BREATHLESS & BLOODSTAINED by Bethany-Kris
The Chicago War, #4
Publication Date: March 7, 2016
Genre: Adult, Contemporary Romance, Erotic, Mafia

Synopsis

No war is won without a few bloodstains.

Tommas Rossi wants what belongs to him—he wants it bad. At thirty-years-old, he’s on course to become the youngest boss in the Chicago Outfit’s history. He just has to make it to the end alive. But being the boss of the Outfit means nothing to Tommas if a certain blue-eyed girl isn’t standing with him when the city finally crumbles. The crown is so close he can taste it. Blood paves his way. Every king needs a queen, but he doesn’t know how to get his anymore.

Abriella Trentini has always been the rebel. She’s quicker than most men, dangerous when she wants something, and more careful than anyone knows. Her relationship with Tommas Rossi has been a dangerous game she loved to play, but someone always has to lose. With choices to make, the kind that determines who will live and who will die, Abriella doesn’t know what to do. This should have been easy, but nothing ever is, and her time to choose is running out.

So much blood has spilled for this. The Outfit is in shambles, grieving and angry. The families just want peace. No one knows who will take the Chicago throne because too many men have a stake in this game. In wars like these, no one will let it go easily.

They’ll be bloodstained until the very bitter end.

And left breathless in the devastation of it all.

Has it been worth it?

***

Please Note: Breathless is the fourth book in a series and should only be read after the first three books have also been read. It is NOT a standalone.

Excerpt

There were very few things in life that made a man worthy. Those things became lessened when a man was in the mafia. Instead of his value being counted in his actions and words, it was tallied by his deeds and possessions. It was determined by the number of men on his streets and the most red he could cover on a map to say he owned.

Tommas Rossi had always found it amusing how made men were called Men of Honor. There was nothing honorable about this life. The Outfit had forgotten honor a long time ago. Long before the war.

They breathed. They bled.

Life and death.

That’s all this life had ever been.

The one thing in his life that had kept Tommas honorable throughout the years was just a few steps ahead of him, but still out of reach.

Tommas tugged his jacket tighter around his neck, determined to keep the cold February air out. Even with it being the last days of the coldest month of the season, he knew the weather wouldn’t let up for another two. Probably. The bite of the wind was the only thing he seemed to feel lately. Maybe that was why he preferred to be outside rather than inside.

“No way,” a familiar voice said down the way.

Leaning around the lamp post, Tommas watched the two women walk arm in arm down the street. His eye caught the taller of the two and the dark waves of her hair that flew wildly in the wind. For a moment, he felt something else.

His heart splintered.

It was an agonizing crack.

He hated it.

But he loved her.

“Not at all?” Abriella asked.

“No, I want to make sure it’s all pale yellows and greens,” Alessa replied. “No pink. I hate pink. No dark blues, either. I don’t want to know the gender or make people think we do know what it is.”

Abriella’s laughter floated down to Tommas’ spot, traveling in the wind. It was a sweet sound, and one so familiar to him that it soothed the deep ache inside his chest. But not for long. It never lasted very long.

He hadn’t expected to see Abriella strolling out of the hospital with her sister in tow when he arrived to visit Theo. His plans to see the Capo had been forgotten while he followed the sisters down the street.

“I’m excited for you,” Abriella said.

Alessa tugged her sister closer. “Me, too.”

Tommas wondered if Abriella was smiling. The fact that he was the cause of her unhappiness lately, or the majority of it, sucked away what little soul he had left. People shouldn’t hurt those they loved.

God knew he had grown up in a home where that’s all he ever saw. His mother hating his father, and his father despising his mother. Violence. Drinking. Abuse.

Tommas wanted to be better than that, but then he’d went ahead and got himself mixed up with a girl eight years younger than his thirty years. Someone that the Outfit determined he couldn’t have because of her status and last name. And because he wasn’t good enough for her with his status or last name.

Fuck.

He knew better.

All those years ago?

Tommas wasn’t stupid, but it had been fun. Just simple, honest fun with a girl who tasted like trouble all over and gave him a whole new thrill that had nothing to do with the streets, being a Capo, or the mafia. Somewhere along the lines, fun with Abriella turned into a private apartment with her clothes in his closest, scarfs hanging off the bedpost, and her lotions in the bathroom.

It changed to comfort.

She seeped into his blood.

She infected him.

DON’T MISS THE FIRST 3 BOOKS IN THE CHICAGO WARS SERIES….

Grab All Three Books Here: AMAZON

ABOUT BETHANY-KRIS

Bethany-Kris is a Canadian author, lover of much, and mother to three young sons, one cat, and two dogs. A small town in Eastern Canada where she was born and raised is where she has always called home. With her boys under her feet, snuggling cat, barking dogs, and a hubby calling over his shoulder, she is nearly always writing something … when she can find the time.

Website • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads • Mailing List • Pinterest • Amazon

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Title: Through The Veil (The Aisling Chronicles, #1)

Author: Colleen Halverson

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Release Date: February 22, 2016

Publisher: Entangled

Synopsis

Elizabeth Tanner is no Tinkerbell, and her life is no fairy tale. Broke and drowning in student loans, the one thing she wants more than anything is a scholarship from the Trinity Foundation. But after the ancient Irish text she’s studying turns out to be more than just a book, she becomes their prisoner instead. And when Trinity reveals Elizabeth is half-Fae, she finds herself at the center of a plot to save the magical races of Ireland from a brutal civil war.

As Commander of Trinity’s elite warriors, Finn O’Connell isn’t used to having his authority challenged. He doesn’t know whether to punish or protect the infuriating young woman in his custody. When he discovers the Dark Fae want to use Elizabeth’s abilities to control the source of all power in the universe, he’ll risk everything to help her.

At the mercy of Trinity and enslaved to the Dark Fae, Elizabeth finds herself alone on the wrong side of an Irish myth thousands of years in the making. Refusing to be a pawn in their game, Elizabeth has to fight her way back to the man she loves, but to do so, she must wage her own war against the magic that binds her.

THROUGH THE VEIL will be available February 22nd 2016 through Entangled Publishing.

Book 1 of the Aisling Chronicles Series

Order your copy today!

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Excerpt

I turned the corner and took in the large man towering over Candace’s shiny blond head. Tapping his foot and muttering something about being “late for another meeting,” he shot her a menacing scowl. He clutched the edge of the desk as if he might overturn it and swallow our intern whole like a mini eggroll.

Candace bit her lip, her big brown manga eyes wide with bubbling anxiety as she fumbled with some files.

I hated a bully. Being an army brat with a new school almost every year, I could spot one a mile away.

“Can I help you?” I threw back my shoulders and tried to make myself appear taller.

The man puffed his linebacker chest. “Finn O’Connell. I’m with the Trinity Foundation. I have an appointment with Dr. Kevin Forrester.” He had a crisp Irish accent, his consonants cutting through the shafts of afternoon light spilling into the room.

“I’m sorry, but Dr. Forrester is out.”

Where are you, old man?

I stepped forward, pasting a confident smile on my face. “Is there something I could help you with?”

Mr. O’Connell stalked over to me, and I fought the urge to step back. Six foot five and no problems with invading personal space, the man from Trinity emitted waves of heat, and his body hummed like a pulsing engine shrouded in gleaming black chrome.

My heart raced as I tilted my head up and up to meet a pair of intense gray eyes that made me forget my last name. Gritting my teeth, I steeled myself, crossing my arms. Never show fear: rule number one for managing the bullies in your life.

“Dr. Forrester recently acquired a new manuscript—”

“The Book of Arranmore!”

Finn tilted his head, trying to make sense of the jumble of consonants I had just vomited. “Excuse me?”

“Um, yes. The Book of Arranmore. Sorry.” I twisted my mouth into some semblance of a smile, but inside my stomach knotted, thinking of the changing pictures, the shifting text. “It’s a wonderful new addition to our collection.”

Finn glanced down the hallway toward the archives. “Would you mind if I take a look?”

“Um…” I curled my fingers into my palm. “I think it might be best if we wait for Dr. Forrester. If you would like to come back later—”

“No, I would not like to come back later. My time is precious, Miss…?”

I raised my eyebrows, bristling at the Miss. “Tanner. Elizabeth Tanner.”

“Miss Tanner,” he said. “As a contributing member to this institution, I think I am entitled to a small preview.”

Entitled. Only certain kinds of men could throw that word around. Men in Burberry leather trench coats, dry-cleaned, pressed shirts so white they glistened like morning snow. Men with large checkbooks. Men, who, with the flick of a lazy, indecipherable signature could decide the destiny of my academic career.

“Of course, Mr. O’Connell,” I said. “We have it in the back here, if you would like to follow me. I was just working on it.”

Finn rode my heels, and I hurried to keep some distance between us. Opening the door and crossing the reading room, I darted to my workspace, leaning against the desk to establish my territory. I raised my chin, but inside my stomach fluttered as Finn took in the mountains of scattered notes I had amassed over the past few weeks. A messy desk is the sign of a true genius, right? Judging from the scowl on the Irishman’s face, he didn’t seem to think so.

I took a deep breath and was about to open my mouth to wax intellectual on The Book of Arranmore when my hand slipped over the computer mouse. AC/DC screeched across the wood-paneled walls, elaborating on the calamitous effects of American thighs.

I let out a squeak, whirling around and fumbling to press pause, my hands shaking violently. The music stopped mid-scream, and then silence.

“Interesting taste in music, Miss Tanner.”

His words burned hot against the side of my neck, and I gasped. Finn stood a mere inch behind me. He stared down at the computer screen, the blue light flashing on the teasing smile spread across his face. Heat bloomed in my cheeks, and I clicked on the tiny X to close out the program.

“Oh, that wasn’t mine!” I brushed my hair out of my eyes. “These dang undergrads. I mean, who listens to AC/DC, right?”

Finn’s smile faded, his dark stare replacing the brief lightness in his features. I chewed on my lip, arrested for a moment by the impossible length of his eyelashes.

“Is this it?” Finn turned and planted his fists on the table, caging the manuscript with his arms.

“Yes.” Closing in on Finn, I breathed in the clean, leather smell emanating from his long coat. Warm and intoxicating, he smelled like a mix of fresh laundry and badass.

About The Author

As a child, Colleen Halverson used to play in the woods imagining worlds and telling stories to herself. Growing up on military bases, she found solace in her local library and later decided to make a living sharing the wonders of literature to poor, unsuspecting college freshman. After backpacking through Ireland and singing in a traditional Irish music band, she earned a PhD in English with a specialization in Irish literature. When she’s not making up stories or teaching, she can be found hiking the rolling hills of the Driftless area of Wisconsin with her husband and two children.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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Review

Book one of Jasper and Charlotte’s duet is a steamy and suspenseful ride that will have readers trying to uncover the truth about the explosion all those years ago and the person behind Jasper’s set up. As of right now, Kim Karr is holding those facts tight to her vest, allowing readers to form their own opinions and to try and figure out who is on whose side and who had the most motive 20 years ago compared to who has it now.

So much is left up in the air at the end of Set the Pace, and while I’m normally not too kin on cliff hangers, I love how Karr is unraveling Jasper and Charlotte’s past and present and what each piece of information means for them as a couple and for them to move forward with their lives and finally put to rest an incident that completely altered the lives of so many people, especially Jasper and Charlotte.

Jasper Storm epitomizes his last name; in all aspects of his lie, he lives hard and fast, putting everything he has into living out his father’s dream and turning something tragic into something that will help rebuild Detroit. Jasper’s past is filled dark times, but he refuses to allow those memories to overshadow what he plans to accomplish, but when his past appears in his present in the form of someone he wants so much to hate, it’s unclear how Jasper moves forward with his plans, especially when someone is out to make sure those dreams become nightmares by any means necessary.

Charlotte Lane is risking a lot showing her face back in Detroit – the place that now sees her father and anyone related to him as the cause of all of their pain 20 years ago. The public hasn’t forgotten what the Lanes did and since they can’t take it out on the man responsible, they feel it’s within their rights to make his daughter pay simply because she shares his last name. But Charlotte refuses to cower to the people of Detroit, Jasper’s friends, and even Jasper himself. She’s in Detroit for one reason and that’s to prove her father’s innocence, but now that Jasper’s innocence is on the line as well, she’ll have to work even harder to prove that she can be trusted and show the city of Detroit that her father and Jasper are not responsible for the crimes and deeds they are accused o committing.

Set the Pace is a fast paced, at times, out of control journey full of sex, lies, deception, and murder. Kim Karr’s intricately woven web does not make it clear who can be trusted and who is out to sabotage Lightning Motors, which makes Jasper and Charlotte’s journey even more intriguing. Because readers are privy to both of their points of view, we know what’s at stake for them and what they’re willing to risk to achieve their goals. Neither of them ever planned to play as big of a role in each other’s lives after the fallout twenty years ago, but they can’t help but be drawn to one another and seek comfort in a multitude of ways.

It’s unclear where Jasper and Charlotte’s story is headed, especially with the events at the end of Set the Pace, but I do know that it’s not going to be easy for them to get Jasper out of the situation he’s in nor will Charlotte be able to walk away unscathed without ensuring she’s done everything not only to save Jasper but also to let her father be at peace.

A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

5 Poison Apples

Swoon-worthy Justin Banks is FINALLY HERE in RoomHate by Penelope Ward!  

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Blurb

From New York Times Bestselling Author, Penelope Ward, comes a new standalone novel.

Sharing a summer house with a hot-as-hell roommate should be a dream come true, right?

Not when it’s Justin…the only person I’d ever loved…who now hates me.

When my grandmother died and left me half of the house on Aquidneck Island, there was a catch: the other half would go to the boy she helped raise.

The same boy who turned into the teenager whose heart I broke years ago.

The same teenager who’s now a man with a hard body and a hardass personality to match.

I hadn’t seen him in years, and now we’re living together because neither one of us is willing to give up the house.

The worst part? He didn’t come alone.

I’d soon realize there’s a thin line between love and hate. I could see through that smug smile. Beneath it all…the boy is still there. So is our connection.

The problem is…now that I can’t have Justin, I’ve never wanted him more.

Author’s note – RoomHate is a full-length standalone novel. Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.

Review

I was so hesitant to start this one because I don’t usually handle heavy angst well, and Penelope Ward definitely knows how to write in a way that tears at my heart, frustrates me, and makes me extremely anxious to see how things will turn out.

As soon as I started RoomHate, though, and saw the interaction between the hero and heroine and how angry he was at her, I knew that his feelings were still there, and I just needed to ride the angst wave until it worked itself out. And, I’m happy to say I didn’t feel as torn apart as I thought I would be because I knew Ameila’s Nana gave them both the beach house to bring them back together as it was meant to be.

I get why Amelia fled all those years ago when she thought Justin had betrayed her, and I also understand why Justin wouldn’t even consider listening to her when she tried to make things right with him soon after she took off. But what I have a hard time comprehending is how 9 years could pass without even a word exchanged between two people who were joined at the hip and each other’s other half for so much of their young lives. It just goes to show how much emotions play a factor in people’s lives so much so that they’d willing throw away a relationship that meant EVERYTHING to them.

Amelia and Justin’s reconnection is slow going throughout RoomHate, which is exactly how it should be due to the amount of time they’ve been apart and the hurt that still exists. Justin is a complete dick to Amelia at the beginning of the story, and he takes quite a bit of time to unthaw, but once he does, they have a hard time compartmentalizing their strong feelings for one another, but there are several factors that prevent them from acting on their growing non plutonic feelings, and I love that Ward makes them wait and deal with those circumstances before jumping head first into something that could be over before it begins because of the pain and grief it could cause.

Justin Banks will definitely have readers panting for him even when he’s lashing out at Amelia and don’t get me started on how much I was a puddle of goo throughout the last half of the book with Justin’s actions; he’s definitely book boyfriend worthy and the lengths that he goes to, to prove himself to those he loves is amazing.

Amelia is a fantastic heroine who isn’t afraid to show her true feelings by both words and actions. She understands she messed up, but she’s trying to make things right while also trying to keep her attraction to the older version of the boy she loved because he’s involved with someone else – someone who doesn’t deserve to get hurt, which is sometimes a rarity in books.  Her life is further complicated about halfway through the book, which puts her in a tenuous position, but she carries on and pushes herself to do what she has to do, which speaks to Amelia’s strength and her desire to be so much more than her own mother was to her.

RoomHate is a fantastic friends to enemies to friends to something more. The banter between Amelia and Justin is well written and the angst that exists throughout the text isn’t overdone; it holds true to the circumstances that surround it, which is why it didn’t’ drive me out of my mind.

Can’t wait for Penelope Ward’s next read!

A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 Poison Apples

RoomHate Excerpt

Copyright © 2016 by Penelope Ward

His eyes darted to the side, and he noticed me standing there. We just stared at each other. It was ironic, but the only times I could ever feel the remnants of our old connection were in fleeting moments of silent eye contact. Sometimes moments of silence spoke the loudest.

I left him alone again, making my way back down the hall and into the restaurant to tend to the customers I’d been ignoring.

Things really started to get busy. Without Jade working tonight, we were short-staffed, and I was having a hard time keeping up with the orders. Sandy’s had indoor and outdoor seating. Normally, I would only be working one section, but tonight I was going back and forth between the two.

It was nice out, so I knew they would have Justin performing outside. I kept glancing over to the small stage to see if he was there. It was past eight, and he hadn’t made an appearance yet.

Sometime close to eight-thirty, I was in the middle of serving a large party of ten when I first heard it: the chilling sound of a soulful voice that was not familiar in the least. He gave no introduction. No warning. He just started to sing out the first few words, followed by the strum of his guitar. The song that Justin had chosen to start with was a cover of Ain’t No Sunshine by Bill Withers.

The entire room soon quieted down, and all eyes were on the stunning blond male specimen with the spotlight shining down on him. Despite the fact that I was carrying a large round tray of dirty dishes, I couldn’t move. The vibration of his thick, smoky singing voice had completely paralyzed me, penetrating my body and soul.

Aside from the lone teardrop that fell the night he lost it on me during steak dinner, I hadn’t shed any more tears—until now. It was all too much. Hearing how different his voice sounded, how he’d trained it over the years, was a wake-up call as to how much I had missed. All of the hours of practice that must have gone into honing that beautiful voice, and I wasn’t there for any of it. The guilt, the emotions, the reality of a decade gone…everything started to pummel me at once. Not to mention the song—about a girl leaving. It probably had nothing to do with me, but in my mind, it sure as hell felt like it did.

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About the Author

Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author. She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor, before switching to a more family-friendly career. She is the proud mother of a beautiful 11-year-old girl with autism and a 9-year-old boy. Penelope and her family reside in Rhode Island.

Stalk Her: Facebook | Website | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Goodreads | Private Fan Group

Other books from Penelope Ward

Sins of Sevin

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

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Cocky Bastard

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1DW9XpB

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

iBooks: http://apple.co/1J7vbN0

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1UxCSUO

B&N: http://bit.ly/1EjxNpY

Stepbrother Dearest

Amazon  http://amzn.to/1mFNMeg

B&N: http://bit.ly/1taMFjG

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kobo: http://bit.ly/1fJaaBs

Gemini

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Jake Undone (Jake #1)

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1dJrHBC

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kobo: http://bit.ly/1SPKl0M

My Skylar

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1obOG2F

B&N: http://bit.ly/SLO1qi

iBooks: http://bit.ly/SLNOTR

kobo: http://bit.ly/1kNrtAB

Jake Understood (Jake #2)

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1GFdves

B&N: http://bit.ly/1FwJC0z

iBooks: http://apple.co/1DQQwgC

kobo: http://bit.ly/1LQ7Fvk

Meet Stuart Knight in One to Take!

#Sexycowboy

NOW LIVE

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View the One to Take Trailer Here: https://youtu.be/dLUomBKAMck

Blurb

A STAND-ALONE NOVEL in the “One to Hold” universe. Prepare for strong language, panty-melting sexy times, and heart-squeezing angst. Readers 18 and older only, please.

Life is never simple.

Even perfect couples face storms.

The question is whether our love is strong enough to survive.

I believe it is.

She told me to leave.

If I leave, I take her with me.

~Stuart Knight

On Pinterest: http://bit.ly/1IwacnW

On Spotify: http://spoti.fi/1QPSbZR

ONE TO LEAVE is the first Stuart & Mariska love story. Get it on SALE for just 99 Cents this week only! #DirtyCowboy

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Paperbacks on

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About the Author

Tia Louise is the Award-Winning, International Bestselling author of the ONE TO HOLD series.

From “Readers’ Choice” nominations, to USA Today “Happily Ever After” nods, to winning the 2015 “Favorite Erotica Author” and the 2014 “Lady Boner Award” (LOL!), nothing makes her happier than communicating with fans and weaving new tales into the Alexander-Knight world of stories.

A former journalist, Louise lives in the center of the USA with her lovely family and one grumpy cat. There, she dreams up stories she hopes are engaging, hot, and sexy, and that cause readers rethink common public locations…

Books by Tia Louise:
One to Hold (Derek & Melissa), 2013
One to Keep (Patrick & Elaine), 2014
One to Protect (Derek & Melissa), 2014
One to Love (Kenny & Slayde), 2014
One to Leave (Stuart & Mariska), 2014
One to Save (Derek & Melissa), 2015
One to Chase (Amy & Marcus), 2015
One to Take (Stuart & Mariska), coming Feb. 22, 2016!

Paranormal Romances (all stand-alones):
One Immortal (Derek & Melissa, #SexyVampires), 2015
One Insatiable (Koa & Mercy, #SexyShifters), 2015

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Connect with Tia:
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About the Author

THE LIE

By Karina Halle

Publisher: Metal Blonde Books

Publication Date: February 15, 2016

Their love led to a lie.

Their truth led to the end.

Scottish enigma Brigs McGregor is crawling out from the ashes. After losing his wife and son in a car accident – and, subsequently, his job – he’s finally moving forward with his life, securing a prestigious teaching position at the University of London and starting a new chapter in the city. Slowly, but surely, he’s pushing past the guilt and putting his tragic past behind him.

Until he sees her.

Natasha Trudeau once loved a man so much she thought she’d die without him. But their love was wrong, doomed from the start, and when their world crashed around them, Natasha was nearly buried in the rubble. It took years of moving on to forget him, and now that she’s in London, she’s ready to start over again.

Until she sees him.

Because some loves are too dangerous to ever rekindle.

And some loves are too powerful to ignore.

Can you ever have a second chance at a love that ruined you?

The Lie is a second-chance romance with a dark, forbidden twist.

AMAZON: http://bit.ly/TheLie-Kindle    

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Review

“Better to be a catalyst for change than a martyr for lies.”

Lachlan McGregor couldn’t have given the beautiful young woman who was wallowing in a stool at the bar he was at any better advice and I believe that if he would have known that Natasha was talking about his very married brother that he still would have given the same sage words.

But little did Lachlan know or Natasha for that matter that the kind of change she was going to be responsible for by sharing her feelings with Brigs that he would destroy instead unite…kill instead of renew…haunt instead of set free. Because no longer living the lie…no longer pretending that what Brigs and Miranda shared was a happy marriage and what he shared with Natasha was merely friendship ruined so many lives and sent two people spiraling downward and struggling to pull themselves out of the darkness that they believed they deserved for selfishly falling in love.

I was absolutely blown away by how Karina Halle was able to express Brigs and Natasha’s emotional states so poignantly through words alone; they resonated off of the pages and wrapped themselves around me so much so that I had to take breaks from reading because it got to be too overwhelming.

I know that Karina Halle was torn about releasing Brigs and Natasha’s story due to the topic of infidelity, but it’s presented in such a way that even though it doesn’t make it okay, there’s no way to deny the connection between Brigs and Natasha and the dire state of Brigs and Miranda’s marriage. Could things have been handled differently? Absolutely…but there was no way out of this situation without people suffering and neither Brigs nor Natasha could have anticipated how drastic the fallout would be.

The Lie will have readers emotionally invested from the start, and as Halle provides readers with insight into how Brigs and Natasha’s relationship blossomed and then how it burned to the ground, it will be clear that both of them have paid for their poor choices and that in order to move on and work through their brokenness, they need to climb out of the ashes and make things right between them because they truly are each other’s other half and regardless of what has occurred, they don’t deserve to suffer for the rest of their lives.

Even though Brigs and Natasha’s love felt like a mistake…even though it tore their lives apart, “Love is the right thing,” and that idea is clearly illustrated in their story.

A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

5 Poison Apples

Excerpt

Without even thinking, I end up in Natasha’s neighborhood, on her street. I pull the car over and stare at her building. I can drive off. I can go blow off some steam with Lachlan. I can drive and scream and wish to god that things were different.

But I don’t want to do it alone.

I get out of the car and head to her flat.

I knock on her door, wondering if she’s even in, if she might still be sleeping. It’s still early on a Saturday and we don’t see each other on the weekends without it being work related, such as seeing a classic film at the cinema. I hadn’t planned to talk to her until Monday, her last week of work as my research assistant before going back to London.

My heart pinches at that thought.

She’s leaving me.

What the hell am I doing?

But then the door opens slowly and she’s staring at me with wide eyes, her hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun, a fluffy robe around her body.

“Sorry,” I say quickly, immediately feeling bad. “Did I wake you up?”

She yawns. “Kind of, but I should be getting up anyway. What’s, um, up?”

I rub my lips together. “I…I wanted to know if you wanted to go for a drive?”

“Where?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. Far away. But not too far. I have to be back by twelve-thirty for Hamish.”

“What time is it now?”

“Eight-thirty.”

She rolls her eyes. “And you were wondering if you woke me up. I should still be sleeping for at least another two hours.”

I nod, embarrassed at my enthusiasm. I’m being inappropriate. “I should go.”

I turn around, but she reaches out and grabs my arm, holding tight. “No, don’t,” she says. “I want to go with you. Just give me five minutes, okay?”

I turn to look at her and she’s flashing me a persuasive smile.

“I’ll be in the car,” I tell her.

Somehow she’s true to her word. In five minutes she’s jogging down the steps of her building, dressed in jeans and a tank top that shows off the tawny warmth of her summer tan. She hasn’t touched her hair at all; it’s still up in that bedhead bun, and there isn’t a bit of makeup on her. She doesn’t need it. She looks joyful. She looks absolutely beautiful.

“You’re fast,” I tell her as she slips into the passenger seat.

She giddily drums her hands across the dash and beams at me. “I’m fast when I want to be. I love this car. Where are we going again? Oh right, somewhere far away. Can we get coffee first? I’m dying.”

I can’t help but grin at her as I turn the key. The car starts on the first turn. She’s my good luck charm. “You don’t seem like you need coffee.”

“I always need coffee,” she says emphatically. “You know this. So where to?”

“I honestly don’t know. You pick.”

“Do you have a map?”

“Of Scotland?”

“Yeah.”

I nod at the glove compartment. “In there.”

She opens it and it falls open with a clunk. She takes out an old faded road map and starts looking it over.

“Anything strike your eye?”

“I’m looking for Loch Ness.”

“That’s too far.”

“Okay, is there like another lake with a swamp monster?”

“Nearly all the lochs are in the Highlands.”

“Arrrrrrrrrr in the Highlands,” she says playfully, imitating my accent.

“Okay, maybe no coffee for you.”

“Don’t be cruel, Professor Blue Eyes.” She goes back to studying the map but the mention of my nickname makes a small fire build inside me. And not one of anger.

She points on the map. “Here. Balmoral.”

“That’s where the Queen lives.”

“I know. I want to say hello.”

“It’s a two-hour drive,” I point out.

“Well, then we better get cracking,” she says. “The Queen is expecting us.”

She’s definitely full of spirit today. It seems to latch onto me and I ingest it like a tonic. She’s erasing all the humiliation and pain from the morning.

We head out of the city, taking the A-90 to the M-90 and speed north. After we get her some coffee and we share a couple of sausage rolls for breakfast, I warn her that we literally will see the estate and have to head back. But she doesn’t mind.

And honestly, neither do I. I crank the old radio on the car to pick up an oldies station playing a special on Otis Redding. The day is warm and gorgeous, and even though we’re going fast, our windows are down, enjoying the wind and the sun on our skin.

About an hour into our drive, Natasha turns to me and says, “Tell me the truth. Why did you come to get me this morning?”

“Was it that unusual?” I ask without looking at her.

“Yes,” she says. “The last time you came to my house without me knowing…”

“Back then I was following up on an email. I wanted to know if you were all right,” I tell her before she can tell me anything else about that night.

“And now I want to know if you’re all right,” she says gently.

I glance at her. There’s a softness in her eyes that undoes me. I grip the wheel hard, conscious of my every movement and how they might appear to her. A good man, after the night she kissed me, the night I kissed her right back, would have never been alone with her again.

But I’m not a good man.

I’m a man who is slowly but surely falling in the wrong direction.

About Karina Halle

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 Waxman Leavell Agency and is both self-published and published by Simon & Schuster and Hachette in North America and in the UK.

Hit her up on Instagram at @authorHalle, on Twitter at @MetalBlonde and on Facebook. You can also visit www.authorkarinahalle.comand sign up for the newsletter for news, excerpts, previews, private book signing sales and more.

LINKS:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Karina-Halle/140649372629593

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Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4785031.Karina_Halle?from_search=true

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE: http://www.amazon.com/Karina-Halle/e/B0050KE63C/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1407546895&sr=8-2-ent