Guest Post, Review & #Giveaway: ★Falling For His Best Friend★ by @katee_robert

Meet Avery & Drew in Katee Robert’s newest sexy standalone from Entangled Brazen!
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He’s going above and beyond the call of duty…

Avery Yeung’s biological clock just went off early. Thanks to her family’s medical history, she’s running out of time to get knocked up. And the only guy within donating distance? Her overprotective-and irritatingly hot-best friend. So clearly she needs an anonymous donor…

Anonymous donor? Over Sheriff Drew Flannery’s dead body. While daddyhood will never be in the cards for a man with his past, Drew won’t let Avery shop for a “popsicle pop.” He’ll do what’s right for his best friend by doing his best friend. But only if they do it properly.

But there’s nothing “proper” about it. Between the bed, the kitchen counter, and against his squad car, Avery and Drew are having the hottest sex ever. They can’t get enough of it-or each other. And without knowing it, they’ve crossed the one line that could ruin their friendship forever…

I asked Katee how she keeps coming up with new and sexier sex scenes for her characters and where does she draw her inspiration. (because inquiring pervy minds gots to know!) And here’s what she had to say


Bring on the Sexy Good Times!

I’ve always preferred to read romances where I get all the delicious details, rather than a fade-to-black or sweeter romance. So, when it came time for me to be the one writing romance, the only route that felt natural to take was the one that let the reader see everything going on in the bedroom (or closet or living room…but I digress). The only problem? There’s a whole lot that goes into sex scenes to make them feel effortless and not awkward.

Yeah, I was way in over my head. Writing sex scenes are DIFFICULT. No duh, right? I should have seen that from a mile away.

The thing is, it got easier with each book I wrote, until the sex scenes are now one of my favorite parts of any given book. See, in addition to making me blush (every single time!) and occasionally making me take a lap around the living room to cool off, a good sex scene gives the reader a very intimate view of a character’s fears and desires.

How a hero or heroine chooses to make themselves vulnerable—or not— in the bedroom is telling when it comes down to it. Each pairing presents its own challenges. For example, with FALLING FOR HIS BEST FRIEND, Drew is the dominant partner almost exclusively—he drives the sex scenes. They’re both busy fighting their feelings for each other, but they do it in different ways. Avery lets herself get lost in the moment, and Drew tries to control every little thing.

With each book, there are challenges and with each book there’s the underlying desire to keep the heat level in roughly the same place. I like my sex scenes hot! Which is great in theory, but there’s always the fear in the back of my mind that I’ll write a scene, send it in, and have my editor respond with, “Katee, you wrote this exact same scene in a totally different book!” Or “Katee, every single book in this series has the characters getting busy in the backseat!”

The double ups don’t actually happen that often, though. Each couple brings different desires to the table, so writing to cater to those desires ends up creating a natural variety of sexy good times naturally. Which is a relief, let me tell you!

What about you? How do you feel about sex scenes in romance books?

Holy shit. Whatever he’d expected when he’d agreed to this thing, it wasn’t THIS. He’d just had sexy with Avery. His best friend and partner in crime, the one person in this world who knew all his secrets.
And worst of all, he wanted to do it again.

Ever since Drew and Avery were first introduced in In Bed with Mr. Wrong I just knew they’d be one of my favorites in the series. And you know what? I wasn’t even a little bit wrong. I love a good friends to lovers romance, and this one delivered it in spades.

Avery, shut up and listen to me. If we’re going to do this- and we are- we’re going to do this RIGHT.”
And then he kissed her.

Avery and Drew have been best friends for twenty years. There’s nothing that they haven’t experienced together, especially being the fun loving troublemakers that they are. But there’s one thing that always stayed hands off, especially for Drew, and that’s anything even remotely romantic or sexual. Drew attempted to kiss her once and was turned down flat. He doesn’t want to ruin their friendship, so even though his attraction for Avery hasn’t lessened any through the years, he won’t act on it. Until he has no choice but not to…

Avery has always known Drew for the player that he is. His hit it then quit it ways date back all the way to high school. He’s also been the one solid presence in her life that has been there for her through everything. Especially that terrible day that she got the test results back saying that she has the same genetic markers for cancer that killed her mother. Now her biological clock is ticking and it has a very quick expiration date with her health risk looming over her. Avery is desperate to have the one thing she longs for; a child of her own. After watching her sister that had the same genetic markers go through an emergency hysterectomy, she knows she doesn’t have time to waste. And with no potential men in the plan for her, since Drew seems to scare all of them off with the guise that they’re not good enough, she gets desperate. And what’s a girl to do? Go to a sperm bank, of course.

When the idea of Avery getting pregnant by any man that’s not him hits Drew over the head like a two-by-four, he knows what HE has to do. Why go to the sperm bank when he can get the job done right…the old fashioned way.

Avery may not be too keen on the idea at first, but it’s not long before all that pent up sexual chemistry from the years crackles and sizzles out of control. Let’s just say there’s a certain scene that involves Drew’s sheriff’s uniform, handcuffs, and the side of a road. Holy melting panties!

Avery may know what she wants, but Drew struggles with it. The last thing he wants is to give his heart to a woman only to waste away like his drunk of a father when he looses her. Watching him fall harder and harder for Avery was all the more satisfying to watch because of this. Sure he screws up, but he more than makes up for it.

The irony was that while he’d been trying to ruin her for any other man, she’d gone and done the same for him and any future woman he might meet.

I really loved this latest installment in the series. It’s everything that I love in contemporary romance. It was light, sweet, with the perfect amount of sexy and fantastic characters. If you loved the previous books in this series, you’re definitely going to love this one. And if you haven’t yet read those, then you can easily read this one as a standalone. The operative word here being READ it.

