Lotus House Yoga. Teaching yoga is all I’ve ever known. I’ve been doing tree
pose since the age of two. The studio is my home, my legacy. My mother and her
best friend left Lotus House to me so that I could carry on spreading goodness
and light to everyone who enters our door. Now I’m faced with the very real
possibility that it will all go up in smoke…unless I can convince Grant
Winters—the most ridiculously handsome and arrogant businessman I’ve ever
met—to save not only my business but all those around it.
When I stormed into Grant’s office to beg and plead for a second chance at
preserving what my family spent decades building, I had no idea how it would
change my life.
A deal was made.
He’d visit the businesses he was planning to destroy and attend classes at
Lotus House while I worked to change his mind. In exchange, I had to enter his
business-first world of luxury, fast-talking men, and surgically enhanced
women.
Turns out, I didn’t fit in… Then again, neither did he.
In the end, we were both enlightened.
Audrey
Carlan is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling
author. She writes wicked hot love stories that are designed to give the reader
a romantic experience that’s sexy, sweet, and so hot your e-reader might melt.
Some of her works include the wildly successful Calendar Girl Serial, the
Trinity Trilogy and the highly anticipated International Guy Serial.
in the California Valley where she enjoys her two children and the love of her
life. When she’s not writing, you can find her teaching yoga, sipping wine with
her “soul sisters” or with her nose stuck in a wicked hot romance
novel.
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Cover Reveal: Moore Than A Feeling by Julie A. Richman
From USA Today bestselling author Julie A. Richman, comes a companion title to her Needing Moore series, MOORE THAN A FEELING. Check out the beautiful cover below! Then get MOORE of what you want and preorder your copy today!
Photography of Model, Will Simms, by Eric McKinney of 6:12 Photography
Cover Design by Jena Brignola of Bibliophile Productions
About MOORE THAN A FEELING (7/27/18):
“Holly and Aiden broke up? Seriously? No way. Not those two.”
Dumped.
No, not only dumped.
Blindsided and dumped.
I thought that Aiden McManus was my forever, my soulmate,
That was until he told me he was still in love with his ex.
I didn’t want to believe him.
So, I convinced myself that our break-up was because of his upcoming deployment,
and not because he didn’t love me.
Believing that, helped me get through those first months.
But after a while, I realized I just might be lying to myself.
And it was time to move on…
So, I moved on. Or tried to move on, anyway.
But that didn’t work out so well for me, either.
And it practically got me disowned from my family.
After that, I finally started to get my life back together,
I had everything back under control…
…Or so I thought.
Until I found out Aiden was back
And now he’s everywhere I turn,
Still pushing me away,
telling me he doesn’t want me.
But every time he calls me Angel or reaches out to touch my cheek,
I know what he’s not admitting to himself –
He still loves me.
And I’m going to prove it to him.
PRE-ORDER on Amazon | iBooks
Add to your Goodreads
About Julie A. Richman:
USA TODAY Bestselling author Julie A. Richman is a native New Yorker living deep in the heart of Texas, home to great music, BBQ, and awesome Tex-Mex. An award-winning nature photographer plagued with insatiable wanderlust, Julie spent many years scratching the travel itch while helping non-profit organizations and corporations with their marketing and advertising programs.
Currently, Julie has published Searching for Moore, Moore to Lose, Moore than Forever, Bad Son Rising, Needing Moore:The Complete Series, Henry’s End, Slave to Love, The Do-Over and Love on the Edge of Time. She has works included in Pink Shades of Words 2014 & 2015, Tempting Fate Boxed Set, Intense Boxed Set, Intense 2 Boxed Set and the Cocktales Anthology.
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Cover Reveal: Beautiful Hearts Duet by Emma Scott… Book 1: Bring Down The Stars and Book 2: Long Live The Beautiful Hearts
BRING DOWN THE STARS – Release Day – JULY 26th
I fell for Connor Drake. I didn’t want to; I fought against it, but I fell in love with him anyway. With his words. With his poetry. With him. The gentleness and beauty of his soul that speaks directly to mine. He writes as if he can feel my heart, hear its cadence and compose the exact right lyrics to accompany every beat and flow.
I’m in love with Connor…so why do I feel an inexplicable pull to his best friend, Weston? Grouchy, sullen, brooding Weston Turner, who could cut you down with a look. Fiercely intelligent with a razor sharp wit and acid tongue, he’s the exact opposite of Connor in every way, and yet there’s electricity in the air between us. The thorny barbs Weston wraps around himself can’t keep me away.
But the more time I spend with these men, the more tangled and confused my emotions become. When they both sign up for the Army Reserves during a time of increasing strife in the Middle East, I fear I’ll never unravel my own heart that sometimes feels as if it will tear straight down the middle…for both of them.
**********
Bring Down the Stars is an emotional, angst-filled novel of unrequited love by bestselling author, Emma Scott, and is inspired by the classic tale, Cyrano de Bergerac. (Roxanne) It is Book I in the Beautiful Hearts Duet, coming this summer. Book II, Long Live the Beautiful Hearts, to be released a few weeks later. #lovetriangle #confusedhearts #notamenage
SIGN-UP TO GET AN ALERT WHEN THE BOOK IS LIVE ON AMAZON
LONG LIVE THE BEAUTIFUL HEARTS – Release Day – AUGUST 9th
BLURB TO COME
Emma Scott is a bestselling author of emotional, character-driven romances in which art and love intertwine to heal, and in which love always wins. If you enjoy thoughtful, realistic stories with diverse characters and kind-hearted heroes, you will enjoy my novels.
NEWSLETTER | FACEBOOK | WEBSITE | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK READER GROUP | AMAZON PAGE
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New Release and 5 Star Review: A Wish For Us by Tillie Cole
A Wish For Us
By Tillie Cole
Release Date: June 11, 2018
#AWishForUs #CoverReveal #TillieColeBooks #HangLe#MatureYoungAdult
***
From the author who brought you A Thousand Boy Kisses comes the new emotional novel,
A Wish For Us.
A story of music. A story of healing. A story of love conquering all.
Nineteen-year-old Cromwell Dean is the rising star of electronic dance music. Thousands of people adore him. But no one knows him. No one sees the color of his heart.
Until the girl in the purple dress. She sees through the walls he has built to the empty darkness within.
When Cromwell leaves behind the gray skies of England to study music in the South Carolina heat, the last thing he expects is to see her again. And he certainly doesn’t expect that she’ll stay in his head like a song on repeat.
Bonnie Farraday lives for music. She lets every note into her heart, and she doesn’t understand how someone as talented as Cromwell can avoid doing the same. He’s hiding from his past, and she knows it. She tries to stay away from him, but something keeps calling her back.
Bonnie is the burst of color in Cromwell’s darkness. He’s the beat that makes her heart skip.
But when a shadow falls over Bonnie, it’s up to Cromwell to be her light, in the only way he knows how. He must help her find the lost song in her fragile heart. He must keep her strong with a symphony only he can compose.
A symphony of hope.
A symphony of love.
A symphony of them.
***
Buy:
Amazon — http://a.co/aKkYnJS
Nook — https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-wish-for-us-…/1128582395…
iBook — https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/a-wish-for-us/id1378704842…
Kobo — https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/a-wish-for-us
****
#AWishForUs #CoverReveal #TillieColeBooks #HangLe#MatureYoungAdult
Michel’s Review
Warning: This book does have emotional triggers which may affect readers. Mental health issues and suicide issues are addressed in this novel.
A Wish For Us by Tillie Cole will tear at the heart strings. It is more than a love story. It is a life story where three young people’s lives collide. This emotional mature young adult / new adult novel deals with more than emotional issues caused by life circumstances but also deals with terminal health issues, mental illness, and depression. There are emotional triggers that were very hard to read but also brings awareness for all the characters involved. Physical Illness and mental health issues affect more than the individual who suffers but also affects those their families, friends, and life associations.
The moment I started reading A Wish For Us, I was hooked. I could not put this book down until I finished the story. Along the way I experienced every human emotion possible. My heart ached for all three characters who were experiencing different life altering situations that would change their lives forever. For Bonnie it was facing her mortality. For Cromwell it was facing his past in order to accept his gifts in life. For Easton it was trying to cope with daily life and not knowing how to reach out and get the right kind of treatment for his mental health illness. Along the way their lives collided, the results were love, friendship, and ultimate sacrifice.
I have to give Tillie Cole 5 STARS for handling such delicate and devastating subject matter with great care and sensitivity. She didn’t back down or sugar coat any of the issues each character was dealing with. She choose to showcase the harsh truth and realities which made their stories more authentic and real. Not to mention the ultimate love story that validated all three of their lives.
A Wish For Us by Tillie Cole is a fantastic validation of life.
___________________________
Tillie Cole hails from a small town in the North-East of England. She grew up on a farm with her English mother, Scottish father and older sister and a multitude of rescue animals. As soon as she could, Tillie left her rural roots for the bright lights of the big city.
After graduating from Newcastle University with a BA Hons in Religious Studies, Tillie followed her Professional Rugby player husband around the world for a decade, becoming a teacher in between and thoroughly enjoyed teaching High School students Social Studies before putting pen to paper, and finishing her first novel.
Tillie has now settled in Austin, Texas, where she is finally able to sit down and write, throwing herself into fantasy worlds and the fabulous minds of her characters.
Tillie is both an independent and traditionally published author, and writes many genres including: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance, Young Adult and New Adult novels.
When she is not writing, Tillie enjoys nothing more than curling up on her couch watching movies, drinking far too much coffee, while convincing herself that she really doesn’t need that extra square of chocolate.
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Excerpt Reveal: The Fragile Ordinary by Samantha Young
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Impossible Vastness of Us and the On Dublin Street series comes a heartfelt and beautiful new young adult novel, set in Scotland, about daring to dream and embracing who you are. Don’t miss THE FRAGILE ORDINARY releasing on June 26, 2018, and get a sneak peek of the book below!
About THE FRAGILE ORDINARY:
I am Comet Caldwell.
And I sort of, kind of, absolutely hate my name.
People expect extraordinary things from a girl named Comet. That she’ll be effortlessly cool and light up a room the way a comet blazes across the sky.
But from the shyness that makes her book-character friends more appealing than real people to the parents whose indifference hurts more than an open wound, Comet has never wanted to be the center of attention. She can’t wait to graduate from her high school in Edinburgh, Scotland, where the only place she ever feels truly herself is on her anonymous poetry blog. But surely that will change once she leaves to attend university somewhere far, far away.
When new student Tobias King blazes in from America and shakes up the school, Comet thinks she’s got the bad boy figured out. Until they’re thrown together for a class assignment and begin to form an unlikely connection. Everything shifts in Comet’s ordinary world. Tobias has a dark past and runs with a tough crowd—and none of them are happy about his interest in Comet. Targeted by bullies and thrown into the spotlight, Comet and Tobias can go their separate ways…or take a risk on something extraordinary.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indie Bound | Amazon Kindle
iBooks | GooglePlay | Kobo
“Endearing and relatable, Comet-the girl who is searching for her place in this world-will shoot through the sky and into your heart.”
— #1 New York Times bestselling author Erin Watt
EXCERPT:
Hearing and feeling Tobias’s heart beat beneath my cheek was the most wonderful feeling in the world. Despite my worry for him and for Stevie, I couldn’t help but feel happy as the boy I loved slept in my bed with his arm around me.
The morning sun woke him around nine in the morning. He groaned and then grew still, maybe realizing I was curled up against him. For a moment I tensed, fearing he was going to regret everything he’d said last night.
Instead he trailed his fingers down my arm. “You awake?” his voice rumbled above me.
I smiled, liking the tingles that bubbled and fizzed in certain parts of my body at the mere sound of his voice. “Yeah.”
“What time is it?”
I told him.
“Crap.”
“What?” I asked, sitting up as he reached across the bed to where his phone lay on the bedside table.
“Stevie and my mom.” He cursed again as he flicked the screen. “They’ve texted and called a bunch of times. I better call my mom back first before she calls the police or something.” He pressed the screen and held the phone to his ear. “Mom,” he said almost immediately. “I’m fine.” Tobias scowled. “I’m a big boy…no…no, I didn’t…I’m with Comet…” Streaks of color appeared high on his cheeks, surprising me. Tobias rarely got embarrassed. “No, we just fell asleep…yeah…I’m on my way.” He hung up and gave me an apologetic look. “I have to go.”
At his beleaguered tone, I placed a reassuring hand on his arm. “She’s your mum. It would be weird if she wasn’t worried you didn’t come home.”
“Yeah, whatever.” He shook his head and got off the bed, leaving me to frown at him.
Tobias seemed to be in a continually bad mood with his mother. I wish I had the guts to tell him to talk to her about why he was so mad, but I didn’t want to push too hard too soon on such a delicate subject.
“I’ll go appease her,” he said, slipping his trainers on. “Then come back?”
I opened my mouth to agree and then remembered my promise from the night before. “I’m going over to Vicki’s this morning.”
“Right. How about I meet you outside the Espy around three o’ clock?”
Relieved and delighted that he not only didn’t regret saying what he had last night but that he wanted to see me again so soon, I grinned and got off the bed. Tobias gave me that boyish smile of his and I reached for his hand, needing to touch him.
He squeezed mine, a solemnity entering his gaze. “I want to invite Stevie to meet us. I’m hoping that together we can talk him out of this bullshit. When it was just me I wasn’t getting anywhere, but he cares about you. Maybe he’ll listen.”
I nodded, loving him even more for wanting to help his cousin. “Definitely. If we let him know we’re here to help him through everything with his mum but that we can only do that if he walks away from Dean and the drugs…maybe he’ll see sense.”
I hoped.
Tobias hoped, too. I could see the turmoil in his eyes and I wanted desperately to be able to take it away.
It was as I was leading him from my bedroom to the front door that I heard the hallway floor creak behind us. I turned ever so slightly, catching sight of my dad in my peripheral. Ignoring him I hugged Tobias goodbye and waved him off down the garden path. I closed the door and turned to face my father. He stood frowning at me in his pajamas, a cup of coffee in one hand, a piece of toast in the other.
“Did that boy stay over?” he asked, sounding incredulous.
His tone suggested I’d done something wrong. I stiffened. “Yes.”
Dad took a step toward me, glowering now. “Don’t you think that’s something you should run past us first? You’re only sixteen, Comet.”
“Almost seventeen.” I bristled. How dare he suddenly play the parental card! Just when I was happy and didn’t need him, he wanted to stick his nose in where it was not wanted! A fire lit inside me and swept out of me before I could control it. “And let’s not play the concerned parent act, Kyle.” I strode toward my bedroom and shoved open the door. “You don’t get to decide which parts of my life you want to take an interest in. Having a kid? Kind of an all-or-nothing deal.” I stepped inside, gripping the door in my hand as I sneered at him. “You decided long ago it was nothing for you. No changing your mind now.” And with that I slammed the door in his shocked face.
About Samantha Young:
Samantha Young is the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of adult contemporary romances, including the On Dublin Street series and Hero, as well as the New Adult duology Into the Deep and Out of the Shallows. Every Little Thing, the second book in her new Hart’s Boardwalk series, will be published by Berkley in March 2017. Before turning to contemporary fiction, she wrote several young adult paranormal and fantasy series, including the amazon bestselling Tale of Lunarmorte trilogy. Samantha’s debut YA contemporary novel The Impossible Vastness of Us will be published by Harlequin TEEN in ebook & hardback June 2017
Samantha has been nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award 2012 for Best Author and Best Romance for On Dublin Street, Best Romance 2014 for Before Jamaica Lane, and Best Romance 2015 for Hero. On Dublin Street, a #1 bestseller in Germany, was the Bronze Award Winner in the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2013, Before Jamaica Lane the Gold Medal Winner for the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2014 and Echoes of Scotland Street the Bronze Medal Winner for the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2015.
Samantha is currently published in 30 countries and is a #1 international bestselling author.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads
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Cover Reveal: Want You by Jen Frederick… A Kindle Unlimited Exclusive
Want You
By Jen Frederick
Exclusive To Kindle Unlimited
Release Date: July 1, 2018
***
Synopsis:
Bitsy
I might be only nineteen, but I know what I want. It’s Leka Moore. I don’t care that he took me in when he was barely more than a kid himself. I don’t care that he raised me. I don’t care everyone thinks being with him is wrong. I know we belong together, and the only person I need to convince is him.
Leka
I found her in the corner of a dark alley. If I hadn’t taken her with me, she would’ve died that night—or maybe worse. Before I knew it, she became the light in my dark life, the haven from the madness. I watched her grow up. I tried to teach her right from wrong. Now that she’s an adult, I’m feeling things that no good man should ever feel. But then…I’ve never been a good man. I have a chance at redemption by saving her from the greatest danger of all—me.
***
_______________________________________________
Author Bio:
Jen Frederick lives with her husband, child, and one rambunctious dog. She’s been reading stories all her life but never imagined writing one of her own. Jen loves to hear from readers so drop her a line at jensfrederick@gmail.com
Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads
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Release Blitz: A Wish For Us by Tillie Cole
A Wish For Us
By Tillie Cole
Release Date: June 11, 2018
#AWishForUs #CoverReveal #TillieColeBooks #HangLe#MatureYoungAdult
***
From the author who brought you A Thousand Boy Kisses comes the new emotional novel,
A Wish For Us.
A story of music. A story of healing. A story of love conquering all.
Nineteen-year-old Cromwell Dean is the rising star of electronic dance music. Thousands of people adore him. But no one knows him. No one sees the color of his heart.
Until the girl in the purple dress. She sees through the walls he has built to the empty darkness within.
When Cromwell leaves behind the gray skies of England to study music in the South Carolina heat, the last thing he expects is to see her again. And he certainly doesn’t expect that she’ll stay in his head like a song on repeat.
Bonnie Farraday lives for music. She lets every note into her heart, and she doesn’t understand how someone as talented as Cromwell can avoid doing the same. He’s hiding from his past, and she knows it. She tries to stay away from him, but something keeps calling her back.
Bonnie is the burst of color in Cromwell’s darkness. He’s the beat that makes her heart skip.
But when a shadow falls over Bonnie, it’s up to Cromwell to be her light, in the only way he knows how. He must help her find the lost song in her fragile heart. He must keep her strong with a symphony only he can compose.
A symphony of hope.
A symphony of love.
A symphony of them.
***
Buy:
Amazon — http://a.co/aKkYnJS
Nook — https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-wish-for-us-…/1128582395…
iBook — https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/a-wish-for-us/id1378704842…
Kobo — https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/a-wish-for-us
****
#AWishForUs #CoverReveal #TillieColeBooks #HangLe#MatureYoungAdult
Michel’s Review
Warning: This book does have emotional triggers which may affect readers. Mental health issues and suicide issues are addressed in this novel.
A Wish For Us by Tillie Cole will tear at the heart strings. It is more than a love story. It is a life story where three young people’s lives collide. This emotional mature young adult / new adult novel deals with more than emotional issues caused by life circumstances but also deals with terminal health issues, mental illness, and depression. There are emotional triggers that were very hard to read but also brings awareness for all the characters involved. Physical Illness and mental health issues affect more than the individual who suffers but also affects those their families, friends, and life associations.
The moment I started reading A Wish For Us, I was hooked. I could not put this book down until I finished the story. Along the way I experienced every human emotion possible. My heart ached for all three characters who were experiencing different life altering situations that would change their lives forever. For Bonnie it was facing her mortality. For Cromwell it was facing his past in order to accept his gifts in life. For Easton it was trying to cope with daily life and not knowing how to reach out and get the right kind of treatment for his mental health illness. Along the way their lives collided, the results were love, friendship, and ultimate sacrifice.
I have to give Tillie Cole 5 STARS for handling such delicate and devastating subject matter with great care and sensitivity. She didn’t back down or sugar coat any of the issues each character was dealing with. She choose to showcase the harsh truth and realities which made their stories more authentic and real. Not to mention the ultimate love story that validated all three of their lives.
A Wish For Us by Tillie Cole is a fantastic validation of life.
___________________________
Tillie Cole hails from a small town in the North-East of England. She grew up on a farm with her English mother, Scottish father and older sister and a multitude of rescue animals. As soon as she could, Tillie left her rural roots for the bright lights of the big city.
After graduating from Newcastle University with a BA Hons in Religious Studies, Tillie followed her Professional Rugby player husband around the world for a decade, becoming a teacher in between and thoroughly enjoyed teaching High School students Social Studies before putting pen to paper, and finishing her first novel.
Tillie has now settled in Austin, Texas, where she is finally able to sit down and write, throwing herself into fantasy worlds and the fabulous minds of her characters.
Tillie is both an independent and traditionally published author, and writes many genres including: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance, Young Adult and New Adult novels.
When she is not writing, Tillie enjoys nothing more than curling up on her couch watching movies, drinking far too much coffee, while convincing herself that she really doesn’t need that extra square of chocolate.
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Release Blitz: The Girl & Her Ren by Pepper Winters – The Ribbon Duet – Book 2
The Girl and Her Ren by Pepper Winters
The Ribbon Duet Book 2
Publication Date: June 5th, 2018
Genre: Coming of Age Romance
“What do you do when you write down all your secrets? No…that’s not enough. What do you do when you write down all your secrets and the one person who should never read them does?
I’ll tell you what you do.
You hope.”
REN
Ren didn’t know the meaning of love until he took Della for his own.
To begin with he hated her, but as the months bled into years, he learned the opposite of hate, dedicating his life to giving her everything.
Every sacrifice, every gift, he gave wholeheartedly.
But then love turned to lust and ruined everything.
DELLA
I was stupid to write my secrets down, but I’d been stupid before so it was nothing new.
I couldn’t blame him, hate him, fix him.
I tried to move on without him.
But no matter what I did, I couldn’t seem to delete the secrets I’d written.
Until something happened.
Until he came back and read my stupid secrets.
And nothing was the same after that.
Read today!
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2sBALsn
iBooks: https://apple.co/2Fxl9v4
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2IkTtvm
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2FHfB4g
Nook: http://bit.ly/2Ii3Hwf
Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2I1xd8F
Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/2FZ0STn
Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/2FZtw6L
Paperback: http://amzn.to/2HM2sEL
About the Author:
Pepper Winters is a multiple New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today International Bestseller.
After chasing her dreams to become a full-time writer, Pepper has earned recognition with awards for best Dark Romance, best BDSM Series, and best Hero. She’s an multiple #1 iBooks bestseller, along with #1 in Erotic Romance, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary, and Erotica Thriller. With 19 books currently published, she has hit the bestseller charts twenty-six times in three years.
Pepper is a Hybrid Author of both Traditional and Self-published work. Her Pure Corruption Series was released by Grand Central, Hachette.
Her books have garnered foreign interest and are currently being translated into numerous languages, including already released titles in Italian and Turkish. Audio Books for her entire back-list will be available in 2017.
Connect with the Author:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pepperwintersbooks/
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2lLHxdG
Twitter: @PepperWinters
Facebook Fan Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1511645192400372/
Never miss an update! Sign up for Pepper’s newsletter today!
http://www.subscribepage.com/www.pepperwinters.com
https://pepperwinters.com
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Paperback Release Blitz and 5 Star Review : The Impossible Vastness of Us by Samantha Young – A Mature YA Novel
From New York Times bestselling author Samantha Young comes a story of friendship, identity, and acceptance that will break your heart—and make it whole again. Grab your copy of THE IMPOSSIBLE VASTNESS OF US, now available in paperback, today!
About THE IMPOSSIBLE VASTNESS OF US:
“I know how to watch my back. I’m the only one that ever has.”
India Maxwell hasn’t just moved across the country—she’s plummeted to the bottom rung of the social ladder. It’s taken years to cover the mess of her home life with a veneer of popularity. Now she’s living in one of Boston’s wealthiest neighborhoods with her mom’s fiancé and his daughter, Eloise. Thanks to her soon-to-be stepsister’s clique of friends, including Eloise’s gorgeous, arrogant boyfriend Finn, India feels like the one thing she hoped never to be seen as again: trash.
But India’s not alone in struggling to control the secrets of her past. Eloise and Finn, the school’s golden couple, aren’t all they seem to be. In fact, everyone’s life is infinitely more complex than it first appears. And as India grows closer to Finn and befriends Eloise, threatening the facades that hold them together, what’s left are truths that are brutal, beautiful, and big enough to change them forever…
Amazon US | Amazon US eBook | Barnes & Noble | iBooks US
IndieBound | Amazon UK |Kobo UK | GooglePlay | iBooks UK | Kobo US
Add to your Goodreads
EXCERPT:
“India, I’m not using her. I mean, I am, but it’s not like that. Eloise is getting what she wants out of this relationship, as well.”
“Like what?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“You are using her.”
“I’m not.” His chair screeched as he pulled it closer so our knees touched. His dark eyes moved over my face and I sucked in my breath at the open appreciation I saw there. “I’m not using her…but we are in a relationship together. I guess it just never occurred to me that I might actually meet someone in high school. Someone I…”
That feeling in my chest, that thick, hot feeling, threatened to overwhelm me at all the things he wasn’t saying. “Finn, Eloise is going to be my family.”
He looked so forlorn it took everything within me not to reach for him.
“What is it you’re hiding?”
“I can’t tell you. Please, just trust me.”
Hurt and frustration swept through me in equal measure but I tamped it down. It wasn’t my place to demand his secrets.
My frustration was suddenly mirrored in his eyes as he looked up at me. “I wish things were different.”
But they weren’t different. And yet they were the same, history repeating itself. I cared about someone and they didn’t care enough about me back to be honest about what was really going on.
I didn’t know if I was angry at Finn or just angry that nothing ever seemed to be easy for me. Everything was always a fight.
It felt like I lived in a constant clusterfuck.
I gave a huff of laughter. “Story of my life.” I shook my head, grabbed up my bag and, unable to look at him, said, “Thank you for your help tonight.”
“You’re not leaving without me.”
His protectiveness confused and pissed me off even more. “I’m not? Funny, it looks like that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
His familiar scowl was back in place at my sarcasm. “You’re also not going home alone after what happened here. I’ll give you a ride.”
“Finn.” I slumped, suddenly feeling exhausted. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Sadness flittered through his eyes before he managed a carefully blank expression. “I think I can handle driving you home.”
Still a trembling mess after everything that had happened, I gave in and followed Finn out to his car.
The tension that we’d shared before was nothing compared to how it was now. Now that Finn had in a roundabout way admitted he liked me and I’d realized that what I was feeling for him was attraction, the tension could not be mistaken for anything else but sexual.
I’d never felt anything like it before—it was the most frustrating, scary and exhilarating feeling in the world.
When we eventually pulled up outside the house, the guilt washed over me. I shouldn’t be feeling this way about Eloise’s boyfriend and he certainly shouldn’t be feeling this way about me.
I felt like we were to blame for the whole thing but I didn’t know why.
I hadn’t asked the universe to make Finn like me.
And I had definitely not intended to like him in return.
“India,” he said just as I moved to get out of his car. “I’ve never really cared what anybody thought of me before…but I really don’t want you to think I’m a bad person.”
I stared into his beautiful eyes. “I can’t imagine ever thinking you’re a bad person. I meant it earlier…thank you for coming for me tonight. I’ll never forget it.”
“This feels weirdly like a goodbye,” he said with a bitter twist to his gorgeous lips.
“Maybe it is. I guess we’re both just a complication the other doesn’t need.”
Slowly, so slowly my heart had time to increase in hard, steady thumps, Finn slid his hand over the center console between us and stroked his thumb along the side of my hand. I felt that simple touch in every nerve, my body reacting to it in a way it never had to the touches and deep kisses that had come before it.
I stared at our hands for a moment, wondering how different my life could be if Finn wasn’t Eloise’s boyfriend, if we’d just met as strangers at school, felt the inexplicable bond between us and were free to do something about it.
Suddenly very aware of how long I’d been sitting outside the house in his car, I fumbled for the door handle. “See you around, Finn.”
Michel’s Review
Samantha Young is known for her emotional, spellbinding contemporary romances. I was excited to see that she was taking on a new genre and writing a mature Young Adult romance. I can honestly say she delivered another fantastic book that not only teens but also adults will enjoy.
Who says it doesn’t matter is you are rich or poor? In the new world that India Maxwell is thrust in when her mother decides to marry. it matters more than anything else. She’s leaving her friends and popularity behind in California to take on the elite world in Boston. She doesn’t fit in with her new classmates. Her soon to be stepsister is the ruler of the “in” crowd and has deemed her unfit. She became a social pariah the moment she stepped foot in Boston.
As she tackles her junior year in a new high school things start becoming quite clear. The “in” crowd isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. These jerks have just as many problems if not more than India could imagine. Somewhere along the way she begins to connect with them on a very personal level. Her new stepsister may end up being her best friend but may end up being her worst nightmare. Her stepsister’s boyfriend is the defining factor because he is falling for India. The complexity of their relationships is not what you see on the surface. They all have their secrets. When the secrets come out it will be the defining moments in all of their lives. It will change everything they thought they knew and thought they understood about life.
Samantha Young once again delivered a gripping story that played on all of my emotions. I would highly recommend this book!
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About Samantha Young:
Samantha Young is the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of adult contemporary romances, including the On Dublin Street series and Hero, as well as the New Adult duology Into the Deep and Out of the Shallows. Every Little Thing, the second book in her new Hart’s Boardwalk series, will be published by Berkley in March 2017. Before turning to contemporary fiction, she wrote several young adult paranormal and fantasy series, including the amazon bestselling Tale of Lunarmorte trilogy. Samantha’s debut YA contemporary novel The Impossible Vastness of Us will be published by Harlequin TEEN in ebook& hardback June 2017
Samantha has been nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award 2012 for Best Author and Best Romance for On Dublin Street, Best Romance 2014 for Before Jamaica Lane, and Best Romance 2015 for Hero. On Dublin Street, a #1 bestseller in Germany, was the Bronze Award Winner in the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2013, Before Jamaica Lane the Gold Medal Winner for the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2014 and Echoes of Scotland Street the Bronze Medal Winner for the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2015.
Samantha is currently published in 30 countries and is a #1 international bestselling author.
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Excerpt Reveal + Pre-Order: Order of Protection by Lexi Blake
To high-end defense attorney Henry Garrison, Win Hughes is a woman he met during one of the most trying times of his life. She’s soft and warm, and he finds solace in their brief relationship. But Win has a secret. She’s actually Taylor Winston-Hughes—born to one of the wealthiest families in the country, orphaned as a child by a tragic accident. Win moves in the wealthiest circles, but her lavish lifestyle hides her pain.
When her best friend is murdered in the midst of a glittering New York gala, Win’s charged with the crime, and the only person in the world she wants to see is Henry.
Henry is shocked at the true identity of his lover, but he can’t reject the case. This case could take his new firm into the stratosphere. Still, he’s not getting burned by Win again. And yet every turn brings them closer together.
As the case takes a wild turn and Win’s entire life is upended, she must look to the people she’s closest to in order to find a killer. And Henry must decide between making his case and saving the woman he loves…
Now available for pre-order!
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If Henry gave her a minute, they would be back to polite. He wouldn’t find out if she could want him in an honest way. “Win, I’m an alcoholic. I’m divorced, and it wasn’t some thoughtful conscious uncoupling. It was nasty and ugly. I’m a lawyer who doesn’t give a shit if his clients are guilty or not as long as they have the money to pay me. I have gotten off people who probably went back out into the world to do terrible things, and I’ll probably do it again because I believe in this system. It’s imperfect, but it’s better than anything else. And I’m too old for you.”
She snorted, an oddly amusing sound. “I’m not some shrinking virgin. I’m twenty-nine, and I’ve been around the block a couple of times and with some men I wish I hadn’t ever gotten into the car with. How old are you? Forty?”
He winced. “Thirty-seven.”
Her lips curled up, and it was worth the blow to his ego. “Well, you don’t look a day over forty, and that’s a pretty nice age for a man. You think you don’t deserve such a young, hot chick?”
Thank god she was teasing him again. He’d hated the way her shoulders had slumped when she’d thought he’d rejected her. But still, he had to be honest. If he was going to do this, she would get the new Henry. “I think I could hurt a woman like you if I’m not careful.”
“Then be careful with me, Henry Garrison,” she said, moving closer to him. “And I’m a big girl. I can make my own decisions and live with them. I would like to spend the night with you. It doesn’t have to last beyond tomorrow. I’m not asking to be your girlfriend. I’m asking you to help me get through the night, to help me get that nightmare out of my head, so I can feel safe for the first time in months. It’s been a long time since I felt safe.”
That he could do. She moved in close, right between his legs, and he reached up and cupped her face, holding her still as he looked into her eyes. So much fucking innocence. He didn’t care what she’d been through. She was way too young for him, but she’d said yes and he wasn’t a saint. Not even close. “Be sure. I might want more than one night. I’m here for a few weeks. I could use this. I could use some time with you.”
It wouldn’t work long-term. When he finished up and got back to the city, he wouldn’t have time to spend with her, and she deserved that. He would be knee-deep in the sewer again. It wasn’t a place he would take her, but he could be what she needed here.
“I could use some time with you,” she replied. “You’re right about a few things. I haven’t ever been around a man like you. The men I’ve been with have been boys who cared more about their images than they did about pleasing me. I think it might be different with you. I know you’re trying to scare me off with all that ‘I screwed up my life’ stuff, but I get that. You can’t make me run, or I would run away from myself. Tell me if you can make me forget about everything except what you’re doing to my body because tonight that’s all I want.”
Oh, he could do that. He might not be able to feed her soul, but he could work her body all fucking night long.
NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and the laziest rescue dog in the world. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance and urban fantasy that she found the stories of her heart. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings no matter how odd the couple, threesome, or foursome may seem.
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