Cover Reveal: Ricochet by Keri Lake

RICHOCHET

by Keri Lake

Expected Release Date: Spring 2015

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance (Standalone)

Image credit: Specular

I can't even deal with how hot this cover is!!! -♥Isalys

The only sure way to destroy a man is to take what he cannot live without.

Three years ago, I had everything.

A beautiful wife.
A son.
A reason for living.

Until a ruthless task force, assembled under Mayor Michael Culling, with a brutal strategy to make the streets of Detroit ‘safe’, ripped away everything I loved in a deadly hunt called The Culling.

They tried to kill me, too. I wish they had. Now I’m cursed by the memories of that night, and the words I whispered to my dying wife.

A promise—to avenge the wrong and set it right.

I’m no longer Nick Ryder. I’m a masked vigilante. Faceless. Loveless. Fearless. A man with nothing left to lose—one who’s seen the dark and violent truth behind the city’s flawless veneer.

Michael Culling doesn’t know who I am. Or what I want. All he knows is that I’ve kidnapped his beautiful wife.

An eye for an eye—isn’t that how the saying goes? And Aubree Culling is the perfect pawn to destroy him.

If she doesn’t destroy me first.

  

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WARNING:  Not recommended for readers under the age of 18 due to graphic violence, sex and strong language.

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Happy Release Day: Tease by Sophie Jordan

Tease (The Ivy Chronicles #2)
by Sophie Jordan

A young college woman gets schooled in life, sex, and love in New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan’s sizzling New Adult romance series—where three Ivy League suite-mates testing their boundaries as they seek higher knowledge of just how far they can go.

A born flirt and good-time party girl, Emerson has never had a problem finding a willing guy. She’s always chosen her hook-ups carefully, and she's never broken her three cardinal rules:

Never let them see the real you.
Never fall in love.
Always leave them begging for more.

Then comes Shaw. A hotty from the wrong side of the tracks, he’s immune to her flirtatious banter and come-hither smile. After rescuing her from a disastrous night at a biker bar, he doesn’t even try to take her to bed—he calls her a tease and sends her home instead. Unable to resist a challenge, or forget the sexy dark-eyed bad-boy biker, she vows to bring him to his knees.

But instead of making Shaw beg, she finds herself craving him. For the first time in her life, she’s throwing out her rulebook. Suddenly, she’s the one panting for a guy she can’t control. A guy who won’t settle for anything less than the real Emerson, who forces her to do things she’s never imagined, including facing a past she thought she'd buried.

A guy who just might leave her wanting more . . .

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Cover Reveal: Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

Ugly Love
by Colleen Hoover

Release Date: August 5, 2014 by Atria Books

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn’t love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her.

Never ask about the past.
Don’t expect a future.

They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.

Hearts get infiltrated.
Promises get broken.
Rules get shattered.
Love gets ugly.

UGLY LOVE hits bookshelves August 5th. Pre-order your copy today!
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Blast: Better When He's Bad by Jay Crownover

You’ve met Rule, Jet, Rome, and now Nash! But there’s a new boy in town, along with a new series, by Jay Crownover. Better When He’s Bad (Welcome to the Point #1) is a new adult novel scheduled for publication on June 17, 2014 by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing. 

Welcome to the Point

There’s a difference between a bad boy and a boy who’s bad . . . meet Shane Baxter.

Sexy, dark, and dangerous, Bax isn’t just from the wrong side of the tracks, he is the wrong side of the tracks. A criminal, a thug, and a brawler, he’s the master of bad choices, until one such choice landed him in prison for five years. Now Bax is out and looking for answers, and he doesn’t care what he has to do or who he has to hurt to get them. But there’s a new player in the game, and she’s much too innocent, much too soft…and standing directly in his way.

Dovie Pryce knows all about living a hard life and the tough choices that come with it. She’s always tried to be good, tried to help others, and tried not to let the darkness pull her down. But the streets are fighting back, things have gone from bad to worse, and the only person who can help her is the scariest, sexiest, most complicated ex-con The Point has ever produced.

Bax terrifies her, but it doesn’t take Dovie long to realize that some boys are just better when they’re bad.

Damn, right?  You can read the first chapter of Better When He's Bad at the end of Nash's book.

