Archives for April 2016

5 STARS!

A sweet, sexy and fun mash-up between some of the characters from the Love Between the Bases series by Jennifer Bernard and the Sapphire Falls series by Erin Nicholas.  I really enjoyed seeing these two worlds collide and take us on a sweet journey of friends finding love.  I can’t tell you how many times I smiled along the way at the sass between these two. 🙂

Caitlyn Murray has been crushing on her brother’s best friend for awhile now.  He’s sweet, he’s sexy as all get out, and he’s dedicated to loving and supporting his family.  How can she NOT get weak in the knees when she’s around him??

Eli Anderson gave up his dreams of playing professional baseball several years ago because family was more important at the time.  When Caitlyn up and kidnaps him to take him on a road trip to try out for the Kilby Catfish, how can he complain?

When things heat up between them, will they decide to pursue a long-distance romance or move on and fondly remember their one night in Kansas?

**  Received free in exchange for an honest review  **

 

Getting Wound Up
A Sapphire Falls/Love Between the Bases Crossover Novel
By: Jennifer Bernard and Erin Nicholas

Releasing April 12, 2016
EN Fiction, Inc.

BLURB:

 Caitlyn Murray has never let on that she’s had fantasies about her brother’s friend Eli Anderson for years. She’d do anything for the sexy baseball player who walked away from stardom to stay in Sapphire Falls and take care of his family. But she and Eli are friends. Just friends.

So when her brother hatches a plan to get Eli to the pro baseball try-out for the Kilby Catfish and another chance at his dream, Caitlyn is all in. After all, what’s a little kidnapping among friends?
A spot on the pitcher’s mound for the Catfish isn’t the only tempting thing about the spontaneous road trip. Eli already knows that Caitlyn is as sweet as the candies she makes for the Sapphire Falls bakery, but alone with her overnight in the tiny motel room in Kansas, it’s impossible to resist the urge to take a little taste.

But when that taste leads to falling for the girl next door just as his front door is moving hundreds of miles away, can Eli really have it all? Or do they have too many strikes against them?

 

Link to Follow Tour:  http://www.tastybooktours.com/2016/02/getting-wound-up-by-jennifer-bernard_24.html

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29862819-getting-wound-up

 

Buy Links:    Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iTunes

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1NgGcyJ

B&N:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/getting-wound-up-1-erin-nicholas/1123179676?ean=2940152861495

iTunes:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/getting-wound-up/id1101723417?mt=11

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/search?Query=Getting+Wound+Up

 

EXCERPT:

Caitlyn took her third shot. The look on her face as she swallowed the liqueur was adorable.

“How many more shots do you need?” she asked.

He frowned. “What?”

“Well, it took two to get you to kiss me. You just had your third. I’m wondering how many you need to take me to bed.”

He just stared at her. He blinked. He was pretty much raring to go right now, actually. “How many do you need?”

She gave him a smile that wasn’t a bit tipsy. And was fully seductive. “I didn’t need even one, Eli.”

It was like his cock was voice-activated.  All she’d done was talk and he was rock hard. “Damn, Cait.”

“You can’t be completely surprised.”

Was he surprised? That she was attracted to him? That she wanted to sleep with him?

Yeah, he fucking was. Because if his mind had ever even started to go in that direction, he would have shut it down.

“I don’t need anything to want you,” he said honestly. “I’m going to need a few more to get me past that.”

She took a long draw on her beer.  After she swallowed, she nodded. “Okay, well, I’m going to need two more to get to drunk-enough-to-fall-asleep-even-knowing-you’re-half-naked-in-the-next-bed and drunk-enough-to-not-even-get-up-in-the-night-for-the-bathroom.”

Ah yes, the bathroom last night. As if that had been far from his mind all day.

“Two more it is,” he agreed, even as his body screamed at him to shut the hell up.

If he kissed her again, if he kept going … well, from the look on Caitlyn’s face, they both knew where that was going to lead them.

She ate a fry and took a drink of beer, then licked her lips clean of the salt.

An image of her on her knees, those lips and that tongue wetting some other things, flashed through his mind. He coughed and shook his head.

Then she raised her hand to the waitress again. She held up two fingers and waved them between her and Eli.

The girl brought four more shots over and set them in the middle of the table.

