Tuesday 29 November 2016

RELEASE DAY BLITZ: A Veil of Vines by Tillie Cole








To most people, princes, princesses, counts and dukes are found only in the pages of the most famous of fairytales. Crowns, priceless jewels and gilded thrones belong only in childhood dreams.
But for some, these frivolous fancies are truth.
For some, they are real life.
On Manhattan’s Upper East Side, people have always treated me as someone special. All because of my ancestral name and legacy. All because of a connection I share to our home country’s most important family of all.
I am Caresa Acardi, the Duchessa di Parma. A blue blood of Italy. I was born to marry well. And now the marriage date is set.
I am to marry into House Savona. The family that would have been the royals had Italy not abolished the monarchy in 1946. But to the aristocrats of my home, the abolition means nothing at all.
The Savonas still hold power where it counts most.
In our tight-knit world of money, status and masked balls, they are everything and more.
And I am soon to become one of them.
I am soon to become Prince Zeno Savona’s wife…
… or at least I was, until I met Achille.
And everything changed.

I opened the window beside me and stared at the illuminated entrance. I swallowed hard and placed my empty glass on the bar. Metal groaned, breaking through the twilight, as the massive black wrought-iron gates began to open. The limo slowly pulled onto the property’s lane, and I drank in the thick forest that shielded the estate. I inhaled the freshness of the lush green trees. The unpolluted sky was thick with stars—not a single cloud in sight.
A few minutes later, the thick woods cleared, and I gasped. Acres and acres of gold and green vineyards covered the landscape. The scents of plump grapes and damp soil permeated the warm air. I closed my eyes. It reminded me of being a child. It brought me back to the days before I was taken to New York. I could still feel the heat of the Emilia-Romagna sun on my face, the deep smell of olives, grapes and flowers drifting in the breeze as I ran around our Parma estate.
I smiled a nostalgic smile and allowed my eyes to drift open again. I rested my arms on the window and leaned my chin on them as the limo drove on. There were several small villas peppered over the landscape, their lights twinkling in the distance. They must have been the winemakers’ residences. It was not only the Bella Collina merlot that was made on this land; other reds were too—particularly the Chianti from the region’s finest Sangiovese grapes. The Bella Collina olive oil was also up there with the best. But nothing compared to the famed merlot.
The limo turned right, and my breath caught in my throat. I lifted my head and stared disbelievingly at the property ahead. Bella Collina was a veritable Palace of Versailles tucked away in the Umbrian wilderness.
“Mio Dio,” I whispered as I took in the imposing stone structure, the sweeping steps and the vast number of windows set in the building’s walls. Large pillars of red-veined marble flanked the entrance. Cypress trees framed the estate as if it were the shining star of a fine Renaissance painting. Sculptures of famed Savona monarchs of old stood proudly on the manicured lawns, and strategically placed lighting illuminated the sheer perfection of every piece of topiary.
As a child, I had been to the Palazzo Savona in Florence. It was widely regarded to be one of the finest estates in all of Italy, if not western Europe. But this . . . this . . . there were no words. It was perfectly placed, as if it had always been there. As if it had grown naturally from the Umbrian earth just as sure as the vines and woods that kept this architectural treasure hidden from view.

Tillie Cole hails from a small town in the North-East of England. She grew up on a farm with her English mother, Scottish father and older sister and a multitude of rescue animals. As soon as she could, Tillie left her rural roots for the bright lights of the big city.

After graduating from Newcastle University with a BA Hons in Religious Studies, Tillie followed her Professional Rugby player husband around the world for a decade, becoming a teacher in between and thoroughly enjoyed teaching High School students Social Studies before putting pen to paper, and finishing her first novel.

Tillie has now settled in Austin, Texas, where she is finally able to sit down and write, throwing herself into fantasy worlds and the fabulous minds of her characters.

Tillie is both an independent and traditionally published author, and writes many genres including: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance, Young Adult and New Adult novels.

When she is not writing, Tillie enjoys nothing more than curling up on her couch watching movies, drinking far too much coffee, while convincing herself that she really doesn’t need that extra square of chocolate.











Thanks for dropping by!

~Leftie

Tuesday 22 November 2016

REVIEW: Brutal Game (Flynn and Laurel, Book 2) by Cara McKenna




Blurb

The long-awaited sequel to Willing Victim.

Eight months ago, Laurel walked into an underground boxing gym and found herself mesmerized by a stranger named Flynn—a man who fights hard and loves harder. Since then he’s taken her places where fear and curiosity clash in exquisite pleasure, where trust is the price of ecstasy, and in time their brutal games have become her kink as much as his.

But when real life intrudes and hard decisions demand action, will these two whose bond is rooted in fantasy take shelter in each other’s arms, or discover that lust is no substitute for a lasting commitment?

Review

RATING:




This is the sequel that I didn't realize I wanted!


A bit of a backstory, I've read the first book, Willing Victim, a while back, back in the day when I started venturing into erotic romance past the vanilla land (Oh Elle, how your taste has evolved!). Especially given Flynn's type of "kink" (which I felt odd about, back then, for enjoying it, just sayin), let's just say Flynn and Laurel's story stood out in my head. To say it was outside my comfort zone is putting it mildly. My, how times have changed! Despite my hangups then, I liked the characters, especially Flynn, who wasn't the typical billionaire/rock god/famous athlete I usually read. That book was full of dirty talk and heat, whoosh! So you cant imagine how much of a hardship it was to re-read it, y'know, just to get ready for this. HAH!

We saw Flynn and Laurel get what now feels their tentative HEA from the first book, and here we see what happens once they're in a true relationship.

They both have a decision to make and what happened after is something they also had to learn to deal with. What Flynn and Laurel went through was as real as it can get. The emotions could not be any more realistic. There was a pragmatic feel to their thoughts and words that bears a lot of emotional weight at the same time. I understood why each of them felt the way they felt. I loved how genuine the care they have for each other was.

Laurel may not be the h that would stand out for me necessarily, but where I gave her props is how much she's grown and how much she understood Flynn. Flynn, I love him more now. There's not an ounce of guile in that man and everything he said and did came from the heart. What he offers Laurel shows his true measures, a grounded man with the innate need to take care, in and out of the bed.

I really appreciate how Cara is not wasteful with her words. She gave additional layers to Flynn and Laurel's characters without overplaying the angst behind their emotions. Her writing is crisp, witty and balanced. I'm glad I got to read more about these 2 because they do truly deserve a good HEA.

With Willing Victim alone, it was enough for me to purchase most of Cara's backlist. And now with Brutal Game, it shames me that that I still I haven't gotten to her backlist, ayah!





Thanks for dropping by!

~Leftie



COVER REVEAL: Stealing Christmas by Alexa Riley


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Coming November 29th

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Christmas Winter is lucky she loves this time of year, because her name didn’t give her much of a choice. She’s always bubbly and happy. So when she takes a job as an elf in the mall, she’s excited to spread some cheer. But Christmas could never expect what happens when she catches the eye of a stranger.

Nicholas Light owns everything he sees, and when his eyes land on the new elf in his mall’s Santa exhibit, he knows she’s no different. There’s something about her sweet innocence that he has to have, and he’ll concoct a plan to make that happen.

Warning: Grab your jingle bells and swing them over your head… This holiday quickie is gonna light up your Noel. Okay, none of that made sense. But it sounded festive, right? This book is adorable, and you’ll love it. Just don’t get tinsel stuck in the wrong places. Trust us.



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Alexa Riley is two sassy friends who got together and wrote some dirty books. They are both married moms of two who love football, donuts, and obsessed book heroes.
They specialize in insta-love, over-the-top, sweet, and cheesy love stories that don’t take all year to read. If you want something SAFE, short, and always with a happily ever after, then Alexa Riley is for you!
Author Links



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Thanks for dropping by!

~Leftie

Monday 21 November 2016

REVIEW: Sexy Lies and Rock & Roll by Sawyer Bennett



Amazon || Kobo || B&N || iBooks

Blurb

From New York Times Bestselling author, Sawyer Bennett, comes a SEXY new stand alone romance…

When you're a rock god, fame and fortune are your two best friends, but they can be fickle bed mates. It seems everyone wants a piece of me. I'm being sued, pressured to sign contracts, and fending off rabid women who want to steal my virtue. Just kidding on that one. We all know I don't have much virtue left.

That's why I need Emma Peterson. The sharp-as-a-tack and sexy-as-sin lawyer saved my ass before and I know she can do it again. The only problem is that sweet, prim and totally straight-laced Emma doesn't want anything to do with me. Not professionally, and certainly not personally.

But c'mon. Everyone wants me, and even though it would take a crow bar of epic proportions to get her to spread those sexy legs for me, all I want is her mind. I swear. Her beautiful, brilliant mind to make sense of my crazy world. Good thing I have something up my sleeve to get her to say “yes”. Some might call it blackmail. I call it something else.

Looks like Emma Peterson just became my biggest defender. If only I can resist wanting to screw my attorney six ways to Sunday.

*Sexy Lies and Rock & Roll is a hot, romantic comedy stand alone.

Review

RATING:




Oy, not sure what happened here:0 This is not a fave Sawyer read for me, which sucks, being a Sawyer fan and all. But other Sawyer fans, don't fret, because it looks like it's just me who feels this way.

I'll just cut to the chase and say my biggest challenge is the h (yikes, I don't even remember her name as I'm typing this). I couldn't connect with her. Her insecurities just bugged me and she's the opposite of the h's I can usually appreciate. i guess she was too mousy for me, and I just couldn't find the patience to see her growth. Real shame...

The H (oops, what's his name again) was a decent H, but he felt too run-of-the-mill for me; your grounded hot and sexy rock star who just wants to be loved for himself. And really, I did like him. He may have been the one saving grace for me in this bk.

And the plot did feel formulaic, esp when I think of where the conflict came from... Sad sigh...

Like I said, not a fave Sawyer read for me. I didn't not like it, I felt it was just ok... C'est la vie...



Thanks for dropping by!

~Leftie

Thursday 17 November 2016

COVER REVEAL: Ego Maniac by Vi Keeland

Ego Maniac
(A standalone novel)
A Contemporary Romance novel
#1 New York Times Bestselling Author Vi Keeland
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RELEASING JANUARY 16TH!

Exclusive eBook pre-order available at iBooks
Goodreads http://bit.ly/2fY2ChQ
Amazon (paperback) http://amzn.to/2f16fiz

Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Google Play (ebook)
No pre-order is available but signup to receive notice when the book goes live!

Join Vi’s Violets for early news of books, fun chats and giveaways!

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Cover designer: Sommer Stein, Perfect Pear
Model: Clément Becq
Photograhper:  Fred Goudon - www.fredgoudon.com



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Blurb

The night I met Drew Jagger, he’d just broken into my new Park Avenue office.
I dialed 9-1-1 before proceeding to attack him with my fancy new Krav Maga skills.
He quickly restrained me, then chuckled, finding my attempted assault amusing.
Of course, my intruder had to be arrogant.
Only, turned out, he wasn’t an intruder at all.
Drew was the rightful occupant of my new office.  He’d been on vacation while his posh space was renovated.
Which was how a scammer got away with leasing me office space that wasn’t really available for rent.
I was swindled out of ten grand.
The next day, after hours at the police station, Drew took pity on me and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.  In exchange for answering his phones while his secretary was out, he’d let me stay until I found a new place.
I probably should have acted grateful and kept my mouth shut when I overheard the advice he was spewing to his clients.  But I couldn’t help giving him a piece of my mind.
I never expected my body to react every time we argued.  Especially when that was all we seemed to be able to do.
The two of us were complete opposites. Drew was a bitter, angry, gorgeous-as-all-hell, destroyer of relationships.  And my job was to help people save their marriages.
The only thing the two of us had in common was the space we were sharing.
And an attraction that was getting harder to deny by the day.  


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About the Author

Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author. With more than a million books sold, her titles have appeared in over fifty Bestseller lists and are currently translated in ten languages. She lives in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.


Other books from Vi Keeland

Standalone novels
Bossman
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2a8D5B6
iBooks: http://apple.co/25x2jyX
B&N: http://bit.ly/29sL4H2
Kobo: http://bit.ly/29lW19I
Google Play: http://bit.ly/29JqkL2

The Baller

Life on Stage series (2 standalone books)
Beat

Throb

MMA Fighter series (3 standalone books)
Worth the Fight


Worth the Chance

Worth Forgiving

The Cole Series (2 book serial)
Belong to You

Made for You


Additional Standalones

Left Behind (A Young Adult Novel)

First Thing I See

Other books from Penelope Ward & Vi Keeland

Playboy Pilot
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/2ctOkoz
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2c5WiRm


Stuck-Up Suit


Cocky Bastard




THANK YOU!

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Thanks for dropping by!

~Leftie
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