paused with the bottle of shampoo in his hand. “Sure,” he said, his casual voice completely at odds with the intensity of his expression. “Whatever you want, Savannah. I promise not to flirt with you.”

Then he grabbed the curtain and pulled it shut, blocking him from my view.

Good. Great. Perfect. Glad we had established boundaries. That was the way it needed to be.

I had no business behaving in any other way than as a big sister to Maddox.

So why did I feel so disappointed?

Because I didn’t look at him and see a kid brother anymore. I hadn’t known him in years and he was different now. It was terrifying.

I took my son out of the bathroom and to my bedroom to get him diapered and dressed.

Maybe it was time to start dating again. Over a year without a date or sex was clearly too long.

I was an eternal optimist. I believed in a happily ever after. I could watch romantic comedies for seventy-two hours straight. I loved love.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t very good at it personally.

My friends all told me I was too quick to overlook red flags and to give people second chances. The first was probably accurate. The second I stood by. Everyone deserves a second chance. But my bullshit meter was definitely broken.

Sully’s father had looked great on paper. A contracts lawyer. Apartment in SoHo. Wealthy parents who had given him a private school education in Manhattan. He’d said he was interested in a relationship. In leaving behind his playboy twenties and settling down into something “real” since he had turned thirty.

Apparently, an unplanned pregnancy had been too real.

I had expected him to be shocked and not entirely thrilled with the news. I had not expected him to be livid. When I had told him I was having the baby, he’d punched a hole in the wall, terrifying me. He’d said terrible things, accused me of entrapment.

No happily ever after.

Just me getting the hell out of there and vowing to stay the hell away from Adam. It was probably the first time I would not have given someone a second chance. Not that he’d wanted one, but my concern had shifted from my own personal feelings to concern for my unborn baby.

The maternal instinct was strong. Like the force.

I wanted no part of a father being around if he resented it.

Laying Sully on my bed, I rubbed his soft skin with the towel and felt my heart swell with love for him. He was perfection even if his sperm donor had been, well, not so great.

I hated to think of him as a dick. Even if he was one.

Moving quickly before Sully objected, I got a diaper on him and a clean onesie. Then little khakis and a blue sweater. The fact that they made khakis for six-month-old babies gave me a happiness I couldn’t even express. Could anything on the planet be cuter?

I picked him up and gave him a belly kiss. “You look like a little man,” I cooed to him.

“He looks like a Best Buy employee,” Maddox said from the doorway. His expression was amused.

I frowned. Maddox was standing there in his towel. “What do you think he should wear, a skull and crossbones? He’s six months old.”

“That or maybe a puppy T-shirt or something. What you have on him now is what my grandfather wears to church.”

Offended, I wanted to exit my bedroom, but he was blocking the door. “You have a lot of opinions for someone who isn’t a parent. I’m the fashion expert, remember? I can handle dressing a baby. My baby.”

He held his hands up, nearly giving me a heart attack when his towel slipped. He grabbed it before it dropped to the floor. “Sorry. I was just teasing. I would never judge you on how you parent. I just thought since we’re friends, we can be cool with each other.”

That flustered me. I had really thought this was going to be a lot easier. More comfortable. But Maddox was confusing me. “I guess that’s fair,” I said, because I didn’t know what else to say. “I did used to tease you a lot when you were a kid, like I said before.”

He was leaning on the doorframe, showing no signs of moving or getting dressed or even putting the towel back in place. He was just holding it in front of his junk, but his hips were exposed.

“No, you didn’t. Not really.” His voice was soft. “I took a lot of crap from other kids for being the poor kid with the hot, young mom, but you weren’t like that. You were nice to me, Savannah, and I appreciated it. More than you know.”

My shoulders relaxed. I felt a warmth for him that was more familiar territory. Maddox had been a quiet kid, Steven his primary friend. I had felt sorry for him because he’d lived over a restaurant in downtown Stroudsburg while the rest of us in our school lived in suburban houses. His mother had been a waitress, very young, a MILF before the term had existed. Guys had always been catcalling her and flirting with her and she’d been sassy, flipping them off and hurtling wisecracks back.

She’d called Maddox “Weirdo” all the time. It had seemed to be an affectionate nickname, but not one I would have enjoyed.

“How is your mom?” I asked. “And your brother and sisters?”

He finally wrapped the towel around himself fully, tucking the edge. “She’s good. She’s freaking out about turning thirty-nine, but otherwise she’s great.”

Holy cow, his mother was only thirteen years older than me? That would have made her fifteen when he was born. Having been raising Sully on my own for six months at my age, I had a whole new respect for his mother.

“The kids are all mostly normal, mostly not assholes.” There was warmth and pride in his voice. “Mike is great, too. I never thought I wanted a stepfather but he’s an alright guy. He’s the one who got me interested in ink. And motorcycles.”

His stepfather owned an auto body shop back home and he’d seemed successful, moving Maddox and his mother into a colonial before they started producing children one after the other. They were a coolfamily, with artistic children, and yes, skull and crossbones on their clothes. In comparison, my family had been very traditional. My mother was a teacher, my father an accountant. There was a lot of khaki and beige in our house. I was comfortable with beige. I wanted a colonial in neutral paint colors someday.

I glanced at Maddox’s chest. I couldn’t help it. It was right in front of me. “I’ll make some dinner while you get dressed and you can tell me all about your ink.”

“Sounds like a plan. Here, give me the baby so you can do your thing in the kitchen.” He reached out for Sully.

When he did, the knot on the towel gave way a second time and it pooled at his ankles. He didn’t react at all to being fully naked.

He just took my son, saying, “I didn’t mean to mock your threads, little man. It’s not your fault your mom digs khakis.”

He turned and walked down the hallway, ignoring the towel, and giving me a mouthwatering view of a very tight ass.

Note to self: Maddox was comfortable being naked.

I scooped up the abandoned towel and debated whether that was the world’s greatest news or the worst.

*****

Author Info:

USA Today and New York Times bestselling author Erin McCarthy sold her first book in 2002 and has since written over seventy-five novels and novellas in the romance and mystery genres. Erin has a special weakness for high-heeled boots, martinis, and Frank Sinatra. She lives with her renovation-addicted husband (he built her a bar, so it’s all good!) and their blended family of kids and rescue dogs.

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Website: https://erinmccarthy.net

*****