Release Day Blitz, Excerpt & #Giveaway: ☆Within These Walls☆ by @authorjlberg

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I’m so excited for the release of WITHIN THESE WALLS by USA Today bestselling author J.L. Berg! This new contemporary romance standalone is captivating and heartwarming and you don’t want to miss out on meeting Jude and Lailah.

A portion of the sales during the first week of release will go to a children’s heart charity.

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Within these walls, he became my solace, my sanctuary and my strength.

I am not strong. I am just a survivor of circumstance.

Isn’t that what we all do? Survive?

Each of us has our own set of circumstances to muddle through. Mine are just more…complicated.

Born with a severe heart defect, I’ve seen the inside of a hospital room more than my own bedroom.

I was drowning, a prisoner to the illness that owned me, until he appeared. He thinks he’s blocked out the world with his tattoos and hard exterior, but I see the real Jude, the one he so desperately wants to forget.

But is he the answer to my prayers or will he break my already damaged heart forever?

My name is Lailah Buchanan, and this is our story of hope, redemption and sacrificing it all for the one you love.

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“What is your deal, Jude?” she yelled, taking several strides toward me.

“My deal?”

“Yeah, you’re sweet and endearing one minute and then brushing me off the next. I don’t get it. What do you want from me? Am I a charity case? Do you get off on hanging out with the poor sick girl but then tire of me easily?”

Closing the last few inches between us, I got in her face. “You have no idea what you’re talking about,” I hissed.

“No,” she answered, “I really don’t. You don’t tell me anything. You are this big, giant mystery that I know nothing about. Why is that, Jude?”

“It’s too much,” I simply said.

“You mean, I can’t handle it,” she inferred.

“That’s not what I said, Lailah.”

“No, but that’s what you meant. You’re just like everyone else. I’m too fragile. I’m too weak. Let’s sugarcoat the truth, so it doesn’t upset Lailah. God forbid that we upset her,” she said in a mocking tone. “Well, I’m neither weak nor fragile. I’ve endured more pain than most people see in a lifetime, so don’t think for one single second that I can’t handle anything you can.”

“I know you can.”

“Then, why put me through all this? Do you even care a little about me?” Her voice was quiet and timid.

“I care too fucking much, Lailah.”

Without a second thought, I grabbed the nape of her neck and pulled her body to mine before fusing our mouths together. She gasped in surprise, pulling back slightly, but then she surrendered, melting into me completely. My hands tightened around her waist as I deepened our kiss. I knew this had to be her first kiss, and I intended to make sure it was well worth the wait.

A portion of the sales during the first week of release will go to a children’s heart charity.

J.L. Berg is the USA Today bestselling author of the Ready Series. She is a California native living in the beautiful state of historic Virginia. Married to her high school sweetheart, they have two beautiful girls that drive them batty on a daily basis. When she’s not writing, you will find her with her nose stuck in a romance novel, in a yoga studio or devouring anything chocolate. J.L. Berg is represented by Jill Marsal of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency, LLC.

Sign up for J.L. Berg’s brand-new newsletter here!

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Release Day Blitz & #Giveaway: ☆Beast: Part 1☆ by @author_ellaj

This is an erotic fairy tale inspired by Beauty and the Beast.

FROM HOLLYWOOD ROYALTY
At twenty-one years old, third-generation movie star Cal Hammond was on top of the world. He had more money than God and more women than any man could need. But when a night of debauchery ends in tragedy, he forfeits a life of luxury for a ten-year prison sentence at La Rosa, California’s most violent prison.
TO A BRUTAL BEAST
Eight years later, a ruthless, cunning man runs La Rosa from the inside. He is known simply as BEAST. All the wardens fear him. All the gangs obey him. He speaks to no one but his inner council. What he says is law.
NOW ONLY SHE CAN SAVE HIM
Annabelle Mitchell’s father is the warden at La Rosa. He deals as dirty as his trustees, and after years of smooth relations with Beast and the gangs he runs, Holt lands on the powerful prisoner’s hit list. That very afternoon, Annabelle pays a surprise visit to her father’s work, hoping to use her new counseling license at a place she thinks she could make a difference. When she catches Beast’s eye, he releases the warden and grabs the daughter. The price for the warden’s error is not death. It’s his precious Belle.
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Ella James is a Colorado author who writes teen and adult romance. She is happily married to a man who knows how to wield a red pen, and together they are raising a feisty two-year-old who will probably grow up believing everyone’s parents go to war over the placement of a comma.

Ella’s books have been listed on numerous Amazon bestseller lists, including the Movers & Shakers list and the Amazon Top 100; two were listed among Amazon’s Top 100 Young Adult Ebooks of 2012.

To find out more about Ella’s projects and get dates on upcoming releases, find her on Facebook at facebook.com/ellajamesauthorpage and follow her blog, www.ellajamesbooks.com. Questions or comments? Tweet her at author_ellaj or e-mail her at ella_f_james@ymail.com.

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Cover Reveal: ☆The Missing Pieces☆ by H.S. Strickland

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Sloane Bennett

I have a huge secret.
One that could change the lives of the people I love.
If they found out it would make them question everything.
So what does that force me to do?
Lie. Lie my ass off. Everyday, all day.
Then Ryan saunters into my life with a cocky smile and changes my outlook on life.
He’s dangerous, I know, but I can’t seem to stay away.
Which may cost me my family.

Ryan Huntley

I like being the cocky guy.
I like to be the joker.
Why, you ask?
Because it conceals my pain.
Then Sloane sashays into my life with mysterious green eyes.
She makes me re-think everything.
She gives me hope and faith.
But she’s hiding something and I am determined to find out what.
Which may cost me my life.
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Cover Reveal Party

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H.S. Strickland is from a small town in South GA called Brunswick. She moved to SC when she was in her early teens and just recently made the move to Florida. She dragged her daughters, husband, and kitty along with her. H.S. has always had a passion for reading, but recently starting writing, although it has always been a dream. Her Nanny always told her to follow her dreams, which is how she got into writing. That and her characters were nagging to have their stories told. If you can’t find H.S. behind the keyboard making magic, you will find her chasing her daughters around the house. If not that then curled in her big red comfy chair reading. She loves alpha-males who are almost ass holes, but still have a sweet spot for their woman. She has loved the entire journey to where she is now and couldn’t thank y’all enough!

Blog Tour & Excerpt: ☆Perfected by You☆ by J.M. Walker

An all-consuming need…

Evvie Neal was my addiction. The love I felt for her
controlled me and it brought me to my knees. She was my one. My only.

Destroyed as a boy, healed as a man, she was my
saving grace. The first person who knew the real me. Because of her, I became stronger. Whole. A true warrior in my own personal Hell.

As time went on, demons from my past haunted me,
threatening to ruin what I had worked so hard to become. Strong.

The ultimate sacrifice was giving up a piece of myself to be perfect. For her.

Mine
My dear sweet Evvie. My wife. My lover. My one. My only.

I’m writing this as a way for you to get to know me further. Deeper.

You know parts. Pieces. But do you really know all? I’m not a man of many words, as you know. I’d prefer to show you how I feel through the use of our bodies. Loving every inch of you, every curve, every freckle, as we move as one.

The first time that I met with Dr. Santos without you, he told me to start writing in a journal. He said it was a way for me to get out of my head. I told him he was a contradicting asshole. He laughed. I’m not a nice person when you’re not around, my sweet Evvie. I don’t take well with being told what to do. This is why I own my clubs. Why I’m the boss. Why I’m in control. I need it. I can’t have it any other way or else my life would be fucking miserable. The only good thing in it, is you. You are my strength. My light.

After I left Matteo’s office, his words bounced around in my head and I found myself at a book store. A black leather bound book filled with blank pages called to me. I remember my fingers tingling as it drew me in with each step I took towards it. The need to have the small 5×8 book took control. It was thrilling really. It was the same feeling I got when I first met you months ago.

