blog tour

BLOG TOUR: Ambrosia by Erin Noelle (review)

Can you learn to love or is true love a feeling
that grows within your soul?

Can you learn to love or is true love a feeling that grows within you? 


After coming to terms with the tragedy that rocked her world, Scarlett MacGregor has returned to try to pick up the pieces of the broken relationships that she left behind. 
Ash and Mason were left devastated and heartbroken following Scarlett’s sudden, unannounced departure. They are both ready and willing to forgive her and welcome her back into their lives with open arms. However, a lot can happen in 8 months… 
Scarlett must learn to overcome the obstacles thrown in her path to prevent the past from repeating itself. Can she learn to fly with her own wings and discover the secret to eternal love?



Are you Team Mason or Team Ash? Let me tell you, I don’t think I have seen as much trash talk for two men since Edward and Jacob! I have been on the group pages and seen the posts! Take a side and stand your ground ladies because its war! I don’t even think Scarlett knows what side to fight for. Does she go with the man she left her soul with or does she go with the man who fought for her, loves and forgives her? Scarlett is back after walking away from everything. After the death of her best friend she is torn looking to find that piece of her soul that has gone missing. Scarlett is set on doing what is best even if that means losing her soul mate in the process. As a wise woman once told me “you don’t f@%k with soul mates.” Not sure if Scarlett got the memo? 


Mason:


“Do you love him?” Mason asked expressionless, never turning his head.
“Yes.” I admitted.

“Does he want you back?”
“He never had me.”
He snorted and took a long pull from his beer.
“What? What was that for?” I asked.
“He’s always had you, Scarlett. I just had you on loan.”

Ash:“We were made for each other, Butterfly. There is no doubt in my mind about that. I know that I have a lot to prove to you, and I plan to do that every day for the rest of my life. Whether you want to hear it or not, I am sorry for everything that happened. The very last thing in the world I want to do is cause you pain. And if you aren’t ready to accept this yet, the inevitably of us, I get that. But understand this Scarlett: it will never be goodbye not for you and me.”


Scarlett is searching and I’m not real sure she even knows what she is looking for. Although she is has grown over the last eight months she is still stunted by the love she holds for both Ash and Mason. To know and feel love is priceless but the cost of the pain it may cause is infinite. Conflicted Scarlet finds comfort with Max. Max and Scarlett share the same pain and are able to relate to each other (for better or worst?). Scarlett is falling deeper and deeper. Can she make a decision and go for what she desires or will she continue to lose herself in the process? 

“I owed my happiness to both of them. One taught me how to fly like an angel – to free my spirit, to accept forgiveness, and to love without restraint. The other had taught me to fly like a butterfly ~ to embrace change, to celebrate innocence and vulnerability, and to open up my soul. Together, they had both given me the courage and the strength to fly with my own wings”

I love Erin’s take on this series. We all fall in love with our book boyfriends and who doesn’t dream of checking off each one on their own “dream book boyfriend list”? After book one I was just as torn as Scarlett. Both Ash and Mason will make you swoon. With looks and hearts that will cause any woman to melt it is no wonder that this series is causing such stir. Erin has shown us that our hearts can rest with two completely different men but our souls…a different story entirely. I look forward to continuing Scarlett’s journey in book three.

Erin Noelle is a Texas native, where she lives with her husband and two young daughters. While earning her degree in History, she rediscovered her love for reading that was first instilled by her grandmother when she was a young child. A lover of happily-ever-afters, both historical and current, Erin is an avid reader of all romance novels. She has recently self-published her first novel, Metamorphosis, which hit both USA Today and Amazon best-selling lists, and is currently working on the sequel, Ambrosia, to be released later in 2013. Most nights you can find her cuddled up in bed with her husband, her Kindle in hand and a sporting event of some sorts on television.

Twitter @enoelleauthor
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BLOG TOUR: Falling Into Us by Jasinda Wilder (Review, Excerpt and Giveaways)

THE STORY YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW…

When Kyle Calloway died, he took a part of Nell with him. She wasn’t the only one left to pick up the pieces, however; Kyle’s death left a gaping hole in the hearts and lives of his parents and his older brother Colton, and ultimately broke the will of the girl he loved.

THE STORY YOU NEVER IMAGINED…

Becca de Rosa is Nell’s best friend. When Kyle died, Nell was so devastated that no one could reach her, not even her best friend Becca. As she tries to help Nell through her grief, Becca’s own life is thrust into turmoil, and everything she knows is changed.

Jason Dorsey asked Nell out the week after her sixteenth birthday, but that date never happened. Instead, he ended up going out with Nell’s best friend, Becca. He had no way of knowing, then, how that one date would send him on a life-long journey with Becca. He had no way of knowing the tragedies and triumphs he would experience, or that in Becca, he might find the love of a lifetime.

THE HEARTACHE YOU’LL NEVER FORGET…

**Peeking out from under my bed** Yes. I admit that this is the first book by Jasinda Wilder that I have read. **Ducking now** I know, I know, where have I been? Trust me I’ve been wracking my brain asking myself that very question!!! I have most of her books on my Nook, but for whatever reason have never read them. Well, I am coming out from under the rock that I’ve apparently been living under and that my friends, is about to change. This book rocked my world!!! I read a lot, but this was one book I literally read from beginning to end in one day. I got so lost in Jasinda’s words that I left my heart in the pages of this book. I loved it, and can’t stop thinking about it! Falling Into Us truly touched me in way that not many others have. I seriously have a major book hangover. It’s a beautifully heartwarming story of coming of age and true love.

“I can’t promise you forever, because that’s not long enough.”
Oh my god! I can not shake this book. I can’t shake these characters. I dare you, yes, I dare you to read this and not fall in love with Jason and Becca. I dare you to read this book and not fall in love with Jasinda. Jason Dorsey and Becca de Rosa are two of the most identifiable characters that I have ever encountered. Neither of them are perfect, quite the contrary, both are flawed and somewhat broken. We meet them as they go on their first date and get to follow their amazing journey of growing up and falling in love. We are fortunate enough to witness their progression and are with them for many of their “firsts.” Jason is whoa-swoon-worthy. He’s sweet and loving, yet real and raw. (Yes please. Where in the hell are these men?) The love he has for Becca is evident on every page, and Becca flourishes with him by her side. His love is what she needs, and he loves her with every fiber of his being. Becca has insecurities, but a good head on her shoulders. She knows who Jason is, and loves him through it. Their relationship is one of compassion and understanding. They show us love in it’s truest form. These two make us believe that in an vastly imperfect world, sometimes true love can and does, conquer all.
“I knew I’d never love anyone the way that I loved Jason, and I knew I’d never try.”
Jasinda’s knack for pulling us in to their story is amazing. I was there, every word. That was my story. I had butterflies in my stomach and tears in my eyes (more then once). I cried, I laughed, I screamed, and I just down right hurt. I felt it all and I still do. Her writing style is beautifully eloquent and her words perfection. Each paragraph was succinctly laid out and each scene magnificently scripted. This was absolutely a “story I never imagined,” because I never imagined falling so head over heels in love with a book or an author. **giggle** Yup. Jasinda, I’m pretty sure I have a fan girl crush. I big red heart adore you and you’ve got a fan for life! You are AMAZING!!!!!
Now, should anyone need me I will be reading Falling Into You. Something tells me I will be rereading Falling IntoUs, and rereading them both ~ multiple times! Just sayin…

5+++ Stars
I fingered the keycard in my pocket as I sat in my truck, waiting for Becca. We’d planned this out, and now we were going through with it. My nerves were jangling, and I wondered if Becca felt the same way. I was sure she did. I had a CD player plugged into the lighter outlet and the tape deck, an old-school arrangement that I only used when I was in the mood for something specific. Today it was Johnny Cash, and currently playing was “God Is Gonna Cut You Down,” which seemed unfortunately ironic given the circumstances, but it was still a kick-ass song. 
Becca came out just as the song was ending, and I clicked the radio off. She hopped into the cab and closed the door behind her, letting in a cold blast of frozen air. It was a bitterly cold day, the sky clear blue, the sun distant and watery, the air so still and so cold each breath hurt. She smiled at me, and I was struck by how beautiful she was. Her hair was loose, a white knit cap pulled low on her head, a stark contrast to her tan skin and blue-black hair. She had on a black pea coat that came to mid-thigh, and a pair of tight gray yoga pants. 
“Ready?” I asked.
She gave me a small nod and reached for my hand. I twined our fingers together, hers icy from the walk from house to vehicle. “Yeah, let’s go.”
“Where’d you tell your dad we were going?”
“Great Lakes Crossing.”
“So should we go there first?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I do actually have a few things I want to get.” She gave me a cryptic smile.
When we got the mall, we strolled around for a while, chatting and browsing, but then we passed a store and Becca split away from me, telling me to meet her at the food court in half an hour. I knew she was up to something, but I went along with it, spending most of the time in the athletics store. I ended up with a new pair of cross trainers for the spring, and was waiting by Aunt Annie’s with five minutes to spare. She showed up with a wide grin on her face but no shopping bag.
“Didn’t get anything?” I asked.
She shrugged. “No, I did.”
I frowned. “What was it, then?”
She wrapped her arm around my waist, fitting herself against me. “You’ll see. You’ll like it…I hope.” When my confused look didn’t go away, she just smirked at me. “Here’s a hint: I’m wearing it.”
I started to get an inkling then. I gulped a little, wondering how I could ever have mistaken Becca for shy.
“What are you grinning about?” she asked as we drove to the hotel where I’d rented a room.
“Just that I used to think you were shy.”
She laughed. “I am shy, just not with you.”
“So…what color?”
She ducked her head, and her cheeks darkened a little. “Not telling. You’ll have to find out.”
We reached the hotel after a short drive, but we sat in the car in tense silence before getting out.
Becca wasn’t looking at me, scratching at her knee intently. 
“I don’t want you to think…” I sighed and started over. “I mean, we don’t have to do this now. We can go back to the mall, or a movie. Or just home.”
She shook her head but still didn’t meet my eyes. “No, I want to. I’m just…nervous.”
I expelled a breath of relief. “Me, too, Beck. Me, too.”
“Do you think that means we’re not ready?” she asked, finally lifting her dark eyes to mine.
I shook my head. “I think we’d be nervous no matter how long we waited. I think it’d be weird if we weren’t nervous.”
She nodded. “Let’s go in. We’ll just…take it one step at a time.”
I got out and circled around to open her door while she was still unbuckling. She took my hand, cold fingers slipping neatly into my palm. Her teeth were white as she smiled at me, a private, brilliant, beautiful smile just for me. The concierge, a dour older man, gave us a hard, disapproving stare as we strolled past him to the elevators. We stood outside room 425, the keycard held in my suddenly sweating and slightly shaking hand, my eyes on hers, asking her silently if she still wanted this. She leaned into me, her arm going around my waist, low, her hand on my hipbone.
I slid the card into the lock and pulled it out, shoving the door open when the green light flashed. The room was dark, shadowed by the drawn curtains, a gleaming crack of light showing. I fumbled in the darkness, finding a switch and illuminating the room. A single bed, king-sized and enormous, took up most of the room; I’d splurged on a fairly nice hotel and an upgraded room. 
I turned around from switching on the light to find Becca peeling her coat off, revealing a tight white V-neck T-shirt that clung to her curves, the “V” dipping low enough to show me a mouthwatering glimpse of her cleavage. Yoga pants, tight T-shirt? Oh, god. She noticed my gaze raking over her body and gave me a surprisingly shy smile, then turned around, posing for me. She clenched her gluteus muscles, the yoga pants clinging like a second skin to her generous hips and ass, and all I wanted to do was run my hands over her. I stifled the urge for about six seconds before remembering why we were there, alone in a hotel room on a Saturday evening. 
I crossed the space between us to stand a few inches away from Becca. She started to turn around, but I stopped her with gentle hands on her shoulders. She turned her head to watch me, her chin on her shoulder. I slid my palms down her sides, feeling her breath catch as I carved my hands along the bell-curve of her hips, then slid them around to cup her backside. She released her breath, her eyes sliding shut briefly.
“I love your ass. Especially in yoga pants,” I murmured.
Her brown-black eyes flicked up to mine. “I know. That’s why I wore these. I had to kind of sneak past my father before he saw how tight they are.”
My hands explored the taut, supple curves of her ass, down her thighs, up her hips. I grew a little daring and slid my middle finger up the crease where the stretchy fabric clung between her cheeks. She gasped when I did that, so I did it again, letting my finger drive a little deeper, until she pulled away with a breathy laugh.
She stepped away from me and turned around, sliding her knit cap off her head and shaking her curls. “Sit down on the bed, Jason.” Her voice held an odd note of command, and I couldn’t help but obey.
“Don’t interrupt, and don’t laugh,” she said. “I want to do this for you, but I know I’m going to feel silly.”
“Do what?” I kicked off my ADIDAS cross trainers, and then peeled away my socks.
She tilted her head back, eyes closing, hands pushing up through her springy mass of hair. “This.” She let her hair fall and slid her hands down her waist, much as I’d done, and then crossed her hands in front of her body to grip the hem of her shirt.
I swallowed hard, and felt the blood rush out of my brain to pool in other areas of my body. Noticeably so, I was sure.
And then, oh, lord god, she glanced at me with heavy-lidded eyes, and slowly peeled her shirt upward. When she reached the underside of her breasts, she paused, drawing out the moment. She wasn’t dancing, wasn’t trying to do a striptease, she was just being…naturally sexy. Giving me a show. And oh, god, what a show. I could see her hands trembling on the hem of her shirt; I could see her knees shaking, just a little. 
She tugged the shirt up farther, and the white fabric was so tight against her skin that her breasts were drawn up and pressed against her chest, only to fall free with a luxurious bounce. I hardened even further at that bounce. I stopped breathing once I registered what she was wearing. It was strapless and pink with black lace curling around the bottom edge, the cups split apart between her breasts, her tan flesh barely contained. I struggled to swallow past the lump in my throat, to breathe at all at the sight of Becca in nothing but a bra and yoga pants. She stood with her hands at her sides, taking long pulls of air, each breath swelling her breasts even larger. I couldn’t help but adjust myself, and her eyes followed my hands. 
“Want to see the rest?” she asked.
I nodded. “Y-yes.”
She smirked at me. “Now who’s the one stuttering?”
“Me. God, Becca. What are you trying to do to me?” I meant it as a rhetorical question, but she answered anyway.
“I’m trying to turn you on.” She pivoted on her heel, presenting me with a fine view of her ass and her back with the slight sway inward, the strap of the bra dimpling her supple skin. 
“All you have to do to turn me on is be you,” I said. “I’m turned on every time you so much as take a breath. This? What you’re doing? You’re killing me. I’m going to explode. You’re too fucking sexy for me to be able to take it.”
“Well, I’m not done yet.” She ran her hands over the curve of her backside, then hooked her thumbs in the waistband of her yoga pants. “Do you want to see the panties I got to go with it?”
 

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jasinda Wilder is a Michigan native with a penchant for titillating tales about sexy men and strong women. When she’s not writing, she’s probably shopping, baking, or reading.


Some of her favorite authors include Nora Roberts, JR Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Liliana Hart and Bella Andre.

She loves to travel and some of her favorite vacations spots are Las Vegas, New York City and Toledo, Ohio.

You can often find Jasinda drinking sweet red wine with frozen berries and eating a cupcake.

Jasinda is represented by Kristin Nelson of the Nelson Literary Agency.


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BLOG TOUR: Bad Things by R.K. Lilley (review, book trailer and giveaways)

Danika hasn’t had an easy life. Being insanely attracted to bad boys has never helped make it easier.

One look at Tristan, and every brain cell she possessed went up in smoke. This man was trouble with a capital T. It was a given.

She knew better. Bad boys were bad. Especially for her. Considering her history, it was crazy to think otherwise. So why did crazy have to feel so damn fine?

For as long as she could remember, Danika had been focused on the future with single-minded purpose. Tristan came along and taught her everything there was to know about letting go, and living in the present. She fell, hard and deep. Of course, that only made her impact with the ground that much more devastating.


WOW! What a way to start a series! *golf claps* We first hear the names Danika and Tristan in R.K. Lilly’s Up in the Air series. Here is what we know…they had a past and that for lack of a better word it was troubled. Tristan still holds some kinds of feelings for Danika and she is literally crippled by the pain of their break. In Bad Things we are brought back to the beginning and we learn how this love affair started.

Off the bat Danika and Tristan have a connection that jumps off the page. After their first meeting they are both throw together acting the role of friends. They play this role with effortless with ease. Danika is pulled into Tristan’s world of night clubs and partying while Danika pulls him into her world as she plays homemaker. They find a balance but they never thought they would fall head over heals for each other. They saying goes that opposites attract and with these two the attraction is HOT!

R.K. yet again has produced a winner. Both Danika and Tristan take you on a roller-coaster ride of emotions (and shh…don’t tell James but I think I love Tristan more!).

“I want you so badly that I’d do just about anything to have you,” he said roughly. “The only thing I won’t do though, is risk losing you. Can you promise me that if we do this, I won’t lose you?”

They are both damaged in their own way but together they work. They relate on levels most couples dream of. The attraction is so intense that I as read the words I found myself putting the book down just to catch my breath!



“I want you to let go. I want you to submit. 


I want to make you lose your mind. I want you to be so far gone that the only word left in your vocabulary is my name.”

I loved the back and forth with these two. They try to fight against what they want but the heart is powerful and sometimes you have to wave the white flag and take a chance.

“We’re going to do this nice and slow. All I want from you is your surrender. Beyond that, you don’t have to think about a thing. Understand?”

Tristan is SO alpha man I can’t take it!! I say this in the nicest way possible…if that man was real I would lick him from head to toe! *fans face* I mean really!?!?! I so want to be in R.K. Lilly’s mind! Ummmmm you Ms. Lilly are a genius!

“Danika, sweetheart?” he rasped. “Yes, Tristan?” “I’m done being sweet, if you don’t mind. I need to fuck you really hard now, if that’s okay.”

With lines like that I may never leave my house again! No joke! R.K. Lilly have proven that she can write one hell of a series with Up in the Air and Bad Things is just the icing on the cake! Intense passion, heartache, romance, sexy, funny (chickens), seductive, and sultry! Alex, I will take words to describe Bad Things for $1,000! Do yourself a favor and one click this one! You will be a R.K. Lilly fan for life!


R.K. Lilley lives in Colorado 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 the author of the erotic romance novels In Flight, Mile High, Grounded, and the novella, Lana.
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BLOG TOUR: Bad Things by R.K. Lilley (Chapter One plus Giveaways)

Danika hasn’t had an easy life. Being insanely attracted to bad boys has never helped make it easier.

One look at Tristan, and every brain cell she possessed went up in smoke. This man was trouble with a capital T. It was a given.

She knew better. Bad boys were bad. Especially for her. Considering her history, it was crazy to think otherwise. So why did crazy have to feel so damn fine?

For as long as she could remember, Danika had been focused on the future with single-minded purpose. Tristan came along and taught her everything there was to know about letting go, and living in the present. She fell, hard and deep. Of course, that only made her impact with the ground that much more devastating.

CHAPTER ONE OF BAD THINGS
THE BEGINNING
DANIKA
I had the strangest shiver of premonition rock my body the first time I heard Tristan’s voice. I heard it from a room away, as he said something offhanded to my boss, Jerry, and still I knew somehow that he would change my life. 
I had an unruly armful of clean laundry and five dogs crowding my legs in my boss’s cramped laundry room, when I heard the front door open, and two men chatting as they entered the house. I wasn’t alarmed. It was a chaotic sort of house, with all sorts of people coming and going at all hours of the day, and I recognized the sound of Jerry’s voice instantly. 
The other man that spoke was a stranger, but his voice was deep and it sort of rumbled through the house until it reached me. I had an instant and positive reaction to it. I had mixed feelings about men in general, having a rather sordid past with them as a whole, and having recently gone through a nasty breakup with a real piece of work. My ex had been an out of work, pothead loser, and he hadn’t been the first loser that I’d wasted my time on. Still, I knew right away that I adored the sound of that deep, masculine voice. 
I dropped the pile of clothes into the clean laundry pile in the clean corner of the room. My laundry skills were negligible, to put it nicely. I worked for Jerry and his ex-wife Beverly, as a live in nanny/ housekeeper/dogwalker/poolgirl/gardener/ whatever they needed me to do. It was well understood that I pretty much sucked at the housekeeper part of that arrangement, but it seemed to work for us all. I’d been working for them for two years, and we were going strong. Beverly and Jerry, dysfunctional exes, and awesome co-parents that they were, had become my closest friends and two of my favorite people on the planet. 
I was dressed like a slob in too short black cheer shorts and a washed out gray UNLV sweatshirt, my straight black hair pulled into a rough ponytail, and not wearing a scrap of makeup, but I went to meet the newcomer anyway. My five favorite animals on the planet dogged my steps as I padded down the hallway. 
Jerry’s back was to me as I turned the corner from the hallway and into the black, stone-lined entryway, the stranger facing me. I saw at a glance that the stranger was young, sexy as hell, and straight-up Trouble with a capital T. 
I knew trouble when I saw it, it being a very old friend of mine. Trouble for me was this nasty little self-destructive streak that I’d never quite been able to shake. A theme song even played in my head when I felt the big T getting close. Four Kicks was that song, and it cranked up to full volume with my first glance at him. 
He was tall, and built like a linebacker, both muscular and massive. He wore a tight black T-shirt that showcased every starkly muscled inch of his chest. His tattooed arms were folded across his chest in a casually attentive stance, but his presence commanded the room. 
His face was handsome, with clean, even features that were dominated by pale golden eyes. He had a straight slash of a nose, with a rounded tip that would have brought him from handsome to pretty boy if he wasn’t so damned big, and full lips on a wide mouth that popped killer dimples at me as it hitched up playfully. Those dimples were pure big T. His pitch-black hair was cropped short, with dark stubble lining his jaw. His easy smile was playful, but still managed to be sinister. It was a heady combination for someone who was on a first name basis with the big T. 
Jerry turned to see what the other man was smiling about. He was a middle-aged man, short and balding, with a slight build. His face was far from handsome, with close-set eyes and a big nose, but I thought he had one of the best smiles in the world. 
“Danika,” Jerry said with that world-class smile. “This is my buddy, Tristan. He’s going to be crashing on the couch for a few days. He’s…uh… between residences.” 
I mentally groaned. Bev was going to kill him.
One glance at Tristan and I knew he wasn’t just a buddy. Jerry had a spotty history with helping out what he always thought was the latest rising star. He had big dreams of managing the next big rock band, and he took those dreams to extremes. He and Bev were both technically attorneys, but she was the only lawyer in the house that you could call employed. Jerry was too busy collecting unsigned bands to practice law. 
I gave Jerry a pointed look. “Bev is going to string you up. She said that if you brought home one more out-of-work musician, that she was going to kick you out, and then I would get upgraded to a bigger room.” 
He grimaced. “Now, now, don’t go jumping to conclusions. Tristan has a job. Look, he’s not even carrying a guitar.” 
I eyed Tristan up. “What’s the job?” 
Jerry answered for him, which let me know that he was full of it. “He’s a club promoter.” 
I rolled my eyes. “Is that the best you can do? That’s Vegas code for unemployed, Jerry. My pothead ex-boyfriend even calls himself a club promoter, and I don’t think he ever even leaves his house. You need to think up something better before Bev gets home.” 
Tristan laughed, not looking even slightly offended by our exchange. “I am a club promoter, and I do also happen to be in a band,” he said in a low, sexy drawl. 
Oh lord, I thought, Four Kicks by Kings of Leon playing at full volume in my head as I heard his voice at close range. And I tried to pretend that I hadn’t even heard that sexy as hell laugh. I knew that we were going to be a dangerous combination. Bad things were going to happen if we spent too much time around each other. 
“Don’t let Bev hear you say that,” I warned him. I was really just trying to help Jerry out. I didn’t want him to get into trouble with Bev again, and he never seemed to have a clue just what would set her off, even though it was always very obvious to me. 
I sighed, knowing that this wouldn’t be easy to fix. I tensed as I heard the loud garage door opening across the house. Bev’s house was a huge, rambling, ranch style house, but the garage door was so loud that it always announced her presence. 
I gave Jerry a stern look, sometimes feeling like his mother, even though he was forty-five, and I was barely twenty-one. I pointed at him. “I know what we need to do, but you’re going to owe me. I hate lying to Bev.” It was true. I was nowhere near nonchalant about the deception I was about to undergo, and I wanted him to know it. Beverley was my hero. No one had ever helped me as much, or been as supportive of me, as she had. Plus, I just liked her. She was my closest friend, and I’d developed a serious case of hero worship for the successful, forty-eight year old woman. 
“Tristan is a friend of mine,” I told them. “Do not mention the words club promoter, or band. He is a plain old out of work student, and crashing for one week on the couch. We met at UNLV last semester. Got it?” 
Jerry nodded, giving me a grateful smile. “You’re the best, Danika. I owe you.” 
He sure did. I looked at Tristan, who was giving me that playful smile of his, as though we hadn’t just barely met.
“You’re a sassy little thing. I like that,” he murmured, just as Bev and her boys rounded the corner that led from the garage and into the main living area. 
Ivan and Mat caught sight of me and the dogs swarming at my heels and rushed me with huge whoops. Ivan was an unabashedly diabolical eight- year-old, and Mat was a precocious six-year-old, and the two of them combined were more than a handful, but I loved them to pieces. 
Mat went straight for a tackle to my midsection, while Ivan caught the biggest dog, Mango, in a bear hug. Mango was a tan-colored bloodhound. She was nine years old and left a trail of slobber in her wake. She was a terrible guard dog. We were all convinced that if the place was robbed she’d just see it as an opportunity to lick more faces. 
Mat squeezed my waist so hard that he drew a little grunt out of me. The second biggest dog, Dot, took exception to the rough handling. He growled menacingly at the six-year old. He was a big black Belgian Shepherd, and none of us had any doubts that he was a good guard dog. A little too good, in fact. He’d taken to being my own personal protector, even against the other inhabitants of the house, and that included the boys. 
I shushed Dot, hugging Mat back. He was a skinny blond kid with gorgeous blue eyes. 
“You said you’d make us cookies when we got back!” Mat told me excitedly. 
I nodded. “Okay. You gonna help me make them, or you want to go play while I cook?” 
“Play!” he shouted. I didn’t know if it was Mat, or being six, but the boy had a serious volume control issue. It just made me laugh. 
“Okay. I bet you’ll be able to smell when they’re done.” 
“Yes!” he shouted, even louder, then took off for his room. 
Ivan straightened, looking around at all of the adults and pursing his lips. He had light brown hair, was tall for his age, and had soft brown eyes like his dad. He was a funny kid. He had moments of being a shameless brat, but just as many moments of absolute charm. “I want to play, too, Danika, but I’ll help you if you really, really need me to.” 
I smiled at him. “I got it covered, buddy. You go on and play.” 
He took off, never saying a word to his dad or to Tristan. Typical eight-year-old, only paying attention to the one making cookies. 
Beverly and I shared a look. She gave her boys a laughing eye roll before heading the same way they’d gone, towards her bedroom. She’d barely spared Tristan a glance. It wasn’t a good sign. 
“Jerry, a word,” she called out, still moving toward her room. It didn’t bode well. 
He swore under his breath, but followed her. 
I headed toward the kitchen. I felt Tristan following me. 
The house was set up with an open floor plan. It was huge, but the entryway, living room, dining room, kitchen, and family room all shared one massive space, so it was a straight shot into the kitchen once I got around the giant L-shaped sofa that dominated the living room. 
The house was a strange combination of shabby chic, leaning way further in the direction of shabby. Beverley was very successful as a worker’s compensation attorney, and she came from a rich family, so money wasn’t an issue when it came to the house. It was colossal, and in one of the nicest gated communities in Vegas, but the house was lined with outdoor carpeting and the furniture was in desperate need of an update. The only saving grace in the house was the spectacular artwork that she collected. Words couldn’t even express how much I appreciated her fine eye for upcoming artists, but they were the only saving grace when it came to the house’s aesthetics. 
I understood why she didn’t update a lot of it. New carpet would be ruined in just a few weeks by her unruly dogs and crazy kids, and the dark green leather sofa had the entire back gnawed off. I couldn’t imagine a new sofa wouldn’t receive the same treatment. 
I had to unlock the latch that had been installed on the side of the refrigerator before I opened it. Mango liked to eat sticks of butter when it wasn’t latched tight… 
I pulled out a plastic tube that was filled with chocolate chip cookie dough. I heard a clear, disappointed groan behind me. 
I turned to look at Tristan, arching a brow at him. “What? You don’t like chocolate chip?” 
He shook his head at me, still showing off one dangerous dimple in a half smile. I really wished he’d put those dimples away. They were counter- productive to my peace of mind. 
“You’re joking, right?” he asked pointedly. I had no idea what he was talking about. “Um, about what?”
“Cookie dough out of a plastic tube? Pre-made?” I shrugged. “It’s easy and fast, and they taste fine.”
He shook his head again. “Show me to your  baking supplies. I can’t stand by and watch this.”
I scowled at him. “You’re bossy for an out-of-work houseguest,” I told him.
“I have a job. Several actually. But yeah, I’m bossy. Now show me to your flour.”
I kept scowling, but I was walking from the  kitchen and into the walk-in pantry while I did it. I waved a hand at the area that kind of held the baking supplies. The pantry was hardly well organized, so he would probably have to dig around to get everything he needed for cookies. 
I left him to it, going back into the kitchen to pre- heat the oven and grease a cookie sheet. I put out a large mixing bowl, measuring cups, and any other incidentals I thought he might need for baking. It was the least I could do if he was actually going to do the baking. 
I shrugged out of my sweatshirt, suddenly warm. It was a hundred and ten degrees outside, but you wouldn’t know it by the way I normally froze inside of the A/C’d to death house. It wasn’t normal for me to get so warm inside for no reason at all. 
I was wearing a thin white tank and sitting on the counter when Tristan strolled back into the kitchen, his arms full of baking supplies. 
He set them on the counter near the mixing bowl, lining them up neatly. His biceps bulged with the smallest movement. It was fascinating. 
“Salt?” he asked me, his brow raised. I blinked, trying to process what he’d said. I pointed behind me after a few awkward moments. 
He moved towards me without a word, and I saw my folly then. The cupboard I’d pointed to was directly behind me. I should have just grabbed it for him. 
He didn’t seem to mind, moving uncomfortably close to me to reach behind me. His upper chest got so close to my face that I could smell him. He smelled divine, so divine that I closed my eyes for a second to take it in. 
He had to reach up, so his hip grazed my inner thigh as he shamelessly moved between my legs to get closer. 
I gasped. 
“Sorry,” he said, backing up, the salt in his hand. I saw his eyes flick briefly down my body before he turned away, setting the salt beside the other ingredients. 
“So you’re the nanny, huh? You are not what I pictured when Jerry said he had a live-in nanny.” 
I glared at his back. “What did you picture?” 
“I don’t really know. I didn’t have a clear picture in my head. I just wasn’t expecting someone like you.” He turned his head to flick me another unreadable glance. 
I gave him a very unfriendly look, offended, and a little wounded. “What is that supposed to mean?” 
“Nothing bad. Quit giving me evil eyes. Nannies just don’t usually look like you. You’re like what Hollywood would cast to be a nanny to add sex appeal to a movie. You’re sexy. Really sexy. Don’t play coy. You know you’re gorgeous.” I stopped glaring, but I was wary of the compliments. 
“Relax, okay?” he said, studying my face. “I’m not hitting on you, and I won’t. What are you, like eighteen? Way too young for me. I’m just stating facts. Normally women don’t appreciate other women as hot as you underfoot.” 
I was glaring again. “I’m twenty-one, and Bev is my best friend. I’ve been working for them for two years.” 
He threw up his hands, giving me an apologetic smile. “Sorry. I’m not trying to be a dick. It just surprised me that you were the nanny Jerry was telling me about. He gave me no hints that you were, well, hot.” 
“How old are you?” I asked him, still smarting from the too young comment. 
“Twenty-six.”
“That’s not that old,” I told him.
“I know. Just too old to be dating eighteen-year olds, or even twenty-one year olds. Frankly, though, I’m bad with women my own age, too, when it comes to relationships, which is why I don’t do them.” 
I couldn’t help it. I had to ask. “So what do you do?” 
“Hookups. Brief, casual hookups. How about you?” 
I shook my head, pursing my lips at him. I couldn’t quite believe that we had jumped to this already. He was a man to be careful of, to be sure. “I do relationships. No exceptions. Never had a casual hookup in my life.” 
He sighed, measuring some flour into the mixing bowl. “Well, I guess that makes things less complicated. We’ll be friends, then.” He shot me a sidelong smile that was downright irresistible. I thought that this was one of the strangest conversations I’d ever had, being that we had just met. Only, it didn’t feel like we’d just met. He spoke to me like he’d known me forever, and it was hard to refuse anything he said in that low voice of his. 
I nodded, giving him my own, rather begrudging smile. “Okay, friends, since we’ll be living under the same roof for the next week.” 
“Okay, then. My first job as your friend will be to show you how to make the best chocolate chip cookies in the world.”

~WATCH OUT FOR THE PREMIER OF BAD THINGS TRAILER 
AND PAM’S REVIEW ON JUNE 28TH ~

R.K. Lilley lives in Colorado 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 the author of the erotic romance novels In Flight, Mile High, Grounded, and the novella, Lana.

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BLOG TOUR: Watch Over Me by Tara Sivec

Addison Snow is your typical teenager. She has a family that loves her, friends that make her laugh, and she’s wrapped up in the excitement of graduating high school and going off to college to pursue her dream of becoming an author. When her mother, who also happens to be Addison’s best friend, dies unexpectedly, her world comes to a crashing halt. Death changes everyone… To make the pain go away, Addison and her father travel down separate, dark paths. She chooses to end her grief forever, while he drowns his sorrows in the bottom of a bottle. How do you learn to live again when the most important person in your life is gone? Addison struggles to pick up the pieces of her life. Instead of getting back to being the carefree teenager she once was, she’s stuck handling all of the responsibilities that should have been her father’s. She has no time to grieve, no time for emotions, and no time for happiness…until Zander Reinhardt walks in. All it takes is one little handwritten note on a napkin to kick-start her back to life and help her realize that maybe there’s more to that life than pain. But can it really be that simple? Can she really trust this man who makes her feel alive again for the first time in a year? Addison and Zander both have secrets they aren’t ready to share. When the truth finally comes out, is it enough to tear them apart or has something bigger than themselves always been watching over them, pushing them together, making sure they both get their happily ever after?


I feel in love with Tara’s comic timing and quick wit in The Chocolate Series!  Tara has a way with words and in person she is 100% better then you can imagine and when I found out she was tackling an issues so personal to her I knew this read would prove to be her best yet.  The book starts with two words…For Mom.  With these two words I knew that this book would touch my heart.  Our family and friends create the person we become and when we lose them we lose a piece of ourselves.  Dealing with this loss is a pain like no other and all we can do is pick up those pieces, honor their memory, and create new pieces that will keep you whole while never losing what was so special about them.

Watch Over Me is a remarkable story.  Tara has proven that even in life’s darkest moments when you feel all hope is lost someone is watching over you.  Even in death we never lose the ones we love.  I remember when I lost my cousin while he working as a State Highway Portal Man.  This event rocked my family.  What I found amazing was even with the number of people at the wake reaching 5,000 my aunt was able to meet and great every last person and did it with a smile.  She told me that he will always be with her and with all of us.  I didn’t understand that at the time.  I couldn’t understand how you could find hope within the pain.  After reading this book I understand why she was able to smile and honor the man her son was. 
Addison found herself at the end of the line and reaching for anything that could give her hope.  She lost one parent and the other one is has lost himself.  While working to keep her mother’s dream alive Addison sees that Zander maybe that hope.  Proving that the simple things in life like napkins and children’s toys can rebuild what was lost, Zander finds the opening in Addison’s heart.  Addison difficult journey is one that she tries to walk alone bu with all his good intentions can Zander push through Addison’s walls?    
Bravo Tara!  This book is a must read for anyone dealing with the death of a loved one.  The emotions in this book are real and raw.  Through Tara’s words you can feel the pain, joy, hope, and sadness just as Addison does.  This book not only entertains but heals.  Watch Over Me is a book that stands alone and will hold its importance in the years to come.   Happy endings are not always traveled to by a straight line.  The road can twist and turn and sometime stop all together but you have to keep going and seeing Addison’s journey lets the reader know that even in your darkest hour there is always someone to watch over you.  Thank you Tara for showing us that real can be beautiful.  5 STARS!

T.E. Sivec is the pen name for Tara Sivec. Under T.E. Sivec, she delves into a more serious genre that is her absolute favorite to read romantic
suspense. She loves reading a book and feeling her heart speed up with anticipation and wanted to be able to give that feeling to her fans.
T.E. lives in Ohio with her husband and two children, living the dream of being a fulltime

writer.

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BLOG TOUR: Jet by Jay Crownover (Review and Giveaways)

Title: Jet (A Marked Men Novel #2)
Author:  Jay Crownover
Genre: New Adult
Publication Date:  May 28, 2013
Event organized by: Literati Literature Lovers   http://literatiliteraturelovers.com


With his tight leather pants and a sharp edge that makes him dangerous, Jet Keller is every girl’s rock and roll fantasy. But Ayden Cross is done walking on the wild side with bad boys. She doesn’t want to give in to the heat she sees in Jet’s dark, haunted eyes. She’s afraid of getting burned from the sparks of their spontaneous combustion, even as his touch sets her on fire.

Jet can’t resist the Southern Belle with mile-long legs in cowboy boots who defies his every expectation. Yet the closer he feels to Ayden, the less he seems to know her. While he’s tempted to get under her skin and undo her in every way, he knows firsthand what happens to two people with very different ideas about relationships.


Will the blaze burn into an enduring love. . . or will it consume their dreams and turn them to ashes?


Note:  UK and Australia:  Jet’s release date has been moved to June 20th.
                       

JET. Where do I start with this book? 

Ahh-ma-zing! Let me start of by saying that Jet will be put into my list of book boyfriends. Now that’s out of the way, I’d like to give you something substantial here. After all, I am writing a review.
The cover is not your typical book-rocker cover. And, I think this is one of the best features of the book. It shows you that Jet can connect to you on a realistic level – that rockers are not all hard abs and muscles (though there’s nothing wrong about them). He’s a guy who loves rock and he “rolls” with his band. There are many facets to Jet’s personality and I think Ms. Crownover is adept at making the readers connect to him. He is deep and troubled but he’s also a very nice guy. He’s a bad boy but he has a lot of heart. The juxtaposition of his many sides makes him such a complex character to read about and I had fun discovering what makes him tick. And Ayden, the Southern belle with the mile-long legs, makes Jet tick and twist in all the good and bad places.
Ayden’s a very interesting girl. She has a secret that she’s trying to run away from. Her past is something that she’d like to forget. But, in order for her to have any type of future with Jet, she has to face her demons and open up to him about them. She’s a very strong girl and such a great heroine. I loved her character so much! I always like strong and capable women in my books and Ayden is one hell of a girl. She is caught between her feelings for Jet and her indecisiveness to let him know about her past. And when she finally does tell him, Jet reacts in a way that the readers would not expect and the story unfolds into another twist and you cannot help but want to read the book in one sitting.

I thoroughly enjoyed the plot. The author did such a great job in keeping the readers in suspense. There were steamy scenes and there was a lot of sexual tension in the book. There were lots of funny moments too that made me fall off the chair and cry in tears (of joy). The storyline is distinct, unique, and has the author’s special way of writing stamped all over it. I think the author’s writing is flawless and exceptional. I’ve highlighted a lot of quotes in this book, just like I did in Rule.

I look forward to reading more and more of Jay Crownover’s books. Her Marked Men Series has the makings of a great and unforgettable series and I’m super stoked to learn that she is now writing full-time because honestly, seriously, unequivocally, I cannot wait for Rome’s story next.


5+++++Stars. Not enough stars for this!!!!


Jay Crownover is the bestselling author of Rule. Like the characters in her Marked Men series, 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 and that make the reader feel something. She lives in Colorado with her three dogs.


SPOTLIGHT TOUR: Forgiven by J.B. McGee (Dream Cast) and Cover Reveal of Falling (book 4 of the series)

Everyone has a past…good or bad, they are always there. They lurk and linger in the shadows, sometimes reappearing at the most inconvenient times.


Gabby and Bradley thought that their pasts would remain dormant, that happiness was theirs for the taking. Still the strongest of relationships can be rocked by the ugliness from a previous life, even if it seems to be a world away. The fact remains an ugly past is never distant. It taints everything it touches, drives permanent rifts between loved ones, and sometimes can ruin everything. Gabby and Bradley must find the only way to battle the past. Forgiveness becomes a light through the darkness, a guide for the lost, and hope for the hopeless. With forgiveness comes bright, new beginnings.

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J.B. McGee was born and raised in Aiken, South Carolina. After graduating from South Aiken High School, she toured Europe as a member of the 1999 International Bands of America Tour, playing the clarinet. While attending Converse College, an all-girls school in Spartanburg, South Carolina, she visited Charleston often. It quickly became one of her favorite vacation spots. She met her husband, Chad, during Christmas break her freshman year, and they married in 2001 and she moved back to her home town.

In 2005, the couple welcomed their first son, Noah. J.B. finished her Bachelor of Arts degree in Early Childhood Education at the University of South Carolina-Aiken in 2006. During her time studying children’s literature, a professor had encouraged her to become a writer.

In 2007, she welcomed their second child, Jonah, and she became a stay at home mom/entrepreneur. In 2009, the found out their two children and J.B. have Mitochondrial Disease. In 2011, a diagnosis also was given to Chad. Please take a moment and learn more about Mitochondrial Disease. Awareness is key to this disease that has no cure or treatments.

J.B. McGee and her family now reside in Buford, Georgia, to be closer to their children’s medical team. After a passion for reading had been re-ignited, J.B. decided to finally give writing a shot. Broken (This Series), is her first book and first series.

Bonus:
Falling Cover Reveal 
 This is Veronica and Ian’s story continued.
Goodreads link: 
Goodreads: 
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6544571.J_B_McGee
Facebook: 
https://www.facebook.com/authorjbmcgee?fref=ts
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BLOG TOUR: Taken by Storm by Kelli Maine (Book Trailer, Review and Giveaway)

The emotional rollercoaster of the USA TODAY bestselling Give & Take series by Kelli Maine continues with MJ and Maddie’s story! 

DECEPTION

Maddie Simcoe knows the devastation that comes from keeping secrets. Now, she’s desperate to move on from the heartbreak that almost destroyed her — trading wild passion that once made her knees weak for a life of comfortable stability. But before Maddie can start over, she must return home to put the past behind her once and for all…

PASSION

When Maddie blows back into MJ Rocha’s life, nothing will stop him from proving to her that walking away from him was the biggest mistake of her life — not even the engagement ring she wears. Her every look, every touch tells MJ that the fire that once raged between them still burns hot, and MJ won’t give up until Maddie gives in to the inferno. 

REDEMPTION 

Trapped by a hurricane roaring through Turtle Tear Island, MJ and Maddie find shelter in each others’ arms. While the lightning flashes, MJ and Maddie are helpless to fight bonds of desire that tie them together. But just as they’re about to surrender to the torturous longing that consumes them both, the storm unleashes violent secrets from MJ’s past…secrets that could wash away all MJ and Maddie’s hopes of forever…



Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/TakenStorm-Give-Take-ebook/dp/B00BAXG2IK/ref=la_B008XK2BC4_1_1_title_0_main?ie=UTF8&qid=1368316131&sr=1-1


Barnes & Noble

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/taken-by-storm-kelli-maine/1113184487?ean=9781455599004

When leaving is the only option you have been given, how could you make him understand? 

It wasn’t an easy choice for Maddie. She never wanted to hurt MJ but leaving is the only sane choice left to protect him from getting hurt and from him knowing the truth. 


She knows she could never turn back the pages of time. She couldn’t change the past. She knows she couldn’t be with him without her telling him the secrets that were not meant to be discovered. But those same secrets have start weighing heavily upon her. 


It was never a secret how much I love this series. I have always been a fan of Kelli Maine’s writing from Taken, No Take Backs until this third installment, Taken by Storm. I have waited so long for this book and I would have to say that Kelli did not disappoint. It was all worth the wait. Kelli Maine’s ability to get me into the head of her characters is phenomenal. It is an incredible story that kept me on the edge of my seat at every moment. This book kept me reading until I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I had to get to the end. I love this kind of mystic story and fell right into it, and enjoyed it very much. I found myself being drawn into the story and anxiously awaiting to see what next revelation was going to unfold for MJ and Maddie. This story had its scary moments, but so much more was involved, there was the unique blend of romance and love, and what one does for love. When I thought I had the mystery figured out, Kelli managed to throw me off with another unexpected turn of events! If you are looking for a story that is full of intrigue, then you will want to get this now!

~5 SHINING STARS~

USA Today Bestselling author, Kelli Maine, spends humid summers and frigid winters in Ohio glued to her laptop keyboard. Taken, a USA Today Bestseller, Nook Bestseller and Indie Reader Top Ten Bestseller, is the first in the Give and Take series and Kelli’s debut erotic romance. No Take Backs: A Taken Novella is Taken’s follow up. Taken By Storm is next in the series, followed by Take Me Back and Given. Additional books and novellas are planned for the series.


Website
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/kellimainebooks?fref=ts
Goodreads

BLOG TOUR: Distractions by J.L. Brook (Excerpt and Giveaways)

“We are all pawns in someone else’s game.” 

No one knows this better than Violet Phillips. When her beloved mentor goes missing, she suspects murder, which sends her spiraling out of control and away from the stable life she has built for herself. Soon, her past will begin seeping out with a vengeance. 

“I will teach you how this game is played.”

Self-destruction threatens to consume Violet when a handsome neighbor that has been watching her from afar intervenes on her behalf. Shepard Leone may be six years younger, but it does not stop him from seducing her ears as well as her heart. 

“Fascinating how much life can change in twenty-four hours.”

When Violet is forced to go down a dark road into a past where she must confront the demons that nearly destroyed her, will she be unable to deviate? Struggling with the loss of her missing friend, Shepard will find a way in and reawaken desires that she thought were forever lost. But Violet never forgets that if you are not careful, distractions will be your undoing.


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On KOBO:
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The distinct taste of bourbon and oranges burned my throat as they went down.

I gave myself fifteen minutes before they hit, which was good. My song was four minutes long and afterwards, I might be useless. Before I could walk away, Frankie had returned, placing a bottle of 151 and a lighter down in front of me.

“I haven’t done this in forever, Frankie! You really want me blowing flames without practice? I am going to burn my fucking eyebrows off!”

He leaned across the bar and motioned for me to come closer to him. “You also haven’t stepped foot in my club in over ten years and look how easy it all comes back. It’s still in you.”

I didn’t know if I should feel confident or afraid of that statement…

JL Brooks lives with her active family along the Ohio River at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. A former columnist turned novelist, she spends most of her time engaged in women’s health issues and education. Believing everyone has a story to tell, chances are she will encourage you to tell yours.


             

BLOG TOUR: Going Under by S. Walden (Excerpt, Additional Scene, All About Ryan and Giveaways)

Brooke Wright has only two goals her senior year at Charity Run High School: stay out of trouble and learn to forgive herself for the past. Forgiveness proves elusive, and trouble finds her anyway when she discovers a secret club at school connected to the death of her best friend. She learns that swim team members participate in a “Fantasy Slut League,” scoring points for their sexual acts with unsuspecting girls.

Brooke, wracked with guilt over her friend’s death, decides to infiltrate the league by becoming one of the “unsuspecting girls,” and exact revenge on the boys who stole away her best friend. An unexpected romance complicates her plans, and her dogged pursuit of justice turns her reckless as she underestimates just how far the boys will go to keep their sex club a secret.

(This is a New Adult fiction book with mature themes. It contains graphic sex and language and an explicit description of sexual violence. Please take the content warning seriously.)





S. Walden used to teach English before making the best decision of her life by becoming a full-time writer. She lives in Georgia with her very supportive husband who prefers physics textbooks over fiction and has a difficult time understanding why her characters must have personality flaws. She is wary of small children, so she has a Westie instead. Her dreams include raising chickens and owning and operating a beachside inn on the Gulf Coast (chickens included). When she’s not writing, she’s thinking about it.


She loves her fans and loves to hear from them. Email her at swaldenauthor@hotmail.com and follow her blog at http://swaldenauthor.blogspot.com where you can get up-to-date information on her current projects.


Twitter: @swaldenauthor

I had no business getting all dolled up for Ryan. I was supposed to be focused on Cal, but somehow he became just some guy in the background, out of focus and unimportant in my life. I thought I heard Beth screaming from a far off place, asking me what the hell I was doing, but I ignored her. She couldn’t control my life. I’d get to Cal when I got to him. She had to understand that.

I studied myself in the full-length mirror. I’d never looked prettier for work. I thought I looked like a Barbie doll, my hair pulled up high on my head in a ponytail, locks curled and tumbling in flirty waves from the elastic band. I pumped up the eye factor with heavy mascara. I wanted to go for an Edie Sedgwick look—all ‘60s glam. I even ironed my uniform, a typical diner waitress outfit. Blue shirtdress that hit just above my knees. I slipped on my Keds and grabbed my apron.

I planned to knock his socks off.

. . . I approached him after counting to twenty. I didn’t want to seem too eager.

“Hi,” I said. I felt bright and bubbly and on top of the world.

“Hello.”

I placed my hand on my hip and popped it out. “Come here often?” I couldn’t resist.

“Once. The waitress was cute, but she’s got nothing on you,” Ryan said.

Damn right she doesn’t. I went Edie Sedgwick for you, buddy.

“God, you look gorgeous,” he said.

Oh, those heart flutters. I wanted to feel those heart flutters forever.

“I’m in an ugly uniform,” I said, looking down at my outfit. I smoothed my apron on my stomach.

“Not ugly at all. Sexy more like.”

I blushed, and this time he saw. I couldn’t conceal it under the glare of the restaurant lights.

“Hungry?” I asked, and pulled out my order pad.

“What would you recommend?”

“Honestly? I’ve only eaten the turkey sandwich. It was all right,” I confessed.

“Don’t you get to eat for free?” Ryan asked.

“Are you kidding? A little bit of a discount, sure, but nothing for free,” I said. “And anyway, I’m so tired after work, I don’t want to stick around and eat. I want to go home.”

“I can understand that,” he said. He looked over the menu. “Well, I guess I’ll try this steak sandwich.”

“A man who eats manly meat,” I said. “I like it.”

“Manly meat, huh?” he asked, chuckling.

“Sure. Didn’t you know steak was the manliest of meats?”

“Making a note of it,” Ryan said.

I nodded. “And to drink?”

“A Cherry Coke,” he said.

“Now that’s a little girly, but I’ll let it slide.”

“Well, I really ordered it for you,” Ryan said. “See, I thought you could bring it over here along with two straws. You could sit across from me, and we could drink it together.”

ADDITIONAL SCENE

Ryan Confesses
Ryan closed Brooke’s front door softly and walked towards the street. He turned in the direction of his house, then changed his mind, walking the opposite way towards a community park. It was dusk, and he knew the park would be empty. He wanted, needed, the solitude to lash out.
He picked up speed, deciding it was wiser to run. He felt the tears welling and wanted to be safely hidden before they poured forth. He was out of breath when he made it to the playground, and crawled under a bridge that made up part of a play castle. And then he lost it, burying his face in his hands, crying shamelessly and angrily.
“Fuck!” he screamed into the purple air. The sun was nearly hidden, casting about the striking shades of a picture he had just painted with Brooke. He didn’t want to see the colors. They looked like her. They felt like her. They smelled like her. They screamed at him. Told him he was a charlatan, that he didn’t deserve her and never would.
He threw his head back, staring at the underside of the bridge and shouted, “What the fuck am I supposed to do?!”
No answer.
“What am I supposed to tell her?!”
No answer.
“God, please,” he pleaded, pounding the ground on either side of him.
No answer.
He pulled his knees up to his chest and hung his head, crying as hard as he did the night he was fourteen years old and went home instead of to the police station. He cried for Lucy and Brooke and all the other girls who were victims because he was a coward. He didn’t know how to make it right. He didn’t know how to face Brooke tomorrow.
He held it together tonight while she detailed her attack. He wanted to be strong for her. It was nearly impossible when all he wanted was to break down just like her, cry and scream his anger just as she’d done. But he knew he couldn’t. It wouldn’t be right. Wouldn’t be fair. She needed someone strong, someone to cry on, and so he would be strong for her.
He closed his eyes, seeing Brooke’s face change to Lucy’s. Seeing Lucy’s face change to some girl he didn’t know. And her face change to another girl he didn’t know. They lined themselves up in his brain, standing there staring at him, waiting patiently for him to make the decision. To do the right thing. It would take him a week, but he would go. He would find the strength to go.
“Hi?” Lucy said, confused.
“I’m Ryan.”
“I know who you are,” she said, her mouth turning up in a sad smile. “You’re dating Brooke.”
He nodded. “May I come in?”
“Uh, sure,” Lucy replied. She moved aside to allow him in, watching him suspiciously as he walked into the living room. “How’s Brooke?”
“Scared. Angry.” Ryan stood in the middle of the room unsure of what to do.
Lucy nodded and made her way to the couch, inviting him to join her. They sat in an awkward silence for a few moments while Ryan tried to formulate his thoughts, his reason for visiting.
“I just . . . I just want you to beat the shit out of me, okay?”
Lucy looked up. “Huh?”
“For what I’m about to tell you. Just hit me as hard as you want.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked.
Ryan was quiet, rubbing his face. Lucy grew frightened immediately.
“Did something else happen to Brooke?”
Ryan looked at her confused. “Huh? What? No no. She’s okay. I mean, she’s still shaken, but she’s okay. I mean she’s safe. She’s not okay. She’s safe.”
“Then what was that comment all about?” Lucy asked. She felt the inevitable tears, the ones she’d been crying all week for Brooke.
“Lucy . . .” Ryan’s voice trailed off.
“Tell me why are want me to beat the shit out of you!” Lucy demanded.
“I was there that night. I saw you. On that bed. I tried to stop it. I didn’t know what the hell was going on. I thought I was going to a drinking party. That’s what they told me. I tried to stop them, Lucy, but I couldn’t.” And then the tears poured forth anew, running unabashedly down his cheeks. He didn’t wipe them away. He wanted her to see them, to believe them, because they were true.
Lucy sat stunned, staring at him.
“I didn’t know about that sex league, Lucy. I wasn’t part of it. I don’t know if they brought me to that motel room to initiate me or something, but I freaked out. I fought them, but they beat the shit out of me.” He looked up at her, a wild expression on his face. “Hit me, Lucy.”
“Huh?”
“Do it!”
“I don’t—”
“I want you to! Please, just beat the shit out of me!”
Lucy thought he’d gone crazy. She hopped up from the couch and backed away.
“That’s it. I’m a monster. But don’t back away from me. Hit me instead. Don’t be afraid,” he said, standing up.
Lucy took another step back.
“Stop backing away from me!” he shouted. “Fucking stand up for yourself!”
Something snapped in her brain at the sound of those words: “Stand up for yourself.” And then she came at him, her fists flailing. She pounded his chest, slapped his face repeatedly, punched his stomach until he doubled over.
“Why?!” she screamed, smacking the side of his head as he stood, bent over, not resisting or trying to protect himself. “Why did you let them do that to me?!”
She pounded his body. She wouldn’t let up. Her tears seemed to fuel her rage, and she struck him with all the strength her 100-pound body could muster.
“They were too strong,” Ryan gasped, feeling her tiny fists all over him.
And then her fists were gone. Just like that. He turned his face to look at her, unsure if it was safe or possible to stand up again.
“Did you try?”
“I tried,” he replied. “I got a few swings in before I blacked out.”
“Blacked out?”
“They beat me unconscious,” he replied, standing up.
Lucy’s mouth dropped open.
“It’s no excuse, Lucy. But when I came to, they told me they’d kill me if I talked. I was scared. Young and scared. But it’s no excuse.”
They stared at one another for a while. Ryan was determined to hold her gaze, knowing this was part of the punishment he deserved—staring at the victim he couldn’t help. He felt the same weakness now as he did that night in the motel room.
“I’m sorry they did that to you,” Lucy said, and then she walked towards him and wrapped her arms around his sore waist.
He stood frozen, unable to comprehend the turn of events. She should be crying and screaming at him, not hugging him. He didn’t know where to put his arms. He wanted to engulf her in them, allow himself the allusion of protecting her, but he was afraid.
“It’s okay,” she whispered into his chest, and then he wrapped his arms around her, holding her hard to him—perhaps too hard—but she didn’t resist. She just cried. And he cried.
Hours later Lucy had learned everything. Everything Ryan could remember. They sat on the couch while he detailed his depression, the strained relationship that developed between himself and his parents, and his loneliness at school.
“Well, if I would have known you were so lonely, I would have talked to you. We could have been lonely together,” Lucy offered. She grinned and chuckled. Ryan stared at his lap. “Ryan?”
“Hmm?”
“It was supposed to be funny.”
“Oh.”
She sighed.
“I heard the rumors Cal started about you,” Ryan said.
“Yeah? I heard the shit he said about you, too.”
“I should have talked to you.”
“Me too. Nobody should ever feel alone in high school.”
Ryan snorted.
“We can be friends now,” Lucy suggested, and he smiled.
“Lucy?’
“Hmm?”
“I want to go to the police. I want to tell them what I saw.”
“But Ryan, you really didn’t see anything,” Lucy said.
“It doesn’t matter. I know what happened to you. I know what they were planning to do to you. And I want to tell the police.”
Lucy sat silent for a moment. Ryan fidgeted with his fingers.
“They’ll want me to give a statement,” she said.
Ryan nodded.
“I’m afraid.”
“Lucy, you just beat the hell out of me. Are you really afraid anymore?” Ryan asked. He looked at her and smiled. She grinned.
“Well, perhaps not. But you didn’t see much that night. I don’t remember anything, really. What are the chances those boys will be found guilty for anything?”
“It doesn’t matter. It happened to you. And that’s what we say. Because it’s the truth.”
Lucy nodded. She thought better than to bring it up, but she couldn’t keep the secret any longer. “Ryan?”
“Hmm?”
“Did Brooke ever tell you why she was hanging out with Cal?”
Ryan tensed. “No.”
Lucy shifted in her seat. “Cal raped Beth. Her best friend. Did she ever tell you about Beth?”
Ryan looked shocked. “I went to Beth’s funeral, and yes, I knew she was Brooke’s best friend, but I never knew why she committed suicide.”
Lucy took a deep breath. “I have no business telling you this, but I think you should know. And I’m not telling you this to make you feel worse than you already do, but Brooke’s your girlfriend and she should have been honest with you. Honest with someoneabout her fucked-up plan.”
“What are you talking about?” Ryan felt the warning flutters in his heart. For a split second he thought he didn’t want to learn what Lucy insisted on telling him.
“Brooke cheated with Beth’s boyfriend. She carried around a lot of guilt over it, especially after Beth took her life. She thought the only way to find forgiveness was to set herself up as a rape victim in order to get Cal behind bars. It was crazy and stupid, and she eventually abandoned the plan. I think you had a lot to do with that.”
Ryan stared off into the corner of the room. He couldn’t process the things Lucy was saying.
“It’s like she finally came to her senses. But then—” Lucy took a deep breath. She didn’t want to cry anymore, but she couldn’t stop herself. “—Why did she take that drink?!”
“I don’t know.”
“How can someone be savvy and stupid at the same time?!”
“I don’t know.”
“I’m so angry at her, and it’s not her fault. But I’m angry, Ryan!”
“I know.”
“I hate those boys!” Lucy cried. “I want to kill them. I’ve never felt it before—the urge to kill someone. But I want to. If they were here, I’d kill them with these hands!” She turned her palms up and showed Ryan. He took her hands in his.
“I’d rather you not go to prison, too,” he said, trying for lightness. It worked, and she smiled. “But we can make them pay. We can go to the police. Tell them the truth.”
Lucy nodded.
“Will you?”
“I want you to go. I do,” Lucy said. “But will you just give me some time?”
“Yes.” Ryan squeezed her hands and let go.
“Ryan?”
“Yes?”
“Should I not have said anything about Brooke’s secrets? It really wasn’t mine to tell.”
“I think you were trying to do the right thing.”
“Are you angry that she didn’t talk with you about Beth?”
“No. I can’t be angry with her for keeping secrets when I did the same.”
Ryan didn’t voice it aloud, but for the first time he felt like he didn’t know Brooke at all. And he knew that once he admitted his secret to her, he’d never get the chance.

 
“Ryan, why are you so gorgeous and strange?”

My sister told me she laughed her butt off at that part in the book—the part where Brooke gets drunk. I wanted it to be silly and lighthearted to take away from some of the heaviness in the novel. I mean, good grief. If the entire novel were like Chapter 20, who on earth would read it??


But back to gorgeous and strange Ryan. It’s official. The ladies love him, and many of you were a little mad you didn’t get more of him in the book. In my defense, I will say that Going Under was not meant to be primarily a romance. In fact, I purposely wrote the romance as a side item. This did not make for completely happy fans. You were semi-happy, but not all-the-way happy. ☺ So here’s me making it up to you. I’m giving you a little inside information on our leading man that hopefully will allow you to forgive me in some way for not featuring him on every page. xo

Full name: Ryan James Foster

Born: September 27 in Raleigh, North Carolina at WakeMed
Astrological Sign: Libra
Stats: 6’2”; 180 lbs; brown hair; blue eyes
Favorite food: Steak fajitas
Favorite music: The Smashing Pumpkins, specifically their Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness album. (His older cousin turned him on to ‘90s alternative rock.)
Favorite TV show: Game of Thrones
Activities: surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding (he’s really hot when he snowboards), swimming, making out with Brooke
Favorite book: The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Favorite movie: Snatch (Hey, what do you want me to say?)
College degree: B.S. Business Finance
Current job: Finance manager for a chain of local skateboard and skateboard supplies stores in Chapel Hill, NC

Idiotic move in college: Hosted a “hurricane party” at a friend’s place half a mile from the beach. These are popular parties during hurricane season in Wilmington, NC, and they really piss off the local authorities. No one was hurt, but a lot of college students got wasted and then naked. Ryan only got partially naked.


Biggest regret about Brooke: Not getting out of the car. He drove to NC State to see Brooke her freshmen year. He sat in the car in front of her dorm. He waited for hours and finally saw her walking towards the dorm entrance. And he wanted to go to her, but he was afraid. So he watched her swipe her key card, open the door, and disappear from view. He wouldn’t see her again for two years.

Sweetest Moment: Marrying Brooke. Simple. No fuss. A courthouse. The important people. A beautiful woman in a little white dress. Saying “I do.” And the next installment in their great big adventure.

Random Stuff:
~Broke his arm three times when he was in elementary school and middle school.
~Had braces twice: once in fourth grade and then again in seventh because he never wore his retainer.
~Played center forward in soccer until he messed up his knee.
~Pledged a fraternity in college and then quit.
~Turned down a make-out session with a girl in his freshmen composition class. Told her he was already committed to someone else.
~Became inseparable friends with Alyssa from philosophy. She was the only one who could stomach his incessant talk about Brooke.
~Wears one contact in his right eye to give him monovision (one eye sees distance and one eye reads up close).
~Does pushups every day.
~Tried vegetarianism for a week at the insistence of his friend, Charlie. Missed his steak fajitas too much to commit for life.
~Wants to give Brooke babies as soon as possible.

Okay fans. If that didn’t placate you, I will be collecting questions about Ryan during the tour that I will answer at the end. You have to email me at swaldenauthor@hotmail.com to ask a question (please limit them to two), and I will post all the questions and answers by June 9. Sound good?