Butterfly in Amber by Camilla Monk blitz with giveaway
Butterfly in Amber
Camilla Monk
(Spotless #4)
Publication date: May 12th 2017
Genres: Adult, Mystery, Romance
He’s waiting for you…
Under a blanket of snow, surrounded by dark woods and a frozen sea, lies an ogre’s castle. There lives a little princess, trapped in the maze of her own mind.
On a battlefield where the past meets the present stand a fairy godmother and a pirate, an old ice cream man and a knight in shining clean armor…
The clock is ticking fast, and to pierce the ogre’s secrets and defeat him, Island Chaptal will have to fight to remember…and stay alive.
Can the Lions and the Roomba cats be stopped before it’s too late?
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EXCERPT:
I didn’t mean to, but I just dropped my glass again. It still happens—less than it used to. From time to time, my hands will shake uncontrollably, and whatever I’m holding will go crash, splatter, scatter on the floor, for Stiles to pick and clean up, as always.
“I’m sorry,” I say, without looking at him.
As he carefully mops the purple mess of broken glass and grape juice on the tiling, he smiles that sweet, empty smile he always gives me. Faded, like his baby blue eyes. “It’s all right; we’re good. That marble has seen worse.”
I mumble another apology, gazing past him and through the bay window, at the ghostly silhouettes of the snow-covered pines surrounding the castle. You can’t see the Baltic Sea, but it’s there, beyond the trees, encircling the island. My father sent me here to rest because he says it’s quiet; it’ll help me find myself again. “An island for Island,” he said, and it made him chuckle. When I’m depressed though, which is more often than I like to admit, I just think my world has shrunk to a mile-long rock.
“Island, are you still with me?”
I look up at Stiles and nod automatically, but in truth, for a second I didn’t recognize him. I mean, I did, but it’s his voice or, rather, his accent. He told me once he was born in a place called Denton, in Georgia, where time trickled slowly and people squeezed their pennies so hard the eagle screamed. He said he spent sixteen years there, hunting quail, skipping church, and waiting for something to happen—according to him, the rest of the town is probably still waiting. All he kept from his hometown is a soft drawl that will occasionally weigh on his vowels. There’s nothing wrong with that, but every time he opens his mouth, it’s like my brain is expecting something more, someone else, until the feeling is gone, and I remember that it’s just Stiles.
I don’t know; it’s just one of the many things that are wrong with me. I guess I’m still pretty messed up since my accident. I feel slow, confused most of the time. Everybody tells me it’s normal, that eight months is not much to recover from the kind of trauma I went through, that maybe it’ll take years. I hope not. I turned twenty-six in September, and I’d rather not stay a convalescent child for the rest of my life.
Once he’s done wiping the last pinkish smear, Stiles wastes no time crossing the kitchen and opening the fridge to grab the bottle of juice again. He reminds me of a big robot: The man is cut like a Terminator, and he never gives up, never gets distracted. I drop the glass where he put my meds? He’ll fetch another one. I never tried, but I’m pretty sure that if I dropped it ten times, he’d fix it all over again ten times too. Always the same gray dress pants, white shirt, and black tie every day, always the same blond crew cut I suspect never grows. I could complain he also looks forty every day, but that’d be unfair: it’s not like I’ve known him for so long.
My heart skips a beat at the distressing thought. I have. I’ve known him almost all my life, since the day my father hired him to take care of me. Bodyguard, nanny, nurse . . . friend, maybe?
How could I know? I don’t remember any of that.
Author Bio:
Camilla Monk is a French native who grew up in a Franco-American family. After finishing her studies, she taught English and French in Tokyo before returning to France to work in advertising. Today, she builds rickety websites for financial companies and lives in Montreal, where she keeps a close watch on the squirrels and complains on a daily basis about the egregious number of Tim Hortons.
Her writing credits include the English resumes and cover letters of a great many French friends, and some essays as well. She’s also the critically acclaimed author of a few passive-aggressive notes pasted in her building’s elevator.
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He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly
He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Kit and Laura are a married couple that have spent most of their married years in hiding from the past. Kit had grown up with a passion for viewing eclipses and wanted to share the passion with Laura but fifteen years ago while attending a festival in Cornwall to see a total eclipse of the sun the pair came across more than they bargained for.
Walking through a deserted part of the festival Kit and Laura come across Beth and Jamie and what looks to be Jamie raping Beth. Calling the police Kit and Laura end up involved in the upcoming trial as the only witnesses and hope to get justice for Beth. But trying to do the right thing ended up haunting them for years to come when things weren’t always what they seemed to be in what was a case of he said/she said.
