Unacceptable: A Step-Brother Romance by Kristen Hope Mazzola
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book was interesting. I am not all that big on step-brother books. But, in this book they didn’t even know they were step-siblings until after they had already done the deed. The blood relation and Abel was 18 before Crickett’s dad married his mom. So they are more like to random people than siblings of any kind. Crickett’s dad left her a long time ago and she thinks that he just abandoned her. She only got one letter from him in all those years claiming that he loved her and wanted her to be with him however that never happened. Crickett has had enough of her drug addicted whore of a mother and realized maybe her dad had the right idea when he left. She is taking all her uncashed paycheck and her tips and leaving. She is going to Vilas, where the one letter she got from her father came from. He probably isn’t there anymore but it as good as any place to start over and maybe try to find him. Crickett finally gets to Valis after 12 hours of driving. She is tired, hungry, and thirsty. She stops at this little bar and immediately notices she is the only female in this place plus a lot of the guys are wearing biker cuts. She winds up being told to come back a little later and that she might have a job at said bar. So she does. That is when she meets Abel. There is just something about him. He is hot for sure; tattooed, muscled, and so much more. They have an instant spark. It doesn’t take long before Abel shows her a different side of himself and she can’t fight her feeling for him anymore; so much for taking it slow. I felt so bad for Crickett. She really did get the shit end of the stick growing up. Her mother was a drug addicted whore just looking for her next fix. Then when she finally gets away and finds a man she can fall in love with her turns out to be her step-brother. This book made me laugh and times though. The guys in the club are pretty funny sometimes. Overall I really liked the book and would recommend it to others. I really like Kristen Hope Mazzola and love her books. This one was no different.
View all my reviews
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Second Chances (Heart Series Book 2) Blog Tour +Review
Title: Second Chances
Series: Heart Series, Book 2
Author: Abigail Lee Justice
Genre: Erotic BDSM Romance
Tour Host: DRC Promotions
Blurb
Knowing that happily-ever-afters only happen in fairy tales, Sophie Spencer spends an amazing night with her Prince Charming. Being new to the lifestyle, she allows her hidden fears to take over and does the unthinkable. She screams her safe-word…and runs directly into danger.
Will her moment of weakness cause her world to be torn apart again? Or will she overcome her trust issues and fully surrender to her Prince.
Falling in love had been the furthest thing from Kyle Zellar’s mind, but when Sophie Spencer fully submits to his dominant demands, his only recourse is to claim her as his. Before he can claim her, he is forced to let her go.
Fighting his inner demons and past issues of childhood abandonment, he knows he must sort out his own life before he can move on with his future.
But will it be too little too late?
Warning: This book contains adult content which may offend some readers; BDSM, spanking, punishment, wax play, piercing, bondage, and exhibitionism.
~Author’s note. This is the second book in The Heart Series, and NOT a stand-alone. You may read them in any order you like, of course, but I would recommend you read Bound By Her Master first.
Other Books In The Series
Sophie Spencer is a happily married, twenty-nine year old cardiologist. Suddenly her world is shattered to pieces. The love of her life, her only love, is taken from her in a devastating car accident. Stricken with grief, depression, and loneliness for the past two years, Sophie takes the advice of a close friend to venture down a new path - exploring the inner sides of submission. Not knowing what it truly means to submit, Sophie indulges her desires by visiting a prominent BDSM club on her own. Could she fully submit to another man’s will, or was the bond that she shared with her husband unbreakable? That’s the question Sophie must come to terms with. Kyle Zeller is one hundred percent Alpha male. He owns a high end BDSM club, but has not been in a serious relationship for over a year. Serious skeletons that are buried deep in the back of Kyle’s mind keeps holding him back from making a true commitment, which is until Sophie Spencer walks into the Cellar. Kyle see’s for the first time in his life the person he’s been looking for, she standing in front of him. He already knows everything about Sophie’s past, including her desires to submit. Will Kyle’s past resurface and shatter this potential relationship too?
Buy Bound by her Master
My Review
This the second book in this series and you must read them in order. This book picks up right where the first one ended. Sophie safe worded out and ran from Kyle calling Lexi to come pick her up. Leading Lexi and Sophie to be shot by gang members that have been pursing Sophie. Sophie realizes how wrong she was to run and that she only did because of her fears come right up to the surface when she overhears Kyle's phone call. Kyle never expected to fall in love but there is something about Sophie. He has had subs/slaves before but when Sophie fully submits to him it is different. Kyle has his own demons from the past to deal with. He has finally found his father and needs to confront his father about why he left all those years ago. Will Kyle be able to forgive Sophie for running away without talking to him? Will Sophie be able to overcome her fears and ask Kyle to give her a second chance? Will Kyle and Sophie get their happily ever after?
I love this series. They are steamy, romantic, have a bit of danger, and draw you in. Kyle has a need to protect and provide for Sophie. However after Sophie's husband died she became super independent. To ask for help is weakness to her and she refuses to be weak. After the shooting however she realizes how wrong she was. She knows she has a lot of things to work through if she wants another chance with Kyle. She will need to learn to accept help, and share her feelings with him if their relationship stands any chance at all. Kyle likes that she can think for herself and care for herself. He likes that she is totally dependent on him however he wants to do things for her. Take care of her, buy her things, do things for her. There is a difference between wanting to do things for her and not wanting her to do things. He doesn't want to control so much as for her to give up control to him, there is a difference. Their relationship is wonderful. Sophie wants to care for Kyle; she has a giving nature naturally. Sophie really grows during this book. Their relationship grows so much and they both learn things about each other and their self. I can't wait to read the next book in this series.
About The Author
Abigail Lee Justice writes emotional, erotic, suspense romances which include a BDSM theme. She creates strong characters, who seem real, but are flawed in some ways, some couples Happily Ever After will be a work in progress. Some characters problems are just too steamy to fix in one book. Abigail was born and raised in Baltimore City by two wonderful, supportive, loving parents. As a child she made up vivid stories in her head then one day a friend told her instead of keeping her stories locked inside she needed to put them on paper; that’s exactly what she did. Abigail met her husband 29 years ago on a blind date (thanks Dan C.) while working a part time job to put herself through college, she fell madly in love with her Prince Charming and has been since the first day they met. By day, Abigail practices medicine in a busy Cardiologist practice, by evening she switches her white coat for more relaxed comfortable clothing. She has two wonderful adult sons and a very spoiled chocolate lab. In the wee hours of the night, she writes BDSM romances. In her spare time when not working or writing, Abigail enjoys, reading, concocting vegetarian dishes, exotic vacations, scuba diving, high adventure activities, living in the lifestyle she writes about, and doing lots and lots of research making sure her characters get it just right. If you would like to become part of Abigail’s Street Team. or become a Beta Reader for future books, drop her a message on FB @ abigailleejustice or visit her website @ www.abigailleejustice.com
Connect with Abigail Lee Justice
The Dirty Anthology Blog Tour +Giveaway
How dirty are you willing to get to attain the one you desire most? To own them?
Featuring three filthy tales from some of today’s hottest authors:
K.I. Lynn, N. Isabelle Blanco, and Elena M. Reyes
Dirty Words by Elena M. Reyes
Devin Andrews had it all. Everything but the one woman he coveted.
He wanted her in the sickest of ways—yearned for those dirty words she used to entice him, drive him mad with hunger...need.
Taken from his rib to create perfection, he found love and the one woman born to be his.
How far will he go to take ownership of what’s always been his? To what cost?
Once with her, how do you seduce a woman you’ve never met?
You don’t. You just take.
EXCERPT
It had been exactly one year to the day since I fell for the words my girl created. A year where I’d spent numerous hours contemplating ways to make her mine. Three hundred and sixty-five days consumed by every book she wrote. With each line my need and hunger grew, my devotion running so deep that I’d lost my goddamned head over her.
Rationality was a novelty I no longer concerned myself with.
She always claimed to have the best inspirations while taking a bath or shower. Was it because she was thinking of me? Was she picturing us together under the hot stream of water? She was a fan, after all.
It was my face that my girl watched on the movie screen, and later confessed to being aroused by. I remember re-reading that one post on her wall over and over again. Discovering the effect I had on her was a high unlike any other.
I made her heart stutter.
I made her knees weak.
I caused the wetness to pool between her thighs.
Did she see those images as vividly as I did? Lucia had to have. No one could write such descriptive scenes without putting themselves within their words. My favorite, though, had to be the one time she had me fuck my counterpart in the shower.
Fuck, do I remember that scene:
“Jack, please,” Lesley begged as I continued to assault her neck with kisses, biting her hard enough to leave the imprint of my teeth embedded in her skin. I wanted—no, needed, to mark her as my own. The fucking world had to accept that she was taken. “Baby, I need you,” she whimpered, “need to feel you inside me. Goddamned delicious stretch and fullness only you can…oh, fuck!” Lesley hissed out as my long and calloused fingers found her drenched, bare lips. I’d begun a slow rhythm of in and out, my palm coming in contact with her engorged clit and rubbing twice before pulling away.
I was the one making the beautiful woman in my arms cry out in ecstasy one minute, and out in anger the next.
According to her, I was responsible for all the dirty thoughts and words that led to the ruin of her favorite panties. They were my favorites now, as well. Lacy boy shorts had ruined me for all other types. My head was filled with images of those round mounds barely covered by the flimsy fabric. How it molded onto her skin and rode high as she walked.
I wanted to tear them off with my teeth.
I’d pull them down while my tongue would come out to taste every inch of skin my mouth uncovered. I wondered what would hit my tongue as I lay between her parted thighs and lapped at her core.
She’d taste amazing too. Like an erotic mixture of fruits. Delicious.
“Don't tease me, baby. Fuck me. Make me yours.” Lesley slammed her hands on the tiled wall while I toyed with her. Broke her down. I wanted her to bend to my will, become insane with lust. When I was through with her, she’d only see me. Feel me. Want me.
Elena M. Reyes was born and raised in Miami Florida. She is the epitome of a Floridian and if she could live in her beloved flip-flops, she would.
As a small child, she was always intrigued with all forms of art—whether it was dancing to island rhythms, or painting with any medium she could get her hands on. Her first taste of writing came to her during her fifth grade year when her class was prompted to participate in the D. A. R. E. Program and write an essay on what they’d learned.
