The February Launch of DARE from Harlequin-Reviews, Excerpt & Giveaway

Introducing the February launch of DARE from Harlequin!-Reviews, Excerpt & Giveaway

A new imprint from Harlequin featuring strong, independent women and sizzling hot heroes. DARE delivers riveting, irresistible romance stories featuring highly explicit sexual encounters, making it the publisher’s sexiest series ever. Look for four new titles each month.

Sexy. Passionate. Bold.

Harlequin Website | Harlequin DARE | Twitter | Facebook

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OFF LIMITS
Harlequin DARE
by Clare Connelly
Release Date: February 1, 2018

“I want to taste you tonight.”

With chemistry this hot, it’s worth getting burned…

Billionaire Jack Grant is totally off-limits to Gemma Picton. He’s wild, deliciously dangerous…and her boss. When working late turns X-rated, it’s better than her wildest imaginings—and Gemma’s imagined a lot! But Jack has major emotional baggage, so when Gemma starts wanting to heal his heart as well as enjoy his body, she knows she’s in big trouble…!

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Available For FREE at: Harlequin | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Connect with Clare: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

•••••••••••

REVIEW:
Another book from the “Dare” series.
Can be read without reading the others. Gemma has been Jack’s assistant for nearly 2 years, and has had to endure the endless line of women in and out of her bosses life and bed. Having to order flowers for dates. And to listen to him moan about “how clingy the last one was”Even though she knows what he like, it won’t  stop her from being attracted to him. But it’s a line she won’t cross, she loves her job, and if they did, then she’d lose it all !!!! Jack is still in the grieving process over the death of his wife.
Yes he hides behind the endless stream of women, and some might say, that he should respect himself a little more, and the memory of his wife, (but if you lose someone close to you, you lose yourself for a while) 

They both have this attachment or attraction to one another, but as Gemma has never given Jack the slightest come in, he won’t cross the line. But that’s not to say he hasn’t thought about her ?

Until a late night working in the office together one thing leads to another….. 

 Now everything has changed this isn’t just about a one night stand it has the potential to be so much more.

Jack and Gemma’s relationship was a constant push and pull, and did have its turbulent moments. Do they find a way to get past Jack’s grief ? Does Gemma make Jack see that it’s ok to love another ? 

The story of the billionaire falling for the meek assistant might sound a little cliched, and yes it was in places, but it was still a good little read. 
Julie ?

Excerpt: Copyright © 2018 Off Limits by Clare Connelly
 

I am holding my breath again. Is that how I’m going to get over this little hurdle? Suffocate myself? Is that even possible? I’m pretty sure we have some breathing trigger in our brains, but my brain is a bit pissy with me so maybe it would conveniently forget about the button.
I push air out consciously, quietly, and he takes his seat.
‘Anyway…’ I prompt impatiently.
His smile is a clicker. Is he laughing at me? Arrogant arsehole! That’s be just like him. See? That’s the problem! I know him. I’m not one of his other women. I know that is he as bastardy as he is sexy.
‘How did you sleep?’
I blink at him, my eyes wide. ‘You’ve already asked me that.’
‘You didn’t answer.’
I except a sign that speaks of anger. ‘Like I always do. Seriously, Jack. My desk is covered in paper. I have to get to work.’
‘I’m your work,’ he says with a shrug.
Insolent bastard.
He leans forward, and while his face is casual there is an urgency in the flecks of gold that fill his eyes. ‘Did you see him last night?’
I want to remind him of the salient fact I pointed out the night before. It’s not his damned business. But I’m not sure I can say that with such conviction now that I’ve tasted his mouth; now that I’ve been stunned by his desire.
Can I skirt around his question?
‘You’re my work? Okay, the thing is I have the New York guys waiting on contracts, you have a meeting in a week that I have to prepare for and Athens wants your input-which means my input- on a lease agreement. And I need to – ‘
‘Quiet.’
God! Don’t hate me, but when he’s bossy I love it. And he’s almost always bossy.
I glare at him across his desk; it’s best if he doesn’t know that this is just about my favourite version of him.’ 


 

RULED
Hard Riders MC #1
DARE Harlequin
by Anne Marsh
Release Date: February 1, 2018

The Rebel vs. The Princess

Complete opposites who share the same burning passion!

Jaxon Brady of the Hard Riders MC has sworn to protect Evie Kent from a rival gang. His hard muscles and black leather motorcycle boots are a sharp contrast to the girlie dresses Evie wears for her successful party-planning business. Their instant attraction is magnetic, and their lust keeps them glued to each other’s side…but is it a dangerous distraction?

