Fairest Of All Book Reviews

 

 

One Last Time by Corinne Michaels
Release Date: February 26th, 2018
Genre: Contemporary Romance

From New York Times bestselling author, Corinne Michaels, comes a new heartwarming standalone romance.

I’m getting really good at cutting my losses.

First, the husband. Divorcing him was the best decision I ever made. But between single-parenting and job-hunting, I can’t catch my breath.

When a celebrity blogging position falls into my lap, I’m determined to succeed.

That is, until I get my first assignment and actually see Noah Frazier for the first time . . . practically naked and dripping wet. My heart races and I forget how to form complete sentences.

His chiseled abs, irresistible smirk, and crystal blue eyes are too perfect to be real. So, what do I do? Get drunk and humiliate myself, of course.

I’m ready to forget the awkward night, yet Noah has no intention of allowing me to move on. Instead, he arranges for me to write a feature on him, ensuring a lot more time together.

One embarrassing moment after another, one kiss after another, and before I can stop myself, I realize—I’m falling in love with him.

But when the unthinkable happens, can I even blame him for cutting his losses?

What I wouldn’t give for just one last time . . .

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Meet Corinne

New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Corinne Michaels is the author of nine romance novels.

She’s an emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun loving mom of two beautiful children. Corinne is happily married to the man of her dreams and is a former Navy wife.

After spending months away from her husband while he was deployed, reading and writing was her escape from the loneliness.

She enjoys putting her characters through intense heartbreak and finding a way to heal them through their struggles. Her stories are chock full of emotion, humor, and unrelenting love.

Connect with Corinne:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CorinneMichaels
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorCMichaels
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Today, we have the series reveal of Carrie Quest’s new series, SNOW-CROSSED LOVERS.

Check out all three gorgeous covers and about the books!

Check out an Exclusive Excerpt from the free novella BAILING OUT

If the rooms upstairs are four star, this place is a negative seven.

Negative eight if any rats show up, which is a distinct possibility.

Examining every inch of it takes me about thirty seconds, and after that there’s nothing to look at except her. I start at her feet, snug in those big furry boots, which is lucky since the temperature in here is dropping fast. Her black stockings and short black skirt don’t look nearly as cozy, and are a far cry from the jeans she used to favor, but I guess a lot has changed for both of us. She’s wrapped up in a black wool coat, the belt cinched tight around her waist, emphasizing the gentle curve of her hips.

In another life I would grab the ends of that belt and pull her toward me before unwrapping her like a shiny present under the tree on Christmas morning. Instead, I jam my hands in my pockets and make myself meet her eyes. She’s checking me out as well, lips flashing up in a quick smile when she sees I’m wearing the Red Sox hat she gave me, and she flushes when I catch her looking. The deep pink starts in the apples of her cheeks and spreads down to disappear under the collar of her coat, but she keeps her gaze steady.

“I know it wasn’t your idea,” she whispers.

I tilt my head forward to hear because she’s practically mouthing the words, like she’s afraid someone is listening.

“I figured that out by the time I got back to my room,” she continues.

“Then why didn’t you pick up your phone?” I keep my voice as quiet as hers, and she shuffles two tiny steps toward me, then stops and plants her feet, like she’s determined to go no farther. We stare at each other across the room. Close enough to touch hands if we stretched our fingers forward, but oh so far away.

I force myself to keep standing straight as the memories hit me. Curled up behind Belle in that huge-ass bed in the Moscow hotel room, waking up hard and happy with the soft curve of her ass pressed back against my dick, pushing that glorious hair to the side and trailing kisses down the back of her neck until she was moaning and wiggling against me… It was our first night together and the first and only time I ever woke up with another person in my bed.

The World Skating Championships were supposed to be held in Japan that year, but there was an earthquake ten days before the event was scheduled to start so it was postponed a month and moved to Moscow, which meant I could come watch Belle compete. She took gold, reclaiming her place in the top spot after missing the Vancouver Olympics due to an injury. I convinced her to take a week off and go to the Ile de Joie with me afterwards, seven days of wandering the twisty cobbled streets where my mom grew up and seven nights of Belle in my bed. I’d just won my first major competition and I was taking a vacation with my girl. Life was perfect.

But on our first morning her phone rang.

My heart starts beating faster at the memory and my stomach twists, remembering the way I ran to the toilet and threw up after she stormed out of the room.

“Don’t answer,” I’d murmured, smiling at her moan as I slid a hand up the smooth skin of her stomach to cup the warm weight of her breast.

“It’s not important,” I told her as my fingers teased her nipple and it hardened to a tight bud, ready for my tongue.

“Stay with me,” I’d begged her as she pulled away a moment later, just enough to reach for her phone. Her other hand snaked back to stroke my dick, and it felt so good that I closed my eyes, lost in the dream of waking up with the only woman I’d ever loved.

Then she went stiff in my arms and screamed, and the dream turned into a nightmare.

Title: Bailing Out

Series: A Snow-Crossed Lovers Novella

Release Date: January 13th

About Bailing Out

Gabriel Power came to Sochi with two goals: win a medal and track down his ex-girlfriend so he can finally explain the truth about the scandal that came between them. Once that’s done, he’s going to disappear. Snowboarding’s bad boy is tired of the phony photo ops set up by his media mogul father. Getting hounded by reporters and pretending to date supermodels while running errands for Power News cost him the only girl he’s ever loved, and now it’s time to walk away.

Quitting his father will be easy. Bailing on snowboarding will be slightly harder. Getting Belle to forgive him may be impossible, but he has to try.

Isabelle Garland’s Olympic dream died the night a drunk driver plowed into her car and crushed her leg. Sochi was supposed to be her moment of glory, but instead she’s limping around the Village trying to dodge the snowboarder who broke her heart and avoid the interviews her pushy sister-slash-manager insists are vital for building her brand. Belle doesn’t want a brand, she wants a life. Preferably one far away from the rude reporters who keep trying to get America’s Skating Sweetheart to cry on camera by asking how it feels when your entire life is snatched away in an instant.

(Spoiler: it feels like s***. Also, she’s more snark than sweet these days.)

When she runs into Gabe in the basement of her hotel, Belle’s first instinct is to flee. Too bad they’re trapped in a freezing storage room together with no way out and only their chemistry to keep them warm…

Amazon | Kobo | iTunes | Nook

Title: Dropping In

Series: A Snow-Crossed Lovers Novel

Release Date: February 8^th

About Dropping In

Natalie Berensen has one short summer to ace her writing class and convince her parents she’s not a hopeless screw-up. No more changing her major once a month, taking time off to travel, or random friends-with-benefits. She doesn’t have time for distractions or hook-ups, not even if her longtime crush is in town for the summer and living in her basement. Who cares if he’s a snowboarding god with six pack abs and a hashtag devoted to his apparently magical penis? She’s not interested.

Until she is.

Ben Easton’s focus and self-discipline is legendary. He’s built a career as a professional snowboarder by training harder than anyone else on the mountain and steering clear of anything that doesn’t take him one step closer to his goal: Olympic gold. Then his best friend crashes in the half-pipe and Ben drops everything to take care of him. No more training. No more competitions. No more snowboarding. It’s over.

He’s back in Boulder to help with Adam’s rehab, not fool around with his little sister’s best friend, no matter how much he loves her laugh or the way her ass looks when she walks up the stairs. There’s no way in hell he’s going anywhere near Natalie.

Until he does.

Contains: a grumpy guard cat with a taste for blood, discussions of Ents as phallic symbols, and plenty of sexy times.

Amazon | Kobo | iTunes | Nook

Title: Wiping Out

Series: A Snow-Crossed Lovers Novel

Release Date: March 8^th

About Wiping Out

Piper Easton is a fixer. As a teenager she took over running the house when her mom got sick, and when her snowboarder brother was injured, she found the top knee guru in town and finagled a same-day appointment. She’s got an exclusive internship lined up in Europe and she’ll be leaving as soon as she watches her brother Ben win a gold medal. She just has to clean up one last mess: the way her stupid heart jumps whenever her ex-boyfriend appears. She and Adam are friends now, that’s it. That’s all they can ever be.

But maybe a few benefits aren’t out of the question. Just until their trip to the Olympics finishes and they both go their separate ways. Surely the problem will be fixed by then.

Adam Westlake had two true loves: snowboarding and Piper Easton. He lost them both and now he’s broken. The scars from where they cut his skull open are no longer visible, but the traumatic brain injury means it isn’t safe for him to ride again and he hasn’t spoken to Piper in eighteen months. Not since he got out of the hospital and fled Colorado, terrified he wouldn’t be able to resist strapping on his board when the snow started falling. He’s been chasing summer around the world ever since, until a lucrative offer to report on the Olympics brings him home to face all the temptations he left behind.

He might be able to summon the willpower to stay off the mountain, but Piper?

She’s irresistible.

Contains: sex as an Olympic sport, dirty dancing while wearing eye goggles, ninety-nine penis balloons, and a blowjob rudely interrupted by a devil in feline form.

Amazon | Kobo | iTunes | Nook

About the Author

Carrie grew up in Vermont, spent her college years in beautiful Boulder, Colorado, and now lives in New Zealand with her husband, two smallish children, and a gaggle of very badly behaved animals. She writes love stories that will make you laugh and reads enough romance to swoon on the regular.

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Nine years after a tragic accident, Hannah “Brennley” Evans has returned home to the snowy mountains of Whistler, Canada. This is the very place that destroyed her, where her whole world ended, and the reason she now goes by Hannah Jennings.
Struggling with his own tragic past, Rhys Axton, an infamous sexy snowboarding champion, wants nothing more than to be the next Olympic hopeful. Sex, snowboarding, and working out are all he cares about, which helps shut off the demons that haunt him and the family who rejected him.
The moment Hannah walks into his room, he knows something is different about her. Drawn to her, he can’t seem to stay away from the mysterious, guarded girl. They are two heartbroken souls who both understand the darkness.
Little does he know she lives in lies and carries secrets that will bring his universe to its knees and secrets that will bury them both alive.

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Review

One of my personal reading challenges/goals for 2018 is to read new-to-me authors, at least once a month, based on recommendations, high reviews from authors/bloggers I love, and/or an interesting synopsis.

So first up was Buried Alive by Stacey Marie Brown…it was recommended to me by someone who had already read it and this person knows the kind of writers and stories I like, so I decided I’d take a chance and venture out of my list of instant one-click authors with a story where both the hero and the heroine seem buried underneath their painful pasts, losing themselves little by little and making it extremely difficult for them to find their way out of the darkness as well as the multitude of regrets and nightmares that plague their present lives.

The Brennley Evans who left Whistler, Canada, 9 years ago, is not the same one who returns after the death of her grandmother; she doesn’t want to continue to follow the wayward path she’s been on since she left home because it wasn’t helping her to find her place in the world and it only  managed to keep her entire life in neutral…not being able to move forward nor feeling strong enough to go back and deal with her past, so even though returning to Whistler and its mountains might be more than she can handle, it’s something that must be done in order to lay the ghosts who surround her to rest and to find the driven and loud-mouth girl she once was.

