Lana, Geri & Jenn swoon over THE DUCHESS DEAL by @TessaDare ‏

August 20, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

THE DUCHESS DEAL
Review: Girl Meets Duke #1
Genre: Historical Romance
Author: Tessa Dare
Release Date: August 22, 2017

When girl meets Duke, their marriage breaks all the rules…

Since his return from war, the Duke of Ashbury’s to-do list has been short and anything but sweet: brooding, glowering, menacing London ne’er-do-wells by night. Now there’s a new item on the list. He needs an heir—which means he needs a wife. When Emma Gladstone, a vicar’s daughter turned seamstress, appears in his library wearing a wedding gown, he decides on the spot that she’ll do.

His terms are simple:
– They will be husband and wife by night only.
– No lights, no kissing.
– No questions about his battle scars.
– Last, and most importantly… Once she’s pregnant with his heir, they need never share a bed again.

But Emma is no pushover. She has a few rules of her own:
– They will have dinner together every evening.
– With conversation.
– And unlimited teasing.
– Last, and most importantly… Once she’s seen the man beneath the scars, he can’t stop her from falling in love…

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LANA’S REVIEW

Emma Gladstone had learned a few hard lessons by the age of two-and-twenty. Charming princes weren’t always what they seemed. Shining armor went out of fashion with the Crusades. And if fairy godmothers existed, hers was running several years late. Most of the time, a girl needed to rescue herself.

Is it possible for my swoons to have swoons? Because I’m pretty sure they all mated together in a swooning frenzy and had swoon babies. I mean all of the swoons! ALL OF THEM!!!! This book was everything. EVERYTHING. It was romance perfection. I think my goosebumps had swoons, for goodness sake. No really. I’m not exaggerating even a little. This book was a little peace of romantic heaven. It was everything I love about a great romance; great banter, humor, sizzling steam, and two main characters that you can’t but help and fall head over heals for.

Emma Gladstone

Complexion: cream. Lips: rose petals. Lashes: sable. Backbone: steel.

I. Loved. Her. Here’s a woman that didn’t live an easy life. Not even close. And yet she never loses her fire, her sparkle, her incredibly gentle heart. When she faces down a broody duke in order to receive payment for a dress she made for his ex fiancé, the last thing she expects is a proposition of her own. The man is impossibly stubborn, grumpy, with a penchant to blasphemy in the most creative of fashions, and perhaps slightly deranged…

Are you—” There seemed no way to say it but to say it. “Your Grace, are you trying to get me into your bed?”
“Yes. Nightly. I said as much, not a minute ago. Are you listening at all?”
“Listening, yes,” she muttered to herself. “Comprehending, no.”
“I’ll have my solicitor draw up the papers.” He returned to his place behind the desk. “We can do it on Monday.”
“Your Grace, I don’t—”
“Tuesday, then.”
“Your Grace, I cannot—”
“Well, I’m afraid my schedule is quite booked for the rest of the week.” He flipped through the pages of an agenda. “Brooding, drinking, indoor badminton tournament…”

The Duke of Ashbury has returned from the war, a scarred, shell of a man he once was. A monster he no longer recognizes in the mirror. But a duke needs an heir, and to get an heir, he needs a wife, and to get a wife, well…he needs a miracle. When the beautiful Emma comes charging into his house, he believes she holds the answers to everything he desires. But what he doesn’t expect is for the witty beauty to tilt his world on its axis.

she tucked a stray wisp of dark hair behind her ear. Then she licked her fingertip and turned the page. His knees buckled. In his mind, he scrambled to piece that half second into a lasting memory. The crook of her slender finger. The red pout of her lips. That fleeting, erotic glimpse of pink. She did it again. Ash gripped the doorjamb so hard, his knuckles lost sensation.
He wanted her to read the whole cursed book while he watched. He wanted the book to have a thousand pages.

The chemistry between these two was instant and fiery. I couldn’t get enough of it. Their banter, their daily push and pull of Emma attempting to break through his walls and Ash retreating further behind them. I loved it so hard. I loved Emma’s backbone and take charge attitude. She was no wilting wallflower but there was also this endearing softness to her. It wasn’t long before everything about her began to tear down the walls that Ash has built around himself and questions everything he once thought. I loved watching that wall of his break down slowly. I loved the way that Emma slowly but surely healed his heart even though she couldn’t heal his scars. I love that he was the most perfectly imperfect hero. There was something so completely endearing about the man. GAH.

You are wet, and you are cold. You don’t like being cold. Therefore, I despise you being cold. I would go about murdering raindrops and setting fire to the clouds, but that would take slightly more than an hour. Perhaps even two. So we’re here, and you will cease complaining about it.”

This book is why I read romance. I can’t believe this is my first Tessa Dare book and I plan on rectifying this immediately. I loved every chapter, every page, every word. If you’re a fan of swoony and steamy historical romance with incredibly vivid and multi-layered characters, this is simply not to be missed!

GERI’S REVIEW

This was one of swooooooooooniest book I’ve read this year. The only other books that can compare in terms of the swoon factor was the Devil in Spring by Lisa Kleypas and The Day of the Duchess by Sarah MacLean. All three are historicals and all three worked like a charm.

War had taught him two things. First, life was fleeting. Second, duty wasn’t.

The hero, the Duke of Ashbury became a recluse and withdrew from society due to the injuries he sustained in the war. His face and his body was so scarred that people turned away from him, and even started calling himself a monster because of the way he looks. Because he a duke, one of his duties was to provide an heir. Something that he was adamant of doing or else his whole estate would be inherited by a cousin who is an irresponsible bloke. He didn’t want the people depending on him to have the misfortune of getting a spendthrift for a lord so he had the motivation to really find a wife and have an heir.

Emma Gladstone is the seamstress tasked to create the wedding gown for the Duke of Ashbury’s mistress until the wedding was called off. Unfortunately, she wasn’t paid. Desperate to get money to pay for her rent, Emma went to the Duke to ask for payment.

I have an unfortunate habit of looking for the best in people, and it makes me blind to their flaws.”

This is where their story begins, and man, what a story it is. What started off as a marriage of convenience turned into one of the most romantic and life-affirming stories I’ve read this year. Their meet-cute was one of the most hilarious I’ve read in a long time. t’s full of lighthearted and funny moments, and the romance is just, ah-mah-zing. I was swooning from beginning to end. Tessa Dare is known for her clever, witty banter and this book is brimming with it.

If you say so, my treasure.”
“I daresay I do, you little baggage.”

Emma is fantastic heroine. Her backstory was really sad and it made her into a person she is. I love how she’s not cowed at all by Ashbury’s appearance and temper. In fact, she revels in it. I enjoyed how she was able to coax her scarred husband out of his shell and made him a better person.

At first, I thought the Duke of Ashbury was going to be just this brooding temperamental one-dimensional character at first. I mean, I love me some grumpy, brooding hero but Ash is so much more than that. His sarcasm, his wit and deadpan humor added so much to what could have been a dreary and bitter character. He does have a chip on his shoulder, something that his character had to deal with throughout the book. But this hero was seriously funny.

And you claim to be feeling this way. Floatish. Singsong-ish. About me.”
She sighed. “Yes.”
“That’s absurd.”
“I know, but I can’t seem to stop it.”

There were some subplots in this book that might feel unnecessary but I thought that they were perfect because they add so much not only to the characters, especially the Duke, but also to the place where the story is set. And these subplots did a great job at setting up future storylines in the series, which is always a win for me.

The Duchess Deal is a book that you read in one sitting. Once you open it, good luck to your chores or doing anything else because all you’d want to do is read straight through. I had a biggest smile on my face reading this book. It’s romantic and full of characters that you can embrace and root for. So well done!

If you leave, I will follow. Do you hear me? I will follow and find you and cart you home.”

JENN’S REVIEW

I begged for this ARC. Literally. And I’m not even sorry. Was I surprised by how much I loved this book? Absolutely not. I will always love Tessa Dare….always. I always giggle in her books. I always swoon in her books. There is almost always a hate-to-love relationship, which is perfection for me. The Quirk! The Dry Humor! The Witty Dialogue! ALWAYS!

always GIF

SWOONS!

All the swoons!

Did I say swoons? Oh yeah, I did!

