A MONSTER LIKE ME by Pamela Sparkman

Heart of Darkness series #2

HELLO STRANGER by Lisa Kleypas

The Ravenels series #4

THE BUTTERFLY PROJECT by Emma Scott

Companion to the Full Tilt series

PLAYING FOR KEEPS by Jill Shalvis

Heartbreaker Bay series #7

UNWRITTEN by Jen Frederick

Woodlands series #5

Cross My Heart by L.H. Cosway

Hearts series #5.75

MOONSHADOW by Thea Harrison

Moonshadow series #1

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Release Day Blitz: Stygian by Nashoda Rose

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Release Day Blitz


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Book Title: Stygian Author: Nashoda Rose Genre: Paranormal Romance Release Date: March 30, 2015 Hosted by: Book Enthusiast Promotions

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 Book Blurb


Danni: Mortal
I remember nothing of my abduction two years ago. Sounds and scents trigger horrific flashes, but it’s all a blur except for one man with brilliant green eyes. When the tatted six foot two Adonis shows up at my door, my knowledge of the world is shattered. Bound to the immortal Scar by an ancient spell, we are on the run. Because Balen is the hunted.
And if he dies, so do I.

Balen: Scar Tracker My code of honor was respected without question … until I consumed the blood of a vampire in exchange for a mortal woman’s freedom. The Scars want me imprisoned. The Wraiths want me dead. But the woman I can’t forget needs me. And I’ll risk everything to protect her. Even if it means killing her. Because in order for her to live—first she must die. Full-length novel. Come meet the Scars.
Scars: Immortal warriors with capabilities derived from the senses: Trackers, Sounders, Healers, Tasters, Visionaries, and the rare Reflectors. They each have what is known as an Ink, a tattoo that can be called to life.
There are three full-length prequels to TAKE (scars of the wraiths). This is book One. All three prequels were previously published and have been re-written entirely and are now in multiple first person POVs.
*Stygian was originally entitled JUMP.


excerpt


*warning graphic Before: Danni The terror of dying had vanished—now I prayed for it. 

His dagger-like nails tapped slow and precise up my neck until he reached the underside of my chin. He caressed the sensitive area with the pad of his finger then shoved his thumb upward between the curves of my jaw bone. It forced my mouth shut and I bit down hard on my tongue. Blood began to pool in my mouth and I couldn’t swallow with the pressure.

 I breathed in and out frantically through my nose. I was going to choke on my own blood. I was going to die.

 “Tilt your head,” he ordered.

 The pressure increased and I turned my head, exposing the side of my neck. He moved his thumb away and I quickly spit out the blood. Remnants dribbled from the corners of my mouth and down my chin.

 “Beautiful,” he purred, then curled his hand around the back of my neck and lifted slightly. I clenched my hands into fists, waiting for the familiar pain. I refused to scream—it made no difference anyway—no one was rescuing me from this monster.

 I squeezed my eyes shut as he leaned over me, the odor of black licorice flooding my nostrils. He hissed and it sounded like the slow drag of a zipper being undone. I tensed and stopped breathing just before his fangs pierced my neck.

 I silently cried as I lay unmoving, powerless to refuse him, frozen in the nightmare that had become reality. His lips were cold against my skin as he sucked the warmth of my blood. Each pull draining my strength until my hands unclenched and my nails embedded in my palms, released.

 His tongue flicked over my neck and he lifted his head. “My sugary, Danielle.”

 His voice was a calm melody, as if a paintbrush across a fresh white canvas, sweeping, rhythmic and subtle. I hated how it was captivating, how I compared it to something I loved, but I had no control over it.

 I lay limp as the shackles released and cold, fish-like hands grabbed my arms and dragged me across the damp, dirt floor to the cage. My haven. Away from him. Away from the torture.

 The monster threw me inside and I landed hard on my knees then collapsed to my side. The door slammed and locked.

 Footsteps.

 Metal grinding.

 Clicking.

 The cage lifted off the ground, rocking back and forth as it was cranked upward until it settled next to two other cages.

 I was so cold. Endless shivering that made my muscles ache from constantly trying to provide my body with warmth. My throat was dry and hoarse from screaming, as if a razor blade had scraped the flesh.

 “Jesus.” A few feet away I heard the familiar graveled voice—Balen, my only comfort here. The rusted pipes overhead groaned as the continuous spray of water sprinkled inside his cage. “Christ, I’m sorry.”

 It took too much energy to move, but I opened my eyes to look at him. My neighboring prisoner gripped the bars, knuckles white. His tense body a spring wound up so tight that it looked ready to fracture. His leg hung at an odd angle, mangled from the sledge hammer they tortured him with.

 Despite his ravaged body, he was beautiful. Tattoos contoured to the hills and valleys of his muscular arms and chest. I’d caught a glimpse of a tiger on his lower back that was so intricate it looked alive. But it was his eyes that captivated me. Brilliant green, piercing and hard, filled with a haunting torment. When he was angry, the green darkened and looked almost black. 

“Don’t you dare give up.”

 I had already. I never thought I would in the beginning, but now…

 “Look at me!” I heard what sounded like his fist pounding into the metal bars. “Look. At. Me.”

 His tone was furious, and yet, I wasn’t scared of him. How could I be? He was all I had in this place.

 Our eyes locked and the tension in his jaw eased. “You need to drink, Danni. Move closer.”

 Water. I closed my eyes and imagined holding a cool glass of water and chugging it back; the liquid sliding down my throat, coating the harsh dryness. I’d never thought about the daily bottles of water I’d consumed, but now … now it was all I thought about. “I’m not letting you die, damn it.” His voice was harsh and abrupt and yet to me it was soothing.

 Fearless. That’s what he was. He never screamed when they tortured him, never broke. I wanted that. To be brave again. But he had sucked it out of me.

 I crawled across the metal floor and put my hands through the bars, cupping them together. I closed my eyes, afraid he wouldn’t be able to reach me this time.

 But when the cool saturation hit my skin, tears pooled in my eyes. Water trickled through the crevices between my fingers and I quickly jolted back, afraid to lose a single drop of what he offered. 

I licked my palms, the wetness adhering to my throat—velvet.

 I reached out again and this time opened my eyes. He collected the water from the shower head attached to the top of his cage. It was a light spray and it took agonizing minutes just to gather a small handful.

 We repeated the process five times, until my arms resisted rising any longer. “Thank you,” I whispered.

 He sat and leaned up against the bars, leg bent and his arm resting on it; casual and indifferent and yet everything in his expression contradicted it. “Damn it Danni, you need to lock your mind from your body. Shut it down like I told you.” He sounded angry, but I knew it was because he was worried. “Separate the two. Don’t let him win.” 

It was too late for that. He’d won the battle already.

 “Danni.” I curled up on my side in a ball, my knees to my chin and my arms wrapped around them, trying to provide myself with some sort of warmth.

 Then I closed my eyes and prayed for the darkness to take me.

 I thought I heard him say something else, but I was already slipping into the void. It didn’t matter anyway.

Nothing did.


Meet the Author

brim


Nashoda Rose is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who lives in Toronto with her assortment of pets. She writes contemporary romance with a splash of darkness, or maybe it’s a tidal wave.
When she isn't writing, she can be found sitting in a field reading with her dogs at her side while her horses graze nearby. She loves interacting with her readers and chatting about her addiction—books.


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Patrycja's Review: Where Sea Meets Sky by Karina Halle



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Title: Where Sea Meets Sky
Series: can be read as a standalone
Author: Karina Halle
Release Date: 31st March, 2015
Rating: 3 stars

A new adult novel that perfectly captures the existential angst of your early twenties with raw wit, fresh insight, and true feeling from a critically adored USA TODAY bestselling author.

Joshua Miles has spent his early twenties spinning his wheels. Working dead-end jobs and living at home has left him exhausted and uninspired, with little energy to pursue his passion for graphic art. Until he meets Gemma Henare, a vivacious out-of-towner from New Zealand. What begins as a one-night stand soon becomes a turning point for Josh. He can't get Gemma out of his head, even after she has left for home, and finds himself throwing caution to the wind for the first time in his life.

It's not long before Josh is headed to New Zealand with only a backpack, some cash, and Gemma's name to go on. But when he finally tracks her down, he finds his adventure is only just beginning. Equally infatuated, Gemma leads him on a whirlwind tour across the beautiful country, opening Josh up to life, lust, love, and all the messy heartache in between. Because, when love drags you somewhere, it might never let go even when you know you have to say goodbye.




Joshua Miles is trying to figure out his life and future, when he meets Gemma Henare, young woman on a trip across the world. They immediately click and share passionate night together that changes them. When the morning after comes and Gemma comes back to New Zealand, Josh still cannot stop thinking about her. Few weeks later he’s on a plane with plan of finding the beautiful girl who seemed to steal his heart.

If you’ve read Love, in English you sure know who Josh is. He is the little brother of Vera. Artistic, maybe a little bit weird, yet funny and sexy guy who in romantic fever decides to jeopardize his whole life to look for love.

Where Sea Meets Sky is a story full of heartbreak, suspense and adventure. Filled with drama, angst and funny characters, Josh and Gemma story should appeal to readers who enjoy reading about travelling or road trips as well as for those who seem to like complicated, explosive relationships. The plot is packed to the brim with thrills and spills. There is certainly no chapter to get you bored. Things are happening to quickly for that.

What I loved the most is the travel aspect. I’ve always wanted to go on adventure just like Josh and Gemma’s. Karina Halle painted incredible picture of New Zealand, she did something wonderful with descriptions of all mentioned places. She made me want to buy an airplane ticket and take a quick, unexpected vacations. It was so inspirational and exciting to read about New Zealanders. This part of the book was absolutely amazing, it was the romance part that fall short to me.



I’ve finished reading Where Sea Meets Sky quite some time ago. Thanks to it, I had a lot of time to think about it and decide wherever I liked it or not. Yet, I am still not exactly sure what to think.

There was time when I used to adore every book Karina Halle’s written, but her recent releases are getting harder and harder for me to love. Frankly, they’re missing the certain ‘spark’. Where Sea Meets Sky is another example of that. Even though, this novel is good and enjoyable read, it’s not something where the level of awesomeness could be comparable to the one from EIT series.

First of all, I had hard time with connecting to the main characters. I liked Josh. He was very admirable and nice guy, but something hadn’t let me understand him better. As for Gemma, I didn’t have patience for her. She wasn’t my favorite heroine. Some of her choices left me unimpressed and I got angry with her often.



What’s more, I felt a little bit disappointed with the storyline, which is in fact really similar with the one from Love, In English. Yes, there are plenty of twists and turns, but in some way Josh reminded me of Vera, falling in love in foreign country with someone who’s not exactly available.

If I am to be honest, there were moments when I started to wonder if this book is just pointless mix of epic drama and sex and oh yeah more sex. I hoped the plot would be more complex and not as dramatic. However, I still liked the book. Maybe it wasn’t stellar read and it definitely lacked in few departments, yet I don’t regret reading it. The charm of New Zealand and romantic adventure in foreign country still made my heart skip a beat.

Three stars for me!

ARC provided by publisher via Netgalley

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Monday, March 30, 2015

Blog Tour, Giveaway & Eliza's Review: Sweet Hope (Sweet Home #4) by Tillie Cole






Title: Sweet Hope
Series: Sweet Home #4
Author: Tillie Cole
Age group: New adult
Genre: Contemporary romance

Release date: 29th March 2015





From the USA Today Bestselling Sweet Home Series, comes Sweet Hope.

My name is Ally Prince and I've always been unlucky in love. I dont know why, I just alwayshave.

When all of my best friends were falling for their soul mates in College, I was left behind. I was Ally, the pretty cousin of superstar quarterback, Romeo Prince. I was Ally, the best friend to the most amazing group of girls I've ever knowna title I loved, but one I became tired of 'just' being. And I was Ally, the one on which they could all rely.

But to me, I was Ally, the girl with the heart no one had claimed... And I was, Ally, the girl, who underneath it all, was heart-breakingly lonely.

I LOVE love; the thought of it, the nervous excitement of falling for Mr. Right, the desire of someone becoming my entire world... of me becoming theirs. Ive always wanted passion, heart-stopping, epic, life-changing romance... Ive always wanted the fairytaleIve always wanted it all.

It just never seemed like I would get it.

For the past few years I've thrown myself into my career as a museum curator. Im the best of the best, the person every museum wants to hire, so when an opportunity came up to move to Seattle, I jumped at the chance. My cousin and my best friend lived in Seattle and I needed a change.

I needed a new beginning.

I wasn't expecting to meet anyone in the Emerald City. I wasn't expecting to work closely with the reclusive new sculptor my all-important gallery design was centered around. And I certainly wasn't expecting to fall for him... heart-stopping, epic, life-changing love...
My real life fairytale come true.

But, like in every fairytale, theres a villain, a dark and tortured soul... I just didn't know that the villain and the hero in my story would end up being one and the same.

New Adult Romance Novelcontains adult content, sexual situations and mature topics. Suited for ages 18 and up.

    Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1G1sxMy
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/1NwPKqF




Straightening my shoulders, I forced my feet forward and suppressed my nerves. The closer I got to the end of the hallway, the more I doubted my decision to come here. It was his private space. He most definitely would not want me intruding.
But as I thought to leave, I heard the poetic sound of a chisel chipping away at marble and I stilled.
I wanted to see him work. To observe an artist at work was a rare privilege. And more than that, I wanted, no, needed to see Elpidio again.
I couldnt help it. I felt a pull within me that refused to let me turn round and leave.
Rubbing my lips together, I bent to place the box of text board drafts on the ground and crept forward to stand in the door-less doorwayAnd the sight that greeted me took my breath away.
Elpidio stood in the center of the room, dressed only in a pair of black ripped jeans, his top half bare, every inch of his olive skin covered in what looked like thousands of tattoos. There wasnt one bit of naked skin showing. Id never seen anyone so covered in ink in all my life. But aside from the tattoos, which had me gripping the doorframe with rigid fingers, were the thick defined muscles protruding over his shoulder blades, the cut pieces of flesh damp with the sheen of sweat, flexing with every blow from the hammer in his hands.
His bulging thighs were rigid as he stood his ground, carefully sculpting the back of a marble slab which looked to be the image of a young boy with a larger boy at his back whispering in his ear.
The heavy rock music filled the room, and before I knew it, my feet were carrying my forward like a moth to naked flame. The closer I got, the more I noticed.
Elpidios back was marred with scars. In fact, all of his skin had scars, both long and short, raised and flat, red and white. But one long, jagged scar ran along the back of his thick neck…  a neck that was visible now it was free from the curtain of dark hair which was tied on the middle of his skull in a loose bun.
That made me smile. Id always thought his long hair was like his protection, his mask. It pleased me to see when he was sculpting it was pulled off his facelike he was free of all constraints, pouring his soul into his carefully-crafted masterpieces.

It was overwhelming to see such a ripped and tortured man so raw and unkempt, but passionate all at the same time




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Every time I read a book from Tillie Cole's Sweet Home Series it pretty much guarantees there will be an abundance of feels and tears. Sweet Hope does not disappoint, on this occasion the mass of emotion comes courtesy of Ally and Elpidio. Ally's role so far in this series has been that of sweet, loyal cousin and friend besides that, she's a bit of a mystery and I had been looking forward to learning more about her.

Working as a curator, Ally has just been afforded the opportunity that not only will be of professional development to her but also personally inspiring. The Artist in question is the mysterious Elpidio. Having followed and studied his work previously it's important to her to understand the man behind his creations.


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Elpi is a tortured individual so weighed down by tremendous guilt and the mistakes of his past, he refuses to see any of the goodness Ally sees in him. She is the smooth to his rough edges, the light to his darkness. Rather than repel her, he speaks to her soul. Her faith in him is unrelenting. It's impossible to not warm to Ally, she becomes his main source of positivity and as a reader their best interests became mine.


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The professional relationship blurs and sculpts into a a physical and emotional one. It's guilty of being a little corny at times and I dare say too intense for my fragile nature at times too. I would have liked to have seen some lighter times between them but at the same time I recognise the authors ability of staying honest to the story. To understand the depth of Sweet Hope you have to read Sweet Fall but I say, this series is too great to not read them all.


Copy provided in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!






Amazon & USA Today Best Selling Author, Tillie Cole is a Northern girl through and through. She originates from a place called Teesside on that little but awesomely sunny (okay I exaggerate) Isle called Great Britain. She was brought up surrounded by her English rose mother a farmers daughter, her crazy Scottish father, a savagely sarcastic sister and a multitude of rescue animals and horses.





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Tillie is giving away a $150 Amazon gift card.