Friday, June 29, 2018

“Enough.” The lights in his irises brightened as he cupped her jaw and traced his thumbs over her cheeks. “I’m going to kiss you goodbye, wife. The barest tasting.”

What! Her heartbeat stuttered against her ribs, her blood flashing white-hot in an instant. Tingles tantalized her now aching body. After everything he’d done, he expected a make-out session in front of other people?

“Why?” Really? I ask him why? I don’t tell him to get bent?

Indifference tap-danced across her mind, sharp claws slicing through gray matter. She cringed, even whimpered.

“Focus on me, not the fiend,” Puck said, perhaps recognizing the signs of the demon’s interference.

She obeyed, peering up at him, this man who’d become her husband, who’d been at times unnecessarily cruel and at others surprisingly kind. How could she even consider kissing him? She didn’t know him, not really, and definitely didn’t trust him.

Despite those moments of kindness, he was a liar. He had ice for a heart. Or maybe that was why she should kiss him. He wouldn’t get overly excited. He might not even get turned on. Which was what she wanted, kind of. But kind of...not.

“You will remember me—think of me—while I’m gone,” he said, and he wasn’t asking a question but issuing a command. Protest. Now. Before you start to panic, and the demon reacts worse.

But...the part of her who wanted him turned on also wanted him to think of her while he was gone. Wanted him know what he’d lost the moment he’d used her.

Oh, really? What did he lose? Tell me.

Shut up.

Spiteful Gillian won. She rose to her tiptoes, saying, “Kiss me, then. I dare you.”

He met her halfway and slanted his lips over hers. Erotic flicks of his tongue coaxed more tingles to the surface and fanned the flames of desire. Hot, so wonderfully hot. The aches magnified as he thrust with more force, his divine taste and ever-increasing frenzied pace dragging a moan of surrender from deep inside her. A sound he utterly devoured, as if he’d never been so starved—or enjoyed a tastier meal.

His skill, expert. His ruthlessness, on full display.

Puck didn’t bother to learn her, or explore her nuances; he took, gave and demanded... everything, his tongue dominating hers with a promise of untold riches. She was helpless to resist.

About Gena Showalter: Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of the spellbinding Lords of the Underworld and Angels of the Dark series, two young adult series--Everlife and the White Rabbit Chronicles--and the highly addictive Original Heartbreakers series. In addition to being a National Reader's Choice and two time RITA nominee, her romance novels have appeared in Cosmopolitan (Red Hot Read) and Seventeen magazine, she's appeared on Nightline and been mentioned in Orange is the New Black--if you ask her about it, she'll talk for hours…hours! Her books have been translated in multiple languages. She’s hard at work on her next novel, a tale featuring an alpha male with a dark side and the strong woman who brings him to his knees. You can learn more about Gena, her menagerie of rescue dogs, and all her upcoming books at genashowalter.com or Facebook.com/genashowalterfans

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Book Tour: Just Like This {Just Like This Series #1} & Giveaway

Title: Just Like This

Series: Just Like This Series #1

Author: Rebecca Gallo

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: June 28, 2018
Cover Design: Amy Queau/Q Design

“Wow! This story pulls at your heart strings! What an amazing read!” ~Goodreads Review (Sarah)

“This book had me from the start. I stayed up way past my bed time to sneak in a few more chapters, I just could not put it down!” ~ Goodreads Review (Zoe)

When I saw him I knew - I had been waiting for something just like this.

And then, in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

After giving up a lucrative career in Seattle, I was content with my life in Gig Harbor, taking care of my father during his battle with cancer. Until I met Garrett and he showed me what my life was missing.

Passion. Desire. Love.

Two weeks was nothing but to us it was everything. We scrambled to make the most of our short time together but bitter jealousy, painful truths and devastating grief forced Garrett and I to prove to one another that love can grow almost instantly.

The memories we created were supposed to last, were supposed to carry us through our darkest moments. But what if Garrett doesn’t return? What if I never feel something just like this again?

“I have something kind of awkward to ask,” Garrett said quietly once we left the bar and were in the car headed back to my house. I was itching to ask him about his text messages, to have him say the words he had typed aloud, but I couldn’t help but wonder how much influence the liquid courage provided by alcohol had on his bold declaration. When he finally said them to me, he needed to be stone-cold sober.

“Okay,” I replied.

“Can I stay in your guest house until I deploy? Palmer kind of kicked me out.”

Under my breath, I muttered, “Asshole.” Palmer seriously needed to grow up and get a clue. There was never going to come a day when I was going to change my mind. He needed to accept that and move on. Otherwise, we couldn’t be friends.

“Yes, of course,” I told him. “I kind of have a favor of my own to ask.”

“Whatever it is, the answer is yes.”

I winced. “You should probably wait until you know what it is first.”

“Fine. What can I help you with?”

“I’d like you to meet my father,” I said timidly.

The car became uncomfortably silent, and I didn’t have to look at Garrett to know he wasn’t expecting me to ask that.

“He asked about you today,” I elaborated. “He wanted to know if you’re handy around the house.”

Garrett chuckled softly. “I know enough to get by. Why did he ask?”

I explained to him how Valerie embarrassed me when we went to visit my dad. “I didn’t really want to tell him,” I admitted. “But I think he wants to know that I’ll be taken care of after he’s gone.”

Garrett reached across the console and plucked one of my hands from the steering wheel. He brought it up to his lips and kissed it gently. “Then yes, of course, I’ll meet him.”

When we arrived at my house, I unlocked the guest house for Garrett and left him to get settled before walking across the driveway to the main house. I told him to meet me out back when he was ready. While I waited, I prepared dinner for us. Soon, Garrett’s shadowed figure appeared outside, and I watched him through the windows, enthralled by his handsomeness and the way his body moved as he lit a fire in the backyard.

It was so easy to deny that what I felt for him was love because he scared me. In a matter of days, he would be halfway around the world, risking his life on a daily basis. My hands trembled as I chopped vegetables; my mind raced as I thought about the worst possibility. If he died, no one would tell me. I’d be completely alone in my grief. My thoughts distracted me, and when I felt the blade of the knife slice across my hand, I yelped in pain and surprise.

“Shit!” I hurried over to the sink and ran my bleeding hand under the water. Garrett noticed my panic and rushed inside.

“What happened?” he asked, his voice thick with concern. He was quick, grabbing my hand and wrapping it in a paper towel.

“I wasn’t paying attention,” I explained. “I was thinking about…” I let my voice trail off for a moment before I said, “I just wasn’t paying attention.”

Gently, Garrett unfolded the paper towel that covered my hand and ran it back under the water. He dabbed it gently with a clean towel before inspecting it carefully. “I don’t think it’s deep enough for stitches. Do you have a first-aid kit?”

I nodded. “In the bathroom.” I showed him the way as he walked with my hand still cradled in his. He directed me to sit down on the toilet seat and, when he found the kit, started carefully cleaning and bandaging my cut.

“What were you thinking about?” Garrett asked softly.

“You,” I confessed. “I’m scared.”

“I know. You told me.”

I shook my head. “No. What if you die, Garrett?” My question was unexpected, and he looked up at me, his eyes large and dark. “I love you, and who’s going to tell me if you die? Who’s going to know that I love you? That you’re mine just as much as I’m yours? That scares me, Garrett, so much. I’m already losing one man I love. I can’t lose another.”

My voice was on the verge of hysterical, and my words came out too quickly, almost incoherent, but Garrett knew; he understood. The next words that bubbled up were immediately swallowed by Garrett’s crushing kiss. His large hands slid under my jaw, cupping it as he devoured every fear that threatened to surface. My uninjured hand twisted in the front of his shirt, and I pulled him closer, returning his kiss with my own ferocity.

“You might just be the death of me,” Garrett said breathlessly, breaking our kiss.

I grinned in reply, but it quickly faded when I noticed Garrett’s grim expression.

“I’m scared too, Cami. But you can walk away. I won’t ask you to make this kind of commitment.”

I slipped my uninjured hand into his and squeezed. “I’m not leaving. I’ve wanted something just like this for a long time, and now that I have it, I won’t just give it up.”

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Rebecca Gallo was first indoctrinated into the romance genre by her babysitter who watched hours upon hours of daytime soap operas. She harbored many inappropriate crushes on fictional characters such as John Black from “Days of Our Lives,” Orry Main from the mini-series “North & South,” and Edward Fairfax Rochester from Jane Eyre. She is still in love with Davy Jones from The Monkees.

Rebecca currently lives in the Southwest with her husband, tiny four-year-old terror, and a tuxedo cat with a limp. When she isn’t swooning over book boyfriends or dreaming up romances, she can be found educating the youth of America. Or eating tacos.

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Thursday, June 28, 2018

Cover Reveal: Twisted Secrets & Giveaway

Title: Twisted Secrets

Author: Ace Gray

Genre: Dark Romance/Erotic Romance

Release Date: July 26, 2018
Cover Designer: Bex Harper Designs

My whole life, there had only been one rule. Don’t go to Chicago. It always made me feel like a damsel in distress, trapped in a tower. But my life was filled with kings and queens and the most noble knights and I didn’t need another fairytale.

I needed a bad boy.

Brye McCowan was just that. He was smooth, and seductive. Dark, dangerous and downright drool worthy too. I saw trouble swirling around him in place of a shadow. He was my one rule personified.

And I couldn't stop myself from kissing him.

Which was right about the time that whole fairytale thing kicked back in. Only this time I wasn’t surrounded by heroes. These were the villains, wicked and vengeful. And Brye was one of them. When all was said and done, when all the blood was spilled, the only thing more tormenting than the dungeon he threw me in was knowing it was my family’s twisted secrets that put me there.

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Ace Gray is a self-proclaimed troublemaker and connoisseur of both the good life and fairy tales. After a life-long love affair with books, she undertook writing the novel she wanted to read, which culminated in her first release STRICTLY BUSINESS and followed with, well, quite a few more. When she’s not writing, she works in craft beer. Originally a small town, Colorado girl, she now loves rainy days, shellac manicures, coffee shops and bourbon—all of which are bountiful in her adopted home of Portland, OR where she runs amok with her chef husband and husky pup.

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Cover Reveal: Perfect Vision

Title: Perfect Vision

Author: L.M. Halloran

Genre: Romantic Suspense/Dark

Release Date: July 19, 2018

*Hindsight isn’t 20/20.*

When London flees to Los Angeles, she isn’t interested in making a new life from the ashes of her old one. All she wants is to survive. But with her reputation and career as a journalist in shambles, surviving alone in the city is easier said than done.

After struggling for months to make ends meet, she unknowingly applies for a bartending position at an exclusive sex club. The pay is incredible—and more importantly, no one expects her to participate.

But at the infamous Crossroads, London finds more than an a crash course in kink. She finds a life. Friends. Laughter and excitement. And a man who infuriates her, challenges her, and mercilessly batters at the walls around her heart.

Dominic Cross is everything London doesn’t want. But when ghosts of the past appear with a vendetta, he’s everything she needs.

L.M. Halloran is an emotional delinquent and glutton for angst who gleefully takes her characters to hell and back. When she's not reading or writing, the author enjoys walking barefoot, subjecting her husband to questionable recipes, and chasing her spirited toddler. She's a rabid fan of coffee, moon-gazing, and small dogs that resemble Ewoks. Home is San Diego, CA, but her heart lives in Portland.

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