raine miller
Book Review: PRICELESS by RAINE MILLER
In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.
Like this lake at night with the moon and stars shining overhead.
I was somehow different.
I couldn’t give in to those normal kinds of wants and desires that most girls have.
But we are creatures of habit, and are who we’re born to be. This was me- the real Gabrielle Hargreave. And as disgraceful and abhorrent it felt to accept the idea, it didn’t make the situation any less true. You reap what you sow, Gabrielle. Yeah, I’d learned my lesson the hard way.
I know myself pretty well. When I want something, I won’t stop until I’ve conquered the challenge. Right now, my challenge was a green-eyed beauty that had, for whatever reason, bewitched this evening.
His expression was one of adoration, respect, desire.
I wanted to stay with him. I wanted to be the object of his desire.
I told myself not to give into weakness, and not to allow the mistakes I’d made rule me.
Perhaps it was too late for me
Perhaps I was already falling.
Gabrielle Hargreave pushed all of my buttons and in just the right way.
I was pretty sure I pushed hers as well, even if she wasn’t ready to admit it just yet.
And for the first time in a very long while, I could say that I felt really goddamn…happy for once.
A woman who knows what she wants and knows how to ask for it.
I don’t want you gentle. I want to feel you over me -inside me. I want that, Ivan.
The most delightful surprise about this novel was how FUNNY it was. It’s so witty and peppered with humor and it just made it such a feel good read. One of the parts that made me snort laugh is when Ivan texted his admin assistant. And NO! Don’t expect me to tell you what happened. You have to read the book and experience the whole laughing part.
Trust me, Gabrielle. I want you here. Very Much.
I want you submissive when we fuck, Gabrielle. I want so badly to have that…with you.
Book Review, Fanmade Trailer and Giveaway: The Passion of Darius by Raine Miller
“Open up for me Marianne. You want this. You want me to touch you. Don’t be afraid, bella. I want to feel you…and so, you want the same.”
“You – you make me burn like f-fire! I – did – not – know… it would be like this.”
Blog Tour: Rare and Precious Things by Raine Miller (review, top 10 best moments video, author spotlight & giveaways)


“Brynne was my life. The last piece of my puzzle that had finally completed me.”
1. When you are in the process of writing, do you have your storyline mapped out and you do your research of people, places, buildings, scenery, etc. based on that or have you ever written a scene in any of the books based solely on an image or picture you’ve come across and that image/picture spoke to you so profoundly that you incorporated a storyline into a book based on it?
I’ve written whole scenes because of a picture I’ve seen. An example of this is when a fan sent me a picture of a man with angel wings tattooed on his back and his baby sleeping on top. I loved it, so you will see that scene in Rare in Precious Things with Ethan and his _______. I do it all the time. In fact, the whole inspiration for the first book, NAKED, was because I found the image on Shutterstock one night and the idea for the story came into my head. Images are huge in giving me inspiration to write. I make Pinterest boards now for books while I am writing.
2. How long from concept to publishing?
Ten Months. I knew as I was finishing Eyes Wide Open that I really needed to do a fourth book in order to give Ethan and Brynne the complete resolution to their life together.
3. When you first knew of David Gandy and have you ever met him?
I knew of him over three years ago, and no, I have never met him. He did chat me a little and send me a birthday wish last year though. He is my muse for Ethan, and was from the first page I wrote about Mr. Blackstone.
4. Out of all your books, which one has been the most challenging to write?
That would be Rare and Precious Things. It was a challenge because when you are at the end of a story arc, everything must be resolved and tied together. You have to have reasons for the character’s behaviors and actions, their motivations have to make sense. Another difficulty is to give page time to all of the side characters that have been introduced into the story and the tangled web gets very big.
5. Living in the UK myself, made this book easier to read, envisioning the places, characters, Olympics etc, Why choose this place at this time for the books to be set in?
I am a certifiable Anglophile and I always have been. I really liked the idea of having an American heroine and a British hero, so the idea of setting up the story in that way appealed to me. I found out it appealed to many other women readers too!!! LOL Talking dirty in an English accent is pretty smokin’ hot I guess.
6. If you could be a character in any fictional book, who would you want to be and why?
Jane Whitcomb. Because she is loved by Vishous. Read Lover Unbound, by JR Ward if you have no idea what I am talking about.
7. When you started writing the books, did you have the idea for the historicals first or Naked?
I wrote the historicals first and knew the world in which they were set. So when I began writing Naked and Brynne was an art conservationist, I just used my fictional artist I had already created in my historical novel The Muse, which has yet to be published. I had so much fun doing the connections I continued to do it in every book, and will probably do it for every book I write from here on.
Blog Tour Schedule” Rare and Precious Things by Raine Miller
12 Days of Christmas featuring A Special Holiday Scene of Neil & Elaina from Cherry Girl Love by Raine Miller (excerpt and giveaways)
Elaina Morrison has loved Neil McManus her whole life. She doesn’t remember a time when she didn’t love him. Through heartbreaking tragedy and years of separation, her love holds true…until life stomps all over her heart, shattering her perfect dream, teaching her how hard it is to let go.
24 December
The Scottish winters were quite a step up from London’s constant wet. The only difference was several degrees colder temperatures. And constant wet. I couldn’t complain too much though, and I never would, because I was blissfully happy being up in Scotland were it was very cold, and very wet, because I had my man to keep me warm when I felt the chill. He never let me get chilled anyway. I smiled secretly and thought about just how warm he’d made me in our bed this morning when he woke me up. And last night before we fell asleep.
No, Neil was a dedicated husband when it came to seeing to his wife’s every comfort and pleasure. Or, more accurately—pleasures.
We’d only been married for eleven weeks, but were still newlyweds in our heads where it mattered. Just a little more than a year ago, we’d come crashing back together after so long apart. I’d learned to accept that we were meant to be—and that nothing could have kept us from our fate to be with one another. We were truly destined to be together.
Our journey to get to this point, had been a painful one, but that was all in the past now. Neil and I both learned so much along the way. Like when you get a second chance, you held onto it with everything you had in you, and thanked God you were given the gift.
Which reminded me—I needed to sneak out so I could pick up Neil’s Christmas gift.
I hoped I could manage it without him discovering and trying to come with me. He didn’t like me driving alone. Maybe it was his job in the security field that made him so protective of me, but my man was a tad too overdone in that department sometimes. I was working on training him out of it though. I had my methods.
I hated to hurt his feelings by saying no, but this was an errand, which needed to remain solo. My only partner in crime was Batesman, the man in charge of running this place. I think in the olden days, such a person was called a steward. I thought of Pride and Prejudice, probably my favorite novel of all time, and how Mr. Darcy had a steward to run the estate for him when he was away on business.
Batesman lived here in Scotland and took care of the place when we were in London working at Blackstone Security International, and he looked after us when we were here visiting, which was mainly at the weekends. Neil tried to get us up here at least one weekend a month, but since it was the holidays, Neil and Ethan, had ordered BSI closed through New Year’s, with only a skeletal staff on hand to secure any events. The bosses were on holiday for the holidays. We had ten more days before work called us back home to London. Glorious. Ten. Days.
Neil said this was our place to make up for all the years we had lost. And my man was determined to do that for us. He told me all the time. He also liked to have me all to himself, just the two of us alone, spending time together doing the simple things that we had both learned not to take for granted.
I cracked an even bigger smile, thinking about how he’d taken his time with me this morning, waking me up from a sound sleep in the most delicious way, or I should say—his tongue.
Neil didn’t hold back with me in the bedroom. If he wanted to try something, he told me, or sometimes he just did what he wanted, and then asked me if it was okay. Typical man. Go for it first, ask later.
But I didn’t mind his tactics.
I was okay with everything my man did for me. And my body had the luxurious aches and marks on my skin to prove it this morning.
He liked to mark me. He also wanted me pregnant.
Maybe it was his lack of a normal family life growing up that made him crave the stability of a family. Neil wanted kids.
We were working on it. Very diligently.
I grinned as I rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs and ran smack dab into a hard chest that carried the scent of my man.
“I’ve got you now,” he said, as his arms came out to snatch me. He picked me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist. “Mmmmm, I like that, beautiful wife.” He walked us up to the nearest wall, set me against it, and proceeded to kiss me senseless.
“I like it too.” I managed to mumble behind soft lips and an even softer tongue that continued to own me. He was seriously dangerous with those lips of his.
“I want to take you back up to our bed and do some more things that I know you like.” He thrust his hips forward and hit me right where it counted. His stamina for sex was astounding to me, and something I hoped never changed, but it wasn’t happening right now.
“Nope, Captain. I can’t.”
He pulled away from my lips and gave me his soulful chocolate eyes. “But why not?”
“I have important work to do and an errand to run.” I hoped he would take my explanation, but accepted the likelihood of that happening to be about nil.
“Where are we going then?” he asked, still pressing that impressive erection right up against me. Yeah, he knew what he was doing all right—tempting me with his body and the promise of more explosive orgasms. Resisting him was not going to be easy, but right now, it had to be done.
“We are not. I have somewhere I need to be—”
“I’ll drive you wherever you want to go,” he interrupted, “where is that?” The look on his face made it difficult to say the next part.
“I have to go alone on this errand. You can’t come along.” I stuck out my bottom lip and mimed a sad face.
He started to shake his head at me, but I brought my hand up to his cheek. I’d learned that touching my man on the face soothed him when I needed to get my point across, and he was less than thrilled with the situation. Me driving around Scotland on my own in winter and along country roads? More than qualified as one of those situations that made my husband less than thrilled.
He grew still and waited for me to explain, his brown eyes searching my face. When I was not forthcoming, he tried again.
“Why can’t I drive you? I won’t be a pest. Promise.”
“You can’t come along because I am going to get your Christmas present.”
Silence. Pouty face. Sigh with a bit of eye narrowing.
“Do you know that you have the most adorable pouty face that is possible for a man to have, and not look like a little girl?”
“Is it working?” he shot back sarcastically.
“’Fraid not, Captain.”
“Well then, it’s utterly useless to me then, now isn’t it?”
God, he was hard to resist when he pouted and made the metaphorical knife twist into my heart. And beautifully handsome and smelling like heaven. Evil torture is what he was doing to me.
Didn’t matter. I still wasn’t letting him come with me.
Later that evening
“You look like butter wouldn’t melt in your mouth, Mrs. McManus.”
“Is that so, Captain?”
“Very much so.”
“Well you look nearly back to normal after your pouty fit from earlier,” she said with that sass that made my cock sit up and beg.
“And I know just what put me back to normal, as you call it.” And I most certainly did know. As soon as she’d arrived back to the house after her gift errand, I’d carried her upstairs and kept her in bed for the rest of the afternoon making love. Having Elaina all to myself was something I didn’t think I would ever get enough of. All of those years without her made me an overbearing arse sometimes, I know, but she seemed to put up with me without too much complaint.
“I want to give you your Christmas gift tonight if you don’t mind,” she said with a grin. “I just can’t stand waiting until the morning.”
“Hmmmm…isn’t that sacrilege?” I teased. Secretly I was more than pleased by her suggestion. Exchanging gifts tonight would work even better for me as well.
“Maybe, but my gift can’t wait until tomorrow. Like literally can’t wait.”
I kissed her on her puffy red lips and grinned. “Okay.”
“Well that was easy. You must really want to know what I’ve gotten for you,” she sang.
“Of course I do, but even more than that, I don’t want to wait to give you your gift from me either. I say let’s do this.”
Her smile lit up her face, making me want to kiss her first. “Okay, deal. I need to go get it. Be right back.” She sailed out of the room, and I took off to find Batesman. He’d been helping me with my gift for Elaina. The man was seriously capable of just about anything and everything. And he did it all so fuckin’ well. Boggled the mind how some people could be so damn good at such a variety of things. I knocked on his door in the east wing and called out in case he’d already turned in for the night. Tomorrow was going to be a long day. We had many guests joining us tomorrow. Things were going to be crazy with so many people coming up to Scotland, but what the hell was a big house for if you never used it for anything… “Batesman? Is it ready to go now? My wife has decided to exchange gifts tonight instead of the morning.
He poked his head through the door crack and addressed me in that formal voice of his. “Sir, I have madam’s gift right here.” He shoved a basket at me and then closed his door again.
I frowned. Weird. Maybe Batesman hated Christmas or something. Some people had such bad experiences growing up; they found holidays like Christmas difficult to stomach. I’d had mostly good ones growing up, a few bad ones when times were not so nice, but didn’t everybody? Everything was golden now.
I took my basket and walked back to the room we’d been in before.
Elaina was already there, and sitting on the sofa, looking at the Christmas” tree. I still think she trumped the tree. Any day. Any time. She was the most beautiful thing in the room.
She frowned at my basket though. She probably was going to hate the gift, but I hoped not. It sure seemed like a great idea at the time I thought of it though.
“Who wants to go first?” I asked.
“You?” she suggested. “Sit down beside me, my darling.” She patted the couch right next to her.
I sat down and placed the basket on the floor.
“Close your eyes, beautiful wife.” She complied as she always did so easily. Make my cock rock hard when she got submissive like that. Later, lad. I reached into the basket and took out the soft, sleepy bundle, setting it carefully onto her lap. “You can open your eyes now.”
“Oh. My. God.” Her hands reached down to pick up the puppy and bring him up to her face for closer inspection.
“Not really a god, just a little pup,” I teased. “Blue Merle Great Dane to be exact. “Happy Christmas, darlin’, I hope you like him. I thought we could use a dog around the place, you know, for protection.”
“Did you now?” she asked absently, as she nuzzled the puppy, which was now a little more awake than he’d been just a minute ago. “My turn, Captain. Close your eyes, please.”
I did as she asked and heard the shuffling around of movement as she rose from the couch, and then felt something warm set down in my lap. Could it be possible?
“You can open up now, Captain.”
I opened my eyes to find another puppy looking up at me with blue eyes and a cocked head of inquisitiveness. This one was lighter in color than the little male I’d picked out for Elaina earlier, but was clearly from the same litter of Blue Merle Great Danes. Batesman must have been enjoying himself immensely over this little newlywed spectacle we’d provided for him today.
“We have very good taste in dogs, beautiful wife.”
“Obviously, Captain.” She leaned forward to kiss me. “Happy Christmas, my darling.”
Promo Blitz: Cherryl Girl by Raine Miller (excerpt, book trailer and giveaways)
Then Neil smiled at me. His entire beautiful face lighting up from his eyes to his chin. My guy looked really happy. My guy. I have a guy. Neil. Neil McManus is my man now.
Christmas and my birthday had come to me early this year, and both at the same time apparently.
Then I watched him get up from the bed and head into his bathroom. I heard the shower turn on and then the opening and closing of cupboards. He returned a few moments later with a big towel to wrap around me, and said he’d left me a shirt and some shorts I could wear after my shower if I liked. He told me he would be in the kitchen setting up the coffeemaker for the morning, and then he left the bedroom and closed the door.
I stayed in Neil’s bed for another moment and did my best to take everything in. I was definitely a mess on the outside, but inside where my heart still thwacked out a beat, I was absolutely floating around cloud nine.
He loved me. Neil really loved me, but damn if I’d allow him to kiss me again before I got clean and comfortable. I felt utterly gross and hideous and still had trouble processing all that had just happened with us in the span of a very few hours.
I left his bed and headed into the bathroom. The shower was already hot and steaming up the small space. As promised he’d set out his toothbrush and paste for me to use, and even some silky boxers and a soft black T-shirt with The Jimi Hendrix Experience in white letters across the front.
I knew Neil was a Hendrix fan and I’d even seen him wearing this very shirt on occasion, and yet the fact he’d picked it out for me in particular, touched me. I reached for it and buried my face in its softness, inhaling deeply. Neil’s scent has always been heavenly to me and I’d been addicted to it for years. Hard to describe, but absolutely lush on my sensibilities. Like fresh air and forest spice and pure water all combined into the perfect blend of male fragrance.
And I’d been restricted from indulging in it for most of my life. But not anymore.
I shut the bathroom door, stripped out of my bra and knickers, and got clean in my boyfriend’s shower. I so loved the words contained in that thought.
I’m sure I wore a ridiculous grin on my face the whole time I scrubbed. Once I was done in his shower and working out my teeth with his own personal toothbrush, I still kept grinning into the mirror like an idiot, glad the door was shut and Neil couldn’t see how much of a lovesick fool I was being right now. Pointless indeed. He would know it the moment I stepped out anyway. He probably already did know it.
I left the bathroom dressed in his T-shirt and silky boxer shorts. Better than naked in a towel or my puked-spotted clothes and really sexy to have my skin against things that had been against his previously.
His shirt came down to the top of my thighs and I’d already decided I was keeping the thing. Yeah, Neil’s beloved Hendrix shirt would forever belong to me. I had absolutely no qualms about my thievery either. I didn’t want to have to be without the scent of him once his leave was over. I wouldn’t have him for long before he had to go back to being owned by the British Army in Afghanistan. That meant his shirt wasn’t getting washed anytime soon. If ever.
My inner ramblings distracted me to the point I wasn’t thinking about what might be waiting for me when I came out. But the sight that greeted me upon my return to the bedroom in nothing but Neil’s shorts and shirt, was not even close to what I expected. Stopping dead in my tracks, I’m sure my eyes were bugging out of my skull. The towel I’d been using to dry my hair slid from my grip and onto the floor with a soft thud.
Neil was in his bed, and he was definitely waiting for me.
Holy Hell, he was a beautiful man. Sitting up against the headboard, he was leaning back, his wide bare chest exposed for my eyes to drink in. The cuts and angles of his hard muscles and golden skin in contrast to the white sheets nearly made me whimper aloud. I wanted to touch him so badly and knew there was a very good chance I would be getting my wish soon.
I could see that his nipples were hard, his gaze trained upon me deep with liquidity, mysterious and sensual with a bit of an edge. I could only imagine what he was thinking about right now. Sweaty, crazy, naked shagging I’m sure. I definitely was.
My nipples were hard too, and I felt an involuntary shiver roll down my spine at the thought of Neil putting his hands on them.
I’d seen his body before. I knew what Neil looked like without his shirt on, and I knew very well about the washboard abs, and how they tapered into a V at his hips that made my insides a quivering mess whenever I was lucky enough to get a decent look at him. Which happened only on occasion, unfortunately.
Neil was blessed with an earthly form that easily put him into mythical god territory, but I’d never been in a position to allow myself to think of him in that way. Those times I’d seen him had been when he was working out with Ian or roughing ’round with boys at football or having a swim.
This situation right now was completely different. Neil was like this for me and for me alone. He was offering himself to me—his body for my eyes to see, for my hands to touch, and for my lips to kiss.
“You’ve dropped your towel,” he said softly, splaying a hand out over the sheet, making his forearm muscle flex.
“I know.” I struggled to breathe through the pounding inside my chest and reached down for the towel.
“Leave it.”
Neil’s voice was harder, different—a command really. I froze in step, flipping my eyes up so I could see his face and understand what he meant.
His long muscled arms were stretched out toward me. “Come here, beautiful,” he said softly. “Don’t think about anything that scares you right now. It’s only me…and you.”
I nodded at him but no words would come from my mouth. All I could do was take in the experience of the moment and try to hear what he was saying to me.
“I want to hold you, and be close, and know that nobody is going to come between us or try to take you away from me. I want you all to myself for once.” He tilted his head a little. “Do you understand?”
“I do,” I managed.
Neil kept his arms out, his eyes glittering at me in a way I’d never experienced from him before. He was demanding from me sure, but that’s not what gave me pause. The feelings rushing through me were thrilling, but also very frightening at the same time. My emotions paralyzed me because I really understood, right then and there in that moment, the enormity of what I was doing. Giving myself over to another person. Giving myself to Neil.
It made me extremely vulnerable now didn’t it?
I felt the warning kiss of fear brush over my heart as clearly as a cold breeze that makes you rub your own arms in an effort to ward off a shivering chill.
I didn’t know how I’d survive if I lost him now. If he stopped loving me I wouldn’t be able to bear it. Or if I lost him to the war, which was a terrifying risk all on its own, and one he took every day he remained in active military service. I’d never make it out intact. Losing Neil would destroy me after this night.
“Don’t think about the bad things, Elaina. Let all that go and come to me. My beautiful Cherry Girl…come over here and let me love you.”
I went.
BOOK REVIEW: Eyes Wide Open by Raine Miller (Plus our Top 10 Best Moments of Ethan & Brynne)


RAINE MILLER BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY AT THE AVENUE

The first book in the bestselling Blackstone Affair series
Naked desire. Secret satisfaction. An affair you’ll never forget.
Brynne Bennett has left scandal in her past and is living the good life. An American grad student at the University of London and part-time photographic model, she’s getting back on track with lots of hard work and focus on a career in art conservation. When London businessman Ethan Blackstone buys her nude portrait, he wants to possess more than just her image. He wants Brynne in his bed, serving him in every way possible. He has no trouble voicing his desires, and he isn’t taking no for an answer.
At first his dominant nature captivates her, but it isn’t clear if the force of his powerful desire will ultimately awaken or dispel the demons Brynne is carrying inside. There are secrets on both sides of this relationship—huge ones. Can Ethan erase the scars of Brynne’s past so that she can reveal her true self to him? Or will the shadows cast by Ethan’s own mysterious former life destroy their chance at happiness?
Naked is the sizzling, unforgettable story of what happens when a strong woman meets the one man powerful enough to strip away all her defenses, leaving her standing naked and perfect before him.

Ethan Blackstone has a problem on his hands. He’s broken Brynne’s trust and she’s left him. He’s unwilling to live without her and isn’t giving up—he’s dead-set on getting his beautiful American girl back. The passion between them was explosive, but the secrets they hid from each other are dark and chilling and are powerful enough to destroy their shot at a life together. With political threats now directed at Brynne, Ethan is running out of time and will need to gather all his strength and agility to protect her from the dangers that could take her away from him forever. Will Ethan be able to save Brynne from a past that keeps her locked in fear? Will he ever feel the warmth of her touch, the solidity of her trust again? This is a lovestruck man who is willing to do whatever it takes to possess the heart of the woman he loves. He’ll go to any lengths to protect her. He’ll go all in. Here is the fiery story of what happens when two people surrender to a love so great it can heal the scars of the past and give way to a life of pure, rapturous ecstasy.
A New York Times bestselling author who 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. Ever! Writing books pretty much fills her days now and she’s always busy. Raine has a prince of a husband, and two brilliant sons to pull her back into the real world if the writing takes her too far away. She loves to hear from readers and to chat about the characters in her books. You can connect with her on Facebook or visit her blog at http://www.RaineMiller.com to find out what she’s working on now.

Q. What inspires your writing?
A. So many things. Art, a photograph, a portrait, poetry, movies, songs, books, historical events, notable people, a friend, a colleague…and the list is never-ending.
Q. Why do you like to write historicals?
A. I guess mostly because of the nostalgia of the past. It is an escape for me to think in a world where communication existed only in real face-to-face time or in a letter. Social graces were not only an art, but a survival skill. Interaction with another person was downright intimate in a way it can never be today. I also find great joy in writing my stories. It is as entertaining to write them as it is to be lost in a book you can’t set down.
Q. What is your favorite quote?
A. “I almost wish we were butterflies, and liv’d but three summer days. Three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain.” JOHN KEATS…1819 (sigh) Need I elaborate?
Q. How do you plot out your stories?
A. I picture the scenes like a movie in my mind. I go on long walks with my ipod and just process through storylines in my head. As soon as I get home I run up to my computer and jot down my ideas so I don’t forget. I’ve worked through many a troublesome plotline while on a walk. Solitude works for me.
Q. Who are some of your favorite authors?
A. JR Ward, Megan Hart, Elizabeth Hoyt, Ken Follett, John Grisham, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, John Keats, Robert Herrick…What I wouldn’t give to have all of those writers together in a room.
Q. What has becoming a writer taught you?
A. A healthy respect. That’s: R – E – S – P – E – C – T! I am humbled by anyone who wrote before the word processor and Google were invented. There’s no denying that writing is hard work, but to imagine how Jane Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice with a feather quill pen makes my brain hurt.
Q. Any pearls of wisdom for aspiring writers?
A. Write what you love–your voice will come through. Write every day–your creative mind needs exercise. Never give up your dream of becoming a writer. Everyone loves a good story and if you can write one, people will always want to read it
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