COVER REVEAL: Fighting Shadows by Aly Martinez

COVER REVEAL

Add Fighting Shadows  to your TBR list on Goodreads!

http://bit.ly/1M2gxtv

RELEASE DATE: July 7th

Blurb

I come from a family of fighters. I always thought I’d follow in their shadows, becoming unstoppable in the ring. That changed the day I saved the life of a woman I loved, but could never have.

 My brother hailed me as a hero, and my reward was a wheelchair.

 Paralyzed, my life became an inescapable nightmare.

 Until I met her.

 Ash Mabie had a heart-stopping smile and a laugh that numbed the rage and resentment brewing inside of me. She showed me that even the darkest night still had stars, and it didn’t matter one bit that you had to lie in the weeds to see them.

 I was a jaded a$$hole who fell for a girl with a knack for running away. I couldn’t even walk but I would have spent a lifetime chasing her.

 Now, I’m on the ropes during the toughest battles of my life.

Fighting the shadows of our past.

Fighting to reclaim my future.

Fighting for her.

Excerpt

Prologue

Ash

“Where the f*ck have you been?” a man’s voice growled as soon as I entered the conference room.

My eyes flashed to his for only a single second before I recognized them. The door had barely clicked behind me but I already wanted nothing more than to bolt. My heart raced and my mouth dried.

I had to get out of there.

“Um…” I stalled, giving myself time to formulate a plan.

“Sit. Down,” he ordered, pushing out the chair next to him, but there was no way I was getting that close.

“I’m good,” I said, taking a step backwards toward the door.

“Don’t even think about it,” he snapped. “I swear to God, if you so much as open that door…” His words may have trailed off, but the threat was clearly stated.

I swallowed hard, and slowly walked to the chair farthest away from him, perching on the very edge—waiting for just the right moment to escape.

He looked down at the name badge around my neck and quirked an eyebrow.

“Victoria?”

“You can call me Tori if it’s easier.” I tried to fake a smile, but it only seemed to infuriate him. He took several calming breaths, which did nothing to dampen the blaze brewing in his angry eyes.

“I’ve been looking for you, Ash.” He snarled my name.

“Oh, yeah? Well, mystery solved. Here I am.” I pushed back to my feet, but was halted when his fist pounded against the table. I jumped as my whole body flinched from the surprise.

When the room fell silent, I slowly looked back up to find him staring at me with a murderous glare. Even sitting down I could tell he was huge, and as he held my gaze, the tense muscles in his neck and shoulders strained against the cotton of his grey Henley. He blinked at me for several seconds before finding his voice again.

“You live in a homeless shelter,” he stated definitively, as if the words told a story all of their own.

And maybe they did.

“I work at a homeless shelter,” I quickly corrected.

Only he corrected me just as fast. “In exchange for a permanent place to live…In. A. Homeless. Shelter.” He enunciated every single syllable.

I looked away, because it was the truth.

A truth that I hated.

But the God’s honest truth nonetheless.

Tears welled in my eyes and I battled to keep them at bay.

My life was hard, but him being there made it infinitely harder. If I could just escape that room, I could disappear again. It wasn’t ideal, but neither was him showing up.

 “I want you to leave.” I lied with all the false courage I could muster.

“I can’t do that. You stole something of mine.”

“Look, I don’t have your book anymore.”

A knowing smirk lifted one side of his mouth. “Liar,” he whispered, reaching into the chair beside him, revealing the tattered book and ceremoniously dropping it on the table.

My eyes went wide, and without a conscious thought, I dove across the table after it.

 That was mine.

Not even he could have it.

Just as quickly as the book appeared, he snatched it away and grabbed my wrist.

I slid off the table and tried to pull my arm from his grasp. It was a worthless attempt though because even if he had suddenly released me, his blue eyes held me frozen in place.

“Three f*cking years,” he seethed.

“I had to,” I squeaked out as the tears streamed down my cheeks.

“Three. F*cking. Years, Ash. You took something that belonged to me.” He released my arm and pushed to his feet.

My mouth fell open and a loud gasp escaped as he took two impossible steps forward.

Pinning me against the wall with his hard body, he lifted a hand to my throat and glided it up until his thumb stroked over my bottom lip. Using my chin, he turned my head, and dragged his nose up my neck, stopping at my ear.

Sucking in a deep breath, he released it on a gravelly demand. “And I want her back.”

My breath hitched.

I’d waited years to hear those words.

If only I could have trusted them.

“Flint, please.”

About the Author:

Aly Martinez

Born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, Aly Martinez is a stay-at-home mom to four crazy kids under the age of five, including a set of twins. Currently living in South Carolina, she passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a glass of wine at her side.

After some encouragement from her friends, Aly decided to add “Author” to her ever-growing list of job titles. Five books later, she shows no signs of slowing. So grab a glass of Chardonnay, or a bottle if you’re hanging out with Aly, and join her aboard the crazy train she calls life.

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THANK YOU!

I'm quite looking forward to this one... Thanks for dropping by!

~Leftie

BLOG TOUR: Sweet Ache by K Bromberg

Meet Hawke & Quinlan in SWEET ACHE - the newest Rock Star stand-alone in the Driven Series by K. Bromberg!

NOW AVAILABLE

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1JhAg96

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1FNdJll

Nook: http://bit.ly/1FhaaNN

Kobo:http://bit.ly/1FLmEk5

iBooks:http://apple.co/1cqgKdH

Mass Market Paperback: http://amzn.to/1JasNdz

Blurb

The New York Times bestselling author of Slow Burn turns up the heat when a sexy bet turns into so much more....

Hawkin Play, the bad boy rock star with a good guy heart, has lived a lifetime of cleaning up after his twin brother’s mistakes. Hunter’s most recent screwup could land Hawke in jail and risk the band’s future. Hawke agrees to guest lecture at a local college to stay in the judge’s good graces—and a bet with his bandmate to seduce his sexy teaching assistant is icing on the cake.

Quinlan Westin is harder to bed than Hawke imagined. She knows his type and is determined to avoid the rocker at all costs—even if their attraction runs deeper than simple lust.

Just as Hawke might finally be winning over the girl, his brother has other plans. When Hunter realizes his twin finally has a weakness, he’ll stop at nothing to take advantage....

EXCERPT

Quinlan

“Now you guys need to get going so you have time for Quin to give you the complete rundown,” Professor Stevens says.

Of course she has no idea the double entendre she’s just given Hawkin about me giving him a complete rundown, but I know Hawke catches it. I manage to resist the urge to stomp my feet in frustration and storm out of her office like a toddler. Instead I give her a tight smile before turning and walking out of the office and then the department.

I stand there in the sunshine, waiting for him to get his a$$ in gear and quit wasting my time. When I finally hear the door open I just start walking and the sound of his boots is the only inclination that he’s following.

“I’ve got longer legs than you Trixie,” he chides from a few feet back. “But feel free to keep swinging your hips like that, and I’ll stay right here behind you and enjoy the show.”

I bristle at the comment. At the moment there’s no authority to be respectful of, no damage that can’t be undone.

“A show?” The pitch of my voice escalates as I whirl around to face him—sunglasses on, hair disheveled, and I wish I hadn’t turned around because damn, he’s just that devastatingly fine. I’m quiet for a beat as we both appraise each other from behind darkened lenses. His dark hair, tanned skin, and cocky smirk pulls at those parts of me I don’t want to be pulled. “You want to talk about a show.” I grit the words out, trying to push my physical attraction to him from my mind. “Let’s talk about your little performance for Dr. Stevens.”

“I know. I’m good, huh? Sorry but a man’s got to do what he’s got to do . . . Besides, I wasn’t done with you yet.”

My mouth falls lax and I’m momentarily flabbergasted. “Done with me yet?” I sputter the words when I’ve recovered my wits at his arrogance run amuck . . . But I can’t deny the little flutter in my belly at his comment. There’s just something about him aside from the whole I’m a rock-star thing, that makes me desire him in a way I can’t put into words.

“Yep.” He says casually as he unwraps a Starburst and pops it into his mouth. And I hate that I’m fascinated with watching his mouth suck on the sweet candy. Luckily he speaks so I can distract myself from the captivating sight. “I’m pretty sure you have a usefulness . . . I’m just trying to figure out what that is.” He licks his lips. “Well, besides the obvious, that is . . .” Smirk is handily in place and I hate that ache starting to simmer in my core.

“Why don’t you go suck a—”

“Relax,” he says, angling his head to the side and emitting a laugh as he steps closer to me. “I’m just teasing you. You’re so damn easy to rile up and so hard to resist. Plus you’re even hotter when you’re pissed. I like it.” He shrugs an apology, hands shoved deep in the pockets of his jeans with a sheepish grin that softens all those hard edges and makes me sigh with the contrast of characteristics. He holds a red Starburst out to me as a peace offering. “C’mon, you know you want to be the star to my burst.”

We’ve stopped, my hands are on my hips, and the sun is falls around us as hewaits for me to react to his innocent little comment. Deep down I know I’m screwed. I feel an urge to smile but immediately realign my defenses. The contradiction he presents, the smooth with the rough, is the one thing that I always fall for when it comes to men.

And I’m not going to fall for Hawkin Play.

About the Author:

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author K. Bromberg is that reserved woman sitting in the corner who has you all fooled about the wild child inside of her—the one she lets out every time her fingertips touch the computer keyboard.

K. lives in Southern California with her husband and three children. When she needs a break from the daily chaos of her life, you can most likely find her on the treadmill or with Kindle in hand, devouring the pages of a good, saucy book.

On a whim, K. Bromberg decided to try her hand at this writing thing. Her debut novels, Driven, Fueled, and Crashed of The Driven Trilogy were well received and went on to become multi-platform bestsellers as well as landing on the New York Times and USA Today lists. Her other works include a short story, UnRaveled, and a companion piece to The Driven Trilogy titled Raced. She is currently working on three stand alone Driven novels, Slow Burn, Sweet Ache, and Hard Beat. She also plans to release a novel addressing the 10 year gap at the ending of Crashed in late fall 2015

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EPIC GIVEAWAY

$250 AMAZON GIFT CARD  (2 Winners)
a Rafflecopter giveaway 

THANK YOU!

Thanks for dropping by!

~Leftie

REVIEW: My Time in the Affair by Stylo Fantome

~Mischa~
I made a conscious decision to cheat on my husband.
Now, before you judge me, hear my story. Hear how much I'm like you, how similar my thoughts are to your own. Yes, I'm a horrible person. Yes, I've done horrible things. Yes, I don't deserve forgiveness. Yes, bad things happened because of my actions.
But I'm willing to bet I've done things that maybe, just maybe, you have thought of doing.
Maybe, just maybe, you're not as innocent as you'd like to think.
Or maybe I'm not so guilty ...


WARNING: This book involves CHEATING. The word AFFAIR is in the title. The main character has an AFFAIR. In the synopsis (directly above), she states that she intentionally has an AFFAIR. If you don't like CHEATING, then you have been VERY WELL warned. Also, this book is primarily written in the third-person narrative.

Amazon US || Amazon CA || Kobo

Review

RATING:

(Originally posted on Goodreads)

First, this is a first Stylo read for me even though her previous books are lined up on my TBR. Second, I'm not a fan of cheating/love triangle unless I'm reading non-romance fiction. Third, I realized the first 2 things did not matter at all after I finished reading this, as I came to really enjoy this one.

This is quite an emotional journey... sigh...

Mischa's one unhappy wife who made a decision to cheat by having a one-night stand and ended up getting more than what she bargained for. To a degree, I get it. Some marital decisions are not that easy. On the other hand, the next most natural question was why not just a divorce. If that's the case, then this would've been a totally different story, right? Sooo, like I said, with that decision she made, her life took this path that she did not think she'll take, especially as it got more windier than what she expected.

Then there's Tal, the other party in Mischa's time in the affair. I thought Tal was just this arrogant prick in the beginning, who appeared to be masking a lot of shady things. BUT despite all that, there was just something about him that one can't help but gravitate towards. For starter, he was the perfect yin to Mischa's yang, and along the way, he just kept showing this side of him that took charge and took care of her/things. So slowly but surely, I just fell in love with him whether I wanted to or not. I said 'whether I wanted to or not' as he was part of this illicit relationship after all. BUT, again, he was just too delish and swoon-worthy for words, that in the end, I felt there was nothing to forgive at all and I just wanted him to get his happy ending. HEART TAL!!!

Mischa did frustrate me at times despite the injected humorous self-deprecation here and there. How much can one berate oneself, really?! YET, I couldn't fault her completely. As a married woman myself, with many married girlfriends, I realize that some things in marriage are not immediately black and white. And boy, is it ever so not black and white with Mischa and Michael, her husband!! This whole marriage thing can get really complicated and given their history, and what they went thru throughout the story, I can probably keep discussing this like there's no tomorrow. But I won't.

All that's left to say is that just read it. Please don't let the cheating part stop you and that whole judgy non-judgy thing. Yes, it's about marriage/relationships but it even came with a twist. It'll make you frown, it'll make you laugh AND cry, it'll make you think (without a doubt!), and surprisingly or not, it'll make you swoon. At least that's what it made me...

Thanks for dropping by!

~Leftie

REVIEW: Daily Painting by Carol Marine

Hello, everyone! I thought I'd give Leftie a break and do a short book review. This is another one of those books that got me so excited as soon as I finished reading it.

RATING:

Daily Painting by Carol Marine is a gem I discovered while on an art forum. As a new oil painter (just started early this year after concentrating first on drawing), I was looking for inspiring books that will help me not just with the basics but also for ways to actually be more creative in terms of my choices on what to paint and how to go about it. Looking at that big white canvas is daunting most days. With this book, Ms.Marine explains why doing small paintings often is the way to go.

Daily Painting not only gives great tips and techniques on each chapter such as value and composition, she also explains why doing small paintings everyday (or as much as you can) is a great way to free your creativity. No pressure.....just do what you feel like doing. She encourages you not feel bad about making mistakes, and even tackles how to deal with artist blocks. (This chapter includes awesome insight from other daily painters as well.)

Even if you don't follow her own specific style of loose painting, there is so much to learn from this book. Above all, she really inspires everyone not to be afraid.

 I recommend Daily Painting to anyone who deals with any sort of creative endeavour (whatever medium you use). Carol Marine's message is "to love what you do", and this really applies to all of us, right? :)


Rightie

REVIEW: Falling for His Best Friend (Out of Uniform, Book 2) by Katee Robert

Avery Yeung’s biological clock just went off early. Thanks to her family’s medical history, she’s running out of time to get knocked up. And the only guy within donating distance? Her overprotective—and irritatingly hot—best friend. So clearly she needs an anonymous donor…
Anonymous donor? Over Sheriff Drew Flannery’s dead body. While daddyhood will never be in the cards for a man with his past, Drew won’t let Avery shop for a “popsicle pop.” He’ll do what’s right for his best friend by doing his best friend. But only if they do it properly.
But there’s nothing “proper” about it. Between the bed, the kitchen counter, and against his squad car, Avery and Drew are having the hottest sex ever. They can’t get enough of it—or each other. And without knowing it, they’ve crossed the one line that could ruin their friendship forever…

Amazon US || Amazon CA || Kobo

Review

RATING:

*Complimentary ARC received from publisher via Netgalley*

I admit, I'm confused every time I read one of Katee's books. While they end up mostly just right of middle of the road for me, I can't help but keep coming back for more. I suppose while the execution is not always stellar in my mind, there is something in her story lines that always pulls me in, all the time. 

This trope, the childhood friends to lovers, while not new, appears to be a fave flavour among writers recently, along with the stepbrother one, not sure why... Avery and Drew have been friends since childhood.  They've always been there for each other, esp during times of crisis. Drew, being the "good friend" he is, stepped up to the plate and offered to be the sperm donor, which moved their friendship to unknown territory.

Avery was facing issues that no woman should in my ideal world, and for her to take charge of her life the way she did, despite personal, medical and cultural challenges, shows a lot of courage. It is commendable. Drew had a rough upbringing who was forced to grow up really fast. Luckily for both of them, they had each other. And as the story moved along, not only can you see how good a friends they were, but you can also feel their connection. I thought so anyway. It was nice to see a touch of multiculturalism and the interracial aspect with those 2, which really, to me, is more reflective of today's society. 

