{Cover Reveal} Rival by Penelope Douglas

Not even kidding when I tell you how much I absolutely love Penelope Douglas and her Fall Away series, I can never get enough of her books. She is definitely one of my favorite authors ever so I am really excited to be a part of the unveiling for the next book in her Fall Away series, Rival (I love me some Madoc!)...

Title: Rival (Fall Away #2)

Author: Penelope Douglas

Publisher: NAL (Penguin Group (USA) LLC)

Publication date: August 26th 2014

Pre-order the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / iTunes

From the New Adult sensation and New York Times bestselling author of Until You.

Madoc and Fallon. Two estranged teenagers playing games that push the boundaries between love and war…

She’s back.

For the three years she’s been away at boarding school, there was no word from her. Back when we lived in the same house, she used to cut me down during the day and then leave her door open for me at night.

I was stupid then, but now I’m ready to beat her at her own game…

I’m back.

Three years and I can tell he still wants me, even if he acts like he’s better than me. But I won’t be scared away. Or pushed down. I’ll call his bluff and fight back. That’s what he wants, right? As long as I keep my guard up, he’ll never know how much he affects me….

About the series:

Title: Bully (Fall Away #1)

Author: Penelope Douglas

Publisher: NAL (Penguin Group (USA) LLC)

Publication date: June 17th 2013

Buy the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / iTunes / Kobo

(REVIEW)

My name is Tate.

He doesn't call me that, though. He’ll barely refer to me at all, and he’ll hardly ever speak to me.

But he still won't leave me alone.

We were best friends once. Then he turned on me and made it his mission to ruin my life. I've been humiliated, shut out, and gossiped about all through high school. His pranks and rumors got worse as time wore on. I even went to Europe for a year, just to avoid him.

But I'm done hiding from him now, and there's no way I'll allow him to ruin another year. He might not have changed, but I have.

It's time to fight back.

When one brave young woman stands up to her best friend Jared, now tormenter, the consequences go beyond anything either of them ever would have imagined….

Title: Until You (Fall Away #1.5)
Author: Penelope Douglas
Publisher: NAL (Penguin Group (USA) LLC)
Publication date: December 5th 2013
Buy the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / iTunes / Kobo

(REVIEW)



Have you ever been so angry that hitting things felt good? Or numb to all emotions? The past few years have been like that for me. Traveling between fury and indifference with no stops in between. Some people hate me for it, while others are scared of me. But none of them can hurt me, because I don't care about anything or anyone. 

Except Tatum.

I love her so much that I hate her. I hate that I can't let her go. We used to be friends, but I found out that I couldn't trust her—or anyone else. So I hurt her. I pushed her away. But I still need her. She centers me. Engaging her, challenging her, pushing her—it’s the one last part of me that feels anything anymore.

But then she went and screwed everything up. She left for a year and came back a different girl. Now, when I push, she pushes back…and I’m not sure either one of us will ever be the same.

{Cover Reveal} Better When He's Bad by Jay Crownover

We are really excited to be unveiling the cover of Jay Crownover's upcoming book, Better When He's Bad, and it's a hot one!

Title: Better When He's Bad (Welcome to the Point #1)

Author: Jay Crownover

Publisher: William Morrow

Publication date: June 17th 2014

Welcome to the Point. 

There’s a difference between a bad boy and a boy who’s bad . . . meet Shane Baxter.

Sexy, dark, and dangerous, Bax isn’t just from the wrong side of the tracks, he is the wrong side of the tracks. A criminal, a thug, and a brawler, he’s the master of bad choices, until one such choice landed him in prison for five years. Now Bax is out and looking for answers, and he doesn’t care what he has to do or who he has to hurt to get them. But there’s a new player in the game, and she’s much too innocent, much too soft…and standing directly in his way.

Dovie Pryce knows all about living a hard life and the tough choices that come with it. She’s always tried to be good, tried to help others, and tried not to let the darkness pull her down. But the streets are fighting back, things have gone from bad to worse, and the only person who can help her is the scariest, sexiest, most complicated ex-con The Point has ever produced.

Bax terrifies her, but it doesn’t take Dovie long to realize that some boys are just better when they’re bad.

(Summary taken from Goodreads.)

About the author:

Jay Crownover is the bestselling author of Rule. Like the characters in her Marked Men series, she is a big fan of tattoos. She loves music and wishes she could be a rock star, but since she has no aptitude for singing or instrument playing, she'll settle for writing stories with interesting characters and that make the reader feel something. She lives in Colorado with her three dogs.

You can find her here:

Facebook / Goodreads / Twitter

{Cover Reveal} Stone Cold Touch by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Everyone knows how much I absolutely love Jennifer L. Armentrout and White Hot Kiss so it is such an honor for us to be unveiling the cover of the second book of the Dark Elements series, Stone Cold Touch. Without further ado, here is the gorgeous cover and synopsis of Stone Cold Touch...

Holy gargoyles! Is that Zayne?!?! Grr.
#TeamROTH

Title: Stone Cold Touch (The Dark Elements #2)

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Publication date: October 28th 2014

Pre-order the book: Amazon / Kobo / Books a Million / Book Depository

Every touch has its price.

Layla Shaw is trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life—no easy task for a seventeen-year-old who’s pretty sure things can’t get worse. Her impossibly gorgeous best friend, Zayne, is forever off-limits thanks to the mysterious powers of her soul-stealing kiss. The Warden clan that has always protected her is suddenly keeping dangerous secrets. And she can barely think about Roth, the wickedly hot demon prince who understood her in ways no one else could.

But sometimes rock bottom is only the beginning. Because suddenly Layla’s powers begin to evolve, and she’s offered a tantalizing taste of what has always been forbidden. Then, when she least expects it, Roth returns, bringing news that could change her world forever. She’s finally getting what she always wanted, but with hell literally breaking loose and the body count adding up, the price may be higher than Layla is willing to pay…

About the series:

Title: Bitter Sweet Love (The Dark Elements #0.5)

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Publication date: December 1st 2013

Buy the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

(REVIEW)

In a sizzling prequel novella to her new series THE DARK ELEMENTS, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout draws readers into the extraordinary, irresistible world of Wardens and demons.

Dez wasn't just Jasmine's crush. A gargoyle Warden like Jas, he helped her come to terms with her destiny—fending off demons and maintaining balance between good and evil. He was her everything...right until the moment he disappeared without a trace. It didn't help that Jas's father had just announced that she and Dez would one day be mated. Hard not to take that personally.

And now he's back, three years older, ten times hotter, ready to pick up exactly where they left off. But Jas isn't taking that risk again. Dez has seven days to meet all her conditions and earn back her trust. Seven days filled with terrifying danger and sweet temptation. Seven days to win her heart—or shatter it all over again...

(Image and summary taken from Goodreads.)

Title: White Hot Kiss (The Dark Elements #1)

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Publication date: February 25th 2014

Buy the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Kobo / Books a Million / Walmart / Book Depository / iBooks / IndieBound

(REVIEW)



One kiss could be the last.

Seventeen-year-old Layla just wants to be normal. But with a kiss that kills anything with a soul, she's anything but normal. Half demon, half gargoyle, Layla has abilities no one else possesses. 

Raised among the Wardens—a race of gargoyles tasked with hunting demons and keeping humanity safe—Layla tries to fit in, but that means hiding her own dark side from those she loves the most. Especially Zayne, the swoon-worthy, incredibly gorgeous and completely off-limits Warden she's crushed on since forever.

Then she meets Roth—a tattooed, sinfully hot demon who claims to know all her secrets. Layla knows she should stay away, but she's not sure she wants to—especially when that whole no-kissing thing isn't an issue, considering Roth has no soul.

But when Layla discovers she's the reason for the violent demon uprising, trusting Roth could not only ruin her chances with Zayne…it could brand her a traitor to her family. Worse yet, it could become a one-way ticket to the end of the world.

About the author:

J. Lynn, also known as Jennifer L. Armentrout, is a # 1 New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author. She lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russel Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen.

She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

You can find her here: Website / Twitter / Facebook

{Cover Reveal} Giveaway: Here and Now series by Lexi Ryan

It's public knowledge how much I absolutely adore and love Lexi Ryan and her books so I am absolutely ecstatic to be revealing the covers of her newest series, Here and Now (this series is about Hanna, who you will meet/ have met in her New Hope series). Without further ado, here are the gorgeous covers (I wonder who the guy is supposed to be... heehee):

Covers designed by Okay Creations.

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

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

LOST IN ME (Here and Now #1)

Publication date: April 7th 2014

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

But the deeper I immerse myself into this new world of mine—planning a wedding to a man I don’t remember dating, attempting to run a business I don’t remember starting—the clearer it becomes that nothing is as it seems. Do I have the life I’ve always wanted or is it a facade propped up by secrets I don’t even know I have? I need answers before I marry Max, and the only person who seems to have them is the angry, tatted, sexy-as-sin rocker Nate Crane. And Nate wants me for himself.

FALL TO YOU (Here and Now #2)

Expected publication date: June 2014

ALL FOR THIS (Here and Now #3)

Expected publication date: August 2014

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About the author:

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

You can find her here:

Website / Twitter / Goodreads / Facebook

Release Day Launch: Excerpt + Giveaway: The Swan and the Jackal by J.A. Redmerski

Title: The Swan and the Jackal (In the Company of Killers #3)

Author: J.A. Redmerski

Publication date: March 5th 2014

Fredrik Gustavsson never considered the possibility of love, or that anyone could ever understand or accept his dark and bloody lifestyle—until he met Seraphina, a woman as vicious and blood-thirsty as Fredrik himself. They spent two short but unforgettable years together, full of lust and killing and the darkest kind of love that two people can share.

And then Seraphina was gone.

It’s been six years since Fredrik’s lover and sadistic partner in crime turned his world upside-down. Seraphina went into hiding and has eluded him ever since. Now, he’s getting closer to finding her, and an innocent woman named Cassia is the key to drawing Seraphina from the shadows. But Cassia—after sustaining injuries from a fire that Seraphina ignited—suffers from amnesia and can’t give Fredrik the information he desperately seeks. Having no other choice, Fredrik has been keeping Cassia locked in his basement as he not only tries to get her to recall her past—because she and Seraphina share it—but also to protect her from Seraphina, who clearly wants her dead.

But Cassia is a light in the darkness that Fredrik never believed existed. After a year subjected to her kindness and compassion, he finds himself struggling with his love for Seraphina, and his growing feelings for Cassia—because he knows that to love one, the other must die.

Will light win out over darkness, or will something more powerful than either further destroy an already tortured soul?

Cassia pushes herself closer when I thought she couldn’t get any closer and urges me to look at her. Her right hand moves toward my face to console me, but I stop it, holding it at the wrist and pushing it back down.

“The only one of us who should be talking about our past, is you,” I tell her.

Her doe-like eyes fall under a shroud of disappointment.

But she’s not going to give up so easily.

“You’ve asked so much of me, Fredrik,” she says with such kindness, “but when I ask anything of you, you turn me away. I only want to know this one thing. I don’t care anymore about Seraphina, or the history you have with her. I don’t even care what I have to do with it.” Her soft hand ends up touching the side of my face anyway, and I’m not sure how she slipped it past my barrier. “All I care about anymore is you, Fredrik.” She peers deeply into my eyes and ensnares my gaze, her face full of heartbreak and longing. “What are your demons trying so hard to kill?”

I push her hand away more forcibly this time.

“Do you remember anything?” I ask, disregarding her question altogether.

“Stop,” she says with more intensity than I expected. “You’re going to give me this. Before you leave me alone down here another night, you’re going to tell me.”

The desperation in her eyes bores into me. I look away, only to look right back at her.

“Please…,” she says.

A lump moves down my throat and settles somewhere in my chest. All ten of my fingers spear through the top of my dark, messy hair and I let out a miserable sigh of defeat.

I never talk about my past to anyone. Ever. I try not to think about it, but on some days that is as futile as trying not to breathe. It wasn’t until I met Seraphina eight years ago that I learned to control it, that I became a much different man from the one who hunted shit stains like Dante Furlong, tortured and murdered them every other night, never feeling the satisfaction that I longed to feel with every kill. I was like a drug addict, always looking for a fix but never really satisfied enough to stop. Never satisfied at all, because I only wanted to do it more and more.

Seraphina helped me control the perpetual urges. She showed me how to release the darkness within me with quieter, cleaner methods so that I didn’t leave a trail of bodies and evidence behind. But the biggest impact that Seraphina had on my life was making me feel like I had one. Because before her, I was just a speck of dust floating around in oblivion. I didn’t know the meaning of happiness, or understand the thrill of pleasure or the hunger for excitement. I was just a shell of a man who knew only darkness and death, who only felt the emotions of anger, and hatred, and rage and vengeance.

But Seraphina, she was my dark angel, who came into my life and showed me that there was so much more to living than I ever understood. Ever since she left me in that field the night she set my house ablaze, I’ve been slowly but surely succumbing to my old life again, and I need to find her before I fall too far.

If I haven’t already.

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About the series:

Title: Killing Sarai (In the Company of Killers #1)

Author: J. A. Redmerski

Publication date: June 18th 2013

Buy the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Sarai was only fourteen when her mother uprooted her to live in Mexico with a notorious drug lord. Over time she forgot what it was like to live a normal life, but she never let go of her hope to escape the compound where she has been held for the past nine years.

Victor is a cold-blooded assassin who, like Sarai, has known only death and violence since he was a young boy. When Victor arrives at the compound to collect details and payment for a hit, Sarai sees him as her only opportunity for escape. But things don’t go as planned and instead of finding transport back to Tucson, she finds herself free from one dangerous man and caught in the clutches of another.

While on the run, Victor strays from his primal nature as he succumbs to his conscience and resolves to help Sarai. As they grow closer, he finds himself willing to risk everything to keep her alive; even his relationship with his devoted brother and liaison, Niklas, who now like everyone else wants Sarai dead.

As Victor and Sarai slowly build a trust, the differences between them seem to lessen, and an unlikely attraction intensifies. But Victor’s brutal skills and experience may not be enough in the end to save her, as the power she unknowingly holds over him may ultimately be what gets her killed.

This is their story…

(Summary taken from Goodreads.)

Title: Reviving Izabel (In the Company of Killers #2)

Author: J. A. Redmerski

Publication date: December 6th 2014

Buy the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Determined to live a dark life in the company of the assassin who freed her from bondage, Sarai sets out on her own to settle a score with an evil sadist. Unskilled and untrained in the art of killing, the events that unfold leave her hanging precariously on the edge of death when nothing goes as planned.

Sarai’s reckless choices send her on a path she knows she can never turn back from and so she presents Victor with an ultimatum: help her become more like him and give her a fighting chance, or she’ll do it alone no matter the consequences. Knowing that Sarai cannot become what she wants to be overnight, Victor begins to train her and inevitably their complicated relationship heats up.

As Arthur Hamburg’s right-hand man, Willem Stephens, closes in on his crusade to destroy Sarai, she is left with the crushing realization that she may have bitten off more than she can chew. But Sarai, taking on the new and improved role of Izabel Seyfried, still has a set of deadly skills of her own that will prove to be all she needs to secure her place beside Victor.

But there is one test that Izabel must face that has the potential to destroy everything she is working so hard to achieve. One final test that will not only make her question her decision to want this dangerous life, but will make her question everything she has come to trust about Victor Faust.

(Image and summary taken from Goodreads.)

About the author:

Born November 25, 1975, J.A. (Jessica Ann) Redmerski is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. She lives in North Little Rock, Arkansas with her three children and a Maltese. She is a lover of television and books that push boundaries and is a huge fan of AMC’s The Walking Dead.

You can find her here:

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Goodreads

Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway: Game of Love by Melissa Foster

Click banner for the tour schedule.

Title: Game of Love (Love in Bloom: The Remingtons #1)
Author: Melissa Foster
Publisher: World Literary Press
Publication date: February 17th 2014
Source: Received from tour host (Thank you, Melissa, Julie and AToMR Book Blog Tours!)
Buy the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble



Ellie Parker is a master at building walls around her heart. In the twenty-five years she’s been alive, Dex Remington has been the only person who has always believed in her and been there for her. But four years earlier she came to Dex seeking comfort, and then disappeared like a thief in the night, leaving him a broken man. 

Dex Remington is one of the top PC game developers in the U.S. He’s handsome, smart, and numb. So damn numb that he’s not sure he’ll ever find a reason to feel again. 

A chance encounter sparks intense desires in Ellie and Dex. Desires that make her want to run—and make him want to feel. A combination of lust and fear leads these young lovers down a dangerous path. Is it possible to cross a burned bridge or are they destined to be apart forever?

(Image and summary taken from Goodreads.)

Review:

Game of Love is actually my first Melissa Foster book and I know that she has written a ton of them. This was a pretty good introduction to her Love in Bloom series and I definitely look forward to reading more of the books in this series. As soon as I read the synopsis of this book, I immediately knew that I needed to read it. I've always been a fan of hunky but nerdy/geeky type of guys and Dex fit exactly into that category so yay for some eye-candy time. But on a more serious note, I did enjoy the book not only because of Dex and its characters but because of the plot and execution of the novel as well.

Ellie was really able to garner sympathy from me and I don't really know if that's what Melissa Foster was going for or what but it happened. I thought that she had it bad, that's why she moved to New York from Maryland but the extent of what happened to her gained further depth as the book went on and you really understand why she acts that way. I love her enthusiasm for teaching and that she genuinely cares for the well-fare of the students as opposed to the income or the statistics. I just felt that Ellie was a bit too good to be true, it's so rare for anyone to actually find a person who willingly wants to be an author... well, it is a fiction novel so it makes sense. Other than her love of teaching, Ellie has three bags full of baggage and I am honestly amazed by how Dex handled all of that. Now that's true love.

I absolutely adored Dex. It's not just because he's totally swoony but because he is such a great guy in general, no matter how much of a risk loving Ellie may be, he did it anyway. I felt bad for him because he repeatedly got his heart broken by Ellie whenever she left but he was always willing to love her again, I don't know if that's foolish or just plain sweet. I loved that he's not one of those overconfident alpha males you always read about, he's more subtle and is the type to immerse himself in a great video/computer game than act all stuffy and do rich guy stuff no matter how successful he may be. I wish there were more guys like him in the literary world. Oh, swoon.

The only thing that turned me off this book is that there was a constant two steps back every one step forward Ellie and Dex's relationship took. Theirs is a great love story but it took too long, years and years till they finally got to where they were because of Ellie's stubbornness and fear of being a burden. I think that if Ellie had just confessed and told Dex how she truly felt and opened up (no matter how hard it might have been) they would have ended up together earlier. But other than that misstep, the flow of the story was pretty good.

I already have the second book, Stroke of Love, in my eReader so I will definitely be reading that ASAP because I look forward to reading more of Melissa Foster's books.

Rating:

.5

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About the author:

Melissa Foster is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. She writes contemporary romance, new adult, contemporary women's fiction, suspense, and historical fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Her books have been recommended by USA Today's book blog, Hagerstown Magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. She is the founder of the Women’s Nest, a social and support community for women, and the World Literary Café. When she's not writing, Melissa helps authors navigate the publishing industry through her author training programs on Fostering Success. Melissa has been published in Calgary’s Child Magazine, the Huffington Post, and Women Business Owners magazine.

Melissa enjoys discussing her books with book clubs and reader groups, and welcomes an invitation to your event.

You can find her here:

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads