Release Day Launch ~ Excerpt & Giveaway ~ Burying Water by K.A Tucker

 

Book Description:

The top-selling, beloved indie author of Ten Tiny Breaths returns with a new romance about a young woman who loses her memory—and the man who knows that the only way to protect her is to stay away.

Left for dead in the fields of rural Oregon, a young woman defies all odds and survives—but she awakens with no idea who she is, or what happened to her. Refusing to answer to “Jane Doe” for another day, the woman renames herself “Water” for the tiny, hidden marking on her body—the only clue to her past. Taken in by old Ginny Fitzgerald, a crotchety but kind lady living on a nearby horse farm, Water slowly begins building a new life. But as she attempts to piece together the fleeting slivers of her memory, more questions emerge: Who is the next-door neighbor, quietly toiling under the hood of his Barracuda? Why won’t Ginny let him step foot on her property? And why does Water feel she recognizes him?

Twenty-four-year-old Jesse Welles doesn’t know how long it will be before Water gets her memory back. For her sake, Jesse hopes the answer is never. He knows that she’ll stay so much safer—and happier—that way. And that’s why, as hard as it is, he needs to keep his distance. Because getting too close could flood her with realities better left buried.

The trouble is, water always seems to find its way to the surface.

Find it on Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18687114-burying-water

Excerpt:

 

Prologue
Jesse
Now

This can’t be real . . . This can’t be real . . . This can’t be real . . .

The words cycle round and round in my mind like the wheels on my speeding ’Cuda as its ass-end slips and slides over the gravel and ice. This car is hard to handle on the best of days, built front-heavy and overloaded with horsepower. I’m going to put myself into one of these damn trees if I don’t slow down.

I jam my foot against the gas pedal.

I can’t slow down now.

Not until I know that Boone was wrong about what he claims to have overheard. His Russian is mediocre at best. I’ll giveanything for him to be wrong about this.

My gut clenches as my car skids around another turn,the cone shape of Black Butte looming like a monstrous shadow ahead of me in the pre-dawn light. The snowy tire tracks framed by my headlights might not even be the right ones, but they’re wide like Viktor’s Hummer and they’re sure as hell the only ones down this old, deserted logging road. No one comes out here in January.

The line of trees marking the dead end comes up on me before I expect it. I slam on my brakes, sending my car sliding sideways toward the old totem pole. It’s still sliding when I cut the rumbling engine, throw open the door, and jump out, fumbling with my flashlight. It takes three hard presses with my shaking hands to get the light to hold.

I begin searching the ground. The mess of tread marks tells me that someone pulled a U-turn. The footprints tell me that more than one person got out. And when I see the half-finished cigarette butt with that weird alphabet on the filter, I know Boone wasn’t wrong.

“Alex!” My echo answers once . . . twice . . . before the vast wilderness swallows up my desperate cry. With frantic passes of my flashlight, my knuckles white against its body, I search the area until I spot the sets of footprints that lead off the old, narrow road and into the trees.

Frigid fingers curl around my heart.

Darting back to my car, I snatch the old red-and-blue plaid wool blanket that she loves so much from the backseat. Ice-cold snow packs into the sides of my sneakers as I chase the trail past the line of trees and into the barren field ahead, my blood rushing through my ears the only sound I process.

The only sign of life.

Raw fear numbs my senses, the Pacific Northwest winter numbs my body, but I push forward because if . . .

The beam of light passes over a still form lying facedown in the snow. I’d recognize that pink coat and platinum-blond hair of hers anywhere; the sparkly blue dress that she hates so much looks like a heap of sapphires against a white canvas.

My heart freezes.

“Alex.” It’s barely a whisper. I’m unable to produce more, my lungs giving up on me. I run, stumbling through the foot of snow until I’m on my knees and crawling forward to close the distance. A distance of no more than ten feet and yet one that seems like miles.

There’s no mistaking the spray of crimson freckling the snow around her head. Or that most of her long hair is now dark and matted. Or that her silver stockings are torn and stained red, and a pool of blood has formed where her dress barely covers her thighs. Plenty of footprints mark the ground around her. He must have been here for a while.

I know that there are rules to follow, steps to make sure that I don’t cause her further harm. But I ignore them because the sinking feeling in my stomach tells me I can’t possibly hurt her more than he already has. I nestle her head with one hand while I slide the other under her shoulder. I roll her over.

Cold shock knocks the wind out of me.

I’ve never seen anybody look like this.

I scoop her limp body into my arms, cradling the once beautiful face that I’ve seen in every light—rage to ecstasy and the full gamut in between—yet is now unrecognizable. Placing two blood-coated fingers over her throat, I wait. Nothing.

A light pinch against her lifeless wrist.Nothing.

Maybe a pulse does exist but it’s hidden, masked by my own racing one.

Then again, by the look of her, likely not.

One . . . two . . . three . . . plump, serene snowflakes begin floating down from the unseen sky above. Soon, they will converge and cover the tracks, the blood. The evidence.Mother Nature’s own blanket to hide the unsightly blemish in her yard.

“I’m so sorry.” I don’t try to restrain the hot tears as they roll down my cheeks to land on her mangled lips—lips I had stolen plenty of kisses from, back when I was too stupid to realize how dangerous that really was. This is my fault. She had warned me. If I had just listened, had stayed away from her, had not told her how I felt . . .

. . . had not fallen wildly in love with her.

I lean down to steal a kiss even now, the coppery taste of her blood mixing with my salty tears. “I’m so damn sorry. I should never have even looked your way,” I manage to get out around my sobs, tucking the blanket she loved to curl up in over her.

An almost inaudible gasp slips out. A slight breeze against my mouth more than anything else.

My lungs freeze, my eyes glued to her, afraid to hope. “Alex?” Is it possible?

A moment later, a second gasp—a wet, rattling sound—escapes.

She’s not dead.

Not yet, anyway.

 

Buy Links:

Ebooks:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1BJHBaR
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/10Gw8xp
Kindle: http://amzn.to/1rg4mjT
Google Play: http://bit.ly/Unw5mA
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1B1Chiy
Blinkbox: http://bit.ly/1od5uBe
iBooks: http://bit.ly/1kTiOcy

Paperback:
Waterstones: http://bit.ly/1p9WI6F
Foyles: http://bit.ly/UnuUU4
WHSmith: http://bit.ly/1pom3cM
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1rdUp2V
Amazon: http://amzn.to/ZPo0dK

About the Author:

Born in small-town Ontario, K.A. Tucker published her first book at the age of six with the help of her elementary school librarian and a box of crayons. She is a voracious reader, and currently resides in a quaint town outside of Toronto with her husband, two beautiful girls, and an exhausting brood of four-legged creatures.

Links:
Website ** Twitter ** Facebook ** Novel Goodreads ** Author Goodreads ** YouTube ** Pinterest ** Instagram

Giveaway:

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Reviews ~ Becoming Calder (A Sign of Love) & Finding Eden (A Sign of Love) by Mia Sheridan

Becoming Calder (A Sign of Love)

Reviewed by Donna ~ 4 Stars

**ARC recieved for honest review**

“Morning glory. As pretty as a flower, as strong as a weed.”

To say that I have been anxiously awaiting this book is a severe understatement. I have loved every word that Mia Sheridan has penned and she is one of my go to authors. Archer’s Voice still remains my top read of 2014 so far so I had high expectations for this one.

I have to say that this was a killer prologue from Mia Sheridan, from the first till last word it pulls you in and your brain is jump started into overdrive trying to piece together what could have possibly happened. But no matter what scenarios you churn over, nothing will prepare you for the true story behind it and it is after this we jump back in time and the whole harrowing story comes to life.

As you can ascertain from the prologue, this is no “normal” read from Mia Sheridan, this book is set in a community that is totally isolated from modern day America, no conveniences, no electricity, no plumbing, nothing. They have a leader that takes his direction from the “Gods” and uses this knowledge on how he can keep their community thriving. With prophecies from the Gods determining his every move the community are like the rats following the Pied Piper, but will this story have a similar ending?

Calder is known as the “water boy,” it is his job to provide the water to the community, he is intelligent, articulate and a very talented artist. He lives for his family, his parents and his sister and his loyalty to them holds no end. 

Calder and Eden first meet as children, Eden is brought onto the compound by the “leader,” Eden is apparently the woman in one of their most important prophecies, she is the woman that will save them, she bears the mark. At this point in time Eden is only a child, but the Gods have foretold of her coupling with the leader and their marriage is predestined once she comes of age. Eden is kept away from the workers and is confined to the leader’s premises, but as time progresses Eden has ways of getting the fresh air and the little piece of freedom that she craves and it is here that she meets Calder.

“And gods help me, the seed of love that had taken root, the seed I had vowed not to nourish, started to grow anyway. I swore I could feel the velvety tendrils moving through me, wrapping around the vital parts of who I was. I was helpless to stop it. She had invaded me. I was the field and she was the morning glory. I had been overtaken.”

This meeting is the beginning of one of the most beautiful love stories that I have ever had the fortune to read about. Stunningly beautiful, pure and built on friendship. The one problem that these two have is her betrothal to the leader, she has to marry him to save the community, so this is a forbidden love of epic proportions. I must admit, this was quite hard for me, I mean; he was old enough to be her dad, even her grandfather, so my heart was totally torn for Eden. She didn’t love him at all, he already had his wives, why on earth would he deem he needed another? Even if the “Gods” foretold it.

“What do the stars teach us?”
“That some things are seen more clearly in light…and some things are seen more clearly in darkness.”

This is one book that seriously makes you think. That people can live their lives, dictated to by one person that rules based on prophecy, no logical rhyme or reason, no facts to base their actions, just the word of one person who claims to have been directed by the “Gods.” I must admit, I do see it as a type of brain washing because these people are adults, they should be able to see through it and also see the many contradictions that are blatantly apparent. They live in tiny huts, no amenities, no toilets, nothing, while the leader and his board of cronies live in the lap of luxury. You do read about the odd person that finally wises up and starts to question the leader but these people are swiftly dealt with and extricated from the community.

But back to the love story, this story is told over years and years, we are privy to a lot of firsts with these two, both so innocent as children, the change in feelings and emotions as they become adolescents and then the fierce, all consuming, passionate nature of their relationship as they mature to adults. These two are soul mates, perfectly matched, the ying to the yang. They complete each other, they complement each other, they bring out the best in each other, and these two are perfect together. The relationship they have lived has been clandestine in nature but what little time they do share is intense, powerful, emotional, beautiful and ardent.

“No. You’re living. We’re living. Right here, together. It’s been suggested dying would separate us forever, and I refuse to let you go.”

It is the beautifully crafted words that draw you into their story. Mia Sheridan is naturally talented with that knack of pulling you in until you are overtaken by the plot and are living and breathing the lives of the characters within. I felt a bit like “big brother” watching this story unfold, but no matter the “car crash” you couldn’t help but carry on reading, no matter how gut churning the story got.

These two have a lot of uphill battles to contend with, their inherent need to escape being top priority, but with no real names, no social security, and no experience with the outside world where do they begin? You cannot help but feel sorry for them and you want to fight for them throughout.

“We’re going to burn every stroke, every touch, and every kiss into our skin so when we’re back together, it will only then just be cooling. While we’re apart, we’ll still be keeping each other warm.”

So why not a 5 star? I have to be honest and say the first 40% of this book did not hold my attention which is unheard of for a Mia Sheridan read for me. The prologue pulled me in, hook, line and sinker, but as the flashback began, I got lost for a while. I persevered though as this is Mia Sheridan and I knew that I would be in for a treat and she did not disappoint, after that 40 odd percent mark I was gone, totally and utterly engrossed and I could not put the book down. I am glad that Mia decided to release Finding Eden simultaneously, because this book would have been killer without it. I urge you to download both together, because once you start this epic love story, you will not be able to stop until the end.

Buy Links:

 

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1xcARBm

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1oIrvbs

 

Finding Eden (A Sign of Love)

 

Reviewed by Donna ~ 5 Stars

 

**ARC recieved for honest review**

“…everyone deserves a love story that doesn’t hurt.”

Please note you must have read Becoming Calder first! These two books go hand in hand and Finding Eden is a continuation of Becoming Calder.

I really don’t know where to begin with this review. I have to admit that this was one super emotional roller coaster of a journey. The unmistakable talent of Mia Sheridan comes shining through in this book. This series is like a piece of art, the effort and precision, the love and thought, the colours blending together to put together a masterpiece. The brilliant penmanship glaringly apparent so that when you are reading, it is not just words, it is an experience. You live and breathe it, like morning glory, it overtakes you.

“Five life changing, extremely satisfied stars,”

I have to be careful what I write in this review as both books are being released simultaneously and I do not want to take anything away from this breath taking journey that Mia Sheridan expertly takes you on. This book focuses on life outside of the compound, dealing with the aftermath of events in Becoming Calder and is a life journey all of its own. It pains me, but I have to leave this short and vague because I have so much I want to say.

“I guess if you choose to trust a snake, you deserve his venom.”

This book is extremely emotional in places; I was in tears at several points in this book, even in the beginning. There is one scene that will stay with me for a very long time. It ripped me to shreds, the heart felt emotion that went into this scene was off the charts, I lived it and breathed it, I felt EVERYTHING, my heart hurt, my head throbbed and eyes were a puffy mess, but Mia Sheridan delivered.

I just became so emotionally invested in this series, I just couldn’t help it. Calder and Eden became my friends and I was just an innocent bystander watching their voyage through life. When they hurt, I hurt; it really was just one of those types of books.

This book though is perfectly balanced, yes it is emotional, yes it is angsty, but it is smattered with humour and some laugh out loud moments. I had tears but I also had a lot of smiles, this book is heart-warming. It makes you believe in true love, in soul mates, in destiny. If two people are truly destined to be together, love will find a way to make it happen. Even if that journey is tragic and difficult, if it was meant to be, it will happen.

“…You were victims. But don’t live like victims. Live like survivors…”

That is what this series is all about though, a journey, difficult as it was and with many bumps in the road and curve balls thrown from all angles, these two are survivors, they are so strong together and even apart, there was always that wavering belief that someday, just maybe someday there was a way for them to be together even if it meant reunited in death. So strong were their feelings for one another, one could not really live without the other. Yes they were alive, but it was merely an existence, they didn’t LIVE.

“We all attach things to our hearts, the things we value, the things we need, the things that make us who we are. But maybe…maybe it’s only when our hearts are broken, that those things can fall inside. Maybe it’s only then that those things truly become part of us, and if those things are good and beautiful, it’s only then we truly understand and see the pain in others. Perhaps that’s what real mercy is.”

The story flowed beautifully, the characters remained true to themselves, questions were answered, the plot delivered and was executed flawlessly. The timeline was believable and in fact I think added to the story. This series as a whole will be in my top reads of 2014, I would recommend it to everybody and I will say it will be a series that will stay with you for days, I found myself thinking about it randomly, the characters, their lives, what they went through, how they ended up. It pulls at your heart strings and once they are in there, they are not leaving in a hurry.

Once again, Mia Sheridan, a fantastic read, you are super talented and should be so proud of what you have put together. However, I will say, Calder has not ousted my Archer from my number 1 spot but he is close…now where did I put my Coke?…

“As pretty as a flower…as strong as a weed.”

 

 

Buy Links:

 

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1xRvb37

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1s1zVQu

Release Week ~ Tattoos & Tatas (Chocoholics 2.5) by Tara Sivec

 

Tattoos & Tatas (Chocoholics #2.5)

Release Date: October 1, 2014

By Tara Sivec

Book Description:

During the month of October, 100% of the proceeds from Tattoos and Tatas will be donated to breast cancer awareness.

Claire and Liz have always had a friendship that defied the test of time, but when one of them is diagnosed with a disease that every woman fears, their bond is put through the wringer. How do you cope knowing your soul mate could be taken from you?

Filled with memories of their life long friendship, inappropriate behavior, bad tattoos and shaving cats, the two friends will realize that laughter really is the best medicine.Tattoos and TaTas is not your typical love story; it's a story of friendship and learning how to let go when something is beyond your control.

 

Find it on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22728057-tattoos-and-tatas

 

Buy Links:

 

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1x8NJbH

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1xNPMVK

About the Author:

 

 Tara Sivec is a USA Today best-selling author, wife, mother, chauffeur, maid, short-order cook, baby-sitter, and sarcasm expert. She lives in Ohio with her husband and two children and looks forward to the day when all three of them become adults and move out.

After working in the brokerage business for fourteen years, Tara decided to pick up a pen and write instead of shoving it in her eye out of boredom. She is the author of the Playing with Fire series, the Chocolate Lovers series , the Chocoholics series, the Fool Me Once series, Burned and Watch Over Me. Her novel Seduction and Snacks won first place in the Indie Romance Convention Reader's Choice Awards 2013 for Best Indie First Book and she was voted Best Indie Author in the Indie Romance convention Reader's Choice Awards 2014.

In her spare time, Tara loves to dream about all of the baking she'll do and naps she'll take when she ever gets spare time.

Friday Frights ~ PNR Reviews ~ Her Avenging Angel (Her Angel Romance Series Book 7) by Felicity Heaton

Reviewed by Shirley ~ 4.5 Stars
 
**ARC received for honest review**

This book has a really great storyline bringing to life all the characters within it. The romance between Nevar and Lysia the two main characters are built over time with the sexual element building to a beautiful crescendo.

It starts with Nevar, who was once a guardian angel but because a battle he had fought in Hell against Asmodeus, the King of the Demons was now changed into a dark angel and a servant to Asmodeus and lived permanently in Hell.

Feeling the ever constant need for revenge in his heart which is fuelled by the taking of Euphoria a demon blood drink that made him worse, he does something so terrible that he has started a chain of events that no one can stop. Because of this he has been intrinsically linked with a being called the Great Destroyer. This leads to Nevar needing to do his level best to overcome his obsession and addiction, because the two people who should want him dead have vowed to help him.

Feeling a need to get away from Hell even for a little while he opens a portal to London to a demon club he used to frequent often in the past, and it was there he first came into contact with Lysia.

She stumbled into the club, naked and with blood and wounds all over her body as though she had been in a fierce battle, but for all that Nevar could see she was a beautiful woman and was immediately attracted to her.

Lysia though, after waking up had slowly realized that she was on the mortal plain and not knowing where she was felt the tug of demons who she somehow felt would help her, so she made her way towards them which led her to the club where Nevar sat. After entering Lysia soon came to realize that no one could understand her until she felt drawn to the corner of the bar where sat a handsome man and when she approached him found that he was the only one who understood her.

Nevar couldn't help feeling protective towards her, although not really understanding where these feelings were coming from as he had never felt like this before. He did his best to help her but Asmodeus came for him so he had to leave Lysia at the club on her own hoping she would be ok, but they were fated to meet again.

Their story gets very involved with outside forces battling them, but also they had friends behind them to help them overcome these hazards.

During all this, their attraction for each other grew strong. Two people who have always felt alone now had each other.

All the time spent in each other’s company made their feelings get hotter and hotter until

“Nevar growled against her throat and gave another powerful thrust, and the entire universe exploded, every star in the sky detonating in a colourful burst. Tingly heat blazed through her making her thighs tremble against him, and she convulsed in his arms, releasing her grip on his neck as she cried out her bliss.”

Lysia felt sure that she never wanted to be parted from this beautiful warrior.

With Nevar fighting battles inside himself still.

Lysia desperate to help him overcome his self-loathing.

It was not an easy journey for these two and with the outside forces doing their best to separate them this makes for a very compelling read.

Ms Heaton full marks for a very enjoyable and a real page turner of a book. I have got to love these characters in this series and will definitely follow up all future books to see how they get on.