About shellbellereads

My passion is reading. I am an avid reader and love to share my love for books.

Fierce: A Fantasy Collection – Sixteen USA Today and New York Times and Amazon Bestsellers

Posted on 03/10/2015 by shellbellereads

We’re having a release day launch for Fierce: A Fantasy Collection. This anthology has sixteen USA Today, New York Times and Amazon bestsellers, including Mercedes Lackey!!! Grab your copy today!!

Fierce: A Fantasy Collection Synopsis:

As Featured On USA Today!

Join epic fantasy legend Mercedes Lackey and fifteen additional New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon bestselling authors on the adventure of a lifetime!

Over one million words and sixteen realms of fantasy brought together for your reading pleasure. Discover courageous characters fighting for justice and order. Journey between kingdoms of dragons and lands of anarchy as tales of magic and mayhem unfold.

Grab it today, before it’s gone!

Buy Links:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play

Cover Reveal: Ascenders by CL Gaber- Book 1

Posted on 03/10/2015 by shellbellereads

Look at the gorgeous cover for ASCENDERS by CL Gaber! Check out the excerpt below for a sneak peek!

ASCENDERS (Ascenders 1) by CL Gaber

YA Paranormal Romance/Fantasy

Goodreads

Is this Hell or is this High School?

THE ASCENDERS Takes You To the In-between Where Teens Who Died Young Go On the Epic Adventure of an After-Lifetime.

Blurb:

Walker Callaghan doesn’t know what happened to her. One minute she was living her teenage life in suburban Chicago…and the next minute, she was in a strange place and in a brand new school with absolutely no homework, no rules, and no consequences.Walker Callaghan, 16, is dead.

She doesn’t go to Heaven or Hell. She lands at The Academy, a middle realm where teenagers have one thing in common: They were that morning announcement at their high schools because they died young.

These high school kids are now caught in a strange “in-between” zone where life hasn’t changed very much. In fact, this special teen limbo looks a lot like life in a quaint Michigan town complete with jocks, popular girls and cliques. “There are even cheerleaders in death,” Walker observes. It’s not a coincidence that the music teacher is a guy named Kurt who “used to have this band.” The drama teacher, Heath, is crush worthy because back in his life, he starred in some superhero movie as the Joker.

Principal King explains the rules — there are none. Why? You can’t die twice.

There is no homework.

No tests.

No SATS.

You’re just there to learn because the human brain isn’t fully formed until you’re 24.

By the way, you can’t get hurt physically, so race your Harley off that hillside. But falling in love is the most dangerous thing you can do …because no one knows how long you’ll stay in this realm or what’s next. Walker falls hard for tat-covered, bad boy Daniel Reid who is about to break the only sacred rule of this place. He’s looking for a portal to return back to the living realm.

Ascenders….An epic adventure of an after-life time.

EXCERPT

In what seemed like an instant, my back foot caught on a large fallen tree branch and I fell forward with all my body weight. Crashing hard onto my hands and knees, I cried out, but I wasn’t in any real pain. Before I could stand up, I slipped again until my stomach slammed against the surface of the thickly iced-over pond. The cracking sound was like thunder. Then, in what felt like a sickening surge of broken glass and rushing water, the ground suddenly ceased to exist. I didn’t have time to scream as I dropped into the dark, lifeless, icy chill of wintery water.

I braced for the first slap of bitter freeze, instantly calling up some stupid fact from science class at Kennedy High where we learned that Titanic survivors described hitting the freezing ocean water as thousands of tiny knives stabbing every inch of their bodies.

I expected excruciating pain, but there was none. There was just numbness as I entered the earliest stages of being converted to ice.

Resistance was only natural and I fought hard as my hands flailed through the water trying to keep my head above the murky freeze, but it was pointless. The water was hungry that night and my thrashing almost made a game out of its impending conquest. It only took a second or two of my desperate survival dance for the lake to swallow me whole.

Daniel must have heard the crack and he stopped in place. Slowly, he turned around as I struggled to pop up again, but by putting up a fight I only succeeded in making it worse. As my body was being carried under the heavy sheet of ice in an involuntary dance, I could see Daniel above, the soles of his black boots carefully following my route as he calmly watched me drown.

In a way, it was fascinating to watch him ever so gradually shuffle along as my hands desperately reached from under my new icy roof for the bottom of his boots. The only thing that separated us was about five solid inches of deadly winter soup. By the time he found me in an even darker spot where the lake mingled with several dead, embalmed trees, all he could see from under the thick coating was my face looking up at him, frozen in horror. He saw my pouty mouth almost kissing the ice and frantically trying to say one word to him.

“Help!” I mouthed.

I gulped down murky green water, ingesting long tentacles of lifeless leaves and thick clumps of sludge-dirt, and it all slid easily into my lungs while he just stood there. He. Stood. There.

Frantically, I maneuvered away from the spot by the trees, which made it worse because now I was pinned under even thicker ice, my milky-white face pressed up against eight to ten inches of immovable crystals.

Casually, Daniel walked to where I was wildly waving my arms underneath the water. When I looked up now, he was a hazy dark blur that made me suddenly dizzy. That’s when I shut my eyes to wait for the inevitable.

But I didn’t black out. Long minutes passed, my eyes sprung open, and I continued to push upward again as the water became midnight black. For some reason I was still alive, but I still couldn’t free myself from this wintry prison.

My mind raced. How much time had passed? How much time could pass before I would be brain-dead? How much time before I died?

Daniel still stood above the ground and calmly watched me struggle. “To hell with this,” he finally said, loud enough for me to hear him under the ice. Was he telling me to stop struggling and just accept that I lost?

After another endless minute passed, he shook his head and, though apparently talking to himself, said even louder, “Okay, enough . . . but you need to know.”

Kicking through a thinner spot of ice, he made a small hole and then pummeled it into a bigger passage with those clomping boots. Reaching down into the crack, he offered me a strong hand and a tat-covered, muscular arm. Somehow through the dark water, I saw human fingers moving and grabbed them like they were my only lifelines, which is exactly what they were to me.

All it took was one big hoist and I was in his arms, pressed body-to-body up against him, soaking wet, freezing cold, and mad as hell.

With my right hand, that had absolutely no feeling in it, I slapped him squarely across the jaw as hard as possible. When he didn’t budge much, I slapped him again, which made my hand tired, but it didn’t hurt. When I attempted to punch his face, he grabbed my hand in a firm way that signaled we weren’t going another nine rounds.

“Easy there, tiger,” he said with a smirk that made those soft eyes twinkle. “I guess you’re a fan of the Rocky movies.”

“Why . . . you bastard . . . why . . . you didn’t even try to save me,” I sputtered, but I wasn’t really coughing and certainly my brain was perfectly fine. For a split second, I counted to five backward. Again, it was amazing that my mind was still functioning. Maybe the water was cold enough to save me. Is that how it worked?

“I saw you. You were just standing there! Watching! Watching me die!” I screamed, shoving him again. This time, I took him by surprise and he landed butt-first in a pile of snow.

Calmly, he stood up, lurched forward, and grabbed both of my arms, holding me against his rock-hard chest until I stopped struggling and gave up the idea of trying to knock his block off. He held me tightly like he was protecting me from some danger worse than what just happened. Tears formed in my eyes and I began to touch my arms and then tested my breathing, which was perfectly normal. He still refused to let go. Big white puffs of my breath filled the dark sky and I watched them evaporate slowly like little clouds. Then I looked up.

“Why aren’t I dead?” I said in an anguished voice.

Daniel took a deep breath, carefully released me, and then answered slowly.

“Because, baby, you can’t die twice,” he said.

For more information check out the ASCENDERS website HERE!

_________________________________________________________________

About the Author:

C.L. Gaber is the co-author of the bestselling YA novel “Jex Malone.” She is also an entertainment journalist, syndicated worldwide through the New York Times Syndicate. She interviews A-lister movie, TV and music stars for the Chicago Sun-Times. A movie-loving kid in Chicago, she grew up to earn a degree from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State. Now she lives Nevada with her husband Ron, once her high school boyfriend; her stepdaughter, Sabrina; and their dogs, Colt and Georgie.Website

http://www.clgaber.com/ | Facebook

Happy Release + 5 Star Review: Confess by Colleen Hoover

Posted on 03/10/2015 by shellbellereads

Confess

By Colleen Hoover

Release Date : March 10,2015

Buy : Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

Synopsis:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover, a new novel about risking everything for love—and finding your heart somewhere between the truth and lies.

