Genre:    Contemporary Romance

In a life driven by passion, famed artist Maxfield Caswell lives in a world of brilliant color and drama, pushing his art and affairs to his emotional edge. He’s stunning, charismatic and celebrated in the art world, but are the trappings of fame also destroying him?

For years intelligent and bright-eyed Ava Jacobs has worked diligently toward a career in the art world. Ava is swept off her feet when she meets the passionate artist. She soon realizes, however, that he’s on a destructive path—one she doesn’t intend to join him on.In the decadent world of patrons, art groupies, and predators, feisty and beautiful Ava knocks Max off his pedestal. A stunned Max sees something special in Ava and offers her an opportunity she can’t refuse. As their lives and passions collide, will he realize that she alone has the power to heal him? Can their hearts come together to create their own work of art?

 Fantastic news…you can have Max for only 99 cents!  The Inspiration is on sale in anticipation for The Unveiling which releases January 5th!

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Ruth Clampett, daughter of legendary animation director Bob Clampett, grew up surrounded by artists and animators. A graduate of Art Center College of Design, she has been VP of Design for Warner Brothers Studio Stores and taught photography at UCLA. Today she runs her own studio and as the Fine Art publisher for Warner Brothers Studios has come to know and work with some of the world’s greatest artists in the fields of animation and comics.

From this colorful background comes Ruth’s first novel, Animate Me, a fun and sexy, unique and engaging contemporary romance.

Ruth lives and works in Los Angeles, strictly supervised by her teenage daughter, who helps plan their summer around their yearly pilgrimage to the San Diego Comic Con.

Title:   Frenched

Author:   Melanie Harlow

Genre:   Adult Contemporary Romance

Mia Devine plans over-the-top weddings for a living. So when it comes to her own nuptials, she spares no expense—hand engraved invitations, Vera Wang gown, luxury honeymoon in France. And since her fiancé is Tucker Branch, playboy heir and notorious flirt, local media is obsessed with every little detail.

Which is why it really sucks when he jilts her a week before the wedding.

Mortified, Mia wants nothing more than to crawl under her newly monogrammed sheets and plan a funeral for her dignity, right after blabbing to the world how fitting it is that Tucker will inherit a bolt and screw company, because that’s all he wants to do—screw, and bolt. And he doesn’t do either with much finesse.

When her friends convince her that bitter tastes better when it’s drowned in Bordeaux, she grits her teeth and packs her bags, determined to make the best of a week in Paris alone.

She never planned on meeting Lucas Fournier.

The free-spirited musician’s scruffy good looks and less-than-sympathetic ear annoy her at first, but when she takes him up on his offer to show her around the city, she discovers that the romance of Paris isn’t just a myth.

Nor is the simultaneous O.

The last thing Mia needs is another doomed love affair, but since she only has a week, she figures she might as well enjoy La Vie en O with Lucas while she can. But each day—and night—with him is better than the last, and suddenly her heart is telling her this is more than a rebound fling.

Is it just the seduction of Paris…or could this be the real thing?

Are you ready for some sexy Lucas time?  🙂

Watching Mia climb the stairs from behind would make any man hard.

So many delicious details to take in. The mass of chestnut hair pinned to the top of her head, revealing the pale back of her neck. The bare skin on her shoulders, dusted with the tiniest constellations of freckles. The sway of her hips as she moved. The bare legs disappearing beneath the flirty blue dress—and I knew she wasn’t wearing panties. The little tease had whispered those words to me during dessert, and my cock had been standing at attention ever since.

And those goddamn fuck-me heels with all the straps criss-crossing over her feet and up her ankles, as if I needed any more inspiration to bind this gorgeous firecracker of a woman and make her submit to my will, punish her a little bit for taunting me. Nothing too extreme, of course.

Not the first time, anyway.

When we reached our room at the villa, I shut the door behind me and left the light off. Did she jump just a little at the click of the lock? The room was so dark I couldn’t be sure, but the thought of it made me smile. She’s nervous. But she wants it. I warned her this afternoon that there were consequences for teasing me this way. And here she is…alone with me in the dark.

Sans panties.

She wandered over to the window, where moonlight slanted in through the open window, and voices from the party carried from the pool deck below.

“We can hear them,” I said quietly. “They could hear us.” On the nightstand I set the ice bucket and bottle of scotch I’d brought up. Then I took a piece of ice from it and moved behind her, pressing close. In her heels, she stood nearly as tall as I did, and I made sure she could feel my erection on her sweet round ass. “So you can’t make any noise.”

She nodded, almost imperceptibly, and I sensed her trepidation growing.

Be easy with her. She doesn’t know this side of you yet.

I kissed the back of her neck before whispering in her ear. “If you want me to stop at any time tonight, just tell me. OK?”

She remained silent, which I took as her permission to proceed.

I stepped back slightly and swept the ice cube across her bare shoulder blades.

She gasped, and I immediately put a hand over her mouth. “Shhhh. I said quiet.”

When I was confident she would obey that command, I unzipped her strapless dress and let it fall to the floor.

The crotch of my pants got even hotter and tighter at the sight of her naked back, her curvy little ass, her long slim legs. There wasn’t any part of her I didn’t want to possess.

I put a hand back over her mouth. Then starting at the nape of her neck, I dragged the ice down her spine, over each vertebra, beyond her tailbone and lightly between her buttocks.

She shivered, gooseflesh blanketing her arms.

Reaching around her stomach, I rubbed the ice cube against her pussy, slipping its tip briefly inside her. “Don’t move,” I whispered.

Releasing her, I walked over to the nightstand, poured myself three fingers of scotch and dropped the melting ice cube into it. Taking a sip, I let the flavors roll over my tongue, savoring them. Scotch and Mia. The perfect fucking blend. And the sight of her over there in front of the window, her back to me, naked but for those heels…something hot and dark flared inside me.

“I want to taste you all the time, Mia. I want the flavor of you on my tongue every fucking minute of the day. And you know it. You shouldn’t tease me by telling me you’re not wearing panties when I can’t have my mouth on you.”

After another swallow, I set the glass down and approached her again, pressing my lips to the back of one shoulder and dragging them up the arc of her neck. I felt her tremble slightly, and the forces compelling me to both please and punish her battled ferociously inside me.

I slid one hand down her stomach and between her thighs. Fuck, she’s dripping wet. My fingers glided easily inside her, and she gasped and tightened around them. I brought my other hand to her breast, and she moaned.

I pinched her puckered nipple. Hard.

She gasped again, and I wondered if I’d hurt her, but then she began to move in a way that let me know she liked it, writhing against the hand between her legs.

She wanted me to fuck her. That was good. She had to want it badly in order for me to take pleasure in denying her.

“You want something from me?” I asked, my voice quiet and calm, belying the raging storm of lust inside me.

She nodded.

“Good girl. You have to stay quiet if you want it.” I shoved my fingers deeper into her pussy, desperately wanting to bend her over the windowsill and take her right here. But I clung to my control. “Can you do that?”

“Yes,” she whimpered.

“Good.” I let her go and backed up to the bed. “Now turn around.”

Her bare backside had been tempting enough, but Christ—the way she looked from the front, her naked form bathed in moonlight, her hair still up and shoes still on, her dress pooled around her feet, those big eyes looking at me like she might charge…she was testing me.

“God, you’re so fucking beautiful.” Lowering myself onto the bed, I picked up my scotch from the table and took a drink. “Here are the rules. You speak only when I tell you to. You only do as I say. Understand?”

She nodded.

“Good. Come here.”

She stepped out of her dress.

“Take your hair down.”

Reaching up with both hands, she pulled the pins from her hair and let it cascade over her shoulders and down her back. That hair—it did things to me. I wanted to pull it. Hard.

“Now lie across my lap. On your stomach.”

Rather than come right to me, the little minx walked to the foot of the bed and then crawled up the length of it and over my legs on her hands and knees, her perfect ass in the air. My dick jumped, as if it sensed the nearness of that glistening pussy. And she was licking her lips, looking over her should at me.

Asking for it.

I yanked my tie from around my neck.“Put your hands up here.”

She grabbed one of the vertical bars of the headboard, one hand above the other. As I bound her to the bed, I spoke to her in low, even tone.

“This is what happens when you tease me, Mia. When you make me feel helpless to resist you. I have to make you feel helpless too.”

Frenched by Melanie Harlow

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

*ARC Given to Blog for Honest Review*

4 “lists” “princess” “I love Paris” Kisses

Holy cow…Melanie Harlow just knocked me on my ass. I absolutely loved Frenched. Like a lot…so much so that I don’t think I can stress it enough – I was sucked in from beginning to end. I mean…let’s be honest, I never crack open a book thinking I won’t like it but when I am this into a book…it excites me! I want the world to read it and love it as much as I did!

Mia Devine…how awesome a name is that by the way? I loved Mia…a lot. I found her completely relatable and I truly enjoyed being in her POV. She made me laugh constantly, I empathized with her and she’s just a fun, quirky, sassy chick. She’s in her late 20’s, great friends, loving family, awesome job working for herself – the girl has her shit together…which might have something to do with the fact that she plans everything. To a ‘T’. She loves lists…and I personally love her lists…oh how I loved her lists…like Things and People that Can Fuck Off…or 5 Awesome things About Lucas…and of course, my favorite one, To Do List For Turning Life Upside Down. But her lists have a purpose because she has dreams and aspirations and the only way she is going to get there is with the help of those wonderful lists. One aspect that she didn’t plan for was her fiancé cancelling their over-the-top wedding…the week before they were supposed to get married…and breaking her heart, or did he? It’s interesting because…I knew she was hurt and mad – rightfully so, but she never came off as heartbroken and I never really got the feeling that she was that upset over the loss of him. Maybe over what she had dreamed they could have or be together, but it sounded like she dodged a bullet to be honest. So what do you do when you’ve got a fully paid for honeymoon and no happily married bride and groom? You go by yourself…and meet the most amazing man ever.

‘I stretched a little and actually felt a flutter of excitement in my stomach, which was odd because I am not a person who can fly by the seat of her pants and enjoy it. I am a planner, a list-maker, a think-it-through-in-advance kind of girl. But for once, I was going to do something spontaneous.
Maybe I’d even enjoy it.’

Lucas Fournier…bartender…professor…musician…and my new current fixation. I love him so much…and in the spirit of Mia loving lists…I shall give him one of my top 10 lists as well 🙂

1.) His hair…curly and shaggy and I’m itching to run my fingers through it
2.) His musical talent – the guy can play a guitar, excuse me while I swoon
3.) Beautiful, soulful brown eyes
4.) He speaks French…fluently
5.) He’s a professor…brains are sexy
6.) He’s not fond of heights (neither am I…therefore we are perfect for each other)
7.) He’s funny and quick whited
8.) He gives great gifts
9.) He’s a bartender and knows good wine
10.) His mouth…the things he does with it, the stuff he says with it…just everything about his mouth equals awesome

Lucas is not your typical BBF…at all. He’s kind of a combination of all these wonderful things that I love in BBF’s, mixed together in a surprisingly untraditionally hot package and blessed with a fabulous personality and…this is going to sound strange…a hot brain. Lucas…is…SMART! Like sexy smart, not the overly confident, ‘oh look at me I know it all’ kind of smart – it’s just that understated intelligence that makes you want to learn more from him…and in turn, about him. It makes him more intriguing and sexy then you would think. He’s French and American…the best of both worlds because he can speak both languages fluently and perfectly. He’s almost like a renaissance man…a modern day, hot as hell renaissance man. He’s also Mia’s polar opposite…for all intents and purposes she should not even be attracted to him, but I tell you – he’s impossible to resist.

“Fun,” he scoffed, nudging me with his shoulder. “Lists are not fun.”
I giggled and went to shove him back but he dodged it and threw his arms around me from behind, pinning my arms to my sides so I couldn’t move. “Behave, princess.” His breath tickled my neck through my hair, sending a weightless joy rushing up inside me.
“What if I don’t want to behave?”

Alright I am an equal opportunity proponent for insta-love. If I can feel that connection, then I’m totally good with it. And I more than felt it with Mia and Lucas…I got butterflies with them…I ached for them to be together and I was on cloud 9 from the moment it finally happened. It’s funny because even Mia says it, multiple times, that she shouldn’t be feeling like this – and I agreed with her – but sometimes emotions trump logic and if the author can write it in a believable way for me, well I have to let my feelings make the call…who am I to fight what my heart feels. Their connection is fast but it’s also passionate, electric and hot and it 100% worked for me. Now, it’s not solely based on attraction and sex, while that is just one amazing aspect of their relationship, in fact – in the very beginning, Mia doesn’t even think Lucas is attractive (but she was confused…she gets over it!). They do get to know each other…it’s just in a faster span of time. But you have to take into account, they’re practically attached at the hip almost from the moment they meet. I loved their conversations…they’re so natural and fun…once again, all plays a part in the ‘time’ aspect because they were never stiff and awkward with each other…they just worked well together.

‘It felt so different, so good to have someone willing to take his time. Someone to care about fulfilling my needs, someone who wanted to please me.
Someone who whispered my name in awe as he held himself deep within me.
Actually I think I did die. Because this feels like heaven.’

There was so much to love about seeing them together…there was a progress of their relationship – especially given that when Mia first saw Lucas she wasn’t even attracted to him! He is so not the kind guy she normally likes – and I don’t think I could love that more if I tried. I love that he got her to break out of her ‘list making mode’ and showed her things in Paris she may have never been able to see – like the Heloise and Abelard graves – and I loved that he gave her the ‘unromantic’ side of Paris, and yet they were able to find their own romance. I can’t even tell you the moment it happened…when I fell in love with them but it just all of a sudden got to this point when I couldn’t stop turning the pages. I was addicted to everything that made them up…they were cute and sweet and at the same time hot-n-sexy. I had so many laugh out loud moments and moments that just flat out made me smile. Then I would turn the page and have my butt swooned off…or even better, in a puddle of complete lust. I am a dirty book lover and the luciousness that coated those pages fed my soul. Mia and Lucas have great sexual chemistry and it was just another aspect for me to love. There was an unexpected level of kink thrown in too…it completely worked for me as well as the characters and it added a layer to their relationship that I enjoyed.

‘I’m going to miss him because I’m in love with him. It’s crazy and stupid and not practical and totally too fast and bound to end badly – but it’s real.
It didn’t matter what I called it – friends-with-benefits, fuck fling, rebound thing… What mattered was the way I felt when I was with him. The way he made me feel like I could do anything, say anything in my head, have anything I wanted. He was teaching me thing about my body and desires I’d never known. He was teaching me about the beauty of living for the moment. He was teaching me not to worry so much about what things looked like, what other people thought, what I thought I should be.
I loved who I was when I was with him. And I loved him.’

Now with all those wonderful things…my emotions were on high, wrapped up in all the fabulousness that is Mia and Lucas…so when the sad stuff came – it hit me hard. I won’t lie…I cried! It took me off guard because…I’m reading about Mia crying and the next thing I know – I am crying. I was right there with here, feeling her pain…because I loved them that much and I understood why they were making their choices but…it sucked! Then when I could tell that Lucas was upset…gah, there was just no recovery. It hurt my heart that they were hurting. If you can’t already tell, I love Melanie’s writing…everything about it. It’s light and has a great flow, her tone is spot on for me and has this fantastic blend of happy, fun and flirty with emotional, powerful and sexy. I believe this is her first venture into contemporary romance but I really hope it’s not her last because I am hooked.

‘I knew how a person should feel, because I was head over heels in love with Lucas.
“Like what?” Tucker asked.
“Like you can’t breathe when that person’s in the room. Like you can’t get close enough to them, no matter how hard you try. Like you’re going to burst if you can’t show that person how much you feel for them, and then you do burst – together.”’

So the ending is…good. It’s HEA, which always makes me happy and don’t get me wrong, I really liked it…but it’s very open ended. I’m a clinger and as much as I loved this book, I’m not ready to say good bye but…I don’t think Mia and Lucas are over. Their ending isn’t solid…they’re in an great place, but I want better than great for them…I want out of this world and I think Melanie can deliver that. Plus…I’m addicted enough to want a lot more!

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Melanie Harlow likes her martinis dry, her lipstick red, and her history with the naughty bits left in. I write New Adult historical and contemporary stories. You can always find the latest info on Melanie on her website.

OMG have you read the first two books in the Driven Trilogy?  These books must be read in order and trust me…you need to experience Colton Donovan!!! 

What happens when the one person you never expected suddenly happens to be the one you’ll fight the hardest to keep?

Colton stole my heart. He wasn’t supposed to, and I sure as hell didn’t want him to, but he crashed into my life, ignited feelings within me that I thought had died forever, and fueled a passion that I never knew could exist.

Rylee fell out of that damn storage closet and into my life. Now I don’t think I’ll ever be the same. She’s seen glimpses of the darkness within me, and yet she’s still here. Still fighting for me. She is without a doubt the saint, and I am most definitely the sinner.

How is it the one thing neither of us wanted—neither of us anticipated that fateful night—has us fighting so hard to keep?

He steals my breath, stops my heart, and brings me back to life again all in a split second of time. But how can I love a man who won’t let me in? Who continually pushes me away to prevent me from seeing the damaged secrets in his past? My heart has fallen, but patience and forgiveness can only go so far.

How can I desire a woman who unnerves me, defies me, and forces me to see that in the deep, black abyss of my soul there’s someone worthy of her love? A place and person I swore I’d never be again. Her selfless heart and sexy body deserve so much more than I’ll ever be capable of giving her. I know I can’t be what she needs, so why can’t I just let her go?

We are driven by need and fueled with desire, but is that enough for us to crash into love?

Have you been keeping up with the Alternate POV scene as well as entering the awesome giveaways going on during CRASH Dash?  In case you missed anything…check out these lovely blogs:

Day 1:    A Book Whores Obsession

Day 2:   The Book Vamps

Day 3:   Romance Addiction

Day 4:   Three Chicks and Their Books

Day 5:   Smut Book Club

Day 6:    Indie Bookshelf

Day 7:   The Book Bellas

Day 8:   The SubClub Books

Day 9:   Angie’s Dreamy Reads

Day 10:  Island Lovelies Book Club

Day 11:   A is for Alpha, B is for Books

Day 12:  Wolfel’s World of Books

Day 13:  The Rock Stars of Romance

Day 14:  Shh Mom’s Reading

Day 15:  Vilma’s Book Blog

And you’ll want to keep an eye out for Sinfully Sexy Book Reviews because they’re up tomorrow…

Now who is ready for a little Colton action?

When I open my eyes, violet pools of concern are staring at me. Watching me with a mix of confusion and sympathy. “Colton?”

Fuck. I don’t want her to see me like this. Remember me like this. Some pussified man bawling his eyes out for reasons she can’t fathom.

I can hear the worry in her voice but all her face shows is compassion, understanding, acceptance. And that makes what I have to say so much harder. The words are there on the tip of my tongue and I fool myself into believing that I’m about to say them.

CRASH Dash

The premise of Colton & Rylee’s Awesome Scavenger Hunt (CRASH) is to create a fun task list for readers to complete and at the same time experience their own Driven Trilogy trip down memory lane like in Crashed. There are 22 tasks. Readers must complete 20 of the 22 tasks to be entered into the final grand prize drawing. The grand prize is a complete signed set of the Driven Trilogy and there will be a few runner ups as well. This is meant to be fun and you can get as creative as you want with it. Please visit the CRASH Dash Facebook Page or K’s Website for more information and how you submit your proof of task completed.

Read for your task for today… 🙂

Take a picture of you and an auction paddle

Crashed by K. Bromberg

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

*ARC Given to Blog for Honest Review*

4.5 “Nothing but sheets.” “A to fucking Z” “I race you” “Hurting is feeling and feeling is living, and isn’t it good to be alive?” “New beginnings.” Kisses

*slow golf clap* Alright, let me just put this out there…K. Bromberg did not have it easy with this book…this series…or these characters. You cannot have this intense build with Driven and Fueled…these epically awesome cliffhangers…these brilliant characters…and not think that the expectation to have a fabulous conclusion isn’t there. She had a tall order to fill in my opinion and let me just say thing…she claimed the ‘motherfucking checkered flag.’ With Colton and Rylee there is and was no way for me to even begin to predict what might happen…and it’s a good thing I didn’t because my mind was blown…my expectations were exceeded…and I am absolutely in love with everything I just read. As if it was even possible…I adore Rylee and Colton even more than I did before. Oh and for the record…Crashed just demolished my ass. 😉

Rylee…what can I say…I fall more in love with her with each book…her strength astounds me…she flat out blows me away. She’s brave…kind…sweet…funny…smart…beautiful…all these amazing things but what stands out to me is her ability in the face of all these horrible, soul crushing things…she’s able to pull through it. When others would have given up…she doesn’t…and I think it’s just not in her to even contemplate the thought of giving up. She has the patience of a saint…a heart of gold…and a voodoo pussy – but a woman who can capture the attention of the one and only Colton Donavan needs all that. She is his complete and utter match in every sense of the word…where he is strong, she is weak and vice versa. They compliment each other so brilliantly…and seeing her with him, it’s like a whole new Rylee.

‘And the only thing I can focus on—can grasp onto as my heart races and body shakes with anger—is that I need a pit stop. I need to find Colton. I need to touch him, to see him—the physicality of him to quiet the turmoil in my soul.
But I can’t.
He’s somewhere close, my rebellious rogue unable to let go of the damaged little boy within. The man who has just started healing is now broken, and it kills me that I won’t be able to fix him this time.’

Colton…just wow. I knew from the moment I read Driven that Colton was not going to be an easy BBF to love…but the good ones always do pose a few challenges. I love my broken boys but if anyone was going to test the theory if all damaged men can be fixed…it’s him. The thing is…Colton’s flaws are part of what makes him so loveable…the fact that deep down he is this shattered little boy that everyone is just dying to love and he can’t see why. It’s heart breaking. The other thing I love about Colton is his layers…he’s cocky, a smart ass, has a sinfully dirty mouth, he’s alpha to the max, confident, brave, driven, sweet, smart…he’s just the embodiment of sexy. I really was looking forward to seeing growth in Colton…not that he hadn’t already developed so much since book 1…but I wasn’t sure how he was going to get to ‘that point’ – the point where he could accept and give the love he deserved and the love Rylee wanted to give him.

‘I can feel his soft chuckle against my chest. “Hey, rookie?”
I force myself to look up at him—to pull myself from my post-orgasmic coma. “Hmmm?” is all I can manage as I meet the amusement in his eyes.
“I’m the only one that’s allowed to drive you to the motherfucking checkered flag.”’

Wow. Okay…where to start. First off, I have a love/hate relationship with the last book in a series. I love them because of the completeness I know I will feel when I read the epic HEA that I know is waiting for me at the end…plus it’s the build up…the excitement, nerves and all the other emotions that are bubbling around in my head and heart…that have been leading up to this…the final book…it’s impossible not to be a little overwhelmed. So why do I hate it? Because I have issues with letting go and knowing it’s over (don’t judge me…I’m a clinger). But that’s one of the joys of books because just because it’s ‘over’ doesn’t mean I have to completely let go. Oh-em-gee…the feels that I had in this book…my heart…I didn’t know if I was going to be able to make it through this one – emotional rollercoaster doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface. Like…I thought Rylee and Colton had enough to deal with just based on how Fueled ended…then with the mountains of issues they had to deal with…but oh no…there’s so much more that comes into play. I don’t do spoilers…but trust me…I never saw any of it coming. I had countless jaw dropping moments, about a million ‘squeee’s’ and the tears…oh Lord the tears. Towards the end I truly felt like a crazy person because I was so happy but I could not control the liquid pouring from my eyeballs. I was bawling over how happy they were, how happy they made me and how happy I was for them…but it was like a weird happy/sad – I don’t know, I couldn’t wrap my brain around it then and I can’t explain it now but it was very bittersweet. The biggest thing I loved overall was how much development and growth that was shown with not only Colton but Rylee and Colton together. My brain needed Colton to grow but my heart needed both of them to do it together…and my heart is very happy.

‘I accept you, I tell him.
All of you.
The broken parts.
The bent parts.
The ones filled with shame.
The cracks where hope seeps through.
The little boy cowering in fear and the grown man still suffocating in his shadow.
The demons that haunt.
Your will to survive.
And your spirit that fights.
Every single part of you is what I love.
What I accept.
What I want to help heal.’

The other thing that warmed my heart…all the throwbacks…reliving parts of their history and what has brought them to now. Neither one of them forgets a moment of the time they have spent together (then again, who can!) but just how it came into play was so…*sigh*…it made me fall in love all over again. Colton…the self-proclaimed un-romantic guy was so swoonworthy…thank God I was sitting down while reading this or my knees would have given out. But it was because of those moments that my heart was able to make it to the end! I’m not trying to over exaggerate but it’s like the emotions were amp’d up to the max. The angst level was off the charts…the passion was electric…not like it wasn’t high enough in Driven and Fueled but I swear it was like K. was trying to squeeze every last ounce of emotion out of me! (And she succeeded!)

‘“God, I fucking race you.” The emphatic words on his lips are followed by a lopsided smirk and a shake of his head, as if he is still comprehending the depths of emotions he feels himself.
How many more times can my heart fall harder for this man? Because there it is again, the unpredictability of Colton that makes what he says just that much more poignant because you never know. Every part of my body shivers at the words from his lips and the reinforcement of them in the look in his eyes.
It’s useless to try and fight the moisture pooling in my eyes because those words mean so much more than just “racing” to me. They mean he’s trying, he’s apologizing for the times when he’s going to fuck up, and for a man previously closed off from everyone. He’s handing me the key to the lock and letting me have an all-access pass.’

The secondary characters in this book are just as amazing as Rylee and Colton…this book is not just about the two of them. Everyone from Colton’s dad…to the boys…to Sammy…and of course Becks and Haddie…they all had their parts to play in how Crashed happened and it was all magnificent. I was pleasantly surprised at how much Colton’s dad had to do with this book…the insight into Colton’s younger years and the stories he told and just hearing his feelings about Colton were unexpected and awesome. Oh…and of course I have to mention the Queen of all Twatwaffle’s…another addition to the ‘Evil Wenches in Books’ club…Tawny…where she joins the ranks of Beckah, Leah and Celia. If you thought I hated this bitch before…oh man – I angry screamed…be prepared ladies and gents because I loathe her after this book. Just when you think she can’t sink any lower…she does.

“I’m okay, Colton. You saved me.” I lean in and brush a tender kiss on his lips that I can’t seem to ever get enough of. “Thank you for saving me.”
“I think I should thank you.” He subtly shakes his head. “You’re the one who’s saving me.”

So…let’s face it, it’s easy to get a little…lax with the third book in a series. It’s hard to keep that level of tension…angst…passion…emotion – especially when it’s been carried at such a high level throughout two previous books. I said it already…the bar was high, as well as expectations and presumptions for what could possibly be done with these characters and with this plot. The possibility to take the easy way out, rush it, simplify it…they were all there. But I applaud K. for the approach she took because not one detail was spared…and she went the direct opposite route of the easy way! In fact…I’m pretty sure she gave the easy way the bird, dug down deep and decided to give Rylee and Colton the proper ending they deserved, earned and needed.

‘I wrap my arms around him feeling completely helpess but not wanting to let go, never wanting to let go. “It’s okay, Colton. It’s okay,” I repeat over and over in between his repeated words, my tears falling onto his shoulders as I hold tight letting him know that no matter how far he falls right now, I’ll catch him.
I’ll always catch him.’

K.’s always had a way with words…I love her style and her way of telling a story. She’s got a very good pace…never rushed, she paints a very complete picture…just a great balance of fluff and fact…but I saw a noticeable difference in her writing from Fueled to Crashed. A positive one. Don’t get me wrong, her signature style is still there, it’s just a little more advanced…more refined – to me it shows her progress as a writer. I feel like as the series has developed and matured…so has her talent…which is the sign of a good author – the ability to improve is not as easy as you would think! All it showed me is that if I thought I was hooked on her writing before…I’m an absolute devotee now.

‘Because I have everything I need right here in my arms.
The one thing neither of us ever wanted turned out to be the one thing we don’t ever want to live without.
Each other.’

I loved the little hints that are dropped about Haddie and Becks…I mean you can’t read this trilogy and not fall in love with them too, so I am beyond excited to see where that goes. There are so many things that I wish I could say but can’t…but just know that the ending of this book might go down as one of the best endings I have ever read in the history of evers and don’t even get me started on the epilogue. Genius mixed with amazingness and tied with the big fat glorious red bow that I love to see on top of all my books. This ending made me feel whole…completely sated and happy and honestly, brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. I said it earlier, I am a clinger…so I don’t want to ever let go of the characters that I love…but I’m extremely happy with Colton and Rylee’s ending…enough to say that I am ready to let them go. Now you’ll have to excuse me while I try and recover from one of the worst book hangover’s I’ve ever had. #ColtonRuinedMe

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K. Bromberg is that reserved woman sitting in the corner that has you all fooled about the wild child inside of her–the one she lets out every time her fingertips touch the computer keyboard. She’s a wife, mom, child rustler, toy pick-er-upper, chauffer, resident web-slinger, LaLaloopsy watching, American Girl doll dressing multi-tasker of all things domestic and otherwise. She likes her diet cokes with rum, her music loud, and her pantry stocked with a cache of chocolate.

K. lives in Southern California with her husband and three children. When she needs a break from the daily chaos of her life, you can most likely find her on the treadmill or with Kindle in hand, devouring the pages of a good, saucy book.

Fueled is K. Bromberg’s second published novel and is the highly anticipated second book of “The Driven Trilogy.” Driven was her well-received debut novel and Book #1 of the series.  Make sure you keep up with all things K. Bromberg on her website.

Title:    Wild (Wild #1)

Author:    Adriane Leigh

Release Date:    December 11, 2013

Genre:    Erotic Romance

Kat Kennedy moved to the rugged coast of Maine to start a new life, but encountered much more than she bargained for in dark, dangerous, and seductive Lane Wild…

Desire and temptation smolder before she succumbs to her darkest fantasies with the captivating stranger. She doesn’t expect to see him again after an explosive one-night stand leaves her breathless and craving more, but just like lightning in the darkness, he shows up in her life at the most unpredictable moments.

A sensual game of cat and mouse ensues before the attraction between them reaches a fever pitch—the magnetism combustible, the sexual tension nearly unbearable—and Kat finally abandons inhibition and explores the cunning, selfish, and sexual side of a world she’s never known.

They have the perfect non-relationship—passion-fueled nights with no strings attached—until lifegets real and the past and present collide in a dangerous storm of lust and obsession.

Title:    Ridge (Wild #2)

Author:    Adriane Leigh

Expected Release Date:    March 3, 2014

Genre:    Erotic Romance

Sometimes doing the wrong thing feels so right…

I’m a player. I’m an asshole. I’m someone you should stay away from.

I have demons.
I’ve made mistakes.
And the biggest can’t be taken back.

I’ve gone to hell and back in twenty-nine years and I’m only now coming to terms with moving forward, righting my wrongs, and making amends. Except not everyone deserves forgiveness. Sometimes the damage done is beyond repair.
Everyday is exactly the same. I focus on the pain, in the quest to feel and forget, but I remember everything. When I close my eyes the darkness encroaches and some days it feels like the things that kill me are the things that make me feel alive.

One Wild Night from Lane’s POV

I tried to keep my eyes off her. I knew getting involved with a new girl wasn’t the best of ideas. But no one had ever accused me of doing the smart thing.

I had a weakness for things that weren’t good for me. Like booze and pussy.

Not necessarily in that order.

Throwing darts with the guys at Pete’s like any other Saturday night and prospects were slim. Which didn’t bother me, Dillon and I always had fun, but I had the sense that she had something going with Slade, my best friend. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I was keeping my nose out of it for the time being.

So on my way to a drunk Saturday night, five-foot-three-and-curvy walked in wearing a dress that hugged every fucking curve she had.

And that hair.

A wild wave of strawberry cascading down her back.

She avoided everyone’s eyes, smiled at the bartender when she got a drink, and kept to herself.

The thing that girls like her didn’t realize, is that keeping to themselves made them that much more irresistible.

Slade bet me that I couldn’t bag her.

I took the bet.

And bag her I did.

I let her sit for an hour. Let her drink a few drinks, get a buzz. I knew she’d need it, because she carried herself with a chip on her shoulder. But every once and a while I caught her staring.

So finally I sauntered over and offered to buy her a drink. She shrunk back from me, tried to remain unimpressed. But what she didn’t realize was I was an expert in the art of female seduction. I saw her pupils dilate, the way she shifted her thighs on the bar stool, her fingertips running around the rim of her glass as she tried to avoid my eyes.

This girl’s body language screamed interested.

So I bought her a drink, and then another, then scooted my bar stool a little closer to hers. I sucked in a deep breath of her sweet scent, touched a fingertip along her shoulder, laughed and teased her. Fuck, teasing her did me in. The way that soft smile lit her face as she rolled her eyes when I made a bad joke.

I never pretended to be a funny guy. The funny was in the flubbing. I played off it. It’s what made me the endearing boy next door—the boy next door could talk his way into any pair of lace panties in a three county radius.

It’s a gift.

Slade slapped me on the back when he left. Dillon started cleaning up the bar, and I knew it was our cue. I walked her out the door; she stumbled and giggled alongside me. I’d laid off the drinks when I decided to cozy up next to her at the bar. I wanted to have a clear head when I got inside her tonight. I wrapped an arm around her small waist and tucked my nose into her hair.

Smelled so fucking good. I could get drunk off her. I wanted to. I wanted to be on her, inside her, touching every part of her.

I walked her to my truck and stopped. We stared, our eyes locked, tension building. She shifted, I ran a palm up her arm. Goosebumps erupted across her skin, and in the soft moonlight I saw her breathing pick up. I ducked my head and ran my nose along the line of her neck up to her ear and placed a soft kiss on her earlobe.

I pulled away and her eyes fluttered closed. A grin tilted my lips as I ran my hands up the curves of her waist and let my thumbs dust just underneath the swell of her tits. I swiped the pad of my thumb across one pebbled nipple and her eyes flicked open. Her greens burned into me, seared straight to my soul before she launched herself at me, threw her arms around my neck and pressed our lips together.

I growled from somewhere deep in my throat and pressed her against my truck. My hands ran up her ribcage and kneaded at the flesh of her tits. She fumbled with the button of my jeans and my pounded heart roared in my ears.

Jesus, she wanted to fuck here?

Now?

Against my truck?

My mind tossed around the idea.

Laying her in the back of my truck bed.

Or taking her against the hood.

All the possibilities had my dick throbbing.

But I wanted her somewhere private. We could explore public indecency later.

Later.

Like there would be a later. There wasn’t often a later for me.

I pulled back and nipped at her full bottom lip before tugging open my truck door. She slid in ahead of me and I drove the few blocks to my house, trying to keep control while she palmed my dick through the denim of my jeans.

I threw my truck in park and stepped out, before she crawled out after me.

She thrust her tits into my palms and attached her lips to mine again. I carried her up the steps, her thighs locked around my waist in a vise-like grip. I dropped her to her feet and thrust my hips against her; rubbed my throbbing erection against her pelvis as I nipped at the flesh of her neck and then licked, trailing my tongue along her collarbone. Her hands fisted in my hair as she moaned and writhed between the door and me.

I ran my hands down her arms, enjoying the silky skin under my fingertips before I pulled her arms over her head and locked them in my hands. Her back arched, thrusting her rack in my face. I tugged the fabric down and pinched and twisted a nipple beneath the satin of her bra.

She groaned and squeezed her eyes shut before I grabbed at her thigh, kneading the flesh in my hands before angling it to hook around my hip. I ground my dick into her ready body and told her I was going to fuck her hard and fast. I couldn’t stop myself, couldn’t hold back once I was inside her.

She moaned her assent and I turned the doorknob. She tumbled backward and I caught her around the waist. I took a few steps in, kicked the door closed, and with my dick throbbing in my pants and her soft body pressed against mine, I lowered us both to the floor.

I ran my hands up under her dress. Tugged at her panties and pulled them down her legs. My fingers found her soaking wet pussy. I ran the pad of my thumb up the length of her and pressed and massaged her clit. She moaned and arched and I lost all control.

I pulled the dress over her head and pulled the zipper down on my jeans. I pulled out my rigid cock and fumbled with the condom in my pocket before rolling it on and rubbing up her hot heat.

My hands grabbed at her body, pulled down the cups of her bra, and I dove in. Saliva pooled in my mouth as I looked at her pert nipples standing erect for me. I was a man starved. I ducked my head and sucked one in my mouth as I ran my dick up the length of her. Teased her, rubbed my head at the hot button of nerves that drove her wild.

I stroked and sucked in tandem before she dug her nails into my back and pulled. The blood pounded through my veins before I finally sank into her.

She moaned and screamed to God as I worked in and out of her. Swirling my hips, dragging in and out. Enjoying the feel of her hot pussy clenching me, trembling, and pulsing. She arched and moaned, fisted her hands in her hair before I attacked her lips and kneaded my fingers into her thighs so roughly I wouldn’t be surprised if there were bruises in the morning.

I grunted in her ear as I thrust into her before my thumb trailed down to find her hardened clit aching for attention. She whimpered as I stroked and dug her nails into my back and pulled.

I jerked back in pain, until the sensation melted into pleasure.

Sweet fucking pleasure as I plowed into her soft body.

“I’m going to come, Sugar, and I want you with me.” My voice, strained with need, escaped my lips as I massaged her clit and she fell apart around me. Her body tightened and her neck arched as her hands fisted at my shoulder blades. Watching her body explode did me in and I came after another slow thrust. I emptied into the condom as the orgasm burned through my body, eating up all sense of place, as I succumbed to the release.

My chest heaved as I hovered over her, my head lowered, hair falling across my forehead. I sucked in the smell of us. The air hung heavy with the smell of strawberries and sex and caused my softening dick to twitch.

I hadn’t even come close to having my fill of her.

Fuck me if this wasn’t only the beginning.

Copyright © 2014 by Adriane Leigh

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Adriane Leigh was born and raised in a snowbank in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and now lives amongst the sand dunes of the Lake Michigan lakeshore.
She graduated with a Literature degree but never particularly enjoyed reading Shakespeare or Chaucer.

Adriane is married to a tall, dark and handsome guy, plays mama to two sweet baby girls, and is a voracious reader and knitter.

Author:   R.E. Hunter

Genre:   Contemporary Romance

Release Date:   January 5th, 2014

Five years ago, Embry Jacobs ran…

She ran from a past that still hasn’t let her go, but her

dream of becoming a lawyer is stronger than her fear of confronting that past. Embry’s sole focus is to get through law school—with the help of her best friend, Morgan—and make something of the broken girl she became. Not thinking about falling in love, being in a relationship or even entertaining the idea of romance, Embry is moving forward one day at a time.

Luke Brody is charming and sexy, and has a past of his own. He wants nothing more than to put his demons to rest and move on with his life. But, when Embry enters the picture, is he destined to repeat those same mistakes?

Blindsided by their instant attraction, neither Luke nor Embry are prepared for the feelings they’re developing. But will it all be for nothing?

Will they let their pasts destroy them, or will they risk everything to fight for their relationship when it all comes undone?

Who wouldn’t want to be in the mind of the one…and only ‘Southern Sexy’?  That’s right…you’d have to be a crazy person! 😛  Check out his Alternate POV…

Luke adjusted his tie and glanced around the room once more. He hadn’t seen Embry in days, and even though they couldn’t spend much time together at the party, he couldn’t wait to set his eyes on her.

“Luke?” A soft hand landed on his. “Did you hear me?”

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Luke pulled his hand away and looked down at the petite blonde in front of him.  She was a colleague and he was trying hard to be kind, but he had no interest in speaking to her. He’d taken her out to dinner the night he and Embry had fought in his office—a huge mistake. Coleman had suggested it. She was new to the staff, as was he, and he wanted to be in Coleman’s good graces—university politics and all that. He was happy to be rid of her after that dinner, but she hadn’t gotten the hint. “Sorry Stacey, no. What were you saying?”

“Oh, no problem.” She laughed nervously and tossed her hair. Luke inwardly rolled his eyes. “I asked if you’d like a drink, I’m heading to the bar.”

Luke held up the half empty glass of scotch in his hand. “I’m good, thanks. You go ahead.” He didn’t spare her another glance as she walked away. He leaned against the wall behind him, slowly sipping on his drink, and scanned the room.  A few other faculty members came and went, making small talk and saying their hellos. He thought he was finally free when Embry’s criminal law professor walked over.

“Luke.” He stuck out his hand and gave Luke a solid shake.

“Marcus, how are you?”

“Better now that these exams are over with. I don’t think I could sit still for another four hours of proctoring.”

Luke laughed and nodded in agreement. “You’re telling me.”

Another faculty member walked over and started chatting but Luke didn’t bother to listen. His eyes were trained on the entryway, waiting for his girl. When she finally walked in, his body heated instantly and his dick stood at attention. Holy shit.

She was stunning. He watched as she floated into the room, her arm hooked in Morgan’s. The two girls side-by-side were a deadly combination, both extremely beautiful. But in Luke’s mind, no one held a candle to Embry. She was gorgeous, and he was sure her dress would be the death of him. It was almost inappropriately short, showing off her long toned legs, and when she turned to grab a glass of champagne from a tray, he nearly spit out his drink. The entire back of the dress was … missing. How in the fuck am I supposed to stay away from her in that dress?

Luke couldn’t take his eyes off of her. He couldn’t think about anything other than his mouth on her body—running his tongue from the base of her neck down the soft skin of her bare back.

“Sorry gentlemen,” he said, excusing himself from the conversation. “I’ve got to…” Got to what? Rub myself against that beautiful student over there? “Um…it was nice talking to you all,” he held up his empty glass, “I’m going to refresh my drink.”

Luke backed away from the group and his eyes locked on Embry. He watched her as she scanned the room, his dick swelling at the thought of her searching for him. He had to be near her, he couldn’t help himself.

He made his way across the large space, dropping his empty glass on a nearby table, and caught Morgan’s eyes as he snuck up behind Embry. He’d planned just to say a quick hello, but as he drew nearer, he noticed a long strand of pearls hanging down her naked back, and he had to touch her—had to feel her against his body.

Luke came up behind Embry and pressed his hand to her back. He couldn’t get his mouth on her for the moment, so his hands would have to do. He dragged his thumb down her spine and couldn’t help but wrap his fingers around pearls and give a tug. He needed her closer. Pulling her back into his body, he leaned in and brushed his lips against her ear. “You look stunning tonight, Miss Jacobs,” he whispered. Every part of him wanted to crush her in his arms, pull her into his body and claim her, but he couldn’t. Not there. He dropped his hand, forced himself away from her and continued walking. He walked straight down the hallway and into the bathroom where he adjusted himself and splashed cold water on his face. Get ahold of yourself Brody.

***

Luke’s eyes locked with Embry’s across the dance floor, her emerald irises shining like beacons. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of her. The dean was welcoming everyone to the party, and faculty and students gathered around as he spoke, but all Luke could see was Embry.

He chuckled as he watched Morgan give her a shot to the ribs. Knowing his girl, she’d enlisted Morgan’s help to keep them away from each other. He was hoping Morgan did her job, because he was having trouble controlling himself.

Making his way back to the bar, Luke ran into Stacey again. The girl just didn’t quit. She followed him to the bar and ordered champagne as he waited for his scotch.

“So, how are you liking contracts?” she asked him.

Luke stared over her shoulder, his eyes fixed on Embry. “I like it. It’s a nice change from teaching ethics.”

“I think you liked it too much,” came a voice to his right.

Luke turned to find Professor Coleman. “Hey Deb.”

“Sounds like the students liked you, Luke. Which means you didn’t scare them enough.”

Luke chuckled. “I couldn’t fill your shoes, that’s for sure. They’re terrified of you.”

“Well they love you,” Coleman said, her tone changing.

Luke tilted his head in question.

“I spoke with Miss Jacobs earlier.” Luke’s eyes flashed across the room to Embry. “She was singing your praises.”

Luke cleared his throat and brought his eyes back to Coleman. “She’s a good student.”

“That she is.”

Luke eyed Coleman, wondering if she suspected anything.

“So!” Stacey interrupted. “What’s everyone doing for the holidays?”

Luke continued to chat with the two women. He glanced across the dance floor to find Embry talking to Morgan and looking troubled. She turned, searching the room but didn’t seem to notice him. Then she walked across the room and disappeared down the hallway.

Luke began moving without thinking. “Excuse me ladies. Have to make a pit stop.” He smiled and walked away, heading down the hallway toward Embry.

He followed silently behind, mesmerized by the swing of her hips as she walked ahead of him. He caught up to her just as she reached out for the bathroom door. He quickly glanced around before pressing his chest against her back and gently pushing her into the bathroom.

A startled gasp left her lips and all Luke could think about was her making that sound while he was buried deep inside of her. He turned her in his arms and smiled down at her as he pressed her against the door with his body. “Hey, beautiful.”

“Luke!” she whispered harshly, her tiny hands smacking into his chest. “Are you crazy? You can’t be in here with me!”

His dick was already hard and begging for release, but he couldn’t resist playing with her. “I can’t?” he asked.

“No, you can’t!”

She was ridiculously cute when she tried to follow the rules. He needed inside of her, but he continued to play the game. Easing away from her, he reached out to grab the door. “Okay, I’ll just—”

“No,” she said on a whisper. She grabbed onto his tie and pulled him toward her.

That was all he needed. Crushing his lips to hers, he pushed her back up against the door, her soft curves yielding to his solid strength.

“Luke,” she whispered.

He pulled away and lifted his hands to her face. “I couldn’t help myself, baby,” he said, staring down at her. “I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my life.” He brought his lips back to hers and slowly swept his tongue through her mouth.