The first half of He Said/She Said had a very slow build time to it as the story begins to be told from the alternating prospective of Kit and Laura. They are living in current time expecting twins with Kit still following his passion of chasing eclipses. The story would switch from the current to fifteen years before telling of when they’d found Beth and Jamie and the following trial. During this time I was interested in what made them hide but finding the story more sad from what a woman would have to go through when reporting a rape.
The second half of this book however turns up the heat taking the reader on plenty of twists and turns that you would never expect from the plot building in the first half. I won’t mention any specifics but once you find out the whys and hows the author then continues to throw more into the mix that had this reader on the edge of my seat wanting to know just how it would all turn out. Quite the interesting end to this one and definitely would recommend checking it out.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
Trying It All by Christi Barth Release Blast with giveaway
Riley’s brain tells him she’s a ticking time bomb—
but
his body doesn’t want to play by the rules.
TRYING IT ALL
Naked Men #4
Christi Barth
Releasing May 16, 2017
Loveswept
Order.
Attention to detail. Never leaving anything to chance. These are the qualities
that make Riley Ness such a terrific federal agent . . . and a pain in the ass
to everyone else. The only time Riley lets loose is when he’s hanging out with
his closest pals. So when he’s thrown together with gorgeous, flighty Summer
Sheridan, Riley’s brain tells him she’s a ticking time bomb—but his body
doesn’t want to play by the rules.
Riley has
to be the most irritating man Summer has ever met. The brooding hunk thinks he
needs to teach her a few lessons about real life, while she’d rather show him
how to enjoy it. But her BFF’s all but engaged to Riley’s best friend, and
besides, their intense physical chemistry is all too real. Summer just needs
Riley to try to meet her halfway and take a chance with the one thing that
matters: his heart.
“Living forever’s only fun if you truly live.”
That jab stung. Because it was the same riff the guys threw at him, over and over again. “I live. I just follow the rules. Obey the speed limit. Turn off my phone before the plane starts to taxi.”
Summer tossed her cloud of hair back. Gave him a knowing look. No, a knowing smirk. “Oh, I get it now.”
“What?”
“You’re not uptight. You’re chicken.”
The woman had crossed a line. He’d gone through wilderness training and survival training. He’d climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. Become a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. He’d pushed himself to physical and mental limits most men wouldn’t be able to attain. Being sensible? In no fucking way was it comparable to being scared.
Riley’s long strides ate up the distance between them. Furious, he spat out, “You want me to try something risky?”
“Yes. Just once. But I don’t think you’ve got the balls,” she taunted.
Riley grabbed her face with both hands. Her lips parted in surprise. And he swooped right onto them.
Her lips were soft. So soft and pliable it almost deterred him. But then . . . they were so soft and pliable that he couldn’t possibly stop. Instead of holding her still, his hands curved to cup the back of her head, his thumbs caressing those impossibly high cheekbones that gave her the look of someone made to walk a runway.
Riley nipped at her wide bottom lip. Soothed it with a stroke of his tongue that savored the sweet, lingering tang of the orange cream cheese icing on the cinnamon rolls from brunch. He wanted to keep going. To nip and bite and lick down her neck, over the side of the breasts she flashed at him all day. To gobble down her sweetness and spice just like he had those rolls.
Her moan refocused him. This wasn’t just following through on a dare anymore. This was a real kiss. A real moment of pure, physical pleasure. So he dropped his hands to the small of her back and hauled Summer tight against him.
Thanks to her ridiculous—and ridiculously sexy—high heels, everything lined up right. The notch between her thighs ground right against his dick behind the suddenly too-tight fly of his shorts. Breasts plumped against his chest. Breasts he was pretty sure he could fit entirely into his mouth . . . since he might have pictured them a time or ten since meeting her in the spring. Tight nipples insistently poked at his pecs.
The kiss kept going. Ry slipped his tongue in as she let out a kittenish purr. God, it was the sexiest sound he’d ever heard. The soft, tiny mewl fired through his blood. Fired him up. His tongue tangled with hers. Like they were two swords, fencing for the win. Because there would damn sure be a winner. The way they were grappling at each other? It wasn’t just fun. It was about proving something.