I never told you how I felt. That moment when I walked in on you hugging Kane, a deep seeded need to rip his face off surfaced. It shocked me to the core, taking my breath away. I had never felt that way about anyone. I told you that I had an ex, someone who ripped my heart out when her boyfriend came back. Well with her, I never felt how I feel with you. I never had the urge to mark her as mine. To control her. With you? Evvie, I have to be in control of you. In the bedroom at least. Other times? You are your own woman. I know it. You know it. But I love you more every day that you submit to me when we play. I thank you for giving that piece of yourself to me. I know it’s hard to lose control. Trust me.

Now, this book is for my thoughts but I think it will be filled with so much more. This will be my gift to you, my little vixen. I can’t tell you how happy my words will be. You know my past. My history. But all you know is what I’ve told you. Let me show you what has really happened. Allow me to suck you in with my words. The only thing I ask in advance is for your forgiveness.

With this book, I’m giving you a piece of myself. It’s like a puzzle. Each journal entry a piece fitting into place. Some you may have to force until you find the right one that fits. But just know that this puzzle will reveal the real me. The whole me.

                                   


When J.M. isn’t working her Monday-Friday 9-5 job, she’s
spending her time reading, writing and with the love of her life. She’s an all-around Canadian girl. Born and raised in a small city.
If you don’t see J.M. writing, you’ll find her with her nose in a book. Whether it’s her words or someone else’s, she’s drawn to it. J.M. loves stories with Alpha broken males and that need to be ripped apart and put back together again. Men that fall to their knees over a wink or a giggle from their females.
Two things you will never find J.M. without; her cell phone
and lip gloss. If she has both of those items, you have a happy girl. Since starting her writing adventure in 2013, J.M. has met many people, real life, online, in her head and she loves every single one of
them. Without the support from others, none of this would be possible and she’s grateful for all that has been given to her.

ARC Review: ☆Broken☆ by @_LaurenLayne

Lauren Layne’s New Adult novel tells the story of a girl with secrets, a guy with scars, and a love that could save them both… or destroy them.

When Olivia Middleton abandons the glamour of Park Avenue for a remote, coastal town in Maine, everyone assumes she’s being the kind do-gooder she’s always been. But Olivia has a secret: helping an injured war veteran reenter society isn’t about charity—it’s about penance. Only, Olivia’s client isn’t the grateful elderly man she’s expecting. Instead, he’s a brooding twenty-four-year-old who has no intention of being Olivia’s path to redemption . . . and whose smoldering gaze and forbidden touch might be her undoing.

Paul Langdon doesn’t need a mirror to show him he’s no longer the hotshot quarterback he was before the war. He knows he’s ugly—inside and out. He’ll do anything to stay in self-imposed exile, even accept his father’s ultimatum that Paul tolerate the newest caretaker for three months or lose his inheritance. But Paul doesn’t count on the beautiful twenty-two-year-old who makes him long for things that he can never have. And the more she slips past his defenses, the more keeping his distance is impossible.

Now Paul and Olivia have to decide: Will they help each other heal? Or are they forever broken?

 Releasing: September 2, 2014
Pre-order:

4.5 Beauty and the Beast Stars


I almost want to laugh at how messed up we are.
Two completely shattered souls doing a weird approach-and-recoil dance around each other.

Remember Olivia from Isn’t She Lovely? She was Ethan’s ex girlfriend who broke his heart. Ring a bell? What started out with a lighthearted take on Pygmalion, now continues with an angsty and emotional take of Beauty and the Beast with Broken. This is the story of 2 damaged souls, Olivia and Paul. One is seeking penance while the other seeks oblivion. Can they heal each other without shattering their already broken pieces?