I did wonder how Katee will move those 2 from childhood BFFs to lovers. To a degree, she made it work. Where it might not have worked successfully in my mind was the indecisions and inner struggles of those 2, especially Drew, which probably could've have been prevented if there were more dialogues between them. Drew with his waffling tired me out a bit. In my mind, I was ready to bop him in his head and the way I saw it, only "the" grand gesture would've saved him/story itself. In the end, I suppose he did sorta do that. Let's just say Avery was more forgiving and understanding of the whole thing,

And hey, this is Entangled Brazen after all, so just like I've come to expect at all times, there is always scorching scenes, just saying... teehee...

Thanks for dropping by!

~Leftie

RELEASE DAY BLITZ: Shuttergirl by CD Reiss

Are you ready for a different kind of love story? 

Meet Michael & Laine in this Hollywood themed second chance romance by CD Reiss!

NOW AVAILABLE!

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1RXBv1n

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1FlYvSs

Barnes & Noble - http://bit.ly/1d3hzub

iBooks - http://apple.co/1KS8bUC

Kobo - http://bit.ly/1bBO020   

ShutterGirl Book Trailer:

Blurb

ONE movie star on the cusp of greatness

ONE broken girl who touched him

TEN years to forget her

A MILLION stories in Hollywood

I am not hurt.

I don’t need a second chance with him, or a life I thought I had.

While he was out forgetting me to become a movie star, I was building a career out of nothing. A career as a paparazzi, but a career. For a foster kid who bounced around every home in Los Angeles, that wasn’t easy.

This camera is all I have.

He’s nothing to me. Every time I take his picture and sell it, I remind myself that I did it all without him or his approval, his cinnamon smell or his clear green eyes. He lights up the screen like a celestial body, but he’s nothing but a paycheck to me.

He can throw my camera off a balcony, and nothing has to change. We can stay king and queen of the same city, and different worlds.

Except this is Hollywood, and here, anything can happen.

Excerpt

I stroked his hair, waist deep in peace, all worry gone for the moment, and floating in no more than an ocean of gratitude. I must have been more vulnerable than I realized, or he’d reopened some wound with his kindness, because though my sweet reverie stayed, as the minutes passed, a layer of need fitted itself on top of it.

I needed to tell him, if not the details, the outlines of who I was.

“I want you to know,” I whispered, starting somewhere small, then everything I didn’t want to say spilled out. “I have stuff. I’ve never been to jail, but you know, it’s stuff, and it’s ugly, and it scares me. Because, I mean, you’re so perfect, and I’m… I’m just a mess. I’m not whole. I’m a bunch of pieces of a person I cobbled together.” My eyes got wet when I thought of the comparisons between us and that picture in my silverware drawer. “So if you have to move on when you realize that, I’ll understand. You have an image, and if anyone understands protecting a career, it’s me. I mean, I’ll be mad, don’t get that wrong, but also.” I swallowed and blinked, shifting my head so he wouldn’t feel the tear on his forehead. “I won’t blame you.”

I waited for an answer. Anything. A change in position or a word on any subject. The weather. Sports. Something. But all he did was breathe.

I smiled so wide, tears fell into my mouth. He was sleeping.

Review

RATING:

*Complimentary ARC received from author*

(I also own a copy)

If you’ve only known CD thru her erotica books, then this is a departure from that. What’s not a departure is the quality of her writing. I know this already, I may have said this before in previous reviews, but I just want to say it again anyway. CD Reiss can write anything!

CD paints a world for you then layers it with her prose and what you get is film noir quality in a book. In this case, it’s a world set in Hollywood with its movers and shakers and everyone else that drives the cogs of its publicity wheel.

Laine and Michael couldn’t have been any more opposite in their upbringing and the worlds they inhabit. It so happens that their paths crossed in their childhood, and as it turns out, it left an impact that neither one forgot. Whether it was apparent immediately or not, that dictated their interactions as adults, again, in 2 opposing ends, one behind the lens and the other, the subject of the lens.

Laine has such a harsh past which made her the way she is. Michael is like royalty in the movie industry. Laine has a lot of rough edges to her. Michael, whether he wanted to or not, was raised to be at everyone’s good graces. That is until they re-connect and somehow, Michael started showing more bite to him and Laine slowly started exposing her vulnerable side that just calls out to people’s good nature.

Laine and Michael together are like the stuff of romance. Second chances, star-crossed… against all odds type… and at the very heart of it, when stripped down, it all becomes about undeniable smoldering connection and all about love conquering all… sigh…

I practically highlighted the entire book. There is so much emotion in every page. There is such poignancy in every introspection and interaction. I really tried to read this as slowly as I could as I want to savour every word, or sometimes, the words strung together just force me to savour it regardless. I felt every bit of Laine’s and Michael’s struggles. I felt every bit of their tiny slices of happiness. I felt every bit of pain and frustration, and of hope at the same time, And I felt every bit of love. I’m not sure why but the whole time I was reading this, there’s a melancholic feel that didn’t quite leave me. As a matter of fact, it's still with me even after days of finishing it. And I say that in the most complimentary way, truly. 

The city itself plays such a character, and I loved it. I also loved how CD infused it with settings/characters that are familiar from her previous works and real people from the indie writers’ world. See, that’s just another way of how she pulls you in and get you entangled and enmeshed in her fictional world... that good feeling that you're privy to something, almost like a privilege...

There are so much more words to say, to write… sigh… Oh, Christine, I’m just such a slave to your words… what’s next, pleeeease?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CD Reiss

CD Reiss is a USA Today and Amazon bestseller. She still has to chop wood and carry water, which was buried in the fine print. Her lawyer is working it out with God but in the meantime, if you call and she doesn’t pick up, she’s at the well, hauling buckets.

Born in New York City, she moved to Hollywood, California to get her master’s degree in screenwriting from USC. In case you want to know, that went nowhere, but it did embed TV story structure in her head well enough for her to take a big risk on a TV series structured erotic series called Songs of Submission. It’s about a kinky billionaire hung up on his ex-wife, an ingenue singer with a wisecracking mouth; art, music and sin in the city of Los Angeles.

Critics have dubbed the books “poetic,” “literary,” and “hauntingly atmospheric,” which is flattering enough for her to put it in a bio, but embarrassing enough for her not to tell her husband, or he might think she’s some sort of braggart who’s too good to give the toilets a once-over every couple of weeks or chop a cord of wood.

If you meet her in person, you should call her Christine.

Stalk Her: Facebook | Twitter | Website | Goodreads | Pinterest | Instagram

GIVEAWAY & NOTE FROM AUTHOR

I am so happy with the response to Shuttergirl, and I cannot wait to send Michael and Laine out into the world, because who doesn’t swoon over a second chance at love?

It’s a new genre for me, and I’m exploding with excitement, so I’ve dropped some fantastic reasons for readers to get the book right away.

TREAT YOURSELF LIKE A MOVIE STAR!

$500 Spa Gift Card

If you could get an hour, or ten away from the daily grind of paparazzi and interviews (or the job and kids), what would you do?

Get a foot rub/slash/pedicure? A massage? Maybe something called a Sleep Treatment that right now sounds better than sex?

Maybe you’d bring a friend or two, or maybe you’d just get a manipedi when you wanted one. Because the life of a megastar ain’t for the weak-willed or lazy, and running from paparazzi can really wear down a girl’s nails.

Woodhouse Spas are no joke. They’re all over the country and they’re….sigh. Fabulous. But if you don’t live near one, we can do Burke Williams, Halcyon Days or Red Door.

HOW TO ENTER

Take the fun SHUTTERGIRL READER QUIZ!

The link to the quiz is in the back of the book, and yes, that’s the ONLY place to find it! There are bonus questions relating to Jonathan and Antonio for extra prizes. You have until June 3rd to enter! That gives you a solid two weeks to read the book and get your chance at a $500 movie star spa treatment!

If you are a paperback reader, email me and we’ll work it out .

Thank You!

Thanks for dropping by!

~Leftie