The Twelve Days of New Adult Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Twelve Days of New Adult Giveaway Hop.

We adore New Adult.

And we have some great ones to give away.

The Darkest Part (Living Heartwood, #1) by Trisha Wolfe

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. 

Have physical copy of this one to giveaway from the author!
US only

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 Losing Track (Living Heartwood, #2) by Trisha Wolfe

Sometimes you have to lose your way before finding the right track.

The roar of a bike engine. The vibration between her thighs. The feel of cool darkness kissing her skin as she coasts along twisty back roads at night—Melody Lachlan lives for these things. Ever since Mel and her best friend Darla escaped their small, backwoods town, they’ve traveled the countryside in search of fast rides, tatted bikers, and good times.

A self-proclaimed poet and lover of all things free, Mel views her life as one long bike ride—with pit stops along the way to numb the pain. But she never saw herself as a junkie. Party as hard as you ride. That’s her motto…until a tragic night steals her soul. Then she’s forced to delve below the surface, to where her demons rage.

When she meets recovered drug addict Boone Randall, she’s more likely to deck him than kiss his dimple-adorable face. She doesn’t want his help; doesn’t want to own up to her part in that night. She just wants to do her time and keep her promise to her friend. Yet Boone challenges Mel, and soon she doesn’t mind sharing the road. Only when Boone’s own secret demons threaten their newfound, fragile security, Mel’s course becomes rocky, and she must decide if letting her well-worn track marks fade is worth finding a new path.

Told from Dual point of view from Melody and Boone, this is a New Adult Contemporary Romance intended for readers seventeen years of age and older.

Have physical copy of this one to giveaway from the author!
US only

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 Wicked (A Wicked Saga, #1) by Jennifer L Armentrout

Things are about to get Wicked in New Orleans.

Twenty-two year old Ivy Morgan isn’t your average college student. She, and others like her, know humans aren’t the only thing trolling the French Quarter for fun… and for food. Her duty to the Order is her life. After all, four years ago, she lost everything at the hands of the creatures she’d sworn to hunt, tearing her world and her heart apart.

Ren Owens is the last person Ivy expected to enter her rigidly controlled life. He’s six feet and three inches of temptation and swoon-inducing charm. With forest-green eyes and a smile that’s surely left a stream of broken hearts in its wake, he has an uncanny, almost unnatural ability to make her yearn for everything he has to offer. But letting him in is as dangerous as hunting the cold-blooded killers stalking the streets. Losing the boy she loved once before had nearly destroyed her, but the sparking tension that grows between them becomes impossible for Ivy to deny. Deep down, she wants… she needs more than what her duty demands of her, what her past has shaped for her.

But as Ivy grows closer to Ren, she realizes she’s not the only one carrying secrets that could shatter the frail bond between them. There’s something he’s not telling her, and one thing is for certain. She’s no longer sure what is more dangerous to her—the ancient beings threatening to take over the town or the man demanding to lay claim to her heart and her soul.

Giving away an eBook of this one!

INTERNATIONAL

a Rafflecopter giveaway




Now hop along to the next blog...

Sink (Cold Mark #2) by Scarlett Dawn ~ Review

Source: e-ARC copy provided by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Sink (Cold Mark #2) by Scarlett Dawn

The second installment to the bestselling Cold Mark serial launches withSink, where fear and willpower battle from within…

Braita Valorn’s pampered existence with the Plumas of the west was cut short by her own hand. Being their Soul only complicates matters as she hides inside their enemy’s territory. Danger lurks, and Braita’s lack of knowledge of the planet, Triaz, is now abundantly clear.

Braita’s only strength against the deadly Mian is the blessed sun that lights the day hours.

On a mission to find her best friend, Jax, she must infiltrate the Crank Pit, a brutal complex where Mian enter, only to leave absent a heartbeat. Nothing transpires as planned. Braita’s reckless behavior lands her right into her adversaries’ custody—the Plumas of the east. Will Braita find the answers she’s been searching for…or will she sink further into a sensual world she never thought possible?

Review...

While I'm not usually the biggest fan of serials, I gave Fall a shot. Why? Because I think Scarlett Dawn's the bomb diggity. Her books are awesome and I always enjoy them so much. So I wasn't going to leave one series out because of the small fact that it was a serial. I NEED some SD books in my life, you know? So I read Fall and really enjoyed it. Was left wanting to read more, so I obviously picked up Sink when I had the free time to do so. (Schoooool. It's killing me, y'all.) Just like Fall, I highly enjoyed Sink. I had little issues here and there, but overall the book was pretty darn good.

Braita's still a smart, solid chick like she was in book 1. Not much changed there, but I was quickly reminded of how much I liked being in her head. She can be impulsive, but that can be forgiven fairly easily. We bumped into her best friend Jax again, too, and I must say that I am more of a fan of him now. I don't like him more than Braita's Vaq (both of which I think Braita needs to sit down and hear them out), but I do see why she's so attached to him as a friend. 

We don't have much of Leo and Malik in this one. I missed them greatly. I feel kind of bad. I see where Braita feels like it's hard to trust them now, but I don't see why she won't even listen to them explain. They're all obviously important to each other, and I would have liked very much to have gotten to know them better in this installment. Instead, we jump into a relationship forming with the Plumas of the east. 

I didn't expect that relationship to spark. I don't really like it too much. I thought her Vaq were kind of great in the first book, so to see her cozying up to another pair was odd. I do think it'd be great to learn more about these guys, though. They don't seem terrible. More time spent with them, I think I could really like them. But I need more TIME. We got a taste of the Plumas of the west in book 1, and then a taste of the Plumas of the east in book 2. I side with the west right now, because I liked them bunches and they're the ones I'm most intrigued with right now. I hope things work out with them. That'd be seriously awesome. But I fear after the way Sink ended, things aren't going to work out the way I'm hoping. But we'll see.

There wasn't a lot of big things happening in this book, but there was a lot of information given that was needed. And it wasn't told in a way that made the whole story boring, which was great and a sign of Scarlett Dawn's magnificent writing. I didn't feel like this book was one big info-dump. The info given was dispersed in a way that was amusing and the opposite of boring. I still didn't get explanations I was looking for about the world, things that confused me in book 1, but there was clarification about how the whole Vaq thing works and whatnot. Usefull stuff to know. All of the was mixed in with some new advancements in the plot--such as the possible relationship with the Plumas of the east. 

Overall, this series as a whole is shaping up to be amazing. I wish so hard that I didn't have to wait until February for the next book, but I suspect that it'll be worth the wait. Sink was a great second installment to an interesting series that I'm enjoying so much. I seriously cannot wait for book 3!

4 stars - An interesting second installment to an amazing series!

Undefeated by Melissa Cutler ~ Review

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

Undefeated (Bomb Squad, #2) by Melissa Cutler

Welcome to Destiny Falls, New York, home of Bomb Squad—an ice hockey team full of rugged military heroes. The team’s battling a losing streak, but the season’s biggest game changer is one player’s second chance with the one who got away…

Yoga instructor Marlena Brodie is always up for a challenge, and her new job of snapping Bomb Squad out of their rut is definitely that, even though it means being in close contact with Liam McAllister, her high school crush gone bad. She can feel the damage pouring off of him—but also a wild and sexy strength that calls to her.

The Army turned Liam McAllister into a man, but as a combat medic, he saw far too much to ever be whole again. He’s not interested in the civilian world beyond his job as a carpenter, but he never stopped wondering what might have been with Marlena—and it isn’t long before she’s crashed through his carefully constructed walls. He longs for a new beginning with her, but to be the man she deserves, he’ll have to step out of his defensive zone and score the most important play of his life…

Always comes down to characters, story, writing and afterglow.  Here's how I saw it.

Characters.  I didn't like Marlena.  She confused me.  I couldn't accept her serene yoga teacher and spiritual leader style when she considered herself a vixen.  She would sneak over to the local fast food Mexican joint but duck out the back door so she couldn't be seen by those she'd told to avoid the place for their health.  I just didn't like that or her.  Then there was the first encounter with the sexy Liam and she freaked out accusing him of rape when that was so not the case.  I'm not okay with that.  The word feels unique to me.  It's shouldn't be used lightly or thrown around during a panic attack.  I just couldn't get over it.  

I liked Liam.  He's figuring out ways to deal with the emotional turmoil he was part of in the military.  As a medic, he is haunted by all the guys he couldn't save.  He uses yoga and P.E.T. therapy to try and lesson his triggers and be a human being again.  The thing about Liam is that he likes control during sex.  And he prefers it hard.  I wish there was some hint in the blurb that this book had the dominance thing going on.  While I'm fine with those that like to read that, it's not my thing.  Warning would have been nice.

Story.  I just didn't enjoy the story.  Between Marlena feeling fake and the whole dominance thing, I just couldn't be content in the pages.  There was a lot of "the universe is bringing them together" aspects that felt strange to me too.  I just wasn't happy.

Writing. The writing was fine.  

Afterglow.  Mostly, I just wanted to be done and wash the story away with another book.

Not everyone had a similar experience.  Check out a different opinion below.

       

Kame gave it 4 1/2 stars

Carole gave it 4 stars

About the Author...

Melissa Cutler knows she has the best job in the world, dividing her time between her dual passions for writing sexy contemporary romances and edge-of-your-seat romantic suspense for Harlequin, Penguin, and Kensington Books.

She was struck at an early age by an unrelenting travel bug and is probably planning her next vacation as you read this. When she's not globetrotting, she's enjoying Southern California's flip-flop wearing weather and wrangling two rambunctious kids. Find out more about Melissa and her books at www.melissacutler.net or write to her at melissa@melissacutler.net . You can also find Melissa on Facebook (www.facebook.com/MelissaCutlerBooks) and Twitter (@m_cutler)

Stacking MY Shelves ~ 11/30/14

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  Make sure to checkout her post with links to all the other participates.

Click covers for Goodreads links

THIS!  I got THIS!

Which means that THIS is on my For Review shelf...

Gift from the author...

Thanks go to...

Jennifer L Armentrout & InkslingerPR
Stacey O'Neale

Picked up for 99¢...

Part of Entangled Black Friday Sale - which is STILL going on.

Won...

Thanks goes to...

Stacee! :)

Grabbed for FREE...

Amazon link

That's what we've added to our shelves this week! What do you think? What'd you add to your stacks? Let us know in the comments!

Book Boyfriend ~ 11/29/14

Join the Book Boyfriend meme

• Pick your book boyfriend for the week
• Current read or not
• Tease us with something about your boy
• Don't spoil the book
• Link up with us
• Visit the other book boyfriend posts

So my book boyfriend for the week is

Colt

Miles from Kara (Charleston Haven, #2) by Melissa West

Kara Marcus is desperate to forget the past and move on. But she can’t escape her choices—especially when she finds herself falling in love…

Since the first day she stepped into her childhood Southern Baptist church, two truths have been engrained in Kara Marcus’s head: sex before marriage is bad and murder is a sin. And that’s why Kara can never forgive herself for what she did at the age of sixteen.

Now, as second semester of freshman year comes to a close, Kara has stood by her high school boyfriend, Ethan. But as they seem to grow further and further apart every day, Kara realizes that she has feelings for someone else: Ethan’s roommate Colt.

Suddenly, Kara’s clear-cut world shifts out of focus, and she’s torn between what her head tells her is right and what her heart is desperately pushing her to do—even if it means committing another undeniable sin...

Why?

Oh he has THAT look...

His arms were covered in tattoos and his chin-length dirty blond hair had this I-just-got-out-of-bed doing-things you-wish-you-were-doing look.  

And an Aussie accent...

I blamed his Australian accent on my complete inability to look at him --or talk to him-- without flushing.

He sees things...

His eyes swept down me, before returning to my face.  "If you were mine, and you were in that pool with some bloke I didn't know?  Hell yes.  I don't play games."

My breathing had stopped at if you were mine, and now I was struggling to stop looking at his lips, all full and inviting.  My eyes lifted back to his, and his expression said that he knew exactly what I was thinking. 

Patient and perceptive...

I closed my mouth and focused on the words pouring out from the guitarist, and each word seemed like it was meant just for us.  Words of passion and bravery and hope and love.  Words of longing and chance and willingness to try.  I closed my eyes as I took them in and felt Colt's breath against my cheek, my neck.

"I want to kiss you," he whispered, "but I won't.  Not yet."  I opened my eyes and turned toward him, his face so, so close.  "Why?"

"Because when I kiss you, I want to know that you're with me.  And only me."

Maybe a little philosophical...

He stood up, his body flush against mine.  "We're the same, you know.  Broken, but strong.  Misunderstood, but hopeful.  You...you make me want things I haven't wanted in a long time."

And sexy as hell...

I traced the edges of his pectoral muscles and abs, then stroked each hard line of the tattoo that curved from his left shoulder onto his chest.  I wanted to ask him to detail each part of it, how one image moved effortless into the next, like they told another story I hadn't yet heard.  But now wasn't the moment for talking.

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

Review...

First of all, this is not a cheating story.  Felt the need to get that out of the way.  Now let's talk about characters, story, writing and afterglow.

Characters.  Kara has some baggage.  Her mother made a choice for her that she hasn't been able to get past.  It effects a lot in her life without her really noticing.  It's definitely effecting her relationships.  She's uncomfortable with sex but her boyfriend has no idea.  I like her.  She's stronger than she gives herself credit for.  She looks but never acts on her feeling for Colt until after she's broken up with her boyfriend, Ethan.  I respect that.  But mostly, this girl makes mistakes and learns from them.  Lots of mistakes.  And the learning comes a lot because of Colt.  I liked that.

Speaking of Colt, I adore him.  He's an Aussie with an yummy accent.  But his best quality is how he sees Kara.  He gets her.  While he sees her relationship with Ethan isn't right, he doesn't act on his feeling for her.  His dad was a cheater and Colt never will be.  But he's a friend to her.  And he sees through the facade that she puts up for others to see but he never pushes her.  So patient.  So kind.  So there for her.  Before you think he's perfect, he does have daddy issues and some pain he's still dealing with.  That's where all his sexy tats come in.  Yeah, you can read it to find out about that.

Story.  What makes New Adult books so awesome is the world of possibilities that make those early adult years so interesting.  Some books have fallen into a formula that works fine but is just fine.  This series breaks out of that formula with issues that feel real but don't have set solutions.  It's not a matter of the couple getting together and everything is good.  No, the story happens after they are together.  The characters in this series grow and learn from the problems they face as they fall in love with each other.  It isn't a love conquers all kinda of thing but real growth.  I love that.  It feels more real.  Oh and I was so glad the quirky Rose was back in this one to shake things up.

Writing. I enjoy this authors writing.  It's easy to slide through the pages.  I started this Thanksgiving afternoon and finished it that night.  

Afterglow.  Yeah, it's still hanging on.  I want to keep thinking about that yummy Aussie and his girl.  Hopefully, they show up in the next book.  I'm pretty sure that will be Sarah's book.  Her story was set up in this one and it looks to be just as real as the rest have been.

This one will appeal to the New Adult reader and anyone who loves romance that's real.

                    

Available December 2, 2014

About the series...

Have a book boyfriend this week?  Link up with us...