I wasn’t sure how I would like Olivia in her own book since saying that I liked her in Isn’t She Lovely would be an understatement. Lauren Layne certainly managed to redeem her in my eyes. With a deeper look into who she really is and the things that drive, you can tell that beneath the rich society girl is a also a girl that made a mistake and is looking for any way to redeem herself. She’s also running. Running from her daily life and her daily reminders of what she did and can no longer fix. So she takes a job in Maine caring for a war veteran. She just didn’t see Paul coming…

Paul is scarred and angry. He’s angry at the world, he’s angry at his life, and he’s angry at anyone that breaks his reclusive routine. So when his father announce that the new caretaker after the many before that he’s already run off is his last chance, he’s less than thrilled about it.

Ladies, let me just tell you, if you like your heroes to be colossal (and I mean COLOSSAL assholes) prepare to fall for Paul. Paul is the epitome of broken. He’s scarred inside and out, and his road to redemption is not a fast one. This is not someone that lays their eyes on Olivia and insto presto he’s smitten. Oh no. He was downright callous, but you still can’t help but fall for him. Your heart will hurt for him at the same time you will want to throttle the living daylights out of him and his treatment of Olivia.

The author gives the reader just the right amount of small tidbits and tiny morsels of the man that he can be, that will leave you almost torn between loving and hating him at the same time.

But don’t be fooled, because those few morsels are rare and few in between.


You want me?” he asks against my mouth. “You want my hands on you?”
Little alarm bells are going off in the back of my head. There’s no warmth in his words. No kindness, or even desire. He’s playing some sort of cruel game in which my body is definitely the playing board. And I’m a willing participant.

At times my head would be spinning between his rage and the small glimpses at the broken soul he hides beneath the cold and broken exterior.

Little by little Olivia begins to do what no other caretaker before her has accomplished; she begins to chip away at his walls. But will he let them down enough to let her into his heart?


Somewhere inside of me, a demon is telling me that I’m going to disappoint her. That I’m going to destroy her.

This book had a much more serious, emotional, and angsty undercurrent. And when I say angsty, I mean ANGSTY. But there’s also a small dose of steam to break it up

Soon followed by more angst.

What can I possibly tell you about this book other than it’s a must read? What else do you need? Read it and see for yourself. I know I for one cannot wait to see what this incredibly talented author has in store for the next book in the series. Dare I hope for Michael’s book next?

**ARC courtesy of publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

All quotes taken from the Advanced Reader Copy of book and may differ from the finished published version

ARC Review: ☆Tempting Her Best Friend (What Happens in Vegas)☆ by @Gina_L_Maxwell

A satisfying contemporary romance from Entangled’s Lovestruck imprint…

Alyssa Miller is tired of waiting for her next-door neighbor to see her as more than just his best friend. Ready to let off some steam, she heads to Las Vegas for a romance book convention where, if she’s lucky, she’ll get down and dirty with one of the sexy cover models.

Dillon Alexander doesn’t do commitment—especially not where his best friend is concerned. She deserves a man who can give her the world, not damaged goods. But when he realizes Alyssa intends to have a one-night stand on her vacation, he hauls ass after her to make surehe’s the one to scratch her itch.

Neither of them expects their explosive chemistry to burn hotter than the lights on the strip, but with a little help from Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, a flamboyant matchmaker, and TSA, what happens in Vegas might not stay in Vegas…

4 What Happens in Vegas Stars

To love someone is to know fear. Gut-wrenching, soulcrushing fear. Fear that your love won’t always be enough. Fear that something terrible could rip them away from you. There are dozens, hundreds of scenarios, but they all come down to the same thing: when you love someone with all your heart, the scariest thing imaginable is having to live without them.

If you’re looking for an easy, romantic, steamy and cute read, you really can’t go wrong with this book. The friends to lover trope is a tried and true method, and never fails to bring on a smile to my face, especially when it’s written by the fabulous Gina Maxwell. Gina puts her own spin on falling for your best friend with a little bit of Vegas craziness thrown in, a masquerade ball and a sexy Tarzan. Curious?You’ll have to read it find out more 😉

But I can give you a spoiler free cliff’s notes…

Alyssa Miller has been in love for her best friend for years. Heck, they’re practically acting like a married couple considering they live next to each other and see each other on a daily basis. Oh, except without the sex… and the never ending line of women that frequent her neighbor’s apartment.

Alyssa would love for Dillon to see her as something other that his sexless best friend, but she’s giving up hope. Her libido has certainly had enough of it. Batteries will only get a girl so far.

Tired of her risk-free and boring life, Alyssa decides that a weekend at a Romance book convention is the key to solve her dry spell. A steamy night spent with a sexy cover model she’ll never have to see again after seems just the key. Too bad Dillon is not exactly on board with that idea…

Dillon Alexander has always had feelings for his best friend, but he’s not the commitment sort and he knows he’s not what a woman like her needs. But when the idea of Aly with another man brings out his inner caveman? Let’s say a man will go to great lengths to resolve a situation; like follow her to Vegas and propose that he be the man to scratch her itch…no complications or strings need apply

Then, in the privacy of her room, he’d give her exactly what she wanted: excitement, passion, and multiple orgasms. Batteries not required.

And when the man puts his plan into action? Well let’s just say Alyssa never stood a chance

So what happens?
What starts of as this

Turns into a whole lot of this

I loved the setting of Vegas and all the fabulous side characters that were introduced. While this wasn’t anything I haven’t really read before, it was entertaining from beginning to finish. A little cute, a little sexy, sometime a touch cheesy, but still wonderful. An angst light, fluffy and romantic read that will appeal to all lovers of contemporary romance.

I hope that Dillon’s twin will be getting a book next. This is just one of those light and easy reads that are perfect for in between reads or just when you need a cute and uplifting romance.

**ARC courtesy of publisher in exchange for an honest review**

ARC Review: ☆Tell Me Something Good☆ by Jamie Wesley

A satisfying category romance from Entangled’s brand new Lovestruck imprint…

Two radio show hosts. One show. Who will come out on top?

In a moment of restlessness, Tate Grayson sold his multimillion-dollar company and spun his love of sports into a radio talk show. Life, and love, is too short to take seriously—a fact he enjoys rubbing in uptight radio host Noelle Butler’s face.

After the death of her parents, a tragedy she blamed on herself, Noelle vowed to live a controlled, focused life. Now a psychologist, she channels her need for connection into her radio show. But when the arrogant sportscaster next door tells listeners men shouldn’t get married, she’s all too happy to yank the silver spoon out of his overprivileged mouth.

Their heated on-air arguments are a hit, but when the station director forces them to do a joint show for two weeks, Tate and Noelle object. They can’t stand each other, despite the attraction sizzling beneath every interaction. But if they can’t pull the struggling radio station back from the brink, they’ll lose their jobs. Or worse, their hearts.

3.5 Stars

She had commitment written all over her. For him, relationships were all about temporary fun. Women looking for a ring need not apply.

What happens when an uppity psychologist that gives love advice on the radio comes head to head with a structure hating sports talk show host? This book.

Noelle Butler and Tate Grayson couldn’t be more different. Noelle is a radio host for a love advice show. She lives her life in a neat and structured order, dreams of a love that her parents had, and gives love advice to the masses on her show. Her view on relationships? They need to have the 3 C’s

Cool, commitment, and communication. Are you cool with each other? Are you committed to each other and making the relationship work? Finally, are you respectfully communicating with each other about your feelings?

All is right with her world until Tate “The Great” Grayson, the sports talk host at the same radio station as her and commitment-phobe decides to call into her show and offer his views…

“My three C’s are chill, cling-off, and change.
Chill. Don’t let your emotions get the best of you. Don’t let her fool you into thinking you can’t live without her because you can. Cling-off is kind of like bug repellent. Don’t let her cling. If you follow those two words, it makes change all the easier. When things get boring, bam, you’re off, your emotions unattached.”

They may butt heads when it comes to their views on relationships, but that doesn’t mean they’re not radio gold when they do it. So it’s only logical that their station director forces them to do a joint show for two weeks. A recipe for disaster or for the sparks between them to truly fly? Guess you’ll have to read to find out.

I enjoyed this book, but I can’t really tell you that I loved it. I think it was just a little too “sweet” for my personal tastes. It’s completely a case of it’s me not the book. This read like a really cute romantic comedy, but while I enjoyed it for the most part, I just didn’t fell that connection between Noelle and Tate. Their bickering was entertaining but felt more friendly than sexual for the most part…at least in the beginning. I’d definitely recommend this book for those readers that enjoy a sweet contemporary romance. Who knows, I am in the minority with my opinion, so you just may love it. The writing was great and I’ll happily read Jamie Wesley’s future books.

**ARC courtesy of publisher in exchange of an honest review**

Blog Tour & #Giveaway: ☆The Lover’s Secret☆ by @JCReedAuthor

The Lover’s Secret

Release date: August 5th, 2014
Genre: Mature New Adult/ Adult Contemporary Romance
Recommended for ages 18 and up.
Full Length Novel

When a sexy encounter comes like a dream and leaves like a nightmare…

Brooke Stewart thinks she’s finally safe. After witnessing the crime of a killer, she can move on from her past. But after one night at the Trio Hotel and meeting the sexy stranger with the green eyes that can steal one’s soul, her life is changed forever. Passions run deep. The game is supposed to be for one night with no strings attached.

What she doesn’t know is that the sexy stranger has an agenda of his own. Brooke Stewart has something he desperately wants, something he can’t admit to the woman he tries to get to surrender. A secret so deep it would upend her life if she found out too soon. He’s almost reached his goal, and then she gets a letter she was not meant to read. Suddenly, secrets get a completely new meaning.

Is the past really ever the past?



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ARC Review: ☆Crave The Night (Midnight Breed, 12)☆ by @lara_adrian

Born and raised to be an emotionless killing machine, Nathan is one of the most lethal Breed vampires in existence. A key member of the Order—an elite group of warriors charged with protecting both mortals and vampires—Nathan executes each mission with flawless precision and a total lack of mercy. Now he must pursue a powerful, hidden enemy. But Nathan’s hard discipline and training are no match for the fierce pull he feels toward a young woman he has no right to desire—a woman of wealth and high social standing who has long been promised to another Breed male, and who may also prove to be the key to rooting out Nathan’s elusive quarry.

Jordana lives a life of glittering privilege as a member of a prominent Breed family in Boston. Surrounded by fine things and fawning admirers, Jordana wants for nothing—until she crosses paths with a dark, intense warrior from the Order and finds herself swept into an impulsive, sizzling kiss that neither of them will forget. As much as she tries to deny her deep feelings for Nathan, Jordana cannot resist the craving to be near him, to break through his forbidding walls and see the man he truly is. But getting close to Nathan will thrust Jordana into a treacherous new world, forcing her to risk all she has and all she knows about herself and her past. And loving this seductive man could be the most dangerous temptation of all.

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Review
4 stars

She was stepping off that ledge tonight, falling too fast.
Falling too hard for a lethal, untouchable Breed male who’d promised her nothing.
She knew this, the same way she understood that if reality waited for her at the bottom of this mad leap, it was certain to break her.

12 books into a series, and Lara Adrian is still going strong. This was another fantastic addition in the Midnight Breed series and seems to just get better for me. If you’ve been following the series, than just like me you have been itching to finally get the story for Nathan who we first meet as the long lost son of Corinne who was raised as a Hunter until his rescue at 13 in Deeper Than Midnight.

He was the fighting dog, rescued from the squalor and violence of the betting puts and brought into a kind, loving home to live a better life.

Knowing what his childhood was like and seeing his seemingly cold and hard exterior, you just knew that the man’s book will be good. And the best part? It wasn’t just good. It was better.

He chased.
He conquered.
He destroyed.

This is man that’s been honed to be a killer. He was bred to be unfeeling and cold, feeling never even coming into the mix for him…until a beautiful blonde changed everything with a simple kiss…

He fed and fucked because he had to, but he did it on his terms. Always under his strict control, in order to retain the edge of the honed, unfeeling weapon he’d been born and raised, mercilessly trained to be.
Jordana Gates had broken all of his rules.

Even though Jordana first comes off like a very demure heroine, she’s not at all what she seems to be. I love that every heroine in this series is fierce in their own right, and this definitely comes out in the story in one hell of a twist.

Among the action and twists and turns that are on constant in this book, in the center is the love story between a man that’s been bred not to feel and a woman that’s determined to bring out his lost humanity.

Jordana Gates was off limits for many reasons, but most of all this: Because she was pure. She was innocent.
He wouldn’t be the one to take that from her.
He couldn’t take that from anyone, not the way his hungers ran.

There was never a dull moment throughout the entire story and I couldn’t bring myself to put it down. While all the old characters are back, we also get a little bit more on the new ones. While I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about the series being taken into the future and the previous characters’ kids coming into the mix, I’m certainly sold on it now. It was a super smooth transition and I’m just as interested in the new characters as I was in the old….especially Rune and Carys who I’m hoping will get a book next.

But of course, my favorite part of this book was the building romance between Nathan and Jordana.

When I’m near him, it’s as though I’m standing naked in the middle of a raging storm. He makes me feel as if I’m on the steepest cliff, about to lose my footing. That if I step too close to him, I might never get back on solid ground.

And then there was the scorching hot sex…

This book had everything. I love the twist and the new additions of The Atlanteans into the mix. This was and continues to be one of my favorite PNR series, and I cannot wait to see what Lara Adrian has in store for us next.

She’d captivated him with a kiss. She’d challenged him, gentled him. Now she owned him.

ARC Review: ☆Power Play☆ by Mallery Malone

Raphael Jerroult a.k.a. the Crescent City Casanova, has fought his whole life—both in and out of the boxing ring. Watching his father suffer for years after his mother’s death, he’s resolved to envelop himself in a shell made of money, MMA matches, and a different woman every day. But when an old flame, and the only woman he’s ever truly let in, comes back in his life, Raphael can’t stop being distracted by the red-headed beauty with the curves that go on for days…

Macy Lovelace has no desire to start things up again with Raphael. Memories of the sweetest torture she’s ever known can’t make her forget that he’s not cut out for long-term love. But Macy’s the only girl who Raphael ever let in, the only girl who really knows his sexy, dangerous side. And with the Crescent City Casanova, the only way to keep up, is to be tied down…

3.5 Lovers Reunited Stars

This was much more than she remembered. He was much more than she remembered.

Don’t let the “billionaire” series title or the page count fool you, this book is much more that it seems to be at first glance. The cover whore in me simply couldn’t pass up that cover, and the dirty talking MMA fighter lover in me simply couldn’t pass up that synopsis. So I read it…and I’m so glad I did.

If you love the lovers reunited trope, you’ll really enjoy this one. While I can’t say that this was so unlike anything I’ve read before, it was a thoroughly entertaining, romantic, and steamy read from beginning to finish. Mallery Malone has managed to accomplish what I find quite rare, give a fully developed story with MCs that you will fall for from the beginning in just 90 short pages. Typically with short novellas I don’t connect with the characters since the pace is just too quick, but that wasn’t the case here. The story and character development was fantastic.

The sex was scorching hot but it wasn’t instant, which I appreciated as it gave me time to truly get invested in the characters and their love and backstory. The connection between Macy and Raffael was believable and even managed to pull at some of my heart strings.

If you’re looking for a short yet steamy novella with a lovers reunited trope, you can’t go wrong with this one. Perfect in-between books read, it had a little of everything. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book.

ARC courtesy of publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Copyright © 2015 · Dirty Girl Romance

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