Monthly Archives: September 2017

Excerpt Reveal: Hot Stuff by Kim Karr

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Hot Stuff - book info

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Title: Hot Stuff

Author: Kim Karr

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: September 27, 2017

Cover Designer: Michele Catalano-Creative

Cover Model: Andrew Biernat

Photographer: Wander Pedro Aguiar

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Hot Stuff - about book

 

Synopsis

Get ready to fall in love with this new standalone sports romance from New York Times bestselling author Kim Karr.

 

He’s the newly drafted quarterback.

Hot. Arrogant. Too sexy for words.

Ready to score.

I’m an athletic intern, and the coach’s daughter.

Driven. Determined. Prepared to conquer the world.

Completely off-limits.

The NFL is full of rules. Rules I’ve never broken. Never challenged. Never even scratched—until the day Lucas Carrington crashes into my life with his hard body and I-don’t-give-a-f*ck attitude.

After I almost injure my father’s star player, I volunteer to make sure he’s in top shape. At first, it’s hell. I don’t like his attitude, his cockiness, his easy smile. Don’t like the way he oozes sex. Or how his penetrating eyes follow me everywhere.

That doesn’t stop me from wanting him.

He’s meant to be a distraction—something to occupy my mind for these precious few remaining hot summer nights before I’m forced to leave football behind forever.

I know what we’re doing will lead nowhere good. I know we’re crossing the line. And I know my father will never understand.

None of that matters.

But maybe it should.

Rules aren’t meant to be broken.

Or are they?​

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Excerpt

Gillian Whitney

I wasn’t in a hurry.

Yet I walked as fast as I could across the grounds.

When I found myself inside the large brick building and heading down the hall to the training room, my palms began to sweat. After I wiped them on my gym shorts, I unlocked the door and scolded myself for being nervous.

I could do this.

I could absolutely be in the same room as a hot guy with ripped abs, sinewy muscles, and broad shoulders.

I’d been around men like him my entire life.

So what made him different?

I had no idea. All I knew was my pulse raced when I thought of his strong arms. His firm pecks. His hard body. His rugged good looks.

It was dark inside the room, no one was here yet, and I took a moment to breathe deep before flicking on the lights and then emptying my bag.

This room was about half the size of the Bear’s Training Room in Chicago, but it was still state-of-the-art. Remodeled a few years ago, it had been designed with the Bears’ needs in mind.

“Hey,” a deep voice said. “I’m reporting for duty as ordered.”

I jumped, turning to see Lucas in the doorway.

His blue gaze practically drank me in and instantly I felt my nipples harden. I was wearing a tank top and feared their protrusion was more than evident. It was just so hard not to notice how gorgeous he was. Even in his grungy state, there was so much raw power emanating from him. Unshaved, and his hair a sexy mess, he wore sweatpants and a Bears T-shirt. A duffle hung from his shoulder in a lopsided way, and it was the first thing I noticed about his condition.

Something about it wasn’t right, and I snapped right back into work mode.

“Good morning,” I said. “How do you feel today?”

He dropped his duffle to the ground. “Terrific.”

“No headaches, nausea, or dizziness?”

“Nope,” he said. “How long is this going to take?”

Grabbing a water bottle from the refrigerator and a heart rate monitor from the drawer, I slowly started toward him. “Less than thirty minutes, as long as everything checks out.”

His expression grew pensive. “Great. Then let’s get this over with so I can get back to what’s important.”

There was something in his tone that was off. Sure, he was being a smart-ass, but I was used to dealing with that from disgruntled players. It was their coping mechanism. There was something else going on. “This is important, Lucas.”

“Yeah, right, of course it is.” His voice was cool.

I strode past him and went directly across the hall to the weight room, where I flicked on the lights.

Lucas was obviously in a hurry because he was on my heels.

I tossed him the monitor and then pointed to the treadmill. “Strap that around your chest and then hop on.”

Okay, it sounded a little dirty.

At that, he shot me a glance, and I tossed one right back. But then I was momentarily stunned when he stripped his T-shirt off to affix the monitor to his chest. Lucas had the body of a god, and by the smug look he wore, he not only knew it, but he also knew I knew it.

Climbing onto the treadmill, he tossed his shirt over the rail. Then he pushed the speed button, and the machine roared to life.

I placed the water bottle in the cup holder in front of him. “Get to a pace you’re comfortable with, one you can sustain, and if you start to experience any dizziness or headaches, tell me right away and we’ll stop.”

“And if I have none?”

With the monitoring device in my hand, I watched his heart rate increase and his blood pressure remain steady. “Then we go for the full twenty minutes.”

“And then what, I get a prize?”

I ignored his comment. “No, then, although I can’t diagnosis you, I would say you are non-symptomatic.”

Giving me a nod, he drank some water from the bottle and after he’d put it back in its place, he programmed the timer. From beside him, I noticed he still appeared to have some lingering neck spasms. Not that unusual after what happened.

About ten minutes later he looked over at me. He didn’t speak around his huffing and puffing. That was fine by me because every time his abs and pecs rippled, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about how his sweat would taste if I ran my tongue along the ridge of his ribs or around the concave cup of his belly button.

It was wrong on so many levels.

By the time eighteen minutes passed, his mouth had set into a tight, hard line of determination. Sweat had also coated his entire upper body, but it was far from disgusting.

Ridiculous as it was, I couldn’t stop flicking my gaze from the monitor to his muscled thighs and occasionally to the incredibly mesmerizing set of dimples on his back.

God was he sexy.

“Everything cool?” he asked.

No, everything was not cool.

It was hot.

He was hot.

And I was in so much trouble.

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Hot Stuff - about author

Kim Karr is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author.

She grew up in Rochester, NY and now lives in Florida with her husband and four kids. She’s always had a love for reading books and writing. Being an English major in college, she wanted to teach at the college level but that was not to be. She went on to receive an MBA and became a project manager until quitting to raise her family. Kim currently works part-time with her husband and recently decided to embrace one of her biggest passions–writing.

 

Kim wears a lot of hats! Writer, book-lover, wife, soccer-mom, taxi driver, and the all around go-to person of her family. However, she always finds time to read. One of her favorite family outings was taking her kids when they were little to the bookstore or the library. Today, Kim’s oldest child is seventeen and no longer goes with her on these, now rare and infrequent, outings. She finds that she doesn’t need to go on them anymore because she has the greatest device ever invented–a Kindle.

 

Kim likes to believe in soul mates, kindred spirits, true friends, and Happily-Ever-Afters. She loves to drink champagne, listen to music, and hopes to always stay young at heart.

 

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Chapter Reveal + Giveaway : The Heiress by Casia Leo

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We’re just a few days away from the release of THE HEIRESS by Cassia Leo – are you ready to read the first chapter? Read it below!

 

Title: THE HEIRESS
Author: Cassia Leo
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Day: September 26th

 

About The Heiress

A new heartfelt and suspenseful stand-alone novel from New York Times bestselling author Cassia Leo.

How much is love worth?

Twenty-two-year-old Kristin and her single mom have always struggled to make ends meet. When her mother’s body begins to deteriorate after many backbreaking years of working as a housekeeper, Kristin must say farewell to her college dreams and hello to a full-time job waitressing. She doesn’t really mind. After all, giving up on her dreams will be her penance for that one horrible night.

Her luck begins to turn when she meets Daniel Meyers. Daniel is sexy and funny, but most importantly, he wants to get to know the real Kristin. It doesn’t hurt that he’s also extremely wealthy and intent on protecting her. Kristin feels safe with him. She wants to open up to him, to share the details of the awful night that changed her life. But she can’t shake the feeling that Daniel may be keeping a dark secret of his own…

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Chapter Reveal

Chapter 1
Taken Care Of

The dimly lit stairwells in our five-floor walk-up in the Bronx smelled even more like cat piss than usual.

The August humidity had a lovely way of extracting the aromas that were usually trapped inside the dingy walls of our building. I tried to breathe through my mouth as I climbed the final steps to the fifth floor. But when I stepped into the corridor, a bright yellow notice taped to the front door of apartment 502 made me gasp, and the sharp smell got sucked into my nose again.

I gagged, then marched toward my apartment. “What the actual fuck?”

My curse came out much louder than I’d anticipated.

Dropping my canvas bag of groceries on the floor, I quickly snatched the paper off the door, but not quickly enough. Mr. Williams walked out of his apartment as I bent over to stuff the notice into my grocery bag.

“Good morning, Mr. Williams,” I said, breathing far too heavily for a casual walk to the bodega. “How’s your day so far?”

He tilted his head a bit as his dark eyes remained focused on my bag. “Is that an eviction notice?”

I unzipped my purse and dug frantically through the receipts and half-used drugstore makeup, which had probably been there since I dropped out of college two years ago. “It’s just a mix-up,” I replied with a chuckle when I found my house key. “Same thing happened a couple weeks ago. At least this time it happened on a Monday morning instead of a Friday night. I’m heading straight to the property manager’s office as soon as I get these groceries in the fridge.”

“Is everything okay with you and your ma?” he asked through narrowed eyes.

“We’re fine,” I said, forcing a smile. “Thank you so much for asking, but we’re just fine. This is just a huge mix-up.”

Mr. Williams scratched his scraggly white beard, which sparsely covered his chestnut-brown skin. “Okay,” he said, slowly nodding. “Well, if you need anything, don’t you hesitate to holler at this old fool.”

My smile widened, and this time it was genuine. “Thank you, Mr. Williams. I promise I’ll do that.”

He stuck his chin out and beamed with pride. “That’s a good girl. You take care now,” he said, then ambled back into the apartment across the hall.

When I was five, I often wondered if I was invisible—not metaphorically speaking, but actually invisible. I would watch in complete silence as my mom came home from a fourteen-hour shift, cleaning up other people’s messes. She’d collapse onto the sofa, turn on the evening news, and eat her dinner with a tired smile. Then I’d retreat to my bedroom and dream of a world where I existed.

It wasn’t until a fateful evening in September two years ago, my fingernails peeling off as I desperately clawed my way up a highway embankment, that I finally realized how tangible I was, how heavily I was anchored to this merciless world.

Now, as I rushed inside the humid apartment I shared with my mother in the South Bronx, I wished I could be invisible again.

Closing the door softly behind me—so as not to attract the attention of any more neighbors—I power-walked into the kitchen and tossed my canvas grocery bag onto the counter. Yanking out the bright yellow eviction notice, I contemplated the ten-digit phone number scrawled on it in black marker.

No. I wasn’t going to give those incompetent pricks at the property management office the courtesy of calling before I showed up. No way would I give them time to come up with some trumped-up violation that my mother or I had supposedly committed.

Despite the fact that our building was more than a hundred years old and in serious disrepair, the bylaws consisted of a list of rules—I kid you not—at least sixty pages long. The list was mailed to us every year with an offer to renew the lease—with another rent increase, of course. And every year, the list got longer.

One rule actually stipulated we were not allowed to walk around in high heels after ten p.m. I supposed it was a good thing I had no social life. I was in no danger of violating that rule.

Of course, whatever bone the management was picking with us now was probably not due to anything I did or didn’t do. The eviction notice was almost certainly a response to what I had threatened to do. Three weeks ago, I threatened to file an ADA—Americans with Disabilities Act—complaint if they didn’t fix the loose handrails in the stairwells.

When my mom and I moved into this apartment more than ten years ago, my mom was in excellent physical shape. Despite the fact that she had spent most of her life working as a housekeeper, she had managed to take good care of her body. Until she fell off a ladder at home and shattered her kneecap. Three surgeries later, she was desperate to return to work so I could return to NYU, but no one would hire her back.

If the eviction notice was left on our door, that meant my mom wasn’t home when the notice was served, which meant our neighbor Leslie had come by to take her shopping.

I put the groceries away and stuffed the eviction notice into my purse before I left the apartment. I thought of leaving a message with Leslie’s family, but decided against it. I didn’t want to worry her or my mom.

Leslie was a stay-at-home mother with two kids in high school and a husband who drove a bus for MTA. She helped my mom up and down the stairs once a week to go shopping. Having amazing neighbors like Leslie and Mr. Williams was one of the many reasons I was hesitant to move to another apartment building with an elevator.

One subway ride and nine blocks of walking in the glaring summer sun later, I arrived, sweaty and determined, at the front doors of Golde Property Management. I entered through the glass double doors, which squeaked on their hinges as I pushed my way inside. The black and gold confetti design on the linoleum looked like something straight out of a ’70s discotheque. The faux oak furniture in the waiting room, with the wood-grain laminate peeling off the corners, confirmed that I had stepped into an office stuck in another century.

In the decade since we moved into our apartment, and ever since I began paying the rent a couple of years ago, I’d never had to visit Golde Property Management. I always paid the rent on time, and I always agreed to the new lease terms. If I had known that they were living in the ’70s, I wouldn’t have bothered asking them to bring our apartment up to modern building standards.

Nonetheless, I needed to clear up this eviction nonsense. The last thing I needed was for my mother and me to be thrown out on our asses over a clerical error.

The receptionist sat at a desk behind a sliding-glass window at the back of the waiting room. She watched me approach without even attempting to smile.

I slid the yellow eviction notice across the counter onto her side of the glass. “I want to know what this is about.”

She spun in her chair to face the computer on her left, positioning her fingers over the keyboard. “What’s the property address?”

“Twenty-four eighty-three Hughes,” I replied sharply.

She typed in the address, then her eyes scanned down to the lower-right part of the computer screen and stopped. “It says here that the eviction notice was posted today at 10:02 a.m. by the Bronx County Sheriff’s Department due to violation of the rental agreement. The violation listed here is nonpayment of rental dues in the amount of $7,050.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you kidding me? Our monthly rent is $1,175. That means $7,050 is what, like, six months’ rent? We’re not even late one month, let alone six. I want to speak to a manager.”

She rolled her eyes as she picked up the beige phone handset and dialed an extension. “Is Jerry in his office?” she asked the person on the other end. “I’ve got a tenant here who says she’s paid up, but she just got served.” She sighed as she balanced the handset between her ear and shoulder. “Well, tell him when he’s done with his meeting that I got someone waiting for him up here. Okay? Okay.” She hung up the phone and looked up at me with a bored expression. “He’s in a meeting with an investor. You’ll have to wait a few minutes.”

I wanted to protest for the simple fact that if I caused a scene it might ruin their chances with this investor, but I decided not to press my luck. “I’ll be waiting right over there,” I said, nodding toward the tweed sofa in the waiting area.

Taking a seat on the sofa that smelled like desperation, I picked up a copy of the NY Post from the coffee table. The paper was dated thirteen months ago. This place needed an investor more than my mom needed a disability-accessible apartment building with an elevator.

Of course, my mom would never admit that she needed anything.

The eldest of four sisters, my mom left her small hometown in South Dakota to make her way in New York City when she was just nineteen. After a brief brush with homelessness, she started cleaning houses and saving up money to start her own cleaning business. Not long after that, I was born, and her dreams of being her own boss were tossed out the window.

I had just finished reading a story about a feud between the hosts of two popular YouTube channels when a door leading into the back office opened. The first man who stepped into the waiting area—whom I assumed was Jerry—looked to be about sixty years old, and wore brown slacks and a short-sleeved blue button-up shirt, the fabric thin enough to show the dinginess of the tank top he wore underneath.

The second man who walked through the door looked more like a mirage than a man.