Her passion for reading over the years has amassed her with hours of pleasure. It wasn’t until she stumbled upon fanfiction that her thirst to write overtook her world. She now resides in Central Florida with her husband and son, spending all her down time letting her creativity flow and letting her characters grow.
Systematic Siege: Provocative Tendencies #1 by N. Isabelle Blanco
He was the player. The most popular guy in highschool. In other words, the stereotypical heartbreaker that every girl died for.
She was one of the nerds. The outcast teased and shunned by the popular kids in school. In other words, him and his crew.
He always wanted her, she just never knew it . . .
In order to maintain his popularity, he buried those feelings deep, deep down in the pit of his miserable little soul.
That is, until one night he lost control.
They both did.
Unfortunately, they weren’t the only ones that knew it. What his friends ended up doing with the knowledge would scar her for the next seven years of her life.
And leave him wrecked, dealing with years of agony because he’d lost her.
Highschool graduation came and went, and they never saw each other again.
Now, seven years later, Andrew’s stepped in and taken his father’s place as CEO of his family’s company, Drevlow Systems, Inc.
Along with the new position comes a host of perks . . . and a brand new systems genius working as the head of his company’s IT department.
An IT genius that just happens to be the one woman he never forgot.
She hasn’t forgotten him or his reputation either and she wants nothing to do with him.
He’s determined to have her—she’s determined to see him burn in hell before that happens.
What ensues takes the term War of the Sexes to a whole new level.
{Episode #1}
Andrew is forced to face his past in a way he’d never expected.
Or prepared for.
Seven years.
That’s how long he waited to find Lexi again. Seven years worth of memories. Fantasies that tormented his life, making it impossible for him to move on.
Seven years worth of guilt for what he’d inadvertently allowed to happen.
He had it all planned out, every step of the epic-groveling he knew he’d have to do.
His plan was absolutely perfect.
Genius, actually.
Then he walked into his company’s IT department and seen the same big, blue-gray eyes that had haunted him for years . . .
Glaring at him from behind familiar, black-framed glasses.
And Andrew knew, right then, without a doubt . . .
That his plan wasn’t worth sh*t.
EXCERPT
For years, I’d watched my old friend from afar, missing her. Knowing what my father had done to her family. I’d just wanted to have the right to talk to her again.
When that aforementioned opportunity popped up, no preternatural, Zeus-gifted willpower could have stopped me from taking it.
The door creaks open out in the hall. “Andrew?”
God—Nature—whatever the fuck is out there—what the hell did you do when you allowed that girl to come into existence?
Ungh, that voice. I freeze on the spot, eyes closing. Hating and savoring the heat that drums through my veins, pounding its way straight to my cock.
Her voice is how I imagine an ancient sex goddess’ voice would’ve been. If this is how the ancient Sumerians imagined that Inanna’s voice sounded, no wonder man eventually rose up and obliterated her legend.
No female, even a mythical one, should be allowed to have so much control over man.
It’s not an exaggeration, either. Every fucker at school goes glossy-eyed whenever Lexi so much as hums near them.
The perfect soft rasp; the epitome of the term “sex voice”. Every time she says my name, I die a little more inside.
“Andrew?”
Shit. I need to hear her moan for me—don’t care if it ends up being the death of me—and I can’t fucking have it.
One day I’m going to snap and take it anyway.
“Andrew, are you here?”
I clear my throat, sitting down on the sofa as fast as I can. My text book gets positioned just right, so that it covers my aching hard-on. “Yeah. I’m in here.”
Jesus, talk about rasps. My voice is straight up laden with sex.
I clear my throat again.
Three deep breaths, and I convince myself that I’m ready to face her. That, although my dick still throbs to the beat of her name, I’m well on my way to getting my reaction under control.
She stops in front of the door.
My entire world grinds to a halt.
Jesus.
Air . . . Can’t breathe . . . Motherfuck, this hurts.
My.
Fucking.
God.
Son of a bitch.
Shit, I think I’m wheezing.
Legs.
Those breasts.
That hair.
The eyes.
Red lips.
Lexi all dolled-up—no, fuck that, sexed-up.
Like I’ve never seen her before.
It’s the hardest blow of my life.
And, it’s the exact moment in time I realize that girl has to be mine.
Whatever it takes.
Whatever it ends up costing me.
Mine.
N. Isabelle Blanco was born in Queens, NY (USA). At the age of three, due to an odd fascination with studying her mother’s handwriting, she began to read and write. By the time she’d reached kindergarten, she had an extensive vocabulary and her obsession with words began to bleed into every aspect of her life.
An avid reader in her teens, her fascination with Japanese anime eventually led her to the universe of fan fiction, which became her on-again, off-again hobby for the next ten years. During that time she amassed a following of fans that, by her own admission, she would never be able to live without. It was those fans who encouraged her to step beyond the fan fiction realm and try her talent in the publishing world.
N. Isabelle Blanco spends her days working as an author, web programmer, marketer, and graphic designer. That is when she isn’t handling her “spawn”, as she calls her son, and brainstorming with him about his future career as a comic book illustrator.
Tempt by K.I. Lynn
Tempt: To entice or attempt to entice someone to do something that they find attractive but know to be wrong.
