Tag Archives: Noelle Adams

Spotlight – Snowed in for Christmas

25 Thursday Oct 2018

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If there is anything I love better than a holiday romance, it’s when it is found in a Christmas anthology!

*****

SNOWED IN FOR CHRISTMAS

by Samantha Chase, Noelle Adams, Zoe York

Genre: Contemporary/Holiday Romance

Release Date: October 23, 2018

Blurb:

Three all-new holiday novellas about couples finding love while trapped together in the snow.

A Christmas Rescue (Silver Bell Falls, Book 4) by Samantha Chase

Saving a litter of puppies right before Christmas was incredibly rewarding for Bailey Walsh. But getting snowed in with her sexy-yet-grinchy veterinarian boss turns out to be rewarding in a whole other way.

Stranded in the Snow (Holiday Acres, Book 2) by Noelle Adams

Olivia Holiday doesn’t expect to spend the weekend stranded in a romantic cottage during a snowstorm with the one man she dislikes the most. Scott is a player and holds a grudge against her family, and she’s determined not to give in to the deep feelings for him she’s been hiding.

Love on the Edge of Reason (Pine Harbour, Book 8) by Zoe York

Tom Minelli doesn’t know why Chloe Davis has fled Pine Harbour, but she’s pregnant with his baby and he wants her back. But a winter storm rolls in just as he finds her, trapping them together in a cabin on the lake.

Goodreads: http://smarturl.it/nhdyu4

Amazon: http://smarturl.it/ouaj63

Apple Books: http://smarturl.it/ehtyoz

Kobo: http://smarturl.it/toeits

Nook: http://smarturl.it/1v1ir7

*****

Author Info:

Noelle Adams

Noelle handwrote her first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was twelve, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different states and currently resides in Virginia, where she reads any book she can get her hands on and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel.

She loves travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus on writing contemporary romances.

Website: https://www.noelle-adams.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoelleAdams3

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6572847.Noelle_Adams

Zoe York

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Zoe York is a busy working mom of two young boys, wife to a very understanding soldier, and creator of modern, sexy, small town contemporary romances. Her debut novel, What Once Was Perfect, started the popular Wardham series, and her first military romance, Fall Out, was released as part of the international bestselling SEALs of Summer super bundle.

Zoe is also author of the Hate F**k and Frisky Beavers erotic romance series (with Sadie Haller) under the name Ainsley Booth.

She lives in London, Ontario, and is currently chugging Americanos, wiping sticky fingers, and dreaming of heroes in and out of uniform.

Website: http://www.zoeyork.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZoeYorkWrites

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoeyorkwrites

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7106670.Zoe_York

Samantha Chase

Samantha Chase is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller of contemporary romance. She released her debut novel in 2011 and currently has more than forty titles under her belt! When she’s not working on a new story, she spends her time reading romances, playing way too many games of Scrabble or Solitaire on Facebook, wearing a tiara while playing with her sassy pug Maylene…oh, and spending time with her husband of 25 years and their two sons in North Carolina.

Website: https://www.chasing-romance.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamanthaChase3

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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthachaseromance

Newsletter: http://bit.ly/2xU05xE

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/samantha-chase

***

Spotlight – Seducing Her Brother’s Best Friend

11 Thursday Jan 2018

Posted by in Blog Tour, Contest, Sneak Peek

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I love the best friend’s sibling/sibling’s best friend story-line and Adams is delivering!  We got the first couple with Falling for Her Brother’s Best Friend and I’m looking forward to seeing where she goes next.

*****

Fifteen years ago, three girls were thrown together because their brothers were best friends. Now they’re all grown up, and their brothers are grown up too. The Tea for Two series tells their stories. Fans of New York Times Bestselling Author, Noelle Adams, will love this newest playful friends become lovers story featuring Carol and Patrick, releasing January 10, 2017.

Seducing Her Brother’s Best Friend

Tea for Two series

by Noelle Adams

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: January 10, 2018

Publisher: Noelle Adams

Format: Digital eBook

Digital ISBN: 9781386624455

Blurb:

After too many years being overlooked by men, Carol is ready to take action. She wants a man, and she knows which man she wants. Her brother’s best friend, Patrick Stevenson.

Patrick is funny and brainy and the sexiest man she’s ever known, but he has never looked at her as anything except his friend’s little sister. That’s going to change.

Carol isn’t good at flirting. Or seduction. Or anything that requires putting herself out there. But she’s going to make sure Patrick sees her as a desirable woman—and one he wants for more than one night—even if it turns her whole world upside down. He already likes her a lot. He just needs to open his eyes to how good they’d be together.

After all, how stubborn can he be?

Add to your TBR list:  Goodreads

Available:  Amazon  |  Barnes and Noble  |  Kobo  |  iTunes

*****

Excerpt:

She narrowed her eyes even more and gave him a cool glare. “You might as well just admit it. I know exactly what happened.”

He groaned softly. “All right. Fine. I couldn’t believe you’d be acting like… like that.”

“Like what?”

She was making this as hard as possible for him, and he couldn’t even blame her. “Like you… liked me.” It sounded ridiculous, immature, but he couldn’t think of any other way to put it.

“And you really can’t believe that I do?”

He wanted to be anywhere but here, put on the spot like this. He wanted to get up and leave, somehow escape everything he was feeling.

But, if he did, that would be it. He’d never have Carol in his life again. He might have messed this up completely, but he wasn’t prepared to lose her for good. So he told her the truth. “No. I really can’t.”

“Why the hell not?”

Carol almost never used to rough language—even something as mild as “hell.” It seemed to emphasize how upset she really was.

“I… I don’t even know.”

She stared at him for a full minute. He could see her chest rise and fall with her heaving breathing. Then she finally got up, muttering, “You’re a real idiot sometimes. You know that, right?” She went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

He hauled himself to his feet and followed her. “I know I’m an idiot. I know that. But I’m still here, trying to fix things.”

She was staring into her open refrigerator, like she’d forgotten what she’d come here for.

“Carol,” he said, touching her shoulder gently. She looked so hurt and wounded. He couldn’t believe he was important enough to her to make her feel this way.

She whirled around to face him. “Why shouldn’t I like you?” she demanded.

He blinked. “Because… because it seems pretty obvious that it’s just because the others have gotten together.”

“What does that even mean?”

“I mean Emma and Noah got together, and then Ginny and Ryan got together. So now we’re the only two left. I get it. I do. It would make sense for us to get paired up in the same way. But that doesn’t mean it’s… it’s real.”

She made a loud, throaty sound of naked frustration.

Patrick contorted his face as he was washed with self-consciousness and confusion. “I’m trying to be honest here.”

“I know you are. I know you are!”

She closed the refrigerator, having taken nothing out. “Why wouldn’t we be good together?”

“We’re totally different. If I wasn’t the last guy left in our little group, you’d choose someone totally different.” He knew this much for sure. He’d been rehearsing it over and over again—for months now—reminding himself that any soft looks she’d given him had been based on something other than real attraction.

“How do you know that?”

“Carol, please. I know I act stupid sometimes, but I do have a functioning mind. And neither one of us deserves to be stuck with… whoever happens to be left.”

She gaped at him. Literally gaped. Then her cheeks paled even more. “You think I’m… just whoever happens to be left.”

“Not you,” he gasped, shocked that she’d ever even imagine he felt that way. “Not you. Me. I’m whoever is left.”

“You… you… you…” She was panting, couldn’t even get the words out.

“Me what?”

“You idiot!”

He was processing her uncontrolled outburst and so he wasn’t prepared for what she did next.

What she did was launch herself at him, grabbing his head and pulling it down into a kiss.

Since he wasn’t prepared, he couldn’t control his response. And he’d been wanting her too much, for too long, and not letting himself act on that desire.

So he didn’t stop it, even though he knew he should.

