Monday, October 27, 2014

BOOK BLITZ & GIVEAWAY: Stan (Summer #1.5) by C.J. Duggan


Stan by C.J. Duggan 
(Summer #1.5) 
Publication date:
October 26th 2014 
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Purchase: Amazon l iTunes

Synopsis:
Stan
I had plans, big plans, but all that changed the night Bel Evans darkened my doorstep.
Stan Remington is the go-to man. What he doesn’t know about Onslow means one of two things: it doesn’t exist or it hasn’t happened yet.
And when it comes to Onslow, for Stan, being an only child means a guilt-riddled sense of duty to help out at his parents’ caravan park every summer of his life: same old town, same old story.
Until Belinda Evans.
The wild and insipid doctor’s daughter who spends summer holidays with her family at Remington’s Caravan Park, but she’s not Stan’s problem; that is, until she sabotages his planned weekend escape. Now Stan finds himself not only caretaking the caravan park on his own, but responsible for Bel as well.
Just the two of them.
Under the one roof.
For one long, long weekend.
In a world built by mundane routine and small-town boredom, this summer promises to be anything but boring.



Author Bio:
C.J Duggan is an Internationally Number One Best Selling Author who lives with her husband in a rural border town of New South Wales, Australia. When she isn't writing books about swoony boys and 90's pop culture you will find her renovating her hundred-year-old Victorian homestead or annoying her local travel agent for a quote to escape the chaos. The Boys of Summer is Book One in her highly successful New Adult Romance Series.

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Wednesday, October 22, 2014

RELEASE BLITZ & EXCERPT: Gideon Lee by Lisa Orchard


Seventeen-year-old Lark Singer only has two things going for her, her music and her best friend Bean. While entering a competition she hopes will launch their music career, Lark searches for answers that will make her whole. Her quest reveals some secrets that those around her would rather keep hidden. As the competition looms closer, Lark discovers not only who she really is, but also who her real friends are. Then tragedy threatens everything she has worked so hard to accomplish. Can she pick up the pieces and move on?


Chapter One

I want to be like Gideon Lee. My lips move as I read the title of my essay. They twitch as I stifle a snicker. Looking around the room, I make sure no one has seen my facial tic. My eyes light upon the Presidents’ pictures lined up on the wall. They face me, each with a unique expression, and I wonder what they were thinking while they posed. They are above the clock so my gaze naturally falls on it. It’s almost time for lunch.

I settle back in my seat and my lips twitch again. A feeling of defiant exhilaration washes over me like a tidal wave.

Montgomery’s going to freak when he reads this.

Despite my best efforts, a giggle escapes and the boy in front of me turns around and gives me the evil eye. I return the glare. He is slumped over, and sweat beads on his upper lip. I think this is odd — it’s rather chilly in the room — but dismiss it before I turn back to my essay.

I bet old man Montgomery doesn’t even know who Gideon Lee is. This thought sends another giggle to the surface, but I quickly squash it by biting my lip.

I picture him searching Gideon Lee’s name on the Internet. I see his expression changing from confusion to disgust. I imagine him taking off his black, thick-rimmed glasses and shaking his head. I hear him mutter, “Lark Singer, what are you doing?” He rubs his face. I can actually hear the rough sandpapery sound as his hand finds his day old stubble. He sighs and puts his glasses back on. “What am I going to do with you?”

I remember when Mr. Montgomery first told us about the assignment. We were supposed to write an essay on someone we admire, someone who has contributed to society in some way. I know when he says this he wants us to write about an a historical figure. After all this is history class, but I raised my hand anyway.

“Lark,” he called out as he stood at his lectern.

“Do they have to be dead?”

He cocked his head as he studied me with his piercing blue eyes. Then he ran his hand over his military style crew cut, and I watched as his salt and pepper hair flattened then popped back into place as if each hair was standing at attention. I could tell he wasn’t sure where this was going. “Well… I guess not.” That’s when he froze, as if he realized he had just opened a door for me and he wasn’t going to like what was on the other side. He shifted his weight, and looked down at the floor before he backpedaled. “But they have to have made a positive contribution to society. It can’t be about a mobster or anything like that.” Pursing his lips, he stared at me, fiddling with those glasses. “This is one half of your semester grade, Lark. I wouldn’t pull any funny stuff.”

“Oh, I won’t. Scout’s honor,” I answered sweetly, placing my hand over my heart and giving him the scout salute, while inside I planned my rebellion.

I have him. I’m going to write about Gideon Lee, and there’s nothing he can do about it.

Author Bio:
Lisa Orchard grew up loving books. Hooked on mysteries by the fifth grade, she even wrote a few of her own. She knew she wanted to be a writer even then. Her first series, “The Super Spies,” has reached bestseller status
  After graduating from Central Michigan University with a Marketing Degree, she spent many years in the insurance industry, pining to express her creative side. The decision to stay home with her children gave her the opportunity to follow her dream and become a writer. She currently resides in Rockford Michigan with her husband, Steve, and two wonderful boys. Currently, she’s working on a Coming of Age Young Adult series called The Starlight Chronicles. When she’s not writing she enjoys spending time with her family, running, hiking, and reading.

Author Links:

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

RELEASE DAY LAUNCH & EXCERPT: Stone Cold Touch by Jennifer L. Armentrout

SCT RDL Banner Final  

We are thrilled to bring you the Release Day Launch for Jennifer L. Armentrout's STONE COLD TOUCH! STONE COLD TOUCH is the second full-length novel in Jennifer's The Dark Elements Series, a young adult paranormal romance being published by Harlequin Teen!!


  Cold Stone Touch

Amazon l Barnes and Noble l Kobo l iTunes

  STONE COLD TOUCH Synopsis: 
  Every touch has its price Layla Shaw is trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life—no easy task for a seventeen-year-old who’s pretty sure things can’t get worse. Her impossibly gorgeous best friend, Zayne, is forever off-limits thanks to the mysterious powers of her soul-stealing kiss. The Warden clan that has always protected her is suddenly keeping dangerous secrets. And she can barely think about Roth, the wickedly hot demon prince who understood her in ways no one else could. 

 But sometimes rock bottom is only the beginning. Because suddenly Layla’s powers begin to evolve, and she’s offered a tantalizing taste of what has always been forbidden. Then, when she least expects it, Roth returns, bringing news that could change her world forever. She’s finally getting what she always wanted, but with hell literally breaking loose and the body count adding up, the price may be higher than Layla is willing to pay...


  SCT available now

EXCERPT: 

I’d remained in bed after that, trying to sort through the odd tingling in my chest. There was a slight smile on my lips, because Zayne…well, he’d made my day, but then I’d remember what Roth had said to me the night before and the smile would wash away as if it had never been there.

I probably needed to get used to the whiplash mood swings.

It wasn’t until after dinner that I decided to scrub a day’s worth of gunk off myself. Gingerly, I peeled the bandage off, happy to find that the cut in my arm was healing as expected. I didn’t need to cover it anymore. The arm was still tender, but the Warden blood in me was quickly undoing the damage from the iron.

After changing into fresh pj’s, like a total hermit, I padded over to my desk, where I’d left my cell phone. It had been on silent all day and when I tapped the screen, I wasn’t surprised to see a slew of texts from Stacey.

Where r u?

R u skipping, u ho?

A minute later: Your locker misses u. Guess u sick with the herp?

Oh my God. I laughed out loud, grinning as I thumbed through her texts. Our bio sub is still hot. U r missing this.

Bio is lonely.

My boobs miss u. How weird is that?

That was notably weird and yet not surprising.

If I get my cell taken from me, it’s ur fault.

Holy shit, Layla, where r u?!?

Air punched out of my lungs as I read the next text and the several following them.

U have no idea who just walked into bio!!!

Roth is here!

Holy Canola oil, why aren’t u here to witness this?

Ok. He says he had mono. Srlsy? Do people still get mono? And who in the duck was he kissing? A second later—Duck? I didn’t mean duck. That’s SO not what I meant, autocorrect.

Another text had come in about fifteen minutes after the last one. He asked where u were. I told him u joined a cult. I laughed. He didn’t. 

Finally, the last text was to call her if I wasn’t dead.

“What in the Hell?” I tossed my cell onto the bed, mouth hanging open.

  StoneColdTouch-YouDecideSharable

And don't forget! The choice is yours... Beginning today you’ll have 3 weeks to visit the series website, www.thedarkelementsseries.com, to take a poll and decide which guy Layla should ultimately choose in the final book in the trilogy, Every Last Breath. At the end of 3 weeks, we will tally all the votes, and that’s when Jennifer L. Armentrout will start writing Every Last Breath. The guy who gets the most votes is the one Layla will pick. To prevent early spoilers, we're not going to reveal who won the poll in advance…you’ll have to wait until Every Last Breath goes on sale on July 28th, 2015 to find out whether Zayne or Roth wins Layla in the end. We promise the book will be epic and definitely worth the wait! Who do you want Layla to end up with? Go to www.thedarkelementsseries.com and vote for your choice!  

Author PhotoAbout Jennifer L. Armentrout: # 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer 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. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV.   She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.   

Series Website l Website l Twitter l Facebook l Jennifer L. Armentrout Goodreads l STONE COLD TOUCH Goodreads

Saturday, October 18, 2014

REVIEW: Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

Sometimes danger is hard to see... until it’s too late. 

Britt Pfeiffer has trained to backpack the Teton Range, but she isn't prepared when her ex-boyfriend, who still haunts her every thought, wants to join her. Before Britt can explore her feelings for Calvin, an unexpected blizzard forces her to seek shelter in a remote cabin, accepting the hospitality of its two very handsome occupants—but these men are fugitives, and they take her hostage. 

In exchange for her life, Britt agrees to guide the men off the mountain. As they set off, Britt knows she must stay alive long enough for Calvin to find her. The task is made even more complicated when Britt finds chilling evidence of a series of murders that have taken place there... and in uncovering this, she may become the killer’s next target. 

But nothing is as it seems in the mountains, and everyone is keeping secrets, including Mason, one of her kidnappers. His kindness is confusing Britt. Is he an enemy? Or an ally? 

BLACK ICE is New York Times bestselling author Becca Fitzpatrick’s riveting romantic thriller set against the treacherous backdrop of the mountains of Wyoming. Falling in love should never be this dangerous…





Purchase: Amazon l Barnes & Noble

My Thoughts:
This review contains spoilers. It would be almost impossible for me to get my thoughts across without delving into the story a bit, so read on at your own risk. Also there is not a whole lot of order to what I say. It was just getting thoughts out and being done with this book unfortunately. 

I think that Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush Hush series would be one of my favourite series ever. I loved it. You only have to mention the name Patch and it sends me into a self induced swoony haze. When I saw that she was releasing a new book, I was pumped with excitement. The synopsis sounded amazing. Absolutely amazing. And that cover!! I don't mind admitting that I can be swayed to read a book by the cover alone, and this one was stunning. I was all in on this one. I couldn't get it in my hands quick enough.

Unfortunately, that's where my love ends. I found Black Ice to be one of the hardest books to get through this year. It took me two weeks to read it, and almost every page was hard work. Once again, it was my complete lack of care of the characters. I couldn't relate to any of them, on any level whatsoever. They frustrated me, they made me cringe, and they made me groan. There were many, many occasions where I was ready to give up, but I had people telling me to keep reading, because it would get better and that everything would come together. So forge ahead I did.

The premise of the story was actually pretty good. A girl held captive by two criminals, and to save her life she agrees to help them navigate their way off the mountain in blizzard conditions. It sounds awesome right? Unfortunately for me, it had some pretty big holes. Firstly, Britt and Korbie head off into the mountains with their car fully stocked with an array of camping gear, supplies, warm clothes and plenty of food. Along the way a raging blizzard hits and they are forced to pull over. The snow is so bad that they aren't even fully aware if they have missed their turn off or not. So they make the decision to leave everything that they will need for their survival behind in the car and head off into the storm with not much more than the clothes on their back and no idea where they are heading. 

After stumbling through the forest they come across a cabin that is inhabited by two gorgeous males, Mason and Shaun. These are the two men who will hold them captive and force Britt to guide them off the mountain. I didn't really understand why these two grown men, who had found their way onto the mountain only hours before, needed this seventeen year old girl to help them find their way off it. Also Mason at one stage sets out to retrieve something from Britts broken down car, which is parked miles away on the road, on the mountain, and he had no trouble in finding it. Or finding his way back to the cabin. So why did they need Britt? Did I miss something? I'm confused!!

Then we have the characters. Britt and her 'best friend' Korbie annoyed me from the very beginning. I use the term best friends very loosely because for me, best friends don't treat each other the way that they do. Who keeps a book and lists each others assets and rates them? If my best friend did that there would be no way that she would be my best friend for very long. Everything that the other did seemed to irritate them no end. They bickered and constantly competed with each other over everything. I wanted to throttle both of them!! I was so glad when Korbie was left behind and they weren't together anymore.

"I tapped my cup to his, grateful to have found Shaun, because for a minute there, I'd thought I was going to have to save myself. Instead, I'd wandered into the protective care of a sexy older man.

She talks about being strong and independent, but at every turn, she wants and expects a man to come in and save her.

Something about Shaun was a little off. He was charming and friendly, but not necessarily warm or genuine. 

And then five pages later, we have this...

I wondered if his pulse was thrumming like mine. I wondered if he kept stealing glances at my lips, the way I shamelessly watched his.

She finds Shaun 'off', but he's cute, so what the heck. Cute comes first right?

I just found Britt to be incredibly immature. She went backwards and forwards between telling us of her love for her ex boyfriend, who treated her like dirt, to her wanting to make out with the guy who will be one of her kidnappers, Shaun, and then her developing feelings for her other kidnapper, Mason. She went from being in love with one guy to being in love with another in four days. She flirted with everyone even when she knew that Korbie liked them. And that was just a whole other issue. Korbie has a boyfriend but has no regard or respect for him whatsoever. She blatantly states that she can get together with Shaun because her boyfriend, who she was on her way to meet, is leaving for college soon. Not only is she a wonderful and loyal friend, but she's also a loving girlfriend. Not!! The moral standards of these two were non existent. 

Then we have the plot. This was why everyone kept telling me to keep reading. It was going to blow me away. And while it had it's moments, I guessed the way most of it was going to play out way before it happened, so there really weren't any big surprises for me. What frustrated me the most was that this book had so much potential. Unfortunately for me, it just failed to deliver on it. 

I really hate doing this but 1.5/5 Disappointing Stars. 

Paperback copy kindly provided by Simon & Schuster Australia.


Wednesday, October 15, 2014

BOOK BLITZ - EXCERPT & GIVEAWAY: Losing Track (Living Heartwood #2) by Trisha Wolfe


Losing Track (Living Heartwood #2)
Release Date: Oct 15th, 2014

Summary from Goodreads:
Sometimes you have to lose your way before finding the right track.

The roar of a bike engine. The vibration between her thighs. The feel of cool darkness kissing her skin as she coasts along twisty back roads at night—Melody Lachlan lives for these things. Ever since Mel and her best friend Darla escaped their small, backwoods town, they’ve traveled the countryside in search of fast rides, tatted bikers, and good times.


A self-proclaimed poet and lover of all things free, Mel views her life as one long bike ride—with pit stops along the way to numb the pain. But she never saw herself as a junkie. Party as hard as you ride. That’s her motto…until a tragic night steals her soul. Then she’s forced to delve below the surface, to where her demons rage.


When she meets recovered drug addict Boone Randall, she’s more likely to deck him than kiss his dimple-adorable face. She doesn’t want his help; doesn’t want to own up to her part in that night. She just wants to do her time and keep her promise to her friend. Yet Boone challenges Mel, and soon she doesn’t mind sharing the road. Only when Boone’s own secret demons threaten their newfound, fragile security, Mel’s course becomes rocky, and she must decide if letting her well-worn track marks fade is worth finding a new path. 


Told from Dual point of view from Melody and Boone, this is a New Adult Contemporary Romance intended for readers seventeen years of age and older.



 

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Excerpt: Melody

“Your friend doesn’t like me very much,” Boone says, interrupting my weird thoughts.
I shrug. “Jesse’s like that. Don’t worry about it.”
“I wasn’t, really.” He ducks his head to find my eyes. “But I am concerned that he seems to think you’re his property.”
My insides rage. “I’m no one’s fucking property,” I bite out. “And you don’t know him. You don’t know the MC. It’s just their way…to like, look out for me and shit.”
Boone holds his hands up in defense. “Take it down a notch, Riz. Not looking for a brawl here.”
“Funny. I thought that was your MO, fight club.”
This earns me a full-on smile, and my anger takes a dive. “Fair enough. Truce?” He extends his hand.
With a forced sigh, I take his hand and shake. But he doesn’t release it. Instead, he subtly twists his hand so that our fingers align, palm-to-palm, then laces his fingers through mine. My traitor heart kicks my rib cage.
“How ill am I going to be watching you out there?” he says.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you won’t be on a bike you’re used to, right? I’m assuming whoever’s bike you’re going to race is one of the guy’s from down there.” He nods toward the pit. “Not built for a woman.” He eyes me. “A petite one, at that.”
“I resent the fact that you think I’d have to ride a chick bike.”
He looks me over slowly, from head, to body, to toes, sending a flood of new heat everywhere. “What did you ride before?”
I attempt to hide my smile, doing a terrible job. “A Breakout, okay?” His smile widens, and I’m tempted to punch him in the shoulder. “I know…I know. But you have to admit that like, even though technically designed for chicks, it’s still bad ass.” I shrug. “I need a lower model, being vertically challenged and all.”
“I get that. And it is a badass ride. I’m sure it was modded all to hell, too.”
“Damn right,” I add.
“So what are you riding tonight?”
I nod toward the track, to where Jesse is getting ready to take off down the strip. “Forty-Eight.”
Boone’s gaze follows mine to Jesse and his new hog. I take a quick peek at his face, see his brows pull together, before he says, “No. No way.”
“Huh?”
“No offense. I’m sure you’re an excellent rider…but I can’t in good conscience let you drive that beast.”
“It is a beast,” I say, having to agree with him. But then my feminine hackles raise. This is the second time in two days that a guy is telling me what’s good for me. First, Jesse and his jealous ol’ man act, when he reiterated again and again how he didn’t like me hanging out with some backyard brawler. And now, Boone’s laying it on pretty thick. Though in all fairness, I am taking more than a gamble with Jesse’s hog.
“Ride mine,” Boone says.
Surprised, I look him straight in the eyes. “Are you serious?”
A moment of hesitancy pales his face, but to his credit, he checks it quickly. I know how much work he’s put into his Bonnie. And I’m sure he doesn’t trust me enough not to trash it on the track—he’s never even seen me ride.
“I’m sure,” he says. “It’s sits low, and it’s also a bobber, very lightweight. It rides pretty close to a Breakout, and you’ll handle it a hell of a lot better than that tank down there.”
This is actually true. His bobber is customized for speed, and it does sit low, lower than a Breakout, actually. But one thing: “It’s not American,” I say. “I cannot ride non-American.”
He cracks a smile. “How did I know you’d say that?” He gives my hand a pump, reminding me we’re still holding hands, and it scares me a little how right it feels, how normal. “I’m serious, Mel. You need to ride my bike if you’re going to do this. Don’t let your stubbornness get you hurt.”
A few weeks ago, him saying something like that would’ve ended with me telling him where to stick it. That it’s none of his business—which really, it’s not. But as I look down at our linked fingers, then up into his face, the light bruise covering one cheek, the cut above his eye, I know he also understands pain. Stubbornness. Determination. Want, and everything else I battle.
And truthfully, today is not the day I want to end up careening out of control. Whether on the track or off.
“Do you know how special you are, that I’m even offering you the chance to ride my baby?” His hand sends another pulse to mine, and it’s like a lifeline—his energy, his assurance, flowing from him to me.
I don’t think I would’ve offered him the same in return. I know what a huge thing it is to let someone else ride a machine you’ve put so much of yourself into. Really, I could get all misty on him in this moment.

Instead, I palm his large hand between both of my small ones. “I’m going to hear so much shit for racing a Triumph.”

Companion to:
The Darkest Part (Living Heartwood )
by Trisha Wolfe
Release Date: 08/06/13

Summary from Goodreads:
Pressing the boundaries of both the psyche and the heart, Sam and Holden embark on a dangerous journey that will test the limits of love.

Sam Wintry’s life used to be almost perfect. She was engaged to her childhood best friend and high school sweetheart, Tyler Marks, planning an amazing cross-country honeymoon during her college break. But after a hit-and-run leaves her in ruin, she begins seeing Tyler’s fractured, ghostly presence, and her family believes she’s losing her mind. Not until she completes their journey, stopping along the way to scatter Tyler's remains, will Tyler be able cross over. Only...is Sam ready for him to leave her?

When the black sheep of the Marks' family, Holden Marks, returns to check on Tyler's case, Sam convinces him to give her his brother's ashes. Despite their shaky history, she needs him...plus, he owes it to Sam and his brother. What she doesn’t count on is Holden’s relentlessness to go on the trip.

On the road, Holden realizes just how unhinged Sam has become. Dealing with her psychosis forces him to confront his dark past, making it harder to keep secrets hidden that should remain buried. Especially from Sam, the only woman he’s ever loved. And as Sam starts to unravel the truth, she begins to question if the brother she's unwillingly falling for again is in an even darker place than her.

New Adult Contemporary.



Only $.99 for a limited time only!

About the Author:
I’m the author of the YA Steampunk DESTINY'S FIRE (Omnific Publishing), ASTARTE'S WRATH NA Historical/Supernatural, and the upcoming YA Utopian FIREBLOOD from Spencer Hill Press, October 2013. My NA Dark Fantasy OF SILVER AND BEASTS available May 2013.
I’m the creator of YA Bound, a promotional site for the Young Adult genre. Also a member of SCWW and The Apocalypsies.
A proud business owner, I'm partnered with my partner, my husband. When I’m not busy doing all of the above, I’m a wife and the mother of a gorgeous teen boy who's the sounding board for my male characters.

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