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Blog Tour - Excerpt & Review: Serenading Heartbreak by Ella Fields

30/9/2019

Title: Serenading Heartbreak

Author: Ella Fields

Genre: NA Romance, Sports, Rock Star

Rating: ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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My first love was my brother’s best friend.

A lead singer in their band.
A picture of rugged perfection.
And a drunk soul mate who couldn’t commit.

My second love was an arrogant baseball player.

A player in every sense of the word.
A smooth-talking, reliable best friend.
And a chance at something beautiful and true.

The problem with having a first and second love?
That would be loving them at the same time.

My story isn’t some sexy triangle.
It’s exquisite agony.

Fate gave me two men to love,
but none of us knew which one I could keep.

Excerpt . . .

We bumped into the counter and he cursed, muttering an apology as he set me on it. Removing my jacket, I could hardly breathe when his teeth sank into my lip. His hands pulled at my tank, tugging it and my bra down over my breasts.

“Fuck.” He tore his mouth away, lowering to my chest as he unzipped his jeans.

I gripped his face, needing those lips back on mine, then I reached for his waistband, shoving his jeans and briefs down.

He helped, and then pulled me right to the edge, testing my entrance with his thumb before licking the digit and pushing my panties aside. “I still have your other pair,” he said, his breath rattling as he pushed at my opening.

“Wha–oh, shit.” He rammed inside, and my head rolled.

He slammed in and out, again and again, one hand around my leg that’d been looped behind him, and the other behind my head as he bent over and hammered into me, sucking at my throat.

It’d been so long, and I felt just how long as the discomfort slowly fled and pleasure began to flood my bloodstream. “I-I think I’m coming…”

Everett chuckled, the sound dark. “You think? Clover, when I’m fucking you, you know damn well you’re coming.” Then he lifted me and spun us around until my back met the cool exterior of the fridge, magnets digging into my ass while I kept my legs wrapped tight around him.

I mumbled incoherent pleas to his tongue as it slid over mine. Our teeth clacked, his hips jerking up so fast and hard, I was on the edge and shaking for what felt like minutes. “So fucking beautiful. So fucking mine. Say it.” He reached between us to flick me into a million shattering pieces. “Say it while you come because of me.”

“Yours,” I rasped, and he held my face as he jerked and stilled, his forehead hard on mine and his breath choppy as it drifted inside my mouth.

We remained like that, eyes locked, our thundering hearts taking their time to slow and calm. His finger drifted over my cheek, and his cock softened inside me.
“You’ve wrecked me, Clover.”

I was so excited to read this story. Stevie is drawn into a difficult situation with loving two men… at the same time. Everett, the damaged soulful musician and Aiden, the cocky dependable baseball player. I had chosen sides almost immediately. A princely man who was utterly adorable and cheeky was my main man ;)

So I don’t ruin the story, I’m going to refer to the male characters as Mr. X and Mr. Y so you don’t know who is who. After all, I want you to express the heartache for yourself! I have to say that Mr. X’s actions were frustrating. He was selfish and self absorbed for most of the story. He did redeem himself near the end but after everything Stevie had been through with him, I felt that she forgave him too easily. Mr. Y isn’t perfect either but he was dependable and loved Stevie more than anything. He was willing to try if only Stevie would give him a chance. I think that’s why it was hard for me to accept Stevie’s decision in the end because I had a favourite. This may be biased but that’s the beauty of reading stories. Everyone has their own interpretations and I’m sure others will be on the other side of the fence and that’s fine too.

I loved Stevie’s family. Her brother Hendrix really steps up and supports her when Mr. X bails. And Adela was my absolute favourite! She is such a great best friend for Stevie. She would say it like it is and was a comfort and supportive BBF when Stevie needed her the most. Overall, even though I didn’t agree with Stevie’s decision and wished she had made a different choice, I understood how to came to that point in her life. I think Ella’s words at the start of the story sum it up well: “Hearts are such unpredictable things, you can never control to whom they might sing.”

About the Author . . .

Ella Fields is a mother and wife who lives in the land Down Under. While her kids are in school, you might find her talking about her characters and books to her two cats. She's a notorious chocolate and notebook hoarder who enjoys creating hard-won happily ever afters.

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Cover Reveal: Underneath the Sycamore Tree by B Celeste

30/9/2019

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Title: Underneath the Sycamore Tree

Author: B Celeste

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Stepbrother

Publication date: November 1st, 2019

Pre-order: Amazon (US/UK/CA/Aus)

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Cover Design: Letitia Hasser, RBA Designs

It happened in stages.
My father left.
My twin sister died of an incurable autoimmune disease.
My mother started breaking down.
Then I was diagnosed with the very thing that took my other half from me.
That was when I realized Mama’s eyes turned gold when she cried.
So I moved in with my father and his new family—new wife, new son, new stepbrother.
Kaiden Monroe made me feel normal.
Hated. Cared for. Loathed. And … loved.
Somewhere along the way, I’d found solace in the boy with dark eyes.
But everything happens in stages.
And nothing good ever lasts.

Excerpt . . .

PROLOGUE

Mama’s eyes are golden when she cries. Not like mine, which are a murky shade of dirty pool water—not fully green or brown, but a mixture of the two. Though when I was just shy of ten years old and saying goodbye to my sister, Mama told me that my glassy gaze was speckled with emeralds just like Daddy’s.
But Daddy wasn’t at Lo’s funeral. Not when the pastor spoke the eulogy to the half-empty church, or when the slow toll of cars paced the streets to the cemetery, or even when they lowered the kid-sized white coffin into the ground. Mama and I watched every step of the way. Her eyes trained on the half of her heart sinking into the dark soil, never to be seen again, while mine stared off into the distance waiting for Daddy’s familiar face to appear.
Looking back now, Lo had suspected the end of our parent’s marriage long before Daddy packed his things and left. She always knew it’d end that way.
I wondered what else she knew.
Mama wipes a stray tear from her eye, hoping I won’t notice how they glisten in the fluorescent lighting of the drab white room. I want to tell her I’m all right, that everything will be fine. But the weak attempts of comfort would roll off her tense shoulders in disbelief.
When Lo was diagnosed with lupus it was too late to save her. The disease had eaten away at every piece of her—body, skin, and organs. Nobody knew what would happen if it’d gone untreated for too long. No matter how hard Mama tried controlling the disease, it couldn’t be fought.
Logan died in her sleep.

About the Author . . .

B. Celeste is the alter ego of Barbara C. Doyle.

Her obsession with forbidden romance enabled her to pave a path into a new world of love, sex, sin, and angst.

Her debut novel is The Truth about Heartbreak.

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Also available . . .

Title: The Truth About Heartbreak

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Title: The Truth About Tomorrow

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Release Blitz: Another Round by Nikki Belaire

30/9/2019

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Title: Another Round

Author: Nikki Belaire

Genre: Contemporary Romance

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She knows I would die for her. Even if her father is the one who wants me dead.

A call I don’t expect. A job I don’t want. A hassle I don’t need. I’d protected his wife a long time ago, and now the notorious mob boss wants me to keep his daughter safe. I resist the tempting and troublesome mafia princess for as long as I can, but once I take her, there’s no going back, no giving her back. She thinks what we have between us is just a fling, but I know we’re forever. Regardless of what she says or her dad orders.

Another Round is a friends-to-lovers, older man/younger woman mafia romance and touches on sensitive topics. Reader discretion advised. No cheating or cliffhanger.

Excerpt . . .

I lead her to the stool where I normally serve her dinner. She climbs up and slides her pert arse across the wood. Crossing her gorgeous legs out of habit. That tempt me more than ever knowing how close I came to having some other bastard touch them.

She takes in the mess on the floor behind me. Anxiety drawing down her face as she peruses the damage. “What happened?”

My palm cups her cheek to turn her back to face me. The only thing I give a damn about is settling things between us. Setting her straight about other men. Or the lack there of going forward. “I dropped it.”

“Andy?”

Now she knows I’m the one who’s lying. Silky hair brushing across my forearm as she tilts her head in worry and disbelief. Making the cords tighten from her concern over my stuff. Over my anger. Over me.

I place my fists on each side of the counter behind her. Locking her in place. Trapping her between my arms. Applying old interrogation methods she won’t be able to fight. “Who was that guy?”

She swallows and licks her lips. Responding to the demand pulsing in my tone.

“Josh. Lauren’s engaged to his older brother Logan.”

Tension surges between us from the proximity of our bodies. From her squirming in her seat. From her looking up at me with no way out from under my gaze. “Are you going to go out with him?”

Never fucking happening but I want to know what she intends. What she mistakenly believes I’m going to allow her to get away with.

“We just met.”

I don’t fall for her dismissive tone. As if the idea is preposterous. As if she’s never considered the possibility. As if I have nothing to be concerned about. “Are you going to go out with him?”

My voice is low, hard, almost unrecognizable even to myself with a possessiveness I’ve never heard. I’ve never experienced until now.

“Lauren is trying to fix us up. A double date. She thinks–”

“What do you think?”

She shivers when I lean closer. My nose nudging her hair out of the way while my lips brush over her ear. A shuddering breath blows against my cheek and fireworks explode across my skin when her hand curls over my opposite shoulder. Steadying herself from me engulfing her.

“He’s n-nice. He’s easy to talk to.”

“Of course he is. He wants to fuck you.”

“That’s all you think I am?” My accusation enrages her, and she twists to the side, trying to face me again. Too small to be at eye level she stares up at me with all the bravado she can muster, leveling me with her disgust. Before I got sympathy and compassion. Now I get unadulterated fury. She’s pissed as hell at me. Almost as much as I am at her. “That’s all you think anyone would ever want from me?”

What she lacks in size she makes up for in rage. Shredding me to the core with the pain in her wracked body. The mafia princess in her full glory as she rolls back her shoulders and gives me a hard shove. “Get the fuck off me!”

Fuck that. My hands encircle her wrists, and I diminish my force to ensure I don’t crush the fine bones under my fingers. “I’m not finished talking to you.”

“Well I’m finished with you. I’m tired of being humiliated. Now let me go!”

The agony in her voice slices through me, and I still. Shocked by her allegation. I’m hung over and my damn head’s spinning from booze and lust, but I know I can’t be hearing her right. “I may have fucked up more times than I can count, but I know I’ve never humiliated you.”

Straining against my grip, she keeps fighting for me to release her. Which will never happen. “That’s all you ever do.”

“Trouble, you’re going to have to explain it to me because I’m totally confused.”

Misery surges in me with the loss of her gaze. Unwilling to look at me. Her shoulders drooping as much as her fire fades. “When I held your hand you couldn’t get me off of you fast enough. And when I kissed you, you rolled away. It’s embarrassing that you don’t want me.”

No one has ever been more wrong than her in this moment. “Look down.” She draws in a shaky breath from the huskiness of my voice. From the need in my eyes and my touch and my body. “Look down at my cock and see how much I want you.”

Her forehead brushes my chin, and I breathe deep, relishing the enticing scent of her flowery shampoo with the top of her head near my lips as we stare at my dick bulging in my pants of its own volition. “I’ve wanted you since the first moment I saw you.”

“Then why do you keep rejecting me?”

“Because I’m an idiot.”

Once again I fuck up and have no choice but to let her go. Instantly, her arms cross over her chest in protection of her wounded heart. She still refuses to look at me. I force her to, sliding my fingers under her chin and lifting her exquisite face to mine. “If things were different I’d make you mine.”

“I want to be yours.”

Fuck. She is killing me. “You know that can’t happen.”

Playlist . . .

About the Author . . .

Nikki writes contemporary romantic thrillers and admits to a weakness for bad boys, especially ones who can't live without the strong women they love. She spends more time in her characters' lives than her own. But, when she's in the real world, her passions include reading, wine appreciating, running, and spending time with her husband and daughter.

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Review: His Wife by Ashley Hastings

27/9/2019

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Title: His Wife

Author: Ashley Hastings

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Suspense

Rating: ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ 1/2

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After the tragic death of his beautiful wife, Nathan Randolph is looking for companionship. Timid Darby Turner is twenty years his junior and inexperienced in love, confidence, and life.

This unlikely couple marries after a whirlwind courtship. Darby has fallen in love for sure, and Nathan encourages her to explore a dark sexuality with him. Moving to his majestic, Southern plantation home, Darby realizes she does not know her new husband at all. Soon Darby is competing with the memory of Nathan’s dead wife.

Can Darby win out against a memory, or will the past destroy her new love?

I loved the cover immediately. It is beautiful and elegant all at the same time. The story begins with a whirlwind romance between Darby and Nathan. The older man sweeps in and takes Darby with him. In some ways, you wonder how it can be real. Of course, a part of me wants it to be real because who wouldn’t want a man to come in like a knight on a white horse and be the Prince Charming we always wanted. I mean Nathan seems exactly like what Darby needs because her mother is less than desirable. But things don’t seem to be going well when Nathan takes Darby home. A moody mother in law, a lurking man and a dead first wife are haunting Darby making her relationship with Nathan difficult. Not to mention his mood swings.

What I loved about this story is how it reminded me of Jane Eyre. There are mysterious elements and intrigue as Darby fights with the memory of Nathan’s first wife and trying to find her place in the new home. Despite her young age, I think she does incredibly well given the circumstances. She comes into her own and matures in a short space of time. Nathan is an interesting man. He is charming and passionate but can be cold and controlling. There is more to the man than meets the eye. In some places, I would have liked Darby to confront Nathan more and hash things out. That being said, it was still a real page turner with the passion and chemistry between Nathan and Darby as well as the mystery floating around Peacock Alley.

About the Author . . .

Ashley Hastings latest book is Sweet Talk. She writes new adult, romantic fiction with a dash of suspense and a liberal sprinkling of humor. A lifelong Southerner, Ashley creates quirky characters in a small-town setting. When she's not busy plotting her next book, Ashley is collecting cats and planning a future as a crazy cat lady.

Ashley's favorite quote is "If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door," by Milton Berle. She intends to build all the doors.

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