He didn’t push her away gently and explain that it couldn’t happen.

He kissed her back.

Copyright © 2018 Seducing Her Brother’s Best Friend by Noelle Adams

*****

Other Books in the Tea For Two series:

Falling For Her Brother’s Best Friend

After too many bad decisions in romance, Emma is going on a man-fast. For the next six months, she’s fasting from men. No sex. No dating. No soulful gazes. No fond memories of her first crush. She’s going to spend the time focusing on her career, getting in touch with herself, and helping her two best friends with the launch of their new tea room. No men.

And that includes her brother’s best friend, Noah Hart, who has just returned to their hometown.

She doesn’t want Noah anyway. He might be even hotter than he was before, but he’s not a nice guy anymore. He’s made a fortune by acting ruthless in business, and the last thing he’s looking for is small-town domestic life. He doesn’t even want to be in town again, but a sick grandmother guilted him into it. Then he has nerve to not even recognize Emma when he sees her again. Maybe it’s been seven years, but a decent guy would remember his best friend’s little sister.

Noah is not a decent guy. Anyway, Emma is on a man-fast. And she doesn’t want Noah.

At all.

Add to your TBR list:  Goodreads

Available:  Amazon  |  Barnes and Noble  |  Kobo  |  iTunes

Winning Her Brother’s Best Friend

Ginny Hart loves men. And she loves dating. She just doesn’t want a serious relationship. She’s tried it before–with her brother’s best friend, Ryan–and it’s clear she’s not cut out for it. So she’ll keep having fun and focusing on the new tea shop she recently opened with her best friend.

That’s all she needs in her life.

She definitely doesn’t need Ryan, who is always hanging around and has turned into a real player. When he challenges her to prove which of them is more popular with the opposite sex, she takes him up on the bet. One month. Four Saturday nights. She’ll show him she’s not still holding on to old feelings. It doesn’t matter if she can’t seem to keep her hands off him.

She’s not about to let him win.

Add to your TBR list:  Goodreads

Available:  Amazon  |  Barnes and Noble  |  Kobo  |  iTunes

*****

Author Info:

Noelle handwrote her first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was twelve, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different states and currently resides in Virginia, where she reads any book she can get her hands on and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel.

She loves travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus on writing contemporary romances.

Website  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Goodreads  |  Amazon  |  BookBub

*****

Giveaway:

Noelle is offering one (1) lucky Grand Prize winner a $25 Amazon Gift Card and three (3) Runner-ups eCopy of one book from Noelle’s Tea For Two series (winner’s choice).

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b050ef29464/

*****

 

Spotlight – The Protectors Series

01 Friday Sep 2017

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Celebrate the Release of PROTECTING THE GIRL NEXT DOOR and PROTECTING THE MOVIE STAR along with the entire THE PROTECTORS series! 

Four former Marines, each trying to protect the one they love. The Protectors series tells their stories. Fans of contemporary romance will not be able to put this series by New York Times Bestselling Authors, Noelle Adams and Samantha Chase, down. 

Add PROTECTING THE GIRL NEXT DOOR and PROTECTING THE MOVIE STAR to your TBR pile on Goodreads! Be sure to enter the giveaway for a $15 Amazon gift card! One runner-up will receive their choice eBook from Noelle’s backlist.

*****

Protecting the Girl Next Door

The Protectors #3

by Noelle Adams and Samantha Chase

Release Date: August 30, 2017

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Price: $2.99

Blurb:

Protecting the Girl Next Door was originally published as Forever Bound. It has since been expanded, revised, and re-edited.

I like women, and I like adventure. I always have. The last thing I want to do is settle down with the girl next door and live a boring, domestic life. So I have no idea what I’m doing here, posing as a first-grade teacher.

It’s the most ridiculous undercover security job I’ve ever had to work. Corralling a bunch of six-year-olds while I try to do my job and keep anyone from knowing how clueless I really am. I manage to fool everyone. Except Kristin.

She’s an actual teacher, and she’s determined to find out what I’m really doing here. She doesn’t trust me, and her daughter doesn’t like me. And the worst part is that I’m starting to like them. A lot.

So now, instead of being the tough guy, I’m stuck with rowdy children and Christmas pageants and falling in love. It’s not the way I thought I’d spend Christmas.

Find out more at: Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

Protecting the Movie Star

The Protectors #4

by Noelle Adams and Samantha Chase

Release Date: August 30, 2017

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Price: $2.99

Blurb:

Protecting the Movie Star was originally published as Home Bound. It has since been expanded, revised, and re-edited.

The story of my life isn’t pretty. I come from the wrong side of the tracks. I’ve been a criminal. I’ve been homeless. I almost killed my father, and I might be responsible for the death of my best friend.

I should not be wanting Evangeline.

Her life story is the stuff of dreams. She’s America’s sweetheart – beautiful, talented, and famous – and she doesn’t want anything to do with me. I’ll protect her from a stalker since it’s my job, but that’s all I’m allowed. No touching, no lusting, no falling in love. I’m all wrong for her, and she’s completely off-limits.

But I’ve never been good about following the rules.

Find out more at: Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

*****

Be sure to check out the entire THE PROTECTORS series!

Protecting His Best Friend’s Sister

The Protectors #1

by Noelle Adams and Samantha Chase

Release Date: August 9, 2017

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Price: FREE

Blurb:

Protecting His Best Friend’s Sister was originally published as Duty Bound. It has since been expanded, revised, and re-edited.

The only woman I want is the one I can never have.

Harper. My best friend’s sister. I’ve wanted her since I was eighteen, but she’s always been off-limits. Now I’m home after years in the Marines, and nothing has changed–except everything has. Her brother is dead, and she’s on a hopeless quest for answers about his death.

And I want her just as much as ever.

Someone is trying to kill her now, and she won’t let me keep her safe. I have to protect her anyway, even if she doesn’t trust me, even if she hates me for it. A man protects what’s precious to him, whether or not he can ever claim her for his own.

And Harper has always been precious to me.

Find out more at: Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

Protecting the Enemy

The Protectors #2

by Noelle Adams and Samantha Chase

Release Date: August 9, 2017

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Price: $2.99

Blurb:

Protecting the Enemy was originally published as Honor Bound. It has since been expanded, revised, and re-edited.

Twelve years ago, I gave up the love of my life because my family made the relationship impossible. Now that Ali has come back to me, I’m not going to give her up again.

It’s been years since I’ve seen her, and I know she’s hated me all this time. I never expected to see her working as an event planner for one of my father’s business partners. But here she is, always snooping around and getting into trouble. I’m supposed to be providing security, but I can’t stop thinking about her.

She’s up to something, and it might put her in danger. She sees me as the enemy now. Maybe I am, but I’m not going to lose her again. I might be hired to protect the man she’s working against, but my heart only wants to protect her.

Find out more at: Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

*****

Author Info:

Noelle handwrote her first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was twelve, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different states and currently resides in Virginia, where she reads any book she can get her hands on and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel.

She loves travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus on writing contemporary romances.

If you’d like to contact Noelle, please contact her at noelle.s.adams@gmail.com. Or connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

*****

Giveaway:

Enter to win a $15 Amazon Gift Card! One runner-up will receive their choice eBook from Noelle’s backlist.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b050ef29410/?

*****

Book Review – Falling For Her Brother’s Best Friend

05 Monday Jun 2017

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

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Fifteen years ago, three girls were thrown together because their brothers were best friends. Now they’re all grown up, and their brothers are grown up too. The Tea for Two series tells their stories. Fans of contemporary women’s fiction will become engrossed in this new series by New York Times Bestselling Author, Noelle Adams.

Click the image below to see the trailer video!Add FALLING FOR HER BROTHER’S BEST FRIEND to your TBR pile on Goodreads! Then keep reading to get an exclusive excerpt of FALLING FOR HER BROTHER’S BEST FRIEND. Be sure to enter the giveaway for a $15 Amazon gift card! One runner-up will receive their choice eBook from Noelle’s backlist.

*****

Falling For Her Brother’s Best Friend

Tea for Two book #1

by Noelle Adams

Release Date: June 7, 2017

Publisher: Noelle Adams

Word Count: 47K

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy

Tropes: Brother’s Best Friend

Price: $0.99 preorder; $2.99 regular

Blurb:

After too many bad decisions in romance, Emma is going on a man-fast. For the next six months, she’s fasting from men. No sex. No dating. No soulful gazes. No fond memories of her first crush. She’s going to spend the time focusing on her career, getting in touch with herself, and helping her two best friends with the launch of their new tea room. No men.

And that includes her brother’s best friend, Noah Hart, who has just returned to their hometown.

She doesn’t want Noah anyway. He might be even hotter than he was before, but he’s not a nice guy anymore. He’s made a fortune by acting ruthless in business, and the last thing he’s looking for is small-town domestic life. He doesn’t even want to be in town again, but a sick grandmother guilted him into it. Then he has nerve to not even recognize Emma when he sees her again. Maybe it’s been seven years, but a decent guy would remember his best friend’s little sister.

Noah is not a decent guy. Anyway, Emma is on a man-fast. And she doesn’t want Noah.

At all.

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

*****

She waited to see if Noah would complain about her walking home alone at night, but he didn’t. He just said, “I’ll walk with you.”

She started to object—automatically but for no particular reason—but she stopped the words from coming out. There was no reason he couldn’t walk a couple of blocks with her. He would probably insist on it, even if she tried to object.

“Okay,” she said. “Thanks.”

They didn’t speak as they walked down the sidewalk and crossed the street to her building. But she was intensely aware of Noah’s presence beside her. It felt so strong, so masculine, so… man.

Why the hell did she always seem to want him so much?

She should know better by now.

She was feeling strangely shy when they reached the front entrance to her building, and she turned to face him, dropping her eyes. “Thanks again.”

“No problem.” There was that husky note in his voice, the one she really liked.

She didn’t dare to look up at him. “I could have made it on my own, you know.”

“I know that.” God, just the sound of his voice sent shivers up and down her spine.

“No matter what you think, I’m not a little girl anymore.”

She had no idea why she was saying this. She was just rambling, too nervous to think through the words that were coming out of her mouth. And she was seriously having to hold herself back from reaching out toward him, taking hold his shirt and pulling him closer.

He smelled so incredibly good. Not anything as strong as aftershave, but something warm and expensive.

She wanted to smell him even more.

She wanted to feel him.

She wanted to taste him.

She wanted to…

He reached out and tilted up her face so she was looking at him. “I know you’re not a little girl, Emma.”

Emma.

He’d called her Emma.

“You do?” she whispered, the world shuddering in front of her eyes.

“Damn it, Emma,” he rasped thickly, raising his other arm so he was holding her face in both hands. “Surely you know I’m seeing you as anything but a little girl.”

She was trembling now, and there was absolutely no way she could hold herself back. He was holding her face like she was precious, and the look in his eyes…

So filled with heat and hunger. She’d never seen anything like it.

She grabbed onto his shirt like she’d always wanted to and drew him even nearer, and then he was finally, finally kissing her.

Naturally, she was kissing him back.

Excerpt from FALLING FOR HER BROTHER’S BEST FRIEND

Copyright © 2017 Noelle Adams

*****

Review:

(There might be some kinda, minor, maybe spoilers included – but nothing too big.)

I love the friends to lovers and the best friend’s sibling story-lines and Adams does a great job of giving readers a satisfying romance using them.  I love the idea that Emma had a crush on Noah for all these years and that it grows into something even more now that they are grown.  It’s not easy to be such a close knit group of siblings and friends so it isn’t something that they can take lightly.  Any issues will have long reaching consequences.

Which is a lot of the drama of the book.  Noah was devastated by his father’s abandonment as a child and that’s influenced a lot of his life – from his romantic relationships to his career.  When he’s finally tempted to delve into something deeper, but with Emma being his sister’s best friend and Emma’s brother being his best friend … what happens if he screws it up?

**Kinda, sorta spoiler**

And here’s where I have just a little bit of a problem because I just didn’t get the supportive, best friend vibe from the girls.  Noah’s sister brings up his history of running and it causes Noah to have second thoughts.  But then when they are all together as a group a few days later and Emma is going to go home and the only other person leaving is Noah, his sister is all blase about him taking her home.  She knows how they feel about each other and has already caused trouble between them and … she just waves and sends them on their way.  Not the best friend treatment that I would expect.  Plus, she’s his sister but she seems all conflict and no help when it comes to his iissues.  So while they hang out together a lot, I felt the boys were more committed than the girls.

But, while I didn’t feel the friendships like I expected, Adams does delivery well on the romance between Noah and Emma.  I feel where he’s coming from & I enjoyed seeing them get to know each other as adults and start to have real feelings for one another.  The conflict was wrapped up nicely all around, producing a good HEA ending.

*****

Author Info:

Noelle handwrote her first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was twelve, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different states and currently resides in Virginia, where she reads any book she can get her hands on and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel.

She loves travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus on writing contemporary romances.

If you’d like to contact Noelle, please contact her at noelle.s.adams@gmail.com. Or connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

*****

Giveaway:

Enter to win a $15 Amazon Gift Card! One runner-up will receive their choice eBook from Noelle’s backlist.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b050ef29362/

Spotlight – Christmas at Eden Manor

07 Friday Oct 2016

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I SOOOOO love this time of year because of all the Christmas romances  🙂  Adams was able to do amazing things with a well-used trope in Fooling Around so I’m very interested in seeing what she can do with the older man/younger woman theme.

*****

christmas-at-eden-manorChristmas at Eden Manor

by Noelle Adams

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: October 5, 2016

Blurb:

Brie Graves might be jobless, living with her brother, and recovering from a painful break-up, but she’s determined to enjoy the holidays. Until the end of the year, she’s going to do anything she wants to do, no matter how crazy it might be. Soon, she discovers exactly what she wants–to spend a week with a fascinating, sophisticated stranger. It doesn’t matter that she only knows his first name or that he’s more than twenty years older than her. After this one week, she’ll never see him again.

Cyrus Damon has spent his life making money and holding himself to impossibly high standards. Pressured into taking a vacation in Savannah, he’s alone and at loose ends, so he lets himself do something he never would have considered otherwise. He gives in to his attraction to a beautiful, free-spirited, and much-too-young woman. But, after the week is over, he’ll once more be the man he’s always been, left with nothing but the memory of a woman who made him happier than he’s ever been.

He has no idea that when he visits his nephew in a charming bed and breakfast called Eden Manor, he’ll find the woman he thought he’d left for good.

Find out more at: Amazon / B&N / iBooks / Kobo

*****

Excerpt:

When they’d finished the last of the wine and the mousse had been licked clean, Brie put down her spoon and collapsed back in her chair. “Wow. That was probably the best dinner—the best meal—I’ve ever had.”

Cyrus smiled at her, almost fondly. “Good. I’ll tell Gordon you appreciated it.”

“Who decided on the menu and… ambience?”

He arched his eyebrows in amused irony. “It was Gordon. He was very pleased about this dinner, and he might have gone a bit too far in setting the mood.”

Intrigued, Brie felt a little less boneless, so she managed to lean forward, resting her head on one hand. “Really? Does he do a lot of matchmaking for you?”

“He never has before,” Cyrus said with a half shrug. “I was as surprised as you were.”

“Were you really? You acted totally suave, like you have romantic dinners like this all the time.”

“I doubt you’d believe me if I told you how long it’s been since I’ve had a romantic meal of any kind.”

A surge of curiosity banished a lot of her decadent languor. “How long?” she demanded.