She reached between them, undoing his belt buckle and freeing his cock. The feel of her hands on him and the desire in her eyes was enough to undo him. He needed to be inside of her. He traced a slow path down her sides and over her curves until he reached the bottom of her dress. Hiking it up her thighs, he reached between her legs and ripped away the flimsy fabric of her underwear as he continued to kiss the shit out of her. He wrapped his arms around her, cupped her bare ass and lifted her against the door. Her legs wrapped around his waist like they belonged there and his knees nearly buckled as the tip of his cock brushed against the warmth of her core. Luke wasted no time as he pressed into her tight, wet heat.

Embry cried out and he reached up, covering her mouth. “Shhh.” He knew they were crazy, having sex against a bathroom door with the entire faculty just down the hallway, but he didn’t want to go out of his way to announce it.

Embry groaned against his palm, and Luke removed his hand. He gripped her ass, pushing deeper inside of her. Her legs locked around his waist and her tight warmth surrounding him was enough to put him over the edge, but he fought it. He wanted to feel her come around him before he let go. Holding nothing back, he slammed into her, keeping up a relentless rhythm and causing her back to thump against the door.

“Is this becoming our thing, baby?” she whispered as she teased his lips with kisses. “Sex against doors?”

He smiled against her mouth as he thrust into her, his hips meeting hers. “It’s your fault,” he rasped. “If you weren’t so goddamn beautiful, I might have a chance at keeping it in my pants.”

“I like that you can’t keep it in your pants, at least with me. I just think I might miss the bed a little bit.”

Luke groaned, dragging himself slowly out of her then driving back in with more force. Not that he didn’t love sex against a door, especially with her, but he couldn’t wait to get her home, get her naked, and spend the rest of the night buried inside of her. “Mmm, I have plenty planned for you later tonight, don’t you worry.”

“Is that a promise?” she asked, breathlessly.

He stared into her eyes as he stilled inside of her. “No beautiful,” he lifted her by her ass and then slammed her back down on his cock. “That’s a guarantee.”

He felt Embry’s muscles contract around him as she buried her face in his neck and her body began to tremble. “Oh my God! Luke!”

His balls tightened and his cock swelled as she pulsed around him. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and drove into her once more before exploding inside of her. “Fuck.”

Undone by R.E. Hunter

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

*ARC Given to Blog for Honest Review*

4.5 “Southern Sexy” “Beautiful” “I don’t work without you.” Kisses

I truly believe that there are some books that are meant to come into our lives. For whatever the reason…we are meant to read them…experience them…embrace them. I was meant to read Undone…I can’t explain it any other way. This book just worked for me…I adored the characters…was sucked in by the writing and the emotion…I loved the balance of angst and fluff…it just got me and that’s all there is to it.

Embry Jacobs…Bree…I love her. Like…it’s easy for me to fall in love with a good book boyfriend but I need to really connect with the girl. Whether or not I relate to her is one thing but I have to like her and I kinda sorta want Bree to be my BFF. She’s beautiful….blonde hair, green eyes…tall (Yay! Tall girl love!)…sweet, sassy and funny…smart (hello…the chick’s in law school!)…and I straight up just loved her personality. She’s got her quirks, like all girls do, but I just find that more endearing and makes her more authentic and genuine. I have to give her mad props…leaving your family and friends and basically disappearing from the only life you have known is not easy. It takes a lot of strength and bravery but she did it…and good for her because it was what was in her best interest and she came out better for it. But she’s decided to come back home…for law school…for her best friend and family…for herself.

‘Leaving Jack, Morgan, and her family hadn’t been easy. Embry moved to Florida without knowing a single person. She was determined to figure out who she was, and she came out on the other side with amazing friends, memories, and a whole new Embry.’

Lucas James Brody…or ‘Luke I’m-fucking-delish Brody’ …oh my sweet Southern Sexy (and yes…I do mean my Southern Sexy…because he is – if you doubt me, read the acknowledgements! 😉 )…what do I love about Luke. Luke’s sexiness is very classic and very understated. He’s not over the top…he’s very laid back and just like your everyday kinda guy. I think that’s what makes him so sexy, the fact that he’s very realistic in my mind. That’s not to say he doesn’t do or say some of the most über swoony things that just turn me into a pile of mush…because trust me – he does. But that’s just part of the Southern Sexy package that makes Luke F-A-B-O-L-O-U-S. Luke’s got the TDH package down nicely…scorching blue eyes…he loves mac n’ cheese…the Georgia Bull Dogs…and he can cook (excuse me while I melt into a puddle). He’s kind and considerate…thoughtful…but yet in the right situation he can take charge and be a little…cave man (which I love…come on, every girl needs a little cave man in her life). He’s intelligent and sweet…plus he’s got a tattoo of a shamrock on his butt – I mean seriously?!?! Does it get more awesome than that? Nope…I didn’t think so either. I am painting Luke out to be a dream boat and believe me…he is, but he is not perfect. Luke has his flaws…but for me it’s his actions to make up for his mistakes that show me his true character.

“I know you’ve been hurt,” he said. “I don’t know why or how, but I’d kill the fucker who did it if I met him. I know you’re not ready to talk about it yet or you would have told me by now, and that’s fine. There’s a lot we don’t know about each other yet. But the way things are going…I want to know you. I want to learn everything about you.” He brushed his knuckles across her cheek. “I want you Emry, all of you. I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t have you.”
Embry was speechless. She had hoped he had feeling for her, but she hadn’t actually considered that he’d be up front about it. As happy as she was that he felt the same way for her, it scared her ever more. She couldn’t pretend this wasn’t real anymore. Even though some small part of her told her to fight it, she wanted him enough not to run. “You have me.”

I rarely ever talk plot in my reviews…and this book is the perfect example as to why – there are so many easy ways to spoil the story – and honestly, it’s just too good to not experience and feel those emotions for the first time. So what did I love…oh where do I start? Embry and Luke together just work for me. I love their connection and their chemistry. Obviously they are attracted to each other physically…but that’s not all that their connection is based on. I love the casualness of their relationship. Luke is not a billionaire…they don’t fly across the world or go on expensive dates…not to mention, that’s just not who L&E are period…but they’re just so…’normal’ – and I mean that in a good way! It’s just very relatable and something that I could connect to. Their banter is phenomenal…so fluid…so conversational…so real. I was lulled into a sense of comfortableness with them…it’s so easy and natural. Like peanut butter and jelly…Luke and Embry! 🙂 I love their humor… I love how Luke wooed her…yes…there was woo’ing involved. I mean…Bree’s not a nun or anything but Luke’s the closest thing to a relationship the girl has had in 5 years…she’s entitled to a little woo-action. And Luke gives some good action! 😉 Hehehe…oh yes, the ‘action’…Southern Sexy knows how to make a girl swoon in many different ways, he definitely earned his title.

‘“Is this become our thing, baby?” Embry whispered teasingly. “Sex against doors?”
Luke smiled against her lips. “It’s your fault. If you weren’t so goddamn beautiful, I might have a chance at keeping it in my pants.”
“I like it that you can’t keep it in your pants, at least with me. I just think I might miss the bed a little bit.”
Luke groaned as he dragged himself out of her before pushing back in with more force. “Mmm, I have plenty planned for you later tonight, don’t you worry.”
“Is that a promise?”
“No, beautiful. That’s a guarantee,” he said as he joined his mouth with hers once more.’

Honestly…this story isn’t just about Bree and Luke, this is about Bree. You cannot go through what she did…have to make such a drastic lifestyle changes…and not have that affect you. You go through the journey with her…the ups and the downs and emotionally I felt very tied to her. The other relationship that Bree had that I loved…possibly more than her relationship with Luke (Sssh! Don’t tell Luke!) is her friendship with Morgan. Geez Louise that girl is a hoot and a half. Like…if I could I would steal both Morgan and Bree and make them both my bff’s because they just have one of those friendships that you can’t help but love. Morgan is so supportive and caring when it comes to Bree – I mean it’s her bestie, she’s supposed to! But I think she is just so glad to have Embry back in her life that she is willing to go above and beyond all laws of friendship to be there for her whenever. They have this hilarious bond and some of their antics had me laughing so hard I cried. There were a lot of laugh-out-loud moments for me in the book… ‘high five’s’…’man meat sandwiches’ …this list is endless – and I’m not talking about a giggle, I’m talking about I had to put my kindle down because I was laughing so hard. And I cannot not talk about the other man that won my love…Jeremy. Oh my…he’s a little man-whore, so instantly he has won my heart. He is an awesome friend to Bree…and that’s exactly what she needs. Plus…I think there is more to the story with Jer, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

‘She shook her head slightly, unable to speak. Luke strode right into her personal space, and his hands cupped her cheeks as he crushed his lips to hers.
“You own me, Embry,” he said, his eyes pleading. “I’m yours. I’m not letting you run.”

So…this is an angsty romance…and believe me…my poor heart was angst’d! But then the ending happened…oh yes…the ending…let’s talk about the ending. The cliff. Is it a major cliff? Hmm…yes. Not going to lie…you’re left hanging in a lot of ways. There are so many things up in the air and guess what…they could fall just about anywhere…cause at this point, Embry and Luke are not going to have it easy. There are a lot of hurt feelings and things to come back from. Do I think it’s still possible for them to get their HEA? 100%! I’m a true romantic to my core and although I am hurt by what Luke has done, I have faith in his love for Embry. I just hope R.E. Hunter writes that 2nd book very quickly! *hint hint!*

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You’ve got to check out the amazing trailer for this book – it’s one of my favorites!

Undone by R.E. Hunter from SchmexyGirl Book Blog on Vimeo.

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R.E. Hunter is a native New Yorker and lives on Long Island with her husband and their crazy kitten. She works as an attorney by day and writes every spare second she has. She’s currently working on the sequel to Undone, which will be released sometime in 2014. When she’s not writing, you can usually find her somewhere near a beach with a book in her hand.  Check our R.E. Hunter’s Website.

Title: A Little Too Hot (A Little Too Far #3)

By: Lisa Desrochers

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Release Date: January 21, 2014

Publisher: William Morrow Impulse

“Every page is deliciously breathtaking, wickedly sexy and sensational. A LITTLE TOO HOT is wonderfully unique and a LOT HOT! I am a HUGE Lisa Desrochers fan.”
— Katy Evans, New York Times bestselling author of REAL

“Lisa is brilliant at creating sizzling sexual tension and impossible circumstances that make the reader hold their breath all the way to happy ever after.”
— Jay Crownover, New York Times bestselling author of RULE

From USA Today bestselling author Lisa Desrochers, comes the third book in her sizzling New Adult series.

If you play with fire…

Tossed out of college and cut off by her parents, Samantha West is in pretty dire straits. So when her rocker best friend hooks her up with a job dancing at a gentlemen’s club, who is she to turn it down? Plus, there are rules to dancing at Benny’s: No touching, keep your clothes on at all times, and never get closer than three feet. Unfortunately for Sam, her first private client makes her want to break every single one of them.

Harrison Yates is scorching hot, but he’s got a past that involves being left at the altar not too long ago. Sam is determined to make him forget about his ex, but when she makes her move, it flings her life into a spiral of chaos she never saw coming.

Because Harrison Yates isn’t who he seems to be. And his secret will probably get her killed.

Have you read A Little Too Far and A Little Too Mush, the first two books in the series? I LOVED both of them! Check out my review for A Little Too Far here and A Little Too Much here. Even better A Little Too Far is only $1.50 right now…A Little Too Much is only $1.99…and A Little Too Hot is only $2.99! Such a great deal on the whole series!

Title: A Little Too Far (A Little Too Far #1)

By: Lisa Desrochers

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Release Date: September 17th, 2013

Publisher: William Morrow Impulse

Have you ever gone just a little too far?

Lexie Banks has.

Yep. She just had mind-blowing sex with her stepbrother. In her defense, she was on the rebound, and it’s more of a my-dad-happened-to-marry-a-woman-with-a-super-hot-son situation. But still, he’s been her best friend and confidant for better part of the last few years…and is so off limits. It’s a good thing she’s leaving in two days for a year abroad in Rome. But even thousands of miles away, Lexie can’t seem to escape trouble. Raised Catholic, she goes to Confession in hopes of alleviating some of her guilt…and maybe not burning in hell. Instead, she stumbles out of the confessional right into Alessandro Moretti, a young and very easy on the eyes deacon…only eight months away from becoming a priest. Lexie and Alessandro grow closer, and when Alessandro’s signals start changing despite his vow of celibacy, she doesn’t know what to think. She’s torn between falling in love with the man she shouldn’t want and the man she can’t have. And she isn’t sure how she can live with herself either way.

Title: A Little Too Much (A Little Too Far #2)

Author: Lisa Desrochers

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Release Date: November 12, 2013

Publisher: William Morrow Impulse

In the follow-up to Lisa Desrochers’ explosive New Adult novel A Little too Far, Alessandro Moretti must face the life he escaped and the girl he loved and left behind.

Twenty-two year old Hilary McIntyre would like nothing more than to forget her past. As a teenager abandoned to the system, she faced some pretty dark times. But now that’s all behind her. Hilary has her life on track, and there’s no way she’ll head back down that road again.

Until Alessandro Moretti—the one person who can make her remember—shows up on her doorstep. He’s even more devastatingly gorgeous than before, and he’s much too close for comfort. Worse, he sees right through the walls she’s built over these last eight years, right into her heart and the secrets she’s guarding.

As Hilary finds herself falling back into love with the man who, as a boy both saved and destroyed her, she must decide. Past or future? Truth or lies?

This has to be one of my favorite series…each book has really touched me, I love the writing and the characters and they’re truly fabulous romances. I had a love/hate relationship with Harrison…but I can definitely say one thing…I enjoy being in his POV!  Check out this alternate POV scene from Chapter 6!

Harrison

Chapter 6

I pace the dim, dank VIP room, unable to explain why my palms are sweating. I feel like a fifteen-year-old, waiting at the movies for his first date to show up. But it’s not our first meeting. I’ve paid for her. She has to show. So, why am I nervous?

I sit on the sagging couch to force myself to stop pacing. The whirring ceiling fan does nothing to dispel the weight of the air, so heavy it near chokes me.

There’s a commotion in the hallway, and I hear a guy shout, “Hey, Nora! Anyone in the VIP room? Red and I need the couch and a thermometer for a science experiment. How hot is backstage sex between a rocker and an exotic dancer? Will spontaneous combustion occur? Inquiring minds want to know.”

Just as the door flings open, a woman’s voice shrieks, “Put her down, you Neanderthal! She’s got work to do!”

I stand as Sam comes into the room, but she’s ass-first, over the shoulder of a good-looking guy a few years younger than me, with ink up his arms and neck and a chiseled and very pierced face.

He lifts a hand off her legs and holds it up to me. “Sorry, man. Didn’t know anyone was in here.”

Sam kicks free of his grasp and slides off his shoulder to the floor. She wobbles for a second on those high-heeled boots before gaining her balance. “You moron,” she mutters shoving the guy.

An older woman lunges through the open door and grabs the kid by the back of his T-shirt, dragging him backward toward the door.

“Inquiring minds want to know!” he calls, just as it snaps shut.

“Your boyfriend?” I ask, my eyes flicking to the door, where my possible competition just vanished.

Her eyes fly wide. “Hell, no!”

I tip my head at the couch. “So you were donating your body to science, so to speak.”

“He’s just a friend.” The irritated expression on her face as she says it causes the knot in my stomach to soften. “A really stupid friend.”

