It's moving day for Sebastian, who's making a home with Sarah. Though Rob couldn't be happier for his friends, after the move has been completed he finds himself at loose ends, questioning the direction his own life is heading. Unbeknownst to him, Sebastian and Sarah are worried about the same thing and hope he can find someone special. Will he ever get his happy ending, or is Rob doomed to eternal bachelorhood?
NOTE: This is a "bridge story" between Should've Known Better (Storm Series 1) and Underneath It All (Storm Series 2). Should've Known Better is available now, Underneath It All will release this fall. However, you can read and enjoy this story without having read Should've Known Better, though of course reading the first book might make characters and situations more clear in this bridge story.
About the author: Cassandra Carr is a multi-award winning erotic
romance writer with Ellora's Cave, Sybarite Seductions/Twenty or Less Press,
Decadent Publishing, Siren Publishing, and Loose Id. She lives in
Western New York with her husband, Inspiration, and her daughter, Too Cute for
Words. When not writing she enjoys watching hockey and hanging out online.
Cassandra is the co-founder of two successful group blogs, Romancing the Jock
and Dirty Birdies, and participates in several others as a contributor.
Currrently Cassandra also serves as president of Western New York Romance
Writers.
According to Hayley love is a subject of ridicule, a myth created by hopeless romantics.
When Hayley makes a resolution to declare her loose lifestyle era R.I.P, it’s all good in theory…
That is until she meets Daniel Stark, a well-respected, mid-thirties business man who is known for his short temper, lack of steady relationships as well as his strict preserve of his private life.
Opinionated, sharp tongued Hayley accidently steps into his office leaving Daniel resolved to put Hayley in her place and have her in his bed.
Both Hayley and Daniel can’t avoid the immediate instigation of the attraction between them.
In a unanimously agreed upon verdict by Hayley and her two best friends, Ian the gay self-absorb, aspiring model and Natasha the witty, borderline neurotic soul mate, Daniel Stark is to be Hayley’s pure physical attraction, emotions aside era closure.
Will it indeed be a closure, or a beginning to something neither Hayley nor Daniel ever bargained for…
Hannah Sorrento is a princess, the toughest obstacle she's ever had to face is finding shoes to match her outfit. Then her father disappears and she's been left with nothing more than the money in her purse and a contract for the management of hot, indie rock band, Storm.
She thinks she can use them to get some fast money but the lead singer, Jack Colt, has his own ideas and, from their first meeting, sparks fly.
About the author: Candy J. Starr used to be a band manager until she realized that the band she managed was so lacking in charisma that they actually sucked the charisma out of any room they played. “Screw you,” she said, leaving them to wallow in obscurity – totally forgetting that they owed her big bucks for video equipment hire.
Candy has filmed and interviewed some big names in the rock business, and a lot of small ones. She’s seen the dirty little secrets that go on in the back rooms of band venues. She’s seen the ugly side of rock and the very pretty one.
But, of course, everything she writes is fiction. Author Links: Website / Goodreads
Melissa Bourbon, who sometimes answers to her Latina-by-marriage name Misa Ramirez, gave up teaching middle and high school kids in Northern California to write full-time amidst horses and Longhorns in North Texas. She fantasizes about spending summers writing in quaint, cozy locales, has a love/hate relationship with yoga and chocolate, is devoted to her family, and can’t believe she’s lucky enough to be living the life of her dreams.
She is the Marketing Director with Entangled Publishing, is the founder of Books on the House, the co-founder of The Naked Hero, and is the author of the Lola Cruz Mystery series with St. Martin’s Minotaur and Entangled Publishing, and A Magical Dressmaking Mystery series with NAL. She also has two romantic suspense novels, and is the co-author of The Tricked-out Toolbox, all to be released in 2012/2013. Author Links: Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter
Curse of Passion by Melissa Bourbon Ramirez Publication Date: August 2013 Entangled Publishing Romantic Suspense
The ghost of la Llorona is said to haunt the riverbanks, always searching for her drowned child. She also haunts high school teacher Johanna Rios, whose own mother believed so deeply in the legend she tried to drown her daughters. And now the ghost has become real, a young woman murdered, and the safe world Jo created is falling apart.
Since returning home from his last tour of duty to become a school principal, Ray Vargas has fought his attraction for his employee, the sensual woman who’d once been the girl next door. But the Llorona Killer will not stop until he claims his final victim—Johanna—and Ray will do anything to protect the woman he’s come to love.
With a serial killer out to prove the curse is real, will Ray and Johanna’s future be drowned in the ghostly waters of the past? Or will the power of their love give them the strength to stop a killer…and heal their wounded hearts.
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Johanna paced and turned toward him, but still hadn’t noticed Ray in the doorway. He catalogued her features. She was thirty-two, with honey-colored skin, cheekbones that gave her an exotic look, long, dark hair…
As it often did, his gaze hitched at her full, red lips. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d kissed lips like that. Maybe never.
The sliver of skin showing between her sweater and her pants drew his eyes. She looked far hotter than any teacher had a right to—certainly hotter than any teacher he’d ever had. Thank God, or he’d never have graduated.
He felt his eyes pinch and blinked hard to break the drugged feeling that suddenly slid over him. He’d done his best to steer clear of her for years, and after this conversation, he’d go back to staying away.
“Who is this? What do you want?” Johanna’s voice held fear, tinged with anger.
That was not a tone Ray associated with Johanna. He froze in place. He’d been trained well by the Army. Freeze first. Assess. Decide. Then move.
She spoke again, her voice rising in pitch. “Would you just stop calling?” she demanded, her voice shaking.
Distressed. Johanna was distressed. Time to act. Ray moved then, coming into the classroom, bumping a desk as he came toward her, startling her.
She whipped around, gasping as she saw him. Her face paled, and a second later she dropped her cell phone on her desk. She speared her hand through her hair, her fingers bending until they looked like claws digging into her scalp.
His heart pumped hard. What the hell? “Johanna,” he said, aware his voice was gruffer than he’d intended. “What was that about?”
She stared at him, her eyes wide, like a damn deer caught in the headlights. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.
“Prank caller,” she finally said, snapping out of her trance.
Ray ran the pads of his fingers over his goatee. Prank caller, my ass. She’d been engaged in that conversation, had been responding to the person on the other end of the line. But her eyes stayed wary and he decided to let it go. He was here for a purpose. Marianne’s murder needed his attention, and he wanted to know Johanna’s secret.
“Sorry for barging in,” he said, “but I’d like to continue the conversation we started back in my office.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “You mean about Marianne? Are the deputies coming back?”
He shook his head. “They’re gone.” She looked puzzled as he continued. “You brought up la Llorona.”
“Yes,” she said flatly.
Her voice had lost the shaky edge it had held a moment ago on the phone. Hell, now it almost sounded like it could freeze water. Her own form of self-preservation, he supposed. “You wrote your master’s thesis on her?”
Johanna slumped against her desk and ran one hand over her face, down her neck, let it settle on her chest. “Yes.”
“Why?”
She hesitated, and for a moment looked like she wasn’t going to respond. Then she spoke, her voice softer, more thoughtful. “My mother believed in her.”
Odd. Johanna had placed a strange emphasis on the word believed. Hadn’t her mother simply known about the story? Why would she believe in a ghost tale? “La Llorona is a legend,” he said.
“A legend based on a real woman who lived five hundred years ago.”
“It’s a kid’s story. Like the boogieman and the chupacabra.”
Johanna shook her head. “My mother believed la Llorona was real. Because of that, I’ve always been…curious…about the legend.”
She started when her cell phone rang. Her sudden jerk sent the tips of her fingers slipping under the vee of her sweater. His eyes followed the path as her hand settled on the swell of her breast. He swallowed, narrowing his eyes as he forced his gaze back to her face. Her phone, playing a traditional cumbia rather than a regular ring tone, continued for a full ten seconds while she stood frozen. She didn’t even look at where it sat on the desk.
He tried not to think about whatever might be going on in her personal life that warranted heated phone calls. A bad break-up, maybe? He hadn’t heard she was dating anyone, but she might be. Much as he hated to admit it to himself, he didn’t want her to have a personal life. It messed with his fantasy.
Enough. He had to get his head back in the game. Had to focus on why he was here —and that reason was not to stare at her breasts or get jealous over imaginary lovers or remind himself of the fantasies he’d had of her—fantasies featuring her naked. Her hot mouth on his. Her skin sliding sinuously under his.
Publication Date: Aug 13, 2013 Publisher: Hyperion
All Miranda wants is a normal life. She's determined to move past the horrible truth of her origin as a clone so she can enjoy time with her boyfriend, Peter, and the rest of her friends at school. But Miranda quickly learns that there's no such thing as normal - not for a girl who was raised to be a weapon. When one of her teammates turns rogue, it begins a war that puts the world in jeopardy. Now Miranda must follow her instincts - not her heart - in order to save everything she's fought so hard to keep. with the image of a terrible future seared into her mind, what will she have to sacrifice to protect the people she loves? Dan Krokos's sequel to the tour de force False Memory is a mind-blowing thriller with high-octane action that will leave readers begging for the final book in this bold and powerful trilogy.
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I am reading False Memory right now in preparation for Dan's latest work False Sight. If you missed the first one - you need to go get it now. It is quick-paced and I pick it up every chance I get! I wish I had a big chunk of time that I could just sit down and finish it!
Praise for False Memory
"Trust no one. Question everything. and be prepared to read the entire book in one sitting, because there is no stopping in this exciting young adult debut." ---Julie Cross, author of Tempest
"The action is non-stop, and Miranda is a refreshingly kick-ass heroine." -- Kirkus Reviews
"Dramatic twists and turns add to this memorable thriller." --Booklist
The Rockin' Chair
by Steven Manchester
on Tour July 1 - August 31
Book Details
Genre: Fiction
Published by: The Story Plant
Publication Date: June 18, 2013
Number of Pages: 242
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Synopsis: Memories are the ultimate contradiction. They can warm us on our coldest days – or they can freeze a loved one out of our lives forever. The McCarthy family has a trove of warm memories. Of innocent first kisses. Of sumptuous family meals. Of wondrous lessons learned at the foot of a rocking chair. But they also have had their share of icy ones. Of words that can never be unsaid. Of choices that can never be unmade. Of actions that can never be undone.Following the death of his beloved wife, John McCarthy – Grandpa John – calls his family back home. It is time for them to face the memories they have made, both warm and cold. Only then can they move beyond them and into the future.
A rich portrait of a family at a crossroad, The Rockin’ Chair is Steven Manchester’s most heartfelt and emotionally engaging novel to date. If family matters to you, it is a story you must read.
My thoughts: If you have spent anytime on book blogs this summer, I am sure that you have seen this book crop up. I am not sure what I can say about it that hasn't already been said. It was a wonderful read, with Grampa John imparting wisdom - wisdom that should be obvious, but sometimes it takes someone to point it out to us.
The family has scattered across the U.S. - well, really the world - with George being in Afghanistan, but as Alice, John's wife, continues to worsen, he puts out a call to bring the grandchildren home. Even though his son Hank lives within an arm's reach, he might as well have been across the world with the distance that has separated him and his father John for many years.
I loved the way that the other drew everyone's sorrows out in their own time, without judgment and how Grampa John orchestrated the time they needed to share that sorrow with him. It is a really good story about family - their struggles, their mistakes, the lines that separate and the bonds that draw us back together.
~I received a complimentary ecopy from Partners in Crime Book Tours and Providence Book Promotions in exchange for my unbiased review.~
Read an excerpt:
Elle picked up Evan, Tara and Lila at the airport. As she approached the threesome, she gasped at the sight of her emaciated daughter. For a few moments, Tara’s eyes scanned every inch of her mother’s face before she spread her twig-like arms. Elle hugged her, then pulled away and peered into her sunken eyes. “Are you sick?” she asked.
While Tara shrugged, Elle grabbed Evan for a hug. “I’ll explain it on the way,” he whispered in her ear.
Lila stood there, looking up at her grandmother—curiously.
Elle bent down and smiled at the baby. “Hello, my love,” she whispered, “Grandma’s waited much too long to meet you.” The little girl was a living doll. She had Tara’s strawberry blond curls and the same dark eyes as Alice.
Lila grinned. “Hi, Gramma,” she said, and never flinched when Elle scooped her up and kissed her cheek.
Elle looked back at Tara and could feel her eyes swell with tears.
“Grandma?” Evan asked, grabbing her attention.
Elle shook her head, the tears beginning to cascade down her tired face.
“When?” he asked.
Elle reached for his hand. “Last night…right in Grampa’s lap.”
“In the rockin’ chair?” he asked, his voice cracking.
Elle nodded again.
Evan’s eyes filled. “Where else?” he said.
Elle noticed the confusion in her daughter’s eyes and thought, She’s so out of it.
Before Elle could explain, Evan leaned into Tara’s ear and filled it with the bad news. “We’re one day too late. Grandma passed away last night.”
Though delayed, Tara burst into tears.
As they left the airport terminal, Elle walked alongside Evan. “How did you find her in New York?” she asked in a whisper. “Her cell phone’s been turned off for weeks.” She looked back at her daughter, who was already lagging behind.
“It wasn’t easy,” he said, and shook his head. “Let’s just say…thank God I did.”
Author Bio:
Steven Manchester is the author of the #1 bestseller Twelve Months, Goodnight, Brian, and several other books. His work has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, CBS’s The Early
Show, CNN’s American Morning and BET’s Nightly News. Recently, three of Manchester’s short stories were selected “101 Best” for the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.
Zoe Granger picked up her first guitar the day her heart was smashed into a billion pieces. It was a way to keep her mind off her inevitable downward spiral, but music soon became her escape. She's been burned too many times to tell and is just happy to coast through life, never putting herself out there. That's until her best friend Dee suggests they start a band and suddenly she finds herself not just a part of it, but fronting the whole outfit.
They call themselves The Devil's Tattoo and when they release their debut EP, it rockets to the top of the charts and it's like an overnight fairytale. Contracts, photo shoots, royalties and interviews are heaped onto the shy Zoe and it's like she's finally found her place. Then comes the phone call that changes everything. They've been asked to co-headline a tour with one of the hottest bands of the moment, The Stabs and Zoe will never be the same again.
Will Strickland is one fourth of the hottest indie rock band to ever grace the airwaves. He's the bass player in The Stabs, hot as hell and could have his pick of any girl that flings herself at him. But he's only got eyes for Zoe and she has no idea why he'd bother. She's got one hell of a trust issue and an attitude to boot and Will seems to be the one who wants to tame her, but is he game enough?
The Devil's Tattoo and The Stabs go on the road and it's either going to be a highway to hell or a stairway to heaven. Only time will tell who will come out on top and Zoe's determined to do it without getting her heart broken… again.
About the author: Nicole R. Taylor is an Australian born paranormal, fantasy and contemporary fiction author. She is a graduate of the Univerity of Ballarat Professional Writing and Editing programme and is a former music memorabilia sales person and grocery merchandiser. She currently lives in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia with a two year old rescue cat named, Burger. She enjoys reading, writing (of course!), traveling and a little too much chocolate. One day she hopes to sky dive, but has to work up the courage first.
The first in her new paranormal fantasy series, The Witch Hunter Saga is available in e-edition and print from March 20th, 2013.
Title: Call Me Crazy Author: Quinn Loftis YA Contemporary Romance About the book:“I’m looking out from inside the chaos. It must be a one-way mirror because no one seems to be able to see back inside to where I am. The looks on their faces, the judgment in their eyes, tells me everything I need to know. The most frustrating part about the whole messed up situation is that even though I’m the one that they stare at in shock, I am just as shocked as they are. I know no more than they do of why I lose control. What they don’t know is that I am more scared of myself than they could ever be.” ~ Tally Baker
After a devastating turn of events, seventeen year old Tally Baker is admitted to Mercy Psychiatric Facility where she is diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. She has come to a place where she honestly believes that her life is over. Her mind tells her that she will never smile or laugh again, that she will never be normal again. It is in this unlikely place that she meets two people, different in every way, yet both critical to helping her realize that she has so much more living to do.
Candy, a cantankerous sixty year old Mercy Psychiatric patient, is hell bent on driving everyone as crazy as she is. Candy shows Tally that, regardless of her diagnosis, the ability to push on and live her life to the fullest is her choice and hers alone. In the midst of Tally’s oftentimes humorous, sometimes heart-wrenching, escapades with Candy, a new patient is admitted to Mercy—a native American woman named Lolotea. Along with this new patient comes a daily visitor, her son, Trey Swift. At first glance, it is obvious to Tally that he is incredibly handsome and unbelievably caring. But what she learns through her second glance, and many thereafter, is that there is much more to Trey than he ever lets on. It is during these daily visits that Trey and Tally build a friendship far deeper than either of them truly realize. With Trey, Tally feels for the first time since being admitted that someone is looking at her as a person and not as a disease. Trey begins to make it clear that he wants more than friendship, but she knows that she can never give him more. How can she, when she won’t even give him the truth? Tally doesn’t tell Trey that she is a patient at Mercy, and she doesn’t ever plan to. Her plans go up in flames when she finds out that Trey is a new student at her school, the school where her brokenness was found out in the floor of the girl’s bathroom in a pool of her own blood.
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My thoughts: While I liked the storyline from the beginning, when I first started reading this book I thought "Uggh. Another book where we "live" the moment and then rehash it from each character's POV." But after awhile it started to flow and I really got caught up in Tally and Trey's story.
I just wanted to wrap Tally up in a big blanket and cuddle with her, while at the same time kicking her parent's butt to get in gear and start living the role they signed up for when they had a child! She just seemed so lost - and in spite of her disease has a big heart - just a hard time trusting anyone with it.
Candy was hilarious and always had a way to make Tally smile - even when they were both having bad days. Despite her advanced age, she was Tally's best friend at Mercy. She helped Tally to learn that it was okay to have fun and to not take life so seriously. I would love to have someone in my life like Candy.
Tally's relationship with Trey starts off with a chance meeting at Mercy. He is there visiting his mom and assumes that she is visiting someone as well. They become friends and he is very open (and persistent) in letting Tally know that he is coming to care for her. At one point in the story Tally asks Trey if he is sure he is only eighteen. He is strong and compassionate beyond his years and even though his mom is in a psych unit, you can tell that he has had a solid family upbringing and some good role models.
I ended up really liking the book and the last 100 pages I did not want to put it down. I so wanted to find out how Tally and Trey's story would end. It is a good story, and even though it has it's tragedy, it is also filled with hope.
~I received a complimentary ecopy of Call Me Crazy from Reading Addicted Book Tours in exchange for my unbiased review.~
Call Me Crazy Excerpt Chapter 3
I’m hunched down beneath the table like a frightened rabbit as I watch the tall figure kneel before the new patient across the room. I’m not sure how I came to be hunched down. All I know is that the moment he walked in the room, I felt the uncomfortable rush of something pouring through me. I’m not sure if I liked it or not.
He is Native American; there is no doubt in my mind about that based on his extremely apparent features. His long, black, amazingly shiny hair would have any woman envious of the obvious health in the locks. It flows down his back like a cascading waterfall. His naturally tan skin appears as smooth as silk and his piercing dark eyes don’t seem to miss a thing. He had even caught my movement and had glanced in my direction when I had so brilliantly decided to hide from a person I didn’t even know. I watch as he slowly stands and continues to look down at the woman before him. By the hesitancy in his movements she is obviously very important to him and I’m awed by the tenderness that such a large, imposing guy can show. After several minutes he turns to leave and my eyes never leave his retreating form until I can no longer see him. I feel a kick to my ribs and scramble up with a grunt.
“Crap Candy,” I growl at my snickering companion as I rub my side and glare at her. “What was that for?”
“A better question would be why were you hunkered down under the table drooling over Kemosabe?”
I frown at her. “That’s tacky don’t you think?”
“I’m sixty years old and crazy; I can do tacky if I want,” she snorts at me.
I can’t really argue with her there. Like pregnant women, old, crazy ladies pretty much get a free pass on crassness and eccentricity.
“So come on,” she pats the chair that I had so quickly vacated, “tell Candy all about it.”
I roll my eyes. “He just took me off guard, that’s all,” I lie smoothly.
Candy isn’t buying it. “He was hot, just admit it. Hot and he got you bothered.”
I cringe. “Candy, you calling a guy young enough to be your grandson hot is just not right.”
“Psht,” she flips her hand at me. “I’m old, not blind or dead. Besides, I didn’t say I wanted to jump his exotic bones.”
I groan as I bang my head against the table. “Where do you learn these terms? I mean it’s not normal for someone your age to blurt out crap like that.”
“Did you just use the term normal in a sentence describing me?” She raises her brow surprisingly at me.
I laugh. “Good point.”
“So, are you going to tell me why Pocahontas’ brother had you running for the hills?”
“There is something wrong with you, you know that, right?”
She smiles at me. “That’s what the voices in my head keep telling me. Now spill it.”
About the author: Quinn is a 32 year old wife, mother, nurse, and writer, not necessarily in that order. She lives in beautiful West Arkansas with her husband, son, Nora their Doberman pinscher and Phoebe their cat (who thinks she is a ninja in disguise). She loves writing, reading, and crocheting. Her favorite holiday is Christmas, favorite book(s) is Pride and Prejudice, The Alpha and Omega Series by Patricia Briggs, and the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling. She loves to be silly and have fun, loves music and thinks there is no greater sound in the world than that of her little boy's laughter. Author Links: Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter
Welcome to the Book Blitz and Giveaway of The Solitude of Passion by Addison Moore. Brought to you by Xpresso Book Tours.
The Solitude of Passion
by Addison Moore
Publication Date: Aug 13, 2013
Contemporary, NA, Romance
When old love and new love collide an impossibility is born.
When Lee Townsend’s husband leaves on a community outreach to China, the last thing she expects is for him to never come back—for him to have tragically met his demise.
Lee goes on to marry his adversary and settles into life and business with him, merging her vineyard with his and creating a worldwide conglomerate.
Five years later a twist of fate brings the past back to her and forces Lee to make a decision that will change the landscape of her life forever.
Secrets emerge, forcing relationships to be examined—magnifying the surprising true underpinnings of her marriage to both Mitch and Max.
Lee’s heart is unwilling to surrender her love for either Mitch or Max. She must choose to carry forward with the past or present.
Lee has a choice to make. Mitch can’t figure out how to win. Max never loses. Worlds collide in THE SOLITUDE OF PASSION
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About the author:Addison Moore is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who writes contemporary and paranormal romance. Previously she worked as a therapist on a locked psychiatric unit for nearly a decade. She resides on the West Coast with her husband, four wonderful children, and two dogs where she eats too much chocolate and stays up way too late. When she's not writing, she's reading.
Steven Manchester is the author of the #1 bestseller Twelve Months, Goodnight, Brian, and several other books. His work has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, CBS’s The Early
