Tuesday, 3 June 2014

Release Day Blitz ~ Excerpt & Giveaway ~ Hold on Tight (Sea Breeze 8) by Abbi Glines


TitleHold on Tight (Sea Breeze #8)
Author: Abbi Glines
Publisher: Simon Pulse (June 3, 2014)
Print Length: 288 pages

ISBN13: 9781481420778
ASIN: B00GKKU12G


Book Description:

Six years ago, Dewayne Falco's life changed. He lost someone he never expected to lose. Resigned to punish himself for something he felt he could have prevented, he goes through life without getting too close to anyone.

What he didn't expect was for the girl across the street to move back home and remind him of what they both lost: Dewayne's younger brother Dustin. However, when a miniature version of Dustin opens the door to greet him, Dewayne realizes he might not have lost everything after all.

Sienna Roy loved Dustin Falco most of her life. He was the boy next door, the high school basketball star and her best friend. But when his life was cut short, she realized he left a part of himself behind.

Now, she's back in Sea Breeze, thankful to have a home for her and Dustin's son, but not sure if she can ever forgive the people across the street who abandoned her when she needed them the most — The Falcos.

Betrayal, lies, and forbidden attraction might end Dewayne and Sienna's story before it's even begun.

EXCERPT:

“It has been a long time. Why are you here?” I replied, not taking my eyes off Dewayne. He was still larger than life. More so than when I was a teenager. He had a few more piercings now and a couple more tattoos. His shoulders were even wider, and the thick, corded muscles in his arms were intimidating. The man was like a brick wall.

Yet those eyelashes of his were still too thick for a male, and even though he’d pierced his lip, it didn’t take away from the plumpness that women paid good money to mimic. The worn jeans that looked like they needed a good washing hugged him in a way I wanted to ignore. I had to ignore. This man was off-limits to me.

He wasn’t just the nice guy who had been my friend when I was younger. He was also a man who had abandoned me when I’d needed someone the most. Even if he was delicious and what female fantasies were made of, I would never forgive him. Dustin had adored him, yet Dustin’s son didn’t even know him.

He cocked an eyebrow at me, as if he was surprised by my reaction to him. “Came over to see who the new neighbors were. Beat-to-shit car parked out front concerned me. Neighborhood’s not what it used to be.”

Once I wouldn’t have been able to look past his perfectly chiseled face and full lips to get angry with him. That wasn’t the case any longer. My hands fisted at my sides, and I wanted nothing more than to punch him in the nose. I owned that car. I had worked hard to buy that car.

“I’ll keep that in mind. I can assure you we’re not going to cause any problems,” I replied, walking over to the door and putting my hand on it to let him know I was done with this visit and wanted him to leave.

Dewayne frowned, and his dark eyes, which in my dreams had looked at me like he had today when I’d walked into the room, were now narrowed. Great, I’d managed to piss off the massive, monster-size man who could knock me down with one hard puff. “Where did that sweet girl I used to know go? You lose her somewhere?” Dewayne’s voice was even, but the low, menacing sound to it bothered me.

What did he expect me to do? Bat my eyelashes at him and swoon like I had when I was a kid? “She learned to toughen up and trust no one.” I gripped the door, fighting the urge to slam it in his face. Because I was pretty sure he could rip it off its hinges if provoked. “Thanks for stopping by. Now that you know we aren’t about to dirty up the neighborhood with our presence, you can go on back to your parents’ place. We’re fine here.” I started closing the door. Dewayne stepped back. To my surprise, he turned around, then started walking away.
 
Other books in the Sea Breeze Series
 
Breathe: 
Amazon | B&N

Because of Low: 

While It Lasts: 
Amazon | B&N

Just For Now:
Amazon | B&N

Sometimes It Lasts:
Amazon | B&N

Misbehaving:
Amazon | B&N

Bad For You:
Amazon | B&N

Hold On Tight:
Amazon | B&N
 
About the Author:

New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of TWISTED PERFECTION, FALLEN TOO FAR, NEVER TOO FAR, JUST FOR NOW, WHILE IT LASTS, BECAUSE OF LOW, BREATHE, THE VINCENT BOYS, THE VINCENT BROTHERS, THE EXISTENCE TRILOGY.

Release Blitz with Giveaway ~ Twisted Together (Monsters in the Dark 3) by Pepper Winters

Twisted Together Banner

 
Title: Twisted Together (Monsters in the Dark, #3)
Author: Pepper Winters
Release Date: June 3, 2014
 
goodreads-badge-add-plus-d700d4d3e3c0b346066731ac07b7fe47

Synopsis:
 
“After battling through hell, I brought my esclave back from the brink of ruin. I sacrificed everything—my heart, my mind, my very desires to bring her back to life. And for a while, I thought it broke me, that I’d never be the same. But slowly the beast is growing bolder, and it’s finally time to show Tess how beautiful the dark can be.”

Q gave everything to bring Tess back. In return, he expects nothing less. Tess may have leashed and tamed him, but he’s still a monster inside.

After surviving the darkness, a new dawn has begun. Twisted Together wades through black to grey, chasing the light of true love to banish the shadows forever.
Pain is a requirement, connection a necessity. But ultimately Q and Tess must face their demons, before they can embrace their future.

sin teaser

Purchase the Books
 
MITD
 
Tears of Tess (Monsters in the Dark, #1)
 
Quintessentially Q (Monsters in the Dark, #2)
 
Twisted Together (Monsters in the Dark, #3)

About the Author

1964822_668160849911029_1678690579_nPepper Winters wears many roles. Some of them include writer, reader, sometimes wife. She loves dark, taboo stories that twist with your head. The more tortured the hero, the better, and she constantly thinks up ways to break and fix her characters. Oh, and sex... her books have sex.
She loves to travel and has an amazing, fabulous hubby who puts up with her love affair with her book boyfriends.
 

 
Giveaway!
 

Monday, 2 June 2014

Spotlight Tour ~ Review, Excerpt, Playlist & Giveaway ~ Beloved (Belonging #1) by Corinne Michaels


Book Description:
 
Not enough.

Catherine Pope has never been enough. Every man she has ever loved abandoned her—from her father to her fiancé. She finally accepted the fact she would never be enough to hold any man’s heart and soul.

Then Catherine met Jackson Cole
.

When her world literally collided with the sexy former Navy SEAL, everything she always believed is turned upside down and left scattered. He made her feel alive and desirable, consumed her with fierceness and loyalty—which completely unnerved her. Jackson got her in a way no one ever had, giving him the power to destroy her.

If she breaks down and gives him what’s left of her battered heart—will he protect it? Or will Catherine become an irrelevant part of yet another man’s life?

Will she get the one thing that has always evaded her – to finally be someone’s beloved?

 
Excerpt:
 
Copyright © 2014 Corinne Michaels All rights reserved

Jackson takes a step closer to me, stalking me like I’m his prey as I counter with another step back. Once my back hits the car door … that’s it. He has me pinned and we both know it. He raises his arms, placing them on the frame of the car and caging me in.

His lips brush against my ear when he whispers, “Oh, but your body says otherwise.” His body closes in on mine and the last remaining space between us disappears. Heat floods my core, my face, my body—my lids flutter closed and I take a shaky breath. “Open your eyes, Catherine.”
 
 
Our Review:
 
**ARC received for hones review** 
 
Reviewed by Donna ~ 4 Stars
 
be·lov·ed

adjective

1.
greatly loved; dear to the heart.
noun
2.
a person who is greatly loved.
 
Catherine Pope has issues, abandonment issues, self-worth issues, confidence issues all these lead her to the belief that she is unlovable, every man that she has ever loved has left, her father included. She finally thought she had nailed it, she was engaged, soon to be married, but once again her past comes back to haunt her. What was wrong with her? Why did they always leave? Was she really that bad? The prologue sums it perfectly:-

“To belong to someone.

All I’ve ever wanted is to be loved. I crave it – need it, desire it – more than food and water. I long for undying love and affection. The kind of love that bonds souls. The kind of love that’s so deep two become one.

To be someone’s beloved.”


Catherine has to try and get her life back on track, pick herself up from the shit that her life has turned into, yet again. Her friends take her out for the night and this is where she lands into the lap of a man that she cannot forget. There was something about him that kept playing over and over in her mind. They had hardly spoken, but he had left a lasting impression.

Call it fate but their paths do cross again in the most extraordinary place, it seems that Catherine was unforgettable too and maybe the stars did realign that night and mother nature has a way of throwing them back together, is this destiny?

Jackson Cole is an ex SEAL, having left the service he now owns a security company but still assists the government in a variety of guises. He also has his fingers in other pies that ultimately lead to his reunion with the woman that took his breath away that night. He too has his own baggage, he fights internal battles, he has his hang ups but all that starts to pale once he meets Catherine. I have to say I totally loved Jackson; he was so caring, thoughtful, romantic and extremely protective, he had me swooning from the get go.

As with any new relationship, life has its hurdles and these two do not escape lightly, Catherine’s ex becomes an even bigger asshole throughout this book. Is their relationship strong enough? Will their insecurities dictate their future? Can they forget their past and live for the future? Read it and you will find out!

“You’re it for me, Catherine…I’m not walking away from you or us. I wasn’t ready to love again when you came crashing into me. But you made me want to try again…I told you I will always find you, but you have to want to be found. Let me find you, Catherine.”

There are many laugh out loud moments, I had tears, I got angry, and so Corinne did a great job with my emotions. My only slight criticism would be that I would have liked a slower build to the start of their relationship, I like to connect to the characters whole heartedly and because it did start so quickly I lost that a little, I did feel the ending was a little bit rushed, but what an explosive ending! I cannot wait for the next instalment of this series; I hope that Corinne can write fast!

“We have this hope as an anchor for our soul, firm and secure – Hebrews 6:19”

For a debut book the author has done a great job, the pages kept turning, emotions were running riot, everything I love in a book, a good solid start.
 
Play List:


 
About the Author:
 
Corinne is an emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun loving mom of two beautiful children. She’s happily married to the man of her dreams and is a former Navy wife. After spending months away from her husband while he was deployed, reading and writing was her escape from the loneliness. Beloved is her first novel due in June of 2014.

Connect with Corinne

Website: http://www.corinnemichaels.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CorinneMichaels
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorCMichaels
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7753662
 Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/corinnemichaels/
 
Giveaway:
 

Sunday, 1 June 2014

Review ~ Unsticky by Sarra Manning

Reviewed by Donna ~ 5 Stars

“We're broken. It's like we have all these jagged edges that scare other people off, but when we're with each other, our jagged edges fit together and we're almost whole.”

This book was released in 2009, how it has never come across my radar until now, I don’t understand but once I had started this book I could not put it down, all 562 pages of it. Yes it is a long book, but it didn’t feel that way at all, the words flowed, the story developed, the characters embedded themselves into my heart and the rest is history.

This is a typically English book, based in England and the prose is most definitely English, this made a change from those books that are predominantly written for an American audience. This meant that as I am English, I could relate to so much more contained in this book, the English humour, wit and banter kept me emotionally invested throughout and most importantly kept those pages turning.

Grace is 23, a compulsive shopper and works in fashion for a magazine. She lives well beyond her means using shopping for “pretties” as her therapy. Her need for “therapy” ramps up a notch when on her birthday her boyfriend unceremoniously dumps her in the middle of the handbag section in a large department store, not taking this latest knock back very well, she creates a scene, so he storms out. With the tears flowing she is whisked up by a knight in shining armour who takes her out of the store and sits her down for a drink. Will she ever be able to make it past the three month mark in her relationships? It just seems that men can only stomach her for three months at a time, this dumping being the latest conforming to what seems her three month limit. All she wants is a proper relationship to be loved, wanted and needed. Suddenly realising that she is sitting down with a complete and utter stranger she panics and hightails it away, but will this be the last she sees of him?

“That was the way it had always been. Friends and lovers came and went because there was something about her which repelled the, and she didn’t have a clue what it was.”

Vaughn, said knight in shining armour (or is he?) is 41, older and wiser and a man of the world but extremely emotionally stunted. He is a highly successful art dealer, who has turned himself away from the female form. He has “relationships” but these are purely business related and never extend for more than six months at a time. He sees something in Grace and this leads him to proposition her with one of his “six monthly” contracts. These contracts are as I said before, purely business motivated, he needs arm candy for functions, a hostess for dinner parties and art gatherings and in return, he pays them handsomely.

With spiralling debt and debt collectors constant chomping at her heels, after her initial repulsion at the idea, Grace suddenly becomes to see its benefits, after all is it only six months…or is it?

“Nothing lasted. Especially the good stuff. All you were left with were memories, and even they crumbled and faded over time.”

The thing I loved most about this book was how “real” the characters were. Even though it wasn’t pretty at times, their strengths and weaknesses were played upon throughout this book. Grace was extremely naïve, has very little self-confidence but has a heart of gold and always spoke her mind. She could be extremely frustrating and annoying at times but as the book progressed you saw her slowly change before your very eyes. Vaughn gave her confidence so he had a big part to play in her growth and she was actually changing for the better.

Vaughn was such a complex character, it was obvious he had been hurt in the past and he was not going to open himself up for that kind of pain again, hence the need for these “arrangements,” but as much as Grace needed him, as the relationship progressed it became apparent that Vaughn needed her just as much. Maybe it was the age difference, but Grace enlightened him on so many things and you slowly saw Vaughn relax and the “real” Vaughn eventually shows up. He too has a heart of gold, despite his tenacious attitude and his relentlessness in the strive for perfection not only in business but in his personal life too.

This was an emotional journey, not in a tear jerker kind of way, but just this book made me “feel,” I felt for Grace and I felt for Vaughn, their ups and downs became my ups and downs, I lived it a breathed it and it was exhausting! I was rooting for these two throughout and despite the mistakes they make, it just showed how true to life it was. Nothing ever runs smooth and it takes time to see the wood for the trees, no matter what “label” you put on it; it was obvious that these two loved each other, but when would they both recognise it? Or more importantly, would they recognise it at all? Littered with humour this book will also have you laughing out loud many time and it is this constant mix of angst and humour that makes it a flowing, beautiful read.

“Don’t know about you, but I was so sick of feeling lost.”

My only gripe about this book, is that it ended too quick…I wanted more, yes I am greedy, it has been said before, but I just felt that their story is far from over, in fact it is just beginning, I truly feel that Vaughn and Grace need revisiting and I hope that Sarra Manning is reading this!!