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Release Blitz + 5 Star Review: Played by Jen Frederick – The Grid Iron Series – Book 4

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Played

The Gridiron Series – Book 4

By Jen Frederick

Buy: Amazon


Synopsis:

She’s been playing it close…

 

Ara Martin and college football star Ty Masters have been best friends since the first day of school when Ty literally ran her over. She fell for him immediately, but having lived under the shadow of her famous father, she knows a relationship with irresistible Ty would only end in heartbreak. For four years, she’s kept her feelings hidden. But one drunken encouter weeks before graduation is about to expose Ara’s biggest secret and destroy her most treasured relationship.

 

He’s been playing for keeps…

 

Ty is about to be drafted into the NFL, but his personal life is a mess. He’s got an agent he doesn’t like, a brother who can’t stop offering his opinion, and a beautiful woman he craves but can’t have. He can fire his agent and ignore his brother, but he’s not sure what to do about Ara. Ty’s been able to run down every quarterback he’s faced, but his sexy, stubborn best friend keeps slipping through his fingers.

 

Luckily, he’s not one for giving up, and once he gets his hands on her, he’s never letting go.

Gridiron Series $.99 on Release Week

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Michel’s Review

With all the negativity going on in today’s world with NFL football and illegal recruiting in college sports, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to dive into this book.  Played by Jen Frederick is the fourth book in the Grid Iron series.  This series focuses on college football players finishing up their college football careers.  For many of them the next step is the NFL, for others it’s stepping into their perspective professional careers.  Either way they are at crossroads in their lives and the pressure is high.

Ty Masters chose to play five years rather than four so he didn’t have to compete with his twin brother Knox in the professional draft since they both played the same position.  He also chose a different college across the country so they could both live out their individual glory rather than share a collective spotlight.  They are extremely competitive with one another but also extremely close.  When his brother went into the draft a year early it took some of the pressure off of Ty but also added a bit of pressure to live up to his brother’s pristine image.  Like most twins, Ty and Knox differ like night and day.  The one thing they have in common is their focus on football, the difference is their approach with that focus.  Unlike his brother, Ty has enjoyed the dating life in college.  While his brother stayed away from women, Ty enjoyed them but never let them come before his game.  He’s gained the reputation of being a crappy, uncaring boyfriend.  He could care less.  The only woman that is important in his life is Ara Martin, his best friend.  With the upcoming draft his agent is pressuring him about everything from his diet to dating.  His agent is concerned about his reputation and how it will affect his draft round.

Ara Martin has been living within her parents shadows after their divorce.  Her father is a renowned sculptor who tends to remarry with every masterpiece he creates.  Her mother is a driven professional that thinks art is a frivolous and insecure career.  She’s also a bit cold hearted with her views on family and marriage.  Ara is trying to carve out her own place in the art world without her father’s influence or her mother’s negativity.  After being a product of numerous divorces in her childhood, she chose to put Ty Masters in the friend department because she valued their friendship too much.

So this book focuses on the final semester of their senior year in college.  Ty and Ara are both struggling in very different ways.  The one thing that is easy in their lives is each other.  From the social media to Ty’s twin brother, a nasty agent, and a rancid ex girlfriend, the pressure has become a hotbed in Ty’s life.  Ara’s determination to prove herself in her own world is hard enough let alone the different types of pressure her parents are separately creating, Ty Masters is the only thing that isn’t a boiling point in her life.  The problem is deep down Ty is a boiling point, she is hopelessly in love with him but doesn’t want to ruin their friendship.  Little does she know Ty is realizing that he is in love with her.  Ty’s approach is like his approach to football, full focus and winning what he wants on his own terms.

Jen Frederick once again scored big with Played.  She showed a very different side to the sport that most fans don’t see and added a breathtaking romance to the mix.  It is a great addition to the series and I think I might love Ty Masters a little more than I loved Knox Masters.

So if you are tired of all the crap going on in real life sports, take yourself to Jen Frederick’s Grid Iron sports world, it will not disappoint.

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Author Bio:

 

jen frederick bioJen 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

 

 

New Release + Excerpt + Giveaway + 5-Star Review: Show Me the Way by A.L. Jackson

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☆☆☆Show Me the Way is Live☆☆☆

Show Me the Way

The first stand-alone novel in A.L. Jackson’s brand-new Fight for

Me series…

​​

 

READ FOR FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2xOtvLK
Audible: http://smarturl.it/SMTWAudible
Signed Paperback: http://www.aljacksonauthor.com/signed-copies

 

The first sexy, captivating, stand-alone novel in the brand-new FIGHT FOR ME series from NYT & USA Today Bestselling Author A.L. Jackson . . .

Rex Gunner. As bitter as he is beautiful.

The owner of the largest construction company in Gingham Lakes has been burned one too many times. His wife leaving him to raise their daughter was the last blow this single dad could take. The only woman he’ll let into his heart is his little girl.

Rynna Dayne. As vulnerable as she is tempting.

She ran from Gingham Lakes when she was seventeen. She swore to herself she would never return. Then her grandmother passed away and left her the deed to the diner that she once loved.

When Rex meets his new neighbor, he knows he’s in trouble.

She’s gorgeous and sweet and everything he can’t trust.

Until she becomes the one thing he can’t resist.

One kiss sends them tumbling toward ecstasy.
But in a town this size, pasts are bound to collide. Caught in a web of lies, betrayal, and
disloyalty, Rex must make a choice.

Will he hide behind his walls or will he take the chance . . .

EXCLUSIVE BONUS DELETED SCENE:

Preface from Amy: I’m excited to offer another scene in Rex & Rynna’s love story. It was really difficult to cut this scene, but during editing, I knew I had to as I was taking a different direction as we headed into the climax of the story. I hope you enjoy this exclusive cut scene!

Rex stood in the foggy pour of the moon, the striking raw beauty of him bathed in an
ethereal glow. His hair whipped in the wind where he stood on the other side of the road that
separated our houses. His hands were balled into fists, jaw clenched, eyes hard.

Dominant and dangerous and somehow chained by all his doubt.

Warned you being with me wouldn’t be easy. Tell me you’ll fight for me. Tell me you’ll fight
for us. That you won’t give up when things get rough. Tell me you’ll stay. Tell me I should take
this chance.

I inched forward. Energy lashed. Whipping and inciting.

Compelling.

And God, I wanted to fight. Fight him for leaving me. Fight for him because it was the last
thing I’d wanted him to do. Fight for what was right. The problem was, I wasn’t certain of exactly what that was.

Rex’s nostrils flared, and he was moving across the street, his big body eating up the
ground in his long, purposed strides. His hulking form climbed the steps, his shoulders wide and his presence bigger as he mounted to the last step onto my deck.

In a flash, he was on me. My back was pressed against the wall of my house, the heat of his
strong body lighting me up like a furnace. He wound a big hand in my hair, tugging, forcing me to look up at him.

“Little Thief.”

The accusation was gravel, and I sucked in a staggered breath. It only drew him deeper, his
presence sinking in, taking hold. Everything swelled just as the pain of his rejection went rushing through my veins. A raging river that threatened to drown.

“You can’t do this to me,” I whimpered. For a beat, I struggled, fighting him, attempting to
push him away as my attention darted across the street to his sleeping house.

Jealousy boiled beneath the surface of my skin. Wicked, spiteful flames. A pool of sickness
churned in my belly, all mixed up with the need he instantly incited in my body. “You can’t do
this to me,” I begged this time, feeling everything crack.

Splintering.

“You already did it,” he grated. His nose brushed mine when he said it, his hot hand on my
cheek, his eyes so terrifyingly sincere. “Told you, you were gonna ruin me. You ruined me,
Rynna. Can’t fucking close my eyes without seeing you. Can’t sleep without dreaming of you.
Can’t take a fucking step without wanting to run right back to you.”

I squeezed my eyes closed. As if that might stand the chance of putting a barrier between
us. I only felt him more, the wild beat of his heart and the flush of his skin and the maddening
gaze of the scruff on his chin.

He was everywhere.

“I’m in love with you,” he said.

I’m in love with you.

Those words spun around me like a tease. Prodding and pulling.

My eyes fluttered open.

“Rex.” I grasped him by the wrists, clinging to him. A tear streaked free. He wiped it away
with his thumb.

“Don’t cry, baby. Fuck, please don’t cry.”

My lip trembled. “I missed you.”

He pulled me closer. “Didn’t know I could miss someone the way I’ve been missing you.
Didn’t know how bad I could hurt inside until you weren’t there anymore.”

And then he was kissing me. It was a frenzy. That desperation when finding something
that’d been lost. The promise that you’d never again let it go.

His mouth consumed mine.

Possessively.

Powerfully.

Taking what was his.

It was dizzying.

The severity of him. It was all spurred by the significance of finally finding what was right.
The moment when you finally scaled the obstacles standing in your way, and you found the
perfection waiting on the other side.

He kept muttering, “Little Thief, Little Thief,” as he spun us, pinning me against my door. I
fumbled to get to the knob. It knocked open and we stumbled into the welcoming dimness of the living room.

We were frantic as we tore at each other’s clothes.

Lips parting, chests heaving, slamming right back together as we shed the barriers between
us.

“Where’s Frankie?” I managed to mumble, fingers in his shoulders as he was peeling off my
underwear.

He smiled. I could feel it. The smiled he smiled as he was still kissing me. This awe that
pierced me through. A perfect, painless stake that embedded itself in my spirit. “Spending the
night at my mom’s. She hasn’t stopped talking about you. Asking for you.”

“I miss her.” It was a confession of my soul. And I was suddenly clinging to him, my arms
around his neck, my face pressed to his pulse point that thrummed beneath his jaw. “I missed
you both so much. I didn’t know a love like this existed until I met the two of you.”

He swept me off my feet, carried me to my couch, and laid me across it. He crawled over
me, hovering, caging me in. His face in shadows, his gorgeous body rimmed in light. “Never
even knew a love like this existed. You stole all my rationale and gave me a reason. I love you,
Rynna. Love you in a way that terrifies me. But still, I’m not scared anymore. Not of us. Not of
this.”

I smiled up at him, my fingertips tracking down the side of his cheek and brushing across his
full, full lips. He nipped at my fingers, and I bit back a smile, my eyes full of wonder as I gazed
up at the man who’d changed everything. “Take me.”

Rex climbed between my thighs, only to freeze when his phone buzzed from the pocket of
his jeans he’d discarded on the floor.

Apologetically, he shot me a grin. “I’d better get that.”

“Yeah,” I said with a soft smile.

He dug it out and answered.

My heart fell straight to the floor when I heard the screaming on the other side.

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2xOtvLK
Audible: http://smarturl.it/SMTWAudible
Signed Paperback: http://www.aljacksonauthor.com/signed-copies

 

Tracey’s Review

It’s been said that you can’t go home again, but for Rynna Dayne, she can’t think of any other place that she’d rather be. It’s been years since the malice and betrayal of others caused her to leave Gingham Lakes, but she’s a different person now, and she has a destiny to fulfill.

Rex Gunner hasn’t always been angry and bitter. But the worst kind of loss, followed by unanticipated betrayal, has left him a shell of the man that he once was. There’s a place in his heart for only one person, his daughter Frankie Leigh. There’s no room for Rynna Dayne, no matter how much his heart tells him otherwise.

With the boys of Sunder all having gotten their HEAs, I was anxiously awaiting the next series to come from author A.L Jackson. I mean, it’s Amy. She writes angtsy heart-wrenching books like nobody’s business, books that become part of you and that leave you thinking about them for a long time afterwards. So, what was it going to be? What it is, friends, is SHOW ME THE WAY, the first book in Amy’s new Fight For Me series, and one of my favorite books of this year.

I fell in love with the characters in this book from the first page. Frankie Leigh grabbed my heart and didn’t let go, and watching Rynna having the courage and the strength to stand up to a past that had sent her running from the home and people that she loved made this a keeper for me. And then there’s Rex. This broken and beautiful man, a man that has lost so much, but who still has so much love to give, despite himself, well, Rex Gunner is one of my new favorite Amy Jackson men.

SHOW ME THE WAY was almost painful to read at times, because, while I know that the sort of ugliness and vitriol that shaped and formed both Rynna and Rex exists, it was tough to see in action. The fact that there was sense of self-worth enough, strength enough for them to open themselves up to each other made for the sort of read that kept me turning pages far into the night.

Amy absolutely has another hit on her hands with SHOW ME THE WAY. I loved the supporting characters so much that I can hardly wait to get their stories, which can’t come too soon. 5 dark, redemptive, take a chance stars for this one, guys. Add Rex and Rynna to your TBR, and prepare to fall in love.

 

Giveaway

​

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e42d6b4196/

 

A.L. Jackson is the New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary
romance. She writes emotional, sexy, heart-filled stories about boys who usually like to be a little bit bad.

Her bestselling series include THE REGRET SERIES, CLOSER TO YOU, and BLEEDING
STARS novels. Be sure to check out her newest series, Fight for Me. The first novel, SHOW ME THE WAY, is out now.

If she’s not writing, you can find her hanging out by the pool with her family, sipping cocktails
with her friends, or of course with her nose buried in a book.

Be sure not to miss new releases and sales from A.L. Jackson – Sign up to receive her
newsletter http://smarturl.it/NewsFromALJackson or text “aljackson” to 24587 to receive short
but sweet updates on all the important news.

Facebook: http://smarturl.it/ALJacksonPage
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Twitter: @aljacksonauthor
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Snapchat: @aljacksonauthor

Release Blitz: DIRTY LITTLE PROMISE by Kendall Ryan

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Conflicted in the depth of her feelings for bad boy Gavin Kingsley, lonely librarian Emma Bell knows he’s all wrong for her—yet the heart wants what it wants.

But if she gives into his dark, erotic desires will she lose herself completely?

Passion, drama and suspense combine in the highly-anticipated conclusion to Emma Bell’s love affair with the alpha and enigmatic Kingsley brothers. Secrets will be exposed, sides will be chosen, and nothing will ever be the same.

This is book two in the series, following Dirty Little Secret.

 

Amazon | Nook | ibooks | Kobo

 

 

The start to a sexy new series from New York Times bestselling author, Kendall Ryan…

 

She’s much too innocent for me, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting the sweet, young librarian. I’m dominating and possessive, and my control streak runs a mile wide.

The way she looks at me—like I’m one of the heroes in the books she loves, like I’m broken, and she wants to be the one to piece me back together—it only complicates things further. I’m nobody’s hero.

But there’s no denying my tragic past reads like one of her favorite literary classics. It’s raw. Visceral. Captivating. And together, we’re a perfect mess.

How am I expected to resist when the sexual sparks zap between us and set me on fire? The need to control, and claim her force my walls to come tumbling down, but when she learns my dirty little secret, will my world come crashing down with it?

 

Amazon | iBooks | Nook | Kobo

 

 

A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than two dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold over 1.5 million books and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world. She’s a traditionally published author with Simon & Schuster and Harper Collins UK, as well as an independently published author. Since she first began self-publishing in 2012, she’s appeared at #1 on Barnes & Noble and iBooks charts around the world. Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than three dozen times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine.

Visit her at: www.kendallryanbooks.com for the latest book news, and fun extras.
 

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New Release + Blog Tour + Excerpt + 6-Star Review + 2017 Favorite: Still by Kennedy Ryan

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STILL BANNER BT.jpg

“Grip is my ultimate…If I was forced, gun-to-the head, to make one book boyfriend real to be mine, it would be him. No questions asked.”

— Adriana Locke, USA Today Bestselling Author

STILL, the sexy,emotional final installment of the GRIP series,

is available NOW!

 

Enter the $50 Gift Card Release Giveaway!

http://bit.ly/StillLIVEGive

 

Still-book-cover-front

 

I’ll be there.

Through thick and thin.

Ride or die.

You can count on me.

The promises people make. The vows we take.

Assumptions of the heart.

Emotion tells us how we feel, but life…life has a way of plunging us in boiling water, burning away our illusions, testing our faith, trying our convictions.

Love floating is a butterfly, but love tested is an anchor.

For Grip and Bristol,

Love started at the top of the world

On a Ferris wheel under the stars

But when that love is tested, will they fly or fall?

 

Excerpt:

“Mmmmm, that looks good.”

The comment grabs my attention, and I find myself smiling for the first time since I left Bristol. As she walks toward me, the approaching sunset paints the roof in shadows, but I see her clearly. Dark hair, burnished in places, falls around her shoulders. She has already discarded the dress she wore at lunch today in favor of a T-shirt and nothing else; it’s the one I just tossed into the hamper.

She tugs at my HABITUAL LINE STEPPER T-shirt, the hem landing at the top of her thighs. Where the T-shirt stops, my eyes keep going, past the lean muscles of her legs and the cut of her calves, the delicate bones of her ankles and to her bare feet. I love this girl, head to toe. Beyond this gorgeous packaging, it’s everything beneath that makes me beyond grateful she’s mine. The loyalty, the bottomless pit that is her heart, her sense of humor. The toughest girl I know is also the most tender, and I’m so honored I get to see both sides, all her sides.

“You out of clean clothes?” I nod to my T-shirt. “You gotta wear my dirty stuff now?”

An impish smile tugs at her bare lips. She’s washed away her makeup, and with it, all the sophistication she wraps around herself for her job. Up on this roof in my T-shirt, she’s just my girl. I love her in every iteration, but this is the one only I get to see, so it’s probably my favorite.

“I have clean clothes.” She steps close enough for me to smell her scent and mine mingling in the fabric. “I like the way this shirt smells.”

I drop a look over her, my eyes resting on the curves of her breasts in the soft cotton, where her nipples have gone taut under my stare.

“How does the shirt smell?” I ask, my voice as smoky as the steaks I should be paying attention to.

“Like you.” She leans forward until her breasts press into my chest. “It smells like you.”

My hands are twitching to touch her, and I finally surrender, slipping under the shirt to grasp her waist, pulling her up the few inches until our lips meet. I’ve been thinking about these steaks all day, and before Bristol arrived, I thought I was starving—but this, what I feel having her in my arms after hours apart, this is starving. It starts in my balls and tunnels up through my chest, infiltrates my heart, and presses its way to my mouth, which is open and devouring in a lips-searching, tongues-dueling kiss. I grip her by the ass, grinding our bodies together until the texture of her skin and mine, the scents of her skin and mine meld into this one panting, voracious thing that never seems to get enough.

“You better not burn my steak,” Bristol pants in between kisses.

I angle my head to send my tongue deeper into her mouth, holding her still, teasing her until she’s straining up, open and begging when I pull back.

“Grip.” My name is a whimpering complaint. She cups my neck and tugs my head back down.

“Oh, no.” I resist, laugh, and turn to the grill. “You were so concerned about me burning these steaks, Ms. Medium Rare.”

“I am.” She slides her arms around me from behind and I feel a sweet sting, her teeth gently biting my shoulder through my T-shirt. I love it when she bites me, but I’m not giving her that satisfaction yet. “But that doesn’t mean you get to stop kissing me. You have to multitask.”

One slim hand slides over my abs and past my belt to cup me through my jeans.

Damn. Not sure how long I can keep up this charade that I don’t want to screw her into the wall on the roof where anyone with half a telescope could see.

“Wow,” I say, keeping my tone unaffected, though she’s gotta feel me getting longer and harder in her hand. “Somebody’s horny as hell.”

She makes a sound that’s half outraged laughter, half indignant grunt before stepping around to stand in front of me by the grill.

“I will not be slut-shamed by my own boyfriend.” Amusement lights her eyes, turning them to quicksilver.

“Shamed?” I put down the grilling fork I’m using for the steaks and reach for her again. “No shame in being horny for me, baby. I wanna give you a gold star.”

Her eyes slide down to the erection poking her in the stomach. “Is that what we’re calling it now? Should we name it?”

“Guys who have to name their dicks probably aren’t using ’em right.”

“So I ask again . . . should we name it?”

I cock a brow and press our hips together.

“Are you implying that I don’t know how to use mine? Because that’s not the impression I got this morning when you came so hard you were singing like a bird.”

She tilts her head, her eyes wide and considering. “Did you say like a bird?” A small smile plays around her lips. “What made you say that?”

“I don’t know.” I give a careless shrug. “Why?”

“It’s silly,” she says, rolling her eyes in self-derision. “I was thinking today when I laughed it sounded like . . .”

Bristol blushes about once every Halley’s Comet, so the color washing across her cheeks makes me wonder.

“What?” I probe. “Your laugh sounded like what?”

“Like a happy bird,” she mumbles, peering up at me like I’m going to laugh in her face.

Which I do.

“Stop laughing at me.” She narrows her eyes in mock warning.

“Right.” I dip my head to catch her eyes and tease her. “Because when you tell me you laugh like a happy bird I’m just supposed let you get away with that.”

“I’m not telling you things anymore.” She narrows her eyes and folds her arms over her chest.

“Yeah, right. I’m your best friend.” I pull her back into me. “You’ll tell me everything like you always do.”

“You are, you know.” Her voice softens. “My best friend, I mean.”

When she looks at me like this, her eyes stripped of every defense, no guard in sight, completely honest and open and vulnerable, I feel slightly invincible. It’s a trick of the heart, I know, but I can’t help but think that as long as she looks at me like this, there isn’t anything I couldn’t survive, that our love is the stuff of legends, rolled in Teflon, disaster-proof. I’m as fanciful as Bristol, my laughing bird.

“You’re mine, too,” I echo her sentiment. “My best friend.”

“I won’t tell Rhyson,” she promises with a grin.

“I’m pretty sure he spits the same line to Kai.” I keep a straight face. “We have to say that shit to get laid.”

“I hate you.”

“Orrrrrrrrr do you love me and want to blow me after dinner?” I shrug and lift my hands, my palms up. “Just saying. Listen to your heart, Bristol. Listen to your heart.”

“I’m listening to my belly right now, smartass, and it’s growling. Feed me.”

“Like my mama used to say, ain’t no freeloaders in this house. What’ll you give me for feeding you?”

“Um . . .”

“I do have a suggestion, if you’re searching.”

“Let me guess—you have a ‘Will fuck for food’ sign up here somewhere?”

“I used bubble letters.” I laugh and give her ass a light smack. “You can barter that booty.”

It’s so damn easy with Bristol—our banter, the chemistry, the perfect rhythm of our conversation. It was one of the first things I noticed when we met all those years ago. We didn’t read each other’s minds or finish each other’s sentences. It wasn’t cosmic, but it was a connection that seized me by the brain and grabbed me by the balls. She was as smart as she was sexy, as curious as she was forthcoming. There were years in between when we made things complicated, when things were strained, but now with our hearts settled on each other for good, it’s simple.

This.

Her.

Us.

Tracey’s Review

Emotion tells you about love, but hard times prove it. How can you know something is great unless it’s tested? Until then, it’s just an assumption. It’s a question, but life has a way of answering.

So, if I had to use just one word to describe STILL, the latest book by author Kennedy Ryan, the story that takes Grip James and Bristol Gray along paths fraught with more emotions than I can describe, it would have to be poetic . Sheer poetry, from start to finish, STILL is a beautiful, heartbreaking, joy-filled work that is easily one of the best books that I’ve read this year.

As an avid reader (first) and blogger (second), it is my pleasure to read a lot of books. I marvel at the ease with which some authors put words to page, the sheer number of words and ideas that seem to exist in an unending well for so many of these people. I mean, I guess that plenty of folks have one book inside them, one seed that can blossom into something that can be shared. But, to share
words that move us, the readers, to heights and depths, taking us along and make the reading of these books a living and visceral experience, that, my friends, is a gift. Kennedy Ryan falls firmly into the latter category, birthing, creating, crafting collections of words that go far beyond the norm.

I fell in love with Bristol Gray and Marlon ‘Grip’ James what seems like forever ago. Both of them made their first appearances in Kennedy’s Soul series. But it wasn’t until I finally cracked open FLOW and GRIP that I realized how important these two characters are. Strength, perseverance, conviction, healing, and, y’all, so much love. Talk about epic.

And, now, STILL. I wasn’t sure what more Kennedy could give us, because they were already so much. But that’s my limitation, you see, and not Kennedy’s, because she showed me, with utter clarity, conviction, and a talent that I don’t see very often, that there was still so much more to be shared.

STILL touches on so many things of import. Social justice, the lingering and pervasive affliction of inequality in our culture, the value of truth and honesty and looking beyond the surface. Through it all, though, and something that I truly believe, is the fact that it’s all about the love. One little word forges unions, razes walls, drives out fear, lifts up, frees.

STILL is a book that will bring you joy, reduce you to tears (believe me when I say sobbing mess, friends), and lift you up higher than you can imagine, and it’s all done with, as I said, sheer poetry. If you read just one book this year, let it be STILL (although, FLOW and GRIP must be read first). This book is an easy 6 stars for me, and one that I recommend without hesitation. I cannot imagine what Kennedy Ryan has next for us, but, judging from what we’ve had in the Grip series, it will be nothing short of amazing.

 

STILL AD ONE FEET.jpg

Read STILL Today!

(Free in Kindle Unlimited)

Amazon US➜ http://amzn.to/2xuUe1V

Amazon UK➜ http://amzn.to/2feQ5EF

Add to GoodReads➜ http://bit.ly/2vBiUWN

Start the Series Today!

FLOW, the FREE prequel, MUST BE READ before GRIP!

Amazon ➜ http://amzn.to/2m0IKOh

Amazon UK➜ http://amzn.to/2xSpMMS

Audiobook ➜ http://bit.ly/FLOWAudiobook

WATTPAD ➜ http://w.tt/2kUo8Yk

Read GRIP Today for only 99¢!

(Free in Kindle Unlimited)

Amazon US ➜ http://amzn.to/2mR7fec

Amazon UK ➜ http://amzn.to/2gz387W

Amazon CA ➜ http://amzn.to/2vADPJn

Amazon AU ➜ http://amzn.to/2gsH3Em

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About Kennedy:

Kennedy Ryan is a Southern girl gone Southern California. A Top 100 Amazon Bestseller, Kennedy writes romance about remarkable women who find a way to thrive even in tough times, the love they find, and the men who cherish them.

She is a wife to her lifetime lover and mother to an extraordinary son. She has always leveraged her journalism background to write for charity and non-profit organizations, but enjoys writing to raise Autism awareness most. A contributor for Modern Mom Magazine, Kennedy’s writings have appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul, USA Today and many others. The founder and executive director of a foundation serving Georgia families living with Autism, Kennedy has appeared on Headline News, Montel Williams, NPR and other outlets as a voice for families living with autism.

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Release Blitz: Gun Shy by Lili St. Germain

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****

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Gun Shy
By Lili St. Germain
Release Date: October 6, 2017

 

 

A stand alone psychological thriller.

 

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS GIRL?

In the middle of a fierce snowstorm in Gun Creek, Nevada, seventeen-year-old Jennifer Thomas disappears without a trace.

The second girl in nine years.

Identical cases. Identical conditions. Only last time, the girl was found. Dead, stuffed in a well beside the creek that feeds the town’s water supply.

The killer was never found.

As the small town mobilizes and searches for newly vanished Jennifer Thomas, one suspect comes to the fore. But did he do it? Or is there something else at play? Something nobody could have anticipated?

For Jennifer’s friend Cassie Carlino, the worst is yet to come. As she pins MISSING posters to store windows and joins the search, she begins to suspect that Jennifer’s disappearance might be much closer to her than she could have ever imagined.

 


 

CASSIE

I am a girl with a darkness inside me.

Carefully placed. Cleverly concealed.

A darkness that could devour you.

One hand on a cold pane of glass, watching the snow fall outside. It’s pitch-black out here, far away from bright city lights. You can’t see a goddamned thing. You can only feel fingers digging into your hips, hot and insistent, a tug of hair, a smack of skin, and the snowflakes as they fall through the weak pool of light that the porch light illuminates below. And the pain. He’s not gentle when he uses me to satisfy his want.
I think he likes it like this, up on the bed, against the window, as if somebody might see. But nobody could ever possibly see. It’s too dark. No streetlights. No houses for a clear half-mile in every direction.

Just us, and the silence, and the darkness.

And the snowflakes, steady as they fall, through that yellow beam below.

You could never count them all. One blink and you’d miss some. One sharp stab of pain that drives your face into the mattress, and you’d miss plenty.

And that’s the point, I suppose. You keep counting. You watch the snow fall, and you count every snowflake your eyes can catch until it’s finally over.

* * *

The darkness wasn’t always there. I was bright and shiny once. There was no tarnish at my edges, no very bad thing that existed inside me. I had a mother, and a boyfriend, and a life. I was loved. I had plans and goals and aspirations.

One moment and they were all gone.

I know what you’ll think after you hear my story.
You’ll think I went mad when I saw Leo being burned alive, or when I gazed down at my comatose mother in the hospital after, as words like brain swelling and head-on collision drifted through the air, meant for me but headed somewhere beyond.

Or maybe, maybe, you’ll think it was during that first time, on the kitchen floor, a tangle of limbs, palm pressed against desperate lips, fingers squeezing wrists until it felt like they would snap.

And every time I’ll tell you, you are wrong. That, even as I cried in the aftermath of his sudden interest in me, I still was a girl without a black coal heart.

I can tell you the exact moment the darkness burrowed in to stay. I imagine it like some filthy worm, coming up from the earth, chewing a neat circle in my skin and wriggling in. Finding that hollow space beneath my heart, in my ribcage, and curling up. Sated. Satisfied. Warm. I feel it sometimes when I’m frightened, and my heart won’t slow down. It beats like crazy like a machine gun with the trigger locked on. I can’t breathe. My vision tunnels. In those moments, I imagine the worm, how happy it must be, how comfortable within my fragile chest.

It’s strange how you know something has happened, even if you can’t remember it.
When you wake up in your bed, and the sheets beneath you are wet, and you haven’t wet the bed since you were little, a three-year-old girl who started to cry because she’d slept through instead of getting up and going to the bathroom.
Eighteen years old, naked, and laying in a cold, wet spot, damp thighs and a bitter taste on your tongue. The taste of a medication you took once after your dad died and you started having nightmares that kept you awake. The bitter pill that your mother crushed into a glass of milk for you, the one that knocked you under and held you there in a chokehold, so that you could still see the nightmares in your sleep, but could no longer wake up from them. It was terrifying then, and it’s terrifying now. It’s in your mouth and in your nostrils and down the back of your throat and all you can remember is a low voice that says, Finish your milk, Cassandra.

You have been drugged.
Somebody has undressed you, tucked you into your bed, and they have used you. They have left something inside you.
A darkness. A coiled, buzzing midnight that becomes all you’ve ever known.
You don’t like it at first. It frightens you.
The darkness is where nightmares come to life.
But after time goes by, you start to feel differently.

You begin to realize that the darkness you’ve been given is not a burden, but a gift.

 

 

 

 

 

Lili writes dark, delicious romance full of love, lust and revenge. Her USA Today Bestselling Gypsy Brothers series focuses on a morally bankrupt biker gang and the young woman who seeks her vengeance upon them. The Cartel series is a trilogy that explores the beginnings of the club, published through HarperCollins.

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, excellent coffee, Tarantino movies and spending hours on Instagram.

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

Author Links

 

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Blog Tour + 5 Star Review: Battle Scars by Jane Harvey-Berrick

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Battle Scars

By Jane Harvey – Berrick

Release Date: October 1st, 2017

Buy: Amazon


Synopsis:

From the dusty plains of Afghanistan to the sleek corridors of the New York Times, journalist MJ Buckman seeks the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. What she doesn’t expect to find is a man who’s her complete opposite … and fits her perfectly.

Marine Sergeant Jackson Connor knows that relationships don’t work for men in the military. He’s living proof of that. But when a steely-eyed temptress in a flak jacket, who carries her moral cause in front of her, crosses his path, he’s furious, curious, and all kinds of in-lust.
* * *
A grown-up love story about two people who aren’t looking for love, but realize how precious it is when they find it. They don’t play games and there are no stupid misunderstandings, just life standing in their way.

Can they compromise? And what does that look like in a modern relationship between two driven people?

Assignment Vs deployment.

They’re always traveling in different directions. What relationship can survive that?

Michel’s Review

Jane Harvey-Berrick has become on of my go to authors.  When I open one of her novels I know I am not only going to get an emotional romance but I am also going to get a truthful and compassionate story about people dealing with unpleasant circumstances in life.  Whether it is a soldier suffering from PTSD or a seventeen year old boy becoming a man in his turbulent world or a dare devil stuntman with showmanship in his blood or a convicted felon acclimating to the outside world after years in prison, there is one thing in common in all of these novels.  Jane Harvey-Berrick captures the vulnerability as well as the strength of the human spirit in an imperfect world.  The one idea or emotion her novels clearly illustrate is HOPE no matter what the life circumstances are.  With all the tension in today’s world people have forgotten the very basic thing that makes us stand out as humans, the potential to make a better world because of HOPE.

Battle Scars is a bit different from most military romances.  This is a story of two people becoming a couple when their lives are on very different paths.  One is a career military officer and the other is a journalist traveling throughout the world in search of the next story.  Both of their jobs are fueled by adrenaline. They can be in very dangerous situations at any given moment which makes their jobs unpredictable.  Somewhere in the midst of their chaotic world they found one another.  Their love for one another changed how they looked at their own lives as well as their careers.  Their mutual respect and acceptance of one another’s chosen careers was the foundation of their future relationship.  Their choices may not have always been theirs to make but they learned to compromise.  What was most important was the knowledge of each other’s love.

Jane Harvey-Berrick not only showed how difficult “military” relationships can be, she also showed the strength of these relationships.  I admired the honesty her words delivered.

Jane Harvey-Berrick has delivered another outstanding book that went beyond the usual romance novel!

I highly recommend reading Battle Scars by Jane Harvey-Berrick.

______________________________

 AP new -about the author.jpg

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

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

 

Author Links

 

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Release Day Blitz: Holiday Spice by Samantha Chase

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The Shaughnessy family is ready for the holidays! Samantha Chase’s HOLIDAY SPICE is available TODAY and contemporary romance lovers won’t want to miss this one! Read an excerpt below and pick up your copy today!

 

About HOLIDAY SPICE

Darcy Shaughnessy has gotten used to her overbearing brothers chasing away any man she wants to date. But a chance meeting with a brooding – and deliciously handsome – artist is about to make this holiday season one to remember.

There’s only one thing Benjamin Tanner loves more than his woodcarving: solitude. Then he gets snowed in with Darcy in his cozy cabin in the woods, and their heated feelings begin to melt the icy barrier between them.

With Ben’s need for privacy and Darcy’s love of family and social life, will opposites still attract once the snow clears and the holiday festivities come to an end?

Add HOLIDAY SPICE to your Goodreads shelf here!

 

Get your copy of HOLIDAY SPICE today!

Amazon / iBooks / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

 

 

Read an excerpt of HOLIDAY SPICE now:

It had been tempting to watch her for a little bit longer. Everything about Darcy was so expressive that even though Ben hadn’t heard one word of her exchange with the security guard, he had been able to imagine the entire conversation based on the look on her face.

It was highly entertaining.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, her expression one of total confusion.

“Savannah called me and told me you weren’t able to get on a flight. So here I am,” he said, offering her a small smile.

She frowned.

Seriously? Even when he came to save her, she was still pissed at him?

“What if I had gotten on a flight between the time Savannah called you and the time you got to the airport?”

He shrugged. “Then I would have made a very perilous trip for nothing. I would have gotten here sooner, but people don’t know how to drive in the snow. I passed a bunch of accidents.”

“You could have been one of them.”

Another shrug. “I have a truck that happens to be exceptional in the snow, and I’m used to driving in it. It wasn’t a big deal. You need to drive slowly, and you’ll be all right.”

Darcy looked around and made a noncommittal sound. “So you just got here, huh?”

“No, I’ve been here for a while. I couldn’t get past security, and it took some time to page you. I tried calling you several times, but I kept getting a message that all circuits were busy. I guess with the storm moving in and all.” He paused and gave her a lopsided grin. “Anyway, I saw you when you were on the escalator, but you didn’t see me.”

“There’s, like, a million people here,” she said with a hint of sarcasm. “And I wasn’t looking for, well, you.”

He frowned at her tone. “What did you think you were coming here for?”

“Honestly? I thought my brother had been able to charter a plane for me.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Sorry to disappoint you. But the only charter you have is me—in the form of a truck and a trip back to the lake.”

“Oh. So I guess I’ll get a room at the hotel,” she said, and he noticed she wouldn’t look directly at him.

“I just planned on bringing you to the cabin until the storm is over and flights are back to normal. It won’t be more than a couple of days. No need for you to have to go to a hotel or anything.”

Now she did look at him. “No, really, it’s okay. I’d prefer to go to the hotel.”

She was looking at him with a hint of defiance, and he figured he’d let her have her way for now. The sooner they got on the road, the better. There was already a very real possibility they weren’t going to get home until after dark. It would be pointless to drag this out.

“That’s fine. No problem.” He motioned toward her suitcase. “I’ll take that for you. Let’s get going.”

“Oh.”

Ben could hear the relief in her voice and smiled to himself. For right now, he was happy to have a truce with her. They had a long drive ahead of them, and he’d rather it be peaceful rather than tense and awkward.

He waited while she pulled her coat out and got herself together, and then they made their way out to the parking garage. The traffic was insane, and he prayed it wasn’t going to be as bad as he was fearing.

It was.

And it was tense and awkward.

 

 

Don’t miss the other books in the Shaughnessy Brothers series!

Books in the Shaughnessy Brothers series

Made For Us / Love Walks In / Always My Girl / This Is Our Song / A Sky Full of Stars / Holiday Spice

 

About SAMANTHA CHASE

Samantha Chase is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller of contemporary romance. She released her debut novel in 2011 and currently has more than forty titles under her belt! When she’s not working on a new story, she spends her time reading romances, playing way too many games of Scrabble or Solitaire on Facebook, wearing a tiara while playing with her sassy pug Maylene…oh, and spending time with her husband of 25 years and their two sons in North Carolina.

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter Sign Up / BookBub

Release Blitz + Excerpt + Giveaway: Mine For the Week by Erika Kelly

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From the award-winning author of MINE FOR NOW comes the next sizzling standalone story in her Wild Love Series available now, about a chance meeting that changes the course of two people’s lives! Don’t miss the amazing excerpt below and grab your copy of MINE FOR THE WEEK today!

 

About MINE FOR THE WEEK (Wild Love Series #2):

As the top collegiate shortstop in the country, Ryan O’Donnell’s life is about discipline and training. But a growing restlessness causes him to bail on his baseball team over spring break to join his buddies at an exclusive singles resort. He just needs a few days to escape his life, and then he’ll get right back on track. But not twenty minutes after he arrives he meets HER, and the world as he knows it changes irrevocably. It should only be a hookup—that’s what spring break’s all about—but one taste of this sexy, vibrant woman isn’t enough. He has to have her. Even if it’s only for a week.

Sophie Valentine—yes, that Valentine—just found out her siblings want to sell off Crazy Hearts—the Peeps of the Valentine’s Day world. Being the youngest by eight years, she’s used to feeling left out, but selling off her family’s legacy without talking to her first? Not gonna happen. Upset, she takes off with her friends on their spring break vacation. She only wanted an escape—she never imagined meeting HIM. He’s smoking hot and intensely protective of her—and she loves it. But he’s about to start a major league baseball career, and she’s launching a battle to keep the family company. They have no future. It’s just…she’s never felt this way for anyone before.

Are they really going to walk away from this kind of connection…this passion? Or can a week turn into a lifetime?

 

Order your copy of MINE FOR THE WEEK today!

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo

 

Add to your Goodreads

 

And don’t miss the first title in the Wild Love Series!

 

MINE FOR NOW

 

 

Excerpt:

“Soph?” His arm banded around her, and he hauled her closer to his chest. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he stopped himself. He watched her with an unnerving intensity.

“Yes?” she said, barely able to speak. Was he going to kiss her?

But he just leaned his forehead against hers and let out a slow breath. “I’m about to defile my body, and I need your support.”

“Crazy Hearts are all about the lovin’.”

He fought a smile. “We’ll see about that.” He brought the cookie to his mouth and took a small bite. Immediately, his mouth puckered. He coughed, blowing the powdered sugar all over the desk. “That’s terrible.”

“No, it’s not. It’s beloved.”

“It’s like eating a mouthful of sugar. Is that the only ingredient?”

“Of course not. There’s also corn syrup, hydrogenated oil, artificial coloring, and some benzoate preservatives.”

“Jesus, Soph. You trying to kill me?”

“And, look, it’s not just a cookie.” She pulled his hand toward her, licking her lips before pressing them into the confectioner’s sugar. “It’s lipstick, too.”

He looked at her like she made him happy. “Everyone used to do that in middle school. I don’t know why it didn’t have this effect on me then.”

“What effect?”

“Makes me want to kiss you.”

“I know. I’m a sexy beast.”

“You are so sexy.” He leaned in, lips parted, and he stayed right there, so close she could smell the cookie on his breath. Was he asking for permission? She didn’t know. All she knew was that one moment her breath was trapped in her throat and the next his tongue swept along her lips. Arousal streaked through her so hot and fast the soles of her feet burned.

“Delicious,” he murmured, before tipping her chin. And then he kissed her. The moment their mouths met, he moaned, his arms wrapping even more tightly around her. “You light me up.”

His mouth opened hungrily, his tongue sliding in and seeking hers. She couldn’t resist. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him right back.

Yes, oh, yes. Sensation spread from her center, a warm, thrilling rush that pulled her under. His hand went to the small of her back, pressing, and his kiss grew hungrier, more carnal.

“Damn.” His other hand gripped her thigh, and he shifted her, spreading her legs so she straddled him. And once he had her right there, pressed up tight against him, his hips rocked up.

And, God, the heat of his body, the silky softness of his hair. The urgency of his kiss. She slid her hands under his T-shirt, caressing the smooth skin and hard muscles of his chest. His stomach contracted, his arms tightened around her back, and his kiss turned voracious. She moaned into his mouth because nothing had ever felt so good.

 

 

A Rafflecopter giveaway

 

About Erika Kelly:

Award-winning author Erika Kelly has been spinning romantic tales all her life–she just didn’t know it. Raised on the classics, she didn’t discover romantic fiction until later in life. From that moment on, she’s been devouring the genre and has found her true voice as an author. Over three decades she’s written poems, screenplays, plays, short stories, and all kinds of women’s fiction novels. Married to the love of her life and raising four children, she’s lived in two countries and seven states, but give her pen and paper, a stack of good books, and a steaming mug of vanilla chai latte and she can make her home anywhere.

 

Website ** Facebook ** Twitter ** Newsletter Signup ** Erika Kelly Goodreads

 

Release Blitz + Excerpt: Puck Love by Carmen Jenner

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Title: Puck Love
Author: Carmen Jenner
Genre: Sports Romance
Release Date: October 3, 2017

 

Blurb

 

Stella Hart is the hottest thing in country music. For ten
years, she’s been Nashville’s darling. She’s pure, sweet, and a positive role
model in an industry rife with scandals, sex, and sequins. Men want to own her,
women want to be her—everyone wants a piece of her, and Stella? Well, she wants
out.
As the center for the Calgary Crushers, Van Ross isn’t afraid
of the spotlight, but he doesn’t much like it either. Despite his reputation as
a player, the NHL’s bad boy lives for only two things: the game, and his
younger brother. That’s why when he comes across a country music superstar
seeking refuge at his home in the Canadian Rockies, he’s not too happy with the
media shitstorm this surprise houseguest brings.
With a nationwide manhunt, paparazzi dogging their every
move, producers of a reality TV show baying for blood, and a record label
desperate to see their “good girl” returned safely home, Van and Stella’s lives
are snowballing out of control.
While Van would like nothing more than to show the purest of
them all how well he handles his er … stick, Stella is no puck bunny. Nor is
she as innocent as she’d have the world believe. With chemistry like theirs, tension runs high on and off the
ice, but the end game is the same for both players: line up the puck, take the
shot, and score. If only their hearts understood the play.

Puck fame and fortune.
Puck right and wrong.

 

Puck love.

 

Purchase Links

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited

Excerpt

“What are
you running from?” I say, echoing the me from several months ago when this
strange and beautiful creature had arrived on my doorstep, lost, and seeking
refuge from a world that might have destroyed a lesser woman.
She takes
several steps back until there’s nowhere left to go but on top of the counter.
“I’m not running from anything.”
I press
against her. She’s stiff as a board. That
makes two of us. “I miss you, Stella. I jack it every day thinking about
you, sometimes twice a day. I want you.”
“You
can’t have me, Van.”
“Bullshit,”
I hiss. I slide my hand into her hair, and pull her closer. I lean in, but I
don’t kiss her. “Tell me you miss me. Tell me you’re thinking about me, too.”
“I don’t
. . .” She shakes her head, but her breath is hot and heavy against my face.
“I’m not.” 
I close
my eyes and rub my cheek against hers. My stubble is likely scratching her
delicate skin, but she doesn’t pull away, and I slide my hand under her shirt.
She’s braless. I groan. All those long days and nights she tortured me at the
cabin by wearing only my flannel shirts with no bra, and probably no panties
either, for all I knew. This little cock
tease needs a taste of her own medicine.

 

 

Author Bio
Carmen Jenner is a thirty-something, USA Today and international bestselling author.Her dark romance, KICK (Savage Saints MC #1), won Best Dark Romance Read in the Reader’s Choice Awards at RWDU, 2015.

A tattoo enthusiast, hardcore makeup addict and zombie fangirl, Carmen lives on the sunny North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, where she spends her time indoors wrangling her two wildling children, a dog named Pikelet, and her very own man-child.

A romantic at heart, Carmen strives to give her characters the HEA they deserve, but not before ruining their lives completely first … because what’s a happily ever after without a little torture?

PUBLISHED TITLES TO DATE

Welcome to Sugartown (Sugartown Series #1)

The Way Back Home

Author Links

 

Release Blitz + 5 Star Reviews + Giveaway + Tour Dates: Without Merit by Colleen Hoover

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Without Merit

By Colleen Hoover

Buy: Amazon / B & N / IBooks / Kobo

Synopsis

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of It Ends With Us and November 9 comes a moving and haunting novel of family, love, and the power of the truth.

“Not every mistake deserves a consequence. Sometimes the only thing it deserves is forgiveness.”

The Voss family is anything but normal. They live in a repurposed church, newly baptized Dollar Voss. The once cancer-stricken mother lives in the basement, the father is married to the mother’s former nurse, the little half-brother isn’t allowed to do or eat anything fun, and the eldest siblings are irritatingly perfect. Then, there’s Merit.

Merit Voss collects trophies she hasn’t earned and secrets her family forces her to keep. While browsing the local antiques shop for her next trophy, she finds Sagan. His wit and unapologetic idealism disarm and spark renewed life into her—until she discovers that he’s completely unavailable. Merit retreats deeper into herself, watching her family from the sidelines, when she learns a secret that no trophy in the world can fix.

Fed up with the lies, Merit decides to shatter the happy family illusion that she’s never been a part of before leaving them behind for good. When her escape plan fails, Merit is forced to deal with the staggering consequences of telling the truth and losing the one boy she loves.

Poignant and powerful, Without Merit explores the layers of lies that tie a family together and the power of love and truth.

________________________

Robin’s Review

Author Colleen Hoover touches on a very important topic in her new novel titled Without Merit. Her distinctive wit and humor dance around the subject of mental health. Readers will find comfort in her familiar writing voice but will also notice Without Merit is a bit different from anything she has ever written. Packed with unconventional characters and intense family drama, this book was nearly impossible for me to put down!

Our primary character, Merit Voss, lives in a re-purposed church building located in a small Texas town. Dubbed Dollar Voss, the church building is now the home to seven Voss family members. Merit is the self-proclaimed keeper of Voss family secrets. From her point of view, her family is embarrassing and completely dysfunctional. She harbors pent up anger towards family members, resents her eccentric living circumstances, and blames both of these reasons for her lack of a social life.

We’ve all heard some of these questions asked – how do you know if your family is normal? Which human behaviors are considered dysfunctional? Is there even such thing as a normal family? While I was reading this novel, I found myself focusing on questions such as these. Without Merit forced me to consider my own family dynamics and other important themes such as perspective, judgement, and resentment.

From the viewpoint of a teenage girl, the behaviors or makeup of a family unit can be traumatic, even embarrassing and frustrating. Colleen Hoover was very clever as she penned Merit’s passive-aggressive point-of-view. I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, but throughout this story I had this sense that we were building towards something important. It was subtle at first, barely there, and then it became more gradual. But it was there – I felt this impending sense that something climactic was coming.

Without Merit has solid character development, creativity, romantic tension, and eccentric secondary characters – all the characteristics we love to see in a top Colleen Hoover novel. Hoover took a step away from the new adult genre with this novel – something that I was delighted to see! This fiction novel falls soundly into the young adult age group, with a lean toward the coming of age genre.

Without Merit is a fantastic read, but the truth is, this story has the potential to touch people’s lives. At the very minimum, it will open the eyes of readers to the importance of mental health. I am sure of this. I highly recommend Without Merit. I’m giving this book a 5-star rating and will be adding it to my list of 2017 favorites!

*****

Michel’s Review

Without Merit by Colleen Hoover is one of those unique novels that doesn’t quite fit in any specific genre.  It is the type of novel that will appeal to readers of all ages and all backgrounds.

Without Merit features a dysfunctional family seen through a teenager’s perspective.  Like most modern day families,the Voss family structure is based upon busy schedules, individual agendas and poor communications. It is their normal until it no longer works. When one family member disrupts the cogs in their wheels, it’s the beginning of the breakdown of their family unit until they find a better way to function as a unit rather than a bunch of individuals living under one roof.

Merit Voss feels invisible amongst her family members and permanent house guests. Her family is dysfunctional in every way.  Her mother lives in the basement while her father’s new wife is running the house.  Her siblings are busy with their involvement in school activities and extra curricular activities.  They each have their own quirks that add to the family dysfunction.  Her twin sister’s boyfriend has moved in with them and she finds herself falling for him.  The last thing she needs is to deal with the guilt of coveting her sister’s boyfriend.  When her stepmom’s crazy younger brother joins the family home it disrupts the family dynamics all the more.  His crazy antics and insightful observations add to the chaos.

One fateful moment brings clarity to the family. One dog bonds them together in an unusual way.  Things have to change because no matter what happens, they love one another.

Colleen Hoover touched upon so many issues that plague the modern day family. Not only was the family dysfunctional, every person in the household had their own issues they were dealing with.  Colleen added her quirky sense of humor to all of the characters and gave them individual traits that were easy to love. This lightened the heaviness of the subject matter in this book.  She also showed that whether it’s blood or by choice, family is the foundation that made each individual strong in their own way.  The family bond is what healed them all and led them on the path of healthier lives.

I would highly recommend Without Merit by Colleen Hoover.

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Now for the fun….the #WithoutMerit Contest!

Enter the Rafflecopter  to win a limited edition signed hardcover copy of WITHOUT MERIT! (5 winners in total) Contest is open until October 30th!

 

 a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Don’t miss Colleen on tour for WITHOUT MERIT:

 

SEATTLE, WA

Monday, October 2nd

THIRD PLACE BOOKS

7:00 PM    

17171 Bothell Way NE

Lake Forest Park, WA  98155

https://www.thirdplacebooks.com/event/colleen-hoover-without-merit

RSVP and details: https://www.facebook.com/events/137295906877328/

 

LOS ANGELES, CA

Tuesday, October 3rd

CHEVALIER’S BOOKS

7:00 PM    

126 N. Larchmont Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA  90004

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-talk-and-signing-with-colleen-hoover-for-her-new-book-without-merit-tickets-37139282594

RSVP and details: https://www.facebook.com/events/1911946199130358

 

KANSAS CITY, KS

Wednesday, October 4th

WOODNEATH LIBRARY CENTER

7:00 PM    

8900 NE Flintlock Rd

Kansas City, MO  64157

http://www.mymcpl.org/events/calendar/story-center-speaker-series-colleen-hoover

RSVP and details: https://www.facebook.com/events/174560183089713

CHICAGO, IL

Thursday, October 5th

ANDERSON’S BOOKSHOP – LA GRANGE

7:00 PM    

26 S La Grange Rd

La Grange, IL  60525

http://hooverandersons.brownpapertickets.com

RSVP and details: https://www.facebook.com/events/264445024062577

CINCINNATI, OH

Friday, October 6th

JOSEPH-BETH BOOKSELLERS

7:00 PM    

2692 Madison Road

Cincinnati, OH  45208

www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3081217

RSVP and details: https://www.facebook.com/events/113057092698266

 

POTTSTOWN, PA

Saturday, October 7th

BOOKS-A-MILLION

6:00 PM    

Coventry Mall

351 W. Schuylkill Road Ste G16

Pottstown, PA  19465

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/meet-colleen-hoover-at-books-a-million-pottstown-pa-tickets-37311651153

RSVP and details: https://www.facebook.com/events/352249878530498

 

NEW YORK, NY

Sunday, October 8th

NEW YORK COMIC CON

3:00 PM to 5:00 PM   

500 West 36th Street

Hudson Mercantile

New York, NY  10018

https://www.showclix.com/event/ColleenHoover5yf6nuy

RSVP and details: https://www.facebook.com/events/1979991848924145

DALLAS, TX

Tuesday, October 10

SMU BOOKSTORE

7:00 PM    

B&N College

Southern Methodist University Bookstore

3060 Mockingbird Lane

Dallas, TX  75205

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/colleen-hoover-book-launch-for-without-merit-tickets-37360492238?ref=elink

RSVP and details: https://www.facebook.com/events/746877452165014

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 About Colleen Hoover

Author Bio:

image005Colleen Hoover’s love for writing began in 1985 when she was five years old. Her first story was titled “Mystery Bob” and was a huge hit with her mother, who was really good at faking interest.
Colleen continued to write short stories for friends and family until December of 2011, when she decided to write a long story she titled, “Slammed.” She self-published SLAMMED to Amazon in January, 2012 and it hit the NYT’s bestsellers list in May, 2012. She has since signed with Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, and now has six NYT’s bestsellers. Colleen prefers to be called a writer, as the term “author” still terrifies her and makes this feel like a job with expectations. She doesn’t work well under pressure and hopes writing will always remain fun and exciting.
Colleen’s newest novel, UGLY LOVE, releases August 5th, 2014. She is currently working on a new novel, CONFESS, which she is writing as fast as she can before she wakes up from this crazy dream.

You can follow Colleen on Instagram and Twitter @colleenhoover. You can also find her on her blog at http://www.colleenhoover.com where she holds a daily book-a-day giveaway, or on her very active Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/authorcolleenhoover where she loves to give away more free stuff when her husband isn’t looking.

Colleen also wants the world to know that writing short biographies in third person is incredibly awkward.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads