Cover Reveal & Giveaway: Fusion (Explosive #5) by Tessa Teevan

Fusion (Explosive #5)

Release Day: July 6, 2015

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Cover Models: Don Allen and Faith Danielle

Photographer: Kelsey Keeton at K. Keeton Designs

Cover Designer: Robin Harper at Wicked By Design

Where do babies come from? 

The question every parent dreads hearing has finally fallen from the lips of six year old Ava Banks, the curious, precocious little girl that you fell in love with in Ignite. Jeremy and Sierra, normally blunt as can be, struggle to find the right words to answer her. So instead, they rewind sixteen years to that one fateful day where a game of Seven Minutes in Heaven inevitably led to life-long romance filled with laughter, love, and many, many mishaps along the way.

Falling in love with your best friend? It's the most incredible thing in the world. But when a love comes so easily, will it truly be able to last? When the world comes crashing down around you, can even the strongest relationship withstand great tragedy?

Stay tuned for lots of laughs, teenage awkwardness, a few tears, and most of all, mullets. Because what good love story doesn't do business in the front, and party in the back?

**While Fusion is a standalone romance, it’s best read after Ignite. 

Ignite (Explosive #1) 

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“It’s fine, Jeremy. I promise. I have no problem being the Tod to your Copper. Or the Joey to your Dawson. That’s who I am.” She hesitated for a brief moment. “That’s who I’ll always be. You’re my best friend, Jeremy. It’s okay that you don’t see my boobs. Hell, it’s probably better that way.”

My stomach plummeted and if I was man enough to admit it, my eyes burned with an unexpected rush of tears. I stepped back, out of the streetlight so she couldn’t see me. It was a move she misinterpreted, but before I could find a single ounce of courage, she was waving goodbye and running into her house, leaving me there to watch her go.

Something I never wanted to do again. 

It wasn’t until after Sierra left for Ohio and I had a chance to reflect on her words that I realized what she’d said. Dawson and Joey, as of right then, weren’t even speaking. Copper and Tod went their separate ways, and even though their friendship remained, they were still apart for the rest of their lives. 

I didn’t want to be Copper anymore. I sure as hell didn’t want to be Dawson. 

But it was too late. I’d lost my chance. I’d missed my window. Sierra was gone and there was nothing I could do about it. 

Jenna was right. 

I was an idiot. 

I'm a twenty something book junkie who is also obsessed with sports. Bengals, Buckeyes, Reds are my teams! I work for the government during the day, hang out with Air National Guard on the weekends, and have been married to my own book boyfriend for over seven years. We currently live right outside of Dayton, OH with our two cats. 

If I’m not writing or looking through tons of photos of hot men, all in the name of research, then you can probably find me curled up with my Kindle, ignoring the rest of the world. I love my sports almost as much as I love my books. My other obsessions include red wine, country music, and all things Grace Potter. 

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Christie's review: Last Kiss by Jen Frederick and Jessica Clare

Title: Last Kiss

Series: Hitman #3

Author: Jen Frederick/Jessica Clare

Release Date:May 5, 2015

Rating:3.5 stars

Cliffhanger: No

Naomi: When I was kidnapped I thought only of survival. I don’t thrive well in chaos. That’s why I gave my captors exactly what they wanted: my skill with computers. Making millions for a crime lord who kept me imprisoned in his basement compound kept my family safe. When he was taken out, I thought my ticket to freedom had arrived. Wrong. I traded one keeper for another. This time I’m in the hands of a scarred, dark, demanding Russian who happens to be the head of the Bratva, a Russian crime organization. He wants my brain and my body. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued, but I can’t be a prisoner forever...no matter how good he makes me feel. Vasily: At a young age, I was taught that a man without power is a puppet for all. I’ve clawed—and killed—my way to the top so that it is my heel on their necks. But to unify the fractured organization into an undefeatable machine, I need a technological genius to help me steal one particular artifact. That she is breathtaking, determined, and vulnerable is making her more dangerous than all of my enemies combined. But only I can keep her safe from the world that she now inhabits. Soon, I must choose between Naomi and Bratva law. But with every day that passes, this becomes a more impossible choice.

[ No (hide spoiler)]

What I love about this series is that these two talented authors give you real, raw, and un-watered down stories of criminals with tons of action and suspense. These books are about killers. They're violent, they're hardened, and they are not somebody who you would like to come across in a dark alley. Too many times, we get mafia or hitman books where the hero is supposedly a "scary guy" and he's has a sweet side just waiting for our lucky heroine to bring it to the surface. Or he's thinking about his feelings and mooning over his love...NO. Don't get me wrong, I love those guys when the character profile fits, but when I'm reading a book such as this, I want real.

This book is about Vasily, a man trying to claw his way to the top of the Russian Bratva and bring order back to the organization that has been slowly seeping out through bad leadership.



His other main objective is to bring his sister out of hiding and allow her to live her life in freedom and safety. Nothing and no one is going to stand in his way from his goals. He leaves no confusion over the fact that he will kill anyone who tries to stop him.



The key to getting every last thing he wants is a master computer hacker: Naomi. AKA: The Emperor. She is the one person that can hack into any system undetected and find the information he needs. Who has the Caravaggio painting? One piece of art holds the future of the entire Bratva and his sister's life in the balance.

I am not born to the Bratva or to some higher family. I am simply a killer with an elevated status, looking for an obscene painting that will cement my position as king of evildoers.

This book becomes a treasure hunt taking us through Italy and Russia, through sex clubs with unthinkable depravity, gunfire, and impossible situations. And through all this, we see this cold-hearted man slowly become attached to Naomi. A woman with Aspergers who has sensitivities to germs, social interactions, reading emotions, and cannot function with loud noises or unexpected places or situations.

I'm like one of the computers back in my garage apartment at home-wired differently for optimum efficiency.

Naomi was a difficult heroine for me. Usually I like quirky or nerdy heroines, but in this case, there were things I liked about her, but some of the things she thought about and the way she rationalized things in her head really took me aback. Because she is so clinical about every little thing and how she analyzes everything was strange, especially when it surfaces during their first sex scene together. I'm sorry for everyone who loved their dynamic at this point, but it takes the passion right out of the moment when the heroine is spouting sexual statistics and screeching at him afterwards about how he tricked her into touching the dirty mattress. And then she frantically rushed off to shower herself from the contamination afterwards...it was weird!! Sorry! And then there was the way she was so unattached and uncaring about him killing people right in front of her. And before you come after me with your torches and pitchforks, please understand that I know that this is the effect of Naomi's developmental disorder. But can you blame me for feeling at odds with thoughts like these?

I know he's a sociopath. I don't care. We all have our issues. But he's my sociopath, and as long as he doesn't hurt me or my family, or make me feel like less, he'll be mine and I'll be his.



And this was where I was at for about half of the book. My difficulties aside, however, I get that they are the perfect match for each other.

Neither like to be touched or enjoyed sex in the past.
Neither are emotional or soft.
Neither are understood by people or have any desire to become attached to anyone, let alone fall in love.

What I liked about them was the fact that they accepted one another for who they really were and their mutual respect and attraction felt natural and genuine.



They are extremely blunt and honest with one another from the very beginning and that is something that they both need and value. But again, it was odd. I'm not going to lie. At the same time though, I found myself chuckling at some of the things they would both say. So it left me feeling very conflicted. As the book wore on, in the end, they won me over. This book isn't a soft, fluffy, easy read. The characters are immoral, remorseless, and not ones that you can identify with or relate to. But there are moments when you see their humanity and vulnerabilities peek through, and it makes you believe in them as a couple that is meant for one another. The way she stands behind him so strongly, and how he accepts her idiosyncrasies unconditionally felt like a love at it's most basic and honest and that in itself is a beautiful thing.

My 3.5 star rating by no means translates that I thought that this was bad or even average, it was just a matter of personal taste over my feelings about the characters for the first part of the book. It took me a while to warm up to these two, but I did like them. I just didn't love them. If I were to rate this book on the writing and the quality of the plotted story, it would easily be a 5 star. The characters were solid, and the pace was fast flowing. These are two talented authors that have a permanent place on my auto-buy list. If you're looking for a mafia book with a very unique story and characters, I would highly recommend this one.



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Cover Reveal: The Shadow (Florentine Series,#2) by Sylvain Reynard

Title: The Shadow

series: Florentine Series,#2

Author: Sylvain Reynard

Release Date: 2nd February, 2016

New York Times bestselling author Sylvain Reynard presents the hotly

anticipated, intoxicating follow-up to The Raven...

Raven Wood’s vampyre prince has returned, pledging his love and promising

justice for every wrong done to her. In the wake of their reunion, Raven is faced

with a terrible decision—allow the Prince to wreak vengeance against the

demons of her past, or persuade him to stay his hand. But there is far more at

stake than Raven’s heart...

A shadow has fallen over the city of Florence. Ispettor Batelli will not rest until he uncovers Raven’s connection to the theft of the priceless art from the Uffizi

Gallery. And while the Prince hunts a traitor who sabotages him at every turn, he finds himself the target of the vampyres’ mortal enemy.

As he wages a war on two fronts, he will need to keep his love for Raven secret,

or risk exposing his greatest weakness...

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Release Blitz: Entice (Hearts of Stone #2) by Veronica Larsen

  

  

BLURB 

Turns out I’ve been faking being an adult. My job? My apartment? The pretty life I've built? Let's just say I've made some mistakes. I'm knee-deep in the mess I've made when I find him. Tall, dark-haired, and rough around the edges. The boy I never noticed is all grown up, in all the right ways. And he's not about to let me forget it. He can try to pretend he's immune to our attraction. I'm trained in the art of persuasion and I love a challenge. But how can he know the answers to questions I haven't thought to ask? I’ve been putting out fires, fighting like crazy to get my life back on track. And this man? He acts like he knows who's holding the match. Maybe there's no such thing as mistakes. What if it's all just sabotage? 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Veronica Larsen is a twenty-something year old writer who enjoys crafting emotionally rousing stories laced with intense chemistry. Her debut contemporary romance novel, Entangle (Hearts of Stone, Book 1), released December 1^st 2014. When Veronica isn’t writing, she enjoys reading, sobbing over her epic Pinterest fails, and spending time with her sweet little family in Southern California. 

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Cover Reveal: Violent Things (Chaos & Ruin Book 1) by Callie Hart

Title: Violent Thing

Series: Chaos & Ruin Book 1

Author: Callie Hart

Release Date: 30th June, 2015

You’re never really out until you’re dead. That’s what the mob bosses, gunrunners and car thieves of Seattle will tell you, anyway.

Zeth Mayfair, ex mafia enforcer, has other ideas. Since falling for Sloane, he’s managed to turn her life upside down. Now, he’s determined to give her a stable, happy and, most importantly, safe life. If that means he has to sleep with one eye open and one hand on a shotgun, then that’s what he’ll do.

Mason Reeves is just looking for a way to take care of his sick sister. Since their mother left, things have been hard, and they’re only getting harder. Prescription meds don’t come cheap, and working as an auto mechanic only pays so well. If he wants to give Millie the life she deserves, he’s going to have to earn it with his fists. And who better to teach him how to fight than the guy who took down the biggest gangster in Seattle?

You can try to get out…

You can try to be good…

You can steer clear of trouble…

But it’s only a matter of time before trouble comes looking for you. 

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Release Blitz & Giveaway: Afraid to Fly (Fearless #2) by S.L. Jennings

Meet Dirty Dom in this fantastic stand-alone!

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I’d like to tell you that I’m ok.

That the meaningless sex with countless women has somehow numbed the pain. That it’s deciphered the constant confusion in my head. Eased the self-hatred that sinks into my gut every time I look in the mirror.

I’d like to tell you that time heals all wounds.

That we evolve and grow into well-adjusted, stable adults, set on a path to right the world’s wrongs. That we are not our past…we are not our pain.

I want to tell you all those things. Hell, I want to believe all those things. But I’d be lying. I’m good at that. Living a lie is the only way I truly know how to survive.

But the day I saw her, I stopped surviving. I stopped existing. And for the first time in 24 years, I started living.

She brought me back to life. Set me free and sent my soul soaring. Made this useless shell of a man feel like…something. Something whole and real and good.

She saved me.

Although she believes I wasn’t even worth saving.

This story chronicles the journey of Dominic Trevino, a character from Fear of Falling. However, it can be read as a standalone.

I approached her slowly, letting my eyes take in her soft, feminine curves. That’s what I loved the most about women—their softness, their delicateness. It made them appear breakable, just like me. And it made me appreciate that vulnerability, in hopes that someone could—and would—one day, appreciate mine.

That’s why even though I never offered more than a few hours of toe-curling pleasure, I assured each second was spent tending to their sexual desires and making them feel treasured. Just because I was a whore, it didn’t make me callous or uncaring. If anything, it made me more aware of my humanity.

I pushed it all away, trading my own hang-ups and idiosyncrasies for the mental numbness that sex could provide and did what I do best: Fuck. I was good at this part—touching, kissing, licking. And when we were both ready—too ravenous with desire to consider my aversions—I drove into her slowly, all the way to the hilt. Until her body completely covered mine and soothed the ache of loneliness with wet warmth. This was the feeling I had been chasing since I was just a child, barely a man. That sweet oblivion that only mindless sex could provide. I was made whole by emptying myself into another, and for the barest of moments, I became separate from my pain and anger. I became the type of man that could look himself in the mirror and not see the horror of his past standing behind him, its razor sharp claws cutting into the skin of his shoulders while it smiled in that sinister way that still made my skin crawl.

I had seen that malevolence in my dreams every day since as long as I could remember. Sometimes it was in the form of a smile, a laugh. Sometimes it wore the face of ecstasy and passion. But it was always terrifying.

I lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling long after Alyssa had passed out in blissful exhaustion. She came twice, once by my tongue, the other with her ankles on my shoulders. She was a screamer, and I kept wondering if Angel would bust in here, wondering if I was fucking or killing the girl. Then, if Alyssa was up for it, she’d join, like she had just this past weekend with Cherri. It wasn’t that we wanted each other in that way—oh hell no. We were just better…together. It made it even easier to get out of our heads and lost in the movement of our bodies.

It was co-dependent like a motherfucker. And unhealthy. And unconventional. But it was all we knew.

Fear of Falling (A Fearless Novel)

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S.L. Jennings is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of contemporary and paranormal romance, reality TV junkie, obsessive coffee drinker and collector of crazy.

Stalk Her: Website | Facebook | Twitter |Goodreads

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