Tuesday, August 6, 2013

BOOK BLITZ: Repossession by Rachael Wade


Book Info

Repossession
by Rachael Wade
Publication Date: June 21st, 2013

Skylla only knows that she has been kidnapped and held prisoner by the foreign invaders and their human allies. And that the world is ending. Or so the humans think. The invaders have made it clear that their arrival is one of hostile intent, and as their takeover spreads, so does the panic across the globe. No one knows how to defeat them, or if it’s even sane to try.
Jet, Skylla’s human captor, is up for the challenge, though. A traitor in Skylla’s eyes, he is working with them. But Jet has his own agenda; one that doesn’t include babysitting Skylla or helping the enemies. And as the human race struggles to keep the invaders from achieving their goal, Jet and Skylla’s paths collide to reveal the truth behind Skylla’s abduction.
The invaders are headed for the water. Jet is headed for the water. But that’s the last place Skylla wants to be. That’s where the future of humanity lies, and where the bridge to their yesterdays was burned. On a mission to take back what is rightfully theirs, Earth’s population is determined to make sure this isn’t the end. But some endings were never theirs to begin with.

Excerpt 
The quiet drone of a train’s chugging grew louder as it approached but was still eerily muted, a graceful ghost passing in the night. Minimal light shone from the front car as Jet stepped forward to align himself with its path.
“How do we know where it stops?” I asked, positioning myself next to him.
“We don’t.”
“So …”
“So we have to make a run for it.”
“You mean jump?”
“Yup.”
“As in … jump onto a moving train.”
“Yup.”
“This is crazy.”
“A dangerously disturbing level of crazy. No worries, baby.” He patted my shoulder with a smartass grin. “It’s just your area of expertise.” I narrowed my eyes at him, storing that one away for a future retaliation jab of my own.
Adrenaline spiked as the train grew closer, every nerve ending a live wire to the heart pounding violently in my chest. Jet grabbed my hand, glancing at my gun. “I’ll go first. Once I get a good grip, I’ll haul you up. Whatever you do, don’t stop running. And don’t let go.”
“I should go first,” I raised my voice to speak over the rumbling of the track. “You’re hurt. You’re going to need upper body strength.”
“I’m fine. Don’t fight me on this.”
Blood pounded hot in my ears, my heart rate jumping and hair blowing wildly around my cheeks as the train began to whizz by. The rush in my veins propelled me forward the moment I spotted an opportunity, and I launched into a controlled sprint. Springing upward, I lunged forward and latched on to the side of the car, the metal handle slipping beneath my sweaty grip. I shrieked and latched on harder, hearing Jet’s voice thunder behind me. The train’s vibrations rattled against my chest, sending my senses on high alert.
Clenching the handle until my knuckles hurt, I bit down on my lip to ease the tension and yanked hard to the right, feeling a heavy latch click and shift beneath my fingers. The door slid open and I hauled myself up and inside, grabbing onto the side of the frame to steady myself before flipping around to reach for Jet. He was running full speed after me, his arms pumping tight and sharp at his sides as he tore forward.
“Come on!” I yelled, extending one arm. It only took him a few seconds to catch up, his agile form sending his body off the ground and up onto the car before I could blink. With a loud shout, he clamped onto my arm, his other hand flying over his chest to cradle his gun. I was thrown onto my back with a thud before I knew what hit me, his body covering mine with a crash that left me seeing stars.
“Fucking crazy woman!” he shouted over the rail’s relentless roar, louder now that we were level with it. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” His heat pressed into me, his arms caging me in as he stared down into my eyes, his nose aligned with mine.
“Fulfilling my sole purpose to drive you mad, it seems.” I couldn’t help it. The rush sent me sky-high and an explosive laugh escaped my lungs. I shook beneath him, my breath heaving against his chest.
“Damn it, Skylla!” He dropped his head as he gasped for air. “Seriously!” he added for effect, but there was nothing serious in his voice now. He was laughing too, just as deep, just as euphorically as I was, and I decided right then that the sound of Jet’s laugh was almost as sexy as his full lips and ripped body.
“Wanna go again?”
“You’re reckless. I can’t even look at you.”
“You’re crushing me.”
His head lifted, those blue eyes settling on me as his laughter slowed. “You deserve it.”
My hand shifted and found his injured hip; my fingers brushed the bandage through his shirt. He flinched. “And you need to admit when you need help.”
Pushing himself up, he rolled off me and sat back on his heels, wincing and gripping his side, his lips pulling back and teeth visibly grinding with the motion. I sat up and scooted forward, mindful of the gaping railcar door. I reached up and slid it shut, slamming it with a loud grunt until I felt it lock into place. The loud rumble of the wheels hitting the track was muted now, but the rattling hum still thumped away from outside, filling the dimly lit car with a shaky buzz.
“I’m fine,” he said.
“Fine. Play it your way. I’m going to see if I can find you some medicine.”
I helped push him backward to prop him against the wall, peeling his backpack from his shoulders first. “Try and rest, I’ll see what I can find out.”
“I’m not letting you wander around these cars alone. Not fuckin’ happening.”
“If you don’t rest and get medicine for that wound soon, I’ll be stuck wandering everywhere alone. That ointment won’t cut it. You’re going to need antibiotics. It’s starting to get infected.”
His gaze snapped up to mine and held my stare. “Finger on the trigger.”
“Fire on your mark.” I smirked. 

