Monday, November 30, 2015

Lucky Penny Release Blitz +Giveaway +Review


Title: Lucky Penny
Author: L.A. Cotton
Genre: Contemporary Romance
 Release Date: November 30, 2015


Blurb
I was his lucky Penny. He was my light in the dark, hope in despair. Our bond was one of survival, friendship... first love.

But then we were ripped apart and Blake Weston became the memory I turned to when everything else in my life fell apart.

Seven years later, a summer working at Camp Chance is supposed to be my fresh start. Beautiful scenery and the chance to better the lives of foster children--kids like me. But when my eyes land on him across the fire, time stands still and feelings come rushing back to the surface. I thought I'd moved on, tucked him away in my heart. One look into his soulful blue eyes and I know I'm wrong. Blake Weston can heal the broken parts of me. Restore my hope. Love me.

It's our second chance. A sign we are supposed to be together.

Isn't it?

I was twelve when I survived the accident that killed my parents. Fourteen when I survived the devil. And sixteen, when I survived a heartbreak of the worst kind.


But in my twenty-three years, Blake Weston might just be the first thing I won't survive.

Purchase Links
AMAZON US / UK


Excerpt
Marissa didn’t follow me. It was most likely she had pieced together our story after Blake’s song. How could she not? It was as if he had weaved our entire relationship into his lyrics. I could feel his sixteen-year-old self singing every line to my sixteen-year-old self. Although, I was pretty certain the sixteen-year-old Blake I’d known then had no clue how to play the guitar.

After washing the tearstains from my face, I brushed my teeth. It was still early, but I couldn’t face going back out there, so I changed into my shorts and tank top and climbed into bed. Sleep would be impossible, but at least here, I was safe.

Most people felt lonely in solitude, but I welcomed the silence. I embraced it even. Something about the quiet, the knowledge no one else was around, comforted me. I knew it made me different. I didn’t need a shrink to tell me that, but it didn’t change the fact that I found sanctuary in being alone.

I lay there not really allowing myself to think. Thinking was dangerous; it led to remembering, and my memories were stained with pain and hurt and the kinds of things that made most people’s nightmares look like a walk in the park. Instead, I tracked the uneven cabin ceiling. My eyes followed the planes of the wood from one end to the other and back again until they grew heavy.

A knock on the door startled me sending my already restless heart into overdrive and I rubbed at my eyes.

“Hello?” I called out hoping to hear Marissa’s voice, but I knew it wasn’t her. She wouldn’t have knocked; she would have barged right in and demanded answers.

“Penny, it’s me.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, but my mind betrayed me as an image of Blake’s face filled my head.

Another knock.

“Penny.”

Forcing myself to sit up, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed. He wasn’t going away. Blake—our connection—was something I was going to have to deal with sooner or later, and from Blake’s admissions over the last few days, it seemed that he was making the decision for me.

My legs were like lead as I walked to the door. It swung open and Blake stood there looking at me with such reverence in his eyes I almost crumpled. Maybe I did crumple because, before my head had time to process what was happening, I was in Blake’s arms, and he was holding on to me like he needed me to breathe.

“I’ve missed you so much. I’ve tried to stay away, to give you space, but I can’t. I can’t spend another day feeling like you might slip through my fingers again.”

One of Blake’s hands buried itself in my hair and cradled my head holding me to him. My face pressed up against the collar of his hoodie, and I breathed him in. He smelled familiar, like damp grass and fresh air, of a time when things were less complicated, and my heart ached for us. At that moment, we weren’t two strangers reunited by chance; we were sixteen-year-old Blake and Penny.

And we needed each other to survive.


My Review
 
This book completely pulled me and was great. Penny and Blake meet when they were around 12 and she moved into the same group home as him. Blake had already been there awhile and hated it; but when Penny arrived everything changed. The home didn’t get better but Penny made is suck less. He had someone he connected to. Then one day everything changed Penny came home from school and Blake was gone. No one would tell her anything and Blake wasn’t allowed to go to Annie either. Now seven years later they are about to see each other again. Penny applied to work at a summer camp that works with foster care kids. When she gets the job she sees it as a way to get closure on her past and what happened to her. What she didn’t expect was for Blake to be there to. She wants her past to stay in her past but Blake won’t let that happen. Neither of them has ever stopped thinking about the other. Will this be there second chance? Will Annie be able to let him in again? Blake is willing to take it slow however things on his end might be a little more complicated than he lets Annie know. Penny lets Blake back in but she isn’t prepared for what happens when camp ends. Blake’s uncle has his own plan for Blake’s future and it isn’t what Blake wants, will he be able to be with Penny and still have his family? This book was heart breaking at times. Both Penny and Blake have been through so much. Now that they have reconnected things may just get harder instead of easier. Blake has been told lies and needs to find out the truth. He doesn’t want to lose Penny twice. Penny is stronger after her summer at camp. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t still have insecurities thought. Will they be able to find a way for their second chance to work? I loved the characters in this book. I have read other books by L.A. Cotton in the past and I loved this one just as much as those. L.A. Cotton is a great author and I always look forward to reading her books. If you are a crier you may want to have a box of tissues handy just in case. So much happens in this book and it just shows you that when you find your person you can always find a way with them by your side. I can’t say enough of about this book however I don’t want to give away to many spoilers. Great job L.A. Cotton.  