à la Mode St. » fashion

“You are wet, and you are cold. You don’t like being cold. Therefore, I despise you being cold. I would go about murdering raindrops and setting fire to the clouds, but that would take slightly more than an hour. Perhaps even two. So we’re here, and you will cease complaining about it.”

à la Mode St. » fashionEmma. Complexion: cream. Lips: rose petals. Lashes: sable. Backbone: steel. A seamstress, not only in deed, but also in heart. This is what she loves to do. In seeking out payment for a discarded fiance’s dress, Emma goes to the formerly intended groom for payment of the dress she made, which happens to be Ashbury. He needs a wife, so he proposes a marriage of convenience. These two are so different that at first, she doesn’t even believe him. Even after getting married, these two find it very difficult to get along (Ugh. I love it.).

Ashbury. What a brooding, scarred, perfect character. He is VERY scarred from a war injury. And jaded. And ill-tempered. And I love him. What can I say? He’s an asshole, and this dirty girl loves her assholes. He needs a wife to make an heir….and that’s pretty much it. He doesn’t believe anyone will truly desire him because of his disfigurement. I love scarred heroes so much. They are always assholes. yes yeah nod cowboy clint eastwood GIFThis book definitely had a slow burn. Ash promises to visit her bedroom every night (in the dark so she cannot see his scars) in order to conceive as quickly as possible. Of course, things take an unexpected turn into awkwardness and it doesn’t go as planned. Both Emma and Ash have their own insecurities (but still being awesome and not whiny bitches), so they vow to themselves and each other to not get attached and to take precautions so that emotions don’t get involved in their marriage. (Psh! Please. Who are they kidding? Am I right?)

yes yes gif yes gifs GIFà la Mode St. » fashion

As he stood in the doorway watching, she tucked a stray wisp of dark hair behind her ear. Then she licked her fingertip and turned the page.

His knees buckled. In his mind, he scrambled to piece that half second into a lasting memory. The crook of her slender finger. The red pout of her lips. That fleeting, erotic glimpse of pink.

She did it again.

Ash gripped the doorjamb so hard, his knuckles lost sensation.

He wanted her to read the whole cursed book while he watched.

He wanted the book to have a thousand pages.

à la Mode St. » fashionWhat I love the most about Tessa Dare’s books?

EVERYTHING.

 

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Geri & Lana’s Review: Royally Endowed by @EmmaChse

August 17, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

ROYALLY ENDOWED
Series: The Royally Series Book 3
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Emma Chase
Release Date: August 14, 2017

Logan St. James is a smoldering, sexy beast. Sure, he can be a little broody at times—but Ellie Hammond’s willing to overlook that. Because, have you seen him??

Sexy. As. Hell.

And Ellie’s perky enough for both of them.

For years, she’s had a crush on the intense, protective royal security guard—but she doesn’t think he ever saw her, not really.

To Logan, Ellie was just part of the job—a relative of the royal family he’d sworn to protect. Now, at 22 years old and fresh out of college, she’s determined to put aside her X-rated dreams of pat-downs and pillow talk, and find a real life happily ever after.

The Queen of Wessco encourages Ellie to follow in her sister’s footsteps and settle down with a prince of her own. Or a duke, a marquis…a viscount would also do nicely.

But in the pursuit of a fairy tale ending, Ellie learns that the sweetest crushes can be the hardest to let go.

***

Logan St. James grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, in a family on the wrong side of the law. But these days, he covers his tattoos and scars with a respectable suit. He’s handsome, loyal, brave, skilled with his hands and…other body parts.

Any woman would be proud to bring him home to her family.

But there’s only one woman he wants.

For years he’s watched over her, protected her, held her hair back when she was sick, taught her how to throw a punch, and spot a liar.

He dreams of her. Would lay down his life for her.

But beautiful Ellie Hammond’s off-limits.

Everybody knows the bodyguard rules: Never lose focus, never let them out of your sight, and never, ever fall in love.

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Ellie

But then the mood shifts, as if the air becomes thicker, weighted, more . . . sultry.

Because slowly, Logan sinks down to one knee in front of me—looking in my eyes the whole time. In this position, I could touch his shoulders, comb my fingers through his thick, dark hair. He’s the perfect height for me to bend down and kiss his mouth—the perfect height for him to kiss me back . . . in a lot of places.

My breath hitches. And I wonder he feels it too.

There’s a sound of tearing Velcro, and Logan takes something off his ankle—a holster, with a small silver knife, about three inches long.

“Keep this on you all the time,” he says seriously. “Just in case. If you wear a skirt, the strap will fit around your thigh.”

And I almost laugh. Most girls get a ring from a guy on his knees. I get a murder weapon. But still, it makes me feel safe . . . watched over. Like I’m something precious that deserves to be protected.

I take the knife from him, testing the surprisingly solid, heavy weight of it in my hand. I press my index finger to the tip.

Logan grabs my wrist tightly. “Careful. It’s sharp.”

There’s a small, painless nick, a tiny bead of blood, so I put my finger in my mouth, sucking.

And Logan’s watching me again.

Watching my mouth.

His chest seems to rise just a little faster, and his throat ripples when he swallows. He bends his head, curves his strong back, and then I feel his hands on my ankle, securing the strap. His touch is warm and self-assured. It’s the way he always moves—confident and experienced. Logan knows his body and he knows how to use it, in every way possible.

I almost moan. The sound is in the back of my throat, but I keep it trapped. I never knew the ankle was an erogenous zone, but it sure as hell is now. A hot pulse of pleasure streaks from Logan’s fingers on my bare skin, up my thigh, between my legs.

And I throb there, growing swollen and heavy as he keeps his hands on me.

Can he tell? Does he know? He’s so aware of everything, always so attuned, I wonder if he can sense my arousal . . . feel it in the air that clings between us.

LANA’S REVIEW

Hey Logan?”
“Yeah?”
“One of these days . . . I’m going to save you back.”

Oh.
My.
Swoons.

I can barely form a coherent thought right now. I’m a melty pile of swoony goo at the hands of Emma Chase. The woman is incapable of writing a book that I devour in one sitting with a goofy grin on my face for the entire time. As much as I adored Royally Matched, I think this book totally topped it. I don’t have the words to describe all the ways I loved it. And oh my god, you guys, how I loved it!!!

Somebody once told me a slow-burning fire is the hottest—and it must be true. Because Logan and I are a fucking inferno.

If you love an incredibly written slow burn romance with a hero that’s simply to die for and a heroine you’ll want for your best friend, this book will be going straight to your top favorites shelf. GUARANTEED. It wasn’t just swoony, it was EPICALLY swoony. Logan owns my heart AND my ovaries. I don’t ever want them back. EVER.

I don’t know if I’ll be any fucking good at love. I’m not quite sure how it’s done. But, for her, I’ll learn. And I’ll do my damnedest to get it right.

You may remember Ellie Hammond as Olivia Hammond’s baby sister in Royally Screwed. Ellie has always been a bit of a free spirit. Sassy, a little quirky, optimistic and a bit naive in her youth, her brother in law feels like she needs someone to protect her when they’re not around. And the only man he trusts for the job is royal guard, Logan St. James.

They first meet when Ellie is a senior in high school. The chemistry is there, but it’s on a low simmer. Then over the years as Logan sees Ellie grow into a beautiful woman, that low simmer begins to turn into a sizzling inferno that proves almost impossible to resist.

I love a good slow burn romance, and this was easily one of my favorites. I love the playful nature that first forms between Ellie and Logan. I love the way he tries to deny his feelings for her while still falling in love with her. I love the way that Ellie goes after what she wants and I loved the way that Logan finally gives in. These two were some of the most endearing characters I’ve read in a while and I just couldn’t get enough of them.

This book had everything you’d expect from the incredible talent that is Emma Chase; humor, witty dialogue, fantastic characters, and a romance that’s so swoony, it may leave you in a pile of melty goo! This series is just perfection. It’s my indulgence when I need a light and easy romance that will give me the warm and fuzzies and leave me with a smile on my face. Suffice it to say that I. LOVED. IT.

GERI’S REVIEW

Life changes us, with its twists and turns, in ways we don’t always see coming. It changes what we want, what we dream, lays blessings in our hands better than anything we could’ve imagined.”

Emma Chase did it again. Royally Endowed is wickedly sexy, funny with loads of heartfelt moments and characters that you can’t help but root for.

Logan St. James is the dutiful royal bodyguard tasked to guard Princess Olivia Hammond’s baby sister, Ellie. Since her sister married into the royal family, Ellie’s life changed. Part of that change is the stable of bodyguards following her every move and keeping her safe. And provide Ellie with some eye candy along the way.

Logan is the hot, heroic, silent type and unsurprisingly, Ellie developed a crush on him from the get go. As Ellie grew older, that crush developed into something more. But Logan has always been a loyal and dutiful bodyguard. He wouldn’t jeopardize his job or his relationship with the royal family. So even though he started to see Ellie as someone other than the princess’ younger sister, he can’t be with her the way Ellie wanted to. Or so he thought.

Royally Endowed is probably the most romantic of all the books in this series. And that’s because Logan is just something else. He might not be a prince but man oh man, he gave Nicholas and Henry a run for their money. And for me, he’s my favorite hero in this series. Don’t get me wrong. I love Nicholas and Henry but there’s just something about Logan that puts him above the rest.

His loyalty and dedication to his job, not to mention the way he handled Ellie’s crush on him was endearing. I never felt like he took advantage of her especially since she’s way younger than him and basically still in high school when the story started.

Ellie is just as endearing. She’s a free-spirit and even though people see her as nothing but an airhead, she’s more than that. She displays a maturity that’s unexpected considering how young she is. She’s loves her family and is loyal to a fault. I love how she loves Logan in her own way, at a distance at first and then up close.

For the first time since I met him, my hero looks lost, my guardian angel has a broken wing. And I want to mend him, save him the way he’s always saved me. I want to love him until he feels found.

Their relationship was never easy because of the difference of their status. Ellie is the sister of the princess of Wessco, while Logan is just the lowly bodyguard. But their differences is superficial. At the heart of it, Logan and Ellie have more in common than anyone else. I really enjoyed the way their relationship unfolded.

And Logan…*swoon He made this book for me. He had so much too lose with pursuing Ellie but once he decided that she’s it for him, he’s there 100%. And I loved him for it.

You see the good in people, Ellie. You trust. That’s a good way to be, a brave way. I’ll watch more closely from now on; I’ll make sure this never happens again. You just be who you are. Leave the rest to me.”

Emma Chase has another winner in her hands. If you’re a fan of her writing, then this book is a must read. And if you’re looking to be swept away by romance, yes, this book is for you.

 

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Emma Chase is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the hot and hilarious Tangled series and The Legal Briefs series. Emma lives in New Jersey with her husband, two children and two naughty (but really cute) dogs. She has a long-standing love/hate relationship with caffeine.

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Blog Tour, Review & Giveaway: The Forbidden by Jodi Ellen Malpas

August 17, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

THE FORBIDDEN
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Jodi Ellen Malpas
Release Date: August 8, 2017

FROM THE #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE THIS MAN TRILOGY….

What do you do when you can’t control your feelings for someone? When you know you shouldn’t go there? Not even in your head.

Annie has never experienced the ‘spark’ with a guy-the kind of instant chemistry that steals your breath and blindsides you completely. Until a night out with friends brings her face to face with the wickedly sexy and mysterious Jack. It’s not just a spark that ignites between them. It’s an explosion. Jack promises to consume Annie, and he fully delivers on that promise.

Overwhelmed by the intensity of their one night together, Annie slips out of their hotel room. She is certain that a man who’s had such a powerful impact on her and who could bend her to his will so easily, must be dangerous. But she’s already in too deep. And Jack isn’t only dangerous.

He is forbidden.

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“Thank you for your help,” I say quietly, studying him, definitely detecting that he’s deep in thought. Don’t ask, don’t ask, don’t ask. I need to get back into my apartment without engaging with him, which could prove tricky when he’s blocking the doorway and looking like he has no intention of shifting to let me in.“Annie,” he breathes. “I’m struggling so badly.”

“I’m not doing this.” I swallow, pushing my way past him. He grabs me by the top of my arm and holds me in place. “Let me go, Jack.”

“I’ve already told you I can’t do that. Annie, I’m drowning here. I’m going out of my mind, and the more time I spend with you the fucking worse it’s getting. Listening to you, talking to you, sharing a passion with you that goes way beyond the amazing time we had in bed together.”

“You have to forget!” I yell, knowing anger is the only way forward. Be angry with him. Let it dominate me and rule me, because the alternative scares me to fucking death.

He pushes me into the hall and slams the door behind us, forcing me to back up. “No,” he says, straight and even. “No,” he repeats, moving one more step forward, except this time I don’t retreat. Because I can’t. Because he has me locked in place with those grey eyes, and now they’re back to their full glory. Sparkling, even if it’s with anger. He reaches for his shirt and starts unbuttoning it before shrugging it off and throwing it to the floor, revealing the chest that’s haunting me.

I quickly look down at the pile of material, my mind reeling. His chest. His perfect damn chest. “What are you doing?”

“I have no fucking idea.” He reaches for me and slides a hand around my neck, pulling me to him. Our chests meet, and my determination to repel him vanishes under our connection. Wrongs turn into rights. Conflict turns into craving.

“I can’t get you out of my head, Annie.” His forehead meets mine, his palm massaging away the tightness in my neck muscles, softening me up until I relax in his hold. “I want you all over again, and I can’t even find the will to worry about how much more that’ll make me want you.” He breathes down on me. “I’ve played that night on repeat. I’ve dreamed of holding you in my arms again. I’ve craved the sound of your voice, the feel of your touch, the softness of your lips on mine. I know I shouldn’t want you. But I do. Nothing has ever made me feel this insane with need. Nothing has taken up so much space in my head. I can’t fucking help it, Annie.” His grey gaze sinks into me, my heart steadying to an even thrum. His head starts to shake mildly, his splayed hand moving up to the back of my head and fisting my hair. “I don’t want to help it,” he growls. “I want you. I don’t care how wrong it is.” His clenched fist tightens, gripping my hair harshly. “I know I’ve been on your mind since I fucked you every which way in that hotel room. Stop denying it. Don’t insult me and tell me you don’t crave that amazing feeling all over again. I can see it in your eyes every damn time I look into them. You. Want. Me.”

It’s me who moves in first. All me. I lunge forward and smash my lips to his, the magnetic force winning. His words winning. Jack winning. My heart winning. I coax his mouth open with hard, hungry kisses. I’ve lost my mind to a craving too powerful to fight off. And, like Jack, I don’t care how wrong it is.

Lost.

Yet as he walks me backward until my back slams into the wall, I feel found again.

I cry out, and Jack moans. We’re clumsy and desperate. He’s pushing me up the wall with the force of his kiss, then he’s rolling away, taking me with him until it’s his back slamming into the wall. It’s the elevator all over again. The atmosphere is sizzling. I’m on fire. He scoops me up, pinning me to him, and carries me into my bedroom. I focus on him. Only him and the return of feelings that I’ve fantasized about since that unforgettable night. All the guilt is abandoning me, and I let it, unprepared to let anything stop me from taking the forbidden.

I have no hope of stopping this. And no desire to. The forbidden is too irresistible. It has a dangerous allure and a compelling magnetism. And it’s certainly going to inflict pain and anguish. It defies reason for me to willingly allow myself to be possessed like this.

 

Wow.
WOW.
Just wow.

My feelings are all over the place but there’s one thing I know and that’s I’m absolutely blown away by the war honesty and emotion of this book. This is a story that many people will hate on principle alone. It’s a story that they’ll want to judge and condemn. It’s a story that will take you out of your comfort zone and likely never get you back to it. And I have so much respect for this author for daring to go there

In a time where there’s so many authors out there that write what they think the mass readership wants, this a story that was written solely because the author wanted to write it. She took a colossal risk with it. A risk that she even acknowledged won’t sit well with most. But this reader? I. Loved. It.

I knew that smile was dangerous. A man who can bend a woman to his will so easily and so soon couldn’t be anything less than lethal. And the fact that he got me with his wicked game means hats off to him.

The Forbidden is about love that’s unexpected and defies all rules. Annie is a woman that has dedicated herself to her career and making something of herself by the time she’s thirty. Having beat her time goal, she’s now a successful architect who’s never experienced an incendiary connection with any man. She’s practically given up on feeling that sort of connection with anyone until a total stranger tilts her entire world on its axis.

You’ve clearly never been consumed by a man.” He pauses, giving me a moment to agree, but I don’t. I’m fixated on him. “But one day a man will come along and he’ll swallow you up, Annie. Blindside you.”

And blindside her he did.

I don’t want to give away the story, and I implore you to go into this book with an open mind and no preconceived notions.

Tell me to go,” he whispers, the demand licking its way from the base to the top of my spine.
“Tell me.”
“Go.”
“Not a fucking chance.” He swoops in and takes my mouth as if he owns it—deeply, passionately and with an unfathomable conviction.

Did I want to judge these characters for their decisions? Absolutely. But there was just something so honest about them. They were so viscerally real and imperfect and while you want to condemn them for their choices, you really can’t, or at least I couldn’t. The author did such an incredible job with the character development that you truly understand the why’s of their decisions. My only quibble is the slightly over the top situation at the very end, but it also did nicely to tie up some loose ends, so I understand the necessity of it.

I applaud Malpas for truly stepping outside the box and writing what her heart wanted because you could truly feel that reflected in her writing. The Forbidden was raw, emotional, and completely unforgettable. It brought every emotion to the surface and while it was the furthest thing from conventional, it was also a book I won’t soon forget.

You possess me. You own me. You rule me,” Jack murmurs in my ear. “You are everything to me, Annie Ryan. My pulse, my heartbeat, my breath. Everything.”

Jodi Ellen Malpas was born and raised in the Midlands’ town of Northampton, England, where she lives with her two boys. Working for her father’s construction business full-time, she tried to ignore the lingering idea of writing until it became impossible. She wrote in secret for a long time before finally finding the courage to unleash her creative streak, and in October 2012 she released This Man. She took a chance on a story with some intense characters and sparked incredible reactions from women all over the world. Writing powerful love stories and creating addictive characters have become her passion, a passion she now shares with her devoted readers.

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Spotlight, Excerpt & Giveaway: Barrel Proof by Layla Reyne

August 13, 2017 by · 1 Comment

Barrel Proof
Series: Agents Irish and Whiskey #3
Genre: Romantic Suspense, MM
Author: Layla Reyne
Release Date: August 7, 2017
This book features: Book 3/Trilogy Conclusion. Angst, Action, Romance, HEA

FBI agents Aidan “Irish” Talley and Jameson “Whiskey” Walker can’t get a moment’s peace. Their hunt for the terrorist Renaud seems to be nearing an end, until a fire allows him to slip through their fingers—and puts Jamie’s life in danger. When Jamie is nearly killed, Aidan learns how many forms loss can take.

Aidan says I love you just moments before learning that Jamie’s been keeping a devastating secret about Aidan’s late husband. How quickly trust and love can go up in flames. When Aidan requests a solo undercover assignment, Jamie hopes Aidan will find a way to forgive him.

But the explosions are far from over. Aidan’s cover lands him in the heart of the terrorist’s conspiracy, and Jamie will have to put his life, his career and his freedom on the line to save the man who has become his entire world. Partners, always is a promise he intends to keep.

“A heart-pounding, romantic conclusion to the Agents Irish and Whiskey series.”

 

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Aidan snatched his hands away. “Why didn’t you tell me?”“She ordered me not to.”

“Wrong answer.” He rocketed out of the chair, snatched a tumbler off the table by the door and hurled it at the opposite wall, glass shattering.

“Aidan, please, stop.” Jamie used a bedpost to haul himself to standing, swaying. He moved toward his partner, putting as little weight as possible on the braced leg, the pain excruciating but not as unbearable as the thought of losing Aidan. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”

Aidan grabbed another glass and heaved again, keeping him back. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to break your heart until I knew the whole story.”

“Too late, baby.” He spat the cherished endearment, full of spite and hatred.

The verbal punch landed right where he intended, robbing Jamie of breath. “Irish, please,” he whispered hoarsely. “I’m sorry.”

Aidan shot forward, forcing Jamie back to seated. “I trusted you, with my back and my heart, and you lied to me for months.”

“I’m sorry, I thought I was protecting you.” Jamie reached for him, and Aidan batted his hand away.

“Wrong! We protect each other. Keeping critical information from me about our case, about Gabe and Tom, about my family, is not protection. It’s lying. And me not knowing the full story means I can’t protect them or you.” His shrill voice pained Jamie’s ears.

“Baby, please.”

“Renaud came after my husband, he came after my partner, he came after me. Fuck, Jamie, he keeps coming after me, and now he’s coming after you too. And my brother and my best friend. Maybe even my goddaughter. You didn’t think I needed to know that? I could lose them. I could lose you! I told you what would happen if I loved and lost you.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Jamie stood and reached for Aidan’s arm again.

Aidan wrestled him off, shoving his chest two-handed and sending him splaying back on the bed. “I can’t, Whiskey.” Chest heaving, his harsh breaths and harsher words came out a strangled blow. “I can’t do this.”

 Author Layla Reyne was raised in North Carolina and now calls San Francisco home. She enjoys weaving her bi-coastal experiences into her stories, along with adrenaline-fueled suspense and heart pounding romance. When she’s not writing stories to excite her readers, she downloads too many books, watches too much television, and cooks too much food with her scientist husband, much to the delight of their smushed-face, leftover-loving dogs.

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Prizes: (2) HUGE Agents Irish & Whiskey Gift Packs including: 1 Kindle Fire Tablet, 1 Agents Irish & Whiskey mug, and surprise swag! (Ships to US/Canada only; international winners will receive Amazon Gift Card: $35)

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Review: The Forbidden by Jodi Ellen Malpas

August 12, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

THE FORBIDDEN
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Jodi Ellen Malpas
Release Date: August 8, 2017

FROM THE #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE THIS MAN TRILOGY….

What do you do when you can’t control your feelings for someone? When you know you shouldn’t go there? Not even in your head.

Annie has never experienced the ‘spark’ with a guy-the kind of instant chemistry that steals your breath and blindsides you completely. Until a night out with friends brings her face to face with the wickedly sexy and mysterious Jack. It’s not just a spark that ignites between them. It’s an explosion. Jack promises to consume Annie, and he fully delivers on that promise.

Overwhelmed by the intensity of their one night together, Annie slips out of their hotel room. She is certain that a man who’s had such a powerful impact on her and who could bend her to his will so easily, must be dangerous. But she’s already in too deep. And Jack isn’t only dangerous.

He is forbidden.

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I have no hope of stopping this. And no desire to. The forbidden is too irresistible. It has a dangerous allure and a compelling magnetism. And it’s certainly going to inflict pain and anguish. It defies reason for me to willingly allow myself to be possessed like this.

Wow.
WOW.
Just wow.

My feelings are all over the place but there’s one thing I know and that’s I’m absolutely blown away by the war honesty and emotion of this book. This is a story that many people will hate on principle alone. It’s a story that they’ll want to judge and condemn. It’s a story that will take you out of your comfort zone and likely never get you back to it. And I have so much respect for this author for daring to go there

In a time where there’s so many authors out there that write what they think the mass readership wants, this a story that was written solely because the author wanted to write it. She took a colossal risk with it. A risk that she even acknowledged won’t sit well with most. But this reader? I. Loved. It.

I knew that smile was dangerous. A man who can bend a woman to his will so easily and so soon couldn’t be anything less than lethal. And the fact that he got me with his wicked game means hats off to him.

The Forbidden is about love that’s unexpected and defies all rules. Annie is a woman that has dedicated herself to her career and making something of herself by the time she’s thirty. Having beat her time goal, she’s now a successful architect who’s never experienced an incendiary connection with any man. She’s practically given up on feeling that sort of connection with anyone until a total stranger tilts her entire world on its axis.

You’ve clearly never been consumed by a man.” He pauses, giving me a moment to agree, but I don’t. I’m fixated on him. “But one day a man will come along and he’ll swallow you up, Annie. Blindside you.”

And blindside her he did.

I don’t want to give away the story, and I implore you to go into this book with an open mind and no preconceived notions.

