How do you follow your heart when it feels divided? Stacy
Keller had always said no to good-looking guys, until Jeromy wormed his way
past her resistance. She discovered that, beneath the handsome facade that had
all the other girls chasing him, he was caring and generous. She'd never want
to hurt such a kind man. When his job sends him back to Texas, she leaves her
native Tulsa to move with him.
If only she hadn't met Billy Snow, Jeromy's childhood
friend. Her attraction to him feels like water flowing to meet water, a destiny
buried deep in her cells. But is it real and lasting? Should she stifle her
desire for Billy to save her relationship with Jeromy, the man she thought was
perfect for her? While she's deciding, what does fate have in store for her?
She hadn't known love would hurt so much.
Lo's Review
I rated Absolutely
Unforgivable with Four Leaves! This book was a quick, fun, and easy read.
Beside from a few grammatical errors and a bit of rushing in the story line,
the book was well put together. From the very beginning of the book, it was
very easy to connect with Stacy. She is a fun girl, who is working her way
through school. Being from Tulsa, like Stacy, and a college girl myself, it was
fun to put myself in her shoes. When Stacy meets Jeromy, it’s hard not to fall
absolutely head over heels for him. He is a perfect gentleman in every way.
Stacy and Jeromy move to Houston, Texas and that is where we meet Billy,
Jeromy’s childhood best friend. Meeting Billy was another exhilarating part of
the book. He is the rock star/musician that every girl would love to date. The
book did not go in the direction that I thought it would, and I loved it for
that. I always love a good surprise. This book has a ton of ups and downs. I
would call it an emotional roller coaster, but it is definitely worth the ride!
About the Author
Tracy Tegan is a member of The Houston Writers Guild. In
addition, she has spent the last 17 years as a dot com strategy consultant, and
online marketing expert. She has also worked as a professional blogger about
relationships, dating and issues pertaining to gender equality
Drew Evans is a winner. Handsome and arrogant, he makes
multimillion dollar business deals and seduces New York’s most beautiful women
with just a smile. He has loyal friends and an indulgent family. So why has he been
shuttered in his apartment for seven days, miserable and depressed?
He’ll tell you he has the flu.
But we all know that’s not really true.
Katherine Brooks is brilliant, beautiful and ambitious. She refuses to let
anything - or anyone - derail her path to success. When Kate is hired as the
new associate at Drew’s father’s investment banking firm, every aspect of the
dashing playboy’s life is thrown into a tailspin. The professional competition
she brings is unnerving, his attraction to her is distracting, his failure to
entice her into his bed is exasperating.
Then, just when Drew is on the cusp of having everything he wants, his
overblown confidence threatens to ruin it all. Will he be able untangle his
feelings of lust and tenderness, frustration and fulfillment? Will he rise to
the most important challenge of his life?
Can Drew Evans win at love?
Tangled is not your mother’s romance novel. It is an outrageous, passionate,
witty narrative about a man who knows a lot about women…just not as much as he
thinks he knows. As he tells his story, Drew learns the one thing he never
wanted in life, is the only thing he can’t live without.
Tricia’s Review
I rated Tangled
five leaves! I read so many great reviews on Tangled during its pre-release, and I was
super, ridiculously excited for it to come out. When it finally did, I was
scared it might not live up to all of the hype. I was dead wrong. I’m
still in a book hangover after reading this amazing story two days ago. It has
everything a girl needs in a romance book: witty humor, a hot lead, a strong
heroine, lots of sexual tension, a happily ever after, and of course, steamy
sex. I loved that the story was told from Drew’s point of view, and Emma Chase
pulled it off flawlessly and hysterically. Drew is swoon-worthy, blunt, clever,
arrogant, rich, dirty-mouthed ,and a certified man whore; but he also has a
sensitive side he refuses to acknowledge. Kate doesn’t take any of his crap,
and although I just wanted to shake her at times, she is the perfect girl to
balance Drew. I have a weakness for funny books, and this book had me dying with
laughter. The supporting characters make it even funnier, from Drew’s best
friend, Matthew, to Drew’s four-year-old niece, Mackenzie. This book is
guaranteed to make you laugh, make you cry happy tears, and definitely make you
sigh of bliss, wishing men like Drew really existed. The one-liners, oh jeez, they leave
no doubt as to Emma Chase’s brilliance. I truly hope to see more books from this author!
About the Author
By day, Emma Chase is a devoted wife and mother of two who
resides in a small, rural town in New Jersey. By night she is a keyboard
crusader, toiling away the hours to bring her colorful characters and their
endless antics to life. She has a long standing love/hate relationship with
caffeine.
Emma is an avid reader. Before her children were born she was known to consume
whole books in a single day. Writing has also always been a passion and with
the 2013 release of her debut romantic comedy, Tangled, the ability to now call
herself an author is nothing less than a dream come true.
Falling In Fall,Jamie McGuire, and Raine Millerare teaming together to raise money for the
United Way of Central Oklahoma Tornado Relief Fund.
Jamie McGuire has provided signed copies of Beautiful Disaster and Walking Disaster print and audio books, as well as a signed copy of The Providence Series for this giveaway.
Raine Miller is giving away signed copies of Naked, All In, His Perfect Passion, and The Undoing of Libertine.
All books will come with a velvet/charmed bookmark.
Raine is also donating one Blackstone Affair Charm Bracelet!
The Fallers are huge fans of Jamie McGuire and Raine Miller.
Enter your preferred donation amount (There is no limit required to enter this giveaway.)
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As the captain of a schooner catering to the elite on the Caribbean Seas, Sebastian Stark does his best to avoid any human encounters. Interacting with people isn’t his thing, and he prefers the company of a bottle of vodka, a shot glass, and maybe a whore. There’s no doubt he’s hiding from a checkered past, but he does well keeping everything to himself…
…until the night his schooner capsizes, and he’s stuck on a life raft with one of the passengers.
Raine’s young, she’s cute, and Bastian would probably be into her if he wasn’t suffering from alcohol withdrawal. As the days pass, DTs, starvation, and dehydration become the norm. Even
the most closed person starts to open up when he thinks he’s going to die, but when she realizes their traumatic pasts are connected, it’s no longer the elements that have Bastian concerned.
He has no idea how he’s going to Survive Raine.
***
Bastian isn’t the most pleasant guy Raine could have ended up with in the middle of the ocean with no chance of rescue, but he has an uncanny knack for survival. As she digs through the walls surrounding the stubborn and challenging man, she finds something surprisingly different buried inside…
…and he can answer the question she’s asked for years.
As
she learns more about what has brought him to this fate, Raine is
determined to drag this self-destructive man back from the edge of the
wave. Isolation is her only chance to tear the man out from inside of the animal, but this one has been abused for a long time.
She also has to live long enough to get through to him.
~Excerpt~
“What’s your problem?” I snapped again. I hadn’t really meant to, I was just tense and pissy.
The smoke was helping, but
what I really wanted was a drink. I didn’t suppose anyone packed any of
those little tiny airplane-sized booze bottles in the survival kits.
“I…um…” she stumbled over her words and looked away. Even under her darkened skin, I could see red creeping into her cheeks.
“What?” I was annoyed now. If she was going to complain about my smoking, I was going to lose it.
“I…have to go to the bathroom.”
I laughed. I took one last long drag, getting it all the way up to the filter before I tossed the butt out onto the waves.
“Then fucking go!”
“Where?”
“Didn’t you notice the en
suite bath?” I laughed again, and then took a smidgen of pity on her.
“Over the side, where do you think?”
“Well…how?”
All right, she did have a
point there. Or rather, she didn’t have a point. Or a pointer. I had to
laugh again at my internal joke.
“Just…I don’t know…hang your ass out over the edge. Or get in the water.
Whatever.”
“I’d have to take off my suit.”
“So?”
She blushed again.
“What? You want me to hang out in the next room for a few minutes? I promise I won’t gawk at you.”
She didn’t move. Well,
actually, she was still fidgeting around; she just didn’t make a move to
actually solve her dilemma. If she kept this up, she was going to pee
in the fucking raft.
“If it makes you feel any
better, I’ve already checked you out front and back, had my mouth on
yours and my hand on your tit, so it’s not like…”
She gasped and covered her
mouth with her hands. I realized how what I had said
sounded, considering she had been unconscious the entire time. I shook
my head.
“I didn’t mean…ah, fuck.” I
grabbed my shirt and flopped down on my back, covering my whole face up
with the garment. I lay there for a moment but didn’t hear her moving at
all, so I yelled at her again. “Get on with it!”
She moved. I could hear her
shuffle over to the front of the raft and then move around in one place,
presumably taking off her shorts and her bathing suit.
“If you are going to get in
the water, put the life preserver around your waist first and hold on to
the fucking ladder. I don’t want to have to dive in after your ass
again.”
“Okay,” she said. “Um…where is it?”
“Right outside the opening – on the left."
“Thank you,” she said.
“Whatever.”
I listened to her move
around a bit more and then felt her move closer to the opening and
off to the side. There was a soft splash, and a minute later I heard her
pulling herself back up onto the raft.
“There’s something similar to a towel over there,” I said – flinging my arm out in the
direction of the back of the raft and waving my hand around. “Make sure you dry off the floor, too.”
“Thank you,” she said.
“Whatever.”
I listened to her move
around some more, getting pretty fed up with just lying there,
baking, with my fucking shirt over my head.
“Are you done yet?”
“Almost,” she said quietly. Her voice still sounded scratchy. “Okay, I’m done.”
I grabbed the shirt off my face and sat up, looking over at her. She was adjusting the straps on her suit and still blushing.
“Do you know why my…um…throat hurts?”
“Yeah,” I said. I didn’t elaborate. After a minute she finally asked.
“Why does my throat hurt?”
“Because you inhaled a
shitload of salt water,” I stated. “It fucks up your throat and
your vocal cords. Give it a day; it’ll be better.”
“Thank you,” she said, again.
“Whatever,” I replied, again.
I shoved my hand down into
the sealed up container for rations and pulled out a carb bar. I tore it
in half and threw one of the pieces at her.
“Eat it,” I instructed. “You can have the other half in six hours.”
“Six hours?” she repeated.
“Are you a fucking recorder? Yes, six hours.”
I knew I was being a
bastard, but my brain was working overtime trying to figure out what our
best course of action might be. Having her here made it ten times more
difficult. If it was just me, I was pretty sure I would be fine. There
was plenty of food and water for just me. I could fish, I could take
care of myself, and I could stay alive under pretty extreme
circumstances.
Having her here with me just…complicated everything.
~Jodie Rae's Review~
I rated Surviving Raine by Shay Savage 5 gorgeous leaves! Have you ever been captivated by a book? Have you ever dreamed of a book like you were the characters? I read this book seven days ago, and it's still on my mind. One of my fantasies is to be stranded on a deserted island with the sexiest man alive. Of course I would miss my clothes and Dr. Pepper, but I would have a delicious man to fill the void. Surviving Raine is about Sebastian (Bastian) and Raine, who are stranded and fighting for survival after their ship sinks. The characters go through some very difficult conditions such as dehydration, detoxing, starvation, and an almost deadly infection. The biggest hurdle the two face are each other. It's a crazy world we live in; People are connected in so many ways. Bastian and Raine learn they are connected in a way that brought them together.
The story is told from Bastian's POV, and I wouldn't have wanted to read this book any other way. I honestly believe I wouldn't have enjoyed the story as much as I did if it was told from Raine's POV. Bastian and Raine are polar opposites. Bastian is a major ass; probably the biggest ass I've ever read in any book. He is crude, a total alpha male, and a man whore. On the other hand, Raine is sweet, innocent, lovable, and understanding. As the story progresses, the two come together and help each other to survive. I loved that even as Raine saw his darkness, she saw his light. Raine saw the guy that deserved to be loved. Her character reminds me of myself! She asked Bastian many silly questions that bugged his nerves, and I ask a lot of questions. My family and friends get so upset with me, because I enjoy asking so many questions. Think Macaulay Culkin in Uncle Buck ;-)
Surviving Raine had me mesmerized from beginning to end! I did NOT want this story to end. Lucky for me, there will be a second book!
~Casting for Bastian & Raine ~
~About the Author~
Shay Savage lives
in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband, two children, and a variety of
household pets. She is an accomplished public speaker, and holds the
rank of Distinguished Toastmaster from Toastmasters International. When
not writing, she enjoys science fiction movies, and loves soccer in any
and all forms. During the fall, she coaches her daughter’s soccer
team. Though she currently works in the technology field, her school
background is in psychology, and she brings a lot of that knowledge into
the characters within her stories.
In the tiny town of Willowspring, just about nothing ever happens except for layoffs, hockey games, and your average melodramatic teenage angst.
But that was before.
Vi, Ashley, and Macy are just trying to make it through the school year without one more humiliation when they team up for a simple photography assignment: create a story through a series of photographs. Can't be too much trouble, right?
Wrong.
The shutterbugs happen upon Willowspring High School's darkest secret. When everything around them starts to crumble after trying to do the right thing, their only hope is to stick together.
When the door opened to the alley behind the rink, I realized two things. One, it was freaking colder outside than it was in the bleachers by the ice, and two, Brianna Jones (A.K.A Bra stuffer) was already out there.
The three of us walked out as if it was perfectly normal to be there but Brianna didn’t even notice us. We walked to the opposite side of the alley and huddled together. We hoped it would look like we were keeping warm, but we were trying to hide both the cameras.
Watching Brianna was rather dull. She was just standing there, talking on her cell phone and it wasn’t even anything remotely interesting. We took pictures anyway, because like Mr. Bennett said, you need the before, during, and after to tell a story with photographs.
“Look! She is checking that car’s doors! That isn’t her car, is it?” The quiet clicking of the shutters on our cameras was almost deafening to me. I swore each click was louder and louder as we watched Brianna try to break into a car.
Finally, the last door she tried, the back passenger side, was open. She slipped in and a second later, the dark car had a red glow inside. She climbed back out, shut the door, and walked over to the wall, smoking a stolen cigarette.
“She just broke into someone’s car for a cigarette? Seriously?” Ashley was just as flabbergasted as the rest of us. Why would anyone risk committing a crime for a smoke? “Oh! She is moving again!”
Click, click, click. I took more and more pictures. I hated that they were all from the same angle, but spys have to do what they have to do to keep from being caught, all the while still getting the images.
Brianna walked back to the car and put the cigarette out on the hood. Lucky for whoever owned it there was a layer of snow to put it out before it could burn the paint. Then she leaned over and used the mirror. She pursed her lips, showed her teeth to check those, then she lifted her head slightly.
“What is she doing?” I whispered.
“I’m not sure.” Macy said breaking away from the group. “I am going over there, different angle.” Before I could stop her, she had gone back across the alley to the other side. She was braver than I was. Ashley watched her closely before turning back to me.
“Let me take some. I promise I won’t hurt Jilly.” I knew I had to hand it over. I promised her she could use it. Even knowing that, it didn’t make it any easier.
“Okay. Here.” I took the strap from around my neck and quickly placed it around hers. The minute the fabric was firmly against her skin, she took off, too. “Ash, what are you doing?” I whisper yelled to her.
She just put a finger over her mouth to shush me and she got even closer to the car than Macy had. I figured that made me look out so I opened my eyes and ears and tried to make sure my best friends didn’t get caught.
I looked over my shoulder to check the door to make sure we were still alone when all of a sudden I heard a scream.
“YOU LITTLE BITCH! GIVE ME THAT CAMERA NOW!” When I turned back to see what was going on (although I was pretty sure that either Macy or Ashley had been caught by Brianna) I saw my girls running towards me, with Brianna not far behind.
“Run!” Ash and Macy yelled through giggles. I turned and headed to the door and held it open for them. As soon as they passed through I closed it and the three of us went straight out the front door and to Macy’s truck.
“What on earth just happened?” I asked when I caught my breath. Ashley handed Jilly back to me and I flipped it on. The minute I pressed the play images button I began to laugh. The first one was of Brianna screaming at the camera. I pressed the next button and then it was a picture of her finger in her mouth. The next one was a picture of her finger in her nose.
I died laughing. Brianna Jones was a booger eater. I bet her boyfriend would love to know that.
“Oh, Ashley, you are amazing!” Then the truck erupted in laughter and because Macy’s dad had given her a twenty to get food at the overly expensive rink, we headed to the diner for some hot cocoa and French fries for half the cost. Who said teenagers were irresponsible with money?
Growing up, Adrianne couldn't get her hands on enough books to satisfy her need for the make believe. If she finished a novel and didn't have a new one ready and waiting for her, she began to create her own tales of magic and wonder. Now, as an adult, books still make up majority of her free time, and now her tales get written down to be shared with the world.
During the day, Adrianne uses her camera to capture life's stories for clients of all ages and at night, after her two children are tucked in bed; she devotes herself to her written work. Adrianne is living the life she always wanted, surrounded by art and beauty, the written word and a loving family.
As a young adult and new adult author, Adrianne James has plans to bring stories of growing characters, a little romance, and perhaps a little magic and mythology down the line for her readers to enjoy.
Alex had everything when he was with
Madison. But the darkness within him wouldn't go away. After two years apart,
he returns to Pelican Bluffs and to the girl he never wanted to leave.
Madison wants to give their love
another chance, but Alex can't fight fate. He is what he is. Ruined. Crazy like
his mother. And Madison deserves so much more. When his secrets spill out into
their small town, Alex has a choice to make. Hide away in the darkness forever,
or let love in.
Excerpt
“We have to break up,” I hear myself tell her. I’m standing on the
rocky beach, my back to the crashing surf. In front of me is Madison, gazing up
at me with pure pain in those ice blue eyes. Behind her is the rugged rock wall
of the cliff face.
Her hair is pulled back in a simple ponytail and the breeze stirs the
wisps that frame her face. The air is cool, but not cold. “I know myself, all
right?” I explain. “The moment you move on, I won’t be able to take it. So I’ve
got to let you go.”
“Don’t do this.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Take it back. Please. Alex, I don’t want to break up.” Her eyes are
wide, like clear, crystal pools.
“And I need you not to write to me,” I say.
“Why?” Now she claps both her hands over her nose and mouth as if to
hold back pain or tears, or whatever it is shining from her gaze.
It takes every ounce of my control not to back down. I have to stop
kidding myself and finish this. “Because, I don’t want to know the moment you
move on. I just… I need you to give me space.”
“You’re going to Japan. That’s not enough space for you?”
“I’m sorry, all right.” I back away, stepping carefully on the rocky
beach. “But it’s not like we were ever going to last.”
“Why not?”
That, I should think, is obvious. Because the two of us together makes
no sense. She’s beautiful and popular and has guys lining up around the block
for a chance to be with her. I’m a high school dropout with a criminal record
and no future. She should be embarrassed to be with me. Eventually we’ll both
have to grow up. At least I’ll have the memories.
As I turn away, I hear her scrabble behind me, then the rapid beat of
her boots against the stony ground. “Alex, wait.” Her tone is anguished.
I set my jaw against the pain, like I’ve stitched my own heart with a
silk thread and am now yanking it hard enough to tear the organ. I keep
walking.
She grabs my hand, her supple fingers wrapping around my palm. “Stop.”
I stop, but I don’t turn.
It doesn’t matter because she darts around in front of me and puts one
arm around my waist. The other hand she slides up my back to grasp my shoulder.
Her soft curves fit against my body. It’s how she always holds me, and I can’t
endure it this time. I bow my head and just let the tears fall.
“Alex,” she whispers, touching her forehead to mine, that soft breath
against my lips. “Don’t, okay? You promised you’d never hurt me.”
At that I let out a sob. Forget saving face. She knows me for who I am
anyway and now she’s wiping away my tears. “Listen,” she says, “you need me not
to distract you from your mission, fine. But I’ll always be here for you, and
when you come back, I’ll be waiting.” She strokes my cheek with the backs of
her fingers and leans up to press her lips against mine.
I don’t want to kiss back, but at the same time, I can’t resist. She
runs her fingers through my hair and the kiss goes on and on until I’ve got
both arms wrapped tight around her and I’m drinking in her essence, liquid fire
that pools in my core. I have to stop this.
But when I do, she doesn’t let me pull back. She leans in and looks me
straight in the eye. “I’ll wait for you. I don’t care if you don’t believe me.
Let’s not end things with a fight, okay? Let’s end it on a good note for now.”
“Goodbye, Madison.”
“Bye, Alex. For now.”
“I love you.” I don’t mean to say it, but it slips out, my whisper
barely loud enough for me to hear it myself.
Madison’s chin snaps up. “What?”
I shake my head, willing her not to press me.
“Alex-”
I start to pull away but she reels me back in, not by force, but with
her gaze. Her eyes beg me not to leave. She puts one arm around my waist again
and slides her other hand up my back. “It’ll be all right. Everything will be
all right,” she says.
Emily Mah Tippetts writes romance under the name E.M.
Tippetts and science fiction and fantasy under the name Emily Mah. Originally
from New Mexico, she now lives in London with her family. Before she was a
published author, she was an attorney who specialized in real estate,
contracts, and estate planning, especially literary estate planning.
When his sister is sexually assaulted, memories of his miserable childhood
haunt Reed Walker and interfere with his perfectly structured life. To add to
the chaos, just when dating becomes the last thing on Reed’s mind, Sophia
Eschell, the very woman he’s been dreaming about for the past three years,
barrels into his life.
AND A WOMAN TO HEAL HIM...
After hooking up with too many troubled men, Sophia is determined to find a
normal, average guy sans baggage. She turns her attention to Reed, only to
discover he has more issues than anyone. But if he can learn to open up to her,
can she honestly reject him or will she kiss it all better?
About the Author
Linda grew
up on a dairy farm in the Midwest as the youngest of eight children. Now she
lives in Kansas with her husband, toddler daughter, and their nine cuckoo
clocks. She works a day job in the acquisitions department of a university
library and feels her life has been blessed with lots of people to learn from
and love. Writing's always been a major part her world, and she's thrilled to
finally share some of her stories with other romance lovers.
Lauren broke off an engagement with her
old boyfriend because she caught him cheating on her. She's ready to
move on, but work has been keeping her too busy.
Marcus is a player, never settling down
with one girl. No one seems to meet his long list of requirements in a
woman.
Marcus and Lauren have worked for the same
company for years, but in locations across the country from each other.
They've been flirting for months, but Lauren was
with Kyle. Now that she's single and Marcus is coming to town for a few
days, they finally hook-up, both assuming it's just a fling. Once Marcus
gets home, they both realize they want more. Can they make a long
distance relationship work? And when Lauren's old boyfriend comes back to
win her affection, can Marcus compete with their history?
About the Author
Scarlett lives in the Midwest with her family. When she's not busy
writing steamy stories, she can be found with her nose in a book, camping, or
geocaching with her family. She loves Diet Coke, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, and
80's hair bands.