But when she returns to the scene of the crime, where every painful memory has the ability to drown her in grief and guilt, she goes by the name of Hannah Jennings, hoping that she can stay under the radar and figure out her next step before people figure out who she really is.

Brown constructs Brennley/Hannah’s character as two parts of a whole person, but neither of those parts is flourishing; they’re merely surviving the best way they can. Brown makes it clear that whatever the heroine experienced 9 years ago has turned her life and goals upside down and part of the story line focuses on Hannah finding a way to come to terms with what happened all those years ago and unbury herself from the weight of her secrets, her pain, and the loneliness that consumes her.

I have to admit that I didn’t really like Rhys Axton throughout most of the first half of the story…I thought his character was a bit too stereotypical whenever it came to his manwhorish way and how he used woman and booze to numb himself from the pain and the rage he feels down to his soul. I did start to like Rhys the further I read, but I guess I just wanted to see his character develop more, by finding other ways to channel his frustrations and rage over a series of situations he really can’t control…Don’t get me wrong I definitely felt like his reactions were justified, for the most part, but I wonder if Rhys would have focused on something other than himself and stepping out of his brother’s shadow if things would have been easier for him and for those who were there to watch his downward spiral.

I can’t say that I’m a lover of angst, but it did have its place in Buried Alive. There was so much for Rhys and Hannah to deal with on their own right from the start of their story, so then when further complications are added and more drama enters into the mix, it makes sense that the push and pull between Rhys and Hannah would fuel the angst of the storyline, forcing both of them to face their pasts and try to pull themselves out of the self-imposed prisons without destroying each other in the process.

Overall, I enjoyed Rhys and Hannah’s story. It was a bit of a slow go at the beginning…it took awhile to feel connected to the characters, but when I did, I was desperate to understand how Rhys and Hannah were connected and what would transpire based on their mutual attraction to one another. I can honestly say I didn’t expect the twist at the end, and I think it says a lot about the type of person Hannah is to protect those involved regardless of how much it affects her feelings and her memories.

4 Poison Apples 

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Click HERE to enter the Release Day Giveaway

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Stacey Marie Brown is a lover of hot fictional bad boys and sarcastic heroines who kick butt. She also enjoys books, travel, TV shows, hiking, writing, design, and archery. Stacey swears she is part gypsy, being lucky enough to live and travel all over the world.
She grew up in Northern California, where she ran around on her family’s farm, raising animals, riding horses, playing flashlight tag, and turning hay bales into cool forts. She volunteers helping animals and is Eco-friendly. She feels all animals, people, and environment should be treated kindly.

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Nine years after a tragic accident, Hannah “Brennley” Evans has returned home to the snowy mountains of Whistler, Canada. This is the very place that destroyed her, where her whole world ended, and the reason she now goes by Hannah Jennings.
Struggling with his own tragic past, Rhys Axton, an infamous sexy snowboarding champion, wants nothing more than to be the next Olympic hopeful. Sex, snowboarding, and working out are all he cares about, which helps shut off the demons that haunt him and the family who rejected him.
The moment Hannah walks into his room, he knows something is different about her. Drawn to her, he can’t seem to stay away from the mysterious, guarded girl. They are two heartbroken souls who both understand the darkness.
Little does he know she lives in lies and carries secrets that will bring his universe to its knees and secrets that will bury them both alive.

Exclusive Excerpt

Enthralled by her, I openly stared as she sailed down, coasting in, stopping a dozen or so yards from me, my gaze sweeping up her body, taking every curve, the color of her hair, the way she held herself. Her ass.

Something tingled along my shoulders, as though my body recognized her before my mind did, not relating the girl in the server’s uniform to the girl before me.

A punch hit my chest when I saw a grin grow on her lips, her gaze moving back up the hill as if she saw a long-lost lover.

Holy hell. Hannah.

Unbuckling one foot from the board, she pushed off, already skateboarding her way toward the lift again. Lost in her own world, she crossed in front of me, euphoria billowing off her. My breath snagged. I wanted nothing more in the world than to put that kind of joy on her face.

“You lied to me.” My voice grew deep, desire taking over me. I thought I was done with her. Over it.

Clearly I wasn’t.

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Stacey Marie Brown is a lover of hot fictional bad boys and sarcastic heroines who kick butt. She also enjoys books, travel, TV shows, hiking, writing, design, and archery. Stacey swears she is part gypsy, being lucky enough to live and travel all over the world.
She grew up in Northern California, where she ran around on her family’s farm, raising animals, riding horses, playing flashlight tag, and turning hay bales into cool forts. She volunteers helping animals and is Eco-friendly. She feels all animals, people, and environment should be treated kindly.

 

 

Prince Charming an all-new sexy standalone from New York Times bestselling author CD Reiss is LIVE!

Prince Charming by CD Reiss

Release Date: January 4th, 2018

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Synopsis

Keaton Bridge is exactly the kind of guy a straight-arrow like Cassie doesn’t need.

For one thing, he’s a criminal—and she fights crime for a living. And being criminally handsome isn’t helping her say no, either. Everything about him screams trouble, from his British accent to his mysterious past.

And Cassie doesn’t do trouble.

Keaton’s got his own trouble. He’s trying to go legit, and an FBI agent hanging around is the last thing that will help his credibility. All it took was one night of passion to sear her into his skin. Now he can’t imagine living happily ever after without her.

All they have to do is walk away.

But neither of them ever walks away from danger.

Read Today!

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Review

I’m a sucker for a British accent; there’s just something equally sophisticated and sexy about a ‘proper English speaker’ so when a savvy, sweet, and handsome Brit is the hero of a romance story, he always has my attention after only one interaction!

Keaton Bridge is the epitome of the English gentleman, and while CD Reiss characterizes his mannerisms and his actions as such, she also adds her own flair to this polished man by giving him a set of hacking skills that are anything but cultivated, at least in respect to the illegal nature of his actions.

The heroine, Cassie, would definitely be considered Keaton’s antithesis, especially since her job as an FBI Agent is to shut down felonious acts and it would seem that Keaton and his hacker capabilities have peeked the interest of Cassie’s agency and placed her in the crosshairs of nefarious actions that she and readers don’t quite understand until Keaton’s past and a series of suspenseful events play out and allow a new perspective on everything that is Keaton Bridge.

Keaton and Cassie might be on opposing sides when it comes to the law, but they are beyond compatible when it comes to their sexual attraction and the way they crave each other’s bodies and perhaps even one another’s hearts.

CD Reiss continues to build a complex and highly intellectual world – one that has an abundance of layers that make it difficult to truly understand all of its parts, which makes each story one heck of a dramatic ride. Because of this dynamic setting, Reiss also has carte blanche when it comes to the tales she can weave and it’s clear that a brilliant mind can be just as sexy as a hot body, and Keaton Bridge has both of those characteristics in spades.

Prince Charming is a sensual and angsty read that incorporates just the right amount of suspense and mystery that will keep readers interested in Keaton and Cassie’s story long after they’re finished with it.

4.5 Poison Apples 

Excerpt

The list of crimes that happen on the dark net bounce through my brain as he holds me. Is he going to kill me? Strangle me right here in the parking lot of his own factory? Maybe he wants to try. He’s well-built but I’m pretty sure I can take a computer nerd in hand to hand combat. I just can’t let him get the jump.

He goes for me.

I’m surprised and prepared for it at the same time. I didn’t actually believe he’d try, but I’m reaching to block an attack while he’s leading with his head, which is weird, but I got this.

When his lips smash against mine my body is a split second ahead of my brain. It’s processed the list of dark net violence and thus completes a series of moves to bring down a frontal attack.

Even as I’m using his weight against him by holding his arm still while I swing him, letting his high center of gravity do all the work of stripping him of his balance, my mind processes the kiss. Because it was a kiss. A real soft-lipped-slightly-open-mouthed-I want-her-to-like-it kind of kiss.

By the time those nice thoughts register I’m slamming him up against the car. I’m a little disappointed that I can’t take back my counterattack. I would have let him kiss me a few more seconds before taking him down.

His eyes are open wide and the breath’s knocked out of him. The thump of his body against the car door fades into the night.

“Why did you do that?” I ask.

He looks at me as if I asked him why he pees standing up. Brows knotted. Arms out. Mouth half open as if he can’t contain the sheer number of answers he could give me right now.

“What?” He says it like whot and it’s endearing and haughty at the same time. Damnit. I should have taken that kiss and not gotten all black belt on him.

“Don’t sneak up on a girl like that.” I sound like a brat.

He straightens himself out, pulling his cuffs down and realigning his jacket.

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t just do a very impressive judo throw and tell you, out front, that I am going to kiss you. First, I am going to put my hands on your face, because I would like to feel your mouth move when I do it. Then I’m going to tilt my head to the right, so please, you should also tilt your head to the right.” He waits for me to nod, and when I do, he comes close to me and lowers his voice. “I’m going to wait a second once our lips touch, just to make sure we’re both appreciating this first contact. When I open my mouth a little, I want you to do the same. You need to accept my tongue in your mouth.” He puts his hands on my shoulders. “Is that enough of a warning?”

“What happens after that?”

“It’s unwritten.”

He moves his hands up to my jaw, laying his thumbs against my cheeks. He strokes them and I lean forward.

He kisses me just like he said he would. His tongue tastes like ice water, and his lips curve into the shape of mine. The adrenaline in my veins blends with something newer and warmer. He slides one hand back and tugs my hair which sends fluids and sensation and pleasure and all my attention between my legs. I push against him just so I can feel him resist. I need to fight him hard as I want him.

He’s rigid and yielding all at once, turning us around until I’m the one with my back against the car. I shove him away and he separates from me with a sharp intake of breath.

He doesn’t say a word, still holding me by a fistful of hair. The cold clouds of our breath mingle between us. He’s a predator, a criminal, and a mistake. But his jaw is tight and his nostrils flare when he breathes. He’s all those things and a bull charging for the red cape.

“Push me away again,” he says, finally, “and we’re done here. And I know for a fact that’s not what you want.”

I am the red cape, and I need to be yanked away as much as I need him to charge at me again and again.

“When I want you to stop I’ll say so.”

I shove him again, and he smiles before laying a kiss on me. It’s not a kiss I fight. It’s a kiss I want. He pauses, pulling his mouth away as if giving me a second to tell him to stop, but I don’t. I don’t start pushing against him until our mouths are locked again. His hips grind into me. I feel his erection through our clothes.

I’m clutching his coat without any sense. I want to tear away every stitch of fabric. I push and pull with equal ferocity. I want to spread my legs but my coat’s too long. I want to punch him. I want that hard dick stretching me and I want it to hurt. My mind is wiped clean of everything but need. I don’t have a job or a career. I don’t have dreams built from childhood. I don’t have a name. I’m just a pillar of desire. I’m reduced to movement and hunger. I want his body inside mine. Nothing else.

About the Author

CD Reiss is a New York Times bestseller. She still has to chop wood and carry water, which was buried in the fine print. Her lawyer is working it out with God but in the meantime, if you call and she doesn’t pick up she’s at the well hauling buckets.

