September 30, 2014 by Tina Williams

RELEASE DAY LAUNCH ~ DIMITRI by Kym Grosso (includes a $25 gift card giveaway)

It’s release day for Kym Grosso’s erotic romance Dimitri, #6 in her smokin’ hot Immortals of New Orleans series! Check out the blurb on this and find out more about this sexy and seductive series. You can also enter the rafflecopter where a $25 Amazon Gift Card is up for grabs. Tina 🙂

Dimitri
by Kym Grosso
Immortals of New Orleans #6
Publication Date: September 30, 2014
Genres: Erotica, Paranormal, Romance

An erotic paranormal romance…

Dimitri LeBlanc, sexy and charismatic beta of Acadian Wolves, survives a brutal attack after his wolf succumbs to a dark force, threatening his very existence. Waking up, tied to a bed, his amusement transforms into lust as a beautiful stranger heals his beast. Intrigued by his mysterious savior, the tables quickly turn, when in the heat of a dark desert night, he rescues her from a barbaric Alpha. Dimitri is inexplicably drawn to the alluring woman, and the discovery that she’s his mate rouses his hunger to claim her as his own.

Gillian Michel, a New York City photographer, conceals a secret hybrid past and mystical abilities. An entire lifetime, she’s deliberately avoided wolves, but a seductive encounter with an irresistible beta leaves her craving his touch, his lips on hers. Passion ignites her desire, leaving her yearning to submit to the powerful wolf who tests her sexual limits.

Deep in the heart of New Orleans, Dimitri and Gillian seek a cure to the parasite maligning his mighty beast. Still on the run from a malevolent force, they lure their enemy into the bayou. Will Gillian sacrifice her gifts to save the man she loves, destroying her own immortality? And will Dimitri eradicate the evil that has invaded his soul while protecting his mate from an adversary who threatens to kill them both?

Warning: This book contains several erotic love scenes and is intended for adult readers only.

About Kym Grosso

Kym Grosso is the award-winning author of the bestselling erotic paranormal romance series, The Immortals of New Orleans. The series currently includes Kade’s Dark Embrace (Immortals of New Orleans, Book 1), Luca’s Magic Embrace (Immortals of New Orleans, Book 2), Tristan’s Lyceum Wolves (Immortals of New Orleans, Book 3), Logan’s Acadian Wolves (Immortals of New Orleans, Book 4), Léopold’s Wicked Embrace (Immortals of New Orleans, Book 5) and Dimitri (Immortals of New Orleans, Book 6).

In addition to romance, Kym has written and published several articles about autism, and is passionate about autism advocacy. She writes autism articles on PsychologyToday.com and AutismInRealLife.com. She also is a contributing essay author in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Raising Kids on the Spectrum.

Kym lives with her husband, two children, dog and cat. Her hobbies include autism advocacy, reading, tennis, zumba, traveling and spending time with her husband and children. New Orleans, with its rich culture, history and unique cuisine, is one of her favorite places to visit. Also, she loves traveling just about anywhere that has a beach or snow-covered mountains. On any given night, when not writing her own books, Kym can be found reading her Kindle, which is filled with hundreds of romances.

Website • Blog • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads

Immortals of New Orleans by Kym Grosso

Learn more about the Immortals of New Orleans Series HERE

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September 29, 2014 by Tina Williams

Zombie Takeover to celebrate ~ Love At The End of Days by Tera Shanley (includes super giveaway)

Week One: Witches, Angels and YA: Win Books by Cherie Colyer, Lisa Sanchez, Carol Oates, Kate Evangelista, and Trish Wolfe.

BOO! We are kicking off our month long Halloween takeover to celebrate Love At The End of Days by Tera Shanley with a big giveaway!

Check out the Rafflecopter and enter to win!

The witches in Cherie Colyer’s Embrace Series love peppermint mochas. Are you a mocha fan, or are you on Team Pumpkin Spice Everything?

Don’t forget to add Love At The End Of Days to your TBR: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23157764-love-at-the-end-of-days

and check back every week for new, spooky good prizes!

Click in the link below to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

September 29, 2014 by Tina Williams

Zombie Takeover Guest Post by Author Tera Shanley ~ includes giveaway!

Today we extend a huge welcome to author Tera Shanley who, as part of her Zombielicious Takeover, is giving us valuable insider info on Vanessa Summers, the heroine of Tera’s upcoming Zombie themed romance, Love At The End of Days. A copy of the first book in this series Love in the Time of the Dead, an Amazon gift card and some super witches and angel themed prizes are up for grabs through the rafflecopter link. Tina and Caroline 🙂

Six Facts about Vanessa Summers

Release day is upon us for book two in the Dead Rapture series, Love at the End of Days, and to celebrate, I wanted to give you a closer look at the heroine of this book, Vanessa Summers. She’s a tough-talking, knife-wielding bad mamma jamma who is only afraid of Deads and getting her heart broken. And though she was introduced in book one, you’ll get to see her work through some of the grit that comes with being a zombie apocalypse survivor in this book.

Hard on the Outside, Soft on the Inside

Vanessa is mouthy and sarcastic, but once someone wiggles into her heart, they are there to stay and she will be a fierce and loyal friend.

Secret Crush

A year ago, the man she had a fling with left Dead Run River with her arch nemesis, and she’s taken all this time trying to get over him. He was the first man she allowed herself feelings for after the Dead outbreak, and when he blows back into her colony, she has to do some quick thinking to sever her heartstrings to the man who rejected her. But Sean Daniels, second-in-command at her colony, with his sexy eyes and undiluted attention make it a lot easier to move on.

Devoted Sister

She was responsible for getting her little brother, Nelson, out of the city alive when the Dead outbreak occurred. Weeks on the run with the constant fear for her brother’s safety made her afraid to allow anyone else into her heart. Her brother’s safety comes first, before anything else, and when he starts asserting his independence as he grows up, she has a hard time learning to let him go.

Not a Laney Fan

Laney Landry got the man she started having feelings for last year, everyone hails her as the reason for the possible vaccine that could save the human race, and even Vanessa’s brother, Nelson, has a huge crush on Laney. Vanessa is not amused, and when Laney comes back to Dead Run River, she must figure out how to deal with the emotional upheaval her return causes. But through the course of the book, and through their trials together, it is hard for Vanessa to continue disliking Laney.

Skilled with Knives

No one practices knife throwing as much as Vanessa. She’s dedicated, practicing her dead-eye aim at targets on a daily basis, and is determined that if she is ever in a scuffle with a Dead, she will be the victor by blade. Several knives accompany her at all times in the belt of her standard issue cargo pants.

Guard in Training

Vanessa had a bad experience with a Dead last year when she and her brother were caught unaware between colony gates. She was helpless, and frozen, just watching the monster come for she and her brother, and it broke something inside of her. She has grown an overwhelming fear of Deads. To rid herself of that reserve, she’s thrown herself headfirst into guard training, so she can get her stronger self back.

And oh, this girl gets tough and at the same time vulnerable in such a cool way. She was so fun to write!

Goodreads link:

Giveaway

Click on the link to win$5 Amazon Gift Card, Book One in the Dead Rapture Series, and eBooks by Cherie Colyer, Lisa Sanchez, Carol Oates Kate Evangelista, Trish Wolfe.

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September 29, 2014 by Caroline Barker

All’s Fair in Love and Weddings by Christine S. Feldman SPOTLIGHT with excerpt

We are delighted to bring to your attention the latest release by Christine S. Feldman, ‘All’s Fair in Love and Weddings’! This contemporary romance focuses on an opposites attract romance and the blurb alone makes out for a fun read! But you can also take a sneaky peak at more with an excerpt (below), which will leave you feeling curious after an awkward and tense, but playful, moment. I will be looking forward to reviewing this one in the New Year! Don’t miss your chance – go grab a copy tomorrow on the release day – 30th September 2014 (or pre-order available)!!! (Purchase links below.)

BLURB: Prudence Collier spent the better part of her reckless youth proving that she was not aptly named, and unfortunately she burned a few bridges in the process, including where her family is concerned. So when her long-estranged sister invites her to her destination wedding in the Virgin Islands, Prue leaps at the chance to mend at least one broken family relationship and prove that she’s a changed person.

Tucker Davies, on the other hand, has come to the islands for a very different reason: to stop the wedding. As a childhood friend of the groom, he has reason to believe that his friend is about to make a huge mistake and is intent on not letting that happen. One thing he didn’t count on, though, was going up against Prue.

Determined to make up for the past, Prue resolves to keep Tucker from interfering with her sister’s happiness in the present and is willing to go to any lengths necessary to do so. Any. And if that requires a few tiny deceptions here and there, the occasional brush with the local authorities, and perhaps even instigating a barroom brawl, so be it. A sister has to do what a sister has to do.

But so does a friend, and Tucker has no intention of backing down, no matter how aggravating or even—to his surprise—appealing Prudence Collier can be.

The war is on, and neither side believes they can afford to surrender.

Which is a shame, because they’re both beginning to suspect surrendering would be a lot of fun…

EXCERPT

She froze in front of him like a deer caught in the headlights, and despite the fact that she had some serious explaining to do, the first thought that went through Tucker’s mind when her eyes widened was that they certainly were a remarkable shade of green, weren’t they?

“Good morning,” she returned warily, and then those green eyes of hers narrowed.

Well, that seemed like an odd reaction. If either of them ought to be upset, he was fairly certain it should be him, not her. And had he not been so intensely curious as to why she had sent him on a wild goose chase yesterday, he might have been more upset than he already was.

“Coffee smells good,” Tucker said conversationally with a nod toward her cup. “Is there more where that came from?”

“Depends,” Prue returned, eyeing him as if she expected him to make a sudden move at any time. “Are you a guest of the resort?”

“Are you kidding? At their prices? No.”

“Then I think you’re out of luck.” And she drained the rest of her drink in front of him.

He watched her, unfazed. “Yeah, my luck has been pretty poor the past twenty-four hours.”

“Has it?”

She seemed to be avoiding his gaze. Under the circumstances, he was not surprised. “But it’s taking a turn for the better now, because I was hoping to run into you again.”

“I’ll bet,” she muttered, so much under her breath that he almost missed it.

“Mainly because I was hoping you could explain something to me. Like why you sent me racing after the wrong ferry?”

After a moment’s pause, she turned to look directly at him and widened her eyes again with what – in any other situation – he might have interpreted as innocence. It was almost, but not quite, convincing. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“I think you do know what I mean. You sent me to the Water Island ferry.”

One of her eyes twitched before both of them grew even wider. Too wide. “That’s the one you wanted, wasn’t it?”

He looked at her evenly, wondering what kind of game she was playing at here. “No. It wasn’t.”

“Well, that’s what I heard you say. You specifically said Water Island, I’m sure of it.”

“I said St. John.”

She shook her head. “I think you must be confused.”

Understatement of the year, he thought. “Very, yes, but not about the islands. And neither are you, are you?”

“I think you must be remembering wrong.”

“I fell for that line once already, remember? What else have you got?”

Instead of answering, she played with the empty coffee cup in her hands.

“Look, sweetheart, I don’t know if you just like to do this kind of thing to other people for kicks, but I’m really not in the mood for it today. I had a very long night, and it would be hard to say if the crowning moment was when one of the tires on my car blew up or when the tow truck guy discovered he was lactose intolerant while I was still riding beside him in his truck, but—” He caught another twitch around her eyes then, one that almost looked like guilt taking its toll. And then another thought occurred to him for the first time, and he stared at her, incredulous. “Wait—did you have something to do with that?”

“A lactose-intolerant truck driver? Not likely.”

“I meant my tire.”

She played with her cup some more without looking up, and he realized he had his answer.

“Are you kidding me?” He was almost too bewildered to be angry. Almost. “Do you usually screw over the people who do you favors, lady, or am I just special?”

Her head shot up then, and she had the nerve to look indignant. “Screw people over? You’re one to talk!”

“Huh?” Tourists all over these islands, and he had to cross paths with the one who appeared to be an escaped mental patient. A very attractive mental patient, he thought as a distracting curl escaped from the band she’d used to pull her hair back into a loose ponytail, but a mental patient nevertheless. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about that wedding you’re so anxious to stomp all over, that’s what.”

His irritation grew. “I don’t want to ‘stomp’ on anything. I just want to—”

“Ruin the bride’s special day. I know.”

“The bride—”

“Is my sister.”

He blinked and then stared at her, and she nodded back, her displeasure with him written all over her face. “No…” he breathed in disbelief.

“Guess again.”

PURCHASE LINKS:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

September 26, 2014 by Tina Williams

**TRAIL OF DEAD (THE INCARNATE SERIES #2), by Cristy Rey ~ BLOG TOUR AND REVIEW

The Pastophori of Iset has set a trap for the Incarnate…only she doesn’t know it….

Trail of Dead (Incarnate #2), by Cristy Rey

Book Blurb

The Pastophori of Iset has set a trap for the Incarnate…only she doesn’t know it.

Burned out from being on the road again, a directionless Sunday finds herself inexplicably drawn to Salt Lake City. There she finds herself in a curious state. For the first time in her life, Sunday feels normal. She can walk around free of anxiety that she will be set-off by her inhuman sensitivity. She can be intimate without overheating. Are the days of the Incarnate finally behind her?

Cyrus has not handled losing Sunday well. For eight months, the werewolf has been a shadow of himself. His pack is concerned and his closest friend, Marcus, believes that Cyrus is in danger of being lost to his humanity. When their Alpha confesses that the Pastophori of Iset has set a trap for Sunday, Cyrus goes into full-gear trying to get her out of it…but he has to find her first.

Goodreads

Purchase Links

Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N | Kobo | iBooks

Excerpt

With a sharp nod to Cyrus, Stephen took a step back and again made his way to his seat. Cyrus claimed the seat Marcus vacated, muscles taut and ready to spring into action. It took everything to abate the firestorm that brewed in him. The loss of Sunday, a threat to Marcus, and the rising wolf that threatened to take over if Cyrus didn’t get himself in check.

“I think Marcus appreciates the situation.”

“Do you, Marcus?” Stephen asked. The younger wolf now stood with his hands in his pockets and his head lowered, refusing to direct his gaze to his leader.

“I do, Stephen, but, respectfully, I think it doesn’t matter.”

“What makes you think you can find her and, even if you did, the Incarnate would go with you willingly?”

“She came with us willingly before.”

“But she didn’t come with you willingly the last time, and correct me if I’m remembering things wrong, but you stated that time she put you on your ass and turned the lights out on you for an entire day to prove just how unwilling she was to be recaptured.” Stephen leaned up on his elbows and shifted forward in his chair. “You think you cannot only find her this time, but get her to agree to going with you? Because, Cyrus, I want to be clear on this. She’s going to have to come with you for this to work.”

Cyrus nodded, and Stephen asked Marcus the same question.

“I don’t think it’s going to be that easy,” Marcus admitted. “But I think it’s worth attempting. At the very least, it gives Cyrus another shot with her, and I’m not sure he’ll stay with us long unless he gets at least that.”

The situation was clear. He’d been volatile since she’d absconded and left him behind, and only by confronting her could the situation be resolved. Cyrus wouldn’t be the first werewolf to leave behind humanity and choose to live out his days in wolf form. Once he made that fateful decision, his humanity would be lost forever. He wouldn’t come back. No one did. He would live out his days in the wild and he would do so in misery, alone.

“Is that accurate?” Stephen asked. There was no mistaking to whom he directed the question.

“Yes,” Cyrus answered.

The word stewed in the room while the three men quietly considered what it meant. Cyrus’s admission was deeply felt, and Stephen sighed heavily and brought his hands to cover his face, shaking his head and mumbling unintelligibly into them.

“So what do you want me to do?”

“I want a meeting with the cult leaders,” Cyrus replied.

Dropping back against the chair, he tucked his chin, beard brushing over chest. All the possible consequences of this action played out in his mind. He might not have admitted it to Marcus, even after Marcus had made his intentions known, but he’d fantasized about the millions of ways he could find Sunday again. Finally, he was opening up about them with Stephen, possibly the only person who could enable their reality.

“The cult has ceased all contracts regarding the capture and retrieval of the Incarnate.”

“Why?” Marcus asked, now inching closer to the table where the two men sat.

“Like I said earlier, Cyrus is the best and everyone knows it. He was the most dedicated to the Incarnate’s case and he is the one with the most experience with her. Since the witch’s flock was all but exterminated when she destroyed the main house, information about her is in short supply.”

“What does the cult know about Sunday that we don’t?” Cyrus interjected.

“Good question,” Stephen admitted with a nod. “It is my understanding that the Pastophori has found another way of trapping her.”

My Personal Review

Dark and Suspenseful Urban Fantasy Read!

Please note that this review contains some spoilers for readers who have not read book #1 in the series, Taking Back Sunday (click title for my review).

If you are not already on board with the Incarnate Series by Cristy Rey then hop on now and ready yourself for a fantastic dark urban fantasy read! Trail of Dead, book #2 in the series, pulses with arcane magic, violence, psychological torment and twisted evil, but it also explores the bonds of friendship, love and self-sacrifice.

After giving Cyrus the slip at the end of the previous novel, Sunday is again on the run, striving to come to terms with her powerful and oftentimes destructive powers. She is drawn to Salt Lake City, where a feeling of calmness descends upon her and she feels like she has a chance at normality. She makes friends with a woman called Deborah and embarks on a rewarding social life.

Nevertheless the Pastophori have set a trap for Sunday that she unknowingly all but sleepwalks into. This trap may not only cost Sunday her freedom and even her life but also that of an innocent teenager. The dark magic and madness of another, who has awaited the arrival of Sunday for a long time finally comes into play.

At the same time Cyrus, in Alaska with his pack, is sinking deeper into depression following Sunday’s desertion. Fearing what will happen if he is not reunited with Sunday and hearing that she is in danger, he once again seeks her out. Accompanied by fellow wolves Marcus and Angel, Cyrus soon picks up her scent. But will he be too late to save her from the trap and the fate that the Pastophori have in store for her? Will Sunday welcome him back? And above all will she remain with him? Their relationship is a complex one and they have much to come to terms with.

Once again I LOVED the characters in this novel. I really felt for Cyrus, the tortured alpha male werewolf, who cannot survive without his mate. He struggles with the knowledge that she left him, yet once he realises she is in danger NOTHING will keep him from saving her. I also enjoyed finding out more about Marcus and Angel and the new characters introduced in this novel. The members of the Pastophori are truly evil and I was on the edge of my seat hoping against hope that they did not realise their twisted objectives!

I emphasised with Sunday and was happy for her when she begins to live a normal life in Salt Lake City. Yet alarm bells began to ring as her sense of self as well as her powers begin to wane. Events conspire to work against her and people are not always what they seem. Sunday can only save herself and others if she can break free of the trap that has closed in around her and for once she cannot do this alone. I will not divulge any more of this awesome plot, but just urge you to give this highly original and entertaining series a go – you will not be disappointed!

I received a copy of this novel from the author for the purpose of a fair and honest review.

Taking Back Sunday (Incarnate #1)

After five years on the run, Sunday has finally settled into a seemingly normal life in Columbia, South Carolina. What her two best friends don’t know is that Sunday has a secret past. She is the Incarnate, a conduit of mystical energy transcendent of the mundane and the divine. For most of her life, she served under Bernadette, the most powerful witch in the Northwest. Her power is terrifying, and what she remembers of her past—and what she doesn’t—haunts her. In the year that she’s been attempting to be anything but the Incarnate, Sunday has fought her abilities tooth and nail, but it’s been worth it. When Sunday joins her friends’ coven for an innocent gathering, Sunday discovers a darkness hidden beneath the blanket of the coven’s magic and she is determined to find out who is behind it and what she has planned.

For the last four years, Cyrus has been the point man on the contract to recapture the Incarnate and deliver her to the Pastophori of Iset. A gifted tracker and a fearless werewolf, he harbors a wild, inexplicable passion for the Incarnate that has driven him to hunt her. He was one of the original captors that brought her to Bernadette when his obsession with her began. Having found her, Cyrus and his pack find themselves torn between two objectives: take her by force and deliver her to yet another group of fanatics, or help her uncover the traitor among her coven.

Goodreads

Purchase Links

Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N | Kobo

About this Author

Cristy Rey is the author of the romantic urban fantasy Incarnate series. Taking Back Sunday, Trail of Dead, and the prequel novelette, Edge of Seventeen, were released in 2014. The third full-length installment, Wolf Parade, will be released in 2015. She also writes and publishes unconventional romantic women’s fiction. Her first standalone, Weeping Angels, is available now, and her second, Heart Grow Fonder, will be out in winter 2014/2015.

Cristy lives in Miami, FL where she is a reader and writer most of the time, and a knitter much less of the time than she was six months before she took up writing again. She writes the books that she likes to read. She describes her writing style as riot grrrl Jane Austen sprinkled with a little magic. There’s always a killer soundtrack running in the background of her novels – all you need to do is turn to the playlist to know what’s up.

Find Cristy Rey Online

September 25, 2014 by Tina Williams

RELEASE DAY BLITZ for Charlotte (A Marked Heart Novel) by M. Sembera (includes giveaway)

Congratulations to M. Sembera for the release of Charlotte in her Marked Heart series. Scroll down to read the synopsis, an excerpt and a link to chapter one! You will also fond the link to the Goodreads giveaway, where you can win an advanced copy (US only).

The true measure of a person’s worth lies not within what they can offer you but what you have to offer them. No matter how desirable, are they worth your time, patience, forgiveness, loyalty, friendship, love, respect, understanding, compassion, trust? If not, they are worth more than you have to offer.

They deserve for you to let them go.

Charlotte Roberts and Augustus (Auggie) Caffrey may never have known each other, if it were not for William Caffrey. They would have simply moved on with their own lives without the anger and resentment that followed, when William fell for Charlotte almost six years ago.

Under the pretense of introducing Trace Delgado, her soon to be fiancé, to her adoptive parents, Emerson and Amila Roberts, Charlotte arrives back in her small southern hometown to personally collect on the forgiveness William promised he would give her if she ever returned.

Spending his days at the hospital with his brother William and his nights tending bar at The Dog House, Auggie knows it is only a matter of time before he loses the brother he has tried his entire life to protect.

When Auggie finds out Charlotte is in town, to no doubt torment his brother on his death bed, he wants her to stay as far away from William as possible. All Charlotte wants is to be forgiven and move on with a clear conscience. While, William’s dying wish is to ensure the two people he cares about most step outside of their comfort zones and see that life is not as cut and dry as they think it is.

Charlotte’s guilt and Auggie’s brotherly devotion compel them to, secretly, follow through with William’s last requests forcing them to begrudgingly spend time together. The more time they spend together, the closer they become. And the harder it is to keep what is taking place between them secret.