Cyrus’s mouth twisted into what might have been a sheepish smile. “I don’t think I’m going to tell you.”

“But I want to know.”

His eyes transformed as he gazed at her. The shift was almost imperceptible, but Brie felt a shudder shape itself in the base of her spine in response to his expression. “Do you always get what you want?” Cyrus continued, his voice throaty, the texture making her shudder even more.

“No,” she admitted. “Almost never.”

“There’s something wrong with a world where such a thing is true.”

It took her a minute to unravel this comment, but when she did she was moved even more. The man didn’t even seem to be trying, but he had the knack for always saying the right thing, for being kind and romantic and civilized, all at exactly the same time.

She’d never believed it was possible before.

She knew she was treading in dangerous waters here. She was on the verge of being swept away by him completely. She wanted to enjoy herself with him this week, but she didn’t want to do something so foolish it would leave her hurt and lonely next week.

She didn’t know this man. Not really. So she could feel a resistance rising inside her, at the same time as the deep attraction.

She needed to change the mood between them. Quickly.

“Let’s walk some more,” she suggested lightly. “I could use it after such a meal.”

He stood up and took her hand to help her out of her seat. Then he didn’t let her hand go as they strolled through the gardens again.

She soon realized her suggestion might have been a mistake. The rich scent of the air, the soft moonlight, and the feel of Cyrus’s warm hand quickly went to her head. She felt unsteady, overly warm, and so fluttery she couldn’t take a deep breath.

“God, Cyrus!” she gasped, as an ache of need pulsed through her before she was ready to handle it.

Cyrus had appeared calm, leisurely, at his ease. But he’d evidently been fighting feelings of his own. Her breathless cry seemed to snap his control. He used his clasp on her hand to pivot her around and then slid his free arm around her, pressing her against the length of his body.

His warm, lean strength was exactly what Brie wanted to feel. She freed her hand from his and instinctively twined her arms around his neck. With his hand now free, he used it to cup the back of her head.

“You’re so beautiful, Brie,” he murmured thickly. “So beautiful and… and glowing with life.” His eyes like flames, almost fierce in the moonlight, he leaned his head down to claim her lips.

*****

Author Info:

Noelle hand-wrote her first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was twelve, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different states and currently resides in Virginia, where she reads any book she can get her hands on and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel.

She loves travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus on writing contemporary romances.

If you’d like to contact Noelle, please contact her at noelle.s.adams@gmail.com. Or connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

*****

Giveaway:

Follow the tour and enter to win great prizes!

1 grand prize winners will receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card!

1 runner-up will receive an eBook bundle of Seducing The Enemy and Hired Bride by Noelle Adams!

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b050ef29283/

*****

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Book Review – Fooling Around

26 Thursday May 2016

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cover83704-mediumFooling Around

by Noelle Adams

In this steamy novel from New York Times bestselling author Noelle Adams, a notorious tech mogul makes a mild-mannered woman an offer she can’t refuse. What he gets is a battle for control—and a million-dollar affair.

Eric Vincent isn’t in the habit of asking for help. As the founder of a lucrative sports videogame franchise, he’s accustomed to getting his way and enjoying the fruits of his hard-earned success. Then all his illusions of dominance are shattered by a skiing accident that leaves him hobbled, facing a string of surgeries and months of immobility. The only way he’s going to survive is with someone by his side to anticipate his every desire. Someone who will devote every waking second to his comfort. Someone like Julie Nelson . . .

Julie’s life revolves around other people: her students, her parents, her sister. But even she has her limits. Julie has zero interest in playing personal assistant to Eric Vincent, a man who’s as arrogant as he is charismatic . . . until he ups the salary to one million dollars for three months’ work. Soon Julie’s struggling to bite her tongue—and resist the chemistry that draws her to Eric. But after one scorching kiss, Julie decides it’s finally her turn to be selfish. And this time, she’s going to get what she wants.

(BTW, there is a minor spoiler for the ending below so stop reading if you don’t want to know.  But it is just a tiny thing.)

I was surprised at how much I liked this story.  Usually these contrived situations (and a Cinderella-esque love story) just don’t play out all that well, but Adams does a good job of giving readers people to like and a plot that works.

Eric may seem like he has everything (and he is a bit of a poor-little rich boy) but he does have troubles of his own.  And time spent with Julie, with some hard-hitting heart-to-hearts, has him looking at the man he is and why he lives his life the way he does.  Those same heart-to-hearts also has Julie looking a little deeper at her own motivations.  They are good for each other and grow closer as they are forced to spend a lot of time together.

I like that while Eric makes some minor changes, he doesn’t do a beast to prince transformation.  Instead, he learns to look a little deeper at his reactions to certain situations.  Julie gets to know him as he was – gruffness, spoiled moments, and all – and she likes him anyway.  She sees the caring and intelligent man he is as well and that while he has his faults he has his good side too.

Julie has the more obvious growth thanks to her time with Eric.  She learns to be a little more selfish (in a good way) and to stop avoiding the things she wants.  I think that my favorite thing is that after she starts on that path to finding her own life, she continues even with Eric in the picture.  She doesn’t let their romance stop her from getting her own apartment (for the first time in years) and figuring out how to be independent after all the time spent taking care of other people.

While it is still a little bit of a fairytale, with the rich man falling for his servant, it’s got the growth needed for both and a chance for them to be the support each other needs.

Book Review – Overexposed

19 Saturday Jul 2014

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cover48354-mediumFor five years, Leah has been known as the fame whore who screwed Kevin Grayson, son of Hollywood royalty, as a step up the ladder to stardom and then maliciously exposed footage of their most intimate moments to the world. Only Leah knows Kevin is the guilty one, using the public sympathy to advance his career and breaking her heart in the process.

Leah isn’t naïve anymore. She’s given up on romance, and she’ll do whatever necessary to prove she hasn’t been defeated. So when she needs another shot of notoriety to ensure the success of her new restaurant, at the same time Kevin needs some PR help of his own, she agrees to a crazy plan.

She can fake a two-week romantic vacation with Kevin, pretending to rekindle their relationship for the eyes of the world. And she can resist Kevin’s breathtaking sexiness, even in such close quarters. And she absolutely won’t fall for any of his lies.

I felt so bad for these two … which shows that Adams does a fantastic job of giving her readers characters to care about.  Although the blurb makes it sound like it is about Leah, it is really about both of them.  And they are both so devastated by the events that happened in the past.  It’s going to take a lot to get these two to a HEA ending.

Usually a book that bounces between the past and the present doesn’t work for me.  The disjointed time frame usually just brings me out of the story, but this one worked very well.  We start in the now when Leah is dealing with the aftermath of the sex tapes, but then we start bouncing between now and how they met, fell in love, and then lost everything.  Adams wonderfully manages to weave the two together and brings us the pertinent points at the right time.

Leah has lost a lot of her sparkle because of what happened and I don’t know that I would have held my head up as well as she does, facing everything the public throws at her.  I’m not sure if staying in LA is brave or stupid but she definitely does it with style.  It has left her tough, cynical and isolated, so very hesitant to trust again.  Especially trusting Kevin.

Kevin has also lost some of his mojo and we’re given his side of the events as well.  He had a horrible upbringing and I think my only complaint is that we didn’t get to see more of that.  We get some indication thru interactions with his dad, and it definitely explains things, but I think I would have liked to have seen a little more of that.  Because Kevin is definitely shaped by his relationship with his father and it affects everything that happens with Leah.  Considering she was one of the few people who he opened up to, having their relationship blow up (and so publicly) has given him a few more scars.

It’s a joy to watch them learn to let go and trust again.  Together Leah and Kevin are smart and witty and their interactions are so realistically cute.  I think the ending was the perfect complement to the rest of their relationship and it left me with a smile.  A sizzling heartbreaker, Overexposed highlights troubled lovers and their rocky path back together again.