Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Release Day Blitz: SEAL's Code (SEAL Brotherhood #10) by Sharon Hamilton





SEAL's Code 
Bad Boys of Team 3 
(SEAL Brotherhood #10)
By Sharon Hamilton

Blurb: 

Danny Begay has tried to drive out the voices of his ancestors, but his Navajo roots will not die. Summoned back to Arizona to visit his dying grandfather, a former Navajo Code Talker, he knows he has disappointed his hero grandfather. He buries himself one more time in the arms of a stranger before going back to Northern California. 

Luci Tohe teaches at a reservation school, safeguarding the health of her ailing mother and little sister’s future, her own life on hold. She doesn’t expect the young Dine warrior she meets to be anything but a distraction from her loneliness.

Danny decides to join the Navy, as a SEAL, becoming the man he knew he was destined to be. Before deployment, he goes back to visit the girl he cannot get out of his mind. A dangerous human trafficking element threatens Luci and her family. Danny vows to protect them all.



Available for purchase at 

      

Excerpt


The family gathered afterward at Wilson’s mother’s house. It was hard not to feel the eyes of his relatives on him, just as it was hard not to notice the pats on the back Wilson received. Lopez had been well coached and sought Wilson out to thank him for his service. Danny wanted to leave and told his mother so, barely two hours into the get-together. He’d greeted politely all the relatives he recognized, and those who didn’t come up to him, he figured didn’t want to be re-acquainted. Not like Wilson.

As a youth, just hanging with Wilson would have normally been enough to make the afternoon interesting, but today, with the frostiness between the two cousins, it was forcing him into a dangerous place even the sweet recollection of the night with Luci couldn’t heal. Making matters worse, Wilson had watched as he dropped Luci back to her car at the Blue Coyote and made an off-color remark that irritated Danny further.

The two ignored one another until somehow they wound up waiting to use the only restroom in the house.

“Your mom says you’re ready to go home,” Wilson said to his cowboy boots.

“That’s right.”

“I honestly don’t know why you came in the first place, Danny.”

Danny’s right eye squinted a little. “We never liked these things, Wilson. You know that.”

“You’ve been gone, what, eight years or more?”

“Ten.”

“Okay, then. Ten. And you can’t spend an afternoon giving these people the time of day?”

“I don’t belong here, Wilson.”

Wilson nodded his head. “Oh yeah. Forgot. You’re the one that got away. You trying to rub my nose in it, huh?.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“So what are you saying?”

“I’m saying I don’t want to be here. I’ve done my farewells, and now it’s time for me to adios.”

“You might consider the feelings of your mother.” Danny drilled him with a look that picked a scab.

“You hear the voices? Does the chanting get to you, Wilson?”

He could see his cousin was thinking about this carefully. It surprised him that Wilson didn’t give a quick answer no, which meant he heard the voices, too.

“Holy fucking shit, Wilson. You hear them, too. Just like I do.”

Emma Barnowl opened the bathroom door and their nostrils were hit with room deodorizer, which did a poor job of masking the smell she’d left behind.

“Fuck me,” Wilson said under his breath. “I’m going out back.” 

Danny followed his cousin, and within thirty seconds, was standing next to him, pissing on his aunt’s tomato plants, just like they used to do when they were boys of five. To this day, Danny hated tomatoes, especially home grown ones.

After they were done, they sat in metal lawn chairs. Wilson offered Danny a cigarette.

“I don’t smoke, and neither do you, or you didn’t,” Danny corrected himself.

“That’s funny,” Wilson said as he casually lit up and put his lighter and cigarettes back in his rear pocket.

“How come you didn’t wear your uniform?”

“It’s my choice. I didn’t think he’d like it.” Wilson took a long drag on his cigarette and blew it right at Danny’s face, but the wind carried it away.

“Thought you were proud of being a Navy boat guy.”

“I am. Got nothing to do with it. Kind of felt like it would be bragging or something, you know?”

Danny wondered about Luci, halfway expecting she’d drop by the gathering. Was he disappointed she’d stayed away? He couldn’t get the touch of her body against his out of his mind. That might be a reason to stay an extra day or two, but that would be a dangerous road, full of emotional potholes and entanglements. None of his liaisons ever turned out to last, so he figured it was better to remember her the way he’d left her. He saw her proud straight shoulders and those tight jeans encase thighs and a world-class ass as she walked toward her car and didn’t look back once. He knew the only good ones were the ones who didn’t look back.

“Look, Danny, I’m going to say this once, and then let you go. I’m sorry we got off to a bad start after so many years.”

“I was surprised you were around. Didn’t expect it.”

“So I was right, you’re not happy to see even me.”

“Again, putting words in my mouth.”

Wilson looked down, eyes landing on the scuffed cowboy boots, which were a mismatch to the clean suit pants and white shirt he wore. “I left this place with a lot of demons. I think I got just as many, maybe more than you, cuz.” Wilson took a final drag, stomped it out on the patio, and then threw the pieces into his mother’s vegetable garden.

A slight breeze shivered its way down Danny’s spine. A little group laughed from inside the house. He heard the tinkling of glasses and silverware, the sounds of cars arriving on the crushed rock roadway in front of his Aunt’s house, a doorbell ring, and the buzzing of a small plane overhead. The place looked and smelled and felt dangerously normal.

“I learned to tame those demons in the Navy, Danny. I’m not going to lie to you, but serving in the armed forces is giving me skills I can take out there in the real world.”

Danny found himself chuckling in spite of the fact that it was going to piss Wilson off. “Yeah, don’t see many rubber boats around the res, cuz. You training to be a white water rafting guide in the Canyon? Shit, you coulda done that in high school.”

“Except I was getting stoned in high school, Danny. So were you. I heard you were a real mess.”

“Rumors of my demise have been over exaggerated. I look like a mess to you?”

Wilson abruptly stood. “No, Danny, you look like a fuckin’ hero just like your grandfather.”

His cousin left and joined the gathering inside the house.


Book Trailer




Enjoy this NOT PG excerpt from SEAL's Code narrated by J.D. Hart





YOU'RE INVITED
to the SEAL's CODE Release Party on June 30, 2015
Click on the image to join the fun!! 



About the Author

NYT and USA/Today Bestselling Author Sharon Hamilton’s SEAL Brotherhood series have earned her Amazon author rankings of #1 in Romantic Suspense, Military Romance and Contemporary Romance. Her characters follow a sometimes rocky road to redemption through passion and true love. Her Golden Vampires of Tuscany earned her a #1 Amazon author ranking in Gothic Romance.

A lifelong organic vegetable and flower gardener, Sharon and her husband live in the Wine Country of Northern California, where most of her stories take place.


You can find Sharon at

             


Presented By 


#SRC2015 Book Review: It’s You by Jane Porter


DESTINATION:TRAVEL UP THE COAST OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Week of June 29: It’s You by Jane Porter
Dr. Alison McAdams has just suffered a tragedy that has rocked her life to the core. Lost, she returns home to Northern California to help her sick father; although, in her state, Ali does not know how much help she can provide anyone. Ali unexpectedly makes friends with her father’s community, hearing stories about life during WWII. Through these stories take Ali on a journey of lost love that will lead her across oceans and deep into the past. Through it all, Ali slowly begins to piece herself back together and rediscover that there is hope in life. 
                                                      http://amzn.to/1ysa3lO



MY REVIEW
After losing her fiancé, Andrew, just a few weeks before they were to be wed and her mother shortly after, Ali is lost. She is going through the daily motions of life, but is not truly living it. When her father is injured, she heads to visit him and there she meets her father's friend, Edie. 

Edie, a woman in her 90s initially does not like Ali, but as they find mutual ground, the two connect and form a friendship. Edie even trusts Ali with her secrets which leads Ali on a quest that helps her to find herself and to heal.

It's You by Jane Porter is about personal growth and discovery and is inspirational to women everywhere. Whether you are 27 or 87, this book appeals to every age and touches every heart. 

It's You is touching, gripping, and emotional. There is heartbreak, but also hope in the midst of despair. Jane Porter touches each reader and gives them inspiration and something to believe in after the grief has begun to fade.

I laughed, I cried, and I recommended this book to all my friends. I can't even begin to put into words how much I truly loved this book and the feelings it provoked in me. You would have to read for yourself and experience it on your own in order to get the full effect.


   ★★★★★+

Jane Porter, the bestselling author of 30 novels, including six for Grand Central Publishing, has been a finalist for the prestigious RITA award from Romance Writers of America in 2002, 2003, 2008, and 2010. Jane’s July ’06 release, Flirting With Forty, picked byRedbook as its Red Hot Summer Read, went back for seven printings in six weeks before being made into a December ’08 Lifetime movie starring Heather Locklear. Jane’s newest release, She’s Gone Country, will be out this August 2010. A busy mother of three sons, Jane holds an MA in Writing from the University of San Francisco and makes her home in Bellevue, Washington where she’s working on her next novel.


Monday, June 29, 2015

ARC Review: To Tempt a SEAL (Sin City SEALs, #1) by Sara Jane Stone



Title: To Tempt a SEAL
Series: Sin City SEALs, #1
Author: Sara Jane Stone 
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 162 pages
ISBN: 978-1-63375-293-1
Release Date: June 30, 2015
Imprint: Brazen

Links: Amazon / Amazon UK / Amazon CA / Kobo / iTunes / Barnes & Noble / Add to Goodreads


He can resist everything…except her.

For the first time in her life, art therapist Lucia Lewis is ready to live. And the masquerade ball in Las Vegas is just the place to find a ridiculously hot guy to complete her wicked to-do list. The only rule? Her elegant Venetian mask—which conceals the scars that have always held her back from the life she deserves—stays on.

Navy SEAL Cade Daniels heads to Vegas on a mission to keep his best friend’s little sister out of trouble. Except the woman he’s sent to find is all heat and flame…and perfectly capable of handling herself. And him. But the moment Lucia’s mask slips, the need to heal her, body and soul, is complete and absolute temptation.

But revealing himself could cost him the one thing he isn’t willing to risk…his heart.


MY REVIEW
Lucia Lewis has always been self-conscience, but for the first time she is ready to allow herself to live and to do so she's heading to Las Vegas with a checklist of naughtiness. Her only hang up? The mask MUST stay on.

Cade Daniels heads to Vegas when his best friend asks him to look after her little sister and keep her out of trouble. From Natalie's description of Lucia, he highly doubts she will find herself in much trouble. Little does he know that Lucia is about to prove him wrong and have him changing his plans for watching over her.

They agree on a weekend of sin, but when Lucia's mask slips, all Cade wants to do is heal her.

To Tempt a SEAL is similar to a Beauty & The Beast romance. Lucia is self-conscious about her looks due to an accident when she was a teen and her is Cade, a strong Navy SEAL who is accepting her for who she is and sees her beauty.

To Tempt a SEAL is smoking hot and heats up the pages of this book. Cade is the dream man while Lucia is shy and doesn't like her looks, yet with Cade she feels as if he genuinely thinks she is beautiful. He helps her find her confidence and her perfect stride. He's the perfect man to encourage her and pick her up when she falls.

I loved both Cade and Lucia's characters, but my favorite part of the book is how Lucia writes her dirtiest fantasies on a post it note of all things. 

To Tempt a SEAL is addicting, sinful, and naughty. I love Navy SEALS and Cade is one of my favorites with his protective demeanor and heart of gold. If you love Navy SEALS and steaminess, this one is for you!

★★★



Release Day Blitz: Evanesce (The Darkness #2) by Cassia Brightmore




Title: Evanesce
Series: The Darkness #2
Author: Cassia Brightmore
 Release Date: June 29, 2015


Blurb


If your soul has been plunged into the dark depths of despair, how hard would you fight to claw your way back to the surface? Can the life you lost be restored, or is it destined to be forever phased out of existence? Fated to dissolve into a distant memory.

The Black Market—a ferocious, starving beast. An endless sinkhole of precious valuables; the playground for blood-thirsty power seekers. Only one thing feeds its hunger like no other…human life.

A sinister criminal ring has descended on the small town of Norton Springs, instilling fear in the residents. A vicious wave of disappearances coupled with the gut-wrenching horror of infants being ripped from the arms of their helpless mothers has the town quaking in terror.

When Gabe Thornton strolls back into his hometown, his main goal is to claim the one woman that has always denied her feelings for him—Nora Jacobs. The last thing he expects is to be thrust into a storm of devastation and chaos. Will his strength be enough to save them from the dark souls that threaten to destroy their chance at happiness?

Broken futures. Shattered dreams. Mind-numbing loss. When your heart has been ripped away from you—how do you find the will to go on?

No one is safe. Everything you thought you knew is about to change in this second installment in The Darkness Series.

Warning: Due to adult content and graphic situations, this book is intended for readers 18 and up.


Links to Buy 

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
iBOOKS / B&N / KOBO



Excerpt

Gripping Red’s hand tight, the two ran up the stairs, Brooke wincing each time one of the boards squeaked under the pressure of their weight. At the top, the door was open, a fact that had Brooke’s heart jumping up her throat like it was on a damn trampoline. Peering out, she ensured there was no one in sight before tugging Red forward. A few steps into the carpeted foyer, the sound of voices drifted towards them. Panicking, she pulled Red into what she thought was an empty room and shut the door.

Panting, she leaned against the door, trying to catch her breath.

“We have to hide here, Red. I’ll check if it’s safe in a few minutes.” When there was no reply from Red, Brooke turned her head, searching. “Red?” The other woman stood frozen, unmoving in the middle of the room.

“What are you—ahh…” Brooke stepped up beside Red, concerned why she was non-verbal. The room was not empty as she had expected. It wasn’t empty at all and the scene before them was a terrifying one.

Cots. Rows and rows of cots and each one was occupied with a tiny infant. Some were sleeping, wrapped in thin blankets. Others were squirming, having come loose from their bundle. A few were wailing, a loud sound that would make any dog in the surrounding area sit up and take notice. How Brooke didn’t hear them, was beyond her. The adrenaline was a roar in her ears, blocking out everything except listening for footsteps of anyone that might be approaching. A quick count revealed twenty-four cots. Twenty-four babies either stolen are birthed by a mother that was likely a prisoner in the same house of horrors she was trying to escape from.

Covering her mouth, Brooke supressed a scream of disgust. Children. Helpless infants all lined up and ready to be sold by the indescribable monster, Marcus. An auction straight from a mother’s worst nightmare.

“Red,” she tried to get her attention. “Red,” she said with more force. When that still didn’t work, she reached out and lightly shook her. The haunted, empty look in her eyes when Red finally acknowledged her, broke Brooke’s heart into a million tiny pieces.

“My sons. My daughters…” she moved towards the cots. “I—I have to find them. I—I—I didn’t get to—to hold them,” she stammered, peering over the cots at the tiny faces. Her heartbreak was written all over her face as she searched from cot to cot for her children.

Not being able to stand seeing her torment, Brooke rushed to her side, trying to tug her away. “Red, I don’t think they are here now. These…these are infants. As in just born, and you—” Red’s head whipped around to pin Brooke with furious eyes.

“Shut up. You know nothin’. My children are here. They are here.” Tears sprang to Brooke’s eyes at the utter despair in Red’s voice.

“I really wish they were, God, Red. But I promise you, we will make these bastards pay. We will find your children and make sure they can never do this to any other woman,” Brooke’s promise was fierce and true. She would shut this operation down, even if it killed her to do it.




                                           My Review
Twisted and dark, Evanesce is the stuff nightmares are made of. As shown in book one, Malevolent, Cassie Brightmore is an author who should wear a sign as "CAUTION: Expect the unexpected." Just as the first book, Brightmore, takes readers on an thrill ride. Have you ever ridden in one of those dark scary tunnels on a scare ride? That's exactly what you are in store with when it comes to Evanesce.

Norton Springs, Texas, where the book is set, has criminal activity heating up hotter than a Texas summer. Mother and children are going missing left and right and there are no leads in the case. Theo (who I adore) makes a call to Brady, the sheriff from book one, Malevolent.

Gabe Thorton, who has headed home to claim Nora Jacobs, the one woman he has always denied his feelings for. Instead he finds himself in the midst of chaos and a town of fear. Joining forces with Brady and Theo, the three of them start investigating who is behind these disappearances and what they why.

Evanesce is gripping and captivating within it's depraved darkness. This book will leave you speechless and turning on a night light in order to hide from the shadows. Brilliantly, yet twisted, this book showcases the talent that is Cassia Brightmore.

If you are a reader who loves dark books, this one is for you!

                                ★★★★★



Also Available


AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
iBOOKS / B&N / KOBO

My Review 
Malevolent is the stunning debut book from author Cassia Brightmore. Let me just say this author has TALENT...along with a beautifully talented and wicked mind. 

Malevolent blew me away! I never knew what was going to happen next or where the story was leading. I just had to hang on to the edge of my seat and enjoy the ride. The perfect blend of thriller, suspense, mystery, and romance, Malevolent is captivating. 

A woman gone missing two months earlier is found dead and the community is living in fear of what happened. Sheriff Brady James is trying to track down a killer with little to no leads to go on, while being chased after a crazy ex-girlfriend trying to win him back and finding himself attracted to the new woman in town, Gwyn.

Maleveolent is a quick paced, dark thrill ride and Brightmore has managed to capture darkness and light coinciding perfectly within these pages. Brightmore is an author to be on the lookout for and shows so much promise as a debut author. 

I enjoyed the alternating point of views between the different characters and the peek into the killer's mind was quite interesting. The only flaw for me is how quickly Brady and Gwyn profess their love for one another especially given how Gwyn was against relationships when she strolled into town.

I look forward to seeing how this series progresses and what else this author has in store for us readers!

★★★1/2













Author Bio

Cassia Brightmore is a new indie author. Her debut novel, Malevolent is the first book in the Darkness Series and can be read as a standalone.
 

Writing has always been a passion of hers and publishing her first novel is truly a dream come true. She enjoys writing dark stories that she hopes will thrill the reader.
 

Cassia lives in Grimsby, Canada with her two furbabies, Harley and Molly.



Author Links

Sunday, June 28, 2015

ARC Review: Bridesmaid Blues by Boone Brux


Title: Bridesmaid Blues
Series: Wedding Favors, #1
Author: Boone Brux 
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 194 pages
ISBN: 978-1-63375-287-0
Release Date: June 30, 2015
Imprint: Lovestruck

Links: Amazon / Amazon UK / Amazon CA / iTunes / Kobo / Barnes & Noble / Goodreads


A wedding. An ex. And a secret.
Maid-of-Honor Dani Brown can handle anything that comes her way when it comes to her best friend’s wedding. That is, until the bride asks for a huge favor—Dani needs to distract the best man, who happens to be Dani’s ex. The ex she has fantasized dismembering for a year now. The ex she’ll have to suck it up and play nice with if this wedding is to go off without a hitch.
Businessman Jamie Kingsland is back in Seattle for a wedding. There’s just one problem – the maid of honor wants him dead. Except she doesn’t. Even though he knows he broke her heart last year when things got too serious and he panicked and left, she’s being way too nice about it now. And it scares him.
Something is up with his favorite bridesmaid, and he’s determined to find out what…

*MY REVIEW*
Dani Brown, Maid-of-Honor for her best friend, Roxy, can is great at handling everything Roxy throws her way until Roxy surprises Dani by asking her to keep Jamie, Dani's ex-boyfriend, away from Roxy's groom.

Dani hasn't seen Jamie for over a year since that disastrous night when she dared to utter those three little words and now she needs to keep him distracted while keeping her heart guarded.

BRIDESMAID BLUES is a fun and flirty wedding book about best friends, love, and second chances. There are funny moments, there are sweet moments, and there are penis moments. 

Boone Brux has the talent to weave a story with characters I (and you!) will adore. From Dani with her heart of gold and her love of horror movies and Jamie, the confirmed bachelor who doesn't really that what he really wants is love. The secondary characters all leave you curious about them and wondering what pairing will come next in this series all while you are rooting for Dani and Jamie to get together.

I loved the blend of humor and sweetness within these pages and the 'will they' or 'won't they?' moments. I truly liked this pairing together and how even with a year of space between them they still remember the little things about one another.

BRIDESMAID BLUES is the perfect book for summer - the season of weddings - and is lighthearted and flirty. This is truly an enjoyable read! 

★★★★