Apr 30, 2015

Release Day Blitz: SINCERELY, CARTER by Whitney G.





Title: Sincerely, Carter

Author: Whitney G.

Publication Date: April 30, 2015

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Buy it today: Amazon | Barnes & Noble



☆☆ Synopsis ☆☆

Just friends.

We’re just friends.

No, really. She’s just my best friend...


Arizona Turner has been my best friend since fourth grade, even when we “hated” each other. We’ve been there for one another through first kisses, first “times,” and we’ve been each other’s constant when good relationships turned bad. (We even went to colleges that were minutes away from each other…)

Throughout the years, and despite what anyone says, we’ve never crossed the line.


Never thought about it.

Never wanted to.

Until one night changed everything.

At least, it should’ve...



Just friends.

We’re just friends.

I’m only saying this until I figure out if she’s still “just” my best friend…




☆☆ Check out additional works by Whitney G. 



Reasonable Doubt Series: Amazon
Mid Life Love Series: Amazon
My Last Resolution: Amazon

Apr 29, 2015

Pre-Release ARC REVIEW : Sacrati by Kate Sherwood

Genre:
Fantasy/ MM Romance

Expected publication: May 2nd 2015 by Riptide Publishing

Buy The Book:

Connect With The Author:

Synopsis On Goodreads:

As an elite Sacrati fighter in the mighty Torian military, Theos is blessed with a city full of women who want to bear his children, and a barracks full of men proud to fight at his side and share his bed. He has everything he needs—until he captures Finnvid on a raid.

Finnvid is on a secret mission to prevent the Torian invasion of his homeland Elkat. Being enslaved by Torian soldiers wasn’t in his plans. Neither is his horrified fascination with the casual promiscuity of the Sacrati warriors. Men should not lie with other men—and he should not be so intrigued when they do. He definitely should not be most intrigued by the leader of the soldiers who captured him and plan to invade his home.

For Theos, everything would have been easier if the infuriating, lying, bewildering Elkati had never come into his life, but he can’t stay away. When betrayal and treachery threaten both their nations, they must work together to stop a war that could destroy their homes forever—even as they begin to question everything they’re fighting for.

RATING: 3 stars

*** REVIEW ***

First of all, I have to agree with others about the cover which is not exactly inviting, even though I see its connection to the story now that I've finished the book and I'm definitely glad it's different from those usual "six pack" covers (which started to get on my nerves recently.) But, the cover aside, there are two main reasons why I requested this book:

- I've recently read Mark Of Cain By K. Sherwood and loved the story and her writing style, so there was no question whether I'll read this one.

- The synopsis reminded me a little on Captive Prince by S. U. Pacat and Scorpion By Aleksandr Voinov which are one of my favorite mm books from this genre, so I kept my fingers crossed for this book to be another winner.

Unfortunately, I wasn't exactly impressed with the story after reading the first 100 pages. Why is that? Well, the main reason is the building of the fantasy world which was poor in my opinion. I wasn't feeling the story and to be honest- up until that point this was a 2 stars read for me, but then *something* major happens and since that twist the story turned from disappointing to unputdownable.

The book is written from two points of views- Theos' and Finnvid's who are its main characters. At first glance these two characters couldn't be more different from each other. They were raised in totally opposite worlds- Theos being the fierce, rough and fearless Sacrati warrior of the Torian society and Finnvid being the pampered prince of the Elkati society who can count the number of times he held a sword in his hands. After the initial indifference for their story they started to slowly win my affection. Their enemies-to-lovers type of relationship was lighter on drama and rich on sweet and emotional moments which I really liked.

The portrayal of the characters and their interactions were the strong points of this book for me, the fantasy not so much. I wanted to find out more about the politics and culture of both societies, especially about the Elkati, because the author seemed more focused on Torians. I found the information we got about the structure of their society to some degree interesting and to some degree silly. To get some better picture about the plot, here's what the author said:

"I wanted to explore the idea of homosexuality as a behaviour rather than an identity, but I also wanted to look at how that concept might affect female relationships as well.

So that was where I started. And then as I wrote, as usual, everything became about the individual characters. Theos and Finnvid, both so stubborn, both so flawed... both so much fun to write."

The story was action-packed and suspenseful with some steam in-between. I would have preferred if the author had paid the same amount of attention to the building of the fantasy world as she did when it comes to the characters and the romance. I found the building of the fantasy world not interesting enough and lacking, especially when I compare it to my favorite mm fantasy books listed above. That's why 3 stars.

xoxo,

Purple

Apr 28, 2015

SPOTLIGHT TOUR & GIVEAWAY: Fighting for Her Dragon (Dragon Guards #7) By Julia Mills

Fighting For Her Dragon

Fighting For Her Dragon - Tour Banner

(Dragon Guards #7)

By Julia Mills

AMAZON US / UK / CA

Fighting For Her Dragon WEB 02282015

WLK synopsis
 
There Are No Coincidences….

Given a fairy tale life by the clan of dragon shifters that rescued her as a little girl, Emma Sinclair long ago accepted she might never solve the mystery of her heritage. Of course, that was before she could feel the traitor’s pain, before she knew he was slipping away. And before the unthinkable happened… he called to her in the language of his kin.

The Universe Does Not Make Mistakes…

Captured by his brothers. Imprisoned in a cave. Bound in silver chains. Andrew knew his days were numbered. He accepted his fate. Knew he was getting what he deserved. Hallucinations of his long dead parents were his only solace in the debris of a wasted life. Then the scent of salt, sun and fresh air entered his prison. The fragrance stirred visions of expressive brown eyes, a smile that rivaled the sun and a voice that was a balm to his tattered soul. He clung to the memory of her. She became his lifeline…his only hope of survival…

Fate Will Not Be Denied…

One doomed dragon shifter. One very special woman. One destiny no one could have predicted. Will they save dragon kin or destroy it?  


WLK excerpt

 “Emma! Emma! Open this damn door!” Devon bellowed. 

This was the third time in two days he’d pounded on her door however on this occasion he seemed really upset, almost desperate. She tried to get up, had tried every time. Wanted to answer the door or at least call out to him. Needed to tell him she had the flu or whatever it was and would talk to him when she felt better. The problem was no matter how hard she tried, not even a finger would move. Her throat was so dry from crying and lack of drink she could only whisper. She couldn’t remember how long it had been since she’d actually left her bed.

All of this had started forty-eight hours earlier with the voice of the traitor sounding in her head and reached its first climax when she’d collapsed on her living room floor. He’d spoken directly into her mind, had been doing so since the moment he touched the land of their lair. As shocking as hearing him like he was a part of her was the fact that he called her his mate had been the trigger for her passing out. On the heels of his mind-boggling revelation, the traitor had begged her to come to him. Then he had reached for her. Not like you reach across the table but through some invisible link she felt in the very depths of her soul and would’ve sworn had never been there before. 

Pain accompanied his pleas. A crippling aching that permeated every cell of her being. It has finally become too much for her to bear. Emma landed face first in front of the couch, barely missing the corner of the coffee table with her head. 

Wave after wave of pain racked her body for hours. When the sun began to shine through the slats of her blinds hanging on the picture window the pain had receded. It had been almost twenty minutes since the last barrage of agony. The longest it had stayed at a dull throb since she’d hit the floor. Working up her courage, Emma rose to her knees. 

Cold sweat peppered her upper lip, wet her spine and ran down her arms. Taking a long deep breath in an attempt to end her panting and hopefully not hyperventilate, she steadied herself and began crawling towards her bedroom. Halfway to her destination, the pain returned with a vengeance. Her muscles knotted, feeling as if they were pulling away from her bones. Cramps like nothing she’d ever experienced set her insides on fire, a blaze that tore through her abdomen and chest forcing the air from her lungs. Spots danced before her eyes before she once again found herself laying on the cold, hard tile.

With no windows in the hallway, Emma could only guess how long she’d been there when she was finally able to pry open her eyelids. Struggling to her knees for the second time, she was determined to make it to her feet and used the wall as a crutch. Finally standing, she put one foot in front of the other, her shaky legs threatened to buckle out from under her as, she finally made it to her bed. Moaning, she fell face forward onto the sage green comforter praying to the Heavens that she never had to move again.

Over the next few hours she floated in and out of consciousness never quite sure if what she heard and saw was real. Andrew’s voice the only constant as she battled whatever force was attacking her body, mind and soul. He would plead with her to come to him, speaking beautiful words in the ancient language of the dragon kin, telling her that she was the only one that could end his torment. Then he would demand, his tone sharp, his words direct, as if he would accept nothing but her complete surrender to his will. In between, he would whisper her name over and over all the while pushing his need into her. 

His eyes peered into her soul. She had no idea how but his mismatched stare followed her from consciousness to restless sleep and back again, ever present, keeping watch over her. When one especially horrific wave of torment came upon her, their gazes locked. The agony she saw reflected in those hauntingly imperfect eyes confirmed her worst fears, it was not her pain but his attacking her. 

Why are you doing this to me?” She whispered, barely able to make out her own words.

Horror overrode the ache in his eyes and seemed to push the agony from his tone. He spoke with command and a clarity that baffled her considering his pain. “I’m not doing anything, a thaisce. It’s our connection…our bond. If you come to me, I hope to free you from my influence.”

 “But…” Her attempt to answer through mindspeak, as he had spoken to her, was cut short by Devon’s first round of knocking at her door.

The next two days was an endless loop of pain, visions and nonsensical conversations with the traitor in her head only interrupted by the few precious moments when she was overtaken by exhaustion. Andrew’s pleas became more insistent, the power he was pushing through more forceful as she continued to explain she was trying to come to him but physically unable. 

You must! It’s the only way I can save you.” Was the last she heard of him. Their bond had gone silent. She had called to him but to no avail, he had simply stopped communicating.

But I still hurt…




WLK Author Bio


Julia Mills - author_picMom of two rockin' girls, Reader of everything, Author of The Dragon Guards series and many more surprises to come! 

I am a sarcastic,sometimes foul-mouthed, not afraid to drink a beer, always southern woman with 2 of the most amazing teenage daughters, a menagerie of animals and a voracious appetite for reading who recently decided to write the storied running through her brain. I read my first book, Dr Suess' Cat in The Hat by myself at 4 and was hooked. I believe a good book along with shoes, makeup and purses will never let a girl down and that all heroes of all the books I have ever read or will ever write pale in comparison to my daddy! I am a sucker for a happy ending and love some hot sweaty sex with a healthy dose of romance. I am still working on my story but believe it will contain all of the above with as much SPICE as I can work into it. CHEERS!

Previous Books in the Series

Dragon-Guards-Series-copy

Her Dragon to Slay (Dragon Guards #1)

Her Dragon's Fire (Dragon Guards #2)

Haunted by Her Dragon (Dragon Guards #3)

For the Love of her Dragon (Dragon Guards #4)

Saved By Her Dragon (Dragon Guard #5)

Only For Her Dragon (Dragon Guard # 6)
http://amzn.to/1wmFE7w


WLK Giveaway
$50 Amazon Gift Card & $25 Amazon Gift Card

presented by 
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for full schedule visit Here

RELEASE DAY BLITZ: “Twisted” (Lost, #2) By Cynthia Eden


Twisted
(Lost Series, #2)
by Cynthia Eden

Blurb:

In the second seductive LOST novel from New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Eden, an obsessed Last Option Search Team agent goes looking for trouble—and finds her in the Big Easy.

Dean Bannon comes to New Orleans for one reason only: to track down a missing sixteen-year-old girl. That's before he meets the drop-dead gorgeous con artist who makes him want to lose his legendary control.

With her past, Emma Castille doesn't claim to be psychic. She just notices things other people don't. Like the fear in a runaway's eyes—or the pain in an ex-FBI agent's heart. Her chemistry with Dean is blistering, but Emma follows her passion . . . not someone else's orders.

Then a madman breaks into Emma's home and leaves a twisted message: You're next. Now Dean refuses to let her out of his sight until he pries every last secret from her full, sexy lips. And suddenly Emma's aching to give him everything he wants. 



Available for purchase at

               


 Excerpt



“You’re not psychic.”
Were they back to that?
She put her hands in her lap. Emma didn’t believe in making nervous gestures. She didn’t believe in giving away anything at all with her body language.
“What you are …” Ah, now he did smile. Her father would have called it a shit-eating grin. The more PC term was probably a Cheshire cat smile. Whatever the name, that smile annoyed her. “What you are, Ms. Castille … is a criminal. A fraud.”
Maybe she should grab her chest and dramatically gasp. She didn’t. “Wonderful for you,” Emma said. “You pulled up a background report one me.” She let her eyes widen a bit. “It’s amazing just what one can find if a person knows how to use a search engine.”
A furrow appeared between his eyes.
“How about I say what … you are?” Emma asked him. “A washed-up FBI agent who snapped on the job. You held your control tight every single day, but the bad guys—they just didn’t stop, did they? You hunted them, you stopped them, and more appeared. While you were fighting the system, they kept coming, and the bodies kept piling up on your watch.”
He shot right back to his feet. The folding chair slammed down behind him.
“You and your father bilked desperate people,” he accused. “You told them you were psychic, that you could help find their missing children. And you—”
“We found them.” Two girls who’d vanished. They’d found them. “We just didn’t get to them in time.” And she would not go back to that place.
She motioned toward Manuel. He knew the signal meant he could take over her booth. There was no way, no way, that she was going to stay there with that prick while he slammed the most painful moments from her past in Emma’s face.
Manuel, pale, tattooed, with piercings in his lips and eyebrows, quickly claimed her spot.
Emma jumped to her feet. Muttered her thanks, and fled right past the guy she was starting to think of as Agent Jackass.
She pushed through the crowd. Wasn’t there always a crowd in Jackson Square? And that was why she loved the place. It was so easy to vanish in a crowd. To be anyone.
The crowd closed around her.
To be no one at all.
She hurried around the back of the cathedral. She knew the streets so well. Her home was close by. Emma would get inside and forget Agent Jackass.
I’m being followed.
Emma stilled at the intersection. A horse-drawn carriage rolled by her. Voices called out.
And he touched her.
Emma didn’t flinch. Didn’t scream. She looked down at the hand on her shoulder. “When a woman runs away from you, that means you need to stay the hell away from her.”
His hold tightened on her. “You and I aren’t done.”
She looked up at his face. Had she really thought the man was handsome? Annoying, that was all Dean Bannon was.
“I need to find that girl, and you’re the only lead I have so far.”

“Then you’re not a very good investigator.”


About the Author

USA Today Best-selling author Cynthia Eden has written over twenty-five novels and novellas. She was named as a 2013 RITA® finalist for her paranormal romance, ANGEL IN CHAINS, and, in 2011, Cynthia Eden was a RITA finalist for her romantic suspense, DEADLY FEAR.
Cynthia is a southern girl who loves horror movies, chocolate, and happy endings.  She has always wanted to write (don’t most authors say that?), and particularly enjoys creating stories about monsters–vampires, werewolves, and even the real-life monsters that populate her romantic suspense stories.

Cynthia’s foreign sales for her books include translations to Japan, Germany, Thailand, Greece, and Brazil.
(Back in the day…) Cynthia graduated summa cum laude from the University of South Alabama where she studied Sociology (because people interest her) and Communication (because she likes to write about said people).Cynthia has worked as a college admissions counselor, a teacher, and as an editor. But now, Cynthia is thrilled to be spending her days making up stories.


          







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Apr 27, 2015

ARC Review: OVERRULED (The Legal Briefs, #1) by Emma Chase





Summary:

Emma Chase, New York Times bestselling author of the Tangled Series, returns with the first installment of the Legal Briefs Series.

As a DC defense attorney, Stanton Shaw keeps his head cool, his questions sharp, and his arguments irrefutable. They don’t call him the Jury Charmer for nothing – with his southern drawl, disarming smile and captivating green eyes – he’s a hard man to say no to. Men want to be him and women want to be thoroughly cross examined by him.

Stanton’s a man with a plan. And for a while, life was going according to that plan.

Until the day he receives an invitation to the wedding of his high school sweetheart and mother of his beloved ten-year old daughter. Jenny is getting married — to someone who isn’t him.

That's definitely not part of the plan.
  

***

Sofia Santos is a city raised, no-nonsense litigator who plans to become the most revered criminal defense attorney in the country. She doesn’t have time for relationships or distractions.

But when Stanton, her "friend with mind-blowing benefits" begs for help, she finds herself out of her element, out of her depth, and obviously out of her mind. Because she agrees to go with him – to The-Middle-Of-Nowhere, Mississippi – to do all she can to help Stanton win back the woman he loves.

Her head tells her she's crazy...and her heart says something else entirely.
 

***

What happens when you mix a one stop-light town, two professional arguers, a homecoming queen, four big brothers, some Jimmy Dean sausage and a gun-toting Nana?

The Bourbon flows, passions rise and even the best laid plans get overruled by the desires of the heart.





Buy Links:


Connect with the Author:




My Review:


4 stars.
I cover my face with my arm. Tonight did not go as planned. That's been happening a lot lately.
But I realized something crucial. Absolutely life changing.
I am a man in love. Just not a man in love with Jenny Monroe.
My first thought after this realization is: fuck me.
The second is: Drew Evans is going to laugh his ass off.

Drew Evans really is going to laugh his ass off. Stanton, you blind bastard, you deserve it!

But before Stanton finally came to the obvious conclusion, the blind bastard, as I affectionately call him, had a long way to go. Long, long way... That way, besides being long, was also fun and infuriating at the same time. Oftentimes I wasn't sure whether to laugh at Stanton or to punch him in the face. As I said, he had long way to go to get to the eye-opening experience... Okay, fine, it was only a matter of days.



*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *
 

After the New York investment bankers, Emma Chase brings us to Washington DC to meet an interesting group of defense attorneys. In Overruled the focus is on two of those attorneys: Stanton & Sofia. They are the stars of this book; both very successful defense attorneys, both smart and hot, and for the past six months they'd been friends with extremely hot benefits, an arrangement that suits them both just fine. But, of course, that's about to change. All thanks to a wedding...



As the blurb says, Stanton is a man with a plan. It's a plan he and his high school sweetheart Jenny made when they found out they were having a baby, and that plan was that he would go to college, get a job, be successful and whatnot, and somewhere down the road when he and Jenny were ready, and their daughter was ready to move away, they'd get married and start living together as a family. Another part of that plan was that their relationship was an open one: they could both see whoever they wanted when they were apart, but when they were together, it would be just the two of them. Now, this would be a perfect example of how different it was to read Overruled than it was all the Tangled books. With Tangled I just had a lot of fun reading about those characters, because the author wrote in a way I found highly entertaining. Of course, it goes without saying, I had fun with Overruled too, but it had many instances like that plan that made me think a lot about why the main characters were doing what they were doing. Now that I've read the book--twice, actually--I believe I have my answers. Anyone else who reads it may/probably will get to different conclusions, but I'm happy with mine.



Now, where was I? Right, the plan! Well, Stanton's plan was ruined when an invitation for Jenny and another man's wedding arrived. I just said I got my answers for the characters' behavior, but why Jenny didn't inform Stanton before remains a mystery to me, other than it was to make an interesting story to tell. No matter, the invitation came, rattled our Stanton enough to hop in his car and drive back to his hometown Sunshine, Mississippi to stop that wedding. With Sofia! Yes, that Sofia, the friends-with-incredible-benefits Sofia. His actual reason for bringing her along should have tipped him off who his heart truly belonged to, as were all the other times he got crazy with jealousy over Sofia, not Jenny, but Stanton was a blind bastard and that eye-opening kiss was still a way to go.



I'd rather not say too much about what happens in Sunshine; Sofia and Stanton's adventures there were a fun read. I particularly liked the parts with Nana, a sharp-tongued old lady with shotgun (luckily for Stanton, not loaded), and Stanton's daughter was a cool kid. All the fun adventures were a bit clouded by Stanton's misguided attempts to win Jenny back for which I wanted to punch him, on behalf of Sofia, Jenny, and myself. A stubborn man, Stanton is. It wasn't easy getting him to realize that a lot had changed during those eleven years, that really everything changed, including him. When he got it, well, it was worth waiting for.


Overruled was written in dual POV, so we have both Stanton's and Sofia's perspective. But, to everyone who's a fan of this author's male POV, I can say that Stanton's chapters significantly outnumber Sofia's. She wasn't the one trying to get her ex to call off his wedding, after all. No, she was there because she is Stanton's good friend, and because she apparently can't deny him anything. There may not have been many Sofia chapters, but what was there made me really like her, and therefore made me feel bad for her because while she was realizing she was in love with Stanton, he was on his stupid quest. He got over it, thankfully.


I've noticed there's some apprehension over whether there's cheating in the book. As far as I'm concerned, there isn't. In the time Sofia and Stanton were involved, they weren't with anyone else, and Stanton and Jenny had their own deal, and while he was busy with Sofia, she got engaged, you know... 



The important thing is Nana didn't shoot anyone, and happy-ever-afters were in the air for all parties involved.

“I want all of you. For real. And forever.”
“Darlin’, you have me. By the heart, by the balls, and any other way you want.”


*   *   *   *   *   *   *   * 
 
And so Sofia & Stanton's part in this series ended. They got their new beginning, new chance to be in a real committed relationship. Next up are the two other defense attorneys we got to meet here. I must say, from what I read about them, I'm pretty sure I'm going to like their stories. I'm even willing to bet I'll enjoy them more than this one. While I'm looking forward to see who Brent, the attorney who thanks to his boyish features gets regularly hit on by high school girls, ends up with, I'm glad the next book is about the all too serious Jake. I can't wait to see who will get under his skin!


***ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.***

Until next time, happy reading!


XOXO


 


By day, Emma Chase is a devoted wife and mother who resides in a small, rural town in New Jersey. By night, she toils away bringing her colorful characters and their endless antics to life. Writing has always been a passion and with the 2013 release of her debut romantic comedy, Tangled, the ability to now call herself an author is nothing less than a dream come true. - See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Overruled/Emma-Chase/The-Legal-Briefs-Series/9781501102035#sthash.7oPZtRxt.dpuf
By day, Emma Chase is a devoted wife and mother who resides in a small, rural town in New Jersey. By night, she toils away bringing her colorful characters and their endless antics to life. Writing has always been a passion and with the 2013 release of her debut romantic comedy, Tangled, the ability to now call herself an author is nothing less than a dream come true. - See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Overruled/Emma-Chase/The-Legal-Briefs-Series/9781501102035#sthash.7oPZtRxt.dpuf
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