Thursday, September 19, 2013

PLAYING GAMES by Jessica Clare (a/k/a Jill Myles)

Katy Short only agreed to be on the reality show THE WORLD RACES for her brother, Brodie. She didn't care if they won or lost, because either way the money she would be making just to appear on the show was enough to help her start her business, Katy's Short Cakes. 

When her brother betrays her in the game, forcing her to take a new partner, the brooding rock star, Liam Brogan, Katy decides the gloves are off, and she will do what ever is necessary to beat her brother...and avoid spending the remaining weeks stranded with the Liam the Loser at the Loser Lodge.

But once Katy and Liam team up, they agree to “make good tv” and in all their alone time as they travel the globe, Katy learns the Liam isn't the churlish loser as she originally she thought, he's kind of a sexy hottie, and those piercings, WOW, she never knew how erotic a piercing could be.

Check out my full review at Night Owl Reviews


STOLEN CHANCES by Elisabeth Naughton


 

Elisabeth Naughton has re-released her Stolen series for our reading pleasure!  


Nine years ago, Archaeologist Maren Hudson lost everything when a member of her team was killed during a routine dive. Now she’s been drawn back to Mexico and the career she walked away from in order to protect the most precious thing in the world: her daughter.
One desperate phone call brings salvage expert Thad Leighton back to Mexico. For his murdered brother, he’s ready to settle the score, but one look at Maren and everything changes. Years may have passed, but she’s still as mesmerizing as she once was, and a few days on site together have him questioning his priorities and why the hell he walked away from her so long ago.
 
Sparks between them reignite, but Thad knows Maren is holding something back. Thrust together in the middle of the sweltering Yucatan, Thad is more than willing to strip away her layers. But while the truth might offer the second chance he’s been searching for, forgiveness may be as elusive as the relic they’re both hunting. Because when Thad unearths Maren’s biggest secret and discovers who she’s really working for, suddenly it’s not just about a life that was stolen from both of them, it’s about staying alive and outwitting a madman who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

*************
About Elisabeth:

 


 I was never one of those people who knew they wanted to be an author at the age of six. I didn’t have imaginary friends. I didn’t write stories in my journal or entertain my relatives by firelight after Thanksgiving dinner. For the most part, I was just a normal, everyday kid. I liked to read, but I wasn’t exceptional at it. And when my teachers complimented me on my writing abilities, I brushed them off. I did, however, always have a penchant for the unique and absurd. And as my mother told me all throughout my childhood, I should have been an actress—I was a drama queen before my time.
Years ago, my husband bought me Scarlett: The Sequel to Gone With The Wind. If you ever saw the book, you know it’s a long one. I sat and read that thing from cover to cover, and dreamed of one day being a writer. But I didn’t actually try my hand at writing until years later when I quit my teaching job to stay home with my kids. And my husband? After that week of reading where I neglected him and everything else until I finished Scarlett, he vowed never to buy me another book again. Little did he know I’d one day end up sitting at a keyboard all day drafting my own stories.


My writing journey has not been easy. I didn’t just sit down one day, decide I was going to write a book and voila! sell my very first attempt. As most authors will probably agree, the path to publication is filled with hours of work, pulling all-nighters I thought I’d given up in college, sacrifices, rejections, but a love I discovered along the way I just can’t live without. Instead of a big, thick book to read by lamplight (I do read much smaller ones when I get the chance), I’ve traded in my reading obsession for a laptop. And I’ve never been happier.


I’m one of the lucky ones. I have a wonderful family and fabulous husband who put up with my writing—and obsessive personality—even when life is chaotic. More than once my kids have been late to swimming or baseball because I needed just five more minutes to finish a scene. Their support and encouragement mean the world to me. I also have amazing friends and a support network I couldn’t survive without. So to all of you out there who have encouraged me along the way, sent me emails and fan letters, phone calls and congratulations, I just want to say, thank you. You make this whole writing gig that much more enjoyable. I truly wouldn’t be here without you.



Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Release Day!!!! REVEALING US, Inside Out #3, by Lisa Renee Jones

I've made no secret of my love of this series...and finally book #3 is out!
New York Times bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones takes readers on the ultimate journey of a sensual discovery in Revealing Us, the unforgettable climax of the trilogy.

No in-between…

He has become her life, her heart, her very soul. But he is dark and damaged, and his secrets are many. Sara will risk everything for him. He, in turn, will dare to expose his deepest needs, his most erotic desires. And in the fury of passion he will reveal all that torments him, all that he can never escape. To love him, Sara must embrace the darkest part of him, and become his shelter in a storm that will be his ultimate salvation.

Excerpt of SWEET LENORA (Dark Heroes #3) by Ute Carbone

Sweet Lenora (Anton & Lenora #1)
by Ute Carbone
Historical Romance
Categories: Action/Adventure
Publisher: Champagne Books
Release Date: July 1, 2013
Heat Level: Sensual
Word Count/Length: 20,000 words/54 pages

Lenora Brewer’s family owns the largest shipyard in Salem Massachusetts and Lenora, as her father’s only living child, is given free rein to learn the business. When Lenora’s father is killed in a carriage accident, her relatives arrange a marriage to a wealthy investor who is rumored to have beaten his first wife to death.

Lenora devises a scheme to stowaway on The Sweet Lenora, a ship named for her.

The last thing Anton Boudreaux needs is a naïve young woman stowing away on his ship. The dark and daring captain has secrets of his own to protect.

When Sweet Lenora encounters a dangerous storm off the coast of Brazil, Lenora and Anton find in each other the courage and tenacity to brave the elements. As their love for one another grows it becomes a force to be reckoned with—and it will be sorely tested.


EXCERPT: 

I stayed in my hidey spot as long as I dared. When I could stand it no longer, I raised a prayer to the heavens that we were far enough embarked on our journey and made my way up the stairs. The light on deck was strong, blinding me as I opened my tomb. A voice came upon me before I could see clearly.

What witchery is this?”

“’Tis a lass.” My nose endured sour sweat as my eyes began to comprehend my surroundings. Four rough men circled about me. “She’s a fine young pet, aye, boys?”

Puss, what do you on this ship?” The one who had spoken first drew a dagger and held it to my throat.

I swallowed deeply and prayed my fear would not be visible. “Put your weapon away, please.” I said meekly, hoping that these men had some little sense of propriety.

It was not to be. The rapscallion with the knife grinned at me. He had few teeth and a malodorous smell came from the open cavity of his mouth. “What? And have you run off, little puss?”

“Where would I run to?” My body shook at the folly of my coming above board. Would I had stayed in the safety of the hold!

The rapscallion pulled his weapon back from my throat as another grabbed me round the waist. “Shall we unwrap our pretty present, boys?” So close, he smelled of onions and leftover dregs of rum. I kicked back hard as I could. With a yelp, he dropped me, giving me the opportunity to run.

The question I had posed earlier was an apt one. I knew Sweet Lenora’s dimensions by heart; she was two hundred twenty four feet in length and forty in width. There was, indeed, nowhere to run. Still, I scurried this way and that, but the ruffians soon caught me. In the commotion, their number had grown to half a dozen. One pinned my arms while another ripped the laces of my bodice. I kicked, yelled, and bit, which only served to amuse them.

I thought my fate sealed when a shot was fired into the air. The arms that had grasped me dropped me and I fell to the deck like a bundle of rags. On my knees I stayed, my legs unwilling to carry me. I looked about, and there gazing down at me was the dark man I had spied yesterday. The men made a wide circle now. “Bring her to my cabin,” the dark man said. The voice that came from his throat had a lilt to it, an accent unlike the flat vowels of my native New England.

One of the ruffians grabbed my arm and raised me to my feet. He dragged me off into a well- appointed cabin. A narrow berth stood against one wall and a spindle desk with a log laid open upon it rested opposite. The ruffian shoved me inside and slammed shut the door in his wake.

I was in the captain’s quarters, of that I had no doubt. Which meant that the dark haired man was none other than the infamous Captain Anton Boudreaux. Curious to find out more, I went to the log. Not much was writ on the page, merely records of what the ship carried and the weather when she had set sail. Frustrated by such a lack, I sat back in the chair then bolted out again as the cabin door flew open. The black haired man stood on the threshold, examining me with his coal dark eyes. His look suggested he would like nothing better than to tear me limb to limb, and I shrank back against the wall. He stepped inside and pulled the door shut behind him.
 
Available at:


About the Author:
Ute (who pronounces her name Oooh-tah) Carbone is a multi-published author of women’s fiction and romance. Her romantic comedy, The P-Town Queen, was selected as Champagne Books novel of the year for 2012. She and her husband reside in Nashua, NH. They have two grown sons.

Connect with Ute Carbone

Monday, September 9, 2013

**FREE** First book of Lisa Renee Jones's Inside Out series, IF I WERE YOU


Find it FREE here!

 


If you've not yet read Lisa Renee Jones, now is a great time to start. With the third book of her Inside Out series, REVEALING US, coming out tomorrow, you can pick up the first book, IF I WERE YOU, for free here

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Review of THE MacKINNON'S BRIDE by Tanya Anne Crosby



Searching for his kidnapped son, Iain MacKinnon came upon Page FitzSimon bathing. Planning to
use her to barter for his son's safe return, he's taken aback when her father claims to want nothing to do with her, forcing him to take her back home with him. Not wanting to tell Page that her father truly didn't want her back, he insisted that he was kidnapping her.

After twenty years of dreaming of her father's attention, Page couldn't believe that now that her father is showing he wants her, that the heathen Scot was taking her captive. Determined to escape, she didn't count of her growing attachment to Iain nor his son, Malcolm.

***

THE MacKINNON'S BRIDE started out slow as it touched upon the kidnapping of Malcolm and focused on Page's constant bickering and attempts of escaping Iain on their journey back to the MacKinnon's land. At first, I found it difficult to get into the characters and scenery, but fortunately. the pace picked up about half-way through. I found myself intrigued with the mystery of who kidnapped Malcolm, and why. And of course the romance between Iain and Page.

Iain had a lot of reasons to be cynical toward life, namely the suicide of his wife in front of him. Iain was a well-rounded character, showing facets of grief, determination, and happiness. Page took me a bit longer to get into, she grated on my nerves with her constant urge to return to her jerk of a father. Yet I could understand it, as that is something all children want, the love and acceptance of a parent.
Thankfully, when the story started to pickup momentum, it didn't stop. I liked following the characters and their journey back to the MacKinnon's. Iain and Page had a nice chemistry, and they could heal each other from their past pains. I liked that all the characters were well fleshed out, other than Iain and Page, I really liked Broc and Malcomb. I'm glad to see that Broc got his story, as I will most defiantly be reading it in the future. He was such a sweetie. 



THE MacKINNON'S BRIDE by Tanya Anne Crosby

The MacKinnon's Bride (The Highland Brides #1)

by Tanya Anne Crosby

Historical Romance

Publisher: Oliver Heber Books

Release Date: 10/16/2012

Heat Level: Steamy

Length: 326 pages

Description:

Scotland 1118


Descended of the legendary sons of MacAlpin, Iain MacKinnon refuses to bow to the English. When his young son is captured by a minion of the English king, the fierce Scottish chieftain vows to stop at nothing to secure the lad's return. Retaliating in kind, he captures the daughter of his enemy, planning to bargain with the devil.



FitzSimon's daughter has lived her entire life in the shadow of the man she called father--yet never would she have imagined he would forsake his only daughter. Even as Page blames her captor for welching on a contract with her father, she suspects the truth. But the shadows hold secrets ... now only the love of her reluctant champion can save the MacKinnon's Bride.



Warning: This title is intended for readers over the age of 18 as it contains adult sexual situations and/or adult language, and may be considered offensive to some readers.

Buy Links:







About the Author:

Tanya has written seventeen novels, all of which have graced numerous bestseller lists including the New York Times and USA Today. Best known for stories charged with emotion and humor, and filled with flawed characters, her novels have garnered reader praise and glowing critical reviews. She lives with her husband, two dogs and two cats in northern Michigan.


Connect with Tanya Anne Crosby





.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

The Protected
Sept. 3 2013

AN ASSIGNMENT SHE CAN’T REFUSE
Agent Vaughnne MacMeans would do anything to avoid setting foot in Orlando again. But her new assignment, keeping tabs on a psychic kid who may or may not be in danger, is forcing her right back to the city where her sister was murdered. And the Special Agent in Charge isn’t taking no for an answer.

AN ATTRACTION HE CAN’T DENY
Protecting the boy Alex is a priority for Gus. Gus may not understand the boy’s “gift” but he just knows that some people would kill for it. When a beautiful stranger moves in next door, his impulse is to take the kid and run. But Gus has learned never to flee without a plan, and besides…she doesn’t exactly look like an assassin.

A GAME THEY’LL PLAY FOR KEEPS
When some dangerous people from Gus’s past catch up to him and Alex, it’s too late to run. His cute neighbor is the last person he thought he could turn to, but Vaughnne isn’t just cute. She’s fearless. And she’s the only chance Gus and Alex have left
Read an excerpt HERE

A little about Shiloh:
Shiloh Walker has been writing since she was a kid. She fell in love with vampires with the book Bunnicula and has worked her way up to the more…ah…serious works of fiction. She loves reading and writing just about every kind of romance. Once upon a time she worked as a nurse, but now she writes full time and lives with her family in the Midwest.  She writes romantic suspense and paranormal romance, and urban fantasy under the name J.C. Daniels.

Connect with Shiloh: