Flynn & Aria Roberts have had plenty of ups and downs during their seven year marriage. Everyone warned them not to wed so young – that they’d be missing out on the key years when people grow from young adults to mature individuals.
The only thing holding them
together now is their
love for each other,
and even that is becoming questionable.
To save the marriage, and the family they’ve already started, Flynn and Aria come up with an unconventional solution to help them find what’s missing in their relationship.
The only problem is doing so involves rediscovering themselves completely, even if it requires them to be unfaithful.
Can a marriage survive
when vows are broken, or will chance encounters prove they’ve been missing out all-along?
“Where have you been?” My sister rushed forward, catching me up in a tight hug. “I’ve been trying to call you all day. We checked everywhere and couldn’t find you.”
“Sorry. I just needed some alone time.” I squeezed her back, unable to stop from smiling. The thought of Anne turning her back on me had scared me more than I liked to admit.
“Well, I get you might want that.” She stepped back. “But you could have told someone.”
“You can’t just disappear like that.” And Ben kept right on frowning. “Shit, Liz, you’re pregnant.”
“Don’t upset her,” snapped Anne.
Ben ignored her. “I don’t know what the hell’s going on in your head. But you need to let me know where you are.”
My eyebrows went up and my mouth opened, ready to rip him a new one.
“She doesn’t answer to you. She’ll let you know if and when she decides to let you know,” said Mal, laying down the law to his bandmate before turning my way. “You will text your sister next time you decide to go wandering for a day, understood?”
My mouth, it still hung open.
“Christ, man.” Over and over, Ben’s hands rolled into tight fists before releasing again. “Can you cut the shit and get off my back for a fucking minute?”
“Don’t swear at him.” My usually sensible and staid sister poked a finger dead center in Ben’s broad chest. “You’re the one that caused this mess, thank you very much. She might still be a little young and naive, but you’re definitely old enough to know better.”
“That’s right.” Standing about as tall as a skyscraper, despite only coming up to Ben’s nose, Mal stared him down. Or up. Whatever. “This is a family matter. You can leave, thanks.”
Positive. With two little lines on a pregnancy test, everything in Lizzy Rollins’ ordinary life is about to change forever. And all because of one big mistake in Vegas with Ben Nicholson, the irresistibly sexy bass player for Stage Dive. So what if Ben’s the only man she’s ever met who can make her feel completely safe, cherished, and out of control with desire at the same time? Lizzy knows the gorgeous rock star isn’t looking for anything more permanent than a good time, no matter how much she wishes differently.
Ben knows Lizzy is off limits. Completely and utterly. She’s his best friend’s little sister now, and no matter how hot the chemistry is between them, no matter how sweet and sexy she is, he’s not going to go there. But when Ben is forced to keep the one girl he’s always had a weakness for out of trouble in Sin City, he quickly learns that what happens in Vegas, doesn’t always stay there. Now he and Lizzie are connected in the deepest way possible…but will it lead to a connection of the heart?
Kylie is a long time fan of erotic love stories and B-grade horror films. She demands a happy ending and if blood and carnage occur along the way then all the better. Based in Queensland, Australia with her two children and one delightful husband, she reads, writes and never dithers around on the internet.
Kylie is represented by Amy Tannenbaum at the Jane Rotrosen Agency, New York.
Bleu MacAllister’s fate lies in the hands of the enemy. Complicated circumstances have rendered her helpless to escape their clutches so she must await rescue by her less than lily-white knight. All is right again when she’s back in the arms of the man she loves until long buried secrets are unearthed. With them, Bleu finally discovers her mother’s killer along with far more than she could possibly imagine. Can she find happiness with a husband who will go to any length to keep her safe, even if it means denying her of the one thing she believes she wants most in this world?
For Bleu, what started as vengeance has turned to love…
For Sinclair, what started as a life for the Fellowship has become a life for his wife and any children they would have…
For Bleu and Sin Breckenridge, life has become meaningful; it’s become about commitment, trust, and protection. It’s become hopeful in a world filled with death, revenge, and secrets. It’s become so much more than either of them ever expected due to their upbringing and what drove them for most of their lives.
But Bleu and Sin’s lives are still in danger, and when One Last Sin begins, they’re still individually dealing with Bleu’s kidnapping and Sin’s arrest and hoping and praying that it all plays out in their favor because the risks have never been higher than they are right now.
The evolvement of Bleu and Sin and their relationship is at the forefront of the text, which is fitting when readers consider where they started. There’s still suspense and twists along the way and loose ends are tied up in regards to a few of the bigger storylines that have played out in the previous two books, but book three’s focus is on the next steps in Bleu and Sin’s life together and the changes that are occurring not only between them but in the Fellowship as well. Everything comes full circle in the last book in the series, and I couldn’t be happier with how it all played out. Closure and new beginnings are what this book is about, but there’s also just enough left unfinished that if Georgia Cates wanted to, she could write a few spin-off novellas to update readers on not only Bleu and Sin, but the friends/family closest to them that we have grown to love and are curious to see how their lives work out as well.
I, for one, would love to see what happens between Leith and Lorna and if anything grows between Jamie and Bleu’s sister.
This series has everything romance readers love – hot sex, suspense, complex storylines, and a cast of characters who we are able to see grow and evolve as the story continues. The
Sin Trilogy is a definite MUST read!
A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.
4.5 poison apples
Excerpt
I watch the number above the elevator doors increase as the lift rises to our floor. Twelve. Thirteen. Fourteen. Three more to go. It’s too many when your husband pins your body against him while his hand roams downward to rub between your legs.
He’s fervent to say the least.
Warm breath moves over my ear. A tingle races down my spine and goosebumps erupt over my skin. I’m sure there’s a camera on us right now. All elevators have them. “We’re probably giving a thrill to whoever is watching the security footage.”
“Don’t give a fuck. The thrill I’m feeling is much more important to me right now.”
The doors open and we sprint toward our room. Sin is so anxious his first three attempts at unlocking the door are unsuccessful. “Son of a bitch. The keycard isn’t working.”
I hold out my hand and he places the card in my palm. I slide it in and pull it slower. Click. “Open sesame.”
“Fuck. That was sexy.”
All I did was open a door. “I put the keycard in the hole and pulled it out.”
“I know,” he growls while pulling me through the door toward the bed.
We shed our coats and go to work on all fabric barriers preventing our bodies from being bare against one another. He undresses himself while I do the same, his eyes never leaving my body. “Shite. I may come before you get naked.”
My eyes immediately drop to the crotch of his boxer briefs. He has a huge erection tenting his underwear with a wet spot covering the tip. “Don’t you dare.”
I undress faster. More than one stitch pops as I pull my dress over my head. Articles of clothing drop randomly to the floor with no regard for wrinkling
A Necessary Sin- Book 1 of The Sin Trilogy
Bleu MacAllister is consumed. A horrific childhood incident has caused every decision in her life to revolve around bringing a monster to justice. With years spent studying The Fellowship, an organized crime brotherhood of liars, thieves, and killers, Bleu will rely on her skills as a special agent to cut Thane Breckenridge off at the knees. But walking hand in hand with retribution means risking collateral damage, in the form of Breckenridge’s son Sinclair—until Sin becomes so much more than Bleu bargained for. She’s always known this undertaking would place her life in danger—she never imagined her heart would be as well.
An epic tale of revenge and love in a new romantic trilogy from the New York Times best-selling author of The Beauty Series.
Bleu MacAllister is in hiding less than three months when Sinclair Breckenridge discovers her whereabouts. Her former lover, the future leader of a criminal organization known as The Fellowship, resists the tug of his heart heartstrings in her direction. Instead, he opts to watch over his beloved from afar. And she has no idea. But Sin’s sacrifice is short-lived. His bonny lass is a hunted traitor. He fears Abram’s assassins are closing in, leaving him with one solution for saving Bleu–make her his wife. Marriage seems an easy fix for their dilemma but wedded bliss is brief when the couple finds trouble lying in wait beyond the realm of the brotherhood. Will the original revenge seeker find herself the object of collateral damage?
Georgia resides in rural Mississippi with her wonderful husband, Jeff, and their two beautiful daughters. She spent fourteen years as a labor and delivery nurse before she decided to pursue her dream of becoming an author and hasn’t looked back yet.When she’s not writing, she’s thinking about writing. When she’s being domestic, she’s listening to her iPod and visualizing scenes for her current work in progress. Every story coming from her always has a song to inspire it.
Representation: All questions regarding subsidiary rights for any of my books, inquiries regarding foreign translation and film rights should be directed to Jane Dystel of Dystel & Goderich.
Title: When the Chips Are Down (Three of a Kind, #1)
Author: Beth Rinyu
Release Date: March 14, 2015
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Blurb
Melanie Hanson’s life didn’t go quite the way she had planned. Her cheating ex-husband traded her in for a newer model and she’s in over her head dealing with the drama that comes along with raising her twin teenage daughters.
The last thing she is looking for or needs in her life is a man – or is it?
