Blog Tour + Excerpt + 2017 Favorite + 6 Star Review: The Do-Over by Julie A. Richman

Posted on 01/31/2017 by shellbellereads

The Do- Over

By Julie A. Richman

Buy: Amazon / Amazon UK / B & N / IBooks / Kobo

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Synopsis

~ Sometimes, one degree is all that separates you from the one you were meant to be with. ~

Wes Bergman was sex on a stick.

We’d been circling one another our entire lives, mingling at the same clubs… attending the same events…sharing mutual acquaintances…yet we’d never actually met.

Until . . . we both boarded a Windjammer Cruise in the Caribbean. And it was like meeting my long, lost best friend for the first time. I hadn’t ever connected with a guy that way before.

But Wes had a girlfriend. So, when the week was over, he walked off the ship, unknowingly taking a piece of my heart with him.

Now, over a decade later, newly divorced, I’m the proverbial fish out of water. Dating has totally changed. Apps. Swipe left. Swipe right. Catfishing. Men my age want two things: twenty-five-year-olds—like my ex’s new child bride of a wife—or just a quick hook-up.

After a string of bad dates, I finally did something I never thought I’d do. I had a hot one-night stand with a really handsome guy I met online who didn’t even know my real name.

Turned out Mr. Fling is a big shot for my company’s newest client. And just my

luck, that client’s CEO is none other than . . . Wes Bergman.

Now I’m separated by one degree again from the man who stole my heart.

And Mr. Fling could destroy my chance of what I want most –

A Do-Over with Wes.

Excerpt

His hand slowly stroking up and down the outside of my thigh is what roused me from my dream state. It was so soft and tender that I was getting more and more turned on with every movement. With my eyes still closed, I enjoyed the sensation. It wasn’t until his lips started brushing my shoulder, that I was unable to stifle a moan, revealing that I was awake.

“Good morning,” his whisper was hoarse.

“Mmm, good morning.” I stretched my body against his and turned my head to see his face hovering over mine, before our lips met.

“Sleep good?”

“Surprisingly, I did. I was so exhausted. Sorry for passing out on you last night,” I apologized.

“I think we both passed out the moment our heads hit the pillows.” Wes’ hand had migrated from my thigh to my stomach, where he softly drew circles with his fingertips.

Rolling over to face him, I pushed my hair out of the way, silently praying my humidity enhanced curls didn’t make me look like a deranged housewife, scaring the erection right out of the man. Slinging a leg over his thigh, I instantly got my answer. The crazy morning coif was not a cock killer. Thank God!

“You’re a morning person, I see.” Hiding my smile was not a possibility.

“Yeah, I am,” Wes laughed, moving closer to me, his eyes filled with the unmistakable desire to become lovers, something I’d dreamed about on the deck of a windjammer long ago.

“You can wake me up like this anytime.” I needed to let him know it was okay. He’d said he’d take it as slow as I wanted it and what I wanted right now was a slow rhythm of him plowing into me. Hard.

“Are you hard to wake up?” He was pressed up against me.

“I think you’ll figure out the secrets to rousing me.”

“You’ve already figured out the secrets to arousing me.” His voice still had that sexy edge of morning roughness to it, making me want to skip all foreplay and have him inside me.

“I’ll bet you have a few more secrets I can discover,” I said against his lips, as I shifted the leg I had slung over him, pressing my heat and wetness against his already throbbing cock.

Wes groaned and I could feel his smile against my lips. “You know you’re going to make it impossible to make slow, sweet love to you.”

“Good, because I don’t want it slow and sweet.”

Wes flipped me onto my back, “I can easily accommodate your wishes. Are you on anything or do I need to…”

“We’re good,” I assured him.

“Yes, we are.” He kissed my neck, then swiftly pulled my tank top over my head tossing it to the floor. “We’re going to be really good together. Of that, I have no doubt.”

And I knew he was right. Being with this man had been so perfect from the night we met. We meshed with ease and the result was pure joy.

The warmth in his eyes and smile made my breath catch, and in that moment, I was flooded with overwhelming emotion at how much I wanted him. How much I’d always wanted him. It was more than lust, beyond the heat of the moment. Wes Bergman was the man I had always wanted, from the night we met. That was clear to me now.

“I vote we skip the foreplay.” I wriggled out of my underwear.

“You’re on.” His smile told me he was taking on the challenge.

“You’re in,” I gasped, my breath catching in my throat, surprised at the swiftness with which he filled my request.

Michel’s Review

Julie A. Richman is in a class by herself when it comes to romance. Her speciality is creating magical romances between mature adults while still including the wonders of young love in it’s purest form. The memories of what once was or could of have been if the world would of been in sync, are part of her special magic. The youthful mistakes, decisions in the works, and life dictating it’s own hand take her characters in new directions that are beyond their control. She adds layers of life experiences that allow her characters hearts to percolate for years, preparing them to grasp the epic love story that is to come later when they are completely ready for it. She allows them to mature and become the best kind of individuals they can possibly be. Along the way they gain wisdom, experience the good and bad in life, and become emotionally stronger people. They learn the true meaning of sacrifice, giving of oneself, and loving unconditionally. They learn that love is more than a word or an emotion in a heated moment. It is the true gift in life. A gift that completes a person as an individual as well as a partner.

It’s refreshing to read a romance that I can identify with as a mature adult. Life experiences are priceless and mold a person into something more than they could of dreamed about in their younger years.

Tara and Wes were each other’s “one that got away”. They met on a vacation cruise and instantly connected on so many levels. At the time they were in different places in their lives. Wes was living in California and was in a relationship. Tara was building her career in New York City. Their lives were miles apart and heading in different directions. What seemed like a slip of fate was only the beginning. Fate had something else in store for them.

Almost two decades later, Tara finds herself a new divorcee , single parent to her teenage daughter, and pushing forty. She is once again thrust into the dating pool. A pool that has changed severely since she last swam in it. The rules have changed. It’s not just herself that she has to consider. She has to put her daughter first and her own needs second. The players in the game have changed. Potential dates are no longer fresh faced young men with a boat full of dreams and the world unexplored. They are experienced men with their own suitcase full of baggage. The game itself has changed as well. Clubbing and hanging out with friends is no longer the way to play the game. Online dating sites are the way to go. She’s a fish out of water. Trying to survive in this new world of dating is like swimming against the tide. There are a lot of sharks, guppies, and minnows in the pool. After some disastrous dates and a really bad experience, she’s ready to throw in the towel once again. That is until she crosses paths with Wes Bergman once again. What could of been might just be what’s next.

Wes Bergman has changed from the charming young man to an intense successful CEO. His life’s journey has brought him back to New York and founder of a specialized clothing company. When his company hires a new advertising firm it brings him back to the charming young woman he met years ago on a vacation cruise with his sister. This woman has matured into a devastatingly beautiful, intelligent woman who still sparks his heart. What could of been is going to happen. It’s his second chance at happiness. This time he’s ready and he’s going to hold on.

Wes and Tara discover more than love. They discover completion when they are together. Fate is finally smiling on them, or so they thought. Fate is once again going to throw them in the waters without a paddle.This time around they are experienced swimmers in the game called life. Their life experiences are going to collide but they are also going to be their saving grace.

Without giving anything away, I can say Julie A. Richman brings so much more than swoon worthy romance to the table. She brings very real life issues to the table. She brings an awareness of how precious life really is. It’s not always sunshine and roses. It’s how one deals with life that makes the difference. Choosing to love is what matters most.

Julie A. Richman has once again floored me with her gift of storytelling, her compassion for mankind, her wisdom, and insightful observations. She created a story that is very real and emotional. It was a true pleasure to read The Do-Over.

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About the Author:

USA Today Bestselling author Julie A. Richman is a native New Yorker living deep in the heart of Texas. A creative writing major in college, reading and writing fiction has always been a passion. Julie began her corporate career in publishing in NYC and writing played a major role throughout her career as she created and wrote marketing, advertising, direct mail and fundraising materials for Fortune 500 corporations, advertising agencies and non-profit organizations. She is an award winning nature photographer plagued with insatiable wanderlust. Julie and her husband have one son and a white German Shepherd named Juneau.

Connect with Julie:

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads

Reader Group ~ Amazon ~ Newsletter

Paperback Release Blitz + Excerpt + 5 Star Review + Giveaway: To Wild To Tame by Tessa Bailey – The Clarkson’s Series – Book 2

Posted on 01/31/2017 by shellbellereads

Too Wild To Tame

The Clarksons Series – Book 2

By Tessa Bailey

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Mass Market: $5.99 USD

eBook: $2.99 USD

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

His progress toward the door halted when Grace shot to her feet, arms stiff at her sides, those green eyes like glowing jade moons. “I…that isn’t what I was asking for. I just meant, let me help you, in general. I—I didn’t think…”

Aaron’s neck heated. “If you don’t like the idea, we can change it—”

She jumped. She actually jumped straight up in the air, hands flying to her cheeks. “I love it. Oh, please don’t change anything. I was just so surprised.”

He inclined his head, mentally cursing the way his heart decided to make its presence known at such an inconvenient time, walloping his rib cage with thick booms, courtesy of Grace’s pleasure. How juvenile. “I’m kind of surprised myself,” he admitted, then wished he’d kept his mouth shut.

At least until Grace floated toward him. All shining eyes and rosy excitement, she spurred a lust storm in his stomach. “It’s so much better when you say what you’re thinking, Aaron.”

“You mentioned that.”

And of course, it made him want to say more. Say whatever it would take to get her legs wrapped around his hips. To rock between her thighs until her wetness drenched the fly of his pants. “Get away from me, Grace,” he rasped. “It would be just like me to take advantage of you after having to tell that story.”

Silence deepened around them. “How can you say that after you just found a way for me to rebuild the camp?” It seemed as if her entire body lifted and fell on a harsh sob. “Last night, you asked me if I still saw some good in you…and I didn’t answer. How could I not have answered you?” She shook her gorgeous head. “I didn’t mean to—”

Aaron shot forward, capturing her unspoken words with his own mouth. Guilt. There had been even more guilt in her eyes. Aaron’s response was pure denial. Not because of me. Not over me. But as soon as their lips joined, his mind wiped clean of anything but Grace’s one-of-a-kind taste. She was juicy, sweet, refreshing, intoxicating madness. He let it pull him down into its depths—her depths—gathering up her taste greedily so he could live with the effect as long as possible, even though surely a man couldn’t withstand this type of arousal for an extended length of time. He’d want to fuck her again as soon as he came. It was a certainty his body was all too eager to confirm. Yet protectiveness held him in a state of limbo. Wanting—needing—to mate with her delicious body while determined to protect her from himself.

Couldn’t she sense the past meaningless encounters he wore like gloves, cheapening everything he touched? Couldn’t she sense his inability to be meaningful to her? Grace should have someone with substance, not someone who couldn’t even garner the love of his own family. Someone who considered the ramifications of his actions and how they would serve as betrayal. This is how you repay me?

The voice from his not-so-distant past had Aaron tearing his mouth away with a guttural growl, clasping Grace by the shoulders. Too hard. Ease up. “Get away.”

“If you really want that, let me go,” she whispered.

God, he couldn’t do it. Not with her face tipped back, lips swollen and shined up, those eyelids halfway fallen. He’d never in his life had trouble resisting sex. It was always a logical decision based on his needs. This? There was nothing cut and dried about it. His attraction to Grace was messy and wild and untapped. Made his chest expand with the effort to contain the expanding of something unfamiliar. Crazy and blinding. His dick needed a good, rough handling from one woman only. Grace. And she wasn’t pushing him away. Seemed like she wanted the job, too, her tits sliding up and down his abs with every breath. Give her one more chance. Show her what she’s in for with a bastard like you. With a muttered epithet, Aaron raked his hand up the back of Grace’s thigh, sliding it down the back of her tights, and settling his middle finger in the valley of her ass. “Get away from me,” he managed, wedging his straying digit a little more securely, earning him a closed-lipped noise.

“No,” she gasped after a few seconds.

Aaron’s tether broke. Recapturing Grace’s mouth with an obscene amount of tongue, he backed them toward the bed, satisfaction rippling in his middle when she went down beneath him, her legs falling open in welcome. He draped his body over Grace’s slighter one, eager grunts leaving his mouth as he positioned himself over her pussy and bore down with his erection. Their groans were pain-filled, reaching every corner of the cabin, breaking off when Aaron got back to kissing that addictive mouth, yanking the oversized sweater up, up to her belly, so he could rock against her sex with only his pants and her tights as obstructions.

“Aaron.”

“You were warned,” he reminded her with a strangled shout, delivered into the space above her head. “Three times, Grace. That’s three times more than I’d give anyone else.” He slid up and back in the cradle of her legs, groaning over the rasping friction her tights delivered to his stiff, fuck-hungry dick. “Make it four times. I gave you an out back at the house. You should have taken it.”

When Grace should have been trembling or alarmed by the cut steel in his voice, she only stretched out beneath him like a cat, opening up for him. Almost preening beneath his rough ministrations. “Maybe I should have. But we’re here now, so stop trying to scare me.” Her fingertips moved down Aaron’s chest to the seat of his pants, where she smoothed her palm over the curve of his cock, which started him panting like a marathon runner. “You don’t really want to scare me, do you, Aaron?”

Christ, her soft words, the sight of her, were choking him up. Her hair was a haphazard display framing her face, those crooked front teeth somehow making him twice as eager to seal their mouths together again. He was a hunter who’d discovered a sprite dancing in the woods and dragged her home, intending to use her body for vigorous relief, but got forgiveness in return. “No, I don’t. I don’t want to scare you.”

“I know,” she breathed, unfastening his belt buckle. “I just know.”

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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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Romancing The Clarkson’s Series

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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

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Giveaway

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5+ Star Review: Next To Never by Penelope Douglas – The Fall Away Series – Book 4.5

Posted on 01/27/2017 by shellbellereads

Next To Never

The Fall Away Series – Book 4.5

By Penelope Douglas

Release Date: January 17, 2017

Buy: Amazon

Synopsis

New York Times bestseller Penelope Douglas introduces Quinn, younger sister to Jared, Madoc, and Jaxon, in the latest novella in the series that began with Jared and Tate in Bully….
Quinn Caruthers has several problems.

Her father, Jason, and her three older brothers, Jared, Madoc, and Jaxon.

Under the close watch of the men in her family, Quinn has found it nearly impossible to spread her wings–or even date–without them jumping in to hover. And when a family friend–several years older–from her childhood captures her heart, she knows they’re going to be a problem. Lucas Morrow is a man–experienced, sophisticated, and important. And knowing her brothers, he may as well be forbidden.

But Lucas left town years ago and shows no signs of returning. Quinn knows she shouldn’t wait for him anymore.

But then a package turns up on her doorstep with no return address and its contents reveal family secrets that threaten to turn Quinn’s world upside down. She’s never asked about the tumultuous path of her parents’ romantic history, but she soon learns their happy marriage had a very rocky and passionate start.

As she begins to see things around her with new eyes, Quinn will have to make tough choices about whether she’ll keep waiting…or finally go after what she really wants.
*Next to Never is a 60,000 word novella from Quinn’s point-of-view. It is NOT her love story. That will be a full-length novel eventually. This story deals with some family history, introduces the new generation, and catches up with the original couples.

Michel’s Review

The Fall Away Series by Penelope Douglas has been one of my all time favorites. When I saw Next To Never release, not only was I surprised but also thrilled. I thought the series was over until the next generation was ready to take over the pages. Next To Never brings the series full circle and also introduces the readers to the next generation, who are screaming for their place on the pages.

It all begins with Quinn Caruthers. Quinn is about to begin senior year of high school and hasn’t really committed herself to one thing. She has always done what she’s been told, kept busy in all the extra curricular activities, and was basically a ” yes ” girl. She is questioning her life and the choices coming in the future. Her mother and father want her to attend a certain college and are encouraging her to go the extra mile to get in. It’s not that she doesn’t want to go but she never thought about what other options she has. What else is out there? What does she really want to do? One thing always seems to stand out when she thinks about it. An abandoned garage on Main St. This empty building has so much potential and needs to come alive once again. Maybe she can change it’s future when she finally finishes hers. Her life is full of questions and her dreams are unrealized. Her future is mapped out for her until something unexpected happens. She receives an anonymous novel in the mail. There is no return address. The only clue she has is the postmark is from Canada. Once she opens the book it’s going to change her course in life and her perspective on everything she thought she knew.

What begins as an intriguing forbidden romance novel evolves into something more. The characters begin to take on a life themselves. They begin to become more and more familiar to her. By the time she finishes the novel she realizes she has known these people all her lives. Their story is not what she believed it to be. This novel not only changes her perspective on those she loves, it also inspires her to reach for the stars and build her own dreams. It is the defining moment for her life.

As the story unfolds, the readers get a true introduction of the next generation of Trents and Caruthers. Each of these dynamic teenagers have their own strong personalities and paths to follow in life. They are going to face their own struggles just as their parents had to. They are screaming to get on the pages.

Penelope Douglas has her work cut out for her. I can’t wait to see what comes next.

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The Fall Away Series

Bully – Book 1

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Penelope Douglas delivers an unforgettable New Adult romance that toes the fine line between love and hate….

My name is Tate.

He doesn’t call me that, though. He’ll barely refer to me at all, and he’ll hardly ever speak to me.

But he still won’t leave me alone.

We were best friends once. Then he turned on me and made it his mission to ruin my life. I’ve been humiliated, shut out, and gossiped about all through high school. His pranks and rumors got worse as time wore on. I even went to Europe for a year, just to avoid him.

But I’m done hiding from him now, and there’s no way I’ll allow him to ruin another year. He might not have changed, but I have.

It’s time to fight back.

When one brave young woman stands up to her best friend Jared, now tormenter, the consequences go beyond anything either of them ever would have imagined….

Buy: Amazon

***

Until You – Book 1.5

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Penelope Douglas comes a companion novel to Bully.
This is Jared’s story.
Have you ever been so angry that hitting things felt good? Or numb to all emotions? The past few years have been like that for me. Traveling between fury and indifference with no stops in between. Some people hate me for it, while others are scared of me. But none of them can hurt me, because I don’t care about anything or anyone.

Except Tatum.

I love her so much that I hate her. I hate that I can’t let her go. We used to be friends, but I found out that I couldn’t trust her—or anyone else. So I hurt her. I pushed her away. But I still need her. She centers me. Engaging her, challenging her, pushing her—it’s the one last part of me that feels anything anymore.

But then she went and screwed everything up. She left for a year and came back a different girl. Now, when I push, she pushes back…and I’m not sure either one of us will ever be the same.

Buy: Amazon

***

Rival – Book 2

Madoc and Fallon. Two estranged teenagers playing games that push the boundaries between love and war…

She’s back.

For the two years she’s been away at boarding school, there was no word from her. Back when we lived in the same house, she used to cut me down during the day and then leave her door open for me at night.

I was stupid then, but now I’m ready to beat her at her own game…

I’m back.

Two years and I can tell he still wants me, even if he acts like he’s better than me.

But I won’t be scared away. Or pushed down. I’ll call his bluff and fight back. That’s what he wants, right? As long as I keep my guard up, he’ll never know how much he affects me….

Buy: Amazon

***

Falling Away – Book 3

From the New Adult sensation and New York Times bestselling author of Rival

Jaxon is the guy she’s supposed to avoid. K.C. is the girl he won’t let get away….

K. C. Carter has always followed the rules—until this year, when a mistake leaves her the talk of her college campus and her carefully arranged life comes crashing to a halt. Now she’s stuck in her small hometown for the summer to complete her court-ordered community service, and to make matters worse, trouble is living right next door.

Jaxon Trent is the worst kind of temptation and exactly what K.C. was supposed to stay away from in high school. But he never forgot her. She was the one girl who wouldn’t give him the time of day and the only one to ever say no. Fate has brought K.C. back into his life—except what he thought was a great twist of luck turns out to be too close for comfort. As they grow closer, he discovers that convincing K.C. to get out from her mother’s shadow is hard, but revealing the darkest parts of his soul is nearly impossible.…

Buy: Amazon

***

Aflame – Book 4

From the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Bully, Until You, Rival, and Falling Away comes the sizzling conclusion to the Fall Away series.

The tables have turned. Now I have the power—and it’s his turn to beg…

Everyone wants to be me.

Maybe it’s the sway of my skirt or the way I flip my hair, but I don’t care. Even though their attention is the last thing I crave, I just can’t stop. I dominate the track, the speed rattles my bones, and the wind and the crowd screams my name.

I’m her. The girl driver. The queen of the race. And I’m surviving—something he thought I’d never do.

They all talk about him. Did you see Jared Trent on T.V? What did you think of his last race, Tate? When is he coming back to town, Tate?

But I refuse to care too much. Because when Jared does come home, I won’t be here.

Tatum Brandt is gone. I’m someone new.

Buy: Amazon

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About Penelope Douglas

Penelope Douglas is a writer living in Las Vegas. Born in Dubuque, Iowa, she is the oldest of five children. Penelope attended the University of Northern Iowa, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration, because her father told her to “just get the damn degree!” She then earned a Masters of Science in Education at Loyola University in New Orleans, because she HATED public administration. One night, she got tipsy and told the bouncer at the bar where she worked that his son was hot, and three years later she was married. To the son, not the bouncer. They have spawn, but just one. A daughter named Aydan. Penelope loves sweets, The Originals, and she shops at Target almost daily.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads

5+ Star Review: Love In Lingerie by Alessandra Torre

Posted on 01/27/2017 by shellbellereads

Love In Lingerie

By Alessandra Torre

Release Date: January 16, 2017

Buy: Amazon / B & N / IBooks

Synopsis

I hired her to fix my company, to bring Marks Lingerie back to life. I didn’t expect her to become my friend. I didn’t expect to fall in love with her.

The first rule of business is to never touch your employees. I think there is another rule about not falling for your best friend—a rule against imagining the curves of her body, or the way her breathing would change if I pulled down her panties and unzipped my pants.

Now, I can’t wait any longer. I’m tossing out the rules.

Damn the company.

Damn our friendship.

Damn my fears.

Michel’ Review

Love In Lingerie is my favorite book Alessandra Torre has written. From the moment I opened this book I was mesmerized by the story that began to unfold. It’s not the typical office romance nor is it a erotica romance. It’s a story of two people building an evolving relationship in a period of three years. It’s about learning to trust, following inner instincts, working as a team, and building a strong friendship that will stand the tests of time.

Trey Marks company is in trouble. He needs to hire a new creative director before his Marks Lingerie goes bankrupt. During his interview with Kate Martin he realizes the company needs to go in a new direction. Although he doesn’t completely agree with her views or business ideas, his instincts tell him she’s exactly what he needs to save his company.

In the course of three years Kate and Trey bump heads, hold each other’s hands, and create a stronger company. They also get to know one another inside out. They both are denying their true desires because they can clearly see that they would be completely wrong for one another. There is also the no fraternization policy within the company. Trey likes the kinkier side of sex and doesn’t do committed relationships. Kate likes the straight and narrow road and believes in commitment. They clearly want different things in life. When the reality of what they want clashes with their hearts desire, it’s a no brainer. They were meant to be together.

Alessandra Torre’s writing was brilliant. The pacing was perfect. The slow simmering build to the explosive moment was delivered with perfection. The witty dialogue, the strong dynamic characters, and captivating scenes kept me glued to the pages. This book was downright delightful and fun.

I highly recommend Love In Lingerie by Alessandra Torre.

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Author Bio:
Alessandra Torre is an award-winning New York Times bestselling author of thirteen novels. Her books focus on romance and suspense, all with a strong undercurrent of sexuality. Torre has been featured in such publications as Elle and Elle UK, co-hosted Dirty Sexy Funny with Jenny McCarthy, as well as guest blogged for the Huffington Post and RT Book Reviews. She is also the Bedroom Blogger for Cosmopolitan.com.

You can learn more about Alessandra on her website at http://www.alessandratorre.com, or you can find her on Twitter (@ReadAlessandra) or Facebook.

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You can learn more about Alessandra on her website at www.alessandratorre.com, or you can find her on Twitter (@ReadAlessandra) or Facebook.

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New Release + Excerpt + Review: The Devil’s Daughter by Katee Robert

Posted on 01/27/2017 by shellbellereads

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The Devil’s Daughter

Hidden Sins Series – Book 1

By Katee Robert

Release Date: January 24, 2017

Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

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Synopsis

Growing up in a small town isn’t easy, especially when you’re the daughter of a local cult leader. Ten years ago, Eden Collins left Clear Springs, Montana, and never once looked back. But when the bodies of murdered young women surface, their corpses violated and marked with tattoos worn by her mother’s followers, Eden, now an FBI agent, can’t turn a blind eye. To catch the killer, she’s going to have to return to the fold.

Sheriff Zach Owens isn’t comfortable putting Eden in danger, even if she is an elite agent. And he certainly wasn’t expecting to be so attracted to her. As calm and cool as she appears, he knows this can’t be a happy homecoming. Zach wants to protect her—from her mother, the cult, and the evil that lurks behind its locked gates. But Eden is his only key to the tight-lipped group, and she may just be closer to the killer than either one of them suspects…

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Excerpt

“This is stupid. Get out of the car. Get out of the car right now.”

She threw her body into motion, half-afraid that if she didn’t force herself to move, she’d sit there until someone decided to report her for being creepy. Who am I kidding? The people in this place are just as likely to knock on the window and ask me if I need any help.

The fall air had a little bite to it, and she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Home.

No. It’s not home. It’ll never be home again.

She’d made a life for herself in the FBI, and if she didn’t have much in the way of roots . . . Well, she’d left the possibility of roots behind when she left Clear Springs. Most days it didn’t even bother her that much. She was doing good in the world, using her nontraditional childhood to give her an edge that had helped her make a name for herself over the last six years in the cult division. She was Eden Collins, FBI agent. She wasn’t that scared little girl. Not anymore.

One step at a time, she made her way into the police station. She’d half expected it to be a whirl of motion, with people rushing here and there, trying to come to terms with the fact that death had touched their small town. But there was no one in the room except a man sitting behind the desk in the corner, glaring at the phone on his desk.

Zach Owens.

The golden boy of Clear Springs in every sense. His blond hair was still cropped short, hearkening back to his days as a marine, and his body was obviously well taken care of. This wasn’t a man who’d let his years working in a sleepy little town turn him soft.

While Zach took her in, she conducted her own perusal. She’d never met him personally, but she knew him by reputation and pieces of information stolen via eavesdropping. He’d gone off to war a boy and come back a man with shadows in his eyes. Or maybe she was just seeing him with rose-tinted glasses, the tragic figure representing everything she’d never have. Acceptance. Loyalty. The love of the people here.

Something like jealousy curled through her stomach. It was silly and childish and she was better than that, but it was hard not to resent someone who so obviously fit. Eden had done a bit of traveling since she’d turned eighteen and run as far and fast as she could from her mother, but she’d never found a place that was well and truly hers.

He caught sight of her and narrowed his eyes. “Can I help you?”

Being pinned in place by those blue eyes made her second-guess the intelligence of her plan yet again. It didn’t matter. He needed her help, even if he didn’t know it yet. She stepped forward. “I’m here about the body.”

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Tracey’s Review

Something is not quite business as usual in Zach Owens’ town. As sheriff of Clear Springs, Montana, he’s concerned when news of a girl gone missing leads to something far worse. Hometown daughter Eden Collins left Clear Springs behind years before, shaking the dust off and vowing not to return. But when an insidious evil infiltrates the town, she’ll have to put aside her feelings and return to help Zach before it’s too late.

Author Katee Robert is a go-to of mine. From mafia reads to guys in – and out – of uniform to cowboys, she really has written everything. So, when I saw that her latest, THE DEVIL’S DAUGHTER, is a full-blown romantic suspense, complete with disappearing girls, enigmatic and downright chilling cult leaders, and an FBI agent and hometown sheriff working together to bring everything to light, I was all in.

I really enjoy some suspense and mystery in my romances, and Katee has delivered, big time. THE DEVIL’s DAUGHTER is taut and has plenty of suspense. The story of a town where mind-games are rife, and a breathtakingly subtle and crafty evil hides out just below the surface had me from the first page.

This book builds slowly, which I really appreciate, because I think that it helps build the feeling of something ominous and much bigger than Zach, or even Eden, is prepared to deal with. The mind games that Elysia leader Martha uses are chilling, and that Eden is willing to put herself in the crosshairs in order to help solve the crimes in Clear Springs is a true testament to her dedication to getting the bad guys.

Suspense and intrigue aside, this wouldn’t be a Katee Robert book without some romance. Zach and Eden make strange bedfellows, but this is another thing that Katee does so well, to write a romantic couple that would seem to be at odds. I think that it’s Zach’s steadfastness and commitment that help Eden trust him, and to feel confident in his feelings for her, and it doesn’t take long for the closeness that builds between them working together to turn into something more.

THE DEVIL’S DAUGHTER is a welcome addition to Katee’s catalog of work, and one that I very much enjoyed reading. It’s an easy 4.5-stars for me, and I highly recommend it for fans of romantic suspense. I look forward to seeing what comes next in the Hidden Sins series. If Katee’s writing it, it will be well worth the wait.

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

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New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Katee Robert learned to tell her stories at her grandpa’s knee. She found romance novels at age twelve and it changed her life. When not writing sexy contemporary and speculative fiction romance novels, she spends her time playing imaginary games with her wee ones, driving her husband batty with what-if questions, and planning for the inevitable zombie apocalypse.

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5 Star Review: Retreat by Jay Crownover

Posted on 01/26/2017 by shellbellereads

Retreat

The Getaway Series – Book 1

By Jay Crownover

Buy: Amazon

Synopsis

Every once in a while, you need to get away from it all.

I was a woman on the edge, shaken and shattered after a breakup that felt like it tore my entire world apart.
My best friend, sick of watching me drown in misery and melancholy, harassed me until I agreed to go with her on a week-long wilderness retreat.

She promised days spent bonding and getting in touch with our inner bad-asses. It was supposed to be all about the two of us roughing it and making do with the bare minimum. She assured me we were going to be pushed to our limits in ways that were unimaginable. Neither one of us could have ever guessed just how right she was.

Nowhere in the glossy brochure did it say anything about the fact I was going to have to battle the insufferable but deliciously rugged and sexy trail guide instead of the elements. The brochure also forgot to mention the part that warned when you left civilization behind, there was no place to pack your inhibitions and fears.

I was told that I would be facing a week where the only thing I should expect was the unexpected. However, no one mentioned that I was going to have to fight for my life…and my heart as soon as I ventured into the unknown.

I was a pro at hiding from my feelings but when it came time to face a real threat, one that could change everything, I learned I was more of a no surrender, no retreat kind of girl.

Retreat is a standalone novel, the first in the Getaway series which centers on the hardheaded and brokenhearted Warner brothers and the women that dare to love them.
These boys are very good at putting the wild in wilderness.

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Michel’s Review

Wow! Jay Crownover stepped out of her element and delivered a fantastic romantic suspense layered with emotional passages. This book was not only a romantic suspense, it was also a journey for a woman who is questioning everything about herself. She’s angry, hurt, guarded, and fearful. She has emotionally boxed herself into her little self absorbed world and sealed the lid. She’s lost herself.

Leo’s best friend convinced her to come to Wyoming for a wilderness retreat. One week spent on the trails, living off the land, and becoming one with nature. This is not Leo’s idea of a good time but she’s willing to suck it up because she has been a miserable selfish friend and it’s time to turn that around.

Leo thought she knew what she was getting into. In her mind she pictured the typical cowboys guiding their group and bonding around the campfire at the end of the day. She envisioned easy riding trails and scenic views. Her expectations were way off base. The trail guides are not the typical cowboys. The Warner Brothers are in a class by themselves. One is grumpy and looks more like a model biker, one is friendly but reserved, and the other is sullen and quiet. They are there to do their jobs and make sure their clients have the best experience communing with nature.

The entire trip starts off balance. One of the brothers has to stay behind because of a family emergency. The grumpy brother, Cy Warner has to take over the expedition until his brother can rejoin them later in the week. The trail group is not the greatest group of people to be spending a week with on the trails. An entitled dysfunctional family from New York City that includes two smart mouthed teenagers, two city women that aren’t used to nature, two oddball men who are completely stand offish to the entire group, and two guides that are pushing their limits. It ends up that was the easy part of the trip. What happens while they are on the trail is something no one could of foreseen, not even their experienced guides. The peaceful retreat has turned into a dangerous endeavor forcing them to fight for survival.

Through all of this Leo finally faces herself, she conquers her fears, and gains new strengths she never knew she had. She also finds what she thought was love was only an illusion. Cy Warner has taught her to reach for more and give more of herself.

This book literally blew me away. It was unlike anything Jay Crownover has written. I was on the edge of my seat when the danger kicked up full throttle. What made it even more intense was the reality of the situation. This situation is something that could happen anywhere. Jay’s vivid descriptions made the story come alive.

Leo was not my favorite character in the beginning. As the book began to progress and Leo’s layers started peeling away, I began to see a completely different individual. I enjoyed witnessing her growth as an individual. Her prickly personality masked the vulnerable woman hiding behind her fears.

The chemistry between Cy and Leo was sizzling. Their verbal sparring and heated moments added the fire in this book. There was the right amount of romance mixed within the events evolving throughout the story.

I am looking forward to reading more books in the Getaway series. There are two Warner brothers screaming for their own stories. They both deserve it after what happened in Retreat.

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About Jay Crownover:

Jay Crownover is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men, The Point, and the Saints of Denver series. Like her characters, she is a big fan of tattoos. She loves music and wishes she could be a rock star, but since she has no aptitude for singing or instrument playing, she’ll settle for writing stories with interesting characters that make the reader feel something. She lives in Colorado with her three dogs.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Release Blitz + 2017 Favorite + 6 Star Review : The Do-Over by Julie A. Richman

Posted on 01/26/2017 by shellbellereads

The Do-Over, an all-new emotional and sexy STANDALONE by Julie A. Richman is now LIVE!!

The Do- Over

By Julie A. Richman

Buy: Amazon / Amazon UK / B & N / IBooks / Kobo

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Synopsis

~ Sometimes, one degree is all that separates you from the one you were meant to be with. ~

Wes Bergman was sex on a stick.

We’d been circling one another our entire lives, mingling at the same clubs… attending the same events…sharing mutual acquaintances…yet we’d never actually met.

Until . . . we both boarded a Windjammer Cruise in the Caribbean. And it was like meeting my long, lost best friend for the first time. I hadn’t ever connected with a guy that way before.

But Wes had a girlfriend. So, when the week was over, he walked off the ship, unknowingly taking a piece of my heart with him.

After a string of bad dates, I finally did something I never thought I’d do. I had a hot one-night stand with a really handsome guy I met online who didn’t even know my real name.

Turned out Mr. Fling is a big shot for my company’s newest client. And just my

luck, that client’s CEO is none other than . . . Wes Bergman.

Now I’m separated by one degree again from the man who stole my heart.

And Mr. Fling could destroy my chance of what I want most –

A Do-Over with Wes.

Michel’s Review

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About the Author:

Connect with Julie:

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads

Reader Group ~ Amazon ~ Newsletter

Release Blitz + Excerpt + 5 Star Review: Broken Pieces by Toni Aleo – The Patchwork Series – Book 2

Posted on 01/26/2017 by shellbellereads

Broken Pieces

The Patchwork Series – Book 2

Genre: Paranormal

By Toni Aleo

Release Date: January 24, 2017

Buy: Amazon US

iBooks

Kobo

Nook

Synopsis

The rules of The Works have remained unchanged for centuries. There is to be no romantic mixing between any of the five supernatural clans.

But from the moment Oceanus von Stein, second-in-command to the Patchwork family, caught sight of Taegan Conner, daughter of the leader of the Wolves, he knew he would never love anyone else.

Only now, Taegan has been promised in marriage to another, an arrangement to strengthen her family’s alliances—and she gets no say in the matter.

Neither does Oceanus.

While they both know they have their places and responsibilities in their clans, their love is too strong. How can they let go of what they have? Though it is forbidden, Oceanus and Taegan won’t stop until they can have each other. The only problem is that the world is against them, and Oceanus has a threat to his sister’s life to vanquish.

Can they find a way to be together, or will they both always be two Broken Pieces?

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Excerpt

As I watch my father sit, he doesn’t do so smoothly. His movements are jerky before he folds his old, leathery hands together and his eyes scan the room. The scars are very prominent on his face and hands. All the experiments he did on himself are visible, along with the scar tissue that is ancient and freakish on him. While his eyes are bright, from the new pair he just obtained, he looks like death. And tired. Very tired.
Clearing his throat, he lets his gaze fall on me, and I meet it head on.
“I had a meeting with Kurt Conner.”
Kurt Conner.
The pack leader of the wolves.
My love’s father.
Clearing my throat, I sit up straighter as my forearms lay against the cool top of the old oak table. Before I can comment, though, he is going on. “He needed a loan for the wedding of Taegan.”
What?
My world stops.
I feel all eyes on me. My father is staring at me, waiting for a response, but I don’t have one.
Because what the actual fuck is going on?
Did I hear him wrong?
“A wedding?”
“Yeah, she is marrying some other pack leader’s son—you know how those wolves are. Wanting to unite families with arranged marriage and all that wolfish nonsense, I don’t know. But I didn’t give him the money until—”
“Until?” I gasp, my heart in my throat, my stomach on the ground, and every piece of me feeling as if I am falling into the fiery depths of hell because surely I am hearing my father wrong.
Taegan is to marry me.
“He offered up some information on Frank Kelley—”
“He hasn’t died yet?” Jonas asks, and I know it’s to give me time. To let me think, to let me process, but I can’t. Taegan is to marry someone else? She didn’t even tell me. We were together last night! Had she known? Was she playing me? Damn it, what the hell? How could she allow me to find out this way? I mean, I knew my time was running out, but hell, did she keep this from me? I’ve never experienced heartache or true heartbreak, but I’m pretty sure this feeling of my chest caving in and blowing up is just that.
She’s marrying someone else?
She isn’t waiting for me?
Gasping for breath as I try to push the bile back down my throat, I watch as my father shakes his head. “Not yet. And apparently, they are wanting to attack us in one more attempt to get the formula for him. They think they can kidnap Rebekah and use her as leverage.”
I feel Rebekah move as she squeaks. “Me?”
“You. So we are on high alert. Keep your eyes open, and, Rebekah, I don’t want you working at the bar until this is taken care of. I have a meeting with Frank Kelley on Friday.”
“Father, I’m fine at the bar. It’s owned by our family, most of our family is there, along with JJ. The Kelleys don’t even come that much.”
“Yes, but other families come to the bar, and that makes me uncomfortable.”
“I’m fine, I can take care of myself.”
He leans on his desk, and I don’t care about their melodrama. I can’t. Even though I know I should intervene, calm both sides—because my father is right, we need to keep Rebekah underground while this goes on—I can’t help but think of the fact that my love is marrying another. Someone other than me. How in the world is this fair? Why didn’t she fight them? She told me she was mine, and I was hers. Why didn’t she wait for me?
And then it’s like I’m being slapped back into reality.
She didn’t wait for me because we can’t.
We can’t be selfish and love each other because we have commitments to our families. Yes, we love each other. Yes, she is my world, and I’ll love only her. But just like I have to, she has to protect her family. I’m sure there is something more to this, and while I wish she had told me, I know I can’t be upset. I have to respect the process of our families.
Being the eldest, we have no choice.
We don’t get to be greedy.
Wow, I don’t even believe I’m trying to convince myself.
How could she?

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Michel’s Review

Are you afraid of things that go bump in the night? Are monsters really real? In our world deep within the darkness is another world where monsters exist in their own world known as The Works. A society full of different species of monsters and things that really go bump in the night. The Works consist of shifters, wolves, vampires, witches, and pieced together immortals known as the Patchworks. The creator of the Patchworks, the Von Stein family ( decedents of Dr. Frankenstein), are the absolute rulers of The Works. They hold the secret to immortality. Obey their rules or experience death. There isn’t any room for compromise or shades of gray. The rules are in place for a reason, for the survival of all the species within The Works. Intermarriage and intermixing of genetics is strictly forbidden.

Oceanus von Stein is next in line to rule The Works. He is vying his time to take over his father’s supreme rule. He has plans to bring the Works out of the last century into a more progressive society. The archaic laws are no longer working in today’s world. His biggest motivation is his love for Taegan Conner, the first princess of The Wolves Clan. Their love is forbidden and he has plans to change that. Taegan will be his queen. His father has different plans for Oceanus, which do not include Taegan Conner.

Taegan has been promised in marriage to the son of another prominent wolf clan. She is being forced to marry a man she doesn’t love. She is begging Oceanus to run away with her but Oceanus is too dedicated to his family and the legacy he will inherit. He is trying to buy them time but the clock is running out.

While Oceanus and Taegan are trying to find a way to have a life together other things are going on in the Works. The shifters are up to no good. An imposter has infiltrated the Works. His sister Rebekah is in grave danger. She has secrets that cannot be exposed to the Works. Other Patchwork clans are negotiating unreasonable alliances which could not only change Rebekah’s life but Oceanus’s life as well. His father refuses to relinquish his position and The Works is in very real trouble. The burden is on Oceanus’s shoulders. He may have to sacrifice the only thing that matters in his life. He may have to sacrifice his love. In a world full of monsters, the scariest one is his father, the man who gave him life.

Broken Pieces runs parallel to the first book, Pieces. I would strongly recommend reading that book first. It is the same story but from a different perspective and point of view. Another new forbidden romance is added to the mix. There are new situations and factors that are added to the overall story that could affect every single person within the Works. By the time the book reaches the last quarter Toni begins to take the overall story in a different direction which ends on a massive CLIFFHANGER.

Toni Aleo has written an authentic paranormal series with an original plot that has left me reeling.

The complex world of the Works was intriguing, frightening, and interesting. The characters were strong and dynamic in their own individual ways. I am looking forward to what happens next in this unique paranormal series. The monsters are on the prowl and the von Steins days may be numbered.

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PIECES

Pieces

The Patchwork Series – Book 1

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In New York City, an underground society of supernatural beings exists, hidden among everyday humans. They don’t know of our activities or any of our secrets.

The districts of the Works are made up of vampires, wolves, shifters, witches, and I’m in the fifth and arguably most important district, the Patchwork. My father is the leader of our group, and he oversees all of the other factions.

As his only daughter, that makes me the princess of it all. Cool, right? Actually…no. Sure, I live in a mansion and money isn’t an object, but that doesn’t matter because I can’t leave. I have a guard who follows me around 24/7. My father and three older brothers treat me like I’m a fragile piece of glass, never allowed to take an independent step or make any decisions on my own.

It’s beyond frustrating—especially since my father essentially runs my life. He says what I do, when I do it, how I do it, and all that jazz. He tests his formulas and new techniques on me. I’m a walking science experiment.

I hate it.

I hate my life here.

But then he comes along: Killian.

He’s just some vampire…or so I thought.

But you’ll have to read my story to find out what I mean. To know my secrets. Until then, though, allow me to introduce myself.

My name is Rebecca von Stein.

And I’m a descendant of Dr. Frankenstein.

Welcome to the Works.

*****

Buy

AMAZON

ITUNES

KOBO

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About the Author

My name is Toni Aleo and I’m a total dork.
I am a wife, mother of two and a bulldog, and also a hopeless romantic.
I am the biggest Shea Weber fan ever, and can be found during hockey season with my nose pressed against the Bridgestone Arena’s glass, watching my Nashville Predators play!
When my nose isn’t pressed against the glass, I enjoy going to my husband and son’s hockey games, my daughter’s dance competition, hanging with my best friends, taking pictures, scrapbooking, and reading the latest romance novel.
I have a slight Disney and Harry Potter obsession, I love things that sparkle, I love the color pink, I might have been a Disney Princess in a past life… probably Belle.
… and did I mention I love hockey?

Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads

Release Boost + New Excerpt + 5 Star Review + Giveaway: Taking Turns by J A Huss

Posted on 01/26/2017 by shellbellereads

Title: Taking Turns

Series: Turning #1

Author: JA Huss

Genre: Dark Erotic Suspense

Release Date: January 18, 2017

Blurb

Chella plays the game of Taking Turns with three men as she comes to terms with her sexuality.

I’ve never been afraid of the dark…but that doesn’t mean I wanted to live in it. And maybe everyone wants what they can’t have, but I should’ve thought it over before I accepted the key and unlocked the door to their forbidden world.

Number One is mostly silent. He watches me with them very carefully. His gaze never wanders. His interest never wanes.

Number Two is mostly gentle. But it’s the other side of him I like best. The wild side.

Number Three is mostly reserved. He refuses to cross the line. Even when I beg.

It was carnal, it was sensual, and it was erotic. That’s it. That’s all it was supposed to be. A trip into the dark. A peek into the forbidden.

I just didn’t expect to like them.

ADD TO GOODREADS

Purchase Links

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
B&N / KOBO / iBOOKS

Trailer

Excerpt

SMITH:

I flick the light on and she closes her eyes, hiding her face to shield herself from the sudden brightness.

She’s… pretty. Dark hair, long and straight, kind of like Rochelle’s, but nothing at all like Rochelle’s at the same time. Her skin is fair, which isn’t surprising since it’s winter and the sun seems to have gone missing in Denver for the past month. Her hands are tied behind her back, so I can’t see them. And she’s sitting up, knees to chest, completely naked, and I can see her pussy.

I stare for a moment longer than I should and then I finally look at her face—a sweet face. Wide blue eyes looking up at me, the remnants of her make-up streaked down her cheeks like she’s been crying.

But she isn’t crying now.

Her nose is small and her plump lips are wrapped around the ball of the gag. Drool is dripping out of her mouth. One long strand hangs just above her left breast, ready to fall.

“Well,” I say, far beyond curious at this point, “I can’t wait to hear what you’ve got to say about this.”

I crouch down in front of her legs and catch her scent. The flowers. Or citrus, whichever it is. I inhale deeply and can’t help but take in the smell of sex.

I look her in the eyes as I reach behind her head and unstrap the gag. It falls forward, dropping into her lap as I watch her adjust, swallow down the drool, and then take a deep breath.

She says nothing.

Hmmm.

Just stares at me.

My hand is between her legs. My finger slipping inside her pussy. She is wet. So fucking wet. She doesn’t close her eyes or moan. In fact, her eyes never leave mine. Not once.

She likes it.

I remove my slick fingers from her pussy and bring them to her mouth.

She opens, sucks them.

My God.

Still, she stares into my eyes.

I envision her mouth on my cock and grow hard at the thought.

And then I close my eyes.

But only for a moment. Barely a blink. I’m back in control. I reach for her upper arm and pull her to her feet. She complies willingly. And then I spin her around and begin untying her wrists.

The rope is tight. Tighter than it should be. Quin knows how to tie a girl up, I’ve seen him do it enough times to be sure of that. But he was probably panicking, so I don’t judge.

When I get the rope off there is a deep red burn ringing her wrists.

She brings her hands in front of her to get a look at her wrists. I take them, looking closely at her wounds. “I have something for that. But first, let’s make progress on your clothes.”

“I have clothes,” she says, her voice not weak, not small, but firm and strong. “On the chair.”

I walk over to the chair and pick them up. Jeans. Nondescript sweater. Winter shearling boots. Some semi-nice lingerie and thick cotton socks.

“Well, that won’t do,” I say, walking back to the closets. I open the one across the short hallway from the one I share with Bric and Quin. Rochelle’s closet.

I don’t know what I expected, but I’m kinda taken aback that everything Rochelle owns is still in there. Her many, many, many pairs of thrift-store shoes, and skirts, and those horrible long dresses. Even her purses are still here. She never shopped for purses at the thrift stores. They are all designer. Even the fringy ones. They live in soft cloth bags that come inside the purse when you purchase it, and they are lined up on the top shelf like little surprises wrapped in velvet.

I only know this because I bought her a few purses myself that first year. A Prada, a Gucci, and some other brand she asked for that I had never heard of, but which set me back almost three thousand dollars.

If Rochelle ever tells someone the story of us, she better not call me cheap.

I sigh and divert my attention to the limited number of classy, five-star-restaurant-worthy dresses hanging on the far end of a rack. I look back at the new girl for a moment, then choose a red one. To set off her hair.

“Here,” I say, holding the hanger out to her. “Put this on, please.”

“What?” the girl asks, taking the hanger from me.

“I didn’t stutter. Put on the dress. I have to walk you out, obviously. You can’t walk out in jeans, for fuck’s sake. This is Turning Point Club. We have a dress code.”

“Why can’t I go out the back?”

I stop looking for shoes to match the dress and turn to stare at her. “Is that how you got in?”

She nods. “The freight elevator.”

“Figures. Fucking Rochelle hated the dress code. Well, the freight elevator isn’t going to work for me, I’m afraid. I don’t leave by way of the freight elevator. I walk in. Everybody sees me. I walk out. Everybody sees me. And since I have to walk you out, you’re going to look the part. Now put on the fucking dress.”

I turn back to the shoes.

“I need my bra and underwear,” she says.

“Not for that dress, you don’t.”

_____________________________

Michel’s Review

Spoiler Free Review

***

The Game

3 Men

1 Woman

4 Players

Very Detailed and Specific Rules

Specific Time Guidelines for each player

No Winner

No Loser

One Prize For All – Carnal Delight

End of Game

JA Huss is one of those authors that completely takes me by surprise with every new novel or new series she unleashes into the reading world. Expect the unexpected. Be prepared for twists and turns that add layers upon layers before reaching a concise conclusion or ending to a story. The ending may just be the beginning or an unexpected revelation. Be prepared to journey into the dark sensual world that not only fulfills the erotic fantasy but also delves into the minds of very unique individuals in the darkness. With JA Huss there is no black or white, light or dark, right or wrong, or good and bad. It’s a combination of it all melding together to make one outstanding and thought provoking story. The story holds the reader captive and leaves them wanting more.

After reading Taking Turns by JA Huss, I was completely floored by what I had just read. It was not the typical erotic romance novel that revolves around the darker side of sex or menage scenes that scorch the pages. It had those elements but also included so much more. This book is about four characters driven by a dark need. Taking Turns is told through each characters POV with a very clear understanding of who is who in each passage. Each character stands uniquely on their own merits with distinct and very likable personalities. While their motivations are questionable, the reader gets a sense of who they are until JA Huss throws another layer to their persona. What makes this book stand out was not the sex itself, it was how the sex scenes came into play, how each individual approached the situation, and what they gave to reach each situation.

In most cases, erotic romance walks a fine line in definition. The romance tends to get lost or overpowered by the erotic elements. I went into this book expecting that to happen. Throughout most of the book the erotic elements were the forefront of the story unfolding. It was questionable if a romance would develop and who would be the ones involved in the romance. As each man’s personality materialized I found myself hoping he was the one. As the sexual heat intensified between the four, one man began to surface to the top. It is at that point the reader realizes that this story has had the romance all along but it was cleverly disguised as something else. This is pure JA Huss brilliance at it’s best.

I can honestly say that I am still processing what I read in Taking Turns. I have many questions that I know will be answered by the end of the series. I have no doubt that JA Huss is going to throw some new kinks into the mix. She’s going to take the readers on a mind boggling journey before The Turning Series ends.

What started out as a game with no losers or winners has turned into a game of consequences. I can’t wait to see what comes next in The Turning Series. Turning Back will release on April 12, 2017.

Pre Order: Amazon

_______________________________

Coming Soon

Title: Turning Back

Series: Turning #2

Author: JA Huss

Genre: Dark Erotic Suspense

Release Date: April 12, 2017

Blurb

I lived in the dark for three years. My whole world revolved around the whims and happiness of three men. It was just a trip into the forbidden. A way out of a bad situation and forward into nothingness.

Quin, with his easy smile and charming good looks. He was always there for me… Until he wasn’t.

Smith, and his dispassionate attention. He was never there for me and he never regretted it.

Bric, the one who listened, but only to himself. Self-absorbed, self-obsessed, and self-serving. He was never the one I wanted.

And now he might be the only one I have left.

It was good while it lasted, I guess. But it could’ve been so much more. It could’ve been so much better.

And that’s why I’m turning back.

Pre-order Links

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
B&N / KOBO / iBOOKS

Author Bio

JA Huss is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than twenty romances. She likes stories about family, loyalty, and extraordinary characters who struggle with basic human emotions while dealing with bigger than life problems. JA loves writing heroes who make you swoon, heroines who makes you jealous, and the perfect Happily Ever After ending.

Author Links

NEWSLETTER
PRIVATE FAN GROUP
BLOG / AMAZON / TWITTER
FACEBOOK PROFILE

FACEBOOK PAGE
INSTAGRAM / PINTEREST

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Release Blitz + Excerpt + 2017 Favorite + 5 Star Review: Preppy: Part 2 – The Life & Death of Samuel Clearwater – The King Series – Book 6

Posted on 01/25/2017 by shellbellereads

Preppy : Part Two

The Life & Death of Samuel Clearwater

By T. M. Frazier

Buy: Amazon / Amazon UK / B & N / IBooks / Kobo

Full Blurb

Preppy finds himself back in a world he once loved, but no longer recognizes. His dim smile can’t hide his inner turmoil and the people he views as family all suddenly feel like polite strangers.

Except for one person. A girl with dark eyes and even darker hair.

A girl who isn’t even an option.

At least, not anymore.

Dre can’t decide who she’s going to listen to. Her heart, her head, or her body. Because two out of those three things have her heading right back to Logan’s Beach. Closure is what she tells herself she’s seeking, but when she unlocks doors that were never meant to be opened she soon discovers that when it comes to Samuel Clearwater, closure might NEVER be an option.

This is book six in the King Series and the second part of Preppy and Dre’s story.

Excerpt

“Oh yeah?” Preppy asked, taking a step forward, crowding me in, staring deep into my eyes with an intensity that had me biting down hard on my lower lip. “Do YOU like a clean look, Doc? Or do you like it dirty? Beards. Tattoos…scars?”

Yes, I like it dirty. So dirty.

I was stunned into silence. Preppy’s proximity was fucking with my brain, and I was afraid I was going to blurt out something that would dig me a deeper hole than I’d already dug for myself. I opened my mouth to answer, but I couldn’t get the words out. Not like I needed to. Preppy answered for me. “If I remember correctly, you like it dirty. Real fucking dirty.”

He took another step. “Remember that first time? In the field? By the train tracks? Remember how I pulled your hair while I fucked you from behind and stretched you open? Remember how it felt to have me moving inside of you? How it felt when you came and screamed in my fucking ear? I do. I remember. Thought of that scream every fucking day since. It was deafening.” He chuckled and pressed his teeth against his bottom lip. He groaned, the sound shot straight to my pussy. “I can still fucking hear it now.”

So can I.

The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. “What are you doing?” I asked, trying to step around him, but he pressed his hands against the wall, caging me in. The warmth of his chest radiated onto mine. I tried to look anywhere but into his eyes, afraid of what I might see, but there wasn’t anywhere else to look. He moved even closer.

Preppy pressed his knee between my thighs, parting my legs. “Me?” he asked, with mock innocence. “I’m just reminiscing with an old friend.”

“This doesn’t feel like just reminiscing.”

He stared intensely into my eyes. “No, not YET it doesn’t.” He grinned. “But it fucking will. Soon.”

Michel’s Review

As readers we all have our favorite type of books that capture our hearts and imaginations. The King series by T. M. Frazier is one of those series that readers have embraced whole heartedly. There is one particular character in this series who is not only the glue that holds them all together but is also larger than life. A character that every reader of this series adores because of his personality, his quirks, and his ability to put life in a perspective that is uniquely his own but also inspires those around him. He’s not perfect at all. He has a dark side that is just as strong as his light side. His bad is on an even playing field with his good. He doesn’t make excuses nor does he try to change who he is. He is just going to be himself whether you like it or not. He is Samuel Clearwater, also known as Preppy. Like his personality, Preppy has a story that is larger than life. His story has monsters,dungeons, castles, kings, princesses, knights in tarnished armor, and a kingdom where night is day and day is night. It’s all in the perspective and how he lives his life as a part of this kingdom. He is the missing royal prince of Logan Beach and he’s back in all his glory. Preppy is taking back his throne, his place in Logan Beach but first he has to wake up to claim his throne.

After reading the first book in Preppy’s story, the readers got to see what Preppy was up to during the missing years of King’s story. While King was sitting in prison Preppy was busy minding his kingdom and working effortlessly to get King’s daughter back. He met a junkie that would become a means to his end. She was the key to getting King’s daughter back. First he had to get her off the drugs and agree to help him. Things didn’t go quite as planned. He fell for the junkie and knew he had to let her go. He wasn’t what she needed in her life. She needed a clean break with people that could love and support her rehabilitation. Four years later life has taken a different path for them both.

Dre has returned to Logan Beach to sell her grandmother’s home. She also came back for closure. After the devastating news of Preppy’s death she knew she needed to say her final goodbyes and let go of their past. She would of never imagined that he was still alive but still unreachable. Finding Preppy alive and in a coma was a shock. Finding out she was legally married to Preppy was even more shocking. The most shocking thing of all was when Preppy finally became conscious and on the road to recovery, he was a complete stranger. He wasn’t the man she fell in love with. He wasn’t the man any of them knew. Preppy was still lost to them all.

After being tortured and mentally dead for quite some time, it’s impossible to grasp freedom. He lost himself to the darkness. Now he has his life back but he’s not the same man who owned that life. He’s lost in the darkness. Finding his way back to the light seems impossible even though he is awake and free from his captor. Life went on without him and now he is in a world that is different and doesn’t make sense to him. He still loves his family and friends with all his heart but doesn’t feel like he knows them any longer. He doesn’t feel like they know who he is either. The only thing that seems to be the same is his feelings for Dre. He never told her how he felt about her. He let her go when he should of held onto her. He swore if he got another chance he would come clean. How can he tell her how he feels when he is so broken. How can he love her when he doesn’t even know how to love himself? He’s not the man he once was. He doesn’t know if he will ever be that man again. Preppy was lost a long time ago. Samuel Clearwater died the day he became Preppy. Who is the man in the shell of a broken body and a tormented mind?

Dre, King, Ray, Bear, Ti, and the Logan Beach crew (including Rage) are thankful for the miracle of Preppy’s resurrection. When they lost him they lost a part of themselves. The man that came back from the dead is not Preppy. He is a lost broken soul in the body of the man they love. They will do anything to help him find himself again. It’s going to take patience, understanding, and at times hard love. Preppy is worth it all. The only thing they can do is offer a hand and love in his journey back from hell.

Preppy: Part Two is Preppy’s journey back to the living. The journey is not easy. At times it is heartbreaking and other times it is filled with hope. In the end, only Preppy can travel the road. Dre is his rainbow at the end of the road. She is his home.

Preppy found his way home and now he’s grabbing onto the life he has fought for. Nothing in Preppy’s life has been easy. He has had to work for his happiness. He’s earned it and he’s reaping the rewards. Just when he’s taken his life back, life throws another monster in his path. This time it could break them all. What does that mean…CLIFFHANGER!

T. M. Frazier has done it again… she has left us wanting more of Preppy.

____________________________________

Haven’t read this series yet?

Meet King & Pup in King (Book One)

The King

By T. M. Frazier

Buy : Amazon / Amazon UK/ ITunes / B & N

Synopsis

*****

Tyrant

King Series – Book 2

Conclusion to King

Amazon / Amazon UK

*****

Lawless

King Series – Book 3

Buy: Amazon / Amazon UK / B & N / ITunes

*****

Soulless

Lawless Part 2

King Series – Book 4

By T.M. Frazier

Buy : Amazon / Amazon UK / B & N / ITunes

*****

All The Rage

Connected to the King Series

By T. M. Frazier

Release Date: June 7, 2016

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

*****

Preppy : Part 1

The Life & Death of Samuel Clearwater

By T. M. Frazier

Buy: Amazon / Amazon Uk / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

Synopsis

Samuel Clearwater, A.K.A Preppy, likes bowties, pancakes, suspenders, good friends, good times, good drugs, and a good f*ck.

He’s worked his way out from beneath a hellish childhood and is living the life he’s always imagined for himself. When he meets a girl, a junkie on the verge of ending it all, he’s torn between his feelings for her and the crippling fear that she could be the one to end the life he loves.

Andrea ‘Dre’ Capulet is strung out and tired.

Tired of living for her next fix. Tired of doing things that make her stomach turn. Tired of looking in the mirror at the reflection of the person she’s become. Just when she decides to end it all, she meets a man who will change the course of both their lives forever.

And their deaths.

For most people, death is the end of their story.
For Preppy and Dre, death was only the beginning.

This is the fifth book in the King Series and it’s meant to be read after Soulless.

_________________________________________________

Author Bio:

T.M. (Tracey Marie) Frazier resides in sunny Southwest Florida with her husband and three feisty fur kids.

She attended Florida Gulf Coast University where she specialized in public speaking. After years working in real estate and new home construction, she decided it was finally time to stop pushing her dreams to the back burner and pursue writing seriously.

In the third grade she wrote her very first story about a lost hamster. It earned rave reviews from both her teacher and her parents.

It only took her twenty years to start the next one.

It will not be about hamsters.

Stalk Her: Website, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, and Goodreads.

_____________________________

Saucy Southern Readers

professional, honest, and timely book reviews

Category Archives: Book Review

Blog Tour + Excerpt + 2017 Favorite + 6 Star Review: The Do-Over by Julie A. Richman

~ Sometimes, one degree is all that separates you from the one you were meant to be with. ~

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Paperback Release Blitz + Excerpt + 5 Star Review + Giveaway: To Wild To Tame by Tessa Bailey – The Clarkson’s 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.

5+ Star Review: Next To Never by Penelope Douglas – The Fall Away Series – Book 4.5

5+ Star Review: Love In Lingerie by Alessandra Torre

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5 Star Review: Retreat by Jay Crownover

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Release Blitz + 2017 Favorite + 6 Star Review : The Do-Over by Julie A. Richman

The Do-Over, an all-new emotional and sexy STANDALONE by Julie A. Richman is now LIVE!!

~ Sometimes, one degree is all that separates you from the one you were meant to be with. ~

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Release Blitz + Excerpt + 5 Star Review: Broken Pieces by Toni Aleo – The Patchwork Series – Book 2

Release Boost + New Excerpt + 5 Star Review + Giveaway: Taking Turns by J A Huss

Release Blitz + Excerpt + 2017 Favorite + 5 Star Review: Preppy: Part 2 – The Life & Death of Samuel Clearwater – The King Series – Book 6

~ Sometimes, one degree is all that separates you from the one you were meant to be with. ~

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The Do-Over, an all-new emotional and sexy STANDALONE by Julie A. Richman is now LIVE!!

~ Sometimes, one degree is all that separates you from the one you were meant to be with. ~

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