Wednesday, July 27, 2016

BLOG TOUR REVIEW + GIVEAWAY ~Forbidden Fling by Skye Jordan~


Title: Forbidden Fling
Author: Skye Jordan
Series: Wildwood #1
Release Date: July 26, 2016
Delaney Hart has come a long way from her wild youth, dating tattooed bikers at her father’s bar, The Bad Seed. But when his death pulls her back to Wildwood, California, she must stay to renovate the dive he left her. And also face the lies and secrets that sent her running ten years before.

When Wildwood’s chief building inspector, Ethan Hayes, shows up on the property, Delaney doesn’t recognize him. The last thing he wants to do is save the bar where his cousin died in a brawl. But the good boy from her past is all too willing to remind her of the bad girl she used to be. And one night of passion leaves them both in a compromising position.

The last place Ethan should be is in Delaney’s bed. Guilt, family pressure, and plans for a brewpub of his own make shutting down The Bad Seed his top priority…until his feelings for Delaney interfere. Because her future depends on the success of the bar’s renovation and his dreams are rooted in its failure, their forbidden romance may be destined for heartbreak
Delaney let one hand slide beneath his shirt, over his belly, his chest, and found a wall of muscle. “Good God. You’re ripped.” She pushed up and looked down at him again. “Handsome, you are hanging out with the wrong women. With your looks, this body, and that mouth, you could have women doing anything you damn well please as often as you damn well please.”

A growl started low in his throat. He grabbed her wrists, sat up, and flipped her to her back. Delaney squeaked in surprise. Then she hit the floor, and her breath whooshed out.

Ethan hovered over her, his eyes hot and intent. “And if the guys you’re with take their pleasure first and make you wait for yours, you’ve been hanging out with the wrong men. Because with this face”—he stroked her cheek gently—“this body”—his hand moved down, covered her breast, and squeezed, making Delaney’s breath catch—“and this mouth”—he lowered his head and traced his tongue over her bottom lip—“you could have men crawling over broken glass to please you.”

Delaney didn’t even have time to think of a response before his mouth covered hers, hot and demanding. He pinned her wrists to the floor above her head and licked into her mouth, tasting and teasing and taking. Then his lips were on her neck, her throat. He transferred both of her hands to one of his and used the other to pull at the hem of her blouse, freeing it from her skirt. He pushed it up her body, sliding his hands over the skin of her belly and the silk of her bra, his fingers lingering along the lace edge with a low, “So pretty. I should have let you undress for me. Should have let you give me a show.”

His heavy-lidded eyes came back to hers, and his fingers dipped beneath the edge to tease her nipple. She lifted into his touch. “Would you do that? Strip for me?”

His gaze was so open, so honest, as if he really wanted to know. She hadn’t done that in a long time. The thought spiraled a few nerves low in her belly, but his eyes were still holding hers, waiting for an answer, so she said, “Given the right incentive.”

His mouth kicked up on one side. He lay half on top of her, with most of his weight on the floor, his thigh between hers.

His fingers left her breast for her mouth and traced her lips. “Like what?”

“Stroke yourself as you watched me.” She held his gaze and licked his fingers as they passed. He made a pleasant sound in his throat as she went on. “Tell me what to do and how to do it. Have me pleasure you exactly to your liking while I was naked and you were fully dressed.” Her voice grew softer, his eyes sharper, and the intimacy of the moment seemed sharply intense. “Make me kneel between your legs. Make me say please.”

He slipped his hand around the back of her neck and searched her eyes for long, tense moments. “You’re so . . .” He shook his head as if he either couldn’t or didn’t want to put all his thoughts into words in the moment. “God. Am I caught in a dream? Am I going to wake up and find you gone? A remnant of a fantasy?”

She smiled. “I would make sure to fulfill your fantasies if you’d let go of my hands. Because I want to touch you really bad.”

He sighed and let his gaze and his touch drift down her body. “My turn to go slow.”

His fingers traced the outline of her bra again, then pop, it snapped open between her breasts. The backs of his fingers skimmed her flesh, brushing the bra cups away, teasing her nipples into tight, hypersensitive peaks and turning her skin to fire.

She squeezed her eyes closed to gather her control. She was panting, her pussy throbbing, and he hadn’t even—

His mouth closed over one nipple. Warm, tight suction shot a current through her chest and up her spine, and she arched beneath him. “Jesus.”

Delaney worked one hand free and gripped a handful of the shirt on his back, pulling toward his head. But he was focused on eating at her breast like a peach, grazing her with his teeth, licking and sucking. Then he moved to another area and started all over.

“I can’t take this foreplay.” She’d grown light-headed, dizzy. Supremely frustrated. “I need you in a seriously hard-core way.”

He closed his teeth firmly on her nipple. Delaney gasped, but the pain shot pleasure straight between her legs. Releasing the pressure, he licked at the burn, leaving Delaney’s entire body on fire.

“You’re talking my language, baby,” he murmured against her skin. “And the better I know your body, the better I can fuck you. Hard-core.”

His free hand slid over her belly and slipped beneath the waistband of her skirt. Delaney wiggled beneath him, tilted her head to bring her mouth close to his ear. “Yes. Touch me.”

Per usual Skye Jordan has delivered a book that surprises and engages her readers. Forbidden Fling is the kind of book that you didn't see coming. It sounds light and fun, but this book gets gritty and emotional. Completely unexpected with the depths this book went to, yet I enjoyed every bit of it. A lot of reality, a strong dose of steamy, sinful love, and dash of giving a "what for" to the people trying to drag you down.

Delaney and Ethan have a history a mile long, or at least their families do. And when she returns to the town that has been the cause of such heartache and ugliness, she wants nothing more than to do what needs done and get out. But despite every reason they have for staying away from each other, Ethan can't just give up on the one woman he always wanted to have. His family, that unnecessarily blames him, and this whole town be damned, but he needs Delaney. A true love's journey is never as easy as we'd like it to be. Ethan and Delaney are forced to go through even more hell at the hands of his family. 

This book surely brought complexity to a whole new level. Delaney and Ethan seem to be better left single, or at least with other people, but their passion is too strong to deny. And at what point do they need to put their own happiness above everyone else's and stand up for their right to a decent life that his family has stolen from them? The tensions are high, the electricity between Delaney and Ethan is shock-inducing, and this story offers every bit of satisfaction in standing up to the bad guys, and these two star-crossed lovers finding their way to each other and everything they've hoped for in life. 

I really hope the next installment includes bits about Delaney and Ethan, I feel like their story was told, but there could be so much more to it. The world and characters created in Forbidden Fling could surely turn into my next favorite 20-book saga to devour, there is so much left to explore and I can't wait to see where Ms. Jordan takes us next!

Happy Reading!
*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*




Skye Jordan is a pseudonym for New York Times bestselling romantic suspense author Joan Swan. Skye’s novels are about enjoying that little wild streak we don’t let out often enough. About those fantasies we rarely get the opportunity to indulge. About stretching limits, checking out the dark side, and maybe even acting a little naughty. They’re about escape and fun and pleasure and romance. And, yes, even love, because while wicked-great sex is good, happily ever after with wicked-great sex is even better.

When she’s not writing, Skye loves to read, knit, craft, row, ride, and dabble in photography.

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

EXCERPT ~Fatal Identity by Marie Force~

Title: Fatal Identity
Author: Marie Force
Series: Fatal Series #10
Release Date: July 26, 2016

As the first anniversary of her marriage to Vice President Nick Cappuano approaches, Lieutenant Sam Holland is dreaming of Bora Bora—sun, sand and a desperately needed break from the DC grind. But real life has a way of intervening, and Sam soon finds herself taking on one of the most perplexing cases of her career.


Government worker Josh Hamilton begs Sam to investigate his shocking claim that his parents stole him from another family thirty years ago. More complicated still, his “father” is none other than the FBI director. When a member of Josh’s family is brutally murdered, Sam begins to question how deep this cover-up goes. Is it possible the revered director was part of a baby-napping ring and that others involved are also targets?

With a killer intent on deadly revenge and her team still reeling from a devastating loss, Sam’s plate is full—and when Nick and their son, Scotty, take ill, is her dream of a tropical anniversary celebration in peril too?
Sam pushed through the double doors and into cool, crisp winter air that smelled like snow. She’d had a conversation yesterday with her son, Scotty, about how air can smell like snow. Scotty said it wasn’t possible tosmell snow, even after she got him to take a few deep breaths to see what she meant. He remained skeptical, but she had a few more weeks of winter to prove her point.

“Mrs. Cappuano.”

Sam turned toward the man who’d called to her. He was in his late twenties or early thirties, handsome with dark blond hair and brown eyes. The panic she saw in his expression put her immediately on alert. “That’s me, although they don’t call me that around here. And you are?”
“Josh Hamilton.”

Sam shook his outstretched hand. “What can I do for you, Josh?”

“I need your help.”

“Okay.”

“Today I was bored at work, so I started surfing the web, you know, just clicking around aimlessly.”

As a technophobe of the highest order, Sam didn’t know because she’d never done that and certainly not at work, where she was usually too busy to pee, let alone surf.

Josh took a series of deep breaths, and Sam’s anxiety ramped up a notch. “I saw this story about a baby who was kidnapped thirty years ago. They had this age-progression photo showing what he’d look like now, and…” He gulped. “It was me.”

“Wait. What?”

With trembling hands, Josh retrieved his cell phone from his pocket and called up a web page, zeroing in on a digitally produced photo that did, in fact, bear a striking resemblance to him.

“Those photos are produced by computers. They’re not exact.”

“That’s me! And it explains why I’ve never felt at home or accepted in my family. What if they took me?”

“Hang on a minute. What evidence do you have to suspect that your parents participated in a criminal act to bring you into their family?”

He seemed to make an effort to calm down. “They’re extremely accomplished people and so are my siblings. My brother is a board-certified neurosurgeon. He went to Harvard for undergrad and medical school. My sister is an attorney, also Harvard educated, Law Review, the whole nine yards. And then there’s me. I barely made it out of state college after having spent most of my five years there on academic probation. After four years working for the federal government, I’m a GS-9 at Veterans Affairs, where I shuffle paper all day while counting the minutes until I can leave. The only reason I have that job is because my father, who has never approved of a thing I said or did, pulled strings to get me in. They’re all Republicans while I’m a liberal Democrat who fully supports your husband. I hope he runs in four years, by the way.”

“None of that proves your parents kidnapped you.”

“Will you take my case? Please? I need to know for sure. This would explain so much of why I’ve felt like a square peg in my own family my entire life.”
Sam held up a hand to stop him. “I’m a homicide cop, not a private investigator, but if you really believe a crime has been committed, I can refer you to someone within the department—”

“No.” He shook his head. “I want you. You’re the best. Everyone says so.”

“I’m honored you think so, but I’m on a leave of absence for the next few days, so I’m not able to take your case personally.”

“It has to be you. You’re the only one I’d trust to do it right.”

“The Metro PD has plenty of very qualified detectives who could look into this for you and help determine whether a crime has been committed, Mr. Hamilton.”

“You don’t understand. It can’t be any random detective. It can only be you.”

“Are you going to tell me why?”

He took another series of deep breaths, appearing to summon the courage he needed to tell her why. “It’s… He’s… Well, my dad, you see… He’s Troy Hamilton, the FBI director.”

***

Holy bombshell, Batman! Sam’s mind raced with implications and scenarios and flat-out disbelief.

“You can’t honestly believe that your father, one of the top law enforcement officials in the country, kidnapped a child thirty years ago.”

“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Josh said.

“He’s one of the most respected men in our business. He’s revered.”

“Believe me, I know all about how revered he is. I hear about it on a regular basis.” He looked at her beseechingly. “You have to help me. I don’t know who else to turn to. Besides some of the people who work for my father, I don’t know any other cops, and you’re the best. And… I’m scared.” The last two words were said on a faint whisper.

Sam wanted nothing to do with the snake pit this case could turn out to be, but the detective in her was far too intrigued to walk away. “How’d you get here?”

“I took the Metro.”

She took a look around to see if anyone was watching, but the parking lot was deserted, and the usual band of reporters that stalked the MPD were taking the day off. They tended to do that when it was freezing. “Come with me.” She led him to her car and gestured for Josh to get in the passenger side.

Though she had no idea what she planned to do with him or the information he’d dropped in her lap, she couldn’t walk away from what he’d told her. “Tell me more about this website where you saw the photo.”

“It’s a blog run by parents of missing children.”

“How did you end up there?”

“I read a story about a baby who was kidnapped from a hospital in Tennessee the day after he was born and how his parents have never stopped looking for him. The thirtieth anniversary of the abduction is coming up, so they’ve gotten some regional publicity. There was a link in the story that led to the blog where the age-progression photo was.”

“So the photo hasn’t been picked up by the media?”

“Not that I could tell, but I was too freaked out by what I was seeing to dig deeper, especially since my thirtieth birthday is next week. I told my boss I had an emergency. I left the office and came right to you.”

“Why me?”

“Are you serious? After the inauguration, the whole country knows what an amazing cop you are. Who else would I go to with something like this?”

Blowing off the comment, she said, “You realize that accusing the FBI director of a capital felony is not something you do without stacks of proof that he was involved.”

“That’s where you come in. I need proof, and I need it fast before that picture gets picked up by the wires or social media and flung around the country. I need proof before he knows that I know.”

Sam had to agree that time was of the essence before this thing blew up into a shitstorm of epic proportions. With that in mind, she started the car, pulled out of the MPD parking lot and into weekday afternoon traffic that clogged the District on the way toward Capitol Hill.

“Where are we going?”

“My house.”

She glanced over at him and saw his eyes get big. “For real?”

“Yes, for real.” She paused before she continued. “Look, if you want me to dig into this, I have to do it at home. I’m…off duty right now. I’ve gotta stay below the radar on this or my bosses will be all over me.”

“No one will hear it from me.”

After a slow crawl across the District, Sam pulled up to the Secret Service checkpoint on Ninth Street. Normally they waved her through, but she had to stop to clear her guest. “They’ll need to see your ID.”

Josh pulled his license from his wallet and handed it to her.

She gave it to the agent, who took a close look before returning it to her. “Thank you, ma’am. Have a nice day.”

“You too.”

“What’s that like?” Josh asked. “Being surrounded by Secret Service all the time?”

“About as much fun as you’d expect it to be.”

“Why don’t you have a detail?”

“Because I don’t need one. I can take care of myself.” Thankfully, he didn’t mention the recent siege in Marissa Springer’s basement as an example of her inability to take care of herself. Sam liked to think that was a onetime lapse in judgment, never to be repeated.

Outside their home, her husband’s motorcade lined the street. What was he doing home so early?

She parked in her assigned spot—everyone who lived on Ninth Street now had assigned parking spaces—and headed up the ramp that led to their home.

“Why do you have a ramp?” Josh asked.

“My dad’s a quadriplegic. He lives down the street. My husband installed the ramp so he could come to visit.”

“Oh, that’s cool. Sorry about your dad, though.”

“Thanks.”

Nick’s lead agent, John Brantley Jr., met her at the door. “Lieutenant.”

“Brant. What’s he doing home so early?”

“The vice president isn’t feeling well.”

“Say what?”





Marie Force is the New York Times bestselling author of contemporary romance, including the Gansett Island Series, which has sold more than 2.2 million books, and the Fatal Series from Harlequin Books, which has sold more than 1 million books. In addition, she is the author of the Green Mountain Series as well as the erotic romance Quantum Series, written under the slightly modified name of M.S. Force. She has sold more than 5 million books worldwide!

Thursday, July 21, 2016

BLOG TOUR REVIEW ~Going Down Easy by Carly Phillips~

Title: Going Down Easy

Author: Carly Phillips
Series: Billionaire Bad Boys #1
Release Date: June 19, 2016

My Rating: 5 Stars!!
Billionaire Bad Boys: Rich, Powerful and sexy as hell.

Billionaire Kaden Barnes has a reputation for being difficult and always getting his way.

Enigmatic and exacting, he's unable to keep an assistant for long. Enter his newest hire, Lexie Parker. She's no-nonsense, efficient and all business… She's also hot as sin and soon starring in Kaden's dirtiest fantasies.

As their passion for each other reaches a boiling point, neither can control the explosive outcome when they finally give in to their desires. He may think he's calling the shots, but for this bad boy, going down easy has never felt so good.
This book. This book. This book. GAH! This book has given me a book hangover. I can't exactly explain why. Carly Phillips always writes an outstanding novel. I am pretty sure I've read every book and novella she's ever published, but this one is just a little deeper and a little more fascinating. It was real. It was emotional. And it was everything I didn't know I needed to read to get out of my book funk.

We've all read the alpha billionaire before, but Kade is different. He's hotter, he's sweeter, and down right delicious to read. Then you have Lexie, and I swear to high heavens she is a no BS kind of heroine that I LOVE to read. No push over here. Whatever Kade gives her she delivers right back in the ten-fold. And together their chemistry is more than explosive and their witty banter had me cry-laughing. Yet, to the antithesis of the eroticism and hilarity is a darker side to both of these characters. They both have families that failed to step up to the plate, and left Kade and Lexie holding a lot of baggage. However, true to both of their natures they made it work and fought the good fight. When Lexie comes to work for Kade they finally decide they both deserve to be selfish and give in to this powerful energy that's sparking between them.

But nothing ever goes as planned and what commences is a wicked web of "I really didn't see that coming" and some great big emotional slaps to the face. Going Down Easy is an epically perfect blend of romance and gritty real-life. No punches were pulled and the world of these three billionaire bad boys made me gasp in anticipation for its continuance. It will be pretty hard to top Kade though. He pretty damn well set the bar immeasurably high, but I can't wait to see Lucas and Derek try. At the end of the day this book is a MUST READ for me!

Happy Reading!
*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Carly Phillips N.Y. Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Carly Phillips has written over 40 sexy contemporary romance novels that today's readers identify with and enjoy. After a successful 15 year career with various New York publishing houses, Carly is making the leap to Indie author, with the goal of giving her readers more books at a faster pace at a better price. Her Serendipity books will still finish up in January/February 2014 via Berkley as planned. Carly lives in Purchase, NY with her family, two nearly adult daughters and two crazy dogs who star on her Facebook Fan Page and website. She's a writer, a knitter of sorts, a wife, and a mom. In addition, she's a Twitter and Internet junkie and is always around to interact with her readers.

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

BLOG TOUR REVIEW ~No Pants Required by Kim Karr~

Title: No Pants Required

Author: Kim Karr
Release Date: July 11, 2016

My Rating: 4.5 stars

I, Makayla Alexander, am on a mission to reinvent myself. So when a super hot guy boards the plane and flashes his rock hard abs, I pay attention. When he sits next to me and offers me his nuts, I can’t resist. But when I choke on them and he tells me I need to work on my gag reflex, I realize I might be in over my head.

Before I know it we’re in the lavatory and attempting to join the Mile High Club. Let me just say this...anyone who tells you it’s easy to get it on at 37,000 feet isn’t telling you the truth. After the flight attendant busts us for getting frisky in the air, the only thing that can ease my total and complete mortification is the simple fact that I am never going to see him again.

Hours later, I can’t help but wonder if fate will ever allow me to become a new version of myself.

Because Fate, she’s a fickle bitch.

Case in point...my seatmate is my new next-door neighbor.

Even with the whole fate thing we have going on, we are so not meant to be together. He’s all cool and sexy in that make love not war kind of way. Guys like him are dangerous. With that bring-you- to-your- knees body, that handsome-as- hell face, and that dirty, dirty mouth, I guarantee one glance from him wets every girl's bikini bottoms.

And then there’s me…the quirky girl looking to find herself in California. All I want to do is learn to let loose. Say words like peace and groovy. Bury my toes in the sand. Who knows, maybe even have sex on the beach.

Unable to get him out of my head, I entertain the thought of being more than just friends. I know the idea is absurd. And yet, I go with it. You see Camden Waters gets me. Really gets me. Like no other guy has before.

On this 7-mile stretch of paradise, I decide to keep things simple and just have fun...that is until fate decides to screw with me, again.

Can two people hell-bent on finding themselves realize the search should have ended the day they met? Find out in No Pants Required—a sexy, funny, romantic stand-alone, that will have you hurrying to grab your bathing suit and rushing to the beach to check out every lifeguard on duty.

Sigh... Another Kim Karr book. I can guarantee when I sit down to read nay of her books I'm a) going to be there a while b) I'm going to freaking love it and c) I'm going to have a book hangover. And sure enough No Pants required induced all of the aforementioned side effects. I will say this is a big lighter read than Ms. Karr's past works, but it's no less brilliant and engaging.

Makayla and Cam had a chance distant encounter, one of them was aware of it and the other wasn't. But in that moment they both had a bit of a revelation. A coming to for what the summer would bring. Makayla walked away never expecting to see the tattooed man-sl*t again and said tattooed man-sl*t was not even aware of Makayla's existence. Fast forward to the plane ride that would change everything and begin a whirlwind summer for them both. What neither of them were expecting was each other. To have anything beyond the summer fling they thought it was going to be. And through the heartaches and thrills the summer would bring they both being to fall. To fall deeper into each other, and to fall deeper into who they should be. Makayla and Cam are both coming of derailments from life. Speed bumps, if you will. And they seems to find solid footing in their hope and dreams with one another. They spark almost a passion in one another in and out of the bedroom.

This book is a terrific beach read, but also so much more than that. In true Kim Karr fashion, it evokes a slew of emotions that will run roughshod over the reader, but in a highly enjoyable way. I truly loved every bit of this sexy, steamy read and would love to see if Maggie and Brookyln ever get a story (or stories, the jury is still out on that one). While it is a lighter and sweeter read than I am used to from Kim Karr it was every bit the literary wonder I've come to know and revel in from her and I highly suggest all readers pick up No Pants Required!


Reader * Writer * Coffeelover * Romantic

Kim is a daydreamer. So much so that if daydreaming could be a hobby it would be her favorite. It's how her stories are born and how they take root. An imagination that runs wild is something to be thankful for, and she is very thankful. :)

She grew up in New York and now lives in Florida with her husband and four kids. She's always had a love for reading books and writing. Being an English major in college, she wanted to teach at the college level but that was not to be. She went on to receive an MBA and became a project manager until quitting to raise her family. Kim currently works part-time with her husband and with the rest of her time embraces one of her biggest passions--writing.

Kim wears a lot of hats! Writer, book-lover, wife, soccer-mom, taxi driver, and the all around go-to person of her family. However, she always finds time to read.

She likes to believe in soul mates, kindred spirits, true friends, and Happily-Ever-Afters. She loves to drink champagne, listen to music, and hopes to always stay young at heart.