Monthly Archives: August 2019

Cowboy Up by Michelle Beattie-Review & Giveaway Tour

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Cowboy Up by Michelle Beattie-Review & Giveaway Tour

COWBOY UP
Tangled Up in Texas #1
by Michelle Beattie
Release Date: August 20, 2019
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, cowboy, romance

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Apple / Google Play

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 20 2019

He’d never mixed business with pleasure…until now When Dallas Granger left his family’s Last Stand, Texas, ranch, he hadn’t planned on returning. But when a medical emergency calls him home and a legal matter affects his business, suddenly his family isn’t the only thing in need of a re-build. Unfortunately his new project involves building a house for a woman who not only awakens his desires, but also his fears. But if he wants to claim her as his own, he’ll have to tear down the walls he’s built around his heart.

Single mom Ashley Anderson knows all about juggling. Between an assortment of part-time jobs and raising her sixteen-year old daughter, she doesn’t need a hunky construction worker with an attitude as a distraction. Even one who steps in to help her when she needs it most. But life has taught Ashley that when the going gets tough, she’s on her own. It’s going to take a man with a Texas-sized heart to show her that this cowboy isn’t going anywhere.

•••••••••

REVIEW: Cowboy Up is Book one in the Tangled Up In Texas Series.

Dallas Granger owns his own construction company. He loves to build beautiful things. He is all about making his business’s a success. That is until a misunderstanding with the law winds up with him having community service.

The service that is picked for him is Houses of Hope. Dallas already hates the idea. He believes these type of charities just give free stuff to lazy people who don’t want to work for themselves and earn their keep. That is until he meets Ashley Anderson! When he arrives on site he meets Ashley and is automatically attracted to her! That is until he find out the house he is helping to build – is for her!
Ashley Anderson is a single mother to sixteen year old Brittany, working multiple part time jobs just to make ends meet. She scrapes by and saves every penny! She signs up for Houses for Hope and when she is chosen to receive a house, she jumps head first into helping She is a honest, hard working woman who doesn’t want or need judged by some construction company cowboy with a preconceived notion of who or what she is all about!

Dallas comes with a lot of family baggage and drama. He harbors a lot of resentment to his father who basically bailed on the family after his mom passes away from cancer. Dallas had to become the responsible one! He became the caretaker for his four brothers. And in the end, the ranch life was not what he wanted! He wanted to own his own construction company, so he left home to do just that! Now he visits maybe once or twice a year! That is until his father ends up in the hospital! One of his brothers demands he make time to keep the family ranch moving!

I enjoyed this first book in this series! I so look forward to seeing what the future holds for the other Granger brothers! If you are into contemporary cowboy romance with family drama I recommend this quick read! Also this was my first time reading Michelle Beattie and I am now fan!

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Erin

International Bestselling Author Michelle Beattie first found her love of romance in romantic comedies such as Romancing the Stone and Valley Girl (yes, she realizes that dates her).  It wasn’t until after high school when she worked for a car rental company and had too much time on her hands that she started reading romances.  Historicals were her go-to and she raided many bookstores looking for historical western romances.  

Eventually she started thinking “what if” and “I’d have done that differently” and quietly started writing her own.  More than a dozen books later, Michelle has published in both digital and print platforms and her works have been translated in more than 4 languages.  

Michelle is a mother of two very strong, independent daughters.  She is a certified member of the Master Bowler’s of Alberta and loves coaching and passing on her love for 5 pin bowling.  Besides bowling herself in a weekly league, she also likes to golf in the summer, play games, and read.

Michelle lives in a solar-powered house in Central Alberta with her husband of almost 25 years, youngest daughter, and the cutest dog ever.  

Website: http://www.michellebeattie.com/Home.html

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/M_Beattie

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michellebauthor/

 

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Stolen Things by R.H. Herron – a Review

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Stolen Things by R.H. Herron – a Review

 

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / BAM / Book Depository / Google Play

 

Description:
“Mama? Help me.”

Laurie Ahmadi has worked as a 911 police dispatcher in her quiet Northern California town for nearly two decades. She considers the department her family; her husband, Omid, is its first Arab American chief, and their teenaged daughter, Jojo, has grown up with the force. So when Laurie catches a 911 call and, to her horror, it’s Jojo, the whole department springs into action.

Jojo, drugged, disoriented, and in pain, doesn’t remember how she ended up at the home of Kevin Leeds, a pro football player famous for his on-the-field activism and his work with the CapB—“Citizens Against Police Brutality”—movement. She doesn’t know what happened to Kevin’s friend and trainer, whose beaten corpse is also discovered in the house. And she has no idea where her best friend Harper, who was with her earlier in the evening, could be.

But when Jojo begins to dive into Harper’s social media to look for clues to her whereabouts, Jojo uncovers a shocking secret that turns everything she knew about Harper—and the police department—on its head. With everything they thought they could rely on in question, Laurie and Jojo begin to realize that they can’t trust anyone to find Harper except themselves . . . and time is running out.

 

 

 

Review:

Stolen Things by R.H. Herron is a suspense thriller that was so very well written.  This is the debut novel for this author, and after reading this story, I will most definitely read her again. Stolen Things started with a bang, as we met our heroine, Laurie Ahmadi, immediately.  Laurie has worked as a 911 police dispatcher for 20 years (she is a former cop), and picks up a phone call that is every parent’s nightmare.  The person on the other end is her 16 year old daughter, Jojo, who is crying for help, not knowing where she is and just woke up from being drugged.  Laurie’s husband Omid (police chief) is the first to arrive on the scene with other members of his force, with Laurie not far behind. 

A dead body is discovered in a closet, and in another room of the house, an NFL player is woken from sleep, and immediately arrested.  Kevin (NFL player) remembers nothing, as he too may have been drugged, but the police do not believe him, and Laurie wants desperately to hurt him for what he did to her daughter.  Jojo will explain that Kevin is her friend, and he would never hurt her; but no one believes it.

With Jojo in hospital, being examined, Laurie confirms that Jojo was raped, and pushes herself into the investigation, despite Omid and other police officers try to stop her.  Jojo remembers that she went out with her friend Harper that night, and Harper is missing.  Once Jojo is released from the hospital, she is determined to help her mother investigate the case, as well as try to find Harper. 

What follows is an exciting, nonstop action packed story that kept me glued to my seat.  Jojo reveals some of her secret life;, helping Harper & Kevin working for the CapB activist movement (Citizens Against Police Brutality.  She begins to find out more information on the internet, as well as from phone messages on Harper’s phone, which may involve the police department.  This will force Laurie to secretly try to look into the police department records, causing havoc in the police station, and with Omid, who is in hospital after a heart attack.  With Harper missing, and Jojo insistence the Kevin is a good guy, Laurie begins to believe her, and focuses on the department.

To tell too much more would be spoilers, and throughout the who book, things change often.  There are a number of twists along the way, especially the last third of the book.  Stolen Things was so very well written by Heron, and does cover a number of topics: murder, rape, police brutality, politics, race, homosexuality, etc.

Stolen Things is a wonderful thriller, and great mystery that has you unable to put the book down.  I strongly suggest you read this debut novel by R.H. Herron.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

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Dangerous Desires by J.T. Geissinger-Review & Excerpt Tour

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DANGEROUS DESIRES (Dangerous Beauty #2) by J.T. Geissinger-Review & Excerpt tour

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / B&N /Chapters/Indigo

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 20 ,2019

He’s everything she has ever desired. But there’s only one way to keep her man alive: let him go.

With Nasir’s life on the line, Eva makes a deal with the devil. She slips away to return to Dimitri, the mob boss who held her captive for years, only to step into a new world of trouble. Abducted by one of Dimitri’s most cunning adversaries, Eva finds herself an unwitting pawn in a dangerous game of cat and mouse.

When Eva disappears, Naz is prepared to do anything to find her. Tracking her to the remote regions of Portugal is just the beginning of the hunt. Bewitched by Eva’s beauty, the darkly seductive spy who abducted her now has more than business on his mind, but the only way for the trio to defeat Dimitri is to work together…despite the explosive desires threatening to consume them.

With a game so deadly and the stakes so high, Naz and Eva’s love will be tested in ways neither of them could foresee…or perhaps survive.

••••••••••

REVIEW: DANGEROUS DESIRES is the second instalment in J. T. Geissinger’s contemporary, adult DANGEROUS BEAUTY romantic, suspense trilogy focusing on former Special Ops military man and security specialist Nasir ‘Naz’ Mansouri, and Evalina ‘Eva’ Ivanova. DANGEROUS DESIRES should not be read as a stand alone as it picks up immediately after the events and cliff-hanger of book one Dangerous Beauty. The Dangerous Beauty series is a spin-off from the author’s BAD HABIT series. You do not have to have read the previous series to follow the current time line but I recommend reading HOT AS SIN for some background and cohesion to Nasir’s story.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Eva and Naz) DANGEROUS DESIRES focuses on Eva’s desperate measures to protect the man with whom she had fallen in love. Willingly sacrificing herself for the sake of Naz, Eva finds herself imprisoned on a yacht by a man who is hoping to destroy the very person to whom Eva has offered up herself. A case of mistaken identity finds Eva the victim of another man’s rage, rage that leaves our heroine struggling for her life. As Naz desperately searches for the woman he loves, Eva finds herself commiserating with her captor, a man who isn’t afraid to kill for what he wants. What ensues is the search and rescue of Eva Ivanova, and the potential fall-out as Eva finds herself once again on the run, desperate to stay one step ahead of a violent past.

Naz Mansouri was seriously injured, and the woman he loved was by his side but waking up alone, Naz calls in the team from Metrix Security Service as they search for a woman willing to sacrifice herself for the life of Nazir Mansouri. Eva Ivanova knows abuse and pain first hand, and she stands her ground facing off against one of her captors.

The relationship between Eva and Naz is seductive and hot. Naz struggles with Eva’s willingness to place herself in danger, danger that all but threatens their own happily ever after. The $ex scenes are numerous, erotic and intense without the use of over the top,sexually graphic language and text.

We are re-introduced to Naz’s boss Connor and his wife Tabby (Wicked Sexy –Wicked Games), as well as the introduction of Killian, a man willing to kill to save the lives of millions of people.

DANGEROUS DESIRES is a story of vengeance and betrayal ; power and control; mistaken identity; love and family. The premise is engaging and intriguing; the romance is steamy and hot; the characters are colorful, energetic and brave. DANGEROUS DESIRES ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one DANGEROUS BEAUTY

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

I hit the “Answer” button and hold the phone to my ear. I don’t say anything, I just listen, gauging the quality of the silence and waiting for him to speak.
After a moment, a deep, rough male voice says, “This must be Naz.”
I’m so shocked I almost drop the phone. The anonymous, untraceable burner phone. I didn’t include my name in the text message, so how the hell does he know it’s me?
“Raphael?”
“Raphael’s dead. I stuck a knife in his chest and threw him overboard.”
His voice has an Irish accent, not French as I was expecting. Judging by that and his words—which sound honest—this isn’t Raphael playing some kind of game.
“Who is this?”
“This is Killian.”
Killian? Who the fuck is Killian? All my senses have sharpened until it seems I can hear the atoms vibrating in the air around me. Then it hits me.
This is probably the big motherfucker who put his hands on Eva.
Unless it’s one of the crew, but I don’t think so. Especially considering what he’d said. Yacht crews don’t generally find it in their best interests to kill their employers and throw them into the sea.
The words leave my throat in a gravelly scrape of pure hatred. “You have something of mine.”
After a pause, he says disapprovingly, “I doubt Eva would be keen on hearing you call her a ‘thing.’”
My eyes flare as wide as my nostrils do. The way he said her name is bad enough, but the implication that he knows how she’d feel is like a sword of fire shoved down my throat.
I demand, “What have you done with her?”
“She’s in good hands,” comes the calm response to my heated question. “You don’t have to worry.”
Is he fucking kidding me?
Beside me, Connor is frowning and tense, but I can’t pay attention to him because of all the murder and mayhem wreaking havoc in my nervous system. “What do you want? What is this about? Where are you going with her? If she’s hurt, I swear on my mother’s grave—”
“It’s beautiful, you know.”
His tone has changed. Now it’s soft, thoughtful, and I have no clue what he’s talking about. “What? What’s beautiful?”
“The way she loves you.”
It feels as if King Kong just punched me in the chest. Eva told this man she loves me? This man who grabbed her by the throat and dragged her across the deck of a yacht? She hadn’t even told me herself.
My God, has he tortured her for information?
Before I can respond, he says, “I hope you deserve it. To be honest, you sound a wee bit unstable. Are you sure you’re good enough for her? You might have to convince me. After everything she’s been through, she deserves the best.” His voice drops. “And Christ, she’s exquisite. Those eyes. That body. That fire. No wonder you and Dimitri are so desperate to get her back.”
Breathing hard, my heart feeling as if it’s about to explode, I say, “Put her on the phone.”
“She’s sleeping.”
I growl, “Listen to me, you son of a bitch—”
“Naz. What kind of a name is that? Is it short for something?”
Connor is motioning for me to give him the phone. I think he can sense things have gone completely off the rails. I wave him away, frustrated and needing to hit something.
“Yeah. It’s short for, ‘If you hurt her, I’m gonna kill you in every way there is to be killed.’ It’s short for, ‘I will track you down to the ends of the earth and make you and everyone you’ve ever met pay a thousand times over for any pain you cause the woman I love.’ It’s short for, ‘I WILL NEVER STOP UNTIL I GET HER BACK.’”
There’s a pause, then what sounds like a satisfied grunt. “All right. You’re a little too hotheaded, but you sound sincere. So I’ll answer your questions. What I want is something Eva’s going to help me get. What this is about is the future of nations. Where I’m going with her is . . . well, I can’t tell you that yet because if I do you’ll probably be here before I can get what I want from Dimitri and then all my careful plans will be ruined.”
I let loose a frustrated holler and Killian laughs.
“I get that a lot. Eva made almost the exact same noise a short while ago. She didn’t like what I did to Raphael.” His voice turns wistful. “She’s sensitive that way, isn’t she? Concerned for the well-being of other people. Even to the point of sacrificing herself. Honestly, Naz, she’s remarkable. I’ve never met anyone like her. She’s . . .”
In his pause, I hear how loudly I’m breathing.
“Compelling, I think is the right word. Or maybe fascinating. Once you start looking at her, it’s impossible to look away.” He chuckles. “But you know that already. You sound obsessed.”
“Killian—”
“I’m going to destroy this phone after we’re done talking, because I’m sure you’re tracking it. But I want you to know I was truthful when I told you she’s safe with me. And I’ll try to get my business with Dimitri concluded as quickly as possible.”
He hesitates. When he speaks again there’s a new tone in his voice that raises all the hair on my arms.
“Because the more time I spend with your woman, the less I want to give her back.”

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads /Pinterest / Instagram /

A former headhunter, J.T. Geissinger is the author of more than a dozen novels in contemporary romance, paranormal romance, and romantic suspense.

She is the recipient of the Prism Award for Best First Book, the Golden Quill Award for Best Paranormal/Urban Fantasy, and is a two-time finalist for the RITA® Award from the Romance Writers of America®. Her work has also finaled in the Booksellers’ Best, National Readers’ Choice, and Daphne du Maurier Awards.

Join her Facebook reader’s group, Geissinger’s Gang, to take part in weekly Wine Wednesday live chats and giveaways, find out more information about works in progress, have access to exclusive excerpts and contests, and get advance reader copies of her upcoming releases.

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Last Love of Luka Hale by Eden Butler-Review & Giveaway tour

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Last Love of Luka Hale / Thin Love by Eden Butler-Review, Except & Giveaway tour

LAST LOVE OF LUKA HALE
(Saints and Sinners #1)
by Eden Butler
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, romance

ebook ONLY 99¢ Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 20, 2019

She isn’t the girl Luka Hale loved.

Gia Jilani killed the child she’d been, right along with the memory of his smile and the sting of his sweet kiss.

But sometimes, against her will, Luka comes back to her— his smile, his laugh, the crooked twist of his lips just before he kissed her. He’s a phantom that won’t ever fade. He’s a reminder of what happens if you love too deeply.

Now Gia returns to the place where the past and the present converge. Where pain and pleasure threaten to consume her. Where she is forced to face a past that has never really left her and the memories that still haunt her and likely always will.

This is a Saints and Sinners prequel novel set in the Thin Love timeline

•••••••••••

REVIEW: LAST LOVE OF LUKA HALE is the first instalment and novella in Eden Butler’s contemporary, adult SAINTS AND SINNERS erotic, romance series. This is college sweethearts Luka Hale, and Gia Jilani’s storyline. The Saints and Sinners is a spin off fro the author’s Thin Love Series. LAST LOVE OF LUKA HALE runs parallel to and crosses over with the premise of THIN LOVE, and should not be read as a stand alone. It is recommended the reader read THIN LOVE (see review below) before venturing into Last Love of Luka Hale.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Gia and Luka) using present day and memories from the past LAST LOVE OF LUKA HALE focuses on the short-lived, forbidden romance of college football star Luka Hale, and ‘water girl’ Gia Jilani. Luka Hale doesn’t do relationship but meeting the coach’s niece, Gia Jiliani, stirred something deep within our storyline hero. Trying to keep their relationship a secret, Gia and Luka venture forth hiding behind locked doors as their romance develops into something more.

LAST LOVE OF LUKA HALE is the prequel novella that introduces Gia Jilani, sports agent to the stars, and the only woman Luka Hale had ever loved. The premise is lighthearted but sad; the romance is hot and heavy; the characters are sassy and sexy. A quick look at Kona Hale’s twin brother, LAST LOVE OF LUKA HALE is a bitter sweet story of first love and loss.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

 

“You got no idea, do you?” He kept his voice soft, low, though his insides were burning with the instinct to touch her, to lick dry the water from her beautiful skin. Luka closed his eyes, inhaling that lilac scent like it would satisfy him. He knew it wouldn’t. “You’re clueless how easy it would be to have any man you want?”
Luka opened his eyes when he felt the wet touch of her fingertips near his cheek. Gia didn’t smile. She didn’t seem able to do anything but hold every emotion off her face as she watched him. Her control awed him.
Gia opened her mouth, pink lips glistening with moisture as she wet them with her tongue. “I only want one man,” she admitted, her words confident, but there was still a wobble in her tone. Luka tensed, not sure what she wanted or how she’d go about getting whatever that was.
She meant him, he knew, but that wouldn’t make him move. It wouldn’t keep the reminder of her age, her probable inexperience from his thoughts. “You’re young,” he told her, hoping that would keep her from touching him again.
“I’m old enough.”
Luka was starting to realize this Gia was one that might be tired of the sidelines. Maybe she was tired of watching and waiting and never having what she wanted. Maybe, he thought, she was ready to step onto the field and play.
Gia moved, making Luka step back, her wet body closer to him now, her breath heating his skin as she spoke. “I’m old enough for you, Luka.” Her breath was cool, smelled like mint, and there was a low, soft moan in her voice that made him harder. “My…my uncle…” She cleared her throat, looking down, then quickly up at him as though internally convincing herself to finish this. “My uncle will leave for Florida after tomorrow’s practice.” Some of her confidence slipped when she brushed her wet hair behind her ear, but she still looked directly at Luka. “My dorm is empty. We could be alone.”
Fuck me, he thought.
She was off limits, right? She was forbidden. Luka knew that. It was information that ran like a ticker tape scrolling in his mind. Gia wasn’t some beautiful woman he’d flirted with at a club or some Blue Devil-proud girl eager to thank Luka for his performance on the field.
She was his coach’s niece. She was his coach’s eighteen-year-old niece.
He could have taken her right then. She was already wet. He was sufficiently hard, but Luka held back, teeth gritted, jaw working as he grabbed the towel hanging from the hook next to the entrance. He moved close, his skin wetting as he grazed her chest and shoulder when he covered her body with the thick towel in his hand. The smallest twist of his head and he could reach her mouth. Their lips were so close already, their breath heated and mixed and did things to Luka’s head he wasn’t sure he liked.
Gia shifted her gaze, moving her chin like she was prepared for whatever he gave her. Like she wanted it all and wouldn’t settle for anything less. But Luka reminded himself one last time who she was and why he shouldn’t be there with her. He lingered, unable to pull back out of her reach before he inhaled, taking in that lilac scent and the teasing delicious taste of her breath.
He moved his chin, a half an inch away from her lips, then grinned, a half smile gesture that made her release the breath she’d been holding.
“Be sure to lock up before you head out,” he told her, winking before he turned to grab his clothes and put as much space between that off-limits girl and himself as he could.


 

THIN LOVE
(Thin Love#1)
by Eden Butler
Genre: new adult, adult, contemporary, erotic, romance

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca /

ebook FREE at : B&N / KOBO / Apple /

About the book: Release Date August 18, 2014

Love isn’t supposed to be an addiction. It isn’t supposed to leave you bleeding.

Kona pushed, Keira pulled, and in their wake, they left behind destruction.

She sacrificed everything for him.

It wasn’t enough.

But the wounds of the past can never be completely forgotten and still the flame remains, slumbers between the pleasure of yesterday and the thought of what might have been.

Now, sixteen years later, Keira returns home to bury the mother who betrayed her, just as Kona tries to hold onto what remains of his NFL career with the New Orleans Steamers. Across the crowded bustle of a busy French Market, their paths collide, conjuring forgotten memories of a consuming touch, skin on skin, and the still smoldering fire that begs to be rekindled.

When Kona realizes the trifecta of betrayal—his, Keira’s and those lies told to keep them apart—his life is irrevocably changed and he once again takes Keira down with him into the fire that threatens to ignite them both.

••••••••••

REVIEW: THIN LOVE is the first instalment Eden Butler’s contemporary, new adult to adult THIN LOVE erotic, romance series. This is Kona Hale, and Keira Riley’s story line.

NOTE: Due to the story line content, there may be some triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Kona and Keira) following two time lines, THIN LOVE focuses on the co-dependant, toxic relationship between Kona Hale, and Keira Riley. College sweethearts, Kona and Keira’s love affair weathers the pain of jealousy, anger, abuse and betrayal.

Kona’s reputation as a man-whore precedes his introduction to our story line heroine, a reputation marred by bouts of aggression, fury, and physical confrontation. Kona Hale is a spoiled college student whose only aspiration is to make it big as a professional football player but Kona must first get past his new English partner, a partner who gives as good as she gets. Keira Riley wants nothing to do with the charismatic Kona Hale but something about Kona attracts Keira like a moth to a flame. A tumultuous and acrimonious love-hate relationship ensues until everyone’s life spirals out of control. From interfering, racist and controlling parents to the ultimate betrayal and loss, Keira and Kona’s relationship implodes leaving heart break and hatred in the wake. Fast forward sixteen years wherein Kona will come face to face with his past, a past he never knew existed but is quickly following in his own footsteps.

THIN LOVE is a dark and emotional story; an intense, dramatic and oft-times difficult tale that follows the poisonous love between two people whose worlds are about to collide. Eden Butler pulls the reader into a raw and gritty love story; a cautionary and thought provoking tale of chaos and catastrophe. There are numerous issues of repetitiveness but if you can get past the frequent use of the same word(s), the tragedy will unfold.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

SAINTS AND SINNERS SERIES

 

ROUGHING THE KICKER, BOOK 1

AMAZON: https://amzn.to/2H9SQpp

AMAZON UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07DT3J36F

AMAZON CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07DT3J36F

AMAZON FR: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B07DT3J36F

AMAZON AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07DT3J36F

KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/roughing-the-kicker

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/roughing-the-kicker-eden-butler/1129296777?ean=2940163120499

IBOOKS: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1471090337

 

OFFSIDES, BOOK 2 (September 2019)

AMAZON: https://amzn.to/2Zd5HgA

AMAZON UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07WCQZCNR 

AMAZON AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07WCQZCNR 

AMAZON CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07WCQZCNR 

AMAZON FR: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B07WCQZCNR 

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/offsides-eden-butler/1132985500?ean=2940161377314

Eden Butler is an editor and writer of Contemporary Romance novels and the nine-times great-granddaughter of an honest-to-God English pirate. This could explain her affinity for rule breaking and rum.

When she’s not writing or wondering about her possibly Jack Sparrowesque ancestor, Eden patiently waits for her Hogwarts letter, edits, reads and spends way too much time watching rugby, Doctor Who and New Orleans Saints football.

She is currently living under teenage rule alongside her husband in southeast Louisiana.

Subscribe to Eden’s newsletter http://eepurl.com/VXQXD for giveaways, sneak peeks and various goodies that might just give you a chuckle.

Website: www.edenbutler.com
Twitter: twitter.com/EdenButler_
Facebook: www.facebook.com/eden.butler.10
Newsletter:http://eepurl.com/VXQXD
GoodReads:goodreads.com/author/show/7275168.Ede…

NOTE: The Reading Cafe is NOT responsible for the rafflecopter giveaway. If you have any questions, please contact the tour provider.

GIVEAWAY: Two $10 gift cards and FOUR ebook copies of The Last Love of Luka Hale to International and US readers. Giveaway ends 9/1/19

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Lies of Descent by Troy Carrol Bucher – a Review

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Lies of Descent by Troy Carrol Bucher – a Review

 

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / BAM / Book Depository / Google Play

Description:
The Fallen Gods’ War drove the remnants of a victorious army across the ocean in search of a new homeland. A thousand years later, the lifeless continent of Draegora is largely forgotten, a symbol for the regiments that remain. Demons to some. Protectors to others. The power of their god-touched blades has forged a nation, though many resent their absolute control.

Riam and Nola are unknowing descendants of the old world. When it’s discovered they carry enough Draegoran blood to serve in the regiments, they are dragged away from their families to begin training. If they survive, they will be expected to enforce the laws of the covenant, to fight the Esharii tribesmen who raid along the border, and to be judge, jury, and executioners for those accused of crimes.

For Riam, who welcomes his escape from an abusive father, the power to protect those who cannot defend themselves is alluring. For Nola, who wishes to return home, it is a betrayal by all she holds dear.

Neither is given a choice…and neither may ever get the chance to serve.

Lies of Descent begins an epic trilogy of fallen gods, betrayal, and magic–where dark motives often dwell within the true and just, and where the things most feared sometimes lead to salvation.

 

 

Review:

Lies of Descent by Troy Carrol Bucher is the 1st book The Fallen Gods War trilogy. As stated in the description above, The Fallen Gods war drove a victorious army across the ocean for a new homeland, but a thousand years later, Draegora has fallen apart and two factions, Draegoriana and Eshari are still determined to destroy each other .

We meet our young hero, Riam, who after watching his hated father get killed, is taken away by a Draegoran warrior to begin training to be able to fight Eshari tribesmen, as he has the ‘blood’.  Which means that he has ties to other Draegoran descendants, and has possible powers. 

Riam will meet a young girl, Nola, who has also been violently taken from her family.  She too has the blood, and will also go to training.  However, in a short time they are attacked by Eshari warriors, and though Riam escaped, Nola is taken.

What follows is a slow and at times exciting journey, with POV’s between Riam and Nola, as they both go difficult and separate directions.  Both Dragegoran and Eshari see in the Riam or Nola their abilities that could help either group fight and win the war.   This is a difficult review to write, as this world building at times is confusing, and telling too much would be spoilers.  I did like Riam and Nola, and found it interesting in the different roads they each travelled.

Lies of Descent was well written by Bucher, as it was an epic fantasy about fallen gods, magic in dark violent world.  If you like epic fantasies, I suggest you read Lies of Descent.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

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The Day He Came Back by Penelope Ward-Review tour

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The Day He Came Back by Penelope Ward-Review tour

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play / Apple /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 19, 2019

It was the summer of my life.
I’d met the guy of my dreams.
Unfortunately, he was the son of my uppity employer—and very much off-limits.
But Gavin was a rebel. He knew his mother would disown him if she found out about us; in his eyes, we just had to be careful.
He never treated me as his mother did—like hired help.
Instead, Gavin put me on a pedestal and loved me harder than I’d ever been loved in my life.

What a summer it was.
Until it all ended—badly.

I was never supposed to see Gavin again.
That didn’t stop me from thinking about him every day for ten years.
I knew little about his life now, just that he was an entrepreneur living an ocean away.

When a twist of fate had me working again in the very place our love affair started a decade earlier, I knew it was only a matter of time before I might see him again.
But I wasn’t prepared.
What if he hated me?
What if he loved someone else now?
I wasn’t prepared for all the unknowns.

And most of all, I wasn’t prepared for today to be the day he came back.

•••••••••

REVIEW:THE DAY HE CAME BACK by Penelope Ward is a contemporary, new adult to adult stand alone, romance story line focusing on Gavin Masterson, and Raven, the daughter of the hired help.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Gavin and Raven) spanning ten years in the life, THE DAY HE CAME BACK is a second chance story line that follows the forbidden summer romance between twenty-one year old Gavin Masterson, and Raven, the only daughter the Masterson’s housekeeper. Gavin Masterson was home for the summer, having returned from Oxford University in London England. Looking forward to a little rest and relaxation Gavin will come face to face with Raven, a woman his mother refuses to acknowledge or accept. A secret summer romance ensues but in the end Raven is forced to push Gavin out of her life, and in doing so destroys any chance at happiness for our story line couple. Fast forward ten years wherein Raven is, once again, employed by the Masterson family, but an employment that sees Raven assisting the family when they need it the most.

Gavin’s mother Ruth is all about the money and Raven does not represent the wealth and power expected for her sons. Gavin knows his mother is a judgemental snob but he had no idea as to the extent of her vindictiveness, a vindictiveness that was about to destroy so many lives. Raven knew to get involved with Gavin could mean the loss of her mother’s job, but the heart wanted something more until Raven was forced to break the man that she loved, and in doing so broke her own heart. Coming face to face with Gavin ten years later meant facing the man with whom she was still in love but Raven would soon discover that Gavin had moved on with someone else.

The relationship between Gavin and Raven is one of immediate attraction; a forbidden romance between two young people whose lives were about to spiral out of control. A decade would pass but the love would remain, a love that would be tested when the truth was revealed. The $ex scenes are limited but passionate.

We are introduced to Raven’s best friend Marni; Gavin’s parents Ruth and Gunther Masterson as well as Gavin’s troubled brother Weldon; and Raven’s mother Renata. Here’s hoping the author has plans for Weldon Masterson, a man who has been battling so many demons for a very long time.

THE DAY HE CAME BACK is a story of betrayal and revenge; wealth and discrimination; love and forgiveness; romance and love. The premise is emotional and captivating; the characters are colorful, energetic and broken; the romance is seductive, heart breaking and real. There are moments of angst and sorrow; happiness and love; acceptance and moving forward. THE DAY HE CAME BACK is an impassioned story of second chances and happily ever after.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of contemporary romance.

She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor. Penelope resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and beautiful daughter with autism.

 With over one-point-five million books sold, she is a twenty-time New York Times bestseller and the author of over twenty novels. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.

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The Best Friend Problem by Mariah Ankenman – a Review

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The Best Friend Problem by Mariah Ankenman – a Review

 

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Description:

Prudence Carlson has been lucky in life. A fulfilling wedding-planning business run with her girlfriends in Colorado, plus the best guy friend ever in her firefighter bestie Finn.

 All that’s missing from it is a baby. Luckily, it’s the twenty-first century—Pru can take matters into her own hands. She doesn’t need to find true love to create the future love of her life. 

 Except all this talk of babies and insemination and…Pru and Finn cross a line they never expected to. Sure, one night of passion won’t change their close friendship. 

Until Pru goes in for a fertility check-up to find… she’s already pregnant. As best friends, Pru and Finn have survived college, new jobs, and bad breakups, but can they survive crib shopping, birth classes, and late-night cravings? Especially when Finn has never considered himself even remotely Daddy material?

 

 Review:

Upon reading the back cover of The Best Friend Problem my Mariah Ankenman,  I wasn’t really taken with it (never a big fan of friends to lovers books) but I opened up the kindle and flipped the page ….. 

Pru is successful at business, loving life, but something is missing, Pru would love a child. Being an only child and orphan (she lost both her parents at a young age.) But with no man on the horizon (not counting her best friend Finn) Pru doesn’t see it happening anytime soon. But who needs a man when you have anonymous sperm donors?! 

Finn has known Pru since they were teenagers, they know each other inside out, she gets him like no one else does (so subconsciously has he been measuring past flames against Pru?) he’s a love them and leave them type of guy, not really looking for a commitment. But all that changes one night ….. 

After a booze filled evening Pru and Finn sleep together, both are terrified that it will ruin their friendship, and when she finds out she’s pregnant, what will they do next? 

Exploring their growing feelings for one another, it felt like it was only going to be a matter of time before this happened.  

I still don’t like the friends to lovers genre, but I did like how the author put this book together. 

Reviewed by Julie B.

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

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Shadow (Linear Tactical #6) by Janie Crouch-a review

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SHADOW (Linear Tactical #6) by Janie Crouch-a review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 16, 2019

Heath Kavanaugh lost years of his life working for a covert agency that ended up being the enemy. Knowing they put something inside his head—constant, incomprehensible whispers—is driving him crazy.

He needs answers, but they’re nowhere to be found.

What he definitely doesn’t need is to fall hard for his Linear teammate’s younger sister, Jacquelyn—the adorable linguistics doctoral student who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Especially when Heath’s attention puts her directly in the path of a danger he thought was gone for good. To stop it, they’ll have to figure out what’s in his head. And hope it doesn’t destroy them all

••••••••••

REVIEW:  SHADOW is the sixth instalment in Janie Crouch’s contemporary, adult LINEAR TACTICAL romantic suspense series focusing on a group of former Special Forces soldiers who own and operate Linear Tactical, an Oak Creek, Wyoming business specializing in survival skills, security and protection. This is Heath ‘Shadow’ Kavanaugh, and linguistics specialist Jacquelyn ‘Lyn Norris’ Zimmerman’s story line. SHADOW can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty although I recommend reading the series in order for backstory and cohesion as there is an ongoing premise throughout. There is a slight cross-over with the inclusion of characters from the author’s BREE AND TANNER romantic suspense series.

Told from several third person perspectives including Lyn and Heath SHADOW follows the search for a mole in the biomedical engineering department at Wyoming Commonwealth University. Heath Kavanaugh’s latest assignment comes from the FBI as they hunt for the person(s) responsible for ‘selling’ secrets about the latest government projects but Heath finds himself attracted to PhD undergrad Lyn Norris who will find herself targeted for something she knows nothing about. What ensues is the building relationship between Shadow and Lyn, and the potential fall-out as secrets are revealed, the past comes full circle, and our heroine finds herself in a precarious position when her life hangs in the balance as she struggles to uncover a secret code known to very few.

Heath Kavanaugh was once a part of an unsanctioned government project that resulted in the death and destruction of people he knew. With the continuous messages filtering through his mind, Heath knows that whatever brainwashing experiment was used on his brain is about to come unglued with recent discoveries. Lyn Norris struggles with a life-threatening illness but that hasn’t stopped our heroine from going for what she wants. Battling issues of self-image and low self esteem, Lyn becomes suspicious when Heath begins a slow seduction in an effort to uncover the truth.

The relationship between Lyn and Heath is one of immediate attraction. Heath is unaware of Lyn’s true identity, and her relationship to people Heath already knows. Lyn finds herself on the outside looking in when Heath’s ‘cover’ is blown in an effort to protect Lyn from further harm. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including most of the previous story line couples and Linear Tactical agents, as well as Tanner Dempsey from the author’s Bree and Tanner series.. We are introduced to Lyn’s University co-workers and fellow professors; the requisite evil has many faces.

SHADOW is an action -packed story of family, friendships, betrayal and love; a story of secrets and lies, power and control. The premise is captivating and intriguing; the characters are sassy and colorful; the romance is seductive and sexy. SHADOW is an energetic and fast paced story of romance and suspense.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Cyclone
Eagle
Shamrock
Angel
Ghost
Shadow

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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