Excerpt, Review & Giveaway: Cruel Sanctuary by Tara Leigh

CRUEL SANCTUARY
Series: Wages of Sin #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Tara Leigh
Release Date: March 25, 2019

They say New York City is the Devil’s Playground.

They’re wrong.

This city belongs to me.

And so does Aislinn Granville.

 

She is a pampered politician’s daughter.

A decorative ornament,

raised to smile and nod and do what she’s told.

 

Except… she doesn’t. Not with me. Ever.

 

In this city full of thugs and thieves, I’ve kept Aislinn safe.

From my enemies.

From me.

 

Until now.

FREE in Kindle Unlimited!!

AMAZON

 

“Put me down.” I keep my cool, making the demand as stiffly as if I’m asking him to pass the salt.

But my show of composure crumbles as he angles his head to look at me. Barely an inch separates the tips of our noses. I stare, entranced by the fine scar that marks his left eyebrow. I want to kiss it.

“Or what?”

“Hmmm?”

One corner of his mouth tics up, his eyes flicking away from mine. “You look damn good in my arms.”

I follow his stare and am met by our reflection in the bathroom mirror. I blink, taking in the sight of my naked body held against King’s broad chest, the tanned, inked forearms I’d practically drooled over earlier now wrapped around my back and behind my knees.

I am naked. King is dressed.

There is something indecently erotic about our image. I look like the heroine of an old Harlequin novel—a down on her luck maid or secretary about to be ravished by her big, bad boss. A powerless woman soon to be stripped of her virtue.

I know what it’s like when a man overpowers a woman. When he uses force to take what’s not his. To hurt and abuse and terrorize.

And I know that this isn’t that.

It may not look like it, but I have the power in this situation. Damon King came to me. First at my apartment and now in his. He broke down two doors tonight.

I may be naked, but the only reason he’s touching me is because he knows I want him to.

Emboldened, I look away from our reflection and directly into King’s eyes again. Leaning in, I brush the tip of my nose against his. “Kiss me.”

I’ve barely pushed the words out when his lips are on mine. The taste of him is an explosion inside my mouth. Smooth and potent, but with a hint of mint. As if he swilled some of that Balvenie from his bar and then sucked on a peppermint candy.

He kisses like a conqueror. Stealing my breath along with the last of my reservations.

He kisses like a king. Staking his claim, demanding his due.

The man is a savage dressed in a bespoke suit. A sinfully sexy savage.

It’s no secret that I love me a good anti-hero, and when the name of a duet has “Sin” in it? Well, you best believe I’m going to be all over it.

Cruel Sanctuary was completely different from what I’ve come to expect from Tara Leigh. It’s grittier. It’s sexier. And it’s a whole lot darker. I would say that for those looking to dip their toes into the darker reads genre, this is the perfect gateway book. It’s not too dark, but it’s definitely not a walk in the park either.

Lies, secrets, political agendas and betrayals, and murder, all wrapped up in one sinful page turner of a read.

Aislinn Granville is a politician’s daughter with plenty of career aspirations of her own. But when she learns that her father is not just crooked but his actions have also painted a target on her back with a ruthless Cartel, her world comes crumbling down. All of her carefully constructed walls are now in danger of crumbling to a man that’s determined to kick his way in if it means protecting her.

Damon King.

*rarrrrr*

This man. A criminal that built himself an underground empire is now the only man capable of protecting Aislinn, whether she likes it or not. And let me just tell you, the sparks fly immediately between these two. And not just from their chemistry. Aislinn is none too thrilled to be essentially kidnapped by Damon and whisked into his life, even if he claims it’s for her own good. She doesn’t trust him, no matter if he makes her pulse pound as much as he makes her blood boil.

Have you ever been fucked by a man who knows what you want better than you do? I promise it’s worth begging for, princess.”

I loved the delicious tension between these two. Aislinn is not afraid to put Damon in his place, and it definitely makes for some fun banter.

There’s so many layers that get unraveled in this book, and I can’t wait for all the answers that book two is sure to bring!

http://smarturl.it/CruelSGiveaway

 

Tara Leigh is a multi-published author of steamy contemporary romance. A former banker on Wall Street, she graduated from Washington University and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School, but she much prefers spending her days with fictional boyfriends than analyzing financial spreadsheets. Tara currently lives in Fairfield County, Connecticut with her husband, children, and fur-baby, Pixie. She is represented by Jessica Alvarez, of Bookends Literary Agency.

Connect with Tara:

Website: https://www.taraleighbooks.com

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Review: Legacy Of Lies by Tara Leigh

LEGACY OF LIES
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Legacy of Lies #1
Author: Tara Leigh
Release Date: October 15, 2018

Money. Status. Wealth. Power.
I believed I was entitled to all of it.
My legacy.

Jolie Chapman.
I thought I was entitled to her, too.
My love.

In a scandal that set our families against each other, I lost.
My legacy. My love.
Everything.

I was heir to a throne built on lies, my crown forged from corruption.
Stripped of everything I’d been raised to consider my birthright.
Including my princess—who wasn’t mine, after all.

I’ve spent the past decade rebuilding my life, on my own terms.
Money. Status. Wealth. Power.
They’ve been earned.
Now I’ve returned to Manhattan for redemption, too.

Jolie wasn’t supposed to be here.
… And I wasn’t supposed to care.

Screw me once, shame on you. Screw me twice—
Who am I kidding? I don’t believe in second chances anymore.

AMAZON

I was heir to a throne built on lies, my crown forged from corruption. Stripped of everything I’d been raised to consider my birthright. Including my princess—who wasn’t mine after all.

If you follow my reviews, you know that second chance romance is my catnip. Something in that sweet sweet angst of lovers reunited after years apart just speaks to me. I gobble it right up. So of course the blurb to this book reeled me in like a moth to a flame.

Admittedly, after finishing the prequel novella to this story, I was left slightly underwhelmed. I was a little nervous that the lack of feeling I had with that story would follow me into this one. Well I’m happy to report that I couldn’t have been more wrong.

She was a deposed Park Avenue Princess who discovered that her tiara had been made of paste and plastic. Just as my crown had been nothing but a con.

It’s been ten years since Jolie and Tripp were ripped out of their fairytale lives and away from each other by a scandal that rocked both of their families. A lie that that not only shattered the foundation of everything they knew, but imploded what they were to each other. And while it may have been ten years and they both went on with their lives, their past still molded them into who they are today. Neither has forgotten or gotten over the other, but the lies between them are simply too devastating to forgive.

Jolie and I had inherited a legacy of lies. Tonight, it would go up in flames.

This book brought all of the feels that I had hoped for and more. I loved Tripp’s intensity and the way he couldn’t help but want the woman he thought no longer wanted him. Their connection was instant when they were just kids, and it’s no less potent now. But now they also have to wade through all the pain that continues to follow them. Along with the romance that flames between them once again, there’s also a mystery of just what happened back then that drives the story forward. There’s plenty of plot twists and sizzle to keep readers at the edge of their seats from beginning to finish.

This woman was going to annihilate me. Again. And I was going to let her.

I enjoyed this book thoroughly! Tara Leigh has a new fan in this reader, and I can’t wait for more from her!

Copyright © 2015 · Dirty Girl Romance

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