Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Jasmine Guillory’s The Wedding Date is LIVE!


A groomsman and his last-minute guest are about to discover if a fake date can go the distance in a fun and flirty debut novel.

Agreeing to go to a wedding with a guy she gets stuck with in an elevator is something Alexa Monroe wouldn't normally do. But there's something about Drew Nichols that's too hard to resist.

On the eve of his ex's wedding festivities, Drew is minus a plus one. Until a power outage strands him with the perfect candidate for a fake girlfriend...

After Alexa and Drew have more fun than they ever thought possible, Drew has to fly back to Los Angeles and his job as a pediatric surgeon, and Alexa heads home to Berkeley, where she's the mayor's chief of staff. Too bad they can't stop thinking about the other... 

They're just two high-powered professionals on a collision course toward the long distance dating disaster of the century--or closing the gap between what they think they need and what they truly want...
 






Christy's Review:


description

The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory is charming, sweet, and downright adorable! I had trouble believing this was a debut novel- it was so well written and a pleasure to read!

Alexa and Drew meet in an unconventional way. They’re stuck together in an elevator. Being stuck together leads to them going to a wedding together. After that, this couple just can’t seem to get enough of each other. Drew is a pediatric surgeon from LA and Alexa lives close to San Fransisco as the mayor’s chief of staff. Both have important jobs and busy lives, but they can’t seem to stop seeing one another. They figure out a way to make it work. Although nothing is defined with them, you can tell (even if they can’t) that they starting to fall. It’s just unclear how this will work between them…

Alexa is a refreshing heroine. She is spunky, fun, independent, and career driven. I loved her personality. Drew was also a fun guy- he was sweet, charming, and smart. These two truly were a fantastic match! Even if they didn’t see how perfect they were for each other at first, as a reader, I could see it! Their love story was fast paced and light, and also felt realistic. I adored them both and their connection.

I love a good, swoony romance, and The Wedding Date really hit the spot for me! I found this book highly entertaining, flirty, fun, and sweet as can be. I recommend it and I’m looking forward to reading more from this author! 
 

Excerpt:

Alexa danced with Lauren, letting the movement and the laughter shake away her annoying thoughts. When she felt a hand on her waist, she turned to see Drew behind her and laughed again, at how ridiculous the evening had been and how much fun she was suddenly having. He took ahold of one of her hands and swung her around to face him and laughed back down at her. Other members of the wedding party joined their group and danced with and around them, but song after song came on, and he never moved from her side.
“Water?” he said in her ear after they’d been on the dance floor for a long time.
“Yes, please.” She walked with him over to the bar.
She glanced up at the ornate clock over the bar, surprised at how late it had gotten. And how much she didn’t want this night to end. Damn it, it had been fun to be Drew’s fake girlfriend, but she knew that once the clock struck midnight, so to speak, the fairy tale would be all over.
He leaned against the bar, his jacket off, his bow tie untied, a little sweaty and disheveled from dancing. Good Lord, this guy was hot.
He rolled up his sleeves, exposing his tan forearms. She wanted to run her fingers up and down them and feel how warm and strong they were.
She needed to stop letting her imagination run away with her.
“Um,” she said. “It’s getting late, and if I want to make the last BART train back to the East Bay, I should probably leave pretty soon.”
Why had she said that? Why, when she was standing next to a hot guy, basically panting over him? If she was Maddie, hell, if she was Amy, she would have grabbed one of those hot forearms and wrapped it around her body, letting him know what she wanted without having to say anything. Sadly, she was Alexa, so she would flee instead.
He put his water bottle down and looked at her.
“Okay.”
“Okay,” she said. Olivia and Maddie would get mad at her for not throwing herself at him, but they didn’t understand that she just didn’t know how. Plus, rejection from this guy was the last thing her self-esteem needed. Talk about the opposite of getting back on the horse; that would make her avoid horses, and stables, and all farm animals for another few years. So to speak.
He stepped closer to her and put his hand on her waist. Her hand landed on his arm, and, without even meaning to, she ran her fingers up and down. Oh God, touching him like this was as good as she’d thought it would be.
“Or”—he looked straight down into her eyes—“you could stay.”
A question was in his eyes, and a smile hovered over his lips. His thumb drew slow circles on her hip and then moved up her side to her ribs. His other hand moved up to her face and traced the outline of her lips with his fingers.
She shivered.
He waited.

“Or,” she said, “I could stay.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 


Jasmine Guillory is a graduate of Wellesley College and Stanford Law School. She is a Bay Area native who has towering stacks of books in her living room, a cake recipe for every occasion, and upwards of 50 lipsticks.

SaveSave

Friday, January 26, 2018

Blog Tour: Bad for You by J. Daniels



He didn't want to be bad. He just didn't have a choice...

Shayla Perkins isn't the kind of girl who makes the same mistake twice, especially when it comes to Sean "Stitch" Molina. So when he gives her the world's biggest rejection, that's it--she's done. Until the sexy, silent, unavailable Sean makes Shay a very personal offer. Of course, it still doesn't mean he's interested in her. Or does it?

Sean has done things in life. Bad things. And he's paid the price. All he wants now is to make up for his past by doing good in the present. And no one deserves more good than Shay. Beautiful on the inside and out, Shay is the kind of woman who should be cared for and protected--especially from a man like Sean. He's tried to keep his feelings for her in check, but a single, reckless impulse pulls them closer than ever before.



Soon the two are sharing their biggest dreams and satisfying their deepest desires. But what will happen if the only way to truly give each other what they want most...is to let each other go?



"The perfect mix of funny, hot and heartwarming. I enjoyed it immensely!" --Mia Sheridan, New York Times bestselling author, on Four Letter Word




AVAILABLE NOW


AMAZON US | AMAZON UK | AMAZON AU | B&N  | KOBO  | KOBO UK  | iBOOKS


CHRISTY'S 5+ STAR REVIEW:


description

I enjoyed the first two books in J. Daniels Dirty Deeds series, but Bad for You is on an entirely different level in my opinion. This book blew me away. It’s been a while since I’ve read a book with such a tortured/damaged hero that touched me on this level. I’ve been craving a story that would make me ugly cry and truly make me feel and this is the first book in 2018 to hit the spot in that way.

Sean also known as ‘Stitch’ is the cook at Whitecaps. He’s broody and keeps to himself, but I’ve been intrigued by him since the moment I met him. Shayla is the opposite of Sean. She’s fun, outgoing, and personable. Shay is working as a waitress, but she’s also following her dreams and trying to open her own salon. When her family needs her help, Shay’s life is turned a bit upside down. She finds help in the most surprising place. Sean.

Sean and Shayla have a bit of a past. Shay has really opened up and talked to Sean and he sort of blew her off. What Shayla eventually realized was that Sean did this for a reason. Sean doesn’t feel worthy of love. He doesn’t feel worthy of anything, quite frankly. His life has not been good and he grew up in such a way that he’s never quite healed from his past.
He didn't feel worthy. And he was absolutely worthy. Not just of me, but of everything good this world had to offer him. Of love. Of Kindness. And I was going to make sure he knew that for good.
 

description

Hearing about Sean’s past obliterated my heart. Sean truly is an amazing person. Going through all he’s been through… I can’t even. I am tearing up just thinking about it. It was so ugly and he deserved so much better. The fact that he thought he deserved nothing broke my heart. Shay is the best heroine ever. Seriously- she is my hero. Not only is she an all around outgoing, lovable, caring, and sweet person, but she fought for Sean. She fought to heal him. She had a lot going on in her life, her own family issues, her own dreams, but HE was most important to her. Healing him was everything and she’d do anything she could to help him, even if it hurt her. The sacrifices she was willing to make, gah! I just loved her so much!

Sean and Shay’s romance wasn’t always at the forefront of this story, which was fine with me. There was so much time that the story focused on their friendship and Sean’s healing. It was very much a slow burn romance. Once these two decided to be together though… it was so epic. Their love story was beautiful.
This was madness. This was sex without thought, without pause, without question. Letting desire drive and leaving reason and all sense behind. Fuck stopping to think. Fuck wondering, Should we? Could we? What if we did? We were just feeling. Feeling and letting it all happen. It was the most beautiful, chaotic thing I’d ever experienced.

This book grabbed me and never let go. It ripped at my heart and tore me apart. I sobbed through so much of this story. My heart just completely shattered for Sean. But just as Shayla started to mend Sean’s heart, my heart was also mended and healed as I continued on with the story. This book is the best kind of emotional. It’s the kind that hurts so good. It’s a hard story to read at times, but as much as it’s heartbreaking, it’s also hopeful and full of heart.

Bad for You was a truly epic book for me. A wonderful damaged hero, an incredible heroine, a story full of emotion, heat, and healing- this book was EVERYTHING! Most definitely my favorite of 2018 so far! I highly recommend this book to all!

“Let yourself feel that love, Sean,” she whispered. “Take it in. Let it fill you.”
 

description



J.Daniels is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Sweet Addiction series, the Alabama Summer series, and the Dirty Deeds series.

She would rather bake than cook, she listens to music entirely too loud, and loves writing stories her children will never read. Her husband and children are her greatest loves, with cupcakes coming in at a close second.

J grew up in Baltimore and resides in Maryland with her family.

Sign up to receive her newsletter and get special offers and exclusive release info: http://authorjdaniels.com/newsletter/






Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Blog Tour: THRIVE by Aly Martinez



THRIVE by Aly Martinez


When I was nineteen years old, I was faced with a choice that changed my life.
Keep the safety of what I already knew or risk losing everything with the young, hotheaded soldier who stole my heart.

I chose the wrong man, and for seventeen years, I paid in tears, blood, and shattered dreams for that decision.

Now, there’s a man in my house, holding a gun to my head on the order of my ex-husband—given from his prison cell. 

That hotheaded soldier I was too afraid to choose? He’s now a six-foot-three wall of muscle who works at the country’s most premier bodyguard agency. I’ve always wanted him, but now, I’ve never needed him more.

It’s the call I’m terrified to make. 
I’m sure he still hates me… Even though I’ve never stopped loving him.



-------------
Christy's Review:

“description”/

Anytime a new Aly Martinez book releases, I get excited. She is one of my auto-buy authors and has written some of my favorite books. Thrive is book two in the Guardian Protection series focuses on Lark and his second chance love story…

Jeremy Lark fell in love with Mira York when they were young. The only problem? Mira was dating Lark’s best friend, Kurt. Now Kurt is a piece of work and doesn’t come close to deserving Mira, but still, it makes Mira off limits to him. Still, the two are close friends and that pull between them is there. As love as they have, when things break between them, it’s an ugly break.

Fast-forward seventeen years and Jeremy Lark has changed his life around. He has been working for Guardian and his life is pretty good. Mira, on the other hand, hasn’t had a good life. Kurt made sure of that by brining her down with all of his shenanigans and illegal activities. It actually gets so bad, that even though Kurt is imprisoned, his crap still reaches her. Mira turns to the only person she can trust. The man she didn’t choose all those years ago. Jeremy Lark.



Lark and Mira’s story made my heart hurt at times. Both of them came from unpleasant home lives, and they were there for each other when they needed it the most. I loved Jeremy. Even though he was angry for a long time over what Mira had done to him, he still had love in his heart for her and would do anything to protect her. I wish Mira would have made a better choice in the past for herself and Jeremy, but she was young and didn’t and she’s lived with the consequences of that choice for a long time so I couldn’t even be hard on her over that.
   
“It’s not always going to be this easy, baby. No matter how much we say the past is in the past, there are going to be times when resentment claws its way through our flames. And it’s going to take both of us, together, working as a team to fight that back.”
 

You could feel the connection between these two. Once they were back, they were back in a big way! One of the reasons I love second-chance romances so much, is that a lot of times they have that extra passion and angst, and this story definitely did! I loved feeling the passion between this couple.

If you’re looking for a book with a second-chance romance, tons of emotion, angst, heartache, healing, suspense, and one that will hook you from start to finish, pick up Thrive!

“description”/



-------------

AUTHOR BIO:


Originally from Savannah, Georgia, USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez now lives in South Carolina with her four young children.

Never one to take herself too seriously, she enjoys cheap wine, mystery leggings, and baked feta. It should be known, however, that she hates pizza and ice cream, almost as much as writing her bio in the third person.

She passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a super-sized tumbler of wine by her side.


AUTHOR LINKS:

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Blog Tour: Keep Her Safe by @kathleenatucker. @AtriaBooks


KEEP HER SAFE

K.A. TUCKER
National Bestselling Author


Making a Murderer meets Scandal in this story of police corruption, family secrets, and illicit affairs from bestselling author K.A. Tucker, celebrated for her “propulsive plot twists and searing seduction” (USA TODAY).


Noah Marshall has known a privileged and comfortable life thanks to his mother, the highly decorated chief of the Austin Police Department. But all that changes the night she reveals a skeleton that's been rattling in her closet for years, and succumbs to the guilt of destroying an innocent family's life. Reeling with grief, Noah is forced to carry the burden of this shocking secret.

Gracie Richards wasn't born in a trailer park, but after fourteen years of learning how to survive in The Hollow, it's all she knows anymore. At least here people don't care that her dad was a corrupt Austin cop, murdered in a drug deal gone wrong. Here, she and her mother are just another family struggling to survive...until a man who clearly doesn't belong shows up on her doorstep.

Despite their differences, Noah and Gracie are searching for answers to the same questions, and together, they set out to uncover the truth about the Austin Police Department's dark and messy past. But the scandal that emerges is bigger than they bargained for, and goes far higher up than they ever imagined.

Complex, gritty, sexy, and thrilling, Keep Her Safe solidifies K.A. Tucker's reputation as one of today's most talented new voices in romantic suspense.

Christy's Review: 

description

What. A. Ride. Keep Her Safe is one of the most intriguing and suspenseful books I’ve read this year. I love reading a book that not only keeps me guessing, but manages to surprise me. The suspense part of the book was the predominate part, but I loved the bit of romance Tucker threw in there as well!
“Who were you, really, Jackie Marshall?”
This is the question Noah Marshall finds himself asking after he finds his mother, the police chief of Austin, dead. Before his mom passed, she said some things to him that made him question everything. Noah could just let it all go and move on with his life, but he can’t. He’s not that type of person. He chooses to go and find Gracie.

Gracie grew up in a similar way as Noah. Her dad was a cop, and she had a happy childhood. Then her father was killed, his name tarnished, and things changed for her. She moved with her mother to a trailer park in The Hollow. Things aren’t good for her, but she manages to survive. Then Noah shows up. Noah is not someone Gracie wants to see, but he brings things to light that has her asking more and more questions about her father and his death.

The more time Noah and Gracie spend together, the more her hardened shell starts to crack a bit. She can tell after a while that Noah is the real deal and he really does want to help. Even if that means sacrificing things that are important to him. With time, Gracie learns to trust someone again, for the first time in a long time, someone has her back.
When was the last time I trusted anyone the way I seem to trust Noah almost instinctively, no matter how many times he’s given me reason not to? I never have. Because I’ve never met a guy like him.
I adored Noah and Gracie, both. Their relationship wasn’t the biggest part of the story, but it was still a great part of it! Noah was the best character in my opinion. I loved how honest he was, how he would sacrifice a lot to do the right thing. His heart was always in the right place. Gracie was strong and even though her life had been tragic, she always had a bit of hope that things would get better.

As I said before, this book really did keep me on my toes. I didn’t want to put it down and wow- was I shocked at some of the revelations at the end! KA Tucker does an incredible job doing romantic suspense. This book is a must read and I highly recommend it to all!


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

K.A. Tucker writes captivating stories with an edge. Her books have been featured in national publications including USA TODAY, The Globe and Mail, Suspense Magazine, and Publishers Weekly. She currently resides in a quaint town outside Toronto with her husband and two beautiful girls.



FIND K.A. TUCKER ONLINE:

BUY LINKS (US):

BUY LINKS (UK)

BUY LINKS (AUS)

BBU - Coming Soon