Friday, August 30, 2013

Cover Reveal: CONFLICTED by Sophie Monroe


Title: Conflicted (Battlescars #3)
Author: Sophie Monroe
Release date: September 25, 2013

Synopsis
When you think about your life are there things you would reverse? 
Derek Scott is the twenty-six year old drummer of Battlescars. With a past marred by tragedy, he has a hard time letting people in. He's also made his share of mistakes. Now, he's trying to come to terms with the choices he has made recently and what they mean for him. 
When someone from his past comes back into his life, Derek thinks maybe he can get back on track. However, things unravel, leaving him more unclear than ever. When long kept secrets find him and force him to decide what really matters in his life, will he be able to choose a path - or will he always be conflicted?




About the author...
Sophie Monroe is an author from New Jersey. She’s obsessed with music and loves a good story. She released the Amazon Best Seller Battlescars in March. Afflicted is a spin-off of Battlescars with different characters but has appearances of the reader’s favorites Jake, Aubrey and Granny Jean, along with the rest of the gang.

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Thursday, August 29, 2013

Tour Stop: UNEXPECTED ANGEL by Sloan Johnson ~ Review/Giveaway




Title: Unexpected Angel
Author: Sloan Johnson
Release Date: August 5, 2013
Genre: Erotica

Synopsis

Tasha Skinner finally shed the baggage of a failed marriage. Now, she’s looking forward to a night of margaritas and man-bashing. Tasha’s friends have other plans, including Leather, Lace and liberation.

Dylan Caprese didn’t want to go to Marquee, but he and his friends were on a mission. They took it upon themselves to make sure things didn’t get out of hand when wannabe Doms mixed alcohol with playtime at the monthly Leather and Lace night.

From the moment he set eyes on Tasha, he knew there was something different about her. She wasn’t some bondage babe who thought she knew what it meant to be into BDSM. She was much, much worse; she was innocent and trusting. He can tell she is something precious.

When Tasha’s past threatens to destroy her, Dylan begins to realize that while their paths have never crossed, their lives most definitely have. Will he be able to save her before it’s too late?




Excerpt
I had no intention of coming out tonight. This entire week has sucked and I really just wanted to chill at home. Unfortunately, I had already committed to being here, so I’m kind of stuck. To top it off, most of our group bailed early, wanting to head over to the diner for a bite to eat since it didn’t look like there would be as many depraved freaks showing up as there were other nights. I can only hope the cooler weather means less of a crowd for a few months.
Just about the time I am ready to bail, I see an adorable blonde with killer legs waiting in line all by herself. That’s enough to catch my attention, but when I see her looking around as if she is lost, I start to get concerned. I fucking hate Leather & Lace night. It’s the night all the perverts come out to play. Yes, I’m fully aware that I would be considered one of those pervs by many people, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Me? I’m here to protect girls like her from the freaks who only think they’re anything like me.
After warning the new girl to be careful, I head inside. I could tell I was making her uncomfortable as it was and didn’t want her to pull a can of pepper spray out of her pocket or anything. If it were up to me, I would have attached myself to her side. It would be fun to teach her what the lifestyle is really like.
“Dylan, where the fuck you been?” Zeke asks when I finally manage to snake my way through the swarm of sweaty, gyrating punks.
“Had to go out for a smoke. Any problems in here?” I pick up my glass of water, wishing it wasn’t my night to keep my eyes open. If I have to be here, I’d much rather be having a drink to unwind from all the crap that went down over the past few days.
Zeke shakes his head. “Nope, but it’s still early. I know it brings people in, but I really wish they’d shut down the back room.”
“You know Vic won’t do that,” I snarl. We have tried talking to the owner of the club several times about shutting down the playroom. Let the posers have their leather, their lace, their dancing and whatever else, but a BDSM playroom has no place being in close proximity to alcohol. I sometimes wonder how many people wake up the next morning with welts wondering who attacked them. It’s a joke, really, to see what passes in places like this. “It’s his biggest night of the month most of the time. If he took away their chance to lose their inhibitions and let someone whip the shit out of them, no one would buy.”
“Doesn’t make it right,” Zeke grumbles, slumping against the bar with his own water. His eyes catch someone walking through the bar. “Holy angel of fuckdom!”
“Fuckdom? Really, Z?” I turn my head to see what, or who, making my friend and business partner make up words like a lame frat boy. As soon as I catch a glimpse of glowing white fabric out of the corner of my eye, I know exactly who he is talking about. Okay, ‘fuckdom’ is still a totally ridiculous word, but I can understand not finding the word he wants to use to describe her. “That’s Betsy. You stay away from her, Z. Stay away, but keep your eyes peeled, too. She’s fresh meat and I’m sure her outfit gives that away to the freak squad.”
“You know her?” Zeke looks at me, obviously impressed that I know the heavenly beauty in a sea of demons. “Fuck man, how’d you get so lucky?”
I can’t help but laugh. “Remember how you kept on me to quit smoking when you did? Let’s just say I’ve never been happier that I didn’t listen to you.” I slap him on the back as I set my empty pint glass on the bar. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have a damsel to go rescue.”
“Tying her up and taking her home isn’t rescuing, that’s kidnapping,” Zeke calls out as I twist and turn my way back across the dance floor. One of these times, someone is going to take the shit he says seriously. I am going to be in deep fucking trouble when that happens.



About the author...
Sloan is a Midwestern mom who began writing nearly seven years ago as a way to make money while staying home with her daughter. Now, with two kids in tow and having written more articles on how to assemble various pieces of furniture than she can count, she is reaching to make her dreams come true.

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Review
"It's not pleasant, but it's a fact that sometimes we grow and change. The people we thought would always be there for us aren't. You're just now at a place where you can start to be the person you are meant to be." ~Dylan- Unexpected Angel 

I think I started to fall for Dylan way before he spoke these words to Tasha. I've read a lot of books with BDSM and Dom/Sub relationships but this one is in a league of it's own.  I found myself actually googling Shibari, yes,  you read that right and that's just between you, me and the other people who will read this review.

Sloan Johnson starts her story by telling you a little of Tasha's past while introducing you to Dylan. Tasha and Dylan meet at a bar her friends have taken her to. They are supposed to be celebrating her freedom and divorce, from let's just call him "Ass Munch" shall we. She is instantly introduced into a form of BDSM in the club and this peaks her interest and at the same time freaks her out. Dylan being the sweet, caring man that he is notices her uncomfortable body language and takes her from the club. He is such a gentleman, he takes care of her. I really hate to say much because it's so easy to get caught up in this book and ramble on and on about it. I don't want to spoil anything for you. 

The cover is the most beautiful one I've seen and I'm now stalking, I mean following the male on this cover on Facebook. The saying "Don't judge a book by it's cover", do you know that saying? Well, judge away. The story goes so well with the cover. Dylan is a Dom who is respectful, loving, and he had me at "I protect what's Mine." This story has a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Tasha does fight her feelings for Dylan at first. The "A.M"  I spoke of earlier has broken her spirit.  The last few chapters will keep you on the edge of your seat, biting your nails and freaking the hell out. Ok, maybe it'll be just me but that was an intense final Chapter. 

The Epilogue gives you warm and fuzzy feelings and the author gives you a preview at the end for the next installment in the Isthmus Alliance. I can't wait to read Tommy's Story. I give this book 5 H.O.T. Stars!  

~Jen



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TEMPORARY BLISS by B.J. Harvey Release Day Blitz



Title: TEMPORARY BLISS (Bliss # 1, New Erotic Romance Series)
Author: BJ Harvey
Book Release date: August 29th

Synopsis
Makenna Lewis cringes at any mention of the word commitment. She doesn’t want or need a relationship, but she does like sex (who doesn't). 
That explains Noah, Sean, and Zander, her three 'friends with benefits'.
They know the score, they know they're not the only one, and each of them provide her with a different physical need that she craves and enjoys.  
Until a late night encounter with the delicious Daniel Winters turns her preconceived notion of no-commitment completely on its head.   
Soon she finds herself feeling things she vowed never to feel again, and when Daniel pushes for more than she’s willing to give, she falters.
What do you do when something that you’ve known to be so wrong in the past feels so damn right?
If you’re Mac, you run and hide.
But is Daniel the type of man who takes no for an answer?







About the author...
I’m 31 years old and live in New Zealand, the most beautiful country in the world.
I love reading, and started writing my first novel, Lost in Distraction in December 2012. Before that I’d written business and website articles professionally but never fiction. I love the indie community, authors, bloggers and readers alike and have met so many awesome people that I now call dear friends. 

I’m a huge music lover as well. I REALLY love music. If there isn't music playing, something is wrong. And it’s a wide range of music too, I might surprise you with my eclectic tastes.

I'm also a wife, mother of two gorgeous girls and currently working for myself as well as studying full time to become an accountant of all things. I also have a Bachelor of Communications.
My author inspirations are: Michelle Leighton, Barbara Elsborg and Kristen Ashley.