Tell me to go,” he whispers, the demand licking its way from the base to the top of my spine.
“Tell me.”
“Go.”
“Not a fucking chance.” He swoops in and takes my mouth as if he owns it—deeply, passionately and with an unfathomable conviction.

Did I want to judge these characters for their decisions? Absolutely. But there was just something so honest about them. They were so viscerally real and imperfect and while you want to condemn them for their choices, you really can’t, or at least I couldn’t. The author did such an incredible job with the character development that you truly understand the why’s of their decisions. My only quibble is the slightly over the top situation at the very end, but it also did nicely to tie up some loose ends, so I understand the necessity of it.

I applaud Malpas for truly stepping outside the box and writing what her heart wanted because you could truly feel that reflected in her writing. The Forbidden was raw, emotional, and completely unforgettable. It brought every emotion to the surface and while it was the furthest thing from conventional, it was also a book I won’t soon forget.

You possess me. You own me. You rule me,” Jack murmurs in my ear. “You are everything to me, Annie Ryan. My pulse, my heartbeat, my breath. Everything.”

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Review & Excerpt: Beneath The Truth by Meghan March

August 11, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

BENEATH THE TRUTH
Series: Beneath #7
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Suspense
Author: Meghan March
Release Date: August 8, 2017

From USA Today bestselling author Meghan March comes the final sexy standalone set in the Beneath world of New Orleans.

I used to believe there were lines in life you don’t cross.

Don’t lie. Don’t cheat. Don’t steal.

Until I learned people don’t always practice what they preach.

I turned in my badge and gun and walked away from everything.

Then I got the call no one wants, and I’m back in New Orleans.

What I don’t expect is for her to be here too.

Another line you don’t cross?

Don’t touch your best friend’s little sister.

She’s always been off-limits.

Too bad I don’t follow the rules anymore.

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Wham. My heart slammed against my ribs as it sped up about twenty beats per minute.The heat and delicious woodsy citrus scent radiating from his body did good things to me. Things that made me want to do very bad things to him. I wasn’t a seventeen-year-old virgin anymore. I knew my way around a man, but I had to admit, the hipsters in Cali had nothing on a homegrown Louisiana man like Rhett.

When he spoke, he leaned in so close that I could feel his breath on my ear. “You missed that shot on purpose.”

My gaze jumped from the sexy five o’clock shadow shading his jaw to his piercing green eyes.

“Wha-what are you talking about?” I smacked myself mentally when my old stammer kicked in. Of course he would cause it.

“That shot. You missed on purpose. I saw you adjust at the last minute. Why?”

I swallowed the saliva pooling in my mouth and decided to take the safest exit from this situation. Lying.

“Cue slipped.”

His eyes narrowed on me. “You’re lying and you’re terrible at it, just like you’ve always been.” He reached up and pressed his thumb to my left eyebrow. “You get a twitch right here.”

Oh my God. Rhett Hennessy is touching me. And what’s more . . . he knows my tell. He noticed me!

The fifteen-year-old inside me did a terrible cartwheel at the realization. Okay, more of a round-off. With a tumble in the grass to finish. Whatever.

But outwardly, I was trapped in that green gaze until he decided to let me go—or until I came to my senses.

I cleared my throat and sidestepped him. “Whatever you say, hotshot. I need another drink.”

Focusing on putting one four-inch heel in front of the other without biting it, I escaped to the table and reached for the whiskey glass I’d left behind, interrupting my brother and the waitress. They both stared at me as I chugged the contents.

I’d always wondered what it would feel like to have Rhett’s attention, and now I knew. In a word, it was . . . unnerving.

“How’s the game going?” my brother asked.

“Fine.” Keeping my answer short meant he couldn’t tell that I was lying. Heath wasn’t nearly as observant as Rhett.

“You winning?”

Thanking the Lord that Heath obviously hadn’t been watching, I shrugged. “I guess.”

He glanced toward Rhett and then back to me. “The sister I know and love doesn’t lose at pool. Ever. Even to Rhett Hennessy.”

I lowered the glass to the table and straightened my shoulders. “Like they say, things change.”

He nodded slowly. “That may be true about most things, Flounder. But you’re a pool shark and we both know it.”

Before I could respond, Heath’s attention jumped back to the waitress. I took another ten seconds to gather myself, also known as drinking offensively in my mind, before I crossed the floor to face off against my former obsession.

“You all right, Red?” Rhett asked.

“Don’t call me that. And I’ve never been better.”

His gaze dipped to my feet and dragged up my body. “I can agree with that statement.”

Whoa. Who is this guy with the innuendo? A glance at his empty whiskey glass told me he was drinking heavily as well. Was this the booze talking? Or was Rhett Hennessy not just noticing me, but noticing me?

Either way, I had to play it cool. Or at least pretend to play it cool, since it seemed I might fall short.

“Your turn, hotshot. Better not miss, because I’ll clear the table next time,” I said, but my cocky attitude backfired.

Rhett didn’t miss. He sank his balls and then the eight, ending the game almost as quickly as it started. He returned his cue to the rack and turned to face me, all traces of the earlier heat banked, his expression shuttered.

“Game over.”

What the hell just happened?

There were lines you didn’t cross in life, and your best friend’s little sister was one of them. 

Sweet mother of grit but Meghan March know how to end a series with a bang. She not only lit the match and set things on fire, but threw gasoline on top for good measure to ensure the burn was even more sizzling.

This is the series that first introduced me to March and started my obsession, so this book was extra bittersweet for me. While I’ve been dying for Hennesy’s book since Beneath These Lies, I also never wanted it to end. Alas, all good things come to an end and there’s no better way to end this series than with ex-detective Hennessy. Now while you can absolutely enjoy this as a standalone, you’d also appreciate it a whole lot more if you at least read Beneath These Lies first. There’s a lot that happens in these books and while the author gives plenty of background to ensure new readers won’t be lost, you have a different appreciation for the characters having read the previous books.

Just when I decided I was well and truly over Rhett Hennessy, he sucked me back in with a single look.

Hennesy is back in New Orleans looking for answers after the suspicious death of his father who was under investigation for being dirty. Determined to clear his dead brother’s name and to finally unearth the truth, Hennesy is forced into the underbelly of a brutal cartel. His best friend’s little sister is a complication he doesn’t see coming.

Ariel has had a crush on her brother’s best friend since she was a little girl. But she’s not the little girl she used to be. These days she’s a genius CEO of a successful IT company and she’s over her school girl crush, or at least she thinks she is until she lays eyes on Hennesy. While there was always an undercurrent of heat, she doesn’t expect for the incendiary connection she feels with the man he is today. March is the queen of alpha males, and if there’s one thing that they all do well is go after their woman. Once Hennesy decides that ignoring the connection between Ariel and him is no longer an option, he goes after her with guns blazing. Ariel is no wilting wallflower and I loved her sass and inner monologue. She was a bit of a badass in her own right that was the perfect match for Hennesy.

This book had a much different vibe than the rest of the series for me. While I enjoyed the romance, I felt like it came secondary to the incredibly addicting and suspenseful story. This was quite possibly the grittiest book that Meghan has written to day, and I devoured each page with bated breath and on the edge of my seat. This was a powerhouse of a conclusion.

While I’m sad to see this series come to an end, Meghan introduced a secondary character here that I’m already salivating over. This man is the alpha to beat all alphas. We merely get a peek and the man sizzles with his presence. I cannot freaking wait for Ruthless King. Cannot wait, I tells ya.

Meghan March has been known to wear camo face paint and tromp around in woods wearing mud-covered boots, all while sporting a perfect manicure. She’s also impulsive, easily entertained, and absolutely unapologetic about the fact that she loves to read and write smut. Her past lives include slinging auto parts, selling lingerie, making custom jewelry, and practicing corporate law. Writing books about dirty talking alpha males and the strong, sassy women who bring them to their knees is by far the most fabulous job she’s ever had. She loves hearing from her readers at meghanmarchbooks@gmail.com.

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Blog Tour & Jenn’s Review: Twisted Twosome by Meghan Quinn

August 10, 2017 by · 1 Comment

TWISTED TWOSOME
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy
Author: Meghan Quinn
Publication Date: August 3, 2017

Racer McKay is a broody bastard.

From the moment I met him, he’s been rude, irritable, and unbearable.

A contractor working to remodel my parents pool house for extra cash, he stomps around in those clunky construction boots with his tool belt wrapped around his narrow waist, and a chip on his shoulder.

Racer McKay is also infuriatingly . . . sexy as hell. I want to take that pencil tucked behind his ear, and draw lazy lines slowly up and down his body all the while wanting to strangle him at the same time.

We try to stay out of each other’s way . . . that is until I have no other option but to ask for his help.

But what I don’t realize is he needs me just as much as I need him. I have money he’s desperate for, and he holds the key to making my dreams come true.

Our pranks turn from sarcastic banter, to sexual tension and lust-filled glances. Bickering matches quickly morph into slow burn moments. We’re hot, we’re cold. We push and pull. I need him, I don’t want him. We’re on the verge of combusting with an agreement dangling dangerously between us. Neither one of us can afford to lose one another and yet, we’re finding it quite hard to decipher the line that rests between love and hate.

AMAZON

Why is it so goddamn drafty in here? I grip my hammer in my hand, my tool belt riding low on my hips, and my stereotypical construction hat rests on my head as I finish up the project I was hired to do.Taking a quick look around, I search the bedroom looking for an open window or AC vent that’s blowing a cold breeze right against my dick and sac, making it almost impossible to look semi-decent in this scrap of fabric.

“Mmm, I think you forgot a nail on the ground over there,” says the throaty, smoke-filled voice of Mrs. Sage, who is lying across her chase lounge wearing a silky pink robe that is barely tied around her waist. She makes it her mission to show me as much skin as possible, and as we’re talking about skin showing . . .

I bend down to pick up the nail she’s pointing at as the thin strip of man thong material rides higher up my ass crack than I care to admit.

Let’s pause for a second.

Are you wondering to yourself, is Racer really wearing a man-thong as he finishes building a solid oak shelf?

The answer is yes. Yes, I am.

I’m Racer McKay and I wear man thongs for older, rich women while I work on simple projects around their houses. Excuse me, I mean mansions.

Don’t worry. Yes, I’m also very much ashamed to admit the level I’ve stooped to in order to make some cash. I have my pride, but right now, when I’m offered three hundred dollars more to build a shelf in a man thong, I’m choosing to seize the opportunity.

Self-respect was thrown out the window two years ago when a pile of bills and responsibilities were thrust in my direction without any preparation or warning. Making money is as vital as breathing to me, so I will take it any way I can get it.

Cue the man thong.

“Oh, you’re right. Here it is,” I say, holding up the nail. “Thanks for the help, Mrs. Sage. I would hate to see you hurt yourself from my lack of attention to detail.”

She waves me off and puffs her chest toward me, her robe slipping farther apart, showing the cleavage of a very saggy pair of breasts. I’ve seen my fair share of boobs and even though I don’t mingle sex with work, I can’t help but want Mrs. Sage to remove the robe just so I can see what she has hidden under the silky fabric.

How saggy are we talking here?

I’m interested for exploratory reasons, for knowledge of every kind of breast out there. Because right now, Mrs. Sage looks like she’s rocking a pair of pancakes that have been flattened by a steamroller.

“You would just have to nurse me back to health if that happened.” Her finger trails up her varicose vein-covered leg to her geriatric hip. I hold back the shiver that wants to spin up my spine.

All I can say is . . . can’t unsee that.

I nervously laugh and tuck my hammer into its holster. “Not much of a nurse, Mrs. Sage. I might hurt you even more.”

“I don’t mind getting hurt.” She starts to spread her legs and that’s when I call it a day.

I turn around quickly, snag my jeans and slip them up and over my legs, struggling with my tool belt getting in the way. Once things are in place, I remove my hat, put on my shirt, and then cover my hair with a backwards baseball cap. The peep show is over.

Once dressed, I gather my tools, tuck my construction hat under my arm, and turn to Mrs. Sage. This is my least favorite part, getting the old bird to pay up.

“Leaving already?” She pouts, lipstick on her teeth.

“Unfortunately, I have another engagement I’m running late for.” A lie, but it’s the only way I know to get out of here.

“That’s a shame. I really should book you for a whole day. That way you can’t skirt out of here earlier than I’m ready for.”

She walks out of the den and into the entryway where she opens her purse and pulls out a wad of one-hundred-dollar bills. My brain explodes from the amount of cash in her purse, as if it’s chump change she’s ready to throw around at a parade dedicated to her and her riches.

“What do I owe you? Six hundred?”

Fuck, it’s five hundred and if I wasn’t a nice guy, I wouldn’t correct her, but I believe in good karma. Especially considering where my bad luck has gotten me—trying to climb my way out of a large debt. I try to put as many good vibes out in the world as possible.

“We actually agreed upon five hundred, Mrs. Sage.”

“Such a bargain.” She flips through her cash, pulls out five bills—damn—and hands them over to me. “Shall I call for my next project?”

I pocket the cash. “Email is best, Mrs. Sage. I always feel awkward taking phone calls at work.”

“Such a hard worker.” She pats my face and leans forward, lips puckered, but I step to the side avoiding an attack from her old-lady lips.

As I depart, I wave my hand in the air and say, “Thanks, Mrs. Sage. I look forward to your next email.”

Out of her reach, I toss my tools in the back of my truck, enter the cab, and place my hands on the steering wheel as I exhale a long pent-up breath.


There are few books that make me BUST out laughing, actually taking me by surprise. And it happened more than once. This book definitely reminded me of R.L. Mattewson’s Neighbors from Hell series. What do you get when you put a HAF construction worker and a spoiled rich princess in a room together? This book.

à la Mode St. » fashion

“Little Debbie is my sugar mama. I love that bitch hardcore.”

“Little Debbie, as in the fat-filled snacks?”

“The one and only.”

Scanning the compartment of his cab, I look at him and say, “There must be fifty wrappers in here. You’ve eaten all of them? Aren’t you afraid of getting fat?”

Like the cocky ass he is, he lifts his shirt and pats his abs. “Not concerned, Princess. But thanks for checking.”

à la Mode St. » fashionRacer. Sexy, hot construction worker. YES>>>PLEASE. This guy is the perfect temptation. He meets Georgiana when he is a hired by her father to fix the pool house. Racer thinks Georgiana to be the typical spoiled, rich princess, and so begins the game of “Who can be the biggest asshole/bitch?” Georgie hires Racer to help build her dream bridal boutique, so they have to work closely together and spend lots of time with each other. The banter between these two is hilarious. Racer is such a dick! And I loved him! They even go so far as to play terrible pranks on each other.

These two couldn’t be more different. Hate-to-Love relationships are my #1 favorite, and Racer and Georgie hate each other soooo much, it’s delicious. They come from opposite worlds, but their attraction is fire-hot.

A pissed-off Georgie is the best kind of Georgie. Fucking fiery and perfect in every way.

Piece by piece, Racer and Georgie reveal bits of themselves, surprising each other. But I love that the witty banter doesn’t stop. It doesn’t get too mushy. Racer stays the cocky ass he is throughout the whole book, and that was much appreciated. He is so damn charming, I couldn’t even stand it.


à la Mode St. » fashion

It’s so twisted, our relationship, but ever since he’s started working here, I’ve become accustomed to his relentless teasing and nit-picking fights. I need them. They make me feel alive. He makes me feel alive.

à la Mode St. » fashionThis was my first Meghan Quinn book, and I am completely ashamed because this book was hilarious and I loved loved loved these characters! The story was hot and I was entertained during the whole book. I am definitely going to go read more of her books asap because…..all the laughing. And if you know me, you know I LOVE TO LAUGH. Laughing is my favorite.

A BLONDE AT HEART

Born in New York and raised in Southern California, Meghan has grown into a sassy, peanut butter eating, blonde haired swearing, animal hoarding lady. She is known to bust out and dance if “It’s Raining Men” starts beating through the air and heaven forbid you get a margarita in her, protect your legs because they may be humped.

Once she started commuting for an hour and twenty minutes every day to work for three years, she began to have conversations play in her head, real life, deep male voices and dainty lady coos kind of conversations. Perturbed and confused, she decided to either see a therapist about the hot and steamy voices running through her head or start writing them down. She decided to go with the cheaper option and started writing… enter her first novel, Caught Looking.

​Now you can find the spicy, most definitely on the border of lunacy, kind of crazy lady residing in Colorado with the love of her life and her five, furry four legged children, hiking a trail or hiding behind shelves at grocery stores, wondering what kind of lube the nervous stranger will bring home to his wife. Oh and she loves a good boob squeeze!

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Review: Wicked S.O.B. by Zara Cox

August 9, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

WICKED S.O.B.
Series: Dark Desires #2.5
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Author: Zara Cox
Release Date: August 8, 2017 

For so long, I lived for revenge. Now I live for her.

Ask anyone and they’ll tell you that Quinn Blackwood is not someone you mess with. I see. I want. I take. And you better not get in my way. That’s how I built my billion-dollar empire. That’s how I made my enemies pay. That’s how I won the one good, pure thing in my life, Elyse “Lucky” Gilbert. But after what I’ve done, my luck may have run out.

There is a fine line between love and obsession.

I’m not a fool. I didn’t think coming back to Quinn would be easy. That we would fall into a happy future and the darkness inside him would just disappear. Still, after everything we’ve been through, I couldn’t leave him to fight his demons alone. I’ve tried to convince myself nothing else matters as long as we’re together. But if I give him what he needs, will there be anything left of me?

AMAZON | iBOOKS

In a world of unlikely possibilities, Quinn and I ending up together was one in a million.

Considering just how much I loved Beautiful Liar, I was practically giddy to get another hit of Q & Lucky. I’m not typically a reader that enjoys follow-up novellas. Why mess with a good thing when the couple already got their HEA? But in the case here, I craved more of this couple. Their relationship was tumultuous, filled with lies and deceit. There was bound to be fallout even if things did fall into place for them at the end.

This novella was the perfect taste of this couple that I was craving. We find Quinn dealing with the fallout from seeing his plan through and finding revenge against his father. Having prepared himself to not make it past his 30th birthday, it’s an adjustment for him to deal with his new reality. He traded in one obsession for another. Where before revenge fueled him, now it’s his obsession in his love for Elyse.

Fucking was a means to pass the time before I met Elyse. Now fucking Elyse has become as necessary to me as breathing.

Quinn and Elyse are just as incendiary together as ever. They practically burn up the pages. There’s also an added suspense plot that’s added to spice things up. Admittedly I thought it would go in a totally different direction than it did with what I now assume was a red herring the author threw out. While it served to drive the plot forward, I was slightly underwhelmed with the revelation.

But that barely registered on my radar in comparison to how much I was enjoying this book. And enjoy it I did. Wicked SOB was utterly delicious, sinfully erotic, and a page turned from cover to cover. If you haven’t discovered this author yet, you’re seriously missing out.

 

 THE SERIES

BEAUTIFUL LIAR | BLACK SHEEP | WICKED S.O.B. | ARROGANT BASTARD

 

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Release Blitz, Review & Giveaway: BLACK SHEEP by Zara Cox.

August 8, 2017 by ·

BLACK SHEEP
Series: Dark Desires #2
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Author: Zara Cox
Release Date: August 8, 2017 (Paperback)

**Now Available in Print for the First Time!**

In a family of cold-hearted black sheep, 
I, Axel Rutherford, am the blackest.

My father has hated me since the day I was born. The feeling was mutual. In the shady underworld that was my legacy, Cleo McCarthy became my light. She was beautiful, passionate, and my whole world. So naturally my father had to destroy us. First he sent me away. Next he claimed Cleo as his own. But now I’ve returned, and nothing will stop me from taking back everything that is rightfully mine.

He was the love of my life – when my life was still my own.

We were young enough to believe we would last forever, Axel and I. But neither of us realized how cruel life – and our families – could be. Now I’m trapped in a gilded cage: desired by Axel, who must never know the full truth, and controlled by his father, who would sooner see me dead than free. And I wouldn’t even care, except that it’s no longer only my life at stake

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I trust no one. But like I do with Quinn Blackwood, the Black Widow and I share a special bond. Not one I would swear life or death on by a long shot. But there’s an…understanding. She’s the only one who’s been allowed into my special room, the only one who knows the ingredients of my sweet poison. The only one who’s seen what this room does to me. The longest I’ve been able to withstand is five hours.Her concern is warranted.

I see her swallow before she reaches into her pocket. The small remote is directly linked to the chains. She sets the time but hesitates before pressing the requisite button.

Boldly she steps up to me, and she slides her hands through the hair at my nape. I jerk away but cannot escape her touch because of the cuffs. She stops, staring down at me with narrowed eyes.

I’m on the edge. Hell, who the fuck am I kidding? I was born on the edge. But tonight I’m a whisper away from annihilation and we both know it.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Fuck no. Hell yes.”

She opens her mouth.

“No,” I preempt her.

“I don’t have to stay here with you, but I can be outside.”

“No. Press the button. Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“Axel…”

I close my eyes and shudder as my fists ball. I want to hear my name, but I don’t want the voice to be The Black Widow’s. There’s only one voice I want to hear right now. One face I want to see. Cleo’s.

“Do it and leave. Now.”

“I will, but at least let me come back and check on you—”

“Say another word and I’ll fire you.”

Her eyes harden to ice chips. “Fuck you. Have your six hours if you want. But I’m coming back in three hours to check on you. Fire me then if you want.”

With a defiant flick of her wrist, she sets the timer down between my feet, within touching distance.
The moment her back is turned, I kick the remote. It bounces against the last step and skids sideways halfway across the room. She hesitates, her back stiff, but she doesn’t turn back around. In silence, she leaves.

The moment the door shuts, twenty projectors on the dark gray walls flicker to life. Large, small, and in-between, they take up every inch of the circular wall. If space allowed I would have had more screens put in, but I work with what I have.

Each one is set on a half-hour loop at full volume with a different video. With barely an inch between them, they could be one jumbled-up picture but I know each screen like I know the length of my cock.
I take a deep breath as the first reel plays on the middle screen. The chair moves, the wheels beneath the floor spinning it slowly around.

Fading sunlight dapples over a lake before the camera swings to the figure in the tiny white bikini fleeing a large wave.

The wave catches her, splashes up to mid-thigh. She shrieks. “Omigod, you’re such a liar. The water is collllldd—What are you doing?”

“What does it look like?”

She approaches. Her hands come up to block the lens. “Stop filming me. I look fat.”
A different set of hands reaches out to grasp hers, gently nudging hers aside. “You don’t look fat, Cleo. You’re perfect.”

Feminine hands curl around a masculine one. Together they slowly lower until long-lashed, deep blue knowing eyes stare into the camera. “You’re only saying that because you’re in love with me.” Sultry words whispered from between kiss-swollen lips.

“Yes, I’m saying that because I’m in love with you.” Gruff, hopelessly young, newly broken voice, thick with seething emotion. “I’m also saying it because I have fucking eyes in my fucking head.”

A naughty, goes-straight-to-an-eager-cock giggle. “You’re so bad swearing all the time. Daddy says he’ll paddle my behind if he catches me swearing.”

A wobble of the camera before it steadies. “If he lays a fucking hand on you, I’ll tear his fucking head off.” A voice no longer gruff, hard with rigid purpose. Harsh breathing. “I mean it, Cleo. I see so much as a scratch on you, someone will fucking die.”

A gasp. “You can’t say things like that!”

“I can. I fucking am. Because you belong to me. I don’t care who created you. You are mine. No one else is fucking allowed to touch you. No one is allowed to take you away from me, do you hear me?”
A bite of her lip as her nostrils flutter in a shaky inhale. “You’re scaring me.”

Deep, harsh breath. “Am I? Really? Tell the truth. Are you scared, Cleo?” Camera poised with intent, recording every flutter of her lashes.

A pause. A firming of plump lips. Then a shake of the head. Thick, vibrant locks frame her stunning face.

“Say it. I want to hear you say how it makes you feel when I say this to you.”

“It…it excites me.”

“That I claim you as mine?”

A shy nod.

“What else excites you?”

A flick of her gaze between the lens and the face behind it. “Come on. I can’t say it on camera.” She reaches out.

The camera angles away from her but remains on her. Focused. Rabid. “Tell me.” The voice that will one day command hell itself.

“It excites me when you say that you’ll do…all of that for me.”

“All of what?”

“That you’ll…tear his head off.”

“I fucking will.” A solemn promise. A brief pause. “You think I’m a sick psycho?”

“I think you’re…you’re…”

“What?”

“I think you’re effing amazing.”

“Effing?”

Pink color stains her cheeks. “Don’t tease me.”

“I won’t if you say the word. The actual word, Cleo.”

“I won’t.”

“Right. Then I’m not as amazing as you want me to think, am I?”

Blue eyes, opened wide. “You are.”

“Then say it. You’re not going to burn for it. It’s just a word.”

“I hate you when you’re like this.”

“You don’t hate me, but fine. Don’t say it.”

The camera swings out to the lake, to the setting sun that’s almost swallowed up by the orange water.

In a family of cold-hearted black sheep, I, Axel Rutherford, am the blackest. Abundantly despised by my three brothers, actively hated by my father. She was the golden princess. Put on earth to test every single one of my hardened edges. And I happily burned away every last one for her.

If I said that I was an insta-fan of this author after I finished I, Porn Star, this book solidified it. Damn. Just damn. Zara Cox knows how to weave one complex and erotic tale that’s equally spine tingling and toe curling. It’s addicting and twisty and downright intense.

Her eyes tell me she hates me. Her body beckons me with the promise of transcendental lust.

If you like a good second chance romance with a healthy dose of hate lust mixed in to blur the edges, all wrapped in a story with dark undertones and enough twists and suspense to keep you glued to the pages from start to finish, you’ve found your next read.

Whatever twisted roles fate may have chosen to star us in, the savage power of our mutual feelings for each other will never diminish.

Being born to a cruel and abusive father intent on hardening his sons enough to help run his mafia empire has hardened Axel. He’s the black sheep of the family, the son that wants nothing of his father; not his name and not his infamy in the dark underbelly of organized crime. He dreams of escaping the life with the only person that makes his heart beat and gives him hope. But that hope gets ripped away from him with a jarring betrayal that now years later still continues to haunt him. Losing everything and the one person he always thought he could trust is enough to change a man and change the course of his life forever. Now Axel lives and breathes vengeance. His father will pay, and if the woman that’s now back in his life after costing him everything is the pawn that he’ll have to use in this brutal game, so be it.

Once upon a time, when my addled state didn’t know better, I stupidly believed the phenomenon of our gazes connecting had the power to stop the world from spinning. That view has altered significantly.

As a young girl, Cleo loved Axel with everything she was worth. He was her everything…until he wasn’t. Forced back into his orbit by an arrangement in which she’s nothing but a puppet on a string of a cruel master that dangles the one thing she wants in exchange for her cooperation isn’t what she wants, but she’ll do it. Even if it forces her to own up that while she hates the man he is now and doesn’t see a remainder of the boy she once loved in him, the carnal effect his mere presence has on her hasn’t changed even a little.

You may have condemned my decayed soul and closed your heart to me, but in some respects, nothing has changed. Your body will always sing the perfect tune for me.”

Black Sheep delivers on another twisty story full of betrayal and revenge. Zara Cox is truly a master of her craft and I’m absolutely captivated by her writing style and the characters she creates. I couldn’t put this book down for even a second. I walked the edge between hating and loving Axel. But between all the secrets and twists that kept unearthing, my mind was too busy spinning to focus on any singular emotion.

She never needed a gentle knight in shining armor. So I become her marauder.

Axel was perfection. He was a dirty talking, angsty, domineering and deliciously sexy perfection. My heart broke for him and what he’d been through. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for all the secrets to finally get revealed so the puzzle pieces can click together. And let me just tell you, when they did? Mind. Blowing. Yet another addicting installment in what’s now become a favorite series of mine. I absolutely can’t wait for more!

I want to roar with rage. I want to fuck until I explode into a million pieces. This is what she does to me. What she’s always done.

Each book in the Dark Desires series is a standalone in an interconnecting world. So if you’ve read the first book, you’ll appreciate Quinn’s cameo in this one 🙂

DON’T MISS THE FIST BOOK IN THIS SIZZLING SERIES!

BEAUTIFUL LIAR (Previously published as I, Porn Star)

I may be Quinn Blackwood, occasional user of prescribed meds to keep the demons in check, who moonlights as Q, porn star to an exclusive few who pay millions for my work. And I may be an unhinged asshole with serious daddy issues. But no one said I wasn’t a giver.

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Zara Cox has been writing for almost twenty-five years but it wasn’t until nine years ago that she decided to share her love of writing sexy, gritty stories with anyone outside her close family (the over 18s anyway!).

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Geri’s Review: All or Nothing At All by Jennifer Probst

August 4, 2017 by ·

ALL OR NOTHING AT ALL
Series: Billionaire Builders #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Jennifer Probst
Release Date: July 25, 2017

HGTV’s Property Brothers meets The Marriage Bargain in this third volume in the Billionaire Builders series, an all-new, heart-wrenching, and sexy contemporary romance from New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Probst.

Tristan Pierce left the family business to carve out a life of his own, but never forgot his passionate affair with the much younger, inexperienced Sydney Greene, or the hurtful breakup that tore him apart.

When he’s forced to return home and face his past, will he be able to carve out a future, or will lies ruin his second chance at love?

Sydney Greene loved Tristan her entire life but when he left, he took not only her heart, but her trust along with him.

Now that they’re together again, it’s time they both face the biggest secret of all…

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They were playing a dangerous game. And eventually, someone was going to lose.

My favorite book in the series! And considering how this book contain tropes that I’m usually iffy on, that is saying a lot. Tristan and Sydney’s story has been teased since the first book in the series and I’ve been really excited to dive into their journey since then.

Like his younger brother Dalton, Tristan came back to Harrington to fulfill the conditions of his father’s will. His return to Harrington brought him face-to-face with the woman he left behind.

Sydney Green was like a sister to the Pierce brothers growing up. She was the quintessential girl-next-door who happens to be in love with Tristan since forever. Their coming together was inevitable but when his mother died, the whole family imploded and his relationship with Sydney was the first casualty of that.

Fast forward to years later, Sydney is an assertive single mother who’s got bigger dreams than just being an executive assistant within Pierce Construction. Her bid to become CFO put her in close Tristan. Soon enough they couldn’t stop themselves from surrendering to the attraction and the unresolved feelings between them. But Sydney is hiding something very important from Tristan that could end their second chance at love.

She loved Tristan Pierce with her heart and soul. Somehow she needed to believe he felt the same way. She had to fight to make sure they got their second chance, even if it meant pushing past uncomfortable boundaries and forcing him to take a risk.

There are so many things that really worked for me in this book that in theory shouldn’t have because I’ve read books with this trope before and hated most of them. It rarely works for me which is why I was really surprised at how emotionally invested I felt.

I’m going into spoiler territory with this one. While I don’t think knowing that in advance would ruin the book because the twist isn’t really the focal point in the book. The books is more about the consequences of decisions made by Tristan and Sydney years ago than this big reveal I’m going to talk about.

Nevertheless, if you don’t like spoilers, stop reading now. Go read the book first and then come back to this review, okay?

So be warned…

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Okay.

One of the tropes that don’t always work for me is the hidden baby trope. Now if you’ve read the previous books in the series, you’d probably have an inkling about Becca being Tristan’s daughter, which he doesn’t know about. That was confirmed 100% in this book.

I usually don’t like this trope because it seems cruel to me. But Jennifer Probst executed it so well that she made me understand why Sydney did it. She made me see the logic behind Sydney’s decision, which I felt was ultimately the best decision she could have done at that time.

Another thing the author did right was she didn’t make excuses for her characters. She made them suffer for that decision. I was able to sympathize with Sydney and Tristan even though I know they’re both at fault in some way. You can feel Tristan anger at Sydney’s betrayal but at the same time get angry at him for what he intended to do after he learned that Becca was his.

Both of them made terrible judgement calls and they both suffered the consequences. The author didn’t make excuses for their actions. And they both had to work it out in order to get their happily ever after.

All or Nothing at All is well written with flawed characters that you can root for and a story that you can get emotionally invested in.

Somehow, he needed to try to make things right. Make her see how badly he needed her. Trusted her. Loved her.

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