Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Review: Fixing You by Roya Carmen




A steamy New Adult contemporary romcom set in Seattle. Previously published as 'His Fixer-Upper' on Wattpad. 2.3 million reads!!!

Librarian Kirsten Beals is bookish, serious, and a little set in her ways. Her neighbor, tech wiz Ethan Fox, is her polar opposite; charming, smooth and playful. And she absolutely cannot stand him. But when Kirsten's long-time boyfriend Logan dumps her cold, Kirsten and Ethan team up to show Logan just exactly what he'll be missing.

As Ethan works to sexy-up Kirsten, he comes to see her in a completely new light, and realizes there's more to her than nerdy glasses. And as he teaches her the ways of seduction, Kirsten realizes Ethan also has a secret identity of his own, and might not quite be the arrogant immature womanizer she thought he was. 

Author's note: this is a steamy romance and contains sexual scenes. 18+ Fixing You is a standalone novel, and part of the YOU collection of summer romances. This is a short novel at 55k words.


3.5 stars
Review by Lisa Kane

Kirsten Beals is a quirky librarian who thinks her boyfriend Logan is finally going to pop the question. Turns out he is dumping her for Lisa, his yoga instructor. He's the only one she's been with and she's pretty much godsmacked by the whole thing.

Kirsten lives with her mother, a rich, romance writer. Her mom is fun loving, beautiful and lives life to the fullest. She can't believe Logan broke things off, but thinks Logan wasn't good enough for her anyway. She comes up with a plan for Kirsten-one of their neighbors is Ethan Fox, a young, gorgeous, rich entrepreneur. He's Kirsten's nemesis. She thinks poorly of this player. Is he hot? You bet, but he just rubs her the wrong way.

When her mom invites Ethan over for dinner, she doesn't bother to filter her conversation. She not only blurts out that Kirsten was dumped, but she could use a little help in getting back on the saddle again. Ethan's not exactly immune to Kirsten's unique charms. And Kirsten, well she's not disinterested.

Things get steamy between these two and Kirsten discovers lots of naughty things about herself. It's strictly friends with benefits with them, right? Of course the uncomplicated becomes complicated.

I've read most of Roya Carmen's stories. They are full of angst and heartbreak and they will put you through the wringer. I love that! But Fixing You had a different feel to it. I just couldn't connect to these characters. Kirsten made my head spin, she would want Ethan and then move on, then think about how Logan used to look and want Ethan again.

The writing in Fixing You is different than that of Ms. Carmen's other works. Her other books are so meaty and full of anguish and wonderfully layered story lines. This one just didn't work for me. But that would not stop me from jumping into her next venture.

Monday, August 10, 2020

Cover Reveal: Behind the Plate by J. Sterling







New York Times and USA Today best selling author J. Sterling has revealed the cover for Behind the Plate, her most anticipated release this year!









Releasing September 3, 2020



You've waited years to meet Jack Carter's son and the wait is over!



Strap in and enjoy the ride.

Chance Carter is the son of local baseball legend, Jack Carter. Now in his junior year at Fullton State, Chance is facing challenges he never saw coming. Failing a class will stop his draft season short, making him ineligible to play and pushing his goal of professional baseball even further away.

In steps Danika, a mouthy tutor from New York, who only wants to help him pass his class... NOT get in his pants. But try telling that to Chance. He doesn't trust girls and he definitely doesn't trust his new tutor. A lifetime growing up as a Carter taught him that.

But Danika has issues of her own. After an incident that happened last year, she doesn't trust athletes and wants nothing to do with them. And Chance is no exception.

The fireworks explode as the two try to deny the chemistry between them and family secrets are revealed. Chance doesn't know how to give up on something he wants and he's decided he wants Danika. There's just one problem... she has a boyfriend she has no intention of breaking up with.

How can he have her when she belongs to someone else?









Cover Designer: Michelle Warren



Pre-order your copy today!










Meet J.










I'm a New York Times and USA Today best selling author of over 18 books! My goal is to write stories that you can get lost in, that will leave a smile on your face and a full heart. If you can forget about the real world while you're reading and fall in love with my characters, then I've done my job. A lot of what I write has real life aspects in it, but that's what makes the stories so relateable- the fact that they could happen to anyone... and have!

I live in California with my only son, Blake. If you can't find me sitting behind a computer screen, then there's a good chance I'm sitting in the bleachers of a baseball stadium watching him play. I love traveling to new places, meeting my readers and living life with the Real Jack Carter. ♡

I know you have a million books to choose from and I am humbled, grateful and thankful each time you choose to read one of mine, or tell someone else to read them. Thank you.



Connect with J.













Text JACK to 77948

Thursday, August 6, 2020

Release Blitz: Exodus by Kate Stewart



EXODUS, book two, is the explosive conclusion in The Ravenhood Duet from best-selling author, Kate Stewart, is LIVE! Get ready for a sinfully ๐‡๐Ž๐“, ๐€๐๐†๐’๐“๐˜, ๐”๐๐‚๐Ž๐๐•๐„๐๐“๐ˆ๐Ž๐๐€๐‹, and ๐“๐—ช๐ˆ๐’๐“๐„๐ƒ love story filled with suspense, a little action, and ๐€๐‹๐‹. ๐Ž๐…. ๐“๐‡๐„. ๐…๐„๐„๐‹๐’! ⁣⁣

EXODUS (The Ravenhood Duet, book 2) by Kate Stewart
Cover designed by: OkayCreations
PURCHASE HERE!

Blurb:

Can you live a lie?


It’s a ghost town, this place that haunts me, the one that made me.

It’s clear to me that I’ll never outgrow Triple Falls or outlive the time I spent here.

I can still feel them all, my boys of summer.

Even when I’d sensed the danger, I gave in.

I didn’t heed a single warning. I let my sickness, my love, both rule and ruin me. I played my part, eyes wide open, tempting fate until it delivered.

There was never going to be an escape.

All of us are to blame for what happened. All of us serving our own sentences. We were careless and reckless, thinking our youth made us indestructible, exempt from our sins, and it cost us all.

I’m done pretending I didn’t leave the largest part of me between these hills and valleys, between the sea of trees that hold my secrets.

It’s the reason I’m back. To make peace with my fate.

And if I can’t grieve enough to cure myself in my time here, I’ll remain sick. That will be my curse.

But it’s time to confess, to myself more so than any other, that I’d hindered my chances because of the way I was built, and because of the men who built me.

At this point, I just want to make peace with who I am, no matter what ending I get.

Because I can no longer live a lie.

Add to your GOODREADS TBR:
๐…๐ฅ๐จ๐œ๐ค- (The Ravenhood #1)-https://bit.ly/3dwgXN8⁣⁣
๐„๐ฑ๐จ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ- (The Ravenhood Book #2)-https://bit.ly/2XUONVC⁣⁣




5 Stars
Review by Jen Skewes


Once again I am completely blown away, emotionally drained and at a loss for words to really describe what this book made me feel.  Just like the first book I am not saying a word about the story itself.  Go into this sequel blind, just like the first one.  If you thought that the ride would slow down after Flock, you were mistaken.  The bumpy, angst filled ride has only just begun.

After reading the last works of Flock, I had so many questions that I am not even sure where to begin.  All I know is that as I started to read Exodus, the story took a turn I never expected.  And honestly I was so unsure as to how I felt about it.  Flock is intense, raw, gritty and made me feel so many emotions.  I think more than Flock did.  This book is filled with so many twist and turns, that were completely unexpected.   It completely gutted me at times, shattered my heart in many ways, that I was not sure if I would even recover.  When I say I felt it ALL, I mean it!!!  

Were my questions answered?  Absolutely!!  Did Ms. Stewart manage to piece my heart back together?  Yes, she did.  But getting to that point hurt so much, but in a good way!!! There are a few moments that really got me all choked up, a huge lump in my throat.  There were also moments where I questioned Ms. Stewart’s sanity…lol. But as a long time, reader of her work, I knew to trust her and just keep reading, praying that in the end it would all be worth it.  And it was. 

One thing I will say about the characters is that I loved watching Cecelia grow in this one.  She became this strong kick ass woman who was willing to fight for what she deserved.  She fought for the truth and for love and it was so beautiful to watch!!  After reading Flock, I was so unsure of who I trusted.  I loved one and had a hard time trusting the love of the other, but Ms. Stewart made me see the truth of it all.  She made me see that my assumptions weren’t always correct.  

The Ravenhood Duet is an unconventional, beautifully heartbreaking story, that will drag your heart through the wringer, only to piece it back together.  While I didn’t expect this story to take the turn it did, all I can say is that it was perfect.  The ending was exactly how it should be.    Every emotion that I went through, every bump in the road, every bit of heartache was worth the smile on my face in the end!!!  Kate Stewart, this duet was simply brilliant!!!! 



---


The Ravenhood Duet Spotify Playlist: https://spoti.fi/38Y1FiU

Kate's Newsletter-Get a FREE book!: https://www.katestewartwrites.com/contact-me.html




About the Author:

USA Today bestselling author and Texas native, Kate Stewart, lives in North Carolina with her husband, Nick, and her naughty beagle, Sadie. She pens messy, sexy, angst-filled contemporary romance, as well as romantic comedy and erotic suspense. Kate's title, Drive, was named one of the best romances of 2017 by The New York Daily News and Huffington Post. Drive was also a finalist in the Goodreads Choice awards for best contemporary romance of 2017. Her works have been featured in USA TODAY, BuzzFeed, and translated in five languages.



Kate is a lover of all things '80s and '90s, especially John Hughes films and rap. She dabbles a little in photography, can knit a simple stitch scarf for necessity, and on occasion, does very well at whiskey.

Release Blitz: The Trouble With Quarterbacks by RS Grey

R.S. Grey’s next standalone rom-com, The Trouble With Quarterbacks, is coming August 6th! Check it out and order yours today!


About The Trouble WIth Quarterbacks

CANDACE: KAT & YASMINE! DO NOT DALLY! Come straight home after work. Kat, don’t take the long route from the subway station just so you can pass by Cute Hot Dog Guy. This is important!



I’ve had THE BEST DAY. You won’t believe it. There I was in my preschool classroom, washing a bit of poo out of some soggy trousers, when this absolute babe came to collect his nephew from my class.



Truthfully, I thought I’d blacked out for a moment when I first saw him. He was a proper hunk with glorious brown hair, quite tall, and he had these arms. Are muscly arms supposed to turn me on? I’m panting just thinking about them.



Anyway, he told me he’s a professional foosball player. At least, I think that’s what he said. The tots can get quite loud near pick-up time.



YASMINE: Foosball? What are you on about? Have you gone mad?



KAT: Oh sod off. So what if I like to have a good look at Hot Dog Guy’s arse on my trek home after a hard day’s work? It’s called self-care.



CANDACE: Kat, you’re hopeless. Yasmine, yes—foosball! I suppose it’s a big thing over here in the States? We must investigate and learn everything we can.



By the way, he’s called Logan.



Logan + Candace. I think that sounds quite nice! I can hear the wedding bells now. Dum dum da-dum.



YASMINE: Oh good grief. I suppose we can do some snooping when I get home. I’ll grab wine on my way.



KAT: I’ll grab hot dogs.





THE TROUBLE WITH QUARTERBACKS is a hilarious romance about unlikely love found between a British preschool teacher and the professional quarterback who sweeps her off her feet.




4 stars
Review by Lisa Kane

Candace Halliday is a British girl working and living in New York City along with two roommates-
Yasmine and Kat. She's a preschool teacher in a posh Manhattan school. The tuition to attend may be high, but that money doesn't exactly trickle down to the teachers, so she works as a waitress at a club called The District and she does a little housecleaning on the side. This girl is one busy bee, with scarce time for a love life.

Enter Logan Matthews, NFL quarterback for this year's Super Bowl champs. He's at her school to pick up his nephew. Candace certainly likes what she sees and it's not exactly one sided. She just may be the only person in the city to have no idea who he is. When she hears he's a football player, she thought she heard foosball player. Commence the google search. She's not quite sure why Americans would be so obsessed with a guy who plays foosball, but what does she know?

Once that confusion is cleared up, there's lots of heavy flirting between these two. Logan can't believe this gorgeous, funny girl is interested in him and not his public image. That hasn't happened in...maybe ever. Logan's life is non-stop balls to the wall. Practice, interviews, endorsements, commercials, appearances. Logan and Candace's lives couldn't be more different. Is it fair to subject Candace to the fishbowl life Logan lives?

There is some mild angst, not much at all. Lots of funny dialogue and inner thoughts. Candace's roommates were a hoot and the perfect back drop, secondary characters. Candace got a little frustrating with her insecurities and procrastinating, but she was still likeable and down to earth. Logan is almost too good to be believed. He has zero ego, is thoughtful and worries constantly that his life will be too much for Candace and she'll cut and run.

The Trouble with Quarterbacks is the perfect summer read. Grab a glass of sweet tea, pick a shady spot and read away an afternoon.

Grab your copy today!


About R.S. Grey:

R.S. Grey is the USA Today bestselling author of over twenty novels. She lives in Texas with her husband and daughter, and can be found reading, binge-watching reality TV, or practicing yoga! Visit her at rsgrey.com


Website | Facebook | R.S. Grey’s Little Reds Facebook Group | Newsletter | Instagram







Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Release Blitz: Wicked Billionaire by Sawyer Bennett


Wicked Billionaire (Wicked Horse Vegas, Book #9)
Sawyer Bennett
Release Date: August 4, 2020


Synopsis:
As the prince of a luxury hotel empire, I am as close to American royalty as one can get. I grew up accustomed to a certain lifestyle. One where people give me what I desire and anything, or anyone, else can be bought. Everyone wants a piece of me, yet no one is actually deserving of my time.

That changes when Bailey Robbins, the smoking hot housekeeper in one of my hotels, catches my attention. Sure, she has curves for days but it’s her smart mouth I can’t help but be intrigued by. I may have avoided relationships all my life, but something about her makes me want to introduce her to my world.

The darker, wicked side of Declan Blackwood.

4 stars
Review by Trinette Dungee

“Perfect”, I say with a genuine smile. I nab my robe from the end of my bed where housekeeping put it when they completed the turndown service in my suite, long before I returned with Sonya in tow. “There won’t be any misunderstanding or hurt feelings when I don’t ask for your number then.”
Asshole. That’s the first word and thought regarding Declan Blackwood after just being 20% into this book. The introduction to Declan Blackwood came in Wicked Secret (August and Leighton’s story), where Declan was basically the buddy who teamed up with August during August’s trips to The Wicked Horse. Based on what I remembered, or what I thought I remembered, Declan was a wealthy playboy and seemed like he was fun and happy go lucky. That is most definitely is not the Declan I encountered in Wicked Billionaire. This guy was a jerk! My second thought, “My God, she’s finally done it. Sawyer Bennett has created a man that I simply hate. I didn’t immediately like Griffin in Code Name: Hacker, but that was because of how he was using Bebe; but Declan…oh, not liking him was definitely because of his attitude. I’m officially worried. 
Declan Blackwood, heir to a luxury hotel empire is about as close to American Royalty as you can get, his words, not mine. Seriously, they are his words. “Blackwood is about as close to American royalty as you can get. Blackwood Hotels and Resorts are the world’s leading luxury hotels, frequented by queens, presidents, and sheiks, as well as by the world’s elite one-percenters. My name is worth billions. No doubt, this stranger has fantasies about being a part of that dynasty.” 
See, the arrogance just oozes from this guy. Anyway, because of his “station” in this world, Declan tends to play by his own rules. Relationships, they are non-existent. His priority is his job, his company, making money. He’s accustomed to being catered to, not doing the catering. His level in life is pretty much above everyone else. Hell, even learning the hotel name of a hotel staff member isn’t on his radar, that is until one Bailey Robbins enters his room and suddenly his outlook changes. She’s caught his attention with her “you’re in my way, and I have things to do” and “I need and like this job, but I’m not going to do a lot of ass-kissing to keep this job” attitude. With just a brief encounter with Bailey, he sees something that makes him want her on his team and soon it’s a different team he wants her on but that would mean crossing a line he’s never crossed before. 
I stare at this man, who just ordered me to do something far outside of my job duties. That he’s asking to do it makes me want to laugh. I need this job, but I also have a backbone.  “With all due respect, Mr. Blackwood,” I say firmly, my chin lifted. “I’m a housekeeper. I have other suites to clean. I simply can’t help you with this.” 
Right here is where I decide, Bailey Robbins is my girl! That and the fact that she secretly refers to him as “Dicklan”! LOL.
Bailey Robbins knows what it means to work for what she wants. Handouts just don’t happen to her. While she may not have lived the privileged life, she’s definitely lived a lot easier than she’s living now but thanks to her ex-husband life is making her work for everything she needs. Declan Blackwood entering her life and offering her a chance to dig herself out of her hole a lot faster doesn’t come without it's compromises. Aside from fighting the insane attraction that seems to be mutual, there’s the introduction to Declan’s world of The Wicked Horse. Sleeping with the boss has never been on her fantasy list but Declan is quickly making Bailey more interested in things she never thought she wanted. Bailey may know what it’s like to have the unconditional love of family but she’s not without her own fears and insecurities. Being burned badly has not made trusting easy for her so she has her own way of keeping people at arm’s length. 
Okay, so my worried soul was calmed the more I read, but it still took me a while to finally stop mentally looking at Declan (and Sawyer) with a side-eye. The more we delve into Declan’s world, the more we can understand him. Money and status rule Declan’s world. Even loyalty takes a backseat. He may have grown up wanting for nothing, but he definitely lacked the cohesiveness of family that Bailey has experienced. 
While their escapades may have started at the Wicked Horse, Declan and Bailey quickly realize, once they cross that line, that they prefer their escapades in a more private setting as well as the luxury of exclusivity. The manage to, somewhat, keep their working relationship separate from the physical one but slowly but surely their lives start to bleed into each other’s. There is the normal angst that threatens to tear them apart, but that’s kept to a minimum which I like, I’m not really an angst type of girl. This isn’t an angst driven storyline or even a forbidden one. It’s more about the development and/or evolution of two people. 
What I loved about Declan and Bailey, is that these have two very strong personalities that both give as good as they get and they never lose who they are as people. They simply shifted how they think and see situations. The people you see at the end are who they were at their core, it just needed to be brought out by the right person. 
There is always a thought or a line that just sticks out to me in books, this one came at the end.
And as much as I would love to lose myself in between Bailey’s legs, I'd rather help her with her problem and eat a good meal she worked hard on. I stand from the chaise, then hold a hand out. “Let’s go inside, We’ll talk while we finish getting dinner ready.” …. sigh, that so romantic!!!

Download Wicked Billionaire:

Amazon | Nook | Apple | Google | Kobo
Print | Audible (narrated by Lance Greenfield and Kirsten Leigh)




About the Author:
New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author Sawyer Bennett uses real life experience to create relatable stories that appeal to a wide array of readers. From contemporary romance, fantasy romance, and both women’s and general fiction, Sawyer writes something for just about everyone.

A former trial lawyer from North Carolina, when she is not bringing fiction to life, Sawyer is a chauffeur, stylist, chef, maid, and personal assistant to her very adorable daughter, as well as full-time servant to her wonderfully naughty dogs.

If you’d like to receive a notification when Sawyer releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter (sawyerbennett.com/signup).

Connect with Sawyer:
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | BookBub | Amazon
Newsletter | Master Blogger List


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