Feature and Giveaway: Real Earls Break The Rules by Tina Gabrielle

Rules are made to be broken…

He’ll break every rule for her…

She’s forbidden in every way…

1816 England

Brandon St. Clair, the Earl of Vale, has never been one to follow the rules. Even though he must marry a wealthy heiress so that he can be rid of the pile of debt he inherited with his title, he can’t stop thinking of another. Amelia Somerton is the daughter of an art forger and is not a suitable wife. But that doesn’t stop Brandon from making Amelia a different offer, the kind that breaks every rule of etiquette…

Sin runs in Amelia’s family. And even though she now rubs elbows with the aristocracy, she knows the truth—she has the ability to forge priceless works of art. She’ll never be seen as an acceptable wife, not that she wants to marry, anyway. So when the earl scandalously offers her the one thing she’s always dreamed of, she can’t help but take it. But what begins as a simple arrangement, soon escalates into much more, and as the heat between them sizzles, each encounter becomes a lesson in seduction…

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ARC Review: Banger by Aria Cole

If you've read any Aria Cole book, you know what you're getting yourself into. It's going to be quick and dirty. There will be a bossy alpha male some dirty talk and lots of dirty deeds. This book delivers what's on the label. Ellis is Tobias' office assistant. Ellis is the only person who doesn't seem aware of how super hot she is but Tobias is. Unfortunately Tobias is Ellis' boss and Ellis does not want to blow her chance at a good job by....blowing her boss....ok, sorry sorry, I couldn't help myself. But seriously, Ellis is worried about her job.

These books are pretty short, probably about 100 or so pages. So Tobias pretty quickly decides that he cannot live without Ellis. He is obsessing about getting her under or over him constantly. She is his assistant but he is distracted whenever she is around. Ellis is also fixated on her boss. She tries to remember her professional objections, but Tobias quite effectively makes her forget her sensibilities. One night Ellis and Tobias are trapped in a closet and it's on like Donkey Kong. And seriously, that's pretty much all there is. It's a short distance between that point and the end of the book and a HEA.

This book was good fun. It's super easy to read and it's light on the too heavy angst that sometimes shows up in romance. This book is not going to change your life but you'll be entertained for a couple of hours. I do have one note about this book, or two. First, something about the language gave me a soft core porn vibe. It just all seemed really contrived. Like Ellis would come in to see Tobias and say "let me know what else I can do for you Mr. Banger" with wide eyes and breathy voice. Ok, you have to see some soft core porn to know what I mean. It's just the writing made the characters into caricatures which made a lot of the book seem kind of cheesy. The second note is that Tobias was engaged in text book sexual harassment. He was Ellis' boss, she kept telling him she didn't want to have a relationship with him and he just kept pursuing her. Before Ellis finally gave in, Tobias was cornering her and making inappropriate comments every chance he got. I put aside my judgment and ethics so I can enjoy the ride but if you are prone to distraction, this would be distracting for you. In real life, Tobias crossed several lines. For the sake of entertainment, this is still a fun light read.

**ARC provided by Ardent PRose**

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Feature and Giveaway: Out of Bounds by Lauren Blakely

The first rule of football--don't screw with a streak.

My career is finally looking up, and I'm leading a new pro team down the field every Sunday. No way will I mess with that. But when I meet the most stunning and captivating woman I've ever seen, I tell myself one night will have to be enough.

But it's not. And now I can't get her out of my mind. Even when I'm playing. Even when I need to focus. Even when I’m on the hottest streak of my life.

And it turns out, she's not just some random woman I met. She works for the team. My team.

***

I only have one goal this season--do my part as the team's lawyer to keep them out of trouble. Help rebuild their reputation on and off the field. There's no room for error and certainly no room for a secret tryst with a player . . . even if he's the quarterback.

Right?

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ARC Review: Decidedly Off Limits by Stina Lindenblatt

I have read several of Stina Lindenblatt's books and while I have enjoyed each of them, there have been things about them that kept me from truly loving them. When I read the blurb for Decidedly Off Limits though, I knew I had to read it. Not only did the blurb sound awesome, but Decidedly Off Limits is my jam! I absolutely love brother's best friend romance books, and I will read every last one. I have to say though that this is my favorite of the books that I have read from Stina Lindenblatt. While I did really like it, there were a few things that kept this one from being perfect for me though. 

Trent and Kelsey have both wanted each other for as long as they can remember, but they know that nothing can happen between them. Not only is Kelsey's older brother Trent's best friend, but she is Trent's little sister's best friend. After breaking up with her ex-fiance, Kelsey isn't ready to be second choice to someone's job again which is just another reason why things with Trent would never work. Trent learned the hard way that relationships don't work for him, and he knows that Kelsey deserves better than he can offer her even if things weren't forbidden between them. But when Kelsey's brother heads overseas for his newest mission, he makes Trent promise to keep an eye on her and the more time they spend together the harder they find it to fight the connection that has always been there. 

I really liked these two and the connection they shared. It was obvious that they had always felt strongly about one another, and yet they never talked to each other about it or did anything. I understood that they had their reasons, and yet it was frustrating that they had no clue how the other felt because they simply never communicated it. They had strong chemistry, and with their feelings being genuine it made me skeptical that their families would have been upset about them being together for long. When they finally did start to explore what was between them, they spent so much time trying to hide their relationship that I started to get a bit frustrated. I really did like them together and thought that they were great for one another, but I just wish that things would have happened a bit different for their relationship as it progressed. 

Overall, this was a good book and definitely my favorite of those I have read from Stina Lindenblatt. There were still some things that I would have liked to have seen happen differently, but I think that readers will enjoy this one. I would probably rate this one somewhere between 3 and 4 stars, but I was invested in their story right away and I liked the characters a lot which made it hard to put this book down. I am hoping that Stina will continue to tell stories about some of the secondary characters from this book as I liked them just as much as Kelsey and Trent. I recommend giving this one a shot if you like contemporary romance stories with a touch of the forbidden.

**ARC Provided by Bocci PR**

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ARC Review: Dark Corners by A.M. Madden

I didn't like this book BUT in all fairness, this just isn't the right book for ME. This might be a good pick for you.

This is David and Maygen's story.  I thought I would like this book because David is the strong heroic type and that always gets me going.  I knew it was about David coming back from the edge of severe depression and PTSD  but I just didn't realize David would be in as bad of shape as he was. Ok, I feel like a horrible person for even saying this about a fictional former soldier but hey it is fiction. David lived in a crappy apartment. He wasn't really doing much with his life and he was just generally a little pitiful  Ok,so normally I love to see guys in this position get saved by a strong female hero but in this case, David needed a lot of saving.

And then there is Maygen.  Ok, I liked her.  She was strong and a little quirky and she did amazing things for David's frayed sense of self.  David, however, with his poor broke down self turned out to be hiding something that ultimately would be a betrayal to Maygen.  Obviously she eventually forgives him and voila HEA.  The betrayal wasn't enough of a plot twist.  It seemed like the author tried to spice things up with a stalker plot line but even that seemed more like an after thought than a focal point of the story.  In the meantime, I just felt every second of this book. There was something about the plot that just dragged.  I even found many of the interactions between the characters to be very awkward and drawn out. 

I think if you like a lot of emotion and the kind of agonizing hero that David is, you might like this book.  For me, I think I'm just looking for something sexier and more fast paced.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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