Southern Sweets By Cori Williams ♥ Release Blitz

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TITLE: Southern Sweets: A Midnight Novel
 
AUTHOR: Cori Williams
 
PUBLISHER: Booktrope Publishing
 
 
 
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Southern Sweets Synopsis
 

Sugar and spice don’t always play nice—Amelia Emerson learned that the hard way after her heart was snatched straight from her chest. What was done could not be forgotten.

Tanner made his choice, and there was no turning back from the hurt he caused. Amelia is left dealing with the aftermath and trying to juggle the new life she has been handed.

Worn down, she struggles to gain back the confidence she once possessed, and prove to everyone she is able to do things on her own—But when life takes another sharp turn in an unexpected direction, will she be able to let go and start fresh? Or is the pain too unbearable to forget?


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Southern Sweets Author Bio
 
Cori Williams is a contemporary romance writer who recently relocated from Michigan to southern living in the mountains of North Carolina. When she’s not busy taking care of her three young children and sometimes fourth, aka as her husband, you’ll find her tapping away at the keyboard with music blaring and endless amounts of candy fuel at hand. Her love of reading from a very young age transferred over to a love of writing and now the stories are never ending as she creates the happily ever afters for her characters with sometimes bumpy journeys along the way. “Forever isn’t always easy.”
 
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The Fireman in Unit C (A Mockingbird Place Novel) by Kris Cook ♥ Release Blitz

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Title: The Fireman in Unit C
Series: A Mockingbird Place Novel
Author: Kris Cook
Genre: M/M Romance Standalone
Release Date: February 15, 2016
A serial arsonist sets fire to the unit next to Jackson’s apartment—the unit the sexy fireman Eli lives in. 
Things really heat up when Jackson offers Eli a place to stay until Unit C is livable again. Jackson, being OCD, requires everything in his life to be neat and orderly, but Eli’s life is chaotic and messy, especially because of the man’s ex, who keeps pushing his way back into the fireman’s life. Living with Eli turns out to be much more than he bargained for. As much as he would love to just throw caution to the wind, Jackson believes it is best to keep things between him an Eli on the friend level. Nothing more. But an unexpected kiss rocks his world and he must figure out the real reason he’s terrified of the feelings Eli is bringing out in him. 
Will Jackson see that a future with Eli can help him let go of the guilt from his troubled past?

 

Though starting in straight erotic romance, Kris’s total focus now is on gay romance. When asked why recently, his answer was “My muse finally came out of the closet. Isn’t it about time? I’ve been out since I was twenty-five.” A voracious reader, Kris loves many genres of fiction, but this writer’s favorite books are romances that are edgy, sexy, with rich characters and unique challenges. Kris’ influences include Anne Rice, JR Ward, Lexi Blake and Shayla Black. Last year, Kris married the love of his life Stephen.

 

 

 

 

 

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Incandescence by Xunaira J ♥ Release Blitz

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Title: Incandescence

Author: Xunaira J.

Genre: New Adult

Release Date: February 14, 2016

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Synopsis

CAN LOVE REALLY HEAL ALL WOUNDS?

Alisha had everything she ever wished for: a loving family, a career and friends who doted on her. But a late night at work, a cup of coffee, and a burning candle changed her life forever. Then Anis–a tall, dark, and handsome engineer, heir to his father’s vast empire–walks back into her life. After a brief meeting a few years ago, she isn’t sure he’ll remember her. When he does, he wants to help her overcome her life-changing injuries. Has her accident scarred not only her skin, but also her soul?

Incandescence is a story of love and friendship in the face of disaster, and one young woman’s quest to make the most of her new life.

Purchase your copy today!

INCANDESCENCE

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Excerpt

What happened next was totally unpredictable. One second, I was looking at my picture on the desktop, all smiling and beautiful on my graduation day, while the next second, I thought I’d seen a ghost. The face that was looking back at me had a rather distorted face with a leathery texture. The right side of the face was covered in something that was a weird color of yellow and white; it looked like it was made up of play dough, while the left side was all clean, normal and soft. The skin looked leathery, almost gaunt and scary. It was charred at some part of my cheeks and towards my neck.

The eyes that stared back at me were the same colors as mine, chocolate brown, and the skin on the normal side of the face looked like my skin as well. It was my face; just a distorted version. I tried to touch the left side of my face, but it felt smooth under my skin. My breathing hitched as I realized that the ghostly skin, the gauntness in the eyes—it was all mine.

And then I screamed at the top of my lungs. I saw the ghost in the screen in front open her mouth, but the only noise that I heard was of my own howl. This can’t be me! This can’t be me! I tried to tell myself again and again.

The door flung open, and the nurses rushed in, looking around at my source of terror, but she found nothing. She came towards me and glanced at the laptop. Seeing the Photo Booth application open, she quickly, picked up the laptop from my knees and shut the flap.

“You’re not supposed to use that yet!” she scolded me as she put the laptop back on the side table. I was having difficulty breathing and my heartbeat was going a mile a minute.

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About The Author

Xunaira

As a thirteen year old teenager, Xunaira J. aspired to be an author someday. From short stories to novellas, she has written them all but as an adult now, she has published two short stories and is now aiming to publish her first Novel, Before Time, scheduled for November release. Xunaira resides in Islamabad, Pakistan and enjoys a hot cup of cappuccino, a good romance novel and her favorite music from the 80’s. Apart from that, when she’s not working on her current literary project, she loves developing mobile applications and studies as a software engineer.
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Colour Series By A. Giannoccaro ♥ Release / Sale Blitz

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Title: Colour Series, The Complete Box Set

Author: A. Giannoccaro

Publication Date: February 12, 2016

On SALE for $2.99 until the February 15th!

 

Blurb

When your family legacy is death, murder and crime, do you get a chance at love? After all, don’t villains need love too?

Lauri was hidden from her inheritance but it found her and she was delivered straight to a devil from her past. Rowan was her saviour, the one that returned the colour to her life, but he was also a killer, a murderer. Rowan wasn’t a knight in shining armour, he was the black of night until he had to kill her.

Her cousin Callum, born into the same madness, hid in plain sight. His crimes camouflaged by his good looks and charming smile. When he falls in love with a ghost from his past, something changes and his bloody world falls apart. Shannon is poisonous but her madness is almost as dangerous as his. They were born to kill each other.

Born from murder and love, Avery is a killer. It’s not her job but the very essence of who she is. She lives for it, loves it and will never stop. Some girls are just not good. When she loses the few people in her life that matter, the cracks start to open and she is left to find herself. Can a man steal her heart and live to see another sunrise?

Three crime families tied together by blood, friendship and ultimately love.

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About the Author

A. Giannoccaro

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Author of the Colour series, a dark romance.

“Our skin is clothing enough to cover what we hide inside.”

 

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Crossing The Barrier By Martine Lewis ♥ Pre-Order Blitz

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Title: Crossing The Barrier

Series: The Gray Eyes Series #1

By: Martine Lewis

Publisher: BMJ Chanapi

Publication Date: March 22, 2016

Genre: Young Adult

High school student Malakai Thomas, star wide receiver of the varsity team, collides with band member Lily Morgan on his way to football practice. As days go by, Malakai cannot get the petite clarinetist out of his head.

Lily Morgan can feel everyone’s emotions. She loses her ability to shield herself against them the day Malakai runs into her. Now she must try to maintain her sanity in the emotional jungle that is high school, as well as deal with her growing feelings for Malakai.

Can Malakai get over the social stigma and his own internal struggle to be with Lily? Is Lily’s secret too big to accept, even for him?

Amazon US – http://goo.gl/039VmQ

Amazon UK – http://goo.gl/2Y4FXz

Amazon CA – http://goo.gl/otG4fH

#1 – LILY

“I wonder what would happen if you lost your ability to shield.”

That simple question from Lily’s best friend, Sandra, almost got them killed. As Lily Morgan drove them to school for their band practice in her Mini Cooper, it took all of her limited driving skills to keep them on the narrow suburban road and not in the ditch.

“Let’s not ever mention this again!” Lily’s heart raced at the thought of it.

Sandra Jones was the best friend anybody could dream of. She was also everything Lily was not. She was outgoing, tall, and beautiful with her long, straight blond hair and blue eyes. She always wore the nicest outfits, and guys regularly asked her out on dates. She could have been part of the popular crowd had she wanted to, but she was perfectly content being in the marching band, just like Lily.

Sandra and her family, in addition to Lily’s uncle, Charlie, were the only people alive who knew what Lily could do; she had the ability to feel the emotions of the people around her. The only way for her to function and have a close to normal life was to build mental shields, which prevented the barrage of emotions from continuously assaulting her. Sandra knew how important shielding was to Lily, particularly in an emotion-infested place like high school.

“Just saying. I mean, you’ve been giving me the silent treatment since we left home. I had to find a way to make you talk.”

“Well, that’s not a good subject on a good day.”

“Then, what’s eating you?”

“My mother, again.”

“I don’t understand. Why don’t you take Charlie’s offer and move in with him?”

“It’s my house, Sandra. If anything, she should be the one moving out.”

“Not going to happen, not until the courts kick her out. You know that better than I do. She’s not going anywhere.”

Her friend was right, unfortunately.

“Can we move on to something else?”

“What did she want this time?” Sandra asked instead. “Another party to introduce you to your future husband?”

Lily nodded. She could easily imagine Sandra rolling her eyes, and if she hadn’t been driving, she was sure she would have seen her do exactly that.

“I don’t get it,” Sandra continued. “She’s not even your real mother.”

“I don’t get it either. Why does she keep throwing me at those guys?”

“Beats me,” Sandra said. “Did you say no?”

Lily remained quiet. She never said no. She still held the hope that if she did exactly what her mother requested, maybe one day she would approve of her.

Hope definitely made people stupid.

“When will you, Lily?” Sandra asked, turning toward her. “You deserve better than this.”

Lily sighed. She had tried to explain it numerous times before, but Sandra never understood. After all, Sandra’s mother loved her and was always so proud of her.

“David said football practice starts today,” Sandra said, changing the subject.

Lily felt her best friend’s eagerness at sharing the news, and she knew what was coming next.

“Malakai will be there.”

Ever since she had admitted to Sandra that she liked the star wide receiver over a year ago, Sandra brought him up every chance she had.

“Why don’t we talk about your love life for a change?” Lily suggested.

“Oh, no, we’re so not. Yours is so much more fun.”

It was Lily’s turn to roll her eyes. “So, what else did David say?”

“They should begin practice around nine this morning.”

“They have it so much easier than we do,” Lily said, turning onto the access road that led behind the school.

“You got that one right. If they practiced half as much as we did, they would wear paths in the football field.”

“That’s probably why we practice on hot, steamy asphalt,” Lily said as they arrived in the parking area.

“It sucks, really. Why don’t we get to practice their amount of hours and they, ours?”

“Because what we do is more complicated?” Lily suggested with a smile.

Sandra shrugged and glanced out the window.

“Look at it on the bright side.”

“There is one?” Sandra asked, irony coating her tone.

“No!”

They were both laughing when Lily pulled into her usual parking spot.

Martine Lewis is a forty something who was born and raised in the French speaking province of Quebec, Canada. She spent her childhood looking forward to her summer vacations at the farm, which were a nice escape from the suburbs where she lived.

 

Her first written endeavor was a 200-page handwritten Duran Duran bandfiction which she wrote when she was eleven years old. Of all her written work, this is the only one she no longer has.

 

All throughout high school, Martine wrote more bandfictions and some original work, then she went to write fanfictions in the Star Wars, Buffy and Harry Potter universes. Her fanficiton in the Potterverse are mostly centered on characters of her own creation and can be found on fanfiction.net.

Following her viewing of Roswell on Netflix in 2012, Martine wrote book two and three of the Gray Eyes Series, then went on to create the Gray Eyes Series universe in which she has been playing ever since. She writes contemporary coming-of-age romance fiction (young adult/new adult) with a twist.

 

Martine is an avid reader and rollerskater. She loves sushi, hot chocolate on a cold day, and the beach. But what she loves above all else is to curl on her chair with her computer and write more stories for her readers.

Martine currently lives in Houston TX with her two cats.

Social Media Links

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Booty Call By Ainsley Booth ♥ Chapter Reveal

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We are delighted to bring you an excerpt from Booty Call (Forbidden BodyGuards  #2) by Ainsley Booth. Sit back and enjoy the hotness.

 

Pre-Order it now for a special price, only 99c!

 

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Booty Call

Ardent Prose Synopsis

 

I know what I’m doing when I text Scott at four in the morning.

He knows what I’m doing, too.

That’s why he shows up twenty-three minutes later, freshly showered with a condom in his pocket and a barely dissolved breath mint on his tongue.

I smirk as he looms over me. “You are such a dirty old man.”

“We need to stop doing this.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re twenty and I’m not. Because I want to take you on a f***ing date and you won’t. Because we wind up yelling at each other half the time.”

“But the rest of the time you’re inside me and it feels so good, right?”

His eyes darken and I don’t need to look down to know he’s hard for me.

*** THIS IS A STANDALONE BOOK, CONNECTED TO THE HORUS GROUP SERIES ***

Ardent Prose Excerpt

 

—one—

FEBRUARY

Alison

Happy birthday to me.

I’m supposed to be having an epic shop-a-thon with my sister in SoHo, but now we’re stuck at the Apple store because Hailey needs someone to fix her phone. Her fiancé Cole will have a fit if she’s off the grid.

God forbid. It’s not like she isn’t being shadowed everywhere by her bodyguard—big, brooding Scott Mayfair, of the dark, dirty looks and annoyingly consistent hands-off-Alison attitude—for our “girls weekend”. But her phone stopped working at lunch, so now Hailey’s waiting for a so-called genius to help her fix it.

Me?

I’m going to take advantage of the fact that Scott can’t leave Hailey’s side and go buy myself a present.

“I’m just heading around the corner,” I murmur to my sister. She knows where I’m going. Every time we come to the city, I visit the Mercer Street Agent Provocateur. It’s become my little ritual.

Alison Dashford Reid, all grown up and secretly wearing something naughty beneath her studious university student uniform of yoga pants and hoodies. Although that’s not what I’m wearing today—while it works for Washington…New York City, not so much. Not at the level that Hailey and I are playing at this weekend.

I’ve got my Jimmy Choo fuck-me boots zipped over my skinny Sevens, and a wool jacket over a silk camisole, because it’s February and there’s only so much cold my nipples can take in the name of fashion.

I sling the skinny strap of my purse across my body and join the flow of Saturday afternoon shoppers. New York is unlike any other city in the world, and SoHo might be my favorite neighborhood in my favorite city.  Narrow shops and cobblestone streets. It brings out the girly girl in me, and I indulge that lucky bitch with pretty underwear.

Inside, Agent Provocateur is glossy black lacquer and sparkling crystal chandeliers. A sea of silk and lace. Black ribbons and satin cups. It oozes feminine power and celebrates all things sexy.

My private collection of lingerie is one step in the direction of claiming more of that attitude for myself.

One day soon, I’m going to be this woman.

I sigh. Maybe not soon. I have to keep my head down until I’m done school and can leave Washington. Leave the toxic world of my parents behind and just be myself.

Be Alison, girl with silk panties. Girl with an easy, breezy attitude toward sex and men and life.

“Can I help you?” A smiling salesgirl approaches, and I’m glad I dressed up. I look the part of the rich socialite, and all afternoon I’ve been getting that treatment. Not normally something I care about one way or the other—and if pushed, I lean toward other. Because seriously, being rich just gives people the excuse to be depraved fucks.

And then have children, and ruin their lives with the depravity.

I shudder inside.

But on the outside, I just smile at the salesgirl. “I’m going to look around a bit. First time in a while since I’ve been in the store.”

First time since all the weird shit went down with my sister last year. Now I can’t just get on the train and come to New York for the weekend. Now when I suggest a girls’ trip, it’s a full-on thing, complete with Scott tagging along if Cole is busy.

We made that mistake once in the fall. Ugh. Totally un-fun, although it did beat a totally awkward family Thanksgiving.

This trip wasn’t my idea, even though it’s my birthday weekend. But Hailey’s got a gleam in her eye about a wedding dress, which means Cole’s finally won their non-stop battle over whether or not to get married.

Well, not that there’s a battle over getting married. Just a battle over the actual “getting hitched” moment. As in, Hailey doesn’t want a wedding. Not one our mother can ruin.

So I bet they’ll elope, which is totally fine.

After all the shit she’s been through, Hailey deserves to be happy.

And if she wants to buy a non-wedding dress for a secret wedding that she’s not telling me about just yet, I’ll suck up a totally un-fun trip to the big city.

After all, when I get bored, I can always ditch the bodyguard and sneak into a lingerie shop.

I smirk to myself—which of course is when karma decides to punish me.

“Something funny, Miss Reid?”

Damn it. I sigh and roll my eyes to the sparkly chandelier, keeping my back to Scott. My sister’s bodyguard. My secret crush. My totally off-limits, no-fun babysitter for the weekend, apparently, since he’s followed me, and not for any fun, dirty reasons. “How did you find me? Do I have a tracking device implanted under my skin?”

Scott laughs quietly and circles around the display until I’ve got face full of cotton dress shirt and black suit jacket. Both fitted and stretched across strong shoulders.

A wide chest.

Probably a hard set of abs, but I’ve never gotten close enough to test that theory.

I don’t look up at his face. Instead, I pretend to look at the panties on the far side of the table, right in front of his hips.

His package is pretty substantial, too. Definitely stretching the fabric there.

I blush, but I don’t duck my head further.

I’m totally fine with Scott knowing that I’m thinking about his cock.

He’s not fine with it, but that’s his problem.

He clears his throat and crosses his arms, swinging a collection of our shopping bags in front of his body to hide what I hope is a monster reaction to me. “Your sister suggested I might find you in here.”

“And you left Hailey alone to come find me?”

“Cole showed up. Turns out he had business in the city after all.”

Of course he did. Which meant that our girls’ weekend just turned into me being a third-wheel on a romantic getaway.

Fuck.

“Then I might head back to D.C.” I say quietly. I’m not trying to hide the fact I’m disappointed. It’s my birthday. I can be fucking disappointed if I want.

I can swear like a fucking sailor and pretend I’m not a Dean’s List, finishing-school Good Girl, because it’s my twentieth birthday and I can’t even buy lingerie without my sister’s drama intruding.

And since that drama won’t let me check him out… yeah, I’m pouting.

“You can head home. If you want.” His voice is…is…

I jerk my eyes up to his face.

He’s mocking me.

Outrage surges through me, unexpectedly, at the barely contained laughter in his voice. I can feel my face turning red, twin dots of heat burning on my cheekbones. I pick up a complicated thong, with bonus straps that do nothing but torment the person looking at the wearer, probably, and I hold it up between us. “You don’t think I should do that, Scott?” I put my own mocking spin on his name. “What should I do instead? You think I should stay here in the big city, and buy these panties, maybe wear them out tonight under a little black dress? Knowing full well there’s not a chance in hell I’ll get peeled out of them at the end of the night by a hot guy? Happy birthday, Alison. Here’s to another year of bodyguard-enforced virginity.”

I’m being a whiny brat. I don’t care. It’s been months of this rock star treatment, and seriously, it’s overrated. We grew up in a wealthy family, so having private security isn’t totally out my realm of understanding, but Hailey’s relationship with one of Washington’s top crisis management guys—and getting tangled up in a human trafficking ring—has taken shit to a whole new level.

It actually doesn’t affect my everyday life. I go to school. I even have my own apartment now, having moved out of my parents’ estate at Christmas time because there’s only so much fucked-up drama one can handle and still stay on the Dean’s List.

But it does affect every “sister thing” I want to do with Hailey.

Including celebrating my birthday.

So I stare at Scott, daring him—fucking daring him—to tell me that I can do anything I want, of course I can.

Because I can’t.

He stares back, his face unreadable.

“I don’t think Cole is planning on going out for dinner with you two, if that’s your concern,” he finally says gruffly, but I’m still pissed off. Anger sizzles under my skin and now I’m just thinking shit that’s not fair and doesn’t really matter. But that’s the thing about feelings, right? Once you have them, you can’t just un-have them.

Tears prick at the back of my eyelids, and no, that is not happening. I pinch the inside of my palm with my fingers and slowly roll my eyes back to the ceiling, exhaling as I tell myself to pull it together.

Let him think I’m a haughty bitch. I don’t care.

“Miss Reid,” he starts, and I drop my gaze, staring past him as I twirl the panties on the tip of my finger.

“I’m not a child. You can call me Alison, or Ms. Reid. Or nothing at all. That would be my preference.” I swing past him and hold out the lace and ribbon scrap of nothing to the sales girl. “I’ll take these with a matching 32C bra, please.”

I shake my head when she asks if I’ll need to try anything on.

While the thought of making Scott sit outside a change room would usually make me achy and wet, right now I’m not in the mood to play the tease. Not when it’s not going to get me anywhere.

I’m not a child. I told him that. I told my parents the same thing when I moved into my own apartment.

One of these days, I’m going to start believing it for myself.

And until then, I’ll fake it.

I’ve been doing that my entire life. I’m a pro.

After I pay for my purchases, I head for the door. Scott stands back, letting me move past him, but even though he hasn’t said anything, I still feel unsettled. Like maybe I haven’t had the last word.

He doesn’t get to do that to me.

I am not a child. I won’t be handled.

I stop and meet his gaze head-on. “Call the restaurant and change our reservation. Cole can join us. And you can, too.”

“I’m fine at the bar…Ms. Reid.” His jaw clenches, but that’s the only reaction.

“I understand that.” I lift my bag and wave it in the air. “But since my future brother-in-law won’t let me wear this for anyone else, tonight I’m wearing these for you. Whether you like it or not.”

Watch the trailer : https://www.facebook.com/ainsleyboothwrites/videos/1724315431125771/

 

Sexy man and woman in a provocative embrace

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Sexy man and woman in a provocative embrace

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Sexy man and woman in a provocative embrace

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Ardent Prose About The Author

 

Mom by day and filthy romance writer by night, Ainsley is super grateful for caffeine, banana and blueberry muffins, and yoga pants.  

 

Author LInks

 

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Pole Position By Sofia Grey ♥ Release Blitz

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Book Title: Pole Position

Author Name: Sofia Grey

Name of series and book number in series: standalone

 Genre: Contemp sports romance

 Publisher: Acelette Press

 Date of Publication: 12 February 2016

Price: $0.99 until 18 February, and then $3.99

 Launch Blitz giveaway (runs until 14-February): http://goo.gl/forms/QZLKNIr3qf

 Pole Position _F_AP (1)

Tagline:

Her best friend or her lover. How can she choose?

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Blurb:

Jon’s glamorous life as a racecar driver is poles apart from Anita’s job in a bookshop, and he’s drawn to her in a way he never imagined. After one unfaithful, soon-to-be-ex-wife, and a revolving door of models and actresses, Jon finds Anita’s innocence and vulnerability a breath of fresh air.

Anita’s abusive ex-boyfriend left her running scared of any kind of relationship. Picking up the pieces of her life is hard, but her best friend since childhood, Danny Webster, is only too willing to help. And then she meets Jon. He completes her in a way Danny never could.

She doesn’t expect the men to hate each other on sight. Losing Anita isn’t an option for Jon or Danny, but only one man can take pole position for her heart.

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Book links:

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Young unhappy couple having problems in bed

Excerpt:

 

I seethed in silence. Anita glanced up, saw the look on my face, and struggled to sit upright. “What’s wrong?” She asked.

I didn’t answer. I looked away as I tried to get my anger under control.

“It’s something to do with Danny, isn’t it?”

I wasn’t sure what to say. How about, I’d like to throttle your friend? No, perhaps not.

Anita tugged on my arm, and I turned back to face her. She had two spots of color in her cheeks. I’d not seen her annoyed before.

“You still have a problem with him don’t you? What is it with you?”

She galvanized me into being honest. “I don’t trust him, and I don’t like you spending so much time with him.” As soon as I’d said it, I could have kicked myself. It sounded sulky, and childish. And it infuriated her.

“He’s my best friend. Of course I spend time with him. And how can you not trust him?” Her voice rose in pitch. “What has he done to you?”

I was astonished she could have forgotten. “Well let me see. He hung up on me several times when I phoned for you. He’s warned me to keep away from you. He’s told me to fuck off in no uncertain terms. Then he picked a fight with me. You might recall it?”

“But he apologized. Shook your hand. He told me it was all a misunderstanding.”

“Yeah, right.” I couldn’t hide my contempt.

She jerked away and stood up, shivering, before wrapping her arms over her chest. “You’re jealous.”

There. The accusation was out in the open. It lay between us, challenging me to respond.

“I trust my instincts, Anita, and they tell me to keep the hell away from him.”

She stood there completely silent, staring at me with huge eyes. I sat sullenly. I could see she was close to tears, and I suddenly regretted my words. I held out a hand to her and tried a smile, but she ignored it.

“I’ve known Danny all my life.” She spoke slowly, as though she was working out what to say. “I’ve known you for less than a month. Are you asking me to choose between you?”

I just looked at her.

“You are. Jesus Christ.” She swung away, and walked to the doorway, her arms still wrapped across her body. The rain continued to hammer down; the thunder more distant now. She stood in the doorway, silhouetted against the lighter outside. It was ages before she turned back to me.

“Danny’s always had my back. Always. He rescued me when I quit at Uni. Danny encouraged me to train as an instructor. He spent months looking at horses for me, before finding Sam. He gave me a home. Rebuilt my life.”

Her voice was low. I struggled to hear her.

“Don’t make me choose, Jon.”

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Author bio:

Sofia Grey

Romance author Sofia Grey spends her days managing projects in the corporate world and her nights hanging out with wolf shifters and alpha males. She devours pretty much anything in the fiction line, but she prefers her romances to be hot, and her heroes to have hidden depths. When writing, she enjoys peeling back the layers to expose her characters’ flaws and always makes them work hard for their happy endings.

 

Music is interwoven so tightly into my writing that I can’t untangle the two. Either I’m listening to a playlist on my iPod, have music seeping from my laptop speakers, or there’s a song playing in my head – sometimes on auto-repeat.

 Author links:

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ Pinterest

Check out my image collections on Pinterest and my music playlists on Spotify.

 Spotify playlist for Pole Position:

https://play.spotify.com/user/12165779057/playlist/0aVmB44S3tewZQgvl6QeGq

Ink & Lies By S.L. Jennings ♥ Book Tour

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INK & LIES BOOK TOUR

INK & LIES IT'S LIVE

Are you ready to meet Rhys & Fi in the newest romantic

stand alone by S.L. Jennings?

 

INK & LIES IS NOW LIVE!

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ink and lies

Blurb

From International Best Selling Romance Novelist, Hope Hughes, comes a gripping, heartfelt tale of two lovers, fighting for the freedom to…

No. Scratch that. Too cheesy.

…two people, torn apart by the tumultuous tides of life, only to discover refuge in…

WTF? What does that even mean? DELETE.

…two people, confused as shit as to where they should be and who they should love and none of this means a damn thing because it’s all lies!

Lies.

I’m not Hope Hughes. I’m not some fierce woman romance machine. Hell, I’m not even a woman.

I’m a liar.

And while I refuse to believe my own BS, deceit masked in heartfelt phrases of love and devotion, I want to make her believe them. Because maybe—just maybe—if she can find the soul within my words, she’ll also be able to find the truth scribbled on my heart.

You see, I once lived for the perfect plot twist.

I just never expected to actually live it.

This is my story. Well, maybe her story. I just wish I could make it our story.

The one I’m still writing.

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Excerpt

“Yeah, but…” Her eyes grow wide and glossy as she tries to sift through all the reasons why that theory shouldn’t apply to her. In the end, she relies on her heart. “You said I wasn’t like those other women…that those other women weren’t me.”

I should tell her she’s right. I should put her out of her misery and reassure her that the last ten years were as real and meaningful to me as they were for her. That even though I may sling gift-wrapped bullshit for the general public, only she knows the true, honest parts of my heart. But with my tongue possessed by the taste of her rejection, I play the petty card, and do just the opposite.

“I guess I was wrong, especially considering yesterday’s events. Maybe you’re no different from them. And maybe you were right about me…that I do sabotage with sex to keep people at arm’s length. Because in the end, that’s all I want anyway, right?”

“You don’t mean that.”

I nod. “Yeah. I do.”

“So what are you saying?” The hurt is so thick in her throat that I can barely hear the words.

I suck in a breath, and scrub a hand over my forehead. “You were right about me. About us. We shouldn’t have done…what we did. And we can’t move on and pretend that it didn’t change us. What’s done is done.”

“I agree,” she nods, with a tinge of hope in her voice.

“So, maybe we should just see this for what it is—the end. You’re starting your life with Joshua and moving away, and I’m going on with mine.”

“Wait, August. No, that’s not—”

“You didn’t actually think we’d be able to keep this up, did you? What, you thought we’d turn out to be the modern day Cathy and Heathcliff? I’m not some swoony, literary hero, Fi. I’m not here to rescue you from your shitty love life that stems from your shitty childhood.”

“I never said you were—”

I’m rambling, spewing verbal diarrhea all over her blue cashmere, but I can’t stop. I can’t shut off the bile that has been choking me since this morning when she disclosed her impending nuptials. “You have Joshua. He’s the one you chose. He’s the one you want. You made that perfectly clear. So what the fuck do you need with me?”

“I thought we were friends, August. I thought you and me were—”

“Well, I guess you were wrong. Friends don’t fuck each other and then five minutes later get engaged. And why would you want to be friends with some empty, misogynistic prick like me anyway?”

“I-I didn’t mean,” her voice cracks, and the first tear escapes. She quickly dashes it away, refusing to let me play witness to her weakness. But I’ve already seen it. I share that very same weakness that has her bottom lip trembling. I’m just too much of a coward to show it.

“Look, I’m sorry. I think we just need a break.”

“A break. Yes,” she nods, dashing away tears. “You’re right. We both said things we shouldn’t have. Let’s just take a few days to…”

“No. A break from this,” I clarify, gesturing between us. “From us. This isn’t working anymore.”

“You’re being melodramatic, August. We’ve had fights before. We’ve said things we didn’t mean, and we always were able to work it out.”

I shake my head and look away, refusing to acknowledge the dejection on her face. “But I meant everything I said.”

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About the Author:

 

S L Jenning BIO

S.L. Jennings is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of contemporary and paranormal romance, reality TV junkie, obsessive coffee drinker and collector of crazy.

Stalk Her: Website | Facebook | Twitter |Goodreads

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Fighting Solitude By Aly Martinez ♥ Book Tour

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Fighting Solitude is Book Three in the On The Ropes Series by Aly Martinez and is Quarry’s highly anticipated story.

Now Available!
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**Each book in the series can be read as a standalone**

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Blurb

I was born a fighter. Abandoned by my parents, I spent my life forging my own path—one guided by my fists and paved with pain.
Untouchable in the ring, I destroyed everyone who faced me, but that’s where my victories ended. Outside the ropes, I repeatedly failed the few people who loved me. Including my best friend, Liv James—the one person I’d die to protect.
Even though I didn’t deserve her, Liv never stopped believing in me. Never gave up. Never let go. After all, she understood what I’d lost, because she’d lost it too.
Liv was everything to me, but she was never truly mine.
That was going to change.
I lost my first love, but I refused to lose my soulmate.
Now, I’m on the ropes during the toughest battles of my life.
Fighting to be the man she deserves.
Fighting the solitude of our pasts.
Fighting for her.

FIGHTING SOLITUDE TEASER 2

Excerpt

Fighting Solitude
Prologue

“Mia!” I shouted.
It was worthless. She’d been deaf since the day I met her.
She’d never once heard my voice.
She’d never heard the deep rumble of my laugh when she was excited, signing so fast I could barely keep up.
She’d never heard my content sigh when she barged into the locker room after a fight—just her presence soothed the lingering madness brewing within me.
She’d never heard me whispering my deepest fears into her ear as she fell asleep on top of me.
She’d never heard the reverence in which I cried her name each and every time I took her body.
And she’d never once heard the ease in which the words I love you tumbled from my lips as I stared into her deep, jade green eyes.
But as I screamed her name while watching her petite body seizing in the passenger seat beside me, I’d never needed her to hear me more.
“Mia. Oh God. I’ve got you, baby.”
She was still thrashing violently as I made my way around to her door, yanking it open while pleading with whatever god was willing to help.
When she stilled, a whole new level of silence filled the air around us. It wasn’t the absence of sound.
It was the absence of life.
“Mia, breathe!” I roared as her chest remained agonizingly still. “Help me!” I screamed at the closed emergency room doors, but no medical savior rushed out with the miracle I so desperately needed.
My hands shook wildly as I released her lifeless body from the seatbelt.
“I’ve got you, just hang on. Please just hang on, Mia,” I whispered lifting her into my arms and sprinting through the sliding doors. “I need a doctor! She’s not breathing!”
Nurses rushed towards me in slow motion as the seconds without air in her lungs passed at a terrifying speed.
Breathe.
A doctor appeared with a gurney and quickly took her from my arms.
The immediate loss was staggering.
Hope became my only solace.
She needed help that I wasn’t capable of giving her, but that didn’t stop me from following close behind as they rolled her away. I was on the verge of self-destructing; letting her out of my sight wasn’t an option.
I stood motionless in the doorway while doctors and nurses swarmed around her. Their mouths moved frantically, but without my hearing aids I was worthless to make out the words their faint voices carried.
I never wore my hearing aids when I was with Mia. There was no point. She rarely spoke with her voice.
We’d spent four years building a relationship with our hands.
Those hands had told me animated stories that made me laugh until my face hurt from smiling.
They’d fought with me relentlessly, but always ended the night raking down my back in silent ecstasy.
Her fingers had fluidly signed I love you more times than I could ever count—or forget.
But as I felt the nurse attempting to physically remove me from the room, my eyes became fixated on her limp hand dangling off the side of the bed. It was the only sight more frightening than watching her flail mid-seizure.
It ripped the heart straight from my chest.
That hand was supposed to be full of life.
It was the very essence of Mia.
Pale.
White.
Still.
Oh God.
Sucking in a deep breath, I held it until the room began to spin.
It provided me no relief even as it forced me to my knees.
There would be no distraction from this.
I was going to lose her.
Yet another woman I couldn’t save.

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5pawstarstrans

This book touches me in a way I couldn’t image. I decide to take on this book because I have love Aly’s books in the past. She is a very talented write that has a way of bring you in to the heart of a story and making you feel what her characters are going through with words. Fighting Solitude is no different.

You are taken in to the lives of Liv and Q. They come to know each other through the boxing gym that her father owes and runs. Liv is the girl who refuses to be told no and will do whatever it takes to get what she wants. She has a past that holds her back from trust people, that is until Q walks in her life. Q not just walks in her life but comes in with a bang.  Once these two cross paths they never see an end to their friendship in sight. That is until a decision is made and changes the trust these two have grown to know between each other. Q is the trouble maker that seems to push those that love him the most away when they get to close. Q is unstoppable in the ring but struggles with letting people in outside of it. These two are paired so well together you see nothing but hope for the future.

I love the emotions that are drawn out in this book. You go from total love to hate and everything in between. Grab a good comfy seat and a box of tissues you’re in for one amazing read!

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Fighting Silence (Book One) On the Ropes
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Fighting Shadows (Book Two) On The Ropes
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About the Author

 

alymartinez

Born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, Aly Martinez is a stay-at-home mom to four crazy kids under the age of five, including a set of twins. Currently living in South Carolina, she passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a glass of wine at her side.
After some encouragement from her friends, Aly decided to add “Author” to her ever-growing list of job titles. Five books later, she shows no signs of slowing. So grab a glass of Chardonnay, or a bottle if you’re hanging out with Aly, and join her aboard the crazy train she calls life.

STALK HER:

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Absolution By Amanda Dick ♥ Sale Tour

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Absolution

 

Ardent Prose Synopsis

 

Jack McKenna is a man with two very distinct pasts.

One ended with a car accident involving his girlfriend, Ally, and a split-second decision with horrific consequences. Desperate to escape the guilt, he carved out a new life for himself. Four years spent hiding in the shadows, punishing himself for not having the courage to go back to her. Then, out of the blue, a phone call forces him to face up to everything and everyone he left behind.

Ally Connor’s life was split in two – before the car accident that shattered her spine, and after Jack’s sudden disappearance. Abandoning her when she needed him most, she fought hard to make it back from the brink. The face she shows to the world is strong and courageous, but behind the mask, the pain is burrowing deeper.

But fate had more in store for these two broken souls than either could have imagined. A funeral, a homecoming and a journey of self-discovery that would change both their lives – if they let it.

Suddenly, the secrets they want to hide from each other are the very secrets that could make them whole again.

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Ally looked up to find Jack standing in the doorway. She froze. She had been lying to herself, she realised too late. She wasn’t ready for this, not by a long shot.

“Come inside,” he said, his desperate gaze holding hers. “Please?”

He had changed out of the torn shirt and jacket, and stood before her in jeans and a dark blue t-shirt. He looked very much the worse for wear, his eye swollen slightly, an angry-looking cut on his cheek.

Her heart pounded against her ribcage. She fought the impulse to turn and make her way back to the car. He moved aside and she maneuvered herself over the doorstep and into the hall. She wanted to cry. It felt wrong, like they were trespassing somehow. She wished like hell that Tom was there.

“I wasn’t expecting you,” Jack said quietly, closing the door behind her. “But thank you, for coming.”

He stood facing her, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. Had his eyes always been that shade of green? They seemed darker, heavier somehow. God, what was she doing here?  

“Ally… ”

Her hands gripped the handles of her crutches even tighter. The questions bolted out of her before she could stop them.

“Why’d you do it? Why’d you leave like that?”

The silence seemed to buzz in her ears, seconds stretching out.

“Why do you think?” he whispered, his eyes brimming with tears.

“That’s not good enough,” she shot back, tilting her chin in defiance. “I need to hear you say it – you owe me that.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “You’re right, I’m sorry. Look, I… this could take a while. Come through to the living room, I’ll get us something to drink.”

She frowned, afraid of losing her resolve if she moved any further into the house. Before she could answer though, he walked into the living room and she had no choice but to follow.

She had last been here two weeks ago, for dinner. The house looked exactly the same, except for the glaringly obvious fact that Tom was missing. Her heart ached for him. If he were here, he’d be the buffer she felt they desperately needed now. Without him, it was too raw.  

Jack poured the drinks, his back to her. To his left, on the side table, was an almost-empty glass that he topped up. Clearly, it wasn’t his first drink today. She couldn’t blame him.

He turned back to her, holding a glass in each hand, indicating the couch. “Shall we sit down?”

She ignored the couch and headed for the small dining table at the end of the room instead. She wanted to put something solid between them, hoping it would help her concentrate. She could feel his eyes burning into her back as she lowered herself into a chair, leaning her crutches against the table beside her. He set the glasses down on the table and pulled out the chair opposite her. She cringed as the chair’s legs scraped against the hardwood floor. Silently begging her trembling hands not to betray her, she reached for her glass and took a quick sip.

Tom had been the one to teach her about whisky – the good, the bad, the difference between blended and single malts, when to have water with it and when to have it neat.

“What do you remember about the accident?” Jack asked quietly, dragging her back to the present.

A black void where her memories should be.

She stared into the glass she held with both hands on the table in front of her. “Nothing. I don’t remember a thing. Callum told me what happened, after.”

“What did he say?”

“That it wasn’t your fault.” Why did she sound so frightened? She cleared her throat, mustering up the courage to look across the table at him. “He said there was nothing you could have done, that the other car came out of nowhere.”

He nodded slightly, his expression guarded. She waited for him to elaborate but he didn’t. She seized her chance, before she lost her nerve completely.

“I want to know why you left like that, if it wasn’t your fault. Was it because of what happened to me?”

He shook his head and she tried to distance herself from his obvious pain. She couldn’t afford empathy if she was to get through this. She needed answers.

“Was it? You were gone when I woke up from surgery, Jack. You knew what happened to me. Did you leave because of that, because you didn’t want to be with me? I want the truth. I can take it,” she lied.

He shook his head, swallowing back tears. “No.”

“You’re lying.”

“No, I’m not, I – “

“You’re lying!” she cried, anger bursting forth.

“No! I’m not lying, I swear to you,” he insisted desperately, leaning forward. “I left because of me, because of what I did!”

“What the hell does that mean?”

He looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Something was going on behind his eyes that she couldn’t read and she frowned, searching deeper.

“I was driving. It was my fault.”

“So you left because you felt guilty?”

“I left because I was scared.”

“I was scared too – I woke up and you were gone!”

Breaking it down like that, so simply, hurt much more than she expected. All the things she couldn’t say – the fear that had overwhelmed her and pulled her under and nearly destroyed her – manifested as tears, overflowing and running down her cheeks.

“I’m so sorry,” he said brokenly, staring at his hands on the table. “I thought you’d hate me… I thought you’d all hate me.”

“So you just decided to run away instead?”

He didn’t answer, and anger and betrayal overwhelmed her as his face blurred.

“I wish I could take it all back – I wish I could change everything,” he whispered.

“You can’t.”

“I know. I’m so sorry. I should’ve stayed, I should’ve – “

“I’m not interested in hearing about what you should’ve done,” she snapped. “I know what you should’ve done, but you didn’t, did you?”

Jack looked devastated but she couldn’t help the words that came tumbling out.

“I lay in that hospital bed, counting the holes in the ceiling tiles, thinking about all the things that I would never be able to do again, and I kept thinking that if you were there, it would be okay – that you being there would mean that everything was going to be okay. But you weren’t.” She steadily held his gaze, binding him to her as surely as if she had used ropes or chains. “I hated you for that. I hated you for leaving, I hated you for not even saying goodbye – for not having the guts to talk to me before you left, for being such a coward.”

Tears spilled down his cheeks, but she wasn’t finished.

“Why didn’t you call? Or write or email – why didn’t you at least try? Did you even think about me at all?”

“I never stopped thinking about you,” he whispered, chin quivering.

It was on the tip of her tongue to call him a liar again, but something was wrong. He stared at her, and for an instant, she saw through the mask. Buried so deep it was barely visible, was the truth, and when she saw it, it took her breath away.

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Ardent Prose About The Author

 

Amanda Dick is a night-owl, coffee addict, movie buff and music lover. She loves to do DIY (if it’s not bolted down, she’ll probably paint it, re-cover it or otherwise decorate it) and has tried almost every craft known to man/womankind. She has two sewing machines and an over-locker she can’t remember how to thread. She crochets (but can’t follow a pattern), knits (badly) and refrains from both as a public service.

 

She believes in love at first sight, in women’s intuition and in following your heart. She is rather partial to dark chocolate and believes in the power of a good vanilla latte.

 

What lights her fire is writing stories about real people in trying situations. Her passion is finding characters who are forced to test their boundaries. She is insanely curious about how we, as human beings, react when pushed to the edge. Most of all, she enjoys writing about human behaviour – love, loss, joy, grief, friendship and the complexity of relationships in general.

 

After living in Scotland for five years, she has now settled back home in New Zealand, where she lives with her husband and two children.

 

Author Links

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Amanda Dick

 

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