New York Times & USA TODAY Bestselling Author

Katee Robert learned to tell stories at her grandpa’s knee. Her favorites then were the rather epic adventures of The Three Bears, but at age twelve she discovered romance novels and never looked back.

Though she dabbled in writing, life got in the way—as it often does—and she spent a few years traveling, living in both Philadelphia and Germany. In between traveling and raising her two wee ones, she had the crazy idea that she’d like to write a book and try to get published.

Her first novel was an epic fantasy that, God willing, will never see the light of day. From there, she dabbled in YA and horror, before finally finding speculative romance. Because, really, who wouldn’t want to write entire books about the smoking-hot relationships between two people?

She now spends her time—when not lost in Far Reach worlds—playing imaginary games with her wee ones, writing, ogling men, and planning for the inevitable zombie apocalypse.

Stalk Her: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | Goodreads

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Review: ★Taking What’s His★ by @DianeAlberts

Taking What’s His (Shillings Agency #4)
Author: Diane Alberts
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: April 28, 2015

Some lines are meant to be crossed…
One explosive device was all it took to turn Holt Cunningham from ass-kicking Marine to IT technician. Hell, he’s still not over it. So when the cute little strawberry blonde at the bar asks him to kiss her, Holt can’t resist the temptation of a sexy distraction. Before he knows it, she’s blown his mind…and then skipped out the next morning.

Lydia Thomas never expected things with Holt to go quite that far, but oh, it was worth it. After being far too good for way too long, she was ready to be bad. Except that there’s that tiny detail that Lydia kept to herself-Holt just spent the night doing naughty things…with his best friend’s little sister.One night isn’t nearly enough. But with his friendship on the line, how far will Holt go in order to claim what’s his?

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Amazon / B&N 
Review4 stars

She’d known that underneath those glasses was a bad boy who knew exactly what to do with a good girl like her.

Well, well, well, Diane Alberts. How DO you keep doing it? Giving us one hero after the other that just gets better and better. I think that Holt Cunningham just may be my favorite Shillings Agency man yet. There’s just something so vulnerable and broken about him and yet with this darker edge that you just wouldn’t expect. All of it combined together just makes for one deliciously sexy read.

So what are you saying?”
“I’m saying I want to bring you home and fuck you until you stop thinking about other guys. I want to claim you, Own you. Make you come more times than ever before.”

Lydia is the quintessential good girl. After her latest boyfriend of two months dumps her because she wouldn’t put out, she’s determined to shake up her life a bit. When she spots her her ex at the bar, the dark, broody and sexy stranger proves to be a welcome distraction. And when she asks him to kiss her, she certainly doesn’t expect the type of sparks to fly as they do,

Holt may work in IT now, but he’ll always be a Marine at heart. But he’s not the man that he once was. He’s more broken, inside and out. A devastating IED explosion on his latest tour caused him everything, his military brothers and his own wounds. Suffering from the repercussions of that and his crippling PTSD, all he’s able to satisfy himself with is booze and one-night stands.

That’s all he’s good for anyway. But the beautiful and innocent woman at the bar tempts him for so much more. And c’mon, who can resist and sexy and dirty talking nerd anyway? Well, he’s not really a nerd. But the glasses do certainly add to his appeal. But I digress…

He didn’t want to be this guy with her. He wanted to be the guy who blew her mind with amazing orgasms. The guy she missed when he was gone. The guy she needed…
Not the guy who needed HER.

But Lydia is not just another woman. She also happens to be his best friend and co-worker’s little sister. She may know this going into their one-night deal, but he sure as hell doesn’t. Too bad by the time that he finds out he’s already hooked.

I really loved this latest installment in the series. Lydia and Holt were the perfect dying and yangs for each other. Holt is broody and tortured and Lydia is the lighthearted and sweet side. And together they’re absolutely sizzling! But this was also so much more than simple chemistry, I found the characters to have so much depth (Holt in particular). His struggle with his mental and physical repercussions after his injury broke my heart to read. As stubborn and pigheaded as he was sometimes, he never frustrated me. My heart just hurt for him and for Lydia. I was rooting for them the entire time. This series just continues to get better and better for me. I really hope to get Steve’s book next. Definitely a rec for fans of this series and even those that haven’t read it yet. This is the perfect book to start with since it’s easily read as a standalone. Though I highly recommend the rest of the series too since it’s also fantastic.

Release Blitz & #Giveaway: ★Taking What’s His★ by @DianeAlberts

Taking What’s His by Diane Alberts was released today! This is an adult, contemporary romance from Entangled’s Brazen imprint. It is book #4 in the Shillings Agency series. Be sure to check out the contest below for a chance to win a gift card!

TWH_Teaser1

Some lines are meant to be crossed…One explosive device was all it took to turn Holt Cunningham from ass-kicking Marine to IT technician. Hell, he’s still not over it. So when the cute little strawberry blonde at the bar asks him to kiss her, Holt can’t resist the temptation of a sexy distraction. Before he knows it, she’s blown his mind…and then skipped out the next morning.

Lydia Thomas never expected things with Holt to go quite that far, but oh, it was worth it. After being far too good for way too long, she was ready to be bad. Except that there’s that tiny detail that Lydia kept to herself-Holt just spent the night doing naughty things…with his best friend’s little sister.

One night isn’t nearly enough. But with his friendship on the line, how far will Holt go in order to claim what’s his?

