Sep 29, 2012

Binding Arbitration by Elizabeth Marx


Binding Arbitration Blog Tour was organized by FMB Book Tours.
Title: Binding Arbitration
Author: Elizabeth Marx
Genre: Romance, Family Saga, Contemporary/Chick Lit
Publisher: Self Published
Paperback/Ebook
Pages: 477








Amazon (Kindle) | Amazon (Print) | Barnes and Noble | iTunes | Sony eReader | Diesel |

Book Description:

Through the corridors of the Windy City’s criminal courts, single mother Libby Tucker knows exactly how far she’ll go to save her cancer-stricken son’s life. The undefeated defense attorney is prepared to take her fight all the way to the majors.

Circumstances force Libby to plead her case at the cleats of celebrity baseball player Banford Aidan Palowski, the man who discarded her at their college graduation. Libby has worked her backside bare for everything she’s attained, while Aidan has been indulged since he slid through the birth canal and landed in a pile of Gold Coast money. But helping Libby and living up to his biological duty could jeopardize the only thing the jock worships: his baseball career.

If baseball imitates life, Aidan admits his appears to be silver-plated peanuts, until an unexpected confrontation with the most spectacular prize that’s ever poured from a caramel corn box blindsides him. When he learns about his son’s desperate need, it pricks open the wound he’s carried since he abandoned Libby and the child.

All Libby wants is a little anonymous DNA, but Aidan has a magical umpire in his head who knows Libby’s a fateball right to the heart. When a six-year-old sage and a hippy priestess step onto the field, there’s more to settle between Libby and Aidan than heartache, redemption, and forgiveness.

Also check out Cutters vs. Jocks!

On the idyllic campus of Indiana University, Little-Libby-Nobody runs into Band-Aid, All-American-Athlete, and fireworks explode. Libby and Aidan spiral into a collision course of love at first sight versus lust you can’t fight. As the game plays out and their affection grows, they soon realize that labels like cutters and jocks can’t keep them apart.

But when Libby and Aidan find themselves in trouble they have to confront the reality of where they each fit in the others’ world. Libby believes superstar jocks don’t take cutters to Rose Well House, in the center of campus, at midnight and pledge their undying devotion beneath its sparkling dome. And Band-Aid imagines there’s no place for a pregnant, small-town waitress in his bull-pen or the major leagues. What happens when worthy opponents refuse to play their hearts out?




Excerpt: Binding Arbitration

Aidan 2:15 p.m.

Survival instinct is the reason I initially refused this meeting. Exposure being the next justification, because a potential scandal was the last thing I needed right now. I paced the sidewalk in front of the plate glass window, refusing to glance at my own reflection. I was avoiding the consequences of the only game, in thirty odd years, I hadn’t seen to completion.
Curiosity is what lured me here, like a die-hard Cubs fan to the seventh inning stretch. I wanted to face her and ease my conscience by laying all the blame on her locker room floor. I glanced at my watch and pitched myself across the threshold.
“Palowski,” the bartender sneered from behind a beer stein she was polishing, as if she were expecting me.
Gutheries was a local hangout two blocks from the ballpark in Wrigleyville. While I’d been here before, it wasn’t a regular haunt. I enjoyed the earthiness of its roughly carved bar and rugged, wide-plank flooring, but I lived in Lincoln Park, and neighborhood bars are a dime a dozen in Chicago.
The soft Irish ballads playing in the background gave me the impression I’d stumbled into an Irish wake, which wasn’t reassuring. Whiskey fumes and fish-n-chips filled the air, threatening to bring the bile up from my stomach. I shook off my nausea and concentrated on the sepia photographs that hung on the plastered, white-washed walls. The turn of the century photographs ran the gambit from immigrant families in tattered clothes to beefy brutes in the stock yards slaughtering cattle right off
boxcars. The vast majority of the images appeared to have last been cleaned during that same era.
I was waiting at the ascribed place, at the assigned time like a cosseted school boy. I retreated to a table farthest from the surly barmaid, keeping a direct bead on the door.
Strike one. The ump grumbled.
“What’ll it be, glitter-boy? The bartender focused on the trash bags in her hands, instead of looking at me.
“Pale Ale.”
When she returned, she banged the beer on the table, a spray of foam danced across its top sloshing onto the sleeve of my coat. No napkin, no nuts, no apology. The feeling she’d like nothing more than to incinerate me along with the trash at the rear of the establishment snaked up my spine.
She returned to her post in the watering hole and snapped the pages of the Tribune up in front of her,effectively obstructing me from her line of sight, but I heard her whispering into her cell phone.
A few gulps of beer later the small silver bell at the top of the frosted glass door chimed on a blustery wind. A tall woman, whose expensive boots looked like they’d never step foot in a place like this, swept through the entry and forced the door shut. She shook off her trench coat exposing a navy suit. Her lengthy chestnut hair was pulled back into a chic French twist with a silver barrette exposing a
classic profile.
Her briefcase strained her delicate features, but at the same time anchored her, if only for the hesitant moment between each determined stride. I couldn’t pull my eyes away, as I stared at her from behind my shades. My pulse accelerated.
The woman took in the interior with a wide sweep of her head as the lenses of her glasses lightened. It wasn’t until she started toward me with her boots clicking the hardwood that I realized this ravishing woman was the one I never thought to see again.
That would be a curve ball.
All these years later, I couldn’t allow myself the luxury of a full recollection of time spent with her. That might’ve required admitting I’d never scratched my itch for her out. All the numerous women, every shade from platinum to strawberry- blonde, couldn’t dish out half the heartache a wild-haired brunette cutter had put me through with her flaming green eyes and a mouth so lush it made my tongue ache to taste it.
I swallowed a long swig of beer, the steely grain helping me bottle my reaction. I attempted to reconcile what I was seeing with what I had expected. She still had it, more of it--that special something some women have that first draws men’s attention--then buzzes their brains into crushed barley.
She hesitated in front of the table. I refused to stand and I didn’t remove my Oakleys. Let her stare at her own likeness, while I took my time studying the perfectly sculpted lines of her face, which lead to a defiant chin.
Libby tossed her briefcase between us on the tabletop, as if that paltry item could provide a barrier between us. I grinned at the thought of it until my dimple ached.
She perched on the edge of her chair.
I spun my beer bottle on the graffiti-riddled wood.
I watched her green eyes blink in agitation, her opal skin blanched to ivory and her overly generous lips flattened out. She threaded her hands together like an angry teacher about to reprimand
an unruly school boy. We stared each other down.
“You’ve grown even more beautiful with time.” I saluted her charms with my bottle, arching a brow in challenge.
Her eyes enlarged for a second; the rest of her demeanor was a veiled mask of harnessed hostility. “Smarter too.”
She’s cute, cute, cute for a cutter,
She ain’t easy to fluster.
I ignored the ump’s baritone. Libby’s calm demeanor gave the distinct impression that she was an Elizabeth now. “You always were too smart for your own good.”
I thought I saw an instantaneous spark of pain, but then her eyes bored into me. “Obviously not,
or we wouldn’t be having this exchange.”
“Does that say something about me, or you?” I grinned.
“Whatever, I don’t care to rehash the past. And thank you, but no, I don’t care for a drink.”
“I don’t see what else we would have to talk about.” I shuffled in my seat, making to leave like arude jerk.
She put her hand on the sleeve of my leather jacket holding me in place with those serious eyes, which I had been able to read once upon a time. “Don’t you?” A red flush crept up her neck, as she jerked her hand away, shaking it.
“Why don’t you dispense with the mystery, and tell me what you want? Just be prepared to get in line like everyone else.”

Libby swallowed. Whatever it was, she wasn’t any happier about asking, than I was about waiting. She fished around in her briefcase and pulled out a computer printed form. “All I need is a blood sample.” She pushed it toward me with a perfectly manicured hand.
My eyes went to the title on the form and my hands clinched the beer bottle. She held out all this time never asking for anything. I was about to get my biggest one-year paycheck, and somehow she not only knew the exact figure, she wanted a share. She thought I owed her something. I pushed the lab form back at her. “Why on earth would I want to do that?”
Her long dark lashes met her cheeks and her voice wobbled over words that had much of the emotion sucked from their core. “Because my child is dying from Leukemia, and you might be the only chance he has to live through the rest of this year.”
Strike two.
It was the second sucker punch I’d received today. My chest felt like someone had dropped a two hundred-pound barbell across it, when I didn’t have a spotter. When I caught my breath, I took in her serious bearing. Whatever I had anticipated this meeting would be about, it wasn’t some concocted story to see me again or even to blackmail me. She might’ve tried to check the volatility of her words, but the fear that washed her face was right below the surface, ready to erupt from her quivering lips.
She blinked in rapid succession before looking at me. She was angry and hurting and there were other emotions I couldn’t read in her fathomless eyes. But none of that could appease the beast raging in me. “You kept the kid?” I seethed.

“…equal parts heart-tugging and steamy—strictly for romance enthusiasts.” ~Kirkus Reviews

“Marx’s romance is full of twists and turns, some expected, and some not, with an emotionally complex
central conflict, lively (though at times infuriating) characters and a carefully drawn Chicago setting.”
~Kirkus Reviews
About the Author:

Windy city writer, Elizabeth Marx, brings cosmopolitan life alive in her fiction—a blend of romance, fast-paced Chicago living, and a sprinkle of magical realism. In her past incarnation she was an interior designer, not a decorator, a designer, which basically means she has a piece of paper to prove that she knows how to match things, measure things and miraculously make mundane pieces of furniture appear to be masterpieces. Elizabeth says being an interior designer is one part shrink, one part marriage counselor and one part artist, skills eerily similar to those employed in writing.

Elizabeth grew up in Illinois, but has also lived in Texas and Florida. If she’s not pounding her head against the wall trying to get the words just right, you can find her at a softball field out in the boonies somewhere or sitting in the bleachers by a basketball court. Elizabeth resides with her husband, girls, and two cats who’ve spelled everyone into believing they’re really dogs.

Elizabeth has traveled extensively, but still says there’s no town like Chi Town.

Find the Author:

Website | Email | Blog | Facebook | Amazon Author Page | Twitter |

Sep 26, 2012

The Midnight Cup

The Midnight Cup is a story that follows the romance between a white witch and her man … turned slayer … turned vampire … turned soul mate.
Marcus McKinney is a trained member of the Society and a vampire slayer. With an ancient hieroglyphic tattoo to ward off his own personal demons, he travels to a small college town in the Midwest. It is here that he finds The Midnight Cup. A quaint coffee house with a backroom … filled with vampires.
The owner of this little establishment is Serenity Baker. She is a Natural. With her long blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes, she is a beautiful white witch that offers light magic with a simple touch. It is this power that draws the coven of vampires to her small coffee shop which in turn brings Marcus into her life.
The Midnight Cup tells their story amidst a brewing war. With a circle of witches, a coven of vampires, and a league of Society members, who knows what could happen next.


Excerpt:
Standing in the moonlight, he watched the neon sign blink in the window of the coffee house across the street. College kids came and went around him. Yet none seemed to notice his presence. The stranger had spent years learning to blend into the shadows.
The night hours slowly passed. It wasn’t until he could feel the coming dawn that he strode across the street and walked inside. Only a few students were left as he took a seat at a corner table. He was keenly aware that the backroom was now empty and this fact pleased the woman behind the counter.
Oddly though, she hadn’t stopped staring at him since he entered. The delicate beauty could somehow see through his shades of practiced darkness and it unnerved him. The tattoo that circled his left bicep felt like it tightened.
They locked eyes as she approached. “What are you?” She leaned in and pretended to wipe down his table.
“I was just wondering the same thing about you.” She reminded him of a skittish foal. He reached out to touch her hand and she jerked back.
“Is that why you’re here?” Looking hurt, then angry, she motioned to the door. “Get out.”
“You’ve got this all wrong.” The stranger shook his head in confusion and then pointed toward the red curtain. “I’m here to help you with your little…problem.”
She froze and gave him a long, hard look. “I’ll ask you again. What are you?”
He pulled a large wooden stake out of his trench coat and laid it on the table. “I’m a slayer.”
She sat down at his table and spoke with soft, hesitant words. “Are you part of the Society?”
The question hung in the air as he watched tiny sparkles of gold dance in her light blue eyes. Unknowingly, he reached for her again. The jolt of electricity that followed caused him to take in a quick breath of air. The surge was sudden and left warmth. Staring down at their point of contact, his large hand covering hers, he smiled in awe. “I’m Marcus McKinney. And yes, I’m with the Society.”
“Then you know I’m a natural,” she paused only a moment, “don’t you?”
The glowing warmth evaporated as quickly as it had arrived. In one fluid motion, he disconnected from her and picked up the stake. Damn it, Josh. This was not in your report. He hid the weapon back in the folds of his trench coat and questioned his next move. There wasn’t supposed to be any other paranormal element. The Society might care, but his fight was only with the vampires. This white witch was not his problem.
The woman across from him looked so innocent. “Whatever it is that causes your heart to darken…”
The slayer pushed back his chair and stood. “Let’s get this straight. I’ve no interest in your natural magic or your pity. My assignment is only the coven of vampires you harbor. Don’t get in my way.”
****
Serenity didn’t have to watch him leave. She could feel it. This slayer, with his curly brown hair and eyes the color of dark chocolate, had an aura she hadn’t experienced before. It was more complex and torn than the simplicity of a human. Yet it didn’t have the vast emptiness of the vampire either. His soul was different, unique, hidden in shadow. Marcus McKinney was circled with a deep fog. There were layers to this man she just couldn’t see and that intrigued her.
In fact, she couldn’t think of much else as she closed up the coffee shop. Even after saying goodbye to her staff and locking the doors, she couldn’t get him out of her mind. It was clear to her that his fight with Ivan’s clan was personal. For he might be shaped like a slayer, with years of physical training, but there was more to him than that. Marcus wasn’t just another Society drone. He couldn’t be.

Author Bio:

My name is Misty Burke and I live in the Romantic Ozark Mountains with my supportive husband and our four wonderful children. When I'm not enjoying family time, I love to write steamy romances. Creating exciting fantasy worlds filled with dangerously handsome heroes is one of my passions.
My favorite writing quote is ...
The best time for planning a book is while you're doing the dishes. ~Agatha Christie

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Buy the book on Evernight Publishing  Amazon  All Romance eBooks  Bookstrand  

Sep 25, 2012

Cover Reveal Hollywood Holiday

Today we have another Cover Reveal from Inkspell Publishing, along with a giveaway.

All she wants for Christmas is for Hollywood to love her again. But once she meets  him, her Christmas list changes.
Jen’s only Christmas wish: Hollywood falling back in love with her. Meeting ex-Marine Gunner was a bonus. She likes that he isn’t impressed by celebrities or the movie biz. She likes that he’s funny and sweet … and drop-dead gorgeous. And she loves that he has no idea who her alter-ego is: Jen Fleming, Hollywood bad-girl and paparazzi target number one. Why ruin an amazing affair when he’s leaving after the new year?
But the closer they get, the harder she falls, and the more she wants to tell Gunner everything. Especially once he shares his secret with her.
Her new Christmas wish: Gunner accepts and loves her for who she really is.

Know More about Red Carpet Series Book 1: Hollywood Ever After (Paperback Giveaway)



She wasn’t meant for movie stars, Hollywood, or happy endings. And then she met him.
Happy Endings are for fairy tales. Or the movies. Not for real life. At least, not in Claire’s life. Even though she’s starting over, she knows better than to want too much this time. But when she falls, literally, into the strong arms of Hollywood’s ‘it’ boy Josh Wiley, Claire’s in for some surprises. Her plans for rest and relaxation are forgotten as one incredible night with Josh becomes two… And her heart begins to want him as much as her body. Will two kids, one bastard ex-husband, and Josh’s juggernaut career mean the end of their affair? Or can Claire find her happy ending after all?







a Rafflecopter giveaway



About the Author
Sasha is part gypsy. Her passions have always been storytelling, Hollywood, history, and travel. It’s no surprise that her books include a little of each. Her first play, ‘Greek Gods and Goddesses’ was written for her Girl Scout troupe. She’s been writing ever since. She loves getting lost in the worlds and characters she creates; even if she frequently forgets to run the dishwasher or wash socks when she’s doing so. Luckily, her four brilliant children and hero-inspiring hubby are super understanding and supportive.

The Sky Pirate's Wife by Allison Merritt



After a tragic airship wreck, Captain Alwin van Buren makes a drastic decision to obtain a wealthy bride in order to save his flagging business. He meets his match in Sophie Banes, heiress to an airship empire. After he seduces her and ensures their marriage—igniting a rivalry with her godfather—he learns the green-eyed beauty is as headstrong as he is.

Sophie knows Van Buren's reputation based on a series of dime novels written about his adventures. Determined to be more than an end to a means, she despises him for luring her into marriage. In fiction, he's a no-nonsense captain on the verge of piracy, but the flesh-and-blood man wins her heart by proving she's worth more to him than her money.

Their love is threatened when Sophie learns Van Buren's airship accident was a result of mythical creatures. Winged predators that appear to have a grudge against him, a fact he deliberately hid by accusing her godfather of sabotage. If she can forgive him for that, they still have to face the danger when they're cornered and at the mercy of beasts and the evil that controls them. The real test comes when Van Buren is asked to make a sacrifice that could destroy them both.


Excerpt:
Sophie looked at the book in his hands. No one held the wheel but her. “You let go!”
He grinned. “You're doing fine, zoete. Keep her steady, she's climbing on her own.”
It wasn't the idea of being the only thing that stood between them and another flaming airship wreck that made her tremble. It was his smile. The kind that all women yearned to receive from a handsome man. “You should really take the wheel.”
“My hands are full.” He waved the logbook at her, but replaced it and remained standing beside her. “You're doing very well.”
“Are you certain?” The wind blew her hair and snagged her skirt. The horizon filled her line of sight and she suddenly understood the thrill of piloting a ship. It was like having the same freedom as a bird. She could point the ship in any direction and go wherever she pleased. Nothing had ever made her feel so alive. Except kissing Van Buren. Her head turned his direction like it was on a spring. She covered the sudden movement with a laugh. “I think I'm in love with your ship.”
His eyes darkened from icy gray to the shade of wet concrete. He lowered his mouth to her ear again and put his hand on her back. “Flying is a great deal like making love, Sophie.”
She nearly melted at her name on his lips. “W-why do you say that?”
“It's instinctual. The mind and body work together, creating a moment of beauty. The first time is a little frightening, but once you find the rhythm, the proper technique, you have something very enjoyable on your hands. Something that you feel deep within your soul. Something that you never want to give up. With the right person, the kind of relationship you'd die to protect.”

And I even had the chance to interview Allison Merritt, here's what we had to talk about.

How did you come up with the concept of your book?
The Sky Pirate’s Wife is the second book in the Legends and Lovers Series. It features Captain Alwin
van Buren, who was one of the secondary characters in the first book, The Treasure Hunter’s Lady. Like
the first book, this one centers around romance and Native American myth. I love obscure legend. The
perfect mythical creatures to threaten an airship captain would be giant eagles, or what the characters
tentatively call thunderbirds.

What is your ideal writing environment?
I'm pretty flexible, so I don't mind noise and other people talking to or around me because I can block
things out easily. Most of the time I'm curled in an old armchair at home with my earbuds in. The TV is
a definite distraction though. When the weather's nice I'll grab my laptop and take it out on our deck,
prop my feet up on the rail and write in nature.

Do you write while you listen to music?
Oh, yeah. I love YouTube and I have an mp3 player packed full of pop and rock. Music scores really get
me going too.

If you could collaborate with any author who would it be and why?
Actually, I'd be way too intimidated to collaborate with a famous author. But I'd get together with one of
my critique partners or beta readers in a second. They're a great bunch.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
To steal a line from Sir Winston Churchill, never, never, never give up! The publishing world is changing
so fast, there's no telling where it's going. The great thing about that is, there are a lot of opportunities
in e-publishing right now. So hang on, polish, critique, fight to be published (or do it yourself!) and have
no fear.


About the Author
A life-long love of reading turned Allison Merritt into an indie author who writes historical, paranormal and fantasy romances, often combining the sub-genres. She lives in a small town in the Ozark Mountains with her husband and dogs. When she's not writing or reading, she hikes in national parks and conservation areas.

Allison graduated from College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri with a B.A. in mass communications that's gathering dust after it was determined that she's better at writing fluff than hard news.


Connect with the author: Site  Twitter  Facebook   

Buy on Amazon


Sep 22, 2012

Stacking the Shelves


It's been quite some time since I have joined in a Stacking the Shelves post, but I felt it was time I jumped back in. My posting on the blog has been slacking lately, I'm sorry about that. October first we're having a Western Week sure to be lots of fun. I'm getting back into the swing of things and tackling my ever growing to read pile.  This Stacking the Shelves is quite the pile and it's two weeks worth. All titles link to good reads.

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tygna's Reviews. It's to show the new books we've bought, borrowed, knocked a friend over the head wait no, and books we've won :)

Twenty-Eight Teeth of Rage by Ennis Drake
I won this one on Library Thing. I have a weakness for horror.
One man ravaged by disease, the other by war, their stories--and fates--bound by an ancient entity that thrives on suffering.
For Detective Ernest Riley, the path to damnation begins with an anonymously mailed recording detailing a series of grisly murders. Can Riley unravel its secrets without sacrificing his humanity? Or will he surrender to the RAGE inside him?
Strom Wheldon has returned from Iraq a literal half-man. But he’s lost more than his legs to that desert Hell. He’s lost his will to live. Can love save him from the RAGE eating him from within? Or will a gift given in innocence cost him everything?





The Greatest Gift by Misty Wright
Another one from Library Thing, surprising this is a YA.
Alyssa is 26 and doesn't like the way all men mistreat her. She decides a change is needed and applies to be a jillaroo on a cattle station named The Oasis, which is located in outback Australia.
She meets a cowboy, Kent, who is a rodeo champion. They agree on a bet. Eventually both want out, but neither wants to be first.
Through a series of adventures that stretch from the city to a fast-flowing river in the outback where Kent must save Alyssa from drowning, love germinates in the middle of a storm.
In her heart, Alyssa is a woman who adores the city's nightlife, but as the sun sets on each day, the Australian outback becomes more enticing and the excitement of the city fades. Then she inadvertently saves The Oasis.
Love is growing between Alyssa and Kent, but then Brandt, Alyssa's obsessive ex-boyfriend, tracks her down. Can Kent save her one last time?

Dark Passage by Griffin Hayes
Yep you guessed it Library Thing
By the time insomniac Tyson Barrett becomes a test subject for a new wonder drug called Noxil, his life is already spiraling dangerously out of control. Months of no sleep has left his marriage in shambles, turned his young son against him and now threatens to send his business into bankruptcy.

It isn't long after his first injection that Tyson notices something he can't quite explain. Items from his dreams are showing up in his waking life. But if dreams come true then what's the catch? Tyson soon learns the hard way when he's forced to confront the dark past he's spent a lifetime trying to forget. But that evil was never far away. Now it's in his dreams, waiting to come through. And it wants the one thing Tyson will never give up: his son.



Meant for Her my Amy Gamet
Want to guess where I got this one? Yep that's right Library Thing. Really you should go join.
A code that only she can break… A man that only she was made for…
A raging fire consumes a Florida hotel room, leaving behind the charred remains of a mystery man and the key to a safe deposit box. What’s inside leads investigators to Julie Trueblood, a woman who is not what she seems, and a secret that only she can decipher.
Julie’s life has been devastated once before, and she has spent the last ten years trying to separate herself from history. The fire forces open the door to her past, bringing her face-to-face with her greatest fears, and her only hope for the future.
As the Navy investigator on the case, Hank Jared realizes he’s three steps behind the moment he walks in the door. While he works to unravel the truth behind his assignment, passion ignites between him and Julie. Will he choose the love of a woman he doesn’t completely trust, or the Navy career he has worked for his entire life?

Dead of Winter by Brain Moreland
This one I got fro the Library, ha, the bloody footsteps was enough for me to pick it off the shelves. It's from Samhain Publishing's Horror line.
A predator stalks the frozen woods.
At a fort deep in the Ontario wilderness in 1878, a ghastly predator is attacking colonists and spreading a gruesome plague—his victims turn into ravenous cannibals with an unending hunger for human flesh. Inspector Tom Hatcher has faced a madman before, when he tracked down Montreal’s infamous Cannery Cannibal. But can even he stop the slaughter this time?
In Montreal exorcist Father Xavier visits an asylum where the Cannery Cannibal is imprisoned. But the killer who murdered thirteen women is more than just a madman who craves human meat. He is possessed by a shape-shifting demon. Inspector Hatcher and Father Xavier must unravel a mystery that has spanned centuries and confront a predator that has turned the frozen woods into a killing ground where evil has come to feed.

Girl of Nightmeres by Kendare Blake
This is the sequel to Anna Dressed in Blood, which I loved. I can't wait to start it.
It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on.

His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live—not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.

Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.

Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor.

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
Okay I won't lie, this is the third time I have checked this title out from the library, the last two times I wasn't able to get through it. It's so slow. I hope to get through it this time. (I said that last time too.) All well, surely I'll get to it before City of Heavenly Fire comes out in 2014.
What price is too high to pay, even for love? When Jace and Clary meet again, Clary is horrified to discover that the demon Lilith’s magic has bound her beloved Jace together with her evil brother Sebastian, and that Jace has become a servant of evil. The Clave is out to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. As Alec, Magnus, Simon, and Isabelle wheedle and bargain with Seelies, demons, and the merciless Iron Sisters to try to save Jace, Clary plays a dangerous game of her own. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost?
Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

Death is a Bitch by Cate Masters
This one I received in conjunction with a blog tour. In November.
Eternity can suck when it’s all work, work, work. Death harvests souls even when they stack up faster than pancakes in an all-you-can-eat-buffet.
As the patron angel of death and dying, Azrael works closely with Death, but is dying for true intimacy. She’s the only immortal who’s ever aroused such powerful emotions in him. One taste of her leaves him needing her like humans need air and food, but will a demon’s lies leave a bad taste?
No one escapes Death – except King Sisyphus. Twice. With the help of Damien the demon, Sisyphus tries again, and she’s determined to have justice. Some say Death’s a bitch, but only when she has to be. But will the price of justice be a broken heart?

Night Music by Margie Church
And wala another from FMB Blog Tours, my date is in October.
A quiet, lakeside vacation is just what Brielle needs to decompress after her busy concert season. She expects the weeks to pass uneventfully. Until she meets the men next door.
Tyler and Zeke are as adventurous and sexy as the Harleys they ride. The passion they hear in Brielle’s music draws them to her.
Convinced the hunks are gay, Brielle lets down her inhibitions. That turns out to be the best decision she’s made in a long time.







The Devouring~Kavachi's Rise by Nike Kearby
This one looks so good, and another blog tour.
A Dark Secret. Thomas Morehart and his sister, Kara are vampyre, not the undead, but creatures evolved over hundreds of thousands of years to mimic their prey, man. Then - rescued from a Nazi Prison Camp, Thomas and Kara are brought to the U.S. and forced to work inside government-owned mortuaries. Now -betrayed by the government sixty-seven years later, Thomas and Kara are in a race against time to transform back to their feral states or risk Exsanguination by government sanctioned hit squads.







The Calm Before the Storm by Tamaria Soana
I won't be reviewing this on the blog, she is one of my reviewers and one of my dearest friends. But I did buy it and with her donating 100% of her proceeds during the month of October to Haven House, a women's shelter to help awareness about domestic violence.
The last two years of Erica Bloom’s life have been spent looking over her shoulder. Sawyer Marsh promised the day she filed for divorce and left him, that if he couldn't have her no one would. Even though Sawyer hasn’t contacted her in two years she’s still feared for her life. She remembers all too well the nightmare their marriage was and what it felt to be on the receiving end of his wrath.
The news of Sawyer’s engagement allows Erica to finally let her guard down and enjoy her new life and budding relationship with Brock Maxwell.

While away relaxing at Brock’s vacation home on the Willow Lake, the past comes back to haunt her. Were the past few years just the calm before the storm?

Coming up this week? Um there's three tour stops, The Sky Pirate's Wife, The Midnight Cup and Binding Arbitration. Shades of Rose Marketing and FMB Book Tours (You're not a host? I bet they'd love to have you)

Sep 20, 2012

Decadent Thursday: Night of the Doms

Night of the Doms by Erykah Wyck

Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Series: Edge 
Pages: 20
Genre: Erotica
Reading Level: 18+
Source: Received from publisher in exchange for an honest review
Reviewer: Lacey Wolfe
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Take one submissive with separation anxiety. Add one master who has never wanted to settle down. Mix in three Doms with specialties that make people’s toes curl. And you have a recipe for Sex, Bondage and Orgasmic release. Can Reyes heal and restore Ginny’s sense of security? Or will a night of Doms prove too much for her to endure?
But first she had to prove to him as well as to herself that she could trust again. After a quick glance at the clock on the wall, he stood. His heels clicked on the tiled floor, echoing through the Spartan room. With the exception of the St. Andrews’ Cross, and the chair he’d vacated, only a daybed sat in the corner. Unlike the voyeur rooms on the main floor, this was a private space on the lower level of the club. A bouncer stood guard in the hallway to ensure the privacy of the guests within.

She tilted her face in the direction of his sound. He held his hand centimeters above her skin, close enough to feel her heat. He would see if she could prove to both him and herself she had the ability to trust. After a year of working and earning her faith, everything came down to what happened now. Did she have the confidence in him to take care of her needs and wants, to be what she required, and to know that her submissiveness to him would be cherished as a supreme gift?

Leaning over her, he whispered, “Do as you’re told and trust in me.”


The Edge series from Decadent is all about giving readers a book that is packed full of hot sex. And yes, this story, Night of the Doms delivered. There wasn't just one Dom in this story...but multiple. The heroine of the story is afraid of being alone and in the beginning, she fears her Master has done just that. But, soon multiple hands are caressing and touching her most intimate places and she knows she is no longer alone.

Normally I would have liked a little more story line with my sexy story, but as a reader I had to keep in mind that was not the point of the book. Now, that doesn't mean this was just hot and fabulous Dom/sub sex. There was a inner story line that dealt with love that as a reader I enjoyed following and the way it played out. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone needing to rev up those engines. Erykah Wyck has definitely delivered just that!


To learn more about the Edge Series visit their blog.

To learn more about Decadent Thursdays see this post.

Sep 18, 2012

I Kill Me Promo + Giveaway

I Kill Me: Tales of a Jilted Hypochondriac was organized by AToMR Book Blog Tours



I Kill Me: Tales of a Jilted Hypochondriac by Tracy H. Tucker
Genre: Women's contemporary fiction/humor
Age Group: Ages 30+

Blurb: Christine Bacon has a fatal attraction. To all things fatal. A veteran hypochondriac, her near-death experiences are exacerbated when her husband proposes they have a menage a trois with Eleanor, his busty British massage therapist, to "shake things up." Christine reluctantly agrees (although she is more wholesome than threesome), never expecting just how much she'd be rattled. As her marriage to Richard, a/k/a "Dick," falls apart, so, too, does Christine, whose fear of her own demise causes her to research every freckle, blemish, cough, bump, lump, tingle and hiccup. She isn't a doctor, but she plays one on the internet.
There is solace for Christine: in raising daughters Lily and Carli, leaning on her friends, and wearing out the shower massager. In order to heal, she struggles to become her own person and to view her symptoms (and ex-husband) as less malignant, while searching for that special someone who will love her--despite her grave condition.


Exceprt

I could think of two big reasons why this threesome wasn’t going to work: her boobs. When my husband of nineteen years told me he wanted to “spice things up,” I was envisioning sex toys…spanking…chocolate-covered penis. The kinkiest thing we had done thus far was Richard tying me to the bedposts. We’d had a code for him to untie me if I started to freak out. The code was me saying, untie-me-right-now. So when he first proposed the idea of a playmate, I was shocked. I mean, who did that, anyway?

Certainly, not us. He was an insurance salesman whose specialty was planning for a secure future. I was a high school English teacher. We lived in the wholesome Green Mountain State. And we were parents—which was something Eleanor Wilkinson definitely was not, as was evident by her breasts.

They were truthfully too big to be called “perky.” Thing One and Thing Two were up and out. My breasts, on the other hand, were not only small (32 B minus) but had turned into saggy, limp skin sacs with droopy areolae and indifferent nipples from two years of nursing babies. So it was very much unappreciated that my husband wanted to invite someone with a cup size further along in the alphabet than mine to join us under the covers.

It had all started with a trigger point. Richard had been complaining of his upper back muscles being tight, and since I knew he’d been under a lot of stress at work, I got him a gift certificate to a local spa. Eleanor, a transplant from England with what Richard called a “killer accent,” was his massage therapist. After about four sessions of seeing her, Richard mentioned that someone at the office had engaged in a threesome, and then said what did I think of that. I said a twosome was more
than enough for me, and the conversation had ended. The morning after his sixth massage, he told me over breakfast (while the girls were upstairs getting ready for school) that he thought he might like to try a threesome, and what did I think of that. I had stirred my coffee a bit too vigorously so that some
of it slopped over the sides of the mug and onto the table. I had not known what to answer, and thought it wise that I refrained from my initial response of what the FUUCKK?! After a few moments, I whispered (so the kids wouldn’t hear), why didn’t we just watch some good porn instead?

That’s not what I’m talking about, he snorted. I feel like we need to really shake things up here. Make it exciting again.

Aren’t I enough for you? I asked. I didn’t understand this; we’d had sex three times last week, and I’d gone down on him every time. Even when he hadn’t showered immediately before.

I need a change, he had answered. Sorry, but I’m just being honest.

That was when I got scared. And I said, okay.

Buy the Book at Amazon

Like her on facebook 

Now onto the giveaway, what we have here is one print copy for US/Canada peeps and one ebook for international.

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Sep 17, 2012

Naughty Little Bedtime Stories





Bedtime stories that will heat up your night.
Naughty Little Bedtime Stories contains twelve short stories that will arouse your senses. You’ll find stories that contain light bondage, food play, ménage (m/m/f), and other erotic events. Each story has a different setting and couple who explore all things naughty in and out of the bedroom.
Content Warning: adult language, graphic sexual situations



Once I knew it was safe, I took off on my horse. I looked back to see that Kristen was in hot pursuit. I enjoyed the feeling of an all-out run with this amazing creature under me. I tugged on the reins and slowed as we came to the opening of the meadow. I dismounted and watched Kristen slow her horse to a stop and dismount with ease and grace.

“This place is beautiful,” she said as she looked around the meadow.

“I found it a few years ago. I used to come here for some peace and quiet,” I responded as I laid out the blanket. “Sit, let’s have lunch, then we can walk around and explore,” I said as I gave her one of my panty-dropping smirks. I knew how to push her buttons.

“Explore?” She had a twinkle in her eye. “Why, cowboy, what do you have in mind?” she asked in her best southern drawl.

“Let’s eat first.” I unloaded the picnic basket and laid out the food.

It was a beautiful Texas afternoon. We talked and joked as we lay on the blanket, feeding each other grapes and cheese. I could have stayed there forever with her. We finished our lunch and cleaned up. I pulled her toward me and planted a hard, passionate kiss on her lips. She moaned and I took the moment to slide my tongue in her mouth and against hers. Our hands roamed up and down each other’s bodies.

Suddenly, she pulled away and took off running. “Catch me if you can!” she goaded me.
I let her get a head start. I watched as she unbuttoned her shirt, slid it off, and discarded it. My girl was naughty! Her bra came off next and she tossed it to the side. She turned and looked at me, tipped her cowboy hat, smirked, and ran like hell deeper into the meadow.


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Tamaria Soana is middle aged, but just feels her life has begun. She writes sexy contemporary romance stories that always end with a ‘happily ever after’. Growing up she loved to read and make up new places in her head to escape to. In her late teens she began writing short stories and poetry; it wasn’t until her late thirties before she began to spin a full story. 

She’s married and a stay-at-home-mom of two beautiful young girls, they reside in Western New York. Cuddling up with a good book under an electric throw is her way to escape the cold Buffalo nights. 
Besides writing, she co-owns Shades of Rose Marketing and hosts a talk show on Talkshoe called Live with Tamaria ~ Giving authors a voice. 



Drive Back the Darkness by Amy Newman


On her sixteenth birthday, Ellie Lyons discovers her entire life has been a lie. She’s kidnapped from her home and left in Alladon, a kingdom controlled by an evil man named Morfan, a kingdom that she was born to rule.

Ellie reluctantly faces the impossible tasks confronting her; like learning to control the magic that now roars through her and burns everything she touches, training to become a lethal warrior, or dealing with the fact that Devin, the guy she is irresistibly attracted to, is actually one of the assassins sent by Morfan to kill her.

Devin has a troubled past; he has spent the last five years tracking the person who murdered his family. He is dark, dangerous, and deadly serious, but Ellie can see the core of kindness shining deep within him, as well as the fear of getting hurt again that makes him push people away. Though Ellie knows her life might be at stake, she can’t seem to stay away from him, even as her feelings become strong enough that they begin to scare her.

Vance, the second assassin and Devin’s best friend, is the opposite of Devin; blonde, charming, seductive. But his heart holds a kernel of darkness, one that makes him dangerously unstable, especially after he realizes that he has feelings for Ellie, feelings he knows Ellie doesn’t share.

Ellie can’t let her emotions for the two men cloud her focus, her quest to remove Morfan from power. When Ellie discovers that the children of Alladon have been imprisoned in a secret factory, Ellie knows she can’t fight her destiny any longer. She must claim her rightful place as princess and fight Morfan, or surrender and be slaughtered. Will she be able to survive long enough to save her people from the Darkness?




How did you come up with the concept of your book?

 Every one of my story ideas starts with what I call a spark; a character, a small bit of plot or dialogue, a situation, something that intrigues me. In this case I had a dream about a girl who was taken from her home and forced to fight for something she wasn’t entirely sure she believed in. The dream was actually a nightmare. I’ve had horrible, vivid nightmares since I was very small. At least now I’m able to do something with all that scariness! About two thirds of my stories start with something I dreamed.

What is your ideal writing environment?
My ideal writing environment would be me, not tired at all, with a nice steaming cup of tea or coffee, and silence for a few hours. That hardly ever happens, though!

Do you write while you listen to music?
No. I actually can’t. I can tune out screaming toddlers, people talking, and loud TVs, but for some reason, I can’t tune out music. The words from the song end up typed into my manuscript! I used to listen to classical music while I wrote, but now I find even that distracting.

If you could collaborate with any author who would it be and why?
While there are tons of authors I love and admire, I actually wouldn’t want to collaborate with anyone. I find it hard enough to work with my agent and editors! I’m kind of a solitary person by nature, and I work best alone.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
I actually have two pieces of advice:
1. Don’t ever give up. I firmly believe that if you are tenacious enough, if you are willing to learn, and if you just keep writing, you will eventually be published. This book is the third manuscript I wrote; the first two will probably never see the light of day. Before them, I started and stopped another three manuscripts, probably about 60,000 words total. These weren’t a waste of time though; I learned the lessons I needed to learn to be published. The fourth manuscript that I wrote is the one that landed me my agent, Michele Rubin of Writers House.
2. Read, read, read. Read everything; books in your genre, books not in your genre, non-fiction and fiction, literary classics, writing references and manuals. Read anything and everything that interests you. Read what repulses you. Read, dissect, and analyze the novels that move you the most.
 I honestly feel that this is the only way to truly become a writer. Sure it helps to be born with talent. Yeah, it’s great if you have an MFA. But the only way you’ll ever really learn to write, is to read.



Find Amy Newman online
Website       Twitter      
Amazon      Barnes & Noble  

Sep 14, 2012

18 & Over Book Blogger Follow

18 & Over Book Blogger Follow is a weekly feature that begins on Fridays and runs through the weekend, hosted by Crystal from Reading Between the Wines. This is a Friday blog hop with the objective to find and visit other book blogs that share the same interest as you, namely books geared towards the 18 & over crowd, and make some new friends!


How to join in:
-You should run a book blog that features and reviews mostly adult reads, some Y.A.’s are okay but 18 & over adult reads should be your majority.
-Make a separate post for the 18 & Over Book Blogger Follow on your blog.
-Copy the html for the button above and place it at the top of your post.
-List & answer the ‘Question of the Week.’
-Place your name and blog title in the linky below and the url for a direct link to your post
-Visit the other blogs on the list and say 'Hi!' Following each blog is not mandatory but I know it is always appreciated, and if someone comments saying they’re a new follower it’s polite to follow back. J It’s always nice to spread the 18 & Over Book Blogging love!
-Contact me (readingbetweenthewines10 at gmail dot com) with any questions!


Question of the Week: Do you listen to music while writing reviews or do you need quiet?
No, I can't listen to music while I write, I find it too distracting. I tend to sing along, and if it has a video, I can see that unfolding in my mind. I can't read with music either. It needs to be quiet.

So what about you? Do you listen to music when you write up reviews, and if you do what do you listen to?


Sep 13, 2012

Decadent Thursday's - Always a Marine Series by Heather Long (1Night Stand)

Welcome to Decadent Thursday's!

Today I'm reviewing the Always a Marine Series by Heather Long. 

This series is part of the 1Night Stand Series.

~Tamaria Soana





Title: Once Her Man, Always Her Man
Author: Heather Long
Heat Level: 4
Price; $2.99
Pages: 38
Genre: Contemporary, military romance, erotic romance
Blurb: Fulfilling a favor and executing a business plan, Luke Dexter arrives at Dallas’ Sybarite Club for a one-night stand. He never imagined he’d come face to face with the woman he left behind a decade earlier.

Rebecca Rainier fell in love with Luke Dexter in high school and was crushed when he dumped her to join the Marines after 9/11. Set up on a 1Night Stand by her business partner, nothing could prepare Rebecca for who her date is.

Can Luke and Rebecca bridge the pain of a decade-long abandonment, in one cold Texas night?



Title: Retreat Hell! She Just Got Here
Author: Heather Long
Heat Level:4
Price: $1.99
Pages: 37
Genre: Contemporary, military romance, chick-lit, erotic romance, ménage a trois

Blurb: She's one of the few…

Jazz has been one of the guys for over a decade, serving her country with distinction, but she longs to explore her femininity, to be desired as a woman, to flirt, cavort and fulfill every sexual desire. When her mother of all people, signs her up for a 1Night Stand, she's not sure whether to be exhilarated or pissed. Flying to Las Vegas on the promise of a total escape, Jazz plans to be Jasmine for just one night, because tomorrow, she plans to re-up for another five years.

They're two of the proud…

Logan Cavanaugh grew up across the street from his best friend and brother-in-arms, Zach Evans. Inseparable, the two have shared everything, including women, until the year before when an IED attack during combat injured both of them. Zach suffered a concussion, but Logan's injuries were far more extensive. After a year of physical therapy, he can walk, but he'll never run or love a woman again, or so he fears. He’s ready to accept his impotence, but Zach has other ideas. He hopes a 1Night Stand date with the perfect woman will heal Logan's confidence and masculinity.

They're all Marines…

They’ll share each other, but will one night be enough?





Title: Tell it to the Marine
Author: Heather LongHeat Level: 4
Price: $2.99
Genre: Contemporary, military romance, erotic romance

Blurb: PFC James Westwood isn’t a typical Marine. As a clinical psychologist, he recognizes his band of brothers needs a helping hand after their return home from the war. When his boss, Captain Dexter, encourages him to sign up for the 1Night Stand dating service, Westwood committed himself. What did he have to lose?

The last thing he expected was a date with screen goddess Lauren Kincaid.

Movie star Lauren Kincaid grew up splitting her time between the cold reality of the Hollywood scene and her family home in Plano, Texas. After two decades surrounded by artificial friendships and inflated egos, her greatest desire is to meet a real man, not a Hollywood talking head. When her agent suggests a 1Night Stand date, the only expectations Lauren allows herself to have are discretion and exclusivity. What she didn’t expect was having a gorgeous psychologist with rapier wit blow her away.

Everyone needs someone to hear them.

James and Lauren share an unmistakable connection, but when one of James’ patients suffers a crisis, Lauren more than proves her mettle. Can one night turn into happily ever after for this Marine and his movie star?





Title: Proud to Serve her
Author: Heather LongHeat Level: 4 
Price: $2.99
Genre: Contemporary, military romance, erotic, foodie romance, chick-lit

Blurb: Damon Sinclair is a simple Marine with simple needs and after five years of active duty in the sandbox, he’s ready to settle down and feed people’s souls. But when the rest of his Brothers sign up with the 1Night Stand dating service, the opening night of his new restaurant includes a date with Madame Evangeline’s hand picked choice.

Helena Blake has focused her entire life on her education and legal career. But, there must be more to life than legal briefs and the Styrofoam take-out palace decorating the interior of her refrigerator. And finally, a year after signing up for the 1Night Stand service, Eve has found her a date.

Wine is poured, incredible food is served, and sparks fly creating a total seduction of the senses as Damon prepares a birthday celebration that Helena will never forget.





Title: Her Marine
Author: Heather LongHeat Level: 4
Price: $2.99
Pages: 51 pages
Genre: Contemporary, military romance, erotic romance

Blurb: Shannon Fabray is a sculpture artist and her love of the pure masculine body is demonstrated in every work of aesthetic art she creates. But her passion for the body doesn't extend into her personal life after a hellish experience in college left her with nowhere to turn but her work. After several criticisms about the lack of passion in her sculptures, Shannon is determined to face her fears and take desire by the balls. A one-night stand should do the trick.

2nd Lt. Brody Essex is an active duty Marine with one goal: come home, get rested, go back. Brody isn’t interested in a date arranged through Madame Eve’s 1Night Stand service like the rest of his friends from the Corps have had, but he doesn’t hesitate to fill in for a Brother who can’t go on his own.

The last thing either Shannon or Brody expect is a wondrous, soul deep connection, but is the spark of lust enough to bring the two loners in from the cold?




~Tamaria's Review~

I for one love men in uniform, although I do love them out of uniform more! Heather Long doesn't disappoint with the Always a Marine Series! These 5 shorts stories are filled with passion.

Each story will tug at your heart strings. Miss Long not only brings the sexy Marines to the table but she delves into issues that our military face when coming home for overseas. Each story is unique but they all knit together amazingly.

This series won't disappoint if you looking for sexy Marines and a heartfelt short story!

The three stories that stole my heart and made me both laugh, cry, and swoon are Once Her Man, Always Her Man, Tell it to the Marine, and Her Marine.

Overall this is a must read for anyone who is a fan of the 1NS or a fan of Military stories.

As a whole I give this series 4 stars.






Heather Long lives in North Texas with her husband, daughter and their menagerie of animals. As a child, Heather skipped picture books and enjoyed the Harlequin romance novels by Penny Jordan and Nora Roberts that her grandmother read to her. Heather believes that laughter is as important to life as breathing and that the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus are very real. In the meanwhile, she is hard at work on her next novel.