Monday, August 17, 2015

Sweet Home Amarillo

Leaving Amarillo is one of those books that was repeatedly suggested by other avid readers.  Everyone went on and on about how great it was.  Finally, I downloaded it in my Kindle app and decided to see what all the hype was about. 

The author, Caisey Quinn, is genius!  This story of sweet southern gal, Dixie, and the drummer in her brother's band, Gavin have an attraction like no other and Quinn does a great job leading the reader through the turbulent getting-together phase of their relationship in this book.  You see Dixie and Gavin have grown up together because Dixie's brother Dallas and Gavin have been best buddies since they were kids...and Dixie has long had a crush on Gavin.

Gavin has a sweet nickname for his buddy's sister, calling her Bluebird, an adorable and endearing term of affection. Their relationship is full of back and forth, push and pull, and both get frustrated easily.  They realize being in a relationship is harder than they realized, but they both desperately want to be together.  The question is, will Gavin's secrets keep them apart?  Can Dixie get over her fears?

This story was great, really.  It pulled me in right away and I truly loved the dynamics between the two main characters, and of course the brother, Dallas too.  The relationships between all of them were complex but believable and easy to relate to as well.  I could see this really happening.  In fact, I'm sure this story has been played out in real life more times than I can imagine.  That's what makes it so beautiful too.



Loving Dallas picks up where Amarillo leaves off, except now we get to meet and get to know the brother Dallas a lot more.  It also goes more in depth into who the redhead is and what she means to Dallas.  We learn that the beautiful redhead is Dallas' ex, Robyn, who left him and broke his heart.  He never lost feelings for her...and we discover that she might just still have feelings for him too.

I was truly excited to dive into the second book in this series after reading this one, titled Loving Dallas.  I knew I was going to absolutely love it and race through it just like I did Amarillo. Unfortunately, that was not the case.  For me, Dallas was kind of boring.  I don't know if my expectations were just too high after devouring the first book or what, but it just didn't hold my interest as much.  I found myself sort of forcing myself to keep reading. It's not that it was a bad story, but it wasn't filled with as much emotion or drama like the first one.  It didn't feel as fast paced either.

None of that is to say that I didn't like Loving Dallas because I did like it...I just didn't love it. 






Now I am just anxiously awaiting the release of the last book in the trilogy, Missing Dixie, which is due out in October of this year. Hopefully the Gavin and Dixie action will be just as fast, exciting, and as hot as the first one!  Come on Caisey, don't let me down.  End this long story on a high note!





Sunday, August 16, 2015

Armentrout FTW

I just finished reading Jennifer Armentrout's latest release, Every Last Breath from her The Dark Elements series, and it most definitely did not disappoint.  I mean, WoW!  

If you haven't read the previous books, you will most likely be lost because Every Last Breath really doesn't recap much in what happened in the story previously and just picks right up from where the last one left off. From the beginning, as soon as you open up the book and dive in, there's action and excitement.   This is very much a fantasy world with Wardens, Alphas, Demons, and The Boss. References to Heaven and Hell are abundant throughout.

While the main character, Layla, tries to figure out just who and what she is, she must also decide whom she ultimately loves:  Zayne, her best friend and childhood crush...or Roth, the bad boy demon who makes her feel things she never knew existed.  In the end, Layla must fight the Lilith and figure out just how to save everyone who  have sacrificed everything for her.  Will she give up everything?

I really liked this last installment in The Dark Elements series.  It was jam-packed full of action for at least two-thirds of the story.  I loved seeing a softer, less demon-y side of Roth, proving that not all bad things are all bad.  It was heartbreaking to see Abbott prove his love for Layla as well.  The scene where Layla spends her last night night before making her big decision, was epic.  Armentrout did such an excellent job of painting this passionate picture of them saying goodbye with their bodies, giving each other one last kiss, one last touch.  

The only complaint I have is that I feel like this story could've ended a lot earlier than it did. For me, the story was over after Layla did what needed to be done and then returned.  It was very drawn out at the end, giving more story that honestly just didn't need to be there. I know sometimes the readers like to know what happened next, but I think it took away from this story.  It would've been just fine without all the extra.  In addition, it seemed like there was a lot of plain gratuitous lovey-dovey junk that easily could've been left out as well.  We get it, they like each other, they love each other...that's enough!