Late nights visits and stolen moments cause Charlotte to fall hard. But when a reminder of what brought them together stops Auggie dead in his tracks, he starts to question how far he’s willing to go with someone who was his brother’s first.

goodreads / web page / pinterest board

purchase link

Read Chapter 1 of Charlotte

From Ch. 4~Deal

Leaning onto the doorframe through the open door, Charlotte crossed one foot in front of the other and greeted, “Well this is a surprise.”

Clearing his throat as he looked her over, Auggie questioned, “Do you really know how to do this?” holding a green ledger book up to her.

Drawing out a “Yep,” she looked him up and down.

Auggie was consistent if nothing else. The only thing that varied was his choice of shirt and even then it was still plaid. And what was with the beanie? Clearly he wasn’t going bald, she had seen him at the cemetery without it and although it was fashionable to wear them, he didn’t strike her as keeping up with trends.

Just about the time she started to think about what was hidden by his ugly shirt, Auggie said, “Sundays are my only day off.”

“And?” she questioned, wanting him to come right out and ask her for help.

“That’s the day I work on this stuff.”

Rolling her eyes as she turned to walk back into the living room, Charlotte replied, “Thanks for sharin’.”

Auggie followed her into the house, already frustrated by the way she was acting.

Closing the door behind himself, he griped, “You said you knew an easy way to keep books. Are you gonna show me or what?”

Continuing to the couch, she sat down, crossing one leg over the other, saying, “That depends.”

“On what?”

Fluttering her eyelashes at him, Charlotte proposed, “Ask me nicely.”

Narrowing his eyes at her, he snapped, “Kiss my ass.”

Slowly shaking her head, Charlotte leaned back rebutting, “I do believe it’s my ass you should be kissing, Augustus.”

“You must be high out of your mind if you think I’m kissin’ anything of yours.”

Feeling a bit insulted, she sat up straight and offered, “Look, you don’t like me and I don’t like you so let’s lay our cards on the table and help each other out.”

Suspicious, he scowled, “Alright.”

Charlotte patted the spot on the couch next to her, saying, “Have a seat.”

“Yea, no thanks.”

Fluttering her lashes as she rolled her eyes at him, she stood up with a loud huff.

Auggie watched as Charlotte made her way to a chair facing the couch. With a sarcastic expression, she motioned for him to sit on the couch by himself.

Taking the offer, he sat before asking, “You wanna get dressed first.”

Crossing one of her long legs over the other, she replied, “I am dressed.”

The spot where he sat on the couch still smelled like her, making him wish she would go put more clothes on.

“Let’s hear it.”

Placing her hands on the arms of the chair, Charlotte stated, “I made your brother a promise before he died and I need you to keep it.”

Running his last conversation with Will over in his mind, Auggie asked, “Oh yea, how’s that?”

She was silent for a moment before sharing, “He wanted me to make an effort with you. Since he loved us and we cared about him, he wanted me to be here for you.”

Instantly furious, Auggie stood up correcting, “I didn’t just care about him, he’s my brother. I don’t need anything from anybody and honey, if I did, you’re the last person on earth…” until she cut him off, arguing, “Really? Then why are you here?”

Asking himself that same question, Auggie remembered Will making him promise he would look out for Charlotte while she was here.

Glaring at her, Auggie sat back down. He didn’t want to spend time with her. He didn’t want to have anything to do with her at all. Will had really screwed him over with this one.

“What did you have in mind?”

GoodReads Giveaway

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Charlotte

by M. Sembera

Giveaway ends October 03, 2014.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

M. Sembera was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and now lives in Brazoria, Texas with her husband, three kids, three dogs and two cats. After writing her first short story when she was in high school, M. instantly fell in love with writing. However, life sometimes gets in the way of aspirations and it wasn’t until years later, when her life calmed down, M. was able to start writing again.

‘For me, each new book I write or character I create feels like the first time and I find myself falling in love with writing all over again’

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http://www.BrokenBirdMedia.com

September 25, 2014 by Caroline Barker

Review Round Up – September 2014

Hi readers, since the summer holidays Tina and myself have been burying our head in books, catching up with our blog posts and planning ahead for Halloween!

Yes, I said “Halloween”!! I cannot believe it has come around so quickly again!

But while you wait for some super cool reviews over the oncoming scary period here are thirteen fab stories that we have reviewed over the past few weeks! As usual there is a great range of genres, from contemporary romance to erotic romance, historicals to sci-fi’s and dystopians!! (To see our review please click on the book title).

Happy Reading 🙂

Caroline and Tina xx

Back to Storafalt (Finally Ever After) by Holley Trent, contemporary romance (reviewed by Tina Williams)

Blurb: He stood her up. Now she’s standing out.

The last time Justine Eklund had heard from Gray Voss was when he’d agreed to take her to her sister’s wedding. He stood her up. Twelve years later, he’s back in Wyoming as the new owner of Storafalt’s only pharmacy. He didn’t come alone, though. He brought along the small cowboy town’s best-kept secret—his preteen son, Danny.

Gray wants to pick up where he left off. He never stopped loving the beautiful rabble-rouser, and thinks she’ll fit seamlessly into his little family. Justine yearns to reignite that old torch, but she’s wary. She’s not convinced her high school sweetheart will stick around.

Storafalt’s only school is on a rapid decline, so Gray may have no choice but to return Danny to the life they built in Austin. If he goes, there’s no way Justine can go with them. Unlike Gray, she’s rooted too deeply to leave.

Unlovable (The Case Files of Dr. Matilda Schmidt, Paranormal Psychologist) by Cynthia St. Aubin, paranormal, romance, fantasy, humour (reviewed by Tina Williams)

Blurb: It isn’t every day a sexy demigod throws a pissed-off Cupid onto psychologist Matilda Schmidt’s couch and informs her the fate of the world depends on her ability to get him off his diapered ass and back to helping people fall in love. Just when Matilda convinces herself she’s not hallucinating, in walks a Vegas hit man with a big gun and a bigger threat: pay back the million dollars she owes a notorious casino mogul, or wind up as fish food in Lake Mead.Rocketing across country with a gun to her head, Matilda has a dysfunctional love-god in her laptop bag, a million dollar debt she has no knowledge of, and must convince the seductive hit man he’s snatched the wrong woman before he convinces her he might be the right man—for a night. Can Matilda stay alive long enough to keep love from becoming history?

The Medea Complex by Rachel Florence Roberts, historical, psychological thriller, mystery (reviewed by Caroline Barker)

****BASED ON A TRUE STORY***

1885. Anne Stanbury – Committed to a lunatic asylum, having been deemed insane and therefore unfit to stand trial for the crime of which she is indicted. But is all as it seems?

Edgar Stanbury – the grieving husband and father who is torn between helping his confined wife recover her sanity, and seeking revenge on the woman who ruined his life.

Dr George Savage – the well respected psychiatrist, and chief medical officer of Bethlem Royal Hospital. Ultimately, he holds Anne’s future wholly in his hands.

The Medea Complex tells the story of a misunderstood woman suffering from insanity in an era when mental illnesses’ were all too often misdiagnosed and mistreated. A deep and riveting psychological thriller set within an historical context, packed full of twists and turns, The Medea Complex explores the nature of the human psyche: what possesses us, drives us, and how love, passion, and hope for the future can drive us to insanity.

Debt Inheritance (Indebted #1) by Pepper Winters, dark erotic romance (reviewed by Tina Williams)

Blurb: “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.

After Wimbledon by Jennifer Gilby Roberts, contemporary romance, romantic comedy, chick-lit (reviewed by Caroline Barker)

Blurb: A British chick lit / romantic comedy novel about tennis, romance, family and having the guts to move on to a new phase of your life.

After 12 years on the pro. tennis tour and four years with her sort-of boyfriend, Lucy Bennett has had enough. She wants real life… and real love.

Her life, her decision. Right? Well, no one else seems to think so. With opinions on all sides, Lucy’s head is spinning. And she’s stumbling right into the arms of long-term crush and fellow player Sam. Shame her boyfriend – his arch-rival – would sooner smash a racquet over their heads than agree to a simple change of partners.

As the Wimbledon Championships play out, Lucy fights for her life on and off the courts. The question is: what will she be left with after Wimbledon?

Primary Fault (The Schattenreich Series #1) by Sharon Kae Reamer, fantasy romance (reviewed by Tina Williams)

Blurb: Caitlin Schwarzbach has left home. For good.

Separated from her beloved brother Gus at age seven, Caitlin exchanges small-town Texas for Cologne, Germany to be with him. But upon her arrival, a man resembling her brother attempts to kidnap her.

At a university reception, Caitlin feels intimidated by one of her brother’s former colleagues, only to have the conversation interrupted by a dangerously attractive man, Hagen von der Lahn. She learns her seismologist brother Gus has included her in a research project with the amateur archeologist and stylish aristocrat. When Gus is called away to his institute by an earthquake, the deranged Gus doppelgänger again tries to drag her away. Hagen rescues Caitlin and secures her in his castle near the Rhine.

Gus vanishes, sought by the Cologne police for multiple sexual assaults. As Hagen and Caitlin begin the investigation into her brother’s disappearance, her feelings for Hagen grow. But before she can follow up on a promising lead, a blow to the head lands Caitlin in the hospital. An unwanted visitor appears by her bed; someone she feared since childhood, the being she thinks of as Death. His appearance can only mean one thing: her brother is in mortal danger.

A novel of supernatural suspense, Primary Fault is a delightful mixture of science meets magic set amidst a backdrop of Celto-Germanic Otherworld.

Desired (True Alpha #1) (short story) by Alisa Woods, paranormal romance (reviewed by Caroline Barker)

Blurb: Shifters live in the shadows of Seattle, just under the skin of the alpha male, dot-com entrepreneurs who are building a new Silicon Valley in the Emerald City.

Mia is just a college girl trying to earn her business degree and dig out of the poverty she was born into—being a shifter is something she hides, hoping her secret won’t sabotage her dreams.

Lucas is a broken alpha, a wolf who lost his mate, his pack, and almost himself—he wasn’t looking to rescue a girl or start a pack war. But now he has to keep her safe or it won’t just be her life, but his whole family at risk… only his inner wolf can’t seem to keep its paws off a girl who has secrets of her own.

Guarded (True Alpha #2) (short story) by Alisa Woods, paranormal romance (reviewed by Caroline Barker)

THIS IS THE SECOND EPISODE OF SIX in the True Alpha serial.

Blurb: Shifters live in the shadows of Seattle, just under the skin of the alpha male, dot-com entrepreneurs who are building a new Silicon Valley in the Emerald City.

As Lucas fights his instinctual attraction to Mia, focusing instead on guarding her and keeping her safe from the Red pack, Mia tries to discover the truth about Lucas’s dead mate.

Guarded (True Alpha 2) is 70 pages or 17,000 words. It’s the second of six episodes in the True Alpha serial.

Hunter Betrayed (Wild Hunt #1) by Nancy Corrigan, erotic fantasy, paranormal romance (reviewed by Tina Williams)

Blurb: Tainted from birth, Harley lives a life cloaked in darkness and temptation. She resists the lure of her evil legacy by holding the memory of her ghostly savior close. Every night without him is agony. She fantasizes about him and yearns for his body, but he’s not the protector or lover she’s envisioned. He’s a Hunter bred to eliminate her kind. He’s also her only hope of salvation.

Calan, the leader of the Wild Hunt, was created to protect mankind from the Unseelie Court. For a millennium, he’s sacrificed to ensure the horrid creatures remain in the Underworld, but his strength wanes. He must rely on his enemy’s daughter to save him, but he doesn’t expect the intensity of their lust or love. Her touch calms his wild nature and ignites his carnal desires. He’ll risk all to save her, but doing so forces him to make the ultimate sacrifice, one that’ll damn him to suffer forever in his own living hell.

Soul Rebel by C.J. Pinard, paranormal romance suspense (reviewed by Caroline Barker)

Blurb: When 21-year-old Nolan Bishop meets a seductive woman named Eva at a dark club in downtown Shreveport, Louisiana, little does he know his soul will be gone as soon as she is. Realizing she’s taken something from him, he finds out he has a very limited time to destroy her before he turns into something sinister and inhuman. In a race against all that is holy, Nolan has to find Eva and get his soul back while trying not to fall in love with Charity, the twin sister of the succubus who took his soul – all in 7 days.

Her Vengeful Scot (Highland Chronicles #2) by Christina Phillips, historical romance, erotic, slight paranormal (reviewed by Tina Williams)

Blurb: Ordered to remain in Pictland, Cameron MacNeil fights the lust that consumes him whenever he encounters the aloof princess, Elise. Not only is she a cursed Pict, she’s married to the man responsible for his sister’s death. In order to avenge his sister, he must destroy the woman he wants most.

Despite her reputation, Elise has no interest in men until she meets Cameron. Lacking the famed Scots charm, his blunt ways enchant her and he ignites a passion in her she thought long dead. When she is freed from her difficult marriage, Elise places her trust in the tough warrior who stole her heart.

Bound by blood oaths, the only way Cam can protect Elise from political schemes is to make her his bride. When Elise discovers the truth of her husband’s death, she wonders if everything she knew about Cam was a lie. All she can do is trust that her goddess was right and Cameron is her true love.

Too Much to Lose (Dirty Little Secrets) by Samantha Holt, contemporary romance (reviewed by Tina Williams)

Blurb: Have you ever been so desperate you made a decision that would haunt you forever?

Jess has.

She became a porn star.

Jess is on the run from her past. She has no friends, no life. She tries to forget everything that happened to her all those years ago. After changing her image, leaving her home and getting a new job, she’s determined it won’t happen again. If that means never being close to anyone ever again, then so be it.

If only Hunter O’Reilly didn’t make her wish things could be different.

Hunter needs this job. After being screwed over by his partner—make that ex-partner—his investigation business is on the line. Already in debt, he eagerly takes on the job of finding some stolen money at triple his going rate and all leads point in Jess’s direction. He expects problems at that price. But he doesn’t expect to fall for her.

However, no job is ever that simple. When he’s forced to spend more time with her, the lines between business and pleasure are blurred. And once Jess’s life comes under threat, they have to make a decision, can they both overcome Jess’s past?

Here Lies Love by Dan Thompson, dystopian, romance, New Adult (reviewed by Caroline Barker)

Blurb: Would death be less painful than life?

When she is sold by her father, Abbey discovers that nightmares can occur when you’re awake. Trapped inside a wooden cage, Abbey is forced to listen to the horrors and atrocities above; time ticking down until it is her turn. But Abbey isn’t prepared to become a victim; she will escape.

Although, what Abbey isn’t prepared for, is how harsh and unfair the world can be. With the sun turning its back on humanity long ago, life gives no opportunity. The only thing Abbey can do is learn to survive. To exist. And that means stealing any opportunity that comes her way. Haunted by the unpleasant memories bestowed upon her only nurtures Abbey’s paranoia, until she realises that to truly live in the world, she must confront the person who was responsible for her misfortune – her father.

Here Lies Love is a New Adult tale of actuality, of facing up to the fact that love comes in many guises. Can Abbey find the one glimmer of hope or will she be overcome with the darkness of revenge?

September 24, 2014 by Tina Williams

COVER REVEAL ~ LOVE AT THE END OF DAYS ~ by Tera Shanley (includes super giveaway)

Romance with Zombies!!!

Check out this zombie-riffic cover for Tera Shanley’s Love At The End of Days!

Congrats to author Tera Shanley for such an awesome book and cover – I mean JUST LOOK AT IT! We are planning on making the coming weeks extra fun in the run up to Halloween by joining with Tera and her friends to celebrate zombies and all things dark! Scroll on down to find out more about Tera’s book and further fun and frolicks. You can also click to enter the Goodreads giveaway to win a copy of Love at the End of Days PLUS comment on this blog post for a chance to win an e- copy of the previous instalment, Love In The Time of The Dead. Good luck! Tina and Caroline ❤

Love At The End of Days

ISBN:9781623421557

Release Date: October 14th, 2014

Book Blurb

Romance and zombies collide in the riveting sequel to Love in the Time of the Dead. Year four into the Dead outbreak that ended the world and Vanessa Summers has been so burned by love, she swears she will never trust a man again. But Sean Daniels, guard leader of Dead Run River, isn’t just any man. When past lovers return to the colony, things get complicated. Desperate to rid herself of the heartache, Vanessa signs up for a supply run that will test her mettle as a guard in training. Sean volunteers to lead her team, and his hungry looks say it’s more personal than professional. Danger comes from all sides as they scavenge Dead infested cities, and as her attraction for Sean deepens, Vanessa finds her head and heart at war with each other. He clouds her judgment, and any misstep could spell disaster outside of the safety of colony gates. A race back to Dead Run River could save a team mate’s life, but trouble has been brewing back home. Laney Landry, the woman who broke Sean’s heart, is in trouble, and Vanessa must decide whether to take back the Denver colony beside the man she’s falling in love with, or bow out of an attraction that terrifies her.

Weathering Dead hybrids, betrayals, battles, jealousy, and soul consuming love, Vanessa must find her place in the team she’s found. And if she can, she might just master survival at the end of days.

Connect with the Author

http://terashanley.blogspot.com/

Further Zombie Themed Fun and Frolicks!

Don’t forget October 14th (release day), when you can join a Twitter Party, with lots of fun and prizes. Follow #OmniZombies on October 14th!

To win a copy of Tera’s book enter on Goodreads (US and Canada only): Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/107005-love-at-the-end-of-days

To win a copy of Book One, Love In The Time of The Dead through us at A Reader’s Review Blog all you need to do is comment on this blog post with your name and email address by midnight GMT on October 5th. The winner will be selected at random and the book will be dispatched by OMNIFIC PUBLISHING after we have informed them of the winner. ❤

September 22, 2014 by Caroline Barker

REVIEW & Kindle e-book GIVEAWAY Here Lies Love by Dan Thompson

A Reader’s Review Blog are excited to host our review and fantastic giveaway of Dan Thompson’s New Adult Dystopian ‘Here Lies Love’! Be warned – there are some dark and adult topics and therefore, it is not one for the faint-hearted!! (Please scroll down for details of the e-book giveaway!)

Blurb: Would death be less painful than life?

REVIEW

Wow! There are some very dark topics in this New Adult dystopian, Here Lies Love, and it is definitely not for the faint hearted! Not only is it one of the darkest novels I have read for some time, being set in an end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it survival narrative but it also deals with captivity, violence and sexual abuse, where the victim considers suicide as it may be preferable to carrying on. There is also the presence of betrayal and loneliness surrounding the main character, Abbey. Be prepared for an intense, emotive adventure, where the reader truly cannot predict what will happen on the following page, let alone at the end of the story!!!

The reader is introduced to Abbey at a time when the sun hasn’t shone in the sky for many years. The human race is barely surviving and Abbey has been sent away by her father to live with Stefan, a man who offered Abbey a chance of minor housework to earn her keep and food. Little did Abbey know that she would be under lock and key and only taken out when Stefan, the monster, wanted to play. Abbey not only has to live with the fear of what this guy will do to her, but she can hear the screams of other girls. She cannot let him carry on doing this to her.

The reader feels every sense of terror, anxiety and tension, longing for Abbey and the others to escape. This story takes you places that you would not really want to venture to from the beginning. However, by doing this the reader is hooked on hoping for Abbey to make it out. For a New Adult novel, Dan Thompson writes so carefully, explaining the depths of desperation that Abbey is at, allowing every moment to be clear to the reader without being completely graphic as a more mature read could be. This shows a level of sensitivity and the author helps create the horrific scene with atmospheric descriptions just as much as the abusive situation in which Abbey is in.

Abbey’s emotions towards her father are mixed. She was close to him and her gran when she was younger but she cannot understand how her father could just give her away to a monster like Stefan. Abbey feels angry and betrayed by her father. She wants answers and he is the only one that holds them. Her father and her home at the lighthouse are all she knows and so her objective is to face her father to find his truth and possibly seek revenge.

Here Lies Love also keeps the reader on their toes just as much as Abbey is. I find dystopians in general are dark reads and concentrate on surviving, and this is no different in many ways. There is a lack of trust in people, the need for food and warmth, etc, but Abbey is also struggling with the coming of age at the same time as having her innocence robbed and then to top it all off she falls for another survivor of the apocalypse in Tristan.

Meeting Tristan, although careful and cautious of him at first, provides Abbey with a certain feeling of affection that she has long forgotten. She has only had to think and care for herself, and now meeting Tristan and his best friend, Ryan, she begins to feel connected with people again, if just a little. However, due to her young age and trying to deal with what has happened to her makes it very easy for Abbey to become paranoid and concerned about the true intentions of Tristan and Ryan. The reader does question, ‘Is there hope for Abbey’s future?’

Towards the end of the novel the answer to that question is still one for the reader to possibly judge for themselves. And where does it leave Tristan? I want to know so much more about these characters and, although the story is pretty well wrapped, I would still like to follow these characters into a sequel to find out exactly what becomes of both of them and whether or not they are together? Despite the seriousness, darkness and sheer desperation that Abbey felt, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. If you are a dystopian fan and enjoy a dark read this is definitely one for you!!

A copy of Here Lies Love was provided by the author in return for an honest and fair review.

GIVEAWAY

For a chance to win an e-book (mobi version for Amazon Kindle) of Here Lies Love all we ask is for you to leave your name and/or a comment in the comments box below before Monday 29th September 2014.

Alternatively, you can leave a comment on our Facebook page post at www.facebook.com/AReadersReview before the closing date, Monday 29th September 2014!

The winner will be randomly selected and notified as soon as they are selected.

Good luck to all those who enter. We wish you every success!!

Caroline & Tina 🙂

And if you are unlucky, or simply cannot wait then here are the purchase links:-

Here Lies Love is available at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Reviewed by Caroline Barker

September 21, 2014 by Tina Williams

~COVER REVEAL~ CELT by London Miller (includes giveaway)

SYNOPSIS:

Amber Lacey lived for paint and canvases, as was the life of an artist. When she accepted the position in an art gallery as an art restorer, she never expected to get caught up in a world of high-end art theft, or become the target of a ticked off cartel leader…

A single name. His entire identity.

From the time Celt accepted the brand of his organization, he more than happily signed his identity over, not giving a second thought to his handler scrubbing his identity from the world.

It was the price he had to pay.

With a new contract, he expected it to be cut and dry, even if his new employer could get a bit grabby, but what he didn’t expect to find was the girl caught in the middle of it all…and worse, his growing attraction to her.

There was no room for love in the life he led…

But he had never been one to follow the rules anyway…

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18634855-celt

AUTHOR BIO:

With a degree in Creative Writing, London Miller has turned pen to paper, creating riveting fictional worlds where the bad guys are sometimes the good guys. Her debut novel, In the Beginning, is the first in the Volkov Bratva Series. She currently resides in southern Georgia where she drinks far too much Mountain Dew, and spends her nights writing.