Review: A Love So Dangerous by Lili Valente

Posted on 09/06/2016 by shellbellereads

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A Love So Dangerous by Lili Valente

Author: Lili Valente

Release Date: August 29th 2016

Genre: Contemporary Romance

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Synopsis:

Warning: This is one dark, dangerous, dirty-talking, adrenaline-fueled thrill ride. Are you ready?

I’ve got a big c*ck, a bigger bank account, and zero interest in Happily Ever After. I just want to feel alive, to look into a woman’s eyes and see something that’s going to keep my mind off all the shit I refuse to think about for an hour or two.

And then I meet her, a good girl with a body made for sin and ugly problems only a bad man can fix.

A bad man like me…

Gabe Alexander is the devil. Or an angel.

He’s a criminal hiding behind a millionaire dollar pedigree, but he also saved my life and my family. He’s the worst kind of bad news, but every time he touches me, and whispers filthy, beautiful things in my ear, all I want is more.

More of his kiss, his touch, and the dangerous, seductive things he makes me feel.

I don’t want to go bad, but the man makes it feel so damned good…

Warning Part the Second: A Love So Dangerous is the first in a three part series. It is a full-length novel that ends in a cliffhanger. It was formerly published as One Wild Night and This Wicked Rush by Jessie Evans.

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Excerpt:

“What is tonight about?” I ask, a shockwave of desire rocketing through me at the thought of Gabe and I naked together, though I know I’m not ready, not really, no matter what the lustful voices in my head are trying to tell me.

“It’s about convincing you I’m the best way to spend your summer.” His palms mold to my ribs as he kisses down my neck to the hollow of my throat, soft, hot kisses that make me gasp for breath and my nipples pucker in the cool, conditioned air.

He keeps trailing kisses down the center of my chest while his hands come to cup my breasts, holding one gently in each hand, carefully avoiding the places where I’m dying for him to kiss me, touch me. He continues to kiss me everywhere but there, his soft lips feathering back and forth across my ribs until my nipples are pulled so tight the sensation is almost painful.

Only then—when I’m squirming and moaning and there can be no doubt in his mind how much I crave his attention—does he take me in his mouth.

I cry out, driving my fingers into his hair and fisting tight, urging him closer as he licks and sucks and bites. Bites.

But even the biting is perfect, a flash of pain that adds to my pleasure until my breath comes fast and the world goes soft and red at the edges and there is nothing but his mouth and his tongue and the way I ache for him, burn for him, need him to spread me wide and do whatever he wants to do to me as long as he takes the ache away.

“Please, Gabe,” I breathe, clawing at his shoulders. “Please.”

“Please what?” he says, flicking his tongue across my nipple, making me flinch and cry out again. “You know what I like, Caitlin. You know I like you to beg for it.”

“Please fuck me with your mouth,” I say, the words spilling out without hesitation or anger. I’m too far gone to care what he wants me to do, so long as he gives me what I need. “Please make me come, Gabe, please. Please!”

“Lift your hips,” he says, his voice tight as his fingers fist in the sides of my panties.

I obey and Gabe makes my underwear vanish and then he is between my legs, spreading my thighs with his warm hands, mumbling something I can’t make out, but that sounds pained and reverent and sweet all at the same time.

As sweet as the first kiss he places to the center of me, one sweet, warm, tender kiss that threatens to unravel me completely.

And then the kiss becomes a swirl of his tongue and sparks shoot from my core, sizzling across my skin, and my head feels like it’s going to float right off my body and there is no more “me” to unravel, only a quivering mass of heat and need that arches closer to Gabe’s mouth, shamelessly begging for what I crave.

I bite my lip and squeeze my eyes shut, not knowing what to do with all the things he’s making me feel, all the sensation and emotion and the fear that I’m spiraling so far out of control I may never be the same again.

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5Star

Tracey’s Review

Caitlin Cooney’s life has changed dramatically. Gabe Alexander has opened her eyes to a completely different world the night that they spent together at the beginning of the summer. Making her his accomplice in his quest to right wrongs in their South Carolina town, and drawing her into the explosive chemistry between them, he has awakened her and left her dissatisfied with the life that she has been living up to this point.

Caitlin just wants to get back to her normal life, working and taking care of her family. She is determined that there not be a repeat of what happened between them, but finds herself more and more deeply drawn to Gabe. And when Gabe sweetens the deal, making it impossible for her to say no to him, she agrees to be with him just for the summer.

Gabe knows just how to get Caitlin to agree to spend time with him, but is hiding a big secret from her. He didn’t count on coming to care for her as deeply as he does, and, as the summer progresses, he faces some hard choices where she is concerned.

Lili Valente is great at character development. Caitlin is sassy and independent, having had to handle some very tough things in her young life, and Gabe is just delicious. He is smart and hot, and goes from simply wanting Caitlin to wanting to give her everything. The chemistry between Caitlin and Gabe is super-hot; they start out being very attracted to each other, but the attraction quickly deepens to much more as the story progresses. A LOVE SO DANGEROUS made me think of a sort of take on ‘Robin Hood,’ with a whole lot of hot and sexy scenes. The story does end on a cliff-hanger, but not in an abrupt way. Lili has done a good job of bringing everything together and setting us up for the continuation of Caitlin’s and Gabe’s journey in A LOVE SO DEADLY, the next book in the series, and I can’t wait to see where they go.

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A Love So Deadly 9/12 (Save $1 during pre-order)

Pre Order : Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

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Meet the Author:

Lili Valente has slept under the stars in Greece, eaten dinner at midnight with French men who couldn’t be trusted to keep their mouths on their food, and walked alone through Munich’s red light district after dark and lived to tell the tale.

These days you can find her writing in a tent beside the sea, drinking coconut water and thinking delightfully dirty thoughts.

Connect with Lili:

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

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13418410.Lili_Valente

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

Website: www.lilivalente.com

Release Blitz + 5 Star Review: Too Wild To Tame by Tessa Bailey – The Clarksons Series – Book 2

Posted on 09/06/2016 by shellbellereads

Too Wild To Tame

The Clarksons Series – Book 2

By Tessa Bailey

Buy: Amazon / B & N / IBooks / Kobo

Synopsis

Sometimes you just can’t resist playing with fire . . .

By day, Aaron Clarkson suits up, shakes hands, and acts the perfect gentleman. But at night, behind bedroom doors, the tie comes off and the real Aaron comes out to play. Mixing business with pleasure got him fired, so Aaron knows that if he wants to work for the country’s most powerful senator, he’ll have to keep his eye on the prize. That’s easier said than done when he meets the senator’s daughter, who’s wild, gorgeous, and 100 percent trouble.

Grace Pendleton is the black sheep of her conservative family. Yet while Aaron’s presence reminds her of a past she’d rather forget, something in his eyes keeps drawing her in. Maybe it’s the way his voice turns her molten. Or maybe it’s because deep down inside, the ultra-smooth, polished Aaron Clarkson might be more than even Grace can handle . . .

Excerpt

The security guard at the rear entrance came into view, his familiar hawk eyes zeroing in on Grace. Then Aaron. Exasperation moved over the guard’s features before he hid it by adjusting his earpiece. Activity swarmed on the front side of the building, the media, the shouted questions, the general scrape and hum of movement audible, even where they walked along the backside of the school.

Knowing once they were inside, she wouldn’t see Aaron again, Grace smiled up at him, noticing he didn’t look quite as confident as he had a moment before. “It was nice meeting you,” she whispered. “Thanks for not ratting me out.”

“I…” He smoothed a hand down the front of his ruby-colored tie. “I won’t see you…around again?”

Grace’s hands itched with the urge to burrow into her hair, latch on to the braids she’d completed this morning while waiting for Aaron to show. “Probably not. Why would you?”

Why was he frowning at her? She couldn’t ask him why, since they were within earshot of the guard and the walk had ended way too soon. With a final memorization of his furrowed brow, she transferred her focus. “Hey, Marcus.”

“Grace.” Marcus dipped his chin at Aaron. “Who’s this?”

Her neck grew stiff. “This is my handler for today. He’s new.”

Marcus split a look between her and Aaron, before consulting his clipboard. “No one ran a change in staff by me.”

Grace could feel Aaron’s sharp scrutiny and ignored it, attempting to breeze past Marcus with a casual smile. “I understand. I’ll just go grab my dad, so he can clear it up—”

“No. That’s okay.” As predicted, a harried Marcus blocked her path. “Your father is busy. Just…” He gave Aaron another once-over, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper between men, as if Grace couldn’t hear every word. “You know the approved areas? Be sure to keep her within them.”

“Yes.” She was impressed when Aaron gave a brisk nod. “Will do.”

Aaron took her elbow and moved them into the back hallway, past the kitchen, where the local Boy Scouts were rushing to mix pancakes and pour them on the oversized, industrial griddle. Once they turned a corner and Marcus was no longer in view, Grace reluctantly tugged her elbow out of Aaron’s grip, rubbing the spot to keep the warmth alive awhile longer. “This is where we part ways.”

Aaron’s way too handsome face was the picture of bafflement. “Who are you, hippie?” The low, intense vibration of his voice made her shiver. “Why do you need a handler?”

She reached back and curled her fingers around the metal staircase handle. The one she knew was there—and where it led—thanks to last night’s expedition. Her intent was to slip away without answering, but after ignoring so many compulsions that morning already, she couldn’t deny the final one.

With a thready apology, Grace shot forward and up, locking her mouth with Aaron’s, memorizing the way his stiffness melted in one big deluge. The way he gave a rough exhale through his nose. That gruff sound that drummed from his throat, a split second before his lips opened, tongue teasing in to taste hers. Just some. The most perfect, slick greeting. The two of them hung there, mouths open, lips wet and fitted together, breath racing, kitchen clamoring behind them.

Two ends of a silk rope pulled taut beneath her belly button, a tempting lick of his tongue clenching muscles she’d never acquainted herself with, nor could she point them out on a diagram. Whoa Nelly. And with her heart slamming against her ribs like a wrecking ball, Grace cut out that snippet of time—so shimmering and unmarred—tucked it into her pocket, and stole down the staircase, wondering how long the memory of Aaron’s kiss would stay with her. Praying the answer was forever.

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Tracey’s Review

Aaron Clarkson is the mover and shaker, the take-charge man, the man that always has a plan. And right now, his plan is to put his recent crash-and-burn behind him, the one that almost derailed his career, and get back in the game. Aaron isn’t about to let a chance meeting with free-spirited Grace Pendleton throw him off course, but he’s never met anyone like Grace before, and she’s about to show him a whole other side of life.

I am absolutely in LOVE with the Romancing the Clarksons series by author Tessa Bailey. This interesting and complex cast of characters has grabbed my heart and run with it, and I could not be enjoying these books more.

Aaron is an interesting guy. He’s the Clarkson that sees things the way that they are, that calls a spade a spade and to heck with emotions or feelings. It’s just the way that he’s always been, and he’s comfortable with the status quo. A stop in Iowa during their cross-country trip to grant their dead mother’s wish presents the perfect opportunity for Aaron to do what he does best. He knows the game of politics inside and out, and, if he can just spin things the right way, he’ll be back in the thick of things in no time.

Aaron comes across as self-centered, and a little bit amoral, and I wondered how he was going to redeem himself. Until Grace showed up. From moment one, she is the flame to his moth, and a force of nature that he cannot evade.

It was insane. Everything was insane. She was forcing him to consider light and shadows, when he’d only ever dealt in black and white. And she was the light. Shining bright enough to flay him.
He’d operated until now as if people were only hiding selfishness, the kind he didn’t bother to conceal. But not Grace. She contradicted everything he held true and it made the earth shake under his feet.

Grace knows what it’s like to have her inner spark dimmed, and she’s not doing it anymore. Living life on her terms, righting wrongs, doing good, Grace calls to something in Aaron, something long-buried, and makes him question everything that he thinks that he knows and wants. Grace is not without her own issues, having dealt with some very heavy issues in her past. But she looks deeper than Aaron’s surface, and finds something that calls to her, too, believing in him before he believes in himself, in them. But when it finally clicks for Aaron, when he finally sees himself, the real him, underneath all of the shell that years of negative self-talk had created, it’s magic.

He’d been thrown into a vast ocean without a life jacket, and she was reaching out with something resembling help, but it was so foreign and nothing like he’d ever experienced that gripping on to it was difficult. Slipping. It kept slipping. What finally forced him to hold…on was Grace. She was in the same ocean. Maybe she was always there. What if having him reach out and clasp on was the rescue she needed?

There are plenty of super-sexy moments in between all of the self-actualization that goes on. I mean, oh, MY, the heat. Aaron is one dirty talker, and the scenes between him and Grace are intense, and, at times, raw. When wide open meets tamped down, the point of intersection is sheer passion, and it is off-the-charts incendiary, which is something that I’ve come to expect in Tessa’s books. This series just keeps getting better, and I cannot believe that I have to wait until next year to get the other books. These are stories that you don’t want to miss. They’re hot, they’re emotional, and they wrap you right up and take you along for the always-interesting ride. 5 stars for TOO WILD TO TAME. Get these. Now. You can thank me later.

***ARC generously provided for an honest review.***

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When rescue looks like a whole lot of trouble . . .

The road trip was definitely a bad idea. Having already flambéed her culinary career beyond recognition, Rita Clarkson is now stranded in God-Knows-Where, New Mexico, with a busted-ass car and her three temperamental siblings, who she hasn’t seen in years. When rescue shows up—six-feet-plus of hot, charming sex on a motorcycle—Rita’s pretty certain she’s gone from the frying pan right into the fire . . .

Jasper Ellis has a bad boy reputation in this town, and he loathes it. The moment he sees Rita, though, Jasper knows he’s about to be sorely tempted. There’s something real between them. Something raw. And Jasper has only a few days to show Rita that he isn’t just for tonight—he’s forever.

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About Tessa Bailey:

Tessa Bailey is originally from Carlsbad, California. The day after high school graduation, she packed her yearbook, ripped jeans and laptop, driving cross-country to New York City in under four days.

Her most valuable life experiences were learned thereafter while waitressing at K-Dees, a Manhattan pub owned by her uncle. Inside those four walls, she met her husband, best friend and discovered the magic of classic rock, managing to put herself through Kingsborough Community College and the English program at Pace University at the same time. Several stunted attempts to enter the work force as a journalist followed, but romance writing continued to demand her attention.

She now lives in Long Island, New York with her husband of eight years and four-year-old daughter. Although she is severely sleep-deprived, she is incredibly happy to be living her dream of writing about people falling in love.

Website ** Facebook ** Twitter ** Goodreads

Release Blitz + Excerpt + 5 Star Review: Change Of Heart by Nicole Jacquelyn – Fostering Love Series – Book 2

Posted on 09/06/2016 by shellbellereads

Change Of Heart

Fostering Love Series – Book 2

By Nicole Jacquelyn

Buy: Amazon / B & N / IBooks / Kobo

Synopsis

They’ve spent their lives pushing each other away, but what will happen when they need each other most?

Anita Martin doesn’t expect much from life. Growing up on the street, bouncing from one foster home to another, she learned to rely only on herself. Even after she finally found a loving family to take her in, she was still an outsider-something Abraham, one of the family’s older sons, never let her forget.

Abraham Evans doesn’t know how Ani always manages to get under his skin, only that’s she’s been doing it since they were teens. She is-and always has been-undeniably gorgeous. But he’s never met anyone as pissed off at the world as Ani.

For fifteen years, Ani and Bram have agreed on exactly one thing: they can’t stand each other-until one night when their anger gives way to passion. Yet even as Ani and Bram begin to secretly seek comfort in one another’s arms, they remain emotionally worlds apart. When Ani’s life takes a dramatic turn and she realizes she needs more than Bram can give, their fragile, no-strings relationship unravels. One way or another, Ani is determined to survive. But when Bram finally admits his true feelings, he may discover Ani has moved on without him . . .

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Excerpt

“Shut up,” I bitched, letting go of his back with one hand so I could grip his hair in my hand. “Please, just—” My words cut off on a strangled groan as he shifted and slid a finger inside me. No build up. No hesitance.

“Damn, you’re tiny everywhere,” Bram stuttered in surprise, making me chuckle then gasp.

“Pants,” I said frantically, my hips moving against his hand as my mind blanked. “Pants. Off.”

My hands went to his jeans, and he sighed against my face as I rubbed my hand down the length of him.

“I’m so hard, not sure if I can get them off,” he said half-seriously, pulling his finger from me in a slow glide.

“I have an exacto knife in the console,” I whispered back, our hands tangling as we pulled at his jeans.

“You’re not getting anywhere near my junk with a knife,” he hissed back, moaning as his jeans finally loosened and he pushed them down his hips.

“Commando?” I muttered as my hands hit warm skin.

“Need to do laundry.”

I laughed lightly as he leaned back to sit on his heels, grabbed his wallet out of his pocket, and pulled out a condom.

“Hurry,” I murmured as I reached down and wrapped my hand around his dick. Holy shit. Bram was packing. My lips turned up in a grin. “We’re working on borrowed time here.”

Bram’s head snapped up as he rolled on the condom, and he looked out the windows, making sure no one was nearby. “Shit.”

He looked down at me, then up at the windows, then down at me again before gripping my hips and yanking my lower body up so high that most of my weight was resting at the tops of my shoulders.

“What the—”

I let out a high pitched sound that I’m pretty sure I’d never made before in my life when his head dropped between my thighs and his mouth opened wide over my pussy. His beard rubbed softly against my thighs and the undersides of my ass cheeks, and I shuddered.

“Oh my God,” I mumbled squeezing my eyes closed as his tongue licked up my center, curling around my clit. The wet sound of his mouth opening and closing and licking and sucking filled the SUV, partnered with his groans and my heaving breaths.

At first, it just felt really, really good, but then, he focused in, rubbing over and over my clit with his tongue, bringing me closer and closer to orgasm. My body locked, and I clenched my teeth against the urge to scream.

Then he stopped and lowered my hips back down.

“No, no!” I lifted my hips frantically against his hands, “Don’t stop!”

“Shhh,” Bram murmured, coming down on top of me as I slapped at his shoulders. “Knock it off, Ani.”

I froze at the raspy sound of my name on his lips.

“You’re small,” he murmured, lifting my knee high until it was wedged between his arm and my ribs.

He pressed against me slowly, and my entire body relaxed to let him in. I rolled my hips slightly as he moved, and he pulled back out a fraction before pushing forward again. Doing it over and over until our bodies were completely locked together.

Wiping a hand over his beard, he shuddered, then leaned down to kiss me sweetly. “If I woulda waited until you came, you’d be too tight for me to get inside,” he said with a soft chuckle. “This way’s better.”

Then he began to move, shifting his hips just barely back and forth as he ground his pelvic bone against my clit.

My nails dug into his back as he pushed up until his arms were fully extended and looked down to watch my face. I didn’t know what expression I was making, and for a split second, it bothered me that he was watching me so intently, but then it began to build again. Faster and harder than before.

My muscles began to tighten and flex, and unable to control it, my leg that he’d been pressing up into his side shot straight down, my thighs wrapping around his hips like a vice as I came, making the fit of him inside me even more snug.

“Holy shit.” He snapped his hips forward hard as I pulsed around him, pulling back quickly and shoving forward again, over and over until my muscles went limp.

“Knees up,” he murmured frantically, leaning back to grip my jelly-like legs beneath my knees. He pressed them to my chest and then began to really move, pulling out almost completely and sliding back in hard three or four times before his movements went clumsy and he jerked, groaning deep in his throat.

He fell down to his elbows above me and rested his lips against my shoulder as we each caught our breath.

But as my breathing slowed, my heart began to pound.

What the hell did we just do?

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Michel’s Review

The Fostering Love Series by Nicole Jacquelyn is one of the most unique series published in the romance genre. Rather than a series based on small town, sports, biker MC, or the typical family, it is based on two unique families put together by choice rather than genetics. Two foster families bonding from the heart. Proving the true definition of family is by the heart and not by blood.

Anita Martin joined the Evans family when she was fourteen. She has been in and out of foster homes since she was six years old. Her childhood left her with scars. She developed a quirky sense of humor that could come off as antagonistic. When she joined the Evans family she had finally found a real home. A home where people accepted and loved her just the way she was. For once she didn’t have to prove herself except to her one foster brother Abraham. Abraham was determined to find her flaws. He didn’t trust her. Thus began their confrontational relationship. A relationship that evolved through the years. From strangers to siblings,complete mistrust to a shaky friendship, and trusted friends to insatiable lovers; both Anita and Abraham have changed and evolved as individuals. Both are still prickly, rough around the edges, and have lingering damage from their former lives before the Evans family took them in. Now it’s time for them to make choices about their own lives and families.

Anita and Bram have always had a confrontational relationship. When they realize it’s a form of foreplay, they begin a shaky, secret sexual relationship without the promise of commitment. Bram does not want children. Anita’s choice of starting a family has been taken away from her. Their future goals mesh until they don’t.

Anita has the opportunity to become a mother. She will have to choose between Bram and her future child. She chooses her child.

Bram has once again had something taken away from him because of his adamant choice of not having children. He finally found a woman he could give his heart to. He’s not going to change and will let his heart bleed. What he didn’t realize is that his life was incomplete. One small child is going to change his world. Is it too late with Anita?

Bram and Anita are going to learn the true meaning of family and giving it one hundred percent. Unforeseen events will change how they look at life and what they hold dear.

Nicole Jacquelyn wrote a heart wrenching story that not only affected Anita and Bram, it also affected both the families that took them in as their own.

Read the Fostering Love Series by Nicole Jacquelyn, it’s a powerful series about the true meaning of love and family.

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Unbreak My Heart

By Nicole Jacquelyn

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

Synopsis

What do you do when your soul mate marries your best friend?
If you’re Kate Evans, you keep your friend Rachel, bond with her kids, and bury your feelings for her husband. The fact that Shane’s in the military and away for long periods helps-but when tragedy strikes, everything changes.
After Rachel, pregnant with her fourth child, dies in a car accident and the baby miraculously survives, Kate upends her entire life to share parenting duties. Then on the first anniversary of Rachel’s death, Kate and Shane take comfort in each other in a night that they both soon regret.
Shane’s been angry for a year, and now he feels guilty too – for sleeping with his wife’s best friend and liking it . . . liking her. Kate’s ability to read him like a book may have once sent Shane running, but their lives are forever entwined and they are growing closer.
Now with Shane deployed for seven months, Kate is on her own and struggling with being a single parent. Shane is loving and supportive from thousands of miles away, but his homecoming brings a betrayal Kate never saw coming. So Kate’s only choice is to fight for the future she deserves – with or without Shane. . .

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About Nicole Jacquelyn

Nicole Jacquelyn is the mom of two little girls and a full time college student. She hasn’t watched television in well over a year, she still does things that drive her mother crazy, and she loves to read. At eight years old, when asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, she told people she wanted to be a mom. When she was twelve her answer changed- to author. By the time she was eighteen, when people asked her what she wanted to do with her life, she told them she really wanted to be a writer- but the odds of that happening were so slim that she’d get her business degree “just to be safe”. Her dreams stayed constant. First she became a mom, then she went to college, and during her senior year- with one daughter in first grade and the other in preschool, she sat down and wrote a story.

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*****

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New Release + 5 Star Review: The One Real Thing by Samantha Young – Hart’s Boardwalk Series – Book 1

Posted on 09/06/2016 by shellbellereads

The One Real Thing

The Hart’s Boardwalk Series – Book 1

By Samantha Young

Release Date: September 6, 2016

Buy:

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Welcome to Hartwell, a quiet seaside escape where uncovering old secrets could lead one woman to discover the meaning of a love that lasts…

While Doctor Jessica Huntington engages with the inmates at the women’s correctional facility where she works, she’s always careful to avoid emotional attachments in her personal life. Loss and betrayal taught her that lesson long ago. But when she comes across a set of old love letters in the prison’s library and visits the picturesque town of Hartwell to deliver them to their intended recipient, she finds herself unable to resist the town’s charm—and her attraction to the sexy owner of a local bar proves equally hard to deny.

Since his divorce from his unfaithful ex-wife, Cooper Lawson has focused on what really matters: his family and the boardwalk pub they’ve owned for generations. But the first time Jessica steps into his bar, Cooper is beyond tempted to risk his heart on her.

Yet as their attraction grows hotter and Jessica remains stubbornly closed off, he begins to realize it will take more than just passion to convince her there’s only one real thing in life worth fighting for…

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Michel’s Review

Samantha Young has a great start in her new Hart’s Boardwalk Series with The One Real Thing. It’s a compelling small town series with unique characters from all walks of life. They are either natives to Hartwell, Delaware or transplants drawn to this small peaceful seaside community. Life in Hartwell revolves around the boardwalk.

Dr. Jessica Huntington didn’t know she was stuck in her own life. As the head doctor of the Women’s Correctional and Rehabilitation Facilty, she’s seen everything. She chose this job over more prestigious jobs because she wanted to be a real doctor and help those in need with compassion, integrity, and equality. Her personal life is void. She has a friends with benefits relationship with a busy prestigious surgeon. Their relationship is anything but a real relationship. Their encounters are scheduled. There are no surprises. Jessica likes it that way. She doesn’t want the commitment and involvement that comes with a true relationship.

When Jessica finds three letters in the binder of a discarded prison library book, it is a life changing event. These three letters date back to 1972. They are from an inmate that died shortly after the letters were written. The content of these letters is compelling. Jessica was touched by the heartfelt sincerity in those written words. A woman’s quest for forgiveness and declaration of love. Jessica knows she must find the recipient of these undelivered letters.

Jessica’s quest to deliver the letters leads her to Hart’s Boardwalk and Cooper Lawson in Hartwell, Delaware. One spontaneous moment in the rain leads her to finding everything she was missing in life. Staying at the local inn introduces her to real heart of the town.

A three week vacation changes her life. She will confront her own past and insecurities.
She will make the choice to become more than a doctor, she will become a part of a community that involves being in real relationships. She will become a confidant, friend, and lover. She will set new goals in her life and still be the kind of doctor she intended to be. Most of all she will learn to love herself.

Cooper Lawson has lived in Hartwell all his life. He has recently went through a very nasty divorce that cost him more than his marriage. He’s bitter but moving on. In the past six months he has become the town player. He’s not interested in becoming involved again, he just wants to run his bar. When he meets Dr. Jessica Huntington the tables turn. He has finally met a woman that touches his soul. A woman that he can respect. A woman he can build a life with. The only problem is that she lives in Wilmington. Can he convince her that Hartwell needs her as much as he does?

Samantha Young wrote an emotional and compelling story that deals with all kinds of relationships. People from all walks of life coming together to make a real home and community. The best part was Cooper and Jessica finding each other. A mature romance dealing with real life. I can’t wait for the next walk on Hart’s Boardwalk.

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Coming Soon……

Every Little Thing

The Hart’s Boardwalk Series

By Samantha Young

Release Date: March 2017

Hartwell, Delaware—the perfect place to get away from it all, and find what you never knew you needed…

Bailey Hartwell has many reasons to feel content—her successful business, a close circle of friends, and her steady boyfriend…even if their romance feels staid after ten years without a serious commitment. The only challenge in her life comes in the form of sexy businessman Vaughn Tremaine. She thinks the ex-New Yorker acts superior and that he considers her a small-town nobody. But when Bailey’s blindsided by a betrayal, she’s shocked to discover Vaughn is actually a decent guy.

Vaughn admires Bailey’s free spirit, independence, and loyalty. As his passion for her has grown, his antagonism toward her has only worsened. Every little thing Bailey does seduces him. But when Vaughn’s painful emotional past makes him walk away in fear he will hurt her, it opens an old wound in Bailey, and she uncharacteristically retreats.

Once Vaughn begins to realize he’s made the biggest mistake of his life, he has no choice but to fight like he’s never fought before to convince Bailey that the love they’ve found together only comes around once in a lifetime.

We can’t wait for Bailey and Vaughn’s story! But in the meantime, we’re looking forward to the first book, The One Real Thing, that goes on sale September 6^th! Pre-order the first book in the Hart’s Boardwalk series today!

___________________________________

About the author:

Samantha Young is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the On Dublin Street series, including Moonlight on Nightingale Way, Echoes of Scotland Street, and Fall from India Place, as well as the standalone novel Hero. She resides in Scotland.

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Release Blitz + 5 Star Review: Winning It All by Victoria Denault

Posted on 09/06/2016 by shellbellereads

Winning It All by Victoria Denault

Hometown Players #4
Release Date: September 6^th, 2016
Publisher: Forever Yours
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Synopsis:

All’s fair in love and hockey. . .

As his team’s enforcer on the ice, Sebastian Deveau is America’s favorite fighting Frenchman. But he’s just as likely to get into trouble off the ice–especially when it comes to women.

Shayne Beckford is so over hockey. It ruined her parents’ marriage. It spoiled her brother’s dreams. And let’s not even talk about her college boyfriend . . . So when Sebastian Deveau walks into her brother’s gym, she has no idea who he is. All she knows is that he’s one gorgeous man with the sexiest accent she’s ever heard. And since she never has to see him again, she lets him give her the best orgasm of her life right on top of the gym’s dryer.

But Sebastian isn’t going to let this one-night stand get away so easily. He fights for what he wants, even if it takes fighting a little dirty . . .
More in the Hometown Players series:
One More Shot
Making a Play
The Final Move

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Excerpt

I am nothing if not competitive and I will not let this man – this delectable stranger – feel like he’s won some kind of Flirt Off. I don’t pull back far from the kiss, just enough to break our contact. My eyes flutter open at the same time his do and any hint of that smile on his lips is gone. I see the debate flickering behind those unreal crystal blue eyes and dark, heavy eyebrows. I feel the hesitation. His hand on my jaw gets looser. His thumb lifts up like it’s going to sweep my lips again, but it doesn’t. He stops because I pulled back and it’s made him uncertain. Good. I don’t want to be the only one off-balance here. But he doesn’t want to stop – I can sense that, feel his desire radiating off of him. I can see the debate in his head dancing behind those light eyes. Does he play it cool and wait for me to make another move, or does he just go for what he wants, admitting to himself and to me, that he can’t resist just as much as I can’t?

He tightens his grip on me and I smile for the briefest second before it’s forced from my face when he leans in and captures my lips again. This time he’s the one who gave in. Now we’re even.
___________________________

Michel’s Review

Victoria Denault is melting the ice with her latest release in the Hometown Players series. Winning It All is the fourth book in the series and by far the sexiest book. The winning combination of a sexy Frenchman and NHL enforcer has Sebastian Deveau heating up the pages.

Sebastian Deveau has wanted a steady permanent relationship. His quest to settle has left a trail of ex girlfriends and a bit of a tarnished reputation. It’s not that he’s a chronic player, he just hasn’t met the right one.

Attending an opening night party at a local gym is going to turn the tides. There he meets Shayne Beckford. Shayne is an instructor at her brother’s gym. She is also the daughter of a legendary NHL enforcer. Her father’s career in hockey was great on the ice but his family suffered for his greatness. He had numerous affairs and always put hockey first. The last thing Shayne wants is to become involved with a hockey player. She’d rather walk through the fires of hell first.

The chemistry between Sebastian and Shayne is undeniable. From their first hook up to their manufactured dates, the sheets are blazing. Chemistry is not enough for Shayne.

Sebastian will do everything in his power to prove he is not like her father. He will have to prove he has the ability to put her first and hockey second. He has to show Shayne he has what it takes to love her completely. Winning Shayne’s heart is better than winning the Stanley Cup. As far as Sebastian is concerned, it is Winning It All.

Victoria Denault delivered a fantastic story that kept me glued to the pages. Between the sizzling chemistry and creative dialogue, I loved Shayne and Sebastian’s relationship. I loved the involvement of all of the beloved players we have met in the previous books. I can honestly say that the Hometown Players Series is one of my favorite sports romance / hockey romance series. I can’t wait to see what player is going to score a goal next.

Read Winning It All by Victoria Denault. It’s in the net!

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About the Author:

Victoria Denault loves long walks on the beach, cinnamon dolce lattes and writing angst-filled romance. Before focusing on writing novels, Victoria was a journalist and a stand-up comic. She’s also an avid hockey fan who cheers more than one team and has a thing for play-off beards. Victoria grew up in Montreal, Canada but has lived in many major cities across North America. She spent her childhood summers in Maine and adult summers in Spain. She’s now happily settled in Los Angeles with her husband and their two chubby Chihuahuas.

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Release Boost + 5 Star Review: Rushing In by Lexi Ryan – Blackhawk Boys Series – Book 2

Posted on 09/05/2016 by shellbellereads

Rushing In

Blackhawk Boys Series – Book 2

By Lexi Ryan

Blurb

The favor seemed simple: Keep my new stepsister out of trouble for one summer.

I’ve never met Grace Lee, but Mom tells me she’s a quiet and artsy college student with a troubled past. When I agreed to let her stay with me, I thought it was no big deal. I expected to share my apartment with a sullen girl who’d spend hours locked in her room.

I didn’t expect a walking fantasy determined to make me lose my cool.

I didn’t expect a woman with secrets so dark, so deep, I’d throw away everything if it would save her from the past.

Rushing in to do this favor is turning my life upside down—and not just because Grace needs her ass spanked. Keep her out of trouble? Grace is the trouble. And I want in.

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Excerpt

Chris arches a brow and skims his gaze over my body—correction, my dress and Chucks. “You’re gonna go hiking in that?”

I shrug. “It’s not like it’s full-length and gonna get tangled around my legs or anything.”

His gaze drifts down my body again, this time landing on the thigh visible beneath the hem of my dress. “It’s certainly not,” he mumbles, and the way he says it has my cheeks burning and me reaching for my water.

So damn thirsty.

We finish packing up our lunch together, and after we put the cooler back in the car, I grab the park pamphlet out of the front seat. “Come on,” I say, nodding in the direction of the outlook. “It’s my turn to be in charge.”

The park is beautiful, but as soon as we enter the woods and I see the overlook, my breath catches. From here, we have a view of the ravine below and the creek rushing through the bottom. Mossy rock faces make up the ravine walls, and trees protrude from them. It’s possibly the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

I head past the overlook and take the stairs down into the ravine. It’s shady back here and feels ten degrees cooler than our picnic table in the sun.

At the bottom of the stairs, the trail splits in three directions, and when I follow the sign with the three, Chris puts his hand on my arm. “Hey, this one has ladders.”

I arch a brow and drop my gaze to my shoes. “I can handle it.”

Something passes over his face I don’t understand, and then he sighs and nods. “Okay, but I’m climbing the ladders behind you. If any creep is going to be looking up your dress today, it’s gonna be me.”

My cheeks heat, and my brain instantly diagrams his words and starts analyzing the nuance of each. Just comedy or more? Stupid brain. “Fair enough.”

He mutters something that sounds like “Dreams really do come true,” but I can’t be sure.

The trail leads down into the ravine and along the creek bed. It’s so much cooler down here, and I love the sound of the creek rock crunching under my feet as we walk along.

By the time we come upon the first ladder, there’s no one else around.

“Ladies first,” he says, gesturing toward the ladder.

“Pervert,” I mutter, but I move forward and begin my climb. The rungs are coated in mud, and when I’m halfway up, one foot slips and suddenly Chris’s hands are there, holding me steady, his hands strong and warm against the backs of my legs.

My breath catches, and I force myself to breathe and find my footing. The feel of his hands against my skin causes something to swirl hot and tight low in my belly.

“Are you okay?” he asks, his voice as thick as the forest beyond the trail.

I’m not okay. I’m afraid to move. Afraid not to move. Trapped by a fear that has nothing to do with a slippery ladder and everything to do with falling.

Then, slowly, his thumbs begin to slide over my skin. His hands inch up my thighs until his fingertips skim the bottom edge of my underwear and slip under to trace the bottom curve of my ass.

I cannot breathe.

I force myself to turn my head and look down at him. His jaw is set tight, a picture of self-control, but when his eyes meet mine, his face relaxes and he shoots me a boyish grin. I attempt my best poker face. “Are you copping a feel, Christopher Montgomery?”

His grin goes wide, putting his dimples on full display. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says, his Southern accent drawing out his words. “I’m just trying to perform a necessary rescue mission.”

“Do I look like I need rescuing?” I ask. Under the lace edge of my panties, his thumb strokes again, a long, slow motion that makes me want to close my eyes and moan. I resist and hold his gaze.

“Who said you’re the one I’m rescuing? Maybe I’m trying to save myself.” He drops his hands and grabs a hold of the sides of the ladder, then he climbs up behind me so his body is pressed against mine, my back to his front. His mouth hovers above my ear, his breath hot and uneven. “Because I swear if I have to go much longer without touching you, I’m going to implode.”

His lips skim my earlobe, and my eyes float closed. My brain has no room for sight when it’s overloaded with sensations. His lips on my ear. His hard chest against my back. His breath against my neck. “I need to know, Grace.”

I open my eyes and swallow hard. I don’t want to talk. Not right now. I’m too afraid I’ll ruin this moment with my choppy stutter. “What?”

“I need to know . . .” He leans his forehead against my shoulder, and I watch his knuckles turn white as he tightens his grip on the side of the ladder.

On the ground beneath us, someone clears his throat. “You two heading up or down?”

Chris mutters a curse and takes a step down so I have the freedom to move. I scramble up the ladder with him behind me. When we reach the top, I can’t look at him.

“Sorry about that,” he calls to the people below, then he grabs my wrist and pulls me off to the right toward a rocky alcove just off the trail. A wooden sign tells me this is “The Devil’s Ice Box,” and beyond the sign, a thin waterfall drizzles into a pool of crystal-clear water. Chris leads the way, following the rocky edge around to the backside of this semi-secluded space and stopping by the waterfall. I pass him, feigning interest in the rocks and water so I don’t have to meet his eyes. There’s a cavern behind the waterfall, a haven from the falling water.

“I have to know,” Chris says, his words nearly drowned out by the falling water. “Is it just me? Everything I feel when you’re close to me? Tell me you feel it too.”

___________________________

Michel’s Review

Grace Lee never wanted to return to Champagne, Texas. It may have been her hometown but it was never her home. Five years ago she was run out of town with a tarnished reputation. The kind of reputation a girl can never recover from in a small town. Her knight in shining armor may have saved her but he didn’t really want anything to do with her either. She left Champagne with a broken heart and her own personal scarlet letter to bear.

***

Grace made the mistake of retuning back to Champagne the previous summer and made a bad decision that added to her illustrious reputation. That mistake led to persecution and social bullying. She vowed never to return again. Unfortunately her father is getting remarried and she has to attend the wedding. She also has to meet her stepbrother Dash Dupree. She is going to be staying with him in Blackhawk Valley while their parents are away in Europe. Her new step brother is non other than her night in shining armor that broke her heart five years ago. Apparently Dash Dupree is really Chris Montgomery, all-star quarterback and legendary good guy. The guy who saved her from the wolves but also shattered her young heart.

***

Chris Montgomery has always been the perfect guy. Nothing can break his composure, he’s unflappable. Or he was until his new stepsister entered his life. Grace Lee is everything he wants in a woman. She’s honest, edgy, and a little bit dirty. Trying not to break the brother / sister code is impossible. It’s time to do the wrong thing rather than continue being the good guy. Just as he makes this monumental decision, his life implodes on him. His ex girlfriend is determined to get him back. There’s dissension with some of his teammates. His MIA father has shown up in his life without an invitation. His father may become his coach in his final year at Blackhawk. A year that could make or break his chances for the draft in the NFL.

***

Grace and Chris are going to experience more than a sibling relationship. They can’t fight their attraction for one another. Grace knows for certain that once Chris finds out who she really is and remembers that disastrous night, her heart is going to be shattered once again. What she didn’t count on was a group of good friends supporting her rather than beating her down. She didn’t count on the opportunities Blackhawk has to offer her. She didn’t count on Chris a better man than the golden boy she once crushed on. Her life is about to change and Blackhawk Valley is the place to find her heart.

***

Once again Lexi Ryan tackled some very difficult subjects such as bullying, social media harassment, dysfunctional family issues, and the courage to change oneself. She added a remarkable love story for these two dynamic characters. I absolutely loved this book! I can’t wait to see what comes next for the Blackhawk Boys.

____________________________

Also Available

Football. Secrets. Lies. Passion.

These boys don’t play fair.

Which Blackhawk Boy will steal your heart?

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******

#3 Going Under – Sebastian’s story

Coming Late 2016

Author Bio

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of emotional romance that sizzles, Lexi enjoys reading, sunshine, a good glass of wine, and rare trips to the beach.

Lexi lives in Indiana with her husband, two children, and neurotic dog. You can find her at her website: lexiryan.com

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Release Blitz + Review: Sacred Serenity by Audrey Carlan

Posted on 09/02/2016 by shellbellereads

Sacred Serenity (A Lotus House Novel)

by Audrey Carlan, #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author

Genre: Erotic Romance

Release Date: 30^th August 2016

Synopsis:

Twenty-two-year-old Amber St. James’s focus is on her education. Her plan is clear―finish the elite San Francisco/Berkeley Medical School program early and become a pediatrician. She hasn’t given much thought to dating or to men in general, until she enrolls in the required human sexuality course…a subject foreign to her for religious and personal reasons.

Tantric yoga practitioner Dash Alexander is Lotus House Yoga’s most sought after sensual teacher. Women flock to him for his unique teaching style, calm nature, and wicked hot body. When he hears of Amber’s plight, he offers to help. The condition? Amber must assist in his couples’ Tantra yoga class as his partner. The sizzling attraction between the two of them is beyond anything Dash has ever experienced…spiritually or otherwise.

Through his teachings, Dash makes love to Amber’s mind and merges with her soul. Physically there’s only one problem, a secret that’s sacred. Amber St. James is a virgin…by choice.

________________________________

5Star

Tracey’s Review

Oh, my word. Just, this book. Audrey Carlan has worked her magic and won me over, and I’m not going back. In SACRED SERENITY, the second book in the Lotus House series, she has written a book that is close to my heart on so many levels.

Amber St. James’ firm faith dictates the way that she lives her life. It is the bedrock and measuring stick for everything that she undertakes. I love that Audrey manages to write Amber as a real woman with real conflict, and not as a mere caricature. SACRED SERENITY is a coming-of-age of sorts for Amber. Although she has found a way to marry her practice of yoga with her innate faith, participating in a tantric yoga class with the man that she has been crushing on for two years will have Amber examining every one of her deeply held convictions. And, I have to say, practicing tantra with Dash Alexander would likely be just the thing to have most women throwing beliefs and caution to the wind and diving right in. Just reading about the connection between the two of them as they led their class had this girl breaking out the fan and wiping my brow. Hot? Uh, yes. Spiritual? Yes, that, too.

SACRED SERENITY speaks to me, I think, because, besides the love story, Audrey is in no way demeaning any belief system, and does, in fact, celebrate the keeping of personal vows and also the opening up of oneself to allow the possibility for growth beyond expectations. Both Amber and Dash are changed by the connection between themselves, and it’s really quite a lovely thing to see.

This is my first Audrey Carlan read, but it will not be my last. I really want to go back and read RESISTING ROOTS (Book 1) and am very much looking forward to DIVINE DESIRE (Book 3), the other books in the Lotus House series. In the meantime, SACRED SERENITY is an easy 5-star read for me. It touched me on a personal level, and I’d happily recommend it as an addition to any TBR.

***ARC generously provided for an honest review.***

__________________________________

Author Bio:

Audrey Carlan is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. She writes wicked hot love stories that are designed to give the reader a romantic experience that’s sexy, sweet, and so hot your e-reader might melt. Some of her works include the wildly successful Calendar Girl Serial, Falling Series, and the Trinity Trilogy.

She lives in the California Valley where she enjoys her two children and the love of her life. When she’s not writing, you can find her teaching yoga, sipping wine with her “soul sisters” or with her nose stuck in a wicked hot romance novel.

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Release Blitz … Excerpt … 5+ Star Review: The Hard Way by Katie Ashley

Posted on 09/02/2016 by shellbellereads

Sports + Bad Boy + Second Chance

The Hard Way by Katie Ashley NOW AVAILABLE!

*****

The Hard Way

By Katie Ashley

Buy: Amazon / Amazon UK

Synopsis

Cade Hall has always been the golden boy of the gridiron. Because of his talent at football, coupled with his father’s wealth, he’s always gotten his way. But when a night of drunken debauchery lands him in hot water with the college athletic board, neither his influential father nor his charming grin can save him. Cade finds it a total buzz kill when he is sentenced to community service with troubled youth at an inner-city shelter. But his nightmare is only beginning when his greatest high school regret is the very one in charge of the program, and she has him by the balls in more ways than one.

For Avery Prescott, senior year was a nightmare of epic proportions, and Cade Hall played the lead villain. After she fled her small town for college in the bright lights of Atlanta, she thought she had escaped the painful memories of her past. She never could have imagined Cade would waltz through the door of the outreach program she presided over. But Avery has news for Cade—she isn’t the same shy, doormat of a girl she was in high school. Since she holds Cade’s football future in her hands, she’s more than ready to make payback a real bitch.

Will they stay in the defensive zone or discover that sometimes life’s greatest lessons are learned the hard way?

Excerpt

“Is this one of those old-timey record players?”

“A Victrola,” I answered as I joined him.

Cade snapped his fingers. “That’s right. There was one of these at my grandparents’ house.” He eyed the contraption curiously. “Does it work?”

“Sure.” I set my cup down before winding up the crank. Then I placed the needle on the record, and a slow instrumental tune came out of the Victrola’s horn. At Cade’s groan, I grinned. “Not a fan of classical music?”

“No. It’s more about the fact that it’s one of Strauss’s waltzes.”

Cocking my brows at him, I asked, “You know Strauss?”

With a snort, Cade said, “Don’t look so surprised, and no, I didn’t learn about him in Harlington’s music appreciation class either.”

I held up my hands. “I wasn’t alluding to anything.”

“Yes, you were alluding, as you say, to the stereotype of me being an uncivilized jock,” Cade teased in a snooty-sounding voice.

“I’m sorry. I’ve got to stop doing that. You really are so much more than a jock.”

He swept his hand to his heart. “Why, thank you.”

“So tell me how you know Strauss.”

“I have waltzed at ten cotillions and three debutante balls.”

“Wow. That’s quite impressive.”

“What about you?”

“I’ve never been to a cotillion or deb ball.”

“No, I mean, haven’t you ever waltzed before?”

I laughed. “Oh yeah, I often practice my dance skills out in the corn.”

“Every lady should know how to dance.”

“But I’m not a lady.”

Cade smiled. “Yeah. You are.” When I started to protest, he said, “Money and position aren’t what make a lady. It’s what’s inside you that counts.”

His words and his tone caused the breath to wheeze out of my lungs. Just when I thought he couldn’t surprise me any more with the things he said, he went and said something like that. “Thank you,” I finally mumbled.

“You’re welcome.” The world seemed to slow to a crawl around us as we stood there staring at each other. The sound of Cade clapping his hands together caused me to jump. “Okay. One waltz lesson coming up.”

“I’m going to warn you that you’re probably going to regret this. I’m the worst dancer ever.”

“How can anyone who plays the piano suck at dancing?”

“I’m not sure how it’s possible, but trust me, it is.”

Cade laughed. “We’ll see.”

A tingling jolt of electricity shot through me when Cade took one of my hands in his. After he put his other hand on the small of my back, he drew me closer to him. Even with all the times I had sat next to him while we worked on our project, I hadn’t been this close.

“Now you put your other hand on my shoulder.”

“Okay.”

“Step back with your left foot and then bring your right to the side.” After I followed Cade’s lead, he said, “Now bring your left foot to your right, and then step forward with your right.”

My mind spun as I frantically tried processing Cade’s instructions. Somehow it managed to click together, and I followed his lead. “Hey, you’ve got it,” he remarked with a smile.

“It’s not because of me—it must be the teacher.” I glanced up at him and smiled. “Sports, brains, and dancing; you’re really a true triple threat.”

“You forgot devastating good looks and charm.”

I grinned. “Does that make you a quintuple threat?”

“Make it a sextuple threat if you throw in the money.”

“I should have known you’d find a way to have ‘sex’ in your title.”

Cade threw his head back and laughed. “Always busting my balls, Prescott.”

“Yep. Just consider me your Little Ball Buster like Judith in Walking Dead was called Little Ass Kicker.”

Cade’s brows rose in surprise. “You watch Walking Dead?”

“Sure I do.”

“That surprises me.”

“Why?”

“I guess I just figured you only watched pretentious stuff like Downton Abbey.”

“Downton Abbey is not pretentious.”

Cade grinned. “I’ll take that as a yes that you watch it.”

“I certainly do.”

“At least I’m 1 and 1 on picking the TV shows you like.”

“While you know me pretty well, you have a lot more to learn, Mr. Hall,” I teased.

“I look forward to you educating me.”

As I stared into his face, Cade’s expression grew serious. The idea of educating him suddenly seemed to take on a deeper meaning—one of both mental and physical knowledge.

Cade dipped his head to where our mouths were just inches apart. His breath fanned across my cheek, causing me to shiver. I stared into his eyes, silently pleading with him to go ahead and kiss me. We’d already been down this road before. Since Thanksgiving night, I’d wanted nothing more than to feel his lips on mine again.

When he finally kissed me, it sent energy humming all over my body. I’d kissed other boys, but it had never felt the way it did with Cade. It was all-consuming of my mind, body, and spirit.

Considering his experience, it shouldn’t have been too surprising that Cade was a good kisser. What surprised me the most was the emotion behind his kiss. It ran so much deeper than just a physical act, as if he was putting his heart and soul into kissing me.

Cade deepened the kiss by plunging his tongue into my mouth. It tangled along with mine in a waltz of its own composing. My hand snaked up his back to capture the hair at the base of his neck, and I ran my fingers through the silky strands, marveling at how much softer it was than I had imagined.

The Victrola ran out of steam, and the only sound filling the room was heavy breathing. At the loss of music, Cade stopped leading me around the floor, and his hands slid underneath my buttocks. He gripped the globes of my ass before hoisting me up to wrap my legs around his, and I molded myself tighter against him. I couldn’t seem to get enough of him—the way his strong arms felt around me, his thick waist against my legs, his broad, muscular back underneath my hands. Even though I knew I shouldn’t, I wanted all of him.

When we crashed into a chest of drawers, Cade momentarily released my lips to breathlessly ask, “Are you okay?”

“Mmhmm.” I gazed into his hooded eyes. “Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”

I rubbed myself against the ridge in Cade’s pants, causing him to groan against my throat. “Jesus, Prescott, if you keep doing that, I won’t be able to stop.” When I did it again, my action was rewarded with a growl.

Cade’s wild eyes glanced around the room before leading us over to the wide red settee in the back corner. We collapsed onto the smooth velvet material. I widened my legs to allow Cade’s hips between them and his mouth sought out mine in a frantic kiss.

As our tongues battled against each other, Cade’s hand came to my breast. He kneaded and cupped it over the fabric of my uniform, my nipples hardening under his touch. When he began undoing the buttons of my dress, he broke the kiss to glance at me as if asking my permission. At my nod, he practically ripped the remaining buttons open.

He gave me a sheepish grin as he pulled me into a sitting position. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay,” I said as I slid my arms out of the sleeves.

My breath hitched when Cade’s arms snaked around my back to undo my bra. Once it was unhooked, I couldn’t help bringing my arms to cover my chest and keep the bra in place. I hated that in this moment I couldn’t seem to get past my modesty, or my fear that my average-sized chest would turn him off.

Cade tilted my chin with his fingers, forcing me to look him in the eye. “You sure you’re okay with this, Prescott?”

“I am, I promise.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

“I’m just a little scared,” I whispered.

“That I’ll hurt you?” Cade questioned with a wounded look.

I gave a quick jerk of my head. “That you won’t like what you see.”

“Huh?”

“You’ve been with so many other girls. I’m afraid I won’t measure up.”

His expression darkened. “That’s the stupidest fucking thing I’ve ever heard.”

I ducked my head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t help the way I feel.”

Cade cupped my face in his hands. “There’s only right here and right now, and there’s no one else but you and me. None of the past, just us and this moment.”

My heartbeat thrummed wildly at his sentiment. “Okay,” I murmured as I stared deeply into his eyes.

“And you could never not be beautiful to me. I like everything about you, both inside and out.” At what must’ve been my incredulous look, Cade grinned. “And I’m not just saying that so you’ll let me in your pants.”

“I know you wouldn’t.” Deep down, I knew it to be the truth. If Cade had really wanted to just screw me, he would have attempted it over the past two months.

“I wouldn’t be here tonight if I didn’t want to be with you for the long haul.”

Once again, my heart began to beat so erratically that I felt a little dizzy. “Really?”

He nodded. “You’re all I need, Avery.”

____________________________

Michel’s Review

Some people learn through the school of hard knocks while others learn by examples. For some people life is a breeze, everything comes easily without much thought.

Everything came easy for Cade Hall. He’s a star football player at Georgia Tech. He isn’t the typical jock, he’s special because he is a triple threat. He has looks, personality, and brains. He’s also a filthy rich, spoiled brat. He has a knack for getting in trouble and a dependency on daddy bailing him out when push came to shove. He has no qualms using his athletic status or flashing his social status to get what he wants. He utilizes every asset and gift he has been blessed with to skate through life. He has never considered how his actions affected other people. He has never had to own up to his digressions. It’s not that he was a bad person, he just isn’t a really good person.

When a college prank lands him in the hot seat, he thinks daddy can bail him out with false threats or a hefty donation. The Dean of Athletics has a different opinion. He has given Cade an ultimatum , he has to do community service, or lose his position in football program for the remainder of his college career. He has to serve forty hours a week throughout the entire summer. He has to work the service around his football schedule. If he screws up, he’s out of the football program. Cade loves football as much as he loves himself.

His sentence is to work at an inner city center for at risk teenagers. It should be an easy gig. What he didn’t count on was Avery Prescott being in charge of his duties at the center. Cade and Avery have a history that didn’t end well. She was one of Cade’s victims in high school. She is the one regret Cade has carried in his soul. Now he has to face the consequences of his actions.

Cade is not only going to learn humility, he is also going to learn humanity. His time with Avery and the teenagers is going to change how he looks at himself in the mirror. He’s going to become a better man. A man that can be respected and admired. A man that learns by examples and takes it to heart.

Avery Prescott finally has the opportunity to make Cade Hall pay for what he did to her in high school. She has moved on from the humiliation and devastation, but she never forgot. The one thing that she did forget is that Cade Hall also had real potential. There was more than the egotistical rich boy that everyone sees. There’s a man with a real beating heart. Still a little revenge is good for the soul. Seeing Cade Hall grovel will bring her great joy. Seeing Cade Hall live up to his potential will make her heart soar.

Can Cade Hall be redeemed? Can Avery Prescott forgive him? Can the two find the love they were meant to share? Will Cade and Avery help change the lives of the teenagers who desperately need someone in their corner cheering them on?

I was drawn into this book with the very first paragraph. I could not put it down. There was an entertaining as well as emotional story that went beyond the typical new adult romance. Katie Ashley has a gift of bringing her characters to life and making their story unforgettable. I mean that in a true sense because some of secondary characters were from a previous book, Don’t Hate The Player, Hate The Game ( which I loved), that was released in May 2013. Three years later these dynamic secondary characters are standing strong and screaming for their own book.

There is a special bonus book, that I mentioned above, at the end of The Hard Way. Katie graciously has given her readers a sensational gift and another fantastic reading experience.

The Hard Way is my favorite Katie Ashley book to date.

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Katie Ashley is the New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon Best-Selling author of The Proposition Series, Runaway Train Series, as well as several New Adult and Young Adult titles. Her latest series, Vicious Cycle, has been picked up for publication by Penguin Books.

She lives outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her two very spoiled dogs. She has a slight obsession with Pinterest, The Golden Girls, Harry Potter, Shakespeare, Supernatural, Sons of Anarchy, Downton Abbey, Designing Women, and Scooby-Doo.   With a BA in English, a BS in Secondary English Education, and a Masters in English Education, she spent 11 1/2 years educating the Youth of America aka teaching MS and HS English until she left to write full time in December 2012.   She is represented by Jane Dystel of Dystel and Goderich Literary Management.

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Release Blitz + Excerpt + Review + Giveaway: Lost In Rewind by Tali Alexander – Audio Fools Series – Book 3

Posted on 09/02/2016 by shellbellereads

Lost In Rewind

Audio Fools Series – Book 3

By Tali Alexander

Release Date: September 1, 2016

Buy: Amazon / Amazon UK / ITunes

Synopsis

Inside every story lies more than one truth.

“Come, boy, I will give you a reading…show me your hands.”

Jeffery Rossi wants to be a man of logic but finds himself basing his life’s decisions on a prophecy delivered at the hands of an old gypsy fortune teller. The death of his beloved wife coupled with the loss of what he thought would be his carefully crafted future, have spun him onto a path of self-destruction.

“Three children will come from you—a king and two queens.”

Jeff believed he knew how his future would unravel, but he’s about to get a lesson in how the Universe works. Fate should not be left to the interpretation of mere mortals. Interfere and suffer, surrender… and let the fates help you find your destiny.

“No matter what you do, no matter how far away you run, what’s written in the stars cannot be undone.”

Excerpt

Chapter 3

Jeffery

“Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley

A good person, a good man, a good father wouldn’t leave his children a few days after their mother died to go hide in a secret love-shack he once kept with their biological mother. Juliet and Jacob deserve a good parent, and not a shit mess like me. I’m a worthless, empty excuse for a man without my wife, I’m nothing without Sara, and they can’t see me like this. If they look into my eyes, they’ll know I’m dead, too.

My secretary has left no less than two voicemails every fucking hour on the hour—my father-in-law, too. The whole world wants to tell me how sorry they are for me. I only check my phone to make sure it’s not my babies trying to reach me. My parents and my whole family are at my house with them, and all I can think about is how alone we are. My mind won’t let me forget about Sara—the girl I once met in a New York club on a dirty dance floor, the girl that offered to blow me as a joke, only the joke was on me. Just one kiss and she fucked me up for life, but I’d do it all over again because I owe her everything. What the fuck is wrong with me? It’s as if my heart is finally allowed to explode and all the feelings and thoughts I’ve trained my mind to keep under control are blasting out, and I can’t do anything but let it consume me. The prophecy I’ve held onto for fourteen years has waited long enough, and it begs to finally play out.

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Michel’s Review

Lost In Rewind by Tali Alexander is the third book in the Audio Fools series. I have never read any to Tali’s books and went into this book blind. I can honestly say that I am happy that I haven’t read the previous two books in the series. If I had read the previous books, which I will, I think they would of influenced my reactions to this story. I think I would of had a definite negative opinion about Jeffrey. Going into this story blind allowed me to see every facet of Jeffrey’s life and how he was influenced by uncontrollable circumstances in the past.

Imagine a fortune teller saying something about your future that hits home. A prediction that is right on mark. A prediction that is so believable it can’t be anything but the truth. Like most things, there are always two sides to a story, a bigger picture in the scheme of things. Jeffrey allowed a prediction to dictate his life. He hung on to the hopes the prediction entailed. Was he right to do this? Yes and no.

In the course of fifteen years Jeffrey’s life was beyond his control. He loved two women with all of his heart or so he thought. By hanging onto a prediction about his future, he let that rule his life rather than living for each moment. He missed out on gifts that life had to offer. The special moments he could never get back. His actions hurt other people. Most of all, he hurt himself.

After his wife’s death Jeffrey finally thinks he’s free. He can finally live the life a gypsy told him would have. What he thought was his future life has the potential to destroy him completely and destroy his children. The gypsy had the prediction right, just not what Jeffrey perceived.

He will have to face his past, open his heart, and embrace the future. It was written in the stars long ago.

When I first started this book I thought Jeffrey was a complete jerk. As the pages progressed, my views about Jeffrey changed. I was able to see a vulnerable man that had loved deeply but forgot to love himself. He was too busy trying to pave the path he thought his life was on. When the truth and reality hits home, he’s a lost soul. Jeffrey is brave enough to reach out and find what really matters in life.

I will definitely go back and read the first two books in the series now that I know what a good person Jeffrey is inside. I think if I would of known any of his story before hand I would not of read this book. Like I said before, there are always two sides to every story.

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Have you read Love in Rewind by Tali Alexander yet?

NOW ONLY $0.99

Get your copy here:

Amazon / Amazon UK / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

Blurb

Emily has the life every woman dreams of.

At 29, she has two beautiful kids, a live-in nanny, housekeeper, cook, and every imaginable luxury in the posh Upper East Side townhouse she shares with her drop-dead gorgeous husband, Louis Bruel. His company, Bruel Industries, owns a big chunk of New York City’s most sought-after real estate, and together Emily and Louis embody the perfect hot fairy tale couple for ten happy years of marriage.

But when Louis mysteriously starts pushing Emily away, becoming distant and secretive, she is forced to search for the truth among the lies, scandal and heartbreak of his past that threaten to shatter her world. What she finds out will test the strength of her love and her vows to the man of her dreams.

Can Emily and Louis rewind far enough back to a time when life was simpler and love was all they needed? Follow their story with the help of some of their favorite songs from the 80’s to discover just how deep and how far love will go.

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Meet Tali

Tali Alexander is a Jill-of-all-trades—married mother of three, doctor of pharmacy by day and romance novelist by night. Tali has fulfilled her passion of writing with her debut romance novel LOVE IN REWIND (first book in the Audio Fools trilogy). Since its debut, fans have embraced the unconventional love story of Emily and Louis Bruel making LOVE IN REWIND #1 on Amazon Kindle charts (September 2014). With an increasing demand from her fan base for the next installment, Tali has recently released the next story in the Audio Fools trilogy…LIES IN REWIND, out now!!!

Tali’s fans will finally get their third and final book in the series titled, LOST IN REWIND, which is set to release in Fall of 2016.

Stalk Tali at: Website / Twitter / Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram | Pinterest

******

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6 Star Review + 2016 Favorite: All The Ugly And Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

Posted on 09/01/2016 by shellbellereads

All The Ugly And Wonderful Things

By Bryn Greenwood

Buy: Amazon

Synopsis

A beautiful and provocative love story between two unlikely people and the hard-won relationship that elevates them above the Midwestern meth lab backdrop of their lives.

As the daughter of a drug dealer, Wavy knows not to trust people, not even her own parents. It’s safer to keep her mouth shut and stay out of sight. Struggling to raise her little brother, Donal, eight-year-old Wavy is the only responsible adult around. Obsessed with the constellations, she finds peace in the starry night sky above the fields behind her house, until one night her star gazing causes an accident. After witnessing his motorcycle wreck, she forms an unusual friendship with one of her father’s thugs, Kellen, a tattooed ex-con with a heart of gold.

By the time Wavy is a teenager, her relationship with Kellen is the only tender thing in a brutal world of addicts and debauchery. When tragedy rips Wavy’s family apart, a well-meaning aunt steps in, and what is beautiful to Wavy looks ugly under the scrutiny of the outside world. A powerful novel you won’t soon forget, Bryn Greenwood’s All the Ugly and Wonderful Things challenges all we know and believe about love.

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Robin’s Review

Wow! Just fantastic! These are my first thoughts after finishing All the Ugly and Wonderful Things: A Novel. Part coming of age, part literary fiction, part romance genres, Bryn Greenwood’s story wholeheartedly captured my attention and saw me through to the last page!

The characters in All the Ugly and Wonderful Things: A Novel are some of the best I have ever encountered. Our female protagonist is not sexy or beautiful; no, Wavy is a wispy, resilient, strong-willed character with a strange eating disorder. The male lead is a giant Native American named Kellen who has a big temper and an even bigger heart. Their epic story is set among a diverse cast of characters and is told from more points of view than I can name.

From the beginning, I fell in love with the good and bad, the beautiful and the ugly parts of this story. In my opinion, Greenwood’s writing is crisp – it flows beautifully, and the characters are nicely developed over the pages of this story. You will find dark subject material covered in this novel, including violence, drugs and a taboo romantic relationship.

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things: A Novel was definitely more expensive than I’m used to paying for an eBook, but in this case, I truly believe the price was worth the several hours of enjoyment I received from reading it! I’m giving Bryn Greenwood a 6-star rating for All the Ugly and Wonderful Things: A Novel, and it’s being added to my list of 2016 favorites!

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BRYN GREENWOOD is a fourth-generation Kansan and the daughter of a mostly reformed drug dealer. She is the author of the novels All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, Last Will, and Lie Lay Lain. She lives in Lawrence, Kansas.

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Category Archives: Book Review

Review: A Love So Dangerous by Lili Valente

Release Blitz + 5 Star Review: Too Wild To Tame by Tessa Bailey – The Clarksons Series – Book 2

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When rescue looks like a whole lot of trouble . . .

Jasper Ellis has a bad boy reputation in this town, and he loathes it. The moment he sees Rita, though, Jasper knows he’s about to be sorely tempted. There’s something real between them. Something raw. And Jasper has only a few days to show Rita that he isn’t just for tonight—he’s forever.

Release Blitz + Excerpt + 5 Star Review: Change Of Heart by Nicole Jacquelyn – Fostering Love Series – Book 2

New Release + 5 Star Review: The One Real Thing by Samantha Young – Hart’s Boardwalk Series – Book 1

Release Blitz + 5 Star Review: Winning It All by Victoria Denault

Winning It All by Victoria Denault

Hometown Players #4
Release Date: September 6^th, 2016
Publisher: Forever Yours
Genre: Contemporary Romance

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Release Boost + 5 Star Review: Rushing In by Lexi Ryan – Blackhawk Boys Series – Book 2

Release Blitz + Review: Sacred Serenity by Audrey Carlan

Release Blitz … Excerpt … 5+ Star Review: The Hard Way by Katie Ashley

Release Blitz + Excerpt + Review + Giveaway: Lost In Rewind by Tali Alexander – Audio Fools Series – Book 3

6 Star Review + 2016 Favorite: All The Ugly And Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

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When rescue looks like a whole lot of trouble . . .

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Winning It All by Victoria Denault

Hometown Players #4 Release Date: September 6th, 2016 Publisher: Forever Yours Genre: Contemporary Romance

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Amazon US / Amazon UK / Google Play / Nook / iBooks / Kobo

Add to Goodreads

About the Author:

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Amazon Barnes & Noble iBooks Kobo GooglePlay

Hometown Players #4
Release Date: September 6^th, 2016
Publisher: Forever Yours
Genre: Contemporary Romance