Ben Wilder is the boy that Melanie loved to hate throughout high school, the boy that all the girls loved and the boy that didn’t give Melanie the time of day, unless it was to tease her. When she runs into him once again she realizes…he’s not a boy anymore. Older and wiser, she’s determined not to fall for her secret crush from all those years ago. But sometimes our heart has different plans than our head. Will she finally get her happily ever after with the man she least expected to have it with?
Take a humorous journey with Melanie and her daughters as their lives begin to parallel and they discover that although they may be separated by a generation their struggles are still the same.
I tried my best to ignore him, but I could feel his eyes settling on me. I took a deep breath when he got up and sat next to me. “Well, at least I know your real name now.” I shook my head, still trying to avoid eye contact. “So, how’s your ass doing?”
“What!?” I finally turned my head and looked directly at him.
“From your fall the other day.” I looked away. “Was I really that much of an ass to you during high school that you are still carrying a grudge all these years later?”
“Don’t flatter yourself. It has nothing to do with you.”
“Oh, okay. So, are you bitchy like this to every guy you come in contact with?”
“Yeah, maybe I am! What’s it to you?”
He held his hand up in defense. “Doesn’t matter to me one bit, sweetheart, but you’ve clearly been shafted by a guy a time or two to have an attitude like that. I mean, don’t get me wrong. The bitchy ones are better in bed with all that pent-up aggression.” He smirked and took a sip of his beer.
“Oh, you are such a pig, you know that? You are the same arrogant ‘I’m so in love with myself’ jock you were back in school! Well, reality check. Despite the fact you may have never grown up, most women have. So your good looks, perfect body, and smooth talking will no longer work.” He chuckled loudly. “What’s so funny?”
“I think you just admitted you thought I was good-looking and had a perfect body.”
“No. That’s not what –” He had me feeling so flustered. “I meant MEN, in general!”
“Whatever you say, princess.”
“My name is Melanie! Oh, wait. Maybe you’ll remember Smellanie better!”
His grin widened. “Ahhhh, now I remember you! You were that cute little blonde girl who used to sit in front of me in French class. You were the little goody two-shoes who always knew exactly how to respond in perfect French to the teacher, while the rest of us struggled to maintain a D average. You know you really didn’t smell, right? That was just a nickname for you.”
“I know I never smelled, thank you very much!”
“Well, Smellanie, can I say that you are just as cute now as you were back then?”
“No, you may not!”
About the Author
Ever since I can remember, I have always enjoyed Creative Writing. There was always something about being able to travel to a different place or become a different person with just the stroke of a pen – or in today’s world a touch of the keyboard. I am the author of The Exception To The Rule, An Unplanned Lesson, An Unplanned Life and Drowning In Love, A Cry for Hope. and A Will To Change.
My life is not as interesting as my books or the characters in them, but then again whose life is? I’m a mom of twin teenage boys, a crazy Border Collie and a cat with an identity crisis! I guess you can say writing is my form of Calgon!
Thanks for taking the time to learn about my books and me! If you decide to read them (and I hope you do!) please be sure to go on and review it for me – yes, even if you don’t like it!
We are so excited to bring to you a BRAND NEW series from
JC Emery.
Each book is a STANDALONE.
April 30th Release Date
Synopsis
Melanie Kincaid is a trust-fund baby with a knack for sassy comebacks and unnecessarily complicating her privileged life. So, of course she would have to fall in love with a man she can’t have.
Jameson Hayes is a NYC firefighter for Manhattan’s oldest ladder company with big shoes to fill and a city to protect. He’s strong, sexy, and not looking for the complications Melanie brings. But he can’t stay away from her either. The attraction between them is immediate and the pull between them is crazy powerful. But she’s only home for the summer and long-distance relationships never work.
Unfortunately, Melanie’s beauty and smart mouth are a lethal combination and Jameson isn’t the only Hayes who’s interested. As if his brother isn’t enough to compete with, now the city’s most famous arsonist wants to claim her as his next prize. Jameson can’t stand to watch Melanie get hurt and she can’t seem to keep herself out of trouble.
Fall for Me is the first Ladder Company novel, a stand-alone companion series about New York’s most elite firefighting family with hot alpha heroes, snarky heroines, and an arsonist hell-bent on destruction.
About the Author
As a child, JC was fascinated by things that went bump in the night. As they say, some things never change. Now, as an adult, she divides her time between the sexy law men, mythical creatures, and kick-ass heroines that live inside her head and pursuing her bachelor’s degree in English. JC is a San Francisco Bay Area native, but has also called both Texas and Louisiana home. These days she rocks her flip flops year round in Northern California and can’t imagine a climate more beautiful.
JC writes adult, new adult, and young adult fiction. She dabbles in many different genres including science fiction, horror, chick lit, and murder mysteries, yet she is most enthralled by supernatural stories– and everything has at least a splash of romance.
But my husband is dead and I’m alone. I ache for him and I reach for Liam.
One night with Liam changed everything. Now I have to decide if I truly love him or if he’s just the consolation prize.
Review
Before heading into Consolation, I had heard a lot about Corinne Michaels’ writing and how she develops her characters and the storyline in order to get the most “feels” out of her readers. After reading the synopsis of Consolation as well as the Prologue, I knew that the information I had acquired about Michaels was absolutely true, and now, after reading Consolation, I’m anxiously waiting to continue the heart stomping and sense of emotional overload in its follow-up, Conviction.
Raw and Honest – those are the two words that kept cycling through my mind as I got further into Natalie and Liam’s story.
The reality of their circumstances, both individually, as they suffer through the loss of a husband and a best friend, and as a couple, as they give into their feelings for each other while still dealing with Liam’s ghost, secret revelations, and public perception is expertly delivered in a way that allows readers to truly understand not only the situation but what both Natalie and Liam are feeling as their relationship deepens and they put each other back together.
Liam Dempsey is everything a woman would want in a man; he’s honorable, courageous, loyal, and so deserving of a woman’s love and affection. He tried to keep Natalie at a distance and not allow himself to feel more for his best friend’s widow, but fate works in mysterious ways, and his promise to protect her forces Liam to realize that his feelings for Natalie is something he doesn’t want to deny, and even though his relationship with Natalie is complicated, and he feels second best at times, he refuses to let his chance at happiness slip through his fingers, and he won’t allow Natalie to deny what she feels for him either because they both give each other hope, which has been hard to find since Aaron’s death.
Although Natalie and Liam’s connection is worth the fight, the reality of their situation, especially with the events that play out at the end of Consolation, is complex and difficult to handle, and it’s unclear what the future holds for them with the complications that land at Natalie’s door. But one thing’s for sure, the continuation of their story in Conviction is going to be just as full of emotion and angst as Consolation and difficult decisions are going to have to be made with not all parties happy with the outcome.
May can’t come soon enough.
A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.
4 poison apples
Prologue
Natalie
“Oh, Chloe, if you’d like to come out, please wait until your Daddy gets back,” I insist, holding my belly as another Braxton Hicks contraction hits. I grip the dresser and try to breathe through it. It seems like they’re coming more frequently.
Once it passes, I try to finish what I came in here for. Aaron is away, but I want the nursery done so we can enjoy the next few weeks once he returns. I walk around what will be her room, putting a few more of the pretty pink dresses in the drawers. Aaron and I have fought about the vast array of pink things that are now strewn around the house—he hates it, I love it.
He insisted we paint her room in camouflage. Brown, green, and black camouflage for a girl? No. I almost sent myself into labor with that argument. I got home and he and Mark were drawing it out on the walls. I launched various household items at Mark while throwing him out of the house. My husband found out shortly after how much he could suffer by my hands. I may not be a SEAL, but you don’t mess with me either. In the end, I won with purple walls and the sheer netting around her white crib.
“Daddy’s going to love this room, Chloe. I can’t wait to see his face when he sees the pretty butterflies.” Needing to take another break, I sit in the rocking chair and rub my stomach. It soothes me knowing she’s in there. I can protect her—it’s my job. I love being pregnant and it’s a miracle we were able to conceive her. I’ve already told Aaron I want to try for another one as soon as she’s born. I close my eyes and sink, allowing the world to fade away.
I imagine holding her in my arms, sitting here in this chair, soothing and kissing her. I picture Aaron with her asleep on his chest as she gets to hear his heartbeat. She’ll own his world and have him wrapped around her finger.
Knock, knock, knock.
I hear the door, but it takes me a few seconds to get out of the chair.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.
They bang louder this time.
“Coming!” I yell at the door. Jeez, give me a second.
Waddling to the door takes me a minute since I’m the size of a whale.
I open the door and see Mark Dixon, Aaron’s boss and close friend. He works at Cole Security Forces with Aaron and served with him for years. His head is hanging low and when he looks up, his eyes are full of sorrow.
“What’s wrong?”
“Lee,” he chokes on the one syllable of my name. The one Aaron uses. Something is definitely not right.
“What happened?” I ask again as I begin to shake.
Tears fill his eyes and I know. I know my life is never going to be the same. I know everything I’ve ever feared is about to come true because Mark doesn’t cry. Mark wouldn’t be at my door if something weren’t really, really wrong. “It’s Aaron.”
My heart stops beating and the world I live in ceases to exist. “Don’t,” I beg with tears blurring my vision and my breath accelerating.
This can’t be happening.
“Please, don’t, Mark. Please,” I beg him again, because once he says it…but I know it’s futile. It doesn’t matter because he can’t stop it. It’s already happened.
“Natalie, I’m so sorry.”
The dreaded words that every military wife fears. Only I wasn’t supposed to have to worry about this anymore. We were done. We got out. I wasn’t supposed to ever fear this again.
Please, God, don’t take him from me. Please!
“But, I’m p-pregnant. I’m having a baby,” I stammer as if that will somehow make none of this real. “He said he’d be back. He said he…” I trail off as it becomes difficult to breathe. My hand flies to my mouth to stifle the scream about to escape. Everything goes colorless.
“It was an IED. I’m sorry,” Mark says as his eyes glimmer with unshed tears.
I fall.
But he’s there, cradling me in his arms. “I’m so fucking sorry.”
“No. No. No.” Mark holds me as I sob clutching my stomach. “You’re lying,” I hiss, tearing myself out of his embrace.
“I wish I were,” he says as I struggle to get up.
“It was a mistake. He’s having a baby. He said it was a simple in and out!” I scream and throw my hands against his chest. “You’re lying!” I scream, even knowing it’s not a lie.
“I’m sorry.”
“Stop saying you’re sorry!” My sorrow turns to hatred. I hate him. I hate everyone in this moment. I hate Aaron and everyone who was there. I hate this house and everything in it. I hate the air that he no longer breathes. Hate consumes me. Hate smothers me. “Get out!” I yell and push against his chest. “Get the fuck out of my house! Aaron will be back in a few days and then we’re going to get ready for our daughter to be born.”
“Please,” Mark beseeches and I refuse to look at him.
This isn’t happening because Aaron’s alive.
He’s not dead. How dare Mark lie to me.
“He’ll be back. He wouldn’t leave me. He promised.” Aaron wouldn’t lie to me. He never does. When he left for missions, he would always say goodbye like it could be our last. But this time he kissed the tip of my nose and said, “Now don’t have that baby until I get back.”
“Can I call someone? Your mom?”
“No, you can’t call anyone because he’s not dead! Go get him, Mark! Go get my husband and bring him home.” I step back pointing my finger at him. “You all promised. He promised.” I clutch my stomach as a sharp pain radiates, but it’s nothing compared to the agony sitting on my chest. Tears flow relentlessly as I struggle against his hold. “He promised.”
“I know he did,” Mark says as he holds my head against his chest.
Corinne Michaels is an emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun loving mom of two beautiful children. She’s 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.
Both her maternal and paternal grandmothers were librarians, which only intensified her love of reading. After years of writing short stories, she couldn’t ignore the call to finish her debut novel, Beloved. Her alpha Navy SEALs are broken, beautiful, and will steal your heart.
Trapped in a marriage since the age of twenty-one, Malinda May is finally free. Having lost her biker husband, she is determined to keep her two teenage children as far away from the MC lifestyle as possible, a lifestyle which has brought her nothing but heartache and fear. Life is never that simple. Relentless in their mission to prove to Malinda that not all bikers are bad, the Hawks’ women are determined to support Malinda and her family, whether she wants it or not. In her struggle to keep her distance, Malinda soon battles her desire to keep her family safe or relent and begin to trust the MC.
Tired of women and their mind games, Declan Stoke knows women are only good for keeping his bed warm for a night. Having once thought he’d found the one, he’s no longer willing to put his heart on the line. Even when faced with the temptation of a wounded, sexy woman, he steers clear…well, tries to.
Malinda and Stoke find themselves at an impasse, one seemingly impossible to navigate through. With trouble brewing, life is going to get complicated, and for Malinda, she’s trapped with no way out.
Anytime I can get my hands on another book in Lila Rose’s Hawks Motorcycle Club and see what Wildcat and her Posse of Pussies and Gay Mama Bear are up to, you can be assured that I’m all over it. I absolutely love this group of characters and their willingness to put everything on the line for one another and for those they consider their motorcycle family, and even though Malinda May wants nothing to do with the club that she considers changing her husband in irrevocable ways, when they know one of their own is in trouble, they’re going to step up and set everything right or go down fighting.
Declan Stoke isn’t looking for an old lady, especially one that wants nothing to do with his club even though she belonged to one his brothers. But there’s something about Malinda that appeals to him on a number of levels, and regardless of the space he tries to put between them and the growing attraction he tries to deny, he realizes he’s already in deep, and when a series of threats forces action, Stoke steps up and refuses to let Malinda out of his life and the club, and once Malinda realizes she and her children need the Hawks and especially Stoke, she might just figure out that she doesn’t want out.
No way out is another fantastic story in Lila Rose’s MC world. I love that each heroine who Rose matches up with her alpha males are unique and fit their mates perfectly, and they also add a refreshing dynamic to the Muffkaters. I also really enjoyed the few times readers were given other perspectives besides Stoke and Malinda’s because it added a fuller view of everything that was going on when the shit hit the fan on more than one avenue.
Can’t wait to see what mischief and mayhem occur in the next Hawks Motorcycle Club book.
A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.
4.5 poison apples
Damn Declan Stoke and his…amazingness. I’d gone to bed last night as horny as an animal in heat. Maybe I was in heat? Do women do that? That kiss, his luscious lips upon mine was divine.
Still, in a way, I was thankful Mrs Cliff had interrupted, because if she hadn’t, I would have been naked on that couch, straddling Stoke, while my children were in their rooms. That was the worse a mother could do.
He drove my body insane in the most delicious way possible. He also drove my mind insane with how it felt like he knew me.
I was born in Brisbane, Australia. My step-dad was in the Army, which caused us to move around a lot. We finally settled in country Victoria, Australia. I am the youngest of four children and I can say that I was spoilt a bit. I drove my mum crazy when I refused to eat meat at a young age. Now I live with my husband and two children, and I find myself regretting all the troubles I put my parents through because my monsters are just as picky as I was.
I started writing in 2013 and self-published the first of the Hawks MC Club series Holding Out. The next to follow was something different, I wrote Senseless Attraction, a YA novel. Soon I was back to the Hawks series with number two Climbing Out. I have more to write in the series, but there will be also be more novels in the humorous erotica genre, like Left to Chance, which is out now.
By New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Lexi Ryan
Note from Lexi
Almost three years ago, I was working full time as an English professor and learning how much a one- and five-year-old could keep me on my toes. I knew my life was full and that I was a lucky duck who had all she ever needed (and most of what she wanted), but I just couldn’t let go of this dream of “making it” as a writer. I had a couple books published with a small press but my low sales numbers were never going to help me to become a full-time writer, and that was my dream.
Despite my insane to-do list and already full plate, I decided to dive into self-publishing. Text Appeal was my first self-published novel and it was originally released in June of 2012. It was the first big step in a journey that truly changed my life.
Although I loved the original hot guy cover, it was time to give the book a fresh look that better matches my brand. I love this cover so much and the book even more. Who can resist a bad boy poker player who’s determined to get his girl?
Charlie ‘The Devil’ Singleton is the face of professional poker. Notorious for playing cards and women, Charlie’s ready to change his ways, and the surprisingly sexy texts he’s getting from Riley are making him bet everything…on her.
Riley Carter is nothing like the hotel heiresses who make the news. A girl who’s determined to run her father’s hotel empire can’t share many traits with women who fill the gossip rags. But ‘The Devil’ has a way of tempting even the best behaved girls.
When Riley discovers the naughty messages on her cell have been coming from Charlie, not her would-be fiancé, she falls into a hot affair with the last man she expected. But consorting with the notorious bad boy puts her hard-won reputation on the line. Is Charlie worth more to her than a little TEXT APPEAL?
Excerpt
They were in the elevator. And it was moving. They were in a small, moving elevator. They were in a very small, moving elevator and she didn’t know how long they’d been here and how much longer it would take. Had they stalled?
Charlie cleared his throat and loosened her grip on his jacket. “Not that I’m complaining about having you this close to me,” he whispered, his breath hot against her ear. “In fact, I could get used to it.”
She was glued to him, she realized vaguely, but she couldn’t contemplate moving. Not until those doors opened.
“It’s just, Riley, baby, if you’re going to have your body this close to mine, I want you to be looking desperately at me, not a pair of elevator doors. Do you have any idea what that does to a guy’s ego?”
She frowned. “I’m not worried about your ego,” she muttered.
“Hey.” He was stroking her back, soft circles between her shoulder blades. “You’re shaking.”
“I prefer the stairs,” she whispered.
“Close your eyes.”
She shook her head, staring at the doors. Like Charlie had promised, the elevator was glass, and that relieved a little of her claustrophobia. If they got stuck, people would be able to see they were inside. They’d be okay. Someone would come help them.
The elevator’s second ding signaled their arrival, and the doors slid open to the famous bustling kitchen of the French restaurant she’d always been curious about but never visited.
The maître d’ smiled. “Reservations?”
“Singleton,” Charlie said. And just like that, they were being led out of that death trap of an elevator and to their table.
When the concierge pulled out a chair for her, Riley gasped at the view. Their seats were right next to the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the eleven-story-high view of the fountains at the Bellagio.
“Will the heights bother you?” Charlie asked in a whisper.
She shook her head and slid into her chair, angling it strategically so she wouldn’t miss a second of the vision outside the window. “It’s beautiful.”
The concierge placed a leather-bound menu before her. She opened it and gaped. Quick mental calculations told her a basic meal here could more than pay for her next shopping spree at Fredrick’s. When she looked up, Charlie was studying her.
“You’re doing it again,” she said, feeling her cheeks warm.
“Doing what?” Charlie asked, eyeing her over his menu.
Flames of heat licked higher in her cheeks. She wished she was one of those women with a cute flush, but hers pinkened her whole face. She leaned forward and lowered her voice to a whisper. “You’re looking at me like I’m the sprinkles on a brownie sundae.”
His gaze dropped to her mouth, then the little of her body not hidden behind the table. Though she was covered by a black, high-necked number she’d chosen for modesty, the heat in his eyes made her feel exposed. His focus shifted back to her mouth before he said, “Sweetheart, you’re the whole damn sundae, and I am more than ready for dessert.”
Reviews
From Barnes & Noble’s LOVE ROCKS Indie Review column: “Text Appeal is smart, sexy, filled with great writing and memorable dialogue, and features characters you won’t easily forget.”
From InD’Tale Magazine: “Readers will find themselves cheering for Riley and Charlie both. Lexi Ryan writes her dialogue with wit, humor, a bit of sarcasm, and throws in some wonderful chemistry!”
Designated “A True Gem” by Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews. “With some elevator rides that will make you blush, and a kink for lingerie that will have you running for the closest corset, “Text Appeal” will have you smiling and blushing from beginning to end.”
About the Author
New York Times and USA Today bestselling romance author Lexi Ryan’s novels have been described as intense, emotional, and wickedly sexy. A former college professor, she now writes full-time from her home in Indiana, where she lives with her husband, two children, and a neurotic dog. Find her on Facebook or Twitter to chat about books, TV, and her children’s latest antics.
I loved the first two books in Lola Stark’s Needle’s Kiss series, and I was anxiously anticipating Haven and Jude’s story because I knew there would be a lot of angst embedded into this forbidden love affair, but what I wasn’t ready for and what was hard to get past was Jude’s cowardice throughout most of the story and a third party entering the dynamics of Haven and Jude’s relationship and upending every aspect of their lives for a good portion of the text.
I feel like the text was telling two different stories at the same time, illustrating how Haven and Jude were dealing with Jude cutting Haven out of his life separately, and they didn’t weave together until the end, and while I’m glad that they both understood what they meant to each other, I wanted that to happen throughout the text in discourse and internal musings that left the story centered around their relationship and the steps they took to push through the bullshit and fight for each other.
Don’t get me wrong. I still enjoyed the story because Lola Stark is a great storyteller, and she has the ability to make readers feel everything her characters are going through whether due to their own actions or the actions of others, and, on some level, I get that Jude needed a wakeup call in order to get him to see what was standing right in front of him, but the complications that ensued due to Jude not stepping up took the spotlight off who the story was truly about and prevented the readers from building a solid connection to Jude and Haven as a couple.
How everything played out was truly heartbreaking for all those involved, and Jude missed out on a lot of time with the woman he loved because he couldn’t grow a pair and claim the woman who’s always been his, and while I don’t begrudge Haven moving on and her relationship with Dylan definitely changed her for the better, I guess I just wanted the focus to remain on the Needle’s Kiss family and illustrate, just like with the previous two couples, that anything worth having is worth putting one’s heart on the line and damning the consequences if anyone disapproves.
If you’re a reader who has been with the Needle’s Kiss series since the beginning, you definitely need to read Jude and Haven’s story and see how it all plays out because even though it might not have been a top read for me, it still brings a great series to a close and you get to catch up with the whole family and learn valuable lessons in the process.
A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.
I walked back into the garage and punched one of the big metal tool cabinets on my way past. I sucked up the pain like a drug I couldn’t cope without. Why was she here? There was something about her that was just so alluring. I couldn’t see her without wanting to fall to my goddamn knees and worship her like she was a queen amongst peasants.
Suck it up, you pussy! When did you acquire feelings?
Pushing away from the doorframe at the back of the shop, I trudged outside in my heavy boots, kicking rocks as I went. I cut off my emotions as soon as I was able. I struggled to handle these kinds of feelings; they messed with my head and left me making bad decisions. Decisions that screwed with friendships, families and futures. I couldn’t have a future with her; it just wouldn’t be good for anyone.
Sitting at the bar stool, I pulled Haven between my legs and moved my hands to run up her silky legs, stopping at the bottom of her tight black skirt. Her arms came up and circled my neck as her head came down to my face. My fingers teased the skin at the edge of her skirt as she pulled my bottom lip into her mouth and sucked, tearing a growl from my throat. My fingers stopped their progress and dug into the skin of her legs, pulling her tighter to me and deepening the torturous kiss.
In response, her hands dropped to my shoulders, her nails close to breaking the skin through my t-shirt while my fingertips ghosted over the curve where her legs met her luscious ass. The tightly wound restraint I had been keeping snapped, and I swiftly stood, picking her up. Her legs instantly wrapped around my waist and I took a few long strides to the edge of my workbench where I set her down, then pressed hard against her core and ground my hips. Haven’s hands tugged at my shirt ripping it over my head as I ran my rough hands higher and higher up her soft thighs until I hit the sweet spot. She moaned just as my mouth came down, devouring her like the starving man I was. She was my drug of choice. Her taste, touch and smell I just couldn’t get enough of it. I couldn’t get enough of her, and I didn’t need it either. Haven would always be exactly what I craved.
“Dude, snap out of it.” The voice broke me out of my reverie and yanked me back to the present. Goddamn it, I did it again. I’d been slipping into memories of Haven for weeks. I just couldn’t get her out of my head. It was fucked up, messy and it left me in a piss-ass mood for the rest of the day.
Why’d I have to fall for a girl I can’t have? That’s how it always worked though, right? The guy loved the girl he couldn’t have. Then the poor bastard pined for her for all eternity and was unable love anyone like he loved her. He’d end up miserable and alone, simply because a relationship would be selfish and do more harm than good to the people they both loved. Scrubbing my hand down my face in an effort to wipe her from my thoughts, I knew something had to give. I didn’t know how much more I could take.
About the Author
What to say ? Errrr…
Lola hates all things sultanas.
Lola is a little strange and unusual.
Lola has no brain-to-mouth filter
(this may or may not have gotten Lola into trouble – repeatedly).
Lola is keeping Coca-cola in business one 2lt bottle at a time.
Apparently, Lola likes to talk in the third person about herself.
This here is what my profile says everywhere: Lola Stark lives in Australia, Is an at-home mummy with no filter, raising a hoard of minions. Lola has loved to read for as long as she can remember. When not wrangling the children, she can be found sitting at her computer, writing, facebooking or just generally messing around. I know, I know third person again.
For ninety-two days, I’ve looked into those lifeless green eyes. Let my gaze slide over her flawless, pale skin. Fantasized about her luscious lips.
For ninety-two days she has inspired me in ways I never knew possible. A muse, unbeknownst to her. Motivating me. Encouraging my darkest desires to life through my work. Just when I was so close to giving up, surrendering to my unchangeable fate, I spotted her, and haven’t been able to look away since.
I don’t think she has a clue that my eyes find her the moment I step into this establishment. She’s oblivious to the way I always sit at the same table—the one with the best view of the bar. Of her. Unaware I spend my evenings watching her.
Memorizing her. Inch by exquisite inch.
Her soft beauty and innocent naivety keeps me coming back. Over and over, since the day she first served me. My cock grows hard beneath the shelter of the table as she strides toward me, her breasts bouncing lightly with each step. My arousal has nothing to do with sexual gratification. Though she has a beautiful body, curvy in all the places a man’s hands like to grip, and hold, and conquer, I’m turned on by the way she makes me feel inside. By the strength and craving and ambition she has unknowingly restored in me.
A man’s wet fantasy. A woman’s aspiration. My divine intervention.
Author Bio
Cheryl McIntyre is the author of the bestselling Sometimes Never series, as well as the Dirty series, Infinitely, and Dark Calling.
She calls Ohio home, though she secretly dreams of living somewhere much warmer–preferably near a beach. She is a mother, author, and insomniac, as well as a reader, self-proclaimed movie critic, and incredibly bad singer. Her life revolves around four things: family, music, books, and really bad scary movies.
You can follow her author page on Facebook where she lives part time. On Goodreads—which is like crack for avid readers. On Twitter, though she has still not yet mastered the art of tweeting. On tsū. Or on her website.
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