Wednesday, October 23, 2013

GIVEAWAY- Tied up in Heartstrings by Felicia Lynn

WANT TO WIN ONE OF FOUR Ebook COPIES OF TIED UP IN HEARTSTRINGS BY FELICIA LYNN?
Just leave a blog post comment with your email address and I will pick a winner in 24hours!
Tragedy ripped the security from her life. Left a single mother, Alexis's fear of loss insulates her from the rest of the world. Her best friends from college and close family are the only people she keeps close.

A man from her past has always been in love with Alexis. He’s never met anyone that measures up to her. Garrett is a musician, who never really imagined he’d have the fame and fortune that he's found. But, even with that, what he's always wanted is out of reach... or is it?

When Garrett and Alexis meet up by chance a relationship begins. Neither expected what happens. She can’t be sure she’s ready for the complications a relationship brings. He will have to work overtime to win her heart without any assurances it will be successful.

Alexis is learning about life without Jed, and is feeling more secure with parenting on her own. Garrett appreciates his fans and is enjoying his life on the road but misses having a private life. The lives they have built separately leave little room for a budding relationship, but their hearts won’t take that into consideration.

Will the cards they’ve been dealt get in the way of a love that is meant to be? Is love enough to overcome loss and heartbreak? Can they accept all that the other is, without feeling like they are living in the shadow of their former lives?

IF YOU DON'T WIN YOU CAN GRAB A COPY FOR .99c FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY!

Monday, October 21, 2013

Guest Post - Emma Shortt: Waking Up Dead & Giveaway!

Title: Waking Up Dead (End of Days Love #1)
Author: Emma Short
Release Date: 22nd October 2013
Publisher: Entangled

Welcome to the #entangledzombieinvasion release week competition, and a big thanks to Jo-Anne for hosting me!

Just in time for Halloween we’re celebrating the release of my debut novel, Waking up Dead, and it’s all about the zombies… Of course where the undead roam a zombie slaying kit is so needed, and do I have a fab one for you!

Axe: check
Flashlight: check
Super hunky guy to fight the zombies with: not quite…



You can, however, find that super hunky guy in-between the pages of Waking up Dead, and if you’d like the get-your-slay-on kit too, or a signed copy of Waking up Dead, or even a $25 Amazon gift card enter the competition below. You get extra points for tweeting and extra again for heading over to Facebook and liking my author page.

Here’s a sneak peek of Waking up Dead…

You know your life has hit rock bottom when you’re living off cooked rats and showering once every few months—if you’re lucky. But for Jackson Hart things are about to get a whole lot worse. When her best friend, Tye, disappears hunting for food, kick-ass Jackson’s ‘head south to safety’ plan looks like it’s dead before it’s even begun. But then she meets ex-mechanic Luke Granger, who takes her to his bunker, feeds her with non-rat based food, and offers her protection against the zombie hordes—not that she needs it. She knows how to use a machete and isn’t afraid to.
Jackson was tempted to stay in the city with her rescuer. Food, shampoo and the possibility of finally getting laid, what more could she ask for? But the flesh eaters are getting smarter and the bunker is compromised, so Jackson and Luke have no choice but to make the journey south.
Luke and Jackson team up to find other humans in a road-trip romance for the ages. They travel for thousands of miles with zombies shadowing their every move. They must utilize every resource at their disposal…and then some. On the way, they discover that even if flesh eating zombies are knocking down their door, there’s always time for sex and even love.

Excerpt:

Chicago

Without a doubt the house with the pretty green shutters had food inside of it. Pasta, canned vegetables, tinned meats, hell, it could have a five course, good-to-go, gourmet meal in there for all Jackson Hart knew. Crouched down behind an overturned SUV she could practically hear it all screaming from inside the pantry, and she narrowed her eyes as she assessed the best way to get at it.

Not through the front door. It was probably barred tight with planks of wood, or barricaded with piled-up furniture. Maybe through the back? But the skinny, shadowed alleyway that ran between the house and its fence screamed, horror movie showdown, and for all Jackson knew she’d be risking it only to find a blocked-up back door too. The shutters then. How thick were they? Was the glass behind them intact? Jackson hefted Mandy-the-machete and considered the possibilities.

“You’re looking thoughtful there. For the record it doesn’t suit you.”

Those words came from Tyrone, her friend, her only friend, if you wanted to get right down to it. He joined her behind the SUV, swinging his ax as he did so, and making absolutely no attempt to stay hidden.

“I was being stealthy,” Jackson said with a sigh. “You totally just ruined it.”

“Stealthy for who?” he asked. “The rats? There’s only them and us. We checked the street. It’s all quiet.”

Jackson frowned as she looked away from the house and down said street. A backpack, probably a child’s by the size of it, caught her attention, and she frowned as she noticed what looked like a rusty toy truck sticking out of the zipper. The things people had thought to take when they tried to run…it still baffled her.
“Quiet or not, they’re here somewhere,” she said softly. “It’s been almost a day since we saw any of them.”

