Happy Release + 5 Star Review + Giveaway: Unrequitted by Jen Frederick – The Woodland Series – Book 4

Posted on 04/13/2015 by shellbellereads

Unrequitted

Woodlands Series – Book 4

Release Date: April 13, 2015

By Jen Frederick

Synopsis

Winter Donovan loves two things: her sister and her sister’s ex boyfriend. She’s spent her whole life doing the right thing except that one time, that night when Finn O’Malley looked hollowed out by his father’s death. Then she did something very wrong that felt terribly right.

Finn can’t stop thinking about Winter and the night and he’ll do anything to make her a permanent part of his life, even if it means separating Winter from the only family she has.

Their love was supposed to be unrequited but one grief stricken guy and one girl with too big of a heart results in disastrous consequences.

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Excerpt

“Are you humming?” Bo asked.
I looked up from pulling on the dingiest carpet I’d seen in months. This house I’d picked up was vile, worse than usual. Bo had suggested it was a meth factory, given the needles, rotten egg smell, and burnt patches on the walls and flooring. It could have been, or it might just have been an ordinary addict’s house, but there was shit everywhere.
If I was humming, I didn’t realize it, but I was in a decent mood. I figured once I got Winter to just sit and talk with me, we’d work it out. That was something worth humming about.
I just shrugged and went back to work. “Just trying to block out the god-awful music you choose to play. You’ve been up north here for almost a year. Can’t you play anything but country songs?”
“I could.” Bo paused to toss a handful of staples in the trash. “But I know it annoys the hell out of you. And that makes the music sound that much sweeter.”
“Too bad you don’t know shit all about constructing a house and you still have to hang on my dick until you can get it right.”
“Which is why I play music you hate. It fits our dysfunctional relationship.”
“I thought you were going to therapy to fix your problems.”
“If by ‘therapy’ you mean having a ton of awesome sex with my girlfriend, then yes, I’m in therapy all night and random times during the day.” I snorted but wisely said nothing. “But speaking of therapy,” Bo continued. My response was a loud groan that I hoped would be hint enough that I didn’t want to talk about whatever it was that followed. Bo ignored me. “How’s your mom?”
“Well, she texted that she got up and had coffee today, so I count that as a win.” I reached down to tug harder on the carpet. Did they glue it down instead of just stapling the edges?
“Mal says ‘Paradise lies under the feet of your mother.'”
That made me stop. I gaped at Bo. He threw up his hands, one still holding a crowbar he was using to pull up the tacking strips, the long thin lumber pieces that held the carpet on the edges of the room.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“Apparently it means if you don’t make your momma happy, you ain’t gonna be happy.”
“If I knew what would make her happy, I’d do it,” I replied.
“I suck at this comforting thing.” He pulled off his hat and scratched his head. “But maybe you outta talk to someone else?”
“Like Lana?” I grunted. “No thanks. Between her and Mal, it sounds like I should be taking my mother on a date.”

Michel’s Review

I can’t tell you how excited I was to read Unrequited by Jen Frederick. I am a huge fan of the Woodland Series and have been reading/reviewing this series since the first book released. The outstanding writing, the original plots, the dynamic characters ( leading and secondary) and sizzling hot romance makes the Woodland Series stand out among the numerous New Adult and Contemporary Romance Series. Each book can be read as a stand alone romance (except Undressed-novella) and does not have to be read in series order although I would highly recommend it.

Finn O’ Malley has finally gotten his own books. He has captured the reader’s attention throughout the entire series. He has been a bit of a mystery but also the backbone that supported all of his friends. He comes from money but chooses to make his own path in life. He is a stand up guy that is sincere in his friendships. He is a one woman kind of guy and not a real manwhore player. When his father passes away suddenly and he finds out about secret betrayals in his family he falls off the rails. Trying to deal with his grief and pain he turns to alcohol and meaningless hookups. His life is spiraling out of control until he runs into a girl from his past. The little sister of his ex girlfriend Ivy. She was always sweet, down to earth, and had a way of soothing him. A one night stand with Winter Donovan shakes his world and finally makes him wake up and take inventory of his life. He wants more time with Winter but she is off limits. She is his exe’s little sister. To Finn that doesn’t make a difference but to Winter it makes all the difference in the world.

Winter Donovan has always been in love with Finn O’Malley. She has had a crush on him since her sister Ivy dated him in high school. Although it has been several years since Ivy dated Finn he is clearly off limits. She doesn’t want to be second to her sister. She doesn’t want to be compared to her sister. She wants to be first in a man’s life. Not only are there those issues to deal with there are others. Her life is an absolute mess. She’s close to broke. She’s working two jobs that are not what she envisioned herself doing. She is also taking care of her junkie sister that just got out of prison and is newly sober and clean. She can barely keep her head above water let alone deal with a relationship even though she still wants Finn.

Finn is persistant. He wants Winter in his life permanently but she keeps rejecting him because of Ivy. He finds solutions that will help Winter and Ivy. But not only is Winter resisting their relationship, Ivy is throwing up every road block she can come up with. She is dependent on Winter and refuses to let her have her own life.

Finn and Winter are finally finding a way to make their relationship work when Ivy throws the biggest road block of all. Ivy is pregnant. Winter can’t leave her alone and Finn may be the father.

Read this book! It will pull at your heartstrings. It is a vivid picture on how addicts affect the lives of those who love them. It also portrays how lies and deceptions can destroy every life they affect. The one thing that stands above it all is the power of love.

Jen Frederick did an amazing job with Unrequited. I highly recommend the book!

The Woodland Series

Undeclared- Book 1

For four years, Grace Sullivan wrote to a Marine she never met, and fell in love. But when his deployment ended, so did the letters. Ever since that day, Grace has been coasting, academically and emotionally. The one thing she’s decided? No way is Noah Jackson — or any man — ever going to break her heart again.

Noah has always known exactly what he wants out of life. Success. Stability. Control. That’s why he joined the Marines and that’s why he’s fighting his way — literally — through college. Now that he’s got the rest of his life on track, he has one last conquest: Grace Sullivan. But since he was the one who stopped writing, he knows that winning her back will be his biggest battle yet.

Early Reviews:
From Obsession with Books
“I loved this book and can’t wait to read the next installment in the Woodlands series, the characters, storyline and gushing romance were all wonderfully written and Jen Frederick’s writing is extremely engaging – she is definitely an author to remember and this is a book I’m more than happy to add to my favourites list!”

From Craves the Angst
“Noah Jackson was perfect in every way! He was compassionate, considerate and sexy as hell! His old school values mixed with his slight debauchery made him a perfect alpha male and you can’t help but adore every part of his character.”

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

Unspoken – Book 2

***USA Today Bestselling Book***

Whore. Slut. Typhoid Mary.

I’ve been called all these at Central College. One drunken night, one act of irresponsible behavior, and my reputation was ruined. Guys labeled me as easy and girls shied away. To cope, I stayed away from Central social life and away from Central men, so why is it that my new biology lab partner is so irresistible to me?

He’s everything I shouldn’t want. A former Marine involved in illegal fighting with a quick trigger temper and an easy smile for all the women. His fists aren’t the danger to me, though, it’s his charm. He’s sliding his way into my heart and I’m afraid that he’s going to be the one to break me.

Impulsive. Unthinking. Hot tempered.

I allow instinct to rule my behavior. If it feels good, do it, has been my motto because if I spend too much time thinking, I’ll begin to remember exactly where I came from. At Central College, I’ve got fighting and I’ve got women and I thought I was satisfied until I met her.

She’s everything I didn’t realize I wanted and the more time I spend with her, the more I want her. But she’s been hurt too much in the past and I don’t want to be the one to break her. I know I should walk away, but I just can’t.

Bonus Content Note
In celebration of Unspoken being a USA Bestselling title and cracking the Kindle to 100 (into the 30s even!), I wrote a 10,000 word extended epilogue and posted it on my website. The readers urged me to add it to the existing work and so I have. Redownload to receive the new version of Unspoken with the extended epilogue.

Note: This is a New Adult Contemporary Romance with mature content and sexually explicit scenes. 91,000+ words. Standalone novel.

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

Unraveled – Book 3

Twenty-five-year-old Sgt. Gray Phillips is at a crossroads in his life: stay in the Marine Corps or get out and learn to be a civilian? He’s got forty-five days of leave to make up his mind but the people in his life aren’t making the decision any easier. His dad wants him to get out; his grandfather wants him to stay in. And his growing feelings for Sam Anderson are wreaking havoc with his heart…and his mind. He believes relationships get ruined when a Marine goes on deployment. So now he’s got an even harder decision to make: take a chance on Sam or leave love behind and give his all to the Marines.

Twenty-two year old Samantha Anderson lost her husband to an IED in Afghanistan just two months after their vows. Two years later, Sam is full of regrets—that she didn’t move with her husband to Alaska; that she allowed her friends to drift away; that she hasn’t taken many chances in life. Now, she’s met Gray and taking a risk on this Marine could be her one opportunity to feel alive and in love again. But how can she risk her heart on another military man who could share the same tragic fate as her husband?

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

Undressed- A Woodlands Novella

Noah and Grace’s happy ever after hits a stumbling block in the form of one shady professor threatening Noah’s scholarship eligibility. Noah is given the choice of throwing his New Year’s MMA fight for a big payoff or accepting that the true meaning of love isn’t measured by the thickness of his wallet but the depth of Grace’s big heart.

This is a 22,700 word sequel to the full length novel, Undeclared, but can be read alone.

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

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

GIVEAWAY
Signed Set of The Woodlands Series
$50 Amex Gift Card

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Happy Release + Review + Giveaway: Until July by Aurora Rose Reynolds – Until Her Series – Book 1 – A Spinoff of the Until Series

Posted on 04/13/2015 by shellbellereads

Until July

Until Her Series – Book 1

A Spinoff of Until Series

By Aurora Rose Reynolds

Release Date: April 13, 2015

Synopsis

Wes Silver wasn’t looking for love, but when July Mayson literally knocks him on his ass during their first encounter, his world is turned upside down by the quirky blonde, and every moment with her makes him more determined to protect her.

July Mayson doesn’t understand the pull she feels toward the bad boy biker Wes Silver, but she knows being with him is like nothing she’s ever felt before. Now all she has to do is tell her overprotective father, Asher Mayson, that she’s found her boom.

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

Excerpt

I sit up when I see a few bikes in the distance. I don’t recognize their patches, but that doesn’t surprise me. Tennessee has a huge MC community, and there are always new clubs popping up all over the state. I slow down as I close the distance between us.

The closer I get, the more details I can make out. The group of about five bikes in front of me are all Harleys, all ranging in colors from almost purple to black. None of the men are wearing helmets, which is the complete opposite of me, who is covered from head to toe in black leather. Even my helmet is all black, with leather piping.

I take the men in, noticing they are all well-built, their leather cuts displaying a large eagle, with its wings spread wide like it’s midflight. The talons of the bird are carrying a long stem rose, with petals falling off it onto their club name, The Broken Eagles. I begin to speed up and pass them one by one, thankful for the security of my helmet, the black visor making it impossible to see me.

I keep my head straight until the last guy, the one who is at the front of the group, catches my attention. From the back, his hair is the first thing I notice. It’s slightly long on top and buzzed on the sides. My eyes move to the expanse of his back, the wide set of his shoulders, and the tan skin covering his lean muscles. His bike is low to the ground, and the bars are in front of him in a way that he has to stretch his arms straight out, causing every muscle to flex and move, making it look like the tattoos are alive and dancing.

My eyes skim farther down over his chest, which is covered in a white tank top tucked into a pair of light jeans, and around his waist is a black belt with a large silver buckle. I continue to pass him, my eyes shifting from the road to him and back again. This time when I look over, his head is turned towards me, and if I didn’t know any better, I would have swear he is looking directly into my soul.

“Holy shit,” I whisper, taking in his hair, the set of his jaw that is covered in days of stubble, and a pair of light eyes I can’t quite make out through the tint of my helmet. He is seriously hot, but equally scary-looking. I look from him back to the road. It must not have been even a second, but when my eyes go to the asphalt in front of me, I see a bird that is trying to make its way across the road, its wing hanging in an awkward position. I swerve to the right just in time to miss the poor animal.

“What the fuck?” I hear roared, and I look over my shoulder at the man who is now coming up quick on my right side. I yell an apology over the sound of my engine and his pipes. Do a quick wave and take off, lowering my body and pulling back the throttle, wanting to get away from them. Dude looks seriously pissed off, and even though I hate leaving the bird behind without helping it, I would like to live to see my next birthday.

I think I’m in the clear, but then the sound of pipes fills my ears, and I don’t even know how it happens, but they all catch up with me, surrounding my bike. I can’t make out what they’re saying, but my stomach starts to roll at the sound of their voices. I feel my side to make sure I have the Taser my dad insisted I carry.

I see a clearing and pull my bike off to the side of the road. I know this is probably one of the stupidest things I have ever done, but if they keep chasing me like they have been, we could all end up seriously hurt. I pull over and don’t even shut down my bike. I just lower my kickstand as my heart, which was already beating hard, begins to bang violently against my ribcage as they surround me.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” the guy who was at the head of the group asks, stepping in front of my bike.

I shake my head as my words get lodged in my throat.

He pulls me off my bike, and the men who are with him begin yelling obscenities as well.

“Sorry,” I croak out, and I don’t even know if he hears me as his hand goes to the collar of my leather jacket, where he shakes me hard. My hand accidently presses down on the button that ignites the Taser. The loud crack fills the air, and his eyes go wide then he falls to the ground, and I fall on my ass and crabwalk backwards. I look up when I hit something, only to meet the eyes of another man, who looks pissed.

“Get up,” he growls, picking me up. My feet flail under me as I’m lifted off the ground with my hands restrained behind my back.

“Hold him still,” the guy who I had tasered growls in front of me as I try to get away from the anger I feel coming off him. His hands go to my head and he rips my helmet off, causing my hair to float down around me.

Complete silence descends I swear no one even takes a breath.

“Um.” I bite my lip.

Michel’s Review

Until July by Aurora Rose Reynolds was a pure pleasure to read. It is the first book in the Until Her series which features the lovely daughters of the Mayson men in the Until Series. It’s great witnessing Alpha Daddy’s lose their cool when their darling princesses start stepping out and making a life of their own. Not to mention allowing other men in their lives besides Alpha Daddy’s and Alpha Jrs. If the Alpha Daddy’s don’t have gray hair yet, their little princesses are going to give them a full head of it.

July Mayson is the first born in the Alpha Mayson family. She has grown up to be a strong, smart, and very beautiful young lady. She possesses the best qualities of both of her parents and sets a fine example for her sisters and cousins. She has become a vet because of her childhood doggie, Beast.

When she is out on her motorcycle she almost causes a collision with a bunch of bikers while trying to avoid hitting an injured bird in the road. What happens next is beyond her imagination. She has just tasered the future love of her life. It wasn’t just the taser that got Wes Silver’s attention. July Mayson has stunned him with her beauty and attitude.

Wes Silver is what Alpha men are made of. His good looks, tough attitude, and take no prisoners charm is going to knock Asher Mayson off his throne. He is no longer going to be the top man in his daughter’s life. Wes has what it takes and Asher knows it. Look out July there’s a new alpha in town and he’s stealing your heart!

As July and Wes begin to develop a meaningful relationship they will have to deal with all kinds of problems. There are some bad people in town doing some very bad things. Mortally injured dogs are showing up on July’s animal clinic steps. It’s clear there is a dog fighting ring in town. That is just the tip of the iceberg. This ring is into more than dogfighting, they are also into human trafficking. Wes’s MC club has been brought in to help Jax Mayson and his men shut this ring down. Not only are they dealing with this but also Alpha Daddy Asher, who is having some issues with letting his baby go. Then there are all the Alpha Mayson relatives that feel the need to protect their Mayson princesses. But mamma Mayson’s lay down the law. Mayson princesses scheme to overthrow their Alpha Daddy’s.

I really enjoyed this book. Aurora Rose Reynolds writes a red hot sexy romance that is full of fun and charm. Her alpha men are the sexiest men in print. I am so happy to see the Mayson legacy live on. I am happy to see the Mayson Alpha Daddy’s getting a taste of their own medicine. Well done Aurora!

Until Series

Until November – Book 1

November is looking forward to getting to know her father and the safety of a small town. After leaving the big apple and her bad memories for Tennessee, November starts working for her dad at his strip club doing the books. The one time she’s allowed there during club hours she runs into Asher Mayson. He’s perfect until he opens his mouth and makes assumptions. November wants nothing to do with Asher but too bad for November fate has other plans. Asher Mayson has never had a problem getting a woman that is until November. Now all he can think about is making November his and keeping her safe.

THIS IS NOT A CLIFF HANGER.

Newly Edited and Updated Version
*Recommended for mature audiences 17+ due to strong language and sexual content.*

Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Until Trevor- Book 2

From The USA TODAY BEST SELLING AUTHOR OF Until November.

THIS IS NOT A CLIFFHANGER

Trevor Mayson had his life planned out – make the family business successful and play the field for a few more years before eventually settling down. Then he sees her. Liz Hayes was beautiful, shy and everything that he could ever want…but she didn’t fit into his plans. After Trevor painfully rejects her, Liz finally starts to move on, but Trevor is finding it difficult to truly let her go. It seems the more he tries to stay away, the more intense his feelings for her become. Like a stretched rubber band, he can only take so much before snapping.

Liz Hayes is done waiting for Trevor and isn’t interested in getting her heart broken by him again, but Trevor is making it difficult for her to forget him when he shoves his way back into her life.

Can Trevor prove to her that he is worth falling in love with again, and is he ready to change his life plan to let her into his heart?

17 + due to sexual content

Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Until Lilly – Book 3

From the Bestselling author of Until November and Until Trevor.

When Cash Mayson was forced to choose between the love of his life and his unborn child, he knew exactly what he had to do. No matter how broken it left him.

When Lilly Donovan was forced to accept that the guy she loved wasn’t who she thought he was and became a single mother, she knew exactly what she had to do. Proving just how strong she was.
What happens when years later you find out that everything you thought you knew was a lie?
Can two people who once loved each other overcome the obstacles that are thrown at them and fall in love all over again?
Cash Mayson had forgotten how it felt to be loved Until Lilly came back into his life. And now that he remembers, he will do everything within his power to keep not only the woman that he loves, but also his children.
The power of love is a beautiful thing.
Recommended for 17+ due to sexual content and language.

Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Until Nico- Book 4

Sophie Grates has never had it easy, but she’s finding her way through life one step and one day at a time. That is, Until Nico comes in and flips her world upside-down. He forces her to see you cannot live life from the outside looking in, and sometimes you have to step out onto the ledge so you can really enjoy the view.

Nico Mayson knew the moment he saw Sophie Grates that she was the one. His whole life, he has been judged by what’s on the outside, so finding a beautiful woman who sees the real him only makes his feelings that much stronger.

Nico knows the kind of man he is, and the things he is capable of, and he will do everything in his power to help Sophie fight her demons so they can have their happily ever after. Everything in life worth having is worth fighting for.

18 and older due to explicit content

Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Aurora Rose Reynolds is a navy brat who’s husband served in the United States Navy. She has lived all over the country but now resides in New York City with her Husband and pet fish. She’s married to an alpha male that loves her as much as the men in her books love their women. He gives her over the top inspiration everyday. In her free time she reads, writes and enjoys going to the movies with her husband and cookie. She also enjoys taking mini weekend vacations to nowhere, or spends time at home with friends and family. Last but not least she appreciates everyday and admires it’s beauty.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

GIVEAWAY
$50 Gift Card

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Blog Tour + 5 Star Review + Giveaway: Seal My Home by Sharon Hamilton – Bad Boys of Seal Team 3 – Book 2 – Seal Brotherhood Series -Book 9

Posted on 04/13/2015 by shellbellereads

Seal My Home – Bad Boys of Seal Team 3

Book 2-

Seal Brotherhood Series – Book 9

Release Date: March 31, 2015

By Sharon Hamilton

Synopsis

Bad boy Rory Kennedy was raised in foster care, bouncing in and out of trouble along the way. He finds his true family and real brothers as a Navy SEAL, one of the Navy’s elite warriors. When his BUD/S instructor barked the SEAL’s Motto: Only Easy Day Was Yesterday, he knew he had found home.

Megan Palmer works in a bookstore and finds her passion in life through reading steamy romance novels. Her brief affair with a man she later found out was married has left her damaged, until she meets the handsome SEAL, who stands ready to open her world and give her things she’s only dreamed.

On a skiing trip, Rory suffers a possible career-ending injury and also comes face to face with a past he never knew of, and a family who had abandoned him. His relationship with Megan is tested to the breaking point as Rory wades through the dark waters of recovery and whether or not he can live without the life he loves. A home-grown terrorist cell forces his hand and he discovers his true purpose.

Buy: Amazon

Excerpt

Whatever she’d bottled up had come loose. Her appetite met her need, which should have scared him. But for the first time, he wanted her to need him. He could fill he up. She was starving for it.

And so was he.

She was sleeping, and he fell into her rhythm, inhaling when she did, exhaling also in tandem, feeling her soft sex crowning his thigh. He thought of all the lovely things he wanted to say to her, but knew he shouldn’t. He knew the speaking part would mess up what he now felt, something he rarely felt.

Happiness.

He tried to breathe without making a sound, hoping that this time together, which was as precious to him as the love making part, was prolonged for as long as possible. She was fire and ice. The salt and the caramel. She tucked inside the hard exterior of his soul and shivered, rested there under his protection.

He must have twitched or done something, because she startled and rose up quickly, rolling to the side and covering herself up. He could almost feel her heavy thoughts tossing about the room as he viewed her light pink spine glowing in the near moonlight as she sat on the edge of the bed away from him. An inch of her butt crack was in shadow, but the alabaster surface of her skin was flawless and made her look like a statue.

He inhaled without a sound, and let his index finger trace down the middle of her back, traveling over the ridges of her vertebra. She stiffened at first, then rolled her head to the side and killed him with the blue gaze that showed him she was still hungry.

“Come here, Megan,” he said, worried he’d been a little too loud.

She touched her shoulder with her ear in a shy move that belied her real feelings for him. He could see it in the coral shaded corners of her lips, how they quirked up at the ends.

Michel’s Review

Sharon Hamilton has done it again. She’s given the readers another super sexy alpha Seal, nail biting suspense, red hot romance, and a sizzling hot page turner. Of course the Seal Team 3 could be nothing but explosive in more ways than the military. These guys are burning up the sheets and stealing their woman’s heart.

Rory Kennedy has found his place in life, he has found his home in the Seal Team 3. After being shuffled from one foster family to another , he has never felt like he belonged anywhere until he joined the Navy and became a Seal. His life now has a purpose. He now has brothers. Everything in life is great. When he meets the sexy bookworm, Megan Palmer, he has a new goal in his sites. He wants to show Megan that her fantasies and steamy romances are not only in books. He is going to prove he can be a romantic hero that will make her swoon and panties drop off. After all, he is a Seal.

When Rory is involved in an accident that could ruin his Seal career, he will find the support and love from his new family. A “home grown” terrorists sets his sites on Megan and Rory as a means to complete his mission to kill US citizens. The Warrior Prophet believes the more blood he sheds the cleaner his soul will be.

Rory and Megan will have find a way to survive to find their happily ever after. Rory is a Seal that won’t back down. He will protect his home, he will protect the woman that owns his heart.

Sharon Hamilton wrote another fantastic book. Her characters are strong people that will capture the readers heart. The romance is red hot and the suspense is a page turner.

Seal My Home can be read as a stand alone or in series order. I highly recommend this series, it will not disappoint.

The Seal Brotherhood Series

Accidental Seal- Amazon

Fallen Seal Legacy- Amazon

Seal Under Covers-Amazon

Seal The Deal- Amazon

Cruisin’ For A Seal- Amazon

Seal My Destiny- Amazon

Seal Of My Heart- Amazon

Seal’s Promise:Bad Boys of Team 3- Amazon

Seal My Home: Bad Boys of Seal Team 3- Book 2 (Seal Brotherhood Series 9)-Amazon

Author Bio:

Sharon’s NYT and USA Today bestselling novels are almost-erotic Navy SEAL stories of the SEAL Brotherhood. Her characters follow a spicy road to redemption through passion and true love. This series continues with book 8, SEAL’s Promise, which will release November 11, 2014. All of her SEAL Brotherhood Series are available in audio book. She has maintained an Amazon top 100 author status in Romantic Suspense for since the end of 2012.

Her Golden Vampires of Tuscany are not like any vamps you’ve read before, since they don’t have to go to ground, and can walk around in the full light of the sun. Honeymoon Bite, Book 1 of the Golden Vampires of Tuscany Series, has earned the Amazon designation of #1 Gothic Romance. It and Book 2 in the series, Mortal Bite are both available on audio as well.

Her Guardian Angels struggle with the human charges they are sent to save, often escaping their vanilla world of Heaven for the brief human one. You won’t find any of these beings in any Sunday school class.

Sharon lives in Sonoma County, California, with her husband and two Dobermans. A lifelong organic gardener, when she’s not writing, she’s getting verra verra dirty in the mud, or wandering Farmer’s Markets looking for new Heirloom varieties of vegetables and flowers.

“True Love Heals in the Gardens of the Heart”

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon Author

Giveaway

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6 Star Review + Exclusive Interview : Homefront by Jessica Scott

Posted on 04/12/2015 by shellbellereads

Homefront

Homefront Series – Book 1

By Jessica Scott

Synopsis

“Beautifully Written” JoAnn Ross – New York Times Bestselling author of the Shelter Bay series

He’s always loved her…

First Sergeant Gale Sorren waited a war and half a lifetime for a chance to get stationed near the ex-wife who left him years ago. When he finally musters the courage to see her, the life he imagined she was living was nothing close to the reality.

She’s never stopped loving him…

Melanie never stopped worrying about Gale each time he headed off to war. But he’s never been there when she needed him and she’s had fifteen years to steel her heart against him.

But when Gale moves to Fort Hood, he finally has a chance to make things right with Melanie and the daughter she raised without him.

Can Mel trust her heart to a man who has always let her down?

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes

Excerpt

“Jamie’s upstairs.” Her voice sounded off. Heavy and sultry. Her eyes were dark and clouded with shadows, and something else.

Something he thought he knew but was afraid to name.

He cleared his throat before he spoke. It was a long time before he found the words he needed to say.

The words he wanted to say started with please and ended with them naked. He wasn’t sure that would go over well.

And besides, he wanted to keep the moment untarnished in his memory. It had been so fucking long since he’d held her.

“So what’s our negotiating position?” he asked.

“On what?” She frowned and looked down at her wine glass.

“I’m going upstairs. Are there any things that are expressly forbidden? I don’t want to undermine you.”

She smiled and it was warm and sunny. “You sound like you know how kids play mom against dad.”

He grinned down at her, fighting the urge to stroke his fingers over her cheek. She was so fucking adorable. “It’s part of the duty description of being a first sergeant,” he said mildly.

She frowned. “I’m quite sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Soldiers will try to get between you and your commander. It’s up to the commander and the first sergeant to present a united front.”

She opened her mouth to say something then closed it.

He stepped close. “What?”

“I—” She paused, refusing to lift her gaze to meet his. “I guess I hadn’t thought about it.”

Something he’d said upset her. It cut at him, slicing away the moment before and replacing it with something raw and bleeding. “What, Mel?”

He lifted his hand to her cheek then, more to offer comfort than to steady her.

He was shocked when she didn’t pull away.

“I guess I never thought about you and me being a united front.” Her words were thick and uncertain, filled with fear and old hurts. Because he could find no other way to soothe the aching hurt in her eyes, he lowered his mouth to hers. A gentle kiss. Hesitant. A brush of lips.

Tentative and seeking. He sucked gently on her bottom lip, urging her to open for him, begging her with his mouth to not pull away.

There was fear in his kiss. Terror that she would pull away and slap at him.

But then her lips parted. Just a little, but it was enough for him to feel her breath on his tongue. She tasted sweet and sunny from the wine. He could get drunk on her taste. He deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue against hers and losing a piece of his soul.

He held himself viciously in check. Barely cupped her cheeks as he fought the turbulent need inside, as it surged up, wanting her, only her. To remind her that she was his, she’d always been his.

But this was a campaign, not a single battle.

He eased back before she could pull away. “I’m here now.” His words brushed against her mouth. “For as long as you’ll let me, I’m here.” He stroked his thumb over her cheek. “I know I haven’t been someone you can count on.” He brushed his lips against hers again. “But I’d like to be.”

Michel’s Review

Homefront by Jessica Scott is the first book in her new series featuring career military men and women that are in the precarious position of struggling with their careers and finding the right balance with their families. At times the military forces their men and women to make their jobs more important than family. It is a necessary evil that keeps them alive and able to return home to the ones they love. These choices not only leave scars on the soldier, they also leave scars on their families. Some wounds are impossible to heal. Others take time, effort, dedication, patience, and most of all, love.

Gale Sorren is a soldier. He has dedicated most of his life to the army. He has served two tours in Afghanistan and trained his men to be tough soldiers. He walked away from his wife and young daughter because he didn’t know how to be a soldier and be husband/ father. His immaturity and fear caused him to lose the one thing that should of been his foundation. He lost his family.

While in Afghanistan the reality of his loss hits home in a very devastating way. His young teen daughter is in the hospital and facing some serious psychological problems. He wants to be there for her and her mother. When he is denied leave because of miscommunications, he literally loses his cool. His reactions almost cost him his career. But it is also an eye opener. He realizes that he has never been there when his family really needed him. He never put them first. He never realized how his choices and actions affected their lives. He has vowed that once he is home he is going to do everything in his power to get stationed near his family. He is going to put them first. He only hopes that he is not too late.

A few years later he is finally stationed near his ex wife and teenage daughter. His daughter has gone from being a bright eyed little princess to a very troubled teen. She is screwing up in school, defying her mother, sneaking around with a boy, and making everybody’s life miserable. Gale is going to have to learn a new way to communicate with his daughter and his ex wife. He will struggle with it all. He will make mistakes. He will make some great strides. The one thing that is very clear is that he is going to do everything within his power to become a part of his family. He will show them how much he really loves them every moment of the day.

While Gale struggles to find his footing with his family, he is also struggling with his new post. Not only are there the usual army problems and issues, there are also problems among the officers. After a discovery of a domestic crime that could ruin one man’s career, the lines are drawn in the sand. Officers are taking sides and it is getting ugly.

Meanwhile two teenagers are in danger. It is up to Gale to make his daughter and her boyfriend’s homelife a safe environment. At the same time hang onto his career and win his wife back.

The one thing that makes everything different now is that Gale is a strong man and leader. Melanie is a strong woman and mother. They are no longer teenage kids trying to raise a baby. They are mature adults that look at life differently and understand the importance of effort. They also know that love is the foundation that makes the family work.

Jessica Scott wrote another powerful story that not only touched my heart but shocked me. As a parent of teenagers I could understand the difficulties in parenting. I could understand Gale and Melanie’s need to protect their child and any other child that may be in trouble. As a women I understood Melanie’s fears, heartbreak, and reluctance to trust Gale. I respected the way Gale handled every situation.

Homefront is an amazing book!

_________________________________________________________________________

Excusive Interview with Jessica Scott

Can you tell the readers how you became inspired to become a novelist while actively serving our country?

Jessica : I wanted to tell stories about normal soldiers coming home from war. I love a NAVY Seal romance as much as the next gal but I felt like I could tell a story about the everyman – not the special forces soldiers but the regular joes.

What type of books did you write first, fiction or non fiction?

Jessica :My first love has always been fiction. Nonfiction has come relatively easily but fiction took a lot of blood sweat and tears to get it right.

What inspired you to venture into the New Adult genre after being successful with Contemporary Romance.

Jessica: I don’t know, honestly. I was in that weird place I get at least once a year where I’m thinking I’m done, I don’t have anything left in me and then Beth and Noah kind of just jumped out of me. I wrote their book really quickly and honestly, I’ve never had it happen to me like this. I love the story and I’m so glad others are enjoying it, too.

Did you find it harder to write a New Adult book?

Jessica : Not really. I found writing in the first person really easy to slip into. I was able to get into their points of view more easily so it was a really refreshing change, if that makes sense.

Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration for your latest novel, Homefront?

Jessica : Homefront is a spin off series of the Coming Home series. It’s First Sergeant Sorren’s story and it’s 100% a reunion story (which I seem to write a lot). It’s about a man learning to become a father and a husband when he’s been gone for most of his daughter’s life.

What can readers look forward to in the future from Jessica Scott?

Jessica : Well, there are two more homefront books coming later this year. After the War comes out in May and hopefully, Face the Fire will be out in June (if I can get it finished by then). After that, there will be two more new adult books. Any further out, I think I have to hit the skids and think I’m done with no more stories to tell before I figure out what comes next.

About Jessica Scott

USA Today Bestselling author Jessica Scott is a career army officer, mother of two daughters, three cats and three dogs, wife to a career NCO and wrangler of all things stuffed and fluffy. She is a terrible cook and even worse housekeeper, but she’s a pretty good shot with her assigned weapon and someone liked some of the stuff she wrote. Somehow, her children are pretty well adjusted and her husband still loves her, despite burned water and a messy house.

She’s also written for the New York Times At War Blog, PBS Point of View Regarding War, and IAVA. She deployed to Iraq in 2009 as part of OIF/New Dawn and has had the honor of serving as a company commander at Fort Hood, Texas twice.

Most recently, she’s been featured as one of Esquire Magazine’s Americans of the Year for 2012. Learn More at http://www.jessicascott.net

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads

Pre Release + Excerpt + Giveaway: Intercepted by Emma Hart- By His Game Series – Book 3

Posted on 04/12/2015 by shellbellereads

By His Game Series

Emma Hart

Four people. Four goals. Four endings.

Intercepted – Book 3

In the third and final book of the USA Today bestselling By
His Game series, the rules of the game no one knew they’d have to play are
blurring, and when the past becomes the opposing team, hearts aren’t the only
thing at stake of being lost…

Finding naked pictures of her best friend on her boyfriend’s
phone wasn’t in Everleigh White’s five year plan. Neither was moving back to
Los Angeles, the city of dreams that never managed to make hers come true.
There’s only so many years you can be in love with your best friend before you
realize he’s never going to love you back, after all. If only her ex would stop
showing up at the gym where she works, she’d be much happier.

Being a father at nineteen wasn’t how Reid North, the
Vipers’ wide receiver, imagined his life going, but when his ex-girlfriend
tricked him into parenthood, he accepted it. Eventually. Now, with his ex on
the verge of being released from prison, he’s holding onto full custody of his
seven year old son, Leo. Football and Leo have left Reid no time for dating…
Until Everleigh comes back.

His best friend his whole life, Everleigh never knew Reid
loved her. She left before he could tell her. Now she’s back in front of him,
and he’s not letting go. Even if all he gets is her friendship again. But in a
city like L.A., dreams come true when you’re least expecting it.

So do nightmares.

With their exes beating down their doors with demands and
explanations, their hesitant and building relationship is threatened at every
corner. They’re at serious risk of being intercepted by the past, and that’s a
ball Reid is determined to catch.

Except desperation can lead to stupidity—and Reid soon
realizes he can’t catch every ball, no matter how perfectly it’s thrown to him.
This time a fumble could cost more than a few points.

It could cost him everything.

(INTERCEPTED is the third and final book in the By His Game
series and can be read as a standalone, although it is advised to read
BLINDSIDED and SIDELINED before, in this order.)

EXCERPT

“Why’d you leave, Ev?” I ask her quietly, sitting forward. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why’d you ignore me?”

“I didn’t want to,” she whispers. “But I had to. It was easier for me.”

“Not for me!”

“I know!” Her eyes snap to mine and she twists her whole body to face me. “But I couldn’t say goodbye to you, Reid. It would have hurt me too much to do that. And it was pathetic and childish, but there. It was easier to run without thinking of you as long as it meant I didn’t hurt even more.”

Stupid, stupid girl.

I reach over and rest my hand against the side of her face. Tears are shining in her bright-blue eyes, making them gleam even more brightly. When one drips over her lower lid and onto her cheek, I catch it with my thumb and wipe it away.

I move along the sofa, closing the distance between our bodies, and pull her face toward me. “Don’t cry, Ev,” I whisper just before I lean in and cover her mouth with mine.

She draws a breath in through her nose, but she doesn’t push me away. She wraps her hand around my wrist at the side of her face and moves in toward the kiss.

Her lips are soft and sweet, and if the way I’m kissing her is half as tender as she feels, then dammit, I’m fucking screwed.

“I didn’t hate you for leaving,” I say in a low voice, threading my fingers into her long hair. “I didn’t hate you at all. I was fucking mad because you left before I could do that.”

a Rafflecopter giveaway

From Emma Hart, the New York Times bestselling author of the Game series, comes a brand new series where the game is realer, the tension is tighter, the sex is hotter, and the stakes are the highest of all…

Blindside- Book 1

Two people. Two agendas. Two games.

What happens when the out-there It-Boy of football meets the secret It-Girl of fashion?

As the daughter of Hollywood’s sweetheart, Leah Veronica can’t even buy a coffee without finding her face on a magazine stand, so it’s no wonder she’s launching her first fashion line in secret. With it debuting at New York Fashion Week in just under a month, extra time in the spotlight is the last thing she needs.

The son of the best quarterback the league has ever seen, filling legendary shoes as the L.A. Vipers’ quarterback was inevitable for Corey Jackson. So was meeting Leah Veronica—the first girl to hand him his ass without putting a hair out of place.

Getting the handsome, prickly blonde into his bed becomes his number one goal. But getting the sexy, over-confident footballer the hell away from her becomes Leah’s—at least until she realizes the best way to do that is to give him what he wants.

If only it was that simple.

When Corey discovers who she is, and private photos of Hollywood’s finest find their way online, everything they thought they knew is thrown into disarray.

And when secrets are exposed and hearts are shattered, they have to figure out if they’ve been blindsided by love or reality, and if it’s worth running the extra yard to win the game they never meant to play.

Amazon / B & N / ITunes

Sidelined- Book 2

Three people. Three motives. Three reasons.

When the game leaves the field in the second book in the USA Today bestselling BY HIS GAME series and mixes with sex, lies, and betrayal, the future isn’t the only thing on the line…

Macey Kelly has sworn off men. Unless they’re going to zip in and out of her apartment—and her vagina—quicker than they can give her an orgasm, she’s not interested. Finding out her boyfriend of three years got her cousin pregnant was a total confidence knock. Luckily for Macey, confidence is

something she has in abundance, so all Mitch’s asshole move did was make her pretty cynical toward men.

The last thing Jack Carr needs at the start of the season is for a dark-haired, sexy as sin, gyspyesque beauty to be consuming his thoughts. Football is his life, which leaves no time for girls. Unless they’re the love ‘em and leave ‘em girls. Becoming one of the best running backs the league has ever seen by racking up the yards is his top priority… not bedding Macey Kelly, despite her affinity for blow jobs and total sexual abandon.

Avoiding each other is the perfect solution, but when your best friends are in a serious living together kind of relationship, that isn’t always an option. Sometimes, sex on tap is the easiest option. And the sweetest.

Until Mitch shows up with a bombshell that could shatter Macey’s perfectly carved out life. It’s been a year, but he isn’t giving her up, not now he has a chance at winning her back. And he knows her buttons. Every single one of them.

Unfortunately for him, Jack Carr isn’t a loser. The star running back has his eye on the Vince Lombardi—and on Macey. But seeing her hanging between them both isn’t something he’s down with, not when he discovers why she’s so against anything more-ish, as she puts it.Macey quickly realizes she’s the ball being passed between two desperate yet opposing teams, and that only one of them can score the touchdown. But will the winner be the guy she lived with and loved for three years, or will the winner be the guy who understands her and makes her body come alive?

In this game, someone will be sidelined, and calling the play isn’t always as easy as it seems.

Amazon / B & N / ITunes

__________________________________

By day, New York Times and USA Today bestselling New Adult author Emma Hart dons a cape and calls herself Super Mum to two beautiful little monsters. By night, she drops the cape, pours a glass of whatever she fancies – usually wine – and writes books.

Emma is working on Top Secret projects she will share with her followers and fans at every available opportunity. Naturally, all Top Secret projects involve a dashingly hot guy who likes to forget to wear a shirt, a sprinkling (or several) of hold-onto-your-panties hot scenes, and a whole lotta love.

She likes to be busy – unless busy involves doing the dishes, but that seems to be when all the ideas come to life.

FACEBOOK –TWITTER–GOODREADS–AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

INTERCEPTED EMMA HART ITUNES EBOOK COVER

5 Star Review: Seth & Greyson by Jessica Sorensen- The Coincidence Series – Book &

Posted on 04/10/2015 by shellbellereads

Seth & Greyson

The Coincidence Series – Book 7

By Jessica Sorensen

After being betrayed by someone he thought he loved, Seth leaves for college hoping to get a new start. But leaving his past behind is more complicated than he expected, and underneath his upbeat attitude, Seth struggles with opening up to people.

Then he meets Greyson.

Seth is instantly drawn to Greyson and his sweet and charming personality. But even though he feels a strong connection with Greyson, Seth’s still hesitant to open his heart to love.

With the help of his best friend Callie, Seth realizes he needs to overcome his fear of commitment. But will he be able to finally admit how he truly feels about Greyson?

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

As I sit down in a desk toward the back of the room, I try not to think about what my mother said this morning, but I find myself assessing each person as they enter.

It’s not until the object of my stalking walks through the doorway that I consider maybe my crazy mother was right. I quickly realize how insane that would make me for believing her and force myself to stop thinking like my mother. I’ve always been more levelheaded than both my parents, and I want to hold onto the trait.

Tearing my attention away from him, I lean over to grab my textbook and a pen out of my bag. When I sit up, I’m surprised to find he’s taken the desk right next to mine.

Up close, he’s even better looking, but there’s a hint of nervousness in his eyes that I didn’t notice while looking through the lens, which is kind of strange. Usually, I see more when I’m taking pictures. Or maybe he was just happier when he was around his friend.

“Hey,” he greets me with a slightly nervous smile.

“Hey.” I rack my brain for something to say that won’t make me sound awkward, but he beats me to the punch.

“I’m Seth,” he says, extending his hand to me.

“Greyson.” I take his hand, noting it shakes a little in mine. “Is this your first class?”

“For the fall semester, yeah.”

“You’re not a freshman?”

“No, I am,” he replies. “I just started the year this summer.”

I smile, and decide to flirt a little, see where it goes. “So you should be a pro at classes by now.”

“You would think so,” he muses. “But I’m not a fan of school and being a fantastic student is at the bottom of my list, right between getting a good night’s rest and becoming friends with my slobbish roommate.”

“You live in the dorm?” I ask and he nods. “I actually thought about doing that, but my parents insisted I need a place of my own. That it’s good for my aura.”

His brow cocks. “Aura?”

“Yeah, they’re a little crazy like that, but in a good way.” I try to pick up on the vibe he’s giving. Is he just being friendly? Or is he interested in me?

I watch as his eyes trail down over my neck and chest, suddenly realizing that we’re still holding hands. Definitely a bit awkward, but in a good way. And that means he’s interested, right?

When his gaze reaches our joined hands, he startles and quickly pulls away. I catch a flash of alarm in his eyes as he scans the room before looking back at me.

He clears his throat. “So, you just moved here?”

I wonder why he’s acting so weird suddenly. Maybe I misread his interest. Doubtful, though, so what is it? “Yeah, from Florida.”

His eyes snap wide. “Holy shit. How the hell did you end up going from the sunshine state to cowboy central?”

“Is Wyoming cowboy central? I thought that was Texas?”

“Clearly, you haven’t been around when the fair rolls in. It’s like rodeo central. Nothing but cowboy hats, boots, and ridiculously tight pants as far as the eye can see.”

“Sounds… interesting, I guess.”

“Try horrifying. Some of the stuff I’ve seen through those tight jeans,” he shudders, “still haunts my nightmares.”

I laugh at him and he grins, obviously pleased with himself. Like how he was with the girl earlier, he seems to enjoy making people laugh.

I consider what my mom said about finding friends and going out on dates. He’s hot, nice, and funny. As long as I can keep the conversation going and find the right moment, I might ask him out. Get myself out of the damn rut I’ve been in.

Michel’s Review

I am so happy that Jessica Sorensen wrote Seth & Greyson’s book. These two guys have been the backbone that held all the other characters in this series together. They offered unconditional friendship and support. They lent their shoulders when needed. They helped their friends see the fun side of life. They showed their friends that love comes in many different ways and it is important to hold onto it.

We first met Seth in the very first book that started the series. He befriended a lost and socially inept girl. He drew her out of shell, accepted who she was, and began helping her become a better person. He is an old soul with a perceptive kind of wisdom. He was there when Callie fell for Kayden. He was there when Kayden needed support. He was there when Luke needed a friend even though he didn’t know he needed it.

During this time he met Greyson. He was reluctant to start a friendship, let alone relationship with him. Seth had a very horrific experience that not only left him scarred physically but also left him scarred emotionally. It has caused him to be cautious about showing people who he really is. He is cautious about exposing his sexual orientation.

Greyson is open about who he is and what he wants. He came from an accepting family and never had to hide who he was. Although he is free to be who he is, he has never really had a meaningful relationship. He has trouble expressing himself and comes across as aloof and reserved. Now that he has met Seth he wants to open his heart and soul completely.

Seth and Greyson will have to work through their inner issues. Together they will come out stronger and happier.

Seth and Greyson are phenomenal young men that captured my heart from the beginning. I am happy to know their story.

Jessica Sorensen is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author from the snowy mountains of Wyoming. When she’s not writing, she spends her time reading and hanging out with her family.

Facebook | Twitter | Website | Goodreads

The Coincidence Series Reading Order

1. The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden

Amazon/ Barnes and Noble / ITunes

2. The Redemption of Callie and Kayden

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

3. The Destiny of Violet & Luke

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

4. The Probability of Violet & Luke

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

5. The Certainty of Violet & Luke

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

6. The Resolution of Callie and Kayden

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

7. Seth and Greyson

Buy – Amazon

The Unbeautiful Series

A Spinoff of the Coincidence Series

1. Unbeautiful

Buy – Amazon

2. Untamed

Buy: Amazon

Review: Force of Attraction by D. D. Ayres- K-9 Rescue Series – Book 2

Posted on 04/10/2015 by shellbellereads

Force of Attraction

K – 9 Rescue Series – Book 2

By D. D. Ayres

Synopsis

The only thing more powerful than fear is desire…

A seasoned K-9 officer with the police in Maryland, Cole Jamison has left her old life behind her. With a new home and a new partner–a protective canine named Hugo–Cole is ready for fresh challenges. A crucial position on an important drug task force is exactly what she wants…until she discovers her gorgeous, infuriating ex-husband will be the DEA agent in charge.
FORCE OF ATTRACTION

Agent Scott Lucca may be a pro when it comes to undercover assignments, but this job is daunting even for him. Posing as a happy couple on the dog competition circuit means he and Cole need to get a lot closer than they’ve been in years. Playing a live-in couple should seem like a walk in the park compared to tracking a brutal criminal, but suddenly nothing could be more dangerous than the passionate fire they’ve rekindled…

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

Tina’s Review

Cover thoughts: No Shirt, Wield Shield, Will Service? It’s kind of an awkward cover that does not accurately represent the story inside. He should have looked more like a motorcycle mechanic or something… but this, it’s just gratuitous man-flesh. 😉 Synopsis is pretty on-point.
Technically, this is the third book to the series, but each stands alone. The force of attraction between Scott and Nikki was like magnet to steel, leading to a whirlwind marriage and a few good years. Then their marriage fell victim to his two-year UC persona, ultimately resulting in divorce. Now, circumstances bring them together to work on a joint task force determined to put an end to drug smugglers that are using the AKC competitive world as their smokescreen while gruesome, inhumane acts are being carried out behind-the-scenes. Nikki, now going by Cole, takes the position claiming she needs this “for closure” when the truth is, she’s just as effected by Scott as she was the day she met him. Scott knows he screwed up and he doesn’t deserve her, but damn if he doesn’t want her with a viciousness! This is the Love/Hate relationship for the ages and their unresolved issues are epic.
The characters are well-written and enjoyable. The secondaries are supportive and beneficial to the story. Hugo and Izzy truly come to life and convey such emotion and personality. I love the natural interaction and dialogue between characters. The fluidity of the story has a smooth progression and even when it only puts you through the mundane, it is still a pleasure to read. The plot does have plenty of action and throughout it all, it keeps you excited to see how things would unfold. I had my suspicions early on about who the “bad guy(s)” is/are and was right about the main one & somewhat right about the lesser players. There were plenty of conflicts which, in the beginning, were denied and avoided or compounded by mis- or non-communication, as the story progressed, the conflicts were resolved much more maturely and cohesively. The conclusion is solid and wraps up all loose ends in a manner that was not rushed or drawn out.

The K – 9 Rescue Series

Necessary Force- Novella

It was supposed to be a sexy calendar shoot to raise money for K-9 service dogs. Photographer Georgie Flynn never expected to break all her personal rules and jump into bed with one of the hunky men posing. And after their steamy night together, she certainly never expected to see him again…despite their powerful connection.
When she’s targeted by a stalker and possible bomber, Georgie finds that her gorgeous one-night stand is the only one who can help.
Brad Lawson, an FBI operative, and his K-9 bomb sniffing partner are assigned to protect the pretty photographer–and this time, he’s determined to keep things professional. He just didn’t count on their explosive connection rekindling. But with a deadly threat on the horizon, will he be able to keep his body’s demands in check and complete his mission?

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

Irresistible Force

When adrenaline runs high, so does the force of desire…

For Shay Appleton, it’s love at first sight when a gorgeous stray dog is brought into the animal shelter where she works. She just knows he’ll make a terrific watch dog–and with an abusive ex who won’t let go, she needs all the protection she can get. But Shay never suspected that her new pet is actually a trained police K-9 named Bogart–until Bogart’s even more gorgeous, human partner shows up on her doorstep.

IRRESISTIBLE FORCE by D.D. Ayres
Officer James Cannon is one tall, strong alpha male who’s convinced that Shay stole his dog. But once he gets closer to the suspect, he realizes that this stubborn, independent woman not only needs a guard dog, she needs James as well. It seems that someone from her past is stalking her, and threatening her life. When danger meets desire, will James risk his career and his best friend…to protect the woman who’s stolen his heart?

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

Author Bio:

A veteran author of romance and women’s fiction, D.D. Ayres is new to Romantic Suspense. She believes the lure of romance is always the human connection. Put that connection in physical jeopardy, and and we learn a bit more about who we really are.
With her K-9 Rescue series, D.D. hopes you will enjoy her sexy, suspenseful portrayals of K-9 teams at their best.
D.D. lives in Texas with her husband and a soft-coated Wheaten terrier named Zoe.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads

5 Star Review + Giveaway : Full Contact by Sarah Castille – The Redemption Series – Book 3

Posted on 04/10/2015 by shellbellereads

Full Contact

Redemption Series- Book 3

By Sarah Castille

Synopsis

“Fifty Shades of Grey meets Fight Club.”-RT Book Reviews on Against the Ropes

Ray wraps his arms around me and holds me tight as if something terrible has happened and he doesn’t want to let me go.

Full Contact. This is how Ray speaks when his emotions overwhelm him. I melt into his stillness. His body is hot and hard, his breath warm on my neck. He smells of leather and sweat, sex and sin. Nothing can tear me away.

When you can’t resist the one person who could destroy you…
Sia O’Donnell can’t help but push the limits. She secretly attends every underground MMA fight featuring The Predator, the undisputed champion. When he stalks his prey in the ring, Sia is mesmerized. He is dominant and dangerous and every instinct tells her to run.

Every beautiful thing Ray “The Predator” touches he knows he’ll eventually destroy. Soft, sweet and innocent, Sia is the light to Ray’s darkness-and completely irresistible. From the moment he lays eyes on her, he knows he’s going to have to put his dark past behind him to win her body and soul.

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes / Kobo

Excerpt

Ray grabs my wrists and pins them to the mat over my head, his body angled over me. My breath catches in my throat, and I steel myself for the memories, the black rush, the heart-pounding fear, but it doesn’t come. Instead, a red haze settles over my vision, and I press my lips together and buck my hips, throwing him slightly forward.

Bad plan. Now his groin is only inches away from my face. He’s still wearing his jeans, which means that bulge isn’t a cup.

“Ray…” His face softens. “I hurt you.” “Yes, you hurt me. Keeping secrets hurts me. It makes me feel like you don’t respect me. And it makes me feel like I can’t trust you. So maybe you could return to your proper seat now. Tray table up.”

He shifts down, settling his weight over my hips, but he doesn’t release my hands. “I hurt you. Means you care.”

I swallow hard and meet his gaze. “You hurting me means I was being stupid. Things were going where I didn’t want them to go. Now I’ve had a wake-up call. You have secrets you can’t share. You need to protect your secrets. I need to be with someone I can trust, and I need to stand on my own two feet. It’s just not going to work between us.”

His gaze darkens, searing me to the core. “You want to be done? Or are you scared and trying to push me away?”

The air shifts between us, electrifying, tightening my nipples and heating my blood. I am hyperaware of his thighs tucked against my hips, carrying most of his weight as he sits astride me in a dominant MMA position. My wrists, hot under his palms, press against the cool mat, restrained in a way I could never have imagined allowing them to be restrained. My chest rises and falls twice for every one of Ray’s breaths, and my core tightens. The innuendo isn’t lost on me. God, yes. I want to be done in the carnal sense of the word. But only by Ray. And I don’t really want to let him go.

“I don’t want to lose you.”

Ray’s hands tighten on my wrists, and he leans down and brushes a kiss over my lips. “I don’t want to lose you either, but I live in a dangerous world. I’ve got stuff in my life that would make your head spin. I need to protect you from that, and I’ll do what it takes to keep you safe, even if it means you hate me for it, because for the first time in my life, I want something more than doing my duty. I want a life and I want you in it. I’ve got one bad guy to catch and then I’m free. And after I’m done and after what went down this evening, you’ll never have to worry about being safe again.”

Finally, he releases my hands but I don’t move. Heat sweeps through my belly. I feel both vulnerable and curiously safe lying beneath him. My gaze shifts from his intense gaze to his sensual lips, and my breasts swell, remembering the touch of his hands, the gentle press of his lips. He wants me. Not just today, but tomorrow and the tomorrow after that.

“You make it sound like I don’t have a choice about being with you.”

“You don’t.” He leans down and kisses me with a savage fierceness that takes my breath away.

___________________________

Michel’s Review

Looking for a very hot and sexy book? Looking for a hot Alpha MMA fighter that will knock your panties off? Looking for a book that is about healing, loving, and redemption? Look no further, Full Contact by Sarah Castille is the book that delivers all of these things and more.

Full Contact is the third book in the Redemption Series by Sarah Castille. Each book can be read as a stand alone romance or can be read in series order. Either way this book is going to capture your attention and keep you glued to the pages.

Sia O’Donnell is a broken soul. She had a horrific experience five years earlier that left her broken, fearful, and an observer of life rather than a participator. Her only solace is her work as a tattoo artist. Another one of her secret passions is watching MMA fights and one fighter in particular. She knows he is out of her league and beyond what she can handle, but her fascination with him is the fuel for her fantasies. When she finally meets Ray “The Predator” Black face to face, the rules of engagement may change.

Ray has his own demons that haunt him. Fighting is a way to keep his demons at bay. Outside the cage he keeps people at arms length and never gets close to anyone. That is until he meets Sia O’Donnell. He wants to dominate this woman in the most decadent and fulfilling way.

Can Sia overcome her fears and allow Ray to dominate her. Can she let him go where no other man has been by choice? Can Ray let go of his guilt and redirect his feelings into something that will heal his soul?

Together these two will find something worth letting go for, worth fighting for, and worth surrender. They will find true love and passion.

I really enjoyed this book. It had the right amount of humor, the right amount of angst, and the right amount of red hot passion. The main characters and secondary characters were full of life and jumped off the pages.

I highly recommend Full Contact by Sarah Castille.

The Redemption Series

Against The Ropes – Book 1

He scared me. He thrilled me. And after one touch, all I could think about was getting more…

Makayla never thought she’d set foot in an elite mixed martial arts club. But if anyone needs a medic on hand, it’s these guys. Then again, at her first sight of the club’s owner, she’s the one feeling breathless.

The man they call Torment is all sleek muscle and restrained power. Whether it’s in the ring or in the bedroom, he knows exactly when a soft touch is required and when to launch a full-on assault. He always knows just how far he can push. And he’s about to tempt Makayla in ways she never imagined…

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes / Kobo

In Your Corner- Book 2

A Publishers Weekly Best Summer Book and one of Amazon’s Best Books of the Year (Romance)

“You have to go. I won’t be able to control myself. I’ve wanted you so bad for so long and after I’ve been in the cage…I can’t think straight.” He gives a guttural groan and his fist clenches on my hip.

Primitive. Primal. His need speaks to me. I tighten my grip on his neck and rock up to kiss him. He takes over. His kiss is hard and demanding.

“Mine.” His voice is raw, savage and for a moment I truly believe he may lose control.

He rules in the ring

Two years ago, Jake and Amanda were going hot and heavy. But when Jake wanted more, Amanda walked away. Jake immersed himself in mixed martial arts, living life on the edge. But that didn’t dull the pain of Amanda’s rejection-until a chance encounter throws them together.

A high-powered lawyer, Amanda was a no-strings-attached kind of girl. But two years after her breakup with Jake, she still hasn’t found anyone who gets her heart pumping the way he did. And then he shows up in her boardroom, hot as sin and needing help…

But can he rule her heart?

Jake is darker, sexier, and impossible to resist. As their chemistry builds, Amanda’s not sure if she can stay in control, or if she’s finally willing to let him claim her body and soul.

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes / Kobo

___________________________________
Author Bio:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Sarah Castille, writes contemporary erotic romance and romantic suspense featuring blazingly hot alpha males and the women who tame them. A recovering lawyer and caffeine addict, she worked and travelled abroad before trading in her briefcase and stilettos for a handful of magic beans and a home in shadow of the Rocky Mountains.

Sarah loves to connect with readers. Sign up for her newsletter to hear about new releases:

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads

Giveaway

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Happy Release: Love, in Duology: The Love, in English & Love, in Spanish Bundle by Karina Halle

Posted on 04/10/2015 by shellbellereads

Love In Duology: The Love, in English & Love, in Spanish Bundle

By Karina Halle

Buy: Amazon

_____________________________________

Love, in English:

He’s thirty-eight. I’m twenty-three.

He speaks Spanish. I speak English.

He lives in Spain. I live in Canada.

He dresses in thousand-dollar suits. I’m covered in tattoos.

He’s married and has a five-year old daughter.

I’m single and can’t commit to anyone or anything.

Until now. Because when they say you can’t choose who you fall in love with, boy ain’t that the f*#king truth.

***

To a restless dreamer like Vera Miles, it sounded like the experience of a lifetime. Instead of spending her summer interning for her astronomy major, she would fly to Spain where she’d spend a few weeks teaching conversational English to businessmen and women, all while enjoying free room and board at an isolated resort. But while Vera expected to get a tan, meet new people and stuff herself with wine and paella, she never expected to fall in love.

Mateo Casalles is unlike anyone Vera has ever known, let alone anyone she’s usually attracted to. While Vera is a pierced and tatted free spirit with a love for music and freedom, Mateo is a successful businessman from Madrid, all sharp suits and cocky Latino charm. Yet, as the weeks go on, the two grow increasingly close and their relationship changes from purely platonic to something…more.

Something that makes Vera feel alive for the first time.

Something that can never, ever be.

Or so she thinks

Love, in Spanish:

“She sat beside me on the bus – and she changed my whole life.”

Successful, wealthy and absurdly handsome – Spanish ex-football player Mateo Casalles seemed like he had it all. A high-society wife, an adorable little girl, and flashy apartments in Madrid and Barcelona only sweetened the deal. But there was more to Mateo than met the eye – a life of uncertainty and regret that colored his black and white world.

That was until Vera Miles came into his life like a shooting star. Tattooed, wild and young, Vera seemed like Mateo’s polar opposite at first. But you can’t choose who you fall in love with and the two lost souls did everything they could to be together, all while suffering the grave consequences.

Now with Mateo divorced and living in Madrid with Vera, there is a whole new set of challenges and setbacks facing the couple and rocking the foundation of their star-crossed relationship.

Unfortunately for them, the brighter the star, the faster they burn.

Buy: Amazon

With her USA Today Bestselling The Artists Trilogy published by Grand Central Publishing, numerous foreign publication deals, and self-publishing success with her Experiment in Terror series, Vancouver-born Karina Halle is a true example of the term “Hybrid Author.” Though her books showcase her love of all things dark, sexy and edgy, she’s a closet romantic at heart and strives to give her characters a HEA…whenever possible.Karina holds a screenwriting degree from Vancouver Film School and a Bachelor of Journalism from TRU. Her travel writing, music reviews/interviews and photography have appeared in publications such as Consequence of Sound, Mxdwn and GoNomad Travel Guides. She currently lives on an island on the coast of British Columbia where she’s preparing for the zombie apocalypse with her fiancé and rescue pup.

LINKS:

Excerpt -Chapter Two Reveal: Unrequited by Jen Frederick – Woodland Series – Book 4

Posted on 04/10/2015 by shellbellereads

Unrequitted

Woodlands Series – Book 4

Release Date: April 13, 2015

By Jen Frederick

Synopsis

Finn can’t stop thinking about Winter and the night and he’ll do anything to make her a permanent part of his life, even if it means separating Winter from the only family she has.

Their love was supposed to be unrequited but one grief stricken guy and one girl with too big of a heart results in disastrous consequences.

Pre Order: Amazon

Excerpt #2

CHAPTER TWO

WINTER

He didn’t give me much time. Inside the trailer, I got a glimpse of a desk piled high with papers, empty bottles of beer and pop, and a backpack with clothes spilling out of it before Finn began tearing at my clothes. He had my top off and was peeling my jeans and underwear off my legs before I took two breaths.

The motion put his face level with my crotch. “Well, fuck me. What have we got here? Bare, are you?” He stated the obvious. He ran his hand ran over the smooth skin, and I stifled a moan.

“I don’t like pubic hair.”

“No shit.” He stroked his hand between my legs. “You are no end of surprises. Are you more sensitive?”

“Yes, I think so.”

He dropped his hand between his legs.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m squeezing my balls so I don’t come in my pants.” He huffed a few times and then slid a hand up the back of my legs, stopping just below my butt. “Open up. I want to know how you taste.”

I was glad he was holding me because the minute his tongue touched my clit, my knees buckled. His hands lifted me, and my butt met the cold steel top of his desk. I felt, rather than heard, his low chuckle. “You taste fucking delicious.”

He spun around and found his chair. Then he settled between my legs and dived in.

If I’d thought he was a good kisser, it was only because I hadn’t had him do anything else to me.

He worked his tongue against my clit and pussy like he was discovering the secrets of the world with each pass of his tongue along my flesh. Each touch was strong yet tender.

“Oh, Finn.” I clutched at his hair, grabbing fists of it in each hand. The feelings he was generating were so intense, I didn’t know if I should push him away or pull him closer.

He pushed my thighs apart, wider than I realized they could go, exposing every inch of me to him. I didn’t feel embarrassed, not with the happy noises he was making, not with the avid way he ate at me.

I was out of my mind with pleasure. When his fingers joined the party, there was no way I could stop the orgasm. Why would I want to?

He rose, and bereft of his intimate touch, I felt awkward. He was still completely clothed, and I was buck ass naked on his desk. “We’re wrecking your desk. And I feel weird. You have too many clothes on.”

“Best use of this desk ever,” he said. “Besides, you aren’t going to be the only one naked.” He tore at his jeans, and I tried to lean over to help. He brushed my hands away.

“Don’t touch me. I’m this close to losing it, and I want my first time to be inside you.” He cupped my face and kissed me.

He kept undressing. He toed off his boots. His jeans fell to the floor, and he kicked them aside. His socks followed and then his T-shirt in the one-arm-behind-the-back, over-the-head move that guys master when they are three.

He stood in front of me, hard muscle covered in pale skin. His large, thick-veined cock bobbed between us, and for a second I paused to wonder if he was going to fit inside me without an aid—like a bottle of lube.

He fished a couple of condoms from inside his jeans pocket and laid them on the desk. I shut out what that meant—how he’d had them ready and more than one. It was only for one night. That was all I wanted too.

So I watched as he rolled the nearly clear material over his heavy, erect shaft. The sight of him handling his member had me squirming on the desk. He reached his free hand between my legs, testing my readiness, and then held me open for him.

“Tell me if it hurts.”

I bit my lip as the broad head opened me. Dots of sweat appeared on his forehead, as if the effort he exerted to keep from hammering inside was harder than building a house.

My head fell back as he eased out. His mouth found a sensitive place on my neck and then another on my shoulder right above the crease of my arm. He tucked his hands under my butt and drew me closer as my body opened and welcomed his.

He was large, much larger than I’d ever had, and I felt stretched to the hilt.

“You’re so goddamned tight,” he hissed through clenched teeth. He pushed forward relentlessly until he was sheathed inside my body from tip to base. “Stay still,” he ordered when I began to thrust forward gently.

The scratch of his hair against my bare skin was just one more sensation, and I was finding it hard to remain passive.

His labored breath in my ear was as much of a turn on as his hands roving over every square inch of my body. He was into me as much as I was into him. We were getting lost in each other.

Then he began to move, and the drag of his shaft along my tender tissues made the world tilt on its axis. I’d never be the same again.

He worked me longer than I’d expected. His eyes were closed, and his lower lip between his teeth as if he were concentrating on something very important.

In long, almost leisurely strokes, he pulled out to the tip and then thrust back in. Over and over until my entire focus shrank to the feel of his body moving between my legs. I grappled for leverage. His shoulders were slick with sweat. His biceps were too big for me to curl my hands around.

“More,” I gasped and dug my heels into the small of his back.

His eyes flicked open, just bare slits that in another context could have been menacing, but here were hot brands of need.

He savored me in a way I didn’t know was possible, so I let go. I lay back on the desk and placed my palms flat against the trailer wall, pushing forward to meet every slow thrust. I let him take me in a sweet seduction that turned me inside out, and when I came, I felt it in every nerve, fingertip, and toe.

When I convulsed around him, he let himself go.

“Hold on,” he said. And before I could respond, he planted one hand by my head and the other on my hip. He drove into my body with a force that had the heavy desk rattling against the floor.

I held on as he hammered into me. He shifted once, and then twice, and then his pelvic bone hit my clit just right, and I couldn’t keep my screams inside my body.

He half-laughed, half-groaned and went rigid in my arms, his hips pumping and thrusting until he’d released everything he had.

I held him as the aftermath of his orgasm shuddered down his spine and wondered if I could ever forget this night.

He’d marked me as permanently as any tattoo.

###

He hadn’t been bragging. He had plenty of stamina. After taking me on the desk, he stripped off the condom and grabbed a water bottle I had assumed was empty. He doused his dick and then placed a couple of handfuls of cool water between my legs. We found ourselves on the couch—him on his back with my knees around his head while I took him in my mouth. He was much better at multitasking than me.

Because he’d already come, he lasted longer too. I felt I was orgasming every five minutes while I sat on his face. While I rode cowgirl, which really worked me over. While he bent me over the back of the sofa, one hand on my neck and the other clamped around my hip, pulling me back to him every stroke.

He didn’t come again until we were in the tiny shower in the back of the trailer. There wasn’t room for one person, let alone two, and water was everywhere, but Finn said to ignore it. He was. He was too busy driving his cock inside me.

I tried to memorize it all because this was my only time with him. We dozed on the couch for a little while, and when I woke, little fingerlings of dawn were creeping into the trailer through the slatted blinds.

I took him into my mouth, slowly savoring the musk of his body, inhaling the warm sleep scent of him.

He grew hard and too long for me to take in entirely, so I added my hands, cupping the base and working him at the top until he was pulling my hair away.

“Gonna come,” he said in a gravelly, barely awake voice.

I pushed forward until he hit the back of my throat, and I didn’t stop until he was coming in long, lovely spurts into my mouth.

“I’ll return the favor when my brain falls down from the sky,” he muttered sleepily. I smiled sadly and waited until he fell asleep.

Then I gathered up my clothes and left.

It was a twenty-minute walk back to the café and then a fifteen-minute drive home, but it felt like the longest journey of my life.

The Woodland Series

Undeclared- Book 1

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

Unspoken – Book 2

***USA Today Bestselling Book***

Whore. Slut. Typhoid Mary.

Impulsive. Unthinking. Hot tempered.

Note: This is a New Adult Contemporary Romance with mature content and sexually explicit scenes. 91,000+ words. Standalone novel.

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

Unraveled – Book 3

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

Undressed- A Woodlands Novella

This is a 22,700 word sequel to the full length novel, Undeclared, but can be read alone.

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

Author Bio:

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Saucy Southern Readers

professional, honest, and timely book reviews

Category Archives: Genre

Happy Release + 5 Star Review + Giveaway: Unrequitted by Jen Frederick – The Woodland Series – Book 4

Happy Release + Review + Giveaway: Until July by Aurora Rose Reynolds – Until Her Series – Book 1 – A Spinoff of the Until Series

Blog Tour + 5 Star Review + Giveaway: Seal My Home by Sharon Hamilton – Bad Boys of Seal Team 3 – Book 2 – Seal Brotherhood Series -Book 9

6 Star Review + Exclusive Interview : Homefront by Jessica Scott

Pre Release + Excerpt + Giveaway: Intercepted by Emma Hart- By His Game Series – Book 3

5 Star Review: Seth & Greyson by Jessica Sorensen- The Coincidence Series – Book &

Review: Force of Attraction by D. D. Ayres- K-9 Rescue Series – Book 2

5 Star Review + Giveaway : Full Contact by Sarah Castille – The Redemption Series – Book 3

Excerpt -Chapter Two Reveal: Unrequited by Jen Frederick – Woodland Series – Book 4

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