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Showing posts with label giveaway. Show all posts
Showing posts with label giveaway. Show all posts

Monday, July 20, 2015

Promo and Review: The cottage next door by Georgia Bockoven


The Cottage Next Door
The Beach House # 3.5
By: Georgia Bockoven
Releasing July 14, 2015
William Morrow

Blurb
What should have been the best day in Diana Wagnor’s twenty-nine years easily turns into the worst when her job is downsized, she discovers her fiancé in bed with her best friend, and watches her cherished grandmother’s house burn to the ground.

Clearly it’s time to start over and get out of Topeka, Kansas, where she’s spent her whole life. But what should she do? And how does she ever trust herself in another relationship when her one indisputable skill seems to be picking the wrong man?

Diana finds her answers at the cottage next door to the beach house with the help of a tall, sculptured, soft-spoken Californian, and a heart-shaped piece of sea glass.


Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25476099-the-cottage-next-door

Goodreads Series Link: https://www.goodreads.com/series/131843-the-beach-house

Buy Links:  Amazon | B & N | iTunes | Kobo  
                              MY THOUGHTS:                  
Georgia Bockoven has the magical touch when it comes to writing characters that you can truly believe in. Diana Wagnor is leaving Kansas for the beautiful beaches of California. Having found her ex-fiance sleeping with her best friend, losing her job, and watching her Grandmother's house being burnt down, I'd say she deserves a break. Going to California to stay in her cousin's beach house, Diana swears off men, yet she finds herself drawn to Michael. Like I said, these are characters you can truly believe in and root for. The cottage is a sweet, romantic one-setting read. 

Author Info
Georgia Bockoven is an award-winning author who began writing fiction after a successful career as a freelance journalist and photographer. Her books have sold more than three million copies worldwide. The mother of two, she resides in northern California with her husband, John.

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Goodreads




Excerpt:
There was no way to know the tiny heart-shaped fragment of translucent green beach glass that washed up on the shore seventy-five years ago brought a touch of magic with it. The young woman who found it had gone to the beach that morning to decide whether her life was worth living alone. She’d lost the only man she’d ever loved in a nameless battle, on a nameless island, three days before the war in the Pacific officially ended.
            She didn’t feel the magic right away, just a comforting sense of peace that grew to acceptance, and finally hope. The sea glass resided in the pocket of whatever pants or jackets she wore while she stayed at the cottage, a talisman she clasped when her loss threatened to return and overwhelm her. When the principal at the school where she taught fifth grade called to gently remind her that there was an upcoming mandatory staff meeting to get ready for the first day of school, she reluctantly started packing.
            Distracted, she didn’t notice when the sea glass slipped from her pocket, nor did she feel it under her foot when she moved her suitcases out of the bedroom and into the enclosed back porch. She might have noticed a flash of color reflected in the sunlight when she made one more quick pass through the cottage—if only she hadn’t stepped on the tiny heart again, this time tilting it on edge and forcing it between two six-inch wide pieces of rustic flooring.
            She left the cottage through the back porch, stopping to look out the wall of windows that gave an unimpeded view of the cove. Something had drawn her to this room for a last good-bye, settling a sense of contentment over her as gently as one of her grandmother’s silk knit shawls.
            The taxi appeared ten minutes early, the driver giving two quick honks to announce his arrival. She led him to the back porch, standing to the side while he picked up three of her four suitcases. As she reached for the last bag the sun cut through the morning fog, and for an instant, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a burst of blue light. It was gone as quickly as it had appeared. Had it not been her final day, had she not been in a hurry to get to the bus depot, had the taxi driver arrived on time rather than early, she would have investigated. 
            Instead she forgot all about the strange blue light until she was on the Greyhound bus to Arizona, and thought to look for the glass heart in her pocket. It wasn’t there. She checked her other pockets, desperately hoping she’d absentmindedly put it in one of them. But even as she looked, a voice whispered in her ear—It’s gone, leave it be.

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BLOG TOUR: The perfect touch by Elizabeth Lowell Promo~Review~Giveaway

Perfect Touch: A Novel
By: Elizabeth Lowell
Releasing July 28, 2015
William Morrow

Blurb

Sara Medina is a designer and art dealer from San Francisco. She matches her clients desires with fine and folk art from the world over--living up to her thriving business named Perfect Touch. She still remembers her rural childhood of hard work and poverty on the family dairy farm, but she keeps it firmly in the past as she searches out new artwork and artists that are on the breaking edge of acclaim. After she experienced the cultural riches San Francisco had to offer, she decided her life would be that of an urban career woman rather than a working mom commuting from the suburbs. With the intensive hours and travel required to grow her business to the next level, she has no time or energy left for romantic or family entanglements.

Jay Vermillion recently inherited Vermillion Sky, a ranch that nestles up to Wyoming’s Grand Teton Mountains--and the estates of the rich and restless. As a returned veteran of numerous deployments over the course of two wars, he finds himself wrestling with the demands of a ranch that has been run down during his father’s long illness. Between the urgent need to modernize and revitalize the Vermillion Sky, as well as an unexpected and vicious fight with his former stepmother over the custody of now-valuable paintings that were part of his father’s estate, Jay has no time for finding a wife and creating a sixth generation of Vermillions to ensure the family legacy continues.

When Jay hires Sara to appraise and market his father’s cache of paintings by Harris “Custer” Armstrong, neither one expects the explosive results of their eventual meeting in Jackson, Wyoming. In addition to a mutually inconvenient attraction, they a discover double murder at the edge of the ranch lands and a potential betrayal even closer to home. All trails lead to Custer’s artworks as valuable enough to kill for, especially an unknown painted rumored to be called The Muse.

As Sara and Jay unravel the motive for the killings, they both discover that love, like murder, doesn’t wait for a convenient time. On the heels of that soul-shattering realization, Sara is targeted for murder. Suddenly, the war-weary soldier finds something he is once again willing to die for…


Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24871110-perfect-touch?ac=1



Buy Links:  Amazon | B & N | iTunes | Kobo  
                                               
 MY THOUGHTS:
This was my first Elizabeth Lowell book and it certainly lived up to the hype. Ms. Lowell has a way of writing that makes readers feel like they're in the book themselves. This book had romance and suspense with a dash of murder and violence mixed in. Sara Medina was raised in the country and is now living in San Francisco working as an art dealer. Sara is strong, smart and does what needs to be done. Sara is helping Jay Vermillion sell his Father's art collection that he inherited when he inherited the ranch. There is definite chemistry between these two characters. After the judge makes his ruling on the will and Jay's inheritance, things start to happen. People are being murdered and someone is trying to kill Sara and Jay. This book will definitely keep you on your toes. While this may be my first Elizabeth Lowell, it will not be my last. 


Author Info

Elizabeth Lowell’s exciting novels of romantic suspense include New York Times Bestsellers: Dangerous Refuge, Beautiful Sacrifice, Death Echo, The Wrong Hostage, Amber Beach, Jade Island, Pearl Cove, and Midnight in Ruby Bayou. She has also written NYT best-selling historical series set in the American West and Medieval Britain. She has more than 80 titles published to date, with over 24 million copies of her books in print. She lives in the Sierra Nevada Mountains with her husband, with whom she writes novels under a pseudonym. Her favorite activity is exploring the Western United States to find the landscapes that speak to her soul and inspire her writing.

Author Links:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads


 EXCERPT:

CHAPTER 1
The motel room door was ajar.
I locked it, Sara Anne Medina thought. Didn’t I?
She pushed the door open with her big purse—and froze. The room had been tossed ruthlessly. Her suitcase was upended and off the stand. Her clothes were strewn across the worn carpet, toiletries scattered, her underwear and workout gear tumbled together. The lavender scent of her favorite shampoo filled the air.
I was only gone for five minutes.
The take-out coffee she had bought was hot against her suddenly chilled hands.
Some stranger went through my things. Did the tweaker get off on my underwear?
Is he still here?
The thought had her jerking back so quickly the coffee sloshed over her cold-numbed fingers. She looked around the hallway. No one in sight.
I don’t have time for this dramaI have to be at the courthouse. I have to finally meet my mystery man, so I’ll stop dreaming and get back to reality, where I belong.
Where I want to be, even with the damn tweakers.
Using her foot, she kicked the door all the way open until it slammed against the stop. No one was behind it. No one was in the room itself. The closet was open, no place inside to hide. The bathroom door showed a view of the toilet, shower, and sink. The mirror was smudged where she’d cleared the shower’s steam with her hand just minutes ago.
Whoever had been here was gone.
The mess wasn’t.
It will have to wait. Then, They took my computer. It’s all backed up on the cloud, but damn it!
The cord dangled from the wall, over the chair that had held her overcoat. The coat, like the computer, had vanished.
Wonder how many pawnshops there are in Jackson, Wyoming? And why would they take a woman’s coat? There aren’t too many women my height who are a size six.
With a hand that trembled slightly, Sara set down her coffee, took a pen out of the bottomless bag that passed for her purse, and poked through the mess of clothes on the floor to the suitcase half-hidden beneath. The inside pockets were still zipped closed.
They missed my little jewelry case. I’d rather they take the jewelry and leave the computer, but they didn’t ask me, did they?

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Thursday, July 16, 2015

Review: Searching for Always by Jennifer Probst and GIVEAWAY!!!!

Release Date: June 30, 2015
Publisher: Gallery Books
My Rating: 4.5 BUY
Barnes & Noble:  http://bit.ly/1dbuKsj 


Synopsis: New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Jennifer Probst sparks a blissful mind-body connection as her sexy, satisfying (Kirkus Reviews) new series continues!


Shes an expert in helping others de-stress, but Arilyn Meadows is running on fumes. Along with her job counseling singles seeking soul mates at the Kinnections agency in Verily, New York, shes a yoga teacher, animal shelter volunteer, anger management therapist, and helping hand to her beloved grandfather. No time to find Mr. Rightbut after discovering her yogi boyfriend in a compromising asana, Arilyn would rather dog-sit for her honeymooning friend Kate than risk her heart on another downward dog. And when police officer Stone Pettyradiating masculinity and bad-boy attitudeis sent to her for mandatory lessons in cooling off when the job gets too hot, Arilyn vows to ignore his seductive glances and sexy grin. But theres no halting their sizzling flirtationa red-hot, high-speed chase thats breaking all the limits.

MY THOUGHTS:
I really enjoyed this book. I loved Ari and Stone. After catching het boyfriend with someone else Ari is devastated. She vows to focus on her work and taking care of her friends, disabled pit bull. Officer Stone Petty has had a rough childhood. After beating up a man that was hitting his pregnant girlfriend, Stone has no choice but to attend anger management if he wants to keep his job. Arilyn and Stone can't stand each other at first. They're complete opposites. She treats her body like a temple and eats healthy food and he treats his like a garbage disposal. I really enjoyed  Ari and Stone. They are both strong willed characters, but yet they change for each other. Out of this series, this one, was by far my favorite. 



About the Author:
She makes her home in Upstate New York with the whole crew. Her sons keep her active, stressed, joyous, and sad her house Jennifer Probst wrote her first book at twelve years old. She bound it in a folder, read it to her classmates, and hasnt stopped writing since. She took a short hiatus to get married, get pregnant, buy a house, get pregnant again, pursue a masters in English Literature, and rescue two shelter dogs. Now she is writing again.She makes her home in Upstate New York with the whole crew. Her sons keep her active, stressed, joyous, and sad her house will never be truly clean.
She is the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of sexy and erotic contemporary romance. She was thrilled her book, The Marriage Bargain, was ranked #6 on Amazon's Best Books for 2012. She loves hearing from readers. Visit her website for updates on new releases and her street team at www.jenniferprobst.com.


Website:  www.jenniferprobst.com
Facebook Fan Page:  https://www.facebook.com/jenniferprobst.authorpage
Twitter:   https://twitter.com/jenniferprobst
Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2965489.Jennifer_Probst


GIVEAWAY!!!
Help pet rescue shelters by posting a picture of your rescued pet, or sharing your favorite shelter, and using the hashtag #SEARCHINGFORRESCUES. 4 shelters will get a $50 prize (winners choose) and 1 additional person will receive a prize pack from Jennifer Probst. 




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Book Blitz: The Single Game by Amanda Black

Book & Author Details:

The Single Game by Amanda Black
Publication date: July 15th 2015
Genres: New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

In this third, stand-alone installment of Amanda Black’s Apartment Novels series, sparks fly during a sexy party game.
When Eden Foster’s parents tell her they’re moving from Chicago to the Illinois suburb of Aledo, Eden is crushed. That is, until she runs crying to her jock boyfriend, who she finds on top of her so-called best friend. Moving’s not looking so bad anymore.
Now a senior at Mercer County High, Eden is ready to re-enter the dating scene. Still burned over the betrayal of her ex, she’s looking for someone sweet and innocent. With the help of her two new friends, Zoe and Amy, Eden makes a list of what she’s looking for: an eager virgin, ready for training—and no jocks.
Eden thinks she’s found what she’s looking for in Logan Black, a shy and geeky classmate. But why are Zoe and Amy convinced that the answer to her search is a party game…with kissing?
Eden better get ready, because she’s about to play the Single Game.
The Single Game is the latest addition to the erotic Apartment Novels series, which began with Lily and Ethan in The Apartment and The Blank Canvas.


Purchase:



AUTHOR BIO:
Amanda Black was born and raised in the Midwest, where she still lives with her husband and spoiled-rotten dogs. She earned a bachelor's degree in Studio Art before deciding that she actually needed to pay some bills, which is when she took a position as an ophthalmic technician.

For the past few years she's been a closet romance writer in her spare time and would love nothing more than to make it a full-time career. When she's not writing her next steamy love scene, her interests include reading, sketching, and annihilating her friends and family in movie trivia.

Author links:
Author Guest Post and Q&A
Guest Blog Post
I’m so excited for the release of my new book The Single Game! It’s my first venture into NA territory and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. While it is a continuation of my Apartment series that gives us a glimpse into the future of some of the main characters, it can easily be read as a standalone novel featuring the next generation of the Foster family. So if you haven’t read the first two books but this one sounds interesting to you, go ahead and jump on in! If you really like this one you can always go back and see how it all began.
The idea for this story actually came to me in a dream a while ago. It was just a fleeting image of two random teenagers making out for the first time in a dark closet during a party game that was sort of like spin the bottle. The boy was very nervous and the girl was the one putting him at ease. For some reason that one scene kept replaying in my mind over and over again after I woke up, which I found totally weird because I can never remember my dreams. I always feel like they must have been awesome, but damn if I can ever recall one single detail the next morning. That’s why when I realized that I was building on that scenario in my head the more that I thought about it, I knew I had to write it down or it would drive me crazy. As the story unfolded, I realized that I was drawing on a lot of my own experiences from when I started dating my husband, so this one ended up being very near and dear to my heart.
I really hope you check out this sweet and sexy story and let me know what you think! -Amanda Black
Q&A
1.                What elements of your own love life influenced this story? More than I should probably admit! My husband and I were both very young when we started dating. Not quite as young as Eden and Logan, but there were still plenty of bets that we would never make it.
2.                There is less angst in The Single Game than in your previous books (The Apartment and The Blank Canvas), can you talk about that a little bit more? That was most definitely on purpose. By the time I finished writing those books I was absolutely drained from all of the emotions I had dredged up, both personal and fictional. Once I started getting the idea for The Single Game I saw that as an opportunity to just sit back and have some fun. It sounds funny to say that I was avoiding melodrama while also writing about teenagers, but I just wanted it to feel genuine, sweet and loving. Life has enough angst. I wanted to give me and my readers a small break.
3.                What motivated you to write a New Adult Erotica? I was already used to writing erotic romance after the last two books, but I was just really drawn to the story that was growing in my mind of these two teenagers on the verge of graduating high school. It’s such a big milestone in everyone’s life and I wanted to see how this couple would deal with a budding relationship in the middle of all of that.
4.                I was so intrigued by the characters in this story. Logan is a shy, geeky, male virgin whereas Eden is a beautiful, confident, and sexually active HS senior girl. What made you reverse these typically male/female roles? I’m always up for a good role reversal! Honestly, some details of their relationship were drawn right from my own and other people I’ve known. There were plenty of girls who got burned by dating a player and they were much happier once they gave the shy guy another look. Plus, how many of us have said at one time, “I’d love to find a guy with no relationship baggage who I could teach exactly what I like.” Eden takes that idea and runs with it, exploring and discovering brand new things that she and Logan both like.
5.                What character in The Single Game is most like you and why?
Definitely Eden. I had the proverbial burning by the ex. Not quite as dramatic as hers was, but that scene came from my ugliest high school memories. I wasn’t back in the saddle until early college but by then I knew what a treasure I had when I found my own shy guy

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Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Blog Tour Review: Anya and the shy guy by Suze Winegardner

Anya and the shy guy by Suze Winegardner

Anya and the Shy Guy (Backstage Pass #4)
Release Date: 07/14/15
Entangled Crush

Summary from Goodreads:
Anya Anderson doesn’t just need a big break, she needs any break. Living on the streets doesn’t leave a girl many options, so when she scores a gig reporting on the Seconds to Juliet tour, she jumps at the chance to earn enough money to sleep somewhere safe. And the paycheck will get bigger—and keep her off the streets for good—if she can dig up dirt on Will Fray, the irritatingly hot “shy guy” of the band.

Problem is, Will Fray isn't who everyone thinks he is. In fact, he’s not Will at all. Matt, Will's identical twin, is actually the guy onstage, reluctantly covering for his brother while he’s in rehab. To make matters worse, Matt’s being shadowed by a cute reporter with troubled eyes determined to get the scoop. On him. And he's having trouble finding the willpower to keep his distance…

But if the secret gets out, it won't just be his head on a platter—it’ll be the whole band’s.
This Entangled Teen Crush book contains steamy make out scenes, graphic language, and a love story so hot your copy may spontaneously burst into flames. You’ve been warned.

Buy Links:




About the Author
Suze Winegardner is an ex-pat Brit who quells her homesickness with Cadbury Flakes and Fray Bentos pies. She thinks her life is chock full of hoot, just a little bit of nanny. And if you get that reference, well, she already considers you kin.
She is represented by Laura Bradford, of the Laura Bradford Literary Agency,and writes for Entangled Publishing‘s Crush imprint.
She’s lived in LondonParis and New York, and has settled, for the time being, in North Carolina.

When not writing, Suze loves to travel with her military husband, and take long walks with their Lab.

Author Links:


MY THOUGHTS:
This was my first book by Suze Winegardner and it will not be my last.
Anya is homeless and lives in a shelter in Oaklahoma and wants to be a writer. After scoring an awesome job covering Seconds to Juliet on tour, she is determined to do an awesome job and hopefully get some money so she cant get off the streets.
Matt, is Will's twin and after Will checks into rehab for an injury, Matt takes his place on tour. Anya was hired to dig up dirt on "Will" aka Matt. After interviewing Matt and really getting to know him, Anya starts putting the puzzle together, thinking that maybe "Will" really isnt Will after all. 
I loved Anya and Matt, they're my favorite couple out of the whole backstage pass series. These two had some serious chemistry. I really wish there was another book dedicated to Anya and Matt.