Auburn Reed has her entire life mapped out. Her goals are in sight and there’s no room for mistakes. But when she walks into a Dallas art studio in search of a job, she doesn’t expect to find a deep attraction to the enigmatic artist who works there, Owen Gentry.

For once, Auburn takes a risk and puts her heart in control, only to discover that Owen is keeping some major secrets from coming out. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything important to Auburn, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it.

The last thing Owen wants is to lose Auburn, but he can’t seem to convince her that truth is sometimes as subjective as art. All he would have to do to save their relationship is confess. But in this case, the confession could be much more destructive than the actual sin…

Buy : Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

Robin’s Review

Colleen Hoover is well-known for including innovative and artistic features in her novels. Whether she is collaborating with a musician or artist, writing poetry or writing in the lyrical style, Hoover’s creativity makes her stories unique and special. In the past, she successfully collaborated with recording artist Griffin Peterson for Maybe Someday. Peterson wrote and recorded several songs that are included in the story. I found that listening to each of the songs while I was reading Maybe Someday greatly enhanced my reading experience.

Colleen Hoover has now collaborated with artist Danny O’Conner to create paintings that are included in Confess. Hoover also asked her readers to submit anonymous confessions – real confessions – some of which were chosen to be included in Confess. In this story, anonymous confessions are left at the door of artist Owen Gentry, and he uses these confessions as inspiration for his paintings. Pictures of Danny O’Conner’s paintings are found throughout the novel.

Confess is a deeply moving story about two individuals who each have a past shrouded in mystery. Twenty-year-old cosmetologist Auburn Reed recently moved from Portland, Oregon to Dallas, Texas. She needs a second job so she can afford to hire an attorney. Twenty-one-year-old Owen Gentry is desperately in need of an assistant to help in his art studio. Auburn notices the “HELP WANTED” sign in the window of the art studio first. Then she notices a sign that reads CONFESS. Finally, she notices a multitude of confessions – each written in different handwriting – which cover the windows of the studio. When Owen opens the door of his art studio to find Auburn reading the confessions, it felt like fate was throwing these two characters together.

Colleen Hoover’s writing is top-notch in Confess. One of her greatest strengths is her ability to weave an unforgettable story, and Confess is unforgettable in the best kind of way! Owen Gentry and Auburn Reed both have their own secrets. In fact, there is a lot of mystery surrounding the main and secondary characters. It didn’t take long for me to realize this, and if you are anything like me, your head will be full of questions as you read this novel. If you didn’t already know this about Colleen Hoover, you will find out she is an expert at slowly unwinding her story, giving readers small bits of information until you finally have the full picture at the end of the novel.

Confess was not easy for me to read. I have read every novel Colleen Hoover has published, and Confess has a darker feel to it than most of her previous novels. My emotions were all over the place while I read this story. Parts of Confess left me feeling very sad. I felt anger. Angst. But I also felt hope, and there were plenty of moments where I caught myself smiling, laughing and feeling joy. There are huge reveals in Confess. Twists in the storyline. I am still intrigued by the confessions submitted by real people like you and me – most of them are profound and heartbreaking. And O’Conner’s paintings are incredible. Confess is a very special novel that is well-deserving of 5 stars. You won’t want to miss reading this latest novel from author Colleen Hoover!

Michel’s Review

Colleen Hoover has once again delivered a compelling novel that touches more than the reader’s mind. She incorporates their senses as well as their imagination. She taps into their emotional realm and touches their soul. She engages the reader’s complete attention.

Colleen is known for her collaboration with other types of artists to bring her stories to life. She collaborated with musician Griffin Peterson in her novel Maybe Someday and brought music to her story. This time around in her latest release she has collaborated with artist Danny O’Connor to bring color and visual emotions to the reader. She has also incorporated some of her readers by using their confessions to inspire her writing and the artist’s paintings. This monumental collaboration resulted in the truly touching novel Confess.

Confess has a bit of a darker undertone than most of Colleen’s novels. It starts out with despair and heartache. The kind of heartache that will never go away and be forgotten. Time does heal the deep rooted pain to a dull ache that remains in the soul. Time also gives back a new kind of balance that helps alleviate the pain. Time gives us new things to focus on, new things to love and cherish. It teaches us that it’s okay to move on and live again. It teaches us that is okay to have regrets, remorse, heartache, and rebellion. It also teaches us that it is okay to be happy, live life to it’s fullest, and that love is the greatest gift. The one thing about life is that it is going to be no matter what. That is where confessions come into play. They can be good or bad. They can be mean or pleasant. They can be beautiful or ugly. They are parts of ourselves that validate our lives.

Owen Gentry is a gifted artist that uses anonymous confessions as inspirations for his work. He lets they confessions touch his soul and guide his brush. He has witnessed life at it’s ugliest and knows that others have had their own personal crosses to bear. When he places a help wanted sign in his studio window he is unaware that is the first footstep to a new journey in his life. It has opened the door to his destiny and fate.

Auburn Reed has come to Texas with a purpose. She is young and broke. She needs money to bring her purpose into action. Her job as a cosmetologist isn’t going to get it done. She needs another job. When she stops at a storefront window and begins to read confessions pasted all over the windows, she is mesmerized. When she spies the help wanted sign in the window, she knows fate has led her down this path. When she meets the charismatic artist, Owen Gentry, she knows her destiny is somehow intwined with his.

Auburn and Owen’s lives have been fated for a long time. Their history is intertwined in a very odd and mysterious way. The other people in their lives are dictating the path their lives are on at this time. It will be up to Owen and Auburn to make their own path and let destiny guide them. They will have to let go of the secrets in their souls. They will have to confess.

Colleen Hoover delivers a powerful message throughout Confess. She not only delivers an entertaining novel, she gives her readers food for thought. Then she adds an extra layer of icing by giving her readers another way to experience her story. She gives them a visual with the artwork by Danny O’ Connor.

Danny O’ Connor’s contribution was breathtaking. Each of the paintings captured that one moment and monumental emotions of that moment. He looked into the soul of the characters and gave them more than a face. He painted their souls.

Confess is a consuming reading and visual experience. Thank you Colleen Hoover and Danny O’ Connor for this experience.

About Colleen Hoover

Colleen Hoover’s love for writing began in 1985 when she was five years old. Her first story was titled “Mystery Bob” and was a huge hit with her mother, who was really good at faking interest. Colleen continued to write short stories for friends and family until December of 2011, when she decided to write a long story she titled, “Slammed.” She self-published SLAMMED to Amazon in January, 2012 and it hit the NYT’s bestsellers list in May, 2012. She has since signed with Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, and now has six NYT’s bestsellers. Colleen prefers to be called a writer, as the term “author” still terrifies her and makes this feel like a job with expectations. She doesn’t work well under pressure and hopes writing will always remain fun and exciting. Colleen’s newest novel, UGLY LOVE, releases August 5th, 2014. She is currently working on a new novel, CONFESS, which she is writing as fast as she can before she wakes up from this crazy dream.

You can follow Colleen on Instagram and Twitter @colleenhoover. You can also find her on her blog at http://www.colleenhoover.com where she holds a daily book-a-day giveaway, or on her very active Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/authorcolleenhoover where she loves to give away more free stuff when her husband isn’t looking.

Colleen also wants the world to know that writing short biographies in third person is incredibly awkward.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads

About Danny O’Connor

My name is Danny O’Connor I’m an artist from Liverpool UK and I studied Graphic Arts at Liverpool John Moores Art School.

My work is a celebration of contrasts focusing mainly on portraits and figures with a prevalence of opposing artistic influences. My inspiration walks a tightrope between high and lowbrow sources as diverse as Comics, Illustration, Character Design, Tattoo art and Graffiti to Abstract Expressionism, Cubism, Futurism, Art Noveau, Modernism and Constructivism all pulled together to create hyper stylised and abstracted works. Contrasts play a big role in what I do, it’s probably the most resounding feature throughout all of my work in one way or another. I like to mix natural flowing lines with harsh diagonals. Clean crisp areas of colour with layered messy splashes of paint. I’m trying to achieve something that appears both modern and almost futuristic whilst retaining a raw traditional aesthetic.

The paintings are built up in layer upon layer of paint which give the pieces great depth of field. They are created with an arsenal of tools that doesn’t settle with convention. As well as the more widely acknowledged paint and brush I use all manner of mediums such as, Correction Fluid, Spray Paint, Ink, Paint Markers, Texture Pastes, Charcoal, Graphite, Oil sticks and Collage. All applied in an equally diverse manner using brushes, fingers, paint rollers, sticks, paper and cardboard to drip, splash, spray, print and stroke the paint onto the surface.

