Blog Tour - Hard Wired by Megan Erickson & Santino Hassell + Giveaway

Title: Hard Wired (Cyberlove #3)

Author: Megan Erickson & Santino Hassell

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: February 13, 2017

Source: ARC from Publicist

Buy the Book: Amazon / Other Retailers

My FallenCon agenda is simple: sit on a couple of panels and let people meet the real me. Jesse Garvy—mod of a famous Twitch channel and, if I ever come out of my shell, future vlogger. I definitely didn’t plan to sleep with a moody tattooed fan-artist, but he’s gorgeous and can’t keep his hands off me. There’s a first time for everything, and my first time with a guy turns out to be the hottest experience of my life.

But the next day, I find out my moody fan-artist is Ian Larsen AKA Cherry—someone I’ve known online for years. And he’d known exactly who I was while shoving me up against that wall. Before I figure out whether to be pissed or flattered, the con ends.

Now we’re back online, and he’s acting like nothing happened. But despite the distance between us, and the way he clings to the safety of his online persona, we made a real connection that night. I don’t plan to let him forget.

The second I see that Megan Erickson and Santino Hassell have a new book coming out, I get excited. It can't be helped. They just have this way of making me care for characters with just a few sentences and sucking me in to those characters' stories with nothing more than a few paragraphs. Obviously that was no different with their latest, Hard Wired. 

One of my favourite things about Megan Erickson and Santino Hassell's books is how relatable their stories are, especially for people who've made connections line (romantic or otherwise). If you're someone who's ever met anyone online and then taken that relationship offline, you'll find something to relate to in these stories. Whether it's the fear that whatever you had online won't possibly translate to IRL. Or the fear that people around you won't be able to understand how you could possibly have made such a strong connection with someone you've never met face to face. Or maybe it's that you're afraid the person you met online won't think you measure up when you meet in person. Hard Wired is about all of that and so much more. And I loved the story for that. I loved seeing the changing dynamic of Jesse and Ian's relationship based on whether they were online or in person. How, eventually, the online and the offline came together and made their relationship that much greater to read about and to root for. But of course that also had a lot to do with Ian and Jesse themselves.

I think I would have had to try really hard to be completely charmed by Jesse and Ian. Seriously. I was maybe three pages into the story and already I was all about these two getting together and living happily ever after. Never mind that they had barely exchanged nothing more than a fleeting look. Obviously some things needed to happen before they could get to that happily ever after I was all about and I was more than happy to read all about them getting there. I loved seeing them hesitantly take small steps to making their online relationship and offline was. It wasn't easy but I was rooting for them all the way. Because Ian and Jesse were pretty much perfect for each other. Granted it took them a little longer than it did me to figure that out. But it's okay because they got there. And I loved watching them get there.

I may be starting to sound like a broken record by now, but do yourself a favour and pick up Megan Erickson and Santino Hassell's book. I have yet to be disappointed and I hope they'll continue to collaborate on stories forever. 

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Blog Tour - More Than Friends by Monica Murphy

Title: More Than Friends (Friends #2)

Author: Monica Murphy

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: November 14, 2016

Source: ARC from Publicist

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Kobo

He’s not perfect, but he’s all I want…

I’m your average girl at your average high school, trying to figure out my place in life. After catching my now ex-boyfriend messing around with my now ex-best friend, I’ve made some big changes. No more band, no more backstabbing friends and no more boring old life. Now I have new friends, a new job and new interests.

But there’s a certain someone who’s interested in me, and i don’t get it. Jordan Tuttle could have anyone he wants. He’s the most popular boy in school. Rich, gorgeous, smart and the star quarterback, he’s perfect. Yet he acts like he wants no one else but…me.

So despite my fears and about, I let him get close. Probably too close. I discover that he’s not so perfect after all, but it doesn’t matter. I’m falling for him, even though he runs so hot and cold. I know someday he’s going to break my heart.

And I’m going to let him.

Though Monica Murphy is known for her romance and New Adult titles, I've been enjoying her recent foray into young adult romance. So far, I've found myself enjoying all the YA she's written and it was no different with her latest, More Than Friends.

I'm not going to lie, the first book in Monica Murphy's Friends series, Just Friends, left me wanting in some ways. But I was still curious about what would be coming next, especially when it came to some of the secondary characters. With More Than Friends I got to know two of those characters better, Amanda and Jordan, and I loved having that chance. I'll admit that at first, I was getting a little frustrated with their back and froth will-they-won't-they because I could clearly see they liked each other and wanted to be together even though they each had their reservations about it. But when they finally decided to take that plunge, I was happy they did because Amanda and Jordan just fit. I don't really know how to say other than they just made sense together even when they didn't. (Could I possibly be making any less sense right now?) 

Much like with the first book, More Than Friends left me curious about many of the secondary characters. Even after two books, I feel like I still have so many questions about Olivia and Ryan and their relationship and I would love to get a second chance to read a book all about them. The other person I still really want to know more about is Em, Olivia's former best friend. Reading Just Friends, I feel like I got a really biased view of her because the story was told from Olivia's perspective. In More Than Friends, I kept getting these little glimpses of her that made me wish I could get more Em, to finally be able to understand everything that is going on with her. So I'll just be over here keeping my fingers crossed that there will be a third book in this series that will be all about Em.

If you like YA and you like Monica Murphy's romance, then I strongly recommend you check out her YA titles. They're different from what she's written before, but at their core they're still great stories with the same kind of romance you've come to expect from this author. And I can't wait to read more.

A Place in the Sun by R.S. Grey

Title: A Place in the Sun

Author: R.S. Grey

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: October 24, 2016

Source: ARC from Author

Buy the Book: Amazon 

When her mother’s incessant matchmaking hits an all-time high, Georgie Archibald does what any sensible woman would do: she flees the country.

Seeking refuge in the picturesque seaside village of Vernazza, Italy, Georgie’s only plan is to lie low, gorge herself on gelato, and let the wine and waves wash her troubles away…that is until she was up in a bed that belongs to the most romantic-looking man she’s ever seen.

Gianluca.

After going out of his way to rescue her, the former London financier turned mysterious recluse makes it clear that despite acting as her white knight, he has no plans to co-star in her fairytale.

But Georgie isn’t asking for his heart—she’s merely intrigued.

After all, Gianluca isn’t just gorgeous—tall and tan from days spent in the sun—his touch sets her world on fire. With him, Georgie experiences the most intoxicating passion she’s ever known, and it only takes a few steamy nights for her to realize that sometimes running away from trouble is the best way to find it.

I always get excited about a new romance story from R.S. Grey. She’s one of my go-to romance authors and for good reason. Her latest, A Place in the Sun, reminded me of why I love reading these stories as much as I do all while making me fall in love with new characters.

Over the last few years, R.S. Grey has become one of my go-to authors when it comes to romance. I’ve read all but a couple of her books, and I’ve enjoyed every single one. Sure there are some that I’ll love more than others, but I have yet to read a book by R.S. Grey and not get sucked into the story. And of course that was no different with her latest, A Place in the Sun. Her stories always manage to grab my attention right away, and while reading them everything else around me seems to just disappear. A large part of that is, of course, the romance. And since I'm a sucker for a good love story, that really shouldn't come as much of a surprise. In this particular case, I loved seeing things slowly develop between Georgie and Gianluca, the constant push and pull that was there between them until they finally gave in to what was happening there. It might not have exactly been easy going for them, but the end result was definitely more than worth it. Not just because Georgie and Gianluca were great together, but also because I loved them as individuals.

If you’ve read The Summer Games: Settling the Score then you might remember Georgie Archibald as Freddie’s spirited younger sister. In this book, Georgie is all grown up and looking to find love for herself. Or at least to find love without her mother’s meddling. And you can’t really blame a girl for wanting to get away from a matchmaking mother, especially when it means running away to the Italian Riviera (side note - if you don’t want to immediately hop on a plane to Cinque Terre by the time you finish this book then there’s something wrong with you). And that’s what I loved about Georgie, that she wasn’t afraid to just take things in her own hands and leave what she knew behind in order to do things her own way. And she was determined to get what she wanted. When she decided that she was going to renovate the bed and breakfast, there was no way she was taking no for an answer, no matter how many times Gianluca told her just that. I loved her strong will, even if it sometimes got her into trouble (because those parts usually had me laughing). As for Gianluca, I loved seeing him slowly come out of his shell as he decided to start living in the present a little more. Sure it wasn’t always easy going, but he was doing his best and sometimes that’s all you can really ask for at the end of the day. And just like with all of R.S. Grey’s books, the cast of secondary characters is just as fantastic as the main characters.

Once again, R.S. Grey didn’t disappoint. A Place in the Sun was just as great as I hoped it would be and I would have been happy to keep reading about Georgie and Gianluca forever. The only downside is that I now really want to go to Italy.

About the Author

I am a lover of books, chocolate, reality TV, black labs, and cold weather. Seriously, if I had it my way I would be curled up on the couch with all of those things... everyday.

​

I live in Texas where I spend my free time writing and reading. My favorite authors are Mindy Kaling & Jonathan Safran Foer. I'm a comedy geek and love all things "funny". Women like Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Mindy Kaling are definitely the biggest inspirations for my writing, though I think my work tends to skew a bit smuttier than theirs.

   

With Malice by Eileen Cook

Title: With Malice

Author: Eileen Cook

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers

Release Date: June 7, 2016

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

It was the perfect trip…until it wasn’t.

Eighteen-year-old Jill Charron wakes up in a hospital room, leg in a cast, stitches in her face and a big blank canvas where the last six weeks should be. She discovers she was involved in a fatal car accident while on a school trip in Italy. A trip she doesn’t even remember taking. She was jetted home by her affluent father in order to receive quality care. Care that includes a lawyer. And a press team. Because maybe the accident…wasn’t an accident.

As the accident makes national headlines, Jill finds herself at the center of a murder investigation. It doesn’t help that the media is portraying her as a sociopath who killed her bubbly best friend, Simone, in a jealous rage. With the evidence mounting against her, there’s only one thing Jill knows for sure: She would never hurt Simone. But what really happened? Questioning who she can trust and what she’s capable of, Jill desperately tries to piece together the events of the past six weeks before she loses her thin hold on her once-perfect life.

If you know me, then you know that my reading tastes tend more towards the fluffy romance books, but every so often, I love reading something a little darker and a little different. Eileen Cook's With Malice was exactly that kind of book.

Here's the thing, the whole time I was reading With Malice, I didn't know what to trust and what to believe. The story is set up in a way that you, as the reader, are finding things out at the same time as Jill, the narrator, is finding them out because she's missing six weeks of her memories. Because of that, I just wanted to believe what she was telling me, that no, she couldn't possibly have harmed her best friend no matter what everyone seems to be saying. And I mean, I don't know about you, but I don't typically want the main character of the story I'm reading to turn out to be the villain at the end of it all. Mixed in with Jill's narration, are bits and pieces of news stories and online posts about the car accident, as well as police interviews of witnesses and suspects. Those odd bits and pieces from Jill's lost time are what made me question everything. Every time I thought something had been established, a police interview or blog post would pop up and then I would start wondering if maybe all those people were right, and Jill did have a car accident on purpose despite what she was now saying in the present. It kind of drove me nuts, because I'm one of those people who needs to know exactly what happened, but it also made it so I just kept reading because I had to know if my (educated) guesses were right or not.

Because of the memory loss, Jill is pretty much the definition of an unreliable narrator. I mean, she wakes up in the hospital and doesn't have a single memory of the previous six weeks. And those six weeks have been pretty freaking eventful. Because of that, I always took everything she said about herself and her relationships with others with a grain of salt. But at the same time, as I've already mentioned, I wanted to believe her. Much like her, I didn't want to believe that she could be capable of getting in a car and driving that car into a stone wall on purpose, all while her best friend is sitting in the passenger seat. That's sort of my long-winded way of saying that it was really interesting to see Jill struggle with this over the course of the story and wonder whether she would ever get her memories back and find out once and for all what exactly happened in that small Italian village on that day. And that twist at the end where Jill is concerned? I felt like I saw it coming but at the same time I didn't but I won't say more about that.

Eileen Cook's With Malice was a darker story that kept me guessing the whole way through. Even once I was finished I still didn't quite know if what Jill was telling me was what actually happened. But that's what made this story for me, the fact that I was never going to know for sure exactly what went down in Italy.

Blog Tour - With Malice by Eileen Cook - Q&A

I'm really excited to be taking part in the Canadian blog tour for Eileen Cook's new novel, With Malice. As part of the tour, I have the pleasure of having Eileen Cook here today to talk about how she goes about doing research for all her books, and in particular for With Malice. Here is what she had to say.

How does your research process change from one book to another (if it does at all)?

First I should admit that I LOVE the research part of writing. I’ve learned the most interesting and random things. For example, did you know more people are killed by falling vending machines than in shark attacks? Makes you rethink getting that Diet Coke doesn’t it?

I tackle research in three different ways: 1) Online 2) Libraries and 3) Talk to People. The way I research doesn’t change much from book to book, but how much time I spend doing each way varies.

1) Online: How did we ever live without the Internet? I’m always amazed at the things you can find—pictures, maps, research articles etc. all without leaving home. And, at least for me, I find one search tends to lead to something else and then before you know it I’m learning things I didn’t even know I wanted to know.

2) Libraries: I”m a full on library junkie. I still find it amazing/wonderful/magical that there are these places with thousands of books that they will let you take FOR FREE. It’s like having a BFF with an unlimited book budget and let’s you borrow as much as you want. What many people don’t know is how helpful librarians can be. They are research ninjas. You can go to a librarian ask her/him just about anything and they will help you hunt down an answer. Libraries are a writer’s best friend.

3) Other People: Once I have a pretty good idea of where I want the story to go I like to talk to people who have direct experience of whatever I’m writing about. In WITH MALICE I talked to lawyers, psychologists, people with brain injuries, police, and also a teen who had been accused of a crime (in her case stealing) about how she felt during the process. I want to understand their perspectives as it helps me bring the story more alive than just reading about it myself. I’m really grateful for everyone who shared his or her experiences with me.

My only challenge is to remember that no matter how interesting it might be—eventually I need to stop researching and start writing.

Thank you, Eileen, for taking the time to answer my question. Be sure to check back later today to see what I thought about the book. For now, all I'll say is that this is the kind of story that keeps you guessing the whole way through and makes you question everything you think you know about it. But it makes for a fantastic read.

Blog Tour - This Is the Story of You by Beth Kephart + Giveaway

Today, I'm excited to be taking part in the blog tour for Beth Kephart's latest novel, This Is the Story of You. To tell us a bit more about the book, and her writing in general, I asked Beth Kephart to tell us more about the unique settings of her stories and how she chooses those settings. Here is what she had to say.

Emilie, thank you for asking this story about the importance of setting in the novels (and nonfiction!) that I write.

Because oh, my. Those who know me have heard me say this more than once: Landscape is character. It is essential character. Whether my stories are about divided love or mental disease or teen pregnancy or anxiety attacks or a boy taking care of a heartsick mom or any other thing, they are also, always and very urgently about, in order, Berlin, Florence, Seville, Juarez, and Philadelphia, to choose but a few examples. 

Where do the shadows fall? What happens at this intersection? What is the meaning of that wall graffiti? Who can see this from above or that from below? Are there crowds, is there a river, has a storm set in?

In the case of This Is the Story of You, I returned to the landscapes of my childhood summers. I loved the Jersey Shore. I still do. I like it most after the crowds go home. I don’t sunbathe. I only sometimes swim. But I’m always walking by the tide, watching the waves. 

I know the shore. I know it in every season. I can write about it.

One must draw a “real” world as carefully as one draws a fictional one. I use landscape and weather to build moods. I work toward consistency so that readers always know where they are. Even on a barrier island where so much has been lost, I create fixed things. The big rock around which some of the survivors gather. The tattered remans of Mira’s house. The collapsed bird sanctuary. The lighthouse.

Each place is very significantly drawn, and repeatedly returned to.

In this way I set down a path for readers. 

About the Book

On Haven, a six-mile long, half-mile-wide stretch of barrier island, Mira Banul and her Year-Rounder friends have proudly risen to every challenge. But then a superstorm defies all predictions and devastates the island, upending all logic and stranding Mira’s mother and brother on the mainland. Nothing will ever be the same. A stranger appear in the wreck of Mira’s home. A friend obsessed with vanishing disappears. As the mysteries deepen, Mira must find the strength to carry on—to somehow hold her memories in place while learning to trust a radically reinvented future. Gripping and poetic, This Is the Story of You is about the beauty of nature and the power of family, about finding hope in the wake of tragedy and recovery in the face of overwhelming loss. 

About the Author

Beth Kephart is the award-winning author of nineteen books, including Going Over, Handling the Truth: On the Writing of Memoir, and Small Damages. A National Book Award Finalist, Kephart is also a winner of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts fiction grant, a National Endowment for the Arts grant, a Leeway grant, a Pew Fellowships in the Arts grant, and the Speakeasy Poetry Prize. Kephart teachers workshops at many institutions, to all ages and creative nonfiction workshops at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a popular keynote speaker and frequent contributor to the Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, and many national journals. She blogs daily at beth-kephart.blogspot.com 

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Blog Tour - The Way to Game the Walk of Shame by Jenn P. Nguyen + Giveaway!

Title: The Way to Game the Walk of Shame

Author: Jenn P. Nguyen

Publisher: Swoon Reads

Release Date: June 7, 2016

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

Taylor Simmons is screwed.

Things were hard enough when her single-minded dedication to her studies earned her the reputation of being an Ice Queen, but after getting drunk at a party and waking up next to bad boy surfer Evan McKinley, the entire school seems intent on tearing Taylor down with mockery and gossip.

Desperate to salvage her reputation, Taylor persuades Evan to pretend they’re in a serious romantic relationship. After all, it’s better to be the girl who tames the wild surfer than just another notch on his surfboard.

I’m a sucker for a book that does a trope I love really well. And I always get excited when I find a book featuring one of my favourite tropes. Jean P. Nguyen’s All the Feels was both of those things. And I loved it.

I’ve said this before but I’m a total sucker for stories that feature fake relationships that turn into real ones. There’s just something about seeing two people who didn’t think they belonged together realized that what they thought they were faking is actually something real. It totally gets to me every single time and I can’t get enough of those kinds of story. I just can’t ever picture myself ever getting tired of them. So needless to say that Jenn P. Nguyen’s The Way to Game the Walk of Shame sounded like it would totally be up my alley. And having now read it, I can say that I was absolutely right. The Way to Game the Walk of Shame was just a fun story that often had me smiling. But it also surprised me by going deeper than I thought it was going to go. It added another layer to the story and made it that much more interesting to read. But the best part of this story? Taylor and Evan.

Though it could have felt like I was reading a clichéd story about the good girl falling for the school’s bad boy, it wasn’t like that. There was just something about Evan and Taylor that made me forget about that cliché. And I think that’s because neither one of them was really who I initially thought they were. Despite what everyone thinks, Evan isn’t actually a bad boy and Taylor isn’t the Ice Queen her whole class believes her to be. They were just two people with a lot going on in their lives who were just happy to let people believe what they wanted. So it was really nice to see them embrace who they were and who they wanted to be as they spent more time with each other. And that’s just my very wordy and roundabout way of saying that I really liked Taylor and Evan and I loved peeling back the layers to their characters and getting to know them better over the course of this story.

Jenn P. Nguyen’s The Way to Game the Walk of Shame was the fun story I hoped it would be while also going beyond what I thought it would do. Sure, it was a fun story, but it also had it’s fair share of deeper moments that only made me love it more.

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Blog Tour - All the Feels by Danika Stone + Giveaway!

Title: All the Feels

Author: Danika Stone

Publisher: Swoon Reads

Release Date: June 7, 2016

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

College freshman Liv is more than just a fangirl: The Starveil movies are her life…and her last tangible connection to her deceased father. Thus, when her favorite character, Captain Matt Spartan, is killed off at the end of the last movie, Liv Just. Can’t. Deal.

Tired of sitting in her room sobbing, Liv decides to launch an online campaign to bring her beloved hero back to life. With the help of her best friend, Xander, actor and steampunk cosplayer extraordinaire, she creates #SpartanSurvived, a call that ignites the fandom. But as her online life succeeds beyond her wildest dreams, Liv is forced to balance that with the pressures of school, her (mostly nonexistent and entirely traumatic) romantic life, and her disapproving mother’s new boyfriend. A trip to DragonCon with Xander might be exactly what she needs to get away from it all…and figure out what (and who!) she really wants.

I knew from the moment I first heard about it that I wanted to read Danika Stone’s All the Feels. It’s a story all about fandoms and how important they can be in your life. Throw in a touch of romance and this was just my kind of story!

Thanks to Danika Stone’s All the Feels I now want to read all the books that involve fandom in some way. Seriously, I loved all the nods to being in a fandom that were throughout the story. So many times while I was reading I would find myself nodding at some of the things Liv said or did because I’ve totally been there before when it comes to some fandom things. Just not quite to the same extreme as Liv. But still. It was a lot of fun reading a story that I could more than relate to I mean, who has’t cried over the death of a favourite movie/tv/book character and wished they could somehow bring it back? Let’s be honest, we’ve totally all been there. And that’s what made All the Feels so great. It was like I was reading a story that could have been about me if I’d been more active in fandoms as a teenager. Oh also, All the Feels has convinced me that I need to go to a big comic con-type event at least once in my life. It’s something I feel like I need to experience.

Liv will be really relatable for anyone who has ever been part of any fandom. So really all of us book people. Whenever she was describing her online friends, or trying to explain how they were more real to her than people in her real life. I’ve totally been there. Hell, some of my best friends are people I wouldn’t have met if not for having been involved in different online communities. Beyond the fandom stuff, Liv was someone who was really easy to like and easy to root for. Or at least I thought so. And then there was Xander. At first, I was a little taken aback when I was told that Xander was always dressed in steampunk garb. But the more I read, the more charming that made him. I think it would have been almost impossible for me not to be charmed by Xander. So I was surprised it took so long for the romance between Liv and Xander to be played up. I mean, I could see it right from the beginning. Heck, you would have to be blind not to see it. But it took a while for the romance to take off and I wish there could have been more of it throughout the story. 

Danika Stone’s All the Feels is the perfect book for anyone who’s ever been involved in a fandom. You’ll find yourself nodding along to so much of the story because you’ve been there. And if you haven’t, you’ll laugh because it’s something you could see yourself doing it. Or at least, that’s how it was for me.

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Blog Tour - Charged by Jay Crownover - Excerpt

From New York Times bestselling author Jay Crownover comes CHARGED, the latest in her sexy The Saints of Denver series, releasing May 24th! Known for her strong heroines and alpha males, you won’t know what hit you as you read Avett and Quaid’s story. Keep reading for more about the Legal Eagle and Avett and order your copy today.

About Charged

Title: Charged (Saints of Denver #2)

Author: Jay Crownover

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks

Release Date: May 24, 2016

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / iBooks / Kobo

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From the New York Times bestselling author of the Marked Men books comes the second installment in the Saints of Denver series featuring a bad girl and a by the book attorney who could be her salvation…or her ruin.

Avert Walker and Quaid Jackson’s worlds have no reason to collide. Ever. Quaid is a high powered criminal attorney as slick as he is handsome. Avett is a pink-haired troublemaker with a bad attitude and a history of picking the wrong men.

When Avett lands in a sea of hot water because of one terrible mistake, the only person who can get her out of it is the insanely sexy lawyer. The last thing on earth she wants to do is rely on the no-nonsense attorney who thinks of her as nothing more than nuisance. He literally has her fate in his hands. Yet there is something about him that makes her want to convince him to loosen his tie and have a little fun…with her.

Quaid never takes on clients like the impulsive young woman with a Technicolor dye job. She could stand to learn a hard lesson or two, but something about her guileless hazel eyes intrigues him. Still, he’s determined to keep their relationship strictly business. But doing so is becoming more impossible with each day he spends with her.

As they work side-by-side, they’ll have to figure out a way to get along and keep their hands off each other—because the chemistry between them is beyond charged.

Excerpt

I narrowed my eyes at her, shifted my weight from foot to foot as her proximity and the charge of her pushing and pulling thickened both my blood and my cock. I was an attorney for a reason. I never met an argument I didn’t like or that I didn’t feel compelled to win. The way Avett always seemed to challenge me was as much of a turn-on as her curvy little body was. 

“Where is your father?” I lifted my eyes from her penetrating gaze in search of the big biker. I didn’t need to try and explain a black eye or a broken arm to Orsen on top of why I suddenly had not interest in searching out a pretty piece of ass to spend time with.

“He’s waiting at the truck. I told him I had some questions I needed to ask you about what happens next.”

“Do you?”

“Do I what?” She was getting increasingly annoyed and I wanted to groan at the way it made her cheeks flush and her breathing hitch. I bet she looked the same way when she was about to come.

Shit. That was not the direction I needed my thoughts to go, but now that they were there I didn’t have a chance in hell of wrangling them back into the safe zone.

“Do you have questions about what happens next?” My voice didn’t sound like my own and I knew there was no hiding the wayward direction of my thoughts as they played out in my gaze as I watched her carefully. 

Slowly, her head shook back and forth, dislodging the bun at the back of her head. Pink stands of hair floated around her face, curling over her shoulders, and my fingertips itched to reach out and push it off her face.

“I know what happens next, Quaid…do you?” Her tone had dropped to a husky whisper that hit me right in the dick. My entire body tensed up and I almost, very nearly, leaned down and met her as she lifted up on her tiptoes towards me, i caught sight of a familiar face. The heady, little bubble of seduction and intoxicating risk that Avett had created around me popped, dropping me hard, back into reality. 

I turned my head as her lips grazed my cheek, and even though it was as innocent as any kiss had ever been, it felt more erotic, more forbidden, and more illicit than any of the actual sex I had ever had. This little slip of a woman could demolish me, waste me, annihilate me, and if I allowed her to do it, I knew it would feel better than anything had in a very long time. 

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About Jay Crownover

Jay Crownover is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men, The Point, and the Saints of Denver series. Like her characters, she is a big fan of tattoos. She loves music and wishes she could be a rock star, but since she has no aptitude for singing or instrument playing, she’ll settle for writing stories with interesting characters that make the reader feel something. She lives in Colorado with her three dogs. 

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Blog Tour - His Country Bride by Debra Holt

Title: His Country Bride

Author: Debra Holt

Publisher: Tulip Romance

Release Date: April 11, 2016

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon

“Sheriff’s Deparment! Raise your hands above your head and don’t move.”

She’s a runaway bride who left her two-timing fiancé at the altar. He’s a county sheriff determined to keep the peace in his country and leave city girls alone after his won fiancé left him for the bright lights of the city. neither of them planned on running straight into each other…over a burning wedding dress.

Ellie and Lucas planned on never trusting their hearts to love again. When danger follows her from the city , the sheriff must do his duty to protect her. However, it isn’t long before he discovers the real danger may be to his heart. Ellie just might teach him that even a city girl can be country girl at heart.

With my recent foray into the world of contemporary romance, I’m always on the lookout for more books to read. When I was first told about Debra Holt’s His Country Bride, I thought it sounded like just my kind of story. And it was. His Country Bride was a sweet contemporary romance that hit the right notes.

After finding her groom in a compromising position with one of her bridesmaids, Ellie Perryman drives off to the country farmhouse left to her by her great aunt. While burning her wedding dress in an effort to put this horrible day behind her, a run-in with the local sheriff makes her day go from bad to worse. Lucas McCann doesn’t know what to make of the young woman burning her wedding dress like it’s no big thing. And he doesn’t know what to do about the feelings the keep coming up every time their paths cross. Neither one of them was looking for romance, but they might have just stumbled into it even if they don’t want to admit it.

I think what made my reading of Debra Holt’s His Country Bride so great was that I didn’t really have any expectations about the book when I started it. All I had really been told was that it was a sweet contemporary romance. And that’s definitely what this book was. If you’re looking for a steamy romance, this isn’t it and you should go look elsewhere. But if you’re looking for a change of pace and something a little sweeter, then this is it. His Country Bride was a fun story that had more going on than I thought it would. It was definitely a sweet romance (am I sounding repetitive yet?), but that’s not all it was. At the centre of it all, there was an element of mystery, a crime that needed to be solved. That element of mystery helped keep me engaged, because I wanted to see how it would all be resolved. And that mystery was also woven into the romance in a way that one wouldn’t really have happened without the other. It made for some interesting dynamics between Ellie and Lucas and added another dimension to their relationship. 

Speaking of Ellie and Lucas. I’ll be hones and say that at first I wasn’t sure what to make of either of them. Like I wasn’t sure how I was going to read a whole book about them. But my worries were for nothing. The more I read, the more I realized that I actually wanted to find out what would happen to them. Ellie would crack me up while also making me respect her desire to do things on her own after everything that happened to her. And Lucas, I warmed up to him once he started being less oblivious about pretty much everything. I mean, I could understand where he was coming from, but there were moments when I thought he couldn’t possibly act any more clueless and stubborn. But it all worked out in the end and Ellie and Lucas were adorable together.

If you’re on the lookout for a fun and sweet contemporary romance, then Debra Holt’s His Country Bride is the book for you. It’s sweet, it’s funny, it has a bit of a mystery and a whole lot of southern charm.

Blog Tour - Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry + Excerpt

Title: Walk the Edge (Thunder Road #2)

Author: Katie McGarry

Publisher: HarlequinTEEN

Release Date: March 29, 2016

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

One moment of recklessness will change their worlds.

Smart. Responsible. That’s seventeen-year-old Breanna’s role in her large family, and heaven forbid she put a tow out of line. Until one night of shockingly un-Breanna-like behavior puts her into a vicious cyber-bully’s line of fire—and brings fellow senior Thomas “Razor” Turner into her life. 

Razor lives for the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, and good girls like Breanna just don’t belong. But when he learns she’s being blackmailed over a compromising picture of the two of them—a picture that turns one unexpected and beautiful moment into ugliness—he knows it’s time to step outside the rules. 

And so they make a pact: he’ll help her track down her blackmailer, and in return she’ll help him seek answers to the mystery that’s haunted him—one that not even his club brothers have been willing to discuss. But the more time they spend together, the more their feelings grow. And suddenly they’re both walking the edge of discovering who they really are, what they want, and where they’re going from here.

Katie McGarry is without a doubt one of my favourite authors and her books are all among my favourites. Every time I get my hands on a new Katie McGarry book, I can’t help but drop everything to read it. That’s what I did with Walk the Edge and I loved every moment of it.

Breanna has always been the reliable one, the daughter her parents could always count on to take care of her younger siblings now that all her older ones have left home. But she doesn’t just want to be the smart and reliable girl anymore. She wants to stop being invisible and finally be herself. She just never expected that doing so would bring Razor, one of the members of the local motorcycle club, into her life. Razor has always been all about the Reign of Terror motorcycle club. They’ve been there for him since his mother’s death and he would do anything for the club. But when he finds out new information about the night his mother died, Razor starts to doubt everything he’s been told by the people he calls family. The one person who can help him is Breanna, the girl who’s become the victim of a cyberbully because of a picture of the two of them together. Razor will help Breanna with her blackmailing bully if in return she helps him crack the mystery around his mother’s death. But while looking for answers, Razor and Breanna discover they need each other for more than they ever thought.

It’s no secret that Katie McGarry is one of my favourite authors and, as such, has written some of my all-time favourite books. She is, after all, the person who created Isaiah Walker. But that’s not the point right now. The point is that Katie McGarry writes some fantastic stories that are both gripping and captivating and that take you on an emotional ride. For me, there’s nothing quite like diving head first into a new Katie McGarry story. Even though every story is different, I just know going in that this is going to become a favourite. That I won’t be able to stop reading until I’m all the way through, no matter how much I might want to slow down to make the story last longer. That’s exactly how I felt with Walk the Edge. I wanted to read the story so badly, I wanted to know what would happen to these characters I came to love, but I also didn’t want the story to end. I got caught up in this story, flipping the pages (well, technically, clicking the “next page” button) until I had made it the whole way through. And there was so much that I loved about this story.  I loved all the different family dynamics, whether it was Breanna’s actual blood family or Razor’s motorcycle club family. How those family dynamics played in to the greater story. And as with any book written by Katie McGarry, the romance just worked and I bought into it right away. It wasn’t exactly hard to root for Breanna and Razor. And it really wasn’t hard to love them.

Before I even read a single word of Walk the Edge I already wanted to know more about Razor. The whole time I was reading Nowhere But Here last year, I wanted to know more about Razor. There was just something about him that caught my attention. He intrigued me and I just knew that there was a whole lot more to him than what everyone seemed to think. And I was so right. Razor is officially right up there with Isaiah when it comes to my favourite Katie McGarry boys. I loved how much he cared, sometimes to the point of extreme stubbornness. I loved his fierce protectiveness of the people he cared about, his determination to do whatever it took to keep those people safe. And I love who he was and how he was with Breanna. Breanna was such an interesting characters. I was so fascinated by the way her brain worked and the way it affected her life, especially when it came to her family life. So many times while I was reading I wanted to yell at Breanna’s family for the way they treated her. All she wanted was for someone to be there for her as opposed to being the person who’s always there for everyone else or has to wait in line behind all her siblings. So I loved that Breanna got to be herself with Razor and that Razor understood her in a way other people didn’t. They were perfect for each other and I loved reading their story. I only wish I could have kept reading their story forever.

Once again, Katie McGarry blew me away with Walk the Edge. This book is most definitely a new favourite even if it has left me absolutely desperate for more. And I cannot even begin to explain how much I am looking forward to reading Violet and Chevy’s story in the third Thunder Road book.

Excerpt

     Her face is white against her raven hair. Ghost white. I’d bet my left ball she hasn’t breathed since I spoke. Her hand is outstretched toward the busted cell on the ground, but her wide hazel eyes are cemented on me. I turn my head and I’m greeted by the amused faces of my brothers from the Reign of Terror who stand next to their bikes in the parking lot. They’ll be harassing me on this for weeks. Fuck me for trying to be chivalrous.

     “You okay?” It’s a variation of the question I asked a few seconds ago, but this one she seems to understand as her body trembles to life.

     “Um…” she stutters. We’ve been at the same schools since elementary age, otherwise I’d wonder if she was a foreign exchange student with limited English. “I only have twenty dollars.”

     The muscles in the back of my neck tense. “I’m not going to jack you for your money.” 

     She quits breathing again.

     “Nice to know your current bank account status,” I bit. “But I asked you if you were okay.”

     Color returns to her cheeks as I pin her with my gaze. She accused me of trying to rob her. I know it, she knows it, and she’s now informed I’m not the asshole in this scenario.

     “Yes,” she finally answers. “I’m okay. I mean no…I mean…I broke my phone.”

     She did and that sucks for her.

     Her eyes flicker between me and the phone like she wants to retrieve it, yet she’s too paralyzed. Saving us from his torture, I swipe the pieces of the cell and lean against the wall.

     The distance between us relaxes and that gulp of air was audible as she tucks herself tight in the corner fattest from me. This reaction isn’t new. I’ve seen it since I was a child whenever my father or anyone from the Terror entered a room full of civilians. To everyone outside of the club, we’re the evil motorcycle gang bent on blowing the house down.

     People and their hellish nightmare folklore involving us piss me off. I don’t know why I told the guys to give me a minute. I’m late for plans I made with Chevy and some girls, plus I’m on call in case the board chooses to meet sooner rather than later to discuss Detective Jake Barlow.

     But something about how this chick appeared alone and frightened messed me up. It reminded me…The thought stalls and the emotional speed bump causes a flash of pain in my chest. Screw it, her expression reminded me of Mom the last time I saw her—the night she died.

     My mom. I shake my head to expel her ghost. One visit from one bastard trying to use me and I’m being haunted by a past I can’t change. That’s what the detective was salivating over—to use me for info on the club. He’s one of too many who believes our club is the devil’s prodigy.

     What he doesn’t see is that we’re a family—the type of family that comes when called. Obviously not like this girl’s family.

     “Is it yes or no?” It’s damn difficult to shove the battery in now that the frame is bent.

     “Yes or no what?” her long black hair sweeps past her shoulders. She has the type of hair that would have to be pulled up if she rode on the back of my bike. Gotta admit, I like her hair, especially how it shines under the lights of the school’s overhang.

     “If you’re okay.” I survey the mostly empty area to prove a point. “If we leave, you’ll be alone, and I don’t care of that. There’s some real psychos out there.”

Blog Tour - With Every Breath by Lia Riley + Giveaway

Title: With Every Breath

Author: Lia Riley

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: December 29, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher/Wordsmith Publicity

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

BREATHE DEEP…AND JUMP IN

At the ends of the earth, Patagonia is a land where ambition trumps reason and the savage summit of La Abuja lures the most determined climbers. It’s also the last spot a “play-it-safe girl” like Auden Woods expects to find herself. But she’ll lace up her brand-new hiking boots and do whatever is takes to secure a dream job at an adventure magazine…even if it kills her. And it just might. When disaster strikes, her only chance at survival comes in the form of the surliest, sexiest mountaineer ever to come out of Scotland.

After a climbing accident cost him his brother, professional mountaineer Rhys MacAskill is at the end of his rope. Redemption is not in his future. That is, until a terrifying storm blows a budding journalist into his tent and it’s up to him to make sure they both survive until morning. Despite the demons weighing on him, Rhys can’t resist the temptation of the charming American and one wild night just isn’t enough. 

Auden and Rhys soon learn there are no shortcuts as they navigate their way between life, death, and atonement, and discover something they never expected—love.

Lia Riley has easily become one of my go-to authors when it comes to NA and contemporary romance. I always get really excited when I find out that she has a new book coming out, and I jump right into reading it the first chance I get. And it was no different with her latest, With Every Breath.

Auden Woods is determined to put her journalism degree to good use and land her dream job at an adventure magazine. The only problem is that Auden isn’t exactly the adventure and outdoors type. She’s someone who plays it safe and because of severe asthma, has never gone too far from home. But now, Auden is determined to wander out of her comfort zone, traveling to Patagonia on her own to talk to climbers getting ready to climb La Aguja. When the trip doesn’t go quite as planned, Auden crosses paths with Rhys MacAskill, a Scottish mountaineer who sees this climb as his redemption after his last climb cost him his brother. Rhys will stop at nothing to be the first to reach the summit of La Aguja. But what he didn’t anticipate, was Auden barging in to his life and making him rethink everything he thought he knew. Both were looking for something in Patagonia, but what they didn’t expect to find there was love.

In the past year, Lia Riley has totally become one of my go-to authors when it comes to romance and NA books. I mean, between October 2014 and now I’ve read seven books and two novellas written by her. So it really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise when I say that I was excited when she first announced her latest, With Every Breath. Not only is this book NA romance, but it also involves travel and it basically had my name written all over it. So basically, I was in when it comes to With Every Breath. And for me, Lia Riley once again delivered. I got sucked into the story, I connected with the characters and I just wanted to keep reading. In fact, I might have stayed up way past my bedtime to read even though I had to be at work the next morning. But as tired as I was the next day, I didn’t regret my decision to just keep reading until the end. And, not gonna lie, With Every Breath totally made me want to go hiking in Patagonia. Never really thought about it before reading this book, but now this is a thing that I want to do. So be warned, this book may give you a slight (or major) case of wanderlust. With Every Breath simply reaffirmed that I will read just about anything that Lia Riley writes because her stories just suck me in and usually result in me falling a little bit in love with fictional characters (but really, that’s not exactly anything new).

When I first started reading, it didn’t take too long for me to connect with Auden. Much like her, I very much tend to be someone who plays it safe, not necessarily doing all that much to go out of my comfort zone. So I definitely understood that side of Auden’s personality, and I even admired her for actually going out on this trip to hike by herself in Patagonia. As much as With Every Breath made me want to go hike in Patagonia, I don’t think I would actually decide to do so on a whim and just take off and go for it the way Auden did. Though if I had someone like Rhys with me, I might reconsider. Because, holy brooding, hot, Scottish guy. Rhys MacAskill is gruff and surly and not exactly the most welcoming or warmest of person. But when you crack his shell, he is something else entirely. And I hardly blame Auden for falling for him as fast as she did. Because I’m not sure I would have put up much resistance if I had been in her shoes. But for real though, I more than liked Rhys, even if sometimes I kinda wanted to (lovingly) hit him in the back of the head for being a stubborn idiot. But at the end of the day, I liked what they brought out in each other and enjoyed reading their story and seeing them come together.

After having read With Every Breath, I can say that Lia Riley will continue to be one of my go-to authors for all things NA and romance. Just like with all her other stories, I got sucked into this one and I loved the characters. And as a bonus, it gave me a major case of wanderlust.

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