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Month: November 2014
Welcome Party Giveaway (signed paperback + Amazon GC)
As we embark on our second year of blissful blogging,
we would like to welcome Jen Oreto to the Book Avenue family.
Now let’s get to know her better!
(and don’t forget to enter the giveaway at the end of this post)
The floor is yours, Jen!
~~~~~
Hi! I’m Jen Oreto.
I’m a lover of words. I started reading two years ago and haven’t stopped. I love talking about books, book boyfriends and really want to start a Wine Book Club to combine my two loves.
My top five books (series) The Proposition Series by Katie Ashley, The Black Falcon Series by Michelle A. Valentine, Archer’s Voice by Mia Sheridan, Fifty Shades Trilogy by E.L. James and Gabriel’s Inferno Series by Sylvain Reynard.
I met a blog owner at an authors meet and greet. I messaged her and said, “Hey, can I write a review for your blog?” I spent a year blogging with that blog and loved it. I had so much fun and I’ve met some amazing people along the way. I love interacting with fellow book lovers the most. Blogging has brought some great people into my life. True friendships that I’m so thankful for.
I’m so excited to be joining the wonderful ladies here at The Book Avenue Review. I know these ladies personally, and have always followed the blog and their reviews. I’m really looking forward to sharing my reviews with you all. I read everything, YA, Contemporary, Erotic, M/M, New Adult, and I’ve been known to fall in love with shifters, vampires and werewolves.
My plans for the future are more of a dream. I started a book over a year ago, and I would love nothing more than to finish it. Maybe someday (which is an awesome book). I’d also love to continue blogging. I like telling the world about the books I read. Some books are worth more than just reading. Some you have to stand on the rooftops and shout about.
Blog Tour Review, Excerpt and Giveaway: 53 Letters For My Lover by Leylah Attar
This is not your typical love story. It’s not so black and white. Lines are crossed.
Walls are smashed. Good becomes bad.
Bad becomes very, very good.
Shayda Hijazi—the perfect wife, the perfect mother, the perfect daughter. For thirty-three years, she has played by the rules, swallowing secrets, burying dreams and doing whatever it takes to anchor her family. Shayda Hijazi is about to come face to face with the one thing that can rip it all apart, the one thing her heart has always been denied: Love.
Troy Heathgate—untamed, exhilarating, dangerous—a man who does exactly as he pleases. Life bends to his will. Until he comes across the one thing he would give it all up for, but can never have.
Born on the same day in opposite corners of the world, their lives collide. And nothing is ever the same again.
Spanning three decades, 53 Letters for My Lover is a fiercely sensual, emotional ride to the heart of an epic, forbidden love that defies it all—an intimate exploration of love, loyalty, passion, betrayal, and the human journey for hope, happiness and redemption.
“Sexy, intense fiction isn’t afraid to step out of the box.”
Contemporary women’s fiction: Ages 18+
Rating: ★★★ 1/2
“If we base our decisions on all the things we’re afraid of, we would be paralyzed with fear. We’d never have the guts to love, or hope or dream…”
I have heard so much about this book and was really excited to read and review. But honestly, the first time I tried to read it I had a hard time getting into it. I just didn’t feel connected. I put it down and gave it a rest for a couple of days. After a very busy week, I decided to pick it up and finish it.
“My Grandma used to say that people born on the same day are two halves of the same soul.”
53 Letters for My Lover is a unique love story of Shayda Hijazi and Troy Heathgate spanning three decades. Shayda who was originally from Tehran has moved to Canada and worked for a Canadian family, where she meets Troy.
Shayda and Troy could have been the most perfect couple…only if Shayda wasn’t married.
“You want me to choose?”
“It’s not about what I want. Or what anyone else wants. What do you want, Shayda?”
I have to say my favorite aspect of the book is the moment when they sneak off to spend some time together. I loved reading them and I thought it was such a thrilling touch to really see the complicated feelings they had for each other.
I had a hard time liking Shayda at first, because she really confused me and I got fed up with some of her actions. But as the story went on, she did redeem herself and I was really impressed with how she adapted and grew as their story progressed. Troy, on the other hand was just sooooo swoon worthy and irresistible. His love for Shayda was just unbelievable.
Aside from my constantly changing opinions of Shayda and Troy, I found myself unable to put down the story the second time around. I felt like the story was pretty unique. I can’t deny that I was completely sucked into the tension of their relationship and found Troy’s cockiness to be sexy when mixed with his kindness that he showed at points.
My final thought: This is one of those times where I hate myself for not wanting to declare it epic! I feel like maybe I had such high expectations of it that it ended up just being an OKAY read for me. There were just moments I didn’t feel connected with Shayda and I felt lost on the journey and didn’t understand some of the choices that were made. Now don’t get me wrong, I didn’t dislike it by any means. I really did LIKE it. While I certainly wasn’t blown away by it like everyone else (which makes me want to hang my head in shame), I did enjoy it; the plot, Leylah’s writing and her ability to create a striking love story. The journey was interesting and full of twists that actually did surprise me. At the end of the day, I’m glad I read 53 Letters for my Lover, thought it was a good read and will probably pick up the companion novella, From His Lips.
“A second. That’s all it takes. A single beat of hesitation on my part.
Here I am, ten years later. Troy Heathgate is at my door.
Let me in.
I falter.”
The doorbell rings. Repeatedly. Followed by loud thumping on the door.
“Coming, coming! Now what did you what forget?” I swing the door open.
My heart screeches to a slamming halt. “Troy.” I turn pale. “You…you shouldn’t be here.”
“No?” He storms past me into the house. “Where should I be, Shayda? Waiting by the phone? Staking out your office? Checking my email? Where the fuck, Shayda?” His fist slams into the console table, so ‘fuck’ is an obscure, jarring thud, like some censored song on the radio.
“I changed my mind.”
“You changed your mind. Just like that?” He starts pacing the hallway. “And when were you were planning to tell me exactly? When, Shayda?”
“I made a mistake.” My voice quivers. “I got caught up in the moment. We were alone, we were away. It was…it was all an illusion.”
“An illusion?” He pulls me hard against him. Our bodies collide, knocking the breath out of me. “Is this an illusion?”
His lips assault mine.
“And this?” His hand slides under my dress, claiming my thigh.
“What about this, Shayda?” He pushes my panties aside and slides two fingers inside.
“Tell me, Shayda. Tell me this is all in my head.” He shoves me against the door and deepens his strokes. “Tell me this is nothing.” He rubs his fingers on my neck, leaving the unmistakable trail of my reaction.
“This is you, Shayda.” His finger slips inside my mouth. “Your taste, your smell, your skin, your touch.” He grabs me by the hair and pulls my head back. “Tell me you’re not real, Shayda. Tell me!”
I feel the gathump gathump of his heart. Our breath comes in short, shallow gasps. His eyes darken, black holes pushing sky blue irises to the edges of raw emotion. Hunger. Anger. Love. Pain.
Leylah Attar writes stories about love – shaken, stirred and served with a twist. When she’s not writing, she can be found pursuing her other passions: photography, food, family and travel. Sometimes she disappears into the black hole of the internet, but can usually be enticed out with chocolate.
What’s next from Leylah?
Promo Blitz: The Playboy’s Princess Joy Fulcher @JoyFulcherBooks
Title: The Playboy’s Princess
Author: Joy Fulcher
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Buy from Amazon | Barnes & Noble
What do a Hollywood playboy and a Disney Princess have in common? Not a lot, but they can fake it. Jade Pratt is living a tough life, surviving paycheck to paycheck by working at Disneyland. She’d like nothing more than to be swept off her feet by her own Prince Charming.
Drew Malik is living what appears to be a charmed life: He’s the son of a famous actor and has money, women…anything he could want. But he’s burning out in a life filled with booze and one night stands. When he finds out his trust fund is blocked until he either turns thirty or gets married, his friends plot to rescue him by placing an ad in the paper to find him a bride — fast.
When Jade answers the ad, the pair meet up and agree to an arrangement that will solve both their problems. But when their fake marriage elicits real feelings and real problems, they’re both forced to re-evaluate their deal.
Happily ever after was never the intention…but what if it’s their destiny?
Book Review and Giveaway: The Muse by Raine Miller @Raine_Miller
Title: The Muse
Author: Raine Miller
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What if the truth about a famous painting was not what it’s been told to be? What if it was not even the original work and a different painting had inspired its creation? The story of a painting… The motivation behind the work, Flaming June—Romanticist painter, Lord Frederic Leighton’s magnum opus—a woman sleeping in a chair. Hauntingly beautiful, but with its inspiration locked away in the mystery of times past.
1811…
Burdened with family skeletons and agonizing guilt, an unwilling Lord Rothvale, one Graham Everley, returns from a long sojourn in Ireland to attend to the obligations awaiting him in England. The last thing he imagines to find is his destiny, but find her he does. Imogene Byron-Cole, a girl as lovely as her past is tragic. Graham can’t walk away from her, and so he marries her instead, in spite of an increasingly tangled web of troubles that threaten to destroy the very foundation of his entire existence.
As Graham and Imogene start out on their journey together, they express their love through a series of portraits. The art ensnares them completely, and in the end, becomes their salvation, bearing them through their deepest pain of loss, and inspiring a masterwork.
[This will be book one of a three part saga in the Rothvale Legacy Historical Prequel series.]
Rating: ★★★★★
Another excellent masterpiece from Raine Miller!
In this poignant novel of yearning and salvation, two broken souls discover the promise of love’s magic and new beginnings.
Graham Everley was forced to give up his dreams of becoming a painter to perform his duties and takes over the estate he has inherited from his parents. But there’s something in his past that keeps haunting him. He is struggling to move on, and is in dire need of healing. Graham never expected that hope would come in the form of a beautiful woman who has seen her own share of suffering, Imogene Byron-Cole.
Graham is a wonderful character! I loved the way Ms. Miller chiseled him. He was a character that instantly stole my heart. Watching him with his realizations of love and the decisions he had to make was both enlightening and emotional. I truly could feel his inner struggles!
Imogene is a character I won’t soon forget. Her emotions were truly strong! She made me feel a whole array of emotions watching her deal with grief and grapple with her loss. It was just brilliant, touching and got me all choked up.
Raine Miller brings an honest, wonderfully written story that tugs at your heartstrings. Her writing was magical in itself! The depth to her characters, their lives, and the detailed description of each scene is so strong, it was easy to transport yourself back to the time in which the story takes place. The conversations were believable as the deepest, painful moments were brought to life bearing their souls to one another as if it is happening right before your eyes. It was just one of those really touching, complicated stories that broke my heart but also mended it in ways.
The romance was hot and the dialogue was spot on. I personally loved the ending because as always Raine has a flair for the romantic. It was epic and beautiful. It is full of wit, wisdom, and hope–everything needed to balance the heartbreak and tragedy.
Raine has made a forever fan out of me, for sure! The Muse left a searing impression on my heart and I am happy to add it to my long list of re-reads. From history, to love and inner struggles, this book has it all.
Raine Miller has been reading romance novels since she picked up that first Barbara Cartland book at the tender age of thirteen. And it’s a safe bet she’ll never stop, because now she writes them too! Granted Raine’s stories are edgy enough to turn Ms. Cartland in her grave, but to her way of thinking, a hot, sexy hero never goes out of fashion. A part-time teacher and writer of sexy romance stories every other chance she gets pretty much fills her days. She has a handsome prince of a husband, and two brilliant sons to pull her back into the real world if the writing takes her too far away. Her sons know she likes to write stories, but gratefully have never asked to read any, thank God! Raine loves to hear from readers and to chat about the characters in her books.
OTHER BOOKS OF RAINE MILLER
THE PASSION OF DARIUS
NAKED (BOOK 1)
ALL IN (BOOK 2)
EYES WIDE OPEN (BOOK 3)
CHERRY GIRL (BOOK 3.5)
Blackstone Affair spin-off, yet can be a standalone
RARE and PRECIOUS THINGS (BOOK 4)
Book Review and Giveaway: Mr. Beautiful by R.K. Lilley @Authorrklilley
MR. BEAUTIFUL by R.K. Lilley Series: UP IN THE AIR #4
on October 14, 2014
Genres: Erotica, Romance
Buy on Amazon|B&N|Kobo
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I’ve been remade four times in my life.
It is a distinct feeling. Impossible to mistake. The very marked sensation of being unraveled and reknit into a new thing, a new person. It can be good or bad, helpful or harmful, but above all, it is unstoppable.
I was remade when my parents died, went from a happy childhood, into navigating a very dark world, with endless responsibilities, surrounded by enemies, and despairingly alone.
It happened again at the hands of a cowardly predator. I’d become angrier with that one, more cynical, and it undoubtedly turned me into the kinky f**k I was today.
The third happened swiftly. One day I looked up into a pair of pale blue eyes and saw the other half of my soul. Checkmate. I went from a completely controlled existence, a life where I made every decision with cold calculation, to a man overcome with feelings and emotions that were foreign but somehow wonderful.
And all too soon after that cataclysmic change was this fourth one, this one where I begged a God I’d never entertained to spare the life of a woman that I could not live without.
Follow all of the characters from the Up in the Air universe in the years after the trilogy, with POVs from James, Stephan, Frankie, Tristan, and Akira.
This book is intended for readers 18 and up.
About R.K. Lilley
R.K. Lilley lives in Texas with her husband and their two beautiful sons. She’s had a lot of interesting jobs, from being a first class flight attendant, to being a stablehand, but swears she never knew what hard work was until she had children. She’s been addicted to both reading and writing fiction since she can remember. She loves to travel, read, hike, paint, game, watch anime, and make the most of every single day. She is currently working on Boss, The Other Man, and Crossing Fire, Book #2 of Heretic Daughter series.
Book Review: Rowdy by Jay Crownover
Title: ROWDY
Author: JAY CROWNOVER
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The New York Times and USA Today bestselling Marked Men series continues with this sizzling, sexy story of love, heartbreak, fate, and second chances.
After the only girl he ever loved told him that he would never be enough, Rowdy St. James knocked the Texas dust off his boots and set out to live up to his nickname. A good ol’ boy looking for good times and good friends, Rowdy refuses to take anything too seriously, especially when it comes to the opposite sex. Burned by love once, he isn’t going to let himself trust a woman again. But that’s before his new co-worker arrives, a ghost from the past who’s suddenly making him question every lesson he ever learned.
Salem Cruz grew up in house with too many rules and too little fun—a world of unhappiness she couldn’t wait to forget. But one nice thing from childhood has stayed with her; the memory of the sweet, blue-eyed boy next door who’d been head over heels in love with her little sister.
Now, fate and an old friend have brought her and Rowdy together, and Salem is determined to show him that once upon a time he picked the wrong sister. A mission that is working perfectly—until the one person that ties them together appears, threatening to tear them apart for good.
Rating: ★★★★★
The men of the Marked have marked my heart throughout all 5 books but Rowdy, the tattooed giant, has moved up the ranks as my topped inked man. Bright vibrant men as complelex as the ink they wear, Jay has created a colorful mix of characters you can’t help but love.
Rowdy, a broken child, has grown into a man carrying his childhood scars imbedded on his body through colorful, skillfully placed artwork. Salem, running from a past that her gypsy soul can’t contain, find herself drawn to one man… Rowdy.
These two are hot, sassy, and down right irresistible! Pulled together in ways they didn’t even see coming, Jay creates a love story that spans a lifetime. Dive into Jay’s rockabilly world! You will soon find that there is a marked man for us all.
“None of that stuff makes me great. It just makes me a man trying to do right by someone he cares about.”
And don’t miss the previous books in The Marked Men Series!
Jay Crownover is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men series. She also introduced the dark and sexy world of The Point in a new series this last summer starting with BETTER WHEN HE’s BAD. Like her characters, she is a big fan of tattoos. She loves music and wishes she could be a rock star, but since she has no aptitude for singing or instrument playing, she’ll settle for writing stories with interesting characters that make the reader feel something. She lives in Colorado with her three dogs.