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Available at: Harlequin | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo

Connect with Ann: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

•••••••••••

 

Another book from the “Dare” series. Again this doesn’t have to be read in order, but I do think it’s part of a “new series” that the author has planned.

Evie is just trying to make a better life for herself and her baby brother. And by planning “pink parties” she gets to earn money and start a flourishing business.
She may have had a thing for bad boys but that’s in her past, what she wants is a “nice guy”, someone whose dependable, someone she can rely on.
But meeting Rev, that all goes out of the window ? but she won’t give up without a fight. She wants a quiet life, not one filled with bikers and trouble.

Jaxon “Rev” Brady was a Seal, but now is a member of the Hard Riders MC, doing his part to keep their territory free of gangs and drugs.
Jaxon has been sent to find out where Evie’s brother, (Rocker) is hanging out. Rocker is from a rival bike club and needs to answer some questions.
He’s got no time for parties and for “pink princesses” …..
But meeting Evie all that changes, she is feisty and won’t help Jaxon to find her brother. But she’s piqued his interest, and now he finds himself wanting her and wanting to protect her from the cartel.

Will getting involved with Eve prove to be a fatal distraction for Rev?
And can there ever be a future between a biker and a woman who is way out of his league? And will Evie learn that she can’t protect her brother forever ?

Julie ?

Excerpt: Copyright © 2018 Ruled by Anne Marsh
 

I have to be more cautious. From the rising volume of the squeals emanating from the backyard, cake consumption has concluded and the party will be wrapping up as the sugar highs hit, the early departers fleeing past my RV parked out front. Spotting the princess in an R-rated embrace with a biker would be bad for my business. You can’t be a dirty girl and host children’s birthday parties for a living. The moms will kill you. Fortunately, the moms aren’t mind readers. I’m only a party-perfect princess on the outside. Riding anywhere with Rev would be career suicide.
My bad voice promptly weighs in. But only if you get caught.
“I don’t do bikers.”
Something flashes across Rev’s face. “You don’t get hurt on my watch. I promise.”
“You’re not an ax murderer?”
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the wallet attached to his belt by a silver chain. Silently, he flips it open and holds it out so I can read his driver’s license. There’s a military ID underneath it, too, the kind of card that gets you into Nellis Air Force Base.
“Your name isn’t Rev.” According to the State of Nevada’s laminated plastic, he’s one Jaxon Brady.
“Road name,” he says tersely.
I examine the license again. He’s also turning thirty-three in four weeks. I bet he won’t be booking a celebratory princess party.
“Wow.” I hand back his wallet. “Former navy?”
He nods, as if it’s no big deal. “SEAL. You’d be safe with me.”
He’s not big on talking. Or negotiating, asking, or sweet-talking. I’ve always trusted my instincts, though, and right now they’re on board with Rev Brady. Completely, totally, 100 percent in favor of getting on this man’s bike and riding off with him. Somewhere. Wherever he wants to go. He’s big and strong and tempting. He’s fought for our country and kept everyone safe.
How bad can he be?
The little voice in my head pipes right up. How bad do you want him to be?
That voice needs a gag.
“Think about it,” he says and then he turns and saunters toward his bike. I stand there, watching his ass the whole way, and wondering why I don’t mind his attitude. He’s scary as shit. He’s not Mr. White Picket Fence and he’s not promising happily ever after, but the man has a fantastic butt and I’m lonely. That’s all it is. I need to get out more, need to make a point of seeing someone.
Someone else.
Anyone else. There are absolutely, positively no bikers anywhere in my future. 


 

A WEEK TO BE WILD
by JC Harroway
DARE Harlequin
Release Date: February 1, 2018

A daring game of temptation

She’ll play his game—but only by her rules!

Alex Lancaster is an adrenaline junkie. He’s also a sexy British billionaire who should come with his own warning signs. When Libby insists she’s done with men who live on the edge, Alex coaxes her out of her comfort zone—professionally and very, very personally. Libby’s taking a high-stakes gamble, but the payoff could win her everything

Add to your TBR list: Goodreads

Available at: Harlequin | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | iTunes

Connect with JC: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

•••••••••••

REVIEW:  This is part of a new series “DARE” but as they are standalone’s, you can easily read it on it’s own.

Libby is an American business woman who has sworn off men, she likes her quiet life, she did the “loving life on the edge” but it didn’t turn out great for her.
So …… She’s in Europe on business to further her career, and when she meets Alex …… it’s instant attraction

Alex is a billionaire …… he loves his life, it’s a fast paced, adrenaline filled one. He’s use to getting WHO and WHAT he wants, but he’s about to meet his match.

Alex wants Libby’s help in launching a charity set up for his sister’s memory. Does he have an ulterior motive ? Hell yes, he’s fascinated with this American, (she wants him, but on her terms), and he loves the fact she won’t back down or give in.
He wants to show her the city and he wants her in his bed, but wanting and getting are two different things.

Its interesting to read the characters, as both have been successful in business, but as people, they are vulnerable and have been hurt in their own ways. And their pasts have a huge say in how they interact with others.

Yes, it’s predictable…… there are steamy scenes….. a little romance… a few laughs. And a part in the book that makes you wonder if that’s it for them (lizzy is on a week deadline, then she goes home)

But if you like a quick steamy read, then this one is for you.

Julie ?

Excerpt: Copyright © 2018 A Week to Be Wild by JC Harroway
 

The man occupying her thoughts swept up beside her on a cloud of freshly showered deliciousness, his hand taking a proprietorial hold of the back of her barstool and his smoky, heavy-lidded smile stripping her naked.
Alex.
‘Hi.’ Libby closed her slack-jawed mouth and swivelled to face him, turning her back on the stranger, never one to pass up a golden opportunity. She hated rudeness, but if Beer Breath was too stubborn or thick-skulled to take the hint…
Alex kept his stare on her, his smile genuine and warm enough to melt her underwear clean off, and then signalled the waiter with a flick of his wrist.
Libby sensed the moment when Beer Breath slinked away, and the hairs on the back of her neck settled—but only temporarily, because Alex hadn’t taken his eyes off her. In fact, he was looking at her as if he was seconds from devouring her whole.
She shivered, delicious tendrils snaking to all her erogenous zones. ‘What are you doing here?’ Libby took a slug of her previously untouched drink, the burn calming her enough to meet his bold stare with one of her own.
‘I came to invite you out for a late supper. I was on my way to Reception and then I spotted you here.’ His hand slid from the back of her stool, and he settled into the one next to her, passing his order to the waiter before returning his disconcerting focus to her.
She stared back, lost for words and missing the proximity of his hand on her chair. He was close enough that his warmth traversed the space between them, but far enough away that she battled her body’s urge to sway closer. And keep on swaying.
‘What?’ One corner of his mouth kicked up. ‘What kind of host would I be if I left you to fend for yourself on your first night in a strange city?’
She couldn’t help the snort that left her. ‘The non-stalker kind…?’
He took the jibe with a cocksure arch of one brow, sipping wine while his poised stare flicked over her face from feature to feature.
Libby flushed hot all over. The ‘stalker’ comment had been beneath her. He hadn’t once touched her, hadn’t bought her drink, hadn’t tried to grab her phone, hadn’t even chased away her unwanted admirer—he had simply given her the out she’d wanted. The rest was all her.
What was wrong with her? Rudeness to a generous host and influential employer? All because he’d awoken needs within her? Needs too long dormant. Needs she’d never had before. Needs threatening to overwhelm her in their intensity.
Hardly his fault.


 

LEGAL SEDUCTION
Legal Lovers
DARE Harlequin
Release Date: February 1, 2018

“You are mine for the next two weeks.”

Resigning might be the sexiest thing she’s ever done…

Quitting her job puts executive assistant Bette Monroe in a very compromising position. She has ten days left, and powerhouse lawyer Simon Kramer is working her late into the night…and seducing her into oblivion! While he’s convinced she’s selling business secrets, the bombshell secret she’s keeping would shock him more. Does she bare all…or keep him guessing?

Add to your TBR list: Goodreads

Available at: Harlequin | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | iTunes

Connect with Lisa: Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

•••••••••

REVIEW: There is a mole at Simon’s law firm, someone has been sharing company secrets and he is determined to catch them, no matter the cost. This is his baby, and they won’t
get away with it !!! He begins to take a look at everyone, to his horror, his suspicions draw him to his assistant Bette.

He’s wonders why that she would suddenly hand in her notice, and come into a large
sum of money at around the same time.

He is shocked to think the one person he thought he could trust would sell company
secrets, but why else would she suddenly be walking away from a job he thought she
loved? He thought they worked well together, he felt hurt that she couldn’t come to
him.

Simon decides the best way to find out the truth is to seduce the truth out of Bette.

Bette has a secret, and now she needs to leave the job and boss she loves. But why ?
And when she finds out that Simon thinks she’s selling company secrets, she’s upset
and appalled, she could tell him the REAL reason why she’s going, but that’s not an
option.

I really enjoyed reading these characters, they had great chemistry, the banter
between them kept things interesting. And the secret that Bette is keeping …..
you need to read to find out ?

The last February “Dare” book in the series. You won’t need to read them in order (they
aren’t connected at all)

Julie ?

Excerpt: Copyright © 2018 Legal Seduction by Lisa Childs
 

“So then more money will get you to stay,” he said dismissively, as if he’d closed a case. He tossed her crumpled-up resignation letter into the brass trash can sitting beside his desk.
Frustration—and not just with this conversation—overwhelmed her, overcoming her natural inclination to avoid confrontation, and she blurted out, “No!”
Working for him these past two years had increased her frustration because of all those damn fantasies he’d inspired.
“But you just said—”
“I took the job because I needed money,” she said. “I needed money then.”
His eyes narrowed more as he studied her face. “And you don’t need it now?”
“My reason for leaving has nothing to do with money,” she said. Had she not found another source of income, she would have been forced to stay, but he didn’t need to know that.
“So you do have a reason.”
He wasn’t the trial lawyer of their partnership, but he could have been. She felt like she was being cross-examined on the witness stand. And she didn’t enjoy it one bit. Quitting was not a crime.
“I don’t have to give you a reason.” At least she didn’t think she did.
Maybe she should have had a lawyer look at that employment contract before she’d written her resignation letter. But no matter how much she paid, no lawyer would be as good as Simon Kramer. He was the best.
And, according to his ex-lovers, not just at the law…
“Why don’t you want to tell me?” he asked, and he stepped closer now, so close that she could feel the heat of his body through his suit and her cardigan and skirt.
Heat flushed her body, making her skin tingle. She tried to step back but the desk stopped her, the hard wood pressing into the backs of her thighs as he nearly touched the front of her. Her breasts pushed against the front of the gray cardigan as she struggled for breath. She had never been this close to him before. It was more than unsettling. Her knees trembled and her already tripping pulse quickened even more.
“Because it’s personal,” she murmured. And they had never been anything but businesslike with each other, except in her dreams.
He leaned down, so close that his warm breath whispered across her lips as he asked, “Are you in love with me?” 


 

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Ruled (Outlaws #3) by Elle Kennedy-Review, Excerpt & Giveaway

RULED (Outlaws #3) by Elle Kennedy-Review, Excerpt & Giveaway

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RULED
Outlaws #3
by Elle Kennedy
Genre: adult, post-apocalyptic, dystopian, erotic, romance
Release Date November 1, 2016

Ruled

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

ABOUT THE BOOK: RELEASE DATE November 1, 2016

Despite his magnetic personality, Rylan can’t seem to seduce Reese, the deadly leader of their town of outlaws. Winning her over is a welcome challenge, but her indifference isn’t the only thing standing in his way. If he wants Reese, Rylan must also win over Sloan, her stoic protector…

Sloan has always loved Reese, but their painful past has stolen his chances of a future with her. Rylan’s interest in Reese only intensifies the tension—until Sloan begins to wonder if the reckless man might be the one person who can bridge the distance…

The last time Reese fell for the wrong man, she had no choice but to kill him. Now, she desperately wants to take what both Rylan and Sloan are offering. But if she makes the wrong call again, she risks losing them both.

•••••••••••

REVIEW:  RULED is the third installment in Elle Kennedy’s adult , post-apocalyptic/dystopian Outlaws erotic, romance series. This is Rylan, Reese, and Sloan’s story line. RULED can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty but I recommend reading the series in order for backstory and history.

NOTE: RULED contains graphic and explicit scenes of M/M/, M/F and M/F/M sexual situations and may not be suitable for all readers.

SOME BACKGROUND: The OUTLAW series by Elle Kennedy focuses on the post-apocalyptic USA where the country is now divided into a number of respective territories without government control. There are various factions of bandits, enforcers, outlaws, and the people from the city. Life on the outside is hard; there are no laws, no law enforcement, and death is often the better option. Several groups of outlaws have banded together in gated communities for protection and control.

Told from several third person points of view including Rylan, Reese, and Sloan RULED focuses on survival. Reese is determined to end the suffering of the people in her ‘town’ and gathers together the leaders of the outlying camps in an attempt to take down the Enforcers patrolling the area. With one woman pregnant and about to give birth, and a number of under-aged children under her care, Reese’s settlement has been targeted by the people who claim to be in charge. Meanwhile Reese battles her attraction and the emotional fall out for the two men who call to her heart-Rylan and Sloan-both strong, alpha males whose attraction to one another adds fuel to the fire that is already burning. What ensues is the building relationship between Rylan, Reese and Sloan, and dangerous battle for power and control in a war between the Enforcers and the Outlaws.

RULED is a graphically, erotic story line of ménage between three people whose lives will be changed when the potential loss of one means the loss of their hearts. Sloan has been in love with Reese since the first day they met five years earlier; and Rylan’s need for his ‘fearless leader’ is compounded with his need for her second in command. The $ex scenes are intense, seductive and energetic with M/M, M/F, and M/F/M sexual situations.

The world building continues to focus on survival in a post-apocalyptic world where life expectancy is short; food and supplies are scarce; and security and safety is never guaranteed.

Elle Kennedy’s RULED and the OUTLAWS series is a gritty and graphic look at survival of the fittest. The premise is imaginative and clever; the characters are heartbreaking, vivacious, and heroic; the romance is real and raw.

Reading Order and previous reviews
CLAIMED
ADDICTED
RULED

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

Excerpt

Rylan didn’t waste time. He strode to the two-story brownstone on Main Street and entered behind her. He didn’t bother to knock. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission and all that.
He found her upstairs in her small kitchen, arms braced against the counter as she stared out the window at the unkempt yard behind the building. It was empty, save for a decrepit playset in the back corner. The slide was long gone, but a single swing hung from a rusted bar.
“When you die,” she said without turning around, “I’m going to dub you Saint Rylan, patron of lost causes.”
Rylan stepped close enough that he could feel the heat from her body, but far enough away that there was room for her to escape. “How’d you know it was me instead of Sloan?”
“Your footsteps are different.”
“Huh.” He chewed on that piece of information a bit. He was probably reading too much into it, but the fact that she could distinguish his footsteps from someone else’s? That was all the encouragement he needed to stay. “You’re a damn impressive woman, Reese.”
“Is that right? Because I can tell you and Sloan apart?” She sounded tired, almost resigned. Rylan experienced a pang of concern. Connor had never sounded like this before, but then again, Rylan’s leader had never been in charge of eighty-plus people before either. Con kept his camp small. Even Hudson, his woman, had been an interloper he hadn’t wanted to take in.
Reese, on the other hand, threw her doors open to any misfits, wanderers, and beggars that rattled on her gates.
Rylan briefly pondered what it would’ve been like growing up if there’d been a Reese around when he was young. Maybe then every night wouldn’t have been filled with his mother’s tears and his father’s angry shouts, followed by mournful pleas for forgiveness and hollow exchanges of I love you.
“That, and because you’ve got a vision for the future that few people would ever try to make a reality,” he said frankly.
“You and Connor think I’m nuts, don’t you?”
“Nah, brave.”
And maybe a little foolish, but hell, if it wasn’t for Reese’s foot in their asses, they’d still be holed up in their isolated camp, avoiding Enforcers and scavenging for supplies. Reese’s plan was big and bold and possibly suicidal, but the alternative was to cower, and Rylan had had enough of that.
She sighed and finally turned to look at him. “Did Sloan send you in here to cheer me up?”
Was that a dig? It kinda felt like one. But it was also true—Sloan had sent him. Or at least given him the signal that he wasn’t totally barking up the wrong tree by running after Reese.
He searched her eyes for traces of derision, but he only saw fatigue with a side of melancholy. He wanted to scoop this tough woman into his arms and pleasure her until she was too satisfied to frown.
“I’m here because last night was the best sex I’ve ever had. Because walking away from you isn’t an option for me.”
She made a strangled sound—half laugh, half groan—and rubbed the back of her hand across her forehead. Is that all you can think about?”
“Around you? Yup. I fuck and I fight. Don’t scratch too deep because there’s nothing there.”
She snorted in disbelief. “Tell that to someone who’ll believe you.”
Rylan’s brow furrowed. He’d always skated on the surface of intimacy, enjoying the physical nature of sex—the hot embrace, the rough friction, the sharp desire. What he’d just told Reese was absolutely true. He didn’t feel deeply. He could appreciate it in others, but he’d witnessed firsthand the emptiness of love. What he wanted, and what he could give, was pleasure and nothing more.
“What’re you talking about?” he finally asked, feeling slightly off-center that Reese saw something in him that didn’t exist.
She studied him for a moment before waving her hand carelessly. “It’s nothing. Look, last night was hot, but there’s nothing left here for you.” She presented her back to him and stared out the window again.
Was that a challenge? Sure sounded like one.

 

 

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The Reading Cafe and Elle’s publisher are offering a paper copy of RULED to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe

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