Her mouth—made for kissing. And more. His tongue slid deep. Felt her wetness. And Riley couldn’t help imagining how all that warm wetness would feel locked around another part of his body. Summer’s hands came up to fist in his shirt. Shit—for a second, he worried she’d push him away. But then those fists pulled him even closer. One smooth calf twined around his. He wanted to walk her back ten steps to the nearest tree and just sink into her.
Which was crazy. Riley didn’t even like this woman. He’d kissed her to save his pride. To defend his honor. To get her off his back. And now he wanted to put Summer on hers, spread her thighs, and—
That was it. Riley let go. Let go of the sweet ass he didn’t even remember moving down to squeeze. Let go of those luscious lips. Yanked his head back and deliberately stepped out of the semicircle of her curved leg.
“You and I both know that was the riskiest damn thing I could possibly do today.” Riley looked at her still unfocused eyes, her kiss-swollen lips. Proof that she’d enjoyed it every bit as much as he had. “Oh, and you also know now that I’ve got the balls. I’ve got the whole package.”
USA Today bestselling author Christi Barth earned
a Masters degree in vocal performance and embarked upon a career on the stage.
A love of romance then drew her to wedding planning. Ultimately she succumbed
to her lifelong love of books and now writes award-winning contemporary
romance, including the Naked Men and Aisle Bound series.
Christi can always be found either whipping up gourmet meals (for fun, honest!)
or with her nose in a book. She lives in Maryland with the best husband in the
world.
Tasty Q&A with Christie Barth
If you had a theme song, what would it be?
“I’m in Love with a Wonderful Guy” from the musical South Pacific.
Name one thing you won’t leave home without.
Lipstick. Seriously. Even to go to the gym. Even when I used to leave at 5 a.m. to drive for 8 hours across the desert to get to college (while my BFF made fun of me all the way), I’d be fully made up. You never know who you might run into. Looking good makes me feel good. Oh, and the brighter color, the better!
If you could trade places with anyone for just one day, who would you be?
The Duchess of Cambridge. Because in actuality, I don’t want to have my most important contribution in life to be birthing an heir. But I do want to wear a tiara for a day and have someone at my beck and call. I think it’d be fabulous. Or at least, the clothes would be….
A la Twitter style, please describe your book in 140 characters or less.
Sexy. Sassy. Funny. Heartfelt. You’ll fall in love with the characters while watching them do it. True love makes everything better.
What types of scenes are your most favorite to write?
I love, love, love the flirt scenes. If I could write a book that is 100% witty banter and zero drama, I’d be thrilled. Oh, wait. I also love bromance scenes. The depth of friendship (or, in my next series, Bad Boys Gone Good, actual brotherly love) that shines through ordinary exchanges can be so magical and heartwarming.
Tell us all about your main characters—who are they? What makes them tick? Most importantly, what one thing would they need to have with them if stranded on a desert isle? 😉
Summer lives in the moment – to a crazy extent. It’d be a spoiler to tell you why, but let’s just say she has a reason to appreciate every second more than the average person. She’d need to take an absolutely fabulous sun dress to the island. Riley is uber-careful, thanks to a horrific experience in high school with his best friends. He’s willing to try lots of things, from climbing glaciers to scuba-diving, but only after taking every possible precaution and calculating every possible bad outcome. So he’d probably take water purification tablets. Unless he knew that Summer would be on the island with him. Then he’d take condoms.
Where did the inspiration for this book come from? Here’s the flat out truth – I was more than a little tipsy when the idea for my Naked Men series originated. I was at a wine tasting at Fleming’s Steakhouse (twenty-five wines in two hours – hence the tipsiness!). The idea of a series revolving around five guys who share a blog seemed like a winner. Okay, lots of hysterical
things seemed like a winner that night, but this one really had legs. Like the wine (that’s a joke only for wine snobs, but I promise they’ll be ROFL over it). Obviously the guys all had to be different. I still have the paper with the original scribbled ideas: the jock, the jerk, the manwhore, the smooth talker, the big business tycoon. Then I drank more cabernet. You know – to celebrate having an awesome idea!
So the next day – after much water was consumed – I had to figure out how to turn a fun idea into a book. Because five guys typing a blog post on their laptops is, in fact, not a viable idea. The incredibly talented Sue Grafton said, “Ideas are easy. It’s the execution of ideas that really separates the sheep from the goats.” Now, I’m not sure what makes being a sheep that much better than a goat, seeing as how I could eat goat cheese all day long. But you get the point. The hard part is the execution.
There had to be drama (don’t worry – there is lots of sex, too). So I turned the five guys into high school friends who survived a near-fatal accident. The three days they spent struggling to survive turned them into the men who became my heroes. It turned Riley Ness, the hero of Trying It All, into a safety-obsessed NTSB agent.
Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?
They say ‘write what you know’. And I did that. I used to be an actress, and I wrote a backstage romance. I used to be a wedding planner, so I wrote a four book wedding planning series. But I’m on book #24 now – readers would be bored to tears if I kept writing only what I know.
Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers?
OMG, yes – you almost can’t shut me up when I get near an aspiring writer! Treat it like a job, not a hobby. You’ve had your entire life to write your first book – but your publisher may want your second book in only four months. You need to set that discipline now. Remember the old saying ‘dress for the job you want, not the job you have’? Well, write for the job you want. Write as though you already have three contracts. Set a daily or weekly word count and force yourself to stick to it. You can still have fun, but you need to take writing seriously to turn it into a career. If you watch Twitter and Facebook, most romance authors are writing 6-7 days a week. Despite illness, kid drama, broken air-conditioning, you name it. The words do not write themselves.
Can you tell us about your upcoming book?
My next release after Trying It All is Bad For Her, book 1 in the Bad Boys Gone Good series. Three big city, bad boy brothers hiding from their mobster pasts struggle to fit into a small town but danger follows, putting their new futures – and their new relationships – at risk. There is a lot of sexy fun to be had with WITSEC (not that the US Marshals service puts it that way) and fish out of water scenarios…not to mention the angst of lying to everyone you know about everything 24/7. That, um, complicates a burgeoning romantic relationship, I promise you!
PLAYED: A Small Town Billionaire Romance by Vivian Lux blitz with giveaway
PLAYED: A Small Town Billionaire Romance
Vivian Lux
(Reckless Falls, #5)
Publication date: May 16th 217
Genres: Adult, Romance
I was just about to ruin the biggest deal of my career when I ran into Charlie Kendall.
Literally. She hit me with her car.
The luckiest fender-bender in history helped make me even richer than I already am.
Seems like she’s my uptight wreck of a good luck charm. She just doesn’t know it. She’s too weighed down with a son to take care of and a mountain of stress on her shoulders.
She has no idea how to have fun.
But I’m ready to teach her.
I figured I’d only be in Reckless Falls until the deal closes and then split. I never stay in the same place for too long.
But all that changes when Charlie decides to take a chance for once.
She has no idea how sexy she is.
Or how badly I want to taste her again and again.
But I’m going to show her.
I’m ready to play her game.
And Jameson Tellar always plays to win.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This steamy billionaire romance is set in the world of Reckless Falls but can be read as a complete standalone!
Other books in the world of Reckless Falls:
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Author Bio:
Vivian Lux loves bad boys who are good men. She lives in Upstate New York with her adorable twin boys and model-hot husband. When she isn’t writing, she’s reading. If she isn’t reading, she’d like to be hiking but is more likely dealing with the mountain of laundry that piled up while she was writing and reading.
I love hearing from my readers! You can contact me at velvetfirepress@gmail.com
Sign up for my mailing list! Be the first to hear about new releases and limited time promotions!
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Cover Reveal: Grunt by Kailee Reese Samuels
Grunt
Kailee Reese Samuels
Publication date: May 30th 2017
Genres: Erotica, Romance
Six days.No one thought I could last
Here in the cell—I now call home
They didn’t know I grew up in the prison of my crime family’s dream.
Six weeks.
No one thought I could withstand
The loss, the drugs, the torture
They didn’t know how much I would enjoy their game.
Six months.
No one thought I could survive
Their puppet and prey—but I like to play—Hard.
And I don’t lose.
They picked the wrong guy. Their so-called ‘grunt’ would fight to get home and take revenge. I vowed to come back—for her—for Kaci. But everything changed.
My maniacal mind wrapped with a pretty mug, I am an unforgiving opponent, tough—tougher than they ever imagined.
And I will never – ever – break.
Author Bio:
Embracing diversity. Coffee addict. Mango lover. Blueberry fetishist. Sweet peach tea crazy. Red wine devout. Whiskey deviant. Tattooed & pierced. Loves shoes. Collects rosaries. Fanatical organizer/cleaner/list-maker. Never sleeps. Hermit and recluse.
Storyteller.
KAILEE REESE SAMUELS has been spinning tales since she can remember. Her books are contemporary fiction with a no-holds-barred attitude. She adores listening to her characters ramble and putting them into situations that push the boundaries.
Creativity is the way to change.
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