I rake my eyes down the front of her, over the skimpy black satin vest and shorts and the laced thigh high boots, and something hot and hungry flares in my gut. As my gaze scans its way back up her body, I see through the thin satin vest that her nipples have hardened. A certain part of my anatomy responds in kind.

I move closer as my gaze reaches her face. “You were amazing out there tonight. The way you move is just so…” …fucking incredible. But I trail off without saying it as her eyes flare. There’s no mistaking the look in her smoldering gaze, and my jeans tighten around my stiffening dick.

I sit again to hide the evidence as she moves to the stereo and cranks the music louder. She steps away from the stereo and lifts her arms overhead, and her body starts to sway, the tiny costume she’s wearing is doing nothing to keep me from imagining her totally nude. Watching her move—the roll of her hips and the thrust of her tits as her body undulates with the slow rhythm; the way her hands glide over her curves and don’t shy away from her most sensitive places; and the way her smoldering gaze holds mine the whole time, fire to ice—all I know is, she makes me want to forget who I am and why I’m here and just bury myself inside her and live there. She makes me want to map every inch of her body with my tongue. She makes me want to ride her hard and put her away wet. Because there’s not much question this girl would be dynamite in the sack.

I can take her right now and cement this deal—and something tells me she’d let me. Something in her look tells me she’d even enjoy it.

But there’s also something about her that makes me want to protect her, and the thing she most needs protection from at this exact moment is me. Because even though she’s oblivious, I’m her worst nightmare.

And she’s mine.

I tip my head back and let out an animal growl, then stand and yank on my jeans, trying to make my enormous erection fit inside them.

“Dance with me,” she purrs, all sex and desire, and it’s my total undoing.

I swallow and move closer, stopping a foot away. “I thought there was a three foot rule.”

Her eyes flare red heat. “I’m modifying it to one foot.”

I reach for her waist, needing to feel her body under my hands, but she backs away and shakes her head. “Still no touching. Sorry.”

God, this girl is going to be the death of me. One of us is leaving this room a totally ruined person, and, despite the plan, I’m starting to doubt it’s going to be her.

She lifts her arms overhead again and starts to circle her hips, and it’s like her body blends with the music, turning hot and molten and fluid. But she never breaks eye contact, and I feel her flowing through my veins.

At first, I can’t move, but finally, her scorching lava melts the ice inside and I start to sway to the rhythm.

The hint of a smile pulls at those full, red, blow-me lips, and her eyes flutter closed for a second as she moans a little. I close my eyes, forcing myself back under control.

But then she turns, and the motion brings us closer. She rolls her hips with the steady beat, and her ass brushes against where my dick is trying to rip through the denim of my jeans.

I suck in a breath. “Jesus, Sam,” I groan, my voice thick and strangled as I try to hold myself together. “Are you sure I can’t touch you?”

“Yes,” she whispers with a slight turn of her head.

And, God, she smells amazing. Like spice and sex.

I lean closer, my lips nearly touching her ear. “Yes, I can touch you? Or yes, you’re sure I can’t.”

“I’m sure you can’t.” Her voice comes out rough, and I can’t stop the groan as I come unglued.

I need this. Not only because it’s what I came for, but also because I can’t remember every being so drawn to one girl. I can’t remember every feeling this desperate to be inside anyone—and that includes my ex-fiancée. But with Sam, it’s base and it’s raw. Desire at its purest. And watching her move, I make my decision.

“I’m not sure I’m going to be able to stop myself,” I say in a rare moment of honesty. My lips brush her ear, and I swear she stops breathing. “Sam? I coax, shifting so I’m just touching her. “Please say I can.”

She leans her back against my chest, and a throaty moan rolls up from deep inside her. Her moan turns into a low, hissing gasp when I close my hands over my hips and I grind myself against her. She tips her head back into my shoulder and I skim my nose over the tender skin of her neck, inhaling the sweet, hot scent of sex oozing from her pores. It goes straight to my groin, and I almost come on the spot with the rush.

As we move together to the slow beat, our hips rolling in unison, I imagine I’m inside her. I pulse for her, my hard-on becoming painful. My hand glides around her bare midriff, and I know I’m not going to be able to contain myself for much longer. There’s fire under my skin and every nerve ending throbs with want.

She doesn’t stop me when I trace my fingertips over the soft, bare skin along the dangerously low waistband of her tiny shorts, then slip them underneath. And when my other hand glides under the lapel of her vest and cups the swell of her breast, skin on skin, she gasps. She tries to pull away, but I hold her tight against me, rolling her hardened nipple under my thumb. She collapses against my body and moans again, deep and desperate, the sound of pure longing. Her moan shatters any shred of self-control I might have been clinging to. I am so far over the uncrossable line that I’m putting everything I’ve worked for at risk. But in this instant, I don’t care.

She rocks her hips, encouraging my fingertips under her waistband lower. But just as I slip under the elastic of her thong, there’s a bang from the hallway outside.

I’m so stunned that I don’t stop her from pulling away. But the next second, Sam escapes through the door into the hall without a word.

I stand here for a full minute, trying to will my heartbeat out of the stratosphere and tame the beast inside my pants.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow I get what I came for.

A Little Too Hot by Lisa Desrochers

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

*ARC Given to Blog for Review*

4.5 “Jezebel” “dragonfly” “safe” Kisses

OMG…this book made me squeal. Like hard core…multiple times…uncontrollable noises were coming from my body. How does a book do that to me?!?! ARGH!!! It was amazing and awesome and I loved it and I love this series and I’m babbling and I don’t care! The angst…the chemistry…the characters…I. Loved. Everything. This was everything I loved about A Little Too Far and A Little Too Much but amped up, put on steroids mixed in a blender with this glorious sexual tension and laid out for my enjoyment. And ladies and gentlemen…I enjoyed immensely. Can you read A Little Too Hot without reading A Little Too Far and A Little Too Much? Absolutely…but…I think it means more if you read them in order. It’s not a deal breaker though.

Samantha Erin West…Sam Sam Sam…my little redheaded train wreck. And she really is…the poor girl just can’t seem to get anything right no matter how hard she tries…she’s screwed up in every avenue of her life – she flunked out of college, got fired from her last job, kicked out of her parents house and the one boy she’s loved for most of her teenage years is in love with her bestie, Lexie…who she’s not really best friends with anymore since the whole ‘I’m in love with my step-brother’ convo happened. See? Sounds like a great time to just give up, right? But God bless Sam, she somehow pulls it together and still manages to move forward. With the help of one of the only men that hasn’t abandoned her, her best friend Jonathan, Sam is going to change things…change the way her life is going – she’s full of possibility and promise. She’s got a new job and she is going to show everyone that doubted her (including her mother!)…and there is a brief glimpse of hope….and then it all comes crashing down again. And all because of a certain tall, blonde and sexy man with ice blue eyes.

“Just put a big red stamp on my forehead. ‘Samantha West: Failure at life.’ Washed up at twenty-one.”
His tongue pokes at the labret through the corner of his lower lip as he fights a smile. “You’re not really a failure at life. Just most aspects of it.”

Blake Montgomery…or is it Harrison Yates? (for those of you who don’t know who Harrison Yates is…google him, it’s kinda funny). Alright so before I really get into the core of Blake…I have to first go over everything I loved – because there were things I did love about him…so many, I decided he deserves a list:

1. He’s from Texas (that’s worth like a million hotness points of me)
2. He’s got a super sexy tattoo
3. He’s gorgeous…blonde hair, blue eyes, tall, muscles, yummm
4. He’s very protective
5. He likes country music
6. He can cook – hello! Sexy…
7. He’s dedicated to his job
8. He’s intelligent – like…bordering on brilliant
9. He can say some of the sexiest, swooniest things but I am more drawn to his actions and what he says with his eyes than anything else.
10. He has a weakness for a certain redhead

So…I went through stages with Blake…at first I was so freakin’ into him it was ridiculous – everything that Sam was feeling for him, I was there, I was on the Blake bandwagon. Then…the shit hits the fan and I was so frustrated and angry and sad…I didn’t want to not like him, but I couldn’t help it! He made me so mad…irrationally mad – like to the point of tears because of what he was doing to Sam…or more like the effect his actions were having on Sam…either way – what was happening to Sam was his fault and he knew it and it was not having a positive reaction on anyone. But after the anger and frustration had subsided, we got to know him better…know some more truths about the situation and I guess if you want to call it justification for everything…I got it. I understood Blake…I felt for him and at his core there is one thing that never waivered throughout the course of the book and that’s his determination to keep Sam safe….and I loved that.

‘He shoves a hand through his hair and lowers his gaze. “You make me crazy. I can’t even think when I’m around you.”
“I don’t want you to think.”
His eyes life to mine as I stalk toward him. They burn with needs as I lay my hands on his chest, then smooth them up to his shoulders.
“What about the rules?” he asks, breathily.
“Screw the rules.” I push him backward until the sofa takes his legs out from under him, then climb astride his lap.
His hands glide over my curves, setting every nerve ending on fire. “I could almost forget the rest of the world exists when I’m in here with you.”’

Sam and Blake…oh boy…they’re interesting. Definitely far from your normal progression of a relationship…the way they meet is different, they way they get to know each other is a little unconventional, you have the normal push and pull but the context of the push and pull is far from the norm. They don’t want to want each other…they really can’t (especially Blake) but they can’t help their attraction and I can’t help but love that. They both had an equally huge weakness for each other. I mean even when Sam had every right to want to punch Blake in the balls…she couldn’t help her feelings for him…and just as much as Blake wanted to be with Sam, his strength and determination against taking it anywhere that it couldn’t go was firm…which while frustrating is admirable. But it’s the little things he did for her that just made me melt…he cooks for her, indulges her in any way he can…I loved that they had the whole karate thing in common…and yet I loved equally how much she couldn’t stand his country music.

‘He closes his eyes and his head drops back on the sofa. “Sam.” His voice is course with pure animal need, but I can’t miss the tinge of despair in it too.
“Forget her,” I whisper in his ear. “She’s gone. I’m here.”
His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows hard. I run my lips and my tongue up his throat to the angle of his jaw and he groans. The next second he’s kissing me as if I were his beginning and his end.’

A Little Too Hot is so different and yet so similar to ALTF and ALTM….the build is still there…this is not a quick book where the couple just jumps into this fast love affair, while yes their initial reaction to each other is a little quick, it’s still logical…plus their passion and chemistry is developed over weeks of getting to know each other, mixed with other…complications to their already complex scenario. Things are messy at best but I loved the fact that Sam and Blake could not deny what was between them…what had always been between them from the very beginning. But the difference is, this is the first book in the serious where the couple didn’t have any history. In both ALTF and ALTM the couples had known each other…they had shared history, and Sam and Blake didn’t have that…but magically, I felt their connection just as strong as I did the other two couples. Their sexual attraction was amazing but that is not what held them together in my eyes.

‘He shakes his head slowly. “It wasn’t like that. We never…it wasn’t like this,” he says with a wave of his hand between us. “I’ve never been on fire like this for any other woman.”
My heart skips. “You’re on fire for me?”
He hands his head, but his smoldering gaze stays locked on mine. “Burning alive.”’

Another thing that was different about ALTH was the angst ‘topic’ if you will…of course there was the angst between Sam and Blake…but there were other external factors. I can’t go into specific details because I don’t want to spoil anything but I will say that law enforcement was involved and there is a criminal element to the plot…normally this is where my brain checks out. Honestly…there are very few times that this kind of thing really does it for me – I don’t know why because when it comes to movies/tv shows/etc. I usually love that stuff – but for whatever crazy reason I don’t like it so much in my romance books. In a ALTH I loved it…I ate it up gladly with a big spoonful of more please – I’m not sure if it’s the way it was incorporated or the way Lisa wrote it but I couldn’t get enough and it totally worked for me.

‘There’s something beautiful and tagic in his soul that speaks to mine. I want to know him. I want to know every inch of him.’

Then again there is not a whole lot I can complain about when it comes to Lisa Desrochers’s writing. She grabs me by the metaphorical balls and just gets me in all the right ways. Her detail astounds me…it’s perfection, she always adds just enough description where I feel like I am actually in whatever location she is depicting. I mean…you can read the books if you just want to feel transported all around the world – we’ve gone to Rome, New York and now California…I love it! But I really feel with ALTH the descriptions were bumped up a level because…Sam dances. Describing a dance is…difficult, at least IMO – it’s not easy to give a clear depiction of how the human body can move but damn…I saw it all right in front of my very eyes. And it wasn’t just the detail…I already said she had me physically vocalizing my emotions…I was right there with Sam the entire way. When she was excited, I was excited…when she was scared, I was scared….whatever she was feeling, I was feeling…full on and then some. It was awesome…except for the screaming/squealing part…then I felt kinda crazy – but I’m still okay with it. Another thing…just like with ALTM there was this moment…at 27% actually…where I was just knocked upside the head. That’s twice she has completely blown me away with something I didn’t see coming. That has never happened…I mean, not that I’ve never not seen something coming but two times in a row. That’s just fabulous. Love it.

‘Too soon, he pulls back. There’s fire in his gaze. “Good night, Sam West. I’ll dream about you in that dress tonight.”
I kiss him again, just a peck on the lips. “Good night, Blake Montgomery. After a kiss like that, I’ll be dreaming about you too.”’

I am in full on denial that the A Little Too Far series is over…there is no way. Nope…I refuse to believe it. We still need Katie’s story…especially with the little development that happened at Lexie’s wedding…plus now I’m all into Jonathan (Sam’s BFF is a little man whoring rock star and I LOVE him!)…plus Ginger (Jonathan’s girlfriend)…she’s a little quirky, but I kinda like her. So…I’m going to beg for more and sit here in denial that it’s over…cause I don’t want it to be.

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Lisa Desrochers lives in northern California with her husband, two very busy daughters, and Shini the tarantula. If you’d told her five years ago she’d write a book, she’d have laughed in your face. As it turns out, she’d owe you an apology. Writing has become an addiction for Lisa and A Little Too Far, courtesy of HarperCollins, is her first novel for adults. She is also the author of the young adult Personal Demons trilogy from Macmillan. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, and she adores stories that take her to new places, and then take her by surprise.

❀Release Date: November 19, 2013❀

Title: Better (Too Good, #2)

Author: S. Walden

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Hosted By: Romance Addict Book Blog

Their relationship has been exposed, and now their lives are changed forever.

For Cadence Miller, the fast track to adulthood proves intimidating and frustrating. She’s a little girl lost—abandoned by her parents and uncertain of her future. She doesn’t think she “fits” anywhere. She’s eighteen. She wants to be older. And the result is both comical and heartbreaking.

Mark Connelly will do anything to provide Cadence a stable, loving home—to be her protector. But he’s just as broken and lost, and his heart won’t let go of his past so easily. He knows he must share his secret with Cadence. And he hopes his revelation won’t tear them apart. He hopes it will draw them closer, and make their love better.

Did you check out our exclusive interview with Mark and Cadence?

Have you read Good yet? Check out our reviews and an Alternate Mark POV Scene.

Cadence Miller is a good girl. She just happens to make one terrible mistake her junior year in high school which costs her ten months in juvenile detention. Now a senior, she’s lost everything: her best friend, the trust of her parents, driving privileges, Internet access. It’s a lonely existence.

But there is one bright spot: Mark Connelly, her very cute, very off-limits 28-year-old calculus teacher. She falls hard for him–a ridiculous schoolgirl crush headed nowhere. She can’t help it. He’s the only good thing at Crestview High. She doesn’t expect him to reciprocate her feelings. How inappropriate, right? But he does. And he shows her.

And that’s when her life goes from bad to good.

So…who out there doesn’t love Avery?  Well…we got lucky, again!  Check out this Alternate POV from Avery…and…this might only be the beginning of what we can expect from Avery! 🙂  (FYI…is this is the beginning…we are SO excited!!!)

This guy thinks I’m totally into him.

I leaned back in my chair and eyed Dylan with a look of suspicion. I wanted him to think I was about to drill him. I mean, why the hell not? Maybe it’d wipe that smug smile off his face.

“I like your manners.” I said it like a challenge.

“I know you do,” Dylan replied. He leaned back in his chair, mimicking me. “You didn’t think I’d pull your chair out, did you?”

I shook my head.

“That’s because you’ve only dated douchebags,” Dylan explained.

I cracked a grin and shrugged my shoulders. Not agreement, but not disagreement either. Noncommittal. Yep. That’s what I wanted to be. I realized I made a HUGE error the night of our card playing. I let my guard down. I sweat him way too hard, and in the process, blew his head up ten times its normal, arrogant size. This guy was clever, cocky, and fucking hot, okay? I’m not even gonna lie. Fuck. Ing. Hot. I wanted to lunge at him from across the table.

Pause for description: Tall. Über large hands. I imagined they could do all sorts of fun things to my body. Long eyelashes that were really unfair. I mean, no guy should get to have such beautiful eyelashes when he doesn’t even dress them up. Am I right? Chocolatey eyes like my own. Chiseled jaw. Stubble. Fuck me. Lots and lots of stubble. I was itching to get my fingers on it. Badass cropped hair like a marine. He was awesome.

“Not every guy I dated was a douchebag.” Lie. Total lie.

The side of Dylan’s mouth quirked up.

“But none of them ever pulled out my chair for me either,” I conceded.

“I’ll pull your chair out for you anytime,” Dylan said.

I smiled then. Actually, it was more like a stupid grin accompanied by flushed cheeks. Why was he on a date with me anyway?

“Why did you ask me out?” I couldn’t help it. I had to know.

“I think you’re pretty.”

Slight letdown. Who wants that to be the first reason? Tell me I’m freaking smart or clever or funny even though you don’t know shit about me. Don’t go straight for the obvious guy answer. Be better than that!

“But that’s not the Number 1 reason,” Dylan went on.

Bullshit.

“I think you’re smart.”

Bullshit again. You don’t even know me.

“That is, from what I gathered about you during card-playing, I think you’re smart. And clever.”

Means the same thing.

“And I totally know that smart and clever mean the same thing, but I’m talking smart as in you know a lot and clever as in you’re witty,” Dylan said.

Okay. This guy’s pretty good. He can read my thoughts.

“I’m reading your thoughts right now, aren’t I?” Dylan asked.

Holy shit!

“Facial expressions,” he explained.

“Ugh. That’s totally Cadence’s fault. I used to be unreadable, right? And then I started hanging out with her, and suddenly I’m wearing my heart on my sleeve,” I said.

Dylan grimaced.

“What?”

“Clichés . . .”

I burst out laughing. “Get over yourself.”

He chuckled. “Actually, I love clichés.”

“Just stop,” I said.

“Over the moon about them,” he continued.

“Ha ha.”

“They’re as good as gold, if you ask me.”

I giggled.

“I’m high as a kite about ‘em.”

“Oh God. Cadence put that last one in her story. Remember? Talk about bad writing.” I shook my head and sighed.

Dylan smiled and studied my face. He wasn’t even covert about it. He just stared blatantly. And I let him. Because I liked it. And I knew I looked good. Okay, that’s me being totally modest. I freaking rocked tonight. My long, dark hair was curled into messy spirals. That’s right. Girls, take note: If you want natural-looking curls, go with two separate sized rods and curl your strands in alternating, opposite directions. And for Christ’s sake, run your fingers through your hair afterwards. Don’t just curl and spray. Ugh.

I pumped up the eye factor. Thick, black mascara and shimmery eye shadow. I wanted to sparkle for him. I wanted him to like my brown eyes. If I have to read one more book about blue eyes and green eyes, I think I’ll barf. Give the brown-eyed girls some face time, right? I mean, we have a popular Van Morrison song written about us, after all. Anyway, I wore skinny jeans and my favorite closed-toe black and white pumps. They matched a long, tight sweater I accented with a wide silver belt. I wanted his eyes to move up and down between my eyes and chest. So far? Happening.

“This is the weirdest first date I’ve ever had,” I admitted. That was the truth. It was also shaping up to be the most fantastic. I hope I didn’t blow it. Wait. What the hell? I hope he didn’t blow it.

“How so?” Dylan asked. He paused when the waitress approached us for our drink order. “Two Maker’s Marks, straight up.”

The waitress nodded and left. I couldn’t believe it. How did he just do that? They always ask for ID in Georgia. Always. It’s the law.

“How?” I whispered.

“You can get anything you want if you act like you’re the most important person in the room,” Dylan explained. “You just be confident going in, and it’s yours.”

“What’s Maker’s Mark?” I asked. For the record, just because I like to drink alcohol doesn’t mean I know everything about it. I have my go-to girly drinks, but I know there’s a whole world of liquor out there just waiting to be explored.

“Whiskey.”

“Oh God.”

“Good whiskey. Smooth whiskey.”

The waitress appeared and set our drinks on the table. Dylan asked for a few more minutes before we ordered.

“Take your time,” she said, and walked to a nearby table to check on her other customers.

I took a sip of my drink. It burned my throat. “Smooth” my ass. But I confess I wanted him to think I was a cool chick. You know those girls who can hang with guys and drink and eat the shit they do? Talk about sports and hoot and holler at the TV screen? Well, I wouldn’t be hooting and hollering, but I could show him that I could hang with him and his whiskey.

My mouth thinned out in a strained smile.

“You hate it, don’t you?” he asked after a moment.

“Not at all. I think it’s smooth,” I said.

He chuckled. “You think it tastes like shit.”

“I think it tastes like shit,” I agreed, and slid the drink over his way. “Does this mean I’m not cool anymore?”

“Avery, you’re the coolest chick I’ve ever met,” Dylan replied. “I’ll give you a pass with the whiskey.”

“A gentleman would have asked me what I wanted,” I pointed out.

He considered this, then replied, “Just trying to share my likes with you.”

Okay. Cute. I pulled my drink towards me and gave it another try.

“You’re ordering martinis after this,” I said, trying not to cough.

“Fair enough,” he replied.

“Girly ones,” I added.

“Sickly sweet?”

“Totally.”

He opened his menu and started scanning the page.

“I think you’re absolutely gorgeous, just for the record,” he said nonchalantly, not looking at me.

My heart gave a small jolt, and I nearly knocked over my whiskey reaching for my menu. I was starting to understand what Cadence meant when she said Mark’s words made her nervous. Something to do with their directness and confidence. Dylan had words like that, too, I discovered. What alarmed me was the way I reacted to them. That wasn’t like me to get flustered. To blush and grin like an idiot. Was that a late-twenties male thing? Confident, sexy, I’m-doing-you-any-way-I-want-tonight words?

(Totally discussing with Cadence later.)

“And I plan on spending a lot of time with you in the future,” Dylan went on. He still perused the menu as he spoke. “I’m making you my top priority.”

Okay. That does it. Panties? Wet.

He lifted his eyes to my face. “That is, if you’re okay with that.” He stared, waiting.

I nodded like an idiot. I think my mouth hung open slightly.

“I’ve never said that to a girl before,” Dylan explained. “But I have a good feeling about you, Avery.”

“You do?”

“Oh yes.”

I took another sip of whiskey. This time it didn’t burn my throat. In fact, I’d been so flustered by Dylan’s words that I hadn’t noticed the nice, little glowing ball it created at the base of my stomach. But now I did. And I felt it moving up, up to heat my chest. It radiated warmth right behind my breastbone, and I realized in that moment that I had a taste for whiskey. Just like that, I loved it.

“I think this is gonna be a lot of fun,” I said, my lips pressed to the rim of the glass. I went in for another sip.

Maybe it wasn’t the whiskey after all. Maybe it was the man who ordered it for me.

Better by S. Walden

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

*ARC Given to Blog for Honest Review*

4.5 “Sweet Cheeks” Kisses

I am in shock…awe…and amazement. I knew Mark and Cadence had a tough road left ahead of them…I knew it was going to be far from easy…but wow. There was so much to their story…so many aspects I didn’t anticipate…difficult barely scratches the surface. But I am so proud and happy of their journey. First of all, if you have not read Good – drop everything because you MUST read it! It’s the first book in the Too Good Series and…you have to read Good to understand Better.

Cadence Miller…my sweet little Cay, I don’t know what to make of her this time around. I mean…she’s 18…she’s still naïve and inexperienced and being forced to deal with some very adult choices and situations. I felt aggravated by some of her choices and nativity but it was easy to forgive because…she honestly doesn’t know any better! It might be frustrating or something that I would never do, but it was fitting with Cadence’s character and who she is. I still had this unending need to hug her, help her, fix her! I felt bad for her because although she is struggling with what’s going on she is surrounded by people who want to help her. She just doesn’t know what to do with that help. That might have been the most frustrating part too…

“Be quick to forgive. Slow to anger.”

Mark Connelly…ok, so I was concerned about his secret, especially after the way Good ended. It scared me…I was worried I wasn’t going to be able to get over it…or even worse, that Cadence wasn’t going to be able to get over it. I was smart to worry. It was bad…prolly worse than I expected but the way he handled telling Cadence was epically worse than I could have ever imagined. BUT…the way Mark handled Cadences’ reaction to his secret was a MILLION times past my expectations. Where some guys would have given up he didn’t. I have no idea where he got the patience to deal with her antics. She gave him every opportunity to move on…but he loved her too much. *sigh*

‘“But you know what?” he asked.
“Hmm?”
“I wouldn’t give a shit if you did nothing but lay around all day because loving you is not about percentages: I give 50 percent. You give 50 percent. That’s bullshit. My job is to love you and give to you as much as I can each and every day. Try to make it to on hundred. On my own.”
“You usually do,” Cadence said, smiling.
“Then I must be doing something right.” He winked at her.’

So I talked about their journey…there are no words to fully explain it. This is one of those stories that needs to be experienced firsthand to truly convey the emotions. The angst is pretty rough…I was hurting for him, I was hurting for her (even if I thought she was making it more difficult!)…there was just no escaping the hurt. There are so many scenes that are rough to get thru…one very specific one towards the end. I don’t want to spoil it because it’s the pinnacle of everything they have gone thru. The point where all the hurt that they have both experienced over the past few months is laid on the line and they have to deal with it. It’s different…it’s a physical expression of their emotional pain…and both of them go thru it. And the way the come out the other side is…beautiful. There are many different ways the scene can be taken but if you look at it the right way you will see it for what it is…a pure, heartfelt expression of love. It’s not conventional but then again neither are Mark and Cadence.

‘He only saw her. She was all that mattered.’

So on top of hurting for them in their relationship you’re also hurting for Cadence because her friendship with Avery is strained…her relationship with her parents is non-existent…her brother is struggling without her…your heart is just pulled in all different places. This is mainly a story about Mark and Cadence but it’s also Cadences’ journey into her life as an adult. What she is like after high school, after her parents and what she wants her future to be like. Seeing her grow and become a stronger person, getting more confident and more of a back bone…exploring her sexuality with Mark, learning to make new friends and seeing that maybe not everyone has the best intentions. There are two people we meet that prove that point…Michael and Carrie. Their influence and the parts they play in the story while…sucky are crucial to Cadences’ process.

‘Cadence lifted her face to him. Eye to eye, and she thought she’d drown in his. Stormy seas with one purpose s- to sweet her up and sink her deeper and deeper into his love. She would go there, to the bottom of his ocean, stay there a lifetime as long as she could keep feeling this.
“Say it,” he whispered.
“I love you.”
He smiled brightly.
“I’m mad for you. I’ll do anything for you. I’ll take on the whole world. I’ll rescue you. Always Cadence. You tell me, and I’ll do it.”’

There was an interesting change that I did not expect from Good to Better…the POV. I knew we were going to see a lot more from Mark’s POV but we got more than that. It was like third person but we got everyone’s inner thoughts. Which…said like that sounds like it has the ability to be very confusing – it wasn’t! The writing was clear and concise…I always knew whose head I was in…I enjoyed having the little bits of info we got from each characters thoughts. We might only be in someone’s head one time, but what we gain is worth it and pertinent. I felt like no detail was left out and I really appreciated that. While the story is always moving forward we do skip around in time a little bit…which, there were parts I liked and parts I didn’t. The parts I liked – going back in time and getting Mark’s thoughts on different things that happened in Good – no, I didn’t like that, I loved that! Totally enriched those memories and made them that much more special. Getting that insight was amazing for me. Then, there was skipping forward in time, which did happen occasionally…it might be a few days, it might be a few weeks…it might be more than a few weeks. Now don’t get me wrong I don’t expect for every moment to be catalogued at all and for the most part that didn’t bother me too much but there were some pieces of time when a little more explanation would have been nice. It didn’t stop me from feeling the emotion or understanding what was going on with the story…but I guess I am one of those readers where I like all the little details, so if everything hit with me with the skipping around, I can only imagine the impact had we seen more.

“I’m gonna love you for the rest of my life. You know that? Even when my mind goes and I’ve no idea who or where I am, I’ll know you. And I’ll love you.”

There was so much else that I loved…the quotes! OOOOOOMG…too many…it’s impossible to pick a favorite…they’re swoony, they’re happy, they’re funny, they’re sad…couldn’t get enough. I loved Ollie (I wish he could get an HEA too *hint hint*)…I loved what happened with Avery and Dylan – sooooo didnt see that coming! The ending was fantastic but that epilogue was genius. OMG…my smile was ginormous! Freakin’ amazing epilogue. I loved Mark and Cadences’ unlikely journey of love…it was touching, different, and original.

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S. Walden used to teach English before making the best decision of her life by becoming a full-time writer. She lives in Georgia with her very supportive husband who prefers physics textbooks over fiction and has a difficult time understanding why her characters must have personality flaws. She is wary of small children, so she has a Westie instead. Her dreams include raising chickens and owning and operating a beachside inn on the Gulf Coast (chickens included). When she’s not writing, she’s thinking about it.

❀Connect with S. Walden❀

She loves her fans and loves to hear from them. Email her at swaldenauthor@hotmail.com and follow her blog at http://swaldenauthor.blogspot.com where you can get up-to-date information on her current projects.

Title:    His Ever After  (Love Square #2)

Author:    Jessica Ingro

Release Date:    October 29, 2013

Cover Designer:    Cover It! Designs

All is fair in love and war.

Jacob Matthews learned that lesson the hard way when he discovered just how far some people will go to win someone’s heart.

When fate brought Samantha Monroe back into Jacob’s life, he finally started to believe that his world was going to be complete. He loves Sam with the kind of intensity that burns deep and scalds your very soul. But fate had other ideas in mind, forcing him into a life filled with cold touches, long silences and complete misery.

Brooke Dugan had to have Jacob Matthews. It didn’t matter that he was in love with someone else, she always got what she wanted. And what she wanted was Jacob. Brooke vowed that she would stop at nothing until Jacob was tied to her forever… in both life and death.

Find out what happens when lies are revealed and the bitter truth comes out. Hearts will be broken and bonds will be tested.

Everyone is worthy of love – even Jacob, but can he find his happily ever after?

Have you read Love Square (Book #1)?  Find out how it all started and it’s on sale for 99 cents!

For those who have read Love Square – did you see Aiden’s Alternate POV for the Picnic Scene? 🙂  Check it out!

Okay, so I love Kara.  Like probably love her more than I love Jacob.  So when Jessica agreed to do a Kara Alternate POV scene for me that made me happy dance!  😀  Enjoy!

The First Time

Kara

The door to Jacob’s apartment closes and I turn to see him standing at the table by the door, staring at me. The hunger in his eyes is making me feel flushed all over. I stop myself from reaching up and touching my lips while remembering our kiss. I’ve waited so long to feel his lips on mine. They were soft and warm when he kissed me.

“Why don’t you sit down and I’ll get us a drink,” he says while walking into the kitchen. I kick my shoes off and make myself comfortable on his couch. I feel so self-conscious being here. This isn’t what I anticipated when the night started. But here I am and I’m going to make the most out of it. Jacob and I are friends… just friends. I can spend a little one on one time with my friend. There isn’t anything wrong with that.

I’m fidgeting with the hem on my dress when Jacob emerges from the kitchen with shot glasses, Vodka, sugar and lemon wedges. “Here, you can set up a couple shots while I go change my clothes,” he says as he disappears down the hallway.

I lean over and line up a shot for each of us and sprinkle some sugar on two lemons. My leg bounces while I anxiously await his return. When Jacob comes back, he is wearing a pair of navy blue gym shorts and a tight, white t-shirt. I can see the outline of his muscles in the shirt and my fingers itch to follow each defined ridge.

We pick up our shots, clink our glasses and knock them back, before sucking on a sugary lemon. We are both silent as we set up another three rounds of shots. I’ve been known to drink, but I don’t usually do shots, so I’m hoping these don’t hit me too hard. I’ve been drinking water for a better portion of the night, so I’ve got that going for me.

“I’m sorry about how I treated you earlier,” Jacob says with a hint of a slur. I probably shouldn’t have let him drink so many shots just now.

“For the record, I wasn’t on your dick all night. I was trying to show you some compassion. She was my friend too, you know. I was hoping you could be there for me, seeing as how you know how I’m feeling.” The last thing I want is for Jacob to think I’m some bimbo following him around, trying to get his attention. I really just want to console him and take away his pain, and maybe even ease mine.

I feel a tear glide down my face. Before I can wipe it away, Jacob leans toward me and catches it with his tongue. My breath hitches as his tongue runs up my neck. My eyes close as my emotions start to get the better of me. Without thinking, I grab his hand and crush my mouth to his. This kiss is the kiss to end all kisses. I feel like I’m part of him. My hands run along the smooth skin of his back. It’s like I can’t touch him enough. My hands are everywhere, trying to get to every part of him.

He reaches back and pulls his shirt over his head, throwing it across the room, before joining me again. His weight presses into me and I lie back on the couch. I sigh at how good his body feels against mine. I feel special as he kisses down my neck and over my collarbone. His tongue is doing magical things to me as he runs it over my exposed skin.

I barely register the sound of my zipper being drawn. He lowers my straps down my arms and looks down at me. I take the moment to study his well-defined and sculpted chest and abs. How many sit-ups must a man do to look that good? What I wouldn’t give to watch him, covered in sweat while he exercises and flexes all his muscles.

My thoughts quickly scatter when he licks and bites my nipple through my bra. Everything he’s doing is having a direct affect between my legs. I can feel the dampness in my panties and I squirm underneath him needing some sort of release for the ache that is building there.

“Jacob. God… Jacob,” I moan when he starts rocking into me. He groans against my breast as he continues to torment me with his movements. “Jacob. I want you to fuck me,” I whisper before I can stop myself from making a fool out of myself.

He looks down at me. His eyes are dark with desire, but his face looks unsure. “Maybe we should stop,” he says and I want to die with embarrassment.

I’ve wanted this for so long, I can’t let the moment pass me by. I need to know what it will be like with him. I need to know if it will be as magical as I’ve always dreamed it would be.

“Don’t you dare overthink this, Jacob. And don’t make me beg either. I need you. I need you to make me forget.” I know I need to take the lead or this will never happen. I might regret my behavior in the morning and feel guilty because of Brooke, but right now, I’m going to take what I’ve always wanted.

I push him off me and finish taking off my dress and bra. I hook my thumbs in the side of my panties and start to lower them over my hips, when Jacob stops my hands. Rejection starts to hit me. I was afraid I wouldn’t be enough for him. Even drunk, he wants to stop rather than throw caution to the wind.

“Let me,” he says while taking over the removal of my underwear. I blink as my mind tries to catch up with what’s happening. He isn’t turning me down!

I start to squirm as he stares at me. I feel self-conscious under his scrutiny, knowing I’m not as beautiful as someone like Brooke. My hands reach up to cover my breasts, but his words stop me from finishing. “No. Don’t do that. I want to look at you. Fuck. You’re so damn perfect.”

Jacob grabs my ankles and spreads my legs apart. My anticipation builds when he licks his lips and gazes at me with unconcealed lust. And when his tongue swipes over my clit before latching on and sucking, I lose all coherent thought. All I can do is watch with avid fascination while he brings me to the edge of sheer and utter bliss. Self-given orgasms are no match for the work Jacob’s mouth can do.

He inserts two fingers inside my pussy and pumps his fingers fast and deep, while sucking my clit in between his teeth. My head falls back and I think I start chanting his name, but I have no idea if I’m making any sense because all I can hear is the rush of blood in my ears. The buildup is exquisite, but the release is phenomenal. All my muscles tighten before I explode in the most mind-blowing orgasm I’ve ever had. “Fuck!” I scream, while grinding against his face and trembling all over from the force of my release.

Once I can think again, I’m determined to fuck the shit out of this man. If he can make me come like that with his tongue, I can only imagine what he can do with his cock. I reach down and lower his shorts until his long, thick cock is freed from its confines. Holy shit is he hung! I’m instantly worked back into a frenzied state just imagining him moving inside me with that thing.

“Do you have a condom?” I ask, while working his cock up and down with my hand. He grabs a condom from his wallet and I take the packet before rolling it down his impressive length. The only reason I don’t mind removing my hands from him, is knowing that he’ll soon be inside me.

I lay back and spread my legs, welcoming him inside my body. He hovers over me before thrusting in hard. His pace is immediately hard and fast. All I can do is hold on and enjoy each push and pull. For as much as I love how he feels, this isn’t how I anticipated it. He isn’t kissing me and he isn’t looking at me. I need to feel a connection with him. This is more than just a quick fuck for me. I want to come looking into his eyes. I want him to know who is taking him there. I don’t want him lost in his head.

I push on his chest until he is leaning against the arm of the couch. I straddle his lap and sink down over him. Once I’m fully seated on him, I pause for a moment to enjoy the feel of being completely full of him. I look into his eyes as I raise and lower myself over him. My hair falls down around our faces before he grabs a handful and pulls my head back. His tongue runs up along my neck, making me shiver. With each rise and fall, I can feel my orgasm building. I begin to ride him faster, seeking out my release.

“Kara, I’m so fucking close,” he says in between thrusts.

“I’m right there. Take me with you,” I pant out against his lips.

He thrusts up at the same time I slam down on him and we both lose it. I feel my pussy contracting rapidly as he comes inside me. Our bodies convulse and our eyes stay locked through our orgasms.

After my breathing steadies, with reluctance I climb off him and curl into his side. He lightly caresses my back as we lay together, and all I can think is that that was the very definition of perfect. I don’t think anyone can ever top that sexual experience. It’s official. I am completely head over heels in love with Jacob.

His Ever After by Jessica Ingro

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

*ARC Given to Blog for Honest Review*

3.5 “happily ever after” Kisses

If I can say one thing about the Love Square series it’s that it has evoked so many different emotions in me…more than I ever thought possible. And some of them were very surprising! When I was finished reading Love Square, I remember it was slightly bittersweet because I really wanted…no…needed Jacob to get his HEA. Well…I got what I wanted. 🙂

Jacob Matthews…*sigh* I think Jacob wins the award for the most frustrating BBF in the history of the world. There was a point in this book where I almost washed my hands of him. Not joking – I was furious with his actions! And I was totally Team Jacob before I started His Ever After, if that gives you any indication. Deep down…Jacob is a good guy…but he is a good guy that goes through one shit storm after another. The poor dude can’t catch a break – I felt bad for him. But! That does not excuse his actions and what he did. O…M…G… the fury…seriously – I’m still mad about it. Okay…I’ll get over it. (I’m lying…I won’t get over it, but I’ll stop talking about it.) Did Jacob redeem himself? By the end…yes. I was satisfied – I felt he atoned for his ass-holery and I was proud of the growth in his character.

‘I had my chance at happily ever after, though. I held a precious, beautiful butterfly in my hands but let it get away. I could never do what every fiber of my being is begging me to do. I could never tell her how I feel and potentially cause her more heartache. They say if you love someone enough, you need to set them free. And I love Sam enough to step back and let her build the life she deserves with Aiden. That isn’t me being a good man…because I’m not. It’s me giving he the one thing I have to give.’

Kara Andrews…oh boy…LOVED her…from the beginning, I always thought she was awesome. She’s probably got the kindest heart ever, she’s sweet, she’s patient, she’s beautiful, she’s giving, she’s loyal…but she’s got a little fire to her. Just because she’s a good girl does not mean she can be walked over, she might be a little on the shy side sometimes but…she’s got spunk, and her feisty little spirit that always makes me smile. Kara is exactly what Jacob needs – if he would just wake the fuck up and realize it. I think the other thing I liked about Kara is she is the polar fucking opposite to Brooke and yet…they’re best friends/roommates. Go figure, I guess opposites attract, but you would think some of Kara’s goodness would rub off on Brooke. Yeah…not so much.

‘”You have a little smudge, let me just…” Kara trails off while her thumb swipes my temple where I must have eye shadow smeared. Her hand rests on the side of my face, while she gently moves her thumb back and forth. Her eyes look over into mine and you can hear her sharp intake of breath. For several seconds we do nothing but stare at each other. Her blue eyes are like looking up into a bright, cloudless sky. I watch in fascination, as her pupils slowly dilate and fill with desire. Her pink tongue darts out and wets her lips. Without my consent, my body starts leaning towards her. She’s pulling me into her, like a moth being drawn into a flame.’

I hate who I have to talk about next. Ugh…the psycho. Yes…that’s what I will refer to her as. Brooke Dugan. I will not hide my absolute distaste for this girl – I. Do. Not. Like. Her. She is straight up crazy pants. Horrible human…could not dislike her more if I tried. And I’m not just calling her a crazy pants, she really is…like diagnosed with a mental disease, should be on medication, for reals crazy pants. Her antics made me want to scream, her behavior made me want to choke her and her personality was like nails on a chalkboard. I’m not just saying this because I thought she was annoying (which she was) but she’s just all around a selfish and rude person…she may be beautiful on the outside, but that’s where the beauty stops. I didn’t like her in Love Square, and I absolutely hated and detested her in His Ever After. I did feel bad at…a certain scene. But it was a fleeting emotion. (This might make me sound like a heartless person…but she might be one of the easiest people to hate.)

‘I bow my head and stare at the sink. Her words slice through me because they hit so close to home. I want nothing more than to agree with her, but how do you tell someone that you’ll never love them the way they love you? That you are only with them because you feel guilty and scared that they might hurt themselves?
You don’t.’

Jacob grew a lot in this book…I may not have liked his behavior and actions at time but like I said, he went thru a lot…and then some. The direction with HEA compared to LS was definitely different…I really didn’t see it coming…plot wise especially, I was not expecting the route that it went…which was good. And shouldn’t shock me! Jessica Ingro never does what ‘should’ be done and that’s a compliment! For the most part, I was surprised – there were a few aspects I figured out, but that didn’t distract from my enjoyment. There were some serious jaw dropping moments and one epic WTF moment. Oh…and I did like that there was a little more closure on the whole Sam and Jacob thing.

‘And then I cry. I cry for her and her broken spirit. I cry for our unborn child. I cry because I couldn’t help her. I cry because I couldn’t be what she wanted. But mostly I cry because this is all my fault.’

Even when Jacob has pissed me off beyond all recognition, I did enjoy being in his head. I liked the varying POV’s again…but Jacob’s POV was my fav. Even when I was screaming at my kindle because he was an ass hat …okay okay okay…I’ll shut up about it! (I’m bitter…don’t judge me.) In all seriousness…his fuck up’s did need to happen. Because they brought him full circle and honestly made him appreciate Kara more IMO. They were tough…hard…frustrating lessons, but they were all very crucial in making Jacob a better man overall. Now…I get to talk about my favorite thing…the smoking…hot…out of this world delicious sex scenes. Holy Cow…Miss. Ingro knows how to write a sex scene that will leave you panting. And original too…there’s a dinner scene that is very creative. 😉

“I’ve been waiting to say something because I know you aren’t ready to hear it, but this is it for me. You are it for me. I’m in this for the long haul. I want you to be mine, Kara.”

I really enjoy books like the Love Square series…they throw me off my game, surprise me, turn me on, shock me a little, make me feel things (some good and some bad but in a good way) and then leave me with a smile. Can’t wait to see what happens in the third book.

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Jessica grew up in Central New York. She spends her days as a Security Analyst at an IT consulting company. She spends her free time reading books and developing ideas for her own stories. Writing is her secret passion that she’s been fostering since elementary school, when she wrote her first book about a puppy. Writing has always been one of her secret dreams and she can’t wait to share her stories with the world.

She currently lives in New York with her husband and three dogs.

Title: Price of a Kiss

Author: Linda Kage

Release date: September 4, 2013

Age Group: Mature New Adult

Genre: Contemporary Romance

I don’t care what my cousin says; I am not the queen of impossible relationships. I mean, just because my last boyfriend tried to kill me and left a bit of a scar on my neck, then forced me to move across the country and legally change my name to Reese Randall to escape him, does not mean—

Oh, who am I kidding? For a freshman in college, I have to have the worst dating track record ever.

It’s no wonder love is the last thing on my mind when Mason Lowe enters my life. But the chemistry between us is like bam! Our connection defies logic. And he’s just so freaking hot. Being around him makes me feel more alive than I’ve ever felt before. I even like bickering with him. He could be my soul mate…except for one glitch.

He’s a gigolo.

I have no shame – I am a straight up cover whore and I am IN LOVE with this cover. Let’s just take a moment to bask in the glory…

I’ve said this before and I will say it again – I really loved this book! 😀  When I asked Linda to do a Mason alternate POV scene for me and she said yes, I SQUEE‘d…very loudly!  And oh my…Mason does not disappoint.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!  🙂

Halloween may be the season for a good fright, but nothing has ever scared me more than the moment I first saw Reese. Seriously, I’m talking petrified over here.

It was my first day of college. Amped up because I was finally able to attend some kind of higher education after saving a portion of my hard-earned money, I strapped on my messenger bag like a piece of armor and marched off to war, aka, the main campus.

Felt like I’d been out of the social scene for a few years, which okay, I had. After the turn my life had taken, though, it was anyone’s guess how my peers would treat me. And thank God, luck started in my favor. A group of guys I’d gone to high school with—all of them younger than me—were loitering around what everyone called the statue garden.

When they hollered a good-natured greeting, I trooped over and found a free statue to lean against as I tried to meld myself into the discussion they were having over what the most kick-ass bumper sticker was. Since I was a Jeep owner, I was supporting the awesomeness of all Jeep stickers when I heard it.

Her laugh.

It was unlike any laugh I’d ever heard before, all loud and animated yet enjoyable with a layer of intriguing female on top. I was used to tittering girls who covered their mouths when they let out an embarrassed giggle or husky, do-you-want-to-be-my-secret chuckles from all the cougars I didn’t want to think about. The closest that could compare to this laugh was my sister’s screams of delight when I tickled her, except this wasn’t a scream. It was a full, out-and-out laugh.

 I lifted my face and glanced over, needing to see who would make such a lively, open sound. And that’s when it happened. The fear seized me.

I couldn’t tell you if she’d just been laughing in my direction or if she’d already been focused on me, but when I looked over, our gazes caught and did the whole meet and greet routine, locking together until there was just me and her left in the universe.

That musical sound that seemed to come straight from her soul abruptly died, and I immediately missed it, not enough to look away because now there was the whole visual appeal keeping her sealed in my sights. She was stunning, maybe not the prettiest thing I’d ever seen, but definitely the most captivating. Her lines ran a little on the lean side whereas I preferred more curve, but the way the sun hit her long, dark hair and put a glossy sheen on it was breathtaking.

The energy around her attracted me the most. Vibrant and colorful, she was definitely different from every other girl around these parts. I wanted my new life mission to be making her laugh that amazing laugh at least once every day.

An invigorated, jazzed feeling of hope bloated inside me. Maybe she really was different. Maybe she could be—hell, what was I thinking?

I tore my gaze away, telling myself not to even go there when I finally saw the friend she was sitting beside on the bench. And like taking a needle to a balloon, all the giddy hope crammed in my chest deflated. Eva Mercer wasn’t my least favorite person on earth, but she did rank in the top ten, possibly the top five.

Spoiled little rich girl Mercer ran hot and cold to the extreme, trying to get into my pants one minute and treating me like a pus pocket that grew on a disease the next. I could only imagine what kind of horrors she was telling the brunette about me, the worst of them no doubt being true.

My eyes narrowed as anger and frustration filled me. Damn Eva. Next to her sat the one girl who’d made me think maybe women weren’t the bane of my existence after all, and she was probably ruining her right this second, though honestly, if the brunette was a friend of Eva’s then she must be like Eva, and in that case…never mind.  I’d pass.

Not that I could’ve not-passed on her, even if she’d ended up being amazing. But now I was even going to pass on thinking anything could happen between us in my daydreams, too.

The group around me began to disintegrate, startling me. Worried about how long I’d been staring at the girl, I glanced around to make sure no one was giving me any strange looks. Then I started toward the main building, tempted to walk the long way around to find an entrance on the other side because I knew—I just knew—I’d be tempted to cope another peek at the girl when I passed by her.

In the end, I wanted one more look, so I kept with my path. I was in the middle of an internal debate with myself, trying to decide when the best moment to nonchalantly glance over would be, when Eva’s voice called out, “Good morning, Mason.”

It took everything I had to appear completely unaffected when I lifted my face. I still didn’t look at the girl. I think I was too afraid to, though I had no idea why. I just couldn’t do it. So I tipped my head toward Eva in the most lackluster greeting I could manage.

“Looking good today,” she told me, tossing her blond hair as she posed. “What say we skip class this morning and do something…fun instead?”

I snorted and shook my head. So she was running hot today with the flirting and come-hither glances. It figured. The last time she’d talked to me, she’d called me a bastard and probably would’ve slapped me if I’d been within smacking distance. She was one woman I was never going near again.

But the most incredible thing happened next.

The brunette next to her gasped. “E.!” she growled in a reprimanding voice, telling me a couple things. 1) She was not a blind Eva follower, she had her own mind, thank God. 2) She must not have heard the dirty rumors about me yet, or she just didn’t believe them. And 3) She wasn’t like the Mercer. At all. She had at least some decency and kindness in her.

This new insight had me glancing over before I could stop myself. She met my gaze, cringing as if apologizing for Eva’s sake.

And once more, our eye contact locked and held. An intense buzz of desire rushed over my skin, soaking into every pore and then surging through all my internal organs. Up close, she was much better looking. There seemed to be a little more meat on her, and the fluid way she moved was like poetry. Then there was her face. Jesus Christ, plush kissable lips, big blue eyes, and an expression of innocence mixed with curiosity and verve.

Scared the ever-loving shit out of me. And gave me instant wood. Horrified by both my physical and emotional reaction, I forced my gaze away and picked up my speed, rushing into the school. I stopped by the bathroom to duck into a stall and cool off.

By the time I slipped into my fist class, my body had calmed down but the rest of me was still wired and completely spooked. It took me that entire first class to convince myself I was being an idiot.

After looking at her one time and listening to her laugh, I had applied a completely fictional personality to a girl I didn’t know a thing about. I’d probably done it because there was so much about my life I hated and I’d taken up daydreaming a lot lately to get through. My mind could check out and go somewhere pleasant while my body was occupied, doing other things.

I have no idea why my mind had gone so many places with that one girl, though. I doubt there was anything too awfully special about her. Maybe I was so desperate for some kind of deliverance that I’d just latched onto the first thing remotely different, thinking it could save me.

But the only thing that was going to save me was to keep doing what I was doing until I’d earned enough money to get my family set up in a better life.

So back to my real life, I focused.

Fortunately, my second course of the day was able to pull a little more attention out of me. And by the time it let out and I’d found my third, I was sure I was past all the daydreaming bullshit for the rest of the morning. Until I walked into the next classroom and my daydream plowed right into me. Literally.

I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going, busy looking for the perfect place to sit and trying to erase the rumors I’d just heard in the hall from my head.

“Isn’t that Mason Lowe? Oh, my God. You know what he is, don’t you?”

I ground my teeth, wondering how many times I was going to overhear that line this year. And that’s when it happened. The impact knocked the breath out of me and yanked me to the present, only to find a girl sprawled out on the floor in front of me in the aisle between desks. Her long, silky hair told me who she was immediately. Since our collision had caused her to spill her bag to the floor, she started grabbing things up even as she began to apologize.

“Oh, my God. Sorry. I didn’t see you. I’m so sor—” She looked up, and the words died on her tongue.

It didn’t pass my notice that she was damn near kneeling right in front of me. I fisted my hand to keep from reaching for her and gritted my teeth to keep from breathing. Then I commanded another part of my anatomy not to react at all.  But, Jesus, it did anyway because, hello, she was kneeling in front of me. If she had reached forward in that second and unzipped me, I wouldn’t have stopped her, public freaking classroom filling with other students and all. Hell, I probably would’ve tangled my fingers in her hair and helped her along.

Every muscle in my body grew so taunt I’m surprised I didn’t combust on the spot. A ringing started in my ears, and I know she began to jabber something to me at top speed, but I didn’t hear a word she said. It took everything I had to keep absolutely still. But then she lurched even closer to reach for a few more spilled items, and if she had looked, I know she would’ve seen just how friendly I was currently feeling toward her. 

I jumped back to keep from grabbing her and pulling her against me, and she looked up, her eyes startled and hurt. A sharp pain stabbed me in the chest because I knew I’d caused that miserable look.

She asked me if I was okay, and I wanted to tell her that I was so far from okay it wasn’t even funny. But I mumbled something about being fine, not sure what exactly I said, except it didn’t seem to reassure her. Conversational skills weren’t exactly my strong suit at the moment. Her presence was throwing me all out of whack. No one had ever alarmed me the way she did.

I reached down and grabbed the last of her books on the floor, handing them over to speed this uncomfortable encounter along and stop the torture of wanting something and knowing I could never have it. Then I slid into a chair to let her pass. When she did, this sweet flowering smell drifted by, and I had to grab the edge of my desk to keep from going insane.

My new life mission became: Stay away from that girl at all cost. She frightened the total hell out of me.

But you all know how well that plan worked out.  

Price of a Kiss by Linda Kage

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

*ARC Given to Blog for Honest Review*

5 “Hotness” “Sweet Pea” ‘nose-wrinkling’ ‘Make Me’ Kisses!

So I can’t believe these words are about to come out of my mouth but…I am in love with a gigolo. Is there a support group for this? This book…blew me out of the water. The writing style was new and refreshing and practically flawless…the characters were brilliant…the story line was fresh and different….the emotions held me every step of the way…I couldn’t put it down. I read it in less than 24 hours and then it broke my heart when it was over, cause I’m so not ready to let go of Mason Lowe.

Reese Alison Randall or is it Teresa Margaret Nolan? First of all…she is my newest addition to the ‘heroines I want to make my bff’ list and she makes the very short list of ‘heroines that I fell in love with before the hero’s’ list. I. Love. Her. Every part of her, even the quirky things that maybe could get on other peoples neves…nope, I love those things too. Why? Because she is just like me! Which makes her awesome! (in my opinion). So…what do I specifically love about Reese? Her personality is out of this world – she has had some shit happened to her and instead of letting that change who she is, she turns it around and doesn’t let it get her down. She’s changed her name and moved half way across the US, away from her family and everything she has ever known…but that will not stop living. She’s spunky, she’s hilarious, she squee’s!, she’s sarcastic, she’s smart, she doesn’t judge, she’s witty, she’s kind, she’s adventurous, she’s optimistic….and I could literally go on for ever and ever. And there’s another thing about Reese…she loves hard and fierce…especially the boy she shouldn’t.

‘I didn’t respond – couldn’t if I’d wanted to. I was too busy being electrocuted from the inside out. My fingertips sizzled and toes curled as if an invisible, kinetically charged bolt tethered me to the hunk fifty yards away, who seemed to bind us together with his stare alone.’

Mason Lowe…yeah, I was worried about Mason in the beginning, I didn’t know if I was going to like him. I mean come on…even Reese was calling him an ‘ungrateful bastard jerk face’, I’m allowed to have mixed feelings. So, yes, I was sketchy at first…and then he warmed up to me…and it got better and then he just melted my heart and there was no turning back. Even when he kinda broke it a little…and not in the way you might be thinking. Mason is extremely misunderstood, he’s judged daily, the town outcast, the one everyone gossips about and just by association, he can taint someone. And for many reasons, he doesn’t want his past to affect Reese. I’m not trying to justify or rationalize what Mason does for money…but I’m pretty sure he’s the most noble male prostitute in the world, which breaks my heart just a little bit more. Could it be really easy to sit back and judge him and not get over the fact of what he does for many reasons? Absolutely. But all of those just somehow melt away and disappear once you see him with Reese. Every single bad feeling or questioning thought went Poof from my brain the second I experienced the way he felt about her…

“Every woman treats me that way, Reese. I’m not a person to them. I’m just…a good time or something vile to be avoided at all costs. And then you came along and you…you hugged me. You are the first person who sees me, Mason, not sex for sale. And that kind of compassion is not a sign of a selfish person. At all.”

So Reese doesn’t want to be in a relationship after her past and that’s not a problem for Mason because…clearly…his profession prevents him from having any relationships. So where does that leave them? Friends of course. Their friendship is…unique. I don’t think Reese has ever had the freedom to have a friendship with someone she lusts after and Mason, to be honest, I don’t think he’s ever had a female friend. But their friendship is unique…okay, so Mason is hot, we get it – but Reese doesn’t let that affect her to the point that she doesn’t want to get to know him as a person. Heck they talk about eye boogers and zits! And she is so carefree with him, they joke and watching Mason slowly let her in and actually experience that connection…*sigh* I loved it.

‘A look of utter wonder and sadness crossed his face.
Then he shook his head and gritted his teeth. “This sucks. He can ask you out and take you to dinner and try to steal a goodnight kiss. He can go as far into it as you’ll let him take you. And I can’t even compete.” He grinned, though his eyes were still full of agony. “I think I fell for you the moment I heard you laugh across the campus courtyard. When I looked over and saw you, I knew. You were something different. Something incredible. I knew from that first glance that nothing was ever going to be the same again. You were…a complete game changer. Even when I realized you were sitting with Eva and might be like her, I didn’t care. I wanted to know everything about you.”’

Okay…so maybe I was too swept up in loving Reese or questioning Mason, but I really didn’t expect the…circumstance that eventually brought them together. I shouldn’t say circumstance, it’s really a person. It’s Mason’s sister…Sara…and o…m…g…I fell in love with her too! The relationship that she and Reese have is…there are no words. Sara has CP and while she may have a disability, that does not keep the teenage girl hidden from beneath the surface! Sara is Reese’s ’little buddy’…she allows Sara to feel normal, they have dance parties and do make up and mani-pedi’s…and Sara gets attached almost instantly. Reese is amazing with her and that is the key thing that draws Mason out from behind his elusive walls to want to get to know her more. I have to applaud Ms. Kage for doing an amazing job creating very well rounded characters across the board – even the evil ones (specifically one douche-tastic wench of a landlady that deserves to be cunt-punted off the fact of the planet)…she was still an excellent villain! I can truly say I’ve never wanted to throw up on and slap a bitch both at the same time.

“Hey, Sweet Pea,” he rasped.
If I wasn’t turned on before, I certainly was now. His morning voice put his regular voice to shame, all sleep-clogged and sexy with the perfect amount of huskiness to it.
“Hey, Hotness,” I returned, my fingers itching to reach out and just…pet him. Giving in to temptation, I asked, “Can I touch you?”
His lashes closed, resting against the tops of his tanned, sculpted cheeks as his smile grew broad. “You don’t have to ask.”

GOD there was so much I loved about this book…of course, it’s clear I loved the characters, the story line, like I said…it really wasn’t predictable for me and there were plenty of chances for it to go there. The emotions…oh my goodness the emotions! I was taken all over the board – laughing out loud to crying and screaming ‘No’! The writing style is uniquely awesome. The whole thing is very conversational…I felt like the entire book was Reese talking to me…telling me the story of her and Mason. I can’t even do it justice or properly describe it, just every now and then there were these little comments and things she would say that I couldn’t help but smile at…her squee’s…all of it just felt very natural. The words just flowed off the page for me, it was more than just the style, it was the tone and the language, and so much more – the combination was just perfect for me, I couldn’t get enough. Except for the prologue, the entire book is from Reese’s POV and it was brilliant but I am so glad that we did get that brief glimpse into Mason, even if it did make me crave more. Understanding why he did it beforehand did help a little bit when it comes time to see past his ‘flaws’.

‘“I know it has to be damn near impossible for any woman to deal with a boyfriend who has a history like mine,” he admitted, “especially being that it’s a very recent history for me. And it isn’t fair to ask you to. But I need you to. If anyone can get over what I was, you can. You are so strong. You are so amazing. You are…everything.”
See, was it any wonder I was so obsessed with this guy?’

Alright, so here I go…knowing this is technically the end of Mason and Reese…secretly crossing my fingers that it’s not. I got my HEA…they’re happy, but seriously Linda had to go and drop a line in there at the end that has me squeee’ing and hoping and praying that there will be a book 2. A girl can hope…and/or beg, plead, bribe…whatever it takes. Mason and Reese’s unique tale of love and friendship and finding your soul mate in the most unlikely way touched my heart…they’re truly unforgettable.

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The youngest of eight children, Linda Kage grew up on a dairy farm in the Midwest. She now lives in Kansas with her husband, daughter, and nine cuckoo clocks. Linda is a member of Romance Writers of America and its local chapter, Midwest Romance Writers.