Danny O’Connor aka. DOC Artist based in Liverpool UK

Website ~ Facebook

Happy Release + Review + Giveaway: Rock Hard by Nalini Singh – Rock Kiss Series – Book 2

Posted on 03/10/2015 by shellbellereads

Rock Hard

Rock Kiss Series – Book 2

By Nalini Singh

Release Date : March 10, 2015

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

Synopsis

In New York Times Bestselling author Nalini Singh’s newest contemporary romance, passion ignites between a gorgeous, sinfully sexy man who built himself up from nothing and a shy woman who has a terrible secret in her past…

Wealthy businessman Gabriel Bishop rules the boardroom with the same determination and ruthlessness that made him a rock star on the rugby field. He knows what he wants, and he’ll go after it no-holds-barred.

And what he wants is Charlotte Baird.

Charlotte knows she’s a mouse. Emotionally scarred and painfully shy, she just wants to do her job and remain as invisible as possible. But the new CEO—a brilliant, broad-shouldered T-Rex of a man who growls and storms through the office, leaving carnage in his wake—clearly has other plans. Plans that may be equal parts business and bedroom.

If Charlotte intends to survive this battle of wits and hearts, the mouse will have to learn to wrangle the T-Rex. Game on.

EXCERPT

Charlotte arrived at work at seven thirty the next morning to find Gabriel Bishop’s office door open, but no carnivorous predator inside. A fresh suit was hanging on the back of his door, however, which meant he’d been in already.

Deciding to catch up on e-mails that had come in overnight from international suppliers as well as stores involved in a stock take, she was typing a reply when a sweaty Gabriel arrived fifteen minutes later. He was dressed in black running shorts and a faded University of Auckland T-shirt that was currently sticking to his body.

She’d known he was in shape, but now she realized none of it was an illusion created by his well-cut suits. Okay, she’d already known that, but seeing his muscled body in the flesh was a whole different ball game. He was built like a tank, hard and powerful.

Each of his thighs was thicker than both of hers put together, his biceps toned, his shoulders appearing even wider than usual. Everything about him was big. Civilized clothing didn’t make him look better, she realized—it toned down his intense masculinity. Out of his suits, with the ink on the upper part of his left arm exposed, as well as that on his opposing thigh and…

Her skin hot and lower body clenching, she just nodded in response to his “Good morning.”

Disappearing into his office, he returned with his suit pants and a fresh shirt slung over his arm, along with a sports bag. “Push the meeting with Sales to nine, will you, Ms. Baird? I need to talk to HR about something before then.”

“Yes, sir,” Charlotte said almost soundlessly, but he was already gone, heading toward the employee shower one floor down.

The thigh tattoo went all the way around, the design intricate.

Heart rate a rapid stutter, Charlotte got up after he disappeared and decided to go grab him a coffee. He’d bought her one yesterday after all. She was just being nice. “Oh, shut up, Charlotte,” she muttered once she was in the elevator, and slumped her face into an upraised hand.

The truth was she was running away. Only for a few minutes, but that’s what this was: strategic retreat. Gabriel Bishop was overwhelming. Once, before she’d ever met him and under the influence of cocktails, she’d told Molly she wanted to rip off his shirt and sink her teeth into his pecs.

That desire hadn’t waned even now that she knew he was a T-Rex. Of course, the desire was all strictly in her imagination. The idea of actually handling him in real life? So impossible as to be laughable. Charlie-mouse was not about to play with a predator who could eat her alive and not even notice the bones. The good news was that she could admire him in relative safety—there was no chance in hell he’d ever notice her as a woman.

Getting the coffee from a nearby café, she took it back upstairs. He was in his office when she entered, the striped dark gray of his tie hanging around his neck and his damp hair roughly combed. The scent of clean, fresh soap over warm skin permeated the office. Shooting her a smile that turned him from gorgeous to flat-out devastating, he flipped up the collar of his white shirt to get the tie in place. “Thank you, Ms. Baird.”

Nodding, Charlotte escaped, though she really wanted to stay. She’d never realized how erotic it was to watch a man dress until this precise moment. And she shouldn’t be having these thoughts about her boss—especially since she couldn’t keep from quivering like a rabbit in his presence. Sometimes she just annoyed herself.

“Get to work,” she muttered and knuckled down.

Gabriel was fine for the first hour, but then he began barking orders even a six-armed woman with a split personality would have had trouble handling.

Finally, pushed to the edge, Charlotte snapped. “I’m going as fast as I can!” she yelled when he asked her for something a minute after he’d asked her to complete another task.

He scowled and held out a file. “This is a priority.”

Grabbing it from his hand, she said, “Fine,” and slapped it down on her desk.

It was over an hour later that he disappeared for ten minutes. When he returned, it was to put a small bakery box on her desk. “I think you need something to sweeten your mood today, Ms. Baird.”

What she needed was for the T-Rex who was her boss to stop snarling and growling, she thought as he returned to his office. Not opening the box until her curiosity had almost killed her, she found it held a slice of decadent chocolate cake with a white-chocolate ganache topped with curls of both white and milk chocolate. “I cannot be bribed with cake,” she muttered, eating a bite nonetheless.

Michel’s Review

T-Rex is hunting his prey. Charlotte, the sweet meek little mouse, is hiding from the predator. It may not be pre-historic times. Cavemen may not exist openly in modern times. The one thing that never changes is the law of the universe. There will always be an Alpha. He will claim what is his. He will own it, protect it, love it, and keep it. It is his.

We first met Charlotte in the first full novel in the Rock Kiss series. She is Molly’s timid and quiet best friend. She is easily intimidated. She is terrified of her new domineering boss. She has nicknamed him T-Rex. He was always stomping through the company, chewing up people, and spitting them out left and right. He is a demanding boss and he has promoted Charlotte to be his PA.

Gabriel Bishop is a former rugby player that had to retire due to injuries. His career has changed from being an aggressive player to aggressive businessman. He saves companies that are going under and turns them around. When he takes on a new company he knows that he has a battle in front of him. He has to be hard on the workers, rigid with his policies, and ruthless in the business world. That is what it takes to turn a company around. Weed out the weak and fortify the strong. What he didn’t expect was to be attacked by a stapler wielded by a mouse. Quickly that mouse turns out to be more than a timid little creature. Charlotte Baird is smart, witty, and determined. She may be shy but she is not a doormat. She has a warrior heart underneath it all. When he promotes Charlotte to be his PA, he will get more than a valuable assistant.

Gabriel knows that he will have to tread lightly and go slow with Charlotte. He senses that there is more to her shyness and timid personality. He wants her to be completely his. He wants her to know she’s valued just the way she is. He may have to go T-Rex at times, but catching his little mouse will be more delicious than he anticipated. T-Rex is going to learn some lessons from the little mouse.

I really liked Rock Hard. Gabriel and Charlotte were a very entertaining couple. I love books where complete opposites attract. I love when they bring out the best in each other. I am glad that Nalini brought these characters to life.

_________________________________________________________________

Rock Kiss Series

Rock Addiction – Book 1

A bad boy wrapped in a sexy, muscled, grown-up package might be worth a little risk…

Molly Webster has always followed the rules. After an ugly scandal tore apart her childhood and made her the focus of the media’s harsh spotlight, she vowed to live an ordinary life. No fame. No impropriety. No pain. Then she meets Zachary Fox, a tattooed bad boy rocker with a voice like whiskey and sin, and a touch that could become an addiction.

A one-night stand with the hottest rock star on the planet, that’s all it was meant to be…

Fox promises scorching heat and dangerous pleasure, coaxing Molly to extend their one-night stand into a one-month fling. After that, he’ll be gone forever, his life never again intersecting with her own. Sex and sin and sensual indulgence, all with an expiration date. No ties, no regrets. Too late, Molly realizes it isn’t only her body that’s become addicted to Fox, but her heart…

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

Rock Courtship – Book 1.5

What happens when the Gentleman of Rock decides to play dirty?

A drummer for the hottest rock band on the planet, David has a single, powerful weakness: Thea, the band’s publicist and the woman who steals his breath away with her every move.

Only problem is, Thea doesn’t date clients—or musicians. Emotionally scarred by a cheating ex, she’s not about to risk her heart with a man who has groupies buzzing around him like flies. Even if his sexy smile ties her up in knots.

What she doesn’t know is that David is a one-woman man…and he’s madly in love with her. David’s determined to prove he’s worth the risk, and willing to court her, step by exquisite step. Thea’s about to discover just how long and hard this handsome drummer can play.

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

Author Bio:

NEW YORK TIMES AND USA Today bestselling author of the Psy-Changeling and Guild Hunter series Nalini Singh usually writes about hot shapeshifters and dangerous angels. This time around, she decided to write about a hot and wickedly tempting rock star. If you’re seeing a theme here, you’re not wrong.

Nalini lives and works in beautiful New Zealand, and is passionate about writing. If you’d like to explore her other books, you can find lots of excerpts on her website. Slave to Sensation is the first book in the Psy-Changeling series, while Angels’ Blood is the first book in the Guild Hunter series. Once Rock Addiction is out, swing by the site to check out the special behind-the-scenes page, complete with photos of many of the locations used in the book.

STALK HER: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Giveaway

$50 Amazon Gift Card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Release: Her Soldier by H.J. Bells – That Girl Series – Book 3

Posted on 03/10/2015 by shellbellereads

Her Soldier

That Girl Series – Book 3

Release Date : March 10, 2015

By H.J. Bellus

Synopsis

Sergeant Jeremiah Abbner died in the line of duty serving his country. Or at least that’s what the newspapers said…

The US Government handed him a new identity, and strict orders not to make contact with anyone from his past. As far as society was concerned Sergeant Jeremiah Abbner was dead, and buried six feet under.

Not having contact with his ex-wife would be easy. She was a manipulator and a cheater.

Not seeing his daughter on the other hand would devastate him…

Beau Morgan, aka Jeremiah, settles down in a town far away from everything he’s ever known. Coping with the trauma he’s experienced and discovering a new life Beau finds himself the most aggressive he’s ever been. His blood simmers with rage while his fists are thirsty to let it all out .

In the middle of his own living hell he never expected to run into an old familiar face. And to top it off, one who recognized him as Jeremiah.

He’s vowed never to love again, but as circumstances land him in the arms of a woman, Jenni Lee, this time he may not have a choice, as she rarely takes no for an answer.

Can Beau Morgan control his temper long enough to settle into his new life? Or will resentment taint him forever?

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

Tina’s Review

First person POV (Jenni’s). Long Novella: 150 – 180 pages.
Beau is working as a server at a party and is sent back to the restaurant for more food when supplies run low. Upon returning. he hears an all too familiar and distasteful sound. Flesh and bone, being struck, followed by feminine, pain-filled pleas. Jenni’s rescued by Beau, brought to the hospital and taken back to his place to heal in safety. He’s secretive and has a temper that flips like a switch, but she’s never felt safer or more at home than with him. And those blinding rages? They seem to be soothed by merely her nearness.
Cover: Very appealing. Synopsis: Vague, but intriguing. Characters: I really wanted to love these characters, but instead had a lot of doubts about them. They are both seriously f-ed up individuals. He’s suffering PTSD with rage issues and is a bit controlling / possessive. He has a past life he’s not allowed to talk about, yet he leaves mementos of that life out in the open to remind him DAILY of what all he’s had to give up on top of the hellish experiences that he often relives at night. She’s nearly been beaten to death by her boyfriend, yet she trusts this big, angry stranger without a second thought AND just accepts that he can’t talk about himself… she KNOWS that there are questions she just should not ask him? It has Florence Nightingale AND Stockholm Syndrome symptoms clanging in my head. It’s hard to believe that such a quick-building relationship while under such stress will amount to something true, deep, and lasting. That said, the characters are well-written, I mean I obviously gained a very specific vibe from both of them and that’s half the magic of telling a story. Meanwhile, the secondary characters are great. They cover the fun, good, evil, loving and supportive spectrum well. While the relationship foundation between Beau and Jenni was concerning, it did feel like they began to develop a more natural relationship as time went by. The dialogue and interaction are fitting for the portrayed characters. The plot has a vast array of diversity, dimension and dynamics while the flow is easy and smooth. Sex scenes ran from frantically desperate and aggressive to reverently slow and sweet. It’s not until I hit the 75 percent mark that I felt true emotion and what horrible, heartbreaking emotion it was! The entire book was laced with conflict, most of which was resolved by the time the story concluded. Although the story wraps up solidly enough, there are a few small threads that were left dangling to be continued in a finale novella. There was very little predictability, in fact things seemed to continually go in the opposite direction than expected.
I’m wondering if I would have enjoyed Jenni as a character more if I’d met her at the beginning of the series and learned more about her first as a secondary character.

——————————————————————————–
Author Bio:

I am an independent author excited about releasing my first novel very soon. A big dream coming true!!! I’m all country…the kinda country where green grass grows and corn pops up in rows….love Miranda and her bad ass music!!! Just a simple country girl getting one story out of her head at a time…I always fall hard for a trucker style hat…especially if it’s a John Deere hat….loves me a good ol’ farm boy!!!!!!

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads

Happy Release + Review: Unwritten by Melody Grace – Beachwood Bay Series – Book 7

Posted on 03/10/2015 by shellbellereads

Unwritten

Beachwood Bay Series – Book 7

By Melody Grace

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

He’s my best friend’s brother – and the only boy I’ve ever loved. Movie star, manwhore, and totally off-limits.

Until now.

I told myself it was time to move on, until one epic night changed everything. Now there’s no denying the way I feel when he touches me, or the reckless desire in his eyes.

Once we cross that line, there’s no going back. But can I risk it all for him when he’s still hiding secrets of his own?

Some love stories are destiny. Ours is still unwritten.

Tracey’s Review

Zoey Barnes has been in love with Blake Callahan for as long as she can remember. Her knight in shining armor, Blake helped Zoey to believe that she was important, that things would get better, that she could make her life whatever she wanted it to be. To Blake, though, Zoey is just his sister Tegan’s best friend, another little sister and part of his family. Convincing him that she’s so much more will be Zoey’s biggest challenge yet.

Visiting the community of Beachwood Bay and its residents is always a lovely experience for me. From the small-town closeness of Beachwood Bay to the extended and intertwined cast of characters, I know that I will love each story, and Unwritten is no different. I was excited to read this book, having previously been introduced to Zoey and Blake. Zoey is absolutely adorable. She speaks to a part of each of us, that part that is unsure, that is trying to find our place in the world, that wants something so badly that she will do whatever it takes to get it. Seeing her step out in faith to go after Blake is sometimes painfully awkward, but I couldn’t help but root for her. And Blake, Blake has had to be the consummate actor for a very long time, the Callahan that smooths out all the edges, that makes everyone feel better, even when he’s falling apart himself. In Melody Grace’s usual fashion, she has brought together two people that have suffered more than their fair share in their young lives, but whose resilience allows them to rise above their pasts. Separately, Zoey and Blake are getting through life just fine, but together they make each other shine, and be the best that they can be.

I love that Melody continues to give updates on everyone, so that it really seems as though we’re a part of their stories. That she is able to flow effortlessly from one book to the other, and not lose any of the depth of character, or punch of emotion, is a testament to her success as one of the currently reigning voices in contemporary romance. I am looking very forward to reading UNFORGETTABLE, Ash’s story, and give Unwritten 5 emotional and sexy stars.

Tina’s Review

Quick fore-notes: Although this is the seventh book in the series, I’ve not read any of the previous ones, nor have I ever read anything my Melody Grace until now. While I am NOT a fan of the awkward looking cover, I was intrigued by the minimalistic approach to the synopsis.
The story is written in a first-person POV, most often being Zoey’s but later it alternates more between her and Blake. All switches are clearly defined and the transitions are made smoothly. The prologue begins on New Year’s Eve, but then picks up months later. Throughout, there are flashbacks over the past six years. The timeline is clearly marked and easy to keep track of.
Zoey’s had a secret crush on her best friend Tegan’s older brother, Blake, for years. But being four years younger than him, she was always seen more like another kid sister. Now, both adults, she’s home from a stint in Paris and she’s determined to make him see her for the woman she is. A New Year’s Resolution, hers, coupled by a steamy kiss is the only validation she needs to pursue her attraction to him. All of the characters, whether good, bad or ugly, are well-written with diverse personas creating a rich, full cast. The dialogue and interaction between them is believable and feels fairly natural. There is enough dynamics and drama to keep the plot from feeling flat or listless and plenty of conflicts that needed to be worked through, some more maturely that others – but that is to be expected when the characters are early- to mid- 20-year olds. There was not a lot of predictability. The conclusion was solid and felt complete.
A final word: You know how you have a favorite snack, like a can of chips or a pint of ice cream? It’s a yummy treat that you enjoy devouring, but then you look down and it’s gone? You kind of feel guilty because you consumed it in one sitting and now there’s none left to savor and enjoy? That is how I felt with this book. Ms. Grace has a fluidity to her writing that made it entirely too possible to devour the book in a binge read.

Melody Grace is the New York Times bestselling author of the Beachwood Bay series. A small-town girl turned SoCal beach lover, after spending her life with her nose in a book, she decided it was time she wrote one herself. She loves steamy romance novels, happily-ever-afters, and lusting after fictional menfolk. She lives in LA with her two kittens, Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers.

Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Blog

Happy Release + Giveaway: The Fear That Divides Us by M. N. Forgy – The Devil’s Dust Series – Book 3

Posted on 03/10/2015 by shellbellereads

The Fear That Divides Us

The Devil’s Dust Series – Book 3

By M. N. Forgy

Synopsis

Road Captain of the Devil’s Dust Motorcycle Club, Bobby has the scars to prove just how dangerous his life is. He gives the world he knows hell and loves every moment of it. Wearing a panty-dropping grin along the way, his fierce life has never been a problem for him, until her. Jessica is the only female who has him distracted in his game. After taking him to bed, she’s the only woman to tell him to take a hike. Waking with her gone, he can’t resist her pull. He’s seen the marks on her body, ones which tell the horrors she’s lived through. He’s also seen the fear in her eyes when she lets herself become weak to his advances. Bobby has a decision to make. Can he help Jessica, or will it mean giving up his carefree life?

Jessica, also known as Doc, lives life in fear. Years back, she ran to the Devil’s Dust for protection, seeking the demise of her abusive, dominant husband. Her mind and soul tortured by her past, she can’t allow herself to move forward. The only thing in her sight is her daughter’s safety. Even if she has the attention of one particular tattooed biker, she can’t succumb to his charm and drag her daughter back into a world of danger, no matter how much he thinks he can save her.

Mistakes will be made.

Fears will be faced.

Pain will be remembered.

Can Bobby and Jessica survive the dangers they bring upon themselves?

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

Excerpt

Do I fight my fear? Triumph the terror wracking my mind and soul and gamble on the chance that Bobby can reset it all, make me forget my past and actually restart and build a life without being afraid? Or do I do what I know best, resisting, and run home behind my door with the security of three deadbolts and wonder what if?

The Devil’s Dust Series

What Doesn’t Destroy Us – Book One

When Dani’s sheltered life is turned upside down by her mother’s secrets, she finds protection with her estranged outlaw father. Against all warnings, she falls for bad boy biker, Shadow. He is beast and beauty sealed in a leather cut with a gun holster. Can Dani learn to live within the Club rules? Is she more like her father than she could imagine?

Shadow has grown up among drug addicts, whores and murderers. The only family he’s ever trusted has been the Devil’s Dust motorcycle club. He will do anything for a brother; even kill. In fact, killing is so easy, he’s made a career of it. His one regret is not being able to kill his own worthless mother. When Dani shows up with her provocative temper and innocent charm, Shadow begins to question his violent lifestyle. But can he trust her with his demons?
Sex.
Blood.
Betrayal.
Will Dani and Shadow let family ties destroy them?
***WARNING***
This novel contains explicit language, sex, drugs, violence, and sexual situations that some might find offensive. This book is intended for adults 18+ years of age.

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

The Scars That Define Us – Book 2

The Devil’s Dust MC has a list of new threats to the club’s lifestyle. Dani, to prove her loyalty, is trying to embrace a part of herself that she never knew existed until now. A sinful beast lurking beneath her surface has been awakened and is ready to eliminate anyone that stands in its way. Looking at her stained hands, she rinses the blood from them. She resigns herself to innocence lost and welcomes her thirst for more blood.

After a breathtaking turn of events, Shadow is looking at life in a different perspective. Not knowing who he can trust or who he can forgive has left him feeling desolate and alone. As Shadow is laying behind his rifle, he wonders if he can pull the trigger to eliminate the threat. He takes a deep breath and squeezes the trigger, the rifle recoil ignites the fuel that drives him.

Retaliations will be required.

Boundaries will be shattered.

Redemption will be lost.

Betrayal so deep, yet they still yearn for one another. Can Shadow overlook Dani’s transgressions? Can Dani overlook the mistrust that Shadow has placed upon her?

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

The Broken Piece Of Us – Book 2.5

***WARNING – This is not your typical happily ever after.

Babs is no stranger to the MC world. As an ol’ lady, she takes the hell that comes with it and dishes it out times two. When things take a turn for the worst, it leaves her questioning just how equipped she is for the hell she lives. She thought her marriage with Locks was it; that she had it all. But the past has a way of sneaking up and tearing life apart. Finding herself trapped as Locks’ ol’ lady, with the threat she will be his till the grave, her world spirals out of control. The only person risking it all to save her is the last person she thought would care: Bull.

The president of the Devil’s Dust MC, Bull, is good at running women off and is even better at pissing off his brothers. When he sees the way his vice-president is treating his ol’ lady, he tries to keep his thoughts to himself. The one thing Bull insists on in his club is respect and loyalty: respect for the patch, respect for your brother, and loyalty to the club. However, after finding Babs in a harsh predicament after a run in with Locks, he can’t help but step in.
Crossing lines and hurdling around life’s unpredictability, will they find refuge in each other or will they have to endure what life gives them?

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

Love That Defies Us – Novella

Dani has taken the role of a mother easily, and is loving the title ‘wife to be.’ But with that happiness, comes complications. Having children, and a fiancé involved in a motorcycle club, has her and Shadow becoming distant, and missing their sexy escapades. A spark that was once a vibrant flame is now a suppressing ember.

Shadow knows he has not been there for Dani, not like he should be. Doing the dirty work of the club, and taking on the responsibilities of Vice President of The Devil’s Dust, he’s had his hands full.

With violent murders unfolding around the club, it has thrown town locals into a panic. What they didn’t expect was for them to get caught up in the carnage.

Can Dani and Shadow survive the distance that has been wedged between them, or will it have them questioning their imminent marriage?

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

The Fear That Divides Us – Book 3

Mistakes will be made.

Fears will be faced.

Pain will be remembered.

Can Bobby and Jessica survive the dangers they bring upon themselves?

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

About M. N. Forgy

M.N. Forgy was raised in Missouri where she still lives with her family. She’s a soccer mom by day and a saucy writer by night. M.N. Forgy started writing at a young age but never took it seriously until years later, as a stay-at-home mom, she opened her laptop and started writing again. As a role model for her children, she felt she couldn’t live with the “what if” anymore and finally took a chance on her character’s story. So, with her glass of wine in hand and a stray Barbie sharing her seat, she continues to create and please her fans.

Stalk Her: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Giveaway

Kindle, $10 Starbucks Gift Card, $25 Amazon Gift Card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal : Interim by S. Walden

Posted on 03/10/2015 by shellbellereads

Publication Date: Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Genre: New Adult Suspense/Psychological Thriller

High school seniors Jeremy Stahl and Regan Walters aren’t friends. Not even close. He’s a picked-on, picked-apart loser outcast. She’s a cool kid running with the popular crowd. It’s unlikely they’d ever speak to one another. Too bad he’s madly in love with her. But what does it matter, anyway? He’s got no time for love. Only revenge.Meticulously detailed in the pages of his battered red notebook is his master plan: April 14, 9:30 A.M., two guns, eighty rounds of ammo, backup knives, eleven victims. He’s finally ready to answer every single taunt, jeer, and flying fist—unwarranted abuse that’s spanned six years of his lonely life. He’s justified. He’s ready. But he never readied himself for her.Regan finds his journal. She reads it, and when he discovers her intrusion, he has to switch tactics. She’s a liability now.

Better fix that.

DISCLAIMER: New Adult Standalone. This book contains explicit language and disturbing images of violence, including gun violence. If school shootings are an especially sensitive subject for you, I encourage you to refrain from reading this book.

Who was he? What was his purpose? He knew it once. Once, a long time ago, he decided to be a hero. He decided to avenge himself and all the other kids who were helpless against abuse. Once, a long time ago, he learned the difference between justice and mercy. He learned when justice was required. He learned when mercy was allowed. Once, a long time ago, he faced himself in the mirror and saw a stranger—a better boy than he could ever be. A boy with a mission. A boy with convictions. And he reached out to take hold of that boy, through the looking-glass, falling into a wonderland where righteousness ruled supreme and evil was destroyed with the pop pop! of a gun. The world made sense to him. Then.

S. Walden used to teach English before making the best decision of her life by becoming a full-time writer. She lives in Georgia with her very supportive husband who prefers physics textbooks over fiction and has a difficult time understanding why her characters must have personality flaws. She is wary of small children, so she has a Westie instead. She is the USA Today bestselling author of Going Under. When she’s not writing, she’s thinking about it.

She loves her fans and loves to hear from them. Email her at swaldenauthor@hotmail.com and follow her twitter feed at @swaldenauthor.

Website: http://www.swaldenauthor.com

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

Twitter: @swaldenauthor

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/swaldenauthor

Release Day Blitz + 5 Star Review + Giveaway: Chase Me by Tessa Bailey – Broke and Beautiful Series – Book 1

Posted on 03/09/2015 by shellbellereads

Chase Me

Broke and Beautiful Series – Book 1

By Tessa Bailey

Synopsis

College drop-out Roxy Cumberland moved to New York with dreams of becoming an actress, but her dwindling bank account is quickly putting the kibosh on that fantasy. To make some quick cash, she signs up to perform singing telegrams. Her first customer is a gorgeous, cocky Manhattan trust-funder if she ever laid eyes on one. And what could be more humiliating than singing an ode to his junk, courtesy of his last one night stand? Maybe the fact that she’s dressed in a giant pink bunny costume…

After a night out to celebrate winning his last case, lawyer Louis McNally the Second isn’t prepared for the pounding in his head or the rabbit serenading him from the front door. But the sassy wit and sexy voice of the girl behind the mask intrigue him, and one look at her stunning face—followed by a mind-blowing kiss against his doorjamb—leaves Louis wanting more.

Roxy doesn’t need a spoiled rich boy who’s had everything in life handed to him on a Tiffany platter. But there’s more to Louis than his sexy surface and he’s determined to make Roxy see it…even if it means chasing her all over NYC.

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

Michel’s Review

Are you looking for that next book boyfriend that is dirty talking and walks the talk? A man that makes you swoon and makes your panties wet? A man that has a heart of gold, nerves of steel, and the ability to charm your socks off? If the answer is yes, yes, and yes, get your ereaders fired up and read Chase Me by Tessa Bailey.

I loved Chase Me by Tessa Bailey!

Louis and Roxy are one hot couple. The chemistry between these two could set the city on fire. From the moment they meet until the moment they finally get it together is explosive.

Roxy is a struggling actress trying to get a job in NYC. She is busting her butt to make it happen. She is taking any kind of jobs she can get. She doesn’t have the support of her family or any friends in her new town. She is on her own and determined to make her dreams come true. She is hard working, ambitious, full of spunk, and vulnerable deep down. When she takes a job to perform singing telegrams things take a new turn in her life. She has been hired to sing an ode to a guy’s penis by a recent one night stand. Can a gig get any more comical or worse? Yeah it does, she has to wear a bunny costume and sing to a rich hot shot lawyer.

Louis McNally seems to have the world in his hands. He’s from a wealthy family. He has a good career. He has women chasing him and wanting to be a significant part of his life. He doesn’t take advantage of his position and works a lot of pro bono cases. He’s basically a good guy. From the moment Louis sees Roxy in her bunny costume he is done in. He will do everything in his power to spend time with the spunky bunny. For the first time, he wants the girl and the commitment that goes with it. The bunny (whoops, I meant the girl) doesn’t want anything to do with commitment or Louis. Game on….

Chase Me is playful and fun. Louis gives Roxy a good chase. When he finally catches her the fireworks are explosive.

Chase Me was an outstanding debut in the new Broke and Beautiful series. Tessa Bailey has once again delivered a top notch red hot book!

I can’t wait to read the next book in the Broke and Beautiful series by Tessa Bailey. Need Me will be releasing in April.

Read the excerpt below….

_____________________________________________________________________________

Chase Me Excerpt

Chapter One

Today’s weather forecast: imminent shitstorms across the Tri-State area.

Roxy Cumberland’s footsteps echoed off the smooth, cream-colored walls of the hallway, high heels clicking along the polished marble. When she caught her reflection in the pristine window overlooking Stanton Street, she winced. This pink bunny costume wasn’t doing shit for her skin tone. A withering sigh escaped her as she tugged the plastic mask back into place.

Singing telegrams still existed. Who knew? She’d actually laughed upon seeing the tiny advertisement in the Village Voice’s Help Wanted section, but curiosity had led her to dial the number. Her laughter had stopped abruptly when she’d heard exactly how much people were willing to pay in exchange for her humiliation. So here she was, one day later, preparing to sing in front of a perfect stranger for a cut of sixty bucks.

Sixty bucks might not sound like much, but when your roommate has just booted you onto your ass for failure to come through on rent—again—leaving you no place to live, and your checking account is gasping for oxygen, pink bunnies do what pink bunnies must. At least her round, fluffy tail would cushion her fall when her ass hit the sidewalk.

See? She’d already found a silver lining. Maybe the shitstorm would hold.

Or not. Over the last week, she’d been on thirteen auditions, trudging on blistered feet between callbacks and will-definitely-never-call-backs, smiling and reciting lines for bored production executives. Toothpaste commercials, walk-on rolls for daytime soaps…hell, she’d even auditioned to play a mother in a diaper rash ad. They’d all but laughed her twenty-one-year-old ass out of the building.

Too bad they couldn’t touch her. Nothing and nobody could. She was from New fucking Jersey.

While Roxy usually kept that fact to herself, she couldn’t help but admit that Jersey had prepared her for this constant rejection. It had given her the brass balls to say “their loss” every single time someone in a business suit decided her acting skills weren’t good enough. That she wasn’t good enough. One word kept her going, kept her boarding the subway to another audition. Someday. Someday she would look back at this pre-stardom experience and be grateful for it. She’d cozy up to Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet and have a damn good story to tell. Although she might just leave out the pink bunny suit.

Unfortunately, on days like today, when a shitstorm cloud was riding low above her head, following her everywhere she went, someday seemed a long way off. Sixty dollars couldn’t plug the hole in the shitcloud, it could only keep her eating properly for the next week. As far as her living situation went, she’d figure something out. If it meant taking the bus to Jersey and sneaking into her old bedroom for the night, she’d bite the bullet. The next morning, she’d slip her feet back into her heels and get back to pounding the pavement, her parents never being the wiser.

Through the eyeholes of the bunny mask, Roxy glanced down at the piece of paper in her hand. Apartment 4D. Based on the song she’d memorized on the way here and the swank interior of the building, she knew the type who would answer the door. Some too-rich, middle-aged douchebag who was so bored with his life that he needed to be entertained with novelties like singing bunny rabbits. He’d close the door when she finished, text his main squeeze some emoticon-heavy thank-you, and forget all about this little diversion on his way to play indoor tennis.

Roxy’s gaze tracked down lower on the note in her hand, and she felt an uncomfortable kick of unease in her belly. She’d met her new boss at a tiny office in Alphabet City, surprised to find a dude only slightly older than herself running the operation. Always suspicious, she’d asked him how he kept the place afloat. There couldn’t be that high a demand for singing telegrams, right? He’d laughed, explaining that singing bunnies only accounted for a tenth of their income. The rest came in the form of strip-o-grams. She’d done her best to appear flattered when he’d told her she’d be perfect for it.

Would she go that far? Taking her clothes off for strangers paid a damn sight more than sixty bucks. It would be so easy for her to take that leap. As an actress, she had the ability to detach herself and become someone else. Being the object of attention didn’t bother her; it was what she’d trained herself for. That kind of income would guarantee her a place to live, allow her to continue auditioning without worrying about her next meal. So why the hesitation?

She ran a thumb over the rates young-dude-boss had jotted down on the slip of paper. Two hundred dollars for each ten-minute performance. God, the security she would feel with that kind of money. And yet, something told her that once she took that step, once she started taking off her clothes, she would never stop. It would become a necessity instead of a temporary patch-up of her shitstorm cloud.

Think about it later. When you’re not dressed like the fucking Trix Rabbit. Roxy took a deep, fortifying breath, the same one she took before every audition. She wrapped her steady fingers around the brass door knocker and rapped it against the wood twice. A frown marred her forehead when she heard a miserable groan come from inside the apartment. It sounded like a young groan. Maybe the douchebag had a son? Oh, cool. She definitely wanted to do this in front of someone in her age group. Perfect.

Her sarcastic thought bubble burst over her head when the door swung open, revealing a guy. A hot-as-hell guy. A naked-except-for-unbuttoned-jeans guy. Being the shameless hussy she was, her gaze immediately dipped to his happy trail, although, on this guy, it really should have been called a rapture path. It started just beneath his belly button, which sat at the bottom of beautifully defined ab muscles. But they weren’t the kind of abs honed from hours in the gym. No, they were natural, I-do-sit-ups-when-I-damn-well-feel-like-it abs. Approachable abs. The kind you could either lick or snuggle up against, depending on your mood.

Roxy lassoed her rapidly dwindling focus and yanked it higher until she met his eyes. Big mistake. The abs were child’s play compared to the face. Stubbled jaw. Bed head. Big, Hershey-colored eyes outlined by dark, black lashes. His fists were planted on either side of the door frame, giving her a front-row seat to watch his chest and arms flex. A lesser woman would have applauded. As it was, Roxy was painfully aware of her bunny-costumed status, and even that came in second place to the fact that Approachable Abs was so stinking rich that he could afford to be nursing a hangover at eleven in the morning. On a Thursday.

He dragged a hand through his unkempt black hair. “Am I still drunk, or are you dressed like a rabbit?”

His voice was rough from sleep. Probably not his usual voice. That had to be the reason her tummy did a backflip. “I’m dressed like a rabbit.”

“Okay.” He tilted his head. “Should I be drunk for this?”

“If anyone should be drunk for this, it’s me.”

“Good point.” He jerked his thumb back toward his dark apartment. “I think there’s some tequila left—”

“You know what?” This is my life right now. How did I get here? “I think I’m all set.”

He nodded once, as if out of respect for her decision. “So what now?”

“Are you…” She consulted her slip of paper through the round eyeholes. “Louis McNally?”

“Yeah.” He leaned against the doorjamb and considered her. “I was named after my grandfather. So, technically, I’m Louis McNally the Second. How’s that for fancy?”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Just making small talk.”

“Is this a typical Thursday exploit for you? Get a lot of forest creatures on your doorstep?”

“You’d be the first.”

“Well, then. Call me Pink Bunny the First. How’s that for fancy?” When he laughed, she was grateful for the mask that hid her unexpected smile. Honestly, this situation was getting more ridiculous by the minute. She definitely didn’t have time for this. At one o’clock she was auditioning for a small theater company’s ironic production of Lassie. Priorities, Roxy.

“You sound cute.” He squinted at her, as if attempting to see through the plastic mask. “You cute under there, bunny?”

“Being that your one-night stand from last night sent me here to sing for you, I don’t know if that matters,” she answered sweetly.

“Cute girls trump all.” One dark eyebrow rose. “What was that about singing?”

Roxy cleared her throat, letting the horrifically stupid lyrics imprint on her brain. Lyrics she hadn’t written, thanks God. The sooner she got this over with, the sooner she could get out of the suffocating costume and forget this ever happened. Until tomorrow. When she was scheduled to dress like a giant bumble bee. For fuck sake.

Make every performance count. Channeling Liza Minnelli, she cocked one hip and raised the opposite hand.

To my hot shot honey bunny

Last night we went places and had some fun-ny

You brought me home and we skipped the small talk

Now I’m daydreaming about your perfect—

“Stop.” Louis shook his head slowly. “Jesus, please, make it stop.”

Roxy let her hand drop to her side. “You better be complaining about the lyrics and not my singing.”

“I—sure.” He scanned the hallway, looking relieved when he saw that none of his neighbors had overheard. “Who did you say sent you?”

She stared back at him, dumbfounded. Not that he could tell with the mask hiding her face. “You had more than one girl over last night?”

“I was celebrating,” he said defensively. “Don’t be a judgmental rabbit. They’re the worst.”

“O-kay, my work is done here.” She turned tail—literally—and started walking back toward the elevator. Over her shoulder, she called, “Zoe sent me. You might want to write that down.”

“Is she the redhead?” Louis called back. When Roxy stopped in her tracks, he smiled to let her know he’d been kidding. Maybe. “Hold up. Can you just wait here a second? I should give you a tip.”

As he fumbled in his jeans pocket, Roxy smirked. “Which tip are we referring to here? I did just sing an ode to your penis.”

“Please don’t remind me.” He drew a twenty-dollar bill out of his wallet, pinching it between his fingers. “Just one request, though. I want to see your face first.”

Roxy felt a stab of irritation. What the hell did it matter what she looked like? Everywhere she went, every part she read for, critical eyes poked and prodded her. Too thin. Too curvy. Too tall. Too short. Never what they wanted. And just this morning, she’d been told she had a stripper’s body. The fact that this wealthy party guy was holding money over her head in order to judge her appearance only tripled her annoyance. “Why? If you like what you see, will you invite me inside? You haven’t even showered off the last girl yet.”

He actually had the grace to look a little ashamed. “I—”

Roxy didn’t give a shit about his answer. “Would you expect me to be flattered?” She clutched her chest dramatically. “Please, oh keeper of the golden penis, let me worship at your flawless phallus.”

“Careful.” His shame morphed into irritation. “You’re starting to sound a little jealous to me.”

“Jealous?” Oh, that did it. The shitstorm cloud above her head darkened, lightning bolts shooting through its sides. Kicked out of her apartment, not a single callback in weeks, and leaning toward stripping. He’d caught her on a bad fucking day. Honestly, good days were getting harder to come by, and right now, she could think of only one thing that would help. Wiping the smug superiority off the Penis Prince’s face.

She bit down on her lips to plump them up, then reached up and removed the mask. Satisfaction danced in her bloodstream when his jaw went slack, brown eyes melting into a deeper shade. That’s right, buddy. I ain’t half bad. As she strode toward him, he straightened from the doorjamb, a groan working its way free of his throat. He saw the intention in her expression, knew what was coming. It didn’t escape her that even though she wore a thick pink bunny suit, he was looking at her like she wore a string bikini. Louis McNally the Second was an interesting character, she’d give him that.

“Jealous?” she repeated before shoving him into the apartment, bringing his back up against the inside wall just beside the door. “Sweetheart, I would rock your world.”

Not giving him a chance to respond, she surged up on her toes and melded their mouths together. Ohhh, snap. There was zero hesitation on his part, just a long, expert pull of her lips. As if she’d let go of a trapeze and he’d caught her in midair. The kiss hit the ground running, mouths opening, tongues fighting to take the lead. One strong hand found her chin and pulled it down further, allowing him to slant his head and deepen the kiss even further. Shock exploded behind her eyes, and she swayed a little under the wave of heat. Affected. He was affecting her in a way she wasn’t familiar with. She’d kissed a lot of guys, but she’d never felt dread over the idea of stopping. Louis pushed his tongue deeper, making a hungry sound and sending it vibrating into her mouth. She echoed it. Louder. Her head fell back and he moved with her, keeping their lips locked together, as if he couldn’t allow her to get away. What was happening here? She was losing control of the situation. Get it back.

Roxy pulled back and sucked in a deep breath. His mouth was damp and parted as he tried to draw in his own oxygen, his face a mask of stunned disbelief. “Who the hell are you?”

Swallowing the odd feeling in her throat, she plucked the twenty-dollar bill out of his fingers. “I’m gone.”

She blew into the hallway, sensing him staring after her. With as much dignity as one could muster while dressed like a pink bunny, she bypassed the elevator and took the stairs, two at a time.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Need Me

Broke and Beautiful Series – Book 2

Coming April 21, 2015

Pre Order: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

Synopsis

When Honey Perribow traded in her cowboy boots for stilettos and left her small Kentucky town to attend Columbia University, she never expected to find a dirt-cheap apartment or two new best friends. No stranger to hard work, Honey’s sole focus is a medical degree…until she sees newly-minted Professor, Ben Dawson, and her concentration is hijacked. Honey is fascinated by her gorgeous, young English professor and vows to find a crack his tweed-wearing, glasses-clad exterior.

While at an off campus party, an accident lands Ben in a dark, locked closet with a sexy-sounding southern belle…and their chemistry is explosive. But when he discovers that the girl in his arms is the same beautiful student he can’t stop thinking about, he is stunned. Student-teacher relationships are strictly forbidden…yet no matter how hard he tries, Ben can’t stay away from Honey.

And when his attempts to fight their attraction nearly ruin the best thing that ever happened to him, Ben will do anything to prove how much he needs her.

About Tessa Bailey

Tessa lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and young daughter. When she isn’t writing or reading romance, Tessa enjoys a good argument and thirty-minute recipes.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Release + 5 Star Review: Blocked by Lisa N. Paul

Posted on 03/09/2015 by shellbellereads

Blocked

By Lisa N. Paul

Happy Release Day Lisa N. Paul! Blocked is live and at a limited time price of $.99 so be sure to grab your copy today!

About Blocked

Racing hearts, Toe curling kisses, Sexy whispers…

Decker Brand has spent the past four years earning back his man-card. He’s got the calloused hands, the dirty jeans and the toned body to show for it. Now that he’s satisfied with whom he is he intends to stay true to himself even if it means remaining alone.

Lingering glances, Soft touches, Shallow Breaths…

April Maddox thought she’d lucked out when she found her prince at the early age of sixteen. Unfortunately, their kiss turned him from king to croaker right before her eyes.

Forsaken and cynical, she fears all men will leave her with warts before hopping off to another woman’s lily pad.

Smooth strokes, Light nips, Gentle tugs…

When it comes to relationships, they say timing is everything, and everything has its time.

History has played a part in Decker’s and April’s desire to give up on love. Fate will bring them together. It’s up to them to battle the outside forces, life’s interruptions, and daily dramas… together. With a little faith, they can undo everything that’s been…

Blocked

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Excerpt

HIS GRAVELLY LAUGH reverberated through the phone, making her insides clench with desire she’d never before known. April resisted lifting her lids, not wanting to end the magnificent dream he created in her mind’s eye.

“I have no idea,” he admitted, his voice sounding as rough with need as she felt.

Inhaling deeply, April forced her eyes open and looked down at her body. Her lace covered nipples stood in erect peaks, begging to be touched, while her stocking-covered feet rubbed together anxiously, like a cricket sending out a mating call. “Come on, Deck, I know you aren’t a virgin any more than I am. It’s okay. I just wanna know how you learned to have phone sex like that?”

Another deep chuckle infiltrated her ear. “Oh, sweet woman, that was not phone sex. That was… fuck.” April could hear the exasperation in his tone. “Frankly, that was something I’ve never experienced in my life. To be honest, I wasn’t certain how that was going to play out, but I just closed my eyes and pictured what you were doing and… it was like I could touch you, April. I could actually fucking taste your lips. That was phone-kissing and it was… mmm.”

The timbre of his deep voice felt like his hands, thick and calloused. She’d only felt them a couple of times at the gym when he touched her shoulder or held her hand, but when he’d caressed her cheeks while kissing her at the restaurant, she nearly melted on contact. It was the thought of his rough on her soft that swept her away in his fantasy just moments earlier.

“It was absolutely ‘mmm’,” she teased. Having never experienced phone sex before, neither the full-fledged kind nor the type they’d just engaged in, April knew without a doubt if it was something that could make her feel that good, hell, she’d do it every damn day. “Deck?” She swallowed hard, summoning the courage to say what her mind was shouting.

“What do you need, beautiful?” There was a smile in his question, nothing cocky or crude, but it was as if he asked while fully knowing what she was going to say.

“Your kisses,” she started slowly, “both in person and over the phone, made me feel things.” She brought her hand over her breast and rolled her tightened nipple between her finger and her thumb, pinching the nub until small sparks lit in her core. “Things I haven’t felt in a long, long time. I really liked it, Decker… I like you. And I need… more. I want more.” She switched to her other breast, kneading the sensitive flesh, pulling at her nipple as she continued to talk to the man who’d lit her up more than once that evening.

“Are you touching yourself, April?”

“Yes.” She heard the quiver in her voice, but she didn’t have it in her to be ashamed.

“Good. Where are you touching, honey?” There was no hiding his desire. It was clear as day in each throaty question.

“Umm—” Shit, she had to answer him. She was a grown damn woman, and she could perform without a problem, but when it came to talking about sex in a sexy way… well, apparently she was missing that quality—at least according to her ex-husband.

“Do you trust me?” Decker asked for the second time that night.

“Okay…”

Chuckling, he repeated her answer. “‘Okay’ is better than no, so we’re getting somewhere. April, feel free to stop me if I ever make you feel uncomfortable, okay?”

“That I can promise,” she answered confidently.

“Perfect. Now, where are you touching yourself, babe?”

April sighed.

“April, are you touching your breasts? Christ, I hope you are. I’ve thought about your perfect tits for months, each time I watched you on the treadmill.”

Oh my God, his words were like jolts of electricity zinging to the very center of her.

“Are you pinching your nipples, beautiful? Making them pebble beneath your long, delicate fingers? Are they begging for my mouth?”

April swallowed. Her breaths were shallow as liquid heat pooled between her thighs. “Mmm, yes, they’re so sensitive, Decker.”

She heard his muffled groan before he said, “Fuck, what I wouldn’t do to sweep my tongue over those hardened points and suck until you screamed my name. But…” His words stopped.

Confused, April pulled the phone from her ear to make sure the call hadn’t dropped. “But what? But what, Decker?” The high pitch of her voice would have been amusing had it not sounded so pathetic to her own ears.

“But…” Decker sounded strained but more composed than her. “I asked you to kiss me tonight, and you agreed. But more importantly, I asked for your trust, and you gave it to me.”

There was so much conviction in his words, so much intensity, April felt as if she could see him, touch him… trust him. She shook her head. No, not yet.

“I intend to keep that trust. So as much as it pains me to say this, this is where we need to get off.”

“That’s what I was trying to do before you so rudely interrupted me, Mr. Brand,” April needled.

“Ms. Maddox,” Decker mock-scolded, “are you trying to corrupt my morals? Because I will not allow it.”

Unable to remember the last time her cheeks ached from smiling, April giggled into the phone. “I won’t try to corrupt you, you sweet innocent man, but I will thank you for everything. I had a great time tonight, Deck.”

“Me too, April. I know our schedules are crazy, but I look forward to seeing you again, outside of the gym,” he qualified. “Sleep well, beautiful. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Michel’s Review

If you have not read any of Lisa N. Paul’s books I would highly recommend Blocked.

Lisa writes an emotional story with compelling characters that touch your heart. Her writing is smooth, has the right amount of push and pull, the right amount of heat and steam, and is well plotted story. She adds the right amount of humor and the right amount of angst. She allows her characters to come to life and take over the pages.

In her latest release Blocked, the characters have both experienced bad marriages. They have been burned. They both carry around issues from their past marriages. Although they have seen the worst of love and marriage, they have managed to pick up the pieces and move on with their lives. They don’t let their past hold them back. And because of their past, they are much better parents to their children.

Both Decker and April are strong characters. They both display different strengths and prove that they have the right kind of backbone to make a new relationship work. Although they are cautious because of their pasts and their children, they do not let their caution ruin their chance at a happy future.

I am not going to say too much more because it would leave too many spoilers. I will say that both characters will capture your heart and you will fall in love with them. Their story will pull on your heartstrings and make you rejoice in the end.

About Lisa N. Paul

Lisa N. Paul is a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, reader, writer, blogger, and self-proclaimed comedian—just not always in that order. Ever since she was a little girl, she has devoured books. Falling in love with the Sweet Valley High series at a young age drew Lisa to series books and inspired her to write her own. Thursday Nights is the first book in her Charistown series.

When not writing, Lisa can be found eating french fries and Godiva raspberry truffles, or hanging out with her husband and two sons.

Connect with her online

Website: http://lisanpaul.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LisaNPaul3

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lisanpaul3

Instagram: http://instagram.com/Lisa.Spivackpaul

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5168809.Lisa_N_Paul

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lisa-N-Paul/e/B00G4KFDK

Saucy Southern Readers

professional, honest, and timely book reviews

Author Archives: shellbellereads

About shellbellereads

Fierce: A Fantasy Collection – Sixteen USA Today and New York Times and Amazon Bestsellers

Cover Reveal: Ascenders by CL Gaber- Book 1

Happy Release + 5 Star Review: Confess by Colleen Hoover

Happy Release + Review + Giveaway: Rock Hard by Nalini Singh – Rock Kiss Series – Book 2

Happy Release: Her Soldier by H.J. Bells – That Girl Series – Book 3

Happy Release + Review: Unwritten by Melody Grace – Beachwood Bay Series – Book 7

Happy Release + Giveaway: The Fear That Divides Us by M. N. Forgy – The Devil’s Dust Series – Book 3

Cover Reveal : Interim by S. Walden

Release Day Blitz + 5 Star Review + Giveaway: Chase Me by Tessa Bailey – Broke and Beautiful Series – Book 1

Happy Release + 5 Star Review: Blocked by Lisa N. Paul

About shellbellereads

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: