New Release & Review: A SEAL’s Strength by JM Stewart

October 3, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

A SEAL’S STRENGTH
Series: Military Match #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: JM Stewart
Release Date: October 3, 2017

A sizzling new series about three friends looking for love-and the sexy SEALs who are ready to fulfill their craziest fantasies.

This second chance was worth the wait . . .

As a SEAL, Gabriel Donovan did the toughest jobs imaginable without blinking an eye. But three years after his wife’s death, the idea of dating still makes him sick to his stomach. His daughter desperately needs a mother, though, and there’s nothing Gabe won’t do for his little girl.

Stephanie Mason doesn’t run from anything. Not even coming face to face with the “one that got away” on a blind date. Steph’s body vividly remembers every single thing about Gabe and while some things have changed, the way he makes her feel sure as hell hasn’t.

Gabe and Steph know that love comes with risks, but if they’re brave enough, this second chance might just bring them the love of a lifetime.

AMAZON

She’d been his best friend, and he’d simply let her go. Of all his regrets, Steph was a big one.

A SEAL’s Strength is a wonderfully swoony second chance romance that I finished in one sitting.

Three years after losing his wife, Gabriel Donovan is ready to date again. Caving to his friends and sister’s insistence, he allows to be set up through a military match making company owned by one of his mechanic’s wife. Not entirely sure he can even really put himself out there again, Gabe is more focused on raising his sweet daughter and moving on from his wife’s memory. But when his date happens to be a blast from his past that he never expected and one of his biggest regrets? Well, things definitely change.

Right then he only knew two things for sure. She was still gorgeous, and her smile still lit a flame in his gut.

Eleven years ago Steph and Gabe had a friends with benefits arrangement in college that soon began to turn into something much deeper for Steph. She didn’t expect to fall for the man, but then life happened, and he joined the military and she never saw him again. After a string of failed relationships and the catastrophic end to her most recent, Steph is gun shy to give things a shot with the first man to break her heart. But the chemistry between them is too fiery and the connection to deep to simply walk away.

We want the same things, baby. Someone to find our feet with. I want more time with you. I’m not quite done with you yet.” He brushed his thumb along her lower lip, then followed the path with his mouth. “You want someone you can trust, and despite everything, I hope you know you can trust me.”

I adored these two together. There was something so genuine and real about this couple’s second chance. Sometimes you meet the one you’re destined to be with at the wrong time and then life happens. Sometimes you get a second chance to make a mistake right again. They didn’t spend years pining after each other, but you can definitely see just how strong their connection is. I love how the author was able to develop their relationship without diminishing Gabe’s deceased wife.

If second chance romance is your jam, this is definitely worth checking out. It’s quick paced and reads quick. I finished in one swoony sitting and definitely found myself a new author to read.

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Blog Tour, Guest Post, Review & Giveaway: Too Beautiful To Break by Tessa Bailey

September 29, 2017 by ·

TOO BEAUTIFUL TO BREAK
Series: Romancing The Clarksons, #4
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Tessa Bailey
Release Date: September 26, 2017

A love of a lifetime . . .

Leaving Belmont Clarkson is the hardest thing Sage Alexander has ever done.

From the moment they met, she knew Belmont was the one, and getting up close and personal with him on his family’s epic road trip has taken her desire to a new, even hotter level.

But there’s no way she can go there—not without revealing secrets that could devastate them both.

Losing Sage is not an option.

Belmont’s heart is hers, has always been hers.

He knows she’s hiding something from him, but nothing will stand in his way of telling her just how much she means to him.

Finding her is easy—saving her from her past could cost him everything.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Google Play | iBooks | Indiebound | Kobo

DGR asked Tessa Bailey what her 5 favorite scenes were with the Clarkson siblings. This was her answer:

Hello! Thank you so much for having me! What a great (and difficult) question! LOL. Here are the scenes in the book that stick out as my favorite.

  1. Trust exercise in the desert. This scene is in TOO HOT TO HANDLE. The siblings have been dragged out into the middle of the desert for a bonfire, but they quickly realize they’ve been tricked into making confessions to one another. It’s a funny scene—and really telling.

  2. Hair ribbons. In TOO WILD TO TAME, there is a scene where Aaron cuts his necktie into strips and knots them into Grace’s hair, to replace the ones she lost. It’s the first time he shows his hand (how he feels) and it’s such an unexpected move from our cynical politician.

  3. Fake acting coach. Peggy is my favorite character in the series and there’s no end to her talents. She proves this in TOO HARD TO FORGET by pretending to be an acting coach, sweeping into a high school auditorium with dramatic flare and saving Elliott’s daughter from total embarrassment. It’s a hilarious scene.

  4. Black moment at the football game. Another scene from TOO HARD TO FORGET. Elliott and his daughter are standing on the sidelines while the winning play is happening on the field. And they look at each other and realize Peggy should be there. It’s a great moment and I could just cry thinking about it!

  5. Train platform kiss. In the final book of the series, TOO BEAUTIFUL TO BREAK, the first kiss between the hero and heroine takes place on a smoky, early morning train platform and it was as dramatic as that sounds! I’ve always wanted to write a movie kiss and I finally got my chance!

JENNIFER’S REVIEW


Tessa Bailey out-did herself with this book. This is the most emotional Tessa Bailey book. It’s not sad. It’s beautiful. It’s EPIC.


Tessa has been teasing me with Belmont & Sage throughout this series, feeding me little lines of crack to keep me addicted and coming back for more!! I couldn’t get enough of their weirdness/attachment issues. I felt like I waited forever for these two to be together, but the wait was worth it because this book was every bit of perfect.

Belmont. For the love of Belmont. There is a quiet dignity to this man. A stillness that is rare in a hero. He is the anchor that stays strong when the world is falling to pieces. And what better man for Sage? Her life back home is a mess. Of course, she tries to keep him away from her mess, but Belmont & Sage are the EPIC love story, and their story is MEANT TO BE. And they do. They are. They….be.


These two are unbreakable. You can’t wedge a needle between them. They are so in sync with each other. But sometimes, depending on another person can be dangerous if it is taken to an unhealthy level. Belmont & Sage realize that in order for their relationship to work, they have to learn to overcome their fears apart from each other and be able to accomplish life goals without giving into the never-ending urge to hide from life in each other’s arms all the time.

There is so much beauty in this book. So many tears in this book, beautiful tears. I wouldn’t call this book sad, but it’s not a bunch of rainbows either. I have to say, I’ve never read a book quite like this. I could definitely tell that Tessa was inspired by this story, and I honestly wonder if she wrote this book first before writing the 3 books before it.

There is a spark to Tessa’s writing. It always ignites a fire in my jingle, but she managed to melt my heart as well with Belmont & Sage. They are SOLID to the end. Never once did I doubt their ending. That doesn’t mean this book was predictable. It means that Belmont & Sage’s love is steady and you know it will never end.

LANA’S REVIEW

Sometimes the right thing was the most painful. Sometimes it gutted you and ruined you forever, so a single second wouldn’t pass without a reminder. Sage knew that lesson all too well.

Ever since the very first time we met Belmont, I’ve been fascinated by his quiet intensity. Ever since we get introduced to his and Sage’s somewhat…borderline dysfunctional relationship, I’ve been anticipating their story with a rabid sort of glee. But I was also afraid. See when you anticipate a certain character’s story, you tend to build it up in your head, and it inevitably falls short. Belmont was such an enigma. He’s such a memorable, multi-layered, and broken character. And I’m thrilled to report that not only did Tessa Bailey do him justice, she blew all my expectations out of the water.

Too Beautiful To Break was entirely worth the wait and lived up to every single promise. Belmont’s story was EVERYTHING; Emotional, gripping, swoony and entirely unforgettable.

I’ve never trusted anyone the way I trust you. Not while wanting at the same time. And want…want isn’t the right word for this feeling inside me, Sage.”
“What is the right word?”
“Famine,” he ground out. “I’ve been in a famine.”

The Clarkson siblings tale concludes with this book, as they reach their ultimate destination. Four books in the making, they originally took off on a cross country trip in order to fulfill their mother’s last wish by jumping into the freezing water of the Atlantic on New Year’s Day for the Polar Plunge.

But as they near their destination, Sage announces that she needs to leave, shaking Belmont to the very core. Their relationship is this combination of codependency meet suppressed lust. It’s such a fascinating dynamic. Sage is the balm to Belmont’s tortured soul. She calms him in a way nothing in his life ever has. And Belmont has been Sage’s constant in a life that has been anything but.

Sometimes, she swore they shared a fractured pulse.

Too Beautiful To Break shows just how very versatile this author really is. Belmont is not her typical dirty talking, uber alpha. He’s complex and while no less alpha, there’s also this endearing child like quality to him. His quiet intensity grabs you from the start and completely hooks you in this book. He’s a complete goner for Sage and he doesn’t even want to hide it. He just wants to prove to her that he’s worth it.

If you’re not my perfect Sage, let me learn you. Prove it. So I can prove to you I’m not going anywhere.”

I was dying to know what happened to Belmont to make him the way that he is. I was starving for more details of Sage and her past. While she paints the picture of the perfect little wallflower, there was always this hidden depth to Sage and you certainly saw it come out here.

This was a beautiful and gripping romance about two broken souls piecing themselves back together. It was romantic and emotional. It was swoony and the most perfect book to end the book with.

My one quibble is the somewhat rushed details at the end. There’s a particular revelation of Belmont’s past coming to light and I wanted more of it. Considering that that particular detail is what molded him into the man that he is today, I needed a little more on that end. Aside from that, I enjoyed this book from start to finish and I couldn’t imagine a more perfect book to close this series with.

Tessa Bailey is originally from Carlsbad, California. The day after high school graduation, she packed her yearbook, ripped jeans, and laptop, and drove cross-country to New York City in under four days. Her most valuable life experiences were learned thereafter while waitressing at K-Dees, a Manhattan pub owned by her uncle. Inside those four walls, she met her husband, best friend, and discovered the magic of classic rock, managing to put herself through Kingsborough Community College and the English program at Pace University at the same time. Several stunted attempts to enter the work force as a journalist followed, but romance writing continued to demand her attention.

She now lives in Long Island, New York with her husband and daughter. Although she is severely sleep-deprived, she is incredibly happy to be living her dream of writing about people falling in love.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads


· Filed Under: All Reviews, Author Spotlight & interview, Contemporary Romance · Tagged With: , ,

New Release & Review: The Beautiful Now by M. Leighton

September 26, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

THE BEAUTIFUL NOW
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: M. Leighton
Release Date: September 26, 2017

Dane James worked my stepfather’s fields. He was the boy next door.

Strong.

Hardworking.

Forbidden.

From the moment we met, we were star-crossed lovers—always wanting, never having. We loved each other for most of our lives, but right from the beginning destiny had other plans. She knew we would fall in love. She knew we would fall apart. Over and over again, like the curse of a recurring nightmare. Or the hope of a familiar dream.

Our past was tumultuous. Our future was bleak. But the one thing we always had was the beautiful now.

Until that was taken from us, too.

AMAZON

Get it for the release price of $3.99 while it lasts, or read for FREE in Kindle Unlimited! 

We didn’t have a future. We couldn’t possibly. We both knew it. But we had the now. The beautiful now. And that was better than nothing.

Oh my heart. My poor little heart. It’s absolute putty in the talented hands of M. Leighton. This woman knows how to write a book that tugs at absolutely every heart string. A book that equally breaks your heart and warms it at the same time. The Beautiful Now was a beautiful, gripping, and simply unforgettable second chance romance. It was unique and unlike anything I’ve read lately, and I loved every emotional page of it.

I knew people looked at him and just saw a poor worker’s boy, not of much importance. But deep down, where their eyes couldn’t see, he was a lot more. Something told me he was everything.

Sometimes social classes, the ignorance of parents, and the innocence of youth could cost you everything. That was exactly what Brinkley experienced as a teenager. At twelve years old she met a boy on the wrong side of her social class that made her question everything. At fifteen she realized that he meant everything to her but she could never have him. He worked her stepfather’s field, and her mother expected her to keep up appearance of a family of their class. But that didn’t stop feelings from forming. Nothing like her family, Brinkley fell hard and fast, even though she did everything to avoid the boy that she was continuously warned away from.

we were on two different sides of that fact. He was a rock and I was as fluid as the ocean. He knew exactly who he was and what he wanted, while I took on the form of whatever contained me, whoever I was around.

At seventeen the love bloomed into a one in a lifetime. The odds were always stacked against them, but no one expected for it all to fall apart in the way that it did.

Dane James. He was my relief. He was my exhale. He was my rock.

Now years later, Brinkley is back in a town she hated and couldn’t run further away from. Her reasons for coming back are as undeniable as her feelings for the boy that stole her heart all those years ago. She doesn’t expect to ever see him again. She doesn’t expect to fall for him all over again. And she definitely doesn’t expect the road that life has waiting for her.

The story is told in alternating parts of past to present. It’s flawlessly woven together to build a gripping and incredibly emotional story. You get to see the young and somewhat innocent Brinkley grow into a strong and incredible woman. Her dedication to those she cares about, her ability to finally stand up for what she believes, all of it shows a woman that had to grow up hard but learned from it.

As for Dane, I have no words. This is not your typical alpha overload hero. He’s definitely still an alpha, but in this endearing understated way. He made my swoons have swoons.

He felt necessary to my heart, to my head, to my very existence, and nothing in the world mattered except him. Being close to him. Having him against me, around me, inside me.

This was a slow paced and highly emotional romance that enjoyed from cover to cover. For those craving something a little different but packed full of feelings, this is a book you need to read.

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Excerpt & Geri’s Review of Maybe This Christmas by Jennifer Snow

September 26, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

MAYBE THIS CHRISTMAS
Series: Colorado Ice #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Jennifer Snow
Release Date: September 26, 2017

All wrapped up . . .

One more game. That’s all that stands between NHL star Asher Westmore and a major career milestone.

But then his brother bashes him against the hockey boards, sidelining him for months. Over Christmas holidays, no less.

If staying off the ice doesn’t drive him crazy, staying with his family will. The only bright spot amidst the mistletoe and twinkle lights: His best friend, Emma, is a physical therapist. And working out with her improves his body and his spirit.

One last time. Emma Callaway was in trouble the minute she and Asher added benefits to their friendship.

How is she supposed to resist a funny, caring guy who makes her toes curl? Her heart was safe while he lived in a different state. Now that he’s back home recuperating, though, it’s only a matter of time before she blurts out her feelings.

Emma’s only hope is that with a little holiday magic, she’ll get the best Christmas gift of all.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BAM | IndieBound

Asher climbed out of the car. “Nah. I’ll hang out with Em tonight. I’m her last patient of the day,” he said, suddenly feeling a little better and eager to get this appointment finished so they could go back to her place for the evening. Without the meds, he was suffering a little more, and she was the only thing that eased his pain.

“All right, man. Take it easy,” Jackson said as he closed the door.

Entering the clinic, he tugged the big, heavy old door closed behind him.

“Hey, Asher,” Jane said, standing as she saw him.

“Hi, Jane. How are you?” he asked, approaching the desk and leaning over it. If he sat again, getting up would be a struggle.

“I’m great. Um, actually, I wanted to ask you…if maybe you wanted to grab a drink at the Grumpy Stump tonight?”

Caught slightly off guard, he laughed. “You don’t hang out there, do you? You’re far too pretty to be slobbered on by all the local single men.”

She blushed. “Thanks. Actually, I don’t hang out anywhere. Single-mom life doesn’t lend itself it to many dates. Not that this would be a date…”

Oh, damn. He felt like an ass saying no to the woman who was obviously putting herself out there…but he wasn’t interested in dating. In fact, since his last semi-permanent situation ended a while ago, he’d been enjoying how things were going with Emma. Right now, she was certainly the only one he wanted to be with. “I…uh…”

Emma appeared in the reception area, an unreadable expression on her face as she glanced back and forth between the two of them.

“Well, the thing is…I promised Emma I’d do that…thing with her tonight,” he said, looking at her to save him.

Her expression softened slightly as she slowly nodded. “Right, you did promise me you would do that…thing tonight.”

He smiled. Saved. Now he could resume getting excited about a full evening with her, naked, with no pressure of a flight out the next day or having to be anywhere at all. The idea excited him beyond the sexy thoughts coming to mind. He looked forward to just being with her, holding her, kissing her, and talking. He’d been so caught up in his own problems the last few weeks, he had no idea what was going on with her.

“Ok, yeah, no problem,” Jane said, busying herself with the papers on her desk.

He felt like a jerk. He turned to Emma for help.

“Um…maybe Asher could get you and Aiden tickets for a game in Denver,” she said.

Perfect. Right there—that’s why he loved her so much. The thought made him pause. Love? Of course, love. She was his best friend.

“Right, Ash?” she said when he’d yet to confirm her suggestion.

“Oh, yeah…no problem.”

Jane smiled. “Aiden would love that. Thank you,” she said, sitting back down at her desk as the phone rang.

Emma’s eyes held a hint of amusement as he followed her into her therapy room.

“What?” he asked.

She closed the door behind them and grinned. “You just turned down a hot date to suffer through dinner at my sister’s house tonight.”

