Over the Line (On The Run #2) by Lisa Desrochers-Review and Book Tour

OVER THE LINE (On The Run #2) by Lisa Desrochers-Review and Book Tour

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OVER THE LINE
On The Run #2
by Lisa Desrochers
Genre: adult, contemporary, romantic, suspense
Release Date: April 19, 2016

Over The Line

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 19, 2016

Lee Delgado never planned on falling in love with the irresistible Oliver Savoca, son of a Chicago crime lord. Considering that their families are rivals, she knew it could never work. And now that both their fathers have been nabbed on racketeering charges, any real chance at a future with the man she loves has been shot to hell. But a greater blow is yet to come.

Not only does Lee learn that a contract is out on her life, she has reason to believe that Oliver is behind the devastating betrayal. Now she’s working closely—very closely—with Federal Agent Wes Buchanan to help bring her man down. But however she’s come to feel about Callahan, Lee is still deeply, hopelessly, unabashedly in love with Oliver.

Where that fearless love takes Lee next is beyond her control—but the risk is worth every beat of her heart.

•••••••

REVIEW: OVER THE LINE is the second installment in Lisa Desrochers contemporary, adult ON THE RUN romantic suspense series focusing on the Delgado (aka Davidson) siblings. This is Lee Delgado, and Oliver Savoca’s story line. OVER THE LINE can be read as a stand alone but I recommend reading the series in order for backstory and history.

SOME BACKGROUND: Lisa Desrochers ON THE RUN series focuses on the once powerful and rich Delgado family-five siblings, in witness protection, whose father, currently in jail, is the head of one of the most powerful crime families in Chicago. After an attack that was intended to kill the family, the Delgado children –ages 9 to 25 years-are relocated to Florida with a new identity while their father continues to control things behind bars.

Told from alternating first person points of view (Lee and Oliver) OVER THE LINE follows the rekindling of a forbidden relationship between Lee Delgado and Oliver Savoca. The Delgado and Savoca families are rivals in the Chicago underground crime scene, and part of the reason the Delgado family is now in the Witness Protection program-far away from their father’s rival and the syndicate he runs. When Oliver Savoca locates the woman who stole more than his heart, the Delgado family find themselves preparing to run once again.

OVER THE LINE is a story line told using memories from the past and present day focusing on the previous relationship between Lee and Oliver; their need to uncover family secrets, to destroy one another’s lives, and a love that has never faltered between two college sweethearts. As Oliver finds himself facing down his potential future, the Delgado family faces a choice no one wants to make. Lee has something that Oliver needs to stay alive, but Lee isn’t willing to place her family in the direct line of fire-again.

The relationship between Lee and Oliver, both past and present, should never have happened, or been allowed. Oliver’s position and re-entry into the Delgado’s lives has placed everyone in danger, and Lee is more than willing to give Oliver a second chance even if it means losing her family in the process. I have to question some of the irresponsible actions of the story line heroine that made for some problematic moments and potentially controversial situations for her and her family-she is a woman whose earlier actions may have resulted in the present danger they are now facing….. but as I have said before, the story is meant to entertain, and I was ….entertained.

All of the previous story line characters, including the Delgado siblings, play a secondary and supporting role throughout. I am still having some issues with the eldest sibling Rob, and his treatment of his girlfriend Adri (Outside the Lines #1). Rob is so fixated on keeping the Delgado family safe, that Adri is constantly on the outside looking in, and the first to be thrown to the curb when something goes wrong.

OVER THE LINE is a slow build as Oliver and Lee find themselves fighting the push and pull of their earlier love. There is a slight ‘love triangle’ developing that our heroine continues to perpetuate throughout the story line, and this is problematic on so many levels. The world building continues to focus on the Delgado siblings, and their new lives in in the Witness Protection program. The premise is entertaining and impassioned; the characters are colorful and intense; the romance is passionate and hopeful. OVER THE LINE is an enjoyable and suspense filled read.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