Born in New York City, she moved to Hollywood, California to get her master’s degree in screenwriting from USC. In case you want to know, that went nowhere but it did give her a big enough ego to write novels.

She’s frequently referred to as the Shakespeare of Smut which is flattering but hasn’t ever gotten her out of chopping that cord of wood.

If you meet her in person, you should call her Christine.

Connect with CD Reiss

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2iwpkPQ
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CDReiss.writer/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cdreisswriter
Instagram: https://instagram.com/cdreiss/
Website: www.cdreiss.com
Newsletter: https://cdreiss.com/cd-reiss-mailing-list-signup/

 Thrive is the second book in the Guardian Protection series and it can be read as a complete standalone.

It will be releasing on January 18!

Be sure to sign up for the RELEASE ALERT to be notified when the book goes live!

The audiobook and paperback are live!

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Thrive by Aly Martinez (Guardian Protection, #2)

Coming January 18

Sign up for the RELEASE ALERT to be notified when the book goes live!

Synopsis

Technically, you aren’t supposed to fall in love with your best friend’s girl.

But if we’re talking technicalities, he wasn’t supposed to be cheating on her every other weekend, either.

The day I met Mira York, I knew she was off-limits. But after months of stealing side-glances while he ruined the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, I realized there wasn’t a rule in the world I wouldn’t break to make her mine.

She chose him anyway.

I wasn’t sure how I’d ever move on, but bitterness turned into fuel for my fire.

Without Mira, I thrived.

Until seventeen years later, when she showed back up, begging for protection from the very same man she’d left me for all those years earlier.

Now, it was my turn to choose.

And she wasn’t going to like my answer.

THRIVE takes place seventeen years AFTER a love triangle.

Listen to THRIVE before you can read it!

Download the audio today!

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Purchase the previous book in the Guardian Protection Series

SINGE is the first book in the Guardian Protection Series and is FREE in KindleUnlimited

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU

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Originally from Savannah, Georgia, USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez now lives in South Carolina with her four young children.

Never one to take herself too seriously, she enjoys cheap wine, mystery leggings, and baked feta. It should be known, however, that she hates pizza and ice cream, almost as much as writing her bio in the third person.

She passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a super-sized tumbler of wine by her side.

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Belong by TL Mayhew

Clayton Andrews is a loyal bodyguard and driver. With his large muscular frame and background in law enforcement, his role as protector is fitting. But it also takes over his life, leaving him emotionless, untrusting and lonely. While in Savannah on a recovery mission, he’s met with the unexpected. Distractions are something he can’t afford and—she’s a distraction.

Lacy James is finally coming to terms with the loss of her mother. Working as a certified nurse’s assistant at the same rehab facility where her mother was recently a patient is Lacy’s way of giving back. But not everything is what it seems, and when things begin to unravel, she’s unsure if he’s the reason.

Clayton and Lacy’s paths have crossed before, and it’s not long before their brief encounter from the past comes rushing back. Without letting on to their similar interests in finding out the shady truths about Magnolia Woods, they unintentionally set in motion events that could cause them both harm.

Will the two learn the truth without jeopardizing his mission and her sanity, or will they learn that some truths belong hidden?

Rendezvous by KD Robichaux

The agreement is for one year of companionship. Once the year is complete, the Infidelity employee and the client to which they’ve been tethered must mutually agree to the relationship in order for it to continue.

When Quincy Herald chooses not to renew her agreement with billionaire hotelier Jean LaRue, he doesn’t take the news well, deciding to force her to stay against her will. That’s when Brian Glover, mercenary and co-owner of a high-end BDSM club in North Carolina, is called in for his services.

With the help of his computer genius coworker, and the distraction of his gorgeous secret lover, the pressure is on for Brian to rescue Quincy before it’s too late.

Shattered by Somer Grey

Lust and Obsession

Greed and Ambition

What happens when your dreams are hijacked by someone else’s fantasies?

Melissa’s determination and hard work mapped the way to her success at a prestigious university. Unfortunately, roads are full of detours, and Melissa’s dream just hit a big one.

She must find a new path to achieve her ultimate dream. Two roads, one choice—fidelity and truth or betrayal and deception.

In the end, will the debt be higher than she agreed upon or will it be paid in full?

Infiltration by Jillian Anselmi

Case File: C-1998-01059
Suspect: Ethan Sawyer
Mission: Infiltrate Black Mountain.
Time is ticking. The enemy is near. Lives are on the line.
CIA Agent Deloris Witt, do you accept?
Weapons taken from our military are being sold to Al Qaeda. The details of the job are easy: step in as a temp secretary to Ethan Sawyer and gather incriminating evidence to tear down the operation—by whatever means necessary.
Corruption. Greed. Seduction.
Challenge accepted.

Midas by LeTeisha Newton

Every king needs a queen …

My job was to find a wife, one malleable and well-trained, to protect my empire and keep the rules of La Cosa Nostra from ruining what I built and stealing my chance to destroy those who hurt my family. Infidelity had failed me; after two agreements, I had nothing to show for it.

Angry and pushed to my limit, I cruised for a body to accept my sort of release. She was knock-kneed, sickly, and dirty, but her eyes cut through me. Her words were foul and her nails brittle, but she understood my needs better than I did. And when I had a chance to end her, she rose from the ashes like a phoenix, and I could do nothing but let her live. I needed to give her the world, one bloody body at a time.

She sold herself to save her son, and I bought them both to save myself.

Revenge by Solease M Barner

Revenge has never tasted so sweet…or been so beautiful!

Jaxson Montgomery is left to deal with a disappointment of his own doing. He never thought that he would fall for Silvia. He only wanted a way to make her brother suffer, but now…things have greatly changed. Life started to get better, but when she finds out a truth, he’s been hiding she walks away without a second glance. Now, he has decided to make things right between them, but is it too late? Jax is the fixer but can he fix his own problem? Will he be able to get Silvia back, or is it too late?

Silvia Demetri can’t believe she let her guard down. Jax was the perfect guy: sweet, kind, attentive and most of all,not affliated with her family. It was all a lie. Jax was not who he portrayed himself to be, and now she’s left with a broken heart. The only thing she can do is move on and never speak to Jax again. Will Silvia be able to forgive Jaxson, or was the lie to deep?

Nondisclosure by Ellie Masters

When Prince Richard’s latest sexual faux pas results in another royal scandal, it’s something the Crown will no longer tolerate. Paying for sex isn’t his style; it’s disgusting and beneath him, but it makes perfect sense. Infidelity provides their exclusive clientele discretion and ironclad nondisclosure agreements. What better way to explore his darker cravings without worry his sex life will become front page news. Turns out companionship is cheap, but happiness? When Rowan leaves at the end of their year long agreement, will he be left with the tattered remains of what could have been? Not if he has any say, but when privilege becomes a burden, even a King will cry.

Fated by Amy Briggs

Elise Regan, one of New York City’s elite, has it all. A successful fitness clothing line, with an expansion of new products coming to market, has made her one of the city’s richest, self-made women. Life is exactly what Elise has imagined for herself, until a minor accident forces her to realize just how alone she really has become. With her focus solely on her career, instead of having any meaningful relationships in her life, Elise finds herself a member of an exclusive club, Infidelity, in hopes of filling that void.

Carter Kelly isn’t desperate for money, but he’s bored and lonely. Dreaming of a bigger life, he decides to join the Infidelity Club as a way of becoming part of a new circle; expanding his horizons, both intellectually and emotionally. When he gets matched up with Elise, who is ten years his senior, his instant attraction to her takes over, even while her skepticism of his intentions pushes him away.

Elise’s fear of commitment only drives Carter to pursue her more vigilantly, sending them each on a journey of self-discovery, centering around a new adventure for both of them: learning to let go and let love in.

Marked by Casey Hagen

Beatrice Addington, dutiful daughter to prestigious corporate lawyer, Wallace Addington, craves lustful adventure. Desperate to flee her gilded cage, her brazen desires tempt her to stray from her sterile environment in search of intrigue. She finds a hotbed of forbidden sin at The Sliver, a mysterious nightclub in New York City. Finally free, but afraid to voice her truest desires, she scrawls them on a napkin, desperate to give them wings.

It’s New Year’s Eve and she is not starting 2018 as the same old Beatrice…

Micah Allesi seethes with a burning need for revenge against the man who stole a rare, lucrative chance at investing in Infidelity. A young, single millionaire, new to the scene, Micah finds more closed doors than open and out of reach opportunities reserved for investors with old money and socialites on their arms. The time has come for him to enter into an Infidelity contract of his own for companionship that will open doors getting him closer to the vengeance he yearns for.

But first, he must see about this regal stranger with the haunted eyes languishing at the bar…

Decoy by Mira Gibson

Never underestimate a woman with nothing to lose…

Portia Rothschild had it all in her own small-town way growing up in the cornfields of the vast Midwest, but it didn’t last. Now that she’s a young woman, she’s determined to right the wrongs that rendered her and her family broken. But when she’s presented with a real opportunity to do just that, the plan to play ‘decoy’ quickly changes everything she thought she knew about revenge—and love. Her objective might be to entrap a powerful man, but that very man has laid a trap of his own, one that Portia can’t say she minds getting caught in.

If she knew where this was heading, she never would have shown up…

Nathan Cromwell has acquired a taste for a certain type of woman, but experience has taught the wealthy venture capitalist that his proclivities are impossible to satisfy… That is, until he engages the services of The Infidelity Corporation and is matched with an enigmatic young woman who guarantees she can and will ‘be anyone he wants her to be’. But what if he wants her to see the real Nathan—the man without the mask—and reveal her true self to him as well? Will she run scared or surrender to his brutal affection?

No one is who they seem…

With classic twists, turns, deceptions, and devotions true to Aleatha Romig’s epic Infidelity series, this romantic-suspense novella can be read in under two hours. So, break out the wine and draw the curtains closed. It’s time to get ‘Aleatha’d’ like never before.

Blood by N. Kuhn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

START THE BOOK WHERE EVERYTHING BEGINS!

One week. No future. No past. No more.

Alexandria Collins has one week to live carefree—no ghosts of her past or pressures of her future haunting her. Reinventing herself as “Charli,” she is knocked off her feet by a sexy, mysterious man who brings her pleasure like she never imagined. With her heart at stake, she forgets that decisions made in the dark of night reappear in the bright light of day.

“Some of my tastes are unique. They aren’t for everyone. I understand that.”

Lennox “Nox” Demetri is wealthy, confident, and decisive—he knows what he wants. From the first time he sees Charli at an exclusive resort, he knows he wants her. Although he is usually the one to make the rules, together they agree on one:

One week. No more.

When betrayal comes from those closest to Alexandria, she must decide how far she is willing to go to survive. Choices are not always easy, especially when they involve the heart, body, and soul. After all, Infidelity is a business, and some rules are meant to be broken.

“Is it really cheating if you’re doing it to yourself?”

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Aleatha Romig comes a sexy, new dominant hero who knows what he wants, and a strong-willed heroine who has plans of her own. With classic Aleatha Romig twists, turns, deceptions, and devotions, this new epic dark romance will have readers swooning one minute and screaming the next. Have you been Aleatha’d?

BETRAYAL is a full-length novel and the first of five in the INFIDELITY series.

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Today, we have the cover reveal for KINDA DON’T CARE by Lani Lynn Vale!

Check it out and add to your Goodreads today!

Title: KINDA DON’T CARE
Series: The Simple Man
Author: Lani Lynn Vale
Release Day: April 5th
Cover Designer: Cover Me Darling
Photographer: Furiousfotog
Model: Joey Berry

About KINDA DON’T CARE

She’s in a white dress that dances around her ankles, and her hair tumbles in a long sheet of curls down her back. A veil covers her beautiful eyes, and she smiles directly at him. Janie is everything Rafe’s ever imagined she would be on her wedding day.

Breathtaking. Gorgeous. Perfect.

The moment he sees her walking down the aisle towards him, he knows that she’s the one.

Then she passes him, making her way to the man she’s to marry.

A man that wasn’t him.

A man that he knows with one hundred percent certainty isn’t good enough for her.

It seems that her father isn’t the only one who’s having a hard time giving her away. Rafe only wishes he knew why.

Everything about Janie sparks protective instincts he doesn’t feel for anyone, not even his own fiancé.

What he feels for the bride, however, isn’t merely a simple attraction. He knows that something is there just beneath the surface…if only he could reach it.

It has to be something huge, too, otherwise he wouldn’t be drinking whiskey straight from the flask in a church pew and wondering how many years he would do in prison if he shot the groom in front of about a hundred witnesses—half of those being cops.

He was good…but not that good.

A near-death experience cost Rafe almost six months of his memory, but right now he can’t help but feel like a huge mistake is being made on both of their parts. One that’s going to cost him everything.

Then she says I do.

Pre-Order

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU

About Lani Lynn Vale

Lani Lynn Vale is a USA Today Bestselling Author of over thirty titles. She is married with three children, two dogs, two cats, a donkey, and a couple (a couple also meaning over twenty) chickens.

When she’s not writing, you can find her curled up in her favorite chair reading.

Lani is married with three children and lives in the Great State of Texas.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | BookBub

 

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hot Shot by Karina Halle
Release Date: January 9th, 2018
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Cover Design: Hang Le

Delilah Gordon has a secret.

She’s been in love with her best friend and the boy next door, Fox Nelson, since she was six years old.

And while most of her friends and family know about her unrequited crush, the one person who remains oblivious is Fox himself. To Delilah, it’s better this way. She’d rather pretend that they’re just friends, even though her feelings for the moody rugged mountain man are anything but tame.

Fox Nelson has a secret too.

As a wildland firefighter or “hot shot,” Fox parachutes into danger every day he’s on the job, risking all to fight wildfires that threaten ranches, forests and thousands of lives. But while Fox’s job is only for the brave, inside he feels anything but. The more he grapples with his raging demons, the more he realizes Delilah is the only one who can put out the flames.

As the two friends grow closer – and more intimate – than ever before, the more complicated their relationship becomes.

And Delilah has one more secret to reveal.

A secret that will change both their lives…forever.

Read Today!

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Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2j1no0t

Start this series of sexy standalone, today!

Wild Card
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Maverick
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2zR0zTA
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Review

So, if you’ve read many of my reviews, by now, you’re probably fully aware of the fact that I’m a high school English teacher, which means that stories and all their glorious words are so my jam. I adore the written word, especially when it’s used in a way that consumes me…that articulates a book’s setting and characters so well that I can’t help but be immersed into the majestic descriptions of where the story takes place and submerged in the fluctuating emotions of the hero and heroine as they experience everything that the author forces them to endure.

Multifaceted, lyrical storytelling with dynamic characters whose depth continues to be learned even towards the end of the story makes my heart happy and my soul overjoyed at the privilege to read, in a genre that is perceived as nothing more than porn/smut, such amazing writing beyond the canonical works that ‘should be’ read by everyone. And time and time again, Karina Halle proves just how fantastic

I have to admit that I was a bit unprepared for Fox Nelson’s story because while his brothers, Shane and Maverick, had a variety of issues to contend with in each of their own stories, they had nowhere near the amount and kind of demons that their oldest brother has been fighting, rather unsuccessfully, since he was a child. I couldn’t help but want to heal the wounded hot shot every time Karina Halle revealed his inability to love…the blame he places on himself over something that was way beyond his control…the risks he takes as a hot shot wild land fire fighter just so that he feels like he has a life worth risking.

Fox is just like the fires he fights, meaning that one misstep from those around him or one self deprecating action of his own will light his fuse, sending him in a downward spiral and setting off a consuming fire within him – one that has the potential to burn everything in its wake, including any chance Fox and Delilah have for making it through the flames of their combined secrets, lies, and half-truths. 

Delilah Gordon can’t remember a time she didn’t love Fox Nelson, and while she’s never admitted it aloud, everyone around her, except perhaps a rather oblivious or in denial Fox, knows how Delilah feels about the hot shot, and while she’s never regretted standing by his side for all these years, she wants and needs more from him but doesn’t know how to articulate it in a way that will keep their friendship safe and perhaps even lead to what she’s always wanted from Fox – his heart.

Readers can’t help but feel for Delilah and her overwhelming love for this reckless and hardened man; all she wants is to be loved in a way that sets her heart on fire and allows her to be consumed in the best possible ways, but that doesn’t seem like a likely conclusion when Fox doesn’t even love himself enough to deal with his past and his unresolved anger and pain.

These Nelson brothers and the women who love them are quite the amazing crew, and while I’m sad to leave North Ridge, I’m eager to see where Karina Halle will take her readers next because if there’s one thing I’ve come to know about Halle and her writing is that even though she’ll break our hearts into little pieces with angst and conflict, she always mends them with endings that illustrate just how powerful love can be.

4.5 Poison Apples

 Excerpt

It’s dark now and quiet except for the crickets. In the distance, the town of North Ridge glows, the lights giving way to the dark mountain ranges behind it and beyond that, a clear, starry sky.

I immediately feel better but it’s not enough. I need to walk, to get my head on straight, to get my heart to stop caving in.

I head down the slope to the barn. It’s second nature to want to come here during hard times. Growing up, if anyone in the house was fighting—and it was usually Shane and Fox—this was where you’d find them afterwards, licking their wounds.

Right now the barn is empty, all the horses are either in their paddocks or the pastures. I glance up at the hayloft and contemplate going up there when I hear footsteps behind me.

I immediately stiffen. It’s funny how you can feel someone’s specific presence without seeing them.

“What’s wrong with you?” Fox asks gruffly from behind me. Typical. Even if he’s concerned, sometimes he comes across like it annoys him to be concerned.

I take in a deep breath and turn around. “I don’t know,” I say, my voice measured. “Just felt a bit nauseous.”

He studies my face intently, so intently that I look away, my eyes drifting over the empty stalls. “I thought maybe I’d pissed you off somehow,” he says.

Is he baiting me?

I meet his eyes. “Why would you think that?”

“You could barely look at me during dinner,” he says, taking a step toward me until he’s a foot away. “Was it something I did? Is this about Conan?”

He’s so damn earnest in that last question that I have to laugh. I fold my arms across my chest. “No, Fox. This isn’t about your squirrel. It’s not about anything. I’m just…tired.”

I can tell he doesn’t believe me and the intensity has changed in his eyes. They’ve become more focused on me, like he’s seeing me for the first time and nothing else around us matters.

“I like this,” he says, his voice sounding thick. He takes a strand of my hair between his fingers and runs them down. “Your hair is so long. You should wear it down more often.”

I roll my eyes and hope I’m not blushing. “You guys are all the same. A girl wears her hair down and puts on some makeup and suddenly you realize that she’s actually hot. It’s like She’s All That come to life.”

Oh shit. I probably shouldn’t have said that last bit out loud since it’s a whole bunch of assumptions and I’m not one to flatter myself like that.

But he just grins. One of those cheeky, warm smiles that makes his eyes crinkle at the corners, the dimples appear in his scruff. He doesn’t smile like that very often and every time he does for me, it makes me feel…invincible.

“Del, I’ve always thought you were hot,” he says, still smiling. No awkwardness or hesitation. He just comes out and says it.

And now I am blushing. “Yeah right.”

“What?” he asks, tucking my hair behind my ear and—hell—his touch causes warm shivers to wash down my back. “It’s true. I mean, look at you.”

Don’t read into it. Don’t read into it.

“Do you remember that birthday party where we played spin the bottle?” I ask him, my voice sounding broken.

He nods. “Kind of.” But he doesn’t remove his hand, keeps playing with my hair.

I don’t know why I’m feeling brave all of a sudden but I am. “Well you spun the bottle and it stopped right at me. No mistake about it. And you got up and said it was stupid and left. Fox, we were good friends and you acted like kissing me was the worst thing on earth.”

His dark brows knit together but his eyes stay warm. “You remember that?”

“Fox. I’m a woman. I’m always going to remember when a boy rejects me, especially my best friend and especially at a young age.”

“But we were young. And I was pretty stupid back then.”

“You thought I was gross.”

He lets out a soft laugh. “I can promise you I did not think you were gross.” His hand then leaves my hair and trails down my arm to my hand. Sometimes Fox holds it and I know I shouldn’t think anything of it but every time he does I wonder if he realizes what it does to me. Then again, I’m starting to think he’s oblivious to absolutely everything.

“I didn’t kiss you,” he goes on, “not because I didn’t want to. I did.” He swallows, shrugs. “I just didn’t want our first kiss to be from spin the bottle.”

Hold up…what?

“What do you mean? Our first kiss?” I repeat, my pulse quickening.

“I don’t know, Del. Back then, I kind of assumed that we would end up together at some point. You know all through high school I had just been waiting to make my move and ask you out. At least figure out if you liked me or not. But then you started going out with that guy with the big ears, what was his name, Ryan McGee? And that’s when I realized that it was probably all in my head. You were just a friend. A sister, even. And I was just a brother to you.”

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

This is way too much to process.

Fox thought we’d end up together.

He actually liked me back in high school!

“You look shocked,” he says, raising a brow. “I thought it was pretty obvious.”

“Obvious?” I blurt out. “No. No it wasn’t.”

He lets go of my hand and shrugs with one shoulder. “It’s funny how life goes, isn’t it? It was probably for the best anyway. Could you have imagined us dating? Being a couple.”

Yes, fucking yes.

Meet Karina 

Karina Halle is a former travel writer and music journalist and The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author of The Pact, Love, in English, The Artists Trilogy, Dirty Angels and over 20 other wild and romantic reads. She lives on an island off the coast of British Columbia with her husband and her rescue pup, where she drinks a lot of wine, hikes a lot of trails and devours a lot of books.

Halle is represented by the Root Literary and is both self-published and published by Simon & Schuster and Hachette in North America and in the UK.

Connect with Karina
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