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Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Cover Reveal: RUNNING IN PLACE by L.B. Simmons




Title: Running in Place (Mending Hearts #2)
Author: L.B. Simmons
Release date: Late October 2013

Synopsis
Tatum O’Connell:
Some call me a party girl. People see me as happy, full of life, with absolutely no cares in the world. They see what I want them to see. But no one knows me - really knows me. Not even Noah Reese.  Mr. Perfect is always watching me, most likely judging every single imperfect thing I do. But, if Noah wants to keep an eye on me, that’s just fine. I definitely don’t mind. I just hope he doesn’t have any plans to save me from my new-found life of self-destruction because in order to save me, he will have to see me…
And I’m never going to let that happen.
Noah Reese:
Perfect. That’s me. That’s the only acceptable way to be, according to my father. Perfect grades. Perfect manners. Perfect athlete. Perfect SAT scores. Perfect college. And recently, I was accepted into the perfect med school. My future has already been mapped out for me and there’s nothing that can change that. Not even Tatum O’Connell. That girl is out of control, yet for some reason, I can’t seem to keep my distance from her. I watch her closely, hoping that one day she’ll let me in, but watching her lead her life down the dangerous path she’s on right now isn’t easy…
I have a feeling I’m about to find myself swept away by the hurricane that is Tatum O’Connell.
“Two fleeting souls,
Unknowingly tethered.
Too slowly drawn,
Impatient fate calls.
The jolting collide intertwines their lives
And splinters their walls.”
“Catalyst” – Noah Reese




SERIES READING ORDER
Mending Hearts #1 - Running on Empty: http://amzn.to/116pVVm
Mending Hearts #1.5 -  Recovery: http://amzn.to/19aaPmH
Mending Hearts #2 - Running in Place


Teaser
Still laughing and not paying attention, I round the corner, only to run straight into a completely different kind of trouble.  A brown-headed, blue-eyed, whirlwind kind of trouble.  A trouble that looks unbelievably hot in a tight-ass, short black dress.  A trouble wearing the highest black heels I’ve ever seen, heels that make her legs look unbelievable and should be outlawed judging by the bulge forming inside my dark Diesels. Damn. She’s also a trouble that I’ve formed a decent friendship with over the last few weeks, so any mental images I have of her doing certain things to me wearing those heels have got to go.  
“Hey!” she says laughing as she flips her hair off her shoulders.  My eyes immediately land on her pouty lips, the clear shine reflecting off of them as she smiles. “What are you doing here?”
I clear my throat and tear my gaze from her mouth.  “Getting my check, you?”
She looks me up and down as she nods her head. “Me too,” she says clearing her own throat.  “Where are you going, looking all spiffy?”
I chuckle because only she would say spiffy.  “I’m taking Piper to that new club, Parallel. Where are you going looking all spiffy?”
She claps her hands together excitedly before taking my hand.  “We’re going there too!  Yay!”
I’m still surprised every time she touches me.  It’s such a drastic change from the first day at the duplexes.  As I think about the last month or so - all the times that we laughed together at something ridiculous that she said, or the fact that she insists on bumping hips with me every single time a song comes on the radio that she likes while singing at the top of her lungs, even the times she lightly brushes her hand across my arm while she’s speaking – there’s a level of comfort and ease about our friendship. Reason five hundred why I need to curb my inappropriate thoughts about this one.
I smile to myself as she tugs me harder.  “Where are you taking me?”
“To the employee bathroom!”
Well, that did absolutely nothing to fend off dirty thoughts.
“Why?”
She giggles. Obviously, she’s already started drinking.  Great.  Well, at least we’ll be at the same place so I can make sure Dickhead the Douchebag takes care of her.
“Because, I’m gonna fix your hair.  It looks too…perfect.  It needs to be messy – sexy, like you.” She stops dead in her tracks. “Um…I mean, as sexy as you look now.” She exhales, frustrated. “Sexily dressed, that’s what I mean.” She bites her bottom lip nervously as she mentally tries to hook her words and reel them back in.  I just laugh because she looks so damn cute.
“So, you think I’m sexy?”
Saying nothing else, she rolls her eyes and pulls me in the direction of the bathroom.  Once we arrive, she flips on the light and points at the toilet for me to take a seat. Turning on the faucet, she sets her purse on the counter and pulls out a travel size hairspray.  After digging around for a little while longer, she turns towards me.
“Well, I guess this will have to do.” She tilts her head to the left and then scrunches her mouth to the same side, deep in thought. Nodding to herself, she leans over and wets her fingers in the sink before stepping in between my legs.  
She breathes in deeply before placing her fingers in my hair.  Slowly, she distributes the water throughout, often leaning back to the faucet to get more.  Her cool hands work from the sides of my head toward the top, where her fingers interlace to form a spiky section down the center. Then she bends at the waist, placing her face so close to mine, her breaths hit my mouth.  I know I can’t have her, but damn if I don’t want to take some piece of her with me. So greedily, I take in her air with every breath she releases. Her eyes still focused on my hair, I watch her mouth. Still breathing with her, I lick my lips, the movement distracting her so that she brings her blue eyes to mine. In silence, we stare, only the shared breaths between us are heard.
Taking her hand out of my hair, she places it on the side of my face and gently strokes my cheek with her thumb as we hold each other’s eyes.  Before long, I watch a soft saddened half-smile appear on her lips.  “Much better,” she says with one last soothing run of her thumb before she backs away.  Reaching for the hair spray, she tweaks the top of my hair, pulling random pieces in different directions before spraying them.  I fight the urge to put my hands around her waist and pull her into me.  To hold her. To have her.
Instead, I sit with my hands on my knees, wanting what I can’t have.
After a couple of more sprays, she steps back.  “All done. You’re good to go. To the bar. With Piper,” she says, the pitch of her voice getting higher with each incomplete sentence spoken.  There’s no mistaking the heartache radiating between the both of us.  It’s so thick I could slice it with a knife.


