Tag Archives: contemporary and literary fiction

Giveaway – Return To Hummingbird Way by Reese Ryan @XpressoTours @ReeseRyanWrites

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Return to Hummingbird Way
Reese Ryan
Publication date: April 25th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

In this heartwarming small‑town romance, can three months, two planning projects, and a meddling grandmother finally make two high school hate crushes see just how right they are for each other?

Ambitious real estate agent Sinclair Buchanan is ecstatic to be her best friend’s maid-of-honor—until she discovers the best man is Garrett Davenport. Sin and Rett’s mutual hate crush ignited when they were teens and hasn’t let up since . . . except for that one extremely hot (and extremely regrettable) night they shared five years ago.

Nothing gets Rett fired up like going toe-to-toe with Sinclair. She’s as infuriatingly stubborn, and as absolutely gorgeous, as when he fell for her back in high school. Working together to plan their best friends’ last-minute wedding is one thing, but when his matchmaking grandmother gets involved Rett knows he’s in deep. Attraction has always simmered between them, but this time, they’re both in danger of losing their hearts.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

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EXCERPT:

“Garrett Davenport, how very nice of you to finally show up.” Sinclair sashayed toward him, clutching a clear clipboard decorated with a colorful floral design.

Sinclair assessed him with disdain, flecks of green and gold dancing in those large hazel eyes he’d been mesmerized by from the first moment he’d laid eyes on them in high school. She pursed her glossy pink lips, her nostrils flaring, and planted a fist on one curvy hip.

The bossy little she-devil was infuriating, attitudish, and fucking gorgeous. And she damn well knew it.

Her floral, sleeveless dress showed off her toned arms and sculpted shoulders—a feature he’d never noticed on a woman before, let alone been attracted to. The hem of the flirty little skirt grazed her midthigh, accentuating her tawny brown skin, a shade that landed smack between her father’s dark brown skin and her mother’s olive skin tone.

Sinclair flipped her hair, a deep, rich brown highlighted with ribbons of honey blond, over one shoulder and ran her manicured nails through the waterfall of shoulder-length waves. Her gaze bore into him, and if looks could kill, he’d be lying on the floor stone cold.

“You do realize you’re an hour late to your own best friend’s engagement party.” She leaned into him, speaking in a harsh whisper that only he could hear. “You sure you gon’ be able to show up for the wedding on time?”

Her nasally voice reminded him of Whitley Gilbert’s from A Different World. And just a few minutes into the conversation, she’d already intimated that he was an unreliable slacker. Rett clenched his jaw. Yet, as annoyed as he was, he couldn’t help noticing how hot Sin looked tonight.

“Sorry I’m late,” Rett finally managed. He shoved his hands, balled into fists, into his pockets. “Something came up.”

Sinclair’s gaze dropped to the placket in front of his zipper momentarily. Her eyes widened and her cheeks and forehead flushed. She quickly returned her attention to the clipboard.

Maybe he wasn’t the only one who couldn’t forget their previous encounter.

“It’s always some excuse with you, Rett.” Sinclair wrapped her arms around the clipboard, clutching it to her chest. Her eyes didn’t quite meet his.

Was she clutching the clipboard because he made her nervous? Or was she shielding her body’s reaction after shamelessly ogling him two minutes into their conversation?

It didn’t matter. Because Sinclair Buchanan was as irritating now as she’d been when they’d been forced to hang out together while Dexter and Dakota had dated in high school. She seemed to hate him on sight back then. But he hadn’t helped matters when he’d tried to talk his cousin out of getting serious with Sin’s best friend.

When Dex had suddenly ended things with Dakota the Christmas after he’d left for college, Sinclair had confronted Rett outside his grandmother’s house. She’d been as mad as a hornet and had cussed him out six ways to Sunday—sure he’d been behind the breakup.

He hadn’t been. But he hadn’t bothered telling her so. Besides, as distraught as she’d been, he’d doubted Sinclair would’ve believed a single word he’d said.

Since Dexter and Dakota’s reconciliation, Sinclair must surely have learned the truth: he had nothing to do with Dexter and Dakota’s breakup back then. In fact, he’d been as shocked by it as anyone. But evidently, it didn’t matter, because Sinclair clearly still wasn’t a fan. Though she certainly had been that night in his hotel room, given the enthusiasm with which she’d called his name and the marks she’d left on his back.

“It’s not an excuse, Sin. I planned to be here on time, but I was sidetracked by—”

“Didn’t think you were going to make it.” Dexter approached, holding Dakota’s hand. The two of them looked ridiculously happy, and Rett felt a slight twinge of envy.

“And miss your engagement party?” Rett slapped palms and clasped hands with Dex. “No way, cuz. Been waiting half my life to see you finally tie the knot with this beautiful lady.” He turned toward his cousin’s soon-to-be better half. “Congrats, Dakota.”

“Thank you, Rett.” Dakota’s grin lit her brown eyes. She gave him a big hug. “And for the record, I knew you’d be here tonight. It was these two who were sweating it.” She gestured toward Dex and Sinclair, then glanced around the room. “Mama Mae didn’t come with you?”

“She’s sick and didn’t much appreciate me fussing over her,” Rett said.

“But you did anyway.” Dakota smiled. “The relationship you two have is adorable.”

“’Cause Mama Mae is the only woman who can get him to behave,” Sinclair muttered as she scanned her clipboard. When they all turned to look at her, Sin looked up and shrugged. “What? You know it’s true.”

“Be nice, Sin.” Dakota pointed a finger at her best friend. “You promised you two would get along.”

“Fine.” She flashed Rett a dead-eyed smile and turned up the Whitley Gilbert singsong southern belle voice. “We are so very glad that you could join us this evening, Garrett. I was just about to ask the staff to take the food away. So please make yourself a plate.” She batted her long, thick eyelashes. “In fact, why don’t I escort you to the buffet?”

Dexter and Dakota snickered, and Rett couldn’t help chuckling to himself.

That was as warm a greeting as he could expect from the former beauty queen, who now employed that same charm in her job as one of the island’s top real estate agents. Evidently, she reserved that charm for people not named Rett Davenport.

Sinclair turned and walked toward the buffet, indicating that he should come with. He did, captivated by the subtle sway of her hips as he followed in the wake of her soft, delicate scent. All of it taking him back to that night they’d shared in Raleigh five years ago.

Yes, he’d been an immature jerk to Sinclair in high school. She clearly still held a grudge and had no intentions of letting him forget it. Despite the night they’d shared.

Fine. Because he wasn’t here for Sinclair. He was here for Dexter and Dakota. For them, he’d tolerate Ms. Thing. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t have a little fun with her.

Author Bio:

Reese Ryan writes sexy, deeply emotional romances with family drama, surprising secrets, and unexpected twists.

Past president of her local Romance Writers of America chapter and a panelist at the 2017 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Reese is an advocate for the romance genre and diversity in fiction.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub / Youtube


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Giveaway – Undertaking Love by Megan MOntgomery @XpressoTours @meganthraxm

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Undertaking Love
Megan Montgomery
Publication date: April 1st 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Bethany West upgraded her lucrative career as a sex worker for her dream job as a death worker when she partnered at Smythe & Co. Mortuary. She expected her eco-friendly innovations and death positive attitude to blow the roof off the Victorian-era relic. But that was seven months ago, and during that time, she’s only managed to piss off her embittered business partner, George Smythe, a man dead set on maintaining the status quo and driving Bethany out of his namesake business.

When the pair reluctantly travel together to a mortuary conference in New Orleans—and compete in dueling embalming demonstrations—George finally recognizes the value of Bethany’s business model for the first time. He’s also starting to recognize a growing attraction to his blonde bombshell business partner. Meanwhile, Bethany learns the truth behind George’s cold contempt, and it’s much worse than she thought, stemming not from a single incident, but from the constant on-call status, the compassion fatigue, and the overwhelming stress of the job.

Bethany has 4 days to crack open his tough outer shell to reveal the compassionate man she knows is inside, and she has a plan, but unless George learns to open his heart and lean on her, at the risk of succumbing to their cremation-level attraction in a dangerous way, he’ll jeopardize both the business and their hearts by refusing the true partnership they both need.

Goodreads / Amazon

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EXCERPT:

Bethany

My body was broken.

I blinked hard to lubricate my eyes, struggling to stay awake behind the wheel. The vent blasted tepid air into my face, trying its damnedest to desiccate my skin and sabotage the efforts of my latest hyaluronic acid injections.

My stomach churned from too much coffee and too little sleep.

A sweat broke out under my arms and boobs.

Great. Now I could smell all that coffee excreting from my pores and ruining my favorite silk blouse.

I glanced at the man in the passenger seat.

George’s pores were looking perfectly dry, as usual. He wouldn’t think of sweating, even from the most strenuous effort.

I’d seen him pull a rotund, decomposing man out of that impossible space between the toilet and the bathtub and plop him on a mortuary cot in an un-air-conditioned, third-floor apartment in the middle of August without breaking a sweat.

The man never had a hair out of place, was never not freshly shaven, and he never forgot to button his suit jacket when he stood, or unbutton it when he sat.

And he was a consummate professional—as long as you didn’t work with him.

And as long as your name wasn’t Bethany West.

I breathed in a lungful of stale air. Even now, in the mortuary van, George managed to smell fresh, yet intensely masculine. The faintest notes of sandalwood and citrus wafted toward me as he fiddled with his ear, pushing his earbud deeper in.