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TWH_Release1

About the Author

DianeAlberts
Diane Alberts is a multi-published, bestselling contemporary romance author with Entangled Publishing. She also writes New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling new adult books under the name Jen McLaughlin. She’s hit the Top 100 lists on Amazon and Barnes and Noble numerous times with numerous titles. She was mentioned in Forbes alongside E. L. James as one of the breakout independent authors to dominate the bestselling lists. Diane is represented by Louise Fury at The Bent Agency.
Diane has always been a dreamer with a vivid imagination, but it wasn’t until 2011 that she put her pen where her brain was, and became a published author. Since receiving her first contract offer, she has yet to stop writing. Though she lives in the mountains, she really wishes she was surrounded by a hot, sunny beach with crystal clear water. She lives in Northeast Pennsylvania with her four kids, a husband, a schnauzer mutt, and a cat. Her goal is to write so many fantastic stories that even a non-romance reader will know her name.

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#NewRelease & Review: ★Once Upon a Dare★ by Jennifer Bonds

 Once Upon a Dare
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Jennifer Bonds
Release Date: April 7, 2015

Advertising guru Olivia Masterson is all work and no play. But on the eve of earning her dream promotion, her best friend dares her to drop her ice queen façade for one night and seduce a sexy stranger.

Olivia’s worked her ass off to get where she is—why the hell not?Cole Bennett never thought he’d run into his feisty one-night stand at the office, furious that he stole her promotion. No matter how hard she tries to ice him out, they can’t seem to keep their hands to themselves…or their clothes on.
Olivia’s talented—maybe even more than Cole—so when his dropped hints to the boss net her a promotion of her own, he’s ready to celebrate…until she accuses him of fueling office rumors that she slept her way to the top. She wants to earn her own way? Fine. So what the hell does a guy have to do to permanently melt an ice queen?

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Review

3.5 stars


I kind of hate you sometimes.”
“If that’s code for ‘I want to fuck you until I can’t walk straight’, then I kind of hate you, too.”

If you’re looking for a light and easy read with a super sexy office romance, looks like you’ve found your next book. What a fantastic debut novel from Jennifer Bonds. I never know what I’m going into with a new to me author, but in the case here I was very pleasantly surprised.

Advertising guru Olivia Masterson is all work and no play.

Ain’t that the truth. The woman is as straitlaced as they come. The previous pageant queen has spent her entire career proving her worth and that it’s not her looks that got her the job. She lives and breathes her job. Known in the office as the ice queen, she doesn’t have time for the distractions of the male variety. But a girl’s got needs. So when her best friend issues her a dare to sleep with a stranger from the bar, she decides to go for it. Specifically since the super sexy stranger at the bar has been eyeing her.

Cole Bennett is back in New York for a new job. But when a blonde beauty that he’s had his eyes on approaches him with an enticing offer, who is he to resist? He’s only a man.


When I see something I want, I find a way to make it mine. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to share.

Unfortunately, what starts and supposed to end as just a sizzling one night stand, turns into something more. When Olivia sneaks out of Cole’s hotel room at night only to bump into him at her office the next day, she’s shocked. She’s even more shocked when she realizes that he also got the promotion that she’s been fighting to prove herself for months for. Now they have fireworks between them of the not so sexual variety. But that’s not to say that the super hot chemistry they seem to share disappears. If anything it just burns even hotter.


A fucking dare, huh?
Sweetheart, it may have started that way, but in case you haven’t noticed, we can’t be in the same room without ripping each other’s clothes off, so why keep fighting it?”

Jennifer Bonds certainly knows how to write one smoking hot sex scenes. Cole and Olivia definitely burn up the pages together. They have this hate-lust thing going on and it’s absolutely delicious.


She was smart and sexy, the kind of woman you couldn’t let go of once you’d had a taste. He was only human, for fuck’s sake, and they had unfinished business.

Olivia is sassy and even a bit of a ball-buster, which I liked. She definitely gives as good as she gets. Though at certain parts I found her to be a little exasperating with how hard she was on Cole.

This was a quick and steamy afternoon read that I highly enjoyed. The ending was a little cheesetastic, but fitting for the story. I’m definitely looking forward to more from this author.

Review: ★Protecting Fate★ by Katee Robert

Protecting Fate (Serve #6)
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Katee Robert
Release Date: March 17, 2015

He’ll keep her safe…but who will protect her from him?

Fixer Sara Reaver is in serious trouble. She’s stepped on the wrong toes, and now her uncle is sending her out of the city in an effort to keep her safe—and he’s assigning her a glorified babysitter. The last person she expects to show up is the gorgeous Z, or for him to tempt her and then reject her in the space of a single night. Twice. Now she’s out to prove to him just how good they’d fit up together in every way imaginable.

Mercenary Z Loreto hates protection jobs, but he’s willing to make an exception for his best friend’s little sister. The only problem is she calls up things he’s been doing his damnedest to keep under wraps for the last seven years. But when she pushes him too far, it all comes rushing to the fore, and the fact she’s willing to submit to his every desire only makes the loss of control sweeter.

Sara and Z have a boatload of issues between them, but they’re sure they can make things work if they take it one day at a time… Right up until things spiral beyond their control. Now Z’s playing for keeps in a big way, and Sara’s got to decide if a chance at true happiness is worth the risk of repeating history.

Review4 stars

If there was one woman on this earth off limits, it was Little Sara Reaver. And she was the one woman he wanted more than his next breath.

Ever since we first met Sara Reaver as the smart mouthed best friend of Ridley and younger sister of Garrett and Will in Mistaken by Fate, I just knew her story will have to be a good one. With two overprotective Dom brothers; 1 in the military, and 1 a successful business owner, Sara is no pushover herself. She’s a fixer and there’s no job that she can’t get done…until she pushes too far and her uncle sends her away with a protection detail no less.

