The Reading Cafe 7th Anniversary Celebration-Today’s Prize Package

The Reading Cafe 7th Anniversary Celebration -Today’s Prize Package

NOTE: All giveaways require a comment to qualify

The Reading Cafe is offering a 2 paper/print book prize package for today’s giveaway

ONE (1) commenter will receive both books from The Reading Café

1. If you have not previously registered at The Reading Cafe, please register by using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

NOTE: If you are having difficulty commenting after logging onto the site, please refresh the page (at the top of your computer).

2. If you are using a social log-in, please post your email address with your comment.

3. Please tell us to enter you into the giveaway.

4. LIKE us on FACEBOOK and then click GET NOTIFICATION under ‘liked’ for an additional entry.

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7. Please follow The Reading Cafe on Tumblr

8. Giveaway open to USA only

9. Giveaway runs until February 3-14, 2019

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Courted by Her Cougar (Cougar Creek Mates #3) by Felicity Heaton-Review, Excerpt & Giveaway Tour

COURTED BY HER COUGAR (Cougar Creek Mates #3) by Felicity Heaton-Review, Excerpt & Giveaway Tour

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon. uk / Amazon.au /

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 8, 2018

Madness is sweeping through Cougar Creek, and Flint wants no part of it. The fever has two of his brothers in love already, and Flint is damned if he’s giving up the bachelor life to tie himself to one female, but when a perimeter sweep has him running into an exotic and enthralling beauty who rouses his instincts as a cougar shifter and a male, the hunt is on.

All Yasmin is interested in is making sure her friend, Ivy, is safe, but the alluring black-haired man with a wicked smile she meets on the path to the creek has her thinking about other things. When an incident at Cougar Creek leads to her revealing a secret, and Flint’s persistence pushes her to a rash decision, her entire world is in danger of being turned upside down.

With the gathering in full swing, and males determined to prove their worth to Yasmin, Flint discovers he’s not immune to the madness sweeping through the creek, because he’ll do whatever it takes to claim victory and win Yasmin’s heart… no matter how dangerous it is.

•••••••••

REVIEW: COURTED BY HER COUGAR is the third instalment in Felicity Heaton’s contemporary, adult COUGAR CREEK MATES paranormal, romance series focusing on the cougar shifters of Cougar Creek, Canada. This is cougar shifter Flint, and physician/healer Yasmin Dubois’s story line. COURTED BY HER COUGAR can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary. The Cougar Creek Mates series is a spin-off from the author’s Eternal Mates series. It is not necessary to have read the previous series but there is an on-going premise throughout with the inclusion of the group known as Archangel.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Yasmin and Flint) COURTED BY HER COUGAR picks up immediately following the events of book two-Captured by Her Cougar- wherein Yasmin comes to Cougar Creek in search of her friend Ivy (Claimed by Her Cougar) whom she believes may be in danger. While the ‘gathering’ at Cougar Creek continues to gain momentum as the unmated males battle for the unclaimed females, Yasmin’s presence and eventually her pride pushes cougar shifter Flint to fight for the woman he claims as his own. What ensues is the acrimonious relationship between Yasmin and Flint, as Yasmin’s secrets are about to be exposed.

Yasmin Dubois is a healer but something about Yasmin doesn’t sit well with our story line hero. Yasmin is not whom or what she appears to be, and in this the unmated males of Cougar Creek enter into a battle to determine who can claim Yasmin as their own. As the guardians of Cougar Creek, Flint and his brothers are ineligible to enter into the courting ritual but Flint sees red when too many males vie for Yasmin’s affections.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including Rath and Ivy, Flint’s brother Colbalt, female cougar shifter Ember, as well as a number of males hoping to win Yasmin’s heart. Cobalt and Ember’s story is next in Craved by Her Cougar.

The world building continues to focus on the ‘gathering’-a time of mating heat between unmated females and males; a time when the beast overrides any sense of human emotion.