Author Bio
Contemporary romance and romantic suspense

… written with feeling


L.A is author of the Fate’s Love Series and Chastity Falls Series. Home is a small town in the middle of England where she currently juggles being a full-time mum to two little people with writing. In her spare time (and when she’s not camped out in front of the laptop) you’ll most likely find L. A immersed in a book, escaping the chaos that is life.

Author Links

Lie With Me (Decadence After Dark #4) Release Boost +Giveaway


Title: Lie With Me
Series: Decadence After Dark #4
Author: M. Never
Genre: Dark Erotic Romance
 Release Date: November 27, 2015

 

Blurb
Tell me a secret...

CJ Carmichael hasn't been able to get the vivacious blonde he spent four delirious days with off his mind. The blonde who was completely off-limits, but he couldn't deny.

Tell me a secret....

CJ had no intention of pursuing her, but Tara Stevens knew what she wanted and it was him. Now six months later, their time together still haunts him. As much as he's tried to talk himself out of seeing her again, the craving is just too powerful.

Tell me a secret...

Tara is more than willing to spend an entire fantasy weekend with CJ. More than willing to hand herself over to him completely and fulfill his every desire. More than willing to pretend he owns her despite their age difference and Kayne's disapproval.

Tell me a secret...

Sometimes fantasy becomes a reality. Sometimes people fall in love before they even know it- before they even know each other- and after it’s too late.

Tell me a secret...


Sometimes, beneath the sweetest secrets are the most deceptive lies.


Purchase Links
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU


Also Available

AMAZON US / UK / AU / CA

AMAZON US / UK / AU / CA

AMAZON US / UK / AU / CA
B&N / KOBO / iBOOKS

AMAZON US / UK / AU / CA
B&N / KOBO / iBOOKS


Author Bio
M. Never resides in New York City. When she's not researching ways to tie up her characters in compromising positions, you can usually find her at the gym kicking the crap out of a punching bag, or eating at some new trendy restaurant.

She has a dependence on sushi and a fetish for boots. Fall is her favorite season.

She is surrounded by family and friends she wouldn't trade for the world and is a little in love with her readers.

Author Links

Friday, November 27, 2015

Eve: A Christmas Ghost Story (A Psychic Surveys Prequel) Blog Tour +Review


Title: EVE: A Christmas Ghost Story 
Author: Shani Struthers 
Genre: Paranormal



What do you do when a whole town is haunted? 

In 1899, in the North Yorkshire market town of Thorpe Morton, a tragedy occurred; 59 people died at the market hall whilst celebrating Christmas Eve, many of them children. One hundred years on and the spirits of the deceased are restless still, ‘haunting’ the community, refusing to let them forget.

 In 1999, psychic investigators Theo Lawson and Ness Patterson are called in to help, sensing immediately on arrival how weighed down the town is. Quickly they discover there’s no safe haven. The past taints everything. 

Hurtling towards the anniversary as well as a new millennium, their aim is to move the spirits on, to cleanse the atmosphere so everyone – the living and the dead – can start again. But the spirits prove resistant and soon Theo and Ness are caught up in battle, fighting against something that knows their deepest fears and can twist them in the most dangerous of ways. 

They’ll need all their courage to succeed and the help of a little girl too – a spirit who didn’t die at the hall, who shouldn’t even be there…

B&N 

As Theo turned round to face the double doors, she had a feeling that someone - something - was rushing at her, as fleetingly as whatever had been in Adelaide's house. Refusing to let fear get a stranglehold, she turned back, her aim to confront it. A black wisp of a shape, like wood smoke, sideswiped her, before fading into nothing. Staring after it, wondering what it was, something else caught her attention. At the far end of the second room was something more substantial: a little girl, staring at her.

Theo's eyes widened. "Oh darling, darling," she whispered. She took a step forwards, tried to remember the names of the children on the list from earlier: Alice, Helen, Bessie, Adelaide's ancestor, Ellen Corsby perhaps. Which one was she? 

She inched closer still. "Darling, your name, tell me what it is."

The little girl's arms moved upwards, she stretched them out, her manner beseeching although she remained mute. Theo tried again, told the child her own name. 

"It's short for Theodora. I bet you're called something pretty."

The girl had a dress on; long, brownish, a course material - linen perhaps? Nothing special but if it was her party dress then maybe it was special to her. Her boots were brown too - lace ups, sturdy looking. She was around eight or nine but it was hard to tell. She could have been older just small for her age. Her hair was brown and tangled; she had a mane of it. Everything about her seemed to be brown or sepia, maybe sepia was the right word, as though she'd stepped out of an old photograph.

"I'm here now, sweetheart, I've come to help. You've been here for such a long time. Too long. You need to go to the light, go home, rest awhile."

Up closer, Theo could read her eyes. The longing in them stirred her pity. 

"Let me help you," Theo persisted, her voice catching in her throat. As glorious as the other side might be, she still felt it unfair to be felled at such a young age. Often this was a good existence too and it deserved to be experienced fully. 

She was close now, so close and still her arms were outstretched. 

Harriet - the name presented itself whole in her mind.

"Your name's Harriet. Is that correct? It's lovely, it suits you."

Was that a smile on the child's lips, the beginnings of trust? Soon she'd be able to reach out and touch her. What would she feel like? Cold? Ethereal? 

"Darling, I'm here," she repeated, no more than a foot between them. "I'm here."

Joy surged - one spirit had come forward - it was an encouraging start.

Just before their hands touched everything changed. Hope and joy were replaced with confusion as something sour - fetid almost - rose up, making her feel nauseous. 

"Don't be afraid," Theo implored. Yet there was nothing but fear in her eyes now. No, not fear, that was too tame a word - terror. 

"I'm not here to harm you," she continued. "I'm here to help."

As the words left her mouth, other hands appeared behind the child, a whole sea of them - disembodied hands that clawed at her, forcing her backwards. 

"No!" Theo shouted. "Stop it. Leave her alone!" 

But it was no use. Her words faded as the girl did. She'd been torn away, recaptured; the one who'd dared to step forward. Theo could feel sweat break out on her forehead, her hands were clammy. She clutched at her chest, her breathing difficult suddenly, laboured. Her heart had been problematic of late, a result of the pounds she'd piled on. She must go to the doctor to get some medication. Struggling to gain control, it took a few moments, perhaps a full minute, before her heart stopped hammering. And when it did, she remembered something else. The girl's eyes - her sweet, brown, trusting eyes - when the expression changed in them they hadn't been looking at her, they'd been looking beyond her. Was it at the thing that sideswiped her? Theo couldn't be certain. She wasn't certain either if that 'thing' was a spirit or much less than that - something with no soul, but with an appetite, an extreme appetite: a craving. Something, she feared, was insatiable. 





3.5 Stars
I liked this book but it was a little slow for me.  I love paranormal and ghost stories and this was a good book.  100 years ago a tragedy befell a small miner’s village.  Now 2 psychic investigators, Theo and Ness, have been asked to come see if they can help.  They aren’t sure how much they will be able to help until they arrive in the village.  Shortly after arriving they realize how much the village needs their help but now the question is are they strong enough to give the people of village both living and dead the help they need.  Something more than just the grounded dead is in the village.  Both Ness and Theo are still getting to know each other and this could hurt what they are trying to do.  Both ladies are determined to help both the living and the dead in the village.  As they begin their work they realize more is going on than they know about.  There is more than just the mystery than what happened in the Village hall to the miners and their family.  Will the ladies be able to help everyone like they want or will the darkness prevail?  This book was very well written and engaging however it was just a bit slow for me.  The story has great characters that have depth to them.  I am going to read another book in this series to give a fair shot as I didn’t dislike that book just wished it was a little more something.  It is the first book I have read by Shani Struthers as well.  I liked the characters and would like to read more about them which is another reason I plan on reading another book in the series.  The book is good and I can’t pin point just what didn’t completely pull me in but I still recommend it to others.  Just because a book isn’t for me doesn’t mean I don’t think others other won’t like it and that I won’t recommend it to them.



Brighton-based author of paranormal fiction, including UK Amazon Bestseller, Psychic Surveys Book One: The Haunting of Highdown Hall. Psychic Surveys Book Two: Rise to Me, is also available and due out in November 2015 is Eve: A Christmas Ghost Story - the prequel to the Psychic Surveys series. She is also the author of Jessamine, an atmospheric psychological romance set in the Highlands of Scotland and described as a 'Wuthering Heights for the 21st century.'
Psychic Surveys Book Three: 44 Gilmore Street is in progress. 
All events in her books are inspired by true life...