“Let’s hope for another day and then maybe another.” He paused. “Better yet, let’s hope for a week.”

Jackson almost laughed. “Might as well wish for a working car.”

“I do, sweetheart. Daily. We’re surrounded by wheels and not one of them worth a damn.”

“Two years and then some pretty much kills everything.”

“Everything but us,” Tye said.

Jackson nodded slowly at the truth of those words, tore her gaze away from the truck, and pointed her machete at the shuttered house. “Enough with the reminiscing. Take a look at that.”

Tye’s gaze followed the line of the blade. A frown spread across his face as he assessed the building from top to bottom. “It looks…”

“Like it probably did two years ago?”

“Yeah.”

“Weird isn’t it?” Jackson said. “I don’t know about your end, but down there,” she tilted her head to the south of the street, “the rest of these million-dollar houses are rocking the post apocalyptic- makeover vibe. Broken glass, doors hanging off their frames, trash all over the place.”

 “And this one stands alone,” Tye said, his frown deepening. “Could be Obama’s. I heard he has a house around here.”

“Had, had a house,” Jackson said. “And I’m pretty sure the dead do not make dining distinctions based on fame, or,” she added when Tye opened his mouth to speak, “government office.”

“Unless he went rogue in the beginning. He could still be hanging around.” Tye paused and shook his head. “That’s a weird thought.”

“Weird but not outside the realms of possibility,” Jackson said. “Hence the stealth you just ruined. Something is off, and we can’t ignore it. If there’s food anywhere, it’s hidden in that house. The rest have been picked clean, and this one looks like it’s been protected.”

Tye shot her an incredulous look. “You’re seriously not suggesting there are actual people inside?”

She snorted. “Yep, I’m betting there’s a whole family just waiting to open their arms to us. They’ll have a meal all laid out, hot baths running—”

“Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, Jack.”

Jackson shook her head. “You goad me into it. Seriously though, I’m thinking there were people still living in there. Not for a while and not now,” she added, holding up her free hand to halt whatever words Tye had been about to say, “but maybe they lasted out longer than the rest of the street. It’d explain why things look different. Better yet, it might mean food.”

Tye stomach gave a grumble. It was far louder than it should have been and Jackson caught his eye. “Keep it down. That was loud enough for a pack to hear.”

“Can’t help it,” he said. “You keep talking about food. When was the last time we ate, for fuck’s sake? I still can’t believe the university campus was picked clean.”

“It’s crazy,” Jackson agreed, thinking of all those dorm rooms they’d crept through. Each had been viler than the last, full of blood and pus and a million other unidentifiable fluids. Worse, they’d stunk of teen sweat, though how that could be two and more years after those rooms had last been occupied, Jackson didn’t know. “Took a brave person indeed to wander those rooms and clean them out,” she added. “End of the day though, it doesn’t leave us much choice but to hit up Creepyville here. We need some calories
in our system as soon as possible, and I’d rather not chow down on rat again.”

“There’s nothing wrong with rat.”

“There’s so much wrong with it I can’t even begin.” She swung

Mandy in the direction of the biggest window, forcing Tye to lean back to avoid the super-sharp blade. “I’m thinking we go through the shutters there. We’ll chop through them and then the glass too if there’s any left.”

“That’ll make a bit of noise.”

 “Less noise than trying to go through the front door. You know it’ll probably be barricaded up, and besides, didn’t you just say we were okay?”

“I said we are okay for the moment. Let’s not push our luck any more than we have to.”

“So we’ll be quick.”

He hefted his ax, giving it a swing of what Jackson assumed was agreement. “I’m always quick, sweetheart.”

 “I bet.”

“You’re not funny.”

I'm thirty something years old, live in combats and black tees, survive on a desperately minimal amount of sleep, and have a tendency to shoot from the hip.
 I loathe shopping, unless it's for books, and spend most of my free time trying to get my teenage children, Vix and Bear, to hang out with me. Mostly they don't, as you know, they have stuff to do. What this stuff is I've yet to find out... so I write instead and before long free time is no more.
 I write in all sorts of genres, though the vast majority of my work has a romance bubbling within it (inspired by my real life hero, my husband, fondly referred to as 'The Greek'). Mostly I just write whatever takes my fancy and hope that someone, somewhere, will want to buy it when it's finished!
 You can find me all over the net. It is fair to say I am a bit of a cyber-whore. Facebook (www.facebook.com/AuthorEmmaShortt), Twitter (www.twitter.com/emmashortt), Amazon (www.amazon.com/author/emma-shortt) Goodreads...come, say hi. I want you to!
All my books are available on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.ca, Barnes and Noble, All Romance ebooks, Bookstrand, Apple, Smashwords, Sony and Chapters/Indigo. You can download to your Kindle, Kobo, Nook or iPad. You can also find some of my books on Amazon.com in paperback format.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, October 4, 2013

Review: Blind Attraction by Eden Summers

Title: Blind Attraction (Reckless Beat #1)
Author: Eden Summers
Age Group:  Romance
Release Date: 25th May 2013
Publishers: Self-published
Available from: Amazon

Source: Own purchase

He can seduce with a single glance. 

Peering down at a sea of fans, rock star, Mitchell Davies can’t deny the innocent beauty of a woman in the front row. He’ll stop at nothing to get to know her. When a public altercation leaves her weak and defenseless, he takes the opportunity to be her savior.

She’s been sheltered from the world. 

Alana Shelton wants to spread her wings and experience life away from her restrictive upbringing. But she isn’t prepared for a gorgeous stranger to sweep her off her feet while at her most vulnerable. 

Attraction will bring them together, but their pasts will try to tear them apart. 

He wants to teach her how to trust, but she’ll show him how to love. In a glamorous world of rock-and-roll, only time will tell if they’re up for the challenge.


************
Do you like "Bad Boys" with hidden hearts of gold?
Do you like Rockers with bodies that look like Sin?
Do you like music that makes your body quiver?
Would you like to combine all three of the above and have it all wrapped around the outside AND inside of you?
The answer ~ Oh, yes, yes.... YES!
Then, WELCOME to the world of *drum roll please*
~ RECKLESS BEAT ~

The first book in this (soon to be cult) series is "Blind Attraction". Leading male is Mitchell Davies on lead guitar. He can seduce with a single glance. Leading female is Alana Shelton who's led a sheltered life. How they end up together, I'm not going to tell you! I'm going to let Eden take you on this sexy and wild ride through the character's daily work and personal lives where they have their ups and downs (no pun intended) along with their physical and emotional adventures.

This is a very well written story with characters that you'll grow to lust after and/or love like a best friend. This is an easy and smooth story to read that brings a "movie into your mind" with every sentence. There's no wasteful words, no "waffling on" before getting to the point and a few hints to let you know what will be coming up in future stories. Book 2 in the Reckless Beat series will be staring Blake Kennedy. *fans self* If the rest of the books in this series are written with the same care, skill, love and respect to the characters as we see in "Blind Attraction" then this will definitely become a delicious series to enjoy over and over again. (Pun intended)

One thing that Eden has done correctly, was to print the book with an easy to see and read sized font. Let’s be honest here, once you hit a "certain age" that pale tiny font is difficult to read and very annoying when it's an excellent story that you just can't put down. This book is one that you won't want to put down.
If you know a Producer whom can bring these stories to life as a TV series, run out and drag them over to Eden's home now, because when all these stories have been written, bringing them to life would be absolutely....... Geez, I just have to use the word delicious again. Now about auditioning the members to play the characters of "Reckless Beat". Hands up all those who want this job? Well, get in line!

Leone

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Review: Countering His Claim by Rachel Bailey

Title: Countering His Claim
Author: Rachel Bailey
Age Group:  Romance
Release Date: 1st October 2013
Publishers: Harlequin
Available from: Amazon

Source: Author
Never be distracted by a woman is hotel magnate Luke Marlow's golden rule, especially when the woman just inherited half his late uncle's luxury cruise liner. But ship's doctor Della Walsh is the exception. Her dignified beauty ignites Luke's desire despite his suspicions. Even so, he will gain full control of the ship at all costs.

For Della, the ship has been a sanctuary. Now she has just three weeks to change Luke's mind and save the ship; until passion comes along and steers them off course.



_____________
We all know with a 187 page Romance novel that it'll end up "Happily Ever After", however, how the story ends up there is what makes this book a "Must Have" on your bookshelf.
Take one emotionally dead, suspicious, rich workaholic leading male who has so many "issues" that any female in her right mind would run very fast in the other direction from this landlubber. Take one highly educated leading female who's been traumatised, has physical scars, is shielding herself from the unknown and has created a safe haven for herself at sea. Toss in a few other things and you’ve got a massive mess to untangle!
The way that Rachel Bailey tells this story to untangle this knotted mess has taken care, thoughtfulness, talent and a lot of skill. Rachel's use of words makes every sentence powerful with concise descriptions without the need to "waffle on" just to make a specific point. The story flows smoothly, gently leading the reader to understand that both leading characters will slowly understand how to heal themselves and logically understand their place in the world and eventually with each other. None of the characters are weak, whiny, bitchy, need rescuing or are co-dependent. This makes a refreshing change.

Besides this being a beautiful story and would make a lovely movie of the week, where you'd be very happy to watch every time you saw it on the TV schedule. This would also make an excellent book for any Book Club to discuss the psychology of self-healing, letting go of the past and moving onto something wonderful that's full of hope and promise and of course to Love.
Leone