I suspected he wasn’t listening to anything producing actual sound; the earbuds were just a tactic to try to keep me from making “unnecessary” conversation.

I was almost too tired to care.

I stifled a yawn, hoping he wouldn’t catch it.

He did, of course.

I saw the tick of his jaw from the corner of my eye. Glaring at the screen of the laptop balanced on his crossed legs, his flexed fingers hovering over the keyboard, a ballpoint pen clutched in his teeth.

I’d never seen the man smile except for a wince-like approximation of the real thing, and he saved that stingy expression for our clients.

After an entire life spent in the trenches of the funeral business, his handsome face was permanently etched into a show of bland sympathy—except when he scowled in contempt.

That expression was reserved exclusively for me.


Author Bio:

Megan Montgomery writes romance. Sometimes they’re funny. Sometimes they’re morbid, but all her characters have cool jobs. She and her husband, Johnathon Olavarria co-host Forced Proximity podcast, a weekly romance book and movie club.

Her debut novel, Well . . . THAT Was Awkward was inspired by her homesickness for southern Maryland. She now lives halfway across the US on the prairie with her husband, son, and mom.

When she’s not writing, reading, lifting weights, or cooking dinners her son won’t eat, you’ll find her toiling in the garden or brewing potions from her medicinal herbs.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub


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Giveaway – Entirely by Talya Blaine !XpressoTours

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Entirely
Talya Blaine
(Transformation Series, #3)
Publication date: April 25th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

“…the deep interplay between the two main characters adds a special intimacy to the novel.” -Publishers Weekly BookLife Prize

“a fantastic story…with many surprises and exquisite intimacy. …an excellent read for romance fans and anyone new to the genre.” -Literary Titan

A startling revelation. A secret that speaks to who we are and who we hide. A choice that forces one heartbreaking question: Can their love survive?

Quinn and Jonathan’s journey continues in Entirely, the third novel in the Transformation series. Outfitting a wedding barn and planning Becca’s reception has Quinn furiously busy and—except for a stinging writing rejection—optimistic. Jonathan watches her self-protective walls crumble as their relationship begins to bloom.

Until Octavia calls with an urgent plea.

Quinn can’t refuse Octavia’s request, while Jonathan sees red. The erotic arrangement she proposes to make it up to him yanks him straight out of his comfort zone. He rises to the challenge, though, taking them to stratospheric heights of pleasure and closeness.

When a shocking discovery forces Quinn to make an impossible choice, will their story end with a chasm of hurt and betrayal between them, or can they find their way back to each other?

Intensely intimate, sensual, and emotional, Entirely concludes the first Transformation trilogy. (No cliffhanger.)

• Friends to lovers, slow burn, second chance, fish out of water—readers will click with the themes in this edgy contemporary romance.
• Third-person, alternating points of view
• Characters over 40 and a sexy beta hero

Note: Mature themes, strong language, dungeon and super-steamy open-door bedroom (among other places) scenes. Entirely is Book 3 in the Transformation series; the novels should be read in order.

Goodreads / Amazon

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Q&A with Talya Blaine:

What was your favorite scene or theme in Entirely to write?

My favorite scene to write was the one in which Quinn and Jonathan are standing in her kitchen in the early hours of the morning, after Becca’s wedding reception. They listen to Becca’s voicemail and then they go to bed. Funny, sexy, intimate–and before the realization of a secret that threatens to pull them apart. Writing that scene was a pleasure.

What was the hardest part of the story to write?

Without spoilers, it was when Jonathan makes his “discovery.” I felt terrible for him because I knew he would feel so utterly betrayed–it was hard to write the scenes where he’s trying to process what happened.

Entirely completes the first trilogy of the Transformation series. What’s next?

Plans are underway for the release next year of some shorter, lighter, funnier stories, more like sexy rom-coms. And with the chemistry between Quinn and Jonathan, as well as all the twists and turns I imagine their life–and the other characters’ lives–taking, expect to see more of them soon.

What’s at the top of your TBR (to be read) pile right now?

The pile is high and always growing but since I’ve been writing a lot lately, I haven’t had as much time to read. Also, when I’m writing fiction, the stories and characters really inhabit my life (or I, theirs), and it’s hard for me to get into other stories and worlds. That said, I’m excited because next up are:

  • The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell, a locked-room whodunit on the set of a British reality TV baking show. (Big grin)
  • Winter’s List by Jordyn Kross, a ménage tale about a law-school graduate who meets two sexy strangers on a flight to the Caribbean.
  • War’s Peace by Raisa Greywood, the first Club Apocalypse novel. I’ve been wanting to check out more of these last two authors’ work since reading their short stories at the end of 2022 in a Holiday Shorts anthology.
  • Last but not least, Big Swiss by Jen Beagin. Transcriptionist for a sex therapist falls for one of his clients and the two accidentally meet IRL? I’m in.

Where can readers find you online?

Visit my blog, and to be notified of new posts, book releases, and special offers, add your email to my list. And/or let’s connect on BingeBooks, BookBub or Goodreads.


Author Bio:

Talya Blaine writes later-in-life contemporary romance that’s emotionally intense and thought-provoking, spicy and sweet. She writes “older” characters (40+), sexy beta heroes, and explores how relationships of all types change over time. Silently (Transformation Series Book 1) is her debut romance, with Secretly (Book 2) and Entirely (Book 3) completed and releasing soon.

Website / Goodreads / Bookbub


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Giveaway – When You Break Girl Code by J L Lora @caffeinatedpr @jtothelove

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Join me in celebrating the release of the newest standalone romance in the Sometimes Love Happens Collection. WHEN YOU BREAK GIRL CODE by J. L. Lora delivers a steamy romance with a side of suspense you won’t want to miss! Check out an excerpt before grabbing your copy! Be sure to enter the giveaway.

When You Break Girl Code



Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks | Goodreads

She just meant to do an associate a favor. After she’s blamed for murder, can she prove her innocence before she’s permanently canceled?

Mila Rosario is walking on cloud nine. Thrilled with her huge promotion, the marketing genius reluctantly covers for a co-worker by distracting the woman’s hot and well-heeled boyfriend. But when their instant connection turns into a sizzling night in the sheets, she’s horrified to wake in her new lover’s arms and discover her work friend has fallen prey to a killer.

Biting her tongue about the affair when talking to the cops, she lands on the suspect list and the perp doxxes her to social media’s wrath. And as those around her start dropping dead, the curvy beauty fears even her handsome protector can’t save her from a grisly end.

Can Mila outwit a murderous stalker closing in for the kill?

When You Break Girl Code is the dramatic standalone fourth book in the Sometimes Love Happens contemporary romance series. If you like characters who grow, terrifying stakes, and plenty of steam, then you’ll adore J. L. Lora’s explosive chemistry.

Teaser

I calculated the risk. I don’t know how good the reward is going to be. But I’ve made my investment, and I don’t want to turn back. I want to find out what it would be like to have her.
The ball is in Mila’s court. I’m giving her the chance to call all the shots.
Well… kinda.
I insist on driving her home. There’s no way I would let her get in an Uber, though that would have been the safest thing for us. Safe is not what I’m going for, though. I left safe way behind after our first drink. Further cemented when I sent Madison the message breaking it off. She doesn’t care enough to answer me. I don’t care anymore, either. I did what I had to do and closed the door. Tomorrow, I will call her and make sure we stay friends, for our families. She’s obviously okay because she kept texting her friend. But she’s gone right out of my mind because I’m pulling over in front of Mila’s building.
“It’s really nice of you to drive me home, and thank you for dinner.” She’s not even looking at me while she says it.
“Mila.” I wait until she turns to me. “Thank you for a great evening.”
She smiles like she’s relieved. Then leans over to kiss my cheek and lingers. The warmth of her lips clings to my skin. The air conditioner breeze cools it down almost immediately. When she pulls back, the heat in her eyes that matches the one surging inside me. I see all I need.
I don’t calculate. I don’t leave it up to her. I swoop in and crush my lips to hers.
Her reaction is immediate. She opens her mouth for me and I taste our whole evening in her tongue, traces of sweetness, spices, desire, and danger.
She pulls back and we stare at each other. The message is in her eyes. We crossed the line. She opens her mouth, but I beat whatever she’s going to say.
“Invite me in.”
Her eyes round, her lips drift apart, but she says nothing.
And I should take that as her answer.
“We really shouldn’t…”
That’s not a no. She knows it too.
“But we want to…”
She nods.
“And we’re going to.” Again, not a question because my answer is her glowing eyes.
.

About the Author



J. L. Lora is a Dominican-American author of contemporary and romantic suspense. Her stories explore the dark side of good characters—people living in the gray areas of life—playing the cards life has dealt them. Her stories manifest her love for badass alpha heroines and take-your-breath-away alpha men. 

Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Newsletter


Giveaway

Join the celebration and enter to win a $25.00 Amazon eGift Card. One winner will be selected. Giveaway ends May 3, 2023. Best of luck!

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Giveaway – She, You, I by Sally Keeble @xpressotours

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She, You, I
Sally Keeble
Publication date: January 11th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary

An emotional page-turner of a story about a family torn apart by the legacy of war that asks the question: what happens to the hurt we can’t forget?
When Skye Stanhope returns to her grandmother’s childhood home, she’s searching for the roots of her life story. Why her tough-minded granny ran away to war. And why her brilliant mother died.

Behind the women’s successes, lies deep trauma. As Skye strips away the layers of secrecy, she confronts their inner torments: forces that bound the women together, but also tore them apart. It’s a journey from a poverty-stricken tenement block to an airbase in wartime Suffolk, through boom-time London to a coffee cart beside the sea.

Woven into the women’s lives is Tseng Hsiao Ling, a feisty, enigmatic seamstress whose fortunes become inextricably linked with theirs.

It’s a sweeping tale of love, war and family secrets over three generations.

Through each woman’s story, “She, You, I” holds up a mirror to the complexity of family relationships: mothers, sisters, daughters, and the unexpected twists in Skye’s search for closure.

Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT

“You”

Julia tells her sister Isla’s story

The Lonely Hearts Club Band played on through that summer while I took you toddling around the garden. It was your talking that finally hooked me. Your eyes didn’t change colour like mine had done, and you would fix me with their baby blueness, and hold out a daisy or a rose petal you’d picked up off the lawn and make babbly noises and then you’d scream with frustration when I couldn’t understand. Until one day when you were babbling away you suddenly came out with “Ju, Ju.” It made me stop. You were so pleased with yourself, you said it again. “Ju-ju.”

Unconditional love is cataclysmic, so I discovered that day. When you held me with your baby blue eyes and said my name, it triggered something deep inside me. Perhaps it’s what a mother feels when she holds her baby for the first time. Perhaps it’s what Mother felt for me once. Or maybe it’s what a lover feels, someone who’s going to follow you to the end of the earth. Like Omar Sharif trudging through the snowstorm in Dr Zhivago to find his beloved Lara. Perhaps someone might feel like that about me one day. But meanwhile I knew for certain I didn’t want to leave home. My love for you was unconditional, and whatever life threw at you, I wanted to be there to help you catch it.

“Ju-ju.”

Everything about that moment stuck.


Author Bio:

Sally writes novels about the things she’s passionate about—the triumphs and tragedies of people’s lives, their families and life stories.

It’s what originally took her into journalism and then politics, in the UK and beyond. She spent her early years in the USA, Switzerland and Australia, returning to the UK after working as a journalist in South Africa. After serving as an MP, she worked in international development and travelled widely, especially in Africa and South Asia.

“She, You, I” is her first novel. She’s written nonfiction previously. Sally splits her time between Northampton and Bawdsey, a village in coastal Suffolk.

Website / Facebook / Instagram


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Giveaway – Beautiful Lies by Paul Dombrowiak @XpressoTours @PDombrowiak

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Beautiful Lies
Paula Dombrowiak
Publication date: April 17th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

I own the boardroom. He owns the stage. We were never meant to be together, but when something’s forbidden, it only makes you want it more.

My jaded heart was determined never to be fooled again. There’s too much at stake, and my daughter always comes first.

And then one night, on the eve of my forty-third birthday, I walked into a bar, and locked eyes with Adrian Corvin.

He’s a musician, covered in tattoos… and way too young. He’s the opposite of everything I should want.

When he followed me outside of the bar, not even the Arizona monsoon could keep me from kissing him.

With just one taste, I was an addict.

It was only supposed to be one night.

No names, no expectations, and no truths.

Only lies.

And he tells beautiful lies.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

—

EXCERPT:

Maybe it’s the beer or the stifling heat, but his eyes seem to follow as I make my way around the room. Caught staring back, it’s as if he sees my thoughts when the corner of his lip tugs into a knowing smile. It’s impossible for him to know that I’m imagining what kind of lover he would be – selfish or generous, relentless or fleeting, but his smile says otherwise. That smile could knock a girl right out of her panties. Maybe for one night I can be someone else, and that makes the prospects endless.

Slipping between the crowd, I find myself on the street. A gust of wind travels down the long strip mall. Everything is dark, all the other stores closed for the night. Closing my eyes, I inhale deeply and smell the rain.

It’s coming.

The city hibernates all year waiting for the rain to penetrate the hard-shelled soil, breaking it open, and once it does, everything comes to life.

A lightning bolt stretches across the sky just as the wind picks up, blowing the hair from my neck and cooling it. I start to walk down the block on the way back to my car, passing a darkened record store when I hear a voice call out behind me. “Hey.”

Without even turning around, I know it’s him, the singer with the velvet voice and the kissable lips. The wind continues to blow like a freight train down the block, picking up the edges of my shirt and blowing my hair across my face. Turning around, I see he’s standing on the sidewalk, looking every bit as delicious as he did on stage. Waiting for him to look around me, to the person whose attention he was really trying to get, but he just stares at me the same way he did in the bar, like he’s trying to unearth my secrets.

Caught in the spider’s web of his soulful eyes, I’m unable to move.

The silence is broken when the sky opens and dumps heavy sheets of rain, plastering my hair to my face and my shirt against my body in less than a minute. Moving towards me, with each step closing the distance between us, the bashful smile on his face causes my pulse to quicken, and the blood rushing in my ears becomes the only sound I can hear. When he reaches me, I can see the pulse in his neck as his hand grips my waist, guiding me into the alcove of the darkened record store, taking us out of the rain. With his hand still on my waist, the heat from it makes me shiver.

His close proximity takes the breath out of me, and I watch as the water drips from his hair onto his full lips, leaving a trail down his chin. In the dim light of the alcove with only the streetlamp to illuminate his face, I see the green flecks in his brown eyes as he searches mine. They pull me in like a magnet; intense and beautiful. My palms press against his chest slowly gathering his shirt between my fingers, all while my heart pounds in my chest because this stranger drew me in the minute I laid eyes on him in the bar. It’s as if he is a tiny piece of my past buried long ago now being unearthed.

Maybe it’s the wind, the way it wraps itself around us, pushing us together rather than pulling us apart, I feel as though this is a chance I need to take. How many times in the last eighteen years had I truly taken something just for myself? And how many more times in my lifetime will I get a chance to choose something for myself?

In the small space between us, a question lingers in the air.

Can I kiss you?

Wanting it and doing it are two different things, because once I cross that line, will I be taking a step backwards? Looking at his beautiful rain-soaked face, I know the answer.


Author Bio:

Paula Dombrowiak grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois but currently lives in Arizona. She is the author of Blood and Bone, her first adult romance novel which combines her love of music and imperfect relationships. Paula is a lifelong music junkie, whose wardrobe consists of band T-shirts and leggings which are perpetually covered in pet hair. She is a sucker for a redeemable villain, bad boys, and the tragically flawed. Music inspires her storytelling.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bookbub / Newsletter


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$100 GC Giveaway – Twelve Hours In Manhattan by Maan Gabriel @xpressotours

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Twelve Hours in Manhattan
Maan Gabriel
Publication date: April 18th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Fairy Tales, Romance

Two worlds. One heart. Twelve hours.

Bianca Maria Curtis is at the brink of losing it all when she meets Eric at a bar in Manhattan. Eric, as it turns out, is the famous Korean drama celebrity Park Hyun Min, and he’s in town for one night to escape the pressures of fame. From walking along Fifth Avenue to eating ice cream at Serendipity to sharing tender moments on top of the Empire State building, sparks fly as Bianca and Eric spend twelve magical hours far away from their respective lives. In that time, they talk about the big stuff: love, life, and happiness, and the freedom they both seek to fully exist and not merely survive.

But real life is more than just a few exhilarating stolen moments in time.

As the clock strikes the twelfth hour, Bianca returns back to the life she detests to face a tragedy that will test her strength and resolve—and the only thing she has to keep going is the memory of a man she loves in secret from a world away.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

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Author Bio:

Maan Gabriel is a mom, wife, dreamer, writer, and advocate for women’s stories in literature. She earned her BA in communications from St. Scholastica’s College in Manila and MPS in public relations and corporate communications from Georgetown University. She has lived in Manila, Brussels, Dakar, and Mexico City. During the day, she works in strategic communications. Gabriel, along with her husband and son, currently calls suburban Washington DC home. After Perfect is her first novel.

“I dream of a world full of hope, where believing is as important as life itself, and where love can move mountains. This is in the very core of my stories, and I wish in more ways than one that I can inspire you to see the world as I see it… a fairy tale.”

– Maan

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram


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Giveaway – Grand Gestures by Lynne Hancock Pearson @XpressoTours

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Grand Gestures
Lynne Hancock Pearson
Publication date: April 15th 2023
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

She will grit her teeth and smile at the snobby and suspicious CFO if it means landing the contract. But she won’t put on a dress and definitely not heels.

Event planner Jane Beckett has big dreams for her small company and is bending over backward to accommodate demanding clients. Jane doesn’t have to like them. She doesn’t have to spend her free time with them. But she wants to tease the grumpy pencil-pushing executive who always seems to be in her way, muss up his hair and show him that there’s more to life than boardrooms and bottom lines. That is, when she doesn’t want to yell at him. Or punch him.

Liam Cross believes every woman has a hidden agenda, one that involves taking advantage of big hearted, clueless billionaires like his best friend and co-worker. He’s watching Jane and her sister to ensure that party-planning is all that’s going on. Even though she manages to steal his assistant, he likes what he sees in the smart-mouthed brunette, admires her stubborn independence, and wants to help her fledgling firm succeed despite his misapprehensions.

Paintballs, punches, and sparks fly when inflated egos and miscommunication threaten relationships between friends, family, and partners.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

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EXCERPT:

With whiskey warming his belly and muddling his mind, signing up for a paintball session seemed like a great idea, in the light of day and with a pounding headache, not so much. He intended to argue his way out of the non-refundable fee he’d paid in his drunken state. Settling his sunglasses firmly over his eyes, Liam hauled his sorry ass out of the car. His back hurt, his head hurt, and his hands hurt.

Fingering a fresh blister on the palm of his hand, he cursed himself for not wearing gloves at the batting cage the night before. He’d gone directly from the office to the sports field in Magnuson Park. For two hours, he’d slugged away at balls. Personal day. Liam had never taken a personal day. Other than dental and medical checkups, he never took a day off. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d done anything fun without Chuck. He’d whacked the ball time and time again, thinking about his best friend potentially getting his heart stomped on. Again. Worn out from swinging the bat, he’d stopped for booze and takeout, then headed home to stalk Jane Beckett online.

Bullseye Paintball was located in an old salvage yard off Aurora. Whooping with glee, kids erupted out of SUVs and mini vans in the parking lot. Wincing at the noise, Liam made his way to the office and pulled open the heavy door.

“What are you doing here?”

Shit!

Wearing black cargo pants tucked into combat boots and a black hooded sweatshirt, Jane Beckett lounged against the registration desk. She flicked her bangs out of her eyes with a toss of her head and smirked at him. “You’re not playing, are you?”

Her dismissive tone rubbed against his raw nerves. “Yes. Why wouldn’t I?”

Sipping from a travel mug, Jane’s gaze roamed up and down his body, taking in his khaki shorts, fresh white collared shirt, and sneakers. Her lips twitched. “Oh, no reason at all.”

The door opened, and the small office filled with kids, backing Liam into a corner and saving him from having to reply. Jane shifted her attention to the kids and raised her arms in the air.

“Who’s ready to have fun?” she yelled.

“Yay!” the kids replied at the top of their lungs.

“Who’s ready to get dirty?”

They yelled louder.

“Who’s ready to plant a garden?”

The kids looked confused.

“I’m just messing with you!” Jane grinned and opened the door to the playing field. “Head out and find Jason. He’s going to fit you with safety equipment and guns.”

The kids stampeded out, leaving two dads dressed in camo-chic, looking both excited and nervous. One of whom wore an air cast on one leg. “Oh dear,” Jane said, “you’re not going to be able to play with that.”

The man in the cast replied, “Stan and I discussed strategy. I figured I’d prop myself up in a corner and shoot from behind cover.”

“Yeah,” Stan said. “You and I can run and juke, draw their fire, and Carl can pick them off. He can as well.” He looked toward Liam. “Sorry, I didn’t catch your name. Whose dad are you?”

Three pairs of inquisitive eyes turned toward him. “Nobody’s. I’m not part of the party.” He felt like a fool. How the hell to get out of this while saving face?

“Liam’s never played before. He’s here to scout the place for a team-building event for his company.”

Carl and Stan nodded at Jane’s remarks. Liam shot her a quick smile of thanks.

Then she cocked one hip, crossed her arms, and threw him under the bus. “We’ve got tactical gear you can borrow for firsthand experience, Mr. Cross. How about it?”

“Yeah,” Carl said. “You’ll be able to see how much fun it is. And help us out. There’s twelve of them, and with my bum leg, they’ll make mincemeat out of us.”

Stan nudged Carl’s shoulder. “Don’t scare him.” He turned to Liam. “It won’t be that bad. The girls are experienced. We’ll tell Jessica, that’s our daughter, to tell them to go easy on you.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Liam caught the grin Jane was attempting to hide behind her hand. Great. She was laughing at him. There was no way he could get out of this and still keep his man card. “I’m in.” He extended his hand to Carl but glared at Jane.

Thirty minutes later, he found himself cowering behind a stack of wooden pallets with a barrage of paintballs coming at him. What the holy hell?! This was not fun. This was terrifying. He looked back and spotted Carl wedged between empty oil drums, cackling maniacally as paintballs pinged off the metal. What was wrong with these people?

Author Bio:

Lynne Hancock Pearson writes fun, flirty, feel-good fiction set in the Pacific Northwest. Stories of people finding their way, even if it takes a while to get there.

She lives near Seattle with two and a half finicky felines and one long-suffering husband. She is a left-handed middle child who grew up in the Great White North.

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Instagram


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  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
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Giveaway – The Connection Game by S S Turner @ireadbooktours @SSTurner7

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Book Details:

Book Title:  The Connection Game: A Novel by S.S Turner
Category:  Adult Fiction (18+) ,  272 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publisher: The Story Plant
Release date:   Feb 2023
Content Rating: PG: There’s some violence and a small bit of profanity.

Giveaway – Timeless: Zane & Fiona by Kaylene Winter @XpressoTours

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Timeless: Zane & Fiona
Kaylene Winter
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

TIMELESS:

A Steamy, Coming-of-Age, Friends-To-Lovers, Rockstar Romance

“I vowed nothing would keep us apart…”
Fiona Reynolds is my other half.
It’s been that way from the day I was born.
I’ve dedicated my life to keep my promise.
Fate just laughs in our face.
She’s always out of reach, this time for good.
I’ll do anything to prove she’s my destiny –
if only she’d trust me one more time.

“After what I’ve done, how can I deserve him?”
Zane Rocks is my everything.
There’s no one I love or trust more than him.
It wasn’t his fault when he left me.
I always knew he’d find his way back.
Fear overwhelmed me, and I broke his heart.
Will the most celebrated musician on the planet,
really give me another chance?

When a rash decision changes their lives forever, hope for their future is all but shattered.
Stakes are high.

But Zane’s determined to prove a love this pure is TIMELESS.

TIMELESS ENCORE:

A steamy, childhood-friends-to-lovers romance between a sexy billionaire rockstar and his plus-size soulmate

“Restraint is not my strong suit.”

I’m finally reunited with the woman I’ve loved since birth.
Why do I feel so untethered?
Fiona’s living her dream and I’m doing my best to support her.
But, with so many dark secrets revealed, my very foundation is rocked to the core.
Will we ever outrun our past to have the life we deserve?

“My lifelong dream blew up in spectacular fashion”

Zane and I overcame many obstacles to achieve our destiny.
We’re best friends and soulmates—with a love life other couples only dream of.
Anxiety and self-doubt still threaten my confidence.
When neither of us have reconciled our past,
Can we find the courage to embrace our future?

Happily ever after can mean so many things.
Life happens.
Faith is tested.

Will Zane and Fiona overcome decades of deception?
Is true love really TIMELESS?

TIMELESS ENCORE is Book 8 in the Less Than Zero Rockstar Romance Series, and is the sequel to TIMELESS

It is strongly recommended you read Books 1-4 before reading any of the “ENCORE” sequels, otherwise you’ll be spoiled!

Goodreads / Amazon


EXCERPT

It’s kind of like being suspended in time when you drown.

Slowly you slip down, sinking farther and farther into a vast, aqua-blue ocean. At first, the sun flitters at the surface, making the sea look like glittery, blue diamonds. It’s like heaven. Dreamlike. Floaty. Beautiful.

Once the light begins to dissipate, suddenly your surroundings feel ominous. The water feels heavy, not light. Stifling. Claustrophobic. The sea turns midnight blue. Then it is so dark you can’t even see your hand inches from your face.

That’s when survival instinct kicks in. Arms sluice upward. Your legs scissor and kick in attempt to reach the surface. All you want is to find the light again. Just one more time.

All of this happens in a minute, though it feels like hours. Days. Weeks. Years.

But it’s too late. Your lungs fill. When you try to breathe, all you do is suck water into your windpipe. You panic. Flail. Gasp. Scream. Fight with everything you have, because if you don’t reach the surface…

I shoot up in bed, clutching my chest. Gulping in air. Tears stream down my face. I can’t catch my breath. My heart pounds.

Goddammit.

This sucks so bad. I can’t keep having these drowning dreams. They’re freaking me the fuck out.

I’m pulled from behind into a full-body hug.

“Your doctor said this would pass in another week or two. Stick with it, Fee. Subconsciously you know I’d never let you drown.” He nuzzles my neck with his scruffy face, tickling me a bit.

I lean back against Zane. My best friend. My lover. My everything from the day I was born. “I know you wouldn’t. It’s just a lot freakier than they said it would be. If I’d known it was this hard to wean myself off Xanax, I’d never have started taking it in the first place.”

”You’ve been under tremendous amounts of stress with Mia’s custody stuff for so long, babe.” Zane eases me down so he’s spooning me. “It was either that or not sleeping. Now that Corey-fucking-Johnson is firmly in the rearview mirror, you just need a little recoup time and you’ll be as good as new. The world is ours for the taking. At-fucking-last.”

My entire body relaxes against him. “Yeah, I knew I had to stop when I realized I was taking double my dose. There’s no way I’m going down that path. Obviously.”

Addiction has taken so much away from my man, there’s no way I’d ever do that to him. Not after we’ve overcome so much to have our happily ever after.

Author Bio:

When she was only 15, Kaylene Winter wrote her first rocker romance novel starring a fictionalized version of herself, her friends and their gorgeous rocker boyfriends. After living her own rockstar life as a band manager, music promoter and mover and shaker in Seattle during the early 1990’s, Kaylene became a digital media legal strategist helping bring movies, television and music online. Throughout her busy career, Kaylene lost herself in romance novels across all genres inspiring her to realize her life-long dream to be a published author. She lives in Seattle with her amazing husband and dog. She loves to travel, throw lavish dinner parties and support charitable causes supporting arts and animals.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram


GIVEAWAY!
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  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
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