Sunday 30 September 2018

NEW RELEASE & REVIEW: Immaterial Defense by Lauren Stewart


Title: Immaterial Defense
Series: Once and Forever Series
Author: Lauren Stewart
Genre: Contemporary Romance/New Adult
Release Date: September 25, 2018










She’s all alone in the darkness.
He’s lighting up the stage.
But not even the brightest spotlight can reach the shadows of a broken soul. 

Declan

Every wanna-be rocker dreams of the day when crazed fans will pack their shows. But the more people worship me as some kind of musical god, the more I realize why singers are called "performers." I'm just a pretender. A fake. 
I need something real. Something to break through the revolting glamour that's bled into every part of my life. And for one perfect night, I found that in Sara. 
Then she ran. 

Sara

No sane woman would’ve ever walked away from Declan Hollis after only one night. But
walking away from him was the safest move for both of us.
I've spent so much time burying my old self in the past, trying to erase the vulnerable person I used to be. I’m smarter now—men are dangerous, and relationships are doubly so. 
But the more time I spend away from him, the more I want to go back.
I may end up shattered all over again. Or maybe, just maybe, he'll be the one to help me pick up the pieces.


Caroline's Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐



This was a great, angsty read.

"I really liked this girl. More than should be possible at this point. It's hard to believe I'd only met her a couple of hours ago."


Declan is a rising rockstar. He has no shortage of willing women but he makes a real connection with Sara and is convinced that she felt something, too. So why does she seem reluctant to explore something more with him?

"I'm surprised you want to walk away from something this good. Something I think could be amazing if given half a chance."

Sara has baggage. She's good with one-night-stands because that's intimacy on her own terms. She wants to be strong but that means being on her own and not relying on anyone except herself. However, Declan chips away at her defenses.

"There was nothing casual about what we were doing. This was real. And the scariest part was how good it felt."

Declan realises he needs to be patient and go slowly with Sara because she obviously has issues. At the same time, he is dealing with his own issues, and needs to know that Sara is there for him when the chips are down.

This was a great read. It was angsty and dealt with a sensitive subject. I loved how Sara gradually let down her barriers to welcome Declan in. She was prickly and evasive. Declan was a good, solid guy with a lot of responsibility on his own shoulders - decisions he'd made that he wasn't one hundred percent on board with - due to trying to please the people he cared about. He was a natural caregiver and nurturer. I loved how he looked past Sara's armour to the real, vulnerable woman beneath.

This story was based on The Emperor's New Clothes and it was about Sara outwardly being someone she wasn't, but I think it was just as much about Declan being someone he wasn't either.





My bandmates and I grabbed a couple of burritos in the Mission District—cheap, delicious, and as gigantic as Pete claimed his dick was. A fun fact that ruined everybody’s appetite and no one believed. No one was willing to verify Pete’s claim either.

Somehow, our conversation maneuvered to the sad state of my love life. I’m fairly sure Trevor had guided us there, if for no other reason than to give me shit about how pathetic it was.

I sighed and pushed my food away, almost untouched. “If five years ago, anyone had said, ‘Hey, Dec. How would you like it if every woman you met wanted to sleep with you, just so she could tell her friends she’d banged the lead singer of a band?’ My response would’ve been: ‘Did you say something after ‘every woman I met wanted to sleep with me?’ And I wouldn’t have cared what the answer was. Now, knowing women are using me is just depressing.”

“Fuck that,” Trevor said. “I swear to the gods of music, if a woman wants to use me for sex, you sure as hell won’t hear me complaining about it.”

“That’s the difference between you and Declan,” Pete said, already smiling. “You said, ‘if a woman wants to use you.’ And that’s a pretty good-sized ‘if’.”

Everyone other than Trevor laughed. It made sense—he couldn’t see his own expression.

“Shit,” Pete continued. “No shame in it—none of us sees the amount of action Declan could.”

“If he weren’t such a pussy, you mean.”

“Obviously.”

“Hey!” I said it loud enough to know that they’d all heard me. So they were just pretending not to.

There was no way to explain it so they’d understand. Or not think I was insane. I’d guess that would be the natural reaction to a guy talking about how he feels like he’s two separate people—the one he’s always been and the one everyone expects him to be. It’s even sadder when the guy realizes that almost everyone he meets nowadays likes the fake him more than the real one.

Trevor would’ve gone cross-eyed if I told him that, until that night with Sara, sex just wasn’t as good as it had been before anyone knew who we were. 

It was a conclusion I didn’t come to without a lot of rigorous testing, by the way. My folks didn’t raise a quitter. 

But it became a little unpleasant when every time I fucked someone, I couldn’t get over the idea that it wasn’t really me who was getting laid. It was the guy I played onstage. 

We might have looked the same, but every day he seemed more and more foreign to me. We didn’t wear the same clothes, use the same words, share the same values. I felt more like an actor now than a musician. Slipping into a role as I slipped into a costume that had been picked out and prepped by someone who’d barely ever spoken to me.

That was what made my one night with Sara stick with me. Not only was it physically amazing, Sara hadn’t met Declan Hollis, the lead singer of Self Defense who someone else had designed. She’d met Declan Hollis, the man who just wanted to be normal, get a house somewhere quiet where my dog didn’t have to run on concrete and shit on a four-by-four square of fake grass.

And she’d liked that Declan. She’d reminded me that he was enough, that he was attractive and could make someone laugh.

“Wait a sec. Does that shit really bother you?” Trevor asked. “Seriously? Fuck, that’s the only reason I’m here. If women didn’t want to use me to say they’d fucked a rockstar, I’d be sitting in front of a bonfire on the beach somewhere, drinking beer and playing somebody else’s tunes.”

“First of all, you’re not a rockstar.”

“Not yet. And luckily, these girls don’t think that far ahead.”

I grumbled but couldn’t disagree. “Secondly, you’d be playing someone else’s tunes? What the fuck is wrong with our tunes?”

He laughed. “Don’t worry, bro. The writing is flawless. It’s just not really my style.”

Again, I couldn’t disagree, at least with the second part. It wasn’t my style either. I’d stopped writing and doing what I wanted to a while ago.







Lauren Stewart grew up reading Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, James Clavell, Piers Anthony, and Agatha Christie, which explains why she can't seem to stick to one genre at a time.

She got to the more romantic stuff pretty late, but paranormal romance was what changed her from an obsessed reader into an obsessed reader and writer. Her writing style comes from a mash-up of all her early favorites and her new ones, women like JR Ward, Karen Marie Moning, Alice Clayton, Emma Scott, and Janet Evanovich. Wow, how much would you pay to be invited to that dinner party?


Lauren wants to make people think, cry, and giggle, not necessarily all at the same time (although it's great when it happens). In every one of her books, you'll find elements of other genres - fantasy, mystery, romance, paranormal, suspense, YA, women's literature, all with a touch of humor.

Because what doesn't kill us should make us laugh.





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Saturday 29 September 2018

REVIEW: Billionaire's Matchmaker by Sierra Cartwright






Titans

An exclusive private society of the world’s most powerful ambitious gentlemen
Sex, Secrets, and Intrigue

Billionaire's Matchmaker

Hope Malloy is not intimidated by rich, powerful men. So when she’s hired to find a bride for billionaire Rafe Sterling, she’s certain the assignment will be easy. Not only is he sexy and a renowned philanthropist, the man is heir to one of the country’s largest hotel fortunes. Who wouldn’t want to marry him?

Rafe Sterling does not want a wife. Too bad it’s the one thing he desperately needs. His father ran off with a woman half his age, and Rafe can’t become permanent CEO of Sterling Worldwide unless he’s married.

When he’s ambushed by the competent matchmaker, he’s captivated by her intelligence and seductive innocence.

All of a sudden, he is thinking about a future and having her under his complete and total command. Will she run when she discovers his deepest, darkest secrets and shocking, sensual demands?


* * * * * Although Billionaire’s Matchmaker is part of the Titans world, this sexy story is a standalone book with a feel-good Happily Ever After * * * * *

Julie's Review 
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


This book will always hold a special place in my heart, for very personal reasons and whilst it was fabulous to see my name on the dedication, I really loved the story.

Rafe, a hard tough businessman who after being ambushed by his Mother and sister, forcing him to find a wife in order to progress within the family business. They had employed a Matchmaker, Hope, she did a fantastic job as a matchmaker, arranging all the introductions, and meet and greets.

Rafe's cousin Noah was hot on his heels for the top spot in the Company, after Rafe's father meets and falls in love with Lillibet! She is not what she seems either.


The friendship between Rafe and Hope blossoms, they learn a lot about each other, and Hope learns more about the BDSM lifestyle, they also learn more about each other's friends and colleagues.

Loved Hope's cat - The Colonel - what a stinker, you just knew that Rafe was going to win him over!

Rafe was a very interesting man, it made interesting reading, seeing him and Hope together, her fighting her own feeling about her life and their bedroom scenes, his over powering presence, but oh so patient.

Within this book we got the whole mysterious thrilling story, about Rafe's father re-joining the Company and with the disappearance of Lillibet to the whole mindset of Rafe and Hope, coming to terms with each of their feelings. Great story!

Personally, I absolutely loved seeing my name in print, and reading the chapter about the fabulous house Rafe's Social Society was held in, thank you Sierra.

Friday 28 September 2018

REVIEW: Once Upon a Sure Thing by Lauren Blakely








It's so easy being best friends with a gorgeous, talented, charming guy.

Said no woman ever. Except me.

My friendship with Miller is a sure thing — he’s my plus one, my emergency contact, and my shoulder to lean on. He’s also been by my side helping me raise one helluva awesome kid who’s the center of my world.

Nothing will change our easy breezy friendship. Until I have the bright idea to convince him to start a new band with me.

Trouble is, our sizzling chemistry in the recording studio is getting harder to ignore, no matter how risky it might be.

***

Sing sexy songs with the woman you’ve been lusting after? Get up close and personal as you croon to the woman you’ve wanted for years?

Piece of cake. 
NOT.

Performing with the sweet, sassy and insanely wonderful Ally is like one gigantic obstacle course of challenges for my libido. And my libido is one sexy love song away from kissing her senseless and taking her home.

But, I’m not a serious kind of guy, and she’s not a one-night-stand kind of woman. If we cross the horizontal line, we might risk our sure thing and end up out of tune forever... 




Caroline's Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐



Gah! Miller and Ally are crazy sexy together!

"I'm not sure what to make of this new zip that rushes through me."

Miller and Ally have been the best of friends for six years. There was a zing when they first met but with a few choice words, they ended up firmly in the friend zone. 

"I drag my lips lower down her neck till she lets out a soft gasp. It turns me on ferociously."

When Miller decides to look for a female singing partner, Ally auditions incognito, and they are both blown away by the dynamite chemistry between them. When Miller propositions Ally with an arrangement, she is helpless to resist. However, things get tricky when they start realising that their onstage chemistry is only the start of something much deeper, but are they willing to risk their beautiful friendship?

"Sometimes, something hits you all at once. Something that's been in front of you all along slams into you hard."

Miller and Ally are fabulous! I loved their connection, their deep friendship, their funny banter. They clicked right from their first meeting and, we might mourn the six years they spent as just friends, but all that time they were building a solid relationship. 

Can't wait for the final book in this series!



Purchase Links

✦ Kindle ➜ mybook.to/ASureThing
✦ iBooks ➜ blkly.pub/iASureThing
✦ Google Play ➜ blkly.pub/ASureThing-gp
✦ Paperback ➜ mybook.to/ASureThing-pb
✦ Audible ➜ blkly.pub/ASureThing-Aud

NEW RELEASE & REVIEW: Without Judgment by Aubrey Bondurant




Title: Without Judgment
Series: The Without Series #3
Author: Aubrey Bondurant
Genre: Contemporary Adult Romance
Release Date: September 28, 2018



Blurb

Do you know what I got for always being the good girl?  A cheating ex, fake friends, and now a scandal that has even my own father ashamed of me.

No one believes it isn’t me on the video.  My new bodyguard is no exception.  Mason is not only my brother’s best friend,
but my newly assigned babysitter who wishes he was anywhere but here. 

He’s both hot and judgmental.  It’s a maddening combination that has me wanting to push all his buttons.

With his bad boy vibe, alpha demeanor and the way he calls me princess, I'm convinced my draw to him is madness. Until I learn under the tattoos and piercings there may be more than meets the eye. Turns out I may not be the only one fighting the attraction.

I’m determined not to be the helpless girl everyone thinks I am, even if it means taking drastic measures. 

The question is whose side will Mason be on in the end?



Caroline's Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2


This is a new-to-me author and I loved the story.

"He was sex on an angry stick."

Avery finds herself in the middle of a sex tape scandal, which jeopardises her father's mayoral election. With no one believing that it's not her in the video, her father appoints a bodyguard to keep her safe from the paparazzi and to make sure she toes the PR line. The bodyguard might be gorgeous but he's also stern, and seems to have judged her before he even really knows her.

"The thought struck me that perhaps the problem was she was more my cup of tea than I liked."

Babysitting a spoilt princess is the last thing Mason wants to do when he's trying to get his new security business off the ground, but he can't deny this favour for his best friend. However, as judgemental as he is about her, she pleasantly surprises him at every turn, and he's beyond attracted to her. 

"I think we both knew the moment I got into this bed we wouldn't be sleeping."

I really enjoyed this story. Avery is far from a spoilt society girl - she's soft-hearted and pretty sweet, and a good girl. I loved how she stood up for herself and the smart way she asserted her independence. Mason is a stand-up guy but closed off and has huge barriers around his heart, which stop people from getting close to him. I loved how Avery chipped through those barriers. Beneath his tough guy façade, he was terribly vulnerable and fearful of rejection. I enjoyed how loving Avery made him re-evaluate the way he looked at his life and pushed him outside of his comfort zone, and helped him to realise what made him really happy.

A great, sexy, slightly angsty story with a bit of mystery thrown in.









Purchase Links

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited






Also Available



AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited



AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited



Author Bio

Aubrey Bondurant is a working mom who loves to write, read and travel. 

She describes her writing style as: "Adult Contemporary Erotic Romantic Comedy," which is just another way of saying she likes her characters funny, her bedroom scenes hot, and her romances with a happy ending. 

When Aubrey isn't working her day job, or spending time with her family, she's on her laptop typing away on her next story. She only wishes there were more hours of the day!

She's a former member of the US Marine Corps and passionate about veteran charities and giving back to the community. She loves a big drooly dog, a fantastic margarita, and football. 


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Thursday 27 September 2018

NEW RELEASE & REVIEW: For You by Alexandra Silva




Title: For You
Series: Imperfect Hearts #1
Author: Alexandra Silva
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: September 27, 2018



Blurb

Dear Phillip,

In one moment life can change. In a blink of an eye. With the click of a finger.

We’ve loved, we’ve fought, and we’ve won. You and I. We’ve held on and on, and now it seems that fate demands we let go.

I thought that you’d be the death of me. Turns out that I may be the death of you.

They taught me that if you love someone, you let them go. They were wrong.

I let go—now, I’d do anything just to have you once more.

I’d do anything…for you.

**Disclaimer: If you have not read No One But You please be aware that this is a prequel to Dorian's HEA, this book does not end happily.



Danielle's Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐



I was so excited to get to know Dory. When I met her in No One But You, I just knew I’d fall in love with her strength. She definitely did not disappoint.

I’m not really sure what I was expecting to learn of her & Phillip’s love story. It surely wasn’t the fact that I’d spend more time than not being angry at Pip. Even Dory said it herself...How can you hate someone you love so much? I was so saddened by the choices Phillip made and how much he shattered Dorian’s world. 

But alas, she prevailed. She made it through the toughest of times. (Although she had me crying right along with her.)

I loved the little glimpses of Jake I got throughout this story. It makes me even more excited for their HEA! 

Of course I gave this baby 5 STARS!!!




ADD TO GOODREADS





Purchase Links

99c for release day ONLY!

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Only available at the following retailers TODAY:


Available in audio soon






Also Available


AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited

Available in audio soon






Author Bio


Alexandra Silva is a lover of words and romance. She blames the classics and a nutty English teacher for her obsession with books and fiction. Come rain or shine with either coffee or wine in hand you can find her with her nose stuck in a book and her head in the clouds. She lives in London outnumbered by her very loud boys, with her very own hero and their two wild cats—Jack and Jill.


Author Links




Wednesday 26 September 2018

NEW RELEASE & REVIEW: Fool Me Once by Brittany Crowley




Title: Fool Me Once
Author: Brittany Crowley
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: September 26, 2018



Blurb

In life you’re lead to believe that soulmates can appear in the most unlikely of places. You’ll meet a handsome stranger and know in that single moment he’s who you were meant to be with.

They’ll be your forever.

That wasn’t my story with Carter. Our love wasn’t instant and our demise seemed inevitable.

But then Nate enters my life when I least expect it and begins to battle the reinforced walls around my heart.

Is it possible I could be destined for two great loves when some people can search their whole lives and never find one?

It’s easier said than done to forgive and forget and I keep asking myself the same question over and over.

Is love really worth it?


Danielle's Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐



Lexi meets Carter in an unusual circumstance. He's charming and charismatic and she's done for almost immediately. Their whirlwind romance takes a dramatic turn; I'd like to say unexpectedly, but I think I kinda saw it coming.

Fast forward a few years... Lexi is now guarded and alone. Well, not really alone as Carter did leave her with the ultimate parting gift ;) But the number he did on her heart leaves her hesitant to say the least, so when Nate walks into her store and asks her out, she says no. Repeatedly.

Nate had me hook, line and sinker from the first moment he was introduced into this story. So confident and sure of himself. I loved him immediately. Then they run into each other at the bar and I'm officially done.

They seemed to fit seamlessly. The connection was perfect and little H loved him too.

So, why in the eff did Carter Larue have to reappear?! Everything's perfect then BAM! All of these old unsettled feelings begin to resurface.

Uncertainty weighs heavily on Nate and Lexi's relationship, so much so that Nate encourages her to explore her feelings for Cater before they get in any deeper.... Excuse me whaaaa? Say again?

Y'all! I was soooo nervous reading this book! Well, toward the end I was. The beginning was fun until it wasn't. Then comes Nate and I'm a total goner. Then Carter comes back and I'm screaming in my head to Lexi "DON'T BE AN IDIOT! DON'T MESS IT UP!"

I really, realy, really enjoyed my first ever Brittany Crowley story. <3








Purchase Links

99c for a limited time

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited






Author Bio


Brittany Crowley was born and raised in Massachusetts. She still lives there today with her husband and 3 kids. Getting into the world of romance after she had her first child, she was hooked. Though she had many ideas in her head, Brittany was unsure if she had what it took to become a writer. A few encouraging words and one writing challenge later, she completed her first book. Now you can find her trying to keep up with her crazy kids and writing any chance she gets.


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