Wednesday, October 14, 2015

To the Stars Excerpt

One of my favorite authors is Ms. Molly McAdams, so when she releases a new book I get all kinds of giddy and happy!  This, is no exception because I fell in love with her first Thatch novel, Letting Go.  In fact, it was my favorite story of her ever.  Lucky for me (and us) her second Thatch novel is being released on February 9, 2016, and I have an exclusive excerpt from the next book in the series, To the Stars.







About TO THE STARS:
In the second book in New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Molly McAdams’ Thatch series, Knox Alexander must convince his long-time love Harlow Evans that they’re meant to be together.

He promised to wait for her.
She told him he was wasting his time.
Not waiting for him ended up being the biggest mistake of her life.

When they were younger, Knox Alexander swore to Harlow Evans that he would wait for her to turn eighteen so they could be together. But that was two and a half years away, and Harlow couldn’t ask him to give up all the fun and thrills of going away to college for her. As the years passed, Knox remained a constant in her life—whether she liked it or not—but when her eighteenth birthday came around, Harlow’s heart belonged to someone else.

Every day for the last four years, Harlow has been haunted by that fateful choice. And though he may appear unaffected by what happened in their past, Knox has always tried to fill the void Harlow left. But when he comes stumbling back into her life and refuses to leave, will Harlow finally let him into her heart…?




Here’s the link where you can view the excerpt: https://www.scribd.com/doc/284191992/Excerpt-Reveal-To-The-Stars-by-Molly-McAdams 

Pre-Order Your Copy Today!


And don’t miss the first book in the Thatch Series…

LETTING GO





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About the Author:
Molly grew up in California but now lives in the oh-so-amazing state of Texas with her husband, daughter, and fur babies. When she's not diving into the world of her characters, some of her hobbies include hiking, snowboarding, traveling, and long walks on the beach … which roughly translates to being a homebody with her hubby and dishing out movie quotes. She has a weakness for crude-humored movies and fried pickles, and loves curling up in a fluffy comforter during a thunderstorm ... or under one in a bathtub if there are tornados. That way she can pretend they aren't really happening.



Links:





















Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Death of a Rock Star

Wow.  I just finished reading How to Kill a Rock Star, by Tiffanie DeBartolo and it's one of those books that I started and initially thought, "Eh...I don't know about this one..."  It didn't immediately pull me in and demand anything from me.  I almost gave up, which isn't something I do with books very often, but I felt like this one wasn't going anywhere.  Yet, this tiny little voice -one that suspiciously sounded A LOT like Colleen Hoover- kept saying, "Keep going, you'll get there.  You'll get there."  So, I did what any semi-normal person who hears her favorite author's voice inside her head would do, and I kept reading.  And I kept reading.  And I read some more...until I finished.  Then, I felt like I needed to apologize to CoHo for doubting her.  This book was her recommendation, after all.  It's her "favorite," or so she claims...and I think I get it.

How to Kill a Rock Star is the story of Eliza, who upon moving to New York City, decided to be roommates with Paul, the lead singer from her brother's band, Bananafish. She's warned by her brother Michael and her best friend, Vera, repeatedly to not get involved with him because he will only hurt her.  Sometimes, temptation is a bitch.  

Eliza helps Paul and the rest of Bananafish, or "the Michaels" as they're affectionately known as, get signed on a major record label to record a real studio album.  Eliza wants this dream to come true for them and won't let anything stop it from becoming a reality, even if it means making the most painful choice she's ever had to make.

Like I said earlier, this book did not immediately pull me in.  I had to keep going and really feel the book and the emotions lying beneath all the words, beneath the song lyrics. beneath the characters.  As I kept reading, I didn't even realize how invested my heart and my head became in the story.  I didn't realize it until emotion was demanded from me, through the course of events in the story, and I sat there with big swelling tears in my eyes, loving this story and then sort of hating it all the same. That's also when I knew that I got it.  I understood, totally, why CoHo loved it. I also felt that I even understood, to some degree, how her first novel, Slammed came about. She was definitely inspired by this story and I love how she used some elements from Rock Star and used them in Slammed.  Both brilliant books.




DeBartolo tells this story with such authority on the music industry, probably because she does in fact work in the biz.  She clearly used her knowledge to help pepper this story with realism and honesty.  She knows the tortured musician.  She knows the record execs, their promises and their lies.  She knows the Yokos who turn everything into nothing at all.  She uses all of this and is able to tell a beautiful story that inspires the music lover in her readers.  She begs of us to feel sympathy towards the musician and their here-today-gone-tomorrow lives.

I've never read anything by this author in the past, and it appears that she's only written one other book.  I look forward to reading it though because something tells me that I might end up liking it too.  Until then...let's hope this isn't DeBartolo's "one and done" hit novel because I'd love to see more from her.


  

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

A Lover's Release

I'm really excited to read this just released (today!) book by K.L. Grayson and B.T. Urruela, titled A Lover's Lament.  I'm a big fan of B.T., who is a war vet and an an active fitness model.  He also is the co-founder of a veteran's organization in Florida that helps fellow vets.  He's not only good to look at, but he's got a good heart too.  I'm not currently familiar with K.L. Grayson, but I love "discovering" new authors and am hoping this is one that I enjoy and continue to follow!


EXCERPT:


I wake before the sun has checked in for the day and scan the tent, noting my men still sleeping heavily. My morning ritual, at least the days I have time to do it, requires a bit of privacy, and I make certain I have it before I begin. Most of these clowns will just jerk it from their cots in the middle of the night with the rest of us passed out around them. There’s always been something odd about that to me. On a regular basis, I've woken up to the sounds of heavy breathing and skin slapping skin, and it pisses me the fuck off. If I’m not dog-tired, they’ll get a boot heaved in their direction, aimed straight for the dick and with the express purpose of putting them out of business for a while.
            No, jackin’ the beanstalk in public isn’t for me. Unfortunately, that leaves only one other place to do it—the Drop Zone. Porta-shitters, as we like to call them, sit for weeks without being emptied and capture every bit of the sun’s heat. It’s like a fucking greenhouse in there, and one breath in that motherfucker while beating off and your dick is in full retreat.
So there’s a trick to doing this just right; you have to prep him first. You get him up and going, and then you quickly finish in the shitter. For most of these guys, the bikini-clad chicks above their cots or the porno mags stashed in their bags are a necessity for a proper jerk-off, but I'm an imaginative guy. I close my eyes and my mind becomes like a time machine of fuck. Marilyn Monroe in Some Like it Hot ... bam! … cum everywhere. Farrah Fawcett in her iconic red swimsuit bent over the counter ... set the time machine and go. 
            This time my mind goes for none other than Jackie O. She’s spread-eagle, with my tongue lightly flicking her throbbing clit while she's begging for my dick. And, of course, I’m making her call me Mr. President. I laugh at the last thought but notice it's at least gotten the job started. Since my dick is half-mast and ticking its way to full form, I slink my way to the tent’s entrance.
Stepping out, I’m met by the sun creeping softly over the tops of the barriers, and I hurry toward the porta-shitters, positioned just past the Humvees in front of the eastern wall. This two-hundred-yard walk is the most important part of the process. You have to walk with speed but not urgency, in hopes that you don't attract attention from the few others also awake—all while the imagined porn still reels in your head.
            I manage to make it into the shitter undetected and quickly go to work on my shaft while my left hand pinches my nose like a vise and my eyes squeeze tightly shut. Only this time it isn’t someone famous that I picture. It’s Katie.

Even as early as it is, the Drop Zone is like a sauna, and beads of sweat collect on my forehead. I try desperately to hold in my breath as the seconds tick down. Just as my lungs begin to demand air and my body stiffens, I toss my head back with a stifled groan. My body recovers from its high much quicker in this setting, but at least the job is done.  Two weeks of combat stress gone, just like that. 



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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

KL Grayson resides in a small town outside of St. Louis, MO.  She is entertained daily by her extraordinary husband, who will forever inspire every good quality she writes in a man.  Her entire life rests in the palms of six dirty little hands, and when the day is over and those pint-sized cherubs have been washed and tucked into bed, you can find her typing away furiously on her computer.  She has a love for alpha-males, brownies, reading, tattoos, sunglasses, and happy endings…and not particularly in that order.



