August 22, 2015 by Tina Williams

BLITZ & BLOG TOUR – Fourth Debt (Indebted #5), by Pepper Winters (includes excerpt)

Adult/18+ Read

I am SO pleased that Pepper Winters has released this latest instalment of the Indebted series! The events in the previous book just about killed me and I am aching to know what happens next and whether the seemingly impossible can happen! Scroll down to find out more and read an excerpt. For readers who love dark romance and who are as yet unacquainted with this series (is there anybody out there??? Seriously?), remember that Debt Inheritance (Indebted #1) is FREE. Tina ❤

More Jethro & Nila? Yes Please!

Fourth Debt is LIVE!

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1Dl6Lji

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1hsAj8p

Nook: http://bit.ly/1J5pDUA

iBooks: http://bit.ly/1BjoFUA

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1zoFkFL

Google Play: http://bit.ly/1PgTgWZ

Blurb

Fifth Book in the New York Times Bestselling Series.

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

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

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

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

**Only suitable for Dark Romance lovers.

Full length book. Six in series. Fourth Debt is 85,000 words.

FUNNY HOW LIFE plays practical jokes.

The past few days—that had to be a fucking joke, right?

No logical answer would make sense of what I’d seen, heard, and lived the past seventy-two hours.

My sister.

My best friend and twin.

This was what she’d been living with? This was how she’d been treated?

This was what she wanted to return to?

Motherfucking why? Why would she ever want to return to this insanity?

We’d been raised in a broken home, chained to an empire that absorbed us right from birth. But we were kept safe, warm, and loved. We grew up together. We shared everything.

But now…I had no fucking clue who my sister was.

But then she came to me.

A woman I never knew existed.

The most stunning creature I’d ever seen.

Only she didn’t come to me on feet or wings of an angel. She rolled into my life and demanded my help.

And for better or for worse…

I helped her.

“LET ME GO!”

Daniel cackled like a mad hyena, his fingers stabbing into my bicep. Without breaking his stride, he stole me further away from the parlour and into the bowels of the house.

I didn’t want to go. I didn’t want to go anywhere with him.

“Take me back!”

He can’t be dead!

Just because he lay unmoving and bloody didn’t mean he was gone.

That’s exactly what it means.

I shook my head, dislodging those awful thoughts. He’s alive. He had to be.

I couldn’t tolerate any other answer. I refused to live in a world where evil triumphed over good. That wasn’t right—life couldn’t be that cruel.

It’s always been that way.

My mind filled with images of my mother. My father’s desolation. My broken childhood. Evil had puppeteered us from day one. Why should now be any different?

He’s not dead!

I swallowed a sob.

Please don’t be dead…

I fought harder. “Let me see him. You can’t do this!”

Daniel cackled louder. “Keep begging, Weaver. Won’t do you any good.”

He’s not dead!

I locked my knees, fighting him every step. “Stop!” Looking back the way we’d come, the door to the parlour seemed so far away—a bright beacon at the end of a festering corridor. “They were your brothers, you insane psychopath. Don’t you feel anything?!”

Please let me go to him. He has to be alive…

Please let my twin stay alive…

Let all of this be a nightmare!

I couldn’t cope with Jethro murdered; I’d go clinically insane if they killed V, too.

“I feel relief. I no longer have to put up with their simpering bullshit.” He flashed his teeth. “Cut did us all a favour.”

Cut will die.

He was evil incarnate. He deserved to die in excruciatingly painful ways.

I refuse to believe they’re dead.

“I said stop!” I wriggled harder, only succeeding in Daniel’s fingers tearing into my flesh. Goosebumps covered my skin while ice steadily froze my veins. Every second was endless torture. I couldn’t live without Jethro.

It can’t end like this!

“You won’t win, Weaver.” Daniel tugged harder. “Accept what’s fucking happened and obey me.”

Series Reading Order

Debt Inheritance (Indebted #1) FREE

Amazon: http://amzn.to/17UZImo

iBooks: http://bit.ly/1BjoFUA

Nook: http://bit.ly/1Cl8rau

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1zoFkFL

First Debt (Indebted #2)

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1BjpblH

iBooks: http://bit.ly/1sMEyQo

Nook: http://bit.ly/10PcYWi

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1qmB3d7

Second Debt (Indebted #3)

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1aOEW95

iBooks: http://bit.ly/1ufkO3z

Nook: http://bit.ly/1yqRa2R

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1xgCSvb

Third Debt (Indebted #4)

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1DZbZEV

iBooks: http://bit.ly/1ufkO3z

Nook: http://bit.ly/1DZctL0

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1xgCSvb

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1BRsIGR

Fourth Debt (Indebted #5)

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1Dl6Lji

Nook: http://bit.ly/1J5pDUA

iBooks: http://bit.ly/1BjoFUA

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1zoFkFL

About the Author:

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

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

Her Dark Erotica books include:

Tears of Tess (Monsters in the Dark #1)

Quintessentially Q (Monsters in the Dark #2)

Her Grey Romance books include:

Destroyed

August 21, 2015 by Tina Williams

Raven Pirate Assassin Spy, by Landra Graf

Raven Pirate Assassin Spy

The Final Stop

First off, thanks to areadersreviewblog (Tina and Caroline) for hosting me today. It’s been a whirlwind of a tour with lots of excerpts, fun facts, and talking about myself and my story. The great news is readers can buy a copy at any ebook retailer as of today. If you do purchase a copy, please drop me a line and let me know what you think. Feedback is the one true validation for a writer.

As for the actually blog topic let’s talk plot and inspiration. The plot in a sentence is: Sorella, a raised assassin and air ship captain, is searching for her brother who acted as her ransom to a mercenary gang called The Cursed.

The plot was mainly inspired by the Grimm Fairytale, The Seven Ravens. But the story is also inspired by my love of Steampunk and alternate history/realities. I wanted to touch on something I hadn’t read yet. A time period not often in the NYT Bestsellers romance books. So the 1930’s popped into my head. A serious time between the two world wars that involved a lot of pain and sorrow. It saw the beginnings of German renewed dominance, and a country in the throes of a Great Depression. The only problem, I didn’t want to write about the Great Depression. I wanted things to be different.

In Sorella’s world Germany has won World War One and the United States has closed their borders. This is a world where the U.S. never got involved and Britain survived the insanity by seceding to Germany’s domination of the main European continent. This opened a world of possibilities for me, and I had a lot of fun playing with the details.

My question to readers: What are your favorite time periods to read about? If there was alteration to history you could make in a book what would it be?

Book Blurb:

Once Upon A Time… Sorella Corvino lost her brother to The Cursed years ago. Sorella is so determined to find him, she’ll make any deal, rescue the outcasts and those like him, and risk flying into any port to rescue him. When her latest pirate efforts partner her with a bounty hunter who’s too charming, sexy, and handsome for his own good, she knows she’s in trouble.

Ian Marshall no longer believes in fairy tales… Disowned and a marked criminal in the United States, this merchant turned bounty hunter, is one bounty away from freedom; and freedom’s price is handing over one person to the most cutthroat gang in the world, The Cursed. Yet, he can’t get to them without Sorella’s help. Too bad she’s gorgeous, aggravating, and a little trigger happy.

As the attraction mounts, the danger grows and the pair find themselves invading a skin trader den, the ballrooms of dictator-ruled Germany, and fighting battles in the sky in the hopes of getting everything they want. Only thing they didn’t plan on… falling in love.

About the Author:

Landra Graf consumes at least one book a day, and has always been a sucker for stories where true love conquers all. She believes in the power of the written word, and the joy such words can bring. In between spending time with her family and having book adventures, she writes romance with the goal of giving everyone, fictional or not, their own happily ever after.

You can find Landra at: Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Website, Silken Sheets & Seduction, or Newsletter

Giveaway

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Link to Tour Schedule

August 19, 2015 by Caroline Barker

REVIEW True Blue (The Blue Crystal Trilogy #2) by Pat Spence

I had to read Book 2 in The Blue Crystal Trilogy, True Blue, after enjoying Blue Moon (book 1) so much! After book 1 being likened to the ‘Twilight’ saga, albeit without vamps and weres I have found both of these books intriguing to read. The relationship Bella has to Edward’s family in Twilight, is very similar to that of Emily and Theo in Blue Crystal! Young and mature fans will love this supernatural fantasy series! Blue Moon (book 1) is now FREE at Amazon.

Title: True Blue (The Blue Crystal Trilogy #2)

Author: Pat Spence

Genre: YA paranormal romance, fantasy

Release date: May 29th, 2015

Length: 250 pages

Blurb: As the word ‘tomb’ came into my head and my predicament hit home, I lost control and hammered on the lid, screaming ‘Help, get me out of here’ over and over, until my throat hurt…

In just two weeks, Emily must undergo the blue crystal initiation ceremony or face death from the secret order that protects it. But is she ready to spend eternity with the beautiful and irresistible Theo de Lucis, or can best friend, Seth, offer an alternative? And can she stay alive long enough to make the decision?

As Emily considers her future, she becomes an unwitting pawn in a dangerous game of life and death, caught up in a supernatural world of ancient enemies, old grievances and dark forces. Tested to the limit, she must draw deep to ensure her survival.

Heart-rending and horrifying, True Blue is the second book in the ‘Blue Crystal’ trilogy, with a colourful cast of characters, a fast-moving plot and surprises at every turn. Keep turning the pages. You have to know what happens next….

An old enemy of the de Lucis family waits in the shadows, desperate for the crystal and preparing to exact a terrible price…

REVIEW

The fantastic story of the Blue Crystal continues with True Blue, book 2. This is another delightful read as we follow Emily’s adventure with Theo. As she already knows too much about the crystal she must undergo an initiation ceremony and become an immortal herself, otherwise she could face death by those who protect it to ensure that it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands!

The story is split into three parts: teenage life, disappearance and rescue. The first section has a lighter, relaxing feel as it concentrates on Emily’s everyday life with her mother and her school friends, Seth and Tash. Many readers will love Seth’s sense of humour as we are subjected to his off-the-cuff remarks. He simply oozes fun! Tash also indirectly adds to this; she is so obsessed with how she looks that she goes to the extent of having botox and collagen, which ultimately ends with her face becoming expressionless! Although it does have it’s use at times! We are also introduced to Emily’s mother’s new fellow, Juke, who proves to be a fascinating character as the story moves on.

Emily’s initiation is becoming increasingly closer, and although her deepest desire is to be with Theo forever, she does have doubts about leaving normal life behind. Does she really want a deep, intense relationship with the love of her life, when sometimes she can barely breathe? Or, should she remain a mortal where she can be more relaxed and jovial with her family and friends? Who knows, maybe her and Seth could make a go of it? There are feelings there on both sides, albeit more on Seth’s!

With a prom to look forward to Emily can pretty much take her pick on who to go with. Although this does not register to Theo, who naturally expected to be the one to take her. There is a touching moment when Viyesha explains lovingly to him how such a huge change – the initiation – will affect Emily. She will be saying goodbye to the life she is used to in many ways; she won’t be growing old with her family and friends. This is Emily’s last chance to do something normal.

With the prom over abruptly, the story then begins to get darker, and not all in the de Lucis’ household can be trusted! Emily’s life is in imminent danger, and her best friend, Tash, has also got caught up in the turn of events as they both get kidnapped!

From hereon in there is plenty of action, suspense, with a dark, almost eerie atmosphere. The ‘feeders’ are certainly very gruesome and will make you shudder and cringe. The Dark One and his minions find ways to take the crystal, and one way is to take Emily. He longs to turn into his human form once again, and his only chance is to get hold of the crystal. In order to do this, he summons Mr. Nelson to carry out his evil tasks.

“… the time has come for action. I need the crystal. I have waited too long in the shadows, without form or function, and Viyesha has enjoyed the wealth and power that was rightfully mine for too long. Bring me the girl. The family cannot stand back and let her endure the tortures of the void. Once I have her, I will exploit their weakness.”

Although Mr. Nelson hears the Dark One, he doesn’t see him. Instead, it is the feeders that are present. The creepy, slimy, dark slug-like masses.

“… He couldn’t see the owner of the hissing, reptilian voice, but he could see what the chamber contained. Surrounding him on all sides and suspended high up in the vaults, he saw row upon row of strange black creatures, dark and malevolent, their glittering eyes watching all around him, he was filled with a loathing and dread so powerful he thought his head would explode.”

And, then there’s the brilliance of the shapeshifters, who sometimes make you wonder exactly whose side they’re on, which makes for great tense and fearful moments that are exhilarating. Not only that, but love also blossoms in unexpected places between other characters. I wonder where that will lead to!

Two new fascinating characters are introduced in True Blue in Juke and Bellynda La Drach! Australian Juke is Emily’s mothers new partner. He showed up in the village, Hartswell-on-the-Hill, as a hippy type, with a guitar. Emily is glad to see her mum happy, especially since the death of her Grandad, even though at times she knows that something doesn’t sit quite right with him. This provides the reader with curiosity, and I for one couldn’t wait to discover more about him! The de Lucis family were sent Bellynda La Drach after they expressed concerns of the blue crystal’s safety. She is present to keep the crystal and the family safe from harm. However, she is not very heart-warming, but rather cold and flippant. She will leave you wondering just whose side she is on. But one of the most interesting sides of her character is that she is a shapeshifter, and she is brilliant during the action and fight scenes, regardless who side she’s on!

Yes, True Blue is an excitingly, nice paced story, as was book 1. I can’t wait to read more about the characters and what becomes of them in Book 3.

A copy of True Blue was provided by the author for the purpose of a fair and honest review.

True Blue is available at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Reviewed by Caroline Barker

You can also check out my review on the first book of the trilogy, Blue Moon.

Blue Moon blurb: “Forget vampires,” he laughed dismissively.

“Who wants to drink blood for eternity? What we have discovered is far more seductive and a great deal more dangerous…”

When 17-year old Emily Morgan meets beautiful but strange Theo de Lucis, there is an immediate attraction between them. But what is his secret? What ancient link ties him to Emily? And what is the significance of the Blue Moon Ball?

As Emily is drawn irrevocably into the glamorous and mysterious world of the de Lucis family, so she is forced to change every perception she has ever had about life, love, aging and death. The truth is terrifying and the consequences unthinkable…

A supernatural horror story, based on society’s obsession with aging and the desire for eternal youth, Blue Moon is the first book in the ‘Blue Crystal’ trilogy…

“For all ‘Twilight’ fans who want a change from vampires, this is the book for you.”

Buy links for Blue Moon, now FREE on Amazon:- AMAZON UK and AMAZON US

Tina and myself had the absolute pleasure of meeting Pat Spence at the Second City Signing in July. We had a lovely chat about the Blue Crystal books, and her contemporary romance, Abigail’s Affair. She was accompanied by her assistant, Tracie Smith-Band, who is also very talented in making jewellery and beautiful bookmarks, which blended in with the Blue Crystal books perfectly. Plus, there was also a cake of Blue Moon made by a fan, which was way too delicious to eat!

August 18, 2015 by Tina Williams

BLOG TOUR – Starry Knight, by Nina Mason (includes excerpt, trailer and giveaway)

Today, we are featuring Starry Knight by Nina Mason, the author of The Queen of Swords and Devil in Duke’s Clothing, among other books. Starry Knight is Ms. Mason’s fifth novel and the first in a new erotic paranormal/urban fantasy series titled The Knights of Avalon. The series–which combines paranormal and occult elements with Celtic and Arthurian legend–tells the story of four “knights” under the spell of the evil faery queen Morgan Le Fay.

Buy it now!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PEOIYZ0

Can these star-crossed lovers bridge two worlds?

British aristocrat Vanessa Bentley has beauty, fame, and fortune, but she gets no respect for her decision to become a paranormal investigator. Determined to prove the naysayers wrong, Vanessa ventures to the misty moors of Caithness, Scotland. There stands the immense Castle Barrogill, where a vampire is rumored to be stalking the dungeons—a vampire Vanessa is determined to find. She’ll just have to get past the resident shape-shifter…

Callum Lyon is the gorgeous reclusive astrologer and faery knight who guards the castle. For free-spirited Vanessa, seducing him proves to be easy. After all, he was once a breeding drone to a Queen. But astrologically, their differences are harder to overcome. Will Vanessa’s mission—and Callum’s secrets—be more than their burgeoning love can take? Or will flesh—and blood—win over the ghosts that haunt them both? ….

Here’s where you can find the trailer on Youtube:

Here’s an excerpt:

In this scene, the hero, a centuries-old faery knight whose life has been devoid of romance, is doing his best to woo Lady Vanessa, a free-spirited “poor little rich girl” and paranormal investigator who, unbeknownst to him, is using sex to gain access to his castle. He’s spent the day showing her around Caithness and, in the midst of a sunset stroll on the beach, has suggested they take shelter from the wind in a nearby cave.

Callum got to his feet, took Vanessa’s hand, and pulled her across the dunes toward the cliffs. She couldn’t see the entrance to the cave until he swept back a curtain of vines. She followed him through the narrow entrance, holding tightly to his hand. The interior was cool, dark, and smelled a bit fishy, but not offensively so.

Stepping in front of her, he put a hand on her chin and lifted her gaze to his. The spark between them was palpable and she longed for him to kiss her. She licked her lips invitingly, hoping he’d take the hint.

“You’re very bonny, mo dearbadan-de,” he said softly, seductively, as he brushed back a wayward strand of her hair.

“What did you just call me?”

“My butterfly,” he said, “in Gaelic.”

She put her arms around his neck and offered him her mouth. He accepted, nibbling and flicking his tongue against her lips. She pulled the band from his ponytail, freeing his windblown mane. As it tumbled around his shoulders, she wove her fingers among its silky strands, pressing his mouth harder against hers.

When he offered his tongue, she greeted it with her own. He moaned—a deep, needful sound that dumped accelerant on her desire. She thrust her hips against him, finding him as aroused as she was. He pushed back, grinding against her as he walked her backward toward the wall of the cave. As her back met rough rock, warm fingers came under her blouse, climbed her ribs, and pushed under her bra. As he teased her nipples, something deep in her core turned all soft and molten.

She was air, he fire, and right now, she wanted his light and heat, wanted him to consume her in a crackling blaze.

He broke out of the kiss, moved his mouth to her ear, and nibbled the lobe. She grew weak in the knees as his tongue traced the sensitive inner folds.

“Why do you run away from love, mo dearbadan-de?” he whispered huskily. “Do you see it as a trap?”

“More a fraud than a trap.”

“And sex isn’t?”

“With sex, you know what you’re getting.”

“And when it’s over, you’ve got nothing.”

“How is love different?”

“I don’t know,” he said, “having never felt it.”

“We’re alike in that,” she said, “but from what I’ve observed, it’s a mirage people only chase because they feel incomplete within themselves.”

Taking her face between his hands, he trained her in his riveting gaze. “Do you truly believe that?”

“Yes.”

He let her go, turned his back, and stepped away. For the longest time, he stood there, just out of reach, saying nothing. Then, as suddenly as he’d turned his back, he rounded on her with eyes like yellow coals. “Tell me, Madame Butterfly. Who made you feel so unlovable?”

The question impaled her like a red-hot spike. Damn him for asking it, for digging so deep, for skewering her with his probe. She suddenly felt ridiculous, like some poor little rich girl. She’d been born into wealth and privilege. What right did she have to be unhappy? So what if her parents didn’t love her or she had no true friends.

Boo-fucking-hoo. Get over yourself.

What right did she have to wallow in self-pity when children were starving, people were dying of Ebola, and the planet was being raped on a daily basis? She deserved no compassion, despite the searing wound she did her best to ignore.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said in a voice that sounded faint and faraway under the blood-thunder in her ears.

“No? Then why have you closed your heart?”

Defiance bubbled in her heart like hot tar. Damn him for trying to get past the battlements she’d spent years erecting hurt by hurt and brick by brick. If anything, she should build her walls higher where this bedeviling baron was concerned, not let him wear them down like rain.

“Did you bring me in here to psychoanalyze me?”

“No,” he whispered, the heat of his breath caressing, soothing. His hand glided purposefully down her body and pushed between her legs. As he stimulated her through her knickers, she threw back her head and expelled a soft sigh—of pleasure and relief. A rapacious lover, she was equal to. A probing one, not so much.

As he stroked her through the satin crotch of her knickers, desire fluttered in her abdomen like an injured bird. He’d struck too close to home. She’d didn’t feel loveable because she’d never felt loved. Not for one single, solitary moment of her entire privileged life. She’d had a chain of nannies who believed children should be seen but not heard before being packed off to boarding school where she was treated with equal detachment. Her parents, in short, had hired others to raise her—no, make that train her. In their eyes, she was a hunk of clay to be molded, not a human being to be nurtured. How disappointed they must have been when they got an outspoken nonconformist in place of the pretty marionette they’d paid for.

Callum’s finger came inside her knickers and began to circle her clitoris, smothering her bitterness in the syrup of pleasure. The orgasm charged and retreated, charged and retreated, and then finally exploded in a heavenly cascade.

Setting his hands on the wall on either side of her head, he docked his forehead against hers and said, “I’d rather chase the mirage than die alone without hope in the desert.”

Here’s a little more about the series from the author:

The Knights of Avalon, the four-part erotic PNR/UF series Starry Knight launches, was born of a simple idea: to write a series incorporating different forms of divination. From that kernel grew the far more complex world of the series. The “knights” of Avalon, the enchanted otherworld isle featured in Arthurian and Celtic legend, were Scottish noblemen who, after falling in battle, were taken by the fairies to serve as breeding drones to their queen. Each of the four books in the series tells the story of a particular knight and the heroine whose love saves him from his unhappy existence.

Each knight grapples with a different relationship with Morgan Le Fay, the cruel and selfish queen of Avalon. Callum Lyon, the hero of Starry Knight (book one), is free of Morgan’s influence, having escaped enslavement after faking his own death. Leith MacQuill, the hero of Dark and Stormy Knight (book two), was expelled from Avalon after the queen discovered his amour with one of her scouts. In book three, which I’ve yet to write, Axel Lochlann, a rune-casting Scot of Viking descent, guards the portal between Hitherworld (our realm) and Thitherworld (the otherworldly realm). The fourth knight, Finn MacKnight, doesn’t know what he is or that he’s destined to fulfill an ancient prophecy telling of the queen’s overthrow by a “natural-born” drone. Because of this prophecy, Morgan kills all the male children she bears and punishes the knights who father them

Avalonian knights are vampire-like, but not vampires per se. Members of the Unseelie Fae, they drink blood and can assume the form of any creature they choose, but generally take the form of a particular animal to hunt. Callum’s preferred form is a lion, Leith’s is a Kellas Cat, Axel’s is a gyrfalcon, and Finn’s is a jaguar.

Astrology is the new-age element featured in Starry Knight (hence the name). Callum, the court astrologer to King James IV, fell in battle in 1513, after warning the king the stars did not favor the invasion of England. Ignoring Callum’s advice proved costly to the king and his astrologer.

In modern times, Callum lives in the northernmost county of Scotland as a reclusive political astrologer. The heroine, a free-spirited English aristocrat named Vanessa Bentley, comes to Caithness with the goal of getting inside Barrogill Castle. She’s just finished her training as a paranormal investigator and the London paparazzi have been giving her a hard time. Legend has it a vampire lives at Callum’s castle, so she decides to seduce the gorgeous, golden-haired baron to gain entry to his otherwise inaccessible abode. Needless to say, both get a lot more than hot sex (but also plenty of that!) from the bargain they strike.

Tarot cards, voodoo, ghosts, and the more traditional form of vampire also play roles in the plot. I hope readers enjoy Starry Knight and the rest of the series as much as I have enjoyed writing it!

Here’s a little more about the author:

Nina Mason is a hopeful romantic with strong affinities for history, mythology, and the metaphysical. She strives to write the same kind of books she loves to read: those that entertain, edify, educate, and enlighten. She has four books out at present and three more on the way. Her current releases are, in order of publication: The Queen of Swords, a darkly erotic Scottish paranormal romance/urban fantasy; The Tin Man, a political thriller; and Devil in Duke’s Clothing and The Duke’s Bedeviled Bride, the first two installments in an erotic historical series titled Royal Pains. Book three of Royal Pains will be released in October. Starry Knight is the first book in a four-part paranormal romance series titled The Knights of Avalon. The series combines Arthurian legend, Celtic mythology, and Scottish history to tell the story of four mortals taken by the faeries after falling in battle. The Knights of Avalon are the breeding drones of the legendary sorceress Morgan Le Fay. Book Two, Dark and Stormy Knight, will be released in January 2016. The series is being published by Lyrical/Kensington.

Here are Ms. Mason’s social-media links:

Author website: http://ninamasonauthor.com

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ninamasonromance

Twitter handle: @NinaMasonAuthor

Goodreads page: http://goodreads.com/ninamasonauthor

Blog: http://ninamasonromance.blogspot.com

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/ninamason165

YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/ninamasonauthor

Here’s the link to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for a signed copy of STARRY KNIGHT and other great prizes:

A Rafflecopter giveaway

August 14, 2015 by Caroline Barker

FREE ebook 14-17th August w/excerpts Rapture at Midnight (The Cynn Cruor Bloodline #1) by Isobelle Cate

Isobelle Cate 1 teaser w book cover

Title: Rapture at Midnight (The Cynn Cruor Bloodline #1)

Author: Isobelle Cate

Genre: Paranormal romance, fantasy

Date released: August 26th 2013

Released by: Beau Coup LLC

Length: 180 pages

Blurb: Book 1 in The Cynn Cruor Bloodline Series

There is an on-going war between two breeds of immortal warriors who carry human, vampire, and werewolf blood, the Cynn Cruor and the Scatha Cruor. The Cynn Cruor wants to live in harmony with the human race. The Scatha Cruor wants to enslave them. Finn Qualtrough, a Cynn Cruor warrior is on a mission to find Dac Valerian, the leader of the Scatha Cruor responsible for the deaths of many, including his parents. When he pursues three Scatha warriors who can lead him to Dac, he happens upon a woman who awakens a desire within Quinn to claim her as his own.

She is the very essence of his immortal life.

Eirene Spence is an insomniac and a computer genius who loves walking in the park at midnight. She stumbles upon the Scatha Cruor and is almost killed until a handsome stranger rescues her. His touch ignites a hunger inside her that only he can satisfy.

He is her soul.

By some twist of fate, one of Eirene’s clients is Dac Valerian. She is able to tell Finn and the rest of the Cynn Cruor where Dac is hiding. Now Dac wants her dead.

Will Finn be able to keep Eirene alive and at the same time fulfill his mission? Will Eirene’s wish to be part of Finn’s life come true knowing that he is destined for someone else?

*Warning: intended for mature audiences 18+

BUY LINKS: AMAZON UK & AMAZON US

Rapture at Midnight

Mainstream excerpt:

The swish of the front glass door broke their connection. Eirene exhaled slowly. She hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath the whole time. She turned to see who had arrived, her stance defensive as she backed away from Devon’s office door. Four hunks appeared and entered the office one at a time. All of them were as tall as Finn, their jeans riding low on their hips. Their black shirts skimmed and hugged their muscled chests and washboard abs. They were also wearing leather jackets in different styles. The third man to come in had a satchel slung over his shoulder. He strode immediately towards Devon.

“Stop! You’re not going anywhere near him.” Eirene placed herself between Devon, Finn and the man with a satchel.

“Zac is a doctor,” the man who appeared to be their leader said. “If you don’t allow him near your friend, his injuries will only get worse.”

Eirene briefly hesitated, looking at all of them warily. Finally, she conceded moving to one side to allow the man called Zac to kneel before Devon and start cleaning his wounds.

“We were not properly introduced,” the man said, his silver blue eyes crinkling into a smile. “Roarke Hamilton.”

“I very much doubt you were really planning on introducing yourself to me before.” Eirene gave an unladylike snort.

There was a sudden fit of chuckled coughing from Roarke’s two other companions.

“Graeme Temple.” A man with wavy dark brown hair and eyes that seemed to swirl with grey, brown, and green extended his hand. Eirene hesitated before she gave his hand a quick shake.

“And this joker here is Blake Strachan.” Roarke’s mouth lifted to give her a lopsided grin. “Zac McBain is our resident medic. And the man whose life you saved three nights ago is Finn Qualtrough.”

At the mention of her saving Finn’s life, dusky rose heat crested her cheeks at the remembrance of what happened between them. She could feel Finn’s eyes on her, but she refused to look at him. Didn’t he know it was rude to give her that sexy look in front of his friends?

Finn moved closer to her and Eirene snapped her head around to look at him.

“And she saved me again tonight, though my ears took a bashing.”

“So you’re the female who helped kill the Scatha,” Blake said, slightly awed.

Eirene’s gaze swung to him. “Better them than me.”

Blake chuckled before looking at Finn.

Finn’s lopsided grin was the most devastating smile Eirene had ever seen on a man. His perfectly formed and sensuous mouth was made for kissing, and her mouth tingled at the memory of his lips on hers.

“I never got to thank you.”

“No need,” she said, her body heating under his gaze.

“Finn, we need to know what happened here,” Roarke spoke, breaking the sexual tension between them. “We couldn’t get up here as fast as we could with that shrill bell.”

Finn appeared to reluctantly shift his gaze to Roarke.

“Dac was here.”

Eirene was startled by the numerous swear words that fell like rain over her head.

“Hold it! My ears are ringing with all of you swearing.” She made the “T” sign with her hands. She still clutched the baton in her right fist. A trickle of trepidation skittered all over her body when she saw their eyes turn to red orange, like the dying rays of the sun. Except for Finn, whose eyes remained a sexy midnight blue.

Roarke looked at her. Soon, the fury in his eyes began to ebb, returning to its silver blue colour. He raked his hand through his hair as he gave her a brief smile.

“Sorry,” he said. “We’ve been searching for Dac for a very long time and this has been the closest we have ever gotten to him.”

“And how long is a long time?” she asked. Her pulse began to race again because she knew she was treading on deadly ground.

Everyone was quiet. Roarke’s face was devoid of emotion as he continued to stare at her.

“Maybe way before I was born?”

Eirene heard Finn’s sharp intake of breath and she became the cynosure of five pairs of eyes. Her heart seemed to thunder towards the centre of her chest. She looked at Finn, then Roarke, then at everyone else. She inhaled deeply before expending her breath.

“I remember everything.”

Rapture at Midnight

Sexcerpt:

Eirene floated down from a pure cloud of bliss. Delicious shivers stroked her body when Finn kissed her forehead, then trailed kisses down her temple, making a beeline to nip at her neck. He was semi-hard inside of her and Eirene could feel another wave of lust teasing her core. She trailed her fingers over his skin and arched her back so her nipples could brush his chest. She heard the low rumble of laughter in Finn’s throat as she began to run her fingertips up and down his back, then slowly caress his tight butt cheeks.

“You’re as insatiable as I am.”

Eirene smiled. “I never realized I was ohhh…”

Finn’s right arm encircled her waist while his left arm braced his weight against the step as he pulled out of her. She sighed, her body boneless and sated. She linked her arms around his neck when Finn lifted her and carried her up the stairs. It felt so good being near Finn. She had never felt safer than she did now, in Finn’s arms. She buried her face in his neck, licking and gently sucking his throat. She inhaled his scent of spice and musk and their joint sensual smell. God, his scent was making her want him again.

Finn walked towards her bedroom and to the bathroom.

“How?”

“I can see even in the dark, remember?”

Finn set her down in the bathroom before turning on the tap for her. Eirene entered the stall, sighing as the warm water gently rained on her back, her legs wobbly after their passionate lovemaking.

“You go ahead,” he said. “I’ll get our clothes from downstairs.”

Eirene had other things in mind.

“A kiss before you go?” She asked as her eyes seduced him. She stepped back to allow Finn to enter the stall.

Finn swooped to take her mouth in another heart stopping kiss. Fire started to swell in her belly. Eirene molded her body against his, their tongues teasing each other. Her hands splayed over his chest, her palms overly sensitive, enjoying the play of his muscles beneath them. Finn drew a hard breath before crushing her to him. Excitement poured into the apex between her thighs when Finn’s cock swelled against her stomach. His breath was harsh with need as his stubble scrapped against her neck before dipping towards her breasts. Eirene arched her back and gave a rapturous moan when his mouth captured her left nipple, twirling the tight erect bud around his tongue. Her hips nudged against him and she smiled when she heard his low growl.

She laughed softly.

“Our clothes,” she whispered.

“Can wait,” he muttered against her areola before he gently grazed it with his teeth.

Eirene reveled at the silky feel of his hair as she held his head about her breast. She moaned at the jolts of electricity his tongue ignited, causing her femininity to weep again. She lifted her leg against his hip and reached down between them to slide her hand up and down Finn’s heated shaft. With a growl, Finn lifted her to allow her to place her legs around his waist. The warmth of the shower spray heightened the sensual atmosphere. Finn lifted her and gently backed her against the wall.

Eirene returned every hard kiss, every thrust of Finn’s tongue against hers. She held him tight, urging him to take her, her gasps coming fast from her lips. Finn ended the kiss and looked at her with smoldering hunger. Eirene’s eyes widened, then fell to half-mast when she felt Finn’s hardness slowly sink into her again. She moaned at the pleasurable sensation of her channel readily bathing his shaft with her slick juices.

“Eirene, look at me. I want to see your eyes as I take you. I want to know how much you want me.”

Eirene’s eyes widened. His commanding words fed her excitement, and she did as he demanded. She looked at his eyes, turbulent with desire. The gold flecks were back in his midnight blue pupils, looking like tiny rays of the sun against a lunar eclipse. The heat of his hunger caressed her, teased her, and claimed her. She felt as though his heat had tiny tendrils which licked at her skin and teased her hardened nipples. She gasped and hummed when Finn placed his hands underneath her ass to hold her closer, his thrusts bringing her nearer to the precipice. Finn turned on the heat by pumping faster, harder, and deeper. Eirene’s breath caught in her throat. She gripped his shoulders to steady herself. Her eyelids wanted to close at the sheer ecstasy of Finn’s rod thrusting into her. She whimpered, then looked down. Her channel’s lips felt thick and slick as it ate every inch of Finn’s cock, while it appeared and disappeared into her.

“Eirene…look at me.”

Author Bio:

Isobelle Cate is a woman who wears different masks. Mother-writer, wife-professional, scholar-novelist. Currently living in Manchester, she has been drawn to the little known, the secret stories, about the people and the nations: the English, the Irish, the Scots, the Welsh, and those who are now part of these nations whatever their origins. Her vision and passion are fuelled by her interest and background in history and paradoxically, shaped by growing up in a clan steeped in lore, loyalty, and legend. Isobelle is intrigued by forces that simmer beneath the surface of these cultures, the hidden passions, unsaid desires, and yearnings unfulfilled.

Buy links to other books by Isobelle:

The Cynn Cruors Bloodline Series:

Rapture at Midnight: (Book 1) http://mybook.to/Rapture_at_Midnight

Forever at Midnight (Book 2) http://mybook.to/Forever_at_Midnight

Midnight’s Atonement (Book 3) http://mybook.to/Midnights_Atonement

Midnight’s Fate (Book 4) http://mybook.to/Midnights_Fate

My Haven, My Midnight (Book 5) http://mybook.to/MyHavenMyMidnight

Contemporary Romance

Love in Her Dreams Amazon US http://amzn.to/1qOEufk Amazon UK http://amzn.to/1cpBLTd

Second Chances Series

Be Mine (Book 1) http://mybook.to/Be_Mine

You and I (Novella – a part of the Windswept Valentine Anthology – Book 2) Amazon US http://amzn.to/1yWptcH Amazon UK http://amzn.to/1A1GacD

Dying to Live http://mybook.to/Dying_to_Live

Historical

Lakam (The Mana Series: Book 1) http://mybook.to/Lakam

Follow Isobelle:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Isobelle-Cate/e/B00E5OD27K

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7191925.Isobelle_Cate

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Isobelle_Cate

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorIsobelleCate?ref=hl

August 14, 2015 by Caroline Barker

Release Blitz Innocence by Holly J. Gill

Innocence by Holly J Gill

Book 1 in the Innocence Series

Buy Links

Amazon UK
Amazon US

Quote: ‘Don’t make promises you cannot keep!’
Calvin Edwards, has everything he could dream about, perfect lifestyle, running the family real-estate company back in London. He takes a holiday up North to visit his parents, only when out walking on his parents land, he finds a young pregnant woman attempting to take her life. Calvin wishes to help, becoming a friend through her troubles, only fears he’s out of his depth, let alone discovers his past comes back to life, sending his life crashing.
Kacey is pregnant and her life is out of control, with nowhere left to go. She descends on her mum for one last chance for help, only the door is slammed in her face. At her wits end, alone, scared and helpless until Calvin comes along. He becomes a dear friend giving her kindness. Only what she’d pushed to the back of her mind through selfish pain, is back. Her past has come back to life!
Teasers:

5 Star review

Well I’ve enjoyed all of Holly ‘s previous books ,but this one was written in a completely different direction to her others . I wasn’t sure what to expect . Well what can I say other than ‘when is book two out’ . Loved it from beginning to end , you could feel both of their pain on the decisions life had put in front of them .not sure where to go who to turn too, yet she came through it all and is still fighting. What a roller coaster ride she had ,then after all those years she meets a man who seems to care about her ,like no one has for such a long time ,only to find he was the someone she had to run away from ,frightened he would disown her like her mother did . Bringing her mother to mind as someone I would like to disown , treating her daughter the way she did ,leaving her homeless , helpless on the streets vulnerable .while she carries on leading a normal life .. what amazes me is they all feel there suffering more ! They haven’t lived the life of hell she has ,quitting her family ,giving something precious up ..well without telling you the whole story , this was a book I enjoyed from beginning till end ….

About the Author

I’m a wife, mum of three all grown up and fleeing their nests and I’m a proud nana to twins. I live in England a town called Grimsby where I work as a care assistant in a residential home. I enjoy spending quality time with my family. Me and hubby have a secret hideaway for peace and quiet in a sweet idyllic campsite were we like to pitch a tent close to York one of my favourite cities. I enjoy touring around the UK, sight-seeing, visiting stately homes and castles. Hobbies I like to read and write. I have been writing since being a young girl, always having a wild imagination which never ceases to amaze me. When writing I am not committed to one genre I like to move around wherever my mood takes me. I currently have an erotic series out called Desires about a sex club. And finally I have a terrible sweet tooth especially when it comes to treacle sponge.
Stalker Links for the Author
http://www.facebook.com/hollyjgillauthor
http://hollyjgill.blogspot.co.uk/
http://hollyjodygill.blogspot.co.uk/

Tweets by HollyJGill

On behalf of bookpimpers and Holly J Gill we want to say a massive thank you for taking part in the release blitz .

August 11, 2015 by Caroline Barker

Release tour w/Review Dopey Women by Laura Barnard

We have followed Laura Barnard from the very beginning, from The Debt & the Doormat/The Baby & the Bride to Tequila & Tea Bags. We are absolutely delighted to be taking part in this super blog tour to celebrate the release of her latest contemporary romantic comedy/chick-lit, DOPEY WOMEN! Please keep reading for our full review, and for a chance to enter a great giveaway!! 🙂

“I’ve flipped the crazy switch and there’s no going back.”

Title: Dopey Women

Author: Laura Barnard

Genre: Romantic comedy, chick-lit, contemporary

Release date: August 12th, 2015

Length: 453 pages

Blurb: Sadie had a bumpy upbringing but she’s still managed to drag herself out and carve a career for herself. That all comes crashing down when she, along with the women she manages; Mags, Lexi & Steph, get made redundant. She’s screwed. In hindsight she shouldn’t have attacked her colleague in a moment of rage. There goes the reference.

When they all bump into each other a few months later at the job centre Sadie finds she’s not the only one in a hole. Steph’s boyfriend has left her holding the baby, Lexi’s stuck in an abusive relationship and poor Mags has breast cancer. They’re all struggling to keep on top of their bills. They all need money to get out of their situations, its as simple as that.

Mags mentions that some women find marijuana helps ease the sickness caused by chemo. With the desperation mounting and the coffee spurring them on they somehow decide to start growing it. They’re only going to sell to ladies going through chemo, so its not too bad, right? They’re not going to be proper drug dealers. And its only temporary.

They didn’t bet on the business taking off so well though. Before they know it they’ve got orders coming out of their ears, a sexy detective on their trail, suspicious neighbours and drug dealers angry they’re working on their patch.

Can Sadie pull them out of this dangerous world they’ve found themselves in? And can she do it before they end up in prison?

REVIEW

Laura Barnard has nailed it again! Not only has she created several well-developed characters, a romance embedded in a super plotline, she also has the gift of humour! In every single one of her books, thus far, I have been in stitches, and never without a smile on my face, and Dopey Women is no exception! Dopey Women is full of ‘sexcapades’, adventure and suspense that will keep you glued to the very end.

Written in first person from Sadie’s point of view, the reader follows her character as we realise she hasn’t had a great life, despite what her colleagues think of her initially. She has came from a shady background, has experienced foster homes and homelessness. She has built herself up to management level, and for what? Just to be made redundant, leaving her barely able to pay her mortgage, not to mention her car and credit cards!!

“I’ve flipped the crazy switch and there’s no going back.”

After meeting up with her colleagues some time later, she begins to realise that none of them have had it too good either: Lexi is living with an abusive boyfriend, Steph has become a single mum since her man left, and poor Mags has recently lost her husband and is now suffering from breast cancer. And, none of them have been able to find work.

After spending time with Mags during her chemo sessions, Mags mentions to Sadie about wanting to try marijuana, hoping that it could help ease the pain. Sufferers like Mags are in a vulnerable position, not necessarily having a clue how to go about these things, or who to ask, and therefore Sadie has a lightbulb moment that between the four of them they could grow and sell their own weed. I mean, of course, with any luck it would take off and they could all be receiving a little profit to help with those bills!!

This is where the fun really starts. Believing that a sex shop sells Marijuana plant seeds, all four women decide to check it out. The scenes that take place in the store are hilarious, with Mags, Steph and Lex checking out the stock and playing with certain toys, while Sadie is trying to buy the seeds. With one member of the team having an orgasmic ‘seizure’ and someone later getting beaten with a dildo you will certainly be crying with laughter.

Before she knows it, Sadie has an unexpected visitor in Detective Harry McKenzie. He is investigating new reports that a new drug dealer is in town. Sadie is a suspect, but when they encounter each other they find a little more than what they were expecting. Arrogant, rugged and muscly Harry is taken in by this unlikely suspect. And she in turn finds herself thinking about him. But, she can’t get close to him with her being a suspect. Surely he’s trying to get close to get her to confess? Maybe she should get close to him to find out what he knows? These thoughts constantly go through Sadie’s mind. He’s so god damn sexy though and she just can’t stop thinking about what she desires him to do to her.

“… This will make him think I’ve been dreaming about him. When I have. A normal person wouldn’t have replayed the coffee shop in their head fifteen times, each time ending with us naked and covered in coffee beans. But I never claim to be normal…

… He knows my name. It sounds so sexy on his lips. He must have tracked me down. It seems I’m not the only one fantasizing about coffee beans.”

The author has done a great job in telling parts of the story from Harry’s perspective too in opening up the reader to Harry’s diary. Sadie is a suspect, but he finds her so hot that he just can’t stop having the most savage thoughts. He wants her, and just maybe then she’ll open up about the drugs too.

Not only has Sadie got Harry to worry about, but it also isn’t too long before the already established drug dealer of the area begins to threaten her when they realise that she is dealing on their patch. These moments are intense and suspenseful at times as the reader awaits what will become of Sadie and just how far these threats will go. Especially when Sadie and her friends think up incredible ways to encourage the drug dealer to back off.

I found Dopey Women slightly darker than Laura’s other stories possibly because of the criminal element and the hot, hot sex. However, this did not affect just how funny the author’s work is. Dopey Women is a bizarre combination of Breaking Bad (tv black comedy drama) meets Miranda (tv sitcom), with a dash of Bridget Jones (I have actually likened Laura’s work to the latter two in previous reviews). I mean, imagine Miranda and her friends setting up a drug business, to help people and pay their bills, but then they get caught up with a hot detective on their trail who ultimately himself gets caught up in erotic thoughts and dealings with one of his suspects, while they also have an enraged, aggressive drug dealer out to stop them at the same time! The girls’ methods of dealing with the fiasco, particularly Sadie’s, are outrageous, quirky and usually wind them up in further trouble…

…which is just what you should expect when reading a Laura Barnard book!

Enjoy!

An ARC of Dopey Women was provided by the author in return for a fair and honest review.

Dopey Women is available at AMAZON UK and AMAZON US.

Reviewed by Caroline Barker

Laura previous work includes The Debt & the Doormat, it’s sequel The Baby and the Bride and stand-alone Tequila & Tea Bags. All books have been reviewed on this blog, and all have received a brilliant 5* from us on Goodreads and Amazon! The Debt & the Doormat was one of my Top Reads of 2013! Check our reviews by clicking on the links below:-

The Debt & the Doormat

This first book is FREE on Amazon UK and Amazon US. Go grab a copy now!

The Baby & the Bride (incl. interview with Laura Barnard)

You can also find The Baby & the Bride on Amazon UK and Amazon US for a small price.

Tequila & Tea Bags

This stand-alone is available at AMAZON UK and AMAZON US for a small price.

Contact info:

Laura would love you to check out her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/laurabarnardbooks and while you’re visiting please give her a ‘like’!

Laura also has her own website at www.laurabarnardbooks.co.uk and is available on Twitter: @BarnardLaura

GIVEAWAY!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

August 11, 2015 by Caroline Barker

Promo post w/excerpt Hot Basque by Laurette Long

Hot Basque is the second novel of A French Summer by Laurette Long. The characters do cross over into book 2, however both novels can be read as stand-alones. I am looking forward to reviewing Hot Basque over the coming weeks, and I’m sure it will be a beautiful, scenic contemporary romance! A perfect holiday read!! (Please read below for an excerpt and author bio!) 🙂

Title: Hot Basque: A French Summer Novel 2

Author: Laurette Long

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Chick-Lit

Release date: May 11th, 2015

Length: 341 pages

Blurb: Sit back with a glass of chilled rosé and let yourself be carried away to the white sands and pounding surf of the French Basque coast. What could be more relaxing? Find out what’s going on at the Villa Julia, where Caroline and her honey are enjoying the song of the crickets, the glow of the stars and happy romps in the boudoir. Caroline is also doing some matchmaking between best friend Jill and the hot Basque himself, Antoine, he of the smouldering eyes and perfect teeth. And Annabel the sister from hell, is miles away, no need to fret about her. What could be more idyllic? Not a cloud on the horizon…well, maybe it’s looking a bit black to the north, but nothing to worry about, surely??

Read on to see how, in Edinburgh, Jill is preparing her body for that nail-biting June encounter with the hot Basque:

EXCERPT – HOT BASQUE

Jill stepped out of the cubicle, tugging down her swimsuit, and came face to face with the full length mirror at the end of the ladies changing rooms. She barely repressed a gasp of sympathetic horror. Jesus if that’s what these aquagym folks looked like she was certainly going to get a boost to her ego. She turned round as casually as she could for a closer look at the poor freak behind her.

The changing room was empty.

She swung round in the direction of the mirror again, leaned forward, blinked, and leapt back. The freak was herself!

Surely she hadn’t looked like that when she tried on her swimming kit in the bathroom of her flat a couple of weeks ago? Of course, the mirror wasn’t full length, and it was one of those rather flattering ones, the same sort they had in expensive boutiques, the ones that persuaded you that your derrière had shrunk to Kylie Minogue proportions thanks to that cute little black number you’d just tried on, the one with the four-figure price tag.

She advanced cautiously, turned to the right, then to the left. She was positively bulging out of her Speedo swimsuit! She really had to cut down on the G and Ts. And the chocolate biscuits. She turned full face again. An alien with the head of a fly had been grafted on top of her shoulders. No wonder she’d had all that trouble in the changing room, pushing and shoving to get her thick mop inside the small slithery rubber cap that kept shooting off one side of her head as soon as she’d managed to tug it down on the other. A bit like one of those old fashioned diaphragm thingies that women used to wear for contraception. She’d actually come across one at the back of her own mother’s drawer, shock horror, all dried up and yellow with age. Well it would be, she supposed it had been a while since Kathleen O’Toole had been needing it. Five strapping boys and finally the hoped-for girl. Her mother had been forty-five when Jill was born and on the point of giving up. She supposed the diaphragm had been chucked into its box as soon as Kathleen had got out of hospital and told Jerry O’Toole that if he didn’t get the snip Kathleen was going home to her mother in Dublin. Forever.

And now here was Jill, no longer a cute baby but a hefty thirty-something, ready for her first aquagym class, wearing her mother’s old diaphragm on her head and a swimsuit two sizes too small. She tugged the Speedo up, then down, trying to cover her buttocks and her boobs. It became obvious she’d have to accept that one of those two areas was going to be on display. Better the buttocks, she decided, after all they’d be under water for most of the time whereas if her boobs were popping over the top she’d probably put the men off their stride.

Men…were there any men in the class? She suddenly realised there was no one else in the changing rooms, that was funny. Maybe there were no women in the class, just her and a group of hairy males all having the same problem trying to get their bits inside their Speedos. Did they have to wear the funny hats too? Perhaps there’d be some prime specimens, all sleek muscles and washboard abs, like that Florent what’s his name, the one in the Olympics with the cute dimples.

No Jill, enough of that, she told herself sternly. Antoine is waiting for you, in his wetsuit, with his smouldering eyes and sexual techniques known only to the Basque nation.

In spite of her Nordic hill walking and her sessions at the gym, she had decided that more drastic measures were needed if she was going to be the Belle of Biarritz in June. She needed toning, as well as developing her heart and lungs, which both seemed to be in pretty good shape, especially her lungs, she thought, yanking at her swimsuit again. Apparently aquagym was the answer. Lots of stretching and tightening up those flabby thighs and bingo wings, twirling those funny pink and blue foam thingies that looked like giant noodles. It would be fun! She’d rummaged round until she found her old swimsuit from college and popped into Aquasports R Us to look at swimming caps. The snotty young assistant had said no, the cap with devil’s horns would not go down well at an aquagymn class. These young ones, no sense of humour. Miss Snootyface had informed her that what she needed was a slippery scrap of rubber which was the only device tight enough to prevent the least drop of water getting onto her hair and ruining its colour. Did she by any chance want to stop being a red-head and opt for green hair the texture of a horse’s dinner? Of course she didn’t.

Snootyface had omitted to mention that it needed ten minutes and steel talons to snap the thing in place and that not only did it keep the bloody chlorine out, it also, in a reverse or perverse action that probably had something to do with thermodynamics, was so eye-wateringly tight that it forced every brain cell downwards to the chin area making the wearer resemble Benny Hill.

She became aware of a sudden loud, regular tick. The clock over the door said 12h40. Fast, obviously. The class started at 12h30. But in that case, a small voice inside her head told her, why was the ladies changing room empty except for her?

She was late for her first class. Sweat broke out. Perhaps she could just sneak in, slide into the pool without anyone seeing? She pushed open the door into the shower room, hurried along to the end.

Uh oh. She could hear the voice of the instructor going on about ‘drop that head down, feel its weight, now turn slowwwwly to the left, now slowwwwly to the right…’

They’d started. She’d probably get a belt with a rubber hose or something. She hurried out into the pool area, tottering down the wet steps, careful, don’t want to fall smack on your increasingly exposed buttocks now, do you Jillian Benedicta? There seemed to be rather a lot of people down there in the pool. She got to the bottom of the steps, was making her way as unobtrusively as possible to the water’s edge when a voice rang out:

‘Shower!’

What? Was someone talking to her? The class had come to a standstill in the water, all eyes were on Jill in her Speedo and her diaphragm. The instructor had turned, hands on hips. And what hips! Jill couldn’t help marvelling at those toned slender meercat items dropping down to equally toned slender thighs and going up to, well she didn’t have much in the boob department, but Jill supposed that was what you looked like if you were a sports fanatic.

Or maybe it was the lycra. Her eyes, fascinated, got stuck on the instructor’s outfit. Pure, poured-on lycra. You could even see, well, she didn’t want to linger on the bit between the instructor’s legs, frankly it left nothing to the imagination, she wondered how anyone could have the nerve–

‘Shower!!!’

‘Pardon?’

Jill lifted one side of her diaphragm.

‘You obviously haven’t been through the showers. Your swimsuit–’ the instructor gave a little sneer ‘–is bone dry. Didn’t you read the instructions?’

‘Oh. Er. Sorry. Sorry. ’

Jill fled back up the steps, turned on the cold water and gave herself a vigorous soak adding a few loud gasps for authenticity.

This time when she ventured to the edge of the pool she was able to step delicately down the steps and join her fellow aquagym-ers.

They were obviously regulars. The warm-up had finished, they were all leaping up into the air like Icelandic geysers, arms rigid at the sides, pushing down the water with their flattened palms. Jill joined in, jumping as energetically as she could ‘and push that water and push that water…’ She felt a kick in the back of her leg, turned around. A senior citizen in a cap covered in fake roses was glaring at her. Where was her diaphragm? In fact there were quite a few non-diaphragm pieces of headgear, now she looked. She’d have been better in the devil’s horns. Rosebonnet was saying something, over the sound of splashing.

‘Forward! Move forward!’ she hissed, in between jumps.

‘Oh sorry,’

Jill realised her energetic leaps had been taking her towards the back of the pool. She waded forward, gave another leap, then realised the exercise had changed, now they were all swinging their upper body from left to right, arms extended. Was that a snigger she heard from Rosebonnet? A knobbly finger gave her a karate chop below the ribs but the woman next to her had already swung round the other way. They were feral, this lot. Jill hopped a bit further to the left, started swinging, feeling her waist muscles give a nice satisfying tug.

Ten minutes later she was definitely getting the hang of it. It was a bit tougher than she’d thought, she’d asked the girl at reception what sort of level she ought to start with, intermediate or advanced? But the receptionist had smiled sweetly and suggested that maybe she could try ‘Beginners’, she could always move up to Intermediate and Advanced once she saw how she got on.

Beginners! Jill had capitulated, with bad grace. Now, in the brief moments when they were relaxing and deep-breathing she had time to do a quick recce of her fellow aquagymers. They were all, with one exception, senior citizens. And all, with one exception, female. There was one ancient wheezing grandad at the back, with sagging breasts and a gold necklace. The only other person who looked to be remotely Jill’s age was at the front of the class, under the watchful eye of Lycra-woman, and was heavily pregnant.

‘OK, floats!’

‘Ouch!’

A pink noodle hit her on the head, then a blue one, good job they were made of foam but still she’d sensed a certain hostility in the way they had been hurled in her direction by a wizened old prune of ninety.

‘Everyone on their backs, legs together, flex those feet, now to the count of eight, scissor those legs, keep your back straight, tummy up, feel those tummy muscles working.’

Oh they were working alright. By the time she’d done two sets of eight Jill was puffing and panting like a steam engine. Around her the grannies carried on, scissoring fit to cut a rug, flashing their false teeth at Lycra-woman.

‘That’s wonderful Gladys! Keep going! Excellent Phyllis, those legs are really straight.’

But if she’d thought the scissors thing was bad, by the time they got to the abdo curls Jill was sure she was going to die. Not only that, either she kept drifting into other people’s ‘space’ or they kept drifting into hers, causing a lot of collisions and submersions and hissed insults.

As the lesson finally drew to a close Jill watched them emerge slowly from the buoyant water, totter up the steps like newborns, arms and legs like sticks, and putter off to the showers like arthritic tortoises. She could scarcely believe this bunch of pathetic creatures were the same lot of beasts she’d spent the last forty minutes with, exchanging sly kicks and punches under the water. She was going to be black and blue tomorrow. And her stomach muscles were on fire.

‘Ouch!’

She was hauling herself out of the water and up the steps when she felt a pinch on her bottom. A decided, deliberate, old-fashioned, good-handful-of-flesh pinch. She turned round, outraged, ready to sock this fighting gran right out of her rose-covered bonnet.

Grandad was grinning up at her, gap-toothed, gold chain glinting in his grey chest hairs.

‘Welcome to wor class, lassie. Fair got a wee stiffie on me just watching yer do them jumps!’

He gave a leer and a wink as she shot up the final steps and made for the showers. What could she do, report him for sexual harassment? He must be at least a hundred and four. He’d never make it to the police station.

AUTHOR BIO:

Laurette was born in the UK, near Brontëland. Graduating from the University of Leicester with a degree in English, she taught in the USA, UK and France, where she now lives.

Her forays into fiction writing when she was seven reveal her literary influences and distinctive style. “The Phantom Ghost Girl of Raven Castle” begins: ‘Vicky Dare, the girl detective and her big Alsatian, Rex…’ then stops. “The Ruined Cottage” is longer and also demonstrates she is equally at home with either first or third-person narrator: ‘…it was a favourite haunt of mine and I never grew tired of it.’ In the chilling tale “The adventures of Carlotta”, the heroine ‘…dashed to the door her face white with horror’ while, surprisingly, in “The Secret at the Ball” ‘…a secret compartment was revealed! There glittering lay the Lane jewels!’

(Yes, she is a hoarder, incapable of parting with childhood books and notebooks.)

Aged 10 she developed a passion for the theatre, and throughout her career wrote plays for students. “A Midsummer’s Nightmare”, where Shakespeare’s lovers get into time warps in the wood, meeting Dracula and Little Red Riding Hood, was a tricky favourite. Everyone wanted to play Dracula. She had to wield authority. (Those with pointed canines had an advantage). Later, unable to find a textbook suitable for adult ESL students, she wrote one. Beguiled by an admirable work of French literary criticism about American writers in Paris, she translated it. (“Paris in American Literature” by Jean Méral)

(As well as being a hoarder she has also been accused of being bossy and a dilettante.)

Recently the ghosts of Vicky Dare and Carlotta nudged her into a return to fiction. “Biarritz Passion”, a contemporary romance, was inspired by the Basque country and its magic. (Go see!) An Amazon fan, she attempted self-publishing. After wrestling with formatting rules and sweating during the on-line tax interview, she finally hit the ‘submit’ button in March 2014, thus proving that even non-techies can do it. (Hoarder, bossy, dilettante and getting better with computers).

In spite of distractions–good friends, good food, Monsieur Wonderful, and a project to transform a hill of brambles into a Mediterranean garden–Book Two in the French Summer Novel Series, “Hot Basque”, was finally finished in May this year. Ouf.

AVAILABLE FROM AMAZON

HOT BASQUE

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hot-Basque-French-Summer-Novel-ebook/dp/B00XK2II3G/

http://www.amazon.com/Hot-Basque-French-Summer-Novel-ebook/dp/B00XK2II3G

BIARRITZ PASSION (A French Summer, Novel 1)

http://www.amazon.com/Biarritz-Passion-French-Summer-Novel-ebook/dp/B00J2ERSSM

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Biarritz-Passion-French-Summer-Novel-ebook/dp/B00J2ERSSM

Keep up with Laurette’s thoughts about books and writing on her blog ‘Get Passionate’:

http://laurettelong.com

where all comments are welcome.

August 9, 2015 by Tina Williams

REVIEW ~ Prisoner, by Skye Warren & Annika Martin

Dark Erotic Romance

Deliciously Dark and Dangerous

***** TOP READ!

Blurb

He seethes with raw power the first time I see him—pure menace and rippling muscles in shackles. He’s dangerous. He’s wild. He’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. So I hide behind my prim glasses and my book like I always do, because I have secrets too. Then he shows up in the prison writing class I have to teach, and he blows me away with his honesty. He tells me secrets in his stories, and it’s getting harder to hide mine. I shiver when he gets too close, with only the cuffs and the bars and the guards holding him back. At night I can’t stop thinking about him in his cell.But that’s the thing about an animal in a cage—you never know when he’ll bite. He might use you to escape. He might even pull you into a forest and hold a hand over your mouth so you can’t call for the cops. He might make you come so hard, you can’t think.And you might crave him more than your next breath.

Prisoner is Book One of the Criminals & Captives series.

Buy Links: Amazon UK, Amazon US

My Review

Grayson, Grayson, Grayson – OMG what a fantastic bad boy hero you are! Prisoner, a collaboration between Skye Warren and Annika Martin is without doubt one hell of an awesome read, which pulled me in from the first page. My heart beat with mounting excitement as the tale unravelled and I could not put it down until I knew how it ended.

The chemistry between Aby and Grayson was instantaneous like a lightning bolt and I adored the raw power and dominance he extended over her even when he is a prisoner and she is the teacher in charge of him in the English class. When Aby becomes the prisoner I just loved Grayson’s need to dominate and protect her and his growing desire to make her his, even though her continuing existence jeopardises his overriding mission in life. The way Grayson slowly strips away all Aby’s armour and defences until she succumbs and confides her own dark past to him, while she slowly pieces together his own makes for a compulsive and consuming love story.

The depth of the characterisations in this novel are excellent. There is certainly a great deal more to both Aby and Grayson than what we first see on the surface. Aby appears shy and nerdy but underneath is so strong and resourceful, coping with all that he and other characters we are introduced to throw at her during her captivity. My heart bled at what made Grayson into the violent man he is. For me, the line between hero and anti-hero soon blurred, as I found myself rooting for him and a future with Aby. I adored the fact that two people who seem so opposite complement each other so well and have the potential to change each other’s lives for the better.

There are some disturbing scenes in the book, including references to child abuse and violence, gore and dubious consent. It is very fast paced and also contains some deliciously dark and steamy lovemaking, which both authors excel in.

I really enjoyed the collaboration between these two authors and am chomping at the bit to read any other books planned in this series where I hope to read about other characters featured in this novel.

I recommend this book to fellow addicts of dark romances!

Reviewed by Tina Williams

August 6, 2015 by Caroline Barker

REVIEW Soul Solution (Beyond Fairytales #1) by Katherine McIntyre

You may have noticed our recent promo post (with an excerpt) of Katherine McIntyre‘s Soul Solution (Beyond Fairytales #1). An adaptation of String of Pearls by Hans Christian Andersen, it was everything I expected and more.

Blurb:

For Erik Anderson, the Copenhagen line is his curse. He takes the train every night en route to collect souls. Like any lovelorn fool, he bargained his own long ago, and now pays the price—a lifetime of loneliness as a grim reaper. Stay distant—that’s been his mantra and what keeps him sane.

Until Mina Castner drops into his life like a whirlwind, one spilled drink leading to staying up until dawn with the woman. He believed one night couldn’t hurt, but he sorely underestimated her determination. Every encounter between them is reprieve from the guilt of reaping souls every night, but it can’t last. Even if she sparks long buried feelings, and even if her sheer presence intoxicates him, he can’t let this continue. For humans, his touch is poison, and if he slips up, it could cost her life.

REVIEW ***** (5* rating)

Soul Solution is a dark paranormal romance which provides suspense as the reader longs to find out what will become of Erik and Mina. Will Erik be taken in by her so much that he just can’t help himself? Will he touch her and lose her forever? Or, will he manage to keep his distance in order to keep her safe?

After bargaining his soul long ago, Erik is now a soul collector himself. Riding the train on the Copenhagen line each night, taking souls, and living a life of loneliness is all he knows. He doesn’t enjoy it. It hurts. But, it’s his curse. All he can do is target the people whose whole body glows to him, indicating that their time will soon be up anyway. He can’t get emotionally close to people for fear of touching them and taking their soul too. However, he becomes unstuck when Mina walks into his life.

Mina is desperate to escape a blind date that she really didn’t want to go on. After spilling her drink on Erik, she quickly decides he can help her without realising it. Checking that he is okay, Mina leaves the club with Erik. Taken aback by her beauty and attention, Mina has brought him into a situation he is not comfortable with.

He is ice cold to everyone, keeping his head down most of the time and trying to disguise his beauty, keeping attention away from him.

“Reapers weren’t supposed to attract attention. They were supposed to be forgettable shadows in the night…

… If he was ice, they wouldn’t bother him. And if he was ice, maybe it would hurt a fraction less when he had to take their lives.”

But, after spending time with him, Mina sees much further than anyone has before. She senses that he is a troubled soul, she sees his beauty and his kindness. Mina’s ability to get through to him mentally and emotionally, as well as her beauty, leave him tempted for more. Yet, one touch could take years off her life. It’s an impossible situation; he can’t be with her, yet he finds it difficult to move away.

“After meeting a veritable army’s worth of women, he’d thought he’d encountered every last one. Yet she’d been hiding all along, this odd woman who made him forget his guilt, if just for a moment.”

There is a beautiful atmosphere created by the author, albeit dark. Erik certainly has many regrets and carries the guilt around with him. Mina is the only one who has had such an effect on him, helping him take his mind off collecting souls, which is all he has had to think about for so long. Will he give in to the strong temptation to kiss her, to touch her? Or, can he hold back and walk away?

“The longer he watched her smile, listened to her lilting laugh, the more he knew she was in trouble.”

If you’re looking for a dark, paranormal, suspenseful fairytale-like romance then you will certainly find it in Soul Solution. With an unpredictable, surprising ending I LOVED this novelette, and cannot wait for more from Katherine McIntyre!

An ARC copy was provided by the author in return for a fair and honest review.

Soul Solution (Beyond Fairytales #1) is available at Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Reviewed by Caroline Barker