Saturday, August 3, 2013

BOOK BLITZ & GIVEAWAY: Nice Girl to Love by Violet Duke


Book Info

Nice Girl to Love
by Violet Duke
Publication Date: July 31st

The • Nice • Girl n. 1. female of the species who never does anything or anyone bad: Hands-off, she’s a nice girl. 2. the woman that men take home to meet mom: Find my son a ‘nice girl to love.’ SEE ALSO: a good girl; girl scout; Abby Bartlett
This is the complete Nice Girl to Love serial romance collection, which contains: Resisting the Bad Boy (Book One), Falling for the Good Guy (Book Two), and Choosing the Right Man (Book Three).

THE ONE SHE NEVER THOUGHT SHE COULD KEEP…
Abby Bartlett is the quintessential nice girl. Between teaching, volunteering, completing her PhD, and helping her best friend raise his daughter, Abby never gets the chance to be anything but nice. That is, until the all-wrong-for-her man she’s only ever known from afar starts daring her to simply take that chance for herself. His sage advice? Try something wild and fast.  Preferably him.
An unbridled, hotshot attorney with a not-so-little black book, Connor Sullivan has earned himself quite the bad boy reputation. But in his defense, he’s a very conscientious one. He knows far too well that sometimes in life, love isn’t enough…or worse, not even a factor at all. To avoid that misery–and repel the drama–Connor has a firm ‘nothing over a month’ rule.  Who knew a nice girl would be the one to make him want to break all his rules?

THE ONE SHE NEVER HOPED SHE COULD HAVE…
Abby is well aware that everyone thinks she’s in love with her best friend Brian. He is, after all, the type of man a nice girl should be with—the polar opposite of the bad boy—the kind of guy who didn’t let his wife’s decade-long illness stop him from showering her with a lifetime of love every second until her dying day. But everyone’s wrong; she couldn’t possibly be in love with him.  Because she’s never once allowed herself that option.
It’s taken a while but Brian has finally come to terms with surviving the woman he spent half his life loving, a third of it losing. Truth is though, he wouldn’t have ‘survived’ any of it really had it not been for Abby—sweet, incredible Abby—the woman he’s never once had to picture his life without, never realized he couldn’t truly live without. Until now. Now that he’s finally able to love her the way she deserves, the way he knows she wants to be loved…by his brother.  Who’s giving him exactly one chance to speak now or forever hold his peace.

A DECISION SHE NEVER DREAMED SHE’D HAVE TO MAKE…
And now it’s up to Abby to decide between the bad boy wanting to start a life with her and the good guy fighting for the life they’ve already built.

Excerpt 
 Abby went mute as she felt Brian’s tongue lash across her skin, sensitizing the nerves to levels beyond pleasure.

If he didn’t stop, there was a good chance she’d pull the towel he was wearing right off.
“Do you want me to take it off?” he asked, his words tickling her skin.
Yes.  “No,” she stammered, unable to take her eyes off the portion of the towel that was tucked at his hipbone.  Just one good tug—
“I was talking about the ice, sweetheart.  But if you have other things in mind…”
Ice?  What ice?  “Oh!  Ow.”  The burning of the ice at her ankle finally filtered through to her brain.  “Yes, actually, can you take it off?  I’m a wuss when it comes to icing my injuries.”
Brian quickly pulled off the ice and rewrapped her ankle before resuming his massage.  “So back to the other things you wanted me to take off,” he teased.
Okay, seriously?  It was a really good thing the man had never flirted with her before because she was certain she’d never have survived it, especially not when his hands were kneading her muscles into butter.
“You’re impossible,” she complained thickly, though it came out more like a purr.  His massages should be illegal for how good they felt.
She blinked slowly at him and started wondering idly what was so wrong with him losing the towel.  A fuzzy smile drifted across her face.
“Damn, you’re going to fall asleep on me aren’t you?”  Brian’s voice floated over her hair softly as he pressed a smiling kiss to her forehead.  “Go ahead and rest, sweetheart.  You had a pretty eventful afternoon.”
With that, he stood and walked over to the linen closet for some clothes.
Shame.
He was heartbreakingly handsome.  Always had been.  But ever since he’d gone back to coaching afterschool to supplement his teaching income, he’d gotten even burlier from the added lifting sessions before practice.  It was almost unfair.  Superhuman, really.  His build was now more impressive than the average underwear model’s physique—a standard issue Sullivan trait it seemed—though every other aspect of him remained far gentler and way more mellow than Connor.
She’d never thought of mellow as being the new sexy.  But it so was. 
And nice was the new hot.  With two T’s.
Hearing Brian’s soft chuckles echoing in the room, she realized she must have said the last couple of sentences out loud.
“I think you’re ‘nice with two T’s’ too, Abby,” he whispered before kissing her on the cheek.  “Sweet dreams, honey.”

Giveaway

Thursday, August 1, 2013

BLOG TOUR: Waiting for the Storm by Marie Landry


Book Info

Waiting for the Storm
by Marie Landry
Publication Date:April 9th, 2013

Charlotte O’Dell knows this summer is going to suck. Her beloved mother just died, her sister hates her, and her dad has completely checked out. Fulfilling her mother’s final wish, the family heads to Angel Island for the summer to stay in a beach house her mother once loved.
After a year of being shut away taking care of her mother, Charlotte is numb and practically afraid of her own shadow; she hopes going to the island will give her the time and space she needs to begin healing, and an opportunity to bring her family back together. When she meets her mysterious neighbor, Ezra, it doesn’t take long for Charlotte to confess the issues she’s developed. Ezra begins giving Charlotte assignments to get over her fears, and although she accepts his tasks, all she really wants is to be with him. When she’s with Ezra, she’s able to forget the hollow ache in her heart and the fact that her family is falling apart. But Ezra has secrets…
Can Charlotte pull what’s left of her family together, mend her broken heart, and allow herself to fall for Ezra? Or is it all just a storm waiting to happen?

Excerpt 

“Oh, Charlotte, there you are.” Dad walked into the kitchen and looked at me as if he hadn’t seen me in ages. “That boy who’s working on the porch…what is his name, and why can’t I remember it?”

“Ezra,” I prompted.

“Ezra!” Dad said, snapping his fingers. “Ezra asked me to tell you he had to leave early today to check on a project he’s doing for someone else. Said he’ll see you soon, though. He seems like a nice boy.”

“Yeah, he does,” I agreed. The old Dad—as in pre-Zombie Dad—would have prodded me for information about whether I liked Ezra. He would have jabbed me lightly in the ribs and teased me until I told him everything he wanted to know. I waited a minute, hoping he might ask, but he didn’t.

“He’s a fast worker, too,” he commented instead. “I thought it would take ages to get that porch down, but he’s almost done.” I just nodded, unsure how to respond. After a few seconds, he said, “Anyway, I was going to head into town, check things out. I thought you and Ella might like to come along, but she just left. You up for it?”

“Absolutely,” I said without hesitation. I thought for sure it would be days before I’d get a chance to go anywhere, and I was eager to see what else the island had to offer.

“Great.” Dad gave me a small smile and stepped closer, running his hand down my long braid and tugging lightly on the end. “I know this isn’t easy,” he said quietly. “I know you and Mom were close…and I know I’ve been…” He waved a hand around, as if hoping to grasp the right words from thin air. Finally he shrugged helplessly, searching my face for understanding.

“I know, Dad.” My throat was so thick I could only whisper the words.

He leaned his forehead against mine and closed his eyes. I closed mine too, and felt tears slip down my cheeks.

“I’m so angry, Charlotte,” he whispered. “So angry at her for leaving us.”

I jerked back and looked at him in shock. His eyes were wide, and he looked like he desperately wished he could take back his words. The guilt in his expression made the hollow ache around my heart return. He started to back toward the door, but I grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

“I’m mad too.” My voice was a barely audible whisper now, and I prayed that wherever Mom was she hadn’t heard me. I hadn’t let myself acknowledge that particular emotion because it felt like I was betraying Mom. She hadn’t asked to get sick, and she sure as hell hadn’t asked to die, but it didn’t stop the anger.

I had made up my mind it was one thing I would never share with another living soul. My sadness, my pain, my inability to understand how life could be so unfair sometimes—that was one thing—but the anger was something I was ashamed of.

Until now. Until I realized I wasn’t alone. 

Dad just stared at me. He looked like he wanted to believe me, but he wasn’t quite sure if I was just saying the words or if they were true.

“I’ve been angry for so long,” he told me, his voice quiet as if he were confessing his sins and hoping to be absolved. “It’s not fair. She was so…so young and beautiful and vibrant, with such an amazing life ahead. But it was ripped away from her. She was ripped away from us. I know it happens all the time, but it’s just so wrong.”

“I know.” I was still holding his wrist, and I could feel his pulse fluttering under his skin like a trapped butterfly. “I know.”

“But…” He shrugged and wiped at his red eyes. “That’s life. Being angry doesn’t bring her back. It doesn’t change a damn thing, does it?”

I shook my head. Without a word, he pulled his arm from my grasp, turned, and walked toward the sliding doors in the living room. “I’ll be waiting in the car,” he called. “Take your time.”

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

BLOG TOUR & GIVEAWAY: Vigilante Nights by Erin Richards


Book Info
Vigilante Nights
by Erin Richards
Publication Date: July 18th, 2013


A "good boy" will do anything for vengeance when a gang rite kills his twin sister. Will Lucas win, or follow his sister Silver into the darkness?
After a hideous car wreck, Lucas wakes from a coma to find that his world is gutted. Not only is his beloved twin sister, Silver, gone forever, but Lucas is broken in body and spirit. He will never be a college athlete, and is robbed of what he now realizes was the most important bond of his life. Although they weren't identical twins, Lucas and Silver shared a bond so fierce it defied reason, and was nearly supernatural.
After her death, that bond seems to endure when Lucas sees Silver everywhere he turns. Either he's crazy, or Silver is trying to tell him something about the California gang initiation they stumbled into that cost Silver her life. Lucas is bent on revenge, turning on Raymond, Silver's former boyfriend; the one Lucas never wanted her to date. He forms a posse of vigilantes to take out the gangsters responsible for Silver's death, but he risks not only his own life, but the love of the new girl on his block, who knows more about Lucas and Silver than can be accounted for by mere chance


Excerpt

I leaped at him, my fist hitting his face full force. I felt his nose fracture against my knuckles and the scathing chaser up my hand. He roared and shot an arm toward my gut. Lashing gusts forced us backward, and we rolled down the side of the cliff onto a narrow stony landing. The last firm footing before we tumbled into hell. That’s when I noticed the ripping burn in my middle. Stunned, I felt the warmth of blood mushroom across my stomach beneath my cold, clammy shirt. He’d stuck me with the knife, buried so deep it appeared his fingers were digging inside my gut. My hands circled his neck. As I began to squeeze, a mountainous wave blasted the rocks and slammed us flat. Water sloshed over the ledge, dragging at us like an undertow.

He lost his hold on the knife. Pulling on my arms, he tried to loosen my grip on his neck. I dug for his jugular. Blinded by blood lust, I lost notice of everything except the sneering face pissing on my car, the lustful eyes staring at Silver, the gaping mouths when the two hotrods approached the intersection.

Another wave smashed into us, knocking us apart. He toppled backward, tumbled into the receding water. I fell forward on my hands and knees, gripping a sharp edge of rock.

“I’m gonna kill you.” Pisser sprang up bowed over, prepping to gore me again.

I rolled out of the way, tripping him. He fell onto another flat boulder. I managed to push to my feet, the dark, tempestuous sea behind me an ominous threat. Pisser lunged for me, barreling us both onto the jagged rocks along the edge. He thudded on top. I rolled, flipped him on his side, my hand fisted on his jacket sleeve. His body thumped on another ledge of rocks.

Another wave towered up. Too late. It crashed down, a bludgeoning, suffocating weight pinning me to the boulders. Hanging on for what sketchy life remained, I waited for the wave to recede. It didn’t. Another followed and a third. A triple threat.

I heard screaming. Tara or Alyssa? Strange thoughts of death flashed through my mind. A white beam lit the rocks lending their dark death a momentary glimpse of rebirth. If I died, am I supposed to limp into the light or some stupid thing? Did Silver ever go into the light? Where’d she go? She seemed to disappear when I didn’t think of her. My mind rambled.

A hoarse, terrified voice spiraled above the storm. “Help me, man. You want another death on your hands?”

Water flowed, ebbed, and I lay half over the cliff, my right leg stuck between two rocks. Frozen fingers slid over my hand. I tightened my tenuous hold, reaching forward to grab Pisser’s arm with my other hand. He dangled from the cliff, dead weight in my faltering grip. Without my help, he’d bite it hard. In one split second, I contemplated letting go, prying his fingers off the rock one by one, hearing his body plop to its death on the boulders below.


Giveaway

Friday, July 26, 2013

BOOK BLITZ: Bittersweet Junction by Ivy Sinclair


Book Info
 Bittersweet Junction
by Ivy Sinclair
Publication Date: 2013

Best friends once, lovers never, yet an attraction that can’t be ignored.
Five years ago, Julia Bell walked away from her life the moment her high school diploma was in her hand. She left her family and friends behind to start over and escape the chokehold of small town life in Benton Hill. But an urgent call from her little sister brings Julia back to her hometown wholly unprepared for what awaits her.
Ben Miller was always the nice guy. Just before high school graduation, he stepped out of that role hoping to capture the heart of the woman he loved. Instead, in quick succession he lost the girl, and the future he worked so hard to achieve.
Even though Julia and Ben are drawn to each other, echoes of the past block them at every turn. Secrets are exposed, and reality needs to be dealt with if they can ever hope to move past the bittersweet junction that ripped them apart.


Interview

Describe Bittersweet Junction in one sentence.

Fate gives two former best friends a second chance at romance, if they overcome old misunderstandings and deceit.

Give a quick blurb about the book and why readers would enjoy it.

Bittersweet Junction picks up with the main characters, Julia Belle and Ben Miller, five years after high school graduation. Julia left the small town of Benton Hill right after graduation because she was faced with some grown-up kind of decisions that she couldn’t make. Ben, one of Julia’s childhood best friends, was left confused and hurt after her departure. Julia’s sister Clary lures Julia back to Benton Hill under false pretenses, and that’s when Julia realizes it’s impossible to outrun the past.

I think what readers will enjoy most about this story is the way that Julia and Ben eventually overcome the obstacles in their path to have a shot at their happy ending. I found it very satisfying to write, and I believe that will resonate with readers.

How did you come up with the idea for Bittersweet Junction?

I’ve had several ideas for stories that revolve around the idea of a five year high school reunion. The idea for Bittersweet Junction started there, although in the end, there is no actual high school reunion in the book. That wouldn’t have been a good enough reason to drag Julia back to Benton Hill.

If Bittersweet Junction were made into a movie, who would you want to play the main characters?

I’ve thought a lot about this. I could see Emma Roberts playing Julia and Chris Pine, with his gorgeous blue eyes, would make the perfect Ben. Emily Browning would play Julia’s little sister Clary, and Max Thieriot would round out the casting as Mike.

About you as writer:

When did you begin writing?

I started writing the summer between sixth and seventh grade. I kept all of my teenage angst in a journal and experimented with poetry as well. I think that helped me start finding my writing voice.

When did you first think, wow I have made it as a writer?

My senior year of high school I won a state newspaper award for a piece of hard hitting journalism in the school paper. It was an article on how a teacher in a local junior high had gotten in trouble for showing an R-rated movie in the classroom. The day I received my award, I knew that writing was part of my life’s journey.

Do you have any special rituals you do when you sit down to write? 

I usually have an idea of how many words or chapters that I want to get written that particular writing session. It helps to have a goal because I am easily distracted.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers out there?

Take an active interest in reading about what’s going on in the publishing industry today so that you can make informed decisions about your writing destiny. The landscape of publishing is changing faster than anyone could have imagined, and it affects all of us.

Silly questions:

Favorite color? I am digging orange right now. I have an orange purse, loads of orange tops, and even my toenails are orange at the moment.

Salty or Sweet? I am 50/50 on that. My favorite snack right now is a handful almonds mixed with a handful of dark chocolate chips.

Favorite author?  Stephen King. I can’t think of another author out there who has influenced me and my writing as much as he has, and I have enjoyed almost every single book he’s written.

Favorite book? I still remember discovering Intensity by Dean Koontz. It seriously blew my mind and scared me to death (which I love in a good book btw.)