He was no more than twenty-eight years old, wearing a sharp navy-blue suit and a swagger in his step that said he didn’t just own the place, he owned the world. His dark hair was short, but not so short you couldn’t help but notice it held the perfect amount of wave. Every inch of him, from his prominent brow to his broad shoulders and beyond looked sturdy. This man was built to last a thousand lifetimes.

But it was his face that made me wonder if I was actually staring at a desert mirage.

His strong jaw and brilliant green eyes looked as if they’d been chiseled by Michelangelo. As a former student of sculpture at NYU, I could make that type of comparison in the more literal sense.

If this investor bought out Golde Property Management, I’d probably sign a hundred-year lease.

I shrugged off this ridiculous thought. It wasn’t as if this wealthy godlike man was going to send my next lease renewal along with a handwritten marriage proposal.

Will you be my wife? Check yes or no. Please send reply in the enclosed envelope with full rent payment by the first of the month.

“Are you Kristin?”

I snapped out of my absurd fantasy to find the man I suspected to be Jerry staring at me as he held the door to the back office open. “Excuse me?”

“Are you Kristin Owens?” he replied. “Here about the eviction notice?”

His question set my blood on fire with anger. “Yes. I want to know what this is all about,” I said, getting to my feet as I held the yellow paper in front of me. “We’ve paid our rent on time every single month for the past ten years. If this is about me threatening to—”

Jerry held up his hand to interrupt me. “Okay, okay. Let’s go into my office,” he said, his expression a mixture of shame and anger, probably because I just made a scene in front of his potential investor. He looked up at the man. “I look forward to hearing from you again, Mr. Meyers. Jennie over there can validate your parking.”

Mr. Meyers cocked an eyebrow as he looked me over. “Maybe I should sit in on this.”

Jerry waved off the suggestion. “Oh, no, this is just routine admin stuff. It will be over in two minutes. Don’t want to waste your time.”

I stared at Jerry, making no attempt to avoid looking directly at the huge hairy mole protruding from his temple. “So now I’m a waste of time?” I asked. “If you think you can get away with—”

“Excuse me,” Meyers interrupted, taking a step forward. “Earlier, you said you’ve paid your rent on time every single month for the past ten years. So, forgive me if I’m wrong, but that allows you to continue living in the unit until any further disputes are settled in court. Am I right?”

Jerry shook his head. “But she hasn’t paid her rent,” he insisted. “I thought it was strange when the computer spat out the notice, but they only come up when a tenant is coming up on six months past due. Computers don’t lie. People lie.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I shouted. “Are you calling me a liar? You piece of trash. I swear to God, I will bury you in so many legal—”

“Whoa-whoa-whoa…” Meyers interrupted again. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” he said, casting a calm, confident look in my direction, holding my gaze for a moment before he turned back to Jerry. “You said computers don’t lie, but they do sometimes glitch. You even said you thought it was strange the computer spat out her name.”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t randomly spit out names all day long,” Jerry objected.

Meyers nodded and pressed his lips together in an expression that said he understood where Jerry was coming from. This guy was good. He was refereeing this dispute like a seasoned mediator.

“But it’s possible the computer got it wrong,” Meyers continued as he looked back and forth between Jerry and me, smiling when I crossed my arms over my chest. “How about this? I’ll pay the past-due amount until you can figure out the glitch in the system. Does that sound fair?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Who the hell are you?”

His veneer of confidence cracked for just a fraction of a second before he regained his composure. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you,” he replied. “You’re right. It’s very presumptuous of me to think I could settle this with the swipe of a pen. Forgive me.” He turned to Jerry and gave him a curt nod. “I have some…thinking to do. I’m not sure your organization is a good fit for us. We’ll be in touch.”

“Wait!” Jerry shrieked. “I think she was just taken by surprise with your offer. Right, Christina?”

“Kristin,” I corrected him. “And I don’t need him to pay my rent. I already paid it. I need you to fix this!” I crumpled the yellow eviction notice and dropped it at his feet.

“I can’t,” Jerry replied as Meyers quietly made his way to the receptionist’s desk. “My lawyer handles the evictions. He won’t close the file until the rent’s paid in full. I can’t pay him if I don’t have your money.”

“You have my money!” I yelled so loudly I could almost hear my vocal cords snap.

I cursed myself as tears stung the corners of my eyes. Blinking them away, I glanced over my shoulder, expecting to find Meyers staring aghast at my lack of control. He probably wasn’t accustomed to that sort of thing in his perfect world of privilege. But he wasn’t there. He was gone. I didn’t know if I felt more relieved that he hadn’t witnessed my outburst, or disappointed that the only sure way out of this eviction mess—at least, temporarily—had just walked out of my life.

God, why didn’t I just let him help me? It wasn’t as if I knew the guy. I didn’t need to maintain some foolish sense of pride in front of him.

I was becoming more and more like my mother every day.

“It’s taken care of.”

I looked up at the sound of the receptionist’s bored voice.

She waved a piece of paper in the air, which looked suspiciously like a check. “He took care of your rent,” she said, looking annoyed.

I turned to Jerry, but all he did was shrug.

What the fuck just happened?

 

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About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Cassia Leo loves her coffee, chocolate, and margaritas with salt. When she’s not writing, she spends way too much time re-watching Game of Thrones and Sex and the City. When she’s not binge watching, she’s usually enjoying the Oregon rain with a hot cup of coffee and a book.

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Blog Tour + Excerpt + 5 Star Review: Exes With Benefits by Nicole Williams

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Exes With Benefits

By Nicole Williams

Release Date: September 18, 2017

Buy: Amazon / B & N / IBooks

 

Synopsis:

 

He wants a second chance. I want a divorce. To get what I want, I’ll have to give him what he does.

From New York Times & USA Today bestselling author, Nicole Williams, comes a new standalone romance in the same vein as Roommates with Benefits.

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“One month. That’s nothing in the scope of a person’s life.” He slid a bit closer.
“One month is everything when it comes to opening myself back up to you.”
He didn’t argue that. He let silence speak for him instead.
“What exactly are you expecting during this one month?” I might have winced when I heard myself say those words.
He rubbed his mouth, trying to hide whatever was trying to form. “For you to give me another chance. For you to be my wife.”
The term made me nauseated. “Your wife? As in your indentured servant? No way.”
It was a smile he was trying to hide. Not very successfully. It made me thankful I’d slipped into these old boots so I could give him a solid kick in the ass if necessary.
“Like be willing to spend time with me. That’s it. That’s all,” he added when he correctly interpreted the question in my eyes. The question.
“What will we be doing during that time we’re spending together?” I pulled at the chest of my dress when I noticed the way his gaze had lingered there a moment too long.
His shoulder rose. “Got any ideas?” There was an unmistakable glint in his eyes.
“No,” I answered instantly.
“You used to have plenty of ideas for filling the time.” He took a swig of his Coke.
“And then I learned how to use my brain.”
He studied my fake smile, almost like he was contemplating what it would feel like against his mouth. “Dinners. Dates. Simple stuff like that.”
I held my best poker face, considering his offer. I didn’t want to stay married to him. If one more month was what it took to be free of Canaan Ford, I could suck it up. I’d already made it five years. “No expectations of anything of a physical nature?”
“If I remember right”—his eyes narrowed as he rubbed the back of his head—“it was generally you who instigated all of that back then.”
I shoved his chest. Bad idea. Solid. Firm. Home.
My jaw ground as I worked to erase that word from my conscious where he was concerned. “And you were just the perfect gentleman.”
Canaan snatched my hand before I could pull it away. Holding onto it, he dragged me closer. Not so close that our bodies touched, but close enough the separation was painful.
“Exactly,” he said in that low voice of his. The one he’d whispered my name in so many times as he moved inside me. “A gentleman gives his woman exactly what she needs. As many times as she need it. Just doing my part.”
“How noble.”
“That’s right. So if you want to make any changes to this one month agreement, consider me your humble servant.” When his hand dropped to my waist, his touch hesitant at the same time it was insistent, I didn’t flinch out of instinct the way I should have.
Instead, I had to remind myself to pull away from him; to flinch at his touch. “I have a boyfriend, Canaan.” Even to my ears, it sounded like a weak protest.
His hand didn’t fall away when I stepped back. “You’re a married woman, Maggie.”
“My husband forfeited his rights years ago.” My eyes found his, expecting them to shoot away once mine made contact.
They didn’t. His gold eyes held to mine. “He’s here to reclaim them.

Michel’s Review

Exes With Benefits by Nicole Williams is more than a second chance romance.  It’s an emotionally charged novel which clearly takes the characters on a life changing journey. Two young people got married before they were ready to step fully into the adult world.  Their maturity level left them incapable of dealing with the emotional storm called life. Their communication with one another was broken.  Their ability to express their emotions was non existent.  Their coping mechanisms were became destructive.  Their relationship became toxic.  One became an enabler and the other was about to detonate.  The only thing that could fix their problems was to walk away from the life they had begun to destroy.

Maggie Church and Canaan Ford got married right out of high school because of a surprise pregnancy that ended with a miscarriage.  They clearly loved one another deeply but couldn’t handle the tragedy in their lives.  To make matters worse there were other tragedies weighing on their souls.  They were both too immature to handle their loss on an emotional level.  Canaan began to drink heavily.  The drinking led to a path of self destruction which included fighting and out of control behavior.  Maggie couldn’t take watching Canaan self destruct and finally chose to walk away.  As she watched Canaan in her rear view mirror, she vowed she would never return to Farmington, Missouri or Canaan Ford.

Five years later Maggie is forced to face her past and finally put it to rest.  She has returned to Farmington for her grandmother’s funeral and to finalize the divorce.  Canaan had refused to sign the divorce papers for the past five years.  She has made a new life in Chicago with a successful career as an artist.  She has been in a relationship with another man for the past two years.  She needs to put the past to rest so that she can fully move forward in her life.  Coming home isn’t always easy, especially when facing another loss. What she came home to was something altogether different than what she left behind years ago.  Farmington is still the same charming small town where everyone knows each others business but the peoples lives have changed.  Her friends have built careers and families of their own.  Her ex husband is still living in the same apartment above the garage at her grandmother’s house but he is a different man altogether.  She’s finding it hard to believe Canaan is the same man as the boy she left behind.  She refuses to allow herself to become vulnerable to Canaan’s charm and apparent sincerity.  She needs their divorce to become finalized.

Canaan was broken before he lost Maggie.  Losing Maggie was the final bullet that killed his dying soul.  He had a choice to live as the man he always intended to be or die alone  from his own self destruction.  He has always loved Maggie Church and knows they were destined for one another.  He made a conscious choice to become the man Maggie deserved.  He changed his life.  He grew up.  He became responsible.  He became emotionally present.  He became a real man.  Now he’s going to win his wife back no matter how hard she tries to walk away.  This time he is going to keep her.  If she walks away, he’s going to chase her and bring her home.  She is his wife. He just needs 30 days to prove it.

Needless to say, Nicole Williams painted a vivid picture of Maggie and Canaan’s life with her words.  This novel was like an artistic painting that evoked so many emotions with it’s choice of color, realms of shading, and deliberate strokes of the brush.  Sometimes the colors blended perfectly but the shading overpowered the overall piece.  Other times the brushstroke strayed outside the lines but added more detail to the overall intensity. When all the creativity, choice of colors, and masterful technique came together, it became an emotional masterpiece.  This is what Exes With Benefits by Nicole Williams became. Her words were what created a beautiful masterpiece about life, love, and the choice of happiness.

 

 

__________________________________________________

 4887264Nicole Williams is the New York Times and USATODAY bestselling author of contemporary and young adult romance, including the Crash and Lost & Found series. Her books have been published by HarperTeen and Simon & Schuster in both domestic and foreign markets, while she continues to self-publish additional titles. She is working on a new YA series with Crown Books (a division of Random House) as well. She loves romance, from the sweet to the steamy, and writes stories about characters in search of their happily even after. She grew up surrounded by books and plans on writing until the day she dies, even if it’s just for her own personal enjoyment. She still buys paperbacks because she’s all nostalgic like that, but her kindle never goes neglected for too long. When not writing, she spends her time with her husband and daughter, and whatever time’s left over she’s forced to fit too many hobbies into too little time.

Nicole is represented by Jane Dystel, of Dystel and Goderich Literary Agency.

Cover Reveal: Miss Fix-It by Emma Hart

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One handywoman.

One single dad.

One set of twins.

And the wall isn’t the only thing being drilled…

I learned the hard way that being a handywoman isn’t easy. The questions, the stares—the assumption I’m the proud owner of a cock and balls. Not that it matters. I’ve proven over and over that I’m ready for anything the judgmental asses throw at me.

Except the hot, single dad of twins who just moved to town.

Brantley Cooper gets the shock of his life when I show up on his doorstep to fix up his kids’ new rooms. His son is confused why ‘the pretty lady has a drill,’ and his daughter has a new obsession—me.

On paper, my job is easy. Go in, do their bedrooms, and leave.

In theory, I’m spending eight hours a day with a guarded, sexy as hell guy, and I’m staying for dinner more often than I’m eating it alone, on my couch, with Friends re-runs.

I shouldn’t be staying for dinner. I shouldn’t be helping him out with the twins. I shouldn’t be falling in love with tiny toes and dimpled cheeks.

And I most definitely should not be kissing my client.

Oops…

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emma

By day, New York Times and USA Today bestselling New Adult author Emma Hart dons a cape and calls herself Super Mum to two beautiful little monsters. By night, she drops the cape, pours a glass of whatever she fancies—usually wine—and writes books.

Emma is working on Top Secret projects she will share with her followers and fans at every available opportunity. Naturally, all Top Secret projects involve a dashingly hot guy who likes to forget to wear a shirt, a sprinkling (or several) of hold-onto-your-panties hot scenes, and a whole lotta love.

She likes to be busy—unless busy involves doing the dishes, but that seems to be when all the ideas come to life.

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New Release + Excerpt + Giveaway + Reviews: Hot In Hollywood Duet by Katee Robert

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Download the Hot in Hollywood Duet!

 TIES THAT BIND and ANIMAL ATTRACTION by NYT Bestselling Author Katee Robert are on Sale Now!

Download TIES THAT BIND and ANIMAL ATTRACTION and add them to your TBR pile on Goodreads! Then keep reading to get an EXCLUSIVE sneak peek at Hot in Hollywood and to enter the giveaway for a $50 Amazon gift card or a copy of PROM QUEEN, the book that inspired the characters in Hot in Hollywood!

 


 TITLE: Ties that Bind

SERIES: Hot in Hollywood  book 1

RELEASES: Sept 19, 2017

PUBLISHER:  Amazon Publishing

GENRE: Romance

COUPLE: Cora & Jack

TROPES: Reunited Lovers

 

SYNOPSIS:

Once upon a time, Cora Landers was America’s Sweetheart and destined to be the Next Big Thing in Hollywood—but that was before her sex tape ruined her image and eliminated her contracts. These days, instead of being an A-lister, she’s divorce attorney to the A-listers. So when her ex—and fellow sex tape star—Jack shows up, needing her expertise, she wants nothing to do with it.

Jack McArthur might have costarred in that sex tape, but he didn’t share Cora’s fate—instead of tanking his career, the tape skyrocketed it. Now, as one of Hollywood’s most buzzed about new directors, Jack has everything to lose—especially when he wakes up after a friend’s bachelor party gone wrong to find that he’s apparently married a woman he’s never met before…and now can’t find. Desperate, he goes to the only person who he knows can help—Cora.

Cora reluctantly agrees to help Jack—both because he’s offering an absurd amount of money and because she loves seeing him as a disadvantage for once. Neither of them anticipate the very real problem of their being unable to keep their hands off each other—or that Jack’s accidental marriage might be anything but accidental. With both her heart and career on the line—again—Cora has to decide if she’s going to take the high road or leave Jack hanging in the wind the same way he left her twelve years ago.

 

 

Excerpt from TIES THAT BIND (Copyright Š 2017 Katee Robert)

Jack opened the back door, every inch a gentleman—if it was gentlemanly to plan to ravage her in his backseat. Cora climbed in slowly, letting her dress ride up to give him a peek of her panties. His sharp inhale was reward in and of itself.

She expected him to follow immediately, but he stood there blocking the open space, his blue eyes forbidding. “Take those off.”

Cora settled back against the far door and pulled her dress up so she could slide her panties off. She tossed them in his direction, and Jack snaked a hand out to catch them. He slid them into his pocket and only then did he climb into the backseat with her.

“Really? You’re going to…what? Take them home as a memento? Bragging rights?”

“Cora.”

She licked her lips. “Yes?”

“Shut up. You know goddamn well and good that I’m not a douche like that, so stop pretending that I am.” He hooked her thighs and pulled her to the edge of the seat as he went to his knees next to the seat itself. “And stop pretending that it doesn’t get you wet knowing that I’ll be jacking myself to the scent of you later.”

Her jaw dropped. “Holy shit.”

“Now, stop talking.” He nudged her shoulder until she leaned back against the seat. Jack ran his hands up her thighs, spreading her legs farther. “It’s been a long time.”

There was nothing to say to that because it was the truth. Cora grabbed the hem of her dress and arched off the seat so she could drag it over her head. It left her in only her bra, but Jack’s curse made the bold move more than worth it. She shook her hair out of her face. “It won’t be much longer.”

He didn’t take his gaze off her as he reached for the center console. “Fuck, Cora.” The blatant appreciate in his tone made her smile despite herself. Jack met her eyes. “This isn’t a one-time thing.”

“Excuse me?”

“You. Me. This.” He motioned between them. “We do this, we’re doing this.”

The words were less than enlightening, but with his thumbs stroking intoxicating circles on her inner thighs, she wasn’t sure she cared. “Fine. Whatever. I need you inside me.”

His slow grin was foreplay all on its own. Jack traced his thumbs along the dip where her thighs met her hips. “Getting there.” He didn’t give her a chance to curse him. One second he was teasing her, the next he pushed two big fingers into her, filling her in a way that was nothing compared to the main course. She rolled her hips, trying to take him deeper, but Jack just chuckled and kept his strokes light.

Need built, stronger than it had any right to be. His scent wrapped around her in the close confines of the car, the tinted windows creating an intimate atmosphere despite where they were. Cora didn’t want intimate. She didn’t want soft. She sure as hell didn’t want slow. She grabbed his wrist. “Stop teasing me.”

“Come home with me.”

She blinked, surprised for what felt like the thousandth time that day. “What?”

“Come home with me, Cora.” Jack kept stroking her, his fingers unerringly gravitating to that sensitive spot inside her that could motivate her to do damn near anything. She gasped and he leaned down to eat the sound. His tongue stole her words even as his fingers continued their wicked work. Jack consumed her.

And then he stopped.

He pressed one last light kiss to her lips and sat back. “What’s your answer?”

She wasn’t even sure what the question was. Cora shook her head, trying to clear it. “This is emotional blackmail.”

“Hardly.” His thumb idly circled her clit, sending a wave of tension through her body. “This is me flat out saying that I want you naked in my bed, to do with as I please for several hours before we pass out. Reality can wait until tomorrow.”

Common sense said it was the perfect time to stop this before she got herself—and her heart—into trouble. No one had ever seen her the way Jack threatened to. She didn’t relish the thought of being stripped bare, only to be left in the dust when he moved on from his current crisis.

But if she didn’t jump now, she might never get the chance to again.

The thought of spending the rest of her life kicking herself for missing the chance to be with Jack again had her finding words she never thought she’d say. “Yes.”

“Yes?” His cobalt eyes watched her every move, making her feel strangely like prey. It wasn’t a comfortable feeling, but it wasn’t entirely unpleasant, either.

Cora swallowed hard. “Take me home with you, Jack.”

Tracey’s Review

Man, those mornings after following a night out in Vegas can be a bear. I mean, headache, hangover, marriage certificate…Yep, there’s nothing quite like finding proof of a celebration that you don’t remember attending to wake you right up, and Jack McArthur is bound and determined to figure out what the heck is going on.

Enter Cora Landers, Jack’s one-time co-star in a film that she’d rather forget. Cora’s left the bright lights of fame behind, and is making her mark as a divorce attorney. Cora would rather do most anything than help Jack out, but money talks, and having him at a disadvantage couldn’t make her happier.

I love those stories that are jumping off points for more stories about the people you just have to know more about. When Cora showed up as one of Jessica’s best friends in PROM QUEEN, part of the Bad Boy Homecoming series, I knew that she was someone that I wanted to see more of. In TIES THAT BIND, all of the bits and pieces come together in a short and sexy read to complete the picture.

This story is a truly enjoyable second-chance, sparks flying, what the heck really happened in Vegas read, and is an easy 4.5 stars for me. I’m looking forward to seeing more of what makes Brooklyn, the other best friend, tick in ANIMAL ATTRACTION, the second book in the Hot In Hollywood duet.

 Order at:

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B&N: http://bit.ly/TiesThatBindBN

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TITLE: Animal Attraction

SERIES: Hot in Hollywood  book 2

RELEASES: Sept 19, 2017

PUBLISHER:  Amazon Publishing

GENRE: Romance

COUPLE: Brooklyn & Levi

TROPES: Enemies to Lovers

 

SYNOPSIS:

A private investigator might not be as glamorous as Brooklyn James had expected, but it pays the bills. Or at least it used to. In dire financial straits, she no longer has the luxury of saying no to jobs if she wants to pay her bills—which is how she ends up in a tree, spying on a billionaire who’s accused of dognapping. Not her finest moment.

Levi Turnbull made his fortune by creating tech that melds exercise with video games. It sounded great at the time, but now he’s got more money than he knows what to do with and he’s bored out of his mind waiting for the next game to launch. When he realizes a neighbor has been neglecting his dog, he takes matters into his own hands—by taking the dog. If he’s been trolling the neighbor ever since with hilarious fliers around the area… Well, he’s only human. When he finds a pretty redhead trespassing on his property in search of the missing dog, he sees the ultimate distraction until the launch.

Brooklyn initially agrees to a date in order to get close enough to Levi to find evidence of his dognapping—but that motivation gets complicated when they end up in bed together. She’s unable to resist his charm, and as they grow closer, Brooklyn can’t avoid the truth—not only did Levi steal a million dollar dog…he’s in danger of stealing her heart, too.

 

 

Excerpt from Animal Attraction (Copyright Š 2017 Katee Robert)

He spun her around and pressed her hands to the door, his big body at her back. “This is the door.”

“It’s a very nice door.”

“Mmm.” His hips thrust against her ass, and she swallowed hard, her body clenching in anticipation. The first-time nerves were gone. She knew what was coming, and she knew she would be coming before long. They might not be compatible in life, but their bodies didn’t know that. Levi pulled her hair off her neck and kissed her there, taking his time, the sensation of his lips and beard making her toes curl. “I picked it out myself.”

Picked out… Oh, right. The door.

She arched back into him, rubbing her ass against his cock. “You have good taste.”

“Funny you say that, because what I want most right now is to taste you.” He backed off enough to pull her jacket off and then one hand was on the front of her jeans, unbuttoning them deftly and dragging the zipper down. She felt that tiny vibration all the way through her body. There was nothing to say, though, because he slipped a big hand into her jeans, dipping beneath her panties, and speared a single finger into her.

Brooklyn moaned and tried to spread her legs. The move tightened her jeans, holding his hand in place. “I need you.”

“Tour’s not done yet.” He pumped as much as he was able. And then he withdrew his hand.

She couldn’t keep her whimper of protest in. She spun to face him, trying to shove out of her pants in the process, and nearly face-planted. “Levi.”

“Dresser.” He lifted her, and walked the handful of steps to the dresser to set her on it. Then he yanked off her jeans and tossed them behind him. “Better.”

“Much.”

He stepped between her thighs and kissed her. It was nothing like the last time. There was no careful and teasing exploration. Levi sucked and stroked and nipped her into a frenzy. His mouth drew sounds from her she wasn’t aware she could make. She wrapped her legs around his waist and clung to his shoulders and basically tried to climb him like a big, sexy tree, because she needed his cock and she needed it now.

He shifted and set her back on the dresser, untangling from her. “Mahogany.”

It took Brooklyn a few beats to catch up. She looked down at the piece of furniture she sat on and back at the man in front of her, his hard length creating a mouthwatering outline against his jeans. “I don’t care.”

“You should. It’s a family heirloom. My grandfather built it.” He hit his knees in front of her and spread her legs wider. “It was his wedding gift to my grandmother.”

She blinked. Didn’t expect that, either. Brooklyn tried to get a better look at the massive piece of furniture, but Levi chose that moment to lean in and drag his tongue up her center and suddenly, she didn’t give two fucks about what she sat on, as long as it didn’t fall apart beneath her. She gripped the edge of the dresser to keep from levitating right off it and looked down her body to meet his gaze.

The switch had been flipped again. Gone was the playfulness, replaced by that intensity that had tingles shooting down her spine. He really was something.

She half expected him to rush through the oral, but she really should have known better. Levi hitched her legs higher and went after her clit like it owed him money. He sucked and licked and growled against her skin as his grip tightened on her thighs.

Brooklyn was so lost in her pleasure, she didn’t notice that he’d half released her until she looked down to watch him again and saw that he was stroking himself. He jacked himself while licking her, as if he couldn’t contain himself and…

Her back bowed and she came with a cry. “Oh, my God.”

“You don’t have to call me God. Levi will do.” He kissed first one thigh and then the other. “But if you’re going to insist, I won’t stop you.”

“Shhhh. You don’t get to talk shit when I’m too weak from my fantastic orgasm to fight back.”

Levi rose and kissed her shoulder, her collar bone, her neck. “Honey, that’s the best time to talk shit.”

Tracey’s Review

In matters of money, beggars can’t be choosers, as Brooklyn James is finding out. Working as a PI brings more than its share of crazy cases, but, heck, if it pays the bills, Brooklyn’s game. When a client with deep pockets hires Brooklyn to find out what happened to his pet dog, she’s not in a position to say no.

Tech wizard Levi Turnbull didn’t steal his neighbor’s dog so much as liberate it. I mean, he couldn’t just sit around and let the poor pooch be neglected, right? And, if nicking the dog brings him closer to the redhead hanging out in a tree on his property, well, two birds, one stone, and all of that.

ANIMAL ATTRACTION is chock full of the sass, the fun, the sexiness that are typical Katee Robert. The chemistry between Levi and Brooklyn is immediate, overt, and such fun that I wish their story was longer, but this 4.5-star read satisfies nonetheless, and was a pure pleasure to read. As a note, while this story is part of of duet, it does stand alone. Grab this book, grab the first, nab them both, but, whatever you do, just read these and enjoy.

Order at:

Amazon: http://bit.ly/AnimalAttractionKindle

B&N: http://bit.ly/AnimalAttractionBN

iTunes: http://bit.ly/AnimalAttractioniTunes

Kobo: http://bit.ly/AnimalAttractionKobo

 Enter to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card and three (3) eBook copies of PROM QUEEN from Katee Robert!

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About Katee Robert

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Katee Robert learned to tell her stories at her grandpa’s knee. Her 2015 title, The Marriage Contract, was a RITA finalist, and RT Book Reviews named it ‘a compulsively readable book with just the right amount of suspense and tension.”  When not writing sexy contemporary and romantic suspense, she spends her time playing imaginary games with her children, driving her husband batty with what-if questions, and planning for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. 

Connect with Katee at: Website | Facebook | Twitter| GoodReads | Instagram

Remix Tour + Excerpt + Giveaway + 5+-Star Review: Grip by Kennedy Ryan

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“…one of the most engaging and well-written romance books I have read…It’s like nothing you’ve read before. It touches the issues no one talks about in our community. And it’s a MUST-READ.”

—LJ Shen, Amazon Bestselling Author

GRIP, Kennedy Ryan’s sexy, emotional Amazon Bestseller,

is available now for only 99¢!

Scroll all the way down for an excerpt and to enter the

$25 Gift Card Giveaway!

GRIP COVER SALE

Resisting an irresistible force wears you down and turns you out. I know. I’ve been doing it for years.

I may not have a musical gift of my own, but I’ve got a nose for talent and an eye for the extraordinary. And Marlon James – Grip to his fans – is nothing short of extraordinary.

Years ago, we strung together a few magical nights, but I keep those memories in a locked drawer and I’ve thrown away the key. All that’s left is friendship and work.

He’s on the verge of unimaginable fame, all his dreams poised to come true. I manage his career, but I can’t seem to manage my heart.

It’s wild, reckless, disobedient. And it remembers all the things I want to forget.

Read GRIP today for only 99¢ or FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

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FLOW, the FREE prequel, MUST BE READ before GRIP!

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STILL, the sexy and emotional final installment of The Grip Series,

releases September 24th!

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GRIP SERIES REMIX SALE

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Excerpt

“Neither of us has been in a serious relationship in years.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.” I stand and slide my feet into the Jimmy Choos. “You haven’t exactly been waiting around, have you?”

“Damn right I haven’t been waiting around.” He doesn’t get up, but his firm hold on my wrist stops me from walking away. “I’m not Rhyson.”

I look down at him, frowning my confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“Remember when Kai put Rhyson in the friend zone?”
 Of course I do. For a long time, my sister-in-law Kai denied the attraction between her and Rhyson.

“Yeah, so?”

“When Kai wasn’t checking for Rhys, I assumed he had to be sleeping with other girls.” Grip shrugs. “I mean, he and Kai were just friends. But, nope. He said he only wanted Kai and didn’t sleep with anyone else.”

“Then you’re right.” I tug at my wrist, but he holds on tight. “You’re definitely not Rhyson.”

“It was months, Bristol. She shut him out for months. Not years.”

“I’m not shutting you out.” I release a tired breath. “I’m living my life, and you’re living yours.”

“Right.” He nods and turns his mouth down at the corners. “So, if you won’t be with me, then I’ll fuck whoever the hell I want. If you have a problem with that, you know what to do about it.”

For a moment, our eyes tangle in the dimness. His words sink into my flesh like briars. Every word out of his mouth only proves that I’m right to get out of here. That I’m right not to give in. If I ever gave him a chance and he fucked around on me . . . I’ve seen what that looks like. It looks like a woman as strong as my mother reduced to pathetic, teary drunkenness.

“It’s none of my business.” I shift my eyes away from him and to the glittering city skyline just beyond the rooftop.

“It’s none of your business until you say it is.”

I force myself to look back.

“Don’t hold your breath, Grip.” I say my next words with deliberation. “I mean, it’s not like I’m sitting around saving it, either.”

He pulls me forward, and I press my hand to the hardness of his chest so I don’t fall into him. My knee supports me, pressed against his on the couch.

“Are you poking me?” One strong hand wraps around the back of my thigh, anger marking his expression. “Do you want to know if it bothers me when you fuck other guys?”

I just stare at him unblinkingly. He presses my leg, urging me forward until I’m fully on the couch, fully on him, one knee on either side of his legs, facing him. Straddling him.

“It makes me want to set the world on fire.” His words come softly, but the truth roars in his eyes. “To think of you with them.”

 

Tracey’s Review

I fell for her before the beat dropped… 

Kennedy Ryan writes in pictures, crafting masterpieces that consume me. Her way with words, the intricate, heartfelt, emotional tapestries that she weaves, make it impossible not to feel with my whole heart. Newest obsession? Marlon ‘Grip’ James. Poet, musician, overcomer, star.

There were plenty of hints about the push and pull between Grip and Bristol Gray, his manager, his best friend’s sister, and the woman that he’s wanted for a very long time, in the previous books in the Soul series by Kennedy. But fans wanted more, wanted the whole back story of Grip and Bristol, and Kennedy delivered, oh, how she delivered.

It’s hard to say what I love most about GRIP, and it’s prequel FLOW, because I love absolutely everything about these books. The intensity and sheer tenacity of Grip’s feelings, the badassery blended with vulnerability that is Bristol, the simmering desire and want that is just always there. A passion and sense of belonging that ignited in one short week, that continued, always there beneath the surface of their relationship, for so long, giving a whole new meaning to ‘meant to be.’

Kennedy has done an excellent job, too, of painting the very real picture of themes prevalent in our culture today, and does so eloquently and realistically, all the while managing to give a sense of hope. Because of their differences, Grip and Bristol face obstacles that they should not have to. While time moves slowly in regards to change that should have already happened at this late date, I’m a dreamer, and hope, along with Grip and Bristol, that love changes hearts, changes history, that love wins.

GRIP is an easy 5+ stars for me, and is going right up there as one of my favorite reads this year. Loving Kennedy’s body of work, and these characters as I do, I’m kicking myself for not having read this book earlier, because it is wonderful. A must-read for fans of Kennedy Ryan, fans of the Soul series, and lovers of a book full of heart and soul, GRIP (and FLOW before it), belongs on TBRs everywhere.

❤ P.S. Extra props to Kennedy for having Grip use one of my very favorite songs by Prince as part of a pivotal song. I’ll think of Grip and Bristol every time I listen to it now. ❤

 

Find the GRIP Series On Audio!

FLOW ➜ http://bit.ly/FLOWAudiobook

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Kennedy Ryan

About the Author:

Kennedy Ryan is a Southern girl gone Southern California. A Top 100 Amazon Bestseller, Kennedy writes romance about remarkable women who find a way to thrive even in tough times, the love they find, and the men who cherish them.

She is a wife to her lifetime lover and mother to an extraordinary son. She has always leveraged her journalism background to write for charity and non-profit organizations, but enjoys writing to raise Autism awareness most. A contributor for Modern Mom Magazine, Kennedy’s writings have appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul, USA Today and many others. The founder and executive director of a foundation serving Georgia families living with Autism, Kennedy has appeared on Headline News, Montel Williams, NPR and other outlets as a voice for families living with autism.

Connect with Kennedy:

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Release Day Blitz: Beyond the Mathews Family Duet by Beverly Preston

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Synopsis

BEYOND THE MATHEWS FAMILY – TWO STANDALONE NOVELS by USA Today bestselling Author Beverly Preston
A TASTE OF SUMMER – A second chance romance.
Most people know Hollywood heartthrob, Ryan Summer, as Ryan, no last name required. But once upon a time, he was just Summer to Carrie Ann—before a decade of blockbuster hits skyrocketed his success into superstardom.
Summer was smart, gorgeous, and cocky as hell. Nothing was out of his reach. Not even Carrie Ann Lowell. He was the love of her life—until he shattered her heart. Their breakup left more than a profound rift in her soul. It crushed her.
When Carrie Ann’s college flame forces his way back into her life, his dirty-talking, bold self-assurance reignites a passion she thought had long since been extinguished. Carrie Ann didn’t believe in second chances.
Not even for him.
No matter how deliciously tempting.
With sparks flying and hidden truths unraveling, will Carrie Anne be able to deny her desires to save herself from another heartbreak?

HOLDING ONTO HOPE – A friends to lovers romance.
The biggest gifts often require the greatest sacrifices.
Italian winemaker, Antonio Giovanni is tall, dark, and handsome with an accent sexy enough to leave a trail of women’s panties in his wake.
Including Hope’s.
Master Sommelier, Hope Tidwell travels the globe seeking out the finest wines. She refuses to let relationships get in the way of her career and abides by a strict set of rules:
No ties.
No expectations.
No risks.
Lucky for her, those rules work just fine for Antonio.
Until they don’t.
When Hope’s sister asks her to do the one thing she’s sworn never to do, she can’t say no.
Can she?
She never intended to travel down this road.
When unanticipated and devastating events throw the trajectory of her life so far off course, she can’t even recognize her world anymore. Suddenly, the rules no longer apply.
Will Hope be able to do the one thing that terrifies her the most?

 

Goodreads

 

 

Purchase Links

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2wEsFz4

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2fimOgi

iBooks: http://apple.co/2xOVEVI

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2fiukYm

 

About the Author

Beverly Preston is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance. She writes emotionally rich and sinfully sexy stories about the ultimate alpha good guy; the kind of man you want to drag you to bed and put a ring on your finger. She also has a passion for strong, humorous, female characters and stories ingrained in a solid sense of family and loyalty.

She lives in Las Vegas with her husband, four kids, and two golden retrievers. If she’s not spinning richly emotional stories, you’ll find her on her spin bike.

Laugh, cry, and fall in love with The Mathews Family one Happily Ever After at a time.

 

Connect with Beverly

 

Website: http://bit.ly/2xff9UA

Newsletter: http://bit.ly/2wv8XKK

Facebook Author Page: http://bit.ly/2xcBKn6

Goodreads Author Page: http://bit.ly/2xkb9DS

Twitter: http://bit.ly/2xjGDtA

Instagram: http://bit.ly/2hghCqe

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2xd3acg

BookBub Author Page: http://bit.ly/2fyxQL7

 

Exclusive Excerpt: The Beautiful Now by M. Leighton

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We are thrilled to be sharing an exclusive excerpt from THE BEAUTIFUL NOW, the upcoming release from M. Leighton.

 

 

BLURB:

Dane James worked my stepfather’s fields. He was the boy next door.  

Strong.  

Hardworking.  

Forbidden.

From the moment we met, we were star-crossed lovers—always wanting, never having. We loved each other for most of our lives, but right from the beginning destiny had other plans.  She knew we would fall in love.  She knew we would fall apart.  Over and over again, like the curse of a recurring nightmare.  Or the hope of a familiar dream.  

Our past was tumultuous.  Our future was bleak.  But the one thing we always had was the beautiful now.

Until that was taken from us, too.

 

ADD TO GR:  http://smarturl.it/TheBeautifulNowGR

LIVE ALERT: http://smarturl.it/TBNLiveAlert

 

EXCERPT:

(12 YEARS OLD)  

We fell silent as he stepped into the field. He tugged me along behind him and I gladly followed him through the waist-high ocean of feathery crop. It swayed in the moonlight, silvery waves tossed gently back and forth by the warm night breeze. I held out the hand that wasn’t curled in Dane’s and let the thin stalks trail between my fingers.  Their fluffy caps tickled one palm as Dane’s calloused skin warmed the other.  I drew in a gulp of air and held it in my lungs.  Something about the night felt perfect and…valuable, like it was special in a way I wouldn’t see much of in my life. I sure hadn’t up to that point. I didn’t want to let it go, so I held it inside me, trapped with the sweetly-scented air, for as long as I could hang on.  Until I had to let it go.

In the moment I exhaled, I knew being with Dane James was right.  Even though I’d get in trouble if I were discovered, I didn’t care.  I couldn’t.  Somehow with this boy I didn’t know, who had the prettiest eyes I’d ever seen, getting in trouble seemed small.  And he seemed big.  Bigger than life.  He was worth the risk. I didn’t really understand it, but I knew it intuitively.  My weakness for one boy, for the one wrong boy, was already taking hold. He needed me as much as I needed him and the rest didn’t really matter.

Dane led me deep into the field, so deep I was beginning to worry that we were going to get lost.  We’d come so far I couldn’t even see the light from my window anymore. The farther we walked from the house, the darker the night appeared to grow.  The faint glow of the moon overhead was our only light and Dane James was my only measure of security.  He was all I had to hold onto.

He was my anchor.

He was my compass.

✩¸.•*´¨)✩ ¸.•*¨) ¸.✩´¸.•*´¨)✩ ✩¸.•*´¨)✩ ¸.•*¨) ¸.✩´¸.•*´¨)✩ 

New Release: On A Tuesday by Whitney G.

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On A Tuesday

By Whitney G.

Buy: Amazon

Synopsis

We met on a Tuesday.
Became best friends, then lovers, on a Tuesday.
And everything fell apart on a Tuesday…

Charlotte Taylor has three automatic strikes in my book: 1) She hates me. She also claims that I’m a “domineering jerk with a huge, overbearing ego.” (I do have something huge. It’s not my ego, though.) 2) She takes our mandatory tutoring sessions way too seriously. 3) She’s sexy as hell…And a virgin.

At least, those were her strikes before our study sessions started lasting longer than they were supposed to. Until one innocent kiss became a hundred dirty ones, and until she became the first woman I ever fell hard for.

Our future together after graduation was supposed to be set:
Professional football for me. Law school for her.

But she left me at the end of the semester with no explanation, and then she completely disappeared from my life.

Until tonight.

We met on a Tuesday.
Became everything, then nothing, on a Tuesday.
And now it’s seven years later, on a Tuesday…

**This is a second chance romance, inspired by Adele’s “When We Were Young”**

___________________________________

Whitney G. is a twenty-eight-year-old optimist who is obsessed with travel, tea, and great coffee. She’s also a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of several contemporary novels, and the cofounder of The Indie Tea–an inspirational blog for indie romance authors.

When she’s not chatting with readers on her Facebook Page, you can find her on her website at http://www.whitneygbooks.com or on instagram: @whitneyg.author. (If she’s not in either of those places, she’s probably locked away working on another crazy story.)

Don’t forget to sign up for Whitney’s monthly newsletter here: http://bit.ly/1p9fEYF

Release Blitz + Review: Lucas by Sawyer Bennett – Cold Fury Hockey Series – Book 8

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Lucas (Cold Fury, Book #8)
Sawyer Bennett
Release Date: September 19, 2017

Synopsis:
The Carolina Cold Fury hockey team is stacked with hotshots. But when a new player joins their ranks, he learns that even superstars can’t go it alone when it comes to love.

Lucas Fournier is only serious about one thing: hockey. The league’s fun-loving charmer, Luc is always up for a good prank or a great lay, and he has no intention of settling down. But being traded to the Carolina Cold Fury—and to play alongside his big brother, Max—is no joke. With another title in sight, the last thing Luc wants is to let his new teammates down. To succeed, Luc will need to keep his head in the game and the most . . . er, demanding member of his anatomy in check. But when temptation hits, Luc hits back harder.

Museum curator Stephanie Frazier has always put business before pleasure, which just about explains her nonexistent sex life. But when Stephanie meets Luc at a champagne-fueled gala, she finds herself flirting like crazy—and going home with the uninhibited athlete. For one night, she learns what passion is all about. She just never counted on the little surprise Luc leaves behind. And that’s when things really start to get . . . interesting.

Sawyer Bennett’s New York Times bestselling Carolina Cold Fury series can be read together or separately.

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33593824-lucas

Purchase Lucas (Cold Fury, Book #8):
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2xMqTRi
B&N: http://bit.ly/2iFAUc5
iBooks: http://apple.co/2jsm0mG
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2iWNW3m
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2jcyPk1
Audible: http://adbl.co/2h7mjm6Michel’s Review

The Carolina Cold Fury hockey team is back in full force.  They are not only shredding the ice in the play offs, they are also shredding our hearts one player at a time.  Sawyer Bennett has created a team of men that are melting the readers hearts and leaving them wanting more.

Lucas Fournier is thrilled to be a part of the Carolina Cold Fury team for many reasons, not only is he playing on the ice with his brother Max, he is also part of an exceptional hockey organization that believes in the importance of family as well as winning the cup.  It’s a win win situation.  Being one of the few single guys on the team is also a bonus, it’s a guarantee of more available ladies to choose from.  He’s a single guy and has no intentions of settling down anytime soon.  Let all the other players enjoy their family time while he reaps of the rewards as a single player. It all begins to change when he meets Stephanie Frazier at a museum benefit. He’s thrilled that he is available and that she wants a one night hook up with no strings attached.  Best night of his life. Best sex he’s ever had.  The sex was so good that he shredded the condom like he shreds the ice. He’s not overly concerned that the condom broke because Stephanie has the same mantra he has and is going to take the morning after pill.  All is good and he wouldn’t mind another hook up with Stephanie but knows it will never happen. As I said all is good until Stephanie shows up one month later to inform him the morning after pill didn’t work and she’s definitely pregnant. Neither one of them wants to settle down.  Neither one of them planned on becoming parents at this stage in their lives.  Neither one of them is sure how to handle the situation but they are both sure they want this surprise baby.

Stephanie Frazier is a free spirit.  She has focused on building her career and has no intentions of ever settling down.  She’s happy with her single life and is fine with one night hook ups.  Hooking up with Lucas Fournier was fun, thrilling, and the best sex she ever had.  It was a night to remember and a night to never repeat.  The morning after pill should of taken care of the condom mishap.  As fate would have it, she’s the one in a few that the pill doesn’t work on.  Now she’s facing becoming a mother and doesn’t have the first clue what to do.  She has no concept of loving family relationships or nurturing parents.  The one thing she is sure of is that she wants this baby no matter what Lucas Fournier does.  To her complete surprise Lucas is on board with having the baby and co parenting.  He’s willing to help out in any manner and is extremely supportive of her choices.  She’s not sure what to do with that because she’s never had anybody put her needs first.

Max and Stephanie begin as tentative friends trying to maneuver their way into the parenting role.  Their sexual chemistry is through the roof and they both have a healthy sexual appetite.  The problem is neither one of them knows how to be in a relationship. As time goes by Lucas wants more than Stephanie is willing to give.  Stephanie is frightened of all the emotions being around Lucas brings into her life.  She’s pushing Lucas away and Lucas is pushing harder.

Sawyer Bennett once again delivered another win for the Cold Fury Hockey Series.  The play offs are just beginning and there are some key players wanting their time to play on the Cold Fury pages.

 

______________________________________________
About the Author:
Since the release of her debut contemporary romance novel, Off Sides, in January 2013, Sawyer Bennett has released multiple books, many of which have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists.

A reformed trial lawyer from North Carolina, Sawyer uses real life experience to create relatable, sexy stories that appeal to a wide array of readers. From new adult to erotic contemporary romance, Sawyer writes something for just about everyone.

Sawyer likes her Bloody Marys strong, her martinis dirty, and her heroes a combination of the two. When not bringing fictional romance to life, Sawyer is a chauffeur, stylist, chef, maid, and personal assistant to a very active daughter, as well as full-time servant to her adorably naughty dogs. She believes in the good of others, and that a bad day can be cured with a great work-out, cake, or even better, both.

Sawyer also writes general and women’s fiction under the pen name S. Bennett and sweet romance under the name Juliette Poe.

Connect with Sawyer:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bennettbooks
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BennettBooks
Instagram: https://instagram.com/sawyerbennett123/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/Sawyer_Bennett

Sign up for Sawyer’s newsletter: http://sawyerbennett.com/signup/