Thursday, December 31, 2015

Swoon Thursday ~ 12/31/15


The fabulous girls over at YA Bound created this super HOT meme.  Here's how it works.

From the book you’re currently reading, or one you just finished, tell us what made you SWOON. What got your heart pounding, your skin tingling, and your stomach fluttering.

Shout it out on Twitter with the hashtag #YABound, post it here in the comments, or grab the adorable button above and share it on your blog! I want to know & so do the chicks at YABound!



With Every Heartbeat (Forbidden Men, #4)I used to think everything was black and white, truth or lie, easy or hard, that if I could just escape my strict, overbearing, abusive father, my life would be perfect. But since I’ve found a reason to risk his wrath and leave, to help a friend in need, I’ve come to realize everything I thought I knew is wrong.

Friends have their own agenda, honesty comes with a dosage of lie, easy doesn’t even exist, keeping secrets sucks, and love...love is the most painful thing of all.

Maybe if Quinn Hamilton hadn’t asked me to skip classes for the day and help him pick out an engagement ring for my best friend, I wouldn’t have fallen for him so completely on that sunny Tuesday afternoon and I wouldn’t feel so conflicted. But I did, and I can’t take it back, no matter how hard I try. So I have to deal with the fact that even I’m not as good, or honest, or caring as I’d always thought I was, and no matter what I do next, someone’s going to get hurt. Probably me.

-Zoey Blakeland


*Don't worry! The hero and heroine are not cheaters.*




Swoon...


"Quinn," she murmured sleepily. 
I kissed her hair and stroked her back. "I'm here." 
"Love you," she mumbled sleepily. I don't know if she was still too asleep to know what she was saying or if she honestly knew she was talking to me. But the words moved through me anyway.  
"I love you too. With every beat of my heart, I am yours, Zoey Alaina Blakeland. And I'm so sorry for everything."

Quinn and Zoey are the freaking SWEETEST. They're both quiet, kind people and they make the most adorable couple. I love them so much!


That's our swoon for this week! What do you think? Do you have a swoon to share? Leave us a comment and link us up!

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Shield of Winter (Psy-Changeling, #13) by Nalini Singh ~ Review

Source:  Purchased audiobook

Assassin. Soldier. Arrow. That is who Vasic is, who he will always be. His soul drenched in blood, his conscience heavy with the weight of all he’s done, he exists in the shadows, far from the hope his people can almost touch—if only they do not first drown in the murderous insanity of a lethal contagion. To stop the wave of death, Vasic must complete the simplest and most difficult mission of his life. 

For if the Psy race is to survive, the empaths must wake…

Having rebuilt her life after medical “treatment” that violated her mind and sought to stifle her abilities, Ivy should have run from the black-clad Arrow with eyes of winter frost. But Ivy Jane has never done what she should. Now, she'll fight for her people, and for this Arrow who stands as her living shield, yet believes he is beyond redemption. But as the world turns to screaming crimson, even Ivy’s fierce will may not be enough to save Vasic from the cold darkness…








Review...


OMG. How can I love this series so much after 13 books?! I so love it! It's just gotten better and better.

This one brings another contender for favorite of series.  It joins book 3, Caressed by Ice and book 12, Heart of Obsidian as my favorites.  These Psy males are ruining me for all alpha males to come!

Meet Vasic.  Abandoned...um left by his birth father at age 3 to be be trained as an arrow, Vasic has his protective heart tortured...um conditioned out of him.  He's literally the walking dead when he meets Ivy.  Vasic can't accept that he deserves anything good.  He's done too much bad.  But there's something between them, he can't deny and Ivy won't let him ignore.

I love Ivy.  Believing she's a broken, untalented psy, she finds a place to be herself.  It's pretty dangerous to be yourself in this world.  She's brave.  And when she FEELS the connection to her arrow, she uses her bravery to coax him out of his silence.  I was so proud of her.  I was so cheering for them.

These two have some serious sexy.  Both of them have never even kissed another person, so they figure things out as they go.  Psy with Vasic's talent tend to struggle to keep control when they engage in intimate skin privileges.  So, um, Vasic is a gifted teleporter.  Yeah, um, you so don't want that skill out of control during sexy times.  Hehe.

I have to include my favorite line from Vasic to Ivy.  "I was not done kissing you."  *Sigh*  LOVE him.

Such a great story.  As the backdrop to Vasic and Ivy's story, the psy-net is facing the brink of disaster.  The psy race is facing dramatic change and many are not happy about that change.  As a result, new enemies pop up everywhere.  Add to that the damage to the net that years of silence have caused.  How does this race pull their world back together and live up to their potential.  It's a really good question and one that is yet to be answered.  I'll be reading to know the answer as my obsession with this series continues and has known no equal.

                        

Damaged sexy male combined with great story and incredible world makes this one a contender for favorite of this obsessive series! 

Are you going to ApollyCon? We are!



We will be at ApollyCon!  Will you?




When: February 26th - 28th 
(The book signing will run all day February 27th)

Where: Hilton Savannah Desoto in Savannah, GA


SCHEDULE:
*Subject to change

Friday
Barnes & Noble Book Sales (at the Hilton Savannah Desoto)
Open for V.I.R & Party Ticket holders 6 PM - 9 PM

 Meet & Greet
Dessert Party
7 PM - 9 PM
(NO BOOKS WILL BE SIGNED AT THIS EVENT)

This event is Sponored by 




Saturday
Bookstore opens to the public 9 AM - 3 PM
V.I.R Early Entry into the signing 12 PM - 1 PM
Public Book Signing 1 PM - 4 PM


After Party
Will be held across the street from the hotel in a beautiful ballroom
8 PM - 11 PM

Sponsored By:










SPECIAL GUESTS

Model Drew Leighty as Seth from the Titans Series.
Model Pepe Toth as Daemon Black from the Lux Series




FEATURING AUTHORS...


*Subject to change




Also, Doodles by Christina will be at ApollyCon 2016 with some her amazing work! 

Check out her work here ›››http://www.dooodlesbychristina.com/




Can go?
Check out the online store to get your SIGNED books!

Online Store

Waiting On Wednesday ~ 12/30/15


This is our version of Waiting on Wednesday but with more cuddles, books we can't wait to cuddle for various reasons.

What are we waiting on this week?  THIS!





A dazzling new fantasy series set in a mix of Elizabethan and frontier worlds that’s dripping with romance from Richelle Mead, #1 internationally bestselling author of Vampire Academy.

Big and sweeping, spanning the refined palaces of Osfrid to the gold dust and untamed forests of Adoria, The Glittering Courttells the story of Adelaide, an Osfridian countess who poses as her servant to escape an arranged marriage and start a new life in Adoria, the New World. But to do that, she must join the Glittering Court.

Both a school and a business venture, the Glittering Court is designed to transform impoverished girls into upper-class ladies capable of arranging powerful and wealthy marriages in the New World. Adelaide naturally excels in her training and even makes a few friends: the fiery former laundress Tamsin and the beautiful Sirminican refugee Mira. She manages to keep her true identity hidden from all but one: the intriguing Cedric Thorn, son of the wealthy proprietor of the Glittering Court.

When Adelaide discovers that Cedric is hiding a dangerous secret of his own, together, they hatch a scheme to make the best of Adelaide’s deception. Complications soon arise—first, as they cross the treacherous seas from Osfrid to Adoria, and later, when Adelaide catches the attention of a powerful governor.

But no complication will prove quite as daunting as the potent attraction simmering between Adelaide and Cedric. An attraction that, if acted on, would scandalize the Glittering Court and make them both outcasts in wild, vastly uncharted lands. . .




Why am I waiting?  I loved Vampire Academy so I'm down for a new series by this author! 





My Lady Jane
The comical, fantastical, romantical, (not) entirely true story of Lady Jane Grey. In My Lady Jane,coauthors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have created a one-of-a-kind fantasy in the tradition of The Princess Bride, featuring a reluctant king, an even more reluctant queen, a noble steed, and only a passing resemblance to actual history—because sometimes history needs a little help.

At sixteen, Lady Jane Grey is about to be married off to a stranger and caught up in a conspiracy to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But those trifling problems aren’t for Jane to worry about.Jane gets to be Queen of England.

Like that could go wrong.





Why am I waiting? I've had my eye on this one for a WHILE now. Ever since March when Jodi Meadows and Brodi Ashton had a signing in Austin and talked about this---making it sound so cool and funny and just plain fantastic. Therefore, I want this book in my hands. So excited to read!!!


That's what we're waiting on this week! What do you think? What are you waiting on? Leave us a comment and link us up!

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Release Day

From Pocket Books...




In the wickedly funny spirit of bestselling authors Kerrelyn Sparks and Molly Harper, this sexy paranormal romance features an estate broker and a 600-year-old vampire out for revenge.

Lindsey Hughes loves antiques and couldn’t be happier to make a living in the estate sale business. But when her assistant accidentally buys an entire estate without her approval, Lindsey is forced to clean up the mess herself.

Lindsey travels to the newly purchased, age-old house in Venice, Italy, and soon discovers more than she (never) bargained for. While digging through the hoarder’s trove that fills every floor, she finds a secret staircase behind a wall that leads to a strange coffin…with an even stranger inhabitant.

Vampire Rand FitzWulf has been in his coffin for 600 years. But now that he’s awake, he’s ravenous, and there’s a delicious-smelling woman with a rare blood type in his basement. Luckily, Lindsey has more to offer than blood: she agrees to travel throughout Europe with Rand to help him get revenge on the one who turned him. But as the unlikely pair grows closer, will the billionaire vampire be overtaken by his thirst for blood—or his thirst for love?




From HQN books...


Before you get down on bended knee…

…you should be pretty darn sure the answer will be yes. For ten years, Connor O'Rourke has been waiting for Jessica Dunn to take their on-again, off-again relationship public, and he thinks the time has come. His restaurant is thriving, she's got her dream job at Blue Heron Vineyard—it's the perfect time to get married.

When he pops the question, however, her answer is a fond but firm no. If it ain't broke, why fix it? Jess has her hands full with her younger brother, who's now living with her full-time, and a great career after years of waitressing. What she and Connor have is perfect: friends with an excellent benefits package. Besides, with her difficult past (and reputation), she's positive married life isn't for her.

But this time, Connor says it's all or nothing. If she doesn't want to marry him, he'll find someone who does. Easier said than done, given that he's never loved anyone but her. And maybe Jessica isn't quite as sure as she thinks…




From Dell...


HER SHAMEFUL PAST MAKES HER AN OUTCAST—
UNTIL A LONE WOLF TAKES HER INTO HIS HOME.

Scorned, pregnant, and facing a life without promise, Pippa Grayhawk is stunned when her father announces that they’re leaving their home in Australia to take over his estranged father’s sprawling Wyoming ranch. Drawn into bitter family rivalries and feeling like an interloper in her new home, Pippa rides out into the wilderness and meets an intriguing stranger and his pet wolf. The wolf doesn’t scare her, but she’s very much afraid to trust another man with her heart.

Devon Flynn knows all about going it alone. He lives in an isolated cabin, away from his domineering father and the scandal surrounding his family. Devon’s attraction to Pippa is intoxicating and undeniable, but when he tries to get close, she’s as wary as his once-wild wolf. Devon is willing to defy his father, and hers, to claim Pippa as his own, but winning this wounded, wonderful woman’s love might be the greatest battle of all.




Special Teaser


Check out this teaser for THE MOTHER ROAD by Meghan Quinn! Be sure to add it to your TBR!


THE MOTHER ROAD by Meghan Quinn
NA Romantic Comedy
Release date: January 12, 2016
Cover Designed by: Meghan Quinn
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27467426-the-mother-road
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1NsK9jy


Blurb:
Never in a million years would I have pictured myself as an axe-wielding, dragon lady, chopping up multi-colored flannel shirts into my very own plaid mulch. But here I am, chopping away my frustrations.

It all started when my brother, Paul, convinced me to go on one last family road trip across the Mother Road with him and my dad.. Just like old times, right? Wrong. What Paul fails to mention is his best man, Porter, will be joining us, who just so happens to be my childhood crush and the man who broke my heart four years ago.

What is supposed to be a fun, family bonding experience across Route 66 turns into a war
of pranks, awkward moments and bathrooms full of dirty flannel shirts and day old beard clippings. Paul’s know-it-all attitude and Porter’s devilish charm brings me to the brink of my sanity on my seven day trek across the United States with three bearded men in a small 1980’s RV.




About the Author:

Born in New York and raised in Southern California, Meghan has grown into a sassy, peanut butter eating, blonde haired swearing, animal hoarding lady. She is known to bust out and dance if "It's Raining Men" starts beating through the air and heaven forbid you get a margarita in her, protect your legs because they may be humped.

Once she started commuting for an hour and twenty minutes every day to work for three years, she began to have conversations play in her head, real life, deep male voices and dainty lady coos kind of conversations. Perturbed and confused, she decided to either see a therapist about the hot and steamy voices running through her head or start writing them down. She decided to go with the cheaper option and started writing... enter her first novel, Caught Looking.

Now you can find the spicy, most definitely on the border of lunacy, kind of crazy lady residing in Colorado with the love of her life and her five, furry four legged children, hiking a trail or hiding behind shelves at grocery stores, wondering what kind of lube the nervous stranger will bring home to his wife. Oh and she loves a good boob squeeze!

Like me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meghanquinnauthor

Find me on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7360513.Meghan_Quinn

Visit my website: http://authormeghanquinn.com/

Teaser Tuesday ~ 12/29/15

This is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.




To participate you:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
(Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!





A few days ago, Val got this wonderful surprise!



So, of course, she needed to RE-READ The Return so she could dive into to this beauty right away!

And an idea was born.

During Val's re-read, she picked favorite teasers.

Then she turned the list over to Jess.

Jess narrowed them down to a top TEN GREAT teasers from The Return list (with two honorable mentions)

So here's the top TEN!


The Fates are cackling their bony asses off…

It’s been a year since Seth made the deal with the gods that pledged his life to them. And so far, the jobs they’ve given him have been violent and bloody–which is kind of all right with him. But now Apollo has something else in mind for Seth. He’s got to play protector while keeping his hands and fingers off, and for someone who really has a problem with restraint, this new assignment might be the most challenging yet.

Josie has no idea what this crazy hot guy’s deal might be, but it’s a good bet that his arrival means the new life she started after leaving home is about to be thrown into an Olympian-sized blender turned up to puree. Either Josie is going insane or a nightmare straight out of ancient myth is gunning for her.

But it might be the unlikely attraction simmering between her and the golden-eyed, secret-keeping Seth that may prove to be the most dangerous thing of all.

Because history has once again been flipped to repeat.





Val's comments
Jess' comments


First up, the honorable mentions!
Because there was no way I could narrow it down to only TEN. I mean, come on. This is SETHIE.


Honorable Mention #1: 


“We shouldn’t do this.”  Even as he spoke those words, his lower body settled on mine.  “We shouldn’t be doing anything like this.”  (Page 188)

Such an honorable boy he has turned into! Hehe
"We shouldn't do this," says Seth as he DOES IT ANYWAY. (I love him.)


Honorable Mention #2: 


I suddenly wondered if it was possible to have a visual orgasm, because I think I might have just experienced that, except he...this unreal, beautiful man was staring at me with honey-colored eyes that kept getting wider. (Page 20)

Oh, my goodness.  VISUAL ORGASM.  That would be Seth.
Seeeeeetththhhh.


NUMBER 10:

I’d always thought it was something people did when they were in a relationship, the whole cuddling thing, but it made me feel that strange warmness again.  It also made me feel a lot of other things, like his defined chest under my cheek.  And those hard abs under my arm.  I couldn’t help it.  Every part of me was hyperaware of how my body was plastered to his.  He was just so long and lean, and as I lay there, I didn’t think about all the dark and terrible things that were waiting at the edges of my consciousness, ready to pounce and push sorrow through me like dirty, messy slush.  (Page 188-187)

I so adore Seth's cuddly side! I think that's what I loved about him most all the way back to the Covenant series.
One word: Cuddlebunny.


NUMBER 9:


With a damp towel in hand, he was kneeling in front of me again.  “I need to look at your neck again.  It was bleeding earlier.  You wouldn’t let me do it on the road, so let me do it now,” he said, and I opened my mouth to tell him hell to the no, but he spoke again.  “Please.”  (Page 181)

I adore how she gets to him.  How he needs to take care of her while still helping her take care of herself.  I fell so hard for him in this book.
It's the "please" that kills me. (Have I mentioned that I love him?)


NUMBER 8:


Muscles along his back and his shoulders rolled, flexed, and did a myriad of fascinating things as he dragged a white towel through his wet hair.  When he lowered his arms, the ends of his blond hair brushed his shoulders.  He turned around, and goodness, the nylon sweats he wore hung so low on his hips it was almost indecent. (Page 61)

*sigh* Shoulders, chest and back are my biggest weakness.
YUM.


NUMBER 7:


One golden eyebrow arched.  “This is the part where you shake my hand and say, ‘Hi, Seth, it’s so nice to meet you outside of a stairwell.’”  There was a teasing, cajoling tone to his voice that left me unsettled as he lowered his hand to his side.  “Or not.” (Page 41)


I adore his humor.

He gives me the giggles.


NUMBER 6:

He drew his hands up to my waist, and then lifted one to my temple.  Slowly, he traced the curve of my cheekbone.  My pulse thrummed as his intense stare followed his fingertips.  He trailed them down my face and then over my parted lips.  (Page 266)



Tender and sweet - I so love how he is with Josie!
I adore his sweet side. 


NUMBER 5:

“What are you?” she asked, her nose scrunching as she spoke.  “Other than a heart-stopping hot guy with obvious boundary issues and problems with anger management?” (Page 23)

I love how Josie stands up to all that heart stopping hotness! She so has him pegged!
Haaaaaaa that's so Seth.


NUMBER 4:

At least now he was a couple of feet from me, staring at me like I was insane.  That was better than him right in front of me, his fingers curled around the edges of my robe, his knuckles against my skin, and staring at me like...My breath hitched as a strange flutter danced low in my stomach.  He’d been staring at me with eyes that were slightly luminous, and he’d looked hungry. (Page 82)

Oh, goodness. Who could resist the "hungry" from Seth??? But he was sweet in this scene too. Closing her robe tighter because it was distracting. *sigh* AGAIN, I love how he is with Josie!
Dear goodness... SETHIE.


NUMBER 3:


“I’ve never had anything that was my own,” he said against my mouth.  “Nothing that was ever for just me and no one else.  I’ve never been anyone’s first.”  He kissed me and then lifted his head.  I stared into his eyes.  “I’ve never been anyone’s only.” (Page 291)

She's his! His only! Her only! I freaking love this scene! Oh, Seth!
There's that sweetness again. Ahhhhh it gets me every time.


NUMBER 2:


“If you want to use me as a body pillow again, I won’t mind.”  (Page 119)

Hehe...He loves being her body pillow!!!
I freaking love him so much I cannot even.


AND the NUMBER 1 teaser is:


I nodded and we started down the hall and we made it halfway before I did something totally cheesy.  I reached between us, found her hand without looking, and threading my fingers through hers. (Page 298)

LOVE this! So love this. Seth deserves his HEA!  This moment! I adore him.
Sweetness. Kills. Me. Every. Single. Time. Goodness gracious. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH.
(This was literally the only one that was easy to put into order. The others got shifted around SO MANY TIMES. Though the body pillow one wasn't that tough, either, once it landed in the number two spot.)


The Power is next for me. But don't expect any spoilers!
Leave us a comment with some Sethie love and link us up if you have a teaser for this week! :)