"Three Broken Promises" by Monica Murphy - Release Day Launch and Giveaway

ABOUT THREE BROKEN PROMISES:

Breakout New Adult sensation Monica Murphy returns with a hot new contemporary romance—a heartfelt story of second chances, forgiveness, and redemption.

Commitment. That’s what I really want from Colin. Ever since my brother, Danny, died in Iraq, Colin’s done so much to help me, including giving me a job at his popular restaurant so I can leave my crappy waitressing job at the strip joint. But lying in bed with him every night to comfort him from his horrible nightmares isn’t enough anymore. I know he feels guilty about Danny’s death, about not going to Iraq, but I can’t keep living this double life.

I love him desperately, but he’s got so many demons, and if he can’t open up to me now, then he’ll never be the real partner I need him to be. I gave him a month, and now I’m out of here. If he truly loves me like he says, he knows where to find me.

ABOUT Monica Murphy:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Monica Murphy is a native Californian who lives in the foothills below Yosemite. A wife and mother of three, she writes New Adult and contemporary romance for Bantam and Avon. She is the author of One Week Girlfriend and Second Chance Boyfriend.

Buy Links:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

LINKS:  

Website: http://www.monicamurphyauthor.com/# 

Blog: http://missmonicamurphy.blogspot.com/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MsMonicaMurphy 

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MonicaMurphyauthor 

Author Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5934418.Monica_Murphy  

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Monica-Murphy/e/B00AVPYIGG

THREE BROKEN PROMISES Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17969384-three-broken-promises?ac=1

“You’re going to turn me away yet again, aren’t you?” she asks when I don’t say anything. The irritation in her voice rings clear as her entire body goes tense. “I can’t believe it. I offer myself up to you with no strings attached and you’re trying to figure out how to let me down easy. God, I am such a moron.”
Unable to hold myself back, I rush toward her, angry that she would insult herself. Panicked that she really is going to walk away and I’m going to lose my chance. Thinking too much sucks. I need to just let it happen. Take this opportunity that she’s presenting me.
And let her go when our time is up.
“You’re not a moron,” I murmur, reaching for her. I cup her face in my hands and position her so she has no choice but to meet my gaze. I skim my thumbs across her cheeks, feel her shudder at my touch. “You make an offer like that and a man needs to process it first.”
The unshed tears still glimmer in her eyes and one escapes, leaving a damp trail across her skin. Leaning in, I stop its descent with my lips, tasting the salt, hearing the catch in her breath. “We do this and it’s not going to be some half-assed thing, you know,” I whisper.
She closes her eyes, her tears tangled in her long, thick lashes. “What’s it going to be, then?”
“A discovery.” I nuzzle her nose with my own, breathing in her scent, her very essence. God, I could devour her! It’s taking everything within me to keep calm and not unleash all over her. “An exploration.”
“That sounds like . . . research.” Her breath hitches in her throat when I drop a tender kiss on the tip of her nose.
Chuckling, I shake my head. “It’s the farthest thing from research.” I drift my lips across her cheek, blazing a hot path on her petal-soft skin. “You’re right when you said I don’t do commitment. The closest thing I’ve ever been to commitment is . . . what I share with you.”
She tentatively places her hands on my hips, her fingers curling into the waistband of my jeans. Having her hands on me sends little darts of fire throughout my insides, making me harden in an instant. She has no idea what sort of effect she
has on me. How much restraint I’m using at this very moment not to throw her over my shoulder like an oversexed caveman and cart her off to my bedroom.
“But it can be no more than friendship with added . . . benefits.” I lift my head so I can look into her troubled gaze. She doesn’t like what I have to say and I don’t like it either, but I have to be honest. Stringing her along and making her believe this is something more is a mistake.
The two of us together would never work. I’m too damn selfish. I’d disappoint her. I’d hold her back when she needs her freedom. I’m not worthy of her. She’s everything sweet and good in my life, where there’s little sweet and good remaining.
I’ve kept her—and our relationship—as pure as possible even after all of these years. With the realization that she’s leaving me, that we’ll never be together again, I need to take my opportunities where I can.
Jen bites her lip and drops her gaze. “I can handle that.”
Her body language is more than telling me she doesn’t really want to handle that, but I can’t worry about it now.
I want her too damn much.

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Review: Random by Lark O'Neal

Life is random… 19-year-old Jess Donovan knows better than most that life is random. Her mom is dead, and she’s on her own, patching together a living as a waitress when a car crashes through the restaurant where she works. In two seconds, she loses her job, watches her best friend hauled away in an ambulance…and meets Tyler Smith, one of the hottest, most fascinating—and mysterious guys she’s ever met. Both for the good and the bad… Within days, Jess is swept up into the mesmerizing force that is Tyler. Their every touch sizzles, every kiss dissolves them both, and the sex is…fierce. But there’s more to Tyler than his hypnotic eyes. He’s adrift, too, and his body—and his soul—are covered with scars. How can she find herself with a guy who is lost himself? Until you take charge…. Jess is determined to find her way, and make a life that is better than the one she was given. But how?

This book will always stand out in my mind in comparison to other New Adult books I've read, simply because of its unpredictability.  The second sentence of the synopsis gives you an indication of just how crazy things are going to get as far as the plot goes - just read the first chapter and you'll be hooked.  Things don't really slow down at all, either.  Once that car crashes through the diner window, it's full throttle through to the end, which you also won't see coming - at least, I didn't.

The characters are great in that they aren't the quintessential good girl and bad boy that I've come to expect from the NA genre.  Jess has a lot of great qualities, but she's relatively uneducated and she's got quite the chip on her shoulder when it comes to Tyler's money and privileged upbringing.  Beautiful and wealthy Tyler, on the other hand, makes a lot of mistakes in his treatment of Jess, and it made me wonder if maybe she would be better off staying far away from him.  At first, he totally had me won over, but as the book progressed, I half changed my mind.    

There were a couple of other "random" things in this book that make it stand out, for example, Jess's mother's death, Jess's relationship with the other men in her life, and Tyler's history.  Everything's twisted and woven together in such an interesting way - I really enjoyed that aspect of this novel!  I can't wait to read the others in this series!

My rating:

Review: Exquisite Betrayal by A.M. Hargrove

A male Romance Author… a convention in Vegas… a female book blogger… a goal to lose her virginity… what next? Find out when you mix all the above! Fallon McKinley is headed to Vegas for the Wicked Wenches Romance Con and losing her virginity is only one of her goals. The other is to meet her favorite author of romance novels, R.T. Sinclair. What she doesn’t realize is that the sexy green-eyed god she rams into at the airport is the real R.T. When they keep running into each other, she’s shocked, but excited, because the attraction is irresistible. Ryland Thomas Sinclair doesn’t want anyone to know his true identity. He’s the author that all women love, but everyone thinks he’s a female. He hides his persona behind the public face of his twin sister, keeping his own a secret. But after meeting the lovely Fallon, his intentions to avoid a relationship come to a screeching halt. She’s put an unwanted kink into his perfectly laid out plans. His unusual reaction surprises him because after a heart-shredding breakup a few years ago, he’s managed to avoid women at all costs. Resisting Fallon becomes more difficult than he imagines. Soon things are spiraling out of control, until a major miscommunication has Fallon walking out of his home and his life. Will Ryland Thomas succeed in losing the woman he loves? Or can he win her back?

The best thing about this book is that I learned a new word: "stupidassery".  And if it means what I think it means, then this book was just full of it!  The other good thing about this book is that it's over.  Other than that, there's not much more good I can say about it.

I'm still new to this book review/book blogger thing, so I feel really bad about giving poor reviews, especially when the book is by an author who has probably poured their heart and soul into writing it, and even more especially when I've been given the book for free to review for a blog tour.  That being said, I do feel obligated to give my honest opinion wherever possible, and hopefully those involved, be it authors, fans, publicists or publishers, will realize that this is all my review is, one person's honest opinion.

Everything about this book was either over-the-top ridiculous or over-the-top cheesy.  These descriptions may sound like the same thing, but they are not.  I'll give you some examples:

• Fallon slams into Ryland Thomas at the airport in Vegas and falls to her hands and knees with her ass stuck up in the air.  When she recovers and stands up, she finds that her boob is hanging out of her top - RIDICULOUS!
• Ryland Thomas gets tattoos with Fallon's name written into them, when they're NOT EVEN TOGETHER!!! - CHEESY!
• One of Fallon's blogger friends picks her up at the airport wearing a HOT DOG COSTUME - RIDICULOUS!
• Ryland Thomas is always saying things like, "Every time I kiss you, Fallon, I feel like I'm handing you a piece of my heart." - CHEESY!  
• Fallon's mom is sooooo jealous, spiteful, and mean that it's RIDICULOUS!

You get it, right?  So that covers the writing and characters to some degree, but what about the plot?  Well, it goes a little something like this:

• Girl and boy meet by slamming into each other.  There is immediate insta-lust between the two.
• Girl and boy have sex.  There is a misunderstanding and feelings are hurt.  
• Girl and boy make up and have sex.
• There is a misunderstanding, feelings are hurt, and they break up.
• Girl and boy make up and have sex.
• Repeat ad nauseum.

I'm serious, I had to take a break and read some other books because the whole thing was getting so tedious.  I'm not sure why, but, like a good little book blogger, I did go back and finish the book off.  Things did not get better, and instead dragged on until the predictable conclusion.  

If you think you would enjoy a story like this, then by all means, be my guest and read away.  However, I think I'm going to step away from blog tours for a while, and only read what I really want to read.

My rating: 

  

Happy Birthday to Me and FFF #181

Hey, hey, it's my birthday!  So let's celebrate with this week's installment of Feature and Follow Friday!!!

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow!  Well, I'm pretty new at this, so I'm all in!!!  

To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}
2. (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say "hi" in your comments and that they are now following you.
5. If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn't have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followed
6. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
7. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
8. If you're new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

Question of the Week: Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! What books did Santa stuff your stocking with this holiday season? Do a holiday book haul for us! If you don’t celebrate just show off your books that you got this week. Pictures!!!

This is so funny, but I think this is the first Christmas in recent history where I haven't received a book!  My husband ALWAYS gets me a book!!!  And sometimes I even get myself a book, and wrap it up and give it to myself (hey, don't laugh, it's the only way I can make sure I get what I want!)  But, I did go to Prince George a couple of weeks ago and bought myself this:

The hardcover was on sale for $5.99!  

And when I ordered my son the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book for Christmas, I went ahead and ordered myself: 

and:

I've also been pretty good (or bad, depending on how you look at it) at getting books through Kobo whenever I get a good coupon or sale.  Today, I'm treating myself to:

Happy Birthday to me!

I would love it if you follow my blog!  Leave me a comment in the comments section, and I'll be sure to follow you back!!!

Review: "Out of Time" by Jen McLaughlin

Desperate to keep him... I've finally gotten everything I ever wanted: love, freedom, happiness, and, most importantly, Finn. Our love is everything I expected it to be and more. We've finally found each other, but the world seems determined to tear us apart. We thought my father was the only obstacle between us, but now it's the military. With Finn’s departure looming, we’re squeezing in every moment together before we run out of time. Trying to make every moment count… Being Carrie’s bodyguard was one thing. Being her boyfriend is another. Every day she’s mine is a day the sun shines in my life. Yet our time together is running out. Her father will never think a tattooed Marine will be good enough, so I’ll do whatever it takes to be worthy of her love. But the road will take me away from the girl who makes me feel alive--the girl I can't live without. Time only gets us so far...

Thank you to InkSlinger PR and the author for allowing me to review an ARC of this title.

This is actually the second book in the "Out of Line" series, the first being "Out of Line", and Jen McLaughlin has a new fan in me after reading these two books back to back!  

I absolutely LOVE Finn and Carrie - they are everything you could want in a NA Romance couple!  They have insane chemistry, but one of my favourite things about them both is that they like to have fun.  We get to see them motorbiking, surfing, and rock climbing together, but they even have fun watching movies and working at the soup kitchen.  We get to see Finn change radically through the course of these two books, from a skeptic to a believer, and I just have to laugh every time he admits his shock at becoming a total sap for Carrie.  We get to see some growth in Carrie, too.  Although her stubbornness and kindness remain static, she becomes more accepting of people (her roommate Marie, in particular) and less tolerant of her parents' control of her life.  

Although the pacing of "Out of Line" kept me reading without pause and engrossed completely in the plot, I found myself slogging through "Out of Time" a bit more.  I think my main complaint with this installment is that there wasn't much of a plot, and that things didn't really start to get hopping until past the three-quarter mark.  I just wish there was more action overall.  

If you are a New Adult fan and haven't read anything by Jen McLaughlin before, I suggest you get your butt in gear and go buy both these books, right now!  

My Rating:  ("Out of Line" - 4 stars, "Out of Time" - 3 stars)

Review: Some Like it Sinful by Robbie Terman

Their attraction is sinfully delicious… A struggling business and one act of vandalism may have brought them together, but bakery owner Chloe Nelson and professional hockey player Griffin Lange get along like chocolate and pickles. Chloe needs the famous (and famously unattached) Griffin to attract people to her pastries, and Griffin needs the curvaceous and fiery Chloe to keep him out of trouble. A fake relationship to keep the media interested seems like the perfect plan. But when temptation throws them into bed together, a new plan arises. Why not make the fake real? Griffin’s winning every home game, and Chloe’s business has never been better. Both know it’s only physical—and only temporary. But can they drop their defenses for love, even if it means getting a little bit sinful?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to review an ARC of this book.

You know, I'm not sure I expected much from "Some Like it Sinful" - it looks a lot like the stereotypical romance, what I call a wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am book (seriously, I have a GR shelf dedicated to books just like that.)  Nothing too serious, it's light and fluffy, something you'll read quickly and enjoy while you're at it, but it doesn't stick with you forever and ever, amen.  And in many ways, this book was exactly like that.  But in other ways, author Robbie Terman far exceeded my expectations.

For one thing, the two main characters are just so wonderful.  Griffin, as a pro athlete, has all the swagger that goes with his occupation.  He's cocky and a player, but we also get to see his vulnerabilities.  At 35, there are rumours of his retirement, and he does NOT want to think of himself as getting old or losing his edge.  What I liked best about him, though, is how he always defends Chloe and comes to her rescue, even at the beginning of their relationship when he doesn't even like her!  He tirelessly helps Chloe out of jams and defends her honour, and it's really sweet - it shows what a stand-up guy he really is.  He loves that she's not a skinny Minnie, and gets upset when she makes jokes at her own expense, and in this way, he boosts her self-esteem.  

Chloe is at a very stressful time in her life, starting a new bakery on her own.  When her business starts to get sabotaged, it doesn't take much for her to turn to Griffin.  (I know I would!)  She is searching for a knight in shining armor, and she doesn't think Griffin is it, but she can't deny their chemistry.  They have a lot of fun together, but they agree to a mutual expiration date to their relationship - once hockey season is over, so are they!  

A bit more stuff goes on, but none of it is really all that important.  You just need to know that the writing is decent, good enough to keep a reader like me (i.e. slightly distracted!) reading straight through.

There were a couple of things that I didn't really like, or thought could be done better.  Some of the hockey details were not accurate, but whatever.  It didn't really detract from the story.  The mystery of who was sabotaging the bakery had a predictable outcome, but again, it didn't really detract from anything.  The worst part was, and I really hate to say it, the ending.  Sooooooo cheesy!  But hey, you can't have everything, right?  I'd still be interested to read the rest of this series.

My rating:  3.5 stars 

ALL HE NEEDS by C.C. Gibbs - Teaser, and Giveaway! (Adult)

All He Needs by C.C. Gibbs (Forever Trade Paperback; 9781455528332; $12.00)

Neither Kate nor Dominic intended for their affair to be more than casual.  The pleasure they found together was supposed to be fleeting, but while neither is willing to admit it-the passion between them is something they both desperately need.  Caught in a tumultuous battle with his emotions, Dominic can't fight he desires... or stay away from Kate.  And while Kate knows that being with Dominic means giving up some of her long held control, letting go never felt so right.

About the Author

C.C. Gibbs is the pen name of a New York Times bestselling author. She lives in the Midwest, at times in Northern California, is married with three children and considers the life of a writer the best of all possible worlds. Bringing characters to life allows her imagination full rein, while the creative process offers fascinating glimpses into the machinery of the mind. And last but not least, researching anything, but particularly a book like ALL HE DESIRES--thank you Google--is great fun!

Social Media Links:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

 

Buy Links for ALL HE NEEDS (Book #2 in the All or Nothing Trilogy):

Amazon

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Bookish

IndieBound

Buy Links for ALL HE WANTS (Book #1 in the All or Nothing Trilogy):

Amazon

B&N

Bookish

IndieBound

A Q&A unpublished teaser with Dominic Knight

Max Roche, Dominic’s ADC and right hand man, shut the door behind him as he entered Dominic’s Paris office. “The Rolling Stone reporter’s here and she looks as though she’s interested in more than an interview. Short skirt, thigh high boots, make up for a photo shoot and unless I miss my guess, a Brazilian wax job just in case she gets lucky.”
“Great,” Dominic grumbled. “And I have to be polite.”
“If you want that nice puff piece on your new record label acquisition, you do.”  Max smiled faintly. “It’s not as though you haven’t been turning down women since you left Hong Kong. One more--what the hell. You’ve had plenty of practice.”
Dominic lifted one brow. “Keeping track?”
Max shrugged. “How could I not?  You’ve been a fucking monk.”
No way he was going to discuss his personal feelings. Dominic nodded. “Okay, show her—what’s her name?”
“Miss Lacey Milano.”
Dominic’s eyes widened briefly. “Tell me she’s not a stripper.”
“Christ no. Ivy league, wasp family, trust fund.”
“Shit, maybe that’s worse.” Dominic sighed. “But all for a good cause, right?”
“If you want those fine old sound tracks to get out in the world, who better than Rolling Stone for promo.”
“Gotcha. But interrupt me in fifteen minutes with a phone call I have to take. In the meantime I’ll try to keep her on topic.”
“That shouldn’t be too hard. This music is a passion of yours.”
“Damn right.” Dominic nodded. “Okay, I’m ready.”
Max escorted the reporter into Dominic’s office, made introductions, then left, closing the door softly behind him.
It wasn’t as though Dominic hadn’t seen hundreds of women approach him much like Miss Milano. Long-legged stride to show off her legs, small hip swing in invitation, a smile that was offering more than a greeting—and that little flick of her hand to brush her long blonde hair over her shoulder. Seriously. Familiar as hell.
But his voice was bland and his smile polite as he said, “How nice to meet you, Miss Milano. Max tells me you’re one of Rolling Stone’s prominent contributing editors.  I’m honored.” He indicated a black leather chair across the desk from him. “Please make yourself comfortable.”
“The honor’s all mine, Mr. Knight.”
Jesus, was that a wink?  “Dominic, please,” he said, his face expressionless.
“In that case, Dominic, call me Lacey.”  She pronounced his name very, very softly.
Fuck. She didn’t waste any time. “I’m excited about the amazing array of artists we’ll be re-introducing to the world,” Dominic said, staying on topic. “I hope you had a chance to listen to at least some of the tracks.” Dominic’s company had remastered and restored 800 tracks of the pre-1930 defining generation of blues and jazz artists. It was an act of love on Dominic’s part.
“Of course. You needn’t worry, I’ll write an elaborate tribute to both you and the artists you’ve preserved. But I’d rather talk about you and your many, global businesses.” She smiled sweetly. “I’ve done my research.”
“I understand. Ask away.” He never said no, nor did he ever answer definitely. His life wasn’t for public consumption.
“When did you make your first million?”
If he had a dime for every time he’d been asked that question, he could retire. But his voice was mild when he replied. “If you did your research you know I inherited my uncle’s fortune when I was sixteen. But I made my own first million day trading while I was still in high school.”
“Then you bought a small software start up.”
He smiled. “Start ups are practically a way of life in the Bay Area.”
“But everyone doesn’t pick the right ones.”
“I was lucky.”
“So modest.”
He shrugged. “A certain amount of luck is involved in building a large enterprise.  I’ve had my share.”
“I was wondering if your wife was involved in your businesses? From my research, it’s clear that she was a formidable fund raiser for any number of charities. You met on Everest, didn’t you?”
He frowned slightly. “I don’t talk about my private life.”
“Forgive me, but the world at large certainly talks about it.”  She slowly crossed her legs. “You have a reputation that isn’t exclusively about business.”
“Much exaggerated,” Dominic smoothly replied, giving Max points for his Brazilian comment. Miss Milano wasn’t wearing panties. “Rumor and gossip sell magazines and tabloids. I ignore them.”
“Including the two women who filed paternity suits against you? Or was it three?”
Bitch. But his smile couldn’t have been improved on by angels on high. “They all lost in court as you know. My fortune attracts frivolous law suits. There’ll be more.”
“I do apologize.” She dipped her head in deference. “I hope I haven’t angered you. Some men take offense at assertive women.”  She looked at him with wide-eyed innocence. “I’m going to blame my editor for that last question.”
“Don’t worry. I’m hard to offend.” He tapped the back of the hand resting on his desk with his index finger. “Thick skin.”
Oh God, such large lovely hands and long, slender fingers. She took a deep breath.
He could see it coming.
“Would you have time for a drink with me?”
Her words came out in a wild rush.
His smile was instant. “Certainly.”  Dominic rose from his chair. “What would you like?”
“Vodka. Two ice cubes. Your distillery if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” he said, moving toward the drinks table across the room. “You certainly have done your research. That’s a very new acquisition.”
“I’ve read just ‘everything’ about you. You’re a fascinating man.”
“Not really. I just work, sleep, then work some more.”  He knew he’d made a mistake using the word, sleep, because he immediately heard her soft foot fall on the carpet and when next she spoke, she was right behind him.
“Might I request a small portion of your sleep time,” she said, breathy and low, running her hand up his back. “I promise to leave whenever you wish.”
He dropped two ice cubes into her glass, slowly turned, held the glass out to her and smiled, “Why don’t we talk about it over drinks.”
Then Max walked in precisely on time, Dominic relaxed and knew he’d made one less enemy.
“Sorry, Dominic,” Max said. “But Yu Chung is insisting on talking with you. I told him you were busy and he told me to go to hell.”  Max managed to look frazzled, his brow knotted, his mouth twitching. “He’s bitching about some wording on the contract. And apparently only you can change it for him.”
“I’m so sorry, Lacey.” Dominic deliberately used her first name, as though they were friends. “But we’re working on a copper mine venture with the Chinese in Afghanistan and nothing’s going right.” He glanced at Max. “Is it Max? We’ve been fucked from the beginning.”
“You got that right.” Max turned to Lacey, his mouth set in a grim line. “I told Dominic to pull out of the deal, but he won’t.”
Dominic gave her a rueful look. “I do apologize, but I have a few billion at stake here. It’s been a pleasure,” he said, pleasantly, then swung his gaze to Max. “Which conference room?”
“The big screen. You get to see a giant-size Yu Chung turn red.”
Dominic nodded and without another word left his office.
He softly swore as he strode down the hall, swore some more as he took refuge in the conference room and dropped into a chair. What the fuck? Since when did he turn down a piece of ass? One that even might have been a good business decision?
Sliding lower in his chair, he scowled because he knew damned well why he’d turned it down, why he wasn’t sleeping, why he was pissed all the time.
Miss Katherine Hart had totally fucked up his life.  

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"Exquisite Betrayal" Blog Tour and Giveaway!

A male Romance Author… a convention in Vegas… a female book blogger… a goal to lose her virginity… what next? Find out when you mix all the above!

Fallon McKinley is headed to Vegas for the Wicked Wenches Romance Con and losing her virginity is only one of her goals. The other is to meet her favorite author of romance novels, R.T. Sinclair. What she doesn’t realize is that the sexy green-eyed god she rams into at the airport is the real R.T. When they keep running into each other, she’s shocked, but excited, because the attraction is irresistible.

Ryland Thomas Sinclair doesn’t want anyone to know his true identity. He’s the author that all women love, but everyone thinks he’s a female. He hides his persona behind the public face of his twin sister, keeping his own a secret. But after meeting the lovely Fallon, his intentions to avoid a relationship come to a screeching halt. She’s put an unwanted kink into his perfectly laid out plans. His unusual reaction surprises him because after a heart-shredding breakup a few years ago, he’s managed to avoid women at all costs.

Resisting Fallon becomes more difficult than he imagines. Soon things are spiraling out of control, until a major miscommunication has Fallon walking out of his home and his life. Will Ryland Thomas succeed in losing the woman he loves? Or can he win her back?

BUY LINKS:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1gAOchP

B&N: http://bit.ly/1dEP28l

Smashwords: http://bit.ly/JyBv9u

iTunes: http://bit.ly/1c6VuI8


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"Sneaking Candy" Blog Tour and Giveaway!

Sneaking Candy Synopsis

All I ever wanted was to make a name for myself as Candice Salinas, creative writing grad student at the University of Miami. Of course, secretly I already have made a name for myself: as Candy Sloane, self-published erotic romance writer. Though thrilled that my books are selling and I have actual fans, if anyone at UM found out, I could lose my scholarship…and the respect of my faculty advisor, grade-A-asshole Professor Dylan.

Enter James Walker, super-hot local barista and—surprise!—my student. Even though I know a relationship is totally off-limits, I can’t stop myself from sneaking around with James, taking a few cues from my own erotic writing…if you catch my drift. Candy’s showing her stripes for the first time in my real life, and I’ve never had so much fun. But when the sugar high fades, can my secrets stay under wraps?

 Lisa Burstein Bio

Lisa Burstein is a tea seller by day and a writer by night. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from the Inland Northwest Center for Writers at Eastern Washington University. She is the author of Pretty Amy, The Next Forever, Dear Cassie and Candy, Stripped. As well as a contributor to the upcoming essay collection, Break These Rules: 35 YA Authors On Speaking Up, Standing Out, and Being Yourself. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her very patient husband, a neurotic dog and two cats.

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Feature and Follow Friday #180

Hi there, and welcome to Feature and Follow Friday!  Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow!  Well, I'm pretty new at this, so I'm all in!!!  

To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}
2. (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say "hi" in your comments and that they are now following you.
5. If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn't have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followed
6. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
7. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
8. If you're new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

Question of the Week: Pick a book in your favorite genre that you’d recommend to a reluctant reader.

Ooooh, this is so hard!  I don't know that I have a favorite genre - I love 'em all!  But let's just go for Contemporary YA.  Here is one of my favorite reads of the year:

Have you heard of "Jellicoe Road" by Melina Marchetta?  It's one of those books that stick with you forever, and I think it would appeal to a wide audience.  If you haven't read it, or heard of it, you are missing out - go get in NOW!  

I would love it if you follow my blog!  Leave me a comment in the comments section, and I'll be sure to follow you back!!!

Review: Reckless Longing by Gina Robinson

Ellie Martin hates her beautiful, man-crazy mother. Her mother’s wild and wanton behavior has left Ellie with a deep longing. To escape. To belong. To know who her real dad is. To really be loved. Her mother finally crosses a line that sends Ellie running, escaping to college with one, focused goal–to find and confront her bio dad, who doesn’t even know she exists. Then she meets Logan. Hot, charming, and troubled. He turns her world upside down and puts all her plans in jeopardy. Logan Walker is hiding a shameful and painful secret. One that nearly cost him everything. When he meets the beautiful and mysterious Ellie at a Week of Welcome event, something inside him awakens and he finds himself drawn to her. But the attraction they both feel for each other is as delicate as the web of secrets they each hide behind. And as the truths are revealed, their reckless longing may not survive the fallout.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to review an ARC of this book.

I'm not going to sugar-coat it, I really didn't like this book much.  Part of it was the writing.  The word "hot" was used 94 times!  Hardly any of those 94 times was "hot" used in reference to temperature.  And the word "bitch" was used another 32 times!!!  (I didn't actually count, but those two words were used enough that I noticed myself getting sick of them, and I just had to use that feature on my Kobo to find out if I was imagining things.)  Hopefully this word overusage was noted in the ARC and changed before publishing.  It's just one of those things that some readers, like myself, will find annoying.

By the end of the book, I didn't respect or like Ellie at all.  What she did in order to get a good grade in one of her classes was really manipulative.  It seemed that even though she didn't come up with the plan and was uncomfortable with it in the beginning, by the end she had embraced her inner "bitch" (sorry, had to!) and was fighting dirty and even illegally.  I'm okay with morally corrupt characters when it's warranted, but for some reason, it just didn't work in this book for me.  I think it was because we, as readers, aren't supposed to think of Ellie as morally corrupt.

Ellie also seemed very bitter and whiny to me.  She overanalysed everything that ever happened between her and Logan - why didn't he call me, does he like me, should I wear the white bikini in case he's there, etc.  Haha, kind of reminds me of me and my friends in college, ironically!  It was pretty tedious living through it the first time, maybe I just didn't feel like living through it in a book.

My rating: