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Title: 10 Things I love About You Anthology

10 Author’s:

1990: “Nothing Compares 2 U” — Michele G Miller + Mindy Hayes

1991: “More Than Words” (by Extreme) — Christina Benjamin

1992: “Jump” — Micalea Smeltzer

1993: “Can’t Help Falling in Love” — L.A. Fiore

1994: “The Sign” — Carey Heywood

1995: “Who Will Save Your Soul” — Skye Warren

1996: “Always Be My Baby” — Mary Ting

1997: “Lovefool” — Katie M. John

1998: “My Heart Will Go On” — Tia Silverthorne Bach

1999: “Genie in a Bottle” — Elise Kova

Genre: Contemporary Romance & New Adult

Release Date: December 1, 2017

Cover Designer: Regina Wamba

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The 90s: The decade of AOL, Grunge music, the Gulf War, OJ Simpson trial, Friends, Seinfeld, Britney and Christina, tattoos and belly button piercings, Monica Lewinsky, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Tarantino movies. It was a decade of polarities and hilarity.

Those who reached adulthood in the Nineties were branded Generation X, and were labeled apathetic slackers and cynics. But, ultimately, this generation was called on to bridge the gap between old ideals and new technologies and ways of living.

These new adults had to find jobs, find themselves, and find love amidst rapidly changing landscapes online and off.

Ten Things I Love About You is a collection of ten contemporary romance, new adult, stand-alone stories set in the 1990s.

The title of each love story will be a hit song from the year that the novella represents, and are written, respectively, by award-winning and bestselling authors.

Ten Things I Love About You was created by UTOPiAcon founder, Janet Wallace, and is co-produced with Regina Wamba (together they are WaWa Productions).

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Sloth and Murder had makeovers!! New covers for both!

Murder has also been renamed MY HEART FOR YOURS!

Sloth has an ALL NEW bonus scene!

To celebrate this exciting news, Ella James has put both books on sale for ONLY 99¢

FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY, 10/02-10/05

MY HEART FOR YOURS will be FREE for ONE DAY ONLY on 10/02!! Then 99¢ 10/03-10/05

Sloth also available in KU:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1HLNlpT

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1e1xlFV

My Heart for Yours available in KU:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1THM1rR

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1UkknB0

SLOTH Blurb

Dear A. –

I am writing to express my gratitude for your gift. There are no sufficient words, but please accept my sincerest thank you.

Yours,

She writes me back.

I didn’t expect that.

She tells me she’s a lover of chicken pizza and video games, a hot sorority girl with the nickname Sloth. She wants to know something about me in return. She says I owe her.

This is how she saves my life. She doesn’t even know it. We’ve never even seen each other. But I need a reason. Just one reason to continue. She becomes mine.

The anonymity is good. She doesn’t need to know me, but I need her kindness. We both live our lives: a letter here, a post card there. For three years, I escape my demons. And then one day I’m pulled back in.

I’ve resigned myself to what I know is coming. Until the girl I’m spanking gives her safe word: Sloth.

And then the lie I’m living starts to unravel.

—

Sloth is a standalone love story with many twists, one huge secret, and a non-cliffhanger ending. It will wreck you, but you’ll like it.

BTW: Part of the fun of reading this book is trying to guess the secret. I would appreciate it if you could avoid spoilers in reviews and review headlines, so others will be able to enjoy the guessing game.

*Sloth is part of a collection of standalones inspired by a sin, and centered around a huge secret. The other standalone, My Heart for Yours, is inspired by the sin of murder, and is the story of Kellan’s oldest brother, Barrett Drake. It’s free via Kindle Unlimited and also for sale here in the Kindle Store.

*This book was updated and re-edited in fall 2017, and now includes a bonus story.

MY HEART FOR YOURS Blurb

FROM USA TODAY BESTSELLER ELLA JAMES…

Gwenna White’s new neighbor is…distracting. He’s a beautiful, motorcycle-driving enigma. One she can’t allow herself to think about. Since the accident that ruined her face and stole her career, Gwen, a former model, lives under the radar, seldom leaving the bear sanctuary she runs in the Tennessee mountains. She’s not reclusive, but that doesn’t mean she’s looking for a lover. Definitely not someone who looks like that.

*

Barrett Drake could use a friend: a tall order, since most of his are dead. His damaged hand may be the reason he’s out of special ops, but it’s not his only wound. Not by a long shot. All that’s left between Bear and a new life is one last job. If he can hold on, get it done… He won’t be here that long. Just long enough to ruin Gwen’s life and make a speedy exit. That’s the plan.

But things don’t always go as planned.

You can’t choose who you love.

You can’t fix fate.

And that’s the problem…

*My Heart for Yours is a standalone forbidden romance with a hint of mystery. It’s the second stand-alone in a collection of books that are inspired by a sin and centered on a huge secret. This book is inspired by the sin of murder. It was formerly sold under that title.

*The other novel in the Sinful Secrets collection, Sloth, is a USA Today bestseller and can be read free via Kindle Unlimited.

From USA Today bestselling author, Rebecca Shea, comes a new, heartbreakingly beautiful standalone romance, FAULT LINES.

Don’t miss the amazing cover below, and pre-order your copy today!

Cover designed by Letitia Hasser of RBA Designs

At eleven he was my first crush. At sixteen he became mine. At nineteen he broke my heart and destroyed me. That was ten years ago and the last time I saw Cole Ryan.

They say you never get over your first love…I beg to differ. I left my shattered heart buried in a town I never expected to return to. I erased every thought of him and buried the memories never to be found.

I moved on…now ten years later I have the perfect life, the perfect fiancé, the perfect career. Everything I ever wanted until I’m forced to go back and face my past and the man that destroyed me.

He won’t stop until I know the truth no matter how hard I fight it. In the end, lies will be uncovered, hearts will be broken, and my life as I’ve come to know it destroyed.

FAULT LINES is coming October 30, 2017! Pre-order your copy today!

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Add to your Goodreads

Can’t wait for a taste of FAULT LINES?

Check out this sneak peek below!

Pushing through the doors to Manny’s, I see everyone assembled near the bar. Friends and colleagues that I have worked with throughout the years have been waiting on me to arrive to celebrate today’s verdict.

“Congratulations!” Everyone cheers as Ted and I approach the bar. I toss my purse on a bar stool and reach for the glass of white wine that Eduardo, my co-counsel, is holding out for me.

Pressing the cool glass to my lips, I let the smooth wine settle on my tongue before swallowing.

“I’m so damn proud of you.” He leans in and whispers, wrapping one arm around my shoulders.

“I couldn’t have done it without you. I mean that.” I smile at him and squeeze his arm in a gesture of gratitude. Eduardo took me under his wing when I joined the county attorney’s office a little over four years ago. I was an experienced trial lawyer, having learned the ins and outs of trial law with Ted’s firm, but this is new. I’m on the prosecuting end now. This is where I always dreamed to be. Ted’s firm helped me get here and Eduardo has been my mentor and basically my best friend since I arrived.

“I’d be surprised if they even try to appeal,” he says, taking a sip of his vodka tonic. “You were that good. There were no holes in your closing arguments. You presented solid evidence and left nothing for them to come back at us with.”

“She learned from the best,” Ted says, leaning over my shoulder.

Eduardo’s eyes glance away from mine and up to Ted’s. “Mr. Winters,” Eduardo says, reaching out to shake Ted’s. “Nice to see you again.” It’s hard to miss Eduardo’s visible disdain for Ted. His jaw ticks and he swallows hard, but as always, he is the epitome of professional and is always gracious.

“I’ve learned a great deal from both of you.” I smile and wish for the pissing contest to end. “Let’s enjoy our victory.” I hold up my glass of wine to toast, raising my eyebrows, a silent plea to Ted to be nice and he obliges.

“To guilty verdicts,” Eduardo cheers, raising his glass.

Ted gives his head a little shake but reiterates Eduardo’s sentiments.

“To guilty verdicts,” we all repeat and take a drink.

I notice Ted step away to take a phone call and I turn my attention back to Eduardo.

“First and only time I think I’ll ever hear him say that,” Eduardo jokes.

“I think that’s the first and only time I’ll ever hear him say that, too.” I laugh.

My fiancé, Ted Winters, is partner in Winters and Seldon, one of the smallest yet most prestigious law firms in Los Angeles County. Ted is known for representing some of the most high profile, and even dangerous, criminals in California. What cases he doesn’t win, he prides himself on reduced charges, jail time, and fines.

Not guilty—those two words drive him to be the greatest. He’s the best of the best, and he hired me right out of law school. He taught me the way around a courtroom, the best oral arguments, and the tricks to dissect evidence and to look for what everyone else is missing. I took what I learned from Ted and am finally putting it to use as a Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles County. I always wanted to be on this end of the law, finding justice and doing right by the law.

To avoid any conflict of interest, I avoid all cases where Winters and Seldon is concerned. There are plenty of other prosecutors to try those, and it’s best, both professionally and personally, if I avoid any cases Ted or his firm are involved in.

As I look around the bar at my friends and colleagues, I can’t help but smile proudly at how far I’ve come—and for the people who’ve been with me on this journey.

As my smile fades, I feel the exhaustion hit me like a freight train and, with a few glasses of wine on top of that, I find the need for fresh air. I weave through a sea of bodies in the bar area and push through the large glass door, which leads out onto the rooftop patio. Los Angeles has far from quality air, but pulling the mild summer breeze into my lungs feels good. A sense of calm falls over me as the adrenaline from the day wears off. Carrying the stress of this trial on my shoulders for weeks has wreaked havoc on my sleep, my diet, and exercise, and I can feel the toll it’s taken on my body.

I watch the cars below, crawling along the busy Los Angeles streets, and the hustle and bustle of the city just fifty stories below me. It’s windy up here on the patio, and the soft afternoon breeze whips my hair around. I tilt my face to the sky and let the setting sun cast its warm rays on me when my phone buzzes in my hand. I hesitate, wanting to indulge in a few more moments of silence, but I think better of it.

Glancing down, I see my mom’s home number flashing on the sleek screen of my oversized mobile phone.

“Hi, Mama.” I take a deep breath, excited to hear her voice.

“Frankie?”

My heart sinks when I hear a man’s voice. A voice I could never forget. A voice so familiar that it still haunts me to this day.

Cole. The only person to ever call me Frankie. My heart stills as I wait for him to say more.

“You need to come home,” he says gruffly.

My stomach drops as his voice takes my breath away. The pull it still has on me shakes me to my core. Before he says anything else, I close my eyes and find myself lost in time, back to when I was eleven years old, spending my afternoons down at the fault line, soaking up the last of the days sunlight with Cole by my side.

Crescent Ridge, Nevada resides right on top of a fault line, a town with less than eight hundred people, and sits on the California/Nevada border. A town I left ten years ago and haven’t returned to—because of Cole.

Rebecca Shea is the USA Today Bestselling author of the Unbreakable series (Unbreakable, Undone, and Unforgiven) and the Bound and Broken series (Broken by Lies and Bound by Lies). She lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her family. From the time Rebecca could read she has had a passion for books. Rebecca spends her days working and her nights writing, bringing stories to life. Born and raised in Minnesota, Rebecca moved to Arizona in 1999 to escape the bitter winters. When not working or writing, she can be found on the sidelines of her sons’ football games, or watching her daughter at ballet class. Rebecca is fueled by insane amounts of coffee, margaritas, Laffy Taffy (except the banana ones), and happily ever afters.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

 

 

 

Show Me the Way 

The first stand-alone novel in A.L. Jackson’s brand-new Fight for Me series…

“This book is absolutely perfect.” – Corinne Michaels, New York Times Bestselling Author

READ FOR FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED

Amazon: http://smarturl.it/SMTHAmzn2

Audible: http://smarturl.it/SMTWAudible

Signed Paperback: http://www.aljacksonauthor.com/signed-copies

The first sexy, captivating, stand-alone novel in the brand-new FIGHT FOR ME series from NYT & USA Today Bestselling Author A.L. Jackson . . .

Rex Gunner. As bitter as he is beautiful.

The owner of the largest construction company in Gingham Lakes has been burned one too many times. His wife leaving him to raise their daughter was the last blow this single dad could take. The only woman he’ll let into his heart is his little girl.

Rynna Dayne. As vulnerable as she is tempting.

She ran from Gingham Lakes when she was seventeen. She swore to herself she would never return. Then her grandmother passed away and left her the deed to the diner that she once loved.

When Rex meets his new neighbor, he knows he’s in trouble.

She’s gorgeous and sweet and everything he can’t trust.

Until she becomes the one thing he can’t resist.

One kiss sends them tumbling toward ecstasy.

But in a town this size, pasts are bound to collide. Caught in a web of lies, betrayal, and disloyalty, Rex must make a choice.

Will he hide behind his walls or will he take the chance . . .

Exclusive Deleted Scene

Preface: I’m excited to offer another scene in Rex & Rynna’s love story. It was really difficult to cut this scene, but during editing, I knew I had to as I was taking a different direction as we headed into the climax of the story. I hope you enjoy this exclusive cut scene!

Rex stood in the foggy pour of the moon, the striking raw beauty of him bathed in an ethereal glow. His hair whipped in the wind where he stood on the other side of the road that separated our houses. His hands were balled into fists, jaw clenched, eyes hard.

Dominant and dangerous and somehow chained by all his doubt.

Warned you being with me wouldn’t be easy. Tell me you’ll fight for me. Tell me you’ll fight for us. That you won’t give up when things get rough. Tell me you’ll stay. Tell me I should take this chance.

I inched forward. Energy lashed. Whipping and inciting.

Compelling.

And God, I wanted to fight. Fight him for leaving me. Fight for him because it was the last thing I’d wanted him to do. Fight for what was right. The problem was, I wasn’t certain of exactly what that was.

Rex’s nostrils flared, and he was moving across the street, his big body eating up the ground in his long, purposed strides. His hulking form climbed the steps, his shoulders wide and his presence bigger as he mounted to the last step onto my deck.

In a flash, he was on me. My back was pressed against the wall of my house, the heat of his strong body lighting me up like a furnace. He wound a big hand in my hair, tugging, forcing me to look up at him.

“Little Thief.”

The accusation was gravel, and I sucked in a staggered breath. It only drew him deeper, his presence sinking in, taking hold. Everything swelled just as the pain of his rejection went rushing through my veins. A raging river that threatened to drown.

“You can’t do this to me,” I whimpered. For a beat, I struggled, fighting him, attempting to push him away as my attention darted across the street to his sleeping house.

Jealousy boiled beneath the surface of my skin. Wicked, spiteful flames. A pool of sickness churned in my belly, all mixed up with the need he instantly incited in my body. “You can’t do this to me,” I begged this time, feeling everything crack.

Splintering.

“You already did it,” he grated. His nose brushed mine when he said it, his hot hand on my cheek, his eyes so terrifyingly sincere. “Told you, you were gonna ruin me. You ruined me, Rynna. Can’t fucking close my eyes without seeing you. Can’t sleep without dreaming of you. Can’t take a fucking step without wanting to run right back to you.”

I squeezed my eyes closed. As if that might stand the chance of putting a barrier between us. I only felt him more, the wild beat of his heart and the flush of his skin and the maddening gaze of the scruff on his chin.

He was everywhere.

“I’m in love with you,” he said.

I’m in love with you.

Those words spun around me like a tease. Prodding and pulling.

My eyes fluttered open.

“Rex.” I grasped him by the wrists, clinging to him. A tear streaked free. He wiped it away with his thumb.

“Don’t cry, baby. Fuck, please don’t cry.”

My lip trembled. “I missed you.”

He pulled me closer. “Didn’t know I could miss someone the way I’ve been missing you. Didn’t know how bad I could hurt inside until you weren’t there anymore.”

And then he was kissing me. It was a frenzy. That desperation when finding something that’d been lost. The promise that you’d never again let it go.

His mouth consumed mine.

Possessively.

Powerfully.

Taking what was his.

It was dizzying.

The severity of him. It was all spurred by the significance of finally finding what was right. The moment when you finally scaled the obstacles standing in your way, and you found the perfection waiting on the other side.

He kept muttering, “Little Thief, Little Thief,” as he spun us, pinning me against my door. I fumbled to get to the knob. It knocked open and we stumbled into the welcoming dimness of the living room.

We were frantic as we tore at each other’s clothes.

Lips parting, chests heaving, slamming right back together as we shed the barriers between us.

“Where’s Frankie?” I managed to mumble, fingers in his shoulders as he was peeling off my underwear.

He smiled. I could feel it. The smiled he smiled as he was still kissing me. This awe that pierced me through. A perfect, painless stake that embedded itself in my spirit. “Spending the night at my mom’s. She hasn’t stopped talking about you. Asking for you.”

“I miss her.” It was a confession of my soul. And I was suddenly clinging to him, my arms around his neck, my face pressed to his pulse point that thrummed beneath his jaw. “I missed you both so much. I didn’t know a love like this existed until I met the two of you.”

He swept me off my feet, carried me to my couch, and laid me across it. He crawled over me, hovering, caging me in. His face in shadows, his gorgeous body rimmed in light. “Never even knew a love like this existed. You stole all my rationale and gave me a reason. I love you, Rynna. Love you in a way that terrifies me. But still, I’m not scared anymore. Not of us. Not of this.”

I smiled up at him, my fingertips tracking down the side of his cheek and brushing across his full, full lips. He nipped at my fingers, and I bit back a smile, my eyes full of wonder as I gazed up at the man who’d changed everything. “Take me.”

Rex climbed between my thighs, only to freeze when his phone buzzed from the pocket of his jeans he’d discarded on the floor.

Apologetically, he shot me a grin. “I’d better get that.”

“Yeah,” I said with a soft smile.

He dug it out and answered.

My heart fell straight to the floor when I heard the screaming on the other side.

Giveaway 

About the Author

The Choices I’ve Made by J.L. Berg is LIVE!

The Choices I’ve Made by J.L. Berg

Release Date: October 1st

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Death is easy.

Surviving it? That’s the hard part.

Dr. Jake Jameson knows this all too well. Losing his mother at the age of eighteen, he walks away from his small hometown and the painful memories it holds, vowing to never return again.

Twelve years later, he finds himself driving back down the coast of North Carolina. When his father leaves him a small medical practice, he has no choice but to heed the call until he can find someone else to take it off his hands.

But coming back home means facing everything he left behind, including the one woman who might make it impossible to leave again.

Molly McIntyre has spent her entire life in one town. Taking over her parents’ small inn, she’s settled into a quiet, happy life. But all of that comes to an abrupt halt when Jake shows up at her door in need of a place to stay.

Molly loathes everything about this man, but she can’t find it in her heart to refuse his request.

After over a decade, these former lovers quickly discover what once burned brightly between them has only grown in their time apart. Soon they must decide if the choices they’ve made have led them back to each other for a second chance or one final goodbye.

Read Today!

(Free in Kindle Unlimited)

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2x3FDey

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2xS34Hf

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2wlPuLX

About the Author

I’m a California native, who lives in the South – Virginia to be exact. I still prefer sushi to fried chicken, avocados to okra, and I absolutely loathe humidity. I do love watching the seasons change though. My husband and I have been here for over a decade, and I still get giddy like a school girl every time it snows. It’s magical!

I’m married to my high school sweetheart, and we’ve been blessed with two beautiful daughters and two rescue pups I like to call my “coworkers”. I’m obsessed with chocolate, minions, anything Harry Potter and I love to watch re-runs of Friends and Gilmore Girls!

Connect with the Author

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorjlberg

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorjlberg

YouTube: http://bit.ly/2xdlYsu

http://jlberg.com

Release Day Blitz
Title: Logan – A Preston Brothers Novel #2
Author: Jay McLean
Release Day: October 1, 2017

US: http://amzn.to/2wJMw4O
UK: http://amzn.to/2wKGZed
CA: http://amzn.to/2wLbAZ4
AU: http://amzn.to/2wJN4ro

BLURB

As a kid, Logan Preston was a brat.
Through his teens, he became the bad boy.
Now, at nineteen, no one knows what the hell to expect.
High school dropout, Logan Preston is a good-for-nothing stoner.

High school dropout, Logan Preston is a
good-for-nothing stoner.
A black sheep.
A disappointment.
The worst Preston Punk of the lot.
At least that’s how everyone in his small town
makes him feel.
But Logan Preston has secrets.
Secrets so dark and so deep below the surface that the only way he can fight them is to stay high, high, high.
He wears cockiness as a mask.
Arrogance as his armor.
Until one girl, one night, asks one life-changing question:
What’s beneath the bravado, Logan Preston?

GOODREADS LINK

http://bit.ly/2gOlWwp

OTHER BOOKS IN SERIES

More Than Forever (More Than #4): http://amzn.to/2gUKZOq
Lucas (Preston Brothers Novel) #1: http://bit.ly/2vLc8JP

Review

Jay McLean continues to slay me with her words, weaving a tale that manages to stir up a multitude of emotions – ones that have me curled up into a ball in anguish for everything the main characters have and continue to endure and just as quickly swooning over a hero and heroine who couldn’t be any more perfect for one another, even if it was difficult to recognize their strong connection when their story began.

I don’t think anything could have prepared me for the reality of who Logan is and how much his past and his present are defined by secrets and truths that he keeps close to the chest, always aware of how they define him but never willing to share his burden with anyone but Mary and even then, it’s more of an escape than anything else. But his relationship with Mary is actually counterproductive regardless of the highs it allows him to have because depending on someone as addictive as Mary is, never ends well for anyone who is unwilling to live a life without her.

There is definitely more to Logan than readers will be able to see as they begin his story and while he can be both frustrating and oblivious to things around him that seem quite clear to everyone else, the version of Logan that Jay McLean introduces readers to is not the one we end up getting the further into the story we go and by the time the last word is read and the heartbreaking, harrowing, and painful journey ends, it’s crystal clear who Logan was, is, and will be now that he’s allowed Aubrey into his life and formed a connection with her that he thought only happened to people like his sister and her husband.

The progression of Logan and Aubrey’s relationship is perfectly played out and the reason they work so well together is because there are more alike than they are willing to acknowledge. They both use sarcasm and quick one liners to keep their true selves hidden because acknowledging how messed up they both truly are and the reasons behind their complex personalities is not something they want to reveal to anyone, let alone someone who has the power to destroy the small amount of sanity and happiness they do feel.

There is not another author who I’ve encountered in the hundreds of romance authors who I’ve read whose books consume me like Jay McLean’s texts do. Her words are meticulously chosen to have the greatest effect on her readers and her characters are so incredibly dynamic that it’s difficult to truly get a handle on all that they are until Jay wants us to, which means that every action, every interaction, and every decision is pivotal to showcasing not only the plot line but a clear perspective on all that the hero and heroine are and ultimately what it will take for them to get past the heartache and allow themselves to be loved they way they were always meant to by the one person who gets them on every level that matters.

5 Poison Apples

a Rafflecopter giveaway

AUTHOR BIO

Jay McLean is an international best-selling author and full-time reader, writer of New Adult Romance, and most of all, procrastinator. When she’s not doing any of those things, she can be found running after her two little boys, playing house and binge watching Netflix.
She writes what she loves to read, which are books that can make her laugh, make her hurt and make her feel.
Jay lives in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, in a forever half-done home where music is loud and laughter is louder.

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Racer by Katy Evans
Publication Date: September 28th, 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Racer, an all-new standalone in the Real Series from New York Times bestselling author Katy Evans is LIVE!

A bad boy with something to prove.

A woman with a mission.

The race of their lives.

The love of a lifetime.

I don’t think his parents expected him to live up to his name—Racer Tate—but once he felt the adrenaline rush behind the wheel, he was addicted.

He’s the fastest, fiercest driver around.

Scouting new talent brings me to his doorstep…

but his smile sends me to my knees.

The sexy, mysterious Racer Tate is not the kind of man a girl like me falls for. He’s secretive, reckless, elusive. But his proximity pushes me beyond reason, and his kiss….

This is our last chance to win, and he is our only hope. I’m supposed to watch him—make sure he doesn’t get into trouble. But it’s an impossible task. And now the one in heart wrenching, toe-curling, soul-crushing trouble is me. Because when your heart belongs to someone, their truths become your own, and their secrets become your salvation…or your curse.

He says he wants me. He says I’m the One. But he also thinks he’ll break my heart, one piece at a time until it’s gone.

Review

Racer Tate is all grown up and ready to make a name for himself in the racing world, and even though his career started on the wrong side of the law, the skills he honed as an illegal streetcar racer allowed him to enter a Formula 1 car and track as a major contender, which is exactly what Lana Heyworth was hoping when she took a risky chance and hired Racer as her team’s racecar driver. And while Lana’s family has so much riding on Racer’s success, the real worry, at least from Lana’s perspective, is finding a way to not succumb to Racer’s charm and good looks, and while she gave a valiant fight, Lana should have known that there’s no stopping a Tate man once his mind is made up.

The family dynamic that Evans creates for Lana and her brothers and father help to illustrate exactly what’s on the line when it comes to winning races and keeping the team afloat. It’s clear that Lana would do anything for her family, especially her father, and that idea remains front and center throughout the course of the text. There’s a lot to absorb to truly understand why Lana is the way she is with Racer, especially at the beginning of text, but when she finally does succumb to all that Racer is, she sees him for the man and partner he truly is, instead of worrying about how he’ll hurt her just like everyone else.

Racer is definitely swoonworthy but there’s also a fragile side to him that Evans unravels as the story continues and when that part of him is revealed, readers understand him a bit better and realize how amazing he truly is to do what he does and function as well as he does despite the hand he was dealt.

I absolutely adore Katy Evans’ Real series, so getting Brooke and Remy’s son’s story allowed me to re-enter a world that I have never truly forgotten and while Racer is a powerhouse in his own right, I admit that it’s difficult not to compare him to his father, but readers can tell that Evans worked to create an authentic character in Racer and the fact that Racer isn’t a carbon copy of Remy allows readers to get to know the man that Racer is without trying to live up or come out of his father’s shadow.

I have to say that Racer is one of Evans’ least angsty reads, and while some readers might not like that about the book, I think it helps to show just how much of his own man Racer is so that a comparison between him and his father is not at the forefront of his book. There are times that I felt like the plot stalled a bit but it wasn’t because of the lack of drama…it was more that some of the characterization felt slightly recycled or redundant.

There are endless possibilities when it comes to this new generation of alpha males and the women who work to tame them and set them free, which means that, hopefully, there are more Real books in readers’ futures and with the introduction of a great cast of supporting characters, Katy Evans has a number of heroes choose from and while I have my favorites, any chance to stay in this amazing world of strong characters and intriguing plot lines works for me!

4.5 Poison Apples

Excerpt

I’m still reeling. While people approach him, he cuts a path straight to me, his gaze penetrating and target-like; making me want to bolt.

His lips do that little upward tilt they do that seems so sexy, and for a second, I feel like I’m lightheaded.

I gulp, and then feel mad at myself for acting like some idiot as fucking devil-Racer Tate reaches me, throws himself into a seat next to me, and turns to look at me expectantly with the most gorgeous grin on his face.

I don’t know what to say.

This guy has left me sort of speechless.

“So … ” I say, staring in the distance at his beat-up mustang, then at him.

“So … ” he says too, in his deep voice, his smile a little more wicked than it was two seconds ago. He glances at my mouth.

Oh god.

Why am I licking my lips?

It only made his eyes narrow and darken.

I open my mouth to speak, failing to find words. He smells like sweat and soap and shampoo, and I feel my traitorous nipples push up to my top again. Why do they do that when he’s around?

“This is illegal,” I state.

His voice is husky from exertion, and his eyes glint with laughter. “That’s why it’s fun.”

I look away from his eyes, trying to focus and clear my head. He leans over and peers into my face, his face shadowed by the moonlight and his jaw now carrying a little scruff. “Are we in agreement?” he presses.

“No.” I glare and shake my head, meeting his cocky gaze. “You’re reckless, Racer.”

“So are you, Alana.”

“It’s just … Lana.”

His brows fly up in surprise. “And a bit of a liar too.”

I purse my lips, still glaring as my gaze goes back to his car. Girls are rubbing against it as if it were him, and I find it disgusting. Why are women always acting so slutty around race car drivers and bad boys?

“You crashed your car,” I say flippantly.

“You crashed my car,” he contradicts, amused.

I laugh, then scowl in his direction. “You crashed it more. I can’t believe you were making such a fuss about me crashing into you when it was just a little kiss—”

He leans in to peck my lips—fast but firmly. “That’s a kiss.”

I lose my breath.

My eyes wide.

He eases back, lips smiling as he comes to his feet and stretches his hand out to take me by the elbow and help me to my feet.

“Let’s get out of here.” He starts walking, leading the way.

“And go where?”

“Anywhere I can get my hands on you.”

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About the Author

Katy Evans is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. Her debut REAL shot to the top of the bestselling lists in 2013 and since then 9 of her titles have been New York Times bestsellers. Her books have been translated into nearly a dozen languages across the world.

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Email: katyevansauthor@gmail.com

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Twitter @authorkatyevans

About THE NEXT GENERATION

Fitting in can be hard for anyone. But for Julian and Nika Adams, it’s especially challenging. Born as partial vampires, a rare offshoot of pureblood vampires, the twins have had to deceive people their entire lives—distancing themselves from their peers.

Nika desperately wants a hero, a soulmate, someone she can trust with every fibre of her soul—someone as amazing as her father. The boys at her high school aren’t impressing, but luckily for Nika, Hunter Evans has moved into the neighborhood.

Julian desperately wishes he could sever the empathic bond he has with his sister. While it was fun to experience each other’s emotions when they were kids, now that Julian finds himself pining for a girl he can’t have, sharing his feelings is the last thing he wants to do.

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Review

Even though I’m new to SC Stephens’ Conversion series, its premise and the fact that the story is told through alternating perspectives of not just teen siblings but twins whose bond allows them to feel each other’s emotions as they go through everything that comes with being a teenager and a ‘little bit’ vampire, I knew I needed to introduce myself to this paranormal series and see how Nika and Julian Adams cope with growing up and co-existing with humans when half of their nature wants them to succumb to who they truly are at their core while the other side fights it in order to protect their secrets and those in their lives who matter most.

I admit that I probably should have started at the beginning of the series, so I could truly understand every facet of the storyline, but it can be read as a standalone as long as readers don’t feel out of the loop when backstory information is presented. Not knowing didn’t detract from my enjoyment of The Next Generation, but I’m the type of reader who likes to know and understand EVERYTHING there is about the characters and the plot, so I was a bit out of sorts until I focused on who the twins are presently and not necessarily where they came from and who they belonged to from the previous books in the series.

SC Stephens constructs quite the interesting setting and dynamics in Nika and Julian’s story. Stephens meticulously blends the problematic issues that come from being teenagers and the ones that come from being part of a vampire family whose secrets need to stay hidden for the safety of themselves and others. Equal weight is given to both sides of who the twins are and with the added qualities of suspense, self-discovery, and young love, the story line is complex and the characters are well-developed.

I do have to mention that the ending of Nika and Julian’s story felt a bit rushed and open-ended. Now, I’m not sure if that was deliberate on Stephens’ part and there’s more to come for the twins, but I wanted more from the ending…I wanted to feel closure for all of the situations that occurred in the text, especially when it comes to certain characters and decisions that were made, and I just didn’t feel like I got the resolution I needed.

I definitely enjoyed The Next Generation. Both Nika and Julian are interesting characters who have their own unique personalities and views despite the unbreakable connection that they share. Because the twins are not the same gender, it’s quite comical, at times, to see how they handle one another’s ‘issues’ and just how awkward such situations can be when nothing is sacred because their respective emotions infiltrate each other’s bodies and minds repeatedly.

Overall, it was a great introduction to a different side of SC Stephens’ writing and I’m intrigued enough that now I want to go back and read the first three books in the story because I definitely think those books will offer insights into The Next Generation that I just couldn’t grasp starting with the fourth book.

4 Poison Apples

Read an EXCERT of THE NEXT GENERATION now

A slice of anger ran up my spine—I shivered with the strength of it. As I closed my eyes, intense, rolling hatred seared my body, tightened my muscles. I wasn’t angry at Arianna’s comment; I actually found it rather amusing. No, the anger scorching my soul wasn’t coming from me, but from Julian. And it was strong. He was pissed.

My eyes snapped to where I could feel him in the gym. He was moving away from the massive room, hopefully coming out to join me. Curiosity and concern blossomed in my chest. I really wanted to know why Julian was so angry. Although, knowing him, I did have one guess…

“I’ll work on that…” I murmured to Arianna as I felt Julian leave the gym and enter the boy’s locker room. Frowning, I wondered what the heck he was doing. His anger had spiked as he’d left the gym, not diminished. My concern heightened. I should go see what’s wrong with him.

Knowing Julian could feel me just as well as I could feel him, I tried to squelch the worry bubbling inside my stomach. I even tried sending calming feelings Julian’s way, but it wasn’t working. Whatever had him riled up wasn’t letting go; he was getting angrier and angrier.

Arianna laughed, then she started going into elaborate detail about all the dates she wanted to go on, and which boy she wanted to take on them—she had about five or six mapped out already. Tuning her out, I tried listening for my brother. I couldn’t hear him through the people and structures in the way though. My ears just weren’t enhanced enough. It irritated me sometimes that my family’s gifts were weaker in Julian and me—the two of us were much more human than vampire. But that allowed us to feel more normal than the others, and I did appreciate that fact. The limitations were just really inconvenient at times. While any of the other vampires in my family could have easily picked out the conversation Julian was having, all I was getting was low, husky murmuring. But his emotions were simmering, and that was all I needed to know.

Glancing at Arianna, I gathered all my stuff and zipped up my bag. She raised an eyebrow, but didn’t pause in telling me all about her imaginary date rock climbing with Jake McKinley. Giving her a soft smile, so she didn’t get too suspicious, I started to stand. “I’ll be right back, Arianna, I—” Dread locked up my muscles, and I halted mid-sentence and mid-stance. Fear. Julian was feeling fear now. His anger had been rising to a boiling point, but now it had shifted to stark terror, and I had no idea why. Dropping my bag to the ground, I hauled ass across the football field.

“Nika? Where are you going? What’s wrong?”

I ignored Arianna’s concern and kept running. I had to get to Julian. I could have blurred to him in a split-second, but hampering my abilities had been drilled into me since birth, and I wouldn’t go against that training unless the situation absolutely demanded it.  And when Julian’s fear shifted to panic…I began to believe that the situation demanded it.

But knowing that Arianna was staring at me as I ran away curbed the desire to blur to Julian. I wouldn’t freak out my friend if I could help it. And aside from extreme panic and lingering fear, Julian was okay. Well, he wasn’t in pain at any rate.

Pulling open the doors to the gym, the metal singing in complaint at my force, I suddenly felt a rush of agony. Gasping, I paused in my step. The zing of hurt had exploded over me, almost like I’d felt it myself. I hadn’t, though; it was separate from my own feelings of fearful concern. The pain had come from Julian…and renewed anger came right behind it.

Once I was inside the gymnasium, my hearing finally picked him up. He was cursing, and there was a lot of scuffling. It sounded like he’d gotten himself into a fight. Odd. Julian wasn’t one to pick on people. But then again, if what had happened earlier in the gym to make him so happy was what I was afraid it was…then yeah, he might have started this fight.

Cursing under my breath as another bout of pain lashed Julian’s body, I glanced around the empty halls. Seeing it was clear, I sped off after Julian. In mere seconds, I was at the edge of a group of people in the boy’s locker room. They were all cheering on a couple of guys going at it in the center. Two bodies were sprawled on the tile floor of the open shower, wild punches being slung everywhere.

From the blood bond and our emotional connection, I knew Julian was amid the melee. Silence shocked me for a second as I stood on the periphery and watched my brother through the cracks in the teenagers surrounding him. He’d gained the upper hand and was straddling a senior: Russell Morrison. I watched in horror as Julian successfully landed a punch to Russell’s jaw. So many racing heartbeats thudded in the room…it was nearly deafening. What the hell?

Knowing that our supernatural strength was superior to every other kid at this school made fear cut through my startled state. Julian could seriously hurt Russell if he wasn’t careful, and with the amount of pain and anger Julian was feeling right now, he didn’t seem to be worried about being careful anymore. He was completely out of control.

“Julian!” I screeched, an edge of panic to my voice. He could not get in a fight with a pure human. He’d accidentally kill him.

 About S.C. Stephens

S.C. Stephens is a bestselling author who enjoys spending every free moment she has creating stories that are packed with emotion and heavy on romance.

Her debut novel, Thoughtless, an angst-filled love triangle charged with insurmountable passion and the unforgettable Kellan Kyle, took the literary world by storm. Amazed and surprised by the response to the release of Thoughtless in 2009, more stories were quick to follow. Stephens has been writing nonstop ever since.

In addition to writing, Stephens enjoys spending lazy afternoons in the sun reading fabulous novels, loading up her iPod with writer’s block reducing music, heading out the movies and spending quality time with her friends and family. She currently resides in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her two equally beautiful children.

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Field-Tripped

Release Date: October 30, 2017

A new standalone holiday romance from Nicole Archer.

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I was done with games. But playing with her is so much fun.

Ten years ago, I was all set to compete in the winter Olympics. Then I lost everything—my career, my best friend, and my girlfriend.

After that, I stopped playing games for good. I swore never to go back to Colorado. Too many bad memories. Plus, she’s still there.

Now I live a simple life as a creative director at Shimura Advertising in New York. All is good, until my boss cons me and my coworkers into spending two weeks in Colorado at Proton Sports’ sleep-away camp for adults, pitching their business. Turns out Proton’s idea of a pitch is making the agencies battle each other in a bunch of ridiculous winter games.

Guess who owns the rival company? Her. And she’s out to get me. I might just let her win.

*Field-Tripped is Book 3 in the in the Ad Agency Series and can be read as a standalone.

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