7.12.14

*Review* Alex As Well by Alyssa Brugman

Alex As WellAlex As Well By Alyssa Brugman
Series : N/A
Released : 8th May 2014
Publisher: Curious Fox
Format : Paperback
Source : Publisher (Thank you)
Buy : Amazon Paperback (UK/USA)/Book Depository 
Overall rating
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 .................................... The Blurb  ....................................
What do you do when everybody says you’re someone you’re not?

Alex wants change. Massive change. More radical than you could imagine.

Her mother is not happy, in fact she’s imploding. Her dad walked out.

Alex has turned vegetarian, ditched one school, enrolled in another, thrown out her clothes. And created a new identity. An identity that changes her world.

And Alex—the other Alex—has a lot to say about it.

Alex As Well is a confronting and heartfelt story of adolescent experience—of questioning identity, discovering sexuality, navigating friendships and finding a place to belong. Alex is a strong, vulnerable, confident, shy and determined character, one you will never forget.

With the same tenderness and insight as YA stars such as John Green and David Levithan, Alyssa Brugman has crafted a knockout story about identity, sexuality and family that speaks effortlessly to a universal teen experience.


 .................................... My Thoughts   ....................................
In Short
- Alex As Well is a breath of fresh air.
- Alex is a strong and intriguing character. .
- This isn't a book you forget long after you have put it down.

In Long
Wow! I am going to be totally honest and say that I picked this book up after telling myself to pick something up which I wouldn’t usually. I am so glad that I at least tried the first few pages of this because it only took a few pages for me to become totally intrigued! 
Alex As Well is a breath of fresh air and totally unique within itself. I haven’t ever read a book like this and I am sure I won’t ever again. Alex’s character is a very strong one which comes across very real and alive in the book, I definitely feel that her character made this book. It’s written in a way which makes you feel like you’re going on this journey with her makes it all that more personal. 
What I personally love about books is that you can pick a book up and enter a totally new world, escaping your own life for the time you read. Alex As Well really achieved this for me; I totally zoned out from the world around me while reading this and became absorbed in Alex’s life. It's one of those books you don't stop thinking about even after you have put it down. 

Final Thoughts
This is a strong and powerful book which makes you see the world from a someone else’s point of view.  

5.12.14

Need Us by Amanda Heath

Need Us
Amanda Heath

Blurb 
They made us.
They broke us.
Now they'll save us.

Need Us the final book in the Make or Break series. Featuring Royal, Channing and Rachel's POVs.


Excerpt
“We’re getting married tomorrow,” Wes whispers in my ear. I open my eyes and look down at her upturned face. Her green eyes shine with all the happiness in the world. I gave her that.
I’m the man.
I lift my hand up and cup her cheek. She grins and nuzzles against me. “I can’t wait,” I murmur, using both my hands to pull her face towards mine. Her soft lips meet mine and like always, the world blanks out and it’s just the two of us. Nothing can touch us here. Nothing can get in the way of us being together.
She breaks away from my mouth and the corner of my mouth lifts up as she licks her lips. “I can’t wait to be Mrs. Royal Duke Sanders.” I chuckle and like always, she melts against me and her eyes glaze over. You never think something like a chuckle could be that powerful but for some reason Wes is always like this when I chuckle.
I move my hands down her naked sides and start to tickle her. She giggles as I roll her over onto her back. I bring my head down to kiss along her neck until my lips meet her chin “I can’t wait to be Mr. Wesley Ann Bridges.” This sends her into a fit of giggles. I just watch as she turns bright red. “What? I’m completely serious.”
She shoves at my shoulders until I sit up. “You’re too silly for your own good.” She moves off the bed and pads her naked ass into the bathroom. I sigh because there’s nothing sexier than a naked Wesley.
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3.12.14

Storm by Carian Cole

Storm By Carian Cole
(ashes & embers #1)


Blurb
The calm before the storm…
I lived in the quiet stillness.   
I felt the wind rustle, warning me, telling me to get out of its path.
But I didn’t.
I never stood a chance.
A series of weather and road mishaps leaves me trapped in the middle of a blizzard with a complete stranger.  In the back of a pickup truck. For forty-eight freakin’ hours.
A stranger with long hair, tattoos, and rippling with muscle. 
A stranger with an insanely sexy voice and a wicked smile that turned my insides to jelly. 
A stranger who held me in his arms, calmed me, and then set a fire in me that I couldn’t put out.
Storm lives up to his name. Beautiful. Dangerously inviting. Tumultuous. Dark. A clash of hot and cold.
He’s used to getting everything he wants.
And now he wants me.
Some people chase storms for the beautiful thrill. What happens when the storm chases you?

Meet The Author
I have a passion for the bad boys, those covered in tattoos, sexy smirks, ripped jeans, fast cars, motorcycles and of course, the sweet girls that try to tame them and win their hearts. My debut series, Ashes & Embers, follows the lives of rock band members as they find, and sometimes lose, the loves of their lives.
My first novel in the Ashes & Embers series, Storm, was published in September of 2014. 
Born and raised a Jersey girl, I now reside in beautiful New Hampshire with my husband and our multitude of furry pets and spend most of my time writing, reading, and vacuuming.
 Find 

*Storm has a HEA and is book 1 of the Ashes & Embers series but all books can be read as a stand-alone. No cliffhangers. Vandal (book 2) coming in January 2015. ***Warning. This is an adult romance book and is not intended for anyone under the age of 18. It contains graphic sex scenes and explicit language.***
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2.12.14

Alert the Media by Mia Fox

alerthemedia
Alert the Media by Mia Fox

Blurb
When you’re an entertainment publicist, there’s no better cure for a broken heart than to Alert the Media...

April and Ryan Monahan are the perfect Hollywood couple. He’s a handsome actor on the rise; she’s a high-powered entertainment publicist. Her job becomes more demanding, however, when Ryan announces he is gay and wants a divorce.

Believing that her persuasive power over the press will give Ryan the publicity he craves, April launches a swift media campaign to make him realize that he can’t live without her. But Ryan has decided that he likes the dating scene and April’s boss insists that she keep him happy as his account is important to the firm.

To her dismay, April is forced to protect her firm’s bottom line by maintaining Ryan’s status as a Hollywood heartthrob while enduring her own heartbreak. As she picks up the pieces of her destroyed marriage, April is determined to compete with Ryan for power, publicity, and true love -- even when her imagination takes her from the board room to the bedroom.

To save her sanity, her corner office, and her two dogs from becoming caught up in an ugly custody battle, April constructs a plan to use her media savvy skills to her advantage.
 


Excerpt
I didn’t flinch when I read my husband’s Facebook profile and learned Orlando Bloom is his all time fav actor. After all, Ryan is an actor and Orlando Bloom has a good body of work. I even remained calm when Ryan wrote about that body, citing Orlando’s hotness in pirate wear. Okay, maybe this was a warning sign, but one could argue that Ryan appreciates how costume design impacts a film.
Sure, there were other signs...all ignored. In fact, it wasn’t until I found his porn stash, with not so much as one breast in the mix, that I realized my rationalizations ceased to be rational. If only I had discovered Ryan in bed with a leggy blonde, even two, I could have managed. His revelation, on the other hand, gave me reason to doubt the existence of a higher being.
“April, we need to talk,” he said gravely.
Talk. When people mention four-letter words that one rarely comes to mind, but in my experience it’s just as toxic as the others. Case in point was this particular morning when Ryan sat me down in front of a steamy cappuccino and an obscenely large sticky bun. I regarded the bun with suspicion. I was a week shy of PMS and therefore not in need of carbs, and yet, here I was faced with a definite sign that some serious buttering up, apologizing, or pleading would occur. He obviously assumed (correctly) that artificial support would be needed.
“April, my life, actually...our lives, are about to change,” he continued once I had taken a healthy bite.
“You’re auditioning for a movie? Oh my gosh, I knew this day would come,” I said hopefully, if not a bit naively. What can you expect from a girl voted “Most Gullible” of her high school graduating class?
Ryan treaded lightly, “Honey, it’s something different. Call it a change of heart, but I’ve decided that I’m gay.”
“Gay? As in happy?”
“No, not exactly, at least not yet. Here, have some more,” he said pinching off a piece of the bun and popping it into my mouth that now hung open.
I swallowed hard. “How is this possible? We just had sex last night?”
“Yeah, I wanted to be sure. You gotta admit, we sure gave it the ol’ college try.”
“I’d say. We did it twice!”
“Just wanted to be 100%. April, sweetie, don’t blame yourself. Listen, we’ll talk later. I’m going to be late.”
After delivering this verbal right hook, Ryan apologized for the “bad news” and left to start his day.

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Swag Pack / Book Themed Necklace & Bracelet

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The Trouble with Faking by Rachel Morgan

The Trouble with Faking by Rachel Morgan

After a stupid miscommunication, everyone in Andi’s new res thinks she’s secretly dating Damien, boyfriend of resident queen bee Charlotte. Since the rumour’s already out there and refuses to be squashed, Andi and Damien decide to keep up the facade in the hopes of snagging the attention of the people they really want to be with. Brilliant plan, right? Especially since Damien is the guy Andi’s always wanted. But now there’s Mike, the guy Andi’s pretending to be interested in for the sake of the fake relationship plan, and Noah, Damien’s annoying best friend—who is so not Andi’s type—and suddenly the plan isn’t looking so brilliant anymore.

Amazon: http://smarturl.it/FAKINGAmzn
iBooks: http://smarturl.it/FAKINGiBooks
B&N: http://smarturl.it/FAKINGNook

~*~ABOUT RACHEL MORGAN~*~
Rachel Morgan is a South African author who spent a large portion of her childhood living in a fantasy-land of her own making. After completing a degree in genetics, she decided science wasn’t for her—after all, they didn’t approve of made-up facts. These days she spends much of her time immersed in fantasy land once more, writing fiction for young adults and those young at heart.

She is the author of the bestselling Creepy Hollow series, and the lighthearted contemporary romance Trouble series.

1.12.14

Cover Reveal - Reclaim Me by A.O. Peart

Reclaim Me
By A.O. Peart

Blurb
RECLAIM ME IS THE SECOND INSTALLMENT IN THE STEAMY CHANGE ME (McCoy Raven Brothers) ROMANTIC SUSPENSE SERIES. ALL BOOKS IN THIS SERIES ARE STANDALONE AND CAN BE READ IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER, BUT THEY INTERCONNECT. 
HEA, NO CLIFFHANGER* 

Due to mature themes, strong language, and sexual situations, this series is intended for adult readers only.
When the past comes charging back, the choice is never easy.
Abused as a child, Willow Conrad has managed to develop compassion for others early in life. She believes there is some good in every person, even in the “lost souls”. But when Seth, her boyfriend, loses his temper one last time, she is left badly beaten and broken inside. 
Jack McCoy has finally grown up. He used to engage in street brawls to release his anger and reassure himself of his own worth. Serving in the Marine Corps and then becoming a firefighter has put his life back on track. 
When Jack’s friend asks him to help Willow, he doesn’t hesitate, despite a reckless predicament he narrowly escaped that very evening. But when he stands face-to-face with Willow, he knows his past is back to haunt him. 

Will they take the second chance and let not-so-forgotten feelings resurface and blossom, moving past what drove them apart before? Or will Jack relapse into his destructive ways and lose Willow forever?




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25.11.14

Leo Maddox by Sarah Darlington

Leo Maddox

Blurb
The one. The only. Leo Maddox.

Leo’s cocky. He’s mean. He’s gorgeous. He’s never learned the meaning of the word no. He’s the twenty-one-year-old, billionaire grandson of a hotel mogul. He has vacation homes he’s never been to and cars he doesn’t drive. Women. Fashion. Alcohol. There’s nothing he can’t get. Well…almost nothing.

He can’t have her. The girl he loves. The girl he’s loved his entire life. She hates him. Until one morning when Leo wakes up and decides enough is enough. He’s going to get the only girl he’s ever wanted. So what if she has a new boyfriend. So what if she loathes his very existence. Clara belongs with him and he’s going to prove it to her by winning her heart.


*This New Adult Romance is told entirely from Leo Maddox’s POV. It can be read before, after, or in place of Sarah Darlington's stand alone novel He Belongs With Me. Recommended for readers 18+ due to strong language and sexy scenes.

LINKS TO BUY: Amazon


Find Sarah


Also By Sarah
HE BELONGS WITH ME {Amazon I Amazon UK}
KILL DEVIL HILLS {Amazon I Amazon UK}
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21.11.14

*Review* Bend, Don't Break By Skye Callaham

Bend, Don't Break
Released : 17th November 2014
Publisher: 
Format : E Book
Source : Blog Tour
Buy : Amazon (UK/USA)
Overall rating
Photobucket

 .................................... The Blurb  ....................................
I thought I was done.

my End
I couldn’t take my eyes off her as the bullet tore through me, leaving me with nothing but the hope that I had done enough to save her. The darkness tried to engulf me—to brand me as its own and drag me to my fate.

my Darkness
Waking to see her tear-stained face above me was enough to make my heart stutter. I was alive and free from that place—but not from the toll it had taken on my mind and body.
my Strength
My story should have ended, but one woman kept standing in the way of that. The only way I could have her was to find a way to put the darkness to rest.


 .................................... My Thoughts   ....................................
In Short
- The first half is slow paced but becomes faster in the second half. 
- James' world is engrossing but heart breaking
- Bend, Don't Break completes James' and Rose's story. 

In Long
For me this book is split into two halves when it comes to rating it and how much I enjoyed it. The first half of the book would probably be a 3.5 and the second half a 4.5.

The first half is quite slow paced and although I liked that it built on the story and went back in time I felt some scenes were just too slow and some chapters didn’t really add much to the actual story. It seemed the story was going somewhere but never lead too much until half way through.

About half way through the book I became totally engrossed into James’ world and being able to see things through his eyes made me fall in love with him even more! His a strong character but does let his vulnerable side show which made me fall in love with him even more. He has such a hard time in Irrevocable and the effects really show in this book. I just wanted to take all his pain away! 

The second half of the book stepped up pace and really become completely gripping and thrilling. It was full of action and the storyline took a new and exciting direction.

Final Thoughts
After Irrevocable I didn’t feel like things were finished or James’ and Rose’s story was complete. Bend , Don’t Break really added so much to their story and has left me with a fulfilled feeling. This, along with Irrevocable, is a must read.

Giveaway : Bulletproof by Melissa Pearl


Bulletproof by Melissa Pearl

Morgan Pritchett doesn't need anyone. Strong-willed and confident, she's the master of organizing and looking after everyone around her. In her mind, she's bulletproof.
But she has one weakness - men. She can't seem to live without them, yet is unable to find her perfect match. After yet another break up, Morgan promises her sister and best friend that she'll write off men for the rest of the year...but then she meets Sean Jaxon.
Sean Jaxon has worked hard to become a Hollywood actor, scoring minor roles and slowly making a name for himself as an action sidekick. After a chance encounter with the stunning Morgan Pritchett, he decides to take a risk and put his dancing skills to the test by signing on for the lead role in Superstar, a TV musical. He never thought he'd reconnect with the girl who urged him to ignore his manager and be honest with himself, but when Morgan shows up on the set as a production assistant, he realizes he's found his ultimate weakness - her.
Their passion for dance and music will bring them together, but will their relationship be able to withstand the forces determined to pull them apart? As Morgan comes face-to-face with her long-buried demons and Sean decides just how much he's willing to risk for love, these two songbirds discover something...they're not as bulletproof as they thought.

Amazon (UK/USA)


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15.11.14

Cover Reveal : From This Moment by Lexi Buchanan

Coming: December 16, 2014

Blurb
The last thing Rona Jameson expected was the scorching connection she feels to Cade Matthews. At twenty-four, Rona is embarking on what should have been her honeymoon to Jackson Hole, Wyoming…alone. Having just gotten out of one relationship, she’s hesitant to jump into another. But there’s something about the forty-five year old single father of three that calls to her.

Cade knows it would be best to steer clear of Rona, but he can’t deny the chemistry and longing he feels towards her. No other woman has ever made him feel strung so tight. The age difference between them however is something he’s not sure he can overcome.

Jake Matthews, Cade’s son, is heading home after receiving an honorable discharge from the Marines. He broke things off with Elise, six years ago, when he joined the service, afraid of her being left alone if something happened to him. Now he’s back and ready to claim the girl he’s never been able to forget. There’s only one problem, she’s engaged to another man.

Can Jake win Elise back and prove to her he’s worthy of a second chance? Will Rona and Cade overcome their doubts and fears, and the other obstacles in their way?

From NY Times Bestselling author, Lexi Buchanan, two love stories in one, with a touch of taboo.

NOTE: This has been newly edited, with 25,000+ extra words added as well as POV’s for both Jake and Elise.








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Excerpt : The Reckoning by Emma Jones


(The sequel to The Awakening)
By Emma Jones

Blurb
As Lauren wakes after her 21st party she's not sure if she's hungover or dreaming but then she remembers.

The necklace. 
The flashback. 
The bond. 
Daniel.

The consequences are great & details unknown. After a visit to the vampire council things settle down until vivid worrying dreams start to disrupt Lauren's sleep & life. 
The national news is filled with big cat killings but Lauren knows the truth & is being dragged into dark souls & black magic. Someone dangerous is getting into her head & her involvement with the council tests her relationships. 
How will Lauren cope? Is there a happy ending? Will blood be shed?

Chapter 1
I woke up in the lilac bedroom that all those months ago had been my safe haven. Back in the beginning when I’d first found out about this crazy vampire and witch world, the calming colours of this room and cosy atmosphere had helped me. It appeared it was now fulfilling that role again.I can’t believe only hours ago I was celebrating my 21st birthday and everything seemed so normal; now I felt different again. As I stretched, I looked out of the window at what appeared to be the setting sun. Had I slept an entire day? I scrabbled for my phone, but couldn’t find my bag, so leapt up to see the clock on the desk on the other side of the room. It was 7 p.m. I had been asleep the whole day. I walked into the ensuite and gazed at my reflection in the mirror. I felt weary and looked pale and tired. Was I actually just hung over or had I been having a weird dream?The necklace. The flashback. The revelation I had died. Oh my god, my bond to Daniel. I reached up to my neck and grasped, but there was no necklace. Maybe it was all a dream? I needed to talk to Gavin. Not caring about my appearance I ran out of the room and jumped down the stairs but stopped in my tracks as I heard raised voices.
“The council need to be informed.”“No Annalise, we need to do it now.”“We cannot have this hanging over our heads.”“This is not a bloody test project. It’s my family.”
Continue Reading 

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12.11.14

Second Position by Melody Grace

Dancing with the perfect partner is like the most exquisite climax of your life.

Can you feel it? The way our bodies rock together. My hands pinning you down, my mouth sliding over your hot, damp skin. Each hard thrust driving deep to that place you never dreamed possible. Every breathless cry hurtling you closer to the edge.
Beyond words. Beyond thought. Beyond reason.
Free.
I’d all but given up on perfection like that. Until I met her. Annalise.
Her body is pure motion; her spirit, a caged bird just waiting to be set free.
I will claim her. I will possess her.
I will teach her the most erotic dance of all.
*Part two of the sexy, seductive romance serial*



Haven't started the series yet?  First Position is available for 99¢!


A man dances the same way he fucks. His stamina, his rhythm, the slow grind of his hips. Some people are born to it, others learn through years of careful study.
And dancers? We do it best of all.
The moment I saw her, I knew. Her innocence is intoxicating. My lust is fierce. Primal. To watch her dance is to know the torment of true temptation.
She will be mine. 
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