Oh shit.

**Excerpted from MAYBE THIS CHRISTMAS by Jennifer Snow. Copyright © 2017 by Jennifer Snow. Reprinted with permission of Forever. All rights reserved.  

This was another heartwarming, holiday read from Jennifer Snow about two best friends who found love with each other. You know me, I’m a sucker for a good friends-to-lovers story, and Maybe This Christmas delivered on the romance big time.

Asher Westmore and Emma Callaway have been best friends for years. Then they became best friends with benefits, which suited both of them just fine. Asher is a hockey placer for New Jersey while Emma is pursuing a snowboarding career. Then life comes at you fast.

For Emma, that change came when she took a serious tumble during a qualifying snowboarding competition for the Olympics, ending her career. These days, she’s a physical therapist in her small town of Glenwood Falls. Her friendship with benefits with Ash is going strong but lately, she had been feeling adrift. Not really sure whether she should get back into snowboarding or pursue a doctorate in physical therapy. There’s also her relationship with Asher. Emma’s feelings for her best friend is definitely deepening and she’s not quite sure if he feels the same.

Asher is about to hit a huge milestone of his career. He could almost taste it. But a knee injury and a hard hit from his own hockey-playing brother derailed that milestone for him. Now he’s back in Glenwood Falls to recuperate with Emma’s help, of course.

She was the one person in the world he always knew he could count on and the only one he wanted to be with.

While this book can be read as a standalone, I would highly recommend that you read the previous books in the series to get a background of Emma and Asher’s relationship. I don’t think it’s necessary but I think it would enhance your reading experience.

That said, I have not read any book in the series prior to this one but I didn’t feel lost and I was able to pick up the threads of the story very easily.

I enjoyed how Asher and Emma’s relationship transitioned from friends to so much more. It helped that the author already established that these two have an intimate physical connection. At the start of the book, they’ve been FWB for a long time. Years, I think. So it wasn’t a leap in any way.

Despite being friends and then lovers, they both had to deal with a lot of issues not just between them but also with their families and careers.

For Asher it’s dealing with his feelings of resentment for his brother Ben, Emma, and the thought of having to give up hockey. who always seem to achieve every accolade that Asher wants without struggle. Emma herself is dealing with a meddling sister and a father who is losing himself daily.

And speaking meddling…Emma’s sister Jess got on my last nerve.

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I mean, come on! She was positively heinous in her treatment towards Ash, turns up her nose at her sister’s accomplishment, and she makes decisions about Emma’s lovelife and career without consulting her. Sure, I believe that she’s doing it because she loves her sister but gah! It was still annoying. I had to resist the urge to throw my Kindle against the wall whenever she was in the scene because I just can’t deal with her meddling.

Fortunately for me, Jennifer Snow was able to write a really convincing romance between Asher and Emma. Despite some hiccups along the way, they were able to deal with their issues like adults. No unnecessary flouncing, drama or whatever. And Ash proved himself to be a really sweet and caring hero worthy of Emma and that one revelation in particular (which I won’t spoil here) sealed the deal for me.

So if you’re a fan of sports romance and the friends-to-lovers trope, I would recommend this book!

 

Jennifer Snow lives in Edmonton, Alberta with her husband and son. She writes sweet and sexy contemporary romance stories set everywhere from small towns to big cities. After stating in her high school yearbook bio that she wanted to be an author, she set off on the winding, twisting road to make her dream a reality. She is a member of RWA, the Writers’ Guild of Alberta, the Canadian Authors Association, and the Film and Visual Arts Association in Edmonton. She has published over ten novels and novellas with many more on the way.

 

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Blog Tours, Contemporary Romance, Release Blitz, Reviews, Sports · Tagged With: , , ,

Review: Dark Swan by Gena Showalter

September 25, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

DARK SWAN
Series: Alien Huntress 
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Author: Gena Showalter
Release Date: September 25, 2017

The Alien Huntress series is back with fan favorite AIR agent Dallas Gutierrez from New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling paranormal romance author Gena Showalter, who doesn’t disappoint with this sizzling hot alpha hero.

Lilica Swan isn’t quite human or otherworlder; she is the best—and worst—of both.

She is willing to do whatever proves necessary to save her sister from the seductive and deadly Alien Investigation and Removal agent, Dallas Gutierrez, even bonding her lifeforce to his by effectively marrying him.

But the bond will fade without consummation.

Can Dallas resist his insatiable desire for the powerful beauty? Or will she lead to his ultimate downfall?

Originally published in the Blood Red Kiss anthology.

AMAZON

I can think of three things you need right off the top of my head,” he said. “Well. Let’s hear them.”
“A spanking, a hug, and a good hard fuck.”


Firstly, this novella was originally released as part of Blood Red Kiss, so if you have that one, you’ll find this delicious little novella inside. If you haven’t read Gena’s Alien Huntress, you my dear friend, are seriously missing out. After I first discovered this author with her Lords of the Underworld, I soon found myself binging on her Alien Huntress series. Then I soon found myself completely hooked on Dallas and slowly dying a little with each year that passed and we didn’t get another book in that series. Well Gena has finally rectified that with Dallas’s story, and let me just tell you, it was worth EVERY SECOND of the wait!

…those sweet women with sweet smiles had never fully satisfied him. He’d never wanted one for more than a single night, because none had ever meant anything to him. But this woman with her carnal smile and quick wit utterly fascinated him. He couldn’t get enough of her.

Dallas has been hunting the Schon queen that’s been building her army by deceasing all that come in sexual contact with her. And let’s just say the woman has some…stamina. Uhem. While at first I was convinced that Dallas would somehow end up with the queen, Trinity, I was a little baffled by the heroine’s name here. Who in the world (pun intended) is Lilica? Oh the deliciousness of it all!

Lilica Swan is sassy, classy, and all things bad-assy!

Congrats. You’ve mastered hiding your actions from me. Now it’s my turn.” With no more warning than that, she slammed her knee between his legs. He hunched over, gasping for breath, stars winking through his vision. She smiled at him. “Sorry there’s not a tracker to help you find your balls.”

Lilica is determined to save her sister that’s in the crosshairs of AIR and especially the stranger from her dreams with the crystal blue eyes. When she finally comes face to face with Dallas, nothing can prepare either of them for what happens.

Dark Swan was everything I’ve come to love about this author; humor, snark, witty banter, sizzling romance and an addicting story. And it had my beloved Devyn (from Seduce the Darkness), so how can I not love it?

This finally brought the immensely satisfying conclusion to the Schon story line and gave the much awaited HEA to one of my favorite characters in the series. I really hope that there will be more books in this series, but even if it ends here, it couldn’t have ended with a better book.

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Review: Countdown by Lexi Blake

September 20, 2017 by ·

ALPHAS OF DANGER ANTHOLOGY
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author:  Shayla Black, Lexi Blake, Mari Carr, Kris Cook, Anissa Garcia, Kym Grosso, Jenna Jacob, Kennedy Layne, Isabella LaPearl, Carrie Ann Ryan
Release Date: September 19, 2017

Happy-Ever-After has never been so intoxicating…

Danger…

When a man has beaten it, he becomes a hero.

Lust…

When a woman tastes it, she is helpless to resist his pull.

Love…

It won’t come easily, especially between alpha men and their headstrong women. Threats lurk in the shadows, and the price for passion is often exacted with a bullet or a blade…but the sacrifice is worth it when devotion is the reward.

Ten bestselling authors, masters of spine-tingling romantic suspense, bring you brand-new stories that will yank you to the edge of your seat and have your heart pounding as you turn the pages.

Best of all, the proceeds will benefit 4 Paws for Ability, a worldwide agency that enriches the lives of children and veterans with disabilities by training and placing quality, task-trained service dogs.

Stories Contributed to Alphas of Danger:
1. SHAYLA BLACK – DEVOTED TO WICKED
2. LEXI BLAKE – COUNTDOWN
3. MARI CARR – POWER STRUGGLE
4. KRIS COOK – CIA COVERT TEAM: RAINBOW KNIGHTS (M/M)
5. ANISSA GARCIA – WITH A VENGEANCE
6. KYM GROSSO – HARD ASSET
7. JENNA JACOB – REVENGE ON THE ROCKS
8. KENNEDY LAYNE – SEDUCING DANGER
9. ISABELLA LAPEARL – ENFORCE HER – A LEATHER, PIPES & PASSION SHORT STORY
10. CARRIE ANN RYAN – EXECUTIVE INK – A MONTGOMERY INK SHORT STORY

AMAZON

REVIEW FOR COUNTDOWN BY LEXI BLAKE

Let other men covet petite, delicate females. He wanted this one. She was the Alpha female, cool and competent and often at odds with him.

Ahhhhhhh!!!!!
OF ALL THE TEASING! I’m equal parts ecstatic and crying after finishing it.

This is set several years in the future, and set in a similar universe as Masters & Mercenaries. And that’s all the details you’ll be getting from me. My advise is to avoid any reviews giving any more away because you want to go into this blind. Lexi Blake packs a heck of a surprise into this story, and you’re going to want to enjoy it to it’s full effect.

The story is a sexy one. Two spies from different governments (American and Canadian) are sent to the Himalayas to apprehend a scientist working on a new delivery system for Anthrax that could kill thousands of people.

Ben, working for the Canadian government, has spent years lusting over a woman whose name he doesn’t even know. He calls her Magenta, for her hair, and Maggie for short. Maggie is a spy for the American government. They’ve tangled together through the years as their jobs landed them in the same places, and Ben’s sexual attraction to the woman has been growing with each encounter.

Now they’re locked in a mad scientist’s lair with a ticking bomb giving them less than an hour to live. So what’s a man and a woman with intense sexual attraction to do? Enjoy their last hour on earth together by giving into the pull between them. Ben and Maggie definitely set things on fire. Ben is demanding and all alpha, and Maggie is a kick ass heroine that submits to his desires in a way that’s both sweet and sassy. I LOVED THEM!

This was such a fun and sexy story that I was immediately craving more of. I sincerely hope we’ll get a spin off because this is a couple I NEED MORE OF!

Fans of this author do NOT want to miss this novella.

· Filed Under: All Reviews, Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense · Tagged With: , ,

Lana & Geri’s Review: Temporary by Sarina Bowen & Sarah Mayberry

September 18, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

TEMPORARY
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Authors: Sarina Bowen & Sarah Mayberry
Release Date: September 12, 2017

The most beautiful man I’ve ever seen is the one who can ruin everything…

The first time I lay eyes on Callan Walker, I know he’ll be trouble. With his smug grin, hot Aussie accent and thousand dollar shoes, he’s just the kind of rich guy who always gets what he wants.

And he wants two things: a night of sin, and my cooperation as he outmaneuvers his powerful mother to take control of his uncle’s estate.

I can’t afford either one. I’m the only thing standing between my little sister and the foster care system. He may have money and charm on his side, but I have something even more powerful — pure desperation. This temp job at his mother’s company can become a full time job for me. It has to.

But when Callan’s eyes rake over my body, sometimes I forget my obligations. His piercing gaze finds the fun, optimistic girl I used to be and not the tired person I’ve become.

And it works–if only for a moment. Our night together was a mistake. I can’t afford to get sucked into his high-powered family’s treachery. But the closer I get to Callan, the more layers I find beneath those expensive clothes. Though I can’t forget this is temporary. He’s temporary. I have too much to lose.

Too bad my foolish heart didn’t get the memo…

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 LANA’S REVIEW4

The most beautiful man I’ve ever seen is the one who can ruin everything…”


A woman barely making ends meet and a playboy that holds a piece to one of the world’s most powerful business empires couldn’t possibly have anything in common…or could they?

