Thursday, August 30, 2018

COVER REVEAL: Gym Junkie by T L Swan

Genre: Red Hot Contemporary Romance
Release Date: September 23, 2018

~Blurb~

We’ve all done it, salivated
Over a guy at the gym, imagined the unimaginable.
Wanted what we can’t have.

Only my fantasy has turned into an obsession.
Every night like clockwork he’s there.
Every night like clockwork I’m ready.

I’m not the kind of girl who does this kind of thing and he’s exactly the kind of man that does.

He’s as sexy AF.
Dominant as all hell.
Built like a machine.

And when he turns up at my work

My worst f**king nightmare.

GOODREADS
Cover Design: Hang Le
Photo: Michael Stokes
~Excerpt~
I swipe my key through the door scanner.  It’s 9:35 p.m and I’m late. After not wanting to come at all, and deliberating the whole thing for over an hour in the shower, I’m finally here.
I’m not really sure why, but what the hell. It can’t hurt, I suppose.
I walk into the gym and take a look around. There are a few guys working out at the back, plus a girl on the treadmill.
Great. He’s not even here. 
All that over-analysing for nothing.
Damn it.
After making my way onto the treadmill I start walking. I turn up the speed and begin to walk faster. I suppose I’ll have to actually work out then. What an anticlimax. I spent over an hour psyching myself up to be here, and he doesn’t even show up.
Fucking typical.
All men piss me off.
Oh well, it’s his loss. 
Turning up the speed, I begin to jog, getting lost in the repetition. But when I look up into the mirror, I see him. There he is. He’s sitting on the weights bench in the corner, and flashing a slow sexy smile my way. He’s wearing a white T-shirt and navy sports shorts.
My stomach dances with excitement. I force him a smile, and then I look down, pretending to be uninterested.
God, he’s so….
He’s probably just a prop in this place. That’s what I would do if I owned a gym: pay gorgeous guys to hang out and make the girls swoon. It makes good business sense, that’s for sure.
I run for fifteen minutes, and he does weights as he watches me. To be honest, I wish he would look away because I’m dying over here. I can’t run for this long naturally. I’m totally showing off. I may go ass over tit at any moment and skin my knee to the bone.
One man finally leaves the gym, and then five minutes later the other one follows. The group of guys walk out the back, leaving only one woman in the gym who is doing sit ups. His eyes trail over to her, and I wonder is he thinking the same thing as me.
Buzz off, woman. Why are you in the gym so late, stupid?
I stop running and bring the treadmill back to a walking pace. I wipe my face with my towel, grateful when the lady packs up her things and leaves through the front door.
Brock’s eyes find mine in the mirror and a dark smile crosses his face.
Shit. My heart begins to beat faster. I keep walking, and he stands to make his way over to me.
“Hello,” he purrs.
I smile goofily. “Hi.” Why does he have to be so damn sexy? I can’t even pretend to be cool.
He puts his hand over mine on the handrail, and I feel an energy zap between us.
“I’ve been thinking about you all day,” he says.
My eyes hold his as my stomach flips. “Y-you have?” I pant.
He nods slowly, his eyes not leaving mine for a single second. 
“What were you thinking about?” I ask.
“I was thinking that I need to talk to you in private.”
God, is he for real?  “Is that so?” I look around the empty gym. “Is that why you had to wait for everyone to leave to come and talk to me?”
“Well, I didn’t want anyone to be suspicious of the two of us talking the other night in the bathroom.”
“Talking?”
I smirk. “Is that what you call it?”
He smiles sexily, and my stomach clenches yet again. Don’t smile at me like that.
“Yes.” He pauses as he rolls his lips, as if amused. “It was a very stimulating conversation.”
I smile as I continue to walk.
“For some more than others,” he adds.
Unable to help it, I laugh. “Yes, it was a very stimulating conversation that we had the other night.”
His eyes hold mine. “Did you enjoy it?”
What’s it going to be? I get a vision of Simon last night with that girl.
Sink or swim.
“I did.”
Our eyes are locked. “Very much, actually.”
Oh, this guy makes me want to be a dirty whore.
Satisfaction flashes across his face and he licks his lips. He runs his hand up my forearm, his eyes following his touch. “I have something else to tell you.”
I act surprised. “You do?”
“I do.”
“What is it?” 
“I can’t tell you here, Pocket.” His eyes rise to my lips.
“Why not?”
I feel the burn of his gaze.
“It’s private.”
He takes his hand off my arm, and it causes me to frown. I hate the loss of his touch.
“So, where do you want to tell me this private information?” I ask as I play along.
“We should probably talk where we talked last time.” He rolls his lips to hide his smile, he likes this game.
“Really?” I widen my eyes.
He nods slowly. “Really.”
I continue to walk on the treadmill.
“So, I’m going to go into the discussion room now.”
“The discussion room?” I widen my eyes and laugh. “You are something else.”
“I know,” he chuckles, and then gestures up to the ceiling. I look up, following his direction.
There’s a camera… 
Shit.
“I’m going to go into the discussion room, and in five minutes, you should do the same.”
“But, they’ll see us?” I whisper.
“No, they won’t. Once you come into the bathroom, you just have to stay in there for five minutes. If we don’t enter or leave together, the tapes won’t be looked at. Not unless there is an incident and they have to be watched back.
“Oh.” I frown, and without another word he disappears up the hall with his gym bag. I walk for another five minutes with my heart beating out of control. This is so naughty, so freaking hot, and I have to say, so out of character for me that it’s not even funny.
I’ll just go and talk to him—see what he has to say. I hope he kisses me again. His kiss was to die for. Who the heck is this guy, anyway?
I would never do this. I am not the sort of girl who meets up with guys in a public bathroom.  My eyes flicker to the hallway as my excitement runs through me. 
Am I?
I hit stop on the treadmill with my heart hammering in my chest. I take my towel and drink bottle, and then I walk up the hall to the bathrooms. I look up and see the camera at the end of the hall positioned so it shows all of the five bathroom
doors clearly. I drop my head to hide my face.
As long as I don’t walk back out, he said I’m fine.
God, if anyone ever knew I was doing this, I’d die.
I walk to the end door and take the handle in my hand. I pause for a moment and close my eyes. My heart is banging, and I look back up the hall one more time. Should I go? No. Just do it.
I open the door and rush in, quickly closing the door behind me. I flick the lock and turn around.
The room is filled with steam and the shower screen is open. Brock is naked in the shower when he turns to face me.
His large shoulders and chest have soap over them, and his hair is already wet. His stomach is rippled with muscles, and his huge hard cock hangs heavily between his legs.
He smiles sexily. “Took your time, Pocket.”
Oh, dear
God. Holy. Fucking. Shit.
“Brock!” I frown as I stare at him. “What the hell are you doing?”
I glance back to the door, damn it. I can’t leave for a few minutes.
He looks at me casually and rubs the soap in across his chest. “Taking a shower, what does it look like?”
“You’re incredible.” I shake my head in disgust. “I’m leaving right now.”
“Why?” He gives me a slow sexy smile and holds his hands out to the side. “Taking a shower is a perfectly natural thing. I wanted to be clean for our conversation.”
Bastard.
“You want to have a conversation with me with,” I gesture to his groin, “with your dick hanging out.”
He looks down at himself, and then back up at me. “Does my dick offend you?”
“Yes,” I gasp. “Your dick offends me.”
I glance down again. That is the most beautiful dick I’ve ever seen. Okay, sure, I haven’t seen many, but I’m still sure it’s the most perfect one there is. For fuck’s sake, this guy is so over confident, I don’t even have words to describe him, and why the hell is it turning me on?
This is un-fucking-believable. How on earth did I get myself into this situation?
Brock continues to rub soap over his chest, eventually lathering his groin area up, too. I have to concentrate on not looking down again.  
“Why?” he asks.
I frown.
“Because… because…” I look around as I search for the right choice of words.

“It’s the assumption you make that I am comfortable with you being naked when I’m not.” I shake my head and throw my hands in the air. “I’m so not.”
“If it makes you feel more comfortable, I am completely fine with you taking your clothes off, too.” He shrugs casually. “You know, for our discussion.”
I smirk. Of all the hide. “You’re an idiot.”
He smiles that sexy smile again, and I feel my insides begin to melt. “I prefer to think I’m just honest.”
“How is this being honest?”
“Well.” He pauses as a moment as he soaps his groin up again.


T L Swan  is a lover of her husband, children, words, chocolate and margaritas.
When she is not writing her next novel, you will find her in a café drinking coffee with friends. Writing is her passion.

Friday, August 24, 2018

REVIEW/RELEASE BLITZ: Reckless King by Maya Hughes

Series: Kings of Rittenhouse #2
Genre: New Adult/Sports Romance

~Blurb~

An irresistibly steamy college sports romance.

I’m Heath Taylor.
Laid back. Easy going. Fastest guy on two skates and chill to a fault. Until Kara.

Three nights together and I’m done for. Her laugh, her smile, the way my hand curves around her waist. She’s the one. Not a doubt in my mind...until I walk into my last class of the semester.

Kara, the woman of my dreams, is my new instructor. My hockey season and her career prospects are on the line. One false move--if anyone finds out--we’re both sunk.

On the ice I’m a beast that can’t be stopped, but thoughts of her are throwing me off my game.
My fingers itch to feel her in my arms again. But risking everything could ruin what we’ve worked so hard for.

Sometimes life has a way of changing the best laid plans. And sometimes you can’t stay away no matter the promises you make.

Life doesn’t play fair, but neither do I…

~Book Review~
3.5 Stars

This is really hard to rate. But since there were things I liked and things I didn’t enjoy, a middle of the road rating is probably most accurate. Starting with the positive….

The characters were likable, and I enjoyed them as a couple. I was intrigued with Heath from the previous book. Heath Taylor, 22, was a catch in this one too. He cooks, he knows his flowers, and his favorite movie is The Breakfast Club. This was off to a good start.

He was sexy:
“‘…that will make it that much hotter when I rip those pants off you, bend you over that desk and eat you out from behind when this session is over.’”
And so sweet:
“How was I supposed to go an entire semester without touching her? Without holding her and falling asleep in her arms? She’d already carved out a place in my heart…”
The guy knew how to woo on a date too. Too bad there wasn’t more time spent on that, and less spent on the story’s conflicts. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Kara Ellis, 23, was hardworking and smart, and I really enjoyed her approach to their initial “meeting.” She wasn’t self conscious about what she looked like naked; she wasn’t afraid to appreciate him naked; and this was quite refreshing in romanclandia where there are just too many blushing virgins.  We need more heroines like Kara who can enjoy the experience for what it is and who have had some experience.  

There was insta-love, but it wasn’t a big issue here because I could sense their connection. There was no OW drama—woohoo! This was looking good. So color me more than disappointed when the story dropped off in the second half.

For one, I think my patience with student-teacher scenarios is wearing thin, and this one felt contrived in that regard. On one hand I feel like if you’re really into a person, a few months of friendship wouldn’t hurt, nor should it be taboo. Again, the forbidden angle felt forced. Or the simple, mature solution would have been to notify the appropriate university personnel that you already know each other/are involved. No harm, no foul. Surely something could have been worked out if it was a university large enough to have graduate students teaching undergrad classes (not all colleges allow this in the first place). But the story’s eventual resolution turns out, perhaps, to be too convenient. I’m sure this school’s policy on credits was not the one on file during my college days.

I might have been able to shrug off most of that, along with a few errors I picked up along the way and some pacing awkwardness, but then came more angst and…well, personally I felt it went too far. I don’t like depressing twists in my romances, mostly because some of those things I’ve either lived through myself or known others who have. Like many others romance readers, I read romance to escape, and this one hit a personal trigger.  

Told via Heath and Kara’s alternating first person POV, the first half is sweet and sexy, but the later half is drug down with angst.  It just clouded the whole story with a sad feeling. This couple had a ton of potential, but their chemistry eventually became overshadowed by a plot that came to rely too much on angst and a twist that felt like cheap shock value rather than the development of a mature relationship. I also craved more of a sweeping epic epilogue to overcome so much of the depressing turn of events. 

This is probably my last one in this series.  I’m still not connecting with the rest of the series characters. In fact, in both books I found the references to them tiresome, their stories hinted at but their characters never fully dimensional.  For different reasons, their premises are not appealing nor are they romantic to me.

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~Playlist~


~Also Available~
FREE prequel!!
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
Free in Kindle Unlimited

Maya Hughes has always loved romance novels. One look at her Kindle is confirmation. She started writing her first romance novel while pregnant with her third child and she hasn’t looked back. Now, her romance writing addiction has replaced her romance reading addiction.

You can find her writing on her foldable keyboard and phone anytime inspiration strikes. Her sweet and steamy stories range from rockstars to small towns and everything in between. When she’s not writing, she’s playing with her three kids, running errands or vegging on the couch with the love of her life and biggest fan, her husband.

FACEBOOK   BOOK+MAIN    INSTAGRAM    BOOKBUB    FACEBOOK GROUP    TWITTER    NEWSLETTER     WEBSITE

~Giveaway~

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

REVIEW/RELEASE: Smokin' by Olivia Rush

Series: The Hot Boys Series #1
Genre: Romantic Suspense

~Blurb~

Falling for a fireman is so cliché.

Yet, here I am. The elementary school teacher who’s all worked up over New York’s finest.
It started out as a simple ride along.
Now the only brass pole I want to slide down is his.
I know, good girls don’t think those thoughts, right?

Wrong!

The sculpted jaw, the tight t-shirt rippling with muscles. I’m only human.
Now, I’m the only witness to a crime. One that puts me on the run.
Solving the case is our main focus. Well, almost.
Staying at his place was supposed to be temporary. His love wasn’t expected.

Can a girl have her cake and him too?

~Book Review~
2.5 Stars

Ethan Stokes is a NYC fireman. Chloe Parker is an elementary school teacher. The blurb sounded promising but issues cropped up early on.

The good ole boy, objectify women mentality of this fire hall was a huge turn-off.  Chloe can’t even stop in to arrange a field trip for her students without being ogled and harassed by the men, and then Ethan proceeds to make lame ‘boys will be boys’ type excuses for them, rather than apologize and address their bad behavior. In fact, he lets it continue later at a bar as he drinks while on the job, and the boys say things like, “‘You gotta at least take a shot at hitting that.’”

*climbs on soapbox* There are enough problems in the real world with politicians, newscasters, and movie directors indulging in that kind of behavior; we don’t need romance heroes to glorify it and contribute to the culture. The #MeToo movement is very real, and I’d much rather see a heroine report that kind of behavior than flirt, fangirl, and fall in love with one of the sources of it.
“…Ethan was basically what every little boy wanted to be when he grew up. And, not to mention, he was who every little girl wanted to end up with.”
Enough with perpetuating this myth! It’s not healthy. I wouldn’t want my son to idolize guys like him or my daughter to marry one.  He might be good at his job, but Ethan is far from someone to emulate.

There’s little relationship development before these two spout off eye-roll worthy clichĂ©d romance-porn dialogue while engaging in unprotected sex. No discussion of sexual heath or contraception when they’ve only known each other less than 36 hours!

Perhaps ignorance is bliss for our heroine but the reader has already been told that the hero is a former manwhore who racked up a lot of notches on his bedpost. The romantic factor was weak and their repeated unprotected sex acts following threats to her life were hardly sexy.

There’s also some suspension of disbelief needed over the field-trip premise. I had a hard time believing the fire station had never hosted an elementary school class before; but, they all acted like this request was such a put out. At the same time, it was set up with hardly any time for the students’ parents to have signed permission slips.

At various times, I questioned Chloe’s judgment as a teacher. Caught up in her lust and fangirling over Ethan, she seemed more focused in recklessly showing him off than properly explaining his job and teaching the dangers of fire.

There’s a suspense subplot, but it didn’t hold my interest because I was not invested in the characters either separately or as a couple. Told via their dual first person POV, the writing and editing is solid (though the dialogue was often hokey), but the underlying messages in the story were bothersome. 

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Olivia Rush writes romantic suspense with healthy dose of steam. She loves writing about beautiful characters in adventurous tales. She lives with a pain in the ass teen, her awesome hubby, and the world’s coolest cat. Netflix is watched daily in the Rush household and coffee is run through an IV drip.

Thursday, August 16, 2018

RELEASE BLITZ: Miss Demeanor by Beth Rinyu

Genre: Romantic Comedy/Enemies to Lovers
Release Date: August 16, 2018

~Blurb~

Spoiled. Privileged. Brat.
What others saw as entitled, I saw as standards, and mine were high, especially when it came to men. The boys I wasted time on in college were now a thing of the past. I was setting my eye on the real deal: Rich, successful, nice looking, good personality preferred—but not required.

I had it all figured out, I’d live off my family’s good fortune as I waited for my wealthy Prince Charming to sweep me off my feet. That was until my father decided to come up with his own ridiculous plan:

  • Move to New York City (good)
  • Take a job at a magazine owned by one of his friends (bad)
  • Cut me off financially after three months (worse)
All out of options, I headed to the East Coast to start my job. Feeling much like a princess being thrown into court with the commoners, I intended to fail, and fail miserably—that was until I was given an office with a view and my own advice column. Suddenly, working for a living wasn't so bad after all...except for him. Obnoxious, boorish, rude…take your pick. He was the exact opposite in my quest for Prince charming—except for nice looking and good personality not
required. He hated me the moment he laid eyes on me and was determined to make my life a living hell whenever I was in his company. Little did he know, he had no idea who he was up against, I planned on matching his animosity toward me in ways he never imagined. But the funny thing was, the more he got under my skin, the closer he was getting to my heart, making me reassess the girl I once was and focus on the girl I wanted to become. 

~Book Review~
DNF

"I knew he [father] was expecting the same hard work and dedication that my brothers had shown when they had graduated school a million year ago, but I shouldn't have been held to the same standards as them. I was a girl after all. It was the man's place to take care of me."

That quote.... *shakes head* My god! I just...can't! I couldn't get past it.

I tried. I read another chapter or two.

But I kept coming back to that quote and the fact that a heroine is sputtering that kind of nonsense in 2018. Sure there are "modern" women still living in a pre-Women's Rights Movement mentality, but to have the heroine, the person I'm supposed to be connecting with, espouse these kind of beliefs....

Nope, Nope, Nope.

That kind of statement goes beyond simply being "spoiled." It displays a total lack of respect for your own gender alongside utter ignorance of the history of your own gender. 

I can only hope that the rest of the story is the heroine's enlightenment....her awakening. But it already lost me by the failure to connect with the heroine. 

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
Free in Kindle Unlimited

~Excerpt~

“So, Alex, have you thought of any ideas on how to incorporate the female staff into being a part of Him?”


All eyes were on him as he picked his head up from whatever he was paying attention to on his phone. I impatiently waited for his answer, knowing how much he didn’t want for this to happen. “Actually, I have.” He was upbeat with his reply, not at all what I was expecting.

“Okay, let’s hear it.”

“I was thinking about having them do something that’s the exact opposite of what they would normally do and then write an article on the experience.”

“Such as…” Mr. Andrews waited for him to elaborate.

“Like Laurie hates sports, so maybe have her go with Keith when he’s covering a game and write about the experience.”

“I like that idea. What are your suggestions for some of the other women?”

He cleared his throat. “I, umm haven’t really thought about it. I wanted to bounce the idea off you first and see what you thought about it.”

“I love it.” Mr. Andrews adjusted his glasses and looked my way. “What would you suggest having Rose do for her article?”

My face heated when I sensed all eyes on me. I dropped my head and stared at the table, just imagining what horrible adventure he was conjuring up. Skydiving. Fire juggling. Swimming with sharks. The possibilities were endless.



~About Beth Rinyu~
Ever since I can remember, I have always enjoyed Creative Writing. There was always something about being able to travel to a different place or become a different person with just the stroke of a pen - or in today's world a touch of the keyboard. I love creating deep characters who you will love or love to hate. My life is not as interesting as my books or the characters in them, but then again whose life is? My happy place is a seat by the ocean with my feet in the sand or on the busy streets of New York City. You will more than likely find one of these places as the setting for most of my books. Thanks for taking the time to learn about my books and me! If you decide to read them (and I hope you do!) please be sure to go on and review it for me - yes, even if you don't like them!

COVER REVEAL: Just Exes by Charity Ferrell

Series: Blue Beech #3
Genre: New Adult Romance
 Release Date: August 30, 2018

~Blurb~
Lauren
Running into an ex you haven’t seen in nearly a decade is never a good time. 
Running into your ex while he’s arresting you is humiliating. 
The handcuffs close around my fists at the same time he promises to hate me until he takes his last breath.
I can’t blame him. He pleaded for me not to walk away.  He doesn’t know leaving him broke my heart as much as it did his. It wasn’t for me. Rather, it was for someone else. 

Gage
I skipped town after Hurricane Lauren obliterated my heart. 
Coming home was a hard choice to make. Arresting her isn’t. 
She has no idea of the demons I carry with me now. No idea that I’m a new man.
Two women ruined me. 
One I gave my heart to. 
The other punished me for it.


~Also Available~
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
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AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
Free in Kindle Unlimited

Charity Ferrell resides in Indianapolis, Indiana. She grew up riding her bicycle to her library and reading anything she could get her hands on. Angst is her happy place, and she loves writing about flawed people finding love. She loves the basics—books, shoes, and online shopping.