Saturday, March 8, 2014

Blog Tour and Giveaway: Toxic by Rachel Van Dyken

~ SYNOPSIS ~

Everyone has a secret...

Gabe Hyde is on borrowed time. He's been hiding his identity for over four years-hidden from the world that used to adore him--obsess over him--driven to the edge of insanity by one poor choice.
But that one choice, altered the course of his life forever.
Pretending isn't all it's cracked up to be, especially when pretending means hiding your real self from the people that care about you the most. But if anyone ever discovered the truth it wouldn't just be his life at risk--but hers.

Saylor doesn't hate men.
Just Gabe.
Only Gabe.
He's a reckless, happy-go-lucky, silver spoon fed pain in her ass. Everything about him makes her more and more confused. Unfortunately they both donate time at the same Group Home. If she wasn't afraid of flunking, she'd be long gone. She hates that she's attracted to him almost as much as he hates that he's attracted to her--and she can tell, especially since their first encounter ended up making her knees so weak she couldn't form coherent sentences for weeks afterwards. But the closer she gets to him, the more confused she becomes. He isn't who he says he is, and he's hiding something big.

What happen when two worlds collide? Two worlds that never should have met in the first place? Some secrets are too big to be hidden forever--the only question? Will his destroy everyone he loves? Or finally bring about the redemption he's been craving for the past four years?

Everyone has a secret...What's yours?



~ Series Buy Links ~

RUIN:  http://amzn.to/1hDbySr
TOXIC:  http://amzn.to/OQNDFr
FEARLESS:  http://amzn.to/1kJtivZ


~ Review ~
5 Stars 

I have been dying waiting for this book.  Gabe intrigued me in Ruin and I wanted to know his story.  This book DID NOT disappoint.

Saylor is trying her hardest to focus on school to make life for her family easier.  She doesn't need to complication of a relationship.  That is until she runs into the sex tattooed musical guy.  She knows he is bad news and tries to stay away, but they always find away to show up where the other is.  She knows Gabe is hiding something.  Will she run from his demons?  Or will she be there to help him pick up the pieces?

Gabe is drowning.  Finally after four years he is crumbling.  After his promise to Wes to change he had no outlet to temporarily forget.  He turns to the one thing he never thought he would again.  He started playing music. This is where he collides with Saylor for the first time.  After that he can't stop thinking about her.  He wants her, but knows he doesn't own his heart to give to her.  He tries to push her away and make her hate him, but sometimes that backfires.  Will he allow Saylor to help him faces his demons?  Will he get his Happily Ever After?

This book was an emotional roller coaster ride.  It was an ugly cry, but so worth every tear shed.  Rachel Van Dyken made up for every tear she caused me to shed!!  Rachel had another Slam Dunk with this book.  Each of her books gets better and better!!  Cannot wait to read more from her!!



~ Excerpt ~


Life has two stages. Birth and death. That’s it. What you do in between the two? Well, that’s up to you, isn’t it? —Wes M

Saylor

Behind me, Gabe ceased all motion. The only way I knew he was still there was from the heat that seeped into my back from where his body touched me. More warmth rolled off his hands where they seemed fused to mine. Any minute now, I expected him to pull away, to slip into mask number one or mask number two. Instead, he flipped my hands over, gripping them with his fingers and exhaled, long and slow. Seconds went by, but they may as well have been years. Each time he let out a breath, my heart skipped a beat of longing, needing more of his touch — more of something. My back tingled as the hard planes of his stomach pressed against me. I was in a Gabe cocoon.
And I loved it.
Until the music started.
With slight pressure, Gabe moved my hands to the piano, slowly, effortlessly placing them on each key.
He was playing through me, using my body as an instrument to convey the story of his life. Each time he pressed down on one of my fingertips or guided me to another area of the piano, I felt the sadness of the song clench deeper. The notes became floating tendrils of pain, each one of them slowly invading my body and taking hold until it hurt to breathe.
He moved faster and faster, my hands couldn’t keep up. I pulled back as he continued the song, in such a rush it was like he was yelling but doing it with music. Unable to convey it in any other way.
With a final burst of movement, he lifted his hands off the piano and smashed them against the keys, causing a chaos of notes to burst forth.
Gabe’s breathing was uneven, ragged as he leaned heavily against me, his chin resting on my head, and he whispered brokenly, “I can’t.”
“You were doing so good.”
“It’s like getting into a car with suicidal tendencies. You keep going faster and faster, needing the adrenaline to keep you alive until suddenly you turn the wheel and everything goes black. The notes, they go higher and higher, and right when I feel like I can change the outcome — I panic. Some things…” He sighed and pulled away. “Some things are better left in chaos.”
“Are you sure about that? Are you sure about perfection?” I folded my hands in my lap, but didn’t turn around.
“Sure.” He moved from behind me and sat on the bench. “If life was perfect, how in the hell would we ever learn to depend on someone other than ourselves? If anything, that’s what life’s taught me. The need to be perfect is stemmed in the very belief that it’s actually something we can achieve. Self-actualization — doesn’t exist.”
I licked my lips and looked down at the keys. “Does that mean we don’t try then?”
“No.” Gabe tickled a few of the ivory keys in front of him, the music note tattoos on his fingertips looking darker against the white of the piano. “It just means when you reach the end of your rope, you shouldn’t regret a damn thing, but applaud yourself for trying to do the impossible.”
I felt like he was using double meanings. The philosophical Gabe was a bit terrifying because he made me feel more insecure than the jackass Gabe. But the guy sitting next to me right now? I was beginning to understand, he wasn’t just one person. He was every person, everything, whatever he needed to be, he was.
Like a chameleon.
And suddenly the ending to the story made sense.
Ten different notes all clamoring at once.
Chaos.
Gabe was Chaos.
“So.” He sniffed and cleared his throat. “Now that I’ve totally ruined the moment by talking in my serious voice and scaring the shit out of you — why don’t we work on one of your performance pieces?”
“Okay.” I placed my hands on the piano again, careful to angle my wrists at the perfect degree and keep my eyes on the music ahead. Sometimes I wondered if my posture was better than my playing.
“What the hell are you doing?” he asked in calm voice.
I turned and gave him a firm nod[L1] . “I’m getting ready.”
“To go to battle?”
“What?” I relaxed my hands a bit. “No.” I straightened. “This is the right posture, it’s—”
“If you say perfect, I’m going to kill myself.”
“Someone should have majored in drama.”
He burst out laughing. “Oh, honey, you have no idea.”
“So?” I lifted my wrists again and looked ahead.
“Fine.” He smirked. “Play just like that.”
“Okay.” I started one of my harder pieces, Piano Sonata 14. It felt exactly the same. The movement wasn’t as fast as some of the others, but the timing for it had to be perfect.
“Close your eyes,” Gabe instructed.
“But—”
He swatted my wrists. “No arguing with your piano master.”
“Fine.”
“Say ‘yes, master’.”
I smiled tightly, my eyes focusing on the music in front of me. I started slowly playing. “Not in this lifetime.”
“Bet I could make you say it.” His voice had an arrogant lift to it, which made me all the more irritated. Master? Um, no.
“Eyes.” He growled again.
With a resigned sigh, I closed my eyes. “Better?”
“Immensely,” he said smoothly.
Darkness enveloped my world. All I had were the notes at my fingertips. All I had was the music — that and Gabe.
He wasn’t saying anything.
Which killed me.
It also made me want to open my eyes, but I knew he’d probably just tell me to close them again, so I kept playing.
And then, with a teasing touch, his fingers grazed my chin, slowly tilting it down toward the piano while his other hand went to my upper back then slowly moved down until it was in the middle, with a gentle push, he urged my body closer to the keys.
Eyes closed, posture completely off, I leaned over the piano. Everything felt wrong as I continued playing.
“Slower,” he said softly.
With a sigh, I started playing slower. His hands moved to my hips. And stayed there. Other than jumping a foot, I was still able to concentrate.
“The music,” he whispered, “It’s not just your story — it’s your lover.”
“Okay,” I squeaked. Heat washed over me as the word lover bounced around in my brain. I knew it, but I’d never experienced it. How was I supposed to use something I didn’t know how to use? And how embarrassing was it that I was stuck in that tiny room having never been… stuck in a tiny room with any guy? Lover. I’d take him. If I got a choice. It would be him. But people like Gabe, beautiful people who had music in their soul, who knew how to speak without words… they weren’t for girls like me.
“Each stroke…” His hands pressed against my hips making me gasp. “You need to feel it not just on your fingertips — but everywhere.”
Holy. Crap.
“Feel it here,” he squeezed and then ran his hands lightly up my sides, then resting right underneath my breasts, he pressed again. “And here.”
My breathing picked up speed, as did my music.
“Slow down,” he commanded in that same irritating patient tone. “Where is this story taking me? Where are you taking your lover?”
“Huh?” I breathed.
“Use your hands to tell me the story — use your body to propel the story forward, what happens next… Tell the story, Saylor. Make me feel it without even touching you.”
“But — that’s impossible.”
“You can feel a kiss without touching someone’s lips.”
“I’m confused.”
“Concentrate.” Gabe’s voice was firm. “I want to kiss you.”
“What?” He was lucky I didn’t actually collapse against the piano this time.
“In the story.” He chuckled. “I want to kiss you in this story, so kiss me.”
“You want me to get up and kiss you?” Mind you, I was still trying to play a difficult piece as he was asking me this, which basically meant I must have had talent, because my body was on fire.
“Without our mouths meeting.”
“Through the music.” I clarified in a doubtful voice.
I could hear the smile in his tone as he answered. “Yes, through the music, show me what the kiss would feel like. I want to taste it.”
“But how?”
He laughed softly. “I’m touching them.”
“What?”
“My lips,” he countered. “They’re soft, open, wet…”
I squirmed on the piano bench, squeezing my eyes shut. “What else?”
“As I part my lips… I wonder what your tongue tastes like, what type of pressure you’d use as you pressed your velvety smooth mouth against mine. I imagine exploring your mouth not just because I want to — but because I can’t help it. I’m lost. And your kiss is my salvation… so, Saylor, will you save me?”
My fingers glided effortlessly over the piano as I imagined his mouth — the way he smiled, the way he took his lower lip hostage when he was deep in thought. The dark look he got in his eyes when there was something he wanted. Our kiss would be epic.
The music picked up speed as I leaned over the piano, pounding each note with the rhythm of my footsteps as I approached him.
His hands would reach for my hips as he pulled me closer. My hands hovered over the keys making my hesitation known.
And then I pressed softly against the ivory, leaning forward as if I was leaning into Gabe with my body pressed against his. My breasts brushed the keys. I moved closer to the piano and then slowed the music.
His eyes would close.
His lips would part.
And we’d meet in the middle — because both of us wanted the same thing. Both of us wanted to taste, to explore, to feel.
I slowed my left hand as my right hand moved quicker across the keys, to show the anticipation.
And then, our mouths would touch.
I pounded the keys with my left hand, making it the loudest part of the piece which wasn’t normally how it was done.
Our tongues would tangle.
I pounded the piano harder.
His fingers would dig into my arms as he lifted me into the air.
I pulled back from the piano, stopping the music, and then gently started the rhythmic cadence again.
Our kiss was the perfect joining of music.
He was the left hand, I was the right.
Separate they sounded like silly scales.
Together — they were beautiful.
When I stopped the piece, I was sweating.
“Open your eyes,” Gabe whispered.
He was breathing so heavily it looked like he’d just run a marathon. With a smile he tucked my fallen hair behind my ear and tilted my chin toward him.
“That…” He leaned in. “…is how you perform. Like every kiss is both your first and last — like you’re saying both hello and goodbye — like you’ve just been born… like you’ve just died.”




~ Authors Bio ~

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!













~ Social Media Links ~






~ Giveaway ~


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Thursday, March 6, 2014

Release Day Blitz and Giveaway: The Heart Knows What the Heart Wants

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Title: The Heart Knows What The Heart Wants
Author: Lori L. Clark
Genre: Contemporary / New Adult Romance
Release: March 6, 2014

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~ Synopsis ~

Estelle "Star" Falconé, a thirty-year-old tattooed bartender, was once a free-spirited dreamer who dabbled in astrology for fun and secretly dreamed of becoming a rock-star some day.
Twenty-one-year-old Shane Harper was once the star of his high school basketball team. With a full ride scholarship, his dream was to play college basketball and study planetary science. When a tragic car accident permanently sidelines his basketball career, college is out of the question.
Sparks fly when their two worlds collide. Can a relationship survive between a thirty-year-old starry-eyed woman who's on the run from an extremely dangerous man, and a twenty-one-year-old science geek who's hell-bent on protecting her at all cost? ***Caution*** for mature readers. Contains graphic violence including rape. This is a complete, standalone novel.  


~ Buy the Book ~
         


~ Excerpt ~

Finally giving up on sleep, she climbed from bed and gathered her clothes to take into the bathroom for a long hot shower, hopeful the hot water would dislodge the myriad of inappropriate thoughts that had started to march through her sleep-deprived brain.
Star knew Shane was too young for her. He'd barely begun to live his life and in her thirty years she'd already lived enough for both of them combined. There was an undeniable attraction, she couldn't dispute that. Holding him, comforting him, as she had just a few short hours ago left her craving more of his touch. She gritted her teeth and turned up the water temperature as she scrubbed her body. "Why is it the men I'm attracted to are always wrong for me? For once, why can't I like the nerdy, science geek with a big brain instead of a big…ego," she huffed. After her shower, she wiped the fog from the mirror and studied the lines in her face. Time had not been kind to her, especially the time spent with Derek. She smoothed the skin around her eyes, suddenly wondering how much a face-lift would set her back. A more close-up inspection advised her that more than a couple new gray hairs had sprouted, seemingly overnight, as well. "Are you going to be much longer?" Shane's muffled voice asked from the other side of the bathroom door causing her to jump. "Just a few more minutes, sorry," she answered. She hurriedly dried off and scrambled into her clothes. When she opened the door, he sat on the floor facing her, his back against the wall. He beamed mischievously up at her, and something warm pooled inside of her. She smiled back and said, "I guess I kind of lost track of time." "No worries. As long as there's hot water left, I don't mind." He held his hand out to her. "Help me up, Blue," he asked. She tugged him to his feet and he seemed reluctant to let go of her hand. He gave her fingers a quick squeeze. Holy hell I'm melting here. She thought. The tips of her ears started to burn and she withdrew her hand from his. "All yours," she whispered and turned to go to her room. She couldn't be sure, it may have been her overactive imagination, or wishful thinking, but she could have sworn she heard him say "I wish," before he disappeared into the bathroom.
Star fanned herself and sat down on the corner of her bed. If he had remembered having the nightmare, or her rocking him back to sleep afterwards, it wasn't evident in the tundra-melting smile he'd given her. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. Was she disappointed that he hadn't remembered, or relieved?


authorLLC~ About the Author ~
Ten things about me:
1. I'm an only child. 
2. My only child is a Min Pin. 
3. I was born in Iowa City, Iowa. 
4. I worked as a professional psychic reader for 2 years. 
5. I'm a Pisces Sun, Leo Moon with Aquarius rising.
6. I've written 7 books and am in the process of brainstorming the 8th. 
7. I make my home near St. Louis, MO. 
8. I ran my first 1/2 marathon at age 50. 
9. I love 80's hair band music. 
10. I'm a vegetarian.


~ Social Media Links ~

 

~ Giveaway ~


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Blog Tour and Giveaway: Four Years Later by Monica Murphy

Four Years Later
~ Synopsis ~ 

  New Adult bestselling author Monica Murphy winds up her sensational series with this sexy story of two college kids with nothing in common but a bunch of baggage and a burning attraction.

Over. That about sums up everything in my life. Suspended from my college football team and forced to cut back my hours at The District bar because of my crappy grades, I can’t keep turning to my sister, Fable, and her pro-football playing husband, Drew, to bail me out. I just can’t seem to find my own way. Weed and sex are irresistible temptations—and it’s messed up that I secretly hand over money to our junkie mom. A tutor is the last thing I want right now—until I get a look at her. Chelsea is not my type at all. She’s smart and totally shy. I’m pretty sure she’s even a virgin. But when she gives me the once over with those piercing blue eyes, I’m really over. But in a different way. I won’t deny her ass is killer, but it’s her brain and the way she seems to crave love—like no one’s ever given her any—that make me want her more than any girl I’ve ever met. But what would someone as seemingly together as her ever see in a screwed up guy like me?   



~ Review ~
3.5 Stars

I was excited to read about Owen. You learned a lot about him from One Week Girlfriend and Second Chance Boyfriend. I was really disappointed in the book though.  I feel the story was slow and dragged on.  It was a struggle to finish reading.

Owen has a lot of issues.  Druggie for a mom.  She only cares about herself and what people can do for her.  She had always been able to wrap Owen around her finger.  He has a hard to standing up to her.  He smokes weed, drinks and sleeps with random girls to help forget his life.  Then in walks Chelsea and she makes him want to change.  Can he change?  Will he ever get out from under his mother's hold?

Chelsea buried herself in work and school.  The busier she is the better. Then she can ignore her nagging mom.  Also since her dad is in prison and her mom and she don't have money she works two jobs to pay for school.  She wants nothing to do with men.  She saw they way her dad was and doesn't want a man to treat her that way.  In walks Owen and she can't stop thinking about him.  He makes her feel and want things she has never dreamed of.  Will she open up to him? Or will she hide her secrets and lose him?

This book was a struggle for me to read.  I think I was expecting something different from it.  I feel that it needed more.  It made references to things and I needed to see them and feel them.  Also the drug use wasn't dealt with so that was another issue I had with this book. It was a good book just not as great as the others in this series!  I would definitely recommend this series, but start from One Week Girlfriend.




4YL Teaser 1



~ EXCERPT ~

“Anything else?” I ask them minutes later as I drop the check on their table. Owen slaps his hand against the piece of paper and drags it toward him. “I think that’s it.” “Great.” I smile but it feels brittle. “I can be your cashier or you can pay at the register.” “Hey, what else can you be for us, huh?” one of Owen’s friends ask, making the other one laugh. My cheeks are hot again and my mouth is open. I’m gaping at them like a dying fish and thankfully Owen rushes to my defense. “Shut the hell up, Des.” He glances up at me, all traces of the buzzed foolish boy who first walked in here gone. “He’s drunk. He doesn’t know what he’s saying.” “I know exactly what I’m saying,” drunken Des mumbles, clamping his lips shut when Owen shoots him a deathly stare. “It’s all right,” I say, backing away from them slowly. “Take your time.” I turn to flee from their table when I hear someone slide out of the booth, strong fingers curling around my upper arm and stopping me from leaving. He’s standing directly behind me, the warmth from his body seeping into mine and I go completely still. Willing myself not to react, not to say something stupid and embarrass myself. Look what he’s doing to me just by touching my arm. This sort of thing doesn’t happen to me. I don’t care about boys. I’ve been kissed a measly three times in my life, once by Cody Curtis the tongue thruster and he definitely doesn’t count. So twice. Twice I’ve been kissed and I’m a virgin. A freaking virgin. Owen Maguire has player written all over him. I’m nothing to him. So why is he touching me? Talking to me in that husky low murmur of his that slides over me like slow, warm honey? “…need to talk to you. About this tutoring thing,” he’s saying and I wrench myself out of his grip, irritated that I didn’t pay attention to what he said at first. “Just meet me Monday afternoon as scheduled and we should be good to go.” I turn to face him, a fake smile plastered to my face and he stares at my lips for a long, breath stealing second before he finally lifts those too pretty green eyes up to meet mine. My lips are tingling like he actually kissed them. God. “I don’t even know your name,” he murmurs. 


~ Buy Links ~


Created by Romance Wrangler for Monica Murphy    



~ Author Bio ~ 

 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Monica Murphy is a native Californian who lives in the foothills below Yosemite. A wife and mother of three, she writes New Adult and contemporary romance for Bantam and Avon. She is the author of One Week Girlfriend and Second Chance Boyfriend.      
  















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Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Cover Reveal and Giveaway: Here and Now by Lexi Ryan



A new series from New York Times Bestselling Author Lexi Ryan, Here and Now is a sexy New Adult Contemporary Romance series that fans are sure to love.


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Covers designed by Okay Creations



Torn between the man she's always wanted and the man she can't remember...and yet can't let go.


Lost In Me
(Book #1) 
Releasing April 7, 2014


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The last thing I remember is having drinks at Brady’s and trying to avoid eye-contact with my life-long crush—the gorgeous, unattainable Maximilian Hallowell. They tell me that was a year ago, but I have no memories of anything since then. What I do have is this ring on my finger that Max says he gave me, and this much-thinner body I’ve dreamed of most of my life. Aside from a case of retrograde amnesia, everything seems almost…perfect.

But the deeper I immerse myself into this new world of mine—planning a wedding to a man I don’t remember dating, attempting to run a business I don’t remember starting—the clearer it becomes that nothing is as it seems. Do I have the life I’ve always wanted or is it a facade propped up by secrets I don’t even know I have?

I need answers before I marry Max, and the only person who seems to have them is the angry, tatted, sexy-as-sin rocker Nate Crane. And Nate wants me for himself.



Fall To You 
(Here and Now, #2)
Expected release June 2014



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All For This
(Here and Now, #3)
Expected release August 2014



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~ About the Author ~


Once a college English professor, I now write full time. I live in rural Indiana, where, when I’m not writing, I get to hang out with my husband and two kids–a six-year-old boy and a two-year-old hellion, er, girl. Not surprisingly, reading and writing remain my favorite activities, though both come in bits and pieces these days, not the big hunks of time I enjoyed before I had children. When I’m feeling virtuous, I like to go running (I use that word liberally. I’m really, really slow) or do yoga. Don’t worry, I’m always careful to balance out such activities with a hearty serving of ice cream or a chocolate martini.


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Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Cover Reveal and Giveaway: Unexplainable by Amity Cross

unex[;ainable
 
Title: Unexplainable (Unexpected #2)
Author: Amity Cross
Genre: Erotic Romance
Release Date: April 8, 2014

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~ Synopsis ~
Blair thought she would never get over her broken past. She'd all but given up. That's until West fell into her life with a bang.
West thought no one could ever see past his epic mistakes. He'd all but given up. That's until Blair walked into his life and blew it to pieces.
For the first time Blair's given a piece of herself away, picks herself off the ground and moves forward. There's a light at the end of the tunnel and it has bad boy rock star written all over it. That's something she can work for. Something that makes her believe again.
But West is a part of rock'n'roll band, Affliction. Taking Blair on tour was his idea of heaven, but his time is in high demand and trying to be with her isn't working out as well as he'd hoped.
For Blair, being on the road with one of the most notorious bands in rock is a new kind of messed up. One she's not sure is for her…even with West in her bed.
Jake West has kick started her heart, but who will be the one to smash it apart?
Or will their unexplainable attraction be strong enough to save them both?

un4



amity~ About The Author ~
 
Amity Cross isn't my real name. That's no secret.
I didn't want my Mum and my workplace to find out I wrote about doodles and tongue-in-cheek sexual innuendo.
I live in a leafy suburb of Melbourne writing about screwed up relationships and kick ass female leads that don't take s**t lying down.
Insert more pretentious c**p here.






~ Social Media Links ~


un5
~ Giveaway ~

un 1
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Release Day Blitz and Giveaway: Four Years Later by Monica Murphy

Four Years Later
~ Synopsis ~ 

  New Adult bestselling author Monica Murphy winds up her sensational series with this sexy story of two college kids with nothing in common but a bunch of baggage and a burning attraction.

Over. That about sums up everything in my life. Suspended from my college football team and forced to cut back my hours at The District bar because of my crappy grades, I can’t keep turning to my sister, Fable, and her pro-football playing husband, Drew, to bail me out. I just can’t seem to find my own way. Weed and sex are irresistible temptations—and it’s messed up that I secretly hand over money to our junkie mom. A tutor is the last thing I want right now—until I get a look at her. Chelsea is not my type at all. She’s smart and totally shy. I’m pretty sure she’s even a virgin. But when she gives me the once over with those piercing blue eyes, I’m really over. But in a different way. I won’t deny her ass is killer, but it’s her brain and the way she seems to crave love—like no one’s ever given her any—that make me want her more than any girl I’ve ever met. But what would someone as seemingly together as her ever see in a screwed up guy like me?   



4YL Teaser 1



~ EXCERPT ~

“Anything else?” I ask them minutes later as I drop the check on their table. Owen slaps his hand against the piece of paper and drags it toward him. “I think that’s it.” “Great.” I smile but it feels brittle. “I can be your cashier or you can pay at the register.” “Hey, what else can you be for us, huh?” one of Owen’s friends ask, making the other one laugh. My cheeks are hot again and my mouth is open. I’m gaping at them like a dying fish and thankfully Owen rushes to my defense. “Shut the hell up, Des.” He glances up at me, all traces of the buzzed foolish boy who first walked in here gone. “He’s drunk. He doesn’t know what he’s saying.” “I know exactly what I’m saying,” drunken Des mumbles, clamping his lips shut when Owen shoots him a deathly stare. “It’s all right,” I say, backing away from them slowly. “Take your time.” I turn to flee from their table when I hear someone slide out of the booth, strong fingers curling around my upper arm and stopping me from leaving. He’s standing directly behind me, the warmth from his body seeping into mine and I go completely still. Willing myself not to react, not to say something stupid and embarrass myself. Look what he’s doing to me just by touching my arm. This sort of thing doesn’t happen to me. I don’t care about boys. I’ve been kissed a measly three times in my life, once by Cody Curtis the tongue thruster and he definitely doesn’t count. So twice. Twice I’ve been kissed and I’m a virgin. A freaking virgin. Owen Maguire has player written all over him. I’m nothing to him. So why is he touching me? Talking to me in that husky low murmur of his that slides over me like slow, warm honey? “…need to talk to you. About this tutoring thing,” he’s saying and I wrench myself out of his grip, irritated that I didn’t pay attention to what he said at first. “Just meet me Monday afternoon as scheduled and we should be good to go.” I turn to face him, a fake smile plastered to my face and he stares at my lips for a long, breath stealing second before he finally lifts those too pretty green eyes up to meet mine. My lips are tingling like he actually kissed them. God. “I don’t even know your name,” he murmurs. 


~ Buy Links ~


Created by Romance Wrangler for Monica Murphy    



~ Author Bio ~ 

 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Monica Murphy is a native Californian who lives in the foothills below Yosemite. A wife and mother of three, she writes New Adult and contemporary romance for Bantam and Avon. She is the author of One Week Girlfriend and Second Chance Boyfriend.      
  















~ Social Media Links ~




~ Giveaway ~


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Release Day Blitz and Giveaway: Sweet Little Thing by Renee Carlino


Title: Sweet Little Thing (Sweet Thing #1.5) 
Author: Renee Carlino
Genre: New Adult Romance
Release Date: March 4, 2014






~ Synopsis ~

Ever wonder what happened after the final pages of Sweet Thing? 
From his candid and sometimes neurotic point of view, Will tells all in this musical and sexy follow-up novella to Renée Carlino’s USA Today Bestseller.
Life is pure bliss for Mia and Will. They have a puppy, a loft in Brooklyn, and a new music studio on the rise. It seems things couldn’t get any better for this talented couple when life decides to throw them a sweet little curve ball. 
They quickly learn that things don't always go according to plan. Sometimes happily ever after is one giant leap of faith away.With the help of good music, good friends, and one eccentric old lady, they overcome a few of life’s little bumps to find the sweetest thing of all.
Watch this duo grow in more ways than one in SWEET Little THING.




~ Excerpt ~
Copyright © 2014 by Renée Carlino

“I have a complaint.” I said.
She climbed up next to me and cuddled her face up to my bare chest, then she used her index finger to trace a line down my happy trail to the belt on my jeans.
“What sort of complaint, Wilbur?” Ah, Mia’s sexy voice.
I reached down and ran my hand up her thigh. “You should not wear these pants around that horny little High School Musical kid.”
She popped up and looked me straight in the face. “He totally looks like Zac Efron, huh?”
“Mia, he practically shot off a load just staring at your ass.”
She punched me in the chest. “That is vulgar, Will Ryan.”
“It’s true. You can’t dress like that around him.” I tackled her back down on the bed and hovered over her.
“I thought you liked these pants.”
“I do.” I began kissing my way down her body. I lifted her shirt and kissed the swell of each breast before moving down the center of her body. “But you know what I like better than you in these pants?”
“Me out of these pants?”
“Am I that predictable?” I said as I quickly peeled them off her body.
“Yes.” She sighed.
I sat back on my heels. “You’re beautiful.”
Holding her leg from behind her knee, I kissed my way up the inside, from her calf to her thigh and all the way up to her panties. I peeled the lace from her hips with my teeth and then down to her ankles as slowly as possible. She lay there naked from the waist down, watching me gaze at her, hungry for her. Her skin was pure white and it contrasted so strikingly against her dark eyes and hair. She was an authentic beauty. I leaned over her body, putting my weight on my hands, which were placed on each side of her head. Her eyes were searching mine. She whimpered and then tried to lift her face up to kiss me.
I drew my head back. “Uh uh, I don’t think so.” I nuzzled my nose into her neck and trailed kisses to her ear. I whispered, “Stay just like this. Don’t go anywhere.” I planted a swift kiss on her lips and jumped off the bed. “I’m goin’ to play B-ball with Tyler. Be back in a few.”
As I left the room, I glanced over my shoulder and saw her lying there completely still, her mouth open in shock. I got halfway down the hallway before she finally yelled, “Asshole!”
I bent in the hallway and patted June’s head. She rolled over and then got back on her feet and trotted off toward our bedroom.
Before walking out the door, I called back to Mia, “Who’s predictable now, sweet thing?”






~ Author Bio ~


 Renee’s first friends were the imaginary kind and even though her characters haven’t gone away, thankfully the delusions have. She admits she’s a wildly hopeless romantic and she blames 80’s movies staring Molly Ringwald for that. She lives in Southern California with her husband, two sons, and their sweet dog June. When she’s not at the beach with her boys or working on the next book, she likes to spend her time reading, going to concerts, and eating dark chocolate.


~ Social Media Links ~

 Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/AuthorReneeCarlino
Website – http://reneecarlino.com
Twitter – https://twitter.com/renayz
Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6994731.Ren_e_Carlino



~ Giveaway ~





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