I had ignored the fact that we could not have two more wildly divergent lifestyles. I had ignored everything and let myself get swept away.

Grace is barely keeping a roof over her head while taking care of her teenage sister. With an addict for a mother and a father long out of the picture, Grace is all her sister Olivia has. A temp job for the Walker empire is exactly the chance that she needs. The possibility of turning it into a permanent position is what she hopes. But finding herself at the beck and call of the powerful and cold head of the business is not what she expects. When her assignment is to make sure that the estate of her boss’s recently passed brother are documented and quickly taken care of, the last thing she needs is the meddling of the prodigal son.

He wasn’t looking to strike up a thing with a cash-strapped temp who acted as guardian to her teen sister, and I was not looking to have a fling with a playboy ladies’ man I found way, way too likeable.”

Callah has left behind everything that made him a Walker. A ruthless mother that cares nothing for his happiness, and a sister blindly serving his mother’s whims, his beloved uncle was the only person that showed him any love. He’ll be damned if he allows his estate and life to be packed up in boxes with a cold efficiency that only his mother is capable of. The one thing he doesn’t anticipate is the beautiful temp sent to do his mother’s bidding.

No flirting, no touching, no eye-fucking, no dirty-talk between nine and five. And that includes lunch.”

Temporary was a slow build that admittedly I struggled a bit to get into at first. The first 30% really sets everything up, but at a pace that didn’t quite hook me. I immediately fell for the main characters. There was always so endearing about both Grace and Callan. Perhaps it was the fact that there’s so much more to them than first meets the eye. Callan is not the typical bad boy and playboy that you expect. This is a man with plenty of depth to him, and the more you find out about him, the harder you fall for him. Grace is a woman that’s barely getting by, but there’s this tenacity to her that you can’t help but respect. She’s doing her best and try as she might to ignore the pull to the handsome man that she has no business getting involved with, inevitably it proves to be too much.

Don’t get used to it. This is only temporary.”

The secondary characters of Claire and Olivia added to the mix perfectly and come the second half, I was hooked. This was a delicious slow burn romance with characters that you can’t help but root for. It was swoony, sexy, humorous, and utterly endearing.

GERI’S REVIEW

Everything about Callan Walker was a little more glamorous than I was used to. A little brighter, a little more perfect.

I love both Sarina Bowen & Sarah Mayberry so when I heard they’re co-writing a book, I was ecstatic! I mean, two of my faves in one book? Take my money already! My expectations are quite high and fortunately, I liked it! I liked it a lot!

This is another slow burn romances where their feelings sort of built over time. I personally love stories where the hero underestimates the heroine at first and vice versa, only to have that expectation slowly turned on its head. Temporary is like that.

Callan thought that Grace is another shark in heels, willing to do anything to get a position at his family’s company. His prejudice is a result of his past experience with his family and how his mother runs the business. Nevertheless, Callan is wrong on both counts. One, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being ambitious. Two, Grace’s motivation is so far from what Callan initially thought.

Don’t get used to it. This is only temporary.”

At first I was nervous about the clear power imbalance between Grace and Callan. But Grace has agency and she uses it despite being attracted to her son’s boss that when she gave in to her attraction, it didn’t feel like she was manipulated in any way. It was clear that she knew the score and she knew what could happen but did it anyway because she was starting to have feelings for him.

The conflict between Callan and Grace felt organic. It was set up perfectly and wasn’t just added for drama sake.

I have some issues with the main antagonist in this book a little bit because she seems like the typical Disney-esque villain with cliched motivation. But that said, I do feel like there are some things about this character that hasn’t been revealed yet. And we might get more of it in the next book about the hero’s sister. Or at least that’s what I feel. I could be wrong.

Speaking of sister, I want Claire’s story. I’m intrigued by her and there’s something more to her than just her mother’s pawn or something. I also liked Olivia. Sarina & Sarah was able to capture teenage angst very well.

Despite not being 5-star perfect, Temporary is a solid start for this new duo. And yeah, I’m definitely looking forward to reading more!

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Review & Giveaway: Arrogant Bastard by Zara Cox

September 15, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

ARROGANT BASTARD
Series: Dark Desires #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Zara Cox
Release Date: September 12, 2017

I’m known as the Black Widow because the desires I hide inside are pure poison.

I was a different person once. Faith, a young wife, hoping to become a mother. My life was pleasant. Stable. It was hell. Until Killian Knight opened my eyes to a world of espionage and intrigue. He saw something in me, something I was too afraid to acknowledge. I didn’t want to be excited by the danger. Didn’t want to crave the wicked passion only he could provide. But I did want, so now I run. And I pay.

I never meant to corrupt her, but I’m not sorry. 
After all, I’m already damned.
After four years of searching and longing, I’ve finally found her. Faith, the one person in the world I breathe for. She lives beneath my skin as surely as I wear proof of our transgressions inked on my body. And like the forbidden fruit that doomed us from the beginning, our end is inevitable. We lived with no regret. We loved without inhibition. We betrayed those closest to us. We killed for that love. Now…we will burn in hell together.

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Chapter One

Killian

Present Day

I’ve found her.

After four years and two months.

I stare at the screen, my blood pumping relief and shock and fury and joy through my veins. The cocktail of emotions paralyzes me for several minutes.

Then I force myself to analyze what I’m seeing.

Her hair is different. Longer. Darker. Pin-straight and rigid where soft, friendly waves used to be. The curve of her jaw captured by the camera lens also shows the difference. She’s leaner. Meaner. Even from this obscure angle, I can tell any trace of gentleness has been wiped clean. Eroded by sin and tragedy and horror. The change was probably inevitable, but I still don’t want to see the evidence.

To anyone else, the picture would seem ridiculously vague, the image nothing more than a blurred black-and-white pixelation of hair, chin, and shoulder.

It’s the reason my algorithm spat it out almost reluctantly, a last batch of possibilities in the dregs of to-be-discarded possibilities, and then dumped it in my supercomputer’s equivalent of a spam folder, the code scrolling impatiently as it waited my command to delete, delete, delete.

But I know it’s her. Despite the dark leather cap pulled low over her forehead. Despite the bulky jacket designed to hide her true shape. Her stealth speaks volumes. Besides, she’s in my blood, in my heartbeat. After so many years of dead ends and fruitless hoping, of agonizing disappointment and withering despair, this time I simply…know.

It’s her. The Widow.

My hand shakes as I hit the zoom-in key. My gut churns, and I feel a little sick as my ever-helpful brain cheerfully supplies me with all the ways she could’ve continued to elude me—if I’d turned away, for a second, to stare at one of the other three screens on my desk. If I’d trusted my supersmart computer and accepted the prompt to delete without reviewing this particular needle in my mountain of haystacks. If I hadn’t tweaked the code yet again last night to capture just such an obscure image.

Hell, if I’d blinked at the wrong time…I torture myself with infinite possibilities as I stare at that mesmerizing angle of chin and shoulder.

A chin I’ve trailed my treacherous fingers over many times in helpless wonder.

A shoulder I’ve rested my guilty but secretly unrepentant head on.

There’s so much more to her. And I treasured every single inch of her forbidden body, fucked her at every opportunity she granted me. Until she systematically erased herself from my life.

But why New York? And why now?

I know how good she is. Hell, she’s the best or she wouldn’t have eluded me for this long. The thought of another four years without her punches a cold fist through my gut. With it comes the certainty that I wouldn’t have survived those next four years without her. That I’ve been clinging on with the very last dregs of my endurance to make it this far.

But here she is…

The Widow.

I can’t see her eyes, but I don’t fool myself into thinking they’ll hold an ounce of softness. What we did changed us forever. And not for the better.

I lean back in my chair. Exhale slowly. Terrified of blinking in case she disappears from my screen. It doesn’t matter that I’ve copied and stored the longitude and latitude of her location in a dozen vaults on my server and memorized every single piece of data on the screen.

New York City. East Fifty-Third Street. CCTV camera. A one-in-a-billion shot.

Without taking my eyes off her, I reach for my phone and press the voice activation app. “Good evening, Mr. Knight.”

“Nala, how many times do I need to tell you to call me Killian?”

“You have yet to change my default settings, Mr. Knight.”

My lips twitch but a smile doesn’t quite form. My eyes water with the need to blink. But I resist. “I changed them last week. You reset them again, didn’t you?”

“I assure you, I’m quite incapable of doing that.”

“Yeah, right. Fine. Place a call for me. Pilot. Home.”

“Dialing pilot. Home,” the female AI obliges me.

Nelson Whittaker, my LA-based English pilot, picks up on the second ring. It’s three a.m. but he answers as if it’s normal working hours. Which it is, to be fair. Everything is normal for me in my line of work.

“Good morning, sir.”

“How soon can you get to the airport?” I snap.

“As soon as I put on my trousers and chuck a bucket of water over my son to wake him up,” he replies with a dark chuckle.

My fingers fly over the keyboard as I save her information in a few more electronic vaults. “Give William my apologies,” I say.

“No need. He’s been champing at the bit to take the new girl for another spin.” The new girl being the Bombardier Global 8000 I added to my collection of private jets last month.

“In that case, I expect to see you at Van Nuys within the hour.” At this time of the morning, traffic from their Santa Monica apartment should be light enough to get them there fast.

“We’ll be there.” He clears his throat. “I expect the paperwork regarding out-of-curfew flights—”

“Will be taken care of. I’ll text you the details but we won’t be straying far from the usual parameters.”

“Very good, sir. Destination?” he asks crisply.

My gaze tracks that chin. That shoulder. The hair. Four years’ worth of turbulent emotion threatens to rip free. My chest burns with it, but I contain it. “New York.”

We went from forbidden fruit to torrid lovers without pausing to take a breath. Then added the dangerous ingredient of international espionage to the mix right up until it all blew up in our faces. Then I took the only option available to me and ran like hell.

I have a slight obsession with this series. Zara Cox has a signature grit to her writing that I simply can’t get enough of. Her stories are passionate and with a dark undercurrent that never fails to satisfy this picky reader. Arrogant Bastard had a slightly different feel that the other books in this series. Killian wasn’t the broody alphahole like Q or the tortured alphahole like Axel. He was a man that lost the only woman he loved and was determined to do anything to get her back. Even if all the odds were stacked against him.

Known simply as the Black Widow in the Punishment Club that she works for that’s owned by Axel Rutherford, B is not a woman that you want to mess with. She metes out punishment like the deadly creature that she is, leaving men panting in her wake. But she’s a woman that’s clearly running from her demons and secrets so dark, that not even those closest to her know them. But then the man that she ran from all those years ago tracks her down, and her carefully constructed new world gets tilted on its axis.

B and Killian share a past that no one knows about. It was a convoluted and dangerous connection that in the end, cost B everything. She’s been running since. But when a dangerous enemy learns that she’s alive, Killian knows that he’s the lesser of two evils and will stop at nothing to protect the woman that he’s never forgotten or gotten over.

Arrogant Bastard was an action packed, sizzling combination of espionage, suspense and romance. B is one hard core woman on the outside, but on the inside she’s never healed from the scars of her past. Killian is a dangerous enigma that’s as lethal as he is sexy, but beyond the man’s magnetism and allure, he’s completely head over heals for B and makes no qualms about it. Their road to a HEA is not an easy one but entertaining from start to finish. Zara Cox wrote a real page turner that kept this reader up well into the night, eager for each little morsel of information that ultimately led to one mind blowing revelation.

My only quibble is the hows and whys of B getting into the line of work that she did. It seemed a little much even if I did suspend my disbelief for the sake of enjoying the story. But ultimately, I stopped caring because I was enjoy the story and couldn’t get enough of her and Killian together.

THE DARK DESIRES SERIES


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

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!). This series is Zara’s next step in her erotic romance-writing journey, and she would love to hear your thoughts. Visit her:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Goodreads


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Review: Dirty Filthy Rich Love by Laurelin Paige

September 11, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

Dirty Filthy Rich Love
Series: Dirty Duet #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Laurelin Paige
Release Date: September 11, 2017

I’ve discovered Donovan Kincaid’s secret.

It’s dirty and filthy and rich – as dirty and filthy and rich as he is – and it haunts me as much as he ever did.

Even after knowing what I know now, I still want to talk to him, to touch him. But there’s an ocean between us, and I’m not sure it can be crossed with something as easy as a phone call or a plane ride.

Yet I’m willing to try.

He doesn’t know this yet, but this time I’m the one with the power.

And maybe – just maybe – if the air were cleared and all our secrets bared, there could still be a chance for us.

And this dirty, filthy thing between us might end up being love after all.

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Start the Duet TODAY with Dirty Filthy Rich Men

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Right then, right there, with my hands tied behind my back, my cheek pressed against the wall, and his hand clasped at my throat, I finally understood the depth of what he felt for me. And so I surrendered.

*Pervy shivers*

Oh man. This duet.

*pervy shudders*

It was downright sinful. The conclusion takes off immediately where Dirty Filthy Rich Men ended; leaving Sabrina in the aftermath of her revelations about Donovan.

Obsession. Posessiveness. Lust. All the lines got blurred during their whirlwind romance. A romance based on nothing more than a shared kink and an undeniable connection. But was it more? Can a true relationship be formed on something that was so jagged. That is the answer we get with Dirty Filthy Rich Love.

…I am not a knight in shining armor.”
“No,” I laughed. “You’re not.” I sobered. “And yet you are….
You’re also the villain, don’t forget that.”
“Lucky for me you’re the kind of girl who likes to fuck the villain.”

Donovan never expected for his heart to get involved or to even give it to anyone else again after so many years of hiding it behind impenetrable walls. But if his actions are anything to go by, he’s done just that with Sabrina. And though he was willing to walk away from her to protect her from himself, the pull between them is much too strong.

Walking toward him was like deciding to walk through fire when I was already covered with first-degree burns. It hurt like I couldn’t describe. But I was a girl who lived in darkness. His fire sure looked bright.

Laurelin pulls the reader deeper into the orbit of this couple and their dark brand of kink. She throws them right into the epicenter of their storm and it was impossible to tear your attention away for even a second. I’ve always loved Donovan’s intensity, but I loved seeing his vulnerable side even more. The man is all sorts of delicious with his possessive and controlling tendencies. I loved seeing Sabrina put him in his place while giving into him at the same time. I loved watching the the sparks between them blaze hotter and hotter until it explodes into something sinfully delicious.

The author brings the story in a full circle with the events that we first read in book one and gives the reader an immensely satisfying ending.

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Review: Destined To Crave by Setta Jay

August 31, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

DESTINED TO CRAVE
Series: Descended of Guardians #1
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Erotic
Author: Setta Jay
Release Date: August 30, 2017

Fate gave them love… then tore them apart.

This standalone novella is the first spin-off from the Guardians of the Realms world!

The descendant of two almighty Gods and a Guardian of Earth, Eirykr “Rykr” is born of immense power. Yet, no amount of strength or skill can save him from the curse that tore him away from his first and only love. Turned into a shadowy assassin, he wields the demons bound to his soul with the ruthlessness of a blade. For nearly a decade, he’s searched for the key to free himself, all the while watching over and dangerously craving the beautiful mate who believes she’s driven him away.

Lucy is a born protector, a trait of her Guardian lineage. When her greatest gift was torn from her, leaving a gaping hole in her soul, she refuses to allow a young Rykr, her known mate, to suffer the same dire consequences. Her fear forces her to make a haunting decision and with a grave threat she crushes him, demanding they part for a decade. Yet, as the years pass she can feel him watching her from the shadows, conjuring wild fantasies that make her ache for him to finally end their torment.

As time ticks toward the decade mark, dark forces rush to descend. Will Rykr’s secret and relentless need to protect Lucy condemn them to a hopeless destiny of constant craving? Or will Lucy bind them for all eternity, no matter the violent threat to her very soul?

Warning: This title contains dirty talk, bad language and erotically charged scenes meant to scorch your eReader.

AMAZON

Every night, she fantasized about the sexy male he’d turned into while mourning the loss of the mischievous boy she’d loved.

Oh YUM.

Setta Jay’s Guardians of the Realms series has been a guilty pleasure of mine for years. A well crafted, erotically charged PNR that hooked me from the first and kept me riveted until the end. When I saw she’ll be coming out with a spin-off series, I was thrilled. And now that I read it, I’m already craving more!

Destined To Crave is a short, but extremely satisfying novella that sets the scene for her brand new Descended of Guardians series which, you guessed it, features the kids of the couples from the previous books. We get a well crafted set up and intro to most of the characters and a main couple that will melt your e-reader with their sizzling chemistry.

This is also a great opportunity for new readers to discover this fantastic author, because while it doesn’t hurt to read the previous series, it’s certainly not necessary to enjoy this one. You get all the back stories and the characters are unique and don’t much piggy back of the stories of their parents.

Rykr and Lucy were amazing together. This book was hot, entertaining, and addicting. My only quibble is I wished for more, but that’s always my complaint with novellas from favorite authors. I’m hooked, line and sinker and can’t wait for more in this series! If you like erotic PNR, then you definitely want to check this one out!

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