Thirty-three year old, Dean Sampson knows all about being tempted. He can’t stop fantasizing about his intern, Alyssa Lockley. He’s counting down the days until she’s gone and out of his life.
It’s not that he doesn’t want her—he’s so consumed by his desperate want that he can barely function—but there’s more than one problem keeping him from taking her and being his intern isn’t one of them.
His co-worker and best friend, is her protective big brother.
He’s going through a horrid divorce.
Alyssa is only nineteen years old.
The result spells disaster for Dean.
Will he take the apple from his Eve and succumb to her temptation?
A short erotic novella
Excerpt
“Isn’t that what I’m supposed to be begging for?” Her overly seductive tone makes my eyes fly open.
Stunned, I grab her hands without thinking, halting her movements, and pull her in front of me. Her bottom lip is trapped between her teeth. The demon is showing through, the little bit of naughty in my innocent looking temptation.
“Miss Lockley,” I begin, clearing my throat as I adjust my position to try and hide the bulge that she creates, “that sounded like a proposition of sorts. Do I need to remind you I’m not only fourteen years older than you, but also your boss?”
My hands are aching to grab hold of her. She doesn’t understand what she does to me, and her little show has me ready to push her up against the window so everyone who passes by can see my cock disappear between her thighs. Pink spreads across her cheeks and down her chest. I’m seconds away from pinning her down like a wild beast—an idea which excites me to no end.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Sampson, I was just trying to lighten your mood,” she says, and for some reason her response rubs me the wrong way.
I stand, upset now that she’s played with me, and not in the way I want her to. Her body moves back to give me space, but my hand shoots out and grabs her arm, pulling her to me.
“It’s not nice to tease a man like that,” I say harshly. “We’re not like the boys you’re used to. It angers us, and many will go ahead and take what you’re offering.” I lean forward and run my nose up her neck, resisting the urge to taste her. My lips are so close to her ear as I whisper, “Don’t tempt me My tongue pushes into her mouth, tasting her. She’s fucking divine and I lose it, turning her and pushing her against the edge of my desk.
My hips rock against her, showing her just what she’s doing to me when my hard cock digs into her stomach.
I want her.
I have to have her.
A strong knock on my door make me freeze.
“Dean, you got a minute?” Cooper calls.
My blood runs cold. “Fuck.” In a frantic I-have-to-hide-her move, I grab Alyssa’s arm and push her down to the space under my desk. The click and thump of the door opening makes her eyes wide as she looks up at me, but she remains silent as I move the chair forward. anymore, Alyssa, or you may regret it.” To make sure she gets the point, I caress up and down her arms, my lips ghosting across the delicate curve of her neck.
A gasp escapes her plump lips while her hand clenches hold of my lapel. “Dean.”
Fuck, the way she says my name is torture. She feels so good in my arms that I don’t think I can stop myself, and I find my lips trailing along her jaw toward her luscious mouth.
I press my lips to hers, doing what I’ve wanted to for over a month, since she first sauntered in here.
“Come on in.” I smooth my hair with one hand while the other pulls open the file cabinet next to me in an attempt to look like I am doing something constructive. The open drawer also hides Alyssa’s form better.
K.I. Lynn spent her life in the arts, everything from music to painting and ceramics, then to writing. Characters have always run around in her head, acting out their stories, but it wasn’t until later in life she would put them to pen. It would turn out to be the one thing she was really passionate about.
Since she began posting stories online, she’s garnered acclaim for her diverse stories and hard hitting writing style. Two stories and characters are never the same, her brain moving through different ideas faster than she can write them down as it also plots its quest for world domination…or cheese. Whichever is easier to obtain… Usually it’s cheese.
GIVEAWAY
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Sweet Bea (Sir Arthur's Legacy #1) Book Blitz +Giveaway
Title: Sweet Bea
Series: Sir Arthur's Legacy #1
Author: Sarah Hegger
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Genre: Historical Romance (Medieval)
Release Date: September 1, 2014
Blurb
England, 1215
Is anything sweeter than revenge?
In a family of remarkable people, ordinary Beatrice strives to prove herself worthy. When her family is threatened with losing everything, she rushes to London to save them. Unfortunately, she chooses as her savior the very man who will see her family brought low.
Garrett has sworn vengeance on Sir Arthur of Anglesea for destroying his life when he was a boy and forcing his mother into prostitution for them to survive. He has chosen as his instrument Sir Arthur's youngest daughter, Beatrice.
Can Beatrice’s goodness teach Garrett that love, not vengeance, becomes is greatest reward of all?
Is anything sweeter than revenge?
In a family of remarkable people, ordinary Beatrice strives to prove herself worthy. When her family is threatened with losing everything, she rushes to London to save them. Unfortunately, she chooses as her savior the very man who will see her family brought low.
Garrett has sworn vengeance on Sir Arthur of Anglesea for destroying his life when he was a boy and forcing his mother into prostitution for them to survive. He has chosen as his instrument Sir Arthur's youngest daughter, Beatrice.
Can Beatrice’s goodness teach Garrett that love, not vengeance, becomes is greatest reward of all?
Links to Buy
Coming Soon
Pre-order Links
ENGLAND, 1217.
