Nette's Bookshelf Reviews

Thursday edition of Bargain Buys

noreply@blogger.com (Antonietta Scrofani) — Thu, 23 May 2013 10:00:00 +0000

*Prices subject to change at any time.

Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway!! The Liberator (Dante Walker Novels #2) by Victoria Scott

noreply@blogger.com (Antonietta Scrofani) — Thu, 23 May 2013 09:00:00 +0000

I'm soo excited to share with you guys this exclusive excerpt from Victoria Scotts's next installment in her Dante Walker series. I'm excited for the next chapter in Dante & Charlie's adventure and I hope you guys are too. It's truly an awesome book. I enjoyed it. Very much. You can read my review of The Collector HERE if you're not familiar with the series.

Without further delay here it is! Enjoy it, devour it and make sure to pre-order!!

Title: The Liberator

Author: Victoria Scott

Expected Publication: 8.27.2013, Entangled Teen Publishing

Genre: YA, PNR

Pre-Order The Liberator (A Dante Walker Novel) (Entangled Teen) on Amazon
Pre-Order The Liberator ( A Dante Walkder Novel) (Entangled Teen) on Barnes & Noble

Excerpt from THE LIBERTOR

By Victoria Scott

When I open my eyes, the sun is trying to murder me. It’s shining on my face and making my head pound. Or maybe it’s my hangover that’s giving me the headache, but nonetheless—me and the sun?—we’re not on friendly terms.

Charlie murmurs beside me. My arms are still wrapped around her waist, and I suddenly realize I must have crashed out in her bed last night. If Grams wakes up and finds me here, she’ll run me a bath…and toss in the toaster.

“Morning, babe,” I whisper.

“Morning, hot stuff,” a distinctly male voice responds.

I whip around, my heart racing, and find Max sitting in a chair across the room. “You look so hot when you first wake up,” he says. He raises a hand to his hair. “Got that whole sexy bed head thing going on.”

Charlie doesn’t even move from her place, but I feel her laughing against me. “Your friend is kind of creepy, Dante,” she manages.

“Max, what the hell are you doing in here?” I ask, pulling the covers farther up even though I’m (regretfully) fully-clothed.

“Real question is, why did I wait so long to join you guys?” Max stands from his chair and cocks his head. A mischievous smile crawls across his face.

“No,” I say, trying to appear serious. “Don’t even think about it, dude.”

Max starts running in place, his smile widening farther until he looks deranged. “Ready or not!” Before I can stop him, Max races toward the bed and dives on top of us. “Oh! Oh it feels even better than I imagined.” He rolls back and forth across our bodies as Charlie laughs and I wonder why I’m friends with such a raging idiot.

With all my strength, I grab Max’s shirt and rotate him toward the edge. He falls off the side, his arms pin-wheeling. There’s a loud thud, and then nothing.

I wait for several seconds before leaning over to search for him. Max is lying face down on the floor, his arms and legs curled like a dead spider. “You’re not really hurt,” I say.

“I think you gave me spinal bifida. You need to call someone.”

“That’s a genetic disorder,” I respond with a sigh, collapsing back onto my pillow. A second later, he raises his head very, very slowly up from the side of the bed. It’s one of the more unsettling things he’s ever done. “Max, is there a purpose to this visit?” I ask. I want so badly to act like he’s annoying me. But he knows, and I know, that we both love this game: the one where I pretend he’s a pain in my ass, and he acts like a damn circus clown.

He stands up, crosses the room, and plops back down in the chair. “Valery sent me.”

I throw an arm across my eyes. “Of course she did.” Beside me, Charlie moves to get up and I immediately reach for her. She squeals and wiggles out of my grasp.

I watch as she walks around the bed and ruffles Max’s hair. The twenty-eight year old pants like a dog. It’s a bit disturbing considering Charlie’s seventeen. She eyes me with a grin. “I’ll make waffles.”

My face lights up.

“Yes,” she continues. “And bacon.”

I glance at Max and nod toward Charlie. “That’s my girl.”

“Damn straight,” he says.

“I’m still making breakfast for your birthday,” I call after Charlie. Then, looking at Max, I add, “My girl’s going to be legal soon.”

Max says, “Boom.”

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Victoria Scott is a teen fiction writer represented by Sara Crowe. She's the author of THE COLLECTOR trilogy (Entangled Teen) and the FIRE & FLOOD series (Scholastic). Victoria lives in Dallas with her husband and hearts cotton candy something fierce.

Connect with Victoria

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Emancipating Andie by Priscialla Glen Book Spotlight and Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Antonietta Scrofani) — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:30:00 +0000

Title: Emancipating Andie

Author: Priscilla Glenn

Release date: April 2013

Age Group: Adult

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Tour organized by: AToMR Tours

Buy Emancipating Andie on Amazon
Buy Emancipating Andie on Barnes & Noble

About The Book

Ever since the one time Andie Weber threw caution to the wind - and paid the price for it - she’s learned that it’s safer and smarter to live life playing by the rules. Now she’s got a great apartment, a steady job, and a wonderful boyfriend in Colin; he’s sweet, stable, and essentially perfect – except maybe for the fact that his best friend is Chase.

Chase McGuire lives his carefree, unstructured life strictly for himself. Dripping sarcasm and oozing wit, he refuses to censor his feelings or opinions for anyone, making no apologies for either and wearing his abrasiveness like a badge of honor. No one has ever gotten under Andie’s skin the way Chase does – and vice versa.

So when Andie and Chase find themselves forced to take a two-day road trip together, they are already dreading an inevitable all-out war. But as the trip progresses, and the undeniable friction that has always defined their relationship slowly begins to wear away their preconceived notions of each other, Andie and Chase discover they both have a lot to learn about life, courage, happiness, and the age-old battle between logic and love.

Follow the tour to read reviews and other fun things HERE

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Connect with Priscilla

Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Priscilla Glenn lives in New York with her husband and three children. She has been teaching English Language Arts at the middle and high school levels for the past eleven years while moonlighting as a writer, mommy, coach, student, and professional laundry-doer.

If you catch her when she's feeling sophisticated, she'll tell you her favorite things are great books and good wine. In the moments in between, she'll admit her love for anything Ben and Jerry's, UFC fights, and Robert Pattinson.

Emancipating Andie is Glenn’s second novel. She is also the author of the contemporary romance/young adult crossover, Back to You.

Series Spotlight and Giveaway | Sons of Navarus: Blood Prophecy by Gabrielle Bisset

noreply@blogger.com (Antonietta Scrofani) — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:00:00 +0000

Happy Wednesday friends! Today I'm hosting Blood Prophecy (book 4 in the Sons of Navarus Series) by Gabrielle Bisset. It's got great reviews on Goodreads so if you enjoy PNR and vampire stories you will surely enjoy this series! Follow the tour to read reviews and guest posts HERE.

Title: Blood Prophecy
Author: Gabrielle Bisset
Publisher: Gabrielle Bisset (5.2013)
Genre: Paranormal, PNR

About The Book

I am everything you fear. I am vampire.

As the two Sons chosen to decipher the Prophecy of Idolas, Ramiel and Thane journey to find the key to defeating the Archons. Together with Noele, a born vampire, they confront their fates as they fulfill their duty to their world. Along the way, they'll find love, but death and betrayal lurk in the shadows, threatening everything dear to them.

Descended from the gods and warriors all, each Son's loyalty will be tested. Every action has consequences, and the choices they make now seal their fates. Alliances as old as the vampire world itself are reforged, and the Sons' duty is clear. Stop the Archons. Or die trying.

