Tag Archives: Juliana Stone

Cooper (The Family Simon #6) by Juliana Stone-a review

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COOPER (The Family Simon #6) by Juliana Stone-a review

Cooper

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

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 29, 2016

He runs, she hides. No one can do it forever…

Most of America think they have Cooper Simon figured out–he’s the playboy with no morals and a taste for married women. Cooper’s fine with that because he’s got secrets he’d rather keep buried. Who knew that spending a few months in Fisherman’s Landing would screw with his head. Or meeting a woman unlike any he’s met before, would be the key to unraveling all of his secrets…and maybe his heart.

After a horrific accident Morgan Campbell is grateful to be alive. So what if her life didn’t turn out the way it was supposed to? She lives quietly and keeps to herself. But meeting the most arrogant, infuriating, and sexy man will turn her world upside down. Because not only is Cooper Simon out of her league, he’d never be interested in someone like her. Can she be brave enough to step out of the box and reclaim the woman she once was? Or is she doomed to live in the shadows forever…

•••••••••••••

REVIEW: COOPER is the sixth and final installment in Juliana Stone’s contemporary, adult THE FAMILY SIMON romance series focusing on the Simon family of New England- a family reminiscent of the Kennedy clan with their money, power and political aspirations. This is writer Cooper Simon, and Morgan Campbell’s story line.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Cooper and Morgan) COOPER focuses on the building relationship between Cooper Simon- a writer and all around playboy, and Morgan Campbell- a young woman whose life and Olympic dreams were destroyed by an horrific accident that left our heroine scarred both inside and out. When Cooper’s sister in law Charlie hires a cleaning service to help around the house, Cooper struggles with his attraction to the woman who hides a multitude of secrets behind baggy clothes and an air of independence. Several off-hand comments by Cooper find our heroine walking away without a second glance only to be rehired to ‘catalogue and search’ the attic of the old home that Cooper now owns. What ensues is the building relationship between Cooper and Morgan, and the secrets both keep hidden from one another.

The relationship between Cooper and Morgan is one of immediate attraction but each has been burned by a relationship in the past. Morgan’s life spiraled out of control on an icy road that claimed someone close; Cooper’s self-imposed seclusion pits the writer against the man when his muse suddenly goes quiet. The $ex scenes are intimate and romantic.

There secondary and supporting characters include Cooper’s mother, as well as his brother Maverick and sister in law Charlie. We are also introduced to Morgan’s long-suffering father Ryan Campbell, a man who lost so much more the night Morgan’s life was destroyed.

The world building focuses on the Simon family dynamics: the close-knit family whose matriarch comes to visit with disheartening news, and the brothers whose life in the spotlight is not conducive to a normal life or a relationship kept hidden from the media limelight. Cooper and Morgan both have demons in the past, and it is these demons who continue to control their future.

COOPER is the final chapter in Juliana Stone’s THE FAMILY SIMON- a family with prestige, power, wealth, and political connections that make for some entertaining times. Cooper and Maverick’s story lines focus on the extended Simon family wherein their connections to the powerful elite make fair game for the paparazzi and media giants. The premise is emotional and heartbreaking as two people struggle with betrayal and loss; the characters are colorful and charismatic; the romance is a second chance for two people whose lives were diverted down differing paths only to find one another when they needed it the most.

Own a copy

Reviewed by Sandy

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A Friendly Flirtation by Christine Warner – a Review

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A Friendly Flirtation by Christine Warner – a Review

 

A Friendly FlirtationAmazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / BAM / The Book Depository

Description:
Allison Hall is fed up with being a social outcast. Even at the tech company where she works for her brother and his best friend, Jared, she’s the invisible nerdy girl. What she needs is confidence—and that requires a makeover and dating tips. And she knows just the man to help…

Jared Esterly is shocked when Allison asks for his assistance and turns her down, knowing that her brother—his business partner and best friend, Nick—would kill him if he dated her, even if it is just for practice. But when Al’s attempt to make changes on her own fails spectacularly, Jared reluctantly steps in. Things heat up quickly, and soon lessons move from the salon to the bedroom.

When overprotective big-brother Nick discovers Jared is dating Allison, their friendship and business partnership sour. Allison, consumed by guilt, must make a choice: stay with Jared, even though that means ruining his friendship with Nick and possibly his career, or leave the one man who sets her on fire.

Review:

A Friendly Flirtation by Christine Warner is the third book in her Friends First series.  This book belongs to the third Esterly brother.  You don’t need to read them in sequence.

Nerdy girl seeks adventure and a new image, and a lot more confidence, so she asks her brother’s friend and business partner to help. When he turns her down, she tries to go it alone, the result ….. Epic fail !!!

Allison comes from a male dominated family, so being a tomboy was the norm, and now she is sick of being ignored, no dates on the horizon, and she’s still a virgin.

Jared has no such problem, tall and a ladies man, he has no problem with the opposite sex. So he takes pity on her and helps her out. And along the way he falls for her…..

You get the feeling that both Allison and Jared have a few secret feelings about each other.  Jared wants what Allison wants, he wants love and family, he’s not really the playboy everyone thinks he is. But even pretending to date his best friend’s sister is a line he just can’t cross. He loves his second family, they have been the family he always wanted.

After falling for each other, Allison’s brother finds out, and so say he’s not best pleased is an understatement. Will the friends remain friends ?

And what about Jared and Allison, will their friendship and new love flounder? Or like the Hershey kisses they both enjoy, will it be sweet and forever.

It’s a great read.

Reviewed by Julie B.

Copy provided by Publisher

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Teague / Grace (The Family Simon # 4 & #5) by Juliana Stone-reviews

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TEAGUE / GRACE (The Family Simon #4 & #5) by Juliana Stone – reviews

Teague Grace

TeagueTEAGUE
(The Family Simon #4)
by Juliana Stone
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, romance

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

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 24, 2015

Teague Simon is a man at a crossroads. He’s no good around people and spending time alone at the family cottage will hopefully ease his burden. What he doesn’t need is the woman next door poking around his business making things worse. And what he really doesn’t need are her two young children in his face. How can they help slay the demons that haunt him?

Sabrina Campbell is barely surviving and doing everything that she can to hide that fact. She takes care of her kids and keeps herself busy. She’s not looking for anything other than the chance to forget. But when Teague Simon shows up, looking as haunted as she is, she’s drawn to his pain. His loneliness. She knows his scars run deep, but so do hers. She should stay away and yet she can’t.

Can these two broken souls somehow heal each other?

•••••••••

REVIEW: TEAGUE is the fourth installment in Juliana Stone’s adult, contemporary The Family Simon romance series focusing on the Simon Family. This is US soldier Teague Simon, and widow/single mother Sabrina Campbell’s storyline. TEAGUE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Several of the characters from the previous storylines as well as Teague’s family play cameo roles throughout the story.

Told from dual third person perspectives TEAGUE follows the building relationship between two broken souls. Sabrina is a young widow with six year old twins Morgan and Harry, whose husband passed away from cancer: Teague is a soldier whose PTSD and injuries from his time in Syria, finds our hero lost in a world of nightmares and grief, with the death of a friend weighing heavily on his mind. While on R&R at his family cottage in Muskoka/Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada, Teague will reconnect with childhood friend Sabrina Campbell while reconsidering another assignment that will take him away from his family and friends.

The storyline focuses on the rekindling of a friendship between Teague and Sabrina, and the growing bond between Teague, and Sabrina’s twins. Teague is a man whose demons ride fairly close to the surface, and he believes he is not capable of love or understanding with all that he has had to endure. His goal is to escape the nightmares and ghosts by embarking on another mission. At times, his attitude and patience push away the people he loves.

The relationship between our couple is slow to build as Teague tends to keep to himself a good portion of the storyline but as children always do, Morgan and Harry worm their way into Teague’s heart, opening a path for Sabrina and her love. The $ex scenes are intimate and romantic, without the over the top erotic factor.

Many of Teague’s family are present, some by way of mention, while others take an active role in Teague’s life. We are introduced to townie Josiah Duff whose interest in Sabrina catches Teague off his game.

The world building brings together the Simon’s and their extended family reminiscent of the Kennedy clan with their money, power and political aspirations. Teague is the war veteran who has seen too many deaths, and in this, the Simon family are concerned about their son, and sibling’s emotional recovery.

TEAGUE is a story with family and friends; romance and love; recovery and grief. It is also a story about two friends who reconnect at a time when both are in need of physical and emotional support. Juliana Stone’s THE FAMILY SIMON is a series about family, relationships and love, and in this, TEAGUE sees another Simon family

Reviewed by Sandy

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GraceGRACE
(The Family Simon #5)
by Juliana Stone
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, romance

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

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date November 25, 2015

Matt Hawkins, the tortured man you first met in The Barker Triplets, is finally getting his story! And more than a match for him is Grace Simon

When love and pain collide, all bets are off…

Grace Simon is a fixer. But fixing the men in her life has led to more heartbreak than she cares to admit to. She should know by now that some men are damaged for life. Yet Matt Hawkins awakes in her such a need to connect that it can’t be denied. Risking her heart might be the only way to help him, but it could also be the one heartbreak she will never get over…

Matt Hawkins has never learned to deal with his painful past. He uses booze and women to forget and he sure as hell knows that ‘forever’ isn’t in his future. He’s no good for a rich girl like Grace Simon. Yet he can’t deny the powerful attraction between them and his desire to be with her. Does he push her away knowing he’ll only hurt her? Or does he take a chance and hope that she’s the key to slaying his demons…

•••••••••••••

REVIEW: GRACE is the fifth installment in Juliana Stone’s contemporary, adult THE FAMILY SIMON romance series focusing on the Simon family. This is the Simon family’s only daughter Grace Simon, and car restorer Matt Hawkins storyline. We were first introduced to Matt in Juliana’s THE BARKER TRIPLETS series. GRACE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from previous storylines is imparted where necessary. There is a cross over between the Barker Triplets series and The Family Simon.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Grace and Matt) GRACE focuses on second chances, and letting go of the past. Two years earlier, Grace and Matt shared a kiss at Betty-Jo Barker’s wedding-a kiss that Grace believes meant something more but Matt pulled away and our heroine hasn’t seen the man of her dreams in all that time. Fast forward to present day where Grace will all but be destroyed when Matt takes everything Grace has to offer, then pushes her away like yesterday’s garbage. What ensues is a rekindling of a friendship, a building love, and Matt’s need to let go and forgive himself for the sins of the past in order to move forward.

GRACE is an emotional and heartbreaking storyline where one man is consumed by self-hatred, and the memories of his younger self. Matt is a broken man; a damaged soul who has always struggled with his demons, his dysfunctional family, and his hatred for the man and woman who destroyed his life. No one knows the truth about what drives Matt or what caused the pain and haunting emptiness in his eyes but one look at his past and the truth is not very far behind.

The relationship between our couple is one of immediate attraction but Matt’s self loathing and the sins of his past keep friends on the periphery of really getting to know the man in question. Matt is a man-whore who uses women for one night stands; his heart and soul are darkened by hatred and a past that haunts his night and days. Meeting Grace reminds Matt that he is a dark and damaged man, and will never be good enough for the woman he loves. The $ex scenes are erotic, intense and seductive.

Most of the previous storyline couples and characters play a secondary or supporting role –some by way of mention or through phone calls and memories. We revisit with the Barker family including triplets Betty, Billie and Bobbi-Jo and their significant others. Betty Jo Barker is Matt’s best friend and the woman who pushes Grace to never give up on the man that she loves. Grace’s cousin Cooper Simon has a small cameo role-Cooper’s story is next.

Juliana Stone reveals the heartbreak and emotional backstory of one man whose heart and soul were destroyed by the very people who were supposed to love and protect. The premise is engaging and intense; the characters are haunting and memorable; the romance is a slow build to a happily ever after. There is plenty of push and pull throughout the story especially when Matt realizes that Grace is too close to the truth.

Congratulations Juliana on another great story.

Reading Order
Tucker FREE ebook: Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO /
Jack
Maverick
Teague
Grace
Cooper 2016

Reviewed by Sandy

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The Family Simon Series 1-3 by Juliana Stone-Series Review

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The Family Simon Series 1-3 by Juliana Stone-series review

The Family Simon

I will start the reviews in reverse order from the most recent release.

___________________________________

MaverickMAVERICK
(The Family Simon #3)
by Juliana Stone
Genre: adult, contemporary, romance

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

About the book: Release Date February 18, 2015

Maverick Simon lost his mojo somewhere between the last film he scored and a nasty break-up with one of Hollywood’s elite. Burnt out, a vacation is just what this California boy needs. His brother’s empty house in Maine offers the perfect sanctuary. But plans go awry when he meets a woman who rocks his world in more ways than one. She’s not his usual type—she’s edgy, opinionated, and downright rude. But something about the prickly Charlie Samuels sparks his interest. Maverick must decide if that something is exactly what he needs, or if the smokin’ hot chemistry they share is nothing more than a vacation fling…

Charlie Samuels had always dreamed of leaving her small New England town for something bigger. But that dream disappeared the day her father died, leaving her to raise her younger brother and keep the family business afloat. Now a mechanic, she’s knee deep in grease and oil, and with a pile of bills to pay, has no time for someone like Maverick Simon—a guy who’s just passing through. She can’t deny the tall, brooding, sexy-as-sin, Maverick, causes her pulse to race, but she knows that he’s way out of her league. So why is she contemplating an affair? Especially when she knows that Maverick Simon could cost her more than she’s willing to give, namely, her heart…

•••••••••••••••

REVIEW: MAVERICK is the third installment in Juliana Stone’s adult, contemporary The Family Simon romance series focusing on the Simon Family. This is music composer and writer Maverick Simon, and mechanic Charlotte (Charlie) Samuels’s storyline. MAVERICK can be read as a stand alone without too much difficulty but some of the previous storyline scenarios are beginning to cross between installments.

Told from third person perspective, the storyline focuses on Maverick ‘Rick’ Simon as he takes some personal time at his brother’s place in Fisherman’s Landing, Maine. While his best friend and music partner Donovan James-Simon (JACK books 2) and husband Jack Simon await the birth of their first child, Rick finds solace in the winter solitude of Maine. Hoping to find someone to fix his brother’s wayward snowmobile, Rick will be introduced to Charlie Samuels-the town’s only female mechanic-and the woman who would steal Maverick’s heart.

MAVERICK is an ensemble storyline with many of the Simon family siblings and cousins front and center in the family business- a family that closely resembles the Kennedys including the political elite, the rich and famous, the superstars and military heroes. Maverick is a song writer whose hit a road block, of sorts, and finding Charlie Samuels has lifted the block and lightened his heart. But like all ‘Kennedy’ style families, tragedy will befall the Simon Clan, and Rick finds himself torn between what he knows he must do and where he wants to remain. Rick’s cousin Teague deserves his happily ever after, but getting there will be even more dramatic and intense than previous storylines.

The relationship between Charlie and Maverick is one of immediate attraction but Charlie is a woman whose has responsibilities beyond her business-since the death of her father, Charlie has been raising her younger brother Connor, and in this, his safety and protection are her first concerns. The $ex scenes are intimate, romantic and compelling without the over stimulation of erotic graphic imagery. Charlie believes that Rick is only a temporary fixture in her life, and both her and Connor may not survive the heartbreak when Rick returns to his career in California.

MAVERICK is another emotional and moving storyline of family and love. The characters are engaging, colorful and charismatic; the storyline is enjoyable, passionate and encouraging. There are no hidden demons or exes making life miserable but Rick keeps his true identity a secret far longer than he should have.

Reviewed by Sandy

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JackJACK
(The Family Simon #2)
by Juliana Stone
Genre: adult, contemporary, romance

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

About the book: Release Date August 25, 2014

One night with the wrong woman can change your life….

Jack Simon’s road to the White House has been a smooth one until a night with the notorious Donovan James becomes a roadblock he can’t escape. Suddenly he’s America’s number one story and it has nothing to do with politics. Jack’s tangled with this woman before and knows they’re no good together because the only thing they’re good for is a four letter word…hurt. He should get on with his life and concentrate on his job. But that’s hard to do when the one thing standing in his way, is the one thing he wants the most…

Donovan James, international singing sensation, has made a living singing songs about heartache and pain, two things she grew up on. But it’s time to set down some roots and the only man she wants is a man she’s all wrong for. A man she’s never stopped loving—Jack Simon. They’d had it all once, until they didn’t. And yet she can’t help but wonder if a second shot together just might be the game changer she needs. Or if old secrets can still ruin the only man she’s ever loved…

••••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: JACK is the second installment in Juliana Stone’s adult, contemporary The Family Stone romance series focusing on The Family Simon-a spinoff from Juliana’s The Barker Triplets series. This is political candidate and golden boy Jack Simon, and singing sensation Donovan James’s storyline. JACK can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty.

Told from third person perspective, the focus of the storyline is the rekindling of the relationship between Jack and Donovan. Five years earlier, after a heated argument, Donovan walked out of Jack’s life without explanation or reason. In the ensuing time, our couple saw one another once leading the paparazzi to speculate that America’s glamor couple were back on. But Jack despises the very ground upon which Donovan walks, and Donovan knew that to attempt any reconciliation with Jack would mean death to both of their careers.

Jack ‘s character has some issues with forgiveness and letting go of the past. His hurtful words and actions border dangerously on emotional abuse and in this I took issue with behavior. Donovan has never stopped loving Jack and walking away was the only thing she could do to save both of their careers. Although Jack is not aware of the circumstances, his attitude left something to be desired.

The relationship between Donovan and Jack is angry, hurt-filled and volatile. Jack has never forgiven Donovan for walking away, and Donovan has not been able to reveal the truth about what happened years before. Our couple will find themselves on a secluded island in Belize, where it is hoped, by well meaning but interfering family members that Jack and Donovan will get back together. The $ex scenes were limited, as our couple struggled with their relationship throughout most of the story but there was definite sexual chemistry and tension.

The engaging, colorful and energetic supporting characters include most of the Simon siblings, cousins as well as a cameo by the Simon family elders Noah and Eden. We are introduced to Jacks’ nosey but enlightened neighbor as well as Simon’s best friend Derek whose intentions are questionable, at best. The Simon family reminds me a little of the Kennedy Clan-similar numbers, fame and family issues. I did have one concern-it is never revealed who leaked the background story, and in this, we never learn who was responsible or if anyone has paid for their ‘crimes’.

JACK is an emotional second chance storyline; a story of betrayal and friendship; love and understanding; acceptance and letting go. JACK is also a story about family differences and different families. Juliana Stone writes a passionate and emotional storyline that will have you reaching for the tissues.

Reviewed by Sandy

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TuckerTUCKER
(The Family Simon #1)
by Juliana Stone
Genre: adult, contemporary, romance

FREE ebook: Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 15, 2014

When all hope is gone, can love still find a way?

Tucker Simon has given up on love. After a tragedy, it’s just not in the cards for him, and he wishes his family would get off his back. He’s fine—or at least he thought he was–until a family wedding forces him to address a few things, namely his date, Abby Mathews. She’s been put in the ‘friend’ category, mostly because she deserves so much more than what he can give. But the more time that he spends with her, Tucker begins to think that maybe there is a chance for love after all…

Abby Mathews has been in love with Tucker Simon since he walked into her family’s bar nearly a year ago. But he’s got baggage and heartache a plenty. His one-night-stands aren’t going to lessen that no matter what he thinks. Tucker needs a friend, but Abby wants to give him more, and as they navigate their way through a weekend in Florida, their attraction can’t be ignored. Abby has to make a choice. Does she cherish their friendship and take what she can get? Or does she go after what she really wants, which is Tucker’s heart…

••••••••••••••

REVIEW: TUCKER is the first instalment in Juliana Stone’s new, contemporary, adult romance spinoff series The Family Simon. The Family Simon is a spinoff from Juliana’s successful –The Barker Triplets series-and we were introduced to Beau Simon in CONCEAL (TBT #3). This is Tucker Simon and Abby Mathews story. Tucker is a high powered broker and Abby (and her family) own The Black Dog-a pub near Times Square, New York. This is a friends to lovers storyline where misunderstandings, lost loves and letting go set the stage for a heartbreaking tale.

The focus of the storyline is on the sexual and palpable attraction between our leading couple and the ghost blocking any chance at love for a couple who have been dancing around one another for close to a year. Tucker’s emotional baggage is part of his current persona and there will never be any chance of moving forward until the past is buried but burying the past is nearly impossible when everything he does reminds him of what is missing and why. Abby is Tucker’s close friend, perhaps his best friend and confidant but Abby wants more. The fear of destroying their friendship is one of many reasons Tucker refuses to place his heart on the line.

The relationship between Tucker and Abby begins as friends and escalates when Tucker asks Abby to be his plus one for cousin’s wedding. There is no denying their attraction but Tucker’s past is the one thing holding him back-regardless of time and unanswered questions. As the storyline develops, so too does the relationship until the past comes roaring back and everything they have worked towards may be lost in a matter of moments. Tucker’s previous relationship and the subsequent demise is first and foremost on the minds of everyone in the storyline and is a major focus of the premise-there is no moving forward because closure has never been made.

The storyline is well paced and the cast of secondary characters are colorful; add humor; and hint at future storylines. There is mystery and suspense; romance and love; well meaning family and friends; and at times a little too much tortuous remorse. I will add that the novel is in need of another proof read or editor-there were several spelling and grammar errors that should have been caught and corrected –especially for a novel that has already been released to the public.

Juliana Stone writes a story about moving forward and letting go. When loss cannot be explained there is rarely any closure for those left behind. Juliana pulls the reader into an emotional and heartbreaking storyline where one man must close the door to the past before opening the door to his future.

Reviewed by Sandy

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Boys Like You by Juliana Stone-Review and Giveaway

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BOYS LIKE YOU by Juliana Stone-a review

Boys Like You Banner

Boys Like You
by Juliana Stone
Release Date: May 6, 2014
Genre: young adult, contemporary, romance

Boys Like You

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO / The Book Depository

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 6, 2014

One mistake. And everything changes. For Monroe Blackwell, one small mistake has torn her family apart –leaving her empty and broken. There’s a hole in her heart that nothing can fill. That no one can fill. And a summer in Louisiana with her Grandma isn’t going to change that…

Nathan Everets knows heartache first-hand when a car accident leaves his best friend in a coma. And it’s his fault. He should be the one lying in the hospital. The one who will never play guitar again. He doesn’t deserve forgiveness, and a court-appointed job at the Blackwell B&B isn’t going to change that… Captivating and hopeful, this achingly poignant novel brings together two lost souls struggling with grief and guilt – looking for acceptance, so they can find forgiveness.

••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: BOYS LIKE YOU is a contemporary, young adult storyline that focuses on two teens who have experienced more heartache and pain than many adults.

Sixteen and half year old New Yorker Monroe Blackwell is spending the summer with her Grandmother in Louisiana. Still grieving from a loss that will haunt her the rest of her life, Monroe will meet seventeen year old local bad boy Nathan Everets-a young man whose life took a sudden turn when a car accident left his best friend in a coma and near death. With  Nathan as the driver, the blame has been placed squarely on the shoulders of a teenager who thought he was okay to drive. Choices were made and consequences were delivered. Now two lost souls will find one another in a summer of romance, resolutions and love.

Juliana Stone pulls the reader into a heartbreaking storyline about two teens who have had to experience loss and the startling realization that one mistake can snowball with fatal results. BOYS LIKE YOU is a story that is emotional in its’ presentation, traumatic in its’ content, and passionate in its’ ideals. Monroe and Nathan are your average teenagers, with families, friends and hobbies until one day each will experience the horrific loss that will result in two broken souls who have no hope of ever finding peace in their own little corner of the world.

The characters are relatable, likeable and you can empathize with the pain and suffering for two families whose losses are different but no less traumatic. The storyline is fast paced, well structured and told from alternating first person points of view (Monroe and Nathan). The building summer romance between Nathan and Monroe will culminate with a Labor Day goodbye but one that will see promises made forever.

Because this is a young adult storyline, there is no graphic sex but sex does happen behind the scenes and it is implied. And unlike many YA storylines there is NO love triangle to interfere with this reader’s enjoyment of the book. BOYS LIKE YOU by Juliana Stone is a tale taken from many of today’s headlines. Where choices are made without forethought or implication; and where guilt overrides any sense of self worth when the family left behind must face the ones who have survived every day of their life. This is a story of letting go and allowing a stranger to catch you when you fall.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

Guest Post Black and Yellow

The Delighted Reader

Guest Post: Boys Like You

I’m happy to be here today and chat a bit about my book, BOYS LIKE YOU. First off, in case you don’t know I’ve been writing adult romances for a few years now. Started off writing paranormal romance and branched into contemporary romance. (I also write new adult under the pen name Julie Bale)

So, I’ve been around the block, but throughout this process I’ve always wanted to write a young adult novel, and for one reason only, my daughter. She’s a voracious reader and I wanted to be able to give her a book she and her friends could read. Voila, BOYS LIKE YOU was born!

When I set out to write this book I knew that music had to play some part in it. Growing up in a musical home, it was always an important part of my life and still is. Back when I was younger (much younger if you want to know the truth ☺ ) I was the lead singer in an all girl rock band and that’s in fact how I met my husband. He was a guitar player, so I guess for me, there’s always been a part that gravitates toward music and well, hot guitar players!! We still gig on occasion though the big hair, spandex and shoulder pads are (thankfully) a thing of the past.

In this book, my main character Nathan is a guitarist, but for several reasons his joy of music is much diminished. That’s the thing about music, it’s effect on us can be powerful. How many times have you listened to a song and cried? I can listen to a piece of instrumental music and if there is the right combination of minor notes? The melancholy and sadness they evoke can be just as powerful as watching an intense and emotional scene in a movie.

Although music is more of a metaphor in this book, (Nate’s inability to truly enjoy it until he faces his past) it’s still a powerful thing. I hope you all enjoy Nathan and Monroe’s journey as they slowly learn to forgive themselves for the choices they made. Side note, the original title of this book was called, Back To Good, and yes it was based on the Matchbox Twenty song of the same name!

Juliana Giveaway-Black and Yellow

Juliana Stone and Sourcebooks is offering a paper copy of BOYS LIKE YOU to one (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

1. Please register using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

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

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

4. LIKE us on Twitter for an additional entry.

5. LIKE Juliana Stone on Facebook.

6. The giveaway is open to USA and CANADA only

7. The giveaway runs from May 5 to May 10, 2014

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The Day He Kissed Her (Bad Boys of Crystal Lake #3) by Juliana Stone-review and giveaway

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The Day He Kissed Her (Bad Boys of Crystal Lake #3) by Juliana Stone-review and giveaway

The Day He Kissed Her Banner

The Day He Kissed Her
Bad Boys of Crystal Lake #3
by Juliana Stone
Genre: contemporary, adult, romance, erotic
Release Date: April 1, 2014

The Day He Kissed Her
Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO / The Book Depository

THE DAY HE KISSED HER (Bad Boys of Crystal Lake #3) by Juliana Stone

About the book: Release Date April 1, 2014

He can’t wait to leave…

Mac Draper finally has everything he’s always wanted: An amazing career. A New York City apartment. He’s this close to being free of his past forever. But a mind-blowing encounter with the sexy yet tough-as-nails Lily St. Clare has him delaying his plans to put Crystal Lake in his rearview mirror for good.

She’s finally found a place to stay…

For Lily St. Clare the charming small town of Crystal Lake is her haven – a place she can hide from her famous, back-stabbing family. It’s as close to happy as she’s ever been. Until an unforgettable night with tall, dark and tortured Mac Draper gives her a glimpse of what true happiness feels like.

Lily can’t help but melt a little under the sizzling heat of Mac’s touch. But Mac’s scars run deep, and Lily’s afraid she may be falling for the one man who can never return her feelings…

••••••••••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: THE DAY HE KISSED HER is the third instalment in Juliana Stone’s adult, contemporary, erotic Bad Boys of Crystal Lake series focusing on a tight knit group of family and friends-Jake & Jesse Edwards, Cain Black and MacKenzie Draper. This is MacKenzie and Lily’s storyline. Keeping everyone at arm’s length, Mac has finally met a woman he can love, but the past is ugly and Mac fears that he may be more like his father than he ever thought. Lily is Jake Edwards best friend and she has been welcomed into the family as one of their own.

The storyline follows Mac and Lily who had previously met several months earlier. After a night of drunken sex, each go their separate ways only to meet again, at the Edward’s Memorial Day celebration. Believing she was nothing more than a one-night stand, Lily desperately attempts to hide but Mac remembers everything about Lily and that special night. Hoping for a do-over, Mac pursues Lily until they become lovers-but nothing more. Mac doesn’t do relationships or love and, he is more than willing to let Lily know exactly where he stands.

The relationship between Mac and Lily rekindles an attraction to one another that neither has experience before. But Mac’s family history has shrouded his heart and his soul in a dark and dangerous curtain where he hides a multitude of emotional and physical scars that have left him incapable of love. He believes he is not worthy and when the past begins to resurface in the next generation of family, Mac begins to pulls away from the only woman he has ever loved.

THE DAY HE KISSED HER is a storyline that focuses on a family history of abuse and neglect: a family whereby the parents enable one another’s sins and where the children are left unprotected from the monster who is supposed to love and protect. This is a story where history begins to repeat itself and where one man refuses to give up on the people that he loves. But sometimes, in the end, you have to walk away when the person who was supposed to protect you, looks the other way, and does nothing to save themselves.

Juliana Stone pulls the reader into an intense storyline of heartbreak and betrayal; love and letting go; acceptance and moving on. Julian writes a story that is emotional and heartbreaking; a story that may be all too familiar to many readers; but a story that ends with a HEA.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley.

Reviewed by Sandy

excerpt

Mackenzie Draper woke up with a throbbing head, a dry mouth, and an ache in his neck that hurt like hell.
Vague memories of the Coach House, his buddies Cain and Jake, some loud, crazy band, and a bottle of tequila floated in his mind.
Or maybe it was two bottles of tequila.
Not that it mattered. Mac was sporting the worst hangover ever, and even though it had nothing to do with Crystal Lake—-and everything to do with his weakness for tequila—-his first thought was that he shouldn’t have come home.
Things never went well when he came back to Crystal Lake, and after all this time—-and with his bastard father in jail—-it was still hard.
With a groan, Mac rolled out of bed and wondered why the hell he did it.
It was late morning, Friday of the Memorial Day long weekend, and Mac had arrived home the night before, hence the catching up with his buddies and the endless shots of tequila.
Damn. He knew better. Tequila always knocked him on his ass.
His nose wrinkled. He smelled like a brewery and was still in his clothes from the night before—-he was pretty damn sure he looked like crap. Mac stumbled down the hall, wincing and cursing when he stubbed his toe on an uneven floorboard.
He ran fingers over the two–day–old stubble on his chin, rolled his shoulders, and groaned. The muscles were tight, but then again, everything was tight and sore.
With a scowl, he glanced back toward his room. Damn mattress. He was used to sleeping on the king–sized dream at his place in New York City, not the IKEA crap from his teen years.
“Shit,” he murmured, wincing again as his neck creaked. There was a time when the floor between the Edwards twins’ beds had been good enough for him. Hell, he’d spent many a night sleeping there when things got out of hand at home.
God, is this what it felt like to be old?
The family homestead was a modest bungalow with three bedrooms, a kitchen, a small dining room, and a TV room finishing off the main floor. The place hadn’t seen a fresh coat of paint in years, and the wallpaper in the hall was curling in the corners. The roof needed done and if the windows weren’t replaced soon, the frames would rot.
It was a mess, and he doubted the additional three bedrooms in the basement or the small recreational room was faring any better.
When he was a kid, he spent most of his time down there—-anything to avoid his father, or rather, his father’s fists. Back then, the house had seemed so damn small—-so damn suffocating—-it was hard to believe that anything could grow or thrive inside the four walls
that made up the Draper residence. No wonder he escaped as much as he could. Hanging with the Edwards twins and
Cain Black had been his salvation. He glanced around the house, feeling as tired as it looked. With only his mother puttering about, the place seemed empty and quiet. Too quiet.
Mac needed noise, the hustle and bustle of the city, the sounds of people, music, and cabs.
He needed noise to shut out the quiet moments, because when it was quiet, it was way too easy to think and remember. And Mac didn’t want to remember.
He wasn’t alone in that sentiment. His five siblings were gone. They’d all left as soon as they could, and other than his younger sister, Becca, he was the only one who came home to visit. The long distance thing seemed to work for everyone else.
Mac paused and leaned against the door frame that led to the kitchen, watching his mother roll out dough. She wore simple clothes—-a white cotton blouse, with faded blue and red roses, tucked into plain white shorts that fell exactly one inch above the knee. The colors had faded, but they were clean and pressed, with no creases.
Her long hair, as blond as Mac’s and showing no sign of gray, was knotted loosely at her nape. She was petite—-trim—-and from this angle, she looked exactly like the mother he remembered from his youth. It wasn’t until she glanced up and he caught sight of the sadness in her eyes, the wrinkles of worry etched into her brow, that he saw her age.
Age and heartache that had been put there by his father.
Just thinking of Ben Draper made Mac’s gut clench, and it took some effort for him to ease out of the anger that ate at him. He breathed in and out, nice and easylike, and managed a half–assed smile for his mother.
She smiled back, but it quickly faded when her eyes narrowed and she pursed her lips. She continued to roll her dough.
“Late night, Mackenzie?” There was disapproval in her voice and, dammit, even after all this time—-he was thirty–five for Christ’s sake—-he felt like that kid who’d just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
Her husband was a mean drunk, and he got that she didn’t like Mac overindulging, but still…it was kind of ironic that she would call him out for having a bit too much tequila when she never said a word to Ben.
Mind you, if she did, she’d see the back of Ben’s hand, but there must have been a point in their relationship when she could have stopped him.
Heat swirled in his gut as a bunch of memories ran through him and none of them were good. Jesus, he needed to shut this shit down right now. There was no point in
rehashing the past. He shoved it all aside and crossed to the fridge, grabbing a carton of juice.
“Is that for the Edwardses’?” he asked.
He poured himself a large glass and turned around to lean against the kitchen counter, his gaze on his mother as she methodically kneaded the dough.
“Yes. I’m making a raspberry pie for you to take when you go.”
He waited a few seconds. He’d spent every Friday before Memorial Day at the Edwardses’ for their annual friends and family barbecue. He always asked his mother to join him.
“So, you’re not coming with me.” It was a statement, because he already knew the answer.
She continued kneading the dough, her movements slow and precise. “No, honey. I’ve got more baking to do for the church bazaar, and I promised Mrs. Linden that I’d help her clean her house.” She glanced up, though her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “She’s getting on and needs an extra set of hands. I’ve been helping her out ever since Maggie left town.”
Mackenzie knew better than to press the issue. His mother wouldn’t come.
Once, long before he was born, Lila McCann had run in the same social circles as the Edwardses. In fact, she’d dated Steven Edwards briefly…then Ben Draper had come into the picture and Lila’s life took a turn.
A wrong turn. A wrong fucking U–turn away from anything good that she’d ever had.
Her parents had stood by her—-even when she’d become pregnant with Mac’s older brother, Benjamin Jr.—-and had footed the bill for an extravagant wedding. His grandparents had died in a car accident about a month before Benjamin was born, and Mac had never met them.
His great–grandmother, however, was a bright light in an otherwise bleak childhood. It was only because of Grams that any of the kids went to college, and it was only because of Grams that the roof over their head stayed in their hands and not the bank’s. His great–grandmother was nearing her ninetieth year and still right as rain.
He didn’t want to consider what would have happened to the Draper kids if not for her.

 

about the author

Juliana stoneJuliana Stone’s love of the written word and 80s rock, have inspired her in more ways than one. She writes contemporary romance, paranormal romance and will debut a young adult novel in 2014. She spends her days navigating a busy life that includes, a husband, kids, a dog and a cat.

Follow: Goodreads / Website / Twitter / Facebook

giveaway

Sourcebooks Publishing is offering a paper copy of THE DAY HE KISSED HER by Juliana Stone 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.

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

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

4. LIKE us on Twitter for an additional entry.

5. Giveaway is open to US and CANADA only.

6. Giveaway runs from April 1 to April 4, 2014

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The Christmas He Loved Her (Bad Boys of Crystal Lake #2) by Juliana Stone-a review

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THE CHRISTMAS HE LOVED HER (Bad Boys of Crystal Lake #2) by Juliana Stone-a review

The Christmas He Loved Her

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 1, 2013

All he wants this Christmas is her.

In the small town of Crystal Lake, Christmas is a time for sledding, hot chocolate, and cozying up to the fire with those you love. For Jake Edwards, it’s also time to come home and face his past. He thought there would never be anything harder than losing his brother. Turns out there is: falling in love with his brother’s widow, Raine.

Ever since they were little, Jesse was the Edwards brother who was always there for her, and Jake was the one who knew just how to push her buttons. Raine can’t imagine a life without them, which is why it was doubly decimating when Jake left town after his brother’s sudden death. Now he’s back and she doesn’t know whether to be mad or thrilled. Maybe both. Maybe it will be the perfect chance for both of them to finally find happiness again.

•••••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: THE CHRISTMAS HE LOVED HER is the second instalment in Juliana Stone’s contemporary romance, erotic Bad Boys of Crystal Lake and it is one h*ll of an emotional ride. This is Jake and Raine’s story but it is so much more. This is a story of forbidden love, second chances and letting go.

In the first book-The Summer He Came Home-we were introduced to the Edwards family and the bad boys of Crystal Lake-Jake and Jesse Edwards, Cain Black, MacKenzie Draper and the fifth wheel Raine, who had gathered for the funeral of Jake’s twin and Raine’s husband Jesse. Jake witnessed Jesse’s death on the streets of Afghanistan and his nightmares and guilt are eating away at his last vestiges of sanity. Fast forward eighteen months and, Jake and Raine are no closer to closure than the that fateful day so many months before. But a night of passion together has left the couple with bitter regret and painful memories.

With the past steeped in dark secrets and a present that includes sleepless nights, nightmares and painful memories, Jake and Raine will come full circle when Jake moves back to Crystal Lake to face the demons and the woman he has loved forever.

We watch as one man suffers with the trauma of PTSD reliving his twin’s death over and over and yet he is still able to support a fellow soldier’s sister in her time of need. As his buddy lies in a coma for the past eighteen months, Jake endeavors to move forward but the past keeps pulling him under in a nightmarish world of memories and survivor’s guilt.

Raine has had a difficult time since Jesse’s death but the grief is complicated by the knowledge and guilt that she had loved his brother Jake more. When Raine’s life took an unexpected turn, she turns to Jake for support but Jake is no longer on the radar and Raine must endure her own personal grief alone. She too, suffers nightmares and painful memories, but another loss compounds her sorrow and grief. She doesn’t eat, has become a recluse and the only family she has ever loved are the people who are suffering the loss of one son and the possibility of the loss of another. Raine has had to keep a secret so painful that she is lost in a world of heartbreak and defeat.

The storyline is a testament to grief, the loss of loved ones and friends and recovery. Raine and Jake are two broken souls who have wandered aimlessly for eighteen months with no end in sight to the pain and suffering. But Raine and Jake have loved each other since their early teens and it will take the maneuvering of friends and family to show, that in death, life must go forward-you must give yourself permission to heal and in doing so, heal those who have suffered as well.

The sexual tension between Jake and Raine is palpable and strung tighter than a bow. There is no denying the attraction and love between the pair but the grief and guilt continues to burrow so deep and so painfully that neither is able to move forward. And it will take one woman, who has loved Jake forever, to prove that there is light at the end of the proverbial tunnel when she opens her arms and her heart to the possibility of a future without guilt and sorrow.

Juliana Stone has written a heartbreaking, gut-wrenching storyline of grief coupled with guilt than ensures no tears left unshed. We are pulled onto a roller coaster of emotions that will tear at your heart and beat at your soul. You will cry as our couple face their demons and the guilt of loving each other when the man that they both loved is dead and gone. And you will sing with the choir when Jake finally realizes that life does go on when the only woman that he has ever loved has gone through the same h*ll if not more.

The Christmas He Loved Her is a story of heartbreak and sorrow; love and loss; second chances and moving on. But is also a story with a happily ever after and one that I hope continues in Mac’s story-The Day He Kissed Her-in April 2014.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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Casa For The Holidays Virtual Tour and Giveaway from Sourcebooks

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Casa For The Holidays Virtual Tour and Giveaway from Sourcebooks

CasaForTheHolidays-Banner

Sourcebooks is celebrating the upcoming holiday season with an early gift for one lucky reader at The Reading Cafe. Read about each of the author’s favorite Christmas Story and then tell us what is your favorite holiday read. ONE lucky commenter will win ALL 4 new release holiday books from Sourcebooks. Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY.

Carolyn Brown Xmas

Carolyn Brown’s Favorite Christmas Books:

Holiday books are such fun and always put me in the spirit. My all-time favorite Christmas book has always been ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. The pictures and the rhyme speak volumes to my imagination. I can feel the cold outside and hear the jingle of the bells. I can even see Rudolph’s red nose. In my Christmas romance novel, The Cowboy’s Christmas Baby, Henry loves to read to Baby Joshua. Maybe Henry is just using the excuse to reread them to the baby, like I do when I read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas to my grandchildren. One of Henry’s favorite Christmas books is Baby Jesus is Born and he is convinced that Joshua understands every single word.

My favorite Christmas book lately has been Grace Burrowes Lady Sophie’s Christmas Wish but it could take a back seat to her newest one, Lady Jenny’s Christmas Portrait which I’ve promised to buy myself for the holidays.

A quick story here: I used to read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas to our children during the season so Husband wrote his version of the poem when they weren’t very old. It became a tradition for him to read it to the children and later to all the grandchildren on Christmas Eve at our house when they gathered to open presents. I won’t quote the whole thing but it starts out: ‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring except a flea and a louse.

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Grace Burrowes Xmas

Grace Burrowes’ Favorite Christmas Books:

I love O’Henry’s “Gift of the Magi,” a short story supposedly written in about two hours flat. The penniless young husband and wife long to give each other the best possible holiday gift, even in their straitened circumstances. The husband sells his heirloom watch to buy his wife decorative combs for her beautiful hair; the wife sells her hair to buy her husband a gold chain to go with his prized heirloom watch.

The punch line of the story is that, in the Christian tradition, love was the gift of significance on the first Christmas, and love remains the essence of the holiday when it’s properly celebrated.

Sigh.

I don’t find that message reflected in too many longer works of fiction, so I’ll have to wiggle away from the notion of Christmas books, and say instead that “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is one of my favorite stories. When Linus comes out on that empty stage, makes his little speech, and uses his beloved blankie to begin the transformation of the bedraggled Christmas tree, I just tear up.

Every. Time.

Because the other aspect of Christmas that should be part of its proper celebration is togetherness. Love wants sharing, whether it’s love in the form of voices raised in song, a shared batch of cookies, two friends watching “It’s A Wonderful Life,” or a skating party that will end with an empty bowl of wassail.

And I do love “It’s A Wonderful Life.” I may not watch it each year, but when I do catch that story, I’m always heartened by it. Same with “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” “Garfield’s Christmas,” and “Rudolph” (all together now: “Bumble’s bounce!!!”).

How fortunate we are, to have so many Christmas stories, all of them cheering, and all of them about the enduring power of love, and the pleasure of celebrating that power with friends, family, and the entire world.

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Terry Spear Xmas

Terry Spear’s Favorite Christmas Books:

Some of my favorite holiday books include The Snowman (watched the video with my married daughter last time I visited in the spring—it’s just special), The Polar Express, A Christmas Carol, Gift of the Magi, and The Elves and the Shoemaker… Notice they’re all Christmas stories suitable for children? I’m a kid at heart.

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Juliana Stone XmasJuliana Stone’s Favorite Christmas Books:


I have a confession to make to you all—I don’t read a lot of Christmas books. And Ever since I bawled for hours watching The Christmas Shoes, I don’t watch many Christmas movies either.

But, there are some books that always remind me of Christmas, Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I loved all the books and of course watched the television series ( I had a huge crush on Michael Landon) but that first one, where they spent the winter in the big woods and had Christmas is special.

Another is Little Women. Both of these books are timeless classics and speak of a simpler time. For me, that is the real spirit of Christmas and sadly, sometimes that spirit is lost. I think that’s why—for me—Christmas is my favorite holiday. I keep it simple. It’s about family and that’s not always about blood either—a lot of my friends are as close to me as if they were family, and I love spending time with them!

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giveaway

To enter to win a prize pack of all 4 of these Christmas authors’ novels, tell us in the comments the books you love to read during the holidays!! This contest is open internationally.

Sourcebooks Xmas Giveaway

1.  Please register using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins

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

3.  Tell us in the comments, which book(s) you love to read during the holidays.

4.   Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY

5.  Giveaway runs from October 29 to December 10, 2013

blog tour schedule

FOLLOW ALONG WITH THE “CASA FOR THE HOLIDAYS” VIRTUAL TOUR!

October-December 2013

Fun Holiday-Themed Posts from Carolyn, Grace, Terry and Juliana,

And Chances to WIN Books at Each Stop!

 

October
Oct. 8 Booked and Loaded http://bookedandloaded.com/
Oct. 16 Ramblings From This Chick http://ramblingsfromthischick.blogspot.com/
Oct. 23 Debbie’s Book Bag http://debsbookbag.blogspot.com/
Oct. 29 The Reading Café http://www.thereadingcafe.com/

November

Nov. 4 Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell http://books-forlife.blogspot.com/
Nov. 6 Smexy Books http://smexybooks.com/
Nov. 12 Cocktails and Books http://www.cocktailsandbooks.com/
Nov. 14 The Bookish Babe http://thebookishbabes.blogspot.com/
Nov. 20 Night Owl Reviews http://www.nightowlreviews.com/V5/Blog
Nov. 22 Fresh Fiction http://freshfiction.com/pages.php?id=blog

December

Dec. 4 USA Today HEA http://www.usatoday.com/blog/happyeverafter/
Dec. 5 Under the Covers http://www.underthecoversbookblog.com/
Dec. 10 Romancing the Book http://romancing-the-book.com/
Dec. 11 Anna’s Book Blog http://annavivian.blogspot.com/
Dec. 16 What’s on the Bookshelf http://whatsonthebookshelf-jen.blogspot.com/
Dec. 17 That’s What I’m Talking About http://twimom227.com/

 

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