Sara, much like her two brothers, has been scarred by her mother’s abrupt departure from her life. She’s not looking for a happily ever after any time soon, but she’s certainly not willing to give up her orgasms in the meantime either. This is a woman that owns her sexuality without any qualms. I actually really enjoyed that about her. Usually there’s a fine line for me between brazen and brash, but Sara was always on the right line of things for me. She’s smart mouthed and knows what she wants. She also isn’t shy about going after what she wants. And when she goes to Serve to enjoy her last night of “freedom” and comes face to face with her ‘protection detail’, a night with a Dom to pacify her needs just won’t do. The dark and broody Z enthralls her. And the fact that he seems to thwart her advances intrigues her.

Z was definitely one sexy sexy man. A true military man, and he likes control both in the field and in the bedroom. While the gorgeous blonde certainly calls to the Dom in him, the fact that she’s his charge and his friend’s younger sister puts a big hands-off sign on her. But there’s only so long that Z can control his urges for, especially when Sara makes it her mission to seduce him.

This was another super sexy addition to the Serve series and one I definitely enjoyed quite a bit. The pace of Sara and Z’s relationship seemed almost unrealistically quick, but then again, it is what it is. It did have a great epilogue which was the perfect cherry on the cake. I found this to be a little less BDSM-y (yes, I’m making that a word) than the last book, but no less hot. Fans of the series will definitely enjoy this one.

Don’t miss the rest of this sizzling hot series!

Owned by Fate (Serve #1)
Exposed by Fate (Serve #2)

Mistaken by Fate (Serve #3)
Betting on Fate (Serve #4)
Driven by Fate (Serve #5)

★Ask Me Nicely★ by Amy Andrews

Ask Me Nicely 
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Amy Andrews
Release Date: March 3, 2015

She craves what only he can give her. But he’s not giving in without a fight… Veterinarian Sal Kennedy’s lost her mojo and is desperate to get it back. In fact, as the anniversary of the tragedy that destroyed her life looms large, she’ll do anything to erase the painful memories, including overdoing the tequila and making a pass at the most annoyingly inappropriate man on the planet.

Fellow veterinarian Doyle Jackson is her flatmate and her employee and therefore strictly off-limits. Unfortunately, Doyle knows how to bring the goods and make her mojo sit up and beg. Doyle is only too happy to oblige Sal in her hour of need, but then she demands more, and she’s perfectly happy playing dirty to get it. He wants more, too—more than just sex, that is, and it’s something Sal’s not willing to give.

But Doyle is in this for the long haul now, and he’s prepared to fight even dirtier to get what he wants. Even if that means they both keep losing all their clothes in the process…

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Review

2.5 stars


Either kill each other or just get naked and do the wild thing already. You’re scaring the animals.”

As much as I loved No More Mr. Nice Guy, I was really looking forward to Mack’s sister and Josie’s best friend getting her own book. She was such a fun and sassy secondary character in their book that she just HAD to be even better in her own one, right? Sadly that wasn’t the case here


There was something very broken about Sal Kennedy…

I am all for a heroine that owns her sexuality and makes no bones about it. Unfortunately there is that very delicate line between owning it and being brash, and for me, Sal kind of crossed that line. She was just too much in her own book. Clearly she’s hiding a deep rooted issue that causes her to be as detached as she is with men now.


She kissed like the devil, she came like a nymphomaniac who’d been celibate for a decade, and she shattered like a little girl who’d lost her best friend.

I think because the reader wasn’t privy to what her issues are until the last 15% of the book it made it really difficult to connect to Sal. I spent most of the book frustrated with her constant back and forth with Doyle. Especially since Doyle was such a nice guy and extremely tolerant and understanding of Sal’s behavior.
While Sal has no problem sleeping around, Doyle doesn’t want to be just another one-night stand. Living with Sal, he’s come to know her routine and he’s not enabling it. Of course he wants to have sex with her, but he just wants one thing first; a date.

Sal is having none of it. With over five years of using no strings sex as her form of therapy, she’s not looking to get tied down. But ever since the sexy vet moved into her apartment, he’s also seemed to have stolen her orgasms. Easy fix to that, right? Just have HIM give them to her. If only he didn’t want that damn date…


Fine. Let’s do it your way, then. Let’s go on a bloody date. Satisfied?”
“Ah…you want to try that again? NICELY?”
Sal almost chocked. “I beg your pardon?”
“Ask me nicely.”
“You want me to ask you nicely?”
“Sure. A guy likes to feel like he’s being romanced.”

While I get that the author wanted to leave the reason for Sal’s detachment for the big reveal towards the end, unfortunately it had a backfiring effect for me. This could have been a great emotional and sexy read, and it turned into an exercise in frustration. I never connected and Sal, and Doyle, no matter how sexy he was, just kind of fizzled out in the background of all her “issues”. I’m still a fan of this author and look forward to her next installment of this series. Sadly this book just didn’t quite do it for me.

One Month of @ElleKennedy with #GIVEAWAY continues with ☆One Night of Troublel☆

If you guys have been following my reviews, then you already know that I have been OBSESSED with this sexy new series from Elle Kennedy. And the best part? It only gets better with each book. So I’m so freaking excited to spotlight this fabulous author, now with the 3rd book in the series and also my favorite! Elle truly saved the best for last! If you haven’t read this series yet, now’s the time to discover it. Trust me, you’ll love it. I know I sure as hell did!

About The Book

One Night of Trouble
(After Hours #3)
Genre: Erotic, Contemporary Romance
Release Date: January 5, 2015
Length: 237 pages

No More Mr. Nice Guy…

The moment AJ Walsh sees the sexy, tattooed pixie walk up to his bar, it’s lust at first sight. He’s always been labeled the “nice” guy―opening doors, buying flowers, and never, ever having one-night stands. But with this wicked little angel with red lips and unfathomably dark eyes? Oh, yeah. Tonight, “nice” has nothing to do with it…

Brett Conlon is trying to convince her family that she’s put away her reckless wild girl side for good. Nothing―and no one―could be better for her reputation than golden boy AJ Walsh. So they make a deal: if he plays The Good Boyfriend for her family, he can be a very, very bad boy with her. Now their one naughty night is about to turn into a whole lot of trouble…

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Excerpt

Without breaking eye contact, she grasped the bottom of her dress and teasingly drew it up her thighs. AJ’s mouth went bone-dry as he watched the fabric slide higher and higher, revealing tantalizing glimpses of her smooth, fair skin. When the koi fish on her thigh became visible, he was hit with the memory of dragging his tongue over the tattoo while his fingers pumped inside her.

