New Release – Page 216 – TBR Book Blog

Release Blitz ~ Shades of Her ~ by ~ Ozlo & Priya Grey

Title: Shades of Her

Author: Ozlo & Priya Grey

Genre: Contemporary/Erotic Romance

Release Date: October 18, 2017
Cover Design: Okay Creations

Will He Ever Love Me, When All He Sees Is Her?

Jackson

I had everything a man could want. Money. Status. And above all: Love. But when my wife is taken from me, my life begins to fall apart. But now she’s back. Back from the dead. I can relive our most passionate and tender moments together. I’m losing myself in her once again. But then I discover the truth about my wife. And everything I remember turns out to be a lie.

Rebecca

All I have to do is dye my hair, wear someone else’s cloths and follow a script. What harm can come from stepping into someone else’s shoes in exchange for a hundred grand? Did I mention the deal includes sex with the hottest, most acclaimed painter of our time? It’s a no brainer, right? Especially since I’m in desperate need of cash, so I can help my parents get back on their feet after losing everything in the hurricane. I fully commit to the part he’s hired me to play. I never expect to uncover her secrets. And I never imagined I’d fall in love.

Ozlo and Priya Grey are a husband and wife writing team. Their time is consumed with writing, re-writing, editing, and tinkering with Photoshop and WordPress.

When they step away from their desks, they enjoy long walks on the beaches of Southern California.

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Release Blitz ~ Rewrite ~ by ~ Stephanie Rose

Title: Rewrite

Author: Stephanie Rose

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: October 19, 2017

Blurb

Once upon a time, a girl loved a boy and he loved her back. They lived happily ever after.

But our story was never that simple.

I loved Josh with all I had, right until the day he left. Now, all these years later,
he was back—and wanting me the way I’d always longed for him. Except now, I
belonged to someone else. Someone who never left me the way Josh had. I figured
that was the end of our story. I couldn’t alter the past.

I didn’t want to rewrite my future.

Brianna was always more than my best friend. She was the shining light in my black hole of an existence, and I loved her with every cell and bone in my body. I wasn’t
good enough for her, though—more the villain than the hero in our fairy tale.
When I had to leave, I vowed to come back a better man—for her. But when I
finally did return, she wasn’t waiting for me anymore. She had someone new, her
very own Prince Charming. Did that mean our story was over? I couldn’t change
our past.

It was time to rewrite our ending.

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Excerpt

“This place is amazing, Josh.”

My chest swelled with pride as Brianna’s widened eyes darted around the shop. Maybe it wasn’t really my place, but Uncle Billy trusted me enough to run it on my own. I hired the employees, handled the books, and met with customers. He depended on me instead of waiting for me to fuck up. The local troublemaker came back and made good, but that wasn’t such an easy sell for everyone. Good thing I didn’t give a shit about everyone. The only opinion that ever mattered stood in front of me, beaming with pride.

My mouth split in a wide grin. “Thanks. It’s getting there. Hoping things pick up a
little after the holidays. No one wants a new bike when there’s an inch of ice
on the ground.” I laughed until Brianna’s face fell.

“Can I ask you something?” She slid into the chair in my office as her lips pursed.

“Of course.” I leaned my hip against the edge of my desk and crossed my arms.
“What’s up, Cupcake?”

“Did . . . did you really have a new client in Manhattan last week, when you drove me to work?”

I took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Why would you ask that?”

“Scott and I—” She shook her head and waved her hand. “It’s nothing. Don’t mind me.”

“No.” I nudged her ankle with my foot. “Let me guess. Scott isn’t too happy about me
hanging around so much.” I raised an eyebrow.

Brianna reluctantly nodded. “It’s a guy thing, I guess.” She chuckled to herself. “They
get territorial if someone else tries to play with their toys.” She laughed until she realized what she said and then covered her mouth with her eyes huge.

She was so fucking cute I couldn’t stand it. “I didn’t mean play, I meant . . .” She dropped her head into her hands, and I couldn’t hold in a laugh anymore.

“C’mon, Bri. I’m dying to know.” I peeled her fingers away from her face and crouched in front of her. “What did you mean? Scott thinks I want to play with you? Don’t tell him about the GI Joe and Barbie castle we made when we were kids. He’ll flip the fuck out.”

Her cheeks flushed as she nudged my shoulder. I caught her hand and held it in both of mine. As our gazes locked, laughter stopped. There was no way in hell what I was feeling was only one-sided. I doubted it ever was.

We didn’t talk about it, but I remembered every moment of that night at my apartment.

Brianna rushing over to take care of me, the tortured look on her face when I asked her to get into bed with me. It wasn’t my finest hour, but I needed her. My soul cried out for her that night and she came, like she always did. She may have ignored my wimpy confession, but when she said she loved me, I knew she didn’t mean as only her best friend.

“Josh,” Brianna pleaded on a whisper. “Don’t, please.”

“Don’t please what, Bri?” Feeling brazen, I tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and
cupped her cheek. I ran my thumb along the delicate curve of her jaw. Her eyes
fluttered, urging me on. “Don’t touch you?” I let my finger drift over her full
bottom lip. “Don’t kiss you?” I whispered with a husky rasp. Our faces were so
close, our lips brushed. Brianna’s mouth parted, and I uttered a curse under my
breath. We were so damn close. All we had to do was close that distance. Her
hand drifted up my shoulder and clutched the back of my neck.

“Josh,” Brianna sighed as she rested her forehead against mine. “We . . . We can’t.”
Her hand drifted down my jaw. Her hooded eyes and flushed cheeks disagreed with
the words sputtering from her mouth. I caught her hand and pressed a soft kiss
to her palm. It trembled as she took in a quick gasp.

“Yes, we can, Bri,” I whispered as I leaned in. “You’re so damn beautiful.” Shit, I almost tasted her. She stilled as I cupped her neck and inched closer.

Author Bio

Stephanie Rose grew up loving words and making up stories. Being able to share them with readers is her dream come true. This lifelong Bronx girl loves Starbucks, wine and 80s rock. Her voice often gets mistaken for a Mob Wives trailer.

She married her prom date and has a seven-year-old LEGO obsessed son. She believes there is nothing sexier than a good guy who loves with all his heart, and has made it her mission to bring as many as she can to the page.

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Release Blitz & Review ~ The Manny ~ by ~ Piper Rayne

Title: The Manny

Series: Dirty Truth #1

Author: Piper Rayne

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Release Date: October 19, 2017

Secrets and lies are a killer way to start any partnership—especially a horizontal one.

Now, I’m a glass half full kinda of guy, so, after the ‘you’re fired’ speech was directed at me, I figure now’s the time to be the screenwriter I came to sunny California to be. Unfortunately, there are about as many people trying to sell a script in L.A. as there are vegans in the pacific northwest.

But lucky for me, a few weeks ago my agent found an investor for my script. Hooray, all my problems are solved! NOT.

Because the investor will only agree to fund my film if I use one specific actress. And that one specific actress? Well of course, it just has to be the same actress I screwed over only months before. But she doesn’t need to know about that one tiny detail, does she? All that matters is getting her to agree to do the film and I’ll do whatever it takes. We can leave the past, in the past, right?

I thought my charm would win her over. Never would I have been prepared for the terms she laid out on the table.

She needed a nanny.

I needed a lead actress.

Somehow I became The Manny.

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(READ ME)

Those crazy hysterical geniuses have done it again! Vance, you might remember, is Charlie’s older brother. If you don’t know who Charlie is, go read some more Piper Rayne books.

Moving on. Vance has just come back from his hasty trip home and is getting back into his life, alongside his best pals, Leo and Jagger. He wants to get his script into a movie and Jagger has made that happen; the one catch? That Layla Andrews stars in it.

Layla’s biggest problem at the moment isn’t her impending divorce, it’s finding a nanny for her precocious son that he won’t run off in a few hours. So Layla agrees, IF Vance will be her Manny until she can find one.

For a guy who runs from kids and family, Vance as a manny is pretty funny. And of course you get the crazy, silly, sexy fun that comes with a Piper Rayne novel.

5 stars!

Piper Rayne, or Piper and Rayne, whichever you prefer because we’re not one author, we’re two. Yep, you get two established authors for the price of one. You might be wondering if you know us? Maybe you’ll read our books and figure it out. Maybe you won’t. Does it really matter?

We aren’t trying to stamp ourselves with a top-secret label. We wanted to write without apology. We wanted to not be pigeon holed into a specific outline. We wanted to give readers a story without them assuming how the story will flow. Everyone has their favorite authors, right? And when you pick up their books, you expect something from them. Whether it’s an alpha male, heavy angst, a happily ever after, there’s something you are absolutely certain the book will contain. Heck, we’re readers, too, we get it.

What can we tell you about ourselves? We both have kindle’s full of one-clickable books. We’re both married to husbands who drive us to drink. We’re both chauffeurs to our kids. Most of all, we love hot heroes and quirky heroines that make us laugh, and we hope you do, too.

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Release Blitz ~ Rose Reborn ~ by ~ KJ Harlow

Title: Rose Reborn

Series: Death’s Contract Book One

Author: KJ Harlow

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Release Date: October 17, 2017

I was murdered in an alleyway, 2 gunshots through my skull.

Next thing I know, I was reborn as a modern-day reaper armed with a holy gun. My mission: take down Dante and stop him from building his undead army. Piece of cake, right? Not when him and the Tormented come back to life every time I shoot them.

By the way I’m Rose Eaving, Deliverer of Conflicted souls to the Underworld. I’m a… contractor of sorts. My boss? Let’s just say he’s not fun at parties. Anyway, I’m not doing this gig just for kicks. In exchange for defeating Dante and the Tormented, I’ll get a second chance at life on the Overworld.

My first assignment went horribly wrong; top secret intel was leaked out to the Tormented and all fingers were pointed at me. The second was also a complete failure. For the third, I was handed the leadership with clear instructions: kill the newest member of the Tormented. There’s only one problem: he’s someone from my past.

“You shouldnʼt have come here tonight,” he said.

The tormenting visions continued flashing before my eyes. The hatred in the blonde manʼs eyes was awakening something inside me. Somehow, I forced myself up. The torment suddenly stopped. I blinked, confused: thatʼs when I felt it.

Cease him…

The two words made me double over. I clasped my head and roared, a guttural blood-curdling howl I didnʼt know I could make. I donʼt know whose voice it was, but I knew that I only had one thing to do: rip apart the man in front of me. I let go of my head and looked up, starting towards the blond man. For the second time in my life, I felt it: the barrel of a gun. This time though, it was right on my forehead. The blonde man had replaced his hatred with a practiced, emotionless mask.

“I might see you later in the Waiting Room.” The bullet tore through what was remaining of my gray matter as I fell backward.

I felt surprisingly lucid for someone who had just been shot in the head twice. The torment that had momentarily taken over from earlier was gone. I felt human. Too bad that it wasnʼt going to last much longer. Red and blue lights tumbled over and over on the side of the building. Tall shadows and flashlights intermingled as policemen came closer and closer. The blonde man looked up, annoyed. He straightened and holstered his gun then he too disappeared. As I lay there vision growing faint, I could have sworn that I heard a phone clattering as it skipped around on cobblestones, unanswered phone calls momentarily bringing it to life.

And with that, I died – or at least I think I did.

You know that kid who always had their stories read out at the front of the class? Or the one who collected awards for their poetry? Yeah, that kid was me… over 10 years ago.

Somewhere along the way, I got lost. Got a job. Started a family. Mortgage. Taxes. I stopped creating. Then in May 2017, I started writing creatively again. A little over three months and 150,000+ words later, my first two books are out.

I’m a writer of Urban Fantasy. As a reader, I have a soft spot towards epic fantasy. Thanks for reading, your support makes everything possible.

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Release Blitz ~ Sweet Little Lies ~ by ~ Abbi Glines

Book #2 in the Sweet Series.

After facing a truth she never imagined, Beluah has to find a new path.

Build a life without help and take care of her sister alone.
Or does she…

Abbi Glines is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Rosemary Beach, Sea Breeze, Vincent Boys, Field Party and Existence series. She never cooks unless baking during the Christmas holiday counts. She believes in ghosts and has a habit of asking people if their house is haunted before she goes in it. She drinks afternoon tea because she wants to be British but alas she was born in Alabama. When asked how many books she has written she has to stop and count on her fingers. When she’s not locked away writing, she is reading, shopping (major shoe and purse addiction), sneaking off to the movies alone, and listening to the drama in her teenagers lives while making mental notes on the good stuff to use later. Don’t judge.

You can connect with Abbi online in several different ways. She uses social media to procrastinate.

Release Blitz ~ Illusions of Evil ~ by ~ Lily White

📿 📿 📿

CONFESS.

It’s what he said to me across his altar, what he demanded so that I would be pure.

In the moment he blessed me with his virtue, I was no longer the woman I’d once been.

I was Eve.

His light.

His salvation.

His bridge to Heaven’s gate.

I failed him because my faith was not strong enough.

He punished me for not giving in.

Resisting temptation is never easy.

Not when his hands, his teeth, his heat and hunger were the greatest of my sins.

📿 📿 📿

Click HERE to enter the Release Day Giveaway!

📿 📿 📿

Lily White is a dark writer who likes to dabble on the taboo side of eroticism. She is most known for her Masters Series (Her Master’s Courtesan and Her Master’s Teacher), Target This, Hard Roads, and Asylum. She’s co-authored Serial (a four part serial series). When she isn’t writing as Lily White you can find other books by her under M.S. Willis where she has penned the Control Series, the Estate Series, Because of Ellison (contemporary romance), and Standard Romance Story (Romance Comedy). Lily enjoys stretching her writing muscles by continuing to challenge herself with each book she publishes.

In addition to writing, Lily is an avid reader, gummy bear slayer, and a gold medalist in puppy naps.

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Release Blitz & Reviews ~ Kendall Ryan’s Imperfect Love World

Not Her – Julia Bright

Jason Delany Baxter-Scott…the fifth. What a terrible name to have to live up to. There is no question in his mind that he’ll never live up to his parents’ expectations. Baxter, as he is known to his friends, is trying, but when his fiancée dumps him, he has less than an hour to find someone to stand in to meet his demanding mother and father. He knew Heather in college, and she recently sent a note, saying she’d moved to New York. It was a dick move, but he invited her for drinks, only to introduce her to his parents as his fiancée.

Heather is still the same free-spirited woman who challenged him to be his own man in California. She’s nothing like the women his parents’ think he should marry, and that makes her forbidden fruit. He admires her for standing up for herself and never backing down. She’s got spunk and a whole lot more that turns him on and leaves him wanting.

Heather Burke doesn’t put up with BS. She’s worked hard to develop a clothing line that sells in her own high-end boutiques. Her style may be quirky, but she’s business savvy and worldly. When Baxter contacts her, she’s in for a drink or two, but when she arrives, and his parents think she’s the fiancée, the night is turned on its end. Baxter told her story after story about how horrible his parents were so she can’t abandon him, but going along in this ruse may just be the end of her.

Back in California, she lost her heart to Baxter, and this fake fiancée stuff may just take her mind too. When he’s not bowing to his parents’ pressure, Baxter is a decent guy, someone she could see herself with for the rest of her life. She just has to convince Baxter he doesn’t need their approval to be a good man.

When the stakes get high, they both are challenged. Can Heather walk away from Baxter, or will she stay and teach him to fight for himself?

ARRANGED by FiFi Flowers

Ireland Dumont loved her life—single with not a care in the world, running her own online concierge company. On the edge of ultimate success, her parents stepped in and arranged a proper groom for her to marry. Giving over to their request, she heads to Vegas to celebrate her last days of freedom.

Meeting a handsome stranger was not on her agenda.

Accepting his marriage proposal was the perfect addendum to her agenda.

Jensen Callum needed a wife for his new business venture with a company that prided themselves on being a family-owned operation. His old playboy status was about to be nipped in the bud by his parents when he returned home from his business trip to an arranged marriage of their doing.

What will happen when Ireland and Jensen’s families find out that they arranged their own marriage venture that wasn’t in the grand scheme of things?

TBRreview

This was an interesting and fun story. I didn’t think people did arranged marriages anymore but I guess it’s different when you’re trying to merge companies and whatnot.

Ireland is promised to the son of their closest business partner and she has NO desire to meet, let alone, marry this man. So she decides that she’s going to head to Vegas and have some fun. She meets Jensen who agrees to marry her in order to keep her from having to go through with this arranged marriage.

A great, quick read that’s hot and sweet!

5 Stars!

HOSTILE FAKEOVER by Cary Hart

Up-and-coming artist Bianca Black has her eyes set on one thing, and one thing only: Transforming her late grandmother’s building into the gallery of her dreams. All is going according to plan until legal issues arise and a sexy-as-hell club owner gets in her way. Losing the building could leave her homeless, bringing a whole new meaning to starving artist.

Entrepreneur Ford Phillips, always gets what he wants and this time won’t be any different. He has spent years trying to buy the old, run-down building nestled between the high rises of Manhattan. Just when he thinks it’s within his reach, he finds himself in for way more than he bargained for.

Bianca and Ford must call a truce in an attempt to “fake it ’til you make it.” Can these two keep things amicable or will this Fakeover turn Hostile?

TBRreview

Bianca has inherited her gallery and needs to secure it so she can keep it. It’s the best spot for a gallery that she can see and her grandmother left it to her.

Ford is a businessman who was told he would have first dibs on the building if Bianca was to sell it. So he’s bound and determined to get this space in good order so he can take over. Except he’s more interested in helping Bianca get her gallery than his club…

A funny story that was another quick read for me. Another author I will add to my TBR pile!

5 Stars!

Liar By Stephanie St. Klaire

Fake it until you make it. That was the mantra Cori Dash chanted as she chased a big city dream. The more you tell people you’re on top of the world, the more they believe it – just like they believed the embellished image she sold them with her knock off designer facade. It wasn’t lying if the truth stood somewhere in the middle – and she didn’t get caught.

Dominic Blackthorne owned half of that big city…and a reputation. Rather than dispel rumors or show the world the real Nick, he let his own fake image run free. Until Cori Dash – the only person who told him exactly how it was, even if it stung.

When Cori is faced with her ex-fiance, now engaged to her ex-best friend, it’s game on. In her boldest move yet, she concocts her biggest lie to date by introducing the first handsome stranger that walks by as her new fiancé. Happy to play the part, Nick is already planning the fake wedding of her dreams.

You know what they say about lying – the truth always comes out – and it hurts. Especially when Cori finds out she isn’t the biggest Liar in this game, and she’s been out played.

TBRreview

EVERY Stephanie St. Klaire book I have read, I’ve LOVED!! Even when it’s a novella length, you’re getting a full, thought-out, amazing story!

Cori’s motto is totally fake it til you make it and she’s going to! She’s going to be the best she can possibly be, work like a madwoman and succeed! But just because she’s a driven career-woman, she still takes the time to be a sweetheart to the security guard and kids.

Nick is just a sweetheart. Yes he might leave some things out but it’s for a good reason.

I can’t wait for more Stephanie St. Klaire books!!

5 Stars!

Operation Girl Next Door by Casey Hagen

Trevor Myers knows how to make it big in the business world: a charming smile, connections, and balls-to-the-wall fearlessness. The master of all three, a partnership with his firm is all but in the bag. That is, until his boss dangles it over him, and three coworkers, like a prize on a game show. Trevor will do whatever it takes to lock in what is rightfully his, even if it means calling in a doozy of a favor from his best friend.

Piper Bradley is on the precipice of making a career-altering decision to expand her dancewear line. Agonizing over the decision, Piper decides to take a trip to clear her head, only to have her brother hamper her plans when he calls her to return a favor for his best friend…Trevor Myers. Owing Trevor for escorting her to her senior prom years earlier, she reluctantly agrees to play his girlfriend for the weekend.

Trevor expects a grownup version of the shy girl toting a sketchpad, not this drop-dead, gorgeous woman who leaves him tongue tied.

Piper decides it’s time to exorcise her long-simmering feelings, once and for all.

Trevor fights the battle waged between his playboy lifestyle and the elemental pull of the girl next door.

Pillow Talk – Brittany Holland

They say you can’t buy love.

But he did… he just doesn’t know it yet.

Falling for him was never part of the arrangement.

Neither was sharing his bed.

But I did both.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered by Mira Gibson

American heartthrob and notorious bad boy, Zach Canning has gone and made the error of all Hollywood errors. No, it wasn’t sticking his foot in his mouth during an interview again, banging an almost underage fan, or even disappearing on another cocaine-and-booze addled bender. It was far, far worse, and now his TV show renewal contract hinges upon his ability to convince his fan base, the Christian Network, and America at large that he’s just as wholesome as his #Blessed character.

Jesus Christ, how?

Enter Abby Gallagher. As Irish-Catholic as they come, complete with flaming auburn hair and a cross dangling from her necklace, her image is perfect. She’s guarding one hell of a secret, however—she’s a virgin and saving herself for marriage.

When Zach’s publicist approaches her with the most unbelievable proposition—to dispel rumors surrounding the famous actor one sexy date at a time—Abby is more than intrigued. She’s been a fan of his show and has watched religiously… admittedly, a guilty pleasure.

What other guilty pleasures could he give her???

But the secret contract she’s presented with not only states she must pose as his girlfriend in the public eye while the paparazzi follow their every move. She must also elope with Zach in two weeks! Non-negotiable, legally binding, with a corresponding gag-order in place and no guarantee of true love…

Can she go through with it? Will she choose a thrill ride instead of love? What if she could have both with the same man?

READ THE BOOK WHERE THE WORLD BEGINS!

Marry the girl I’ve had a crush on my whole life? Check.

Inherit a hundred-billion-dollar company? Check.

Produce an heir… Wait, what?

I have ninety days to knock up my brand-new fake wife. There’s only one problem—she hates my guts.

And in the fine print of the contract? The requirement that we produce an heir.

She can’t stand to be in the same room with me. Says she’ll never be in my bed. But I’ve never backed down from a challenge and I’m not about to start now.

Mark my words—I’ll have her begging for me, and it won’t take ninety days.

Amazon | Amazon UK | iBooks | Nook | Kobo

A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than two dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold over 2 million books and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world. Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than three dozen times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine. She lives in Texas with her husband and two sons.

Visit her at: www.kendallryanbooks.com for the latest book news, and fun extras

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Release Blitz ~ Ideal Image ~ by ~ Freya Barker & KT Dove

Title: Ideal Image

Series: A SNAPshot Novel

Author: Freya Barker and KT Dove

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Release Date: October 18, 2017
Cover Designer: Rebel, Edit & Design

In one blinding flash, the very fiber of her existence is shredded.
For criminal lawyer and single mother, Stacie Gustafson, a dependable career, a well-organized life, and an immaculate image, had always been her armor. Without it she’s left exposed and struggling to create a new existence for her and her daughter. No matter how hard she tries, she is unable to avoid her history.

All it takes is one look at the blue-eyed woman, for Nicolas Flynn to be transported back ten years. Sure, her appearance has changed, but then so has his, since he turned his life around. His devotion to his small-town law firm is tested with the arrival of this bittersweet blast from the past, making for a persistent distraction. One that drags along more trouble than she left behind.

“Tomorrow let’s tackle the roof on the small barn. Last week when we had that rain come through, the horses stayed drier under the overhang covering the outside pen than they did inside the barn itself.”

I’m glad we’re onto more palatable dinner subjects now. As my Pops ages, his choice of casual conversation over a meal, more often than not, includes the day’s special on ailments or a detailed report on bodily functions.

Today’s topics of choice had been ingrown toenails and the effects of the latest pinto bean crop on a senior’s digestive system. Yeah, my dad can be a laugh-and-a-half at the dinner table.

“Absolutely,” I say, trying not to sound too relieved at the change in topic. “Do we still have a few of those corrugated roof panels we used on the shelter for the woodpile?”

“Probably just one or two,” Pops answers, before taking another massive bite of his hamburger.

“Maybe we’ll head into Cortez in the morning?”

“We can hit Denny’s for breakfast,” he says, slurping the dregs of his milkshake loudly.

Pops is a man of simple pleasures; a regular constitution and a hearty meal. Throw in a beer occasionally and he’s a happy man. He also likes predictability, which is why I’ve made it a point in recent years, to keep my schedule clear on Friday afternoons. We go out for an early meal—Pops like to eat at five—and catch up on our weeks, before planning out our weekend.

I don’t have much of a life outside of work. Sadly, my father is responsible for the bulk of my socializing. Friday dinners at a restaurant of his choice, and the weekends mostly putzing about our property. There are days when I feel more like sixty than the barely forty years I’m old.

“Now there’s a sight for sore eyes.”

I barely register Pop’s voice as I focus on my chicken fried steak sandwich, until the melodic cadence of a familiar voice pierces my awareness.

“First pick a booth, Mak, and then we’ll order.”

I swivel around in my seat to find Stacie’s daughter staring back at me.

“Hey,” I offer in greeting, my eyes immediately looking for, and finding, Stacie behind her. I can feel my face crack open in a big smile.

“Hi,” is the cheerful reply, along with Stacie’s more subdued; “Hello.”

“You friends of my son?” Pops pushes half out of his seat, the paper napkin he habitually tucks in his collar to catch the inevitable crumbs and stains flutters down to the floor, as he sticks out his greasy hand in greeting.

Instead of bouncing my head off the table a few times, which I’d like to do, I also stand up.

“Stacie, this is my father, Henry Flynn. And, Pops, this Stacie Gustafson and her daughter Makenna. Stacie is a colleague.” I’m not quite sure why I add the last, but the moment I see my father’s eyes narrow on Stacie’s face, a feeling of doom settles in my stomach. My pops is not exactly known for tact or subtlety.

“Why don’t you join us?” I quickly ask, hoping to avoid what I know is sure to come. Stacie opens her mouth with what I know will be an objection, but Mak easily slides in the booth beside Pops.

I feel bad for Stacie, who is left standing a little awkwardly next to the table. I grab her hand and gently pull her to sit down. I try to glare at Pops to warn him off when he leans over the table, his head slightly tilted to the side, but he’s like a dog with a bone.

“What happened to your face?”

And there it is.

I’m still contemplating my father’s imminent demise, while desperately seeking for ways to soften the shocked expression on Stacie’s face at the impact of his words, when her little girl pipes up.

“She got burned in an explosion. Gnarly, right? You should see her arm.”

I watch Stacie’s eyes pop open at her daughter’s callous description, but Pops is immediately distracted.

“The explosion up on the mountain last winter? That was your mom? Damn, I heard that was bad.”

“She almost died,” Mak says, her face somber.

“Yeah, but she didn’t, did she?” Pops counters sagely, and I throw up my hands, there’s no way to stop this train wreck. “Looks pretty alive to me.”

Stacie’s eyes, round as saucers, turn to me. Surprisingly, I see a glimmer of humor in their depths.

“Thank God,” her daughter blurts out dramatically, and the whole situation suddenly becomes comical in the most surreal way.

“Yeah—thank God,” Pops echoes, a smirk on his face as he winks across the table at Stacie, who promptly bursts out laughing, and I can’t hold back a chuckle. “Besides, they can fix that, you know?”

“Oh, I know,” Mak says wisely, tucking her paper napkin in the collar of her shirt, mimicking my dad. A move that makes all of the adults at the table smile. “Mom’s having her face done in two weeks.”

After a little confusion—during which the waitress shows up to take Stacie and Mak’s orders, and Pops takes the opportunity to order another milkshake and order of fries—I manage to glean that having her face done means Stacie apparently has another surgery scheduled.

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Freya Barker inspires with her stories about ‘real’ people, perhaps less than perfect, each struggling to find their own slice of happy. She is the author of the Cedar Tree Series and the Portland, ME, novels.

Freya is the recipient of the RomCon “Reader’s Choice” Award for best first book, “Slim To None,” and is a finalist for the 2016 Kindle Book Awards for “From Dust”. She currently has two complete series and three anthologies published, and is working on two new series; La Plata County FBI—ROCK POINT, and Northern Lights. She continues to spin story after story with an endless supply of bruised and dented characters, vying for attention!

KT Dove grew up, and still lives, in the Midwest. At an early age she developed a love of reading, driving the local librarians crazy, and would plan plot lines and stories for her favorite characters. KT received degrees in English, Speech/Drama, and Education. And yet instead of becoming an English teacher as planned, she opted for an unexpected HEA.

Now married, a mother and still an avid reader, she stumbled upon the Indie author movement and became involved on several levels. Never in her wildest imagination would she have thought she would co-author a book. With the support of her family, she took the plunge, adding writing to an already busy literary existence.

She wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Release Blitz ~ Third Act ~ by ~ J.O. Mantel

Title: Third Act

Series: Dark Falkon Series #3

Author: J.O Mantel

Genre: Erotic Romance

Release Date: October 16, 2017

A Love Triangle.

Two Rock Stars.

One MASSIVE Secret.

Falling in love with one of the world’s biggest rock stars, was not something Sienna planned.

Their relationship has been amazing. Sure, they’ve had their fair share of problems, but what couple doesn’t?

Dark Falkon and Lightning Ridge are performing together for the very first time, this means Jake and Lukas must put aside their personal differences for the sake of the one woman they both love.

However, one mistake, will change EVERYTHING.

Sienna will discover a shocking truth and will be left to make one of the biggest decisions of her life.

Who will she choose, Jake…or Lukas?

The third and final book in the Dark Falkon Series

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Surprise Release & Review ~ Wood ~ by ~ Lauren Hawkeye & Cathryn Fox

Lauren Hawkeye and Cathryn Fox have a surprise for you … WOOD is available today! Find out more about it below and pick up your copy now!

About WOOD

I was on an archeological dig in the Cape Breton Highlands, until betrayal sent me running. A severe lightning storm crashed over me, and I found myself swallowed by the dark, angry Bras D’or Lake, only to surface in a different place, a different…time?

Thrust into an unknown world—a threat at every turn—my chances of making it out alive were slim, until an impressive, big beast of a man came to my rescue. The tense, axe-wielding lumberjack named Wood—a danger to me in so many ways—tossed me over his shoulder and took me to his remote cabin. His lodging was hidden amongst the trees, his existence a quiet one—until I arrived.

I needed to get back to my time. He needed me gone. I confused him. He confused me. We were different people with different secrets, but we had one thing in common, an attraction that spanned time and had me wondering if I could ever trust another man, and if he could ever love another woman?

Get your hands on WOOD now!

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Wow! This surprised me! It was out of my normal reading genres but I love both authors so I gave it a whirl. And holy wow!!! Wood is indescribable!
London is on an archaeological dig with her parents and the man she has a crush on. She wants to take the pictures and move into that side of schooling rather than archaeology. London gets some news and suddenly ends up back in time. Where she meets Wood.
Wood doesn’t know where this strange woman came from but he’s going to keep her safe and help her in any way he can.
It does end on a cliffhanger but you will LOVE reading about Wood!

5 Stars!

About Lauren Hawkeye

Lauren Hawkeye/ Lauren Jameson never imagined that she’d wind up telling stories for a living… though when she looks back, it’s easy to see that she’s the only one who is surprised. Always “the kid who read all the time”, Lauren made up stories about her favorite characters once she’d finished a book… and once spent an entire year narrating her own life internally. No, really. But where she was just plain odd before publication, now she can at least claim to have an artistic temperament.

Lauren lives in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Canada with her husband, toddler, pit bull and idiot cat, though they do not live in an igloo, nor do they drive a dogsled. In her nonexistent spare time Lauren can be found knitting (her husband claims that her snobby yarn collection is exorbitant), reading anything she can get her hands on, or sweating her way through spin class. She loves to hear from her readers!

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About Cathryn Fox

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cathryn Fox is a wife, mom, sister, daughter, and friend. She loves dogs, sunny weather, anything chocolate (she never says no to a brownie) pizza and red wine. Cathryn has two teenagers who keep her busy and a husband who is convinced he can turn her into a mixed martial arts fan. When not writing, Cathryn can be found laughing over lunch with friends, hanging out with her kids, or watching a big action flick with her husband.

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