“It’s dark and dangerous and set in a fictitious underworld/bad part of town. The men in all of the books are way more along the line of being anti-heros than true leading men. I guess the easiest way to sum them up is by saying the books are all about the choices these characters have to make and the outcomes and results of those decisions. Bax’s book is all about having to make the hard choices and what becomes of him and his lady in doing so. They are super fun, very atmospheric and I think really what writing a bad boy should be like if you’re going to do it :)”

Pre-Order Links:
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Review: Mercy

Title: Mercy 
Author:  Pam Dingée
Publication: Sept 24, 2013 by Amazon
Reviewed by: Taryn
Rating: 3 stars
Reason for Reviewing: Ebook provided in exchange for an honest review.

Eden has had a tough year and is trying to bounce back from the tragedy of her father passing recently, and she’s also hoping to learn to love and trust again all while going through a sticky divorce with the Dick.

Dom is Eden’s BFF’s brother, he’s also a bit of a player and a sexy distraction for Eden. He wants to earn Eden's trust, but she's been burned before and is skeptical. Can Dom help by being a good friend to Eden and steer her in the right direction?

Eden is 22 years old and has recently lost her father. She’s also going through a messy divorce with Richard, aka Dick. They’ve been married for 3 years, but Eden recently discovered Dick was being unfaithful. For the past month, Eden has been staying in her best friend Aly’s guest house as she saves money to get back on her feet. Eden and Aly work side-by-side at the same beauty salon, and they’ve been close ever since they met while earning their cosmetology degrees at the Las Vegas School of Beauty. Aly’s husband, Sloane, and her older brother, Dominic, work with Dick at Vegas Builds.

Eden can’t help but be attracted to Dom even though she is pretty sure he’s a big player. Soon she finds out that Dom’s feelings for her run much deeper than friendship, but Eden’s not sure if she’s quite ready to cross that friendship line into something more. She’s still nursing a broken heart and doesn’t want to get hurt again.

I’ve always enjoyed reading stories about people who were friends first before they fell in love. And Dom was definitely a swoonworthy love interest -- he was hardworking, loyal, protective, funny, cheesy at times...and of course, hot!

Mercy was a quick and easy read, but the conversational writing style took a little getting used to. It was very informal, almost like sitting down to have coffee or a cocktail with a friend and discussing the ups and downs of her love life. There were a few flashbacks which provided a peek into how Dom and Eden’s friendship and attraction grew over the years, and I wish there were more of these. A couple of times the point of view abruptly switched to Dom’s, and that was a bit jarring. Maybe if there had been more chapters included from his point of view it would have been a smoother transition for the reader. At times I felt annoyed with Eden’s immaturity, but then again, 22 is still pretty young and the characters’ actions seemed realistic for someone that age.

Despite these small issues, I found Mercy to be an entertaining read and would recommend it to fans of new adult romance.

 

Review: Curl Up and Dye

Title: Curl Up and Dye
Author: Sharon Sala
Publication: February 4, 2014 by Sourcebooks Landmark
Reviewed by: Taryn
Rating: 4 stars
Reason for Reviewing: Ebook provided in exchange for an honest review.

A brand new Southern women's fiction from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Sharon Sala who has 1.5 million books sold.

Wally Lamb meets Steel Magnolias in this story of LilyAnn Bronte, the Peachy-Keen Queen, which in Blessings, Georgia, was the epitome of success. After losing her fiance in the war in Iraq, her zest for life went into decline while added weight crept on. When a new guy arrives in town, LilyAnn embarks on a quest to remake herself from start to finish only to discover that love was always just right next-door.

Back in high school, LilyAnn Bronte was the head cheerleader, the homecoming queen, and the valedictorian. She dated the star quarterback, Randy Joe, and was named the Peachy Keen Queen. She seemed to have everything going for her and her future was bright until Randy Joe joined the Army and went off to war, never to return. Not only did LilyAnn lose her first love, she also lost her way in life. Years later, she is still grieving Randy Joe, and she has let herself go in many ways. She’s stayed out of the dating pool but has only recently started to feel as if she might want to jump back in. When a handsome new man comes to town, it motivates her to start taking better care of herself with a major lifestyle overhaul. She believes that she needs to get her act together and work on her appearance if she wants to attract and impress this newcomer.

What LilyAnn doesn’t know, however, is that there already is a man who loves her just the way she is. Mike Dalton, her neighbor and childhood friend, has never mustered up the courage to tell LilyAnn how he feels. So he continues to pine for her secretly and give her the space she needs to grieve her loss. He can’t help but wonder, what will it take for LilyAnn to notice him as more than a friend? Or is it too late--will she end up falling for another man instead?

I enjoyed this sweet love story set in the charming town of Blessings, Georgia. The tone is lighthearted for most of the story (except for a few intense scenes). The secondary characters were all interesting in their own right, especially Ruby Dye, beautician and owner of The Curl Up and Dye hair salon. It was fun to see just how much Ruby knew about everyone’s business since her salon functioned as a sort of town confessional. Gossip moved pretty quickly through this small town, and Ruby always had the scoop. She also helped people work through their problems. My mom is a hairdresser, and I think she’d really like this character, too!

I’m interested in seeing where this series goes and which characters are featured in the next book. If you like The Curl Up and Dye, you can also check out Color Me Bad, a novella also set in Blessings, Georgia.

Review: Big Sky Secrets

Title: Big Sky Secrets
Author: Linda Lael Miller
Publication:  Dec 31, 2013 by HQN
Reviewed by: Taryn
Rating: 3 stars
Reason for Reviewing: Ebook provided in exchange for an honest review.

Self-made tycoon Landry Sutton heads to Hangman Bend's Ranch to sell his land to his brother Zane. Though he's got cowboy in his blood, Landry plans to return to city life before the dust even settles on his boots. Of course, he didn't count on falling for Big Sky Country…or Ria Manning.

Ria's starting to settle into country life herself…until she has a close encounter of the terrifying kind with a buffalo. Turns out the peeping monster belongs to the cowboy next door—and he has her running even more scared than his bison. She wants a home where the buffalo don't roam, and the men don't either. Could Landry's homecoming be her heart's undoing?

 

 Landry Sutton and his older brother Zane each own half of Hangman’s Bend, a ranch outside Three Trees, Montana which they bought sight unseen a few years ago. Previously, Landry had been living in Chicago and working his way up the ranks of Ingersoll Investments. After his failed marriage to the boss’s daughter, Susan, he moved out to Montana.

Ria Manning, a widow, bought a flower farm and moved to Montana around the same time as Landry. She has disliked him from the start, thinking him arrogant and a little too full of himself. Yet she can’t deny her strong physical attraction to him any time he comes around. She just has to be careful not to let anyone get too close to her. In addition to dealing with the loss of her husband, she’s struggling with the fact that he betrayed her trust by cheating on her. She isn’t sure she’ll ever love again.

One day Landry’s buffalo herd tramples Ria’s flowers, and when he comes over to assess the damage, he kisses her out of the blue. He convinces her to go out with him, despite her hesitations. There actually wasn’t much else going on plot-wise between Landry and Ria. They went on one date and Ria got drunk, which caused a bit of a scandal and gossip, but that was all cleared up quickly. Most of the plot seemed to revolve around issues with each of their families. Ria’s 16-year-old niece, Quinn, shows up unexpectedly and stays for the summer due to problems at home with her mom. Landry’s father shows up asking for money after getting into trouble while gambling. So when Landry and Ria are suddenly declaring their love for one another, I wasn’t sure what had happened to make them fall in love. It was clear that they were magnetically attracted to one another, and I loved their playful banter, but I just didn’t believe that they were in love so quickly.

I’ll admit that I have not read the previous books in the Parable, Montana series, but I think this one, the series finale, actually stands alone pretty well for new readers. I wasn’t confused at all while reading, and while characters from previous books made cameos, this book was focused on Landry and Ria plus their families. The secondary characters were interesting, and I may go back and read some of the earlier books in the Parable, Montana series to get their stories.

One of my favorite parts of this book was the lush descriptions of the landscape. Right away, I was swept up in the descriptions of the beautiful Montana setting, and I could picture it very well despite never having traveled there myself.

Review: Timeless

Title: Timeless
Author: Jan Scarbrough
Publication: 2013
Reviewed by: Stephanie
Rating: 3 stars
Reason for Reviewing: Ebook provided in exchange for an honest review

When Beth Abbott receives a surprise inheritance from her birth mother, she travels to the family’s nineteenth century mansion in Old Louisville, now a bed and breakfast. There she meets the resident ghost, a little girl whose crying scares, but intrigues guests. Beth sets out to discover the identity of the ghost and why she appears happy to Beth, not sad.

Jeff Halstead, a man with several secrets, runs the bed and breakfast. But he’s more than that to Beth, and she feels their connection immediately. A psychic medium who doubts his skills, Jeff slowly uncovers the truth of their past lives. Will he be in time to reveal the identity of Beth’s enemy? Will the love they shared in the past follow them into the future?

This Contemporary Gothic Romance novel has a lot of themes going on for such a short read. I felt that I was being pulled in many different directions with the past stories and the present, then we have ghosts and reincarnation, and then rape. *sigh* So much was put into this story that it really felt a bit overwhelming. I would have liked to see more focus on the present characters’ story development. Jeff and Beth had such a connection, but it didn’t seem like I knew enough about them. I also wanted more ghost elements within this story because those parts really had my attention. I can see what the author was trying to go for by having long lost souls reunite with each other, which I thought was sweet and enjoyed that part of the story.

Jeff and Beth definitely have this chemistry that made the pages hot and steamy. Jeff was this dark haired, blue eyed, mysterious, sexy, older man and Beth was this pretty, blond haired, young, shy woman. *Bow chicka wow wow* Wow, what a tease dance of sexual tension between these two. Obviously I was rooting for a hook up with every turn of the page. *wink*


I did like the ghost element of the story where little Grace haunts the Chadwick Bed and Breakfast. I tried to not read those parts when I was alone at night. I swear I thought I heard a child giggling which made that part even spookier for me.*Eeepp* I also would have liked to have known more about Beth’s birth mother, Melissa, but not much was said about her. Honestly, I believe if the story was longer and the characters and story were a bit more developed, then I would have enjoyed this book so much more. If you enjoy short reads with elements of the paranormal, reincarnation, and long lost love, then pick up a copy of Timeless.

Review: The Cutting Room Floor

Title: The Cutting Room Floor
Author: Dawn Klehr
Publication:  October 8, 2013 by Flux
Reviewed by: Taryn
Rating: 4 stars
Reason for Reviewing: Ebook provided in exchange for an honest review.

Behind-the-scenes secrets could turn deadly for Desmond and Riley

Life in the Heights has never been easy for seventeen-year-old Riley Frost, but when she's publicly dumped and outed at the same time, she becomes an immediate social outcast at her high school. So Riley swears off romance and throws herself into solving the shocking murder of her favorite teacher, Ms. Dunn.

Riley turns to her best friend, budding filmmaker Desmond Brandt, for help. What she doesn't know is that Dez has been secretly directing her life, blackmailing her friends, and hoping his manipulations will make her love him. When his schemes go too far, Dez's web of lies threatens to destroy both of their lives.

“If I knew then what I know now, I never would’ve sent that text. I wouldn’t have done a lot of things. Yeah, if my life were a movie, I’d go back and edit out all the bad stuff. Leave it all on the cutting room floor.

But I can’t. And now I will have to pay.

Big time.”
~Dez, p. 7 of The Cutting Room Floor

Dez and Riley grew up as next door neighbors in the Heights, and they’ve always been close friends. But Dez secretly loves Riley. In fact, it’s more like an obsession. Dez goes to great lengths to interfere with Riley’s love life behind the scenes in the hopes that they end up together. But the problem is that Riley only sees him as a friend. She still has feelings for her ex, Emma, even though Emma outed her to the school and sent her to “social death row”. Tori, mean girl and mayor’s daughter, makes Riley’s life miserable as much as possible and teachers ingore the verbal abuse she endures.

The only teacher that Riley has ever trusted and truly connected with, Mrs. Dunn, was brutally murdered inside the school. Riley starts investigating the circumstances surrounding Mrs. Dunn’s death and makes some shocking discoveries that make her start questioning who she can really trust. She also discovers how Mrs. Dunn was connected to the mayor, which causes her to dig even further for clues and attempt to be friendly with Tori in order to gather more evidence.

The Cutting Room Floor was an intriguing, suspenseful read that kept me entertained as the clues unraveled and multiple characters became suspects. I really enjoyed the interesting use of the filmmaking theme--many scenes were written as if you’re seeing through the eyes of a film director. Flashback sequences were included frequently to reveal characters’ backstories. Also, the point of view switched back and forth between Dez and Riley, which kept things interesting and moved the plot along. There were a lot of secondary characters to keep track of, but Stella really stood out as someone who was a great friend to Riley and who accepted her for who she was. While some of the characters seemed a bit over the top, Stella seemed pretty normal and believable.

As a librarian, I think it has high teen appeal with its themes of bullying, self-discovery, and pursuing your passion. But older readers looking for a suspenseful thriller will also find something to enjoy.

Review: White Lie Christmas

Title: White Lie Christmas
Author: Christine Bell and Riley Murphy
Publication: Entangled Publishing, LLC, 2013
Reviewed by: Stephanie
Rating: 4 stars
Reason for Reviewing: Ebook provided in exchange for an honest review.

The holidays are here, and Leah Latrelle has made a mess of them. When her out-of-town parents’ concern over her non-existent love life threatens to interfere with her father’s health, she invents a boyfriend who quickly turns into a fiancé. Her family is thrilled, and they change their Christmas plans last minute to meet their future son-in-law. Now Leah has no choice but to come up with the goods. She needs a man, fast. When her friend and business partner, Mick, offers himself up as a sacrifice, she’s all over it. He’s handsome, dependable and available for the job. What could go wrong?Tis the season, and Mick Kilpatrick can’t say no to a damsel in distress. Especially when that damsel is his luscious business partner who has been the object of his reluctant desire for the past year. He hasn’t pursued anything because being a dad is still priority number one. A sexy woman like Leah will only distract him from what’s really important and he can’t have that. He’ll pretend to be her fiancé, but when it’s over, everything will go back to normal. Sure, he’s fantasized about her once or...a million times but that doesn’t mean he’s in love with her. Does it?

What a cute sexy novella just in time for the holidays. This will be a Christmas to never forget. *chuckling* Leah Latrelle has really gotten herself into a pickle this time. How on earth is she going to pull this whole “I have a fiance and I’m madly in love” just within a few days of her parents visit?  I have two words for you, Mick Kilpatrick. *swoon* He is every mother-in-law’s dream son-in-law -- successful, fit, tall, extremely handsome, and what a smooth talker. Leah sure picked herself a winner, but with just one problem: will it work and if it does how will this affect their business relationship? All great questions which, believe me, I was asking myself this the whole time reading page after page.

The chemistry between Leah and Mick gets addictive really quickly. Mick who wants this whole fake engagement to be a success and tries so hard to make sure Leah’s parents have a great holiday. Leah on the other hand is a nervous train wreck which I can very much understand. She is lying to her parents and sister about having a fiance. This is a HUGE charade to pull off especially with people who know her all too well. This hot and cold, back and forth between Leah and Mick just pulls you into the story. I found myself saying “awwww” when Mick was extremely sweet then screamed “chill out” to Leah when she was blowing their cover. So many emotions going on while reading!

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a steamy, sweet, short holiday read. It will evoke many emotions that you will find yourself talking to the pages as though the character’s will answer you back. *chuckling* I’m very vocal while I read so you can imagine when I ride on the bus. I’m not embarrassed! Well, I enjoyed reading White Lie Christmas very much, loved the romance, importance of family and sexy themes within the story. So if you have a day free, I say pick this book up and enjoy a little holiday cheer. If anything else you can just think of sexy Mick. *wink*

Mini Review: Holy Frigging Matrimony

Title:  Holy Frigging Matrimony (Tangled #1.5)
(A Tangled Short Story)
Author:  Emma Chase
Publication: December 5, 2013
Reviewed by:  Isalys
Rating:  4 Stars
Reason for Reviewing:  E-book provided in exchange for an honest review.

What does Drew Evans have to say next? Find out in this forty page short story, filled with his sexy charm, unique advice and hilarious one-liners.

Marriage: the final frontier. Steven went first. He was kind of our test subject. Like those monkeys that NASA sent off into space in the fifties, all the while knowing they’d never make it back.

And now another poor rocket is ready to launch.

But this isn’t just any posh New York wedding. You’ve seen my friends, you’ve met our families, you know you're in for a treat. Everyone wants their wedding to be memorable. This one’s going to be un-frigging-forgettable.

Holy Frigging Matrimony takes place about a year after Tangled’s end and is from Drew’s POV.

We met the unforgettable Drew Evans in Tangled and watched him win, lose, and win the seemingly indomitable Kate.  About a year later and it's now the big day. Kate is doing her best to be ready on time despite Drew's very distracting presence and several attempts to get her OUT of her dress, instead of into it ;)

At only approx 45 pages long, Holy Frigging Matrimony is a quick and sexy romp that somehow manages to include sexy times, a fist fight, and drama with the ex all told from Drew's POV with his signature wit and sarcasm.

Even though I wish the novella had been a bit longer, I really enjoyed my time with Drew and gang.  He never lacks for hotness with a liberal dose of humor and I can't wait for more from Emma Chase!