Nearly Broken Review + Giveaway

Nearly Broken 

Author: Devon Ashley

Release date: June 4, 2013

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Age Group: New Adult

Event organized by: AToMR Tours

We’d both gone missing at one point, but Claire had one thing I didn’t. Someone to notice. So why was I the one still here and she the one still gone?

Nineteen year old Megan Smith has spent the past year working in a small town diner in the middle of nowhere. Life is quiet, simple, safe. Then comes the news that her look-a-like has gone missing. Claire.

Still damaged both physically and mentally, Megan's not looking to be noticed. Wherever she goes from here, it's a road she needs to take alone. But when Nickolas Ellis takes the job as the new nightshift cook, it scares her how easily her defenses crumble down, down, down for him. But there are secrets she can't bear to share with just anyone, unspeakable acts that continue to haunt, and when the similarities of Claire’s abduction couples with the fear of an unwanted visitor in town, the urge to run before it all happens again intensifies, threatening the only happiness Megan's ever found.

New Adult Romantic Suspense / Realistic FictionRecommended for 17+ for mature and disturbing situations, language and sexual content.

I rated Nearly Broken four leaves! This book seriously should have come with a warning. So, I’ll go ahead and give it to you. I thought this book would be a light summer read, and it was in the beginning. But after the truth comes out, the book becomes twisted, dark, and heart-breaking. It touches upon the themes of human-trafficking and rape. Why was I not warned?! If you’ve ever heard of CJ Roberts’ Captive In The Dark series, you might have already been exposed to this. I have, and I loved that series; however, this book, despite its shared dark side, is totally different. It made my heart hurt in another way. Regardless, this book is still phenomenal. I’ll admit, it was hard to finish, but with characters like Nick and Megan, how could I not?

Nick kind of reminded me of Will Cooper from Colleen Hoover’s Slammed series, in how sweet, patient, and attentive he was. He was there for Megan in every way. Even when she didn’t think she needed him or even when she didn’t say anything, he knew what she needed or wanted. It was so very awww-inducing. I loved him. Megan is insanely strong. She has this incredible survival instinct, and knowing what she’s been through tears me apart. I don’t think I would ever be able to endure the same stuff she has been put through. I never got angry with her, which is rare because I usually end up hating the heroine for at least one part of a book. Well, the only parts I hated her were when she kept denying the hot chemistry between her and Nick. Oh, and when she actually did get Nick, because let’s face it, Nick is perfect. They are truly soulmates, and despite how many challenges they are put up to, I had no doubts in my mind whether or not they would make it.

Another note, I can’t say much about the plot without giving anything away. The synopsis is pretty vague for a reason. This story hits hard. Surprisingly, I was sucked into it from the very beginning. Devon Ashley is one heck of a storyteller. She added just the right amount of angst, mystery, desire, darkness, hope, and love into this emotional read. I’ve never cried while reading a book, but I think Kleenexes might be handy for this one. Not only was the plot a wild roller-coaster, but the characters are very potent. You can’t help but feel everything they’re feeling, which takes great skill on Devon Ashley’s part. I was up until three in the morning starting and finishing this book (total accident, by the way). I had an idea of what was coming, and I wanted to hide, but I really just couldn’t. No matter, the ending hit even harder than I expected. Don’t worry, there is definitely a happily ever after. After all that Megan went through, she freaking needs one! Although, I can’t help but wonder if there is gonna be another book in the series. I mean, there really could be. Not to mention, I would loveee to see some crucial scenes from Nick’s point of view *hint, hint Devon Ashley*. But anyway, I was totally caught off-guard by my first Devon Ashley read, and I must say I will definitely be looking into more of her books. 

 I’m a mom, wife, a lover and a fighter, coffee addict, wicked knitster, Microbiologist, baker of fine yummy treats, and someone who will fight you to death for that last twinkie bag of M&Ms during the zombie-apocalypse. Seriously, my addiction is that important to me. Oh yeah, and writing is cool too!

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High Risk Love Excerpt + Giveaway

High Risk Love

Author:  Shannon Mayer

Publisher:  HiJinks Ink Publishing

Release date:  July 1, 2013

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Age Group:   New Adult

Event organized by: AToMR Tours

Photographs. 

Images. Snapshots in time.

This is how I experience my life. I’ve hidden behind my camera and viewed the world through the lens. I watch other people live their lives. I’ve given up on my dreams, and sheltered my heart from love; because both have given me nothing but pain. Even thinking about opening myself up, sends my fears into overdrive. It’s better to be safe, than to take a risk and have your life shattered into pieces alongside your heart. This is what I believed.

Dangerous.

Risks. Fear Nothing.

I live for the rush of adrenaline I get when I work my stunts. Nothing else matters but the feel of my heart pounding when I challenge the line between life and death. Women are nothing more than a distraction; they use me for my connections, as I use them to escape the pain of my past before moving on to my next adrenaline fix. My life is consumed with excitement, danger and risks—it’s all I needed.

Denials. 

Fear. The complete wrong time.

Jasmin and Jet will face off over photos, stunts and the truth hidden in their hearts.  The last person Jasmin wants to be with is a man who takes life for granted.  Jet wants to give his heart to no one; especially one who might not understand the secrets that haunt him. Despite their protests, Jasmin’s and Jet’s lives tangle; the threads of love and fear bind them. Between their passions and their pasts, they fight to hang onto each other . . . but will the stakes be too high when faced with the ultimate sacrifice?

18+ for adult situations, sexual situations and language

 

The wind blew straight off the ocean, bringing me a wash of salty air, hot sand and coconut sunscreen. But I couldn’t see Jasmin anywhere. Stepping off the path, I headed straight for the water, then stood with my head leaned back and considered shouting for her. A pale flash of yellow caught my eye at the far end of the beach.

There she was, squatting low, camera up as she took pictures of the local kids playing in the surf. They dodged and darted in front of her and she followed them, the camera a part of her.

Walking slowly, the sand pulling at my feet, I wove between the few blankets and towels on the beach until I stood a few feet behind her. She was laughing, her voice pairing with the kids squeals and swiftly chattered Spanish. Like music, it mesmerized me, and I stood there for a long time, just watching her, feeling like I was privy to something special.

To someone special.

I closed my eyes. Good God, I must have picked up something for me to be waxing poetic about a girl I barely knew, had only just met.

“Jet?”

My eyes flew open and I smiled without thinking. “Waiting on you, Spitfire. You done playing?”

A soft smile curved one side of her full lips and my mind wandered once more into dangerous territory.

There was only one thing to do. With a rush, I scooped her up onto my shoulder and gave her a spin, much to the delighted kids who were now screaming encouragement.

“What are you doing, are you crazy?” She said, grasping my shoulders.

“That’s what the doctor says.”

She punched my arm, not hard, but I fell to the ground, pulling her on top of me, then I held up my hands. “Oh, God, I think you bruised me.” I looked up at her with one eye. “Kiss it better?”

Her response was to pull the camera out and start taking pictures, effectively blocking my attempt at charming her. Which was for the best anyway. She was right to push me away; something about her was too much, too intense. Not right for me. Though the flicker of desire in those green depths teased at me, and the feeling of her body quivering against mine in that split second before she scrambled away was almost enough to change my mind.

She was most definitely too good for me, without a doubt. I could acknowledge that, but with every moment I spent with her I became more and more convinced she wasn’t as immune to my charms as I’d thought. But that’s all it was, flirting, my usual, nothing more. This was fun, light.

Harmless.

I smiled, giving her a wink and the color rose up on her cheeks. Nope, there was no turning back, no way I’d quit flirting with her now, if nothing more than to see her squirm.

I wasn’t going to ease up.

Not for one second.

 

 

Shannon Mayer lives in the southwestern tip of Canada with her husband, dog, cats, horse, and cows. When not writing she spends her time staring at immense amounts of rain, herding old people (similar to herding cats) and attempting to stay out of trouble. Especially that last is difficult for her.

She is the author of the The Nevermore Trilogy, The Rylee Adamson Novels and the Celtic Legacy series. Her first New Adult Romance, High Risk Love, is scheduled for release July 1, 2013.

 

 

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Addicted to You Review + Giveaway

 

Addicted to You

Author: Colina Brennan

Hosted by: GCRPromotions

 

 

When twenty-one-year-old Leah Carter's latest one night stand burglarizes her apartment, her roommate forces her to attend therapy for sex addicts. Leah insists she isn't a sex addict; she just doesn't do relationships. After all, sooner or later, everyone lets you down.

At first, the group sessions are little more than an education on how to be promiscuous. Until she meets the newest addict—blue eyes, killer body, and a smile that tempts relapse.

Psychology student Will McLean is posing as a fellow addict while researching a case study on unusual addictions. But the more he learns about Leah, the more certain he is that his desire to break through her walls and unearth her secrets has nothing to do with his assignment.

As the uncertainties spike alongside the sexual tension, the only thing Leah knows for sure is that falling in love would be disastrous. Too bad love might be one addiction she can't kick.

 

 

I rate Addicted to You Three and One Half Leaves. The moment I read the synopsis for this story, I was hooked. It was the originality of the storyline that drew me in. I have never read a book about two (sort of) addicts falling in love. Addicts meeting in rehab? Done, but not two characters falling for each other at addiction meetings.

 

Leah is forced by her roommate to attend 20 sex addiction meetings, because one of her conquests stole all of their belongings from their apartment. Because Leah needed this apartment to live and because her roommate was her one and only friend, I understood why she agreed to this. In any other scenario, I would have said the believability factor was missing. Since we are discussing the believability factor, I will say it was missing in regards to the meeting's instructor. The author wrote the character to be more annoyed than supportive to the other addicts and their story. Most addiction meeting instructors are either working psychologists who were assigned to the meetings, or they are individuals who have overcome their own addictions and can now empathize with the addicts. I felt his character was condescending and just plain miserable. Granted, his character provided some interesting research for the professor's study, but I wish I could have understood why he acted the way he did.

 

Leah is a very different character from other female leads I have read, and in a way, there is something very honest about who she is and the choices she makes. Her relationship with her little brother, Elijah, is my favorite fictional, sibling relationship to date. Elijah is a fantastic character. He is so sweet, smart, and endearing. He gives Leah a purpose in life, which is to take care of him, since their parents have nothing to do with them. I will say it was difficult for me to believe she would leave him in that rundown mansion in the middle of nowhere with parents who didn't even cook meals for him. Leah does fight with her parents to move Elijah in with her, but I feel like her character would have done it way before she actually did.

 

The male lead, Will, is a handsome, blue-eyed student attending the sex addict meetings to obtain information on the meeting instructor's approaches for sobering the addicts for his work study program. He doesn't expect to have feelings for Leah, but he does, and the story does get a bit hot and steamy at the end of a session and at the back of a theatre. These scenes left me wanting so much more, but I was satisfied later on in the story. We will leave it at that. I really enjoyed Will's character, because he was a genuine guy. He quits the study after he tells his professor about his feelings for Leah, which I thought was admirable. It took some guts to quit the study and risk losing his spot in the program for Leah.

 

There was one major storyline flaw that I have to point out. The author placed a lot of focus in the beginning of the story on how Leah didn't know Will's name. When referring to him, the female character would call him "blue eyes." During the theatre scene, Will's best friend, Finn, interrupts their attempt to exit for some dirty-time by calling his name. He even says his name a second time during this conversation. With this being an ARC, I was going to overlook it, but then Leah's character had an internal monologue a chapter or two later about how she would spend time guessing his name. If Leah would have had a name for "blue eyes," she could have tracked him down, since they attended the same college. I thought this was a major mistake in the storyline, and so I gave this review four leaves instead of five.

 

Addicted to You is a delicious and fun read. You will adore the relationship between Elijah and Leah, and you will fall in love with Will. Even the supporting characters are fun to read about. I am assuming the author has planned this story as a stand alone, but I wouldn't mind reading another book about Leah and Will. I'd like to see Elijah as he grows up, and how that affects the main character's relationship.  

 

 

 

Colina Brennan is a new adult writer with a love for the fantastical and the romantic.

When she isn’t writing, she’s attached at the hip to her kids or chasing her dog or daydreaming about what she wants to write next.

 

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All Wrapped Up Release Day

 

 

All Wrapped Up

Author: Braxton Cole

Hosted by: Book Enthusiast Promotions

 

All Wrapped Up is Book Two in The List Series.

Mari and Luca continue to work through their list of sexual fantasies in All Wrapped Up, Book Two in The List Series. They've abandoned their original plan of no strings attached and, for the most part, Mari's learning to be okay with it. She definitely likes Luca's strings (and whatever else he might use to restrain her), but she's not sure she's ready to take the next step in their relationship. Luca, sweet, strong, commanding Luca, insists that it's time to move in together. Mari insists it's time to relax and enjoy what they share without complicating things.

With every moment they spend together, Luca shows Mari how good they could be together. Will Mari run away from her emotions, or does Luca have her all wrapped up?

All Wrapped Up is a novella length erotic romance and contains mature adult themes, including graphic and explicit sex.

Up for some company this weekend? Rachel wants to join us.

I showed the screen to Rachel before I hit send. She swallowed and nodded, her movements tight, but certain. I sent the message.

“Jesus.” Rachel drank more wine.

“You know, you don't have to do this.” I'd been teasing her when I brought it up, but the idea of seeing Luca with Rachel stirred excitement low in my belly. This would be a lot of fun. Providing Rachel didn't faint from the idea of it.

“I know.”

Luca responded.

Join us for dinner? Or. . .

I smiled. Even though we'd talked about including other people, we'd both been reluctant to follow through. After the night he brought Richard to meet me, Luca hadn't wanted to push the issue. And I had simply been enjoying him.

We could have dinner first. Then I'd like you to fuck her while I watch.

I hit send and imagined Luca going instantly hard when he read my message. He was incredibly responsive to suggestion.

Rachel watched, but didn't ask what he said. Luca replied immediately.

The new toys can wait. I'll book a room.

Braxton Cole lives in the Pacific Northwest where she spends most of her time holed up in her office writing stories. When she's not writing, she can be found riding her bike, hiking the fabulous local trails, chasing her kids, or wishing that her thumb was a little more green. She has a bad habit of killing what she tries to grow, but hasn't given up hopes of one day being a successful urban farmer.

Braxton writes erotic romance because romance is the stuff that makes life great, and sex is fun. The two belong together, both in life and in fiction.

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The Plunge Teaser + Giveaway

The Plunge
Author: Sindhu S.
Event provided by: GCR Promotions

 

 

 

Love is madness…

When a thirty-something journalist Anjali meets the charismatic Siddharth, she has no intention of becoming romantically involved with him. Anjali is a strong, independent woman, angered by the man’s world she lives in and traumatised by events in her past. She has no desire to fall in love. Anjali is certain that, after months of chatting online, when she finally meets Siddharth the charm will be broken. But she is surprised to find herself attracted to him – and shocked when they fall into bed together on their first date. Seized by new emotions that go against everything she believes in, Anjali is caught in a battle between her head and her heart, between love and self-protection. For the first time in her life, Anjali is at the mercy of her emotions and desires…and as she plunges into an affair with a man she knows little about, she risks losing everything. Set in India, The Plunge is a frank and powerful examination of modern relationships that every woman will identify with. Told with astonishing emotional insight, this debut novel will take your breath away.

 

 

Anjali’s thoughts shifted back to Siddharth as if it were the most natural thing to happen. What did he really look like? She could not remember his face from the one time she had seen him in her colleague’s cabin many months ago.

 



 

Born in 1966, Indian writer Sindhu drew inspiration for 'The Plunge' from her days as a journalist in her home country. She loves writing human interest stories and is drawn to women centric issues.As a child she "had suffered from the ugly duckling syndrome", she says. She quit her job as a school teacher on realising it was beyond her ability to discipline students, and switched over to journalism.She moved to the Gulf (Middle East) six years ago. Currently based in Bahrain, she is working on her new book, a non-fiction on relationships, and two more projects, among them a novel set in the Middle East.

 

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Origin Cover Reveal

Release Date: August 27, 2013

Daemon will do anything to get Katy back.

After the successful but disastrous raid on Mount Weather, he’s facing the impossible. Katy is gone. Taken. Everything becomes about finding her. Taking out anyone who stands in his way? Done. Burning down the whole world to save her? Gladly. Exposing his alien race to the world? With pleasure. 

All Katy can do is survive.

Surrounded by enemies, the only way she can come out of this is to adapt. After all, there are sides of Daedalus that don’t seem entirely crazy, but the group’s goals are frightening and the truths they speak even more disturbing. Who are the real bad guys? Daedalus? Mankind? Or the Luxen?

Together, they can face anything.  

But the most dangerous foe has been there all along, and when the truths are exposed and the lies come crumbling down, which side will Daemon and Katy be standing on? And will they even be together?

# 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer Armentrout lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell, Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen.

She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

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