The Lady
The fair Lady Faye has always played the role allotted her. Yet the marriage her family wanted only brought her years of abuse and heartache. Now, finally free of her tyrannical husband, she is able to live her own life for the first time. But someone from the past has returned. Someone she has never been able to forget.
The Warrior
After years of servitude as a warrior for King and Country, Gregory is now free to pursue his own path: to serve God by becoming a monk. The only thing stopping him is Faye. Gregory has loved Faye since the moment he saw her. But their love was not meant to be. How can he serve God when his heart longs for her? He can neither forsake God nor the woman he loves.
The Promise
The Lady
The fair Lady Faye has always played the role allotted her. Yet the marriage her family wanted only brought her years of abuse and heartache. Now, finally free of her tyrannical husband, she is able to live her own life for the first time. But someone from the past has returned. Someone she has never been able to forget.
The Warrior
After years of servitude as a warrior for King and Country, Gregory is now free to pursue his own path: to serve God by becoming a monk. The only thing stopping him is Faye. Gregory has loved Faye since the moment he saw her. But their love was not meant to be. How can he serve God when his heart longs for her? He can neither forsake God nor the woman he loves.
The Promise
When Faye’s son is kidnapped, Gregory answers her family’s call for help, only to find that even in the most dangerous of circumstances, neither can fight their forbidden attraction. An attraction that now burns brighter than ever before. And it is only a matter of time until it consumes them both.
Author Bio
Born British and raised in South Africa, Sarah Hegger suffers from an incurable case of wanderlust. Her match? A hot Canadian engineer, whose marriage proposal she accepted six short weeks after they first met. Together they’ve made homes in seven different cities across three different continents (and back again once or twice). If only it made her multilingual, but the best she can manage is idiosyncratic English, fluent Afrikaans, conversant Russian, pigeon Portuguese, even worse Zulu and enough French to get herself into trouble.
Mimicking her globe trotting adventures, Sarah’s career path began as a gainfully employed actress, drifted into public relations, settled a moment in advertising, and eventually took root in the fertile soil of her first love, writing. She also moonlights as a wife and mother.
She currently lives in Littleton, Colorado, with her teenage daughters, two Golden Retrievers and aforementioned husband. Part footloose buccaneer, part quixotic observer of life, Sarah’s restless heart is most content when reading or writing books.
She loves to hear from readers and you can find her at any of the places below.
Author Links
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
How To Save A Life Release Blitz +Giveaway
Title: How To Save A Life
Series: Emerald Cove #1
Series: Emerald Cove #1
Author: Lauren K. McKellar
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Release Date: July 21, 2015
Blurb
Life is not a love song …
I learnt the hard way that labels stick. Laura took “lovely”, and the teacher branded me “lady-like”.
I learnt the hard way that labels stick. Laura took “lovely”, and the teacher branded me “lady-like”.
It stuck with me, even through my high school years. It felt like that was all I’d ever be.
Until everything changed.
Lonely Lia.
Until everything changed.
Lonely Lia.
Little Lia.
Lia the liar.
Lia the lost …
Now the choices are endless. But I don’t want to be any of those either. My name is Lia Stanton. And this is my story.
Now the choices are endless. But I don’t want to be any of those either. My name is Lia Stanton. And this is my story.
Links to Buy
AMAZON US / UK
Book Trailer
She walks up the stairs, and straight away my heart leaps from my chest, beating a staccato that raps into my throat, the pulse point at my wrist, all throughout my body. I go from steady to strung-out in the blink of an eye.
"Mum," I call, and this time on the staircase, she spins around.
"Yes?" She frowns.
Don't go up there,
I try to say the words, but my stupid voice won't work. My mouth moves, but no sound comes out, and Mum tilts her head to the side. "Lia ..."
Don't!
I try to scream so loud my lungs hurt, and still, nothing.
Don't go into your bedroom.
You can't see that.
It will ruin you.
"Lia, you're normally such a sensible girl." She sighs and turns her back, then walks up the stairs again.
My voice mightn't work but my feet do, and I charge after her, leaping up those stairs two at a time. She floats down the hall toward their room, and I run, run as fast as I can, and grab onto her shoulder just as she tightens her grip on the door.
"Lia, will you drop it?" She turns to face me. "I'm just going to see if your father is home. What harm could I possibly do?"
My stupid voice is without once again, and as I try to yell at her, to tell her that no, she shouldn't go in there, that seeing what's behind that door will destroy her—
She twists the handle.
She opens the door.
And she screams.
And straight away I'm back on the couch, hearing that blood-curdling noise that chills me to my very bones, that signifies the start of the end of life as I know it. I race up the stairs to try help her, to try and make it stop, but when I get there she has collapsed in the hall.
She's broken. And nothing I try to do will fix that.
Author Bio
Lauren K. McKellar is the author of romance reads that make you feel. She lives by the beach in Australia with her husband and their two dogs. Most of the time, all three of them are well behaved.
Author Links
Giveaway
Taken Love (The Love Series Book 4) Release Blitz +Giveaway
Title: Taken Love
Author: Casey Clipper
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: July 21, 2015
Synopsis
The international bestselling contemporary romance The Love Series comes to a conclusion with Taken Love. Questions will be answered, relationships and lives hang in the balance, and everything you thought you knew about the Murphy family will be turned inside out in the matter of one tragic event.
Smith has worked for the Murphy family for years. A powerful and dangerous organized crime family that rules the Northeast. He spends his days and nights with only one goal, to get through to the next day, watching his boss's back. A past he avoids at all costs leaves him with a cold, lonely bed and no possibility of future relationships. Until she needs his help. His good conscious won't allow the young woman to pay for her mother's indiscretions. One rash decision has him doing the one thing he's never done in all the years he's worked for the Murphy family.
Cara O'Hara has lived a hard life. A life altered by her father's death when she was a young girl. Now she spends her days trying to care for her mother, who's lost to a world of drugs, alcohol, and sex. Cara has nothing. No friends, relationships, or any semblance of a normal life. But nothing prepares her for the threat that Cara's mother has now hindered her with. A debt her mother owes but can't repay. A debt that the collectors decide taking Cara as payment is perfectly acceptable. She unexpectedly finds herself fighting for her life, literally, as she's dragged from her home and shoved in to the trunk of a car. In that moment, her life is forever changed.
Can Smith help save Cara from the men who will inevitably end up placing her in an early grave? Will Cara's overwhelming presence distract Smith from the mundane life he's created for himself? What happens when both their worlds collide on an unexpected and unwelcome course? How does Smith handle his attraction to the beautiful woman whose life he's devoted to saving? How does Cara deal with a man who's closed off in every way? And what happens when the men who want Cara seek revenge?
Everyone will pay, including those important figures in the Murphy family.
**Warning: Taken Love consists of some violence and "I knew it!", "OMG", and "I hate that man!" moments. This is a contemporary romance, which involves the mob and isn’t always pretty. There is some form of violence in this story (mild compared to other romance novels but still present). If you don't think that'll be to your liking, please do not read this novel.
Novels in The Love Series:
Silent Love (Book 1)
Unexpected Love (Book 2)
Dangerous Love (Book 3)
Taken Love (Book 4) - the final installment
Teaser
Excerpt
Cara hated herself. Absolutely, positively loathed herself. Why was she unable to keep perspective around Hunter? Why couldn't she comprehend he wasn't her boyfriend−current or future−fiancé, husband, or any other form of commitment? She kept sucking herself back into a false relationship. While at the Murphy home, she'd been treated as if she was Hunter's partner. And she'd lost sight of reality. While the women spent all evening joking around with one another, they talked about their husbands. Smith was included in that mix along with Cara. She bought it hook-line-and-sinker. Watching Courtney with her in-laws and her husband and the entire family dynamic that the close-knit group exhibited made her long to become a part of their world. Until she looked into Hunter's eyes. She was a fool.
As they road silently back to Hunter's home, Cara decided it was time to take control of her own life. Trapped for too long as prisoner by everyone else, she was done.
"I need to know what's going on with the debt my mom owes." She broke the thick, silent tension in the enclosed space. "I need to visit my mother and see if I can get the information from her. It's past time I get out of your house, Hunter, and move on."
They pulled down his street without Hunter responding. When he parked the car in the garage, Cara jumped out and rushed into the house and up to her bedroom without looking back. She didn't want to talk to Hunter. She just wanted this entire mess over with. She wanted to start a new life. At the age of twenty-eight, she wanted to finally start living her life.
A soft knock on the door was her only warning before it opened. Smith stepped inside the room, his hands shoved into his perfectly tailored suit.
"Why the hell are you always dressed for a business meeting?" she groused, her frustration and anger spilling over.
He blinked, shocked.
"Don't you own a pair of jeans? Khakis? A fucking T-shirt?" She jumped off the bed. "Always so pristine and crisp. Always so contained. Well, except when you don't want your space invaded, right? Tell me, Hunter, is there anything not ironed and hanging immaculately in your closet?"
She pushed past him and stormed into his room. Fucking Hunter and his inability to look a mess. Never a hair out of place, not a day with stubble, teeth always brushed.
Cara tossed opened his closet door and sure enough, suits upon suits, all hung in a perfect row as if a department store employee had racked his wardrobe. She yanked one of the dark suits out of the closet and tore it off the hanger and tossed it across the room.
"Oh look, your jacket's on the floor. Might want to pick that up before it wrinkles." She grabbed another one and ripped the pants off and tossed them randomly over her shoulder. "Messy, messy suits. Everything's a mess. Can't have that." She opened the drawer at the bottom of the wardrobe. The top drawer, filled with black socks all matched, ended up across the room.
Fury fueled her. Her blood boiled in her veins. She hated Smith and his refined stature. Always poised, always calm. No emotion. Nothing.
"Cara, stop it," Hunter warned.
She ignored him, her mind a red haze of hatred. Anger consumed her. Anger for all she was going through. For all she'd been through. Irate that no one fought for her, that she couldn't fight for herself. Furious at her mother, at Hunter, at Mr. Murphy. Hatred that there was absolutely nothing she could do to gain even a nibble at life. She was a victim and prisoner of everyone around her.