A groan slipped out as he focused on her bare sex.

“Good girl,” he rasped. “That’s just what I wanted.” She was about to let the dress drop when his hand flew up to stop her. “No, keep holding it up.”

Her breasts rose as she sucked in a breath, but the material stayed bunched between her fingers.

“Spread your legs more,” he ordered.

She widened her stance, exposing herself fully to his hungry gaze. His cock had turned into a slab of marble, pressing painfully into his zipper, but he didn’t make a move to release it yet.

He’d never fucked a woman in his office before. He knew Gage and Reed got it on with Skyler and Darcy in their workspaces all the time, but AJ had always tried to act professional at work. Taking a woman on his desk would’ve felt like breaking the rules.

He was sick to death of rules.

“Walk over to the door,” he said softly. “Brace your hands on it and bend over. Make sure your dress stays up.”

Her breath caught. “What if I don’t want to?”

“Then you don’t get my cock.” Slanting his head in challenge, he slid his hand down his abdomen and cupped himself over his pants.

Brett’s eyes widened, lips parting seductively. Waves of arousal rolled off her slender body, and his own body responded in fervor, his erection thickening beneath his palm.

It occurred to him that they’d gone from hi to spread your legs in five seconds flat, but that only made the whole encounter even hotter. She wasn’t there so they could talk about their days.

She was there so they could make each other come.

 Review

4.5 stars

For this one night, he could drop the good-guy mask and act on the primal urges he’d been fighting his entire life.

Well, well, well, Miss Kennedy. Seems you’ve been holding out on me with AJ and you managed to save the best for last. In the previous two books AJ has always come off as the safe, unassuming, and tamer of his 2 partners. Always the reasonable one and almost…dare I say…boring? Well, still waters run deep, my friends. Because all this time AJ has been hiding his inner bad boy and apparently he just needed the right woman to bring it out in him.

You know, you’re really not as nice as you look.”
“Isn’t that what I’ve been telling you all along?” His smile widened. “There’s nothing nice about what I’m going to do to you tonight.”
And then he touched her…

Brett Conlon is done with her wild, bad girl ways. After her most recent choice of boyfriends puts her in a situation that lands her in jail for the night, she swears she’s done. No more drinking, not more wild parties; she’s on the straight and narrow now. She needs to prove to her father that she’s reliable enough to run the tattoo parlor on her own. So she makes a change and sticks to it…until a blast from her past tempts her to let her inner bad girl out to play, if only for a night.

C’mon, angel, give me a taste of the wild girl you used to be. I promise you can lick her up again after tonight…” He parted the top of his pants. “At least until the next time I want her to come out.”

AJ Walsh is used to being the good boy; a good son, a good friend, and the dreaded ‘nice guy’ when it comes to his relationships. He has a type too; he likes them blonde, beautiful, classy…and safe just like him. So why is a wild brunette beauty covered in tattoos all of a sudden calls to him like a siren? Used to everyone liking him he doesn’t understand why the woman is glaring daggers at him and giving attitude to boot. Especially when all he wants to do is let the true personality he’s hiding loose with her for reasons that he can’t understand.

Ha. Boy next door, her ass. AJ Walsh was the devil.

Brent remembers AJ very well from her high school days. He was 3 years older, popular, star football player, and wanted by every hot cheerleader. Why would he remember the shy and awkward younger girl that all his female friends used to taunt? But AJ is also not at all what she expects and when he makes it clear that even though he may not remember her from high school but he’s very interested in getting to know her better now…well how can she turn that down?

So they make a deal; Brett will give AJ a taste of the wild side he’s craving and in return AJ will pretend to be her boyfriend for the week to make her look more respectable and reliable to her father and brothers. A win/win, right?

This was probably my favorite book in the series. The chemistry between AJ and Brett is sizzling from the very start and it doesn’t let up until the last page. Brett was a great heroine; sassy, a little wild, and incredibly endearing.

My one fear was that AJ’s ‘transition’ from nice guy to bad boy wouldn’t really be believable or feel forced. But Elle Kennedy pulled this off effortlessly. Not only did I believe it, I could see how he’s been hiding the inner bad boy that has been brewing under the surface all these years. His reasons for the personality change were heartbreaking, and it made so much sense that it just pulled everything together for me.

AJ was the perfect combination of bad boy dirty talker with a nice guy. He didn’t need to be a man whore to pull off this vibe, and it was perfect. If you’ve enjoyed the first 2 books in this series, then you’ll definitely love this one. And if you haven’t read this spicy little series yet, then I’m not sure what you’re waiting for.

DON’T MISS THE REST OF THE SERIES

One Night of Sin (After Hours #1)
One Night of Scandal (After Hours #2)
About the Author

A USA Today bestselling author, Elle Kennedy grew up in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, and holds a BA in English from York University. From an early age, she knew she wanted to be a writer and actively began pursuing that dream when she was a teenager. She loves strong heroines and sexy alpha heroes, and just enough heat and danger to keep things interesting!

Elle loves to hear from her readers. Visit her website www.ellekennedy.com or sign up for her newsletter to receive updates about upcoming books and exclusive excerpts. You can also find her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter (@ElleKennedy).