As per Felicity Heaton’s style of writing COURTED BY HER COUGAR is more of a written narrative wherein the story is told through thoughts and emotions. The premise is engaging; the characters are colorful and energetic; the romance is passionate and seductive. COURTED BY HER COUGAR is a spirited and dramatic tale of fated mates.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Claimed by Her Cougar
Captured by Her Cougar
Courted by Her Cougar

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Yasmin huffed as she pushed her ebony waves out of her face, feeling the dampness at the back of her neck that irritated the hell out of her as her hair stuck to it, clung in a way that made her want to do something. Scream probably.
She stopped near a towering pine that looked like every other damned tree in the forest and turned in a circle, trying to spot the path. There had to be a path. She was sure she had been following one from the trailhead where she had left her car parked next to Ivy’s Jeep, and several other vehicles that had told her she was in the right area.
Maybe it had been an animal track.
A cool breeze blew up the gentle slope to her right, carrying the scent of water. She could hear the river in that direction. Maybe it would be wise to head downhill until she found it and then track it towards the area that her friend had called ‘the creek’ more than once. There had been a river in Ivy’s photographs. It stood to reason that she would find her friend near the one she could hear.
Yasmin shrugged out of her heavy pack, set it down on the rough earth between the tangled roots of the pines and rifled through the side pockets, her mood taking a nosedive as she struggled to find what she was looking for.
“A-ha.” She grinned as she opened the fifth pocket—seriously, why so many pockets on these stupid backpacks—and found her elastics and other beauty items.
She straightened, lifted her hair away from her neck, scrunched it together and tied it in place with the band. Parts of it instantly fell down again, framing her face, but it would do for now. All she cared about was keeping her neck clear. It was bliss as the breeze caressed it, had a soft sigh leaving her lips as she savoured it.
When the wind died down again, she stripped off her black jacket, because a winter coat combined with her royal purple sweater and the long-sleeved cream t-shirt she wore beneath that had probably been a bit much. She had been expecting the weather to be cooler than it was. There had been snow on the mountains in Ivy’s photographs after all.
She peered through the dense trees to catch a sliver of the mountain that loomed closest to her. There was still snow on it. Apparently, snow on the peaks didn’t mean it was cold in the valley. It was rare she learned something new, novel in fact. What else was she going to learn on this adventure?
Yasmin hefted the pack back onto her shoulders. The weight of it pressed down on her and she twisted and grimaced, trying to get comfortable again. Maybe the sunny day wasn’t solely responsible for her working up a sweat. The heaviness of her pack combined with the exertion of the hike probably would have been enough to have her running a little hot even if it had been a chilly day.
She threaded her coat over the bottom of the right strap of her pack, so it pressed against her back and hip and wouldn’t fall into the dirt, and kicked off again, picking her way through the trees as she headed downhill towards the river.
A man with wild black hair and golden eyes stepped into her path, emerging from the trees like some sort of predator to stare her down.
She casually drew to a halt four metres from him.
Raked her gaze over him, taking in a navy shirt that stretched tight over his athletic build, long legs encased in very practical black trousers, and scuffed boots that looked as if he had trekked hundreds of miles in them and needed a new pair. Too cheap to purchase them? Or sentimental and attached to these ones for some reason?
She lifted her head back up to meet his golden eyes.
He didn’t look the sentimental type.
His straight jaw set hard, his lips compressing, causing the scar that streaked across the left side of his mouth to pull on his cheek.
He looked as if he wanted to growl at her.
Yasmin concluded there was a high probability he could help her. “I’m lost, can you tell me the way—”
“Private property. Turn your ass around and march it back the way you came,” he interjected, voice a gravelly snarl that had more bite than the local bears.
That was rude.
She narrowed her dark eyes on him. “No. If you would let me finish.”
He shook his head. “Not going to happen. This is no place for camping. Private property.”
“Yes, you’ve said that twice now, and if you would let me finish.”
He took a hard step towards her, his eyes glowing brighter. Oh, if he wanted to do angry, she could show him angry.
“Listen,” she snapped. “I know my friend is somewhere around here, and I am going to see her. Something tells me you know her. Ivy Wentworth?”
The barest flicker of surprise lit his stormy gold eyes before he schooled his features, hardening them again. “Don’t know her. Off you go now. Try the other direction.”
Liar.
“The other direction is my car.” And his, she was guessing.
It was probably the battered ancient pick-up she had seen that had more rust than paint on it.
“Good.” He folded his arms across his chest and glowered at her.
“So I’m not going back that way. I’m going this way.” She started left, because he had obviously come from nearby and that meant she was close to the creek.
He was in front of her in a flash, blocking her way. “I can’t allow that. Turn your ass around and march it back to your car.”
That was it.
Yasmin mimicked him, crossing her arms over her breasts, and the bastard had the audacity to glance at them as her actions pressed them together and upwards in her purple sweater.
“Try to make me leave,” she growled as she glared at him. “I dare you. We’ll see who comes off worse.”
His golden eyes leaped up to hers, and this time he didn’t hide his surprise.
Not used to strong females?
He was taller than she was, his build slim but clearly powerful. His shirt was tight enough that she could see it was hiding a muscled torso, and he had rolled up the sleeves to reveal tightly corded forearms that flexed as she stared at them.
Yasmin lifted her eyes back to his. “I’m going to see my friend whether you like it or not. You can’t stop me.”
He tried anyway, moving left and right to block her path as she tried to get past him.
Exasperating man!
She was close to hitting him to get him to stop.
He blocked her again when she made another attempt to pass him rather than giving in to the urge to clobber him. “How do you know this friend of yours is at the creek?”
She almost smiled. The creek. So he had come from the place where Ivy was staying with her new man. Which meant he was going to take her there, whether he liked it or not.
She feinted going left, and when he moved to block her, she went right and slipped past him. He growled in frustration and grabbed her wrist, and she turned on a pinhead, slammed her palm against his chest and shoved him back into a tree. He went easily, wasn’t a challenge at all.
Mostly because he was holding back.
Thought her feeble? Thought he might hurt her by accident if he exerted a little strength? She wanted to laugh at that.
Yasmin huffed and splayed her hand out against the centre of his chest, and yes, it was firm beneath her palm, muscles rigid and tensed, and there was that strength he was hiding from her.
“Are you going to take me to Ivy now?” She inched closer to him and pressed her hand harder against his chest to keep his spine pinned to the tree, just in case he thought about moving.
But he didn’t seem inclined to break free of her hold.
He regarded her with gold eyes that held a spark of heat, his silence stretching out for a moment that was so long she began to feel a little uncomfortable as she stood with her hand on his chest, his heart pounding against it, steady and strong.
She also started to wonder whether she had done some sort of permanent damage to him. She was on the verge of asking him whether he needed medical assistance when he finally responded.
He dipped his chin in a nod, his eyes remaining locked with hers as he spoke. “What’s your name?”
Not quite the response she had anticipated, but she would give it to him, because unlike him, she wasn’t rude. “Yasmin.”
He glanced down. “I’ve heard of you.”
She followed his gaze, tensed and removed her hand from his chest as she realised she was still touching him. His eyes lifted to her, banked heat in them, a flicker of interest that had her wanting to look away from him as a fire tried to lick over her cheeks. She resisted the need that raced through her and the blush, quelling both of them.
“I don’t doubt that.” She kept her voice even and emotionless, so he got the message that she didn’t feel the attraction that zinged between them. She really didn’t. “Ivy emailed me telling me she met a guy, fell in love of all things and that she wouldn’t be home for a while. She assured me that she was fine, but I’m here to see that for myself.”
“Commendable.” He knew big words. Trying to impress her?
She nodded. “I like to think so.”
He pushed away from the tree, coming to tower over her, easily eight inches taller than she was, and looked down at her.
His handsome face softened, that heat in his golden gaze lingering. “I’m Flint, Rath’s brother. Ivy is fine. She’s in love with Rath and nothing bad is happening here.”
He could attempt to appease her all he wanted. It wasn’t going to make her leave.
“Good.” She adjusted the bag on her back. “Because I prefer to heal injuries rather than cause them.”
A hint of a smile, enough that she could see that he would be devastating if he cracked a full blown grin. “Came here prepared for war?”
Yasmin nodded again. “If necessary. Ivy is my friend. My only friend.”
That had him turning serious, the dark slashes of his eyebrows knitting hard as the corners of his lips turned downwards. “I get that. You’re protective. I have a protective streak of my own… one I’ll introduce you to if you try to do anything to hurt my brother, including attempting to take Ivy from him.”
She arched an eyebrow at that. Protective of his brother’s happiness? That was commendable, as he would say.
“You think you can take me? Good luck with that.” She strode past him.
His eyes landed on her back and raked down her spine, a hot shiver following in their wake, and he purred, “I know I can take you.”

Felicity Heaton is a New York Times and USA Today international best-selling author writing passionate paranormal romance books. In her books, she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons! If you’re a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.

If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, the best-selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series or any of her stand-alone vampire romance books. If you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try the best-selling Vampire Erotic Theatre series. Or if you prefer huge detailed worlds filled with hot-blooded alpha males in every species, from elves to demons to dragons to shifters and angels, then take a look at the new Eternal Mates series.

If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places:

Website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk
Blog: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/blog/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/felicityheaton
Twitter: http://twitter.com/felicityheaton
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/felicityheaton

There are TWO (2) ways to win !!

In addition to the gift card giveaway below, Felicity is graciously offering an  ebook of  choice of either Turned by a Tiger, Tamed by a Tiger or Treasured by a Tiger to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

1. If you have not previously registered, please register using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

NOTE: If you are having difficulty commenting after logging in, please refresh the page at the top of your computer

2. If you are using a social log-in such as Twitter or Facebook, please post your email address with your comment.

3. LIKE Felicity Heaton on TWITTER

4. PLEASE Sign up for Felicity Heaton’s NEWSLETTER

5. LIKE Felicity Heaton on Facebook

6. LIKE us on FACEBOOK and then click GET NOTIFICATION under ‘liked’ for an additional entry.

7. LIKE us on Twitter for an additional entry.

8. Giveaway is open internationally.

9. Giveaway runs from September 12-15, 2018

 

NOTE: The Reading Cafe is NOT responsible for the Grand Giveaway. If you have any questions, please contact the author.

Enter the grand tour-wide giveaway to win one of a $75, $50 or $25 Amazon Gift Card at the Courted by her Cougar book page. This giveaway is international and open to everyone, and ends at midnight on September 23rd. Enter now: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/courted-by-her-cougar-shifter-romance-book.php

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Haunted by Shari Nichols – Review & Giveaway

Haunted by Shari Nichols – Review & Giveaway

 

 

Amazon / B&N / Kobo

Description:
When medium Karly Matthews agrees to move into a haunted inn, she’s not sure what’s more dangerous, the ghost or the sexy innkeeper she tries to resist. She can’t deny the intense rush of desire she feels every time he’s near. When she agrees to embark on a no-strings-attached relationship, she finds herself thrust into a world of mind-blowing pleasures. Now she must face the aching truths of her past.

Hotel heir Thayne Harper has a laser-like focus on success that doesn’t include the help of his family. He’s always been the black sheep, living in the shadow of his dead brother. His dreams are put to the test when a supernatural entity threatens to ruin everything. The one bright spot is the woman who intrigues his mind and heats his blood. If only he can convince her that, despite his bad-boy ways, he can change for the good. Her love becomes his only salvation. Passion burns white-hot as a dark threat looms. The ghost doesn’t want them to be together and sets her sights on Thayne, luring him to a place that goes beyond death. Will Karly be able to save him before it’s too late?

 

Review:

A would-be one night stand that wasn’t. When that ship sails, it’s delicious fun to face each another anew in the most surprising of settings: employer and employee. Karly is a medium hired to clear Thayne’s ghost-laden hotel before opening night. Given their attraction, stronger than ever for proximity, never mind delayed gratification, who exactly is making those sounds that go bump in the night? Haunted by Shari Nichols explores supernatural events with hair-raising details and a red-hot love story.

“Well, this certainly complicates matters.” There was an edge to his voice. “Only if we let it.” And she wouldn’t, because she had no intention of seeing him again outside of these four walls. Rule number one: never, ever cross professional boundaries. Rule number two: constantly remind yourself of rule number one, especially if the client is hot as sin.”

Karly does all the preliminary work to ascertain the presence of ghosts, but when the sexual tension rises, and the haunting stems from a singular spectre, Karly aims full throttle to banish the ghost…and leave her unsatisfied fantasies behind. In her haste to remove herself from the temptation of Thayne, Karly aggravates the spirit, yeah, it went nowhere, and is forced to up her game. While this menacing ghost can doom his hotelier venture, it also ensures Karly remains on the premises…and face her avoidance issues with Thayne. Game on, indeed.

I enjoyed Haunted. There is ghost hunting and hotel business, but love is the central story. Ghosts and vengeance (human and inhuman alike!) spook and strike and generally vie for attention, but Thayne and Karly are haunted by each other. They navigate past insta-love pretty quickly, trusting that this feels too right to be superficial. It’s when things turn tempestuous that we witness our H/H build, and topple, their relationship. This tenacity to survive, to drive past hard lines, is what maintains their desire to fight another day.

Haunted is a sexy ghost story sure to keep you up well into the night.
Reviewed by Carmen

Copy supplied for review

 

About The author

Shari NicholsShari Nichols grew up in a small town in Connecticut where haunted houses, ghosts and Ouija boards were common place, spurring her fascination with all things paranormal. Ever since she read her first Barbara Cartland novel, her life-long dream has been to write sexy, romantic stories. Shari has been married to her own alpha hero for twenty-two years. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, going to the gym, or hanging out with family and friends.

She lives in New Jersey with her husband, two teenagers, and her adoring golden retriever. Shari graduated from Rider University with a degree in Business Administration. After spending several years in the grind of Corporate America, she left to stay at home with her kids. Now she’s thrilled to spend her days in sweats, eating chocolate while pounding on her keyboard to create her next novel.

Her next book, Haunted, another steamy romance, will venture into the world of ghosts and haunted inns. Shari is a member of Romance Writers of America, New Jersey Romance Writers, Liberty States Fiction Writers and Fantasy, Futuristic, and Paranormal Romance Writers.

Website / Blog / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads / Instagram

 

giveaway

Shari Nichols is offering an e-copy of HAUNTED to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

1. If you have not previously registered at The Reading Cafe, please register by using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

NOTE: If you are having difficulty commenting after logging onto the site, please refresh the page (at the top of your computer).

2. If you are using a social log-in, please post your email address with your comment.

3. LIKE Shari Nichols on Facebook

4. LIKE us on FACEBOOK and then click GET NOTIFICATION under ‘liked’ for an additional entry.

5. LIKE us on Twitter for an additional entry.

6. Please FOLLOW us on GOODREADS for an additional entry.

7. Please follow The Reading Cafe on Tumblr

8. Giveaway open internationally

9.. Giveaway runs from December 16-21, 2017

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Hot Pursuit (Black Knights Inc) by Julie Ann Walker- Excerpt & Giveaway Promotion

Hot Pursuit (Black Knights Inc) by Julie Ann Walker-Excerpt and Giveaway Promotion

Hot Pursuit Banner

Release Date: October 3, 2017

Amazon / Amazon.ca / Barnes & Noble / iBooks

He puts the hot…
Christian Watson, a former SAS officer and current BKI operator, never thought he would return to England after a terrible turn of events forced him to abandon his homeland. But now he’s back on British soil where old enemies are determmeland. But now he’s back on British soil where old enemies are determined to do him in. Fighting for his life is pretty much SOP for Christian. Doing it with the beautiful, bossy Emily Scott in tow is another matter entirely.

In hot pursuit.

Emily lost her coveted job at the CIA because of a colleague turned rogue, and now she has just one rule when it comes to men: they’re for recreational purposes only. But when she and Christian are thrust into very close quarters while evading two mysterious men who want Christian dead, she can’t help but question all her ideas about love and life lived on the edge. Battling the bad guys is hard enough, battling her feelings for Christian just might prove impossible.

excerpt

 

So many questions buzzed through Emily’s brain that she felt like she’d shoved her head in a beehive. She had to grit her teeth to keep from asking them.And why the hell wouldn’t he stop rubbing her hip? Warmth had spread from the skin beneath his hand, and now her whole body was suffused with it.

“Is she the reason you stayed in England after Boss invited you to join him at Black Knights Inc.?” she asked.

The look he shot her had her lifting a brow. “What?”

“That’s the second time today I’ve thought you were either a mind reader or else practicing witchcraft.”

“Really?” The thought delighted her. “When was the first time?” Then reality sank in. Shit, that was question number three. “Never mind!” She slapped a hand over his mouth. “Don’t answer that.”

His eyes sparkled mischievously. He’d tried using her own technique against her, piquing her interest so she’d use up her truths.

“I’m not the only one who fights dirty,” she accused.

“And don’t you forget it,” he parroted her words back to her. Then he placed a hot kiss in the center of her palm.

She snatched her hand away, dropping it into her lap. If he noticed that she curled her fingers, trying to hold on to the heat of his kiss, he gave no indication.

“So out with it,” she demanded. “Is your mother the reason you stayed in England after Boss invited you to join him at BKI?”

“Yes.” His nod was perfunctory. “After I was let go from the SAS, when I was trying to make my way as a civilian, I moved back in with Mum. After Dad died, she didn’t only get soused on the weekends. She did it all day every day. Held on to the bottle like a lifeline. She was self-medicating, of course. When she was pissed, she could forget she’d been the one behind the wheel that night. But miracle of miracles, with me back home looking after her, suddenly it seemed like she was trying to pull her shite together. She stopped spending all her government support checks at the pub and instead started buying decent food for the flat. She even went ’round to the local Jobcentre offices and applied to be placed in a position.”

From the tender age of six, he’d lived with a drunk mother and a dead father.

Snap. Crackle. Pop.

That wasn’t Rice Krispies. That was the foundations of Emily’s walls. Because she got it.

Her parents might not be drunks, but she knew all about addiction. Her mother and father were both addicted to love, addicted to the high it brought them. They’d sought it with single-minded determination, and their searches had, more often than not, left Emily all alone.

“Then one night, about three months after I got back, I found her in an alley,” Christian continued. “She was half frozen, half dressed, and totally piss drunk. And that’s when I knew.”

He stopped there. Didn’t say another word for a full minute, simply stared into space.

Even though she’d used up her three truths, Emily posed a question anyway. “What did you know?”

Christian turned to look at her. There was so much sadness in his eyes that her heart lurched toward him, and her arms were around his neck before she could stop them.

“That I couldn’t change her,” he said, his voice deep and husky. “That I couldn’t help her, couldn’t save her. And she was too far gone to have any hope of saving herself. So, I trundled her off to the best rehab facility in the country the next morning. It cost all my savings to get her in a six-month program. Then I bought a one-way ticket to America. Got on that plane with nothing but a change of clothes in my rucksack and a paltry roll of pounds secured by an elastic band.”

Emily desperately wanted to know what had become of his mother, if she had ever sobered up, how she’d died. But she’d already pushed her luck and gotten one more truth than he’d agreed to give her. So she bit back the questions poised on the tip of her tongue and said simply, “I’m so sorry, Christian.”

Although sorry didn’t come close to describing what she was feeling for him in that moment. She wasn’t sure there were words in the English language that could do her emotions justice.

Then, because he had given her one more truth than he’d agreed to, and because her emotions were running high and she felt she should do something, she decided to answer the last question he had posed. After all, turnabout was fair play. She prided herself on being an equitable woman.

“I can’t imagine what it was like to lose a father so early in life,” she said, playing with the ends of his hair where it brushed the back of his warm neck. “Or to know what it was to grow up with an alcoholic mother. But like you, I’m sort of the collateral damage of my childhood.”

His dark eyebrows slashed into a vee. “What do you mean?”

“You asked me to explain to you what I couldn’t explain to Richard. Why I couldn’t fall in love with him.” Part of her mind was on the ugly truth she was about to reveal; the other part was distracted by the feel of his hair between her fingertips. It was so soft. Strange for a man who in all other respects was the epitome of hardness. Hard body. Hard head. Hard…ahem. “I’m willing to give it a try.”

The look he sent her was guarded.

“But I want to make another deal with you,” she said.

“I’m listening.”

“I want you to let me go back over to the sofa.” His pretty green eyes narrowed. “What I’m about to tell you is important, and I need to be able to concentrate to get it right. To explain it right. I can’t concentrate when we’re like”—she motioned between them—“this.”

One corner of his mouth twitched. “Why not?”

Her pursed lips told him you know why without having to say the words.

Indulge me, his twinkling eyes answered.

She blew out a windy breath. “You’re distracting, okay? You’re all…” She waved a hand to indicate his entire form. “And it’s distracting.”

Not to mention destructive. As in, sitting on his lap, his arms around her, her arms around him—when had that last thing happened exactly?—was destroying her emotional fortifications, ripping them apart brick by brick until it was hard to remember why she was so determined to keep him at arm’s length.

“You do want me.” A satisfied grin kicked up the corners of his mouth. That mouth that she now knew from experience was magic. If she was a witch, then he was definitely a warlock. A sexy, tattooed English warlock.

She clucked her tongue. “Ah, ah, ah. Your arrogance is showing again.”

“Admit it,” he demanded.

“Okay, I admit it. You, sir, are arrogant.” Devilment had her fighting a grin.

“Admit that you want me, woman. I’m not letting you go until you do.”

“Fine.” Her frustration had her raising her hands and letting them fall back into her lap. “I want you. What red-blooded heterosexual woman wouldn’t? You’ve got that whole unholy trifecta thing going for you.”

“Unholy trifecta?” He looked genuinely confused.

“Tall, dark, and handsome,” she explained, touching his chin dimple. She couldn’t get enough of it. “Plus, there’s the accent.”

“I’m not the one with an accent, darling. You’re the one with an accent.”

“Whatever. The point is that it doesn’t matter that I want you; I can’t have you. And I’ll try to explain why if you’ll let me go back over to the damned sofa!”

She clamped her mouth shut, heat flooding her cheeks when she realized he’d gotten under her skin and made her lose her shit. Again. He had an unnatural knack for it.

“Fine.” He opened his arms, letting them come to rest on the arms of the chair. “You win. Your freedom for an explanation. Although, in truth, I’m hardly sure this is a better deal than the last one.”

That Emily should feel so bereft without his strong arms around her, without that thumb drawing maddening circles on her hip, was completely absurd. Which was why she scrambled off his lap and flounced over to the sofa. She didn’t want him to see the truth of her feelings on her face.

Only after she had settled into the corner, drawing her feet up onto the cushion and hugging her knees to her chest, did she dare look at him. “Like I said earlier,” she grumbled. “You wouldn’t know a good deal if it—”

“I’m warning you, Emily.” His expression was so fierce, so focused that she found herself fighting for breath. “If you mention the words bite and pecker in the same sentence again, I can’t be held responsible for what I’ll do. Likely bite you and then try to use my p—”

“Okay!” She screwed her eyes shut and covered her ears. It felt as if someone had tossed a bucket of scalding water over her head. “I get it!”

When she blinked open her eyes, it was to find him reclined back in the chair, a smug half-smile plastered over his irritatingly attractive face.

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Click HERE to preorder your copy of HOT PURSUIT by Julie Ann Walker and receive another BLACK KNIGHTS INC novel of your choice

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Julie Ann Walker’s publisher-SOURCEBOOKS- is graciously offering a paper copy of HOT PURSUIT to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

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The Reading Cafe 5th Anniversary Giveaway Celebration-Today’s Prize Package

The Reading Cafe 5th Anniversary Giveaway Celebration-Today’s Prize Package

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The Reading Cafe is offering a 3 paper book prize package for today’s giveaway

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5th Anniversary Giveaway Feb 7

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The Reading Cafe 5th Anniversary Celebration Giveaway with Mallory Crowe

The Reading Cafe 5th Anniversary Celebration Giveaway with Mallory Crowe

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Mallory Crowe is graciously offering a paper copy of THE COCKY THIEF to ONE (1) lucky commenter

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Zero to Sixty (Body Shop Bad Boys #3) by Marie Harte-Review and Book Tour

ZERO TO SIXTY (Body Shop Bad Boys #3) by Marie Harte-Review and Book Tour

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ZERO TO SIXTY
Body Shop Bad Boys 33
by Marie Harte
Release Date: February 7, 2017
Genre: adult, contemporary,erotic,romance

Zero to Sixty

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

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 7,2017

Bad boy Sam + Good girl Ivy + Stray puppy = Damaged hearts learning to love again

After her last relationship bombed, Ivy Stephens is doing her best to put her life back together. She’s enjoying her job, her apartment-and the cute little puppy she’s seen hanging around. When she goes looking for him, she finds the stray in the arms of a big, burly, devastatingly handsome man.

Sam Hamilton is lonelier than he’s ever been after his best friend’s engagement. To give himself a sense of purpose, he takes in a puppy that keeps showing up around the garage where he works. The puppy has another suitor though-one who happens to be blond and beautiful.

••••••••••

REVIEW: ZERO TO SIXTY is the third installment in Marie Harte’s contemporary, adult BODY SHOP BAD BOYS erotic, romance series focusing on the men and woman who work at Webster’s Garage. This is mechanic Sam Hamilton, and massage therapist Ivy Stephens’s story line. ZERO TO SIXTY can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. BODY SHOP BAD BOYS is a spin off from Harte’s McCauley Brothers series but you do not have to have read the original series to follow the current time line. A number of the characters cross-over between the two series.

Told from several third person perspectives including Sam and Ivy, ZERO TO SIXTY follows the building relationship between bad boy mechanic Sam Hamilton and massage therapist Ivy Stephens. Sam has a bit of a soft spot where orphaned animals are involved but the disappearance of a stray puppy finds our hero face to face with Ivy Stephens, a woman who hopes to keep the puppy for her own. What ensues is the slow building relationship between Sam and Ivy, and Sam’s struggle to keep secret his past.

Sam Hamilton grew up in an abusive home to a single mother who all but ignored the son she should have loved but Sam found love and acceptance with his best friend Foley and his mother Eileen Sanders- a woman who took in the broken Sam as though he were one of her own. But Sam’s life has never been easy and when the demons begin to push, he is a man looking to fight his way out of the abyss. Ivy is an independent woman whose own family history is heartbreaking and emotional. She is a woman determined to show Sam that he is worthy of love including the love she offers.

The relationship between Sam and Ivy is slow to develop. Sam is afraid to overwhelm Ivy if he moves too fast. Throughout most of the storyline our couple ‘play’ around one another without taking the next step in their growing love. The $ex scenes are intimate and intense.

There are a large number of secondary and supporting characters including several from Harte’s McCauley Brothers series. Foley and Cyn (Roadside Assistance #2) Johnny and Lara ( Test Drive #1) as well as Mike and Delilah (What To Do With a Bad Boy) whose own relationship enters the next phase. There are plenty of lighthearted moments when the friends get together to tease one another about the lives and their loves.

The world building continues to look at family and friendship, betrayal, romance and love. The strength of the friendships throughout both of the series is emotional and tight. Everyone protects one another’s backs; no one is left alone.

ZERO TO SIXTY is an emotional story line about one man’s struggle to climb out of the depths of poverty and abuse; and one woman’s battle to prove that he is worthy of affection and love. The premise is realistic and moving; the characters are spirited and inspiring; the romance is seduction and emotional.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
The Reading Cafe
Roadside Assistance
Zero to Sixty

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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GUEST POST: researching the story line: developing the hero/heroine

Writing ZERO TO SIXTY, the third book in the Body Shop Bad Boys series, was a challenge, but one I very much looked forward to. The book had to stand alone but also be rewarding to continuing readers of the series. Sam, the hero, had already been introduced in book one and made more central to the story in book two, where he’s best friends with the hero.

Sam has issues. Oh, so many.

SamHe’s a mechanic working in a garage with other guys (and one gal) who feel like family. And that’s a good thing, because Sam comes from an abusive background. His mother would never win mother of the year, but she’s not a horrible person for no reason. (I think her history makes for a much more interesting read than just having a “bad guy” be bad for no reason.)

Sam deals with his aggression with underground—illegal—fighting. He wants and needs to be loved but doesn’t feel worthy of it, and so he holds onto his best friend too tightly when he needs to let go. It’s while learning to stand on his own that he meets the heroine, Ivy.

IvyIvy is a massage therapist and current rescuer of a loveable little puppy—who ran away. She meets Sam by accident, when he spotted the dog in the back of her shop. Ivy’s intimidated by the huge, hulking, tattooed Sam. But when she gets to know him, she finds they have similar stories.

She too comes from a sorry background. While her parents weren’t verbally or physically abusive, they just didn’t care. Like Sam, she wants love but wonders what’s so wrong with her that no one, not even her family, loved her.

CookieAnd then you have Cookie. The puppy who brings the two together. Cookie is a stray—like Sam—who just needs to find the right person to love him. Enter Sam and Ivy, who both see something in the tiny puppy, and in each other, to fill that void inside them needing a connection.

Writing perfect characters is boring. Writing stereotypes gets old. So though Sam is a “tortured hero,” he’s not too dark. He has a sense of humor and an ability to love. Ivy isn’t weak or pitiful. She’s strong, but she becomes stronger knowing and loving Sam (and Cookie).

~~Marie~~

 

About the author

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Marie HarteCaffeine addict, boy referee, and romance aficionado, USA Today bestselling author Marie Harte has over 100 books published with more constantly on the way. She’s a confessed bibliophile and devotee of action movies. Whether hiking in Central Oregon, biking around town, or hanging at the local tea shop, she’s constantly plotting to give everyone a happily ever after. Visit http://marieharte.com and fall in love.

Giveaway

Marie’s publisher is graciously offering a paper copy of TEST DRIVE (book 1) and ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE (book 2) to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

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9. Giveaway runs from February 2-6, 2017

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