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Saturday, November 8, 2014

Weekly Winners

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

Yadira
RFTC Tote Bag + Swag (RFTC Monthly Giveaway)

Sue
Christmas at Magnolia Bay by Tracy Solheim

Theresa
To Love a King by Shona Husk

Sue
A SEAL's Fantasy + Swag from Tawny Weber

Diane L.
Guild Hunter Series Book of Choice from Nalini Singh

Mary
Light Her Fire by Samanthe Beck


**Replacement Winner**
Sandy K
Book of Choice from Roxanne Snopek


All winners have been notified via email. Thank you to everyone that stopped by and entered. =)

Guest Post with Author Ella Sheridan and Giveaway

Meet Ella Sheridan, author of Teach Me.

Ella grew up in the Deep South, where books provided adventures, friends, and her first taste of romance. Now she writes her own romantic adventures, with plenty of hot alpha men and the women who love and challenge them. With a day job, a husband, two active teenagers, and two not so active cats, Ella is always busy, but getting the voices in her head down on paper is a top priority.

Find Ella at:

Feature and Giveaway: Caged In Winter by Brighton Walsh


In this emotional and sexy New Adult debut from Brighton Walsh, the only thing more frightening than commitment is hope…

Aspiring chef Cade Maxwell is immediately, viscerally attracted to Winter Jacobson. But it’s not her mouthwatering curves he’s drawn to—it’s the strange emptiness in her eyes. When Cade saves her from a drunken customer with grabby hands, he’s shocked at her response…

Winter doesn’t need Cade’s help. After a lifetime of getting by on her own, she’s happy to rely on herself. She’s exactly seventy-six days away from graduating college, and if she can hold it together that long, she’ll finally be able to rise above the crappy hand she was dealt.

But now, every time she turns around, Cade is there, ready to push her, smile at her, distract her from her plans. Winter knows she can’t afford to open up—especially to a man she’s terrified to actually want…

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depository |

Friday, November 7, 2014

ARC Review: When We Met Anthology by A.L. Jackson, Molly McAdams, Tiffany King and Christina Lee


I was so excited to read the When We Met Anthology. It has such great authors contributing to it, and I knew it would be a good one! This anthology centers around four roommates with each author telling one of the girls' story.

 Behind Her Eyes by A.L. Jackson

Behind Her Eyes is Misha's story. She is just returning to school after her former boyfriend hurt her. Misha has a lot of trust issues and is scared that everyone will look at her differently after what Hunter put her through. When she finds out that the boys next door kicked Hunter out and got a new roommate, she is intrigued by him. Misha is instantly attracted to the new neighbor Darryn. But she is also afraid to let anything happen after her trust was destroyed before. But Darryn is determined to show her that things between them can be different and that he is worth taking a chance on. I really liked Darryn and Misha. They were really sweet together and you could feel the attraction between them. Darryn was kind and patient, and he really cared about Misha. He made a few bad choices, but you could tell that he was still a great guy. Misha had been through so much, and I felt really bad for her. But she was also strong and determined, and I thought that she was really brave to go back to school and face the past. Darryn and Misha were great for one another, and I felt like their connection was real and didn't feel rushed at all. I did feel as though this story was a bit slow though and that was the reason that I didn't rate this one higher. This one had a lot of depth for the short length though, and I liked how some tough issues were dealt with.

 Saving Me by Molly McAdams

This novella was amazing! Molly McAdams once again proved that she is an amazing writer and is able to tackle the tough topics. This one had me feeling so many emotions, and I really felt like these characters were special. Indy had been abandoned in horrible ways. Her brother was killed, her parents kicked her out, and she returned to school only to find her boyfriend of two years sleeping with someone else. Indy ended up drinking to escape and didn't discriminate when it came to hooking up with random guys. But she also knew that she could always go to the one place she felt safe and rely on the guy who helped her out, even if she never remembered him when she was sober. Kier had wanted Indy for awhile, and after seeing what her ex did to her he knew he finally had a chance. But he also knew that she needed time to get over everything and that he wanted her to figure things out on her own without him informing her himself. When Indy finally figures out how much Kier has been a part of her life, she wants nothing more than to get to know him better. But Kier is also suffering and has secrets of his own. I loved Kier and Indy. They were so easy to like and relate to. While I have never experienced anything like they had, I really understood where they were each coming from. They were both vulnerable and looking for a way to move past the guilt and pain they were feeling. They were great for one another, and I loved seeing them help each other heal. Kier was so sweet and protective, he just wanted to take care of Indy in any way he could. Indy was so much stronger than she knew, and had been through more than anyone should have to go through. These two had amazing chemistry and shared a strong emotional connection as well. They could not have been more perfect for one another, and I could have easily read a full length novel featuring these two!

 Fouling Out by Tiffany King

Fouling Out by Tiffany King is Courtney's story. I was really looking forward to this one because of the history between the characters and because I love me some sports romance stories! Courtney works at a local sports bar as a waitress and refuses to date athletes. She was once best friends with Dalton, the star of her school basketball team. They were inseparable until he suddenly became too cool to hang out with her and started spending all of his time playing basketball and hanging out with the cool kids. When Dalton shows up in her bar one night though, he tries to get her to talk to him only Courtney wants nothing to do with him. Dalton has no idea what has happened to make Courtney so cold, but he is determined to get back their friendship and see if there is something more between them. Dalton was really sweet, and I loved that he was determined. He wasn't afraid to do whatever it took to win Courtney over, and I loved his public declarations for her. I thought that Courtney was great and I loved that she made Dalton work for it. She was funny and I loved the witty banter between these two. I do think that Courtney was a little harsh with Dalton at times, but I was glad that she got over it and was able to give Dalton a second chance. These two were cute together and had a lot of chemistry. I really felt the connection between them, and I think a lot of that was because of the history between them. This one was really cute and I enjoyed it a lot.

 Beneath Your Layers by Christina Lee

I really enjoyed this novella, and I loved that it was an enemies to lovers story. Christina Lee did a great job with this one and I loved getting Chloe's story. Chloe's goal is to work hard and head to New York after graduation to work in the fashion industry. She is always put together and prefers to wear dresses and heels rather than jeans and sneakers. When her boss offers her the chance to turn her school project into a possible job for the future, Chloe agrees reluctantly because it means working with her boss's nephew Blake. Blake has nothing in common with Chloe and views her as nothing more than an uptight girl with a stick up her butt. But as the two begin working together they quickly realize that they have more in common than they thought and that they have made assumptions about one another. But what will happen when the project is over and they no longer have to spend so much time together? Chloe did come off as uptight at first, but it was clear that she was much more than that after getting to know her better. She was smart and sassy, and I loved that she was comfortable with who she was. She was put together and enjoyed dressing up, and fashion was something that she was really passionate about. But I felt bad for her because of her mother. Blake was really good for her, and I thought that he was exactly what she needed to get her out of her comfort zone a bit. He got her to loosen up and that was good to see. Blake was a good guy and he was dedicated to his family. He sacrificed so much for others, and I liked seeing him have such a good attitude about everything. The chemistry between these two was amazing, and I loved how the tension continued to build. Christina Lee was able to take these two characters through so much in such a short amount of time, and it felt so natural. I really enjoyed Chloe and Blake's story.

 Overall 

 Overall, this was a really great anthology. The stories all felt real and believable to me, and they didn't have any feelings of insta-love or feel rushed. That is usually one of my complaints about anthologies, but this one was so much better than I ever expected! I am a huge fan of all these authors, and I think that NA and contemporary fans will find this anthology to be a must read!

**ARC Provided by Penguin Group Berkley/Signet**

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depository |







ARC Review: Spice by Seressia Glass


Spice is quite the story. You can move past who you were but not forget what it has changed you into. It’s a great message for people who have suffered from an addiction and those who know nothing about it. The two characters deal with a relationship with a former addict and someone who knows nothing about it. The growth of the characters is clearly visible and the fact you see the change make you root for them even more. I liked the pace of the story it didn’t allow you to get complacent and bored in parts. It was very, very, hot. Nadia and Kane steam up the pages as they try to recreate all the positions out of The Perfumed Garden.

Nadia Spiceland, I love this character, she is the child of a same sex marriage with two brothers and a famous name and face. As a talented baker she won a spot on a reality T.V. show and then her own show. Unfortunately the weight of fame wore down on her and she became reliant on prescription drugs. Now years later she has moved past her addiction and owns a cafe with her best friend and fellow former addict. Nadia and Siobhan “Sugar” have successfully run Sugar and Spice and now Nadia is ready to move on and end the dry spell. Vanessa another friend of Nadia points out the sexy professor who has come just about every day for the last couple of month comes in and tries not to stare at Nadia every time. Kaname Sullivan has been bidding his time with the beautiful baker with his reputation he has learned to tread carefully. No strange to fame Kane has made a name for himself as the go-to consultant when it comes to sex crimes and as a professor of Human Sexuality. Being drop dead sexy Japanese/Irish (can’t you just imagine that) has earned him the nick name Professor Sex. Kane willing steps up the plate after being outed by Vanessa and asks Nadia out, purely physical nothing more. Soon after their first encounter Kane knows they have the potential to be something more; and isn’t as scared at that thought then he thought he should be. Nadia is upfront about her past well most of it, but they both agree they want to be old fashion and not Google each other.

They share a very steamy affair where they both have not been happier anytime apart from each other makes them miserable. Their relationship has its first trial when Nadia’s friend Audie calls in the middle of the night needing help. Kane isn’t letting Nadia go at it alone and even helps Audie by calling in counseling help for her. Audie in return turns on Nadia and spews some verbal diarrhea and hurts Nadia’s feelings. Without missing beat Kane is there to help Nadia work through her pain. Soon afterwards Kane starts using the “G” word girlfriend. After some typical boyfriend and girlfriend bumps in the road it is soon obvious they are in love. But one small misstep on Kane’s part and he just might lose Nadia. I have high hopes for the rest of this series.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | B&N |






Guest Post with Author Stacey Kennedy and Giveaway

Meet Stacey Kennedy, author of Freed: Club Sin.

Stacey Kennedy is the USA Today bestselling author of the Club Sin series. Growing up, Stacey’s mind wandered the path less traveled, and that path most often led to love. She has always broken rules and she continues to feed off emotion—always staying true to her heart. Those traits are now the bones of her stories. She lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, who puts any of the heroes in her books to shame, and their two young children. If she’s not on Mom duty or plugging away at a new story, you’ll find Stacey camping in the summer, hibernating in the winter, and obsessing over Penny Dreadful, Game of Thrones, and Sons of Anarchy.

Find Stacey at:

Guest Post with Author Regina Cole and Giveaway

Meet Regina Cole, author of Draw Me In.

Regina Cole, lover of manly muscled arms, chest hair, and mini-marshmallows, has been reading romance since her early teens. While she loves a love story of any heat level, she’s been drawn to the erotic side and is loving every minute. When she’s not frantically pounding away at the keyboard, she can be found fishing with her family, playing with her dogs, trying out strange new recipes, or snuggling with her hubby. She also writes mainstream romance as Gina Lamm.

Find Regina at:

Thursday, November 6, 2014

ARC Review: Lady Elinor's Wicked Adventure by Lillian Marek


Lady Elinor’s Wicked Adventures is a delightful story a young woman’s desire to experience true adventure. It is a Regency Romance full of history both current, for that time, and ancient; a very light and entertaining read. The flow of the story is very smooth and everything that happens is well placed with no over long dry, nothing happening spots. The adventure portion isn’t as adventurous as in some other books but it is still entertaining with its missing treasure and undiscovered tombs of long ago civilizations.

Lady Elinor also known as Norrie is a very interesting character, she is a typical young lady of the time but longs for more than just tea time and balls. She wants adventure like her brother and his best friend experienced on their journey on the continent. She is also very intelligent but plays the part of the delicate woman so not to shock the men. She knows her place in society even if she doesn’t wish to conform to it. Hartcourt de Vaux, Viscount Tunbury, aka Harry discovered his feeling for Norrie early in her first season but with his suspicions of his parentage he never thought he was good enough for her, so he left on an extended journey throughout Europe and beyond. Four years later he returns to find that not much has changed, Norrie still unmarried and a little more mature is still as beautiful as ever.

Norrie’s Father is active in politics and has been a little worse for wear, so to get his mind off of politics Lady Penworth plans a trip to Italy. Lord and Lady Penworth have a fascination with the Etruscan antiquities, and wish to see first-hand some of dig sites. Lady Penworth asks Harry to come along because he is fluent in Italian. Along the way Norrie discovers why she never settled for any of her suitors, she never realized that her strong feelings for her brother’s best friend was love, as soon as she did she set out to make Harry hers. In a fit of jealousy Harry finally admits his feeling to Norrie. In between Harry and Norrie’s funny courtship Rycote, Norrie’s brother, finds love also with an Italian woman whose brother was involved with the revolution to unite Italy. The book is very full there is always something happening. Going from London to Paris to Rome and the Italian country side it is a very informative and entertaining read. This is one of those books I will gladly go back and reread.

Harry DeVaux, Viscount Tunbury, loves Lady Elinor Tremaine, but is convinced that his past makes him unworthy of her. He agrees to accompany the Tremaine family to Italy to explore Etruscan ruins, even if it chips away at his resolve to stay away from the delightful woman he loves.

Amid the sightseeing and treasure hunting, Elinor comes to realize that she wants far more from Harry than friendship, but when a dangerous discovery leaves them fighting for their lives, it might just be too late...

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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



ARC Review: Written in the Sand by T.A. Foster and Mary-Kathryn Craft


I really loved the cover of this book, and I have to come to enjoy T.A. Fosters books after having read quite a few now. So when I first saw Written in the Sand, I knew I wanted to read this one. Written in the Sand is written by T.A. Foster and Mary-Kathryn Craft, and this is the first that I have read of Mary-Kathryn Craft's work. While this one had a lot of promise, I felt like this book just fell flat for me. I had quite a few issues with it and although it had its good moments, for the most part it just wasn't what I had been hoping for or expecting.

Best friends Maggie and Blair head to an island for the summer before beginning their new lives. They are determined to have their last summer together be the best it can, but both of them start to feel a bit bored after a month on the island. Then they meet cousins Justyn and Reid and everything changes. Both girls make a pact to keep things casual with no entanglements, but soon they are both developing real feelings. What happens when summer ends and everything you though you wanted suddenly isn't what you want anymore?

I liked all the characters in this story, but I didn't really feel connected to them. Reid and Justyn were great and they were just your normal good guys. But there really wasn't much about them that stood out as far as being anything really different or unique. Same for Blair and Maggie. They were sweet girls that had a great friendship, but I didn't find myself relating to them. All four of them seemed to have moments of immaturity, and at times they felt as though they were younger than their actual ages. I felt like there was some chemistry and attraction between each couple, but everything felt a bit rushed and forced to me.

I think my biggest problem was that there was so much push and pull with all of the characters, that it just didn't ever really seem to come together for me. Even when it looked like things were finally on track, something would happen to derail everything again. It just got too drawn out for me, and irritated me to the point that I lost interest. I also thought that it was weird how all the way through the book the girls and the guys would often refer to Blair and Maggie as "The Blonde" or "The Brunette". It just felt strange and I wasn't sure why they kept doing it. It almost felt like they couldn't remember the name of who they were thinking about or referring to. While I liked the idea of this book, it just never quite delivered for me. It was a mostly enjoyable read, and I think it was nice to get a good beach story as we head into cold weather. But this book was predictable and just felt like so many other NA stories already out there only not as well executed. If you are looking for a NA story that you can just relax and read without much depth or emotion, this one might be something you would enjoy. But those looking for something different or with a fresh take on the genre might not want to read this one.

**ARC Provided by Inkslinger PR**

Purchase: | Amazon | B&N |






Guest Post with Author Leigh Greenwood and Giveaway


Leigh Greenwood is the USA Today bestselling author of the popular Seven Brides, Cowboys, and Night Riders series. The proud father of three grown children, Leigh resides in Charlotte, North Carolina. He never intended to be a writer, but he found it hard to ignore the people in his head, and the only way to get them out was to write. Visit him at www.leigh-greenwood.com.

Find Leigh at:
| Site | Facebook |

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

ARC Review: The Accidental Countess by Valerie Bowman


When I read “The Accidental Duchess (Playful Brides #1) I fell in love with Valerie Bowman. It was such a fantastic, hilarious, entertaining book I was eager to read “The Accidental Countess (Playful Brides #2).

A little bit of background: Lady Cassandra is friends with Lady Lucy Upton who was in the heroine in the first book. Where Lucy is straightforward and doesn’t hold back Cassandra is shy and timid. They are also friends with Jane Lowndes who is a bluestocking. The friendship between the three heroines is very entertaining because they can’t help but get into trouble at every twist and turn.

Cassandra has been in love with her cousin’s fiancé for many years-Julian. So in love that she correspondence with Julian without him knowing it’s her. Julian returns from war and he is eager to break off his engagement but he stops off at a house party first. At this house party Lucy comes up with a plan to disguise Cassandra as Patience Bunbury.

I have a couple of confessions to make. First, I wanted to love this story and I didn’t. I hate that I didn’t because I loved the previous book so much. One of my issues was that Cassandra and Julian don’t meet until 30% of the book. I personally love to see if characters have chemistry from the beginning. Lucy and Derek were so hilarious and they were so much fun I anticipated the same friction. The first part of the book is Lucy scheming of how to set up Cassandra and Julian. Another part was that the whole plot seemed really silly and it was really disappointing. The girls introduce Cassandra as this fictional person in the hopes that what? How was Julian going to fall in love with Patience and then be ok with her really being Cassandra the real person that corresponded with him? I know the plot was intended to be cute but it seemed to me to be ridiculous.

Also, although there were some funny and cute moments, Cassandra and Julian didn’t overly impress me as a couple. They did build a friendship all those years ago writing back and forth with one another but I was not impressed with Cassandra’s willingness to present herself as someone else. I also didn’t like when she would question Julian about things in his life that she already knew because they corresponded with each other.

So although the story was cute and I enjoyed it… I still felt a little let down. That doesn’t mean I’m not counting down until the next book “The Unlikely Lady.” Jane and Garretts story seems like it will be a lot of fun! So even though this was a little lackluster for me, I do have to add that it has received excellent reviews, I’m still eagerly awaiting the next book!

**ARC provided by Author**

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | B&N |





ARC Review: The Redemption by S.L. Scott


I am a huge fan of S.L. Scott's. I have read a lot of her books at this point, and I know when I start a new story of hers that I am going to like it. She has a great writing style and she always has such real and unique characters. The Redemption is a standalone novel, but it does belong in the same world as The Resistance and has interconnected characters.

After losing the only man she has ever loved, Rochelle Floros is left trying to pick up the pieces all while trying to raise her two young sons alone. She finds herself leaning on the band members of The Resistance and feels drawn to the drummer Dex Caggiano. Rochelle has known the bad boy drummer for years, but things have begun to change between them. As drawn to each other as they are, they both know that a relationship between them will never be simple. With the boys to think about, as well as the rest of the band, and the world watching them, Rochelle and Dex must decide if they are right for one another or if they are better off staying friends.

I liked Dex and Rochelle. They both had issues, and were very complicated individuals. I felt like Dex was constantly underestimated, and everyone always assumed the worst about him. He didn't help himself out a lot of times, but it wasn't until Rochelle started to really show him that he deserved more for him to believe it. He needed someone to stand beside him and love him for him, so it was good to see Rochelle give him exactly what he needed. Rochelle had been dealt a lot of bad, and was doing the best she could. She was a good mom, and her priorities were in the right place. But she also frustrated me at times because she had kind of shut down after her loss. I understood where she was coming from, and yet I wanted her to figure things out. Dex and Rochelle had amazing chemistry together, and you could feel the tension between them. These two were meant to be together, and I really believed their connection.

For me though, this book had an insane amount of push and pull. It was from both Dex and Rochelle, and it drove me nuts. I could not figure out how these two could know and embrace their feelings for one another and still not be together for the majority of this book. By the time they were officially together, the book was almost over and I felt like we had missed out on really getting to see these two together. I wanted to see more of their relationship and them actually being a couple than we got, and I felt like we had been cheated a bit because of it. They had been through so much as individuals and as a couple trying to find their way that I just wanted to see them happy and in love, and actually together for awhile. I still think that this was a good story, and you really can't go wrong with anything by S.L. Scott. But I just found the push and pull between these two to be frustrating and too much. I will definitely read more from S.L. Scott in the future though, and I would love to see more of the characters in this world.

**ARC Provided by Inkslinger PR**

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | B&N |