Category Archives: Excerpt

Blog Tour + Excerpt + Review: Behind The Wall by Jane Harvey-Berrick – A Contemporary Novella

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Behind The Wall
A Novella
Release Date: May 26, 2017
By Jane Harvey- Berrick
Buy: Amazon

 

 

Synopsis

 

Prison.
The place where dreams fade and hope dies.
That’s what it’s meant for the five years that Garrett has been behind bars. But now hope is on the horizon and he’s daring to dream again: small dreams, small hopes.
Getting his GED would be a start. If only his prison-appointed teacher Miss Ella Newsome wasn’t so damn sexy.
As Garrett and Ella start to play a dangerous game, the price could be higher than either of them have guessed.

This story first appeared in the anthology HOT FOR TEACHER in 2016. It has since been extended with new scenes, more heart ache and even more heat.

 

 

 

Excerpt

An alarm blaring jerked us apart, and Garrett peered through the window in the classroom door.
When he turned to look at me again, there was a new tension in his jaw.
“They’re going to riot,” he said sharply. “We have to get out of here. Do you trust me?”
Trust. Such a small word with such a big meaning. Could I trust a convicted felon? Could I? Dare I trust a man whose simple words stole my heart from the very first moment he’d shown me his true self? Foolish, foolish heart.
“Get ready to run, Ella.”
I took a deep breath, and then we were racing along the brightly lit corridor, the alarm even louder, almost drowning out the pounding of our footsteps.
Garrett dragged me along with him, urging me to go faster. I felt his own panic as he tried door after door, but all were locked. The sound of rioting seemed to follow us, and I thought I could smell smoke.
Then we ran out of corridor, and Garrett swore loudly, his eyes darting wildly. He dropped my hand and kicked at the nearest door, smashing it repeatedly until I was sure either the door or his leg would shatter.
Finally, as sweat poured down Garrett’s face, the door’s weak lock screeched and broke, and he fell into a large storage closet.
“In here!” he hissed, his face contorting with pain as his hand reached out to mine.
I followed him without thinking, needing him near to feel safe.
I’d imagined that hard body so many times, imagined the layer of solid muscle and silky skin that overlaid a tall, lean bone structure. My impatient fingers pushed under his prison uniform, discovering a trail of coarse hair that led from his chest to the waistband of his pants.
My impulsive fingers drifted lower, and I felt the groan in his chest as I closed my hand around his hot, heated shaft.
“Ellaaaa!” he moaned my name with reverence, a plea.

This story first appeared in the anthology HOT FOR TEACHER in 2016. It has since been extended with new scenes, more heart ache and even more heat.

 

Michel’s Review

Behind The Wall by Jane Harvey-Berrick is a novella that was previously released in the Hot For The Teacher anthology in 2016.  It is now available as a stand alone novella from the author.

I have a love-hate opinion about novella’s.  They are either a perfect addition to an existing series or a quick story that keeps the reader engaged for a short amount of time.  There is just enough to keep the reader fully satisfied.  On the other hand that same short story can be so compelling that the reader wants more.  This is the case with Behind The Wall.

Jane Harvey-Berrick painted a very vivid picture of life behind the bars without sugar coating it or romanticizing it.  It’s a very brutal environment where the men are suppressed.  Their sense of humanity is warped from their environment and past actions that landed them within prison.  The ideal situation is to rehabilitate these men so that they can become a positive part of society.  While rehabilitation is a positive action, the reality of it is not quite as great in real life scenarios.  These men have a criminal record for the rest of their lives.  Their future opportunities are limited and they will always be paying for their previous crimes.  The difference on how their rehabilitated lives play out is by their will to stay clean and become upstanding citizens, their work ethic, and lastly their support system once they are free.  Jane Harvey-Berrick clearly wrote a compelling story of a young man facing all these obstacles and a young woman compassionate and brave enough to help him face them.  Love is a strong motivating factor and these two people valued it’s strength.

I would of loved for this to have been a full length novel because both Garrett and Ella were both such compelling characters.

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Release Blitz + Excerpt: Behind The Wall by Jane Harvey-Berrick

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Behind The Wall
A Novella
Release Date: May 26, 2017
By Jane Harvey- Berrick
Buy: Amazon

 

 

Synopsis

 

Prison.
The place where dreams fade and hope dies.
That’s what it’s meant for the five years that Garrett has been behind bars. But now hope is on the horizon and he’s daring to dream again: small dreams, small hopes.
Getting his GED would be a start. If only his prison-appointed teacher Miss Ella Newsome wasn’t so damn sexy.
As Garrett and Ella start to play a dangerous game, the price could be higher than either of them have guessed.

This story first appeared in the anthology HOT FOR TEACHER in 2016. It has since been extended with new scenes, more heart ache and even more heat.

 

 

 

Excerpt

At the end of a long, exasperating day where nothing seemed to go as I wanted, I was happy to shake Nottoway dust from my shoes and head out for a drink with my best friend Becky.

“How’s it going in stir, sista?” she asked in her best Orange is the New Black impression.

“Fine,” I mumbled.

“Fine as in I-broke-both-my-legs-but-don’t-worry-about-me fine, or fine as in today-sucked-ass-and-I’m-feeling-sorry-for-myself?”

“Probably the latter,” I said, unable to stop a tired smile appearing on my face.

“Come tell Aunty Becky all about it, but not before you’ve had at least one Mimosa.”

“Honestly, I don’t really feel like drinking. I’ll just get all weepy and mopey.”

She shook her head and pushed a glass toward me.

“So get weepy and mopey. How’s it going with Mr. Hottie-con?”

“He’s … doing well. He makes a great teacher’s aide—better than I could have hoped. The other prisoners go to him in between classes. They’re all making so much progress.”

“That’s good then.”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“And nothing.”

“So, you’re not fantasizing about the length of his … parole?”

“Becky!”

“I’m right, aren’t I? You’re totally crushing on your jailbird boy toy.”

“He’s 30. And he’s not my boy toy.”

“But you’d like him to be?”

I took a slug of Mimosa, tossing it back like I was doing shots. Then my head dropped to my hands and I let out a groan.

“Oh my God, Becky! He’s the hottest guy I’ve ever met. Handsome, sexy, total brooding bad boy. But sweet, too. How can an ex-thief be sweet? And I don’t even know if he’s an ex-thief—not really. And when he looks at me, all dark and intense … and I haven’t had a boyfriend since Nathan. I haven’t even had a date. And now my B.O.B. needs new batteries.”

She choked on her drink then burst out laughing.

“There’s no harm in having a little down time thinking about doing the nasty with a hot felon. As long as that’s all it is.”

I sighed. Becky knew me too well.

“I like him.”

She screwed her eyes shut.

“Oh glory, I was afraid of that. You’re so predictable, El. You see something broken and you want to fix it. It’s admirable in the right circumstances, but this isn’t one of them.”

“I know. I know you’re right, but it’s chemistry, or magnetism, or pheromones, or…”

“Lust?”

I looked down at the drink in my hands.

“Honey, the guy is hot and off-limits and the original bad boy. Of course you’re lusting after him. Just promise me that you won’t do anything stupid.”

“As if!” I huffed.

“Hmm, well, tell me this. If he was paroled tomorrow, would you date him? Introduce him to me? To the rest of your friends? Would you take him home to meet your parents? Can you honestly see a future with an ex-con?”

I shook my head.

“I’m his teacher. Nothing is going to happen.”

But the truth was, it already had. I was falling for Prisoner 97813. It was reckless and stupid, maybe even dangerous.

And I couldn’t stop myself.

AP new -about the author.jpg

Jane is a writer of contemporary romance fiction, known for thoughtful stories, often touching on difficult subjects: disability (DANGEROUS TO KNOW & LOVE, SLAVE TO THE RHYTHM); mental illness (THE EDUCATION OF CAROLINE, SEMPER FI); life after prison (LIFERS); dyslexia (THE TRAVELING MAN, THE TRAVELING WOMAN).

She is also a campaigner for former military personnel to receive the support they need on leaving the services. She wrote the well-received play LATER, AFTER with former veteran Mike Speirs. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk1CyB8c0xA )

 

Author Links

 

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Book Tour + Excerpt + Giveaway: Perfect Storm by Cheryl Douglas

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Blurb

Mace

Dark. Dangerous. Messed up. Yeah, I may be all of those things, but with her I’m not. She taught me how to love, how to be a one woman man. Except now my woman wants to leave me, ‘cause I can’t promise her forever. I know I’d never want anyone else but she wants the ring to prove it. Not to mention the baby. But if she knew about my past she’d run far and fast. Then I’d have no choice but to chase her, ‘cause I can’t let her get away.

Cory

I hate him. I love him. I want him. I need him. I hate myself for being weak and caving every every time he touches me. But I can’t help myself. He’s just that good. I can’t get over him if I’m always under him, but he’s not letting me go without a fight and you’d have to have an iron will to resist this man.

 

Excerpt

Mace

She was killing me and she knew it. My ex-girlfriend and business partner made it her daily mission to torture me. She flirted with the customers, agreed to dates with a few regulars, I’d even caught her kissing one in the dark hallway leading to our office. My reaction? I put my fist through the wall, scaring the shit out of her boy-toy and earning a stern lecture from her.

Cory claimed I had no right to tell her what to do or who to do it with. She’d given me an ultimatum. Marriage. Babies. Or she was done with me. When push came to shove I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t put that ring on her finger. I watched what my old man went through when my mom left us. I couldn’t let Cory put me through that shit. So I let her go.

Only we had to work together. Every. Goddamn. Day. And I was slowly losing my mind.

“Cory get a new tat, boss?” our bartender asked, looking at the perfect swell of my lady’s ass as she bent over to take a customer’s order.

Not your lady anymore, a little voice reminded me. Bullshit. She’ll always be mine.

“Yeah, I think so.” I wiped down the bar, trying not to notice the way she filled out those tight black jeans.

Memories came flooding back. My lips on her. Hers on me. Her riding me. Taking her up against the wall. Going hard all night… into the morning.

“Gimme a Jack, man.” I’d been drinking too much since she dumped me, but I couldn’t seem to help myself. My mom left my old man because of the bottle. Now it seemed like I was destined to follow in his footsteps.

Johnnie raised an eyebrow, but didn’t question me. He just did as he was told, poured, and sild it across the slick surface.

“Why don’t you just buy her out?” he asked, obviously reading my thoughts.

I tipped my glass back, my back to her. “She won’t let me.” I’d offered half a dozen times. Just like she’d offered to buy me out. But we both loved this bar. And we were stubborn. We wanted to make the other one suffer.

“You two are gonna wind up killing each other.” He gestured to the glass in my hand. “I’ve been working here five years and ain’t never seen you drink like this.”

Johnnie was my right hand man and I loved him like a brother, but I didn’t need to hear him telling me shit I already knew. I was self-destructing and I didn’t know how the hell to put the brakes on.

“Shit,” Johnnie whispered, his dark eyes travelling to the door.

I curled my hand into a fist when I spotted the punk who’d had his tongue down my woman’s throat last week. The reason I’d had to patch the drywall to repair the damage I’d caused. “What’s he doing here?” I asked, standing. “I told him not to show his face in here again.”

Before I could kick his scrawny ass out Cory approached him, slaying me with her dimples, just like she did every time I saw her smile.

She was a tiny little thing with a huge rack. That was the first thing most guys noticed about her, but four years of being mine meant it had been a long time since another man had been stupid enough to put his hands on her. Seeing that same dumbass who hadn’t heeded my last warning wrap his arms around her had me seeing red.

“That’s it. I’m gonna mess him up.”

“Mace, don’t man,” Johnnie said, trying to grab my shoulder. “It’s not worth it.”

I shook him off and stalked across the bar, going toe-to-toe with my least favorite customer. “What’re doin’ back here, asshole? Didn’t I make it clear I don’t wanna see your face in my bar again?”

“Excuse me,” Cory said, grabbing my arm. “It’s my bar too. And I told him he could come in anytime he wanted.”

I knew I’d regret the day I let her invest in my dream. She’d been a real estate agent at the time and she was making big bucks. I was a bartender who used to serve her at a club she and her girlfriends frequented. She convinced me I was wasting my time working behind someone else’s bar when I should be lining my own pockets. She was the first person to ever believe in me and since my old man had left me a little coin when he died, I had some cash to burn. The rest, as they say, is history.

“Why are you doing this?” I narrowed my eyes at her. “You wanna watch me bleed?” I said, only loud enough for her to hear. I turned my forearm over to reveal the colorful tattoo snaking over my wrist and up my arm. The one bearing her name. “You want to destroy me? ‘Cause you’re doin’ a hell of a job of it.”

“Excuse me, Eddy,” she said to the guitar playing asshat watching our exchange. “I need to have a word with my partner.”

She grabbed my hand and hauled me through the crowd and down the narrow hallway to our shared office and just that brief physical exchange tore me up. I wanted her hands on me again. Up my shirt. Unbuckling my pants. Wrapped around my shaft.

“Why do you keep doing this?” she asked, slamming the door and throwing her hands up in the air. “It’s like you’re trying to prevent me from getting on with my life.”

I sat on the edge of the desk sulking. Because I knew she was right. I couldn’t give her what she needed but I was trying to prevent her from finding a man who could. It was messed up. I knew that. I just couldn’t help it. I loved her. I loved her so goddamn much that living without her was destroying me.

“I just don’t want to see you with a jackass like that.” I curled my hands around the edge of the desk as I watched her. Her long, blond, wavy hair was sweeping down her back as her high heels clicked across the worn wood floor as she paced the small, cluttered room. “He probably wouldn’t even know how to please you.”

And if that visual didn’t make my blood boil. The thought of another man pleasing her hit me like a wrecking ball, knocking the wind out of me. My girl loved oral. And before too long it was going to be some other’s dude’s shoulders spreading her legs, taking what was mine.

“How do you know that?” she demanded, planting her hands on her curvy hips. “You don’t know what he’s like in bed. Unless you and he have-”

“Don’t even.” She liked messing with me and after so many years together she knew exactly how to rattle my chain.

Her full lips turned up in a half-smile. “You don’t get to tell me who to sleep with, Mace. Just like I don’t get to tell you.”

What a joke that was. I didn’t even think I could get it up for another woman. Her ass wouldn’t be as round as Cory’s. Her tits wouldn’t be as big. Her lips wouldn’t be as lush. Her eyes wouldn’t be as blue. I’d find something wrong with her. ‘Cause she wasn’t Cory. It was as simple and as screwed up as that.

“I don’t see why you’d want anyone else.” I rubbed the bulge in my pants, the one I got every time I looked at her. “You’ve had me. You know what it feels like to have the best.” Was I arrogant? Yeah, sure. But I knew she hadn’t even gotten off with a man in the room until she met me. I made it a point to give her so many orgasms in a night she was literally pleading with me to stop ‘cause she couldn’t take anymore.

“Is that all you ever think about?” she asked, rolling her baby blues at me. “Sex?”

“With you?” I grinned. “Pretty much.”

But that was a lie. I missed everything about her, from the way she smelled to the way she felt curled against my chest when she fell asleep. I even missed those gay-ass antique marts she used to drag me to and the girly movies she’d force me to watch. I missed the massages she’d give me after a hard workout or the way she’d model new lingerie for me. I missed it all.

“I need you to just back off,” she said, gently. “Please, Mace. I want us to keep working together. I think we’re a really good team. But I need some space.”

I didn’t want to give her space. I wanted to crowd her against the wall and kiss her until she remembered how much she loved me. How much she needed me.

“You can’t date customers,” I said, biting the inside of my lip. “It’s not fair, Cor. I can’t deal with that shit.”

She threw her hands up in the air. “Where do you expect me to meet guys? I’m here all the time or at the gym.” She glared at me. “And you’ve scared off all the guys there too. You know my personal trainer told me last week that he wanted to ask me out but he was afraid you’d kick the shit out of him.”

I got into mixed martial arts when I was twelve. I would kick the shit out of him. “That’s not my problem,” I said, shrugging. “Guess you’ll have to find somewhere else to pick up.”

“Don’t you want me to be happy?” Her tone was soft, almost pleading. “I want you to be happy. Why can’t you want the same for me?”

“Sorry if my idea of a good time isn’t watching some asshole stick his tongue down your throat.”

“He could be a great guy,” she said, stepping into my personal space. “The best thing that ever happened to me. He could be madly in love with me, treat me like a queen, want to marry me and have half a dozen babies with me and you still couldn’t be happy for me, could you?”

I knew those were all the things she wanted and deserved, but she was right. I couldn’t be happy for her if she found them and that made me a grade-A asshole, because even though I claimed to love her I was too selfish to put her first.

No one had ever taught me to love selflessly. My old man was a selfish drunk who made it impossible for my mom to stick it out. She didn’t love me enough to take me and my brother with her. Women had only ever used me for the pleasure I could give them. Cory was the only one who’d ever given a shit about me. And I didn’t want to lose that. I couldn’t lost that. Not to some other guy.

“No, I couldn’t.”

She shook her head, looking sad. “You used to be my best friend. The one person I could count on. I miss that guy so much.”

I missed him too. I hated the bitter, resentful asshole I was becoming, but I didn’t know what to do about it.

 

Author Bio

Cheryl Douglas is a USA Today bestselling author who lives and breathes her writing: when she’s sleeping, watching TV, driving, reading, it’s always in the periphery of her mind. Her imagination rarely takes a holiday, even when she escapes to a sandy beach with her husband and son, she’s planning, plotting, outlining, and daydreaming.

Author Web & Social Media links:

http://www.cheryldouglasbooks.com

http://www.facebook.com/cheryldouglasbooks

@CherylDouglasNN

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Pre-Order Blast + Excerpt + Giveaway: Hidden Promises by Katee Robert

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Have you Pre-ordered Forbidden Promises by Katee Robert yet?

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Katee Robert delivers the next book in her sizzling O’Malleys family series, hailed as “The Godfather meets Romeo & Juliet.” FORBIDDEN PROMISES features Sloan O’Malley and her mysterious new next-door neighbor, Jude MacNamara.

Meet Jude and Sloan! 

See the video trailer here

Pre-order FORBIDDEN PROMISES and add it to your TBR pile on Goodreads! Then keep reading to get an EXCLUSIVE sneak peek at FORBIDDEN PROMISES and to enter the giveaway for a $50 Amazon gift card!

 

  

Title: Forbidden Promises

Author: Katee Robert

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: May 30, 2017

Publisher: Grand Central/Forever

Series: The O’Malleys

Page Count: 336 pages

Format: Digitial and Print

ASIN: B01KT7YSJM

ISBN-13: 9781455597031

Synopsis:

Some lines should never be crossed . . . not even for love.

Sloan O’Malley just left her entire world behind-her family, her wealth, and even her real name. For the first time in her life, she’s free. She can live the “normal” life she’s always wanted. A life without fear. But there’s nothing safe about her intensely sexy next-door neighbor.

Jude MacNamara has no room for innocence in his life. Only revenge. Still, he’s never been able to walk away from the forbidden, and Sloan-who is every inch of pure, mouthwatering temptation-has forbidden written all over her. Only after it’s way too late does he discover the real danger: claiming Sloan as his puts a target on her back. To protect her, Jude is willing risk everything . . . and to hell with the consequences.

 

PRE-ORDER LINKS:

Amazon:  http://amzn.to/2oQ7Ikw

B&N: http://bit.ly/2nWvcFc

iBooks: http://apple.co/2mxsWi0

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2mxvcG9

 

Enter to win a $50 Amazon Gift Card from Katee Robert!

 

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FORBIDDEN PROMISES EXCERPT

Copyright © 2017 Katee Robert

Up until this point, Sloan O’Malley has been kind of lost in a sea of the strong personalities in her family. She’s the quiet one. The wallflower. The obedient one. But now she’s out of Boston and out of that life behind, and she’s stepping out to stand on her own for the first time in her life. She wants her freedom, but more than that, she wants to live. What better way to do that than to give into the desire that sparks an inferno between her and the gorgeous guy next door?

All her hard-won calm disappeared when she saw Jude lounging in the corner booth. Lounging wasn’t the right word. He looked like a big cat who was as likely to tear out her throat as purr and rub against her.

Rub against…

She tried and failed to shut the thought down. From there, it was a slippery slope to thinking about what she’d done last night while picturing him.

It was almost enough to make her flee into the kitchen again. Or it would have been if not for the knowledge that Marge had given her a chance, and the woman wouldn’t take kindly to her hiding in the back when there were customers to be served.

Sloan took a careful breath and approached Jude. “What can I get you?”

“I feel like I’m perpetually apologizing to you, but I left abruptly last night and I’m sorry.” He didn’t wait for her to respond. “Come out with me after your shift.”

She blinked. Did he just…“I’m sorry, what?”

“I’m going to take you out. Tonight.” His intense dark eyes never wavered, though she was wondering how she ever labeled them cold. Right now, they were so hot, they were liable to turn her into a pillar of flame.

The only question was if she’d perish in the fire or emerge as something altogether different.

That thought should have scared her, but she’d been afraid for so long. Maybe it was time to do more than think about taking the first step into the future. Maybe she needed to actually put herself into motion. Sloan licked her lips, aware of the way he tracked the move. Everything about Jude was intense. He’d toned it down for her last night, but he wasn’t even trying right now. She shifted her stance, still torn. “I’m not exactly in a good place to date right now.”

He considered her, and she suddenly got the impression that he was choosing his words with care so as not to spook her. “What is it, exactly, that you think I’m asking?”

“I, ah…” She clutched her little notebook to her chest, painfully aware that the handful of diners in the place were blatantly eavesdropping. “I don’t know.”

He lowered his voice to the point where she had to inch closer to hear him clearly. “Let me show you.”

And, suddenly, she wanted to do exactly that. Sloan found herself nodding even though every instinct she had said that Jude was trouble in the worst way. But, whatever he was, he was vitally different from her brothers and father back home. He might seem brutal and dangerous and intense to a criminal degree, but this wasn’t Boston. This was Callaway Rock. No matter how dangerous he seemed, odds were that he wasn’t a man who had skeletons in his closet—literal or otherwise.

That made him safe in a way none of the men she’d ever known were.

Jude’s gaze sharpened. “That’s a yes.”

“That’s a yes.” Her voice was too breathy, too irregular to pass for anything other than nerves, but she didn’t care. If she fell flat on her face, at least she was living.

 

Praise for The O’Malleys Series

 

“It can be hard to make a ruthless assassin into a sympathetic character, but Robert handles the task with ease. She also deftly shows Sloan’s transformation from a pampered and protected naïf to a strong woman with a backbone of pure steel. A tension-filled plot full of deceit, betrayal, and sizzling love scenes will make it impossible for readers to set the book down.”—Publishers Weekly on FORBIDDEN PROMISES

“You will finish it in one sitting and die after you’re done because the next book isn’t out yet. This was one sexy ride!”—Reviewer Top Pick, Night Owl Reviews on FORBIDDEN PROMISES

“Two story lines end up converging into one explosive finale at the end.  A great read from the talented Robert!” —RT Book Reviews

“Katee Robert’s has created a fictional underworld of such veracity, that one almost expects the characters to turn up on the front-page news. It never feels over the top or implausible; the author writes extremely well-crafted stories… The romance between Cillian and Olivia is very beautiful, tender and real.”—Fresh Fiction on AN INDECENT PROPOSAL

“Will keep you turning pages.”—RT Book Reviews on THE WEDDING PACT

“If you like angsty reads, this book is right up your wheelhouse.”—Heroes & Heartbreakers on THE WEDDING PACT

“Dark, dirty, and dead sexy.”—Tiffany Reisz, bestselling author of The Original Sinners series, on THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT

 

Other Books in The O’Malleys Series:

THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT

THE WEDDING PACT

AN INDECENT PROPOSAL

UNDERCOVER ATTRACTION (Coming soon!)

 

About Katee Robert

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

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

Excerpt Reveal + Giveaway: I Knew You Were Trouble by Lauren Layne

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A feisty beauty must choose between
winning back Mr. Right 
or giving in to Mr. Wrong.
I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE
Oxford Series #4
Lauren Layne
Releasing June 13, 2017
Loveswept

New York City’s hottest bachelors are stirring up trouble in this fun, flirty Oxford Novel, as a love triangle forces a feisty beauty to choose between winning back Mr. Right or giving in to Mr. Wrong.

Taylor Carr has it all—a sleek job in advertising, a stunning Manhattan apartment, and the perfect man to share it with: Bradley Calloway. Even after Bradley dumps her for a co-worker on move-in day, Taylor isn’t worried. She’ll get her man eventually. In the meantime, she needs a new roommate. Enter Nick Ballantine, career bartender, freelance writer—and longtime pain in Taylor’s ass. Sexy in a permanent five-o’clock-shadow kind of way, Nick knows how to push Taylor’s buttons, as if he could see right through to the real her.

Nick’s always trying to fix people, and nobody could use a good fixing more than Taylor. Sure, she’s gorgeous, with mesmerizing silver eyes, but it’s her vulnerability that kills him. Now that they’re shacking up together, the chemistry is out of control. Soon they’re putting every part of their two-bedroom apartment to good use. Then Taylor’s ex comes crawling back to her, and Nick figures she’ll jump at the chance to go back to her old life—unless he fights for the best thing that ever happened to him.


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Exclusive Excerpt

Bradley froze when he saw her, and she was pretty sure she saw the urge to turn and run flicker across his face.

Again she felt a stab of disappointment. In him. And in herself for apparently having misread him. She’d thought he was better than this.

Bradley’s eyes moved between her and Nick, and though he didn’t look all that surprised at seeing them bickering, his gaze grew hard as he saw Nick’s hand on Taylor’s face.

Nick, naturally, took his sweet time removing it, and she resisted the urge to kick his shin.

“Morning, Bradley,” Taylor said, pleased that her voice sounded calm and friendly. As well it should. She’d had plenty of practice over the better part of a year pretending that she and Bradley were nothing more than colleagues.

Other than a few close friends who knew they were dating, they’d done a mostly decent job of hiding their romantic relationship from coworkers. Better than she and Nick had done hiding their antagonistic one.

“Hey, Taylor. Nick,” Bradley said.

He entered the room and reached for a coffee mug, turning his attention toward the other man. “Didn’t realize you’d taken on another assignment. What for?”

“Not sure,” Nick said, checking his watch. “Have a meeting with Cassidy in a few to find out.”

“Here’s hoping it’s an offsite gig that takes you far, far away. Maybe he needs someone to cover Siberian winters,” Taylor said to Nick, even as she watched Bradley out of the corner of her eye.

“Don’t need to travel to find severe winter. It doesn’t get any chillier than right here,” Nick retorted, waving his hand over her head in a storm cloud gesture.

She shoved his hand aside, her attention still on Bradley, who was determinedly avoiding her gaze.

Coward.

It was going to be darn hard to get him to see reason when he wouldn’t even make eye contact.

Nick, ever too perceptive for his own good, noticed the tension and gave a quick look between her and Bradley, his gaze turning speculative.

She shot him a warning look that clearly said, Don’t.

He shot an answering smile that clearly said, Watch me.

“Bradley, don’t suppose you’re in the market for a roommate?” Nick asked, his voice deceptively casual.

Bradley’s head snapped up, and finally, finally his blue gaze collided with Taylor’s. Dammit. Why did he have to be so beautiful? He was like a mischievous angel, all twinkling blue eyes, dimples, a sexy cleft in his chin, dark blond wavy hair . . .

“What?” he asked Nick distractedly, still looking at Taylor.

“Taylor here wants to share her original crown molding with someone.”

Bradley winced, and Taylor felt a little surge of gratitude toward Nick. He couldn’t have known it, but it was the perfect jab. She and Bradley were both into prewar architecture—had eaten up the broker’s description of all the building’s original elements.

Taylor should be sharing that crown molding with Bradley. And he damn well knew it.

His eyes met hers in silent misery—an apology that she wasn’t quite ready to accept. Heck, she wasn’t even ready to acknowledge it, because she had no intention of being dumped. Not by him, not by any man.

Taylor ignored the guilt written all over Bradley’s face as she held his gaze. “Yes, it seems I unexpectedly have a free bedroom and more rent than I can afford. If either of you knows anyone looking for a roommate . . .”

Bradley’s handsome face twisted regretfully, and he set his coffee aside, taking a step toward her, apparently forgetting—or not caring—that Nick was still in the room.

“Taylor. Damn it. I told you—”

“Actually, I do,” Nick said, interrupting.

Taylor forced her gaze away from Bradley’s pleading face toward Nick’s smug one. “You know someone who needs a roommate?”

“Yup.” He crossed his arms and watched her.

She made an impatient gesture with her hand. “Who? It can’t be one of your ex-girlfriends—I don’t want to inadvertently hear any gross details about you. And not one of your frat-boy guy friends—my living room isn’t cut out for Call of Duty.”

“Yeah, because that’s all I do all day.”

She rolled her eyes. “Okay, for real, who is it?”

His grin was slow, sly, and the very definition of trouble. “Me.”

 

Author Info

Lauren Layne is the New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen romantic comedies.

A former e-commerce and web marketing manager from Seattle, Lauren relocated to New York City in 2011 to pursue a full-time writing career.

She lives in midtown Manhattan with her high-school sweetheart, where she writes smart romantic comedies with just enough sexy-times to make your mother blush. In LL’s ideal world, every stiletto-wearing, Kate Spade wielding woman would carry a Kindle stocked with Lauren Layne books.

 

 

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Release Boost + Excerpt: The Rebellion by S.L. Scott

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Title: The Rebellion
Series: Hard to Resist #5
Author: S.L. Scott
Genre: STANDALONE Contemporary Romance
Release Date: May 18, 2017

Blurb

I met my muse at fifteen. I’d just gotten busted
for smoking behind the school gymnasium. She inspired me with her laugh and
nonjudgmental attitude and, before I knew it, we were inseparable. Then I left
to pursue my rock star dreams—dreams she encouraged.
I got over Jaymes Grenier no problem. I never
think about that little bow at the top of her pink lips, or the way her green
eyes admired mine. Nope, I barely recall the way she fit so perfectly in my
arms when I held her at night. The sweet way she would whisper she loved me has
long faded from memory.
These are the lies I regularly tell myself
in hopes of believing them one day. Yeah, I was told I’d get over my first
love.
I didn’t. 
Derrick Masters marked me the moment we met back
in ninth grade. He called me over—all bravado and bad boy mystery wrapped in a
James Dean-esque package. Dark hair and blue eyes with a rebel without a cause
charisma. He was everything I was warned about, but I couldn’t resist. I
was his from that moment on.
His career took off almost as soon as he
did. I knew it would. I just thought I would be beside him as his partner in
crime, best friend, and lover. That’s what we had always been … before he left
me behind to fend for myself.

Fend? Fight is more like it.
I’ve been fighting ever since. 
Fighting for survival.
Fighting for a better life in a world determined
to keep me down.
I don’t have the luxury of letting my head live
in the lure of La La Land. His dreams may have come true, but mine were
extinguished. These days I fight for something bigger than me, bigger than we
were ever meant to be.
When his dreams come crashing back into my
reality, is this a second chance at that fairy tale ending or another
heartbreak in the making?

Purchase Links

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited

Trailer

Excerpt

On the front porch, leaning against the wood column in all
his newfound glory, stands the most breathtaking man I’ve ever seen. As a
teenager, I thought he was the best-looking boy I’d ever seen,
and based on how I’m struggling to breathe just from looking at him now, I
think he still holds the title. But now he’s a man.
Ace is talking about what some kid named Shiloh got in
trouble for today at school, but I’m still staring at Derrick Masters.
Derrick Masters.
My very own Perseus, though right now I’m thinking he was
more my Achilles heel in the grand scheme of things.
Derrick Masters is standing on my mother’s front porch like
he belongs there. A smile that shines like the star he’s become appears and he
waves. Not sure if it was the grin on his face or the wave that sends me
tripping flat on my face into the grassy lawn, but I’m cursing the curb when I
lift up and look right into the dark blue eyes I’ve tried to despise.
“Are you okay?” he asks, trying to help me up. His voice is
deep, the timbre the same one that always made my heart beat a little faster.
It’s not that thought that runs through my mind. It’s his hands on me,
grappling to help me to my feet.
He’s touching me.
Derrick Masters is touching me and I consider lying there
longer just to savor the feel of his calloused fingers again. Ace tugs at my
ankle like that will help me up. “Mommy, you fell.”
Mommy.
Mommy.
Derrick knows I’m a mommy.
Oh my God. What does he think?
Does he hate me? Disappointed in me? Happy for me? Or not
care at all?
I would care if I found out he has kids.
Maybe he already knew . . .
Maybe I’ll just lie here as long as I can until he goes
away.
Ace lies down next to me and rests his face on my hand.
Looking at me with wide eyes, he asks, “Are we playing a game? This is fun.”
“Yes, I quite like it here.”
I hear Derrick chuckling just above me, enough to feel his
warmth covering my body like sunshine as I lie in the cool grass. I might be
mistaken but it sounds like he’s behind me now. On the ground with me.
Ace’s eyes look over my head. “My friend is here too.” He
giggles. “See? Right there.”
Lying like a dead fish, I smile at my cute son not quite
ready to face Derrick Masters. “What’s your new friend’s name?”
“Derrick. He plays a guitar like you, Mommy.”
After a tap on the back, Ace’s new friend speaks, “Hi.”
I miss Derrick’s hands on me, even if it was just helping me
up. Ace is a ball of laughter and gets up. I watch until he runs behind me.
“I’m here now. We’re all here. This is fun. Oh look, the moon.”
I can’t avoid him forever and the grass is grounding,
literally, and settles my anxiety over just this kind of thing happening. I’ve
embarrassed myself and he’s found out I’m a mother in the course of one sexy
smile and a wave. I shake my head and close my eyes annoyed with myself for
acting so foolishly in front of him. He was once my everything. When
I roll onto my back, the top of our hands meet in an innocent touch that
neither of us bothers to retreat. Finally building enough nerve, I turn my head
and look straight into his eyes again. “Hi,” I whisper.
That devastatingly charming smile reappears, and he says,
“It’s good to see you, Jaymes.”

Also Available

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited

Author Bio

Living in the capital of Texas with her family, Scott loves traveling and avocados, beaches, and cooking with her kids. She’s obsessed with epic romances and loves a good plot twist. Her favorite color is blue, but she likens it more toward the sky than the emotion. Her home is filled with the welcoming symbol of the pineapple and finds surfing a challenge though she likes to think she’s a pro.
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Release Boost + Excerpt + Review: Curveball by Mariah Deitz

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Title: Curveball
Author: Mariah Dietz
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: May 18, 2017
Blurb
Shakespeare believed there was always humor in tragedy and
tragedy in humor.
My life proved his theory as fact.
At eighteen I was a single parent moving to this small town
to be with the man I loved. The one who was supposed to love and cherish me in
return.
Finding out he had a wife was tragic.
Remaining in love with him in spite of her was more tragic.
My mom and best friend setting me up on a long string of
blind dates was an ongoing tragedy.
Nine years later, I’ve learned to see the humor in most
situations.
My mom and best friend setting me up on disastrous blind
dates.
My son’s jokes.
The fire alarm going off each time I cook.
My constant bright spot always adding to the humor was my
son, Hayden. But when Hayden had a life-threatening allergic reaction, the man
who came to help my little boy became my own savior. His laugh, his smile, and
the way his eyes lit up when he spoke to my son made him a beacon of light in
both our lives.
But I wasn’t the only one who noticed him.
When I began having feelings for the man my best and only
friend had fallen for, I knew following my heart would once again lead to a fresh
round of heartbreak.
Love led me to this town.
Lies kept me there.
Would history repeat itself?

 

Or had life just thrown me another Curveball?
Purchase Links
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
Free in Kindle Unlimited
Excerpt

“I don’t watch TV at night…” Her voice drifts off, and I know it’s because she realizes I’m going to ask why.And I do.

“You’re going to laugh.”

“Probably.”

“It’s because I can’t hear things.”

“What kinds of things are you trying to hear?”

“I don’t know. Strange noises and things…”

“Strange noises?”

“Do I need to spell it out for you?” She’s trying to sound annoyed, but I can hear the smile in her voice.

“Apparently, because I have no idea what you’re talking about. What kinds of strange noises are you going to hear? I usually turn my TV up to block out all the strange sounds like the neighbor’s kids and the lady behind me that sounds like Fran fucking Drescher.”

“You know who Fran Drescher is?”

“My mother was a big fan of that stupid show she was in. Stop changing the subject. What are you listening for? Hayden won’t sneak out.”

“What if someone breaks in?”

“You’re not serious.”

“Of course I’m serious!”

“What do you do all night?” I ask.

“Work,” she admits. “Well, usually I clean, and then I work.”

“I’m coming over.”

“You can’t.”

The panic in her voice doesn’t make her sound upset about the idea, but afraid.

Is it because she likes me?

“Why not?” I ask.

“It’s like nine o’clock.”

“Are you about to turn orange and sprout a stem?”

“That and I’m not wearing a bra, if you must know.”

“So put it back on.”

“You don’t understand. That’s like saying put your jeans back on.”

“I am in jeans,” I lie just to get a reaction out of her.

“What is wrong with you?” she cries.

“What’s wrong with jeans?”

“They’re stiff and uncomfortable. Wearing jeans all day is basically equivalent to walking on sandpaper. But at least you guys have pockets that will actually hold something larger than a thimble and don’t ride up your ass.”

“If your bra is riding up your ass, we have bigger fish to fry than being afraid of the boogey man.”

 

 _________________________________________
Michel’s Review

Curveball is the first book I have read by author Mariah Deitz. I was drawn to this book because of the intriguing blurb. While the book wasn’t what I expected and hoped for, it was non the less captivating. I was quite impressed with the solid writing, the easy flow of the story, and the heartwarming romance that blossomed into a soul deep love.

In a small southern town, life can be hard if you are an outsider or the pariah of their close knit community. Elle is a hard working single mom doing the best she can for her nine year old son. She came to this town when she was eighteen hoping to build a life with the father of her son. What she got was a hard slap of reality. Her prince charming was a married man. Rather than tucking tail and running, she stayed for her son’s sake. Thus it made her the Hester Prynne in a town that resembled the Stepford Wives. For nine years she has raised her son by herself.

When she meets her best friend’s neighbor Coen, her life begins to change. Coen has become an important person in her son’s life. He has offered his friendship to them both. She’s deeply attracted to him but like her past relationship, he’s off limits. Her best friend has laid claim on him. It doesn’t matter that Coen wants her and her son. She can’t betray the one person who always had her back.

As the story plays out and their romance begins to bloom, many different obstacles will try to hinder their budding relationship. They will have to make hard choices, put their reputations on the line, and their moral codes as well as ethics will be tested to the limits. In the end, all is not what it seems, the hard truths will only make their love stronger.

Curveball was a sweet, mature romance that had the right amount angst and right amount of romance to keep the reader turning the pages.

_____________________________________________

Author Bio

Mariah Dietz lives
with her husband, two sons, and two four-legged children who are the axis of
her crazy and wonderful world. Mariah grew up in a
tiny town outside of Portland, Oregon where she spent most of her time immersed
in the pages of books that she both read and created. She has a love for
all things that include her family, good coffee, books, traveling, and dark
chocolate. She’s also obsessed with Christmas ornaments and all things Disney.
Author Links

New Release + Excerpt + Review: Grand Slam by Heidi McLaughlin – Boys of Summer Series – Book 3

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Grand Slam

Boys Of Summer Series – Book 3

By Heidi McLaughlin

Buy: Amazon / B & N / IBooks / Kobo

Synopsis

Win the game. Lose your heart.
Everyone knows who I am and that I could have any female fan I want. That’s supposed to be the “perk” of playing left field for the Boston Renegades. But I don’t want just any woman; I want her.

She should be just another face in the crowd, but I can’t stop thinking about the one night we spent together-and her look of regret the morning after.

Because Saylor Blackwell is the kind of woman who haunts a man. Smart, sexy as hell, and one of the best managers in the business. She’s every ballplayer’s dream woman. And I’d do anything to make things right with her.

I’m done sitting on the bench when it comes to Saylor Blackwell. Time to swing for the fences.

__________________________________________

Excerpt

Whenever I wake up with a hangover, I often ask myself why I drank so much and promise that I’ll never do it again. That promise is something I’ve been breaking for the past few days, and up until now, I didn’t care.

I had hoped the booze would muddy my memory of last night, but it hasn’t. Every word she said, every expression she had, every punch to my chest to get me out of her apartment is crystal clear. I fucked up, and I don’t even know how. All I know is that the sobs I heard on the other side of Saylor’s door last night were enough to sober my stupid ass up.

For hours, I sat against her door, until a resident suggested I leave or they were going to call the police. If I hadn’t been arrested ear- lier, I probably would have encouraged them to dial Boston’s Finest. Another man might understand my plight. The woman that I want to be with kicked me out of her house, and while I probably deserved it, I didn’t want to leave until she stopped crying. I didn’t want to be the one to walk away in her time of need.

But as egos go—and believe me, mine is huge—I couldn’t let it get in the way any longer, so I walked my drunk ass back home with my tail between my legs, only to stay up all night while the booze wore off, knowing that I had to live with whatever I’d done to Saylor.

She’s the last person in the world who I want to hurt, and she’s the one person who can save me. Not only from a life behind bars, but from myself. When I’m with her, I’m a different person. The cocky son of a bitch whom everyone is used to doesn’t exist when she’s near me, and frankly, that is the man I like, or at least I used to. It’s easier being a fucking douche. It’s second nature to me and comes with the territory of being named one of the city’s most eligible bachelors.

Except when I’m with Saylor, I can be the man who hides in the shadow of that Travis Kidd. I can be the kind of man who doesn’t have to have a one-liner available or wink in order to get a phone number. When I’m with her, life outside of baseball starts to have a meaning, a fucking purpose.

Michel’s Review

I have been waiting for the big score in the Boys of Summer Series by Heidi McLaughlin. Grand Slam, the third book in the series, scored big with me.  This story had the kind of content I knew Heidi was capable of delivering.  It was a page turner that kept me engaged with the characters lives and budding relationship.

Travis Kidd is the known “player” on the team.  His reputation with the ladies is well earned.  Even though he is a habitual flirt, there is only one woman he really wants.  The woman he wants is off limits because she is part of his management team.  Saylor Blackwell is the impossible catch until his life spirals out of control.  With nothing to left to lose and everything to gain, Travis finally makes his move.  It could ruin Saylor’s career.  It could ruin Saylor’s perfect life.  Playing the game to win is worth taking risks as far as he is concerned.  What Travis doesn’t realize is that it is more than her job on the line.  His actions could cause her to lose the only thing that matters.

Saylor Blackwell knew she made a mistake when she had a drunken one night stand with Travis Kidd a year earlier.  She has spent the last year trying to keep her mistake from spiraling out of control.  But when Travis lands himself in the hot seat and his career is on the line, she will have to make choices no woman should have to make.

Both Saylor and Travis lives are spiraling out of their control.  They both have issues that are not easily dealt with.  Their issues could ruin their professional and personal lives.  They can’t stay away from each other but they can’t stay with each other.  Their situation is a mess and someone is going suffer a big loss.  Is it worth it?

I don’t want to say much more because I don’t want to give away spoilers.  I will say that Heidi McLaughlin really came out swinging with Grand Slam.  Both Travis and Saylor have their own issues to deal with while trying to hang onto their professional lives.  Love isn’t going to be the fix all for them.  They have to dig deep and figure out how to hang on without destroying each other.

I absolutely loved this book.  The only thing that kept me from giving this book five stars is my insatiable need for details.  While Saylor and Travis issues were resolved in the end, the wrap up was a bit too vague for me.  They both had different antagonists in their lives creating havoc. The vague details such as the motivating factors as to why the antagonist chose to pursue their actions against Travis and Saylor to the quick wrap up of what happened to the antagonist after Saylor and Travis made their winning play. It didn’t feel completely resolved in many ways.  As you read the book you will understand what I mean.

 Overall Grand Slam was a fantastic book and I could not put it down.

Third Base

Boys of Summer Series – Book One

By Heidi McLaughlin

Amazon / B & N / Kobo / ITunes

 

Synopsis:

Ethan Davenport is already Boston’s most eligible bachelor. In his second season with the Boston Renegades he has set his eyes on the girl behind the visitors’ dugout.

That girl is Daisy Robinson, a journalism student at the University of Boston and a die-hard Renegades fan.

But with new found love comes challenges and Ethan and Daisy have to deal with his crazy schedule, school finals and his presence on her campus for some much needed media training.

For Ethan nothing can come between him and Daisy, until a secret that she’s been keeping threatens to destroy them both.

***

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Home Run

Boys Of Summer Series – Book 2

By Heidi McLaughlin

Buy: Amazon / B & N / IBooks / Kobo

Synopsis

LOVE ISN’T A GAME . . .

I’ve given up everything for the chance to play major league baseball. Everything. Now I’m so close I can practically hear the crowd chanting my name. There’s nothing that could take my dream away from me . . .

Unless I lose focus. And Ainsley Burke is the most beautiful, distracting woman I’ve ever met. When I’m with her, I can’t think of anything else.

But no matter how much I want Ainsley, there’s no room for love in my game plan. I can give her a quick tour of the bases, but that’s it. Then I have to let her go. If she wants to think I’m a love ’em and leave ’em player, fine.

All dreams require sacrifice. I just wish this one didn’t mean tearing out my own heart.

_____________________________________

heidi-mclaughlin-bioHeidi is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author.

Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in picturesque Vermont, with her husband and two daughters. Also renting space in their home is an over-hyper Beagle/Jack Russell, Buttercup, two Parakeets, Gonzo & Hedwig, and their newest addition of a Highland West/Mini Schnauzer, Jill.

During the day Heidi is behind a desk talking about Land Use. At night, she’s writing one of the many stories planned for release or sitting court-side during either daughter’s basketball games.

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Release Blitz + Excerpt + 5 Star Review + Giveaway: Falling Hard by Lexi Ryan – The Blackhawk Boys Series – Book 4

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Title: Falling Hard
Series: The Blackhawk Boys #4
Author: Lexi Ryan
Genre: Sports Romance
Release Date: May 23, 2017

 

Blurb

 

An NFL player with a secret past, and the one woman with the power to turn his world inside out…
Former actress Emma Rothschild is partying in Vegas in disguise. But I’m not fooled. Five years ago, I knew that body better than my own, and I haven’t forgotten a single detail—not the curve of her hip beneath my hand or the hitch in her breath when I kiss her neck.
When Emma’s unexpectedly left alone in Sin City, I agree to spend the weekend with her. As friends. Why not? If I can knock down the toughest guys in the NFL, I’m strong enough to keep my hands to myself, even if she is the sexiest woman I’ve ever met.
Emma is part of my past—years so shrouded in secrets that not even my best friends know the truth about who I am. I’m a single dad now and not interested in revisiting my old ways or trying to win back the only woman I ever let close enough to break my heart.
But this is Vegas, where all bets are off, and with Emma, nothing ever goes as planned…

 

***

 

“A sexy, sweet, oh-so-emotional second chance romance that will make you believe in the power of fate and forgiveness.” – USA Today Bestseller Lili Valente

 

***

 

FALLING HARD is a sexy and emotional novel intended for mature readers. It’s the fourth book in the world of the Blackhawk Boys, but can be enjoyed as a standalone.
Football. Secrets. Lies. Passion. These boys don’t play fair. Which Blackhawk Boy will steal your heart?
Book 1 – SPINNING OUT (Arrow’s story)
Book 2 – RUSHING IN (Christopher’s story)
Book 3 – GOING UNDER (Sebastian’s story)
Book 4 – FALLING HARD (Keegan’s story)
Book 5 – IN TOO DEEP (Mason’s story, coming fall 2017)

 

 

Purchase Links

 

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Excerpt
 

“You’re too beautiful,” I tell her. I run my thumb along her jaw. “Too fucking beautiful.”“I’ve missed you. You’re the best man I’ve ever met.”

My stomach clenches and I shake my head. “Don’t think that. It’s a lie. It’s what I wanted you to believe. Don’t bring that lie into tonight.”

“How was it a lie?” She grins up at me, and I know a full confession would erase all the happiness from her face.

“When we were together before, I wasn’t the man you thought I was. I wasn’t good.” It’s the closest to the truth I’ve ever given anyone about my past.

“So you don’t want me believing you’re good?”

I pull her hips tightly against me as I exhale in frustration. She still thinks this is some kind of joke. “I’m different now, but then…”

She lifts onto her toes and flicks her tongue against my ear. “Don’t be so different. I like you a little bad.”

I groan and stop dancing. I don’t know how much longer I can do this without diving over the line. “Is that permission to stop being your friend?” I’m obsessed with knowing if she tastes as sweet as I remember. And if I swipe my tongue over the sensitive spot beneath her ear, will she gasp like she always did?

She shrugs and grins, and the dance floor tilts off balance. It’s crowded, and we’re surrounded by writhing bodies, cocooned in the crowd. I turn her in my arms so her back is to my front and settle my hand against the soft skin of her midriff. She arches her back and rubs against me.

I sweep her hair to the side, and when I press my lips to the long, smooth column of her neck, she trembles against me.

“Are you okay?” I ask against her ear. “Is this okay?”

“I—I’m not sure…”

“Tell me what you want. Not five years ago. Not tomorrow. What do you want right now?”

She reaches back and threads her fingers through my hair to guide my mouth back to her neck.

I don’t hesitate. I kiss and suck on that tender skin while we move to the beat.

The rest of the room fades and one song blurs into the next. A waitress comes by selling shots, and I buy two, one for each of us, and we lock eyes as we throw them back. At some point, I’m vaguely aware of Bailey checking on me, but my focus is one hundred percent on Emma, on this night that takes me back to when I was eighteen and so fucking in love it hurt. Tonight, Emma isn’t the woman who once broke my heart. She isn’t the girl who wrote me off with a simple goodbye note and apologies I didn’t want. Tonight, she’s a dream, my fantasy in the flesh, my reward for surviving the hardest year of my whole life.

When her face begins to blur, I realize I’m way more drunk than I ever intended. I need to sober up or I’m not going to remember a minute of this night. “Want to get out of here?”

She nods, takes my hand, and leads me out of the bar and down the hall to the elevators. My watch reads a quarter past two.

“Let’s get some food,” I suggest, but at the same moment, an elevator dings and the doors slide open.

Emma grabs my hand and drags me inside. “I don’t want food,” she says, punching a button.

I spin her around and press her against the wall. “What do you want, Em?” I drop my hand to her side to skim my knuckles over her skirt, and she widens her stance to part her thighs. “Fuck,” I whisper. I shouldn’t do this. Not here, not when any moment someone could join us on the elevator, not when we’re both so damn drunk it’s a wonder we can stand upright. But shouldn’t is so much weaker than want, and I want to touch her more than I want anything right now.

I’m faintly aware of the soft beeping of the passing floors as I slide my hand up her skirt and cup her between her legs. She gasps, and I rub my fingers over the damp lace of her panties, teasing her swollen flesh.

When the elevator stops and the doors slide open, she grabs my wrist and holds me still. “Please,” she whispers in my ear. “Please. Don’t stop.” Then she tilts her hips and rocks against my hand. I couldn’t refuse her if every person in the hotel was watching us.

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Michel’s Review

It’s no secret that the Blackhawk Boys Series by Lexi Ryan is one of my favorite new adult, sports romance series. I have loved the three previous books in this series because of the dynamic personalities, the tight knit friendships, and the complex innovative plots. There’s so much more in the series than college football players dealing with campus life and future career prospects.

 

The latest release, Falling Hard, the fourth book in the series took me by complete surprise. First of all, Keegan Keller was not the kind of person I presumed him to be. The initial impressions from the previous books were somewhat misleading. Keegan Keller is probably the most complex guy within the group of friends.

 

Falling Hard begins after the guys have graduated college and moved onto their professional lives. Keegan never thought he would play for the NFL and pursued other career ventures by purchasing a bar. He ended up in the NFL when he was signed on after the season began. He’s now in Florida trying to manage his football career, manage his business from afar, and manage his family life. He is a single father trying to manage his shared custody of his daughter. He will do anything for his little girl. He has tried to make things work with Olivia, the baby mama, so that his daughter will have a complete family. Olivia has her own agenda and it doesn’t include Keegan as her future husband.

 

Mia and Asher (from Spinning Out) are hosting their engagement party in Las Vegas. While attending their celebration Keegan runs into an old girlfriend from his past. Emma Rothschild is in Vegas, in disguise, partying with friends when she is unexpectedly left alone. Keegan and his group of friends invite her to join them for the weekend.

 

Keegan and Emma have a shaky past that is full of secrets. Neither of them are the same people they were when they were eighteen. Both of them have survived their dark pasts and made better lives for themselves. A weekend of fun in Vegas with friends isn’t going to change either of their paths in life. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas until it doesn’t.

 

One weekend is going to change the course of both their lives. This time around it’s more than a teenage romance. It’s more than a relationship fueled by lies. Keegan is playing for keeps. Emma is finally finding the courage to take complete control of her life. There are still secrets to be exposed that could hurt them both. Keegan’s family life could tear them apart. When the truths come out, they will have to decide where their future lies.

 

I can honestly say this is the best book in the series. This book was a second chance romance. I loved how the book gave readers a look at the past and the present from both Emma’s and Keegan’s POV. The readers were able to see their growth as individuals as well as their maturity in handling their second chance at love.

 

Falling Hard by Lexi Ryan is the best in series to date!

 

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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: http://www.lexiryan.com/

 

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Release Boost + Excerpt + Giveaway: Swear by Adriana Locke

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Title: Swear
Series: Landry Family #4
Author: Adriana Locke
Genre: Second Chance/Military Romance
Release Date: May 15, 2017

Blurb

Ellie Pagan has a list of reasons to stay away from Ford
Landry.
It’s a mile long and was so much easier to stick to when he
was a world away. Now that he’s standing in front of her—body hard and chiseled
from a stint in the military, suit cut to perfection, and a smirk she could
never resist—remembering all the reasons why just got a whole lot harder. 
Ford gets Ellie isn’t his biggest fan. He just doesn’t care.
Standing in front of him, giving him hell, she’s even
prettier than he remembered. All he can think about is how she felt in his
arms, the taste of her kiss, the sound of her giggle in the middle of the
night. He may not know how to win her back, but he does know this: he may have
let her go once, but that’s one mistake he won’t make again.


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Excerpt
It’s impossible
not to smile that he remembered my drink of choice. It’s also hopeless to
pretend that the boyish grin he’s flipping me doesn’t melt away some of the ice
around my heart.
Still, I
don’t want to play nice.
“I already
had coffee today. But thank you,” I say politely.
“No
offense, but you are kind of irritable this morning. Maybe you could use
another shot of caffeine.”
“You think
I’m irritable now? Keep it up.”
“You never
were a morning person,” he laughs. “Some things never change.”
“And some
things do,” I point out, giving him a look. “Seriously, why are you here?”
“I have
business with Violet. Remember?”
“That’s
bullshit anyway, but she’s not here. You’ll have to come back later.”
“Is that an
invitation?” he laughs.
“Did it
sound like one?” My arms cross over my chest and I’m aware it makes my boobs
look bigger. As his eyes drop and catch the top of my cleavage, his gaze burns
a trail on the ascent back up to my eyes.
Satisfaction
paints a smug look on my face and desire burns in the apex of my thighs. As
discreetly as possible, I clench my legs together to quell a bit of the ache
that’s beginning to throb under his observation.
When our
gazes meet, his is crackling. He lifts a single brow. “I damn sure hope that’s
an offer to come. If it’s not, we have a problem on our hands.”
“No, you have a problem on your hands,” I
say, shrugging. “It has nothing to do with me.”
“It could.”

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Author Bio

USA Today Bestselling author Adriana Locke lives and breathes books. After years of slightly obsessive relationships with the flawed bad boys created by other authors, Adriana has created her own.

She resides in the Midwest with her husband, sons, and two dogs. She spends a large amount of time playing with her kids, drinking coffee, and cooking. You can find her outside if the weather’s nice and there’s always a piece of candy in her pocket.

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