About the author...
L.B. Simmons is a graduate of Texas A&M University and holds a degree in Biomedical Science. She has been a practicing Chemist for the last 11 years. She lives with her husband and three daughters in Texas and writes every chance she gets.

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VERY BAD THINGS by Ilsa Madden-Mills Book Buzz


Title: Very Bad Things (#1 Briarcrest Academy)
Author: Ilsa Madden-Mills
Release date: September 10
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Synopsis
Born into a life of privilege and secrets, Nora Blakely has everything any nineteen-year-old girl could desire.  She’s an accomplished pianist, a Texas beauty queen, and on her way to Princeton after high school.  She’s perfect…
Leaving behind her million dollar mansion and Jimmy Choos, she becomes a girl hell-bent on pushing the limits with alcohol, drugs, and meaningless sex.  
Then she meets her soulmate.  But he doesn’t want her.
When it comes to girls, twenty-five-year old Leo Tate has one rule:  never fall in love.  His gym and his brother are all he cares about…until he meets Nora.  He resists the pull of their attraction, hung up on their six year age difference.
As they struggle to stay away from each other, secrets will be revealed, tempers will flare, and hearts will be broken.
Welcome to Briarcrest Academy…where sometimes, the best things in life are
Very Bad Things.




Excerpt
The Kiss in the Library

“I got one last request, and I’ll never ask again,” Leo said.
“What?” I croaked out.
He set his books on a shelf and then took mine and set them beside his. He tugged me to him until our chests were touching.
“What are you doing?” I mumbled in confusion.
He put his hands on either side of my face and slid them into my hair, letting out a breath as if in relief. “Just saying goodbye, Nora.”
“You’re going to kiss me?” I asked, tears pricking my eyes at the sadness in his face.
“Please, just this last time, Buttercup,” he said.
And with that one word, I was his.
He lowered his head, his gaze holding me captive. When our lips touched, his heated eyes stayed open and mine did, too. My mouth melted into his, moaning as his hot tongue explored the details of my tongue, my teeth, my lips. We started slow but it escalated rapidly, the passion between us burning higher and higher. He owned me with his mouth, and I was lost.
I palmed his ass, grinding myself against him. He hissed at the increased pressure and pushed me back against the sturdy bookshelf, positioning me so his hips fit into my pelvis. I lifted one of my legs, and he caught it and wrapped it around him.
“Say my name,” he muttered gruffly as I sucked hard at his neck. He grunted, and I dug my nails into his back as I kissed my way around his collarbone, sucking another spot.
Say it, Nora.”
“Leo, Leo, Leo,” I pleaded, arching my back and pushing into him.
He shuddered. “Fucking love that,” he whispered.
He placed his lips back on mine, dominating my mouth, like a man starved. All I could think about was him, him, him . . . his lips, his tongue, his taste, his butterscotch smell. I wanted all of him, and I’d never have him, and that thought made me frantic. I gripped him tighter, pushed my nails deeper, and kissed him harder.
I never wanted to say goodbye.




About the author...
Ilsa Madden-Mills wrote her first work at the age of twelve when she penned a little ditty about a handsome prince who had no sense. Since then, she’s always written, whether it was for work or fun. When she was young, she entered every short story and poetry contest around; when she was in college, she wrote for the university paper; when she taught English, she wrote a play along with a wonderful group of drama students.
Very Bad Things is her first full-length novel and part of a new series called Briarcrest Academy.
She graduated summa cum laude with a master’s in English from an esteemed university in the South where she now resides. She spends her days with two small kids, a neurotic cat, and her Viking husband. When she’s not typing away at a story, you can find her drinking too much Diet Coke, jamming out to Pink, or checking on her carefully maintained chocolate stash.
She loves to hear from fans and fellow avid readers. Check her out on Facebook or her author website.

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