Caitlyn picked one up. “Okay, moment of truth. We drink these shots and we go to the hotel, to two separate beds, and home to Sapphire Falls tomorrow as friends. Or we don’t take these shots and we go back to the hotel to one bed. And then go home to Sapphire Falls tomorrow as friends.”

 

AUTHOR INFO:

Jennifer Bernard is a graduate of Harvard and a former news promo producer. The child of academics, she confounded her family by preferring romance novels to … well, any other books. She left big city life for true love in Alaska, where she now lives with her husband and stepdaughters. She’s no stranger to book success, as she also writes erotic novellas under a naughty secret name not to be mentioned at family gatherings.

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Website:  http://jenniferbernard.net/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/JenniferBernardBooks

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/jen_bernard

GoodReads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5263027.Jennifer_Bernard

 

AUTHOR INFO:

Erin Nicholas is the author of sexy contemporary romances. Her stories have been described as toe-curling, enchanting, steamy and fun. She loves to write about reluctant heroes, imperfect heroines and happily ever afters. She lives in the Midwest with her husband who only wants to read the sex scenes in her books, her kids who will never read the sex scenes in her books, and family and friends who say they’re shocked by the sex scenes in her books (yeah, right!).

Author Links:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads

Website:  http://www.erinnicholas.com/
Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/people/Erin-Nicholas/100000437358976
Twitter:  http://twitter.com/ErinNicholas
GoodReads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3155383.Erin_Nicholas

 

 

RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY:

Win a signed copy of Getting Over It by Erin Nicholas and Caught By You by Jennifer Bernard

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5 STARS!

Dynamic!  The Ribbon Ridge series that Darcy Burke has shared with us has been been such a pleasure to read and experience!  The Archer family has a little bit of everything … sibling rivalry, love, laughter, tears, angst, guilt, you name it — but in the end, it’s all about being a family.  I stumbled across this series with Book 4, and have dearly loved 4, 5 and this one is #6.  I will one day find the time to go back and read 1, 2 & 3 because I love this family so much!  Kudos to Darcy for wrapping a family around my heart and making me wish for the world for them all.  I feel a great sadness that this is the wrap up of the Archer kids … but look forward to catching future glimpses at them from afar with more books set in Ribbon Ridge.

Hayden Archer has spent the last year in France escaping from real life, and when he returns home, isn’t sure where he fits in anymore.  After a family tragedy, his parents and siblings have all had a lot of healing to do and each has gone about it a different way, but have all settled back home in Ribbon Ridge.  When he arrives to find out his college girlfriend who broke his heart five years ago is now working for the family brewery, he’s not happy.  He finally got over pining for her and now she’s back in his life again.

Bex Holmgren couldn’t face staying in Ribbon Ridge with Hayden all those years ago. Turmoil over a loss they shared along with being overwhelmed by his large family drove her to need some space away.  Running into Hayden now that he’s home shows her that the love she thought she was over, is still there … he’s still the one … but can he ever forgive her and trust her with his heart ever again?

**  Received free in exchange for an honest review  **

 

 

You’re Still the One
Ribbon Ridge #6
By: Darcy Burke

Releasing April 5, 2016
Avon Impulse

BLURB:

USA Today bestseller Darcy Burke concludes her Archer family saga with a second chance at first love…

Everyone thought college sweethearts Bex Holmgren and Hayden Archer were headed for the altar… until a tragic accident sent young Bex running from a future she wasn’t ready to claim. But when she’s offered her dream job at Archer Brewing, Bex can’t pass up the chance to reconnect with the big, crazy family that once welcomed her with open arms—and the one man she’s never stopped loving.

When he returns home after a year in France, Hayden is less than thrilled to find his ex-girlfriend working for his family’s company. He’s finally moved on, and being around her rekindles long-buried feelings he’d rather ignore. But Bex isn’t the same girl he knew—she’s more mature, more beautiful, more tempting than ever—and he can’t resist the pull of the intense passion he’s only ever shared with her.

Have five years changed them enough, or are they doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past? The only thing Bex knows for sure is that for her, Hayden is still the one.

 

Link to Follow Tour:  http://www.tastybooktours.com/2016/03/youre-still-one-ribbon-ridge-6-by-darcy.html

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25900554-you-re-still-the-one

Goodreads Series Link: https://www.goodreads.com/series/117022-ribbon-ridge

 

Buy Links:   Amazon | B & N | Google Play | iTunes | Kobo

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011IT5CLS

B&N:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/youre-still-the-one-darcy-burke/1122599633?ean=9780062443533

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Darcy_Burke
_You_re_Still_the_One?id=kxEoCgAAQBAJ

iTunes:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/unti-ribbon-ridge-6/id1018939148?mt=11

Kobo:  https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/you-re-still-the-one-6

 

EXCERPT:

“Your family is tough.”

He tipped his head up to look at her. “Tough?”

“It’s just . . . big. Complicated. Competitive.”

His brow furrowed. “Is that how you see us?”

“That’s how I see them. How do you see them?”

He smiled. “Complicated. Competitive.” He looked at her with appreciation in his gaze, which wasn’t helping her campaign to shelve her feelings for him. “It feels off being back now. I’ve always been the one to be here—you know that.”

He’d felt it was his responsibility to stay. Except maybe responsibility wasn’t what he’d felt. Maybe it was the desire to be the one who was necessary. Not martyrdom—nothing that self-serving—but a true need to feel . . . needed. Why had she never seen that before?

“I did know that, but I don’t think I really understood it until now. I shouldn’t have asked you to leave.”

He sat up and pivoted the stool so he was facing her. His knee brushed hers as he turned, and she felt the connection everywhere. He, on the other hand, didn’t seem to notice.

“Whoa,” he said. “This is a total one-eighty. I’m not sure I can wrap my head around this.” There were lines of humor around his eyes, so she knew he was at least half-joking.

“I know, right?” She brought the whiskey to her lips and drank.

“What happened?” he asked softly, his gaze intense. “Why do you say that now?”

Oh, this was dangerous territory. This intimate conversation, the dimness of the room, the familiarity and its pull—at least for her. “You seem out of sorts now, like you maybe can’t find your place, whereas before you knew what it was. You were Hayden the Dependable, the one everyone counted on.”

His stare pierced her. There was a bit of admiration there. She fidgeted with her glass, unsure where this was going.

“You get it. No one gets it.”

She wasn’t sure that was true, but maybe it was just that he hadn’t talked to them about it. And maybe he didn’t want to. Maybe his place wasn’t here. “I get it now,” she said, smiling. “But I didn’t before. And I’m sorry.”

“You said you shouldn’t have asked me to leave. Do you . . . do you regret leaving?”

Damn, that was the worst question ever. Yes and no. “Until I’d come back here, I would’ve said no. Now . . . I’m not sure. It’s hard to regret things, isn’t it? Because we are who we are today because of the choices we made. And I like who I am.” For the most part.

He hadn’t broken eye contact with her the entire time she’d spoken, and she wondered if he felt this connection, this bone-deep longing that she’d truly never experienced before. Then he leaned in, and she did the same. Did he realize how close they were? If they both leaned just a bit more, their lips would touch.

“Maybe that’s it.” His voice was soft, sexy, but dark, too. “Maybe I don’t like who I am.”

 

AUTHOR INFO:

DARCY BURKE is the USA Today best-selling author of hot, action-packed historical and sexy, emotional, contemporary romance. Darcy wrote her first book at age eleven, a happily-ever-after about a swan addicted to magic and the female swan that loved him, with exceedingly poor illustrations.

A native Oregonian, Darcy lives on the edge of wine country with her guitar-strumming husband, their two hilarious kids who seem to have inherited the writing gene, and three Bengal cats. In her “spare” time, Darcy is a serial volunteer enrolled in a twelve-step program where one learns to say “no,” but she keeps having to start over. She’s also a fair-weather runner, and her happy places are Disneyland and Labor Day weekend at the Gorge.

Author Links:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Website:  http://www.darcyburke.com/

Facebook:  http://facebook.com/DarcyBurkeFans

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/darcyburke

GoodReads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5823441.Darcy_Burke

 

 

RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY:

A signed set of Ribbon Ridge Series (Bks 1-5), a custom pint glass, coaster, and other Ribbon Ridge Swag. (U.S. Only). Additionally Avon Books will be giving away Three sets of Only In My Dreams and Yours to Hold (books #1 and #2) in digital downloads.
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4 1/2 STARS!

I loved this book!  I really enjoyed the connection between Mason & Kat. They are super HOT and sexy, yet the best of friends who are always there for one another!

Mason Kincaid is a sexy tattoo artist who loves hot, dirty sex.  His motto is “hit it and quit it” because he doesn’t do relationships.  One night of fun is all a girl ever gets from him.  He’s all about using a woman to satisfy his internal demons.

Katrina Sands has been Mason’s best friend since high school and is the Manager at his tattoo shop, Inked.  When a wild night leads to something happening between them, will Mason change his ways, or will Kat be left to deal with being dumped by her best friend?

 

**  Received free in exchange for an honest review  **

 

 

Dirty Sexy Inked (Dirty Sexy Series Book 2) by Carly Phillips and Erika Wilde

Date of Publication: April 5, 2016

Blurb

Available From

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About Carly Phillips and Erika Wilde

Find Carly Phillips and Erika Wilde Online

Teaser

“WE’RE OFF TO Las Vegas, Kitty-Kat,” Mason Kincaid said as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “Sin City is the perfect place to get down and dirty and have some fun. What kind of trouble do you think we can get into while we’re there?”

Katrina Sands buckled her seat belt and settled more comfortably in the first-class leather seat next to Mason—her best friend since they were fourteen and freshmen in high school. She wasn’t at all surprised that he was already making a mental list of all the wild and reckless adventures that awaited him in a no-holds-barred place like Las Vegas. Mason Kincaid was a rule breaker, a thrill seeker, and a self-indulgent bad boy who was all about pleasure and instant gratification. From everything she’d heard about the city that never slept, he’d be right in his element.

Oh, joy, she thought with a resigned sigh. It wasn’t as though she was a prude. Far from it. She just wasn’t thrilled about watching her best friend’s man-whoring ways in action in Vegas. She spent enough time seeing it up close and personal on a day-to-day basis.

She turned her head and met Mason’s bright blue gaze. “You do realize that this trip isn’t all about you and your dick, right? That we’re heading to Vegas because your brother Clay is marrying Samantha?” she asked, reminding him of that one important detail.

The corners of his mouth curved with an indulgent grin. “Of course I realize my brother is strapping on the old ball and chain tomorrow afternoon. But that doesn’t mean the entire weekend is going to be all wedding, all the time. In fact, tonight Levi and I plan to take Clay out to make sure he spends his last evening as a bachelor in style.”

Which gave Mason the perfect opportunity to carouse for a willing female to take back to his hotel room for the night. It’s what Mason did. For as long as she’d known him, he’d had a hit-it-and-quit-it motto when it came to women, and he always made sure they knew the score up front. He didn’t make promises or do commitment or anything longer than a one-time fling.

And each time Katrina watched it happen, a little bit of hope died inside of her. The hope that one day Mason would see her as more than just a best friend and the woman who managed to keep his personal and professional shit together. But the man was oblivious to her deeper feelings for him, and she wasn’t willing to tell him and risk certain painful rejection. It was much easier, and safer, keeping them both squarely in the friend zone.

She’d known him for twelve years, and had truly come to believe that Mason Kincaid didn’t have the ability to commit to any single woman. And it really wasn’t hard for her to figure out why considering the kind of childhood he’d had—no father figure to speak of and a mother who cared more about her next fix than her own kids. Mason might be a master at giving off a carefree, I-don’t-give-a-crap attitude, but Katrina was one of the few people who knew just how much pain and resentment that laid-back demeanor really masked.

The commercial plane they were taking to Las Vegas finished the boarding process, and one of the cabin crew started closing the overhead luggage bins, while another made an announcement to set all electronic devices to airplane mode. A pretty brunette flight attendant stopped next to Mason’s aisle seat and set her hand on his shoulder.

He glanced up at her, and the woman smiled, her complexion flushing a bit as he turned all that potent male sex appeal her way. Yeah, Mason had that kind of breathtaking effect on women. Between his gorgeous features, that sexy, panty-dropping smile, and his sleeves of bad boy tattoos that wrapped around both muscled arms, he was an irresistible force to the female gender.

And the jerk knew it, too, and didn’t hesitate to use that charm to his advantage.