Thursday, August 28, 2014

Guardian Release Day Review and Excerpt

Guardian RDL Banner   
 To celebrate today's release of Guardian and the fact that it is also Courtney Cole's birthday (Happy Birthday)  Guardian will be on sale for .99 TODAY ONLY!

Guardian

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Author: Courtney Cole
Publication Date: August 28, 2014
Publisher: Lakehouse Press Inc.
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
Age Recommendation: 14 and up
Rating: 3 stars

 Book Description: 

Sometimes, things that go bump in the night are real.  My name is Whitney Lane.  I’m sixteen years old and at first, I thought I was crazy. I kept seeing shadows move along walls, and hearing whispers around corners, but whenever I looked, there was never anything there. Until one day, there was. Our world isn’t what we think.  There are things around us, good things, bad things, scary things. Things that we tell ourselves aren’t real, but they are. They’re very real, and they’re terrifying. I’ve been swept up now, in a battle of good and evil, confused about love and what is supposed to be love, but isn’t.  I don’t know what to think anymore.  I can’t trust my emotions and I don’t know what is true. There’s only one thing I know for sure. Nothing is what it seems.  


My Review:

" Whoever said that grief gets better with time, that time heals all wounds is a filthy liar."
 - Whitey 

Guardian is a book a book about heartache and tragedy.  It is a book about finding oneself  and overcoming your pain and fears.  Courtney Cole wrote Guardian following the unexpected death of her father and while reading this I could feel every ounce of her emotion as it pours through the heroine, Whitney.  

Whitney was no different from any other sixteen year old girl.  She spends her time enjoying her family, friends, school, and her beach community until the day a terrible tragedy occurs taking her father and leaves her the caretaker to her mother who succumbs (to what Whitney believes is terrible grief and depression) and her young sister, Ellie.

Whitney out of fear that her mother will be hospitalized keeps her mother's deterioration a secret from everyone.  She shoulders the responsibilities of family life, guarding the secret afraid that she and her sister will be put into foster care.  In her attempt to make things appear as normal as possible she continues with her summer plans to attend drivers ed where she meets the too good to be true Brady.  Brady isn't the only boy to garner her attention however, who is this brooding boy, Carter. This boy glares at her, whom she's never met but who stares at her with hatred and barely contained fury.  

Courtney Cole writes Whitney true to heart.  This is a character that I think we can all feel for, like, and see ourselves in, no matter our age.  Whitney struggles everyday with the loss of her father, with being strong enough to maintain her family, and also with feeling like maybe it is okay to let go a little and continue to live.  

"I'm supposed to be grieving.  My dad just died a minute ago- what kind of daughter am I anyway? "I can't think about that right now." I mutter. "Yes, you can.  It's okay, Whitney."  Delaney stares at me from across the small table, with a serious expression on her usually carefree face.  I watch her play with the multicolored string bracelets circling her slender pale wrist.  I'd made one of them for her.  "It's Okay for you to miss your dad and still do normal things.  My mom said so."' 

But now Whitney is starting to wonder if she, like her mother, is loosing her sanity.  She's seeing things, 'imagining' brief touches glide across her arms, having overly realistic dreams, and feeling moments of darkness and light surround her.  As she soon discovers not all is what it may seem and she has difficult and painful choices to make ahead of her.  While she is surrounded by people these are choices that she will have to make on her own, this is her path laid out in front of her and it is her decision on which direction it will lead her.  

Guardian is a heartbreaking story, but it is laced through out with love and faith.  In the end that is what I think the story is about.  Believing in the power of love and the power of faith and the way we can overcome when we hold those two emotions in our hearts.  

I think this is a wonderful read even for our younger teens (there are some sexual suggestions, but nothing too fast or too much) and especially those who are looking for a faith based read.  It is a compelling and beautiful tale that will pull at your heartstrings.  





Guardian Available now  


  Excerpt:
Sometimes the things that go bump in the night are real. 
Happy birthday to me.  I close my eyes and burrow into my pillow as I try to sleep, as I try to escape this life. It’s a life I never thought I’d have, a life I most certainly don’t want. I’m still feeling sorry for myself as the blackness of sleep finally overtakes me. I don’t know what time it is when I shoot straight upward like a rocket.  Something had yanked me from the oblivion of sleep, something loud and shrill scraping my window. My room is completely dark and I glance at my clock in confusion. 3:00 a.m. As my heart pounds hard against my ribcage, I quickly scan every corner of the room. In the last few hours, dark shadows had migrated onto my pink walls, but they’re familiar, nothing out of the ordinary, although in the night, they seem twisted and scary. I remain motionless as I allow the sleep-induced fog to clear from my brain. As I sit, I feel common sense and logic slowly returning. Of course nothing had touched my window because my bedroom is on the second floor. Nothing can reach it.  And there are no trees near enough to brush against it.  It was just a dream. It was only a dream. I chant it silently to myself like a mantra as I consciously slow my breathing down, hoping that my racing pulse will soon follow. It was only a dream.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Shame - Cover Reveal


Book Description:

Everything done in darkness, will eventually be brought into the light.

I ran, but all it did was keep me one step ahead of my past. I tried to start over; new name, new identity. But you can't change your soul.
A fresh start at college was just what I needed. For a while, it worked. I was the party girl, the one that seemed confident, but it was a lie.
When guys kissed me--I felt only pain. 
When they touched me--Nothing but fear.

Deep inside, every girl wants to be the beauty in the story, to find someone that will see you as their world. 
But the truth? I was the beast. And as much as I wanted redemption, I wasn't fool enough to think I'd ever get it. 
Until he walked into my life.

I wasn't prepared to fall for someone. My scars were too deep, the wounds too raw. But he offered me peace, he offered me security. I should have known it was just another lie--I should have known that falling in love with my professor was a bad idea.
But I was powerless to stop myself from falling. 
And he was powerless to catch me.

Because the darkness finally caught up to me, and as fate would have it, a cruel twist almost bled me dry. But I'm stronger than I knew. I'm stronger than you think.
You think you know my story, but you don't....after all everyone has Shame in their lives-- and I'm no longer afraid to show you mine.





ADD TO GOODREADS HERE



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EXCERPT



“Just hold still!” I yelled, holding up my phone while Gabe gave me the finger. I grimaced and dropped the camera away from my face. “Nice, thanks for that.”
“I’m a giver.” He smirked.
Saylor, his wife, smacked him on the arm and rolled her eyes.
“Ouch.”                  
I scrunched up my face when he leaned in and took Saylor’s mouth with his, kissing her senseless in the local Starbucks like they were doing a romance scene in a movie. I coughed.
They didn’t pull apart.
So I took a picture.
I earned another finger, but Gabe still didn’t dislodge from his wife.
“Whoa!” Wes’s voice sounded from behind me. “They been at it long?”
“Are all newlyweds disgusting?” I voiced aloud.
Wes moved around the table with his wife, Kiersten, and gave me a goofy shrug. I wanted to roll my eyes, but Wes was too nice and hot. Let’s not forget the hot part. Both he and Gabe were like walking poster boys for GQ. Both blond, now that Gabe had decided to dye his hair back to his original color. It was like staring at two really bright superstars.
Hating them was like hating the Easter bunny. Try all you want, but you’ll eat every piece of chocolate in the basket, just you wait.
“So, classes?” Kiersten leaned forward. “I heard you got stuck with that hot new psych prof.”
Wes growled low in his throat.
“Down boy.” I braced my hands on the table and laughed. “Besides he’s not that hot.”
“A girl passed out.” Kiersten’s eyebrows shot up. “Like in class.”
“Dehydration?” I shrugged, taking a sip of coffee.
“Or…” She leaned forward. “…the rumors are true.”
“Rumors…” Gabe backed away from Saylor, his lips swollen. “…are always based on truth.”
“So you really did do a naked dance in your underwear last week after getting drunk downtown at Pike Place Market?” I tilted my head and waited while Gabe rolled his eyes and popped his knuckles. “Exactly.”
He opened his mouth.
I took a picture.
With a grimace, he snatched my phone away from me. “Never thought I’d have to tell you to lay off the pictures, Miss Paparazzi.”
I slumped in my seat. “It’s for an assignment with that hot professor.”
“Aha!” Kiersten jabbed her finger at me. “I knew it.”
I pinned her with a look. “Sarcasm, friend, sarcasm.”
“Boys get girls pregnant,” Gabe offered, while Wes choked on the coffee he’d just stolen out of my hand.
Serves him right!
“Don’t date them.”
“You’re going to be a great dad.” I smiled sweetly. “What? You’re just going to lock your girls in their rooms and go—” I mimicked his voice. “—uh, you see boy parts are bad, they make girls have lots of babies, like rabbits, and you know how rabbits make dad nervous and—”
“Hilarious,” Gabe’s eyes narrowed. “And please don’t talk about kids yet…”
Saylor laughed quietly next to him then squeezed his arm.
My heart dropped.
A very long time ago, I’d wanted to be that for Gabe, then Taylor happened and well… I shuddered, blocking out the painful memories, the things I’d done, the things he’d done, the things we’d done.
“You okay?” Wes asked, his voice soft. He was way too perceptive for my taste. If I’d wanted to share, he’d be the guy I’d talk to, but I was a vault. Sharing meant admitting my guilt, and admitting meant I’d probably go insane just like he had.
“Yeah…” I straightened in my seat. “…I just don’t want to fail my class, and I need to write down nonverbal cues and take at least one picture. And pretty sure I need to ace this first assignment on account that I was late to my prof’s class, and I got in trouble.”
“He spank you?” Gabe’s eyes mocked across his coffee.
“Yes, Gabe,” I said calmly. “Because that’s how they punish bad students here at UW — with a yardstick and a smile.”
“I wish.” He whistled. “What I wouldn’t give to have Saylor—”
I plugged my ears.
He threw his head back and laughed while Saylor turned bright red and put her hand over his mouth to shush him.
“So…” Wes ignored Gabe as was his usual and leaned across the table. “…why don’t you take pictures of people here in the coffee shop? I mean, ask permission, but most people here are super interesting, right? Studying? Stressed out? Tired?” He pointed to a guy in the corner. “He looks like he’s running on five cups of coffee and one hour of sleep. Go ask, take the picture, make some notes, project done.”
“You make it sound so easy,” I grumbled.
He grinned. “I’m Wes Michels.”
I hung my head lower and grimaced.
“Phone.” He held out his hand and stood.
Within minutes, not only had he snapped two pictures for me but had taken notes on two pre-med students who had stayed up all night cramming for what they’d assumed would be a pop quiz, only to find out that they’d been in the wrong class on the wrong day.
“And that’s why I'm not pre-med.” Gabe shuddered.
“Really?” Kiersten asked. “I thought it was because big words scared you?”
“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. What now?” He nodded. “Keep talking, Kiersten, or keep walking.”
“Spell it.” She smirked.
“So this professor…” Gabe changed the subject. “If he tries anything, use the Mace or the rape whistle.”
“Right.” I nodded. “I’ll be sure to do that. In class. With a hundred other students. When he looks at me cross-eyed.”
“Good,” he huffed.
“I was kidding.”
Saylor patted Gabe’s shoulder. “Gotta let the baby birds out of the nest someday, Gabe.”









Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she's not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.
She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband and their snoring Boxer, Sir Winston Churchill. She loves to hear from readers! You can follow her writing journey at
www.rachelvandykenauthor.com


Links:

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Reasonable Doubt Volume 3 Release Day

Reasonable Doubt Banner 
  Reasonable Doubt: Volume Three by Whitney Gracia Williams


Reasonable Doubt #3
Publication Date:  August 26, 2014
Genres:Contemporary, Erotica, Novella, Romance
Purchase from: Amazon • Nook 
Add to Goodreads.

 
RD3


Book Description:

  I hate him...

I hate that I fell in love with him, hate that he didn't love me back, and I hate the fact that I just made a life-altering decision just so I could get the hell away from him.

He'd always said that he was unchangeable, heartless, and cold...

I really should've believed him...


Final book in the Reasonable Doubt series...
Also in the series:

About Whitney Gracia Williams

A self diagnosed candy addict, travel junkie, and hypochondriac, Whitney Gracia Williams LOVES to write about characters that make you laugh, cry, and want to (in the case of Selena Ross) reach through your Kindle and slap them. She is the "imaginary bestselling" author of the Jilted Bride Series, Mid Life Love, Wasted Love, and Captain of My Soul. When she's not locked inside her room, feverishly typing away on her laptop, she can be found here: http://www.whitneygracia.com She also loves getting emails from her readers, so if you want to tell her how much you loved (or hated) her stories, email her at whitgbooks@gmail.com

Dante's Fire Release Day

DANTESFIRE_Blitz

Today is the release day for DANTE'S FIRE, the newest title from NYTs bestselling author Jennifer Probst. Be sure to check out the rafflecopter below for a chance to win some fabulous prizes from Jennifer.

  DantesFire_Final

Book Description:

It’s Time To Meet A New Kind Of Hero...

Dante Stark has a dark secret--a legacy left to him by his father which is both a blessing and a curse. A traumatic experience as a small boy gave him special powers of healing, but it comes with a price. Destined to wander the world alone to heal others, he's accepted his fate. Until Selina Rogers forces him to confront his deepest fears, erotic desires, and question his capacity to love. Selina Rogers has made a name for herself at Inferno Enterprises. She's tough, confident and prepared to succeed. She's also built a world she believes is safe, until she's attacked and then saved by a masked stranger. As he helps her heal physically and emotionally, she becomes fascinated by his overwhelming power and gentle touch. Determined to show Dante the love he's been denying himself, Selina surrenders her heart, and dreams of a future with the mysterious man who completes her. But will his dark legacy destroy them...or save them both...

 *Check back here Sept 4th for the Blog Tour and my review!*

a Rafflecopter giveaway

AUTHOR INFORMATION

Jennifer Probst

Jennifer Probst - Bio: Jennifer Probst wrote her first book at twelve years old. She bound it in a folder, read it to her classmates, and hasn’t stopped writing since. She took a short hiatus to get married, get pregnant, buy a house, get pregnant again, pursue a master’s in English Literature, and rescue two shelter dogs. Now she is writing again.

She makes her home in Upstate New York with the whole crew. Her sons keep her active, stressed, joyous, and sad her house will never be truly clean. She is the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of sexy and erotic contemporary romance. She was thrilled her book, The Marriage Bargain, was ranked #6 on Amazon's Best Books for 2012. She loves hearing from readers. Visit her website for updates on new releases and her street team at www.jenniferprobst.com.

Author Links: Website: www.jenniferprobst.com 

Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/jenniferprobst.authorpage 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jenniferprobst 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2965489.Jennifer_Probst

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Monday, August 25, 2014

Nocturne - Cover Reveal

NOCTURNE Cover
 Nocturne
by Scheherazade
Publication Date: October 1, 2014 
Genres: DarkEroticaMusicalSuspense 

Add to Goodreads.

 
Book Description:
  
Emmanuel's career as a classical pianist is picking up, and he is ready to leave his teaching days behind. But a generous offer makes him reconsider, and he agrees to one last teaching gig. One look at his new student, the daughter of a wealthy French expat, and the pianist is lost, irresistibly drawn to the seductive young woman.

She, intrigued by her exotic and passionate new tutor, actively pursues him until he gives in, and they find themselves in the midst of a torrid romance.

But someone is dead set on preventing those two to get together...

An unconventional portrait of love and lust, a meditation on ethics, obsession and expectations, and a journey of self-discovery, Nocturne is a psychological erotic suspense, and contains mature elements. Nocturne is also a musical novel--original music composed especially to complement the story.

Share to Win

Share Nocturne Kickstarter
 Want to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card? Enter and share the giveaway HERE.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1364747289/nocturne-a-musical-novel

About the Author

Zade Logo

Scheherazade is a melomaniac and amateur flutist with a predilection for synthpop, Muse, Beethoven, and Greg Lake. Blackflag's "Slip It In" will forever hold a special place in her heart.
Her favorite movies usually include one of the following: a creature on a rampage; a machine on a mission who simply won't stop until its target is dead; or an old fashioned, refined psychopath with a plan.
She won't hesitate in picking up anything written by Patrick Senecal or Poppet, and she will inevitably fall in love with every new character LH Cosway introduces her to. Anne Rice, Stephen King and Albert Camus are always welcomed in her home.
Scheherazade recently moved back to her hometown of Montreal after spending 4 years in Boston, and 2 in Brittany. She is extremely camera shy, but can talk your ear off about her latest story, or this rock band from Turkey she just discovered.

 
IndieSage PR

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

The Collector's Society - Cover Reveal

The Collectors' Society teaser 1  

 I am so excited to bring you the cover for Heather Lyons' THE COLLECTORS' SERIES! 

THE COLLECTORS’ SOCIETY is an Adult Romantic Fairy Tale, full of adventure and fantasy. This is Alice as you have never seen her before... THE COLLECTORS’ SOCIETY is set to be released on October 23rd!

  The Collectors' Society front cover

THE COLLECTORS’ SOCIETY Goodreads

Book Description:

 From the author of the Fate series and The Deep End of the Sea comes a fantastical romantic adventure that has Alice tumbling down the strangest rabbit hole yet. After years in Wonderland, Alice has returned to England as an adult, desperate to reclaim sanity and control over her life. An enigmatic gentleman with an intriguing job offer too tempting to resist changes her plans for a calm existence, though. Soon, she’s whisked to New York and initiated into the Collectors’ Society, a secret organization whose members confirm that famous stories are anything but straightforward and that what she knows about the world is only a fraction of the truth. It’s there she discovers villains are afoot—ones who want to shelve the lives of countless beings. Assigned to work with the mysterious and alluring Finn, Alice and the rest of the Collectors’ Society race against a doomsday clock in order to prevent further destruction . . . but will they make it before all their endings are erased? 


The Collectors' Society full wrap  

 Author Photo 
About Heather Lyons: Heather Lyons has always had a thing for words—She’s been writing stories since she was a kid. In addition to writing, she’s also been an archaeologist and a teacher. Heather is a rabid music fan, as evidenced by her (mostly) music-centric blog, and she’s married to an even larger music snob. They’re happily raising three kids who are mini music fiends who love to read and be read to.        

Website ** Author Goodreads ** Twitter ** Facebook

 

 

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

The Fall - Cover Reveal

One of my favorite things to do as a Blogger is introduce new books, especially through cover reveals. A cover says so many things, it will tell you what you can look forward to in the book, it can make you swoon and awwwww or give you a spine tingling reaction. The right cover will make you want to pick up a book even if you have no idea what it is about, they can also make you shake your head and wonder what the heck, ha.

 I saw this cover for the first time this morning and instantly fell for it. I had to know more about it, I needed to know what it all meant...and then I read the synopsis!  Oh yeah, this is going straight to the top of my TBR!  I hope you will join me as I 'Fall in Love with Death'


 
For thousands of years, Death walked behind the dark veil of the living, waiting to ferry the dead. That is, until the day that Death took a life for pleasure rather than duty. On that day, the first Reaper fell to Earth. Now, Reapers live among us, craving the taste of death, forcing them to kill to satisfy their immortal hunger. Giles Reid fell more than 300 years ago starving for the taste of death, only to find himself drowning in a sea of the living and blinded by a hunger that forces him to kill. In the centuries since his fall he has tried to be more human, desperate to live a life that makes up for what he is and the wrong he has done. Driven by his guilt over killing, he has chosen to feed only on evil; humans that have never been a threat to him but who are always a danger to others. That is, until the day he tries to feed on a human as strong, fast and cunning as himself; a human who, it turns out, has been hunting him. Now he is being pursued by the very evil he has fed on for centuries, embroiled in a deadly cat-and-mouse game, where friends and other Reapers connected to him are simply pawns on a chessboard waiting to be sacrificed. Giles is left with a choice, save the life of the woman he loves, the daughter of his mentor, or betrays her for his own survival.
To save the woman he loves, Giles will have to be the monster he is.
Stephen Cost was born in Wexford Ireland and raised in a small seaside town not far from Dublin.  From a young age he would spin dark tales and write them down for his own amusement.  At the age of 13 he moved from his home in Ireland to America and his love of dark American cinema took root.
He passes his free time, when not writing, by reading horror and fantasy genre novels in addition to watching science fiction and horror movies.
He graduated from University with a degree in Psychology and a minor in Sociology.  A computer engineer by trade, he specializes in integrated system services and uses the knowledge gained from his degree to write emotionally captivating urban fiction.
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Seducing Lauren - Release Day Launch

 KP2  


Quite excited to share with you a bit of Kristen Proby's SEDUCING LAUREN, the second book in Proby's Love Under the Big Sky Series.  You can read an excerpt, read all about this new release, and enter a fantastic giveaway! 


Seducing Lauren

Book Description:

  In the second book in the Love Under the Big Sky series from this NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling author of the With Me in Seattle series, life in Montana gets spicy when a woman and her divorce lawyer sign off the papers—and sign on to love. Now that his best friend, Josh, has happily settled down with his true love on a Montana ranch, small-town lawyer Ty Sullivan starts thinking that maybe single life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. And when Lauren Cunningham’s no-good ex-husband comes after her for an unexpected trust fund, Ty steps in to protect her. But soon he can’t help but think of her as more than a client. Lauren’s in no mood to jump into another relationship, so how can Ty convince her that her mistake wasn’t getting married, but marrying the wrong guy?

EXCERPT:

 As I approach his house, I see his Jeep parked in the drive, the hood up, and a tight, jean-clad ass bent over the side. Okay, he’s definitely home. I tentatively wander around the other side of the Jeep and lean against the side, looking at the engine. He hasn’t noticed that I’m here yet, and I’m not even sure how he’ll react to seeing me here, but I can’t seem to stay away. His dark head is bent low, his arms buried in the engine, tinkering with something. His arms are bare as he’s pulled off his T-shirt, which is draped over the windshield. A thin sheen of sweat covers his shoulders and back, and his entire sleeve tattoo, which runs from just above his wrist all the way up to the top of his right shoulder, is on full display, making my girlie parts all tingle and come to life. Holy Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. He’s so fucking toned it’s crazy. Jeez, his muscles bunch and stretch as he pulls on the wrench in his hand. “Come on, you motherfucker,” he mutters. I have to bite my lips to keep from laughing out loud. “So, what seems to be the problem?” I finally ask when he doesn’t notice me, keeping my eyes trained on the engine when his head whips up to look at me. I slowly lift my eyes to his and grin. “I didn’t hear your car,” he murmurs with a smile. “I walked.” I shrug and look back down into the bowels of his Jeep. “What’s wrong with your car?” “You walked from your house?” he asks incredulously. “No.” I shake my head and chuckle. “From Sips. I had coffee with Cara this morning.” He stands up straight and leans his palms on the side of the Jeep, watching me. My eyes immediately fall to one drop of sweat slowly making its way down his hard chest. “You had coffee with Cara?” He smiles. “Yeah.” I shrug shyly. “I’m sorry to just stop by like this. I was out for a walk and just sort of found myself here.” I feel my cheeks heat and I back away, but he shakes his head and smiles widely. “I’m glad you came by.” He raises his brows as I continue to stare. I shake my head and raise my eyes to his, then bust out laughing. “Why are you laughing?” he asks with a wide grin. “Because I don’t think I’ve ever seen you without a shirt. I didn’t realize the tats went all the way up your arm. Who would have thought that under it all you’re just a bad boy?” His eyes flash with heat as he narrows them on my face, watching me. He pulls a rag out of his back pocket and begins wiping off his hands, but his gray eyes stay on mine. Did I offend him? “I’m not such a bad boy. Looks can be deceiving, Lauren.” He smirks as he lowers the hood on his Jeep. “But from the look of you right now, you don’t seem to mind the tats.” “I don’t mind.” I shrug nonchalantly and try to ignore the way my heart picks up speed as he slowly saunters around the hood of the vehicle. “Do you have any tats?” “Yeah.” His eyes widen in surprise and then rake over me from head to toe. “Where?” I grin, enjoying this flirtatious banter. “Here and there.” “I have ways of making people talk, you know.” “Bright lights and rubber hoses?” I ask with a raised brow. He tosses his head back and laughs, an all-out belly laugh. “I’m not a cop,” he smirks. “You might get to see them. Someday.” He closes the gap between us and kisses me gently on the forehead, not touching me anywhere else. “I hope someday comes sooner rather than later,” he whispers before pulling back and smiling softly down at me. “I would hug you, but I’m dirty.” I wave him off, as if it’s no biggie, although I don’t mind so much that he’s a bit dirty and sweaty. “What were you doing?” I gesture to the car. “Changing the oil.” “There are places you can go,” I inform him with a perfectly straight face, “where you pull into this big garage, and then you leave your car and go into this small room with five-year-old magazines and stale coffee, and the people there will change your oil for you.” “Or, smart-ass, I can do it myself in my own driveway.” “Suit yourself.” I shrug. “Did you sleep okay on the couch?” he asks, changing the subject. “Yeah, actually, I did. But I could always sleep just about anywhere.” “Hence the chaise in your office.” He chuckles. I nod and stuff my hands in my pockets. “I’m sorry that I interrupted your morning. I was just out for a walk and found myself here.” “I’m glad you did.” He scratches his stomach, and my eyes follow the movement. His abs are just delicious. For being so dark haired, he has little hair on his chest and stomach, but a light trail of hair falls from his navel and disappears into his jeans. He’s also sporting a V in the muscles on his hips that the heroes in my novels would covet. “Lo?” he asks with a wide grin. “Yeah?” I drag my eyes up to his again. “I lost you for a second.” I blink rapidly and feel heat fill my cheeks. Jesus, get a grip! You’ve seen hot men before, Lauren. “Sorry, my mind wandered.”  

 And don’t forget to read the first book in the Love Under the Big Sky Series…

40510-lovingcara-369x308


KristenProbyAbout Kristen Proby: New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Kristen Proby is the author of the bestselling With Me In Seattle series. She has a passion for a good love story and strong characters who love humor and have a strong sense of loyalty and family. Her men are the alpha type; fiercely protective and a bit bossy, and her ladies are fun, strong, and not afraid to stand up for themselves. Kristen spends her days with her muse in the Pacific Northwest. She enjoys coffee, chocolate and sunshine. And naps.

 Links: Website TwitterFacebook  ~ Goodreads h SEDUCING LAUREN

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, August 18, 2014

Within These Walls - Review


~A portion of the sales during the first week of release will go to a children's heart charity.~


 
 
Author: J.L. Berg
Publication Date: August 18, 2014
Publisher: J.L. Berg
Genre:  New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Age Recommendation: 17 and up
Rating: 5 stars
 Book Description:

 Within these walls, he became my solace, my sanctuary and my strength.

I am not strong. I am just a survivor of circumstance.
Isn’t that what we all do? Survive?

Each of us has our own set of circumstances to muddle through. Mine are just more…complicated.

Born with a severe heart defect, I’ve seen the inside of a hospital room more than my own bedroom.

I was drowning, a prisoner to the illness that owned me, until he appeared. He thinks he’s blocked out the world with his tattoos and hard exterior, but I see the real Jude, the one he so desperately wants to forget.

But is he the answer to my prayers or will he break my already damaged heart forever?

My name is Lailah Buchanan, and this is our story of hope, redemption and sacrificing it all for the one you love.


My Review:

Within These Walls by J.L. Berg is a beautifully sad, peaceful and heart-warming bit of contemporary New Adult perfection.  Ms.  Berg had me hooked from the prologue and after making a mad dash for my tissue box I couldn't put the book down again until I had completed it.  
  
"Within these walls, he became my solace, my sanctuary, and my strength.  Like a white knight, he saved me from a life of gray and showed me a world full of color.  Within these walls, I gave myself to a man who said he would always fight for me and love me until the end of time.  But sometimes, not even love was enough when life got in the way.  When your heart is already damaged beyond repair, what was left to break.  Within these walls, I gave my less than perfect heart to the man I loved.  and then....he walked away."

 
 I mean seriously?  Seriously?  How can you not be hooked.  I was a goner after that.  

Lailah is a twenty-two year old woman who has spent her life sheltered and in and out of the hospital due to a hear defect.  She has lived her life between walls, both physical and non-physical ones.  She lives between these walls hoping.  Hoping each day for the next, dreaming of the little joys of life that most of us would take for granted.  She lives between these walls yearning for friends and the freedom to chase her dreams, to make thick black lines through the words listed in on her "Someday List."

"I was sitting in a lonely hospital room, staring at a clock.  Is that any way to live?  Is that living at all?  Why have a beating heart if you don't know why it beats in the first place.  These were the deepest darkest doubts,  I would keep these feelings bottled inside of me, and I'd refuse to acknowledge them until another day like this would creep up on me.  Then, I'd find myself once again staring at a ridiculous clock, wondering why I was even on this earth if I was bound to spend my life in this room."  

I find quite often that I struggle to connect with the heroines in New Adult romances.  I am not sure why, maybe it is my age (sigh), maybe it is that I often find them to be whiny and needy, to quick to forgive and forget.  But I never felt that way with Lailah.  In fact of the many heroines I have read lately she is the one with the most reasons to be all of those things and yet she isn't  Which in my opinion makes her incredibly strong.  I suppose that is the one thing that gets me, when she says that he became her "strength" when in fact I think that she is the strongest of the two.  She is an amazing character.  Some one you would definitely want to make your friend.  Someone you would love having long texted conversations with.  

And speaking of friends:  Jude!  Wow, how do I even begin to explain Jude?  He is such an amazingly loving yet tortured soul.  After suffering a terrible, life changing tragedy Jude locks himself away from the world.  He builds his own walls, walls of grief, regret, and self-hatred.   

"I was no longer the man I had been before.  When Megan had died I'd left my family and the life I was supposed to have.  When I looked in the mirror, I didn't want to see the old Jude, so I'd chanced everything about myself.  I bought a home gym, and when I wasn't at the hospital, I wold lift weights, run in the early morning, and work on making sure I never saw what I once had been when I arrived here so long ago."

But one simple, peaceful, pure moment changes everything for this lost boys.  Jude discovers a purpose and ultimately a reason to move forward, to say goodby to his past.  He finds that maybe there is still a reason to live.  

" I wasn't sure if I could risk my heart again, but maybe I already had.  What if I'd given a piece of myself to the girl with the infectious laugh and the shy innocent smile?  Perhaps I was a goner from the start."

"Two broken hearts - we would destroy each other before we even had a chance to begin." 

~Sigh~

I loved this book.  I loved Lailah and Jude together, never once did i doubt the sincerity of their relationship.  Reading this book is like being wrapped up in a cocoon of sad joy.  It's a dichotomy because while this book is built on sadness there is a happiness that bleeds through the words and underlines each and every moment.   
This book simply makes you want to breathe deep, love the people around you maybe a bit better.  It makes you want to live, to live for all the simple joys.  To live for dipping your toes in the ocean.  To live to have your heart broken and maybe, hopefully mended.  It makes you want to live for the simple moment of texting with a friend.  For the chance to eat a cup of chocolate pudding with or without your spoon.  

#ThePuddingMatters


  

 The.  Pudding. Matters.

 Read the first chapter here! 

 

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J.L. Berg is the USA Today bestselling author of the Ready Series. She is a California native living in the beautiful state of historic Virginia. Married to her high school sweetheart, they have two beautiful girls that drive them batty on a daily basis. When she's not writing, you will find her with her nose stuck in a romance novel, in a yoga studio or devouring anything chocolate. J.L. Berg is represented by Jill Marsal of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency, LLC.  



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*Thank you to Tara Gonzalez over at InkSlingerPR for access to the ARC in return for an honest review.*