Buy links:

Amazon - Blood Prophecy (Sons of Navarus #4) (Volume 4)

Barnes & Noble - Blood Prophecy (Sons of Navarus #4)

Enter to win a signed paperback copy, book thongs, trading cards and more!

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Connect with Gabrielle

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

I began writing years ago because I wanted to emulate the stories I'd loved. Now in an age that seems to glorify everything fast, I'm a bit of a relic. I believe that great things take time (you know--Rome wasn't built in a day). I take my time as I write and edit as I go because after a decade of being an editor and English composition instructor I know of no other way. Much of the joy of writing for me comes in the choosing of the exact word that can deliver just what I want a character to express to affect the reader the most.

For me, books aren't just narratives of this character did this, so this character did that, and therefore this occurred. They're stories full of the bigger issues of life: love, hate, power, lust and sex, hopes and dreams. And these wondrous things all thinking and feeling beings experience are shown not through the telling of he did and she did, but through the slow unveiling of events and characters so the reader becomes a part of the story. As Stephen King has said, “Good books don't give up all their secrets at once.”

The idea for my first book came to me in a dream. I know that seems almost cliched, but it did. I woke up one morning after having an extremely vivid dream and began to jot things down that I was able to remember. Days later, I had the first pages written and the ideas that I had dreamed about had become the characters in my first book. Those characters are the basis for the first series I've written, The Destined Ones Series, about a people called Aeveren who have lived side by side with humans since almost the beginning of recorded time. The first book in that series, Stolen Destiny, was published in June 2011.

I'm still working on The Destined Ones books, and I look forward to what my imagination has waiting for me next. The second book about Aeveren, Destiny Redeemed, was released in October 2011. I've finished the Victorian Erotic Romance Trilogy, three erotic novellas set in Victorian England. The first one, Vampire Dreams, is a paranormal erotic romance. The second novella, another erotic romance but an historical, Love's Master, involves some light BDSM. The third novella, Masquerade, is a straight historical, no kink or paranormal but still a great story.

And now I've begun a new paranormal series called The Sons of Navarus series that begins with Blood Avenged. Anyone who read Vampire Dreams will remember Vasilije, Brandon's sire. Blood Avenged is his story. The second book in the series, Blood Betrayed, was released in May 2012, and this fall 2012 the third book, Blood Spirit, was released. I've even reworked the original Vampire Dreams to be an official prequel to the series, Vampire Dreams Revamped. As the series progresses, readers are drawn into the civil war between the Sons and the Archons who seek to take over the vampire world. It's a power struggle to the death, for only one side can win this battle.

The joy of storytelling isn't in the end result but the journey, not only for the writer but also for the reader. In a world that seems increasingly disposable, I work to create tales that find a home in readers' hearts and memories.

I love to hear from readers, so drop me a line at gabriellebisset@gmail.com

Gabrielle
xoxo

Review: Tangled by Emma Chase

noreply@blogger.com (Antonietta Scrofani) — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:00:00 +0000

Title: Tangled
Author: Emma Chase
Publisher: Omnific Publishing (5.20.2013)
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Rating: 3.5 Books

About The Book

Drew Evans is a winner. Handsome and arrogant, he makes multimillion dollar business deals and seduces New York’s most beautiful women with just a smile. He has loyal friends and an indulgent family. So why has he been shuttered in his apartment for seven days, miserable and depressed? He’ll tell you he has the flu.
But we all know that’s not really true.
Katherine Brooks is brilliant, beautiful and ambitious. She refuses to let anything - or anyone - derail her path to success. When Kate is hired as the new associate at Drew’s father’s investment banking firm, every aspect of the dashing playboy’s life is thrown into a tailspin. The professional competition she brings is unnerving, his attraction to her is distracting, his failure to entice her into his bed is exasperating.
Then, just when Drew is on the cusp of having everything he wants, his overblown confidence threatens to ruin it all. Will he be able untangle his feelings of lust and tenderness, frustration and fulfillment? Will he rise to the most important challenge of his life?

Can Drew Evans win at love?

Tangled is not your mother’s romance novel. It is an outrageous, passionate, witty narrative about a man who knows a lot about women…just not as much as he thinks he knows. As he tells his story, Drew learns the one thing he never wanted in life, is the only thing he can’t live without.

My Review

Emma Chase knows how to get into a man's head! Don't let the cover fool you...this is more than your romp in the sheets type of book! Tangled is funny, charming, entertaining, insightful...trust me on this one, and just flat out fun!

I will admit that once I began reading Tangled, I was a bit apprehensive due to the fact that this book is told entirely from Drew's point of view. All I can say is I'm glad I kept on reading! I can't imagine this story being told in any other way. I know, I know. It can get sticky telling a story one-sided but I have to be honest here...Drew was absolutely entertaining! It's not lacking in character development at all! While the story isn't anything original per se, Drew (our main character) really makes it come to life. This is a book that I could easily see on the big screen...and enjoying it! I found Drew's character entertaining, witty and even through all of his womanizing, charming. Especially when he's trying to win Kate back. This part of the story really had me laughing! I could totally picture what he planned and his boyish charm certainly shone through.

I loved Drew's tidbits of info he threw into the story about male and female relationship rationale as well.

"If a guy's into you? A cheeseburger deluxe is not going to scare him away. And if he's not? Ingesting all the greens on Peter Cottontail's farm isn't going to change that, trust me."

Or this one

"Why do women always do this? Why are they so eager to blame themselves when someone treats them like shit? A guy would take a cheese grater to his tongue before admitting he screwed up."

See? I told you it was insightful. But you really need to read the book to understand the context in which this is told to us. Because he delivers it in a funny and easy way. Not preachy or condescending at all.

I also enjoyed Emma Chase's writing style, I don't know how she managed to capture the essence of a man without making him seem contrived but she did...and it was good. Her writing flowed smoothly and I was able to breeze through the chapters easily with much laughter and giggling.

If you're looking for a read that's light, fun, and sexy definitely pick up this book! It's definitely entertaining and hey, you might learn a few things about guys along the way ;-)

Bookshelf Rating:

3.5 Books

Connect with Emma

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter
By day, Emma Chase is a devoted wife and mother of two who resides in a small, rural town in New Jersey. By night she is a keyboard crusader, toiling away the hours to bring her colorful characters and their endless antics to life. She has a long standing love/hate relationship with caffeine.

Emma is an avid reader. Before her children were born she was known to consume whole books in a single day. Writing has also always been a passion and with the 2013 release of her debut romantic comedy, Tangled, the ability to now call herself an author is nothing less than a dream come true.

*Book was provided by publisher for an honest review.

Cover Reveal: Anti-Thesis by Kacey Vanderkarr

noreply@blogger.com (Antonietta Scrofani) — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:00:00 +0000

It's Monday and I've got a cover reveal on the blog today from Inkspell Publishing! The name of the book is Anti-Thesis and the blurb alone has me curios to know what this book is about. Check the cover [it's awesome by the way] get to know the author and put it on your TBR list!

Title: Anti-Thesis

Author: Kacey Vanderkarr

Publisher: Inkspell Publishing (7.21.2013)

About The Book:

My name is Gavyn.

Liam doesn’t care that I only have one arm. He actually likes my red hair and freckles. I might forgive him for kidnapping me.

My name is Gavyn.

I lost my Liam. I’ve lost them all. And now it’s my job to make sure they don’t show up again.

My name is Gavyn.

I had a life with Liam, but he couldn’t give me what I need. Then I killed his father. I don’t expect he’ll forgive me for that.

My name is Gavyn

Kacey Vanderkarr is a young adult author. She dabbles in fantasy, romance, and sci-fi, complete with faeries, alternate realities, and the occasional plasma gun. She’s known to be annoyingly optimistic and listen to music at the highest decibel. When she’s not writing, she coaches winterguard and works as a sonographer. Kacey lives in Michigan, with her husband, son, crazy cats, and two bearded dragons.

Connect with Kacey:

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Coffee Shop Talks #3

noreply@blogger.com (Antonietta Scrofani) — Mon, 20 May 2013 09:00:00 +0000

Welcome to another edition of Coffee Shop Talks hosted by myself, Danielle @ Coffee & Characters, Traci @ Mad Hatter Reads and Cat @ Addicted2Heroines. Inspired by Book Girls Don't Cry...They Vent hosted by Xpresso Reads this our weekly meme where we get together to talk about everything and anything book related. A weekly topic will keep us focused of course because we could go on and on talking about books! So pull up a chair, grab your coffee and get in on the discussion!

This week's Topic

The ending to a series can be bittersweet...and sometimes it's
just bitter. What series endings left you disappointed and which exceeded your
expectations?

oooh, this is a tough one for me. I'll admit that once I've read the first book in a series and I didn't feel strongly about it I don't bother finishing the series. There are a few series that I've finished that I felt had appropriate endings. For instance I was satisfied with the ending of the Twilight Saga, I thought it had an appropriate happily-ever-after. I was happy and sad with the ending of the LOTU series, I loved all of the characters and I was sad to see them go.

Honestly the series' that I'm currently reading are still going so this is a little challenging for me. Like I'm still waiting for the ending of the BDB series, The Violent Eden Chapters, The Shadow of Night Trilogy and the Lani Taylor series ( I forget the name of the series at the moment.) and the Night Huntress series. I haven't come across a series were I felt the endings were horrible. However I was a little dissatisfied with the ending of the IAD series although I'm not entirely sure Lothaire was the last book? Oh! I've got one!! The Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy; it's not that I thought the ending was bad, bitter...whatever I just felt that it could have stopped at book #2 and would have been okay, however I'm a happily-ever-after hound so seeing their relationship progress fulfilled that need in me, but as a whole it was just...meh. Hmmm, what else?? I loved the ending to the Hunger Games Trilogy! That series blew me away and definitely ended on a high note for me.

That's all I've got on this one...of course I'm sure I'll think of more later on down the road but this is all I could pull from the brain today LoL.

What series have you read that you felt the endings were bittersweet or just plain bitter?

Don't forget to visit these Dolls to find out what series endings had them feeling bittersweet or just plain bitter!

Bargain Buys Sunday Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Antonietta Scrofani) — Sun, 19 May 2013 17:32:00 +0000

*Prices can change at any time.

Indie Spotlight: Cover Reveal for Land of the Unaltered by Leti Del Mar

noreply@blogger.com (Antonietta Scrofani) — Thu, 16 May 2013 08:30:00 +0000

Title: Land of the Unaltered

Author: Leti Del Mar

Publisher: Rambaldi Press (6.18.13)

Genre: Sci-Fi, Dystopia

About The Book

Rose comes from the capital of the Confederation of Cities where its citizens live in luxury and the greatest fashion statement of all is being Altered. People change everything about the way they look as often as they do their hairstyle but Rose is different. Her position of privilege has made her an outcast and led her to suspect that something sinister is happening to the citizens and flees the capital along with a past that imprisons her in search of a fresh start in the Land of the Unaltered.

Flynn lives in the Land of the Unaltered and hates the capitol and everything it stands for. So when a spoiled capital girl is assigned to work with him, he wants nothing to do with her and is prepared to make her life miserable. But Flynn was not prepared for someone like Rose. She doesn’t fit the mold he expected and finds himself strongly attracted to her. As she continues to surprise and outwit him, they begin to forge a bond that is tested when they discover a secret that could change everything they know about Land of the Unaltered.

Land of the Unaltered is a Dystopian Romance and is the first installment of the The Confederation Trilogy

Leti Del Mar lives in sunny Southern California with her husband, daughter and abnormally large cat. When she isn’t writing, reading or blogging, she is teaching Biology and Algebra to teenagers. Leti is also a classic film buff, passionate about Art History and loves to travel.

Connect with Leti

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

AToMR Tours Book Spotlight: Off Limits by Sawyer Bennett

noreply@blogger.com (Antonietta Scrofani) — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:21:00 +0000

Title: Off Limits

Author: Sawyer Bennett

Release date: April 16, 2013

Publisher: Big Dog Books, LLC

Age Group: New Adult

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Tour organized by: AToMR Tours

Book Description:

“There is a vulnerability there, hovering just below the surface. And I want to pick at it until I expose it. Then I want to kiss it."

Two years ago, Emily Burnham, had an epiphany about the shallowness of her life. And she made it her mission to become a different person…a better woman. Out from under the controlling thumb of her mother, Emily is tasting the real world for the first time. And she likes it.

Nixon Caldwell has served his time in the Marine Corps, surviving two brutal tours in Afghanistan. He is back home, surrounded by what he likes best…isolation. It's certainly the easiest way to avoid confrontation of the consuming guilt that is weighing him down.

When an accident brings Emily and Nix together, he soon learns he is not the master of his own fate. Struggling with his own pain, Nix tries to guard himself against Emily’s charms. He wants her in his bed, but he doesn’t want her in his heart.

Having grabbed life by the horns, Emily wants it all. But is she willing to accept just the small part of himself that Nix is offering? Can she reach the part of his soul that he has deemed to be Off Limits?

This book is the follow up novel to Off Sides by Sawyer Bennett. It can be read as a stand-alone.

GIVEAWAY

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Read reviews and follow the tour! Just click the banner for more info

Sawyer Bennett is the pen name for a snarky southern woman and reformed trial lawyer who decided to finally start putting on paper all of the stories that were floating in her head. She is married to a mobster (well, a market researcher) and they have two big, furry dogs who hog the bed. Sawyer would like to report she doesn't have many weaknesses but can be bribed with a nominal amount of milk chocolate.

Author Social Media Links:

www.sawyerbennett.com

www.facebook.com/bennettbooks

www.twitter.com/bennettbooks

HOT BOOKS, HOT BUYS!

noreply@blogger.com (Antonietta Scrofani) — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:50:00 +0000

BARGAIN BUYS

*prices subject to change at any time. Some books are only one day sales.

Review: Locked (The Alpha Group #1) by Maya Cross

noreply@blogger.com (Antonietta Scrofani) — Tue, 14 May 2013 08:00:00 +0000

Title: Locked
Author: Maya Cross
Publisher: Maya Cross (3.25.2013)
Genre: Romance

Who is Sebastian Lock?

The bar Sophia Pearce is in doesn’t look like much. The wine is bad and the decor worse. But when a sudden attack of curiosity leads her to sneak past security and into the back room, she discovers something unimaginable. The most lavish party she’s ever laid eyes on, in the most unlikely of places.

But that’s nothing compared to what comes next, to the man she meets back there. Sebastian Lock. Gorgeous, commanding, and radiating charm, he is exactly the sort of silver-tongued rake Sophia has sworn to avoid. Unfortunately, he doesn’t care much for her promises.
Every instinct tells her to run, but the chemistry between them is as inescapable as gravity. Soon, he’s opening her eyes to a whole new world of pleasures, pleasures she never thought she’d enjoy.
There’s just one problem. Sebastian is more than he seems. Between the famous company he keeps and the almost paranoid secrecy of his employers, he’s a puzzle Sophia can’t quite solve, and his insistence on keeping things casual forces her to confront the demons of her past.

Can she learn to trust again? Or will Sebastian’s privacy tear them apart?

My Review

A little bit of intrigue and lots of hot & steamy, Locked was a good, quick, fun and sexy read.

When I began reading Locked, I wasn't sure what to expect. I'm sometimes wary of reading anything that's labeled as BDSM/Erotica for fear of reading a watered down version of FSOG. I'm happy to say Locked is not a watered down version of anything. It's a story all it's own and aside form the hot and sizzling romance that brews between Sebastian and Sophia, it's entertaining & will make you chuckle a few times.

The story begins with Sophie and her friends at a bar getting wasted, it had a certain sex-and-the-city vibe to it (which was my fave show when it was on) so I immediately wanted to keep reading. When Sophia gets brave and finagles her way into an exclusive portion of a bar they're visiting...things get exciting! Enter Sebastian Lock. He's your quintessential enigmatic sex-god. You know, the type that basically only needs to look at you to make your panties drop? The one who seemingly knows everything about you and yet doesn't allow anyone to know anything about him? The type that, if he weren't so hot & sexy would totally be creepy yet it's totally fine that he somehow knows where you live, work and has your phone number even though you only met him once before and never gave him that info? Yeah, that guy.

I appreciated that Sophie knew what she wanted out of this encounter with him and wasn't doing anything to only please Sebastian. She was doing it for herself and the experience as well. She wasn't afraid to explore her sexuality and even though at times she was apprehensive she committed and didn't back out.

I enjoyed the flow of the story and the writing. Maya Cross was succinct in her story telling which made for a quick read that didn't at all feel like there were parts of the story missing, left out or overlooked.

Overall I enjoyed Locked and look forward to more of Sebastian and Sophia. I recommend this book to fans of The Crossfire series andThe Fifty Trilogy.

Bookshelf Rating

Maya Cross is writer who enjoys making people blush. Growing up with a mother who worked in a book store, she read a lot from a very young age, and soon enough picked up a pen of her own. Her previous work spans many genres including horror, science fiction, and fantasy, and she has now started this pen name as an outlet for her spicier thoughts (they were starting to overflow). She likes her heroes strong but mysterious, her encounters sizzling, and her characters true to life.

She believes in writing familiar narratives told with a twist, so most of her stories will feel comfortable, but hopefully a little unique. Whatever genre she's writing, finding a fascinating concept is the first, and most important step.

The Alpha Group is her first foray into erotic romance, and she absolutely loved writing it.

When she's not writing, she's playing tennis, trawling her home town of Sydney for new inspiration, and drinking too much coffee.

Connect with Maya

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Release Day Event: Until I Break by M. Leighton

noreply@blogger.com (Antonietta Scrofani) — Mon, 13 May 2013 08:00:00 +0000

Happy Monday Friends! And what a great way to open the week than with a release day event for one of my most favorite authors M. Leighton! I've got an excerpt to share with you guys so hang out for a little bit and get to know her latest novel Until I Break.

Title: Until I Break

Author: M. Leighton

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: M. Leighton (5.14.13)

Event Organized by: AToMR Tours

About The Book

Laura Drake is an author. She writes bestselling paranormal romances that continue to top the charts. She is sharp. She is confident. She is in control.

And she doesn’t exist.

Samantha Jansen is the woman behind the wig, the woman most of the world doesn’t know exists. She is shy. She is insecure. She is nothing like her main character or her alter ego. She is scarred—deeply scarred—by a past she can’t let go of and a present she can’t make peace with.

Samantha’s dreams are consumed by one man, the broken hero from her books. Mason Strait is both her wildest fantasy and her most terrifying nightmare.

When Samantha meets Alec Brand, a corporate consultant, it is as though Mason has come to life. Alec is handsome to a fault, as elegant as he is arrogant, and more intense than any man has a right to be.

Samantha is soon sucked into a world that mirrors the fiction she writes. Just like her main character, Daire Kirby, Samantha finds herself unable to resist the forbidden lure of Alec. And just like Daire, she also finds that she is faced with taking a chance on a man who could either set her free or destroy her.

The scale tilts toward destruction when Samantha finds out that Alec is as much a work of fiction as Mason. And he has scars of his own, scars that could ruin them both.

Watch the trailer here...OMG it's AWESOME!

I know from lots of experience to let Ari sort out all the clamoring and select the next person to ask a question. So, patiently, with hands folded demurely in my lap, I wait.

It’s odd, the comfort that I feel in the wig, glasses and heavy makeup. My Laura Drake get-up is much more than a disguise, it’s a shield—a protective barrier that keeps the world out and the tender Samantha Jansen (the real me) in.

As my eyes drift through the crowd again, they’re drawn to the back of the room, to a latecomer. I feel my jaw go slack and, slowly, the earth stops spinning, grinding to a halt. For a moment, it’s as though the entire world is as breathless and reverent as I am.

My first thought is that someone has managed to find the exact image I have of Mason Strait, the one that’s only ever been in my head and in my darkest dreams, and send him here as a publicity stunt.

Even from this distance, I can see that his eyes are a soft, pale green. They’re framed in thick, jet-black lashes that match his jet-black hair. It’s cut much like I imagined it would be—business short. It’s a little mussed at the moment, like he’s run his fingers through it a few times, but that just makes it look even more like Mason’s.

His lean face is tan and his cheeks are covered in a light dusting of five o’clock shadow even though it’s still early afternoon. His lips are perfectly sculpted and his jaw is square. He even has that engaging dimple in his strong chin.

As my stunned eyes travel away from his face, I’m astonished that he’s even dressed like Mason might be when he’s out prowling around—casual, non-threatening. Sexy.

His broad chest is covered in a white button-up shirt that looks like it’s made of expensive brushed cotton. His long, muscular legs are clad in faded blue jeans that look like they were cut and sewn with his body in mind. And on his feet? Nothing less than dusty cowboy boots.

This can’t be happening! I think just before voices penetrate my thrall.

“Ms. Drake!”

“Ms. Drake! Over here!”

People are calling my name from all over the room, people vying for my attention, people anxious to ask me a question about my books, my life or my characters. I glance around at several of the faces. Temporarily, they distract me from the breathtakingly handsome man at the back of the room.

Within seconds, my gaze is drawn to the back of the room again as if pulled by a magnet. The doorway is empty now. The bottom drops out of my stomach, so keen is my disappointment. I suppress the urge to jump out of my seat and run through the crowd, out the rear door to see if I can get one more glimpse of him. I feel desperate for one more glimpse of my Mason.

Ari’s voice brings me back to my purpose here. “You, sir,” he says in his authoritative voice.

Ari Nelson is my friend as well as my publicist. He has strawberry blond hair and a no-nonsense way about him. He makes calm out of chaos, reason out of randomness, and he can wrangle a raucous bunch like nobody’s business. He’s a thousand kinds of wonderful and he prefers his men much like I do—dark and strong.

“Ms. Drake, does inspiration for your stories stem from personal experience?” The smooth voice causes chills to erupt down my arms and I search for the corresponding face in the crowd.

My eyes stop on a familiar face. His lips aren’t moving, but I have no doubt whatsoever that the velvety voice belongs to this real-life Mason. He’s easy to spot, as he stands a few inches taller than everyone around him. I had been so focused on the doorway that seemed to have swallowed him up that I didn’t see him standing at the far edge of the crowd.

But now, I can’t see anything else, anyone else.

His eyes are locked on mine, waiting. They aren’t smiling or flirtatious, or even curious; they’re just…intense.

When I don’t answer immediately, he asks another question. “Are you Daire Kirby?”

As my mind spins over his words, he watches me. I get the feeling he’s trying to see inside me, trying to find the truth, to find the softest, most vulnerable part of me and expose it. Just like Mason would.

The physical similarities between this man and my fictional leading man leave me breathless. The similarities that seem to float just beneath the surface leave me terrified.

Although I’ve answered his question dozens of times and have memorized a nice, pat spiel to address it, my mind goes blank. It’s as though the only thing I’m aware of is the invisible thread that this man has, within seconds, tied around some battered part of my soul and is using to pull me toward him like a puppet on a string.

It’s quiet around us as the others in the room await my answer. When I give none, “Mason” moves forward. I watch, completely immobilized, as he fluidly weaves his way through the bodies until he’s within a couple of feet of me.

He looks up at me where I sit on the stage, his familiar green eyes stripping me bare in front of all these people, and he asks the one question that scares me more than anything else. “Are you looking for your Mason Strait?”

I’ve asked myself that same thing over and over and over again. Do I want to escape my past? To forget it and move on like it never happened, like it hasn’t affected me? Or do I secretly want someone to take me back to it, to explore it with me? To free me inside it?

“Your name, sir?”

I still haven’t said a word when Ari speaks, bringing me back from…somewhere else.

Translucent jade eyes never leave mine as the stranger leans forward, extending his hand. It seems he’s introducing himself to me rather than answering Ari’s question. What I don’t think this man realizes is that he’s giving my dreams and my nightmares a new name.

“Brand. Alec Brand.”

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author, M. Leighton lives in the deep South with her super-hero husband and super-smart malti-poo. She has a fondness for coffee and chocolate, loves the color red, laughs at almost anything and often stares out her window, daydreaming of far-away places.

Connect With M. Leighton

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Coffee Shop Talks #2

noreply@blogger.com (Antonietta Scrofani) — Mon, 13 May 2013 06:30:00 +0000

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend and for those who are mommies, I hope you had a relaxing mother's day. I'm excited to get started on our discussion for the week! It's a great topic and one that all book bloggers/reviewers can relate to. So pull up a chair, get your coffee and let's talk! =)

Topic #2

Let's talk review requests...first instinct is to say yes and get
that free book. But you could get burned. Do you research your review requests
& what kind of research do you do?

So, when I first started blogging I wasn't aware that review requests existed. It wasn't until I received an email one day from an author asking if I would be willing to review their book that I knew such a thing happened. Being new to the whole experience I was just excited to have been asked in the first place! I will admit in the beginning I didn't research the book and just accepted it...and I got burned. Not because the author got angry with me or anything like that but because I had an influx of books to read and not enough time! I felt badly that I couldn't fulfill my obligations to everyone but thankfully most authors are aware that even if their request was accepted it doesn't mean it will be reviewed. As I became more accustomed to receiving requests, I had to create some guidelines for the authors and myself.

I didn't get into book reviewing to get free books but I will admit it was/is a perk of being one. With that being said I feel to properly and fairly review an author's work it's only fair that I know what I'm getting into before I accept. First and foremost it has to pique my interest! If it's got me curios I will check out the authors website and try to get a feel for who they are, if they review books as well and how active they are on their other social media outlets like Facebook or Twitter. Then I'll research the book on Goodreads first and then the retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I won't weigh my decision based solely on other people's reviews but I certainly take into consideration the reviews that touch on the author's writing. I like when a book has mixed reviews, after all not everyone will like an author's work so I feel if a book has mixed reviews it's worth checking out further ( I get really skeptical if every single review is 4 or 5 stars and the review starts with something like " OMG I LOVED this book!) But, and this is a BIG but, I also need to consider my time. If I'm too busy, that's another reason I will deny a request. I think the most important deciding factor of them all is...even if I would consider reviewing said book, do I have the time.

So tell me what do you research when considering review requests and have you ever blindly accepted a book and been burned?

Keep the convo going! Check out these wonderful dolls and get in on the discussion!

Danielle @ Coffee and Characters

Traci @ Mad Hatter Reads

Jamie @ Addicted to Heroines

Blog Tour: Review and Giveaway of Lost & Found by Nicole Williams

noreply@blogger.com (Antonietta Scrofani) — Fri, 10 May 2013 09:00:00 +0000

Lost & Found by Nicole Williams is at the blog today with AToMR book tours! This is my stop on the tour and I'm excited to take part in it! I loved this book and I can't wait for you guys to read my review. Follow along on the tour and don't miss the tour wide giveaway as well! You can win some great prizes so you definitely want to follow the tour to increase your chances of winning.

Check out the other blogs on the tour HERE

Title: Lost & Found
Author: Nicole Williams
Genre: YA/NA, Contemporary
Publisher: Nicole Williams (5.7.13)

There’s complicated. And there’s Rowen Sterling.

After numbing pain for the past five years with boys, alcohol, and all-around apathy, she finds herself on a Greyhound bus to nowhere Montana the summer after she graduates high school. Her mom agreed to front the bill to Rowen’s dream art school only if Rowen proves she can work hard and stay out of trouble at Willow Springs Ranch. Cooking breakfast at the crack of dawn for a couple dozen ranch hands and mucking out horse stalls are the last things in the world Rowen wants to spend her summer doing.

Until Jesse Walker saunters into her life wearing a pair of painted-on jeans, a cowboy hat, and a grin that makes something in her chest she’d thought was frozen go boom-boom. Jesse’s like no one else, and certainly nothing like her. He’s the bright and shiny to her dark and jaded.

Rowen knows there’s no happily-ever-after for the golden boy and the rebel girl—happily-right-now is a stretch—so she tries to forget and ignore the boy who makes her feel things she’s not sure she’s ready to feel. But the more she pushes him away, the closer he seems to get. The more she convinces herself she doesn’t care, the harder she falls.

When her dark secrets refuse to stay locked behind the walls she’s kept up for years, Rowen realizes it’s not just everyone else she needs to be honest with. It’s herself.

My Review

Let me just take a breath first! This book floored me...from content matter to characters it's a win-win all the way around!

Lost & Found is a wonderfully delightful coming of age story. The characters were well developed and the writing was great; well paced and concise. I enjoyed every single one of the characters-well all of them except for one. I'm not saying who but once you read the book you'll know exactly who I'm talking about.

Rowen Sterling is the main protagonist and the story is told from her POV. Nicole Williams did a great job of telling her story! I got a clear sense of who Rowen was-her personality shined through from the very first page! I enjoyed her snark & wit, I also appreciated that Rowen was head-strong and intelligent. She didn't look at life through rose-colored glasses, she accepted who she was and ran with it as best as she could. Unpretentious and realistic in her reasoning allowed her to portray herself as someone who isn't easily hurt or persuaded. That is, until she meets the Walkers.

I adored the Walker clan! Being a mother to three boys, I mostly related to Rose. I loved that she was kind, accepting and non-judgemental. All things that Rowen hasn't had the opportunity to experience. So while necessity brought Rowen to Willow -in the middle of nowhere- Springs Ranch, it was fate that brought her to Jesse and his family. Jesse is your all around good-guy. He's what every mother wants her son to grow up to be: kind, respectful, hard-working, loyal, compassionate...I can keep going but I'm sure you get the picture! Let me not forget to add that he's a ~~handsome~~ no ~~hot~~ no...swoonworthy cowboy. So, cowboys aren't really my type but just as Rowen was persuaded I'm sure I would be too! How could a girl ever deny a guy who's got charm and good looks to back it up?! Although the ensuing relationship between Rowen & Jesse is predictable, this story is not about the chase. It's about growth, letting people in and trusting someone implicitly to allow them to see all parts of yourself.

"He unraveled the parts of me I was familiar with and the parts I'd never known were there."

I enjoyed watching them grow as a couple...you know, the flirting and butterflies in the stomach and all that good stuff that comes with young love. LOVED. IT. I was also very impressed with Jesse's wise-beyond-his-years outlook on life. He really truly is the bright & shiny to her dark and jaded. His character's got great depth and he offered so much more to the story than being a nice piece of ass! (pun intended!)

"We shouldn't get hung up on the questions we can't answer because life, by definition, is confusing. We're never going to have all the answers. Never. We should focus on the questions we can answer and make peace with the one's we can't."

What eighteen year old talks like that?! Jesse Walker that's who! Like I said, he's an all around swoon worthy grade A man!

Lost & Found is definitely a book that I will come back to when I feel the need to be uplifted. It's got great depth, a powerful message and loveable characters. Not to mention wonderful writing! It's not the easiest task to write a story in first-person, but Nicole Williams nailed it. Hard.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read. Period. If you're a YA junkie, a romance junkie, a HEA hound or just someone who appreciates a well though out story that's executed properly: Read This Book.

Bookshelf Rating:

4.5 Books

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'm a wife, a mom, a writer. I started writing because I loved it and I'm still writing because I love it. I write young adult because I still believe in true love, kindred spirits, and happy endings. Here's to staying young at heart *raises champagne glass* . . . care to join me?

Connect with Nicole

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

__________________________________________________________________________________

Some of my favorite quotes from the book

"If we were just to accept we're not so different from each other, we wouldn't feel so alone."

"...I learned years ago that to start an argument with a woman is to loose and argument."

"The struggle to let him in when I wanted to barricade the windows and lower the gates would be a battle I'd never regret fighting."

" I followed him one moment later, and as my body fell apart around him, all I could do was repeat his name. Over and over. Until the only word I knew was his name."

"What we've been denied is what we deny others. But why? Why do we fall into the same patterns of those people we always swore we'd never be like?"

"Sometimes we just have to cut off the the dead branches in our life. Sometimes that's the only way we can keep the tree alive. It's hard and it hurts, but it's what's best."

Thursday Edition of Bargain buys

noreply@blogger.com (Antonietta Scrofani) — Thu, 09 May 2013 18:40:00 +0000

BARGAIN BUYS

Bargian Buys-Tuesday Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Antonietta Scrofani) — Tue, 07 May 2013 15:53:00 +0000

BARGAIN BUYS

Review: Twisted Perction by Abby Glines

noreply@blogger.com (Antonietta Scrofani) — Tue, 07 May 2013 09:00:00 +0000

Title: Twisted Perfection
Author: Abby Glines
Publisher: Self (4.20.13)
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance

Life outside of her house was a new experience for Della Sloane. The dark secrets of her past weren’t something she ever intended to share with anyone. They would never understand. No one would ever get close enough to find out. There was always a chance she’d go crazy sooner than they expected…

Woods Kerrington had never been one to be attracted to fragile females. They seemed like too much work. He wasn’t in it for the work just the pleasure. A night full of naughty fun had been exactly what was on his mind when he’d laid eyes on the hot little number that didn’t know how to pump gas and needed some help.

What he didn’t know was she was as fragile as they came.
The carefree girl who spoke her mind and didn’t care what the world thought of her was more breakable than he could ever imagine…

My Review

Please forgive me for this as I am probably the only one who was turned off by this book. This being my first experience reading Abby Glines and given all the hype that surrounds her books I was really excited to dive right in and be swept away. Sadly I was not. But that's not to say I won't read her other books. I'm not going to regurgitate the story as I'm sure most of you, if not all of you have read other reviews or the book. So I'll just get right to it.

Della's character didn't translate well for me, it's not that I disliked Della (or any of the characters for that matter) but her development was a little confusing to me. I had a difficult time grasping the notion that she's emotionally broken because her behaviors showed something completely different. Given her history, I would have expected to her to be a little more guarded and cautious. I get it, she's trying to "find herself" but some of the situations she finds herself in totally contradict how she wants to be perceived. Della also makes some rather dangerous choices when it comes to guys and while I think it was meant to be portrayed as her having a care-free type of attitude, I felt it came off slutty and sends a negative message to the young girls/women reading this book.

Woods didn't strike me as that "alpha-male" in the least. How could he when he's allowed people to dictate how he's going to live his life? Furthermore, there should have been way more story where his father is concerned. After-all, he [Mr. Kerrington Sr.] has a part in a pivotal moment of the book and yet all we really know about this man is that he's Woods dad and is cold & unfeeling and all about his money. No how or why to him or the relationship with Woods at all.

I like to read a good romp in the sack as much as the next person but I had a big big problem with the sex scenes! They were [in my opinion] tasteless and raunchy. This aspect of a romance novel needs to be supported by the opportunity to visualize the intensity and passion between the characters, unfortunately I kept getting visuals of Della's love juices dripping down her leg and her "wet spot." In what situation is this remotely hot or would it incite the feelings of excitement or anticipation that one gets when reading a romantic scene??

I had a difficult time believing the story due to the underdeveloped characters and idea. It felt like the story was competing with the idea of being angst-driven or light and romantic, it felt rushed. These two ideas could've definitely been merged with more finesse and tact. Overall the story is flat,with two-dimensional characters, a rushed feeling to the story, and tasteless sex scenes.

Bookshelf Rating:

Books published by Abbi include The Vincent Boys and the USA TODAY bestseller The Vincent Brothers, Breathe, Because of Low, the USA TODAY bestsellers While It Lasts and Just For Now, The Existence Trilogy that includes the USA Today Bestseller Ceaseless, andThe New York Times bestseller and Wall Street Journal bestseller Fallen Too Far. Currently she is working on Never Too Far, the sequel to Fallen too Far.

When Abbi isn’t locked away in her office typing away she is hauling her kids to and from their many social activities. You could say her second job is the Glines Kids personal chauffeur. It’s a rather illustrious job.

Connect with Abby Glines

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Coffee Shop Talks #1

noreply@blogger.com (Antonietta Scrofani) — Mon, 06 May 2013 08:00:00 +0000

Happy Monday! I'm excited to announce that I'm participating in a weekly meme! YaY! The meme is called Coffee Shop Talks (inspired by Book Girls Don't Cry...They Vent at Xpresso Reads) and is hosted by myself, Danielle @ Coffee & Characters, Traci @ Mad Hatter Reads, and Cat & Jamie @ Addicted To Heroines. Each week we'll talk about anything and everything book related! A weekly topic will help keep us focused of course since there's so much one could talk about when it comes to books ;-) So pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee and get in on the discussion! I love talking with you guys and knowing that I might not be the only who felt a particular way about something bookish.

Our very first topic is......

Books I didn't like but everyone else loved

Hmmm...this is something that's baffled me lately. Especially since I recently finished a book that has good ratings on Amazon, B & N and Goodreads and everyone is raving about but I. Didn't. Like. Of course it's not the first time this has happened to me as everyone experiences a book differently but when a majority of the reviews are high ranking it makes me wonder if I read the same book! And then I wonder if people are just following other reviewers and not being true to what they really though about the book. I understand the whole thing of not wanting to hurt an author's feelings, especially if that author is active on their social media sites and interacts with their readers but I feel as a reader AND a reviewer it's sort of my obligation to be honest. Right?? That thought in itself opens up another discussion topic! But for this book in particular I am/was nervous about posting my review because I don't want to get hate mail LoL! But I feel I need to put my review out even if people won't like what I have to say.

Are you guys ready to know which book I'm talking about?? Ok, here goes....the book I didn't like but everyone else loved is........

I didn't like this book because I had a difficult time believing the story and main female character. The story felt rushed and underdeveloped as a whole and lacked direction. I just couldn't get into it or the sexy scenes!

So tell me, what books have you read that you didn't like but everyone else loved?

Keep the discussion going! Visit these dolls and talk books with them too =)

Traci @ Mad Hatter Reads

Danielle@ Coffee & Characters

Cat & Jamie @ Addicted To Heroines

FREEBIE ALERT!!

noreply@blogger.com (Antonietta Scrofani) — Mon, 06 May 2013 05:11:00 +0000

FREEBIES

Sunday Edition of Bargain Buys

noreply@blogger.com (Antonietta Scrofani) — Sun, 05 May 2013 15:40:00 +0000

BARGAIN BUYS

Book Blitz & Giveaway! The Cat's Meow by Stacey Kennedy

noreply@blogger.com (Antonietta Scrofani) — Fri, 03 May 2013 08:00:00 +0000

We made it to Friday! Actually, the week went by super fast so I don't even know why I opened with that line o.O

Probably because my extended vacay is over as of Monday night...back to work I go. Bleh! But it aint' Monday yet and I thought it would be great to close the week out with an entertaining story about witches, warlocks (hot & sexy warlocks) demons and some sexy, steamy romance!

THE CAT’S MEOW

A Witch’s Brew Book

Stacey Kennedy

Genre: Urban Fantasy Romance
Length: 256 pages
Release Date: December 2012
ISBN: 978-1-62266-857-1
Imprint: Entangled Edge

Buy Links:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes

Read my review of The Cat's Meow HERE

Book Description:

When a magical presence is detected around a recent string of feline slayings, Libby, an enchantress, is determined to discover who is behind the odd deaths. But being a witch gifted by the Goddess won’t protect her from the talented warlock the Coven sends to assist her. Kale weaves a spell more powerful than any she’s ever seen–and he’s sexy as sin. But why he’s even needed for such a simple mission is beyond her.

While having some muscle around can’t hurt her investigation, fighting her growing attraction for Kale is worse than a hex, especially considering she knows he—and their Coven—are hiding something from her. When she turns up clues that point to something far more sinister than slaughtered cats, though, the elusive warlock isn’t the her only concern. She now has a political rebellion on her hands, too. And when the truth about who she really is begins to surface, the only person Libby can trust is herself.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Stacey Kennedy is an urban fantasy lover at heart, but she also enjoys losing herself in dark and sensual worlds. She lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, who gave her a happily-ever-after. Together, they have two small children who can always make her smile, and who will never be allowed to read Mommy’s books. If she’s not plugging away at a new story, you’ll find her camping, curling up with the latest flick, or obsessing over Sons of Anarchy and Game of Thrones.

Connect with Stacey

Website | Facebook | Facebook Fan Page | Twitter | Goodreads

Bargain buys and Free reads Thursday Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Antonietta Scrofani) — Thu, 02 May 2013 14:12:00 +0000

SALE BOOKS

FREE READS

Series Spotllight & Prolouge: Abel by Elizabeth Reyes

noreply@blogger.com (Antonietta Scrofani) — Thu, 02 May 2013 09:00:00 +0000

What's up everyone! When a friend approached me and asked if I would like to help pimp this author and the latest WIP in her series I didn't even hesitate to say YES! 1.) because she's my friend and I'm all about showing love and support to the special few who carry that title and 2.) I love authors and books and getting them as much exposure as possible. Even if it's only one person who see's it, that's one more person. Ya know?! Plus I've heard Elizabeth Reyes is AWESOMESAUCE! Enjoy =))

Title: Abel (5th Street #4)

Author: Elizabeth Reyes

Prologue

“I’m game if you’re game,” Nellie said, staring at him anxiously.

A man’s burning urges often ignore all logic. Abel Ayala knew this was all this was. A day of sipping on cocktails and lying around the deck of a cruise ship watching scantily-clad bikini-wearing women giving him the go-ahead smiles had done it to him. But now he stood here staring into Nellie Gamboa’s eyes, a divorcee eight years older than he was who from what he’d heard was still carrying a load of emotional baggage—probably still held a torch for her ex as well. She was someone he would not and should not be thinking of in terms of releasing some sexual tension, damn it.

The fact that she’d turned her life around after what had been hailed by his friend’s wife and Nellie’s best friend, Roni, as one of the most grueling experiences any woman could go through didn’t help. She’d gone and shaped up and did a complete makeover from the mousy woman he once remembered her as. If he didn’t know it, he’d never even guess this sexy-as-hell woman would be hitting thirty soon. The sexual tension between them had been a living breathing thing and going on for months now. Only up until now he thought he might be imagining her requited feelings of lust.

His twenty-two-year-old ass had no business with a woman her age—no business getting involved with Roni’s best friend—especially knowing full well that he’d never take a relationship with her seriously. But this changed things. Nellie was telling him she was all for a no-strings-attached relationship. She was as interested in anything serious as he was. Coming off what she called the divorce from hell, she said she wanted to live it up now. He was glad for the liquid courage Nellie’s wine had provided. She said she was all for a fun-and-run experience and she’d had her eye on him for some time.

It was still a risk, his brain reasoned. Things could sour. This could even cause a rift between him and his good friend’s wife if any hurt feelings came from this. But the already throbbing parts of his body said otherwise.

She tilted her head in that sexy way she did so often with curved lips that practically called out for his. To hell with logic! Pulling her delicate frame against his immediately released some of the pent-up tension that had been building every time he’d been around her lately.

Swallowing hard, he stared at those lips—lips he’d wondered far too many times what they must taste like. “Hell yeah, I’m game,” he said as he took her mouth in his. Feeling a desire like none he’d ever felt before, he kissed her deeply, sucking her tongue, her lips. Damn, he wanted to eat her up.

He’d been fighting it—over thinking it—for months. This was just his ever-so-curious body’s reaction to finally giving into a longing that had peaked tonight as they’d enjoyed a few friendly dances. That’s all it was. But he needed more than just a kiss now. God he wanted so much more, and since she was game . . . He pulled away from her just long enough to catch his breath and take a look around the almost-empty deck.

“I’d invite you back to my room, but Hector and Charlee might—”

She tugged his hand and was already on the move. “Let’s go back to mine.”

The second the elevator doors closed, Abel pushed her against the wall, pulling her by the waist to him, and his mouth and tongue sucked at every inch of hers. She panted softly, running her fingers through his hair as he moved down to her soft neck and sucked softly then a little rougher.

As the moving elevator came to a stop, Abel tore himself away. No sooner had the doors opened when they were out in a rush to her room. They turned the corner down the long corridor of rooms.

“How far down?” Abel asked.

“All the way to the end,” she replied, taking even longer strides.

Feeling crazed with anticipation, Abel’s eyes searched for the ice/vending machine room like the one on his floor. The moment he saw it, he pulled her in it.

He answered her confused expression with a kiss as he closed the door and pushed her against it. “I need to refuel.”

All right, he needed to get laid more often. This was ridiculous. Obviously he’d been spending too much time training and not enough socializing, because he’d never felt this kind of urgency. Duly noted—he’d move a few things around in his schedule. She lifted her leg, bringing it around him.

“Careful,” he warned, biting her lower lip, “or I may just finish you up right here.”

“Do it,” was her only response and he froze.

Pulling back to look in her eyes, he could see she was serious. “Right here?” He asked, his hand already traveling down under her dress.

She nodded as his fingers felt the dampness between her legs and how hot she already was, pushing his heart into overdrive. He squeezed his eyes shut as he leaned his forehead against hers. “Sweetheart, don’t play with me.”

“I’m not,” she assured him breathlessly.

Abel opened his eyes, looking down at her big brown eyes. Up until that moment, he’d never noticed the golden specks that were sprinkled throughout. The desire he saw in them now was as urgent as his own, although he didn’t miss the slightest bit of apprehension. He couldn’t blame her. Anyone could walk in on them, though he was certain he’d be able to hold the door closed against the force of any one person or maybe two if they pushed against it. At least until he was sure she was decent. But he didn’t want her doing anything she wasn’t completely certain about.

“Are you sure about this?” He slipped his finger under her panties, her moisture inviting him all the way in.

She gasped, closing her eyes at his touch and nodded. “The kiss on the deck,” she said, her eyes remaining closed. Abel stared at her lips as she continued to speak a little more breathlessly with every caress of his finger to her silky wet skin. “The elevator . . . This . . . It’s exciting. I’ve never done something so . . .”

Nellie stopped to swallow, licking her lips, and Abel kissed her before she could finish. She didn’t have to. Suddenly the need to make this happen for her, make this experience with him be one she’d never forget, took over. It was just an ego thing. Nothing more. What guy didn’t like knowing they were a woman’s first anything?

Abel reached for his wallet, but his lips never left hers. She kissed him back just as urgently, her hands grasping the front of his shirt. She gasped harder at the sound of his zipper opening. So he stopped and looked at her wide eyes. “I’m sure,” she said before he could ask again, pulling him to her, and he groaned against her mouth.

Working fast, he got the condom on and reached under her sundress, pulling her panties down. When they hit the floor, he lifted her easily off the ground. “Wrap your legs around me.”

She did and he adjusted her, groaning loudly as he entered her. Kissing her harder now as he fucked her against the door, he tried in vain to stifle his moaning, but it felt so damn good to be inside her. Here he’d been under the assumption that women who had been married, especially for several years, wouldn’t be this tight. She was tighter than some of the younger women he’d been with, and it felt just too damn good to finally be doing what he could only fantasize about up until now—so good it was almost alarming.

With her arms tightly wound around his neck, she began to pant with every thrust, and he went even harder, her panting growing more frantic as he felt her begin to pulsate around him each time he slid into her. Just as her entire body began to tremble with pleasure, he felt her arms tighten around his neck as she pulled her mouth away from him to breathe and cry out. Abel couldn’t hold it any longer either. Groaning again, he came in an explosive climax. Sinking deep inside her, he pushed his body against hers, burying his face in her sweet neck. Nellie clung onto him for dear life, gasping for air.

“We’re…” Nellie started to say before stopping to catch her breath, “still going back to my room, right?”

Abel smiled, squeezing her naked behind and looked up into her somewhat embarrassed eyes. “You bet this hot little ass we are. That was just an appetizer. I hope you have all night, because what I have in mind is gonna take that long.”

Her eyes sparkled now with excitement and she nodded. Hot damn! She was going to be more fun than he’d expected.

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The sound coming from Nellie’s phone again woke them both. Abel had actually woken up a few hours prior when it had beeped a few times. Now it was ringing. He’d almost snuck out earlier while she slept soundly as he had all the other times. She hadn’t even stirred from the phone beeping. But he got caught up watching Nellie sleep. He knew now he must’ve dozed off again because the last thing he remembered was lying back on the pillow to gaze at that peaceful very content expression on her face.

Not missing the surprised double take she did when she realized he was still in bed with her, Abel smirked, watching her reach for her phone. The second she glanced at the screen, she sat up quickly.

“Shit! Is that the right time?”

“Long exhausting nights will do that to you.” Abel didn’t even try to hide the immense satisfaction the very thought gave him. Bringing his hands behind his head in no hurry at all to get going, he smiled smugly. In fact, he couldn’t think of anything better than sticking around and going a few more rounds with Nellie. “But it’s Saturday, so it’s okay to sleep in, right?”

Nellie’s phone rang again, and already she was making her way off of the bed. “Yeah, but I’m supposed to meet someone this morning.” Grabbing a robe from the chair next to her bed, she flung it around her and held her hand up to Abel, while clicking the screen on her phone and bringing it to her ear before he could ask who she was meeting. “Logan? I’m so sorry. I’m running really late, but I can meet you in like forty minutes?”

In direct contrast to how fast he felt his insides warm, Abel sat up slowly, staring at her. He’d had a feeling from day one that if it ever came down to it that he might be a little bothered to hear about her with someone else. It was to be expected, right? Human nature. But he hadn’t expected to feel what he was feeling now.

“Oh, The Country Kitchen sounds delish. Their breakfasts are huge and I’m starving actually.”

He continued to stare at her with a bit of curiosity and something else as she rummaged through her drawers. This had to be business. No way was she jumping out of bed with him to go meet another guy for breakfast. Sure they had an unspoken understanding—no fucking demands and all that shit—but he’d been certain Nellie had more class than this. Was she really chatting it up with another dude while he was still lying naked in her bed listening to her?

The rest of her conversation with the guy was frustrating. The guy was obviously doing most of the talking because she wasn’t saying much more than “uh huh,” so she wasn’t giving him much more to go on about who this Logan guy was.

The choice of clothes she laid out on the bed as she continued with her call only made his insides warmer. Instead of a business suit like the ones that drove him nuts, she laid out a pair of jeans and casual knit top. As off-putting as the idea of her wearing a sexy skirt suit to go meet Logan at the Country Kitchen was, it would’ve at least meant this was for sure a business meeting, not a casual breakfast date with a guy.

He’d gotten out of bed himself now and watched as she brought out the big sexy wedge sandals from her closet. She finally hung up just as he’d finished pulling on his pants. He stared at her as he buttoned his fly, doing his best to keep his cool. If he blew up now, this whole thing could come to an end, as he’d known it would from the beginning, but he didn’t know if he was ready to end this just yet.

“I’m sorry,” she explained, still rushing around the room. “I don’t mean to run out on you like this, but if I’d have known you’d still be here this morning, I could’ve cancelled this last night.” She paused her rushing for a moment to glance at him a bit uneasy. “I just assumed, you know, like all the other times . . .” She looked away before she added the last comment. “That you’d be gone when I woke.”

Swallowing hard, he took in a slow breath. No way was he going to blow this. He knew he was walking on a tightrope. One wrong move and he could go down head first or worse. He could do the very thing they’d both said they wouldn’t do, and the tightrope could snap altogether, leaving no possibility of climbing back on. But he had to ask. “Who’s Logan?”

You can find out more information on Elizabeth Reyes by visiting her website or any of her social media sites.

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