Cara continued her assault on Hunter's clothes. It felt good to rip apart the suits and drawers, tossing everything around the room. It gave her some form of control over him. He couldn't stop her. He couldn't control her anger. No one could. Stupid designer suits. Stupid comforting bedroom. Stupid Smith.
Suddenly a strong pair of arms grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her.
Giveaway
Purchase Links
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon CA
About The Author
Contemporary Romance Author of The Love Series, Casey Clipper is from Pittsburgh, PA. She's a noted sports fanatic, chocolate lover (all right, maybe that could be classified more as an addiction), and is slightly obsessed with penguins (I mean, come on, they're forever dressed in tuxes!). Like you, she's an avid romance reader and loves to lose herself in a good book. Casey is an active member of the Romance Writers of America, Contemporary Romance Writers, the Three Rivers Romance Writers, Passionate Ink, ASMSG, and IAN.
Facebook | Twitter | Website | TSU
Monday, July 20, 2015
Sorrow Woods Book Blitz +Giveaway +Review
SYNOPSIS:
“How did you even get here?”
I blink at him, confused by his question. “We live
here.”
“You live here, in these woods?”
When Kaiden
stumbles across Serena Scott while hunting in Sorrow Woods he thinks all of his
birthdays have come at once. Finally, the girl that’s haunted and intrigued him
and his parents for the last fourteen years is standing in front of him.
And she’s alive.
Serena should have
known that he would shatter her life into a thousand pieces. It wasn't because
of the gun, or the tattoos that snaked around his arm, but because he was the
first boy that she’d ever set eyes on.
He wasn’t just any
boy either; he was Kaiden Matthews.
He was dark,
dangerous and strangely alluring.
And he was
beautiful.
Serena’s life as
she knows it is destroyed after Kaiden drops his bombshell. As the consequences
of his actions begin to penetrate through into her life she vows to stay away
from him, and while she might have been in his past, she refuses to be his
future.
Kaiden
knows that in order for either of them to salvage anything from the mess he’s
made he needs to make sure the secrets of his past stay hidden, but as they
start to rebuild their lives they find themselves stuck in a whirlwind of
secrets and confessions that could threaten to break their already fragile
relationship.
PURCHASE
LINKS:
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1gH4xEk
EXCERPT:
Kaiden
FOUR HOURS LATER, when the sun is at its highest in the sky
and all of my bodily fluids have been sweated out of me, I find myself hiking
up a mountain behind Serena, while trying not to constantly stare at her toned
ass. The trees are scarce up here now, and I still have no idea where it is
that we’re going.
After breakfast, I spent an hour telling Elodie and Serena where in the
world we live and about the different ways people go about their days. I still
can’t believe that they have no idea how normal people live. What sort of person keeps children hidden
away like this?
“We’re here,” says Elodie, interrupting my thoughts. She pulls all of
her clothes off until she’s standing in nothing but her faded grey panties.
I look around and see nothing but the valley below us and the sky above
us. “What do you mean we’re here? I thought we were going to the lake?” I ask,
confused.
Serena smiles and peels her black sundress over her head. I wasn’t
expecting her to do that, which is why I don’t avert my eyes. Underneath her
black, strappy dress, she is wearing a tiny black crop top and a pair of black
panties. She pulls off her shoes and stands stock still, staring at me.
“You’re not going into the water like that are you?” she asks, not
answering my questions.
My eyes are travelling all over her body. I can’t believe the way it
looks, as if she goes to the gym every single day. It’s not manly muscle but
slender, womanly curves and defined muscles that stare back at me. I look down
at my clothes and shrug. I pull my jeans and socks off, peeling my t-shirt off
over my head. I leave my boxers on.
“Are you going to tell me where this lake is?” I ask again.
Serena wraps her fingers around my wrist and pulls me across the rocky
ground until we’re at the very top of the mountain. I step forward and see a
huge body of water below me. I look back at Serena and feel my heart jump into
my throat when I see Elodie sprinting past us, launching herself off the side
of the mountain. Serena laughs.
“You’re not too scared to jump into a little lake, are you?” she teases.
I shake my head but don’t look at her. I’m too busy watching Elodie
plummet through the sky before slicing through the water. I don’t breathe for
the entire four seconds that Elodie is under the water, not until her head bobs
up and I see her hand waving at us.
“Come on, wimpy boy.”
I turn back around and watch as Serena does exactly the same as Elodie,
except instead of just jumping, she dives cleanly through the air. She’s only
under the water for two seconds before she bursts back through the surface and
grins at me. I don’t know how far the drop is, but it’s more than I’ve ever
jumped before.
Still, I can’t stay here so I take four steps back and run as fast as my
body will carry me off the edge. The warm air whips across my skin as I drop
through the sky. The water is getting closer and closer to my feet. I can’t
remember what to do. Do I point my toes? Yes, I must or else I’ll break my
feet. Should my arms be close to my side? I have just enough time to make
myself as streamlined as possible before I feel the coolness of water on the
tip of my toes.
My whole body plunges into the freezing cold water, stealing my breath
away. I kick hard until my head surfaces, and then I pant and cough the breath
back in my lungs. The shock of going from boiling hot to freezing cold is too
much. My chest aches and my eyes sting.
“There he is,” says Serena, laughing as she swims up to me. “Are you
alright?”
I nod and cough. “I think so,” I rasp.
“He’s not like us,” says Elodie with a grin. “He’s not used to it.”
Serena treads water directly in front of me. The water drips off her
hair and down her face. I want to touch her and see what her skin feels like in
the water. Before I can reach out to her, she kicks out and swims away from me.
I shake my head, sending droplets of water flying out around me. I
shouldn’t be thinking about her like that anyway. I keep forgetting that I’m
supposed to hate her. I rub my face with my hands and spin around to see where
they’re swimming to, but I can’t see anything except water.
“Where are we going?” I ask, trying to keep up with them. I’ve never met
anyone else in my life that can swim or run as fast as these two.
“To land,” says Serena. “Keep up, wimpy boy.”
I wish she wouldn’t call me that. She wouldn’t think I was a wimpy boy
if she knew all of the horrible shit I’ve done over the years. My parents
certainly wouldn’t call me a wimpy boy. I think about my Dad and what he would
say if he could see me now. I smile as I think about the look on his face.
MY WATCH TELLS me that we’ve been swimming for over two
hours. I think back to my swim sessions at school when I used to be able to
swim a mile in an hour. Despite the fact that I’m going faster than ever
before, Serena is still miles ahead of me. I can feel my muscles aching, even
though I’ve had years of soccer and track training. No wonder Serena has a body
like an athlete.
When we finally arrive on land, we walk for ten minutes until we find a
pool of water that Serena says we can drink from. I flop down and gulp it as if
it’ll run out. When my belly is full and I can’t physically drink any more, I
lie down on top of the dry grass, staring at the water that’s sparkling against
Serena’s skin. She turns her head, snaps her sizzling green eyes onto me, and
smiles. And in that instant, I can’t help but think that she’s slowly starting
to melt my cold, hard heart.
My Review
This book is unlike anything I have ever read. Serena lives in the woods with her sister
Elodie and their mother. They have never
met anyone else and live a very rustic life.
Kaiden was supposed to hunting with his father and his father’s friends. He gets separated from the group and finds
the girls running in the woods. They don’t
know what to think of Kaiden as they have never seen a boy before. He fallows them back to see where they
live. He knows as soon as he sees Serena
that she is the person who has haunted his family and his parent’s close
friends. Serena was taken from her
parents when she was 2 and half and has no clue. Kaiden comes back and stays with them for a
few days while the girls “mother” is gone to the city to get supplies. Kaiden tells the police that he has found
Serena. They raid the house in the woods
and take the girls to the hospital so they can reconnect with their real
families. Serena is so mad at
Kaiden. How could he lie and pretend to
be her friend and then do this to her.
Her whole life has been a lie and she feels betrayed by everyone. Kaiden has never felt the way he does about
Serena about anyone else before. When he
is around her he is just himself. He doesn’t
have to pretend to be something or someone else. She accepts him the way he is and he gets a
fresh slate with her. He is the bad boy;
he gets in fights and doesn’t always do the right thing. In fact telling the police he found Serena is
the only good thing he has done in his life.
Serena gets butterflies in her stomach and feels so strong when she is
around Kaiden. Will they be able to get
over everything that has happened? Will
Serena adjust to a normal life? This
book was an emotional rollercoaster. So
much happens during the book. I felt so
bad for Serena. Her life is ripped apart
when she learns that she was kidnapped as a child. She has read lots of books so she knows
somethings. But reading about something
and doing it is two different things.
Kaiden just wanted to do the right thing. However meshing the way he acts around Serena
and the way everyone else expects him to act is hard. He loves the way he is when he is around
Serena but how does he go about changing so that he is like that all the
time. He friends and family are used to
him acting a certain way. Serena’s
parents are trying to get to know her again.
They aren’t sure how hard to push certain things and how to act around
her really. Then there is the woman who
kidnapped her and Elodie. She is still
out there. Will she try to take her
again? Would Serena go with
willing? I really liked this book. The ending took me by total surprise and
think I stopped breathing at one point.
Reading about everything Serena has to go through and how she stays
strong is amazing. Kaiden realizes how
stupid somethings he has done are and how is doesn’t like the person he is when
he isn’t with Serena is great. He wants
to be this better person all the time.
This person she deserves. I will
be looking for other books by Beckie Stevenson to read. This book is amazing and inspiring. It’s wonderfully written. The characters have depth. I felt like I was pulled in and had to keep
reading.
Beckie's
real name is Rebecca, but she get’s called (and answers to) any of the
following…Beckie, Bek, Becca, Rebecca, Pip, Pippy or Stevo.
Beckie
is the author of 'Sorrow Woods,' the 'Existing' series and 'Noah and Me.'
She
is due to publish more YA, NA and Adult novels in 2015/16.
She
lives in Staffordshire, England, with her partner and two children.
Beckie
likes putting music on in the house and dancing around like a mad woman.
When
she isn’t playing with her children, doing housework, dancing around the house
like a mad woman, walking, cycling, reading or writing, then she can be found
working in an investment bank. Or sleeping.
AUTHOR MEDIA
LINKS:
Twitter:
@BeckieStevenson
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/BeckieStevensonAuthor
Instagram:
BeckieStevo
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