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One Month of @ElleKennedy with #GIVEAWAY continuing with ☆One Night of Scandal☆

One Month of Elle Kennedy continues with One Night of Scandal. If you missed my previous post for One Night of Sin, you can find it HERE. And if you haven’t read this series yet, now’s the time to discover it. If you like a sexy romance with a hot as sin hero, this is definitely the book for you 😉

About The Book

One Night of Scandal
(After Hours #2)
Genre: Erotic, Contemporary Romance
Release Date: September 8, 2014
Length: 230 pages

The wrong man never felt so right…Ex-fighter Reed Miller has been secretly lusting over his best friend’s girl for months, but he refuses to jeopardize a friendship over a woman—especially one who doesn’t like him all that much. Now that Darcy’s on the market again, it’s even more imperative to stick to his strict hands-off policy. But the sizzling attraction between them is too powerful to ignore, and once he’s had a taste of her…all bets are off.

Darcy Grant is tired of walking the straight and narrow path. She’s on the hunt for passion, and there’s no denying Reed is just the man to give it to her. Although she has no interest in dating a bad boy, and certainly not her ex’s best friend, it’s impossible not to melt beneath Reed’s skillful touch. Now it’s just a matter of setting a few ground rules—and hoping her rule-breaking, sweet-talking bad boy agrees to follow them. But if she lets Reed into her bed, does she stand a chance of keeping him out of her heart

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See my review for book 1 in the series, One Night of Sin
Excerpt

“Stall as long as you want. I ain’t going anywhere, Darce.”

His deep, razor-sharp voice snapped her from her inappropriate ogling. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to notice she’d been checking him out. His expression displayed a cloud of displeasure mingled with steely determination, leaving no doubt as to how serious he was about cockblocking her tonight.

Or was it vagina-blocking for girls? She wasn’t sure.

“You’re being totally unreasonable,” she said, raising her voice over the music. “I’m not seeing AJ anymore, which means it’s not considered cheating if I happen to meet someone I like.”

“Don’t care. Won’t be happening on my watch.”

God. He wasn’t going to back down.

Cut your losses, girl. You’re not the one-night-stand type, anyway.

The defeated voice in her head was spot on. Hopping into bed with strangers wasn’t something she indulged in very often. Or ever.

Darcy stifled a sigh. Maybe this had been a mistake from the start. A stupid, spur-of-the-moment decision brought on by her break-up with AJ, which, in all honesty, had seriously bummed her out. Not because she’d lost the love of her life or anything, but because their relationship had been so lacking it only highlighted everything she’d been missing. Everything she craved.

Fun. Laughter. Excitement.

Passion.

Yep, full circle, right back to passion.

“C’mon, quit being a brat.”

She felt herself being tugged, blinking to find Reed’s fingers curled over her forearm. His hand was big and warm, and utterly impersonal as he guided her to the dance floor.

Darcy swallowed her anger as they maneuvered through the crowd. Fine, if he wanted to act like a macho jerk and be her shadow, then she’d let him. Clearly passion wasn’t on the table anymore, but fun and dancing were still up for grabs, and she might as well get something out of this botched evening. Though maybe just the dancing part. After all, fun and Reed Miller didn’t exactly go together.

The sultry beat pounding out of the DJ’s turntables immediately snaked its way into Darcy’s blood, and her body responded of its own volition. AJ had hated to dance. Poor guy had no moves, either, but his best friend didn’t seem to share that affliction.

To her surprise, Reed wasted no time yanking her toward him. He rested one hand on her hip and began to dance to the pulsing, decadent rhythm as if he’d done it a hundred times before.

His head dipped to her ear, his warm breath fanning over her neck. “Why is your dress so short?” he rasped.

She stiffened at his disapproving tone, glancing down at the silky green dress that nearly reached her knees. “It’s not that short. Look around us—half these girls are practically naked.”

“Half these girls aren’t you.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” she demanded.

Rather than answer, he brought his other hand into play, running it up and down her back as his hips rotated in a slow, addictive rhythm.

Oh boy. He smelled fantastic. Sandalwood, citrus, and something uniquely male flooded her nostrils, giving her a bit of a head rush. And his chest was rock-hard beneath her palms she wanted so badly to stroke it that she had to redirect her hands to his shoulders in an attempt to quell the temptation. Except his shoulders were equally enticing, big and broad and rippling with power.

AJ was built the same lean, muscular way—she knew it had everything to do with the fact that both men had once been professional fighters—but even though she’d slept with AJ many, many times, her hands had never itched to explore every hard, sinewy inch of his body the way they itched now.

Reed’s palm grazed her hipbone at the same time he thrust a thigh between her legs, turning the dance from vaguely sensual to downright erotic. Heat unfurled in Darcy’s belly and tingled in her sex, triggering a jolt of shock.

Holy crap. She was dirty dancing with AJ’s best friend.

And it was turning her on.

Review

4 stars

Reed Miller was a bad boy to the core. Apparently the guy possessed an anything-goes attitude when it came to sex. He also smoked cigarettes cursed like a sailor, and drove way too fast in that black Camaro of his.

I’d like to say that in my next life, I’d like to come back as a heroine in one of Elle Kennedy’s stories because sweet mother of sin do these bitches luck out. What? Don’t you judge me dammit! You go and meet Reed and tell me you wouldn’t want to jump his fictional bones. I’m serious when I tell you, move over, Darcy, because

I’m calling dibs all over this one. Lawd. Sorry, this is what happens when my ovaries decide to jump start my reviews. Now let’s get serious (ha! I’ll attempt it anyway) and move on to the review.

We first meet Reed as the broody and sexy part owner of the club Sin that he owns with his two buddies, AJ and Gage. Reed is a past MMA fighter and current manwhore. But don’t judge him too hard for his manwhoring ways, since that was his attempt at trying to work past his lust for his best friend’s girlfriend. I have to say that I was definitely skeptical before starting this book at how exactly Elle Kennedy would pull something like this off. In book 1 of the series, Darcy was dating (quite happily it seemed) Reed’s best friend and business partner, A.J.

So when Reed goes to a competitor’s club while on the search of the inside man that is pushing ecstasy at his club, he’s more than a little shocked to also see Darcy there…flirting with a man that’s NOT A.J.

I felt the chemistry between Darcy and Reed from the very beginning, so I couldn’t wait to see the sparks fly between them when they finally give into the lust that only seems to boil over when they’re around each other. Darcy is no longer dating AJ. Even though they made great friends, there was always something integral lacking between them. They were boring together and she wants an all consuming passion. A passion, it seems, that she only feels in the presence of a man that shows every evidence of disliking her. So when she finds out that Reed’s avoidance of her is only because he wants her just as much as she wants him, all bets are off.

But as much as she may want Reed, she knows that he’s not the relationship type, so she proposes they get whatever this is out of their system so they’re both able to move on. Too bad Reed isn’t just interested in a few nights between the sheets. That’s not to say he’s not going to make those nights count…

…and what if I don’t want to listen?”
“Then that would make you a bad girl, wouldn’t it? And do you want to know what I do to bad girls?” Reed dragged his own zipper down, the tick-tick-tick of metallic teeth being released echoing in the car. “I fuck them. I fuck them hard.”

But Reed wasn’t just a sweet talker. Nope. He certainly had the assets to…uhem…measure up with his mouth.

I think I’m in love with your dick,” she announced.
He croaked out a laugh. “That’s incredibly forward of you. At least buy him dinner first. I’m curious, though. What did it for you? The length? The girth?”

I think what she’s liking the entire package there, Reed

I gobbled this book right up. The chemistry between Reed and Darcy was absolutely scorching, the sex was even more so, and there was a great story to boot. Did I also mention Reed’s dirty mouth?

Ride me hard,” he ground out. “Take me straight to heaven, baby.”
“I love having sex with you, Reedford.”
“I’d be worried if you didn’t, considering my cock is buried inside of you right now.”

Oh I did? Sorry, I get easily distracted.

There was the side plot with the search for the drug dealer that added a small (and really, it was pretty small) element of suspense. I can’t say that it really peaked my interest and it did seem to wrap up fairly quick, but I was more focused on the romance so that barely even bothered me.

Elle Kennedy is definitely on my auto buy list since the first book in the series, and she only gets better with a full length novel. Lawd but this woman can write a steamy romance. I’ve been looking for another Brazen series along the lines of Tessa Bailey’s dirty talkin hot cops, and I have finally found that with dirty talking club owners and past MMA fighters. Does it get any better? I think not. I’m totally hooked on this series, and if you enjoy a steamy romance with great banter and some super HAWT sex, looks like you’ve found your next read.

About the Author

A USA Today bestselling author, Elle Kennedy grew up in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, and holds a BA in English from York University. From an early age, she knew she wanted to be a writer and actively began pursuing that dream when she was a teenager. She loves strong heroines and sexy alpha heroes, and just enough heat and danger to keep things interesting!

Elle loves to hear from her readers. Visit her website www.ellekennedy.com or sign up for her newsletter to receive updates about upcoming books and exclusive excerpts. You can also find her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter (@ElleKennedy).

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Review: ☆No More Mr. Nice Guy☆ by @AmyAndrewsbooks

 

He’s done playing the nice guy…Newly single school counselor Josie Butler just made herself a Sexy To-Do list (featuring Bad Boys only). To her mortification, her best friend’s gorgeous older brother Mack finds it…and laughs. But when Josie goes looking for some sexy fun, Mack’s nice guy side turns all hot bad-assery, and suddenly she’s pinned against an alley wall. Hottest. Sex. Ever.

Veterinarian Mack Kennedy can’t believe Josie wants to ditch her sweet, girl-next-door lifestyle. Even worse, that she’d consider doing it with anyone but him. When she leaves for London they’ll go back to being ‘just friends’ but until then, he’s going to show her just how bad nice guys can be.

And it’s the perfect plan, as long as no one finds out… and no one falls in love.

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Review
4.5 stars

He was going to hell for this. Guys-who-screw-their-little-sister’s-best-friends hell.

If you’re looking for a whole new and sexy spin on a trope that’s been done countless times but still an old time favorite? This is definitely the book for you. Yes you get the brother hooks up with his little sister’s best friend thing…and yet, it was also so much more.
Josie Butler is a good girl. Having just gotten out of long term relationship that had all the excitement of watching paint grow, and just as much passion, she decides that now is the time to add a little excitement to her life. Considering she leaves for London in two weeks, it gives her the perfect opportunity. First things? No more nice, safe, and boring guys. Nope! She needs passion, excitement, she needs a bad boy….she also needs a to-do list to keep track of this.

Gotta be organized when embracing your bad girl side, right? So imagine her surprise when her best friend’s older brother and nice guy, Mack, notices her list the night after.

Mack Kennedy is a nice guy. Considering his ex cheated on him with a bad boy because he was just too “nice” for her, it’s not exactly a title he holds dear. But when he finds Josie’s list, suddenly he stops seeing the sweet girl next door and his sister’s best friend. All of a sudden she’s a woman…with breasts…that his lower half is suddenly very happy to get to know better.

His belly clenched tight, his heart thundered in his chest, and he could hear Barry White playing in his head.
Barry goddamn White.
Sal’s words echoed around inside his head.
You need to get back on the bike, Mack.
And Barry said, Oh yeah, baby.

When he calls Josie’s bluff on the list, she’s more than happy to prove him wrong. And when he realizes this, all of a sudden his inner bad boy and caveman come roaring to life.

