Title: Hard Rules
Series: Dirty Money #1
Author: Lisa Renee Jones
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: August 9, 2016
Synopsis:
Wall Street meets the Sons of Anarchy in Hard Rules, the smoldering, scorching first novel in the explosively sexy new Dirty Money series from New York Times bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones.
How bad do you want it?
The only man within the Brandon empire with a moral compass, Shane Brandon is ready to take his family's business dealings legitimate. His reckless and ruthless brother, Derek wants to keep Brandon Enterprises cemented in lies, deceit, and corruption. But the harder Shane fights to pull the company back into the light, the darker he has to become. Then he meets Emily Stevens, a woman who not only stirs a voracious sexual need in him, but becomes the only thing anchoring him between good and evil.
Emily is consumed by Shane, pushed sexually in ways she never dreamed of, falling deeper into the all-encompassing passion that is this man. She trusts him. He trusts her, but therein lies the danger. Emily has a secret, the very thing that brought her to him in the first place, and that secret that could that destroy them both.
PURCHASE LINKS
Special release price of $4.99! Regular price will be $7.99
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EARLY PRAISE FOR HARD RULES
Over 100 5-star early reviews on Goodreads!
"Angst-y, sexy contemporary romance with big emotional and financial stakes set against the backdrop of two dynamic families. Sure to leave readers desperate for the next installment."
-Kirkus Reviews
"High-octane romance set above the glittering lights of Denver is enhanced by the dominance of a powerful man and the cunning sweetness of a woman who isn't cowed or swayed by his wealth...a fascinating mystery and characters with distinct voices."
-Publishers Weekly
"I was hooked from beginning to the end and was gasping when I reached that last page. I am in desperate need to get book two. The characters are completely charming. Shane and Emily are perfect together,"
-Lindsey, The Smut-Brarians
A NOTE FROM LISA
This series will have FOUR full-length books in it. The first four will be Emily and Shane's story and there will be a fifth fir a secondary character’s story (more information to come soon). I don't have covers or buy links for these books YET, but I DO have titles and tentative release dates!
• Book One - Hard Rules - August 9, 2016
• Book Two - Damage Control - February 2017
• Book Three - Bad Deeds - August 2017
• Book Four - End Game - February 2018
I am SO excited for this series to come out, because it is so unlike my other series. I am hoping my readers love it just as much as I did when I was writing it! PLEASE be sure to sign up for my TEXT LIST (link below). That will be where/how I communicate when these titles, and others, are available for pre-order, on sale or when I have a big giveaway!
XOXO,
Lisa Renee Jones
EXCERPT
My order appears and I straighten, intending to claim my coffee and find a seat, when a pretty twenty-something brunette races forward in a puff of sweet, floral-scented perfume, and grabs it.
“Miss,” I begin, “that’s—”
She takes a sip and grimaces. “What is this?” She turns to the counter. “Excuse me,” she calls out. “My drink is wrong.”
“Because it’s not your drink,” Karen reprimands her, setting a new cup on the counter. “This is your drink.” She reaches for my cup and turns it around, pointing to the name scribbled on the side. “This one’s for Shane.” She glances at me. “I’ll be right back to fix this. I have another customer.”
I wave my acknowledgment and she hurries away, while my floral-scented coffee thief faces me, her porcelain cheeks flushed, her full, really damn distracting mouth, painted pink. “I’m so sorry,” she offers quickly. “I thought I was the only one without my coffee and I was in a hurry.” She starts to hand me my coffee and then quickly sets it on the counter. “You can’t have that. I drank out of it.”
“I saw that,” I say, picking it up. “You grimaced with disgust after trying it.”
Her eyes, a pale blue that matches the short-sleeved silk blouse, go wide. “Oh. I mean no. Or I did, but not because it’s a bad cup of coffee. It’s just very strong.”
“It’s a triple-shot latte.”
“A triple,” she says, looking quite serious. “Did you know that in some third- world countries they bottle that stuff and sell it as a way to grow hair on your chest.” She lowers her voice and whispers, “That’s not a good look for me.”
“Fortunately,” I say in the midst of a chuckle I would have claimed wasn’t possible five minutes ago, “I don’t share that dilemma.” I lift my cup and add, “Cheers,” before taking a drink, the heavy, rich flavor sliding over my tongue.
She pales, looking exceedingly uncomfortable, before repeating, “I drank from that cup.”
“I know,” I say, offering it back to her. “Try another drink.”
She takes the cup and sets it on the counter. “I can’t drink that. And you can’t either.” She points to the hole on top, now smudged pink. “My lipstick is all over it and I really hate to tell you this but it’s all over you too and . . .” She laughs, a soft, sexy sound, her hands settling on her slender, but curvy hips, accented by a fitted black skirt. “Sorry. I don’t mean to laugh, but it’s not a good shade for you.”
I laugh now too, officially and impossibly charmed by this woman in spite of being in the middle of what feels like World War III. “Seems you know how to make a lasting impression.”
“Thankfully it’s not lasting,” she says. “It’ll wipe right off. And thank you for being such a good sport. I really am sorry again for all of this.”
“Apologize by getting it off me.”
Confusion puckers her brow. “What?”
“You put it on me.” I grab a napkin from the counter and offer it to her. “You get it off.”
“I put it on the cup,” she says, clearly recovering her quick wit. “You put it on you.”
“I assure you, that had I put it on me, we both would have enjoyed it much more than we are now.” I glance at the napkin.
“Are you going to help me?”
Her cheeks flush and she hugs herself, her sudden shyness an intriguing contrast to her confident banter. “I’ll let you know if you don’t get it all.”
My apparently lipstick- stained lips curve at her quick wit but I take the napkin and wipe my mouth, arching a questioning brow when I’m done. She points to the corner of my mouth. “A little more on the left.”
I hand her the napkin. “You do it.”
She inhales, as if for courage, but takes it. “Fine,” she says, stepping closer, that wicked sweet scent of hers teasing my nostrils. Wasting no time, she reaches for my mouth, her body swaying in my direction while my hand itches to settle at her waist. I want this woman and I’m not letting her get away.
“There,” she says, her arm lowering, and not about to let her escape, I capture her hand, holding it and the napkin between us.
Those gorgeous pale blue eyes of hers dart to mine, wide with surprise, the connection sparking an unmistakable charge between us…
AUTHOR BIO
In addition to the success of Lisa's INSIDE OUT series, she has published many successful titles. The TALL, DARK AND DEADLY series and THE SECRET LIFE OF AMY BENSEN series, both spent several months on a combination of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling lists. Lisa is presently working on a dark, edgy new series, Dirty Money, for St. Martin's Press.
Prior to publishing Lisa owned multi-state staffing agency that was recognized many times by The Austin Business Journal and also praised by the Dallas Women's Magazine. In 1998 Lisa was listed as the #7 growing women owned business in Entrepreneur Magazine.
Lisa loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her at www.lisareneejones.com and she is active on Twitter and Facebook daily.
AUTHOR LINKS
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLisaReneeJones
Website: http://lisareneejones.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LisaReneeJones
Instagram: http://instagram.com/lisareneejones
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/LisaReneeJones
Newsletter/Text: http://bit.ly/LRJTextList
Giveaway
$50 Amazon gift card
The war that Shane Brandon is waging against his family is a war that he's determined to win. and finally wash their empire clean of the filth that has tarnished it. Lack of morals, greed, and power struggles are characteristics that I would attribute to the environment that he's become trapped in.
After returning to Detroit to save his shady family from serious legal trouble, he knows his job isn't done, no matter how hard he wants it to be true. As much as he wishes he could return back to New York and his ideal life as a corporate lawyer, his inability to give up on his family holds him strong. His father is seriously ill, and he's not willing to allow himself the freedom of turning his back on everything.
Shane's not afraid of a monumental fight, but he is feeling weary of the daily power struggle. When he runs into Emily in a coffee shop, he's immediately attracted to her refreshingly sweet nature. What is first supposed to be a passionate one-night stand quickly flares and burns out of control. Neither was expecting to see each other again, neither expected to care. But they were wrong on both counts.
"You rock my world and I don't get rocked. I'm damn sure going to do my best to make you do this my way."
"Which is what?"
"You stay with me." I lower my mouth a breath from hers. "Stay."
Emily is on the run, hiding her true identity and with every day, we see her indecision grow over whether or not she should continue to selfishly potentially lay a whole new set of problems on Shane. Knowing she may be a serious danger to those around her if her house of cards come tumbling down is consuming her with guilt. On the other hand, Shane is making her feel more understood and connected to another person more than any other time in her life. She may not reveal much to him, but he's a shrewd man and sees the truth in her eyes. They're more alike than either could have anticipated.
We are one in this moment, two people lost and found in each other, both of us fighting a battle the other understands in ways no one else can.
I really enjoyed the dynamic between these two. She was a great heroine who knew how push back when his control started to reach too far out of the bedroom. Working in close proximity, she's able to hold her own amongst the deceit and hidden agendas.
And though he had his moments of arrogance and pushiness, it all came from a place of protection. They both had secrets and were surrounded by lies, but with each other were able to find a safe oasis from the mind games they both had to play.
Hard Rules was a very promising start to the series. I felt like I was tossed around in a pool of sharks on the hunt for blood. There was quite a cliffhanger at the end, but with a four book series, I'm sure most people will be expecting that. I know even without the suspense and uncertainty of what's to come, I would still be on board with continuing with the next book.
*Damage Control is scheduled for release in February of next year.
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