Book Boyfriend #5

Joining Readingandthings in the meme, Book Boyfriend.

Here's the rules:

1) Pick a book boyfriend, it can be from the book your currently reading or from one you've already read.
2) Write what kind of boyfriend he is, and if you want, say why you think that
3) Pick a quote from his book, it could be long or short, that proves he is the kind of boyfriend you said he is
4) Make sure the quote, and the explanation, DO NOT give away anything from the book (we want all of the twists and plot surprises to remain surprises)
5) Share it! And shout it out it using #ReadingAndThings

So my book boyfriend for the week is

Holden Marks

From

Pressing the boundaries of both the psyche and the heart, Sam and Holden embark on a dangerous journey that will test the limits of love.

Sam Wintry’s life used to be almost perfect. She was engaged to her childhood best friend and high school sweetheart, Tyler Marks, planning an amazing cross-country honeymoon during her college break. But after a hit-and-run leaves her in ruin, she begins seeing Tyler’s fractured, ghostly presence, and her family believes she’s losing her mind. Not until she completes their journey, stopping along the way to scatter Tyler's remains, will Tyler be able cross over. Only...is Sam ready for him to leave her?

When the black sheep of the Marks' family, Holden Marks, returns to check on Tyler's case, Sam convinces him to give her his brother's ashes. Despite their shaky history, she needs him...plus, he owes it to Sam and his brother. What she doesn’t count on is Holden’s relentlessness to go on the trip.

On the road, Holden realizes just how unhinged Sam has become. Dealing with her psychosis forces him to confront his dark past, making it harder to keep secrets hidden that should remain buried. Especially from Sam, the only woman he’s ever loved. And as Sam starts to unravel the truth, she begins to question if the brother she's unwillingly falling for again is in an even darker place than her. 

I can feel his hard need against the seam of my skirt.  It sends a thrill coursing through me, knowing what my body is doing to him.  And when he lowers his head, resting his mouth in the crook of my neck, flames ignite my chest, his lips scorching my skin where they lightly brush.  Holy shift.  Holy hell.  (Kindle location 2049)

The dam that's been holding me back fragments, and with an unstoppable force, I burst through it.  My lips crush hers, and I'm pushing her against the wall.  Then grabbing her waist, hauling her to her feet.  (Kindle location 3193)

Absolutely LOVE Holden!  This books is incredible and I devoured it.

What about you?  What do you think of Holden?  Do you have a book boyfriend for me?

Leave me a comment.

My Favorite Mistake by Chelsea M. Cameron ~ Giveaway

Now available 

Two secrets. One bet. Who will break first?

Taylor Caldwell can't decide if she wants to kiss her new college roommate or punch him.

On the one hand, Hunter Zaccadelli is a handsome blue-eyed bundle of charm. On the other, he's a tattooed, guitar-playing bad boy. Maybe that's why Taylor's afraid of falling in love with him, or anyone else. She doesn't want to get burned, so she needs him gone before it's too late.

Hunter himself has been burned before, but Taylor's sexy laugh and refusal to let him get away with anything make her irresistible. Determined not to be kicked out of her life without a fight, Hunter proposes a bet: if she can convince him she either truly loves or hates him, he'll leave the apartment;and leave her alone.

But when the man behind Taylor's fear of giving up her heart resurfaces, she has to decide: trust Hunter with her greatest secret, or do everything in her power to win that bet and drive him away forever.

****Giveaway****

Have a signed copy to give away!

US/Canada

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About the author:

Chelsea M. Cameron is a YA/NA New York Times/USA Today Best Selling author from Maine. Lover of things random and ridiculous, Jane Austen/Charlotte and Emily Bronte Fangirl, red velvet cake enthusiast, obsessive tea drinker, vegetarian, former cheerleader and world's worst video gamer. When not writing, she enjoys watching infomercials, singing in the car and tweeting (this one time, she was tweeted by Neil Gaiman). She has a degree in journalism from the University of Maine, Orono that she promptly abandoned to write about the people in her own head. More often than not, these people turn out to be just as weird as she is.

Her New Adult Contemporary Romance titles include My Favorite Mistake, which has been bought by Harlequin along with a sequel, Deeper We Fall and Faster We Burn (April 20, 2013)

Her Young Adult books include Nocturnal, Nightmare and Neither, the first three books in The Noctalis Chronicles. The fourth and final book, Neverend will be out in 2013. Whisper, the first in The Whisper Trilogy is also available, with the second book in the series, Silence and the final book, LIsten coming out in 2014.

Additional giveaway being offered by the author

One Night In The Spa by Kathy Lyons

Source:  Received an eBook copy from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Book Description:

What starts out as a simple massage treatment for spa manager David’s best friend Kim, turns into a night of seduction and sexual discovery.

Always relegated to the friend zone, David is determined to show Kim what she’s been missing…one erogenous zone at a time. Sure, their friendship is on the line. And sure, David’s hiding a motive larger than either him or Kim. But the second his hands touch her smooth skin, he just doesn’t care anymore.

Kim’s been so focused on the loss of her sports career that she’s had no time for romance or sex. But her response to David can’t be denied. Is it just that her body’s been missing out, or could her heart be involved too?

My Thoughts:



2 1/2 stars - I don't think I'm a standalone novella kinda girl

So I've read novellas before but mostly they've been stories that were part of a series.  I felt so detached from this story and these characters.  It just wasn't for me.

I agreed to review this one because I LOVED the premise.  I love the idea of a guy who is clearly in the friend zone finding a way to the lover zone.  Who wouldn't love the idea of that happening in a spa?  So, yeah, I wanted to read it.

But I also need a story where things happen for a reason.  Love doesn't pop up just because of passion and attraction.  So, I can't really explain this any better without giving too much away but I just didn't like how that whole change from friends to in love went down.

This books only 74 pages but it not only about the change from friend status to something more.  There is another secret that comes to play near the end.  It's a pretty big secret too.  And it took way too few pages for it to be revealed and resolved if you ask me.

The bottom line is that is story is sexy and steamy if a little too contrived.  If you read for the steam, then this is a good one for that.

About the Author:

KATHY LYONS writes light, funny, sexy stories for Harlequin Blaze.  She loves the faster pace of category books and that her humor can shine through.

She leaves the dark, tortured love stories to her alter ego, Jade Lee.

Written in the Stars by Patricia Rosemoor & Sherill Bodine ~ Spotlight

Chased by evil, two women discover their own magic to fight a villain's curse on the Posey rings that draw them to the men they are destined to love...

In 1601, Lady Elizabeth York's star-shaped birthmark proclaims her a child of magic.

When she arrives at Dunham Castle to marry Carlyle, heir to the Duke of Lennox, she finds enchantment in the eyes and touch of Will Grey, the Duke's bastard son. Bewitched by Elizabeth, Will defies all for their love, and his jilted half-brother places a curse on them both.

Searching for a treasure ship sunk long ago, present-day marine archeologist Cordelia Ward is pursued romantically by both salvager Innis Foley and treasure hunter Morgan Murphy. She is haunted by a 
murderous nightmare where one man is the killer and the other the victim. 

But which man is her enemy - which one her soul mate?

Can a journal that belonged to her ancestress, Lady Elizabeth York show her the answers... in time to save her true love?

About the authors:

A bit about Patricia Rosemoor :
With 90 novels and more than seven million books in print, Patricia Rosemoor is fascinated with "dangerous love" – combining romance with danger. She has written various forms of romantic and paranormal romantic thrillers, even romantic horror, bringing a different mix of thrills and chills to her stories.

Patricia has won a Golden Heart from Romance Writers of America and two Reviewers Choice and two Career Achievement Awards from RT BOOKreviews, and in her other life, she teaches Popular Fiction and Suspense-Thriller Writing, credit courses at Columbia College Chicago. Three of her Columbia grad students and two students from other venues are now published in novel-length fiction.

SKIN is her first original indie thriller. With 53 Harlequin Intrigues since 1985, she is now writing romantic suspense for Ignite, an imprint of Entangled Publishing.

 
A bit about Sherrill Bodine:

Sherrill Bodine is an author, fashionista, and world traveler. She has published 19
romance novels, co-wrote a comic book, and was a contributing columnist to the Chicago Sun-Times. She currently resides in Chicago where she frequents fashion shows and charity galas with her longtime Prince Charming.

While moving 22 times across the country and rearing her children with her husband, she sold stories to Fate Magazine, Home Life Magazine and True Confessions. In 1988, she sold her first novel and a week later received a two-book contract from Fawcett. Sixteen novels later, she's seen The Other Amanda win the Wisconsin Romance Writers of America Write Touch Readers’ Award and Talk of the Town chosen by Cosmopolitan magazine as its “Red Hot Read” for February 2009.

Colour Wielders by Dawna Raver ~ Blast & Giveaway

Behind the Faerying Mysts, hidden from Mortal eyes, is a land where gods and creatures of myth and legend dwell. And in the Mortal Realm, their Princess is hidden away.

Quinn Sinclair lives an ordinary life with her less-than-loving mother in Conifer, Colorado, clueless of her true nature. On the night of her birthday, a staggering betrayal sends her life spinning out-of-control. As she struggles to pick up the pieces, a vision of a man with haunting tourmaline-blue eyes begs her for help, and she is transported into a Magykal battle-forever changing her life.

Arik Morgaine-Demigod bad boy and outcast of the Magykal Realm-tried to avoid contact with Princess Quinn for eighteen years, not wanting to make good on an old threat. But the fates have other plans. Arik can no longer deny his growing desire for Quinn, or the need to protect her from those wanting to control her burgeoning powers. Can the two of them come together and save the Magykal Realm from being destroyed by the Darkest of Magyks?

New Adult. Recommended for 18 and above. Mature themes, sexual situations, and profanity.

Chapter One
Virgin Territory

Gentle fingertips grazed the edge of her jaw, trailing down her neck to her collarbone. His citrine gaze stared deeply into her eyes, and her body heated at his tender touch.

“You’re okay, yeah?” Thaene asked, his voice hoarse from their lovemaking.

Am I okay? She hardly knew. Though she had nothing to compare it to, this feeling was more than giving her virginity to him. Quinn felt like something bigger inside had stirred to life, wanting to escape.

“You know I love you. I’m sorry if it hurt.” He kissed her again, his lips caressing hers, as if he could take the ache away.

“Say something, Quinn. Please.”

“I love you, Thaene.” She pressed herself into him, passionately returning his affection. As their kiss continued, Quinn wondered if he wanted more. She also wondered if she had more to give.

“I want us together, always. Do you want that, Quinn?” Thaene’s eyes danced with a mixture of emotions—love, passion, possessiveness, and something else she couldn’t name.

“We can have forever. You want that, don’t you?” Thaene asked.

“Yes,” Quinn answered breathlessly, before realizing what she’d agreed to. She smiled, finding his need for her exciting.

“Forever is a long time. But I could do it with you.”

Thaene smiled back. Happiness lit his face. He looked like he’d just won a major prize—he looked triumphant.

“Being with you on your twenty-second birthday was very special to me. You’ve given me such a precious gift.”

“I love you. I can’t imagine my first time with anyone else.”

Besides, my gift of Sight showed you to me, over and over. How could I not give myself to you?

Her gift had shown her something else as well. Since she didn’t understand it, Quinn ignored it. She’d followed her heart where Thaene was concerned. Not even her mother’s dislike—or in spite of it— changed her mind. Following your heart always led you down the right path.

Thaene lightly brushed her hair from her face, then he rested his forehead on hers.

“There’s something else I’d like you to give me. Will you do that? Give me what I desire the most?”

The longing in his voice made Quinn squirm underneath him. Right now, she’d give him anything.

“It’s the most precious gift of all. One I’ll cherish forever.”

Oh my God. He wants to marry me.

“Yes,” Quinn said, drawing in a breath. “I’ll give you anything.”

“Good.” Thaene nuzzled her neck. “I want you to show me your Magyk.”

“What?” Quinn blinked at him, wondering if she’d heard him right.

“If you want us to have forever, you must show me your Magyk.”

Buy it...

Amazon † BN 

Want a Review copy? Colour Wielders is live at Story Cartel, available for download for review. Also each review is entered for a chance at 3 $10 Amazon Gift Certificates. :)

Story Cartel - CLICK HERE.

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Dawna Raver is an author of paranormal romance and urban fantasy. Colour Wielders, Book One, is her debut novel. When she's not spending time in her fantasy world, Dawna loves football, reading, and pretending she's a top chef in the kitchen. Oh, and fawning over her dogs and husband, sometimes in that order.

Contact me at:

https://www.facebook.com/DawnaRaver

https://twitter.com/DawnaRaver

https://dawnaraver.com

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17261634-colour-wielders