Thus begins their agreement. Mack needs to get back on the horse, so to speak, and he’ll happily help Josie check (almost) every item off her check list and when Josie is off to London, they’ll go back to being friends.

Hold on to my shoulders.”
“Wh-what? Why?”
“Because I’m about to number ten you, and at some stage you WILL lose the ability to hold yourself upright.

Mack may be a nice guy, but let me tell you, when he embraces his inner bad boy? Oh but he does it right.

I want you hot and wet and naked. I want you crying out my name when you come, and I want to be deep inside you when you do.”

This book was positively SIZZLING. The chemistry between Mack and Josie was scorching. It was also funny and sweet and everything I absolutely love in my romances.

…she bit down on her lip to stop the whimper as her senses infused with the smell of Mack.
Without a doubt, she’d put Oliver Twist to shame tonight.

If you’re looking for a new author to love, a heroine to root for, and a hero to pant over, this is the book for you.

I feel like I’ve been hit by a Mack truck. And I want to do it all over again.”

I absolutely loved this book. Amy Andrews caught me completely by surprise. While this was my first book by her, it certainly will not be my last. I really hope that she turns this into a series and gives us Sal’s book next. A sexy romance that I enjoyed from beginning to end.

Blog Tour, Review & #Giveaway: #StealingHisheart by @DianeAlberts

This is the 2nd book in the Shillings Agency series. Be sure to check out the contest below and enter to win a paperback of TEMPORARILY YOURS (Shillings Agency #1) and a $20 gift card.
ShH_500

A sexy category romance from Entangled publishing’s Brazen imprint…

Shillings Agency employee Jake Forsythe is not happy to discover that the thief who he has to track down is none other than his ex-partner from his past. Now he’s forced to blackmail her into submission…or throw her in jail.

Tara Harris steals from the rich and corrupted, returning objects to their rightful owners one case at a time. When Jake shows up in her life, at first, she’s thrilled. But then when she finds out that she has to help the man she stole from or go to jail…it’s the choice between two evils.

These two can’t deny the burning passion between them, but when push comes to shove, they’ll have to lay their hearts and their lives on the line.

 

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Review
4 stars

I know you want me. Know you want to feel me moving inside of you, making you come so many times you lose count. I know you want me to dominate you. Take you. Fuck you. Own you.

Well slap my ass and fuck me sideways but Diane Alberts/Jen McLaughlin knows how to write one sinfully hot hero. Good lawd. You want a dominant hero with a filthy mouth then you NEED to meet Jake Forsythe. Did I also happen to mention the tats? Because that’s just the icing on top of the alpha cake here…

Jake is a security expert at Shillings Agency hired to lure a thief that managed to infiltrate a safe for one of the agency’s clients. There’s just one problem; the thief happens to be his childhood friend, almost lover, and constant temptation Tara Harris.

Get the code. Get rid of the girl. Simple.

Not quite, Jake. Not quite.

Tara is a thief. Hired by clients that are looking to reclaim their rightful property, she steals from the rich and corrupted. Call her a thief with a code of honor. The last person she expects to see while on a new op is her childhood friend and the man that almost took her virginity and then walked out of her life over eight years ago. And now he’s back…and blackmailing her into helping him. Combination for disaster or reigniting an old flame? How about a little of both?

Tara was sassy and smart mouthed, but I wished she made Jake work for things a little harder. Especially when he would royally fuck up (and boy did he), she let him off too easy in my opinion.

Jake is broody and domineering with a bit of kink thrown in.

When I fuck a woman, she needs to play by my rules. She needs to obey me. You’re not that woman.

Did I mention broody?

No one could have saved me because I didn’t need saving in the first place.”
“What about now?” she whispered.
“Now I’m beyond hope. Nothing can save me. Not even you.”

While I felt for him, I also felt like he was a straight up ass to Tara during the first half. Their first time? I wanted to jock punch him for how he handled it after.

While the dominating during sex was mostly hot, at times it didn’t quite work for me. The thing of it is, there’s a fine line between making a hero be dominant without having him be Dominant. You feel me? What I mean is, there’s a fine line of skating around the BDSM genre. I understand this is not a BDSM romance, but Jake had Dom-like kinks, sadly he didn’t quite come off as a Dom. More like a hot asshole with a control fetish. I felt that the lines were crossed for me a few times, and I really wasn’t a big fan of that.

He does soften up a little towards the second half…until his royal fuck up at the end. But no worries, because there’s also a verra nice grovel. The grovel most certainly won me over. Tara finally did what I wished she’d done more of throughout the rest of the book, she made him work for it. Hard.

But all that aside, let’s talk about Gordon (another character that was introduced here) for a hot second here. We have sexy, tattoos, mysterious and broken. Oh and when I stalked the author down she also said he’s a very very bad boy. Ummmm….SOLD! Cannot wait for his book.

About the Author
DianeA
Diane Alberts is a multi-published, bestselling contemporary romance author with Entangled Publishing. She also writes New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling new adult books under the name Jen McLaughlin. She’s hit the Top 100 lists on Amazon and Barnes and Noble numerous times with numerous titles. She was mentioned in Forbes alongside E. L. James as one of the breakout independent authors to dominate the bestselling lists. Diane is represented by Louise Fury at The Bent Agency.
Diane has always been a dreamer with a vivid imagination, but it wasn’t until 2011 that she put her pen where her brain was, and became a published author. Since receiving her first contract offer, she has yet to stop writing. Though she lives in the mountains, she really wishes she was surrounded by a hot, sunny beach with crystal clear water. She lives in Northeast Pennsylvania with her four kids, a husband, a schnauzer mutt, and a cat. Her goal is to write so many fantastic stories that even a non-romance reader will know her name.
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