Showing posts with label GIVEAWAY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GIVEAWAY. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Release Day - Edge of Brotherhood by Molly E. Lee


Title: Edge of Brotherhood (Love on the Edge #5)
Author: Molly E. Lee
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: April 19, 2017
Source: ARC from Publicist
Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / iBooks
What do Dash Lexington, Easton Wells, and Connell Murphy have in common?

They put their lives on the line each day they clock into work. That and their fierce love for the women who match them step for step.

When the studio head who produces both Dash and Easton’s shows announces auditions for a special series to highlight the E.D.G.E. men’s skills, Connell and an extreme stunt man named Wade Roberts are the first stars chosen.

Their objective? Accompany Easton deep in the Amazon where he’s recently discovered the lost city of Paititi. With half the structure submerged in dangerous waters, a slew of unpredictable rainforest storms, and a nearly inaccessible location, each man will have to put aside his alpha tendencies and utilize his skills in order to survive the perils of the City of Gold. 

But when an enemy from Easton’s past threatens the love of his life, she is met with the wrath of the newly formed E.D.G.E. clan, who will stop at nothing to protect the women they love.

Here’s the thing, I’ve loved every single one of Molly E. Lee’s books. I love how they’re different from most other romance books out there that I’ve been reading. I love that they’re equal parts action, adventure and romance. And it was no different with Edge of Brotherhood. Especially considering it brought together all the people I’ve come to love from the previous books. I mean, who wouldn’t want to read a story about four hot guys going on an Indiana Jones-style adventure together to discover a long lost mythical city? Personally, I was all over that.

The thing about Edge of Brotherhood is that it was a little different from the previous books in the series. There wasn’t as much of a focus on the romance. Sure it was still there, especially where Rain and Easton were concerned, but it wasn’t the primary focus of the story. Instead, it was all about the bromance between Dash, Easton, Connell and Wade. And I’m not going to lie, I loved every second of it. I loved seeing these guys come together, united towards a common purpose. And not only that, it also introduced me to Wade Roberts and I honestly cannot wait to find out more about him in a future book.

In case it wasn’t obvious, I loved Edge of Brotherhood. It was a different story set in a world I’ve come to love with characters I pretty much adore. Seriously, how could I have possibly not like this book?

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Friday, February 17, 2017

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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Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Release Day - The Bartender by Piper Rayne


Title: The Bartender
Author: Piper Rayne
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: February 1, 2017
Source: ARC from Publicist
Buy the Book: Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon CA / Amazon AU
Who knew sleeping with the enemy could be this fun?

Was the one night stand a good idea?

Well, no. Probably not in retrospect.

In my defence I had just moved back into my grandparents’ house, I’d lost my dream job, and a guy on Tinder had stood me up. It was like life had suddenly stamped ‘LOSER’ on my forehead.

So when the guy behind the bard started giving me THE look…you know, the one that promised I’d be screaming his name into the wee hours of the morning? When that guy also has the perfect amount of scruff on his chiseled chin, biceps bulging out of his t-shirt, and a cocky grin you knew he’d earned in the sack…when he gives you that look, you don’t bother to figure out what your six degrees of separation are. You jump on that horse and ride it!

Pun fully and completely intended. And accurate by the way.

I fully admit to feeling sorry for myself and acting impulsively, but by the time I’d figured out WHO the bartender was, I was already falling for him.

I'll be honest right from the start and admit it: the cover is totally what caught my attention when it comes to Piper Rayne's The Bartender. No jokes, I saw the cover and thought to myself "this looks like something I would read," because I'm me and these days, 90% of the books I read feature partially clothed guys on the cover and I'm not ashamed to admit it. So yeah, I totally wanted to read The Bartender because of the cover. And I'm glad that the cover caught my eye the way it did because I totally enjoyed this story. In fact, I was taken by surprise by how much I enjoyed the story , probably because I pretty much had zero expectations when I started reading. And on top of that, The Bartender reminded me how great it is to pick up a book you know nothing about and just see where the story takes you. So often, I'll read a book because I know the author, or because someone recommended it to me, or just because it's been majorly hyped up. With those, there's usually a whole lot of expectations involved. And in a way, all those expectations can sort of take of way from my enjoyment of a book at times.

But now I'm getting sidetracked.

So. The Bartender. I'm a sucker for a good enemies to lovers romance, especially one where the characters have a history. That's exactly what happened here with Whitney and Cole. Granted, sometimes the enemies part felt like it was only coming from Whitney since Cole seemed pretty happy with Whitney from the start. I really enjoyed seeing their relationship change and grow, first as a sort of forced friendship, but then something more romantic as they got to know each other outside of whatever preconceived notions they may have had about each other. Even when they were unsure about each other, they just made sense to me (though that could have just been because I knew I was reading a romance and the whole point is that they end up together, but that's not the point right now). This story wasn't just about those two, though, and I'm curious to see what Piper Rayne has in store for Whitney's two best friends, Lennon and Tahlia.

Long story short? Piper Rayne's The Bartender is proof that deciding to read a book based solely on the cover can sometimes pay off in a really good way.

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Tuesday, June 7, 2016

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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Tuesday, May 31, 2016

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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Monday, May 30, 2016

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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Wednesday, May 18, 2016

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
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. 

Don't miss the other Saints of Denver  books!


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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Friday, February 26, 2016

Cover Reveal: Rookie Move by Sarina Bowen + Giveaway







I'm so excited to be taking part in the cover reveal for Sarina Bowen's Rookie Move today. Rookie Move is the first book is Sarina Bowen's upcoming Brooklyn Bruisers series, a spinoff of her Ivy Years series and I couldn't be more excited about it. I've read and loved all five books in the Ivy Years series, so Rookie Move? I am all over that. And if you've read the last book in that series, The Fifteenth Minute, then you might already recognize some of the names in the Rookie Move description. 

But that's enough rambling from me. If you want to see the cover or are interested in winning one of Sarina Bowen's books and naming a character in the next Brooklyn Bruisers book, then just keep scrolling!




Title: Rookie Move (Brooklyn Bruisers #1)
Author: Sarina Bowen
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Release Date: September 6, 2016
Pre-Order: Amazon / B&N / iBooks / Kobo / Google
In high school they were the perfect couple—until the day Georgia left Leo in the cold…

Hockey player Leo Trevi has spent the last six years trying to do two things: get over the girl who broke his heart, and succeed in the NHL. But on the first day he’s called up to the newly franchised Brooklyn Bruisers, Leo gets checked on both sides, first by the team’s coach—who has a long simmering grudge, and then by the Bruisers’ sexy, icy publicist—his former girlfriend Georgia Worthington.

Saying goodbye to Leo was one of the hardest things Georgia ever had to do—and saying hello again isn’t much easier. Georgia is determined to keep their relationship strictly professional, but when a press conference microphone catches Leo declaring his feelings for her, things get really personal, really fast…

“Romantic ad hilarious, Rookie Move will hook you from page one. Nobody does hockey like Sarina Bowen.”—Elle Kennedy, New York Times bestselling author of the Off Campus series.

Want to win a paperback of your choice of one of Sarina Bowen's books? Want to name one of Leo's teammates in the second Brooklyn Bruisers book? Just use the Rafflecopter form below to enter the giveaway!

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Monday, December 28, 2015

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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Monday, December 7, 2015

Blog Tour - Dirty Deeds by Megan Erickson + Giveaway!


Title: Dirty Deeds (Mechanics of Love #3)
Author: Megan Erickson
Publisher: Avon Impulse
Release Date: December 8, 2015
Buy the Book: HarperCollins / Amazon / B&N / iTunes / Google Play
Alex dawn is saying no to men. No to bad relationships, disappointments, and smooth-talkers. Focusing on her family and her job at Payton and Sons Automotive keeps her mind occupied and her heart content. She doesn’t really miss a man’s touch, until one night, one shows up with the body of a god and a voice from her dirtiest dreams.

L.M. Spencer is only in Tory, Maryland, to scope out the town as a possible site for one of his company’s hotels. The British businessman didn’t expect his car to break down or to find the hottest little American he’s ever seen holding a tire iron, piercing him with bright blue eyes.

They agree to one hot night, one dirty deed to burn out the chemistry between them. But from their first kiss, Alex can’t stop saying yes to this man. And when Spencer’s company threatens everything she cares about, they must make the choice to stand together or apart.

Excerpt

    Alex Dawn growled as she tightened the hubcap with the tire iron and thought, for the fifth time, that she should have gone home an hour ago.
    But that meant going home to an empty house, which she didn’t think she’d hate but had learned to her supreme horror that she did, in fact, hate living alone.
    She’d never lived alone, not ever. First she’d lived with her mom and sister, and then…him…and then again with Ivy and her daughter, Violet. She liked living with Ivy and V, but now they had moved in with Ivy’s boyfriend, so Alex was alone. In that apartment that used to be filled with Ivy’s clothes and Violet’s coloring books.
    Alex banged the tool on the rubber of the tire. The thunk was comforting. She did it again, and again, wondering why she was doing this, but couldn’t deny it felt good as hell to get some anger out. Because that’s all she seemed to have lately. Anger. Anger at him and at her life and anger at the fact that she couldn’t seem to be fucking happy.
    It was a shitty cycle.
    Therapy was helping, a little, but it dredged up old wounds she’d tried to bury for so long. She hated being unhappy. But the more she dwelled on it, the less happy seemed to be within reach. She did like her job, though, so that was something. Working at Payton and Sons Automotive as a mechanic was more home than that empty apartment.
    Her phone rang, and she glanced at the caller ID before tucking her phone in between her ear and should. “Hey.”
    “What’re you doing?” Ivy’s voice was soothing.
    “Working,” Alex answered.
    There was a pause, as if Ivy was checking the time. “You’re still at work.”
    “Tell her to go the fuck home!” yelled a male voice in the background. Brent Payton. Ivy’s boyfriend and Alex’a coworker.
    “Stop swearing,” Ivy muttered, but there was no heat to her words.
    Alex smiled. “Tell him I’d stop working if I didn’t have to pick up his slack.”
    There was a rustle on the phone and then Brent’s voice was clear. “Seriously, why are you still there?”
    Alex shrugged, even though she knew no one could see her. “Why dod you care? I’m getting stuff done so you have less to do tomorrow.” It was Friday and Alex was off the next day, but Brent was on the Saturday shift. 
    “Alex.” Brent sighed. “Go home.”
    Where was home? she wanted to ask. But instead she traced an oil spot on the concrete with her boot. “Yeah, okay. Just so you know, this Jeep here—“
    “I’ve been drinking. Leave me a fucking note.”
    Alex rolled her eyes. “Fine. Take care of my sister for me.”
    “Always do.”
    Alex was about to hang up when Ivy’s voice cam back on the line. There was a giggle, and Alex was happy for her sister at the same time a pang of envy sliced into her heart. “Alex?”
    “Yup.”
    “Want to come over or something?”
    “Nah, that’s okay. You guys have a nice family night or whatever.”
    “Alex, you’re family too.”
    She was, but Ivy was starting a new family, a nice, perfect nuclear family, and there wasn’t room in that house for a clingy sister. “I know, but I”m cool. Gonna go home and crash.” She’d been reading Ivy’s romance books she’d left behind too.
    “Okay, but if you change your mind…”
    “Thanks, honey, but I’m fine.”
    Ivy sighed. “ ‘K, love you.”
    “Love you too.”
    Alex shoved her phone back into her pocket and glanced around the garage. She really should go home. The sun was setting, patenting the fall sky in streaks of pink and orange. Hooking her thumbs in her pockets, she walked to the front of the garage,leaned agains the side of the open bay, and gazed at the sky and the Friday night traffic on Main Street in Tory, Maryland.
    She tapped the tire iron against her jean-clad thigh, enjoying the breeze on her heated skin and through the thin fabric of her tank top.
    Her nerves were jittery, and sometimes she still had the urge to run. To flee. To be far away from him and her past as best as she could. But if she’d learned anything since she moved to Tory, it was that she couldn’t keep running. So she stayed here, where Ivy found the love of her life and where Alex had a good job and could see her niece grow.
    She’d given up hope long ago she’d get the diary tale that seemed to happen for everyone else. And that was okay. She’d hardened and carried a chip on her shoulder that was like an old friend now.
    She was about to turn around and close up shop when the sound of a rattling exhaust caught her attention. She turned her head to see a red Mercedes—the source of the sound—making its way down the street. The car turned into the parking lot of Payton and Sons and Alex waiting as it parked in front of her and the driver turned off the engine, which thankfully killed the noise.
    Alex glanced at her watch. It was after seven now. Technically the shop closed an hour ago, but she waited for the driver to get out of the car, because it wasn’t like she was in a hurry.
    The door opened. A man’s black dress hoe planted on the ground of the parking lot, attached to a gray-panted leg. That leg just…kept going. The man had to be tall as hell, and when he emerged from the car, Alex swallowed. Yes, he was tall. Very tall, probably close to six-four. He wore a gray suit with a white shirt that was unbuttoned at the top and a dark blue tie, loosened so the knot hung off to one side. He slammed the car door shut with a little bit of anger, and Alex jolted at the sound and the force, her body stiffening.
    She hated herself a little at her knee-jerk reaction to a big man who was angry.
She squared her shoulders and gripped the tire iron, watching the tall man with dark hair glare at his car with his hands on his lean hips, broad shoulders rising and falling with a heavy sigh.
He speared his fingers through his hair and turned to Alex, opening his mouth to say something but stopping abruptly at the sight of her. He blinked.
    She blinked back.
    He was about ten feet away, and even from here she could see the brilliant blue of his eyes, the long dark lashes framing them. The little bit of silver peppering his hair at his temple.
    He was gorgeous in a clean-cut, serious businessman way. The effortlessly wavy hair, the square jaw, the lips that threatened to open any minute and spit out such words like merger and acquisitions and accounts payable. He looked like he didn’t smile, but scowled from under a heavy brow.
    The type of man who’d always looked down his nose at all the Dawn women. Called them easy and white trash under his breath. Yeah, she was judging, but her defence was to judge first. Better to size up who she was dealing with quick than be caught off guard.
    Basically, Mercedes Man was the fact opposite of Alex’s type.
    She placed the tire iron she was holding and crossed her arms over her chest. With a raised eyebrow, she said, “Having some trouble?”
    He blinked again, his hand frozen in his hair. Then he dropped it at his side, the other still on his hip. “Bloody car.”
     It was Alex’s turn to be surprised. The guy was British. She’d never met anyone who was British, and she really only heard British accents on TV shows like Game of Thrones and Spartacus, when all the actors had these vague European accents to appear exotic. She grew up in Indiana. Not a hotbed of diversity.
    “You guys really say ‘bloody’? Like that’s actually a thing?” she asked—and immediately clamped her hand over her mouth, because the man’s dark eyebrows dipped in a scowl, which still did nothing to lessen his attractiveness.
    “Do you Americans really say ‘eye-haw’?” he shot back at her, the last word morphing into what Alex assumed was an attempt at a southern accent.
    “You’re officially said that word more than I have in my whole life,” she answered drily.
    He paused, like he wasn’t sure whether to laugh or glare. In the end, he went with a glare, along with a muttered, “Well, then, I’ll be sure not to blurt that out at random times.”
    “That might be a good rule.” She took a step forward and jerked her chin in the direction of his car.     “Need some help?”
    “Your bloody roads,” he said. “Can’t go a hundred meters without hitting a pothole, and it’s done a number on my car.” His eyes took in a sweep of the shop. Alex tried not to look at it through this man’s eyes. Everything about him, from his clothes to his car, was sleek and clean and put together. The shop behind her was an older building, with a few—okay, several—cosmetic issues. It smelled like grease, oil, gas, and rubber, and she loved every fucking inch of Payton and Sons. So this guy could sneer at it all he wanted. It was home to her. When that arresting blue gaze returned to hers, his eyes were unreadable. “Can you service a Mercedes?”
    Oh, for fuck’s sake. “Uh, yeah, we can service a Mercedes.”
    He didn’t flinch at her dry tone or her looks-could-kill laser eyes. The man was made of steel. “I see. Well, then, can you look at it, or do I need to speak to a manager.”
    She kinda wanted to punch the guy. “No.”
    He stared. “No…you can’t look at it, or no, I don’t need to speak to a manager?”
    “Neither.” She gestured toward the unlit sign in the window of the office. “We’re closed.” Maybe she would have stayed open if anyone but this guy had pulled into the parking lot.
    He sighed and ran his hands over his face and up into his hair, tugging on the dark strands before dropping his arms to his sides. “Fuck,” he muttered, turning his glare back onto the car. 
    She stuck her hands in her pockets. “Look, I’ll make sure the guys coming in tomorrow look at it, but that’s all I can promise.”
    After a silent thirty seconds, he nodded. “That’ll have to do then.”
    She took a step forward. “I’m Alex, by the way.”
    His gaze dipped down her body for one minute before locking eyes with her. “Spencer.”
    That name. So British and posh and everything Alex wasn’t. “Do you need a ride somewhere?” She should just make him figure it out on his own since he was kind of a jerk, but she could always use some karma points. And it wasn’t like Tory had a taxi service.
    “I’m at the Tory Inn.”
    “I know where that is. I can give you a ride, if you want.”
    He studied her again, and she wondered what he thought of her. She was dirty after a long day at work, but she always wore a full face of makeup and red lipstick. He had hated it, but she didn’t wear it for him.
    “Okay, yes,” Spencer said with a nod, his tone brusque. “I’d like that. Thank you.” His last two words were tacked on, like an afterthought.
    Don’t hurt yourself thanking me. “I’m going to close up the shop, so you can get your things and I’ll meet you at my truck.” She pointed to her old Ford in the corner of the lot. His eyes followed her finger, and then he gave a short nod.
    “Give me ten,” she said.
    It really only took her five minutes to close up the shop, but she needed some time to gain her bearings. She could feel his judgment of her and her workplace on her skin like ants. She wanted to get home and shower and forget about this uppity Brit. Why had she offered hm a ride home? Stupid, stupid Alex.
    Also, why did he have to be hot?
    When she approached her truck, he was standing by the passenger door, head bent, a lock of dark hair falling onto his forehead as he tapped away at his phone. As her footsteps approached, he looked up. he held a fancy-looking bag, the strap crossed over his chest.
    “That all you have?” she asked.
    He nodded and his head swivelled as he looked p and down Main Street. He sighed, and for the first time since she’d met him, his severed face softened. “Look, I’m sorry. I’ve had a site day, and I was an arse. Can I buy you dinner or a drink to make up for it?”
    Alex hesitated. No, no, just say no. But he was looking at her with a somewhat eager expression, and she was starving. A free mea. While looking at hot guy. Hopefully he kept his mouth shut. “There’s a little place down the street, serves burgers and beer.”
    “Lovely.”
    As they got into the truck and she put on her seat belt, she said, “But you don’t have to pay—”
    “Please, Alex.”
    She tried not to think about how she liked the way he said her name, drawing out the first syllable and emphasizing the x. “Sure, okay,” she said as she baked out of the parking lot, glancing at him as she did.
    He smiled them. A smile that transformed his surly face into…something gorgeous. Spectacular. Like he belonged in some period film with a cravat, sipping champagne. She tried not to think about how his smile made her feel, even as the warmth spread down to her toes. He was just a hot guy, and she’d been around hot dudes before. Hell, she worked with some. So why couldn’t she quit perving on this one? Especially because he’d already shown he could be an asshole. God, was that who she was? A woman who was doomed to always want to bone jerks?
    Spencer’s name was probably something like Spencer Addington IV, and he probably had a distant relative of royalty. Surely, his family played polo or cricket or whatever they did over there in Britain.
    Either way, despite the way his eyes lingered on her lips and the way his long tapped fingers rested on his thigh, he wasn’t her type. 
    Hell, she didn’t have a type anymore.
    Being alone was lonely, but at least it was safe.


About the Author
Megan Erickson grew up in a family that averages 5’5” on a good day and started writing to create characters who could reach the top kitchen shelf.

She’s got a couple tattoos, has a thing for gladiators and has been called a crazy cat lady. After working as a journalist for years, she decided she liked creating her own endings better and switched back to fiction.

She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, two kids and two cats. And no, she still can’t reach the stupid top shelf.


Praise for Megan Erickson

“A super sweet, extra sexy second chance romance that will have you laughing out loud and needing a minute to cool off. Dirty Thoughts is right!”
—Jay Crownover, New York Times bestselling author

“Megan Erickson ratchets up the romance and sizzle in her sexy new series. The Mechanics of Love will rev readers’ hearts.”
—Jennifer Ryan, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author 

“Megan Erickson writes hot, hot, HOT stories packed with emotion and humor. You’re going to want to read everything she’s ever written!”
—Sophie Jordan, USA Today bestselling author 


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