Release Blitz + Excerpt + 6 Star Review + 2015 Favorite + Giveaway: Final Debt and Indebted Epilogue by Pepper Winters – Indebted Series – Book 6

Posted on 11/30/2015 by shellbellereads

Final Debt

Indebted Series – Book 6

By Pepper Winters

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

Synopsis

The Last Book in the New York Times Bestselling Dark Romance Series.

Where love tries to triumph and darkness continues to reign….

“I’m in love with her, but it might not be enough to stop her from becoming the latest victim of the Debt Inheritance. I know who I am now. I know what I must do. We will be together–I just hope it’s on Earth rather than in heaven.”

It all comes down to this.

Love versus life.

Debts versus death.

Who will win?

There is also a BONUS BOOK: Indebted Epilogue OUT NOW.

Indebted Epilogue

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

Excerpt

“READY TO DIE, Nila?”

Cut’s voice physically hurt me as he forced me to my knees. The ballroom splendour mocked me as I bowed unwillingly at the feet of my executioner.

Velvet and hand-stitched crewel on the walls glittered like the diamonds the Hawks smuggled—a direct contrast to the roughly sawn wood and crude craftsmanship of the guillotine dais. No finesse. No pride. Just a raised podium, framework cushioning a large tarnished blade, and a rope dangling to the side.

“Don’t do this. Cut…think about what you’ve become. You can stop this.” My voice mimicked a beg but I’d vowed not to beg. I’d seen things, understood things, and suffered things I never thought I would be able to endure. I refused to cry or grovel. I wouldn’t give him that satisfaction.

“In five minutes, this will all be over, Weaver.” Cut bent to the side and collected a wicker basket.

The wicker basket.

I didn’t want to think about what its contents would be.

He placed it on the other side of the wooden block.

My lungs demanded more oxygen. My brain demanded more time. And my heart…it demanded more hope, more life, more love.

I’m not ready.

Not like this.

“Cut—”

“No. No more talking. Not after everything you’ve done.” Ripping a black hood from his pocket, he didn’t hesitate. No fanfare. No second guesses.

I cried out as the scratchy blackness engulfed my face, tightening by a cord around my throat.

The Weaver Wailer chilled me. The diamond collar that’d seen what I’d seen and whispered with phantoms of my slain family prepared to revoke its claim and detach from around my neck.

This was it.

The Final Debt.

Cut pushed my shoulders forward.

A heavy yoke settled over the top of my spine.

I closed my eyes.

I said goodbye.

…

I waited to die.

Michel’s Review

Final Debt & Indebted Epilogue

Spoiler Free Review

********

Excerpt From My Original Indebted Review- Book 1 on 8/22/2014

The Plot

A Family Feud between the Hawks and The Weavers

A Royal Proclamation

A 600 Year Debt

The Debt Will Be Paid In Full

The Families

The Hawks are one of the most influential families in England. Their influence has a strong reach internationally. They are the world’s leading diamond dealers. They are also the leaders of one of the most powerful motorcycle clubs in the world. They are powerful, ruthless, violent, and unyielding. They will come out on top at all costs.

The Weavers are world renowned for their influence in the fashion industry. They have clothed royalty. They are masters at their trade. Unlike the Hawks, they are not a powerful family. They have impeccable lineage that they value. The only mark on that lineage is their debt to the Hawks.

The Main Characters

Jethro Hawk is the 29 year old, first born son in the Hawk family. At age thirty he will take over the reigns of the Hawk Empire. As part of that legacy, being the first born son, he gets the Indebted Inheritance. He gets the first born daughter of the Weavers. He fully intends to collect his inheritance, carry out his family’s vendetta, and claim the legacy he has been born into. He is cunning, calculating, ruthless, uncaring, controlling, manipulative, and downright terrifying. He is a villain in the darkest way. He will claim his inheritance at all costs.

Nila Weaver is a young, naïve, and innocent 24 year old woman. Like her fore fathers she has taken her place in the fashion industry. Her designs are innovative, sexy, and flawless. She has just made her mark in the Haute couture world. What should have been a celebration has turned into a nightmare. Jethro Hawk has come to collect the debt her family owes. A debt she never knew existed. A debt she will have to pay.

The collection has begun… payment is due……

*****

Final Debt & Indebted Epilogue Review

For one year, three months, and fourteen days I have been a prisoner of the Indebted Series by Pepper Winters. I have stalked social media, Facebook, and the author’s website, anxiously awaiting release dates, teasers, and excerpts on each book in this series. The moment each book went live I was devouring it. I could not pull myself away until the last word was read. When I finished each book I was right back to my previous dilemma and craving more. I was left anxious, horrified, fearful, and hopeful for Nila’s fate. I admired her strength and fortitude. I admired her commitment to those she loved. At times I felt her loyalty was misplaced but understood her convictions. Jethro Hawk mystified me. He was like a seesaw on the playground, up and down, never the same throughout the series. One moment I was passionately in love with him and the next moment I wanted to administer all the debts Nila had to pay. He was one of the most complex characters that I have encountered in fiction. I hated the Hawk family and everything that they stood for. I could not understand their greed, their convictions, and their disregard towards humanity. It was hard to understand the atrocities they were delivering in the name of the law and an age old contract. I also was on the fence with the Weaver family throughout this series. I couldn’t understand how they could allow this to continue throughout the generations. Their daughters should of been more important than the family honor and their royal legacy. As the story unfolded throughout the books I became more perplexed and more horrified. At the same time a beautiful and passionate love affair began and became stronger as the events of their situation worsened. I wanted Jethro and Nila to have their impossible happily ever after. I continued to hope…and bought each book.

Final Debt is the conclusion to this all encompassing series. It was superbly delivered in true Pepper Winters fashion. The reader didn’t know Nila’s and Jethro’s fate until the very end. Throughout the book there were revelations made that answered all of the readers questions. The age old contract was finally completely revealed. Readers were given an understanding of where it began and how it evolved into what it was in today’s time. The revelations also gave the readers a true understanding of the Hawks and the Weavers. As each revelation was revealed it made Nila’s and Jethro’s situation more dire. When it came time for the final debt to be delivered, it was paid. The reader will walk away from this story breathless and exhausted. The emotional rollercoaster, the immense danger, and the horrific revelations will sear the soul. The heartbreak and loss along the horrific journey will leave each character scarred for eternity. Neither family will be untouched in the end. What matters most is the the passionate love story that will define both families. A passionate love story that transcends time will make the heart race.

Pepper Winters did a brilliant job with the Indebted series. The Final Debt has been delivered and there is a surprise Indebted Epilogue that will justify the one year, three months, and fourteen days of waiting for this series to reach completion.

The Indebted Series by Pepper Winters is a truly epic dark love story!

Indebted

Indebted Series -Book 1

Synopsis

“I own you. I have the piece of paper to prove it. It’s undeniable and unbreakable. You belong to me until you’ve paid off your debts.”

Nila Weaver’s family is indebted. Being the first born daughter, her life is forfeit to the first born son of the Hawks to pay for sins of ancestors past. The dark ages might have come and gone, but debts never leave. She has no choice in the matter.

She is no longer free.

Jethro Hawk receives Nila as an inheritance present on his twenty-ninth birthday. Her life is his until she’s paid off a debt that’s centuries old. He can do what he likes with her—nothing is out of bounds—she has to obey.

There are no rules. Only payments.

A modern day Dark Erotic Romance

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First Debt

Indebted #2

Synopsis

“You say I’ll never own you. If I win—you willingly give me that right. You sign not only the debt agreement, but another—one that makes me your master until your last breath is taken. You do that, and I’ll give you this.”

Nila Weaver’s family is indebted. Stolen, taken, and bound not by monsters but by an agreement written over six hundred years ago, she has no way out.

She belongs to Jethro as much as she denies it.

Jethro Hawk’s patience is running out. His inheritance gift tests, challenges, and surprises him—and not in good ways. He hasn’t leashed her but he thinks he might’ve found a way to bind her forever.

Debts are mounting. Payment waiting.

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Second Debt

Indebted Series – Book 3

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Synopsis

“I tried to play a game. I tried to wield deceit as perfectly as the Hawks. But when I thought I was winning, I wasn’t. Jethro isn’t what he seems—he’s the master of duplicity. However, I refuse to let him annihilate me further.”

Nila Weaver has grown from naïve seamstress to full-blown fighter. Every humdrum object is her arsenal, and sex…sex is her greatest weapon of all.

She’s paid the First Debt. She’ll probably pay more.

But she has no intention of letting the Hawks win.

Jethro Hawk has found more than a worthy adversary in Nila—he’s found the woman who could destroy him. There’s a fine line between hatred and love, and an even finer path between fear and respect.

The fate of his house rests on his shoulders, but no matter how much ice lives inside his heart, Nila flames too bright to be extinguished.

Third Debt – Indebted # 4

Indebted Series – Book 4

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Synopsis

Fourth Book in the New York Times Bestselling Indebted Series.

“She healed me. She broke me. I set her free. But we are in this together. We will end this together. The rules of this ancient game can’t be broken.”

Nila Weaver no longer recognises herself. She’s left her lover, her courage, and her promise. Two debts down. Too many to go.

Jethro Hawk no longer recognises himself. He’s embraced what he always ran from, and now faces punishment far greater than he feared.

It’s almost time. It’s demanding to be paid.

The Third Debt will be the ultimate test…

Fourth Debt – Indebted # 5

Indebted Series – Book 5

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Synopsis

“We’d won. We’d cut through the lies and treachery and promised an alliance that would free us both. But even as we won, we lost. We didn’t see what was coming. We didn’t know we had to plan a resurrection.”

Nila Weaver fell in love. She gifted her entire soul to a man she believed was worthy. And in the process, she destroyed herself. Three debts paid, the fourth only days away. The Debt Inheritance has almost claimed another victim.

Jethro Hawk fell in love. He let down his walls to a woman he believed was his cure. For a moment, he was free. But then he paid the ultimate price.

There is no more love. Only war. Hope is dead. Now, there is only death all around them.

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo / Google Play

Final Debt

Indebted Series – Book 6

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

Synopsis

The Last Book in the New York Times Bestselling Dark Romance Series.

Where love tries to triumph and darkness continues to reign….

It all comes down to this.

Love versus life.

Debts versus death.

Who will win?

There is also a BONUS BOOK: Indebted Epilogue OUT NOW.

Indebted Epilogue

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

—–

Pepper Winters wears many roles. Some of them include writer, reader, sometimes wife. She loves dark, taboo stories that twist with your head. The more tortured the hero, the better, and she constantly thinks up ways to break and fix her characters. Oh, and sex… her books have sex.

She loves to travel and has an amazing, fabulous hubby who puts up with her love affair with her book boyfriends.

GIVEAWAY
$50.00 Amazon Card
Signed Copy of Indebted Epilogue

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Book Tour and 5 Star Review: Perfectly Imperfect by Harper Sloan

Posted on 11/25/2015 by shellbellereads

Perfectly Imperfect

By Harper Sloan

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes

Synopsis

Mirror, mirror … who’s the fairest of them all?

I still cringe when I hear that line. A fairy tale that had girls pretending they were the fairest, the most beautiful, and the most entitled. A fairy tale most couldn’t grow out of turned my haunted childhood memories into a living nightmare. Girls who grew up believing that pile of garbage became the meanest of all ‘mean girls.’

And those mean girls were right – it was a line meant for all the beautiful people in the world – and I knew the answer would never be me.

The women with long legs, flat stomachs, and perfect chests.

The type of women Kane Masters gravitated toward.

Well, that’s definitely not Willow Tate.

No. That will never be me.

Because I’m completely imperfect.

And … I hate myself.

I have no idea what Kane could possibly see in someone like me when he could have them.

Michel’s Review

Perfectly Imperfect by Harper Sloan is the best book she has written. Although it is a romance themed book it is also an inspirational book. Harper Sloan bared her soul in this beautiful story of a woman that had very low self esteem. We all have insecurities and are harsher on ourselves than most people see on the surface. Harper dug deep and put these inadequate feelings into words and created a story I think we all can relate to.

We are all shaped and molded by our childhood. Our childhood experience shapes our perceptions of ourselves and how we perceive others. As adults we know we are in charge of our own destinies but it’s hard to let go of what has been ingrained into our souls from an early age. It can take life changing events or one little word or action to change our destiny and take us on a new path. A new path that changes the way we perceive ourselves. A door that opens our hearts and allows us to love ourselves just as we are.

Willow has had a low self image all of her life. She has settled for what she perceived would make others happy rather than making herself happy. She has settled for a demeaning job. She has settled with a verbally abusive husband. She has lost herself until the day her husband cheated on her with her younger, perfect sister. That day was the beginning for Willow Tate. It was a long hard journey that led her to finding the once in a lifetime love and learning to love herself. She has become the strong dynamic woman she was meant to be.

Kane always saw the Willow Tate that was hidden beneath the surface. He saw her beautiful soul. He will do everything in his power to earn her trust, love, and acceptance. He will show her everyday how wonderful and beautiful she is inside and out.

Willow and Kane have found each other. Willow has become a strong, confident woman but can she compete with Kane’s past? A past that could destroy their relationship and beat her down once again?

Read Perfectly Imperfect by Harper Sloan. It will change the way you look in the mirror.

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About Harper Sloan

Harper lives in small town Georgia just a short drive from her hometown of Peachtree City. She (and her 3 daughters) enjoy ruling the house they dubbed ‘Estrogen Ocean’, much to her husbands chagrin. Harper has a borderline unhealthy obsession with books; you can almost ALWAYS find her with her eReader attached. She enjoys bad reality TV and cheesy romantic flicks. Her favorite kind of hero–the super alpha kind!

Harper started using writing as a way to unwind when the house went to sleep at night; and with a house full of crazy it was the perfect way to just relax. It didn’t take long before a head full of very demanding alphas would stop at nothing to have their story told.

told.Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads

Release Blitz + 5 Star Review: Fighting Dirty by Sidney Halston – Worth The Fight Series – Book 5

Posted on 11/24/2015 by shellbellereads

Fighting Dirty

Worth The Fight Series – Book 5

By Sidney Halston

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

Synopsis

If you love the MMA romances of Vi Kreeland and Kendall Ryan, Sidney Halston’s Worth the Fight series will knock your socks off! In Fighting Dirty, a geek-chic cage fighter proves that appearances can be deceiving . . . and oh-so-tempting.

With his preppy clothes and horn-rimmed glasses, Enzo Silva is the last dude anyone expects to find in a mixed martial arts gym. A wealthy Brazilian banker who never had to fight for anything, Enzo’s stuck in the amateur circuit—but he burns to make the pros. Maybe that explains the heat he feels whenever he’s around Jamie Lynn Calhoun. The pint-size, magenta-haired bartender with the Texas drawl is everything he’s not . . . and everything he craves.

Tough as nails and independent to a fault, Jamie Lynn—JL to her friends—works hard to pay her bills and keep life simple. Enzo is doing his best to complicate that. Even though she likes to bust his balls, he’s got some kind of a nerdy-hot vibe that makes JL wonder if she might finally be able to let her guard down. It might do the boy some good to spend some time in her world, where blood, sweat, and victory are as sweet as the first taste of real love.

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Michel’s Review

Sidney Halston has added another knock out to the Worth The Fight Series. Sexy Brazilian businessman, Enzo Silva, is gearing up for the fight of his life. This time the fight is taking place outside of the ring. It’s a lockdown match and there are no rules. He wants Jamie Lynn Calhoun and he is going to win her heart.

Jamie Lynn, JL to her friends, marches to her own beat. She is a carefree spirit that will not be pinned down. She has learned the hard way to live life to the fullest and grasp every moment. She makes no apologies for who she is.

Enzo moved to the Florida after an ugly divorce. Although he was born rich and entitled ;he has worked very hard to become the businessman he is today. He came from a wealthy background and has learned that monetary riches do not define the person you are. He has lived in a structured, loveless life with high expectations. For once he is taking control of his life and pursuing his own personal dreams. He wants to become a professional fighter and his cousin’s gym, WTF is the perfect place to pursue his goals. His move to Florida has been a very good thing for him. He has made new friends that have made his life better and he has met the woman of his dreams. A woman that would not be accepted in his former world but stirs his soul.

Enzo and JL have been playing the cat and mouse game for a year. When he finally convinces JL to go out with him they are both in for a great surprise. There is more to their relationship than steamy hot chemistry. They will learn that they have more in common than they thought. They will learn that loving someone is a choice. A choice that can make them both happier people.

Once they have fallen head over heels in love their pasts come back to haunt them in the worst possible way. Enzo will have to choose between his family and career. JL will have to choose forgiveness and acceptance of the mother that never cared. Enzo’s business dealings may take away the one dream the JL has always held close to her heart. They will have to remember that love is a choice.

Sidney Halston delivered another fantastic romance that is Worth The Fight. Enzo is Fighting Dirty for the woman he loves. Read this book … it will not disappoint!

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The Worth The Fight Series

Against The Cage – Book 1

In her Loveswept debut, Sidney Halston turns up the heat as a sexy cage fighter shows a former bookworm how delicious a few rounds between the sheets can be.

For Chrissy Martin, returning to her Florida hometown always seems to bring bad luck. The day starts with a breakup text, followed by a jailhouse phone call from her troublemaker brother. Now a routine traffic stop has ended with her accidentally punching an officer . . . in a delicate place. Then Chrissy realizes that the hot cop on the receiving end of her right hook is none other than the man from her teenage fantasies.

Jack Daniels knows how to take a hit. After all, when he’s not chasing reckless drivers, he’s kicking ass in a mixed martial arts ring. So what takes his breath away isn’t the low blow, but the woman who dealt it: a gorgeous knockout with legs Jack wouldn’t mind being pinned under—who just so happens to be his best friend’s nerdy little sister, all grown up. Soon their instant chemistry leads to a sizzling affair, but Jack and Chrissy are fighting an uphill battle if they want to make love last beyond the final bell.

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

Full Contact – Book 2

Sidney Halston returns to steamy Tarpon Springs, Florida, where a hell-raising bad boy prepares to get down and dirty for the woman he loves.

How could she have been so stupid? When Jessica Cross decides to give her violently jealous boyfriend—the otherwise influential and charming Dennis Stavros—a second chance, she very nearly becomes a statistic. After weeks of healing from a broken rib and collapsed lung, and with Dennis behind bars, Jessica finally feels ready to come out of hiding. But will she ever be able to take a chance on love again with someone new?

Mixed martial arts fighter Slade Martin knows he has a bad reputation. Hell, he’s probably earned it. So it won’t be easy to convince beautiful, vulnerable Jessica that she can trust him—that from the moment she walked into his life, she’s been the only one he’s wanted. Powerful and confident, Slade knows he can honor his vow to protect Jessica body and soul. Winning her heart will be another matter . . . but a woman like Jessica is worth the fight.

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

Below The Belt – Book 3

Once one of the most sought-after names on the mixed martial arts circuit, Antonio “Scarface” Marino watched his career go down for the count as he chased skirts and made tabloid headlines. Now he’s finally making a comeback, and it’s all thanks to Francesca Silva, a Brazilian bombshell as tough as any of her fighters. But who’s the real Francesca: the trash-talking trainer who rides him hard, or the vulnerable woman who blushes at his touch?

Francesca went to the mat to sign Tony because she believes he still has the potential to bring big success to her gym—if she can keep his head in the cage and out of her personal life. After a short-lived marriage soured her on love, a one-night stand is all she can handle. Now Tony’s kisses are stirring up complicated feelings—especially when he agrees to face her ex in the ring. Francesca’s used to freezing guys out. But Tony’s tempting her to give in to the heat.

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Laid Out – Book 4

Perfect for fans of Monica Murphy and Cecy Robson, Sidney Halston’s scorching new MMA romance proves there are no holds barred when it comes to seduction.

As an Army brat, Violet Channing could never meet her dad’s high expectations. But in the eyes of her best friend, she could do no wrong. He even insisted that he should be her first kiss. Now Cain Sorensen is all grown up, hardened by years in special ops and always looking for a good fight. Tall, with striking blue eyes and impossibly blond hair, he’s a modern-day Viking warrior. Of course, Violet’s all grown up, too, and she’s ready to surrender to his every command.

Cain knows he’s bad for Violet. His work is dangerous, and his hobbies are downright deadly. As a private mercenary and a mixed martial arts fighter, he could never let such an innocent soul into his world. And yet his most grueling combat training is no match for Violet’s killer curves, hot touch, and suggestive glances. Now all of Cain’s most explosive fantasies are coming true—but once they cross the line between friends and lovers, there’s no turning back.

BUY NOW

Amazon | B& N | iTunes

Fighting Dirty – Book 5

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

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USA Today bestselling author, Sidney Halston lives her life with one simple rule: “Just Do It” Nike, and that’s exactly what she did. After working hard as an attorney, Sidney picked up a pen for the first time at thirty years old to begin her dream of writing. Having never written anything other than very exciting legal briefs, she found an outlet for her imaginative romantic side and wrote Seeing Red, among four other novels currently in the works, including the sequel to Seeing Red. That first pen stroke sealed the deal and she fell in love with writing.

Sidney lives in South Florida with her husband and children. She loves her family above all else, and reading follows a close second. When she’s not writing you can find her reading and reading and reading… She’s a reader first and a writer second.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads

Happy Release + 5 Star Review: Talon by Carian Cole – Ashes & Embers Series – Book 4

Posted on 11/24/2015 by shellbellereads

Talon

Ashes & Embers Series – Book 4

By Carian Cole

Buy: Amazon / B & N / Kobo

Synopsis

DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL PARTNER:
Caring. Hard-working. A devoted family man, loves kids.
Clean cut, funny, smart, quiet, but a good communicator.
~ Asia Jenson
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL PARTNER:
Independent. Tall, blonde, sexy. Outgoing. Intelligent,
neat. Unslutty. Confident. Loves to travel. Committed.
~ Talon Valentine
A SOCIAL EXPERIMENT.
The concept was scary but exciting…
Marry a total stranger.
Live together for six months.
Journal everything. (Feelings. Fights. All of it.)
After six months, we each get $50K in trade for our journals, whether we stay married or not. But the goal is to commit to the experience and see if the relationship experts could put together the perfect matches.
I have never been lucky in love. This was my chance to find my soulmate.
I couldn’t wait to meet the man the experts felt was perfect for me.
My hopes were immediately dashed when I saw him at the altar.
Shit. I married my worst nightmare.
Right?!

Tina’s Review

⭐ ⭐ Provided by Promotion in Exchange for an Honest Review ⭐ ⭐

Judging a Book by it’s Cover:
Soft, muted cover with a bright, bold title. Nothing to really stand out. Synopsis sounds like a ton of fun just waiting to happen.
Looking Deeper:
Alternating first-person POVs. Clearly defined. Although it’s the fourth book in the series, I had no problems following the story or meeting the previous characters, it fully is able to stand on it’s own. (I’ve not read the first three books – yet).
A refreshingly unique plot. Likeable characters. Stellar read.
Wow, this is not what I expected. Allowing a panel of experts find their perfect match and lead them into a blind-marriage thereafter is not all fun and games, but can they find their perfect match in nearly the complete opposite from what they’d been looking for? They’ve got their work cut out for them and it’s not going to be an easy road traveled. As they are getting to know one another (they went into this completely unaware of each other), they are bound to make mistakes – a lot of them. There are some laugh out loud moments, but there are heat-breaking moments. The characters are flawed but wonderfully developed with complex personas. Their chemistry is extremely gradual and, at times, a bit turbulent. This is NOT another cliche’ love at first sight “instalove” story. The secondary cast is perfectly balanced and supportive. The dialogue and interaction throughout is believable and realistic; it feels natural. The plot is dynamic and has dimension, the flow is fluid and such a pleasure to read. There are plenty of conflicts along the way which are handled in age- and situation-appropriate ways as well as in a timely manner. There is a ton of raw emotion floating around in this book. Oh, man! There *is* some minor predictability, but nothing so serious that it detracts from the enjoyment of the story. The conclusion is solid. I would not hesitate to recommend this book to others. It was a great read with a wide variety of emotional characteristics and personality traits.

Storm – Book One

The calm before the storm…

I lived in the quiet stillness.
I felt the wind rustle, warning me, telling me to get out of its path.

But I didn’t.

I never stood a chance.

A series of weather and road mishaps leaves me trapped in the middle of a blizzard with a complete stranger. In the back of a pickup truck. For forty-eight freakin’ hours.

A stranger with long hair, tattoos, and rippling with muscle.
A stranger with an insanely sexy voice and a wicked smile that turned my insides to jelly.
A stranger who held me in his arms, calmed me, and then set a fire in me that I couldn’t put out.

Storm lives up to his name. Beautiful. Dangerously inviting. Tumultuous. Dark. A clash of hot and cold.

He’s used to getting everything he wants.

And now he wants me.

Some people chase storms for the beautiful thrill. What happens when the storm chases you?

***Warning. This is an adult romance book and is not intended for anyone under the age of 18. It contains graphic sex scenes and explicit language.***

Buy: Amazon / B & N

Vandal – Book 2

She takes my breath away; she is so beautifully damaged. Yes, I had broken her, ravished her life and destroyed her happiness. I brought her to the ultimate despair.

I was responsible for all the pain and suffering that now brought her to her knees in front of me.

Broken.
Hopeless.
Reckless in her agony.

She is a mirror of my own tortured soul.

But what I took away I can give back, in ways she cannot even begin to imagine .

She is everything right in all my wrongs.

She loves me. She needs me.

She has no idea I’m the one who wrecked her life.

Buy: Amazon / B & N

Lukas – Book 3

Storm’s younger cousin.
Vandal’s little brother.
You’ve met him in the background.

The sweet one.
The nice one.
The one they can all rely on.

The good one.

He’s a tattoo artist. He plays metal and classical music – on the violin.

He’s got a body built for sin.

He’s 24.

In comes Ivy. She’s a 36 year old single mom who hasn’t dated in 18 years.
All she wanted was a tattoo.

She got a helluva lot more 🙂

Being good has never been so bad.

Buy: Amazon / B & N

Talon – Book 4
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL PARTNER:
Caring. Hard-working. A devoted family man, loves kids.
Clean cut, funny, smart, quiet, but a good communicator.
~ Asia Jenson
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL PARTNER:
Independent. Tall, blonde, sexy. Outgoing. Intelligent,
neat. Unslutty. Confident. Loves to travel. Committed.
~ Talon Valentine
A SOCIAL EXPERIMENT.
The concept was scary but exciting…
Marry a total stranger.
Live together for six months.
Journal everything. (Feelings. Fights. All of it.)
After six months, we each get $50K in trade for our journals, whether we stay married or not. But the goal is to commit to the experience and see if the relationship experts could put together the perfect matches.
I have never been lucky in love. This was my chance to find my soulmate.
I couldn’t wait to meet the man the experts felt was perfect for me.
My hopes were immediately dashed when I saw him at the altar.
Shit. I married my worst nightmare.
Right?!

Buy: Amazon / B & N/ Kobo

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Author Bio:

I have a passion for the bad boys, those covered in tattoos, sexy smirks, ripped jeans, fast cars, motorcycles and of course, the sweet girls that try to tame them and win their hearts. My debut series, Ashes & Embers, follows the lives of rock band members as they find, and sometimes lose, the loves of their lives.
My first novel in the Ashes & Embers series, Storm, was published in September of 2014, with several more of this series planned throughout 2015 and 2016.
Born and raised a Jersey girl, I now reside in beautiful New Hampshire with my husband and our multitude of furry pets and spend most of my time writing, reading, and vacuuming.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads

Release Blitz + Excerpt + 5 Star Review + Giveaway: Zero Hour by Lili St. Germain – The Gypsy Brothers Epilogue

Posted on 11/24/2015 by shellbellereads

Zero Hour

A Gypsy Brothers Epilogue

By Lili St. Germain

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

Synopsis

The final, shocking conclusion to the #1 bestselling Gypsy Brothers series.

Juliette Portland’s purpose was simple: Seduce. Kill. Avenge. Once Dornan Ross and his sons were dead, her future was supposed to be clear. Her life was finally going to begin. And love… Against all the odds, she had the love of a boy she never thought she’d see again.

Everything should have gone according to plan. Everything should have been easy once Dornan was dead and buried.

But nothing’s ever that easy, is it?

Juliette

I might have survived Dornan’s wrath, but I was different then. Younger. Stupider. I’ve had too much time to think since I got out of the cage he locked me in. I’ve had too much time to dream about all the things he did to me.
I think about revenge a lot. When I’m thinking of the way the light dimmed in Dornan’s dying eyes and the way he said you killed my sons.
How beautiful it was, and how hollow.

Jason

Sometimes, I can’t tell if I’m starting to become him. My father. Dornan. The way I am, the things I’ve done—they make Juliette’s sins look like child’s play.
Of course, I’d never tell her that. I’ll never tell her the things I’ve done.
It doesn’t mean she won’t find out anyway.
Book 8 in the USA Today Bestselling Gypsy Brothers series. No cliffhanger.
Series Reading Order

THE GYPSY BROTHERS SERIES

Book 1 – Seven Sons (FREE)
Book 2 – Six Brothers
Book 3 – Five Miles
Book 4 – Four Score
Book 5 – Three Years
Book 6 – Two Roads
Book 7 – One Love
Alternate Novella – FREE at http://smarturl.it/GetLilisFreeBook
Book 8 – Zero Hour
THE CARTEL TRILOGY (A Gypsy Brothers prequel series)

Book 1 – Cartel (available now)
Book 2 – Kingpin (coming December 14, 2015)
Book 3 – Empire (coming 2016)

Excerpt

“When you blank out. When you go away. You’re with him, aren’t you?”

I take a step back. I feel like I’ve been punched. I don’t respond. I don’t even say, who do you mean, because we both know who we’re talking about here.

“Hey,” Jase snaps. “I want you to answer me.”

I can’t breathe. It’s like Dornan’s in the room. I feel his warm breath on my neck, the way he always tasted the same in my mouth. Like salt and cigarettes.

“Answer me,” Jase growls.

I break. “What?” I hiss. “What do you want from me? Do you want me to lie? I was supposed to kill him, and that was meant to be the end of it.”

Jase looks like he’s about to hit another wall. Or me.

“He’s dead,” he spits, “He’s dead, but you’re the one who’s gone. I need you to come back. I need you to come back to me.”

“I don’t know how!” I yell.

“You’re not trying!” he explodes. “You just sit here, in your dark little universe, thinking about him! Did you think about him while I was fucking you last night? Huh?”

Michel’s Review

The Zero Hour is the grand finale of the Gypsy Brothers series. It cannot be read as a stand alone novel and must be read in series order.

Jase and Jules have reached the Zero Hour. Revenge has been taken. The final judgement has been rendered. Souls have been taken and it has not only been their enemies souls. They have paid the price but it wasn’t enough. They may have had a victory but it was only the beginning of the real war. The ultimate battle has begun. They are at war within themselves, trying to find peace within their souls. The battle scars they carry are not just on the surface but covering their souls. The Gypsy Brothers and Dornan Ross destroyed them completely. Now they will have to fight their biggest battle, they will have to fight their demons and find the soul they lost long ago.

Revenge isn’t always sweet. It has tentacles that are far reaching long after retribution has been delivered. Both Jules and Jase were raised in a horrific world that destroyed everything good within themselves. Their only saving grace was their love for one another and the deep bond they shared. This may not be enough. Both are too damaged. To top it off they are still on the run from the Cartel and The Gypsy Brothers MC. The DEA is using them as pawns and no matter where they go they are not safe. It’s time to take matters into their own hands and destroy their enemies once and for all. It is time to take back their souls. This time it is not about revenge. Is not about surviving their world. It’s about taking back their lives and living them. It’s the Zero Hour and it’s time to seize their lives.

Lili St. Germain delivered an epic ending for the Gypsy Brothers series. It was a fast paced, nail biting ending with an emotional twist that validated every moment of their lives. It was the perfect ending for Jules and Jase. They seized the moment and found their happiness as the clock ticked down to the Zero Hour.

ALL 7 books in the COMPLETE Gypsy Brothers series are now in ONE SET!

Lili has INCLUDED BONUS EXCLUSIVE NOVELLA!

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

The Gypsy Brothers

Lili’s USA Today Bestselling series, together in one edition !

This bundle contains all books in the Gypsy Brothers series plus a bonus exclusive novella. The reading order for the series is:
SEVEN SONS
SIX BROTHERS
FIVE MILES
FOUR SCORE
THREE YEARS
TWO ROADS
ONE LOVE
&
ALTERNATE

A Gypsy Brothers novella featuring chapters told from Jase, Elliot and Dornan’s points of view.

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

***************

**This bundle contains all books in the Gypsy Brothers series plus a bonus exclusive novella.**

Lili writes dark romance, suspense and paranormal stories. Her serial novel, Seven Sons, was released in early 2014, with the following books in the series to be released in quick succession. Lili quit corporate life to focus on writing and so far is loving every minute of it. Her other loves in life include her gorgeous husband and beautiful daughter, good coffee, Tarantino movies and spending hours on Pinterest.

She loves to read almost as much as she loves to write.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest

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Release Blitz + 5 Star Review: Transparent by Erin Noelle – Luminous Duet – Book 2

Posted on 10/15/2015 by shellbellereads

Her elusive past didn’t worry me,

Her heartbreaking scars never made me cringe,

And her haunting demons only made me a stronger man.

But the day Blake Martin was stolen from me,

I was scared to death.

Prepared to do anything necessary to get her back,

Little did I know it just might cost me my life.

My name is Madden Decker, and this is my story.

BUY NOW ON AMAZON

Michel’s Review

Transparent by Erin Noelle is the epic ending to the dynamic dark thriller, the Luminous Duet. This book cannot be read as a stand alone novel. It is continuation of Translucent, book one of the Luminous Duet.

***

Translucent ended with a suspenseful cliffhanger that left readers stunned. Blake Martin has disappeared and it appears that she has been kidnapped. Who kidnapped her? How did they find out her new identity? Is she going to come out of this alive ? Will she come out of this more scarred than she already is? Is Madden going to have any clue how to find her? So many questions! Transparent has all the answers and they are not what readers are expecting. Everything about this conclusion was a complete surprise. Erin Noelle gave the story twists and turns that readers would not see coming. She introduced new powerful dark players to the mix. She upped the danger level to an all time high. She also added more sensuality, romance, and gave the characters an epic love story.

***

Transparent picks up right where Translucent left off. Blake has been taken hostage. Her new identity has been exposed to her enemies. Not only do her old enemies know who and where she is, she has a new set of enemies that have their own agenda. What her captors didn’t count on was her inner strength and will to survive. This time around she has something worth fighting for. A future that offers endless possibilities. A chance to step out of her nightmares and start living the real dream. What happens during her captivity will astonish the most seasoned reader.

***

Madden Decker is shocked when he learns about Blake’s past. He’s horrified but at the same time determined to save his sweet girl. She has become the most important thing in his life. He will put his life in danger, alienate himself from his family and friends, and defy the FBI to save his woman. When the truth about her abductors comes out, he is fearful that he may not be able to save her life. The game has turned in deadly proportions.

***

The stakes are high. The captors will win at any cost. It may be the end of Blake’s life. It may be the end of something that was beyond special.

***

Erin Noelle did a superb job with this entire story, from the beginning to end. I was glued to the pages.

***

I highly recommend the Luminous Duet.

Sometimes you reach a point where you just can’t take any more — a breaking point, some call it.

The day I watched my husband murder the woman who was
pregnant with his child, my point didn’t just break, it exploded like a full
magazine’s worth of hollow points firing through the barrel of a
fully-automatic AK-47.

Literally.

I am no longer his American Princess, nor am I his slave.

Now, I’m a murderer in hiding. My name was Bryleigh Carter Oliveira, and that was my story.

Translucent is one woman’s story of breaking free, starting
over, and learning to trust again through willful submission.

AMAZON

JOIN ERIN NOELLE FOR RELEASE DAY FUN IN THE NOVEL SPOT LOUNGE

Erin Noelle is a Texas native, where she lives with her husband and two young daughters. While earning her degree in History at the University of Houston, she rediscovered her love for reading that was first instilled by her grandmother when she was a young child.

A lover of happily-ever-afters, both historical and current, Erin is an avid reader of all romance novels.

Her titles published include the Book Boyfriend Series, the Dusk ‘Til Dawn Series, Translucent, Conspire — co-authored with SE Hall, Surviving Us, MILF: Wrong Kind of Love and Spark.

Her books have been a part of the USA Today Bestselling list and the Amazon and Barnes & Noble overall Top 100.

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Release Blitz + Excerpt + 5 Star Review + Giveaway: Dirty English by Ilsa Madden-Mills

Posted on 10/14/2015 by shellbellereads

Meet Declan and Elizabeth in Ilsa Madden-Mills

new fighter romance!

Dirty English

By Ilsa Madden- Mills

Release Date: October 12, 2015

Buy: Amazon / Amazon UK

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Synopsis

A scarred fighter.

A girl with rules.

One night of unbridled passion.

There are three things you need to know about Elizabeth Bennett: she’s smart as a whip, always in control, and lives by a set of carefully crafted rules. She’s learned the hard way that people you love the most always hurt you in the end.

But then she meets Declan Blay, the new neighbor at her apartment complex.

A tattooed British street fighter, he’s the campus bad boy she’s supposed to avoid, but when he saves her from a frat party gone bad, all her rules about sex and love fly out the window.

She gives him one night of unbridled passion, but he longs for more.

With only a cardboard-thin wall separating their bedrooms, he dreams of possessing the vulnerable girl next door forever.

One night. Two damaged hearts. The passion of a lifetime.

Excerpt

“Come to my apartment and spend the night with me.” I touched his face, my fingers stroking the softness of his sensuous lips. “Just one night and we can make this shitty world disappear.”

He exhaled. “A one-night stand?”

“Yeah.”

He cupped my chin. “Someone hurt you, didn’t they?”

My lips tightened. No one at Whitman knew about Colby except for Shelley and Blake, and I sure as hell wasn’t telling him. He’d judge me like everyone else had in Petal, North Carolina. “That’s none of your business.”

“I see.” His eyes searched mine until I felt like a bug under a microscope. “What if I wanted more than just one night?”

“Then your hands can let go of my hips now.”

He removed his hands slowly, the tips of his fingers grazing mine. “This may surprise you, but I don’t sleep with every girl I kiss.”

I’d been rejected. Again. “Blake said you got around, that you used—”

“And you believed him?” His voice was incredulous. “Dude is in love with you and he saw exactly how we looked at each other tonight—”

“Looked at each other? What are you talking about? You refused to dance with me and then you ran off with your girlfriend. Not to mention I just kissed you and you didn’t even care.” I threw my hands up.

“I wanted to fuck you the minute you walked in that party,” he snapped.

“Then why don’t you,” I bit out, tossing back my shoulders.

“You think you want me?” he said tightly. “You can’t handle me, Elizabeth. I can see it in your eyes. You’re scared of something, maybe not me, but something.”

My eyes went to his black eye.

He let out a harsh laugh. “Ah, that’s what you’re afraid of. You want the real truth? You told me tonight you didn’t like violence, but I’m an arsehole who uses his fists. That’s who I am.”

“What do you mean?”

His gaze was intense, dark and low, his face struggling as he fought to find the right words. “I’m in a fight club for money. I show up at warehouses and fight other blokes. Sometimes I beat them so bad they need medical attention. A few times, I’ve been beat to unconsciousness. I’m everything you need to stay away from.”

I inhaled, anger and lust and excitement all riding me. Anger that he was pushing me away, lust for the alpha male in him, and God help me, the fighting thing repelled me and excited me at the same time. “I don’t want to stay away from you. I want you to fuck me and stop making excuses for why you can’t.”

My words seemed to snap his taut restraint.

He pulled me back in his arms, his lips fusing with mine unerringly. His tongue plundered me in a sensual way my body had craved for years. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my anger morphing into all-out desire as he turned us and pressed me against the wall.

Yes, yes, this is what I craved.

A passion to remind me that I was real, not just some sad excuse of a girl who chose to exist on scraps of love.

Before I knew it, he’d shoved my robe off, his hands sculpting my shoulders, massaging them as he ravaged my mouth. I reveled in the warmth of his hand on my neck as his mouth skated down, kissing the hollows of my throat, sucking on my collarbone.

“Like this?” he asked, his voice dark and gravelly. “You want me to take you up against this wall?”

“Yes,” I moaned. Gone. Past caring as long as he kept his hands on me.

Out of control, my brain whispered, but I beat back the dark warnings as his warm hand found my breast and squeezed, his fingers rolling my nipple between his thumb and forefinger.

I gasped in pleasure and arched my back to get closer to his body, ignoring the fear that pricked at the surface.

The rules girl in my head stamped her foot and yelled at me. I ignored her.

But even if I wanted to stop right now, I couldn’t. My tongue tangled wildly with his, my hands pulled at his hair, spurring him on, his hand palming my breast and then tugging. Sharp sensations of need went straight to my core.

“Is this what you want? Something quick where we just take what we want and forget each other the next day?”

No. Not that. Not like the way he said it, like it was something dirty.

“Yes, like that,” I whispered against his shoulder, my mouth on his skin, tasting him as my teeth bit down.

Michel’s Review

How can you not like a book that references Pride and Prejudice as a guide to a modern day love story? Ilsa Madden-Mills brought out the big guns while writing Dirty English. Everything about this story held me captive to the very last word.

Elizabeth Bennett is not your ordinary college girl. Rather than experiencing the carefree college life she has chosen to concentrate on the academics. She doesn’t date, she doesn’t do relationships, and she does sex on her own terms with carefully selected partners. There’s are reason for her choices. She has been violated, damaged, and broken beyond repair. Or so she thinks until she meets Declan Blay, the sexy British fighter. This man is beautifully broken in his own way. Together they make perfect sense like Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennett.

Elizabeth has finally met a man that has the potential to break down her walls. Although she is thoroughly intrigued with Declan, she is also afraid of him. He has all the qualities that can make her break her own rules and make her have hope once again.

Declan is a fighter. He has had his own share of troubles in life. He has had to fight his upbringing and break the mold. He is doing illegal underground fights trying to raise enough money to open his gym. He wants to pursue a career as a UFC fighter. He is also a sentimentalist , he loves poetry and literature. He strives for excellence in every aspect of his life. When he meets Elizabeth Bennett, he has found another fight worth winning.

Elizabeth’s past comes back to haunt her in the most dangerous way. Declan is ready to be her hero and save her. First she must save herself and open up her heart.

Ilsa Madden Mills once again delivered a powerful story with dynamic characters. Declan is one of the sexiest English men I have encountered in fiction. He sure does give Mr. Darcy competition when it comes to leading men. The great thing about this book is that Dirty English is going to get his happily ever after. His Miss Bennett is going to fall for his charm and cherish his heart.

Dirty English was fantastic. I hope that Ilsa Madden- Mills will give her other English gent, Dax Blay (Declan’s twin), his own epic love story.

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Briarcrest Academy Series

Very Bad Things – Book 1

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

Very Wicked Beginnings – Book 1.5

Buy: Amazon

Very Wicked Things – Book 2

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

Very Twisted Things – Book 3

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

_____________________________________________________________________

Author Bio

New York Times and USA Today best selling author Ilsa Madden-Mills writes about strong heroines and sexy alpha males that sometimes you just want to slap.

She spends her days with two small kids, one neurotic cat, and one husband. She collects magnets and rarely cooks except to bake her own pretzels.

When she’s not crafting a story, you can find her drinking too much Diet Coke, jamming out to Pink, or checking on her carefully maintained chocolate stash.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads ~ Instagram ~ Amazon Author Page

★ Sign up for her newsletter★

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Release Blitz + 5 Star Review + 2015 Favorite: The Fifteenth Minute by Sarina Bowen – The Ivy Years Series – Book 5

Posted on 10/13/2015 by shellbellereads

The Fifteenth Minute

The Ivy Years Series – Book 5

By Sarina Bowen

Release Date: October 13,2015

Synopsis

Freshman Lianne Challice is known to millions of fans as Princess Vindi. But sometimes a silver screen sorceress just wants to hang up her wand, tell her manager to shove it, and become a normal college student. Too bad that’s harder than it looks.

She’s never lived a normal life. She hasn’t been to school since kindergarten. And getting close to anyone is just too risky — the last boy she kissed sold the story to a British tabloid.

But she can’t resist trying to get close to Daniel “DJ” Trevi, the hot, broody guy who spins tunes for hockey games in the arena. Something’s haunting his dark eyes, and she needs to know more.

DJ’s genius is for expressing the mood of the crowd with a ten second song snippet. With just a click and a fade, he can spread hope, pathos or elation among six thousand screaming fans.

Too bad his college career is about to experience the same quick fade-out as one of his songs. He can’t get close to Lianne, and he can’t tell her why. And the fact that she seems to like him at all? Incredible.

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

********

Michel’s Review

The Ivy Years Series by Sarina Bowen has consistently earned 5 Star ratings and made the 2014 Favorite List and 2015 Favorite List. Each and every book in this series tackles a unique and complex subject matter with complete honesty and compassion. That is only part of what makes this series so captivating. Sarina adds an emotional romance that gives her characters the love and support they desperately need. Then she adds the combination of team camaraderie , college friendships, and interesting professionals helping their transition from college coed to independent adults. Everything about this series works!

The Fifteeth Hour is the fifth book in this dynamic series. It features a movie star coed, Lianne Chalice and Daniel Tevi, the spinmaster DJ for the Harkness Hockey teams. When these two meet there is an instant attraction. The chemistry between them is undeniable. Both are single and getting together should be easy. Love is never easy, especially for Lianne and DJ, their life situations are complicated.

Lianne spent her first semester of her freshman year as a recluse because of her stardom. She has decided the second semester is going to be different. She is going to get out, mingle, make friends, and become a part of the Harkness community. She has never had a boyfriend or a real romantic relationship. When she meets Daniel, she wants that kind of relationship.

Daniel is emmensely attracted to Lianne. He sees her as a sexy woman and not a movie star. But his life is a mess. He is forced into seclusion from the Harkness community because of an incident that happened the previous year. His days at Harkness are numbered. His future is looking very bleak. This incident in question could ruin his life.

Daniel has been accused of raping a coed during a drunken dorm party. The consensual hook up has turned into ugly accusations. The administrators of Harkness don’t know how to handle this kind of incident. Rape is a very serious accusation. It is a crime. When the crime occurs on campus and is not reported until later, it makes the situation hard to determine. There are no guidelines for investigating this kind of crime.

This book tackled a very hard subject. Rape is horrific. It is also horrific to accuse someone of a crime they did not commit. Sarina handled the subject matter with delicacy, objectivity, and factual examples. She showed the reader the “other” side of the coin. In so many books it is usually the victim’s perspective that the readers experience. Sarina showed how difficult and how devastating it can be for the person accused of the crime. The ramifications of these accusations can ruin a person’s life. It causes epic upheaval with their family, friends, and peers.

Daniel was lucky to meet Lianne. She was the bright shiny star in his bleak existence. Lianne was lucky to meet Daniel as well. He showed her how wonderful it is to be an ordinary girl and make her feel extraordinary.

Sarina once again delivered a phenomenal book.

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The Ivy Years

The Year We Fell Down – Book 1

The sport she loves is out of reach. The boy she loves has someone else. What now?

She expected to start Harkness College as a varsity ice hockey player. But a serious accident means that Corey Callahan will start school in a wheelchair instead.

Across the hall, in the other handicapped-accessible dorm room, lives the too-delicious-to-be real Adam Hartley, another would-be hockey star with his leg broken in two places. He’s way out of Corey’s league.

Also, he’s taken.

Nevertheless, an unlikely alliance blooms between Corey and Hartley in the “gimp ghetto” of McHerrin Hall. Over tequila, perilously balanced dining hall trays, and video games, the two cope with disappointments that nobody else understands.

They’re just friends, of course, until one night when things fall apart. Or fall together. All Corey knows is that she’s falling. Hard.

But will Hartley set aside his trophy girl to love someone as broken as Corey? If he won’t, she will need to find the courage to make a life for herself at Harkness — one which does not revolve around the sport she can no longer play, or the brown-eyed boy who’s afraid to love her back.

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

The Year We Hid Away – Book 2

She’s hiding something big. He’s hiding someone small.
Scarlet Crowley’s life was torn apart the day father was arrested for unspeakable crimes. Now the shock has worn off, but not the horror.

It’s a safe bet that Scarlet is the only first year at Harkness College who had to sneak past TV news trucks parked on her front lawn just to leave town. But college will be Scarlet’s fresh start.

Clutching a shiny new student ID — with a newly minted name on it — she leaves it all behind. Even if it means lying to the boy she’s falling for.

Bridger McCaulley is a varsity hockey star known for being a player both on and off the ice. But a sobering family crisis takes that all away. Protecting his sister means a precarious living arrangement and constant deception. The only bright spot in his week is the few sensual, stolen hours he spends with Scarlet.
The two form a tentative relationship based on the understanding that some things must always be held back. But when grim developments threaten them both, going it alone just won’t work anymore. And if they can’t learn to trust one another now, the families who let them down will take everything they’ve struggled to keep.

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

Blond Date – Book 2.5

A blind date. A nervous sorority girl. A mean-spirited fraternity prank. What could go wrong?

As a sorority pledge, there are commandments that Katie Vickery must live by. One: thou shalt not show up for the party without a date. Two: the guy shall be an athlete, preferably an upperclassman.

Unfortunately, Katie just broke up with her jerkface football player boyfriend. Even worse, her last encounter with him resulted in utter humiliation. She’d rather hide under the bed than attend a party where he’ll be.

Yet staying home would mean letting him win.

Enjoying herself tonight was out of the question. She could only hope to get through the evening without her blind date noticing that he was spending the evening with a crazy person.

Andrew Baschnagel is living proof that nice guys don’t finish first. He’s had his eye on Katie since the moment her long legs waltzed into his art history class. So when her roommate sets Andy up to be Katie’s date, he’d be crazy to say no. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a lot of practice with either girls or parties. Yet.

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

The Understatement Of The Year – Book 3

What happened in high school stayed in high school. Until now.

Five years ago, Michael Graham betrayed the only person who ever really knew him. Since then, he’s made an art of hiding his sexual orientation from everyone. Including himself.

So it’s a shock when his past strolls right into the Harkness College locker room, sporting a bag of hockey gear and the same slow smile that had always rendered Graham defenseless. For Graham, there is only one possible reaction: total, debilitating panic. With one loose word, the team’s new left wing could destroy Graham’s life as he knows it.

John Rikker is stuck being the new guy. Again. And it’s worse than usual, because the media has latched onto the story of the only “out” player in Division One hockey. As the satellite trucks line the sidewalk outside the rink, his new teammates are not amused.

And one player in particular looks sick every time he enters the room.

Rikker didn’t exactly expect a warm welcome from Graham. But the guy won’t even meet his eyes. From the looks of it, his former… best friend / boyfriend / whatever isn’t doing so well. He drinks too much and can’t focus during practice.

Either the two loneliest guys on the team will self destruct from all the new pressures in their lives, or they can navigate the pain to find a way back to one another. To say that it won’t be easy is the Understatement of the Year.

Warning: unlike the other books in this series, this heartbreaking love story is about two guys. Contains sexual situations, dance music, snarky t-shirts and a poker-playing grandmother.

Buy : Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

The Shameless Hour – Book 4

The girl who’s had everyone meets the boy who has no one.
For Bella, the sweet-talking, free-loving, hip-checking student manager of the Harkness men’s hockey team, sex is a second language. She’s used to being fluent where others stutter, and the things people say behind her back don’t (often) bother her. So she can’t understand why her smoking hot downstairs neighbor has so much trouble staying friends after their spontaneous night together. She knows better than to worry about it, but there’s something in those espresso eyes that makes her second guess herself.
Rafe is appalled with himself for losing his virginity in a drunken hookup. His strict Catholic upbringing always emphasized loving thy neighbor—but not with a bottle of wine and a box of condoms. The result is an Ivy League bout of awkwardness. But when Bella is leveled by a little bad luck and a downright sinister fraternity prank, it’s Rafe who is there to pick up the pieces.
Bella doesn’t want Rafe’s help, and she’s through with men. Too bad the undeniable spark that crackles between the two of them just can’t be snuffed.

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes

The Ivy Years Collection- Three Full Length Novels + Novella

Life at the elite Harkness College is brought to you in four tales, each one sexier and more heartbreaking than the last. Contains: hockey hotties, snarky T-shirts, a slow-burn love affair, a liar (with reasons,) a virgin (with reasons,) and one adorkable basketball player.

Book 1: The Year We Fell Down
The sport she loves is out of reach. The boy she loves has someone else.
Corey was supposed to start college as a member of the women’s ice hockey team. Instead, she’ll spend it in a wheelchair. The only upside? Her too-delicious-to-be-real neighbor across the hall.

Book 2: The Year We Hid Away
She’s hiding something big. He’s hiding someone small.
Dorm rooms are supposed to be for sleeping, studying, and partying. Not for hiding your eight-year-old sister.

Novella: Blonde Date
A blind date. A nervous sorority girl. A mean-spirited fraternity prank. What could go wrong?

Book 3: The Understatement of the Year
What happened in high school stayed in high school. Until now.
Michael Graham will never tell anyone the truth about himself. Too bad his past walks right into the locker room on the first day of hockey practice.

Buy: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes

Author Bio:

Sarina Bowen writes steamy, angsty Contemporary Romance and New Adult fiction from the wilds of Vermont.

The Year We Fell Down, Book #1 in The Ivy Years series, began breaking hearts in March 2014. Book #2, The Year We Hid Away, is brand new.

For Harlequin-E, Sarina writes the Gravity series. Coming in From the Cold features an angsty downhill ski racer and one of the most unique plot conflicts in contemporary romance today.

Sarina enjoys skiing, coffee products and a nice glass of wine. She lives with her family, eight chickens and more ski gear and hockey equipment than seems necessary.

She would be honored to connect with you at http://www.sarinabowen.com.

Sign up for Sarina’s Mailing List

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Release Blitz + 5 Star Review: Hard To Break by Bella Jewel – Alpha’s Hearts Series – Book 2

Posted on 10/13/2015 by shellbellereads

Hard To Break

Alpha’s Heart Series – Book 2

By Bella Jewel

Synopsis

Quinn has spent her whole life working in her dad’s garage, leaving her more comfortable with a carburetor than a curling iron. Her world is turned upside down when her beloved garage is bought by none other than world famous, sexy as sin, custom car builder, Tazen Watts. He’s the one man she can’t stand…even though he makes her hotter than a high performance engine in top gear.

Tazen has no use for Quinn, at least not professionally, and he’s making sure she knows it. But there’s a spark between them that she’s finding hard to ignore. She’s determined to prove her talent is as impressive as her sassy mouth. When she finds out Tazen is hiding a secret that could bring down his career and everyone involved in it, she wonders: is falling for him is going to be worth the risk?
*This book is a standalone that contains a HEA*

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

Michel’s Review

Hard To Break by Bella Jewel is the second book in the sizzling Alpha’s Hearts series. I am almost thinking that this series should be named something else because of the strong heroines featured in these books. These are not ordinary women. They are women making their way in male dominated careers. Yes, it does take a hot strong Alpha male to tame these strong women, but the women shine in this series.

Quinn has spent her entire life under the hoods of cars. She is running her family garage because her father has succumbed to alcoholism. Not only is she trying to keep their business afloat, she is also trying to handle a very sick man. After her mother’s death, her father fell apart. Quinn had to step up and take the reins.

The garage is failing. A famous car builder wants her location. He has the money to make it happen. Quinn has the heart to try to stop it. When she doesn’t succeed she takes matters into her own hands. She forces the new owner to hire her.

Tazen has never met a woman as stubborn or hard headed as Quinn. He has never met a mechanic as talented as she is. To add icing to the delicious layers, she’s beautiful, intelligent, and loyal. She’s got his attention.

As Quinn and Taken begin to build a beautiful relationship outside of the garage, the world will come crashing at them in many directions. Quinn’s father’s drinking is out of control. Tazen’s crazy ex girlfriend has come back into the picture. She could ruin Tazen. She is determined to tear Quinn and Tazen’s relationship apart.

Quinn is a strong woman. Tazen is a determined man. Together they are unstoppable.

I really enjoyed this book. Bella created unique characters that caught my attention. The romance combined with the motorhead world was fun. I highly recommend the Alpha’s Hearts series. I am looking forward to our next strong heroine conquering the man’s world.

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Hard To Fight – Book 1

Grace is a bounty hunter who wants to be taken seriously, but her boss refuses to believe that a woman can bring down a dangerous criminal. She finally gets a chance to prove herself when she’s given the case of a lifetime: capture Raide Knox and bring him to justice.

Raide is a dangerous fugitive on the run…and the sexiest man Grace has ever met. Catching Raide won’t be easy. He’s not the kind of man to go down without a fight. Raide is more intense and frustrating than any man she’s ever had to deal with, and the instantaneous attraction that sparks between them is undeniable. One thing is for sure…it’s going to be a case they will never forget.
**Hard To Fight is a full-length standalone romance with a HEA**

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes / Kobo

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Hard To Break – Book 2

**Hard To Break is a full-length standalone romance with a HEA**

Pre Order: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes / Kobo

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Hard To Forget – Book 3

Release Date: December 15, 2015

Delaney, a professional bodyguard, has spent years trying to prove herself in a male dominated industry. Now she’s facing her greatest challenge yet.
Bad boy billionaire Jax Shields has made plenty of enemies on his climb to the top, but being in the wrong place at the wrong time has put his life at risk. Now he’s putting his life in the hands of Delaney and her team. He demands the best in everything, and he doesn’t think she has what it takes to protect him. He’s also made it clear he’d rather have her on her back then covering his. Will Delaney be able to prove herself to the most arrogant—and devastatingly handsome—man she’s ever met?

**Hard To Forget is a full-length standalone romance with a HEA**

Pre Oder: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / ITunes / Kobo

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Author Bio:

Bella Jewel is represented by Kimberly Brower from Rebecca Friedman Literary Agency. Email – kimberly@rfliterary.com – Website http://www.rfliterary.com

Bella Jewel is a self published, USA Today bestselling author. She’s been publishing since 2013. Her first release was a contemporary romance, Hell’s Knights which topped the charts upon release. Since that time, she has published over ten novels, gaining a bestseller status on numerous platforms. She lives in North Queensland and is currently studying editing and proofreading to further expand her career. Bella has been writing since she was just shy of fifteen years old. In Summer 2013 she was offered an ebook deal through Montlake Romance for her bestselling modern day pirate series, Enslaved By The Ocean. In 2015 she signed a three book worldwide deal with St Martin’s Press – and happily joined the Macmillan team to produce some scorching, sexy, amazing stories that will be presented to the world from August 2015 onwards.

She plans to expand her writing career, planning many new releases for the future.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads

Betrayal by Aleatha Romig is live! 2015 Favorite + 6 Star Review

Posted on 10/13/2015 by shellbellereads

One week. No future. No past. No more.

Alexandria Collins has one week to live carefree—no ghosts of her past or pressures of her future haunting her. Reinventing herself as “Charli,” she is knocked off her feet by a sexy, mysterious man who brings her pleasure like she never imagined. With her heart at stake, she forgets that decisions made in the dark of night reappear in the bright light of day.

“Some of my tastes are unique. They aren’t for everyone. I understand that.”

Lennox “Nox” Demetri is wealthy, confident, and decisive—he knows what he wants. From the first time he sees Charli at an exclusive resort, he knows he wants her. Although he is usually the one to make the rules, together they agree on one:

One week. No more.

When betrayal comes from those closest to Alexandria, she must decide how far she is willing to go to survive. Choices are not always easy, especially when they involve the heart, body, and soul. After all, Infidelity is a business, and some rules are meant to be broken.

“Is it really cheating if you’re doing it to yourself?”

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Aleatha Romig comes a sexy, new dominant hero who knows what he wants, and a strong-willed heroine who has plans of her own. With classic Aleatha Romig twists, turns, deceptions, and devotions, this new epic dark romance will have readers swooning one minute and screaming the next. Have you been Aleatha’d?

BETRAYAL is a full-length novel and the first of five in the INFIDELITY series.

Buy: Amazon / B & N / ITunes

AMAZON PAPERBACK

EXCERPT

I motioned around the patio. “Is this what you do? You save women from the resort leaches and lure them to your lair?”
“My lair? Am I Batman?”
“Are you? I don’t know.”
He smirked. “If only I could make a living at doing just that, but alas, no. You’re my first rescue.”
I stopped my reach for a piece of cheese and looked back up at him. “You’re first?”
“My first rescue,” he clarified. “Hardly my first.”
“Why?”
He lifted his glass toward me in a toast. After I lifted mine, he said, “To you, Charli with an I, and to learning more about you.”
After our glasses clinked and we both took a sip, I asked the question that I’d been dying to know ever since our morning encounter. “You seem to have a clear advantage. You know my name, but I’ve yet to learn yours.”
“Do I?”
“Do you what?”
“Do I have an advantage?” He leaned closer. “Do I know your name? You see, I had the resort’s reservations scoured. I wanted to send a gift to your room and confirm our dinner, yet Charli was nowhere to be found.”
I took a deep breath. “Well, I’m here with my sister. I guess my name isn’t on the reservation.”
“You’re sister?”
“Yes, and you—if I were to have the reservations scoured?”
The sun had now fully set, falling below the water and the darkening sky was beginning to fill with stars, especially over the water.
“Would you believe, Batman?” When I didn’t respond, he said, “Bruce Wayne?”
Though I pursed my lips, I felt the twinkle in my eyes.

Robin’s Review

Creative writing almost seems effortless for Aleatha Romig. Her writing just flows. It’s smooth, easy-to-read and consistently clean of editing issues. She writes stories that will capture your attention and leave you yearning for more insight. Plots no one else would ever dream of. Novels that are dark and twisty, entertaining, and keep you theorizing long after you have finished reading.

Betrayal is the next great novel to be published by Aleatha Romig. It’s the first novel of her brand new Infidelity series, and Romig considers it dark romance. Please don’t judge Betrayal by its name. It’s not about a love triangle or cheating on a partner. According to Romig, “It’s about compromising your own beliefs for your heart and dreams.”

Our protagonist is Alexandria Charles Montague Collins. Alex is a Montague. The Montague family of Savannah, Georgia comes from old money. Montague women are proper Southern belles who are expected to marry and have babies to carry on the family name. A career is completely out of the question, but even so, Alex dreams of becoming an attorney. She’s well on the way to reaching her goal when she graduates summa cum laude from Stanford University and is accepted to Columbia Law School.

Just a few weeks prior to her move across the country, Alex and her best friend, Chelsea, decide to spend a week at the exclusive Del Mar Club and Spa. It’s a week without being confined to the pretentious Montague family cage. A week away from the rigid focus on her career and dreams. Her goal is to spend a week free of her restraints, living only for the moment, with her best friend, Chelsea. Alex reinvents herself as Charli (with an “I”).

“This was her week to live, to do what Alex wouldn’t and Alexandria couldn’t.”

It doesn’t take long for Charli to be approached. Her mystery man has broad shoulders, defined abs, a trim waist and thick thighs. He is dominant, confident in what he wants, and what he wants is to have dinner with Charli.

“Though I felt as though I, Charli, was betraying Alex, the woman I’d worked so hard to be, I agreed.”

The physical relationship that develops between Nox and Charli is extremely hot! It’s not about how explicit Betrayal is – it’s all about the chemistry, the control and trust, Charli letting go of her self-imposed and familial restraints. It includes everything that happens between them during one short week.

The main characters continue to stir my curiosity now that I am finished reading. Betrayal is mostly told from the point of view of Alex Collins, with the timeline shifting back and forth between present and past by chapter. Romig gives readers a decent picture of Alex, but something tells me we have only begun to crack the surface of her real life. I think Alex has skeletons in her closet that are yet to be revealed. Because Nox and Charli agree to “no past and no future” when they meet at Del Mar, we are given no indication of who Nox really is. We get a glimpse of his point of view towards the end of the story, and I am intrigued, that’s for sure.

Aleatha Romig has five novels planned for this series, and I have no doubt she is going to lead willing readers down a rabbit hole. Remember the Consequences series? I expect nothing less than a complicated plot that is full of twists and turns and heaps of irony. My mind is already swirling with theories and possibilities. Truly – what a fantastic start to a series! Betrayal deserves no less than a 5-star rating, but I’ve even toyed with giving it 6 stars. Congratulations to author Aleatha Romig for earning a spot on my list of 2015 favorites!

Aleatha Romig is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who lives in Indiana. She grew up in Mishawaka, graduated from Indiana University, and is currently living south of Indianapolis. Aleatha has raised three children with her high school sweetheart and husband of nearly thirty years. Before she became a full-time author, she worked days as a dental hygienist and spent her nights writing. Now, when she’s not imagining mind-blowing twists and turns, she likes to spend her time with her family and friends. Her other pastimes include reading and creating heroes/anti-heroes who haunt your dreams!

Aleatha released her first novel, CONSEQUENCES, in August of 2011. CONSEQUENCES became a bestselling series with five novels and two companions released from 2011 through 2015. The compelling and epic story of Anthony and Claire Rawlings has graced more than half a million e-readers. Aleatha released the first of her series TALES FROM THE DARK SIDE, INSIDIOUS, in the fall of 2014. These standalone thrillers continue Aleatha’s twisted style with an increase in heat. In the fall of 2015, Aleatha will move head first into the world of dark romance with the release of BETRAYAL, the first of her five novel INFIDELITY series.

Aleatha is a “Published Author’s Network” member of the Romance Writers of America and represented by Danielle Egan-Miller of Browne & Miller Literary Associates.

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Saucy Southern Readers

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Category Archives: Reviewers

Release Blitz + Excerpt + 6 Star Review + 2015 Favorite + Giveaway: Final Debt and Indebted Epilogue by Pepper Winters – Indebted Series – Book 6

Book Tour and 5 Star Review: Perfectly Imperfect by Harper Sloan

Release Blitz + 5 Star Review: Fighting Dirty by Sidney Halston – Worth The Fight Series – Book 5

Happy Release + 5 Star Review: Talon by Carian Cole – Ashes & Embers Series – Book 4

Release Blitz + Excerpt + 5 Star Review + Giveaway: Zero Hour by Lili St. Germain – The Gypsy Brothers Epilogue

Release Blitz + 5 Star Review: Transparent by Erin Noelle – Luminous Duet – Book 2

Erin Noelle is a Texas native, where she lives with her husband and two young daughters. While earning her degree in History at the University of Houston, she rediscovered her love for reading that was first instilled by her grandmother when she was a young child.

A lover of happily-ever-afters, both historical and current, Erin is an avid reader of all romance novels.

Her books have been a part of the USA Today Bestselling list and the Amazon and Barnes & Noble overall Top 100.

Release Blitz + Excerpt + 5 Star Review + Giveaway: Dirty English by Ilsa Madden-Mills

Release Blitz + 5 Star Review + 2015 Favorite: The Fifteenth Minute by Sarina Bowen – The Ivy Years Series – Book 5

Release Blitz + 5 Star Review: Hard To Break by Bella Jewel – Alpha’s Hearts Series – Book 2

Betrayal by Aleatha Romig is live! 2015 Favorite + 6 Star Review

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Erin Noelle is a Texas native, where she lives with her husband and two young daughters. While earning her degree in History at the University of Houston, she rediscovered her love for reading that was first instilled by her grandmother when she was a young child.

A lover of happily-ever-afters, both historical and current, Erin is an avid reader of all romance novels.

Her books have been a part of the USA Today Bestselling list and the Amazon and Barnes & Noble overall Top 100.

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