Weekly Winners

Below is a list of all of the winners from last week.

Lisa
Beautiful, Nothing More and Roman Crazy

Glenda
The Perks of Loving a Scoundrel by Jennifer McQuiston

**Monthly Newsletter Giveaway Winners**

Amy
Swag Pack

Trudy
Two Books from the RFTC Book Stash

Lisa W.
Kindle copy of The Unidentified Redhead, Redhead Revealed, Redhead Plays Her Hand by Alice Clayton

Lisa K.
Kindle copy of Losing It by Cora Carmack

Shyla
$5 Amazon Gift Card

All winners have been notified via email and are posted on the Rafflecopter form from that giveaway post. Thank you to everyone that stopped by and entered. =)

ARC Review: Broken by Lisa Edward

Ok, I'm really not sure how I feel about this book. My emotions range between thinking it was pretty good to just a total WTF experience. There is some unexpected stuff in this book and I just didn't see it coming. Also, what happened wasn't what I signed up for. I felt like I started reading one book and ended up reading another. And the book i ended up reading was not one I wanted to be reading. I finally settled on 3 stars because the writing is good, the romance was sincere and I think contemporary romance fans who like emotional stuff will enjoy this.

I'm the daughter of a minister (yeah yeah, it's true) so reading about a sexually oppressed preacher's wife was a good hook for me. Evie is said wife. She tried to stick it out in a very stiff, lacking in love marriage but it just wasn't working. The straw that broke the tepid marriage's back was the fact that for whatever reason she and the preacher didn't have any kids. Even as Evie is deciding to walk away from her marriage, her husband is arguing about appearances and not about love. So needless to say, Evie has a hole in her heart that could use filling. 

Enter Adam. When we first met Adam, I thought he was so honest. He is a super sweet romantic hero. He even has a faithful dog and a British accent. What could go wrong. WHY DID YOU HAVE TO ASK? All I can tell you is that Adam is in the Hamptons getting away just like Evie is. Adam's reasons for getting away are much different. I should have a heart, and I do. Somewhere. But instead of feeling sympathetic towards Adam, I found myself kinda wanting to punch him the longer he went on without sharing his secret with Evie. (No cheating, it's not that type of party). The secret that Adam is keeping, in my opinion, prevents a genuine connection from forming between Adam and Evie. As a result, I never really got into the relationship between these two, I just couldn't. So I spent a whole life feeling like the author was telling me about something that I wasn't actually experiencing. 

I can't really explain to you just how much the end of this book bothered me without spoiling it. What I can tell you was this, the author suddenly decides to tie up all these issues and I did not like or understand the resolution. I did not believe that the two characters described by the author in the book would behave the way they did at the end of the book. I also felt like the resolutions were a little shallow. There were some things that really required more explanation and it just didn't happen. So I ended the book feeling a little dissatisfied. I hope I am explaining things well. This was not a bad book. What happened was that there were character issues that turned into plot issues. By the end, I just wasn't into the romance.

**ARC Provided by Publisher**

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | B&N | iTunes |

Feature and Giveaway: In Safe Hands by Katie Ruggle

He was her hero,

But one wrong move ended their future before it could begin.

Now he'll do whatever it takes to keep her safe,

Even if that means turning against one of his own.

As a member of the Field County Sheriff's Department, Chris Jennings is used to having it rough. The Colorado Rockies aren't for the weak-of-spirit, but he's devoted his life to upholding the law—and to protecting the one woman he knows he can never have. He'll do whatever it takes to keep her safe.

Daisy Little has lived in agoraphobic terror for over eight years. Trapped within a prison of her own making, she watches time pass through her bedroom window. Daisy knows she'll never be a part of the world...until the day she becomes the sole witness of a terrible crime that may finally tear the Search & Rescue brotherhood apart for good.

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | B&N | iTunes |

ARC Review: The White Spell by Lynn Kurland

A very good start to a new trilogy in the Nine Kingdoms. Despite my disappointment in the finale of Kurland's last Nine Kingdoms Trilogy, I was still excited to read The White Spell. I had read the synopsis and was intrigued to learn more about Acair (who is a villain in previous books) and I was just hoping to fall in love again with her writing like I did in the past. 

Acair has been a mischief making no good black mage for his entire life. He finds himself in a moment of weakness and agrees to a penance of sorts for the evil things he has done. He is not allowed to use his magic for a year, and he is to go to a unpleasant land and work as a stable hand. Being a man of his word (his one and only virtue) he heads to Saraichte to do his time. 

When he gets there he immediately begins working and becomes intrigued by Leirsinn who has quite a gift with handling horses. She is the local lord's niece and is working the stables so that her grandfather can be cared for. Her situation is dire but she is saving and trying to get herself and her grandfather out. She and Acair unfortunately run afoul of some dark magic and need to flee for their lives. 

I loved Acair! He is honest to everyone but himself it seems. He is waging an inner war of good versus evil. He curses at quite a many things, horses, and people. Yet he shows tenderness and gentlemanly qualities as well. He is the main reason I was pleased with this book. I definitely fell for him and his tortured self. Leirsinn on the other hand was way too similar to Aisling of the previous Nine Kingdoms Trilogy. I grew tired of her constant swooning and denial of the truth staring her in the face. But she still was sweet and courageous and bursting with potential. Great things may come from both of these characters in the future. 

Kurland's plots (at least for the Nine Kingdoms stories because I haven't read many of her others) are starting to get a little repetitive and predictable. That's why I was excited to see her make a previous villain into a hero. This was out of the box, and she completed the task spectacularly. There is a bit too much flying around from place to place seeking safety and searching for answers. I really hope Kurland has something unexpected up her sleeves for the next two books. I have all the faith in her and am as always impatient for the next book!

**ARC Provided by Publisher**

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | B&N | iTunes | 

ARC Review: Love Me Crazy by Camden Leigh

Love Me Crazy was cute and sexy, and I enjoyed a lot about this book. Being the first book I have read from Camden Leigh, it is always a bit of a gamble and this one mostly paid off. I did have a few things that kept me from absolutely loving the story, but I would read more from Camden Leigh in the future.

After an awful breakup, Cassidy is focused on making the most of her life. Determined to succeed in her job, Cassidy sets out to plan the perfect wedding and she has no time for distractions. But when she meets Quinn, she realizes that she might not be able to fight what she feels for him. Having been gone for five years, Quinn's return home brings up a lot of unresolved issues from his past. With everything that Cassidy has been through, can she risk her heart again with Quinn? 

These two were sweet and sexy together, and I loved the heat between them. They were different in a lot of ways, yet both of them were struggling with a lot. Because of everything that each of them had been through, they were able to understand and relate to each other. That also brought out Cassidy's fears and insecurities though, and it got frustrating at times when Cassidy was constantly doing the push/pull thing with Quinn. I liked Quinn a lot though, and he was definitely one of the high points here. It was so great to see a hero that was pursuing the heroine and didn't give up on her, even when she kept pushing him away. I will admit that I struggled with Cassidy though and I felt like I could never really connect with her.

I think that my biggest issue here though was that there wasn't a lot of depth to the characters or the growing relationship between them. Everything felt surface deep, and I found myself wanting more. I am all for a sexy story, and there was plenty of heat here! But I do want a genuine connection and romance to go along with the steam, and I just felt like this story didn't entirely deliver when it came to the emotional side of things. I did still enjoy it, and I will read more from Camden Leigh. Quinn was a great character, and I would recommend giving this book a shot for him alone.

**ARC Provided by Publisher**

Purchase: | Amazon | B&N | iTunes | 

Guest Post with Author Danielle Pearl and Giveaway

Meet Danielle Pearl author In Ruins.

Danielle Pearl is the bestselling author of the Something More series. She lives in New Jersey with her three delicious children and ever-supportive husband, who—luckily—doesn't mind sharing her with an array of fictional men. She did a brief stint at Boston University and worked in marketing before publishing her debut novel, Normal. She writes mature Young Adult and New Adult contemporary romance. Danielle enjoys coffee, wine, and cupcakes, and not in moderation.

| Site | Facebook | Twitter |

Feature and Giveaway: The Trouble with Mistletoe by Jill Shalvis

If she has her way…

Willa Davis is wrangling puppies when Keane Winters stalks into her pet shop with frustration in his chocolate-brown eyes and a pink bedazzled cat carrier in his hand. He needs a kitty sitter, stat. But the last thing Willa needs is to rescue a guy who doesn’t even remember her…

…He’ll get nothing but coal in his stocking.

Saddled with his great-aunt’s Feline from Hell, Keane is desperate to leave her in someone else’s capable hands. But in spite of the fact that he’s sure he’s never seen the drop-dead gorgeous pet shop owner before, she seems to be mad at him…

Unless he tempers “naughty” with a special kind of nice…

Willa can’t deny that Keane’s changed since high school: he’s less arrogant, for one thing—but he doesn’t even remember her. How can she trust him not to break her heart again? It’s time to throw a coin in the fountain, make a Christmas wish–and let the mistletoe do its work…

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | B&N | iTunes |

Check out the Heartbreaker Bay series:

  

She watched Keane take in the two newest Christmas trees, one in front of O’Riley’s Pub, the other in front of Reclaimed Woods, both decorated in simple red and gold balls. The only sound around them was the soft trickle of the water flowing from the fountain and some lovelorn crickets mourning the dawn’s lack of warmth.

“Legend states that if you make a wish with a true heart, true love will find you,” she said.

He met her gaze. “Legend also states that if you put your tooth under your pillow the Tooth Fairy will leave you cash.”

She slowed, as always the fountain calling to her to make a wish. Keane slowed too, looking at her with a question.

She searched her pockets for change, but could only come up with a dog treat. “Damn.” It was the swear jar’s fault, all her spare change always ended up in there.

“What?”

“I wanted to make a wish,” she said.

A small smile crossed his face. “You want to make a wish? You’ve lived here for how long and you’ve never made one?”

“Oh, I have.” She paused. “I like to.”

This garnered her a raised brow. “How many times have you wished?”

She bit her lower lip.

“More than once?”

Well, crap. How had they gotten on this subject? “Um…”

“More than…five?”

“Gee, would you look at the time?” she asked and tried to go but he caught her and brought her back around, his smile now a broad grin.

“Fine,” she said. “If you must know, I toss a coin in every time I walk by.”

He lost the battle with his laughter and she stared at him. Seriously, he had the best laugh. “It worked for Pru, I’ll have you know,” she told him. “She wished for true love to find Finn, and then he fell in love with her.”

And Willa had been wishing ever since, even knowing how ridiculous and silly it was.

“So…you’ve been wishing for true love for who exactly?” he asked.

She stared at him in dismay. How had she not thought this through? “Me,” she admitted, slapping her pockets because surely she had even a penny. “But I intend to fix that right now. I’ll just wish for love for someone else.”

“Who?” he asked warily.

She narrowed her eyes at his fear. “You. Got any change?”

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jill Shalvis lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental. Look for Jill’s sexy contemporary and award-winning books wherever romances are sold and click on the blog button above for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mounta ins adventures.

| Site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads |

Up For Grabs:

• 1 $25 Gift Card

To Enter:

• Please fill out the Rafflecopter form.

Good Luck!

Special thanks to Jill Shalvis & InkSlinger PR for sponsoring this tour-wide giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ARC Review: The Exposure by Tara Sue Me

This is the 9th book in the submissive series and I had been waiting for this.We meet the two characters in this book in other books in the series and they both seem really compelling. By way of background, you don't have to read the other books in the series to read this one. I haven't read any of the books in this series in order. I really liked a couple of the books and I was sort of meh about others, So now you know my personal history with the series. I can tell you that no matter how I've felt about specific books in the series, I have always, this book included, found Tara Sue Me to be an above average writer with a skill for delivering superior erotic content and great character driven stories.

In this book, we finally get the story of Meagan and Luke. We find out pretty quickly that the two have a history together. They first met during a whirlwind weekend relationship in their early 20s. Meagan was a model and Luke was her photographer, both were up and coming in the industry. The first thing that I thought was interesting was the reason the relationship did not last past the first weekend the two were together. The reason Luke walked away seemed very real life to me. There was no melodrama or angst, it was just one of those grown up choices people sometimes make. I liked that Luke was honest and Meagan was too. The two weren't stunted by their relationship or their separation, both went on to live full lives apart but never forgot each other.

The author brings the characters together by using Luke's desire to rekindle the relationship in tandem with Meagan's personal crisis. Meagan is being blackmailed by somebody regarding something involving her brother from her past. Meagan doesn't really want to get involved with Luke again (that changes quickly) but she kind of has no choice. I loved that after reconnecting with Luke, Meagan can't stop her feelings for him. The connection quickly becomes real and overshadows whatever vague threat is lurking.

Of course the sex in any Tara Sue Me book is smoking hot and kinky. But in addition, Meagan and Luke have a real connection that kind of comes off the pages at you. I thought it was really interesting to see how the sexual relationship between the two changed as they both matured. They had been together years ago but they got to know their bodies. Luke got to know is dominant side and Meagan became totally at ease with her submissive side. Seeing how their interactions changed was just refreshing to me for some reason. If I had a criticism of this book it would be that some of it was a little off pace and the suspense was kind of mediocre. All in all, these are minor criticisms that did not stop me from enjoying this one.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | B&N | iTunes | Kobo |

ARC Review: The Trouble With Before by Portia Moore

The Trouble With Before is my first read by Portia Moore. While this book is a standalone, I found out after reading that it is part of a series. You do not need to read them in order to understand or enjoy this one though. I will say that after finding that out I read some reviews and it seems as though a lot of people had issues with Lisa from before this book. I do think that even those that had issues with her should read this book though. I couldn't put this one down, and I can't wait to read more from Portia Moore.

Lisa Gregory made a decision as a teenager that changed her life. It cost her her two best friends, but she set out on her own to discover herself. When she finds herself lost after everything, she heads back home to start over. But she quickly realizes that her past isn't easily forgotten by those that at one time were everything to her. Now that she is back, she finds herself face to face with Aiden Riles, only everything is different. Can they possibly have a future together though after everything that has happened? 

I will admit that I struggled with Lisa here, and I definitely understood why a lot of readers had issues with her character. She made some horrible choices and that was really hard for her to come back from in the story and with me personally. I did see growth and change though, and that went a long way in how I saw her over the course of this book. Getting to know her and see her through her POV really helped me to understand where she was coming from, even if I didn't always like it. I really loved Aiden though. He was nice and impossible not to fall for. I loved that he seemed so genuine and good, so real and easy to relate to. Their connection was special and they had great chemistry, I really felt like they were perfect for one another. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and didn't want to stop reading. This book surprised me in a lot of ways, and I was so glad that I took a chance on this new to me author. It definitely won't be the last I read from Portia Moore, and I can't wait to read more in this series. I think fans of this series will enjoy getting to know Lisa more, especially if they can try to keep an open mind. This book was such a journey for these characters, and I really loved that it was about love and friendship and being able to overcome mistakes.

**ARC Provided by Ardent PRose**

Purchase: | Amazon | B&N | iTunes | 

Feature and Giveaway: Mine for Now by Erika Kelly

From the award-winning author of the Rock Star Romance books comes a sizzling new series about the O’Donnell siblings. The pull of wild love is irresistible.

She’s had enough drama in her life.

Nicole O’Donnell is more than ready for the fresh start college offers. After a lifetime of trying to help her alcoholic mom and ex-boyfriend get sober, she’s finally learned her lesson: people don’t change. They certainly don’t change for her.

He can never leave his drama behind.

Thanks to his mom’s substance abuse issues, Dylan McCaffrey’s persona non grata in his hometown of Gun Powder, Colorado. So when he scores a free ride to the top university in the country, he’s determined to make something of this fresh start. But his mom has always relied on him, and she’s not handling his absence well at all. If he can just keep up his grades, pay her bills, and come home every break, he might be able to pull off this opportunity.

True love won’t be denied.

No matter how determined they are to steer clear of each other, their combustible connection explodes, especially when Nicole offers Dylan the one thing he can’t bear—hope. Once he has a taste of it—and the irresistible force of her—there’s no going back.

But when he falls too deeply, when he loses sight of his priorities, he might just lose it all.

Purchase: | Amazon | B&N | iTunes |

ARC Review: Sin's Temptation by Evie Harrison

Sin's Temptation is the first book in the Erotic Intentions series by Evie Harrison. This standalone story is only about 85 pages long, and was a very quick and sexy read. There was a ton of steam and Jordan was all alpha. If you are looking for a fast read and plenty of heat, this is one you should check out. 

Jordan is a successful man after inventing one of the world's most popular sex toys. He doesn't do commitment and doesn't believe in marriage. But everything changes when he meets Natalie. Jordan quickly realizes that he will do whatever it takes to not only make her his, but keep her forever.

I have to admit I wasn't Jordan's biggest fan. He rubbed me wrong a bit in the beginning and it was hard to get past some of that. There was a ton of heat between these two, and I thought that they were super sexy together, but honestly that was it for me. I didn't believe their connection as it was so instant that it was impossible for me to buy into. They had just met and things were just too over the top to be even remotely plausible.

I think that if you judge this book for the sex and steam alone, it is worth the read. But if you are looking for any bit of substance here, you might want to skip this one. While I do appreciate the heat, I need a bit more to truly enjoy a story and this one just didn't get me there in the short amount of pages that was.

**ARC Provided by Ardent PRose**

Purchase: | Kindle |