B.T. Urruela was an infantryman in the US Army from August 2004 until February 2011. At the end of a year long tour in Baghdad, IQ, his vehicle was hit by two roadside bombs, which took his right leg below the knee and the life of his commander. He was awarded the Purple Heart for his wounds, an Army Commendation Medal and Combat Infantryman’s Badge. He medically retired from the Army in 2011 and moved to Tampa, FL where he currently works as a Director and Brand Ambassador of VETSports, a veteran community sports nonprofit he co-founded in 2012. He also conducts speaking engagements and he’s a personal trainer for Tampa Sports Academy. 



Monday, October 5, 2015

Songbird Release

I'm happy to announce the release of another novel, Songbird, by author Sydney Logan, at the special release price of only $.99 on Amazon.  






Synopsis:
Callie Franklin doesn’t do one night stands.

Ever.

She’s far too responsible and focused on her career to ever let herself give in to temptation. But, on the eve of her best friend’s wedding, she meets that temptation . . .

And his name is Devin McAllister.

Devin, on the other hand, has no problem with meaningless hookups. The very last thing he needs—or wants—is a relationship.

Relationships come with strings.

Relationships come with heartbreak.

A late-night encounter in the hotel’s piano bar finds the two unable to resist each other. With her angelic voice and bright blue eyes, Devin’s sure he’s never met anyone as beautiful as his Songbird.

Six weeks later, when two pink lines confirm Callie’s worst fears, she and Devin have to face the consequences of their wild weekend.

And they have to deal with each other—whether they like it or not.

With a love story that’s far from traditional, Callie and Devin begin to wonder if their one-night stand could turn into something neither of them anticipated.


A happily ever after.



Excerpt:
Traffic’s insane, but I finally make it to Callie’s apartment just after two. I anxiously knock on the door, ridiculously eager to get my hands on her. Maybe she’ll be wearing some flimsy lingerie. 

Maybe she’ll be naked. My mind’s busy conjuring all the possibilities when she opens the door . . . wearing a sweatshirt and jeans.

“Hey,” she says softly, stepping aside to let me in.

“Hey. You okay?”

She looks pale as a ghost. Is she sick? She looks sick. Maybe I should call an ambulance. Or my dad.

“I’m okay.” Callie leads me over to the sofa. “Look, Devin, I know you probably have some plans for us for tonight, but that won’t be happening.”

“Oh.” Disappointment floods me, but if the nauseated look on her face is any indication, it’s probably best. Besides, there’s the next night. And the next.

“But we need to talk, so I’m glad you’re here. I have something I need to tell you.” She abruptly jumps to her feet and walks toward her kitchen. “Would you like something to drink?”

I can’t tell if she’s being a good hostess or simply stalling, but I ask for a beer. It looks like I’m gonna need it. I hadn’t pegged her for the kind of woman who needs to talk about her feelings.

When she returns to the living room, Callie hands me a bottle and sits down next to me. I notice she only brought one.

“You’re not drinking?”

She curls her feet beneath her. “Unfortunately, no. I won’t be drinking for a long time.”

I’ve had it with the riddles.

“All right, what’s going on? My brother and his girlfriend threatened to murder me if I make you cry. Something’s obviously up with you because you just want to talk.”

Her forehead creases. “Don’t you ever just talk to a woman?”

“Not if I can help it.”

“Why not? The girls you usually date don’t have enough sense to carry on an intelligent conversation?”

“I don’t date, Callie.”

“I see. You just sleep with them.”

“Sometimes. Is there something wrong with that?”

“And are you careful?”

“Careful?”

“Safe,” she says softly. “We didn’t use protection. I just wondered if that’s typical for you.”

Oh. It’d be easy to blame the alcohol, but honestly, using protection was the very last thing on my mind that night.

“No, that’s not typical. I’m sorry about that.”

“So am I.”

Callie seems far more relaxed after my apology. Maybe this night won’t be an epic failure after all. I slide closer to her, but she raises her hand in warning.

“We’re not finished.”

I groan and lean back against the couch.

“Devin, I need you to listen. Something happened that weekend. I’m almost positive you won’t want to sleep with me after you hear what I’m about to say.”

“I seriously doubt that.”

“I don’t.” Callie sits up a little straighter and squares her shoulders. “I want you to know I expect nothing from you. Our weekend together was a mistake, and I’ll deal with the consequences of it. I don’t know exactly what I’m going to do at this point, but I thought you should at least know what’s going on.”

“What’s going on?”

Her eyes flood with tears.

“Devin, I’m pregnant.”

Pregnant.

Pregnant?

I stare at her. She stares at me. I watch her closely, hoping that at any moment she’s going to burst out laughing.

But she’s not laughing. She’s crying.

I hear Lorie’s voice in my suddenly throbbing head.

Don’t make her cry.

“Why . . . why are you telling me?”

She wipes her eyes. “What do you mean?”

“You’re assuming it’s mine?”

“Of course it’s yours!”

I snort. “Really? How can you be so sure? Maybe it was that bartender in the hotel’s piano bar. Or maybe it was the guy who sat with you at the reception. Or maybe—just maybe—it was the photographer you were with tonight. You two seem pretty close.”

Even as the bitter words drip off my tongue, I know better. Her face is just too furious . . . her eyes too heartbroken.

Suddenly, Callie stops crying. Her eyes flash with fury just seconds before she slaps me across the face.

Despite the ringing in my ears, I can hear my brother’s warning.

Don’t be an asshole tonight.

Too late.

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About the Author:
A native of East Tennessee, Sydney enjoys playing piano and relaxing on her porch with her wonderful husband and their very spoiled cat.







Thursday, October 1, 2015

Forever With You Release

It's always such a pleasure to share my excitement for new book releases, but even more so when I'm introducing a new book by one of my favorite authors.  Tuesday, September 29th, Jennifer Armentrout's newest addition to her Wait for You series, Forever With You is released.  Armentrout is a phenomenal YA writer dabbling both in romance and the paranormal and succeeds in both genres.





FOREVER WITH YOU Excerpt

I cradled my drink as Cam sauntered back to the pool tables. My mind wasn’t made up on the whole visiting them thing yet. Maybe I would. Maybe I wouldn’t.
            “Want another rum and coke?”
            My lips curled up at the sound of Nick’s rich, deep voice. We’d been chatting on and off since I plopped my butt down on the stool, and he had seemed happy that I was there.
            Total bonus points lottery with this guy.
“I’m good, but thanks.” The last thing I wanted to be was drunk. I smiled at him, pleased when his heavily hooded gaze dipped again. “Are you guys usually this busy on the weekend?”
            I could see that small talk was something Nick excelled at, which made sense, considering his occupation. He was an equal opportunity charmer. Women flocked to him at the bar. The other bartender, the girl with the pink glasses, seemed to take it all in stride.
“Not sure if you really call this busy, but Saturdays usually bring a larger crowd.” He glanced down the bar before continuing. “So you went to school with them?” he asked, jerking his chin in the direction Cam had roamed off to.
“Yeah.” Leaning forward, I placed my elbows on the bar. “I had no idea they had connections here. Total surprise.”
“Small world,” he said, echoing my earlier thought. “But you’re not very close with them.”
It was a statement, not a question. “What makes you think that?”
“Well, if you were, I guess you’d be over there with them. Or …”
Nick was observant. “Or what?”
            One side of his lips curled up as he folded his arms across his chest. The movement drew my attention. I was such a visual creature. Not that anyone would blame me right now. The black shirt he wore stretched around well-defined biceps. “Or you’d rather spend the time with me.”
            The twisty motion in my belly cranked up a notch. “Am I that transparent?”
            “In the best possible way.” He picked up a bottle. “I’m glad you did stop by. Every time the door opened last night, I looked up and hoped it was you.”
            “Is that so?”
            “I speak the truth.” His smile was lazy. “Did you finish unpacking?”
            “Yep.”
            “Were there any more rat bastard combinations?”
            I laughed. “There were a few more.”
            “Kind of mad I missed out on them.”
            “There’s always later.” I toyed with my glass as I met and held his stare. “So, Nick, do you have a last name?”
            “Blanco,” he replied after a brief hesitation. “Do you?”
            “Keith.” I grinned as he unfolded those arms. “I have another question for you.”
            Moving in, he placed his hands on the bar. “Ask away.”
            “Do you have a girlfriend?” My breath caught a little when he leaned in suddenly. Our mouths were close enough that we were breathing the same tiny patch of oxygen. “Or a boyfriend?”
            Nick didn’t bat an eyelash. “Nope to both. How about you?”
            Bonus points explosion!
            “None,” I said, welcoming the tingle that swirled down my spine as his breath warmed my lips.
            He tilted his head to the side, lining up his mouth with mine with just a fraction of an inch between us. I started to feel a little flushed. “You have plans tonight, Stephanie Keith?” he asked, voice deeper and rougher.
            I shook my head as my pulse tripped all over itself in a happy little dance.
            Nick’s grin spread into the kind of smile I knew left a trail of women in its wake. “You do now.”


Praise for FOREVER WITH YOU:

“Armentrout packs a powerful emotional punch in her fifth Wait for You new adult contemporary (after Fall with Me)... Armentrout tugs at the heartstrings while delivering an intense, gripping tale.” –Publishers Weekly


“Armentrout presents an emotional installment in her Wait for You series…[she] does it again, presenting a fast-paced tearjerker that fans will devour.” –Booklist


And don’t miss the previous titles in the Wait for You Series!




About Jennifer L. Armentrout:

# 1 New York Times and # 1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA.

She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

Links:




Initium...Confused!

WoW!  Well, after waiting and waiting and waiting some more for the continuation in Courtney Cole's Nocte trilogy (can we still call it that if there's really 4...even if it's a novella?), we have MORE of the story.  Well...sort of.  Kind of anyhow.  No, I'm not really sure.  Actually I'm quite confused.  

**Some minor content spoilage contained in this blog.  Nothing major, but if you're hardcore and don't like to know really anything, then you may want to skip this.



Let me start over.  You see, once upon a time, about a year ago, Cole released this fan-fucking-tastic novel called Nocte.  It was superb!  And I really truly mean that.  It was sweet and dark and twisted and left me questioning everything I thought I understood about the story.  I was so incredibly blown away by the mystery of this story and it reverberated with me.  I kept thinking about it over and over, day after day.  Calla and Dare and Finn are such complex and amazing characters with so many, many layers!




Lucky for me, I didn't have to wait too long before Cole released her follow up to Nocte, entitled Verum.  I was so excited to read this one since I'd fallen in love with the first one, thinking that all my confusion, all my questions would be answered.  That was where I was wrong.  Dead wrong.  This book left me so much more confused and questioning my own sanity at times.  It was brilliant...but so...ugh!  It was so frustratingly mind bending.  To make it worse, I read this in February of this year and the estimated release date of the final book in the trilogy was not for another 6 months.  I honestly thought that I would go nuts waiting- that's how much my mind was wrapped up in this story.





Which brings us basically current, to September when I woke up one day and go on the ol' inter webs and found out that a new #2.5 novella had been released since the final book in the series had been pushed back .  Again, I was beside myself with utter joy and happiness, again thinking that finally this continuation of the story will start wrapping up and all these crazy loose ends will begin making sense.  I downloaded the newest book in the series/trilogy, which is called Initium.  Well, you know how they say "Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me?"  Well, this book nerd is the biggest fool of them all! What I found inside the pages of Initium was a complete and total mind fuck.  Pardon the language but that's the only way I can even think to describe how I felt after reading it.  First, it isn't so much of a continuation of the story, rather it goes back in time.  Way, way back in time and tells the story of Dare's mother, 21 years earlier.  

The entire time I was reading I kept thinking "who is really the insane one here?"  This story has me questioning myself at times and I can't even figure out what's real and what's not any longer.  I have NO idea if Finn is alive or if he's even real.  I'm starting to question if Calla is real and maybe all of this is really a hallucination of Dare.  I have a lot of theories but I'm guessing not a single one is on the money though because Cole is masterfully weaving this amazingly complex storyline.  .

This is an amazing series/trilogy and is not what I expected in the least when I first started it. That's not a bad thing though.  In fact sometime books (series'/trilogies) like this end up being my favorites.  Not to mention that whoever designed these covers is pure genius too. They are absolutely gorgeous--hands down some of my favorite covers EVER!  I seriously, seriously am sitting on pins and needles waiting for the final conclusion to this story in Lux