Over the Line Teaser

excerpt

I want Lee to know, no matter where she goes, I will find her.
At the thought of her betrayal, rage rises up and wraps like an iron cloak around my heart, threatening to crush any bit of humanity left there. I close my eyes and hold my breath until it passes.
And I see her as she was before everything that came after—that first day of business law class at Kellogg, nearly two years ago.
She was starting her first year. I was in my second. I was already seated near Angela Bagglio, who I had a passing interest in due to her loose family ties to the Delgado organization. Her brother was a wiseguy wannabe, little more than a glorified gofer within the Delgado machine. But I’d discovered, sometimes it was the smallest details that led to the largest victories.
When Lee Delgado sashayed into the classroom, I’d like to say I was unaffected. I’d like to believe I was in complete control of everything that happened then and after.
But I’d be kidding myself.
Her bright hazel eyes surveyed the room, and when they caught for a second as they passed over me, I felt a shift in gravity itself. There were times reading nuances in expressions and actions was all that came between me and a slug in my head. That hitch in her perusal of the room left no doubt she was aware who I was.
From that second on, I was helpless to take my eyes off her.
Her sandy brown waves cascaded over the shoulders of her cream-colored silk blouse to an open collar that hung loose, revealing a hint of cleavage. Her burgundy pencil skirt hugged the round curves of her hips and ass and ended above the knee, giving me a glimpse of a pair of toned thighs and calves. She had a killer body and knew it. I had to respect a woman who knew her strengths and wasn’t afraid to use them to her advantage.
She took a seat in my row, but on the opposite side of the classroom. I was barely coherent when the professor started lecturing. I couldn’t tell you the first thing he said.
As she listened, she lifted a hand and combed through her waves with her fingers, separating out a strand and twirling it around her finger. A rush shuddered from my tailbone up my spine to my brain, and even though I had no clue why, that was the moment I knew I wasn’t going to be able to stay away.
The rest, as they say, is history.
If she thinks she can hide from me, she’s got another thing coming.
Mob controlled gambling has always been a huge racket, with better payouts because we don’t pay taxes like the legal betting sites. Back in the day, bookies were involved and actual cash changed hands. Now nearly everything is electronic. Bets are collected directly from our clients’ online accounts and payouts are distributed back into them. Payout is calculated after each event based on outcome versus the spread. It’s one of the parts of my job that I truly enjoy. I’m always in the program, tweaking and modifying. But, suddenly, the week before Christmas, two days after Lee and I returned from our weekend in Aspen, I noticed the spread didn’t factor anymore and our payouts went through the roof. I thought maybe I’d screwed something up and tried to get into the program to check it. Ended up throwing my laptop against the wall when my pass code wouldn’t get me in.
It took me the next two days, and the fact that Lee wasn’t answering my texts or calls, to put together what had happened. Though I’m not sure exactly how she managed it, I know it had to have been her who hacked into my program and changed the payout ratios. I’ve looked at it from every angle and there are no other feasible possibilities. And it makes sense. I had an ulterior motive when we started hooking up, and I had no doubt she had one of her own. But as we got deeper into each other, things shifted and I lost focus. I let down my guard and gave her too much, and she took advantage of the opening.
I knew I wouldn’t be seeing her over the holidays because her siblings were all coming back to the family home in Wilmette, just outside of Chicago, for Christmas. It took me another day to decide I had no choice but to go there.
But when I got to the house, the place was swarming with cops and Feds, and yellow police tape was strung across the pillars at the front door. The reports the next day said it was believed the Delgados had fled to Europe after a “gangland style attack” on their home.
The online gambling leg of our business has been bleeding cash at the rate of nearly a hundred grand a month since Lee fucked with the program. Every month it gets worse as word spreads of our big payouts. The guy who designed and encrypted the program is dead; a casualty of my father’s wrath when he made the mistake of telling Victor he’d corrected a system glitch that had cost us a couple hundred grand over the first year of implementation. I’ve done everything I can to break Lee’s pass code, but considering the illegal nature of the account, and the fact that I couldn’t enlist anyone who might report back to Victor what happened, my resources to resolve the issue have been severely limited.
So I put my time and energy into another avenue. Finding Lee.
Like everyone else in Chicago, I assumed that my father was responsible for the contract on Lee and her family. I talked to his guys. Tried to see if any of them had a bead on the Delgados’ location. I couldn’t find anyone who was even looking.
So, as much as I dreaded it, I went straight to the source.
I was dead to my father. He’d made that clear. But that day, for the first time since I’d crossed him, Victor looked at me with pride in his eyes when he asked, “You purchase that special delivery for our friends up in Wilmette?”
And that’s when I knew it wasn’t us. It’s also when I knew I was a dead man unless I could find a way out of this mess on my own.
So I looked harder for Lee, dug a little deeper into the Delgado family tree. I didn’t find her, but I managed to stumble on some other useful information during my search. And then, finally, the stroke of luck that led me here: Rob showing up in Chicago.
I’ve been able to keep everything under the rug since she left, but underground betting has always been the Savoca business’s bread and butter. If Victor or anyone else in the organization discovers the hemorrhage of cash that our gambling ring has become, it’s my head my loving pop will want on a spike.
I told the guys I had some personal business in Vegas; gave Al a direct order to park his ass at my apartment and not to move until I got back. I took a flight to Vegas, and from there, traveled to Florida on an ID I pinched off of a guy we rolled in Little Italy for not making book. He’s dead now, courtesy of Al, so he won’t be divulging my alter ego to anyone.
My family doesn’t know this particular alias. They’d have a hard time tracking me. Once I find Lee, things should move pretty fast. But I have to find her first.
So here I am.

about the author

FOLLOW Lisa : Website / Goodreads / Blog / Facebook / Twitter

Lisa DesrochersAbout the author: Lisa Desrochers lives in central California with her husband and two very busy daughters. There is never a time that she can be found without a book in her hand, and she adores stories that take her to new places, and then take her by surprise.

Look for her New Adult novel, A LITTLE TOO FAR , courtesy of HarperCollins Sept 2013, and the first companion, A LITTLE TOO MUCH , in Nov 2013. Also in stores is her YA PERSONAL DEMONS trilogy (Macmillan).

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Outside the Lines (On The Run #1) by Lisa Desrocher-Review and Book Tour

OUTSIDE THE LINES (On the Run #1) by Lisa Desrochers-Review and Book Tour

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Outside the Lines

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 19, 2016

As the oldest son of a Chicago crime lord, Robert Delgado always knew how dangerous life could be. With his mother dead and his father in prison, he’s taking charge of his family’s safety—putting himself and his siblings in witness protection to hide out in a backwater Florida town.

Fourth grade teacher Adri Wilson is worried about the new boy in her class. Sherm is quiet and evasive, especially when he’s around his even cagier older brother. Adri can’t help her attraction to Rob, or the urge to help them both in whatever way she can.

But the Delgados have enemies on two sides of the mob—their father’s former crew and the rival family he helped take down. It’s only a matter of time before someone finds them. And if Rob isn’t careful, Adri could end up in the crossfire.

••••••••

REVIEW: OUTSIDE THE LINES is the first installment in Lisa Desrochers contemporary, adult ON THE RUN romance series focusing on the Delgado (aka Davidson) siblings. This is eldest son (and heir apparent) Robert Delgado, and grade school teacher Adri Wilson’s story line.

Told from alternating first person points of view (Robert and Adri) OUTSIDE THE LINES focuses on the once powerful and rich Delgado family-five siblings, in witness protection, whose father, currently in jail, is the head of one of the most powerful crime families in Chicago. After an attack that was intended to kill the family, the Delgado children –ages 9 to 25 years-are relocated to Florida with a new identity, and very little help from the FBI, while their father continues to control things behind bars. Struggling to raise his younger siblings who are all but defiant in the face of their own safety, Robert finds himself oddly attracted to his youngest brother’s new teacher-twenty three year old Adri Wilson. The problem-Adri’s father is a police officer, overly protective of his only daughter, and suspicious about the newcomers to his territory. What ensues is a very slow building relationship between Adri and Rob, and Rob’s contempt for the FBI when he believes they are doing nothing to locate the people responsible for the attempts on their lives.

The relationship between Ari and Rob is infinitely slow to build as Rob refuses to bring anyone else into the line of fire. As the family continues to struggle with their new life, Rob makes plans to return to Chicago for a final showdown with his father’s enemies. The $ex scenes are intimate and intense-our heroine is a virtual newcomer to the world of $ex and boyfriends.

OUTSIDE THE LINES has a large ensemble cast of characters. We are introduced to the Delgado siblings-all named after US Army Generals-eldest son Robert; Grant- the ultimate bad boy and most defiant; sisters Lee and Uly; and nine year old Sherm whose own fragile existence is clouded by painful memories; Adri’s best friend and former US soldier Chuck whose PTSD manifests in a need for submission, and Adri’s father Chief Carl who still has reservations about the man with whom his daughter fell in love.

Because OUTSIDE THE LINES is the introductory story line there is a copious amount of information and character introductions throughout the story. We followed Adri’s daily interactions with her father, fellow school teachers, and best friend, which added to the already slow building premise. The story focused on many mundane, day to day struggles for the family leaving the threat against the family as more of an afterthought until Robert returned to Chicago wherein everyone with an axe to grind or need for revenge, easily located the Delgado heir. Most of the premise involving the mob criminal element and threats to their lives is found in the last few chapters of the book-the mafia/mobster trope is secondary to the main story. The premise is entertaining but slow to build; the characters are numerous and energetic; the romance is tender leading to a happily ever after –for now.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

excerpt

Adri
“Is this straight?” Dad asks, peering in the mirror across from the front door and messing with the badge on the breast pocket of his blue shirt.
There is almost no crime on our little island because Dad is legendary for taking down drug rings and poachers, but when it comes to the little things, like pinning his badge on straight, he still needs help.
That’s why I’m here.
When Mom died last spring, I came back from Jacksonville so I could live at home and help Dad. He and Mom were high school sweethearts and married not long after graduation. He’s always been taken care of. I don’t want him to be alone.
I move to where he is and turn him, unpinning the badge and straightening it. I smooth his salt and pepper hair off his forehead and stretch up on my toes to kiss the smooth patch of cheek above the line of his beard. “I seriously doubt they’re going to send the Chief of Police home for a dress code infraction.”
“We’ll see,” he chuckles, giving my blond ponytail a gentle tug. “You ready for your first day influencing the youth of Port St. Mary?”
I was over the moon when I got the call three days ago that Mrs. Martin had had surgery and they needed a long-term sub for her class. Not that I’m happy they hacked out her gallbladder or anything, but her loss is my gain, so to speak.
I come from a long line of educators. Mom was my first grade teacher. Both of her sisters, her father, and her grandfather taught as well. You could say it’s in my DNA. I resisted it for a while, thought I wanted to go into finance, but by my junior year at Clemson I had to finally admit to myself teaching was what I really wanted to do. I changed my major to Education and finished my credential just before Mom died.
Since her death, it’s felt even more urgent to me to teach—like maybe following in her footsteps will somehow keep her spirit alive. But Port St. Mary and the surrounding communities are small, and teaching jobs are pretty scarce. I was afraid I was going to have to try elsewhere come fall. This was a prayer answered…which makes me a little afraid I might have had something to do with poor Mrs. Martin’s gallbladder flaring up. And now it’s starting to feel like one of those “be careful what you wish for” scenarios.
I rub my sweaty palms down my slacks. “What happens if they hate me?”
Dad wraps me in his arms and squeezes me in a bear hug, crushing the air out of my lungs. “They’re going to love you, punkin. Your mom would be so proud of you right now,” he says, a catch in his voice. “I hope you know that.”
I swallow back the lump in my throat and look up at him. I can’t even remember the last time he’s brought her up out of the blue like this. “I know, Dad, but thanks for saying so.” He lets me go and I shoulder my messenger bag. “Time to face the music.”
We step out the back door to where my old electric blue Chevy Lumina is parked in the driveway, next to Dad’s only slightly less conspicuous cruiser. Dad watches as I slide in and turn the key. The engine chugs but doesn’t turn over.
I blow out a breath and pop the hood. By the time I grab the monkey wrench on the floor of the passenger side and get out of the car, Dad already has the hood propped up and is looking over the engine compartment.
“Don’t mess with Frank, Dad.” I point my finger in a circle at the guts of my poor Frankencar. Me and my best friend Chuck rebuilt most of the insides from junkyard parts when we took auto shop our senior year in high school. “It’s a delicate balance.”
He grins and steps back, his hands in the air. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
I will always love Frank—he was my first—but I know I need a new car. Dad’s offered me Mom’s T-Bird, but I’m twenty-three. I’m supposed to be responsible for myself at this point. And besides, I’d rather he sold Mom’s car and put the money towards his retirement. Even though Port St. Mary is pretty sleepy most of the time, everyday he goes to work, I worry.
I reach between the radiator and the engine and give the alternator a sharp rap with the wrench, then slip back into the driver’s seat. When I turn the key, Frank chugs twice, same as always, then rumbles to life.
Dad ducks into the cruiser and gives me a little salute as I pull out.
Port St. Mary Elementary is only about two miles from home. It takes a grand total of eight minutes to drive there. Technically, it’s a one-room schoolhouse. The tiny twelve-space parking lot butts up against an octagonal building, which, in fact, is just one big room inside. In the exact center of the building are the bathrooms and storage closets, and from there, folding accordion partitions section off each wedge of the octagon. Each wedge is a grade level, kinder through sixth, and a multipurpose room. To the right of the parking lot is a doublewide “portable” that houses the school offices and small staff room. Behind that, children are already gathering in the playground, which is really just a weed-infested lot with a slide and jungle gym that has been there since before I started kindergarten here.
When I walk around the octagon to the door marked with a big yellow four and step inside, it’s like deja vu all over again. Mrs. Martin (she told me to call her Pam when we talked on the phone about the lesson plan yesterday, but I can’t bring myself to) has had the same posters on the walls since the dawn of time. The presidential chart ends with Reagan. She had already been teaching fourth grade in this same classroom for, like, twenty years when I had her.
I move to her desk, to the right of the door, and set my bag on it. And that’s when I see the note from Principal Richmond.
A new student.
I brush my palms down my slacks again, a fresh jolt of nerves twisting my insides into knots. I was already going to be way over my head with a classroom full of nine-year-olds fresh off Christmas vacation and all sugared up on candy canes.
I look over the instructions. Sherman William Davidson needs his reading comprehension assessment, writing and grammar evaluation, and his math skills worksheet completed by the end of the week.
I blow a wisp of hair off my forehead and unpack my toothpaste and toothbrush, my journal, and a few of my favorite colored pens into Mrs. Martin’s desk, careful not to displace her things too much. I’m just pulling the assessments for the new kid from the file cabinet when the classroom door opens. I hear Principal Richmond’s gravel voice before I turn around. “…and his classroom is here. We just got word a few days ago that our regular fourth grade teacher is out on medical leave, but Sherman will be in good hands with Ms. Wilson. She’s a very capable substitute.”
I take a deep breath as I turn and hope he’s not lying.
I substituted five times during fall semester. For the most part, everything went great until I subbed for Mrs. Yetz’s eighth grade class the week before winter break. Somehow, what started out as a math lab on probability devolved into a liar’s dice tournament, complete with money changing hands. I wasn’t sure they’d call me back after that.
But when I see Principal Richmond waddle his round frame through the door, I straighten the scarf I tied over my favorite teal sweater and try to look as confident in what he said as he does.
“Ms. Wilson,” he says, waving me over. “This is your new student, Sherman.”
Sherman is a wiry little thing with unruly brown hair and clothes that hang off him a little. He looks as if he’d vanish into himself if given the chance.
“He goes by Sherm,” the man standing next to him says.
I look up into some of the most amazing eyes I’ve ever seen. Heavy dark brows curve over irises the color of honey with burgundy flecks through them. Thick brown waves are loose around a strong face with angled cheekbones, and a square jaw covered in two-day stubble. Set in flawless olive skin are lips so firm and red they make me forget the frown that’s turning them down slightly at the corners. He’s just so…gorgeous, like something out of a magazine or a movie. And he’s tall—well over six feet of broad shoulders tapering to narrow hips under his blue button-down shirt. The tails are loose over pressed jeans that fit him just so. Everything about him is tailored and cultured and nothing like any of the year-rounders who live on this bumpkin island. But it’s not just the way he looks. A blend of confidence and something else I can’t identify but makes him feel a little intimidating wafts off him with the spicy cologne I keep catching hints of. He’s nothing like anyone I’ve ever met, even at Clemson.
I feel my jaw dangling and snap it closed, pulling myself together long enough to extend an arm. “I’m Adri.”
Principal Richmond clears his throat, and when I flick a glance his direction, I know my ogling didn’t go unnoticed. His brow is deeply furrowed and his frown curves so low it makes him look like one of those marionettes, where their chin is a whole different piece of wood than the rest of their face.
My eyes bulge and I shift my outstretched hand to Sherm. “I mean, Miss Wilson. Welcome to Port St. Mary, Sherm.”
The boy just looks at me with sad eyes the color of his…father’s?
My gaze gravitates back to the guy towering over me. Could he be Sherm’s dad? He looks way too young to have a nine-year-old. He also looks all business. There’s nothing soft or nurturing in his cold, sharp gaze as it flicks around the classroom, silently assessing.
“What’s on the other side of those partitions?” he asks Principal Richmond.
“The third and fifth grade classrooms,” he answers.
The guy’s eyes continue to scan the room. “He’ll spend all day in here?”
The principal nods. “Except when he’s on the playground.”
“Is there security on campus?”
Principal Richmond looks momentarily perplexed, rubbing his round stomach as if he’s thinking with it. “Not as such. We have yard monitors during recess and lunch, and the teachers are responsible for the children when they’re here in class.”
“What about lunch?”
“He can bring his own lunch, or buy a bag lunch from Nutritional Services for three dollars. Either way, if it’s nice weather, the children eat outside at the picnic tables. On rainy days, we open the partitions and they eat inside as a group.”
The guy reaches into his pocket, but Principal Richmond holds up his hand to stop him when he comes out with a thick wad of cash. “We don’t allow students to carry money on campus. When we’re done here, I’ll take you to the office and have you purchase a scan card for Nutritional Services.”
The guy nods, then moves to the door and jiggles the knob. “The exterior doors are left unlocked?”
“During school hours, yes.” Principal Richmond answers, moving to my desk and shuffling through the papers I pulled for Sherm.
The guy’s full lips narrow into a tight line and he scowls at the door. He spins and starts toward the door in the back of the room, leaving no stone unturned.
I wipe my hands down my slacks again and decide just to ask. “So, you’re Sherm’s father?”
His feet stall on the chipped linoleum and he seems to finally notice I exist. “Brother,” he answers, and that one word seems to carry the weight of the world with it as it falls from his mouth.
His eyes make a slow sweep of my face, and as they trail down my neck, the front of my sweater, over my hips and down my legs, I’m frozen in place, paralyzed by the intensity of his gaze.
Principal Richmond shoves some papers in my face, breaking the spell. “You still have fifteen minutes until the bell. Maybe you can get Sherman started on these.”
“Um…” I grab the papers out of his hand as Big Brother blinks, some of the thickest lashes I’ve ever seen hiding those incredible eyes. “Yeah. We’ll do that…”
Principal Richmond guides Big Brother to the door. “Let’s get out of their way and let them get started. I’m sure Sherman will have a positive experience here. Children his age tend to adjust quickly,” he’s saying as the door swings closed behind them.

 

About The Author

FOLLOW Lisa : Website / Goodreads / Blog / Facebook / Twitter

Lisa DesrochersLisa Desrochers is the USA Today bestselling author of A LITTLE TOO FAR, courtesy of HarperCollins. Look for the companions, A LITTLE TOO MUCH (11/12/13), and A LITTLE TOO HOT (1/21/14), and also her Personal Demons trilogy (Macmillan).

Lisa lives in northern California with her husband, two very busy daughters, and Shini the tarantula. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, and she adores stories that take her to new places, and then take her by surprise. Find her online at www.lisadwrites.com, on Twitter at @LisaDez, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LisaDesrochersAuthor

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A Little Too Hot ( A Little Too Far #3) by Lisa DesRochers-Blog Tour and Review

A Little Too Hot (A Little Too Far #3) by Lisa DesRochers-Blog Tour and Review

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A LITTLE TOO HOT
A Little Too Far #3
By Lisa DesRochers
Genre: New Adult, contemporary, romance
Release Date: January 24, 2014

A Little Too Hot

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Add A Little Too Hot to your Goodreads shelf

 

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 21, 2014

If you play with fire…

Tossed out of college and cut off by her parents, Samantha West is in pretty dire straits. So when her rocker best friend hooks her up with a job dancing at a gentlemen’s club, who is she to turn it down? Plus, there are rules to dancing at Benny’s: No touching, keep your clothes on at all times, and never get closer than three feet. Unfortunately for Sam, her first private client makes her want to break every single one of them.

Harrison Yates is scorching hot, but he’s got a past that involves being left at the altar not too long ago. Sam is determined to make him forget about his ex, but when she makes her move, it flings her life into a spiral of chaos she never saw coming.

Because Harrison Yates isn’t who he seems to be-and his secret will probably get her killed.

•••••••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: A LITTLE TOO HOT is the third instalment in Lisa DesRochers’s –A Little Too Far contemporary, new adult, romance series. This is Samantha West and Harrison Yates storyline. Samantha was first mentioned in A Little Too Far as Trent’s sometime girlfriend.

The storyline focuses on Samantha-she is in desperate need of a job and a place to live so when her best friend and rocker Jonathan suggests dancing at a gentlemen’s club, Samantha is a little reluctant. When everything appears clean and above board, she quickly becomes one of the club’s headliners and most requested private dancer only to be pulled into a world of mobsters, drug trafficking and so much more. When Sam’s life and that of her friends are threatened, she will find herself face to face with the people who will set her up to take the fall.

A LITTLE TOO HOT is a fast paced story of suspense, mystery and sexual seduction. There is no denying the heat and palpable attraction between Samantha and Harrison but acting on their feelings will place both of them in danger. As the storyline progresses, the relationship builds until Harrison knows it is time to walk away.

Lisa DesRochers has written an intense storyline that will captivate and pull the reader into a world of betrayal and lies; suspense and the unknown; arousal and falling in love. A LITTLE TOO HOT is a story of forbidden love; responsibility and growing up.

Click HERE to read an excerpt from A LITTLE TOO HOT by Lisa DesRochers

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley.

Reviewed by Sandy

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Tackling ‘controversial’ subject matter

by Lisa DesRochers

A LITTLE TOO FAR is full of controversial subject matter, with a girl caught between the love of her stepbrother and a priest in training. A LITTLE TOO HOT isn’t far behind. Without giving too much away, suffice it to say that we have a couple who is wildly attracted to one another, but following through on those base desires crosses way too many lines. One of the things I loved reading in reviews of A LITTLE TOO FAR was how readers expected to experience an ick factor with Lexie’s sexual encounters with either the stepbrother, the priest, or both, but as they read, they totally got behind the relationships and understood what drove them. I think this is the key to doing controversy well. It all stems from writing characters who are real and sympathetic. As a reader, when you identify with a character, if that character ends up in a tough spot, you can’t help but pull for them—even if that tough spot involves an intimate encounter with a stepbrother, a priest, or both. Strong characters in a believable situation, no matter how controversial, will always garner sympathy from a reader as long as their actions and reactions are realistic considering their circumstances. If an author has done a good job getting you inside the character’s head so you understand and relate to what motivates and drives them, almost anything goes. In my opinion, the more controversial the plot, the more character driven the story needs to be.

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A Little Too Far
A Little Too Far #1
by Lisa DesRochers
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, romance
Release Date: September 17, 2013

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Click HERE for our review of A LITTLE TOO FAR

A Little Too FarHave you ever gone just a little too far?

Lexie Banks has.

Yep. She just had mind-blowing sex with her stepbrother. In her defense, she was on the rebound, and it’s more of a my-dad-happened-to-marry-a-woman-with-a-super-hot-son situation. But still, he’s been her best friend and confidant for the better part of the last few years … and is so off limits. It’s a good thing she’s leaving in two days for a year abroad in Rome.

But even thousands of miles away, Lexie can’t seem to escape trouble. Raised Catholic, she goes to confession in hopes of alleviating some of her guilt … and maybe not burning in hell. Instead, she stumbles out of the confessional and right into Alessandro Moretti, a young and very easy-on-the-eyes deacon … only eight months away from becoming a priest. Lexie and Alessandro grow closer, and when Alessandro’s signals start changing despite his vow of celibacy, she doesn’t know what to think. She’s torn between falling in love with the man she shouldn’t want and the man she can’t have. And she isn’t sure how she can live with herself either way.

_________________________

A LITTLE TOO MUCH
A Little Too Far #2
by Lisa DesRochers
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, romance
Release Date: November 12, 2013

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

Click HERE for our review of A LITTLE TOO MUCH.

A LITTLE TOO MUCHIn the follow-up to Lisa Desrochers’ explosive New Adult novel A Little too Far, Alessandro Moretti must face the life he escaped and the girl he loved and left behind.

Twenty-two year old Hilary McIntyre would like nothing more than to forget her past. As a teenager abandoned to the system, she faced some pretty dark times. But now that’s all behind her. Hilary has her life on track, and there’s no way she’ll head back down that road again.

Until Alessandro Moretti—the one person who can make her remember—shows up on her doorstep. He’s even more devastatingly gorgeous than before, and he’s much too close for comfort. Worse, he sees right through the walls she’s built over these last eight years, right into her heart and the secrets she’s guarding.

As Hilary finds herself falling back into love with the man who, as a boy both saved and destroyed her, she must decide. Past or future? Truth or lies?

About the Author

FOLLOW Lisa :  Website / Goodreads / Blog / Facebook / Twitter

Lisa DesrochersAbout the author: Lisa Desrochers lives in central California with her husband and two very busy daughters. There is never a time that she can be found without a book in her hand, and she adores stories that take her to new places, and then take her by surprise.

Look for her New Adult novel, A LITTLE TOO FAR , courtesy of HarperCollins Sept 2013, and the first companion, A LITTLE TOO MUCH , in Nov 2013. Also in stores is her YA PERSONAL DEMONS trilogy (Macmillan).

__________________________

 

blog tour schedule

Click HERE for the complete Blog Tour schedule

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Note: This giveaway is shared between both tours for A LITTLE TOO HOT and is not run by Rockstar Book Tours. It is hosted by the author who will choose the winner.

The giveaway is international.

The GRAND PRIZE is a blurb pack of all three REAL series books signed by Katy Evans, all three Marked Men series books signed by Jay Crownover and FOREPLAY signed by Sophie Jordan, plus signed swag.

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A Little Too Much (A Little Too Far #2) by Lisa Desrochers-a review

A Little Too Much (A Little Too Far #2) by Lisa Desrochers-a review

A LITTLE TOO MUCH

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

A LITTLE TOO MUCH (A Little Too Far #2) by Lisa DesRochers

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 10, 2013

In the follow-up to Lisa Desrochers’ explosive New Adult novel A Little too Far, Alessandro Moretti must face the life he escaped and the girl he loved and left behind.

Twenty-two year old Hilary McIntyre would like nothing more than to forget her past. As a teenager abandoned to the system, she faced some pretty dark times. But now that’s all behind her. Hilary has her life on track, and there’s no way she’ll head back down that road again.

Until Alessandro Moretti—the one person who can make her remember—shows up on her doorstep. He’s even more devastatingly gorgeous than before, and he’s much too close for comfort. Worse, he sees right through the walls she’s built over these last eight years, right into her heart and the secrets she’s guarding.

As Hilary finds herself falling back into love with the man who, as a boy both saved and destroyed her, she must decide. Past or future? Truth or lies?

•••••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: A LITTLE TOO MUCH is the second instalment in Lisa Desrochers’s A Little Too Far contemporary, new adult, romance series. The focus is on Alessandro Moretti, whom we met in A Little Too Far and Hilary McIntryre, the girl he left behind years before. Although this is the second in the series it can be read as a stand alone without too much difficulty. Any pertinent information from the first book is referenced in the new release.

The storyline follows two people who knew each other in their youth. Having met in a group home for troubled teens, Hilary, Alessandro and his brother Lorenzo would create a history together that everyone wanted to forget but for Hilary and Alessandro the past was a part of their present. When Alessandro returns to New York from eight years in Europe, he reaches out to Hilary only to discover that her demons are just as deep and dark as his own. Alessandro has come back to ask for forgiveness and Hilary wants nothing to do with the memories from her past.

There is a deeper connection between our couple-one that I knew instinctively early on in the story. But before the twist in the novel is revealed, our couple will ride a roller coaster of emotions especially Alessandro who is unable to get past the guilt of what happened years before. He needs to be forgiven but is unable to accept that he is worthy.

The relationship between Alessandro and Hilary is slow to build as they fight the emotional upheaval that is their history. As the storyline premise reveals, so too does the history and past of two people connected by something much stronger than friendship and memories but a love that has never truly died. Their backstories are difficult and each has suffered through guilt and denial. Saying this, the push and pull between Alessandro and Hilary was challenging at times because of the angst and anxiety of overwhelming guilt but in the end sometimes forgiving one’s self is the first step to recovery.

The secondary characters are colorful and play significant roles including Hilary’s sister and nephews; the actors and actresses who work along side our heroine; and of course the young men and women who frequent the drop in centre for youth at the church.

Lisa Desrochers has written a revealing story about two people who have suffered and loss but have been given a second chance with the person who completes them heart and soul. There is betrayal and pain; healing and recovery; relationship and love. A Little Too Much is a story of forgiveness and second chances; of passion and understanding and a secret that was never to be revealed.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Edelweiss.

Reviewed by Sandy

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Cover Reveal and Giveaway-A Little Too Hot by Lisa Desrochers

Cover Reveal and Giveaway-A Little Too Hot by Lisa Desrochers

A Little Too Hot Banner 1

A Little Too Hot
A Little Too Far #3
by Lisa DesRochers
Release Date: January 21, 2014
Genre: New Adult, romance, contemporary

From USA Today bestselling author Lisa Desrochers, comes the third book in
her sizzling New Adult series.

A Little Too Hot

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

If you play with fire…

Tossed out of college and cut off by her parents, Samantha West is in pretty dire straits. So when her rocker best friend hooks her up with a job dancing at a gentlemen’s club, who is she to turn it down? Plus, there are rules to dancing at Benny’s: No touching, keep your clothes on at all times, and never get closer than three feet. Unfortunately for Sam, her first private client makes her want to break every single one of them.

Harrison Yates is scorching hot, but he’s got a past that involves being left at the altar not too long ago. Sam is determined to make him forget about his ex, but when she makes her move, it flings her life into a spiral of chaos she never saw coming. Because Harrison Yates isn’t who he seems to be. And his secret will probably get her killed.

About The Author

Lisa DesrochersLisa Desrochers is the USA Today bestselling author of A LITTLE TOO FAR , courtesy of HarperCollins, and companions, A LITTLE TOO MUCH (Nov 12, 2013), and A LITTLE TOO HOT (Jan 21, 2014). Also in stores is her YA PERSONAL DEMONS trilogy (Macmillan).

She lives in central California with her husband and two very busy daughters. There is never a time that she can be found without a book in her hand, and she adores stories that take her to new places, and then take her by surprise.

For more info, find her on-line at :

Facebook,
her blog
and her twitter
!

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A Little Too Much (A Little Too Far #2) by Lisa Desrochers-cover reveal

A Little Too Much (A Little Too Much #2) by Lisa Desrochers-cover reveal

A LITTLE TOO MUCH

A Little Too Much
A Little too Far #2
by Lisa Desrochers
Release Date: November 12, 2013
Genre: New Adult 17+
Publisher: Harper Collins

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

In the follow-up to Lisa Desrochers’ explosive New Adult novel A Little too Far, Alessandro Moretti must face the life he escaped and the girl he loved and left behind.

Twenty-two year old Hilary McIntyre would like nothing more than to forget her past. As a teenager abandoned to the system, she faced some pretty dark times. But now that’s all behind her. Hilary has her life on track, and there’s no way she’ll head back down that road again.

Until Alessandro Moretti-the one person who can make her remember-shows up on her doorstep. He’s even more devastatingly gorgeous than before, and he’s much too close for comfort. Worse, he sees right through the walls she’s built over these last eight years, right into her heart and the secrets she’s guarding.

As Hilary finds herself falling back into love with the man who, as a boy both saved and destroyed her, she must decide. Past or future? Truth or lies?

About the author green

FOLLOW Lisa :  Website / Goodreads / Blog / Facebook / Twitter

Lisa DesrochersAbout the author: Lisa Desrochers lives in central California with her husband and two very busy daughters. There is never a time that she can be found without a book in her hand, and she adores stories that take her to new places, and then take her by surprise.

Look for her New Adult novel, A LITTLE TOO FAR , courtesy of HarperCollins Sept 2013, and the first companion, A LITTLE TOO MUCH , in Nov 2013. Also in stores is her YA PERSONAL DEMONS trilogy (Macmillan).

Share

A Little Too Far (A LIttle Too Far #1) by Lisa Desrochers-Review, Blog Tour and Giveaway

A LITTLE TO FAR (A Little Too Far #1) by Lisa Desrochers-Review, Blog Tour and Giveaway

A Little Too Far Blog Tour

A Little Too Far
A Little Too Far #1
by Lisa Desrochers
Release Date: September 17, 2013

A Little Too Far

itunes / Books a Million / Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO / The Book Depository

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 17, 2013

Have you ever gone just a little too far?

Lexie Banks has.

Yep. She just had mind-blowing sex with her stepbrother. In her defense, she was on the rebound, and it’s more of a my-dad-happened-to-marry-a-woman-with-a-super-hot-son situation. But still, he’s been her best friend and confidant for the better part of the last few years … and is so off limits. It’s a good thing she’s leaving in two days for a year abroad in Rome.

But even thousands of miles away, Lexie can’t seem to escape trouble. Raised Catholic, she goes to confession in hopes of alleviating some of her guilt … and maybe not burning in hell. Instead, she stumbles out of the confessional and right into Alessandro Moretti, a young and very easy-on-the-eyes deacon … only eight months away from becoming a priest. Lexie and Alessandro grow closer, and when Alessandro’s signals start changing despite his vow of celibacy, she doesn’t know what to think. She’s torn between falling in love with the man she shouldn’t want and the man she can’t have. And she isn’t sure how she can live with herself either way.

•••••••••••••••••••••••

REVIEW: A LITTLE TOO FAR is the first storyline in Lisa Desrochers contemporary, new adult storyline. Lisa draws the reader into a world of forbidden love between three people: a woman who loves two men and the two men who love one woman. In the end, Lexie must decide if her love is strong enough to overcome society’s issues of right and wrong or if forbidden love is worth the rejection of family and friends.

The storyline focuses on Lexie Banks and the emotional roller coaster that is her life. Prior to leaving on an eight month education exchange in Italy, she and her step brother Trent profess their mutual love for one another and act on their forbidden feelings. Knowing that society will judge their actions, Lexie hopes to put everything behind her in Italy. But their love for one another is much more than surface deep.

A LITTLE TOO FAR is also about a deacon (a priest in training) whose need for a woman is much stronger than his call to serve his God. But there are some family issues and background story that have forced the deacon into the Lord’s service and it will take a forbidden love to show him the path onto which he must travel.

Lisa Desrochers writes about an issue that will be contentious for some readers especially those who follow strict Christian dictates and canon law but she handles the controversy with a delicate touch. The storyline is passionate; the relationship between Lexie and Trent is sensual and sexual and there is no mistaking who and what it is they both want.

The storyline will be controversial for some but no more controversial than many of the fictional and real-life stories that many of us face every day. Although we are not necessarily thrown into a world of sexual fantasies about our step brother or parish priest, the issue at hand is where does someone draw the line between right and wrong? Is forbidden love truly a sin if deep down, there is no sin to forgive.

The characters are colorful; their stories are emotional and the world building is awash in sights and sounds of old Italy and France. Lisa’s ability to bring the story to life is a sign of an author who knows exactly how to tell a story.

Copy supplied by the author

Reviewed by Sandy

about the author

FOLLOW Lisa :  Website / Goodreads / Blog / Facebook / Twitter

Lisa DesrochersAbout the author: Lisa Desrochers lives in central California with her husband and two very busy daughters. There is never a time that she can be found without a book in her hand, and she adores stories that take her to new places, and then take her by surprise.

Look for her New Adult novel, A LITTLE TOO FAR , courtesy of HarperCollins Sept 2013, and the first companion, A LITTLE TOO MUCH , in Nov 2013. Also in stores is her YA PERSONAL DEMONS trilogy (Macmillan).

•••••••••••••••••••••••••

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Lisa is hosting a tour wide giveaway – Prizes include an iPad Mini, pendant, tote bags, temporary tattoos, and annotated chapters of ALTF

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

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A Little Too Far by Lisa Desrochers-Cover Reveal and Giveaway

A Little Too Far by Lisa Desrochers-Cover Reveal and Giveaway

A little too Far

A Little Too Far
By Lisa Desrochers
Genre: New Adult
Release Date: September 2013

PRE-ORDER links: itunes / Books a Million / Barnes and Noble / Amazon.com / Amazon.ca

SYNOPSIS:
Have you ever gone just a little too far?

Lexie Banks has.

Yep. She just had mind-blowing sex with her stepbrother.In her defense, she was on the rebound, and it’s more of a my-dad-happened-to-marry-a-woman-with-a-super-hot-son situation. But still, he’s been her best friend and confidant for better part of the last few years…and is so off limits. It’s a good thing she’s leaving in two days for a year abroad in Rome.But even thousands of miles away, Lexie can’t seem to escape trouble. Raised Catholic, she goes to Confession in hopes of alleviating some of her guilt…and maybe not burning in hell. Instead, she stumbles out of the confessional right into Alessandro Moretti, a young and very easy on the eyes deacon…only eight months away from becoming a priest. As Lexie and Alessandro grow closer, and when Alessandro’s signals start changing despite his vow of celibacy, she doesn’t know what to think. She’s torn between falling in love with the man she shouldn’t want and the man she can’t have. And she isn’t sure how she can live with herself either way.

—”More than a ridiculously sexy, HOT read, Desrochers takes you on a wild ride of self-discovery and bittersweet romance.” Jennifer L. Armentrout (J. Lynn), New York Times bestselling author of Wait for You  

About The Author Black and White

Lisa Desrochers

 

Lisa Desrochers lives in central California with her husband and two very busy daughters. There is never a time that she can be found without a book in her hand, and she adores stories that take her to new places, and then take her by surprise.

Look for her New Adult novel, A LITTLE TOO FAR , courtesy of HarperCollins Sept 2013, and the first companion, A LITTLE TOO MUCH , in Nov 2013. Also in stores is her YA PERSONAL DEMONS trilogy (Macmillan).

FOLLOW Lisa: Website / Goodreads / Blog / Facebook / Twitter

PRE-ORDER links: itunes / Books a Million / Barnes and Noble / Amazon.com / Amazon.ca

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

Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY.

 I trace a finger along the lines of the tattoo over his heart—the kanji symbol for knowledge—as he grasps my thighs and rolls his hips underneath me. 

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