Overall, this was a great story and the series as a whole was really just a lot of fun to read, if not a little scary at times.  Armentrout, as always, leads the reader into a fantastic fantasy world and makes it so realistic and believable .  Can't wait to see what she has up her sleeve next!

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

To The Stars Cover Reveal

I am so so so excited to be a part of the cover reveal for Molly McAdams' newest release, from the Thatch series, is To the Stars: A Thatch Novel (Thatch series Book 2), coming out on November 17, 2015.  I am so giddy and I'm about to SQUEE out loud because the first Thatch novelLetting Go, was excellent...superior...heart wrenchingly stunning.  I mean this!  In my humble opinion, hands down, this was Molly's best book yet.  That says a lot too because she's written about 8 books, including a few novellas, and has been included in at least 2 anthologies. This woman knows how to tug at - no, rip out- your heart!  

So without further ado, the info on the yet to be released, To the Stars: A Thatch Novel.





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…?




Pre-Order Your Copy Today!



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


LETTING GO





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About Molly McAdams:  
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 tornadoes. That way she can pretend they aren't really happening.

Links:

Friday, August 7, 2015

Cover Reveal for Cover Model

I've got another amazing cover reveal to share with all of you...YAY!!!  This is for Cover Model by badass male author, Devon Hartford.  This book will be out on August 14; that's just ONE WEEK away, ladies!  So get ready!

They called him Connor HUGE.
Connors Hughes f**ked his way through every girl in my high school.
Except me.
We hated each other.
That arrogant a**hole insulted me, tormented me, and ruined me without ever laying a finger on me.
After graduating near the top of my class, I escaped to UCLA, got my degree, and threw myself into a career as a serious journalist. But I never forgot the damage Connor did.
At least I’ll never have to see him again.
Until my editor at Trending Magazine tasks me with writing a tell-all article about Connor. Turns out my insufferable bad boy nemesis grew into the ultra-gorgeous model whose perfect body steams up the covers of half the romance novels on the bestseller lists.
Now I’m stuck shadowing him all weekend long at the world’s largest Romance Convention. I’m forced to watch in disgust as 45,000 women throw themselves at him and worship his shirtless body while he taunts me incessantly.
We hate each other as much today as we did seven years ago. But I can’t stop stealing glances at his perfect abs and perfect a**.
My better judgment tells me to drop everything and run, but something deep inside me is dying to know if he’s as HUGE as the rumors…

***Cover Model is a steamy standalone with an HEA***
***WARNING: Due to strong language and sexual situations, this book is intended for mature readers ages 18+***

About the Author:
A lot of people ask me, "Why is a guy writing romance novels for women?" The answer is simple. Everyone falls in love. Even men. Imagine that. ;-) 


But it goes deeper than that. I write romance to explore and understand my own emotions. 

No matter what most guys say on the subject, emotions are a part of the human experience for women AND men. Guys who deny their emotions, especially the difficult ones like sadness, grief, loss, and hurt, are missing out on a big part of life. Everyone has emotional scars. It's impossible to make it from cradle to grave without getting banged up along the way. For all that pain, we can also heal ourselves.

My stories feature characters who are on a quest to heal their pain, and in the process, find love. We all know that a loving relationship can be a conduit for both partners to heal together. When that happens, it's truly a beautiful thing.

It's my hope that my readers can gain some perspective regarding their own emotional wounds, and perhaps heal in some small way by going through the emotional journey I went through while writing my stories.
(taken from Amazon)

Other books by Devon Hartford include:

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Drowning to Breathe Release Date Announced!

One of my favorite reads so far this year has been A Stone in the Sea by A.L. Jackson, an author I previously had read nothing from.  After reading it though, I can honestly say that I'm hooked!  I loved the story line and everything about the book, including the super sexy cover.  Can you say va-va-voom about that male cover model??  The only bad part about the book was when it ended because the story wasn't over.  So I've been anxiously awaiting more info about Jackson's second installment in her Bleeding Stars story...and here it is folks!



Synopsis:
The danger in pretending is it becoming real...
Sebastian Stone, Sunder front man and guitarist with a rap sheet about ten miles long, escaped to Savannah, Georgia, to get away from the trouble he’d caused.
Not find more of it.
    The moment he saw Shea Bentley, he saw beneath all her sweet and innocence to something that went deeper.
Darker.
Their relationship was built on secrets; their love built on lies.
Sebastian never imagined how deep her secrets went.
When the past and present collide, Sebastian and Shea find themselves fighting for a future neither believed they deserved. Their passion is consuming and their need unending.
Now, holding the truth in his hands, Sebastian is faced with sacrificing everything he’s come to love to protect Shea and his family.
Two pasts intertwined.
Two lives bound.
Will their demons drown them or will Shea and Sebastian finally learn to breathe?




Drowning to Breathe A Bleeding Stars Novel, Book 2 --RELEASE DATE:  September 15th 




Author Bio  
A.L. Jackson is the New York Times bestselling author of contemporary and new adult romance.
She first found a love for writing during her days as a young mother and college student.  She filled the journals she carried with short stories and poems used as an emotional outlet for the difficulties and joys she found in day-to-day life.
Years later, she shared a short story she’d been working on with her two closest friends and, with their encouragement, this story became her first full length novel. A.L. now spends her days writing in Southern Arizona where she lives with her husband and three children.
Connect with A.L. Jackson online:www.aljacksonauthor.com

To stay up to date with important news on A.L. Jackson, including new releases, sales, and exclusive specials and excerpts, text “jackson” to 96000 to subscribe!

Instagram @aljacksonauthor




 A STONE IN THE SEA
A Bleeding Stars Novel Book 1

 
He wanted nothing at all…

Until he found she had everything to give…

Sunder lead singer and guitarist Sebastian Stone has everything—fans, fame, and fortune. He also has a heart full of bitterness and a reputation for a short-fused temper. But an outward reputation rarely reveals the true man inside. Facing assault charges after trying to protect his younger brother, Sebastian is sent to Savannah, Georgia to lie low until the dust settles in L.A.

Shea Bentley is beautiful, kind, and hiding from the very lifestyle Sebastian has always embraced.

When the mysterious, tattooed stranger begins hanging out at the bar where she works, Shea is quick to recognize he is nothing but trouble, but she's helpless to the way her body lights up every time his intense gray eyes tangle with hers.

They both soon find themselves drowning in a sea of desire and passion that won’t let them up for air.

Sebastian knows firsthand secrets never die, and he’s not the only one who’s hiding them.

Loving someone always comes with a price. But will it be Shea’s past that costs them everything?



Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Racing the Sun Release

So many great book coming out, including author Karina Halle's just-released-today-new-book, Racing the Sun.  





From the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of Where Sea Meets Sky comes a new adult novel about a young woman who becomes a nanny in Capri and falls for her charges’ bad-boy brother.
When I’m traveling, I feel like the secret to my life, to myself, to really becoming, is one step ahead. It’s in the next destination, the next town I get lost in, the next stranger I talk to. It’s always next but never here . . . 


After six months of backpacking and soul-searching across the world, Amber MacLean is flat broke. There are worse places for a twentysomething to be stuck than the Amalfi Coast, but the only way she can earn enough money for a plane ticket home to California is to teach English to two of the brattiest children she has ever met.

It doesn’t help that the children are under the care of their brooding older brother, ex-motorcycle racer Desiderio Larosa. Darkly handsome and oh-so-mysterious, the young master of the crumbling villa tests Amber’s patience and will at every turn—not to mention her hormones.

When her position turns into a full-time nanny gig, Amber grows dangerously closer to the enigmatic recluse. But can she give up the certainty of home for someone whose closely guarded heart feels a world apart from her own?



RACING THE SUN by Karina Halle

Atria Books | July 28, 2015 | Paperback ISBN 9781476796444, $15 | eBook ISBN 9781476796482, $7.99 | 384 pages



Get Your Copy!

Amazon | Barnes & Noble| Blio | Books-a-Million | Google ebookstore | iBooks |Kobo




ABOUT KARINA HALLE  
With her USA Today Bestselling The Artists Trilogy published by Grand Central Publishing, numerous foreign publication deals, and self-publishing success with her Experiment in Terror series, Vancouver-born Karina Halle is a true example of the term "Hybrid Author." Though her books showcase her love of all things dark, sexy and edgy, she's a closet romantic at heart and strives to give her characters a HEA...whenever possible.

Karina holds a screenwriting degree from Vancouver Film School and a Bachelor of Journalism from TRU. Her travel writing, music reviews/interviews and photography have appeared in publications such as Consequence of Sound, Mxdwn and GoNomad Travel Guides. She currently lives on an island on the coast of British Columbia where she’s preparing for the zombie apocalypse with her fiancĂ© and rescue pup.


LINKS:

Dark Elements Finale

I'm so excited to announce that Jennifer Armentrout's finale in her Dark Elements series is finally here!  The last book, Every Last Breath will be released TODAY...and I'm so happy!!! I'm a huge fan of Jennifer's and her fun, freaky, fantasy/paranormal books so I feel like I can say already that this release is going to be epic.






Excerpt :

Roth cleared his throat. “Shortie, look…look at your hand.”
Look at my hand? Why in the world would he be asking me to do that in the midst of all the cray?
“Do it,” he said quietly and too gently.
The dread exploded in my gut like buckshot, and my gaze dropped to my left hand. I expected to see the weird marbling of black and gray, a mixture of the demon and Warden that existed inside of me and a combination I’d become almost familiar with by now. My nails had lengthened and sharpened, and I could tell they were hard enough to cut through steel, as hard as my skin, but my skin…it was still pink. Really pink.
“What the…?” My gaze traveled to my other hand. It was the same. Just pink. My wings twitched, reminding me that I had shifted.
Zayne swallowed. “Your…your wings…”
“What about my wings?” I almost screeched, reaching be‑ hind me. “Are they broken? Did they not come out—” The tips of my fingers came into contact with something as soft as silk. My hand jerked back. “What…”
Stacey’s watery eyes had doubled in size. “Um, Layla, there’s a mirror above the fireplace. I think you need to look in it.”
I met Roth’s gaze for a second before I spun around and all but ran to the fireplace I was sure Stacey’s mom had never used. Clutching the white mantel, I stared at my reflection.
I looked normal, like I did before I shifted…like I was going to class or something. My eyes were the palest shade of gray, a watered-down blue. My hair was so blond it was almost white, and a mess of waves that went in every direction like usual. I looked like a colorless china doll, which was nothing new, except for the two fangs jutting out of my mouth. I wouldn’t show them off at school, but that wasn’t what caught my attention and held it.
It was my wings.
They were large, not as massive as Zayne’s or Roth’s, and normally they were almost leathery in texture, but now they were black…black and feathered. Like legit feathered. That soft, silky thing I’d felt? It had been tiny feathers.
Feathers.
“Oh my God,” I whispered at my reflection. “I have feathers.”
“Those are definitely feathered wings,” Roth commented.
I whipped around, knocking over a lamp with my feathered right wing. “I have feathers on my wings!”
Roth cocked his head to the side. “Yeah, you do.”
He was absolutely no help, so I turned to Zayne. “Why do I have feathers on my wings?”
Zayne shook his head slowly. “I don’t know, Layla. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“Liar,” hissed Roth, shooting him a dark look. “You’ve seen that before. So have I.”

EVERY LAST BREATH Synopsis:

Some loves will last ‘til your dying breath  


Every choice has consequences—but seventeen-year-old Layla faces tougher choices than most. Light or darkness. Wickedly sexy demon prince Roth, or Zayne, the gorgeous, protective Warden she never thought could be hers. Hardest of all, Layla has to decide which side of herself to trust.

Layla has a new problem, too. A Lilin—the deadliest of demons—has been unleashed, wreaking havoc on those around her…including her best friend. To keep Sam from a fate much, much worse than death, Layla must strike a deal with the enemy while saving her city—and her race—from destruction.

Torn between two worlds and two different boys, Layla has no certainties, least of all survival, especially when an old bargain comes back to haunt them all. But sometimes, when secrets are everywhere and the truth seems unknowable, you have to listen to your heart, pick a side—and then fight like hell…

“Armentrout is a major talent…I just can’t stop reading!”
--New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter

“Armentrout works her magic with swoon-worthy guys and a twist you never see coming.”
--#1 New York Times bestselling author Abbi Glines on White Hot Kiss


And don’t miss the first titles in the Dark Elements Series!
BITTER SWEET LOVE
WHITE HOT KISS
STONE COLD TOUCH

EVERY LAST BREATH Trailer Link and Embed Code:

URL Link





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: