Thursday, April 30, 2015

Cover Reveal & Giveaway: The Closer You Get by Carter Ashby

Cover Reveal

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Book Title: The Closer You Get 
Author: Carter Ashby 
Genre: Contemporary Romance 
Release Date: May 21, 2015 
Hosted by: Book Enthusiast Promotions

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Book Blurb

If there’s one thing Rye Holcomb hates, it’s small, tight-knit towns with high virtues and zero tolerance for outsiders. Fidelity is just such a town. And Rye is just such an outsider. So when he and his brother, Cash, take jobs in Fidelity, Rye decides not to get too comfortable. Which is why he is avoiding some rather confusing feelings for his new boss, Cora McKay.

Cora was born, raised, and baptized in Fidelity. She owns a thriving construction business, has a close circle of friends, and is the breadwinner for her mother and four sisters. The one thing she lacks is a sex life, something she’s never longed for until now. One conversation with Rye sparks her sexual awakening, and, in spite of his reputation as a man-whore, Cora can’t resist giving in to his advances.

As Rye enjoys initiating his virgin employer, and Cash experiences a relationship with a man for the first time in his life, they begin to think of Fidelity as home. But small towns have brought them trouble in the past, and it appears Fidelity holds trouble for their future. Can their newfound relationships be enough to overcome a past that relentlessly follows them? Can two men who have been burned by love learn to trust again?

excerpt

He didn’t repeat himself. He hadn’t meant for the words to come out loud. What he asked instead was worse. “Why didn’t you wanna come fishing last night?”

For a moment, surprise and confusion clouded her eyes. She gave her head a little shake and said, “I believe I’ve answered that question. I prefer to keep my work life and social life separate.”

“In a town this size? Is that realistic?”

“It’s worked so far.”

“You were friends with Sam.”

“Sam didn’t flippantly screw every interested party who came his way.”

It wasn’t a literal punch to the gut, but Rye fell back a step anyway. “I’m just…” What? Lonely? Desperate? How was he supposed to finish that sentence?

“Listen, you should go,” she said. “The preacher’s heading this way.”

He blew out a breath, not at all sure of where he was standing. “If that’s the only thing you don’t like about me, we could still be friends. Nothing inappropriate about fishing together.”

“It sounds to me like we have very different definitions of fishing, and I have absolutely no desire to roll around on the river bank with you, Rye.”

That one hurt even worse. He shrugged, hoping the hurt didn’t show in his eyes. “Doesn’t have to be the river bank. We can roll around anywhere you want.”

Cora drew herself up tall, rolling her shoulders back. “Your employment history reads a lot like a rap sheet. Are you sure you want to add ‘sexually harassing your boss’ to the list of misdeeds?”

That was enough for him. The walls came right back up. He plugged the hole in that dam, no longer interested in entertaining someone else’s ideas of right and wrong. “Fuck it. Plenty of fish in the sea. Sorry for bothering you, Mrs. McKay.” He turned on his heel and left.

Teasers

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Meet the Author

Carter Ashby is a hardworking housewife and homeschool mother by day, and a romance reader and writer by night. She lives in rural Missouri with her husband, three children, and two dogs.

Hard by Eve Jagger Release Day Blitz & Giveaway




Title: Hard
Series: Sexy Bastard #1
Author: Eve Jagger
 Release Date: April 30, 2015


Synopsis



Strong. Arrogant. Hard. 

Ryder Cole is the King of Atlanta’s nightlife — and the one man who can erase my past. 

I’m running from secrets that could destroy me and there’s no room in my life for someone like him: too damn cocky, and sexy as hell. I should keep my distance, but smart goes out the window the minute he looks my way. And when he puts his hands on me… 

A girl could forget her own name. But what happens when the past catches up with me, and all the things I’m hiding from tear our lives apart again? I can’t keep running forever, and Ryder always wins.






Links to Buy

AMAZON US / UK





Author Bio



Eve Jagger is a native of Georgia and is a true southern girl at heart. A stay at home mom to two kids, she's married to a sexy man who doesn’t mind being used as research for those naughty scenes. 

Eve cut her teeth writing in high school and college, but it wasn’t until recently that she got the itch to write a full length novel. She loves complex, emotionally-charged characters and wild, sexy leading men. Hard: A Sexy Bastard Book releases at the end of April 2015 and she can’t wait for you to meet her characters that occupy her mind 24/7! Eve loves to talk and meet people on social media, so be sure and touch base with her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/evejaggerbooks or Twitter https://twitter.com/evejwrites.


Author Links

Giveaway

Alisa's April Reading Challenge Update

I can't believe I didn't update everyone for March!! I'm  a total slacker, someone needs to punish me.  As well as, kick my butt to get reading more!!!  But I am going to give you an update now on how little I have read so far this year.

Goodreads Total:  33  ( I am not using their widget this time).  My Goal is 120.






Is everyone ready for a tour of the romance genre this year? We want to expand our horizons this year and test out all that romance has to offer us. We don't just want to stick to the same old Contemporary or Paranormal Romance, we want to see what else we can discover. So hop on to the Romance Roundabout as we try and swing by as many romance genres we can in 2015!


So, lets get down to the nitty gritty, here is what we want you to do. From each of the sub genres we have listed below, we want you to read the number of books in the level you want to sign up for. BUT don't let us limit you! If you can think of any other sub genres you want to read/have read then add it to your challenge, our goal is to explore as much of the romance genre as we can!






SUB-GENRES:



» Paranormal Romance


» Urban Fantasy



» Young Adult



» New Adult



» Erotic Romance

» Sci Fi Romance



» Historical Romance


» Steampunk



» Contemporary Romance


» Romantic Suspense


» LGBT



» Fantasy Romance




Where do you sign up? HERE!

Dakota Wedding by Lisa Mondello

Dakota Wedding
Dakota Hearts
Book 6
Lisa Mondello

Genre: Contemporary Western  Romance  

Date of Publication: November 30, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-940512-07-5
ASIN: B00OC90HNU

Number of pages: 212
Word Count: 74200

Cover Artist: Melyssa Naujoks




From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lisa Mondello, book 6 of the popular DAKOTA HEARTS western romance series.

Ian McKinnon was just getting steady on his feet, looking forward to the opening of the Wounded Veterans Center and a big McKinnon wedding celebration, when tragedy struck again. The soldier who'd saved his life while in the military has died. He's charged with his most important mission: find his friend Carlos's family in Mexico or become guardian and raise Carlos's children. The only mandatory stipulation of his friend's will was that Ian live under the same roof with Abby Townsend, a firefighter from Carlos's firehouse. Abby knew the kids well and she could help ease them all through the transition of becoming a family. Okay, so Ian may not be daddy material, but he'd grown up with a whole lot of McKinnons running around. He could handle the kids just fine. The beautiful Abby Townsend was another story.

Abby took one look at Ian and shook her head with utter disbelief. What were her dear friends thinking by naming a man whose nickname was "The Hazard" as guardian of their three small children? She only needed to spend one year in Ian's house in South Dakota. She had to either find Carlos's family, or convince Ian that she was the better person to raise the children. Abby knows how hard it is to lose someone you loved. She'll be there to protect the children in any way she can. But can she protect her heart from falling in love with a man known for taking too many risks...and risk heartbreak again?

Available at   Amazon  BN    iTunes     

Google Play    Kobo    ARe    Smashwords




DAKOTA HEARTS Series:

Book 1 - Her Dakota Man
Book 2 - Badland Bride
Book 3 - Dakota Heat
Book 4 - Wild Dakota Heart
Book 5 - His Dakota Bride
Book 6 - Dakota Wedding

Coming in 2015, check for more Dakota Hearts books.

If you're a fan of western romance, contemporary romance, stories full of angst and emotion, and sexy cowboy and military heroes, then you'll enjoy Lisa Mondello’s Dakota Hearts, Texas Hearts and Fate with a Helping Hand series of romance novels.




There was a time when the prospect of standing on two feet was beyond Ian McKinnon’s imagination. That had been a darker time in his life. A time he didn’t ever want to go back to again.
As he made his way up the driveway leading to the home he’d spent the last year refurbishing, feeling the early autumn sun on his face, he could finally see light. He felt at peace.
His cousin’s SUV sat next to his Jeep in the driveway. As he rounded the corner, he found Hawk sitting on the porch overlooking the river in the back yard.
Hawk smiled and stood up when they made eye contact. But the look on Hawk’s face immediately told Ian he wasn’t here for a social call.
“Can we go inside and talk?”
Ian sighed and tried to force a smile. “Something tells me I’m not going to like this conversation. So if it’s all the same to you why we just have it right here on the front porch?”
“I was hoping to spare you.”
Ian laughed without any humor. “That bad, huh? Just give it to me straight.”
Hawk shook his head and chuckled low. “You always did things your own way.”
Ian climbed the few stairs and pivoted so he could sit opposite Hawk on the porch. He braced himself for whatever news he was about to get.
“You got a call from Vermont this morning. Your mom took the call. No one has your new number.”
“I didn’t get the new number until last week. I haven’t had a chance to call Carlos and Brenda yet. Both of them are excited to come out and see the house and the Wounded Veterans Center now that it’s nearly complete. But both of them have my cell phone number. They could have used that.”
He was rambling and his stomach hurt just looking at Hawk as his cousin struggled with what he was about to say.
“Carlos and Brenda’s lawyer only had your parents’ telephone number.”
“Lawyer?”
Hawk nodded, taking a deep breath. “Carlos and Brenda are dead.”

* * *

Ian couldn’t breathe. He glanced at his reflection in the bathroom mirror and wiped the cold moisture from his face with a crisp clean towel he’d just purchased at a fancy department store in Rapid City last week.
Two years after a mortar blast in Afghanistan took part of his leg, Ian was not only standing, he was running. And he was looking forward to life again. Soon the Wounded Veterans Center he’d worked tirelessly on with his cousin, Ethan, and Hawk’s girlfriend, Regis, would be open, and they’d be celebrating the McKinnon way with the wedding of Logan McKinnon and Poppy Ericksen. They all couldn’t wait. No one more than Ian. The entire McKinnon clan was coming in from all over the country just for this celebration. Life was finally righting itself.
And now the man who’d given Ian a second chance at life was gone. Dead at the hands of a drunk driver on a winding Vermont road. One day he was enjoying life. The next he and his beloved wife were gone. The only thing left were three children who no longer had their parents.
The knock on the door pulled him out of his thoughts.
“Ian, it’s me. Everything okay in there?” Hawk hadn’t left. Ian knew he wouldn’t. Hawk would stay all day and all night until he knew Ian was steady on his feet. Like always. Hawk had a medical clinic in town. The people of Rudolph depended on him. But they were McKinnons and McKinnons stuck together through everything. Barring an emergency, Hawk would stay as long as Ian needed him or at least until one of his brothers or cousins could come and relieve him.
Ian wiped his face with his towel again, still feeling the jolt of the news. “I’ll be just a minute.”
Closing his eyes, he fought the wave of nausea he hadn’t felt in a long time. But the feeling of loss overwhelmed him. And for the first time in more than a year, Ian wept.





New York Times and USA TODAY Bestselling Author, Lisa Mondello, has held many jobs in her life but being a published author is the last job she'll ever have. She's not retiring! She blames the creation of the personal computer for her leap into writing novels. Otherwise, she'd still be penning stories with paper and pen.

Her popular series includes TEXAS HEARTS, DAKOTA HEARTS and Fate with a Helping Hand. Writing as LA Mondello, her romantic suspense, MATERIAL WITNESS, book 1 of her Heroes of Providence received a starred Kirkus Review and was named one of their Best Books of 2012.

You can find more information about Lisa Mondello at









The Duke and the Lady in Red by Lorraine Heath Blog Tour & Giveaway


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The Duke and the Lady in Red
Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James #3
By: Lorraine Heath  
Releasing April 29, 2015
Avon
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Blurb
Sparks fly in the finale of the Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James Place series, as the last wicked rogue meets his match.

When Rosalind Sharpe gains the attention of the deliciously wicked Duke of Avendale, she’s torn between her distracting attraction to the notorious rogue and the knowledge that he—rich as Croesus—is the perfect target for a deception that will put her swindling days behind her.

However, Avendale is no fool. After he discovers the tantalizing lady packing up to leave London with his coins in tow, he confronts her with a scandalous proposition: she can have all the money she requires…for a week in his bed.

Desperate for the funds, Rose agrees, but on one condition: he must never question her motives. Avendale quickly sees beneath her mask and discovers she is more than passion and pleasure—she is everything he has ever desired. But claiming her requires he unveil her secrets and lose her forever. Unless he can put his own dark past aside and risk everything for a chance at love.

Buy Links:  Amazon | B & N | iTunes | Kobo | Publisher


Author Info
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LORRAINE HEATH always dreamed of being a writer. After graduating from the University of Texas, she wrote training manuals and computer code, but something was always missing. After reading a romance novel, she not only became hooked on the genre, but quickly realized what her writing lacked: rebels, scoundrels, and rogues. She’s been writing about them ever since. Her work has been recognized with numerous industry awards, including RWA’s RITA® and a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award. Her novels have appeared on the USA Today and New York Times best-seller lists.

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Rafflecopter Giveaway ($25.00 eGift Card to Choice Book Seller)
Excerpt

He did indeed possess a key. It was no doubt unwise to take her up there as he wanted to do things with her that were best done within shadows, and there were shadows aplenty within the balcony, and his passions were on a weak tether. She was not an innocent miss, only recently presented to the queen. She was a widow. She had to know men, had to know that he was with her at that moment because of his desire to know her in the biblical sense. Without guilt he could give into his desires.
But she was not quite what she seemed. Of that he was fairly certain. He had spent a lifetime avoiding entanglements and relationships. He never looked below the surface of a woman, but something about her urged him to explore a little deeper.
She wasn’t an American as he’d first wondered. Her speech was refined, definitely English, deliberate but now and again he caught the lilt of something else, as though she were putting on a performance and forgot for a moment her role in the play.
That little aspect to her intrigued him all the more but was no cause for alarm. He didn’t want anything permanent with her. He merely wanted to explore all that lay beneath the red gown. His hands would span her waist. Her breasts would overflow his cupped palms.
He guided her through the crowd that was becoming more populated by the hour. How many blasted invitations had been dispatched? He doubted he would seek sport here after tonight. The club would no longer be as exclusive as it had once been. But then he’d long ago found darker places in which to vent his shame and anger.
They came to the door that opened into the hallways where offices and secluded rooms provided very private entertainment. Removing the key from his waistcoat pocket, he extended it toward her.
She gave him a delighted, wicked smile, filled with mischief and daring. She enjoyed doing things she ought not. He liked that about her. Before the night was done, he anticipated that they would do a great many things they ought not.
Inserting the key, she turned it, twisted the knob, and opened the door. She hesitated not even a heartbeat before walking through and passing the key back to him. After closing the door, he once again offered his arm.
“Everything here seems older,” she said.
“Darling didn’t bother refurbishing this part, for which I’m glad. There is something comforting about the familiar. It has been this way for decades.”
“You don’t look old enough to have been visiting it for decades,” she said.
“I got started quite young.” Although she was right. He’d visited for only a little over a decade. “I know its history. It’s legendary among those of my acquaintance. The stairs that lead to the balcony are here.”
With his hand on the small of her back, he guided her up them and down the short hallway that ended at the balcony.
“As long as you stay behind the draperies, you can’t be seen,” he said quietly. “The shadows serve as cover.”
She eased forward slightly and gazed out over the assembled guests. “Is this where you were when you spotted me?” she asked in almost a whisper.
He came up behind her, only a hairbreadth separating his body from hers. “Yes.”
“It’s odd, but I felt your gaze on me.”
“Perhaps it was someone else’s.”
“No, I’m rather sure it was yours. You have an intensity about you. Do you often stand up here, gazing out, spying on those below?”
“Darling did. He liked to watch the money coming in. Dodger, the previous owner, did as well.” He removed his gloves, stuffed them into the pockets of his coat, and skimmed a bare finger along her nape. Beneath his touch, she shivered. “I was simply striving to determine if it was worth my time to go downstairs tonight.”
“What would you have done if you hadn’t gone downstairs?”
“There is a private game in one of the rooms up here. The stakes are high, but those who play cheat.” He pressed his lips to the juncture where her neck and shoulder met. “You should be aware I employ any means to get what I want.”
“You sound ruthless, Your Grace.”
“That is putting it kindly. I want you, Rosalind. I have wanted you from the moment you walked through the door. There are rooms here. We can make use of them. Or I can take you to my residence.”
“I am not quite so easy to obtain.”
“Are you not?”
She turned to face him. “No.”
“I am prepared to convince you otherwise.”
He claimed her mouth as though he already owned it.