4 stars for “Cartel – 03 – Empire” by Lili St Germain

*** ARC kindly provided by the publisher HarperCollins Publishers Australia, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ***

empireIn the first 2 books I didn’t really knew if I should hate or love Dornan but now … I really hate him and it hurts because more than once he showed that he can be good, he has a conscience, …

Love and hate … there is such a thin line between them!  Poor Marianna!  How much can a woman suffer…  She is such a strong woman and deserved happiness

What I did like about this book but what is often too much in other books is the multiple POV … For this book it worked because it really helped to find out what all main characters were thinking.

I loved this dark conclusion of the Cartel series and would love to read more from this author.  I loved her Gypsy Brothers series.  I still have to read the last book in that series and am really looking forward to it.  This author knows how to write dark, captivating books!

Be warned this book doesn’t have a real HEA and even though I knew what was going to happen I was crying so much…  Heartbreaking!!

 

Release Day Blitz for Toni Aleo’s Face-Off at the Altar + Review

 

My Review:

*** ARC kindly provided by Ardent Prose in exchange for an honest review. ***

Markus had found the right girl … he loved her and they took it slow.  But then he wakes up with her sister in his bed.  Mekena has felt betrayed for so long by Markus and his sister.  She has mad sure not to meet them but time didn’t heal the whole in her heart.  Markus focuses on hockey. But when one of his friends will marry he”ll see Mekena again where she’ll be the photographer.  How will this  work out for them?  And their feelings?  Are they still there?  Will they get over the betrayal or is there more to it?  Will there be time for forgiveness?

This was the second book only which I read in the Assassins series and same as the previous book I loved it.  I do usually love some more drama and suspense in my books but I loved this one nevertheless.  I also really enjoyed that we got some more on Lucy, Angie and Benji.

This was another well written story with great characters …  at least most of them.  And I also really liked aunt Libby 😉

AP new - buy the book.jpg

 

 

 

 

IMG_1722 (1).PNG

 

Markus Reeves is sucking. Big-time. Toiling away on a minor-league hockey team hundreds of miles away from home, he’s watching his dreams of an NHL career fade away. Add in the lingering guilt he has over the dramatic demise of his relationship with college girlfriend, Mekena, and he’s a mess on and off the ice.

 

But the family of his heart, the Sinclairs, won’t let Markus suffer any longer. When he arrives himself back in Nashville for a trial run on the Assassins, it feels like his life may be making a turn for the better. If only he could get Mekena to forgive him…

 

Mekena Preston has been hurting since fleeing Nashville following the horror of Markus’s betrayal with her sister. Now a professional photographer, Mekena finds herself in the same place at the same time with Markus to celebrate Lucy and Benji Paxton’s wedding. Neither of them has been able to move on—and they’re starting to wonder if they really want to.

 

They’re headed for a face-off at the altar unless they can confront their past and unearth the truth about what really happened on that fateful night.

 

Watching as Elli crossed the ice, saying hi to everyone she passed, Mekena knew she had to go. Standing, she wobbled a lot, but she still made it to the entry to the ice. She could do this. It wasn’t that hard. Just like walking—on water. No big deal.
Oh, God, she was going to die, and everyone was going to see it.
Swallowing hard, she stepped out on the ice and figured she could ride the side of the boards to him. Elli was already there, gushing over the kids and kissing all over the guy Mekena assumed was her nephew. And holy hot genes. Dark hair, bright blue eyes, and a jawbone that could slice the ice. He was beautiful, just like his uncle and his momma. Tall, too, and thick. Obviously a hockey player. That should have given her a little more confidence to skate over there, but instead, her fingers dug into the siding as she slowly made her way toward them.
When Elli looked up, Mekena let go of the sides and waved. “I’m a little slow. I’m coming!”
Elli said something to Ryan, whose eyes lit up when he looked over at her. As he detangled himself from the kids that were trying to climb him like a wall, she figured he was coming to help.
Oh, no, that was embarrassing.
No, she could skate. She had it!
Letting go of the siding, she went with ease. And at first, things were good. She was skating! But as well as it was going, it suddenly went very bad. She felt her knee bend funny and then her body start to fall. And as the ice came into view, she let out a cry, waiting for the ice to break not only her glasses but her nose too. Maybe her teeth.
But she didn’t fall.
No, instead, someone had her by her hips, pulling her up and to her feet.
“Whoa there, girlie. I thought you knew what you were doing?”
Markus.
Everything inside her went hot. Not from embarrassment but from pure, burning desire. Trying to catch her breath, she looked up at him, his eyes so dark, his mouth so close to her cheek as he smiled.
Crap. Crap on a cracker.
“Markus.”
“Yup, it’s me,” he said, grinning as he stood her on her feet. “Saving your life.”

 

 

My name is Toni Aleo and I’m a total dork.
I am a wife, mother of two and a bulldog, and also a hopeless romantic.
I am the biggest Shea Weber fan ever, and can be found during hockey season with my nose pressed against the Bridgestone Arena’s glass, watching my Nashville Predators play!
When my nose isn’t pressed against the glass, I enjoy going to my husband and son’s hockey games, my daughter’s dance competition, hanging with my best friends, taking pictures, scrapbooking, and reading the latest romance novel.
I have a slight Disney and Harry Potter obsession, I love things that sparkle, I love the color pink, I might have been a Disney Princess in a past life… probably Belle.
… and did I mention I love hockey?
Author Links

 

4 stars for “Cold Fury Hockey – 06 – Max” by Sawyer Bennett

*** ARC kindly provided by the publisher Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ***

maxSawyer Bennett is one of my favorite authors. There hasn’t been a book yet, I didn’t like. Loved them all. And just look at all those amazing, yummy covers 😉 It’s only the second book so far I read in this series but it’s another winner and I hope to read the others soon. The ARC for the next book in this series “Roman” is already waiting on my Kindle … yay!

Max is a professional hockey player. He’s hot and wanted by every woman. When he he saves convenience store cashier Jules from to jerks he’s delighted to find she doesn’t know who he is. Jules has been taking care of her sister’s 3 children when she passed. Jules is struggling but doing a good job! When Max meets her again and gets to know her more he’s amazed by her and starts to feel more. Jules however has been struggling so long and has too much self-doubt. Will she be able to let go of the negative stuff?

Max is another great character in SB’s books. He is caring, kind and understanding. Jules is a sweet, strong, devoted aunt trying to do everything herself but she needs to learn to let others help her.

The story was parallel to Hawke’s. I loved to read a little bit more on Hawke and Vale. It has been 10 months since I read their story so it was great to catch up a little bit.

I love suspense, drama or lots of hot stuff in my books and this one was more a great romance without all that but still I really really loved it. It is well written and has a great story line…

4 stars for “Jericho Brotherhood – 03 – Deny” by Jade Chandler

*** ARC kindly provided by the publisher Carina Press, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ***

denyDeny is the third book in the Jericho Brotherhood series by Jade Chandler. I really love MC series and this a good one combining hot sexy bikers and a bit of kink.  Well in this book more than a bit 😉  Marr is a Domme who has had enough of men and Jericho is a Dom or at least, he used to be one until he made a mistake in the past.  Determined not to love anymore and keep his dominant side hidden he thinks he can have fun with Marr without getting attached but we all know how that goes huh?  You can deny as much as you want but what’s meant to be, will happen!  Anyway this was a great MC romance with lots of kink and some suspense.  I loved reading them and look forward to read more in this series or from this author.

4 stars for A veil of Vines by Tillie Cole

*** ARC kindly provided by Ardent Prose in exchange for an honest review. ***

a-veil-of-vinesI really really really love her Hades Hangmen & Scarred Souls series. Gorgeous dark books!! So this one was very different but not in a bad way… I LOVED IT!!

I really did love this modern fairy tale. Caresa will get her dream prince. The one she has been promised to since they both were little children. Zeno is a very good looking Italian prince so she should be the luckiest girl in the world … but can you really be happy with an arranged marriage? A marriage really needed to save everything generations built? What if there is no spark, no connection, no attraction, … What if you find that with another man? A man so far below your class that it won’t be accepted. What do you choose?

I really did love this book and am so crazy about Achille! And even though I really disliked Zeno at first I think deep inside he’s a great person too! Will he get a book too?

I also fell in love with Italy and I have never ever been there. I don’t even drink wine but if I ever go there I will try it. It was so beautiful written…

4 stars for ‘Fort Worth Wranglers – 02 – Harmony and High Heels’ by Tracy Wolff and Katie Graykowski

harmony-and-high-heels

Blurb:

From New York Times Bestselling author Tracy Wolff and International Bestselling author Katie Graykowski comes a sizzling tale of heartbreak, Harley-Davidsons and high heels …

Harmony Wright is a bad girl living a good girl’s life. From the time she was born, she’s always been the good twin. The ladylike twin. The twin her high society (or at least as high society as you can get in San Angelo, TX) mom likes to parade in front of all her garden club friends. She’s gone along with it, too—wearing pearls and Chanel when ripped jeans and motorcycle boots are more her speed. But when Harmony takes off for an extended visit with her twin sister, Lyric, she leaves her good girl persona in the dust …

Dalton Mane knows what it is to be bad and he’s more than ready for the peace that comes with living the good life. Once the crown prince of a powerful biker gang, Bastards of Hell, he walked away from it all when tragedy struck. Now the general manager of the Fort Worth Wranglers, he spends his time wheeling and dealing in the sports world and all while keeping an entire team of football players in line.
When Harmony crashes into Dalton, his tidy little life is over. Will he give up everything to keep Harmony out of trouble?

Add to Goodreads

Buy on Amazon

Excerpt (this was one of my favorit parts in the book)

Dalton threw open the double doors to his office expecting the worst. He and Heath had just had their asses chewed out by the team owner, and returning to find Harmony in his office might have taken the sting out. But of course, he was right. She wasn’t there. Not that he’d expected her to be. She wouldn’t be the woman he thought she was if she’d just sat idly by, handcuffed to his desk, and waited for him to return.

But good God, what a mess she’d made.

He walked to his desk, shaking his head as he saw the disaster that was his floor. Then again, he figured he’d had it coming. Locking Harmony up had been a big risk, but one he hadn’t felt like he’d had a choice about. An angry Harmony was a liability. Having a coach involved in a bar fight really wasn’t that big of a deal, but if Harmony had burst into Dalton’s meeting with the team owner and Commissioner Goodell, things would have gone downhill in a big damn hurry.

Barry Lamont thought women were put on this earth to decorate it and should be seen but never heard, and, well, Dalton didn’t know Commissioner Goodell’s stance on women, but he was pretty sure that a pissed-off Harmony could have turned Gloria Steinem against her own kind.

He picked up the drawers and fit them back into his desk and then knelt down and scooped up all of the junk he’d collected over the years. He pulled the trash can over. Now was as good a time as any to spring-clean the hell out of his office.

An hour later, he couldn’t get Harmony out of his head. He didn’t feel the need to apologize to her so much as he just wanted to see what horrible things she had planned in retaliation. Besides the pencil-stabbed football, which—he wasn’t going to lie—hurt a lot.

Figuring the least he could do was send her a balloon bouquet—or maybe some high-end jewelry—he hit the space bar to bring his computer screen to life. Flowers seemed a little too cliché, and no baked goods on earth could compare to what Harmony whipped up with ease. But he wasn’t really sure where to look for biker chic in balloons or jewelry—he’d been too broke to afford either when he was a member of the Bastards, so he figured he’d mess around on the Internet, see what he could find.

When he clicked the icon for his web browser, it didn’t come up. So he clicked it again. And again. And again. Still nothing.

He clicked the icon for his monthly financial reports.

Nothing.

He clicked the icon for the team roster.

Nothing.

He clicked on the Apple icon to restart the computer, but no Apple menu dropped down.

What in the hell had Harmony done to his computer?

Pranks were one thing, but now she was messing with his job.

He grabbed his cell to call IT, but it was dead, so he grabbed the charging cable hooked to his computer and plugged in the phone. He hit the intercom button on his desk phone.

“Yes?” Eleanor answered.

“Can you have IT come up here? My computer isn’t working.” Shit. He’d known Harm was smart, but he hadn’t taken her for a computer genius. Maybe he should have, considering who her sister was.

“Absolutely. And thank you so much for that raise. I feel very appreciated, and so does the entire support staff. You’re very generous.” Eleanor sounded extraordinarily happy.

What raise?

“Yes, well, you deserve it.” He let go of the intercom button as his mind whirled with possibilities.

The entire support staff? Harmony had given a raise to the entire support staff? Jesus. Just how generous had she been? He banged his head on the keyboard, but all he got was a headache. He reached for his phone, but it still wasn’t charged enough to check email. Damn it. Five-Alarm Harm had struck again.

An hour later, IT still hadn’t fixed his computer.

“No way,” Jess Carlyle, head IT tech, said under his breath. “Whoever did this is a diabolical genius.”

Yeah, Dalton had already figured that out. But he wasn’t feeling nearly as warm and fuzzy about it as Jess seemed to be. “What do you mean?”

“The reason you couldn’t click on the icons is because your desktop is a picture of your desktop. Your actual desktop is underneath it. See?” He hit escape and the picture minimized. “I’m going to restart your computer and it should go back to normal.” He hit a series of buttons and then the log-in box came up. “Enter your password.”

Dalton leaned forward to type it in. Instead of opening to the desktop, the screen flickered for a second before saying he’d entered the wrong password. He entered it again and still nothing. She’d reset his password too. He’d give her points for creativity—right after he turned her over his knee and spanked that luscious bottom of hers.

“Can you reset my password?”

“Sure.” Jess typed and a series of screens came up. He typed and typed. “Enter your new password.”

Dalton typed in a new password and made a mental note to add it to the password list in his phone as opposed to the sticky note under his desk. He had no doubt he’d do something to piss Harmony off again soon, and he was a man who learned from his mistakes.

“What in the holy hell is going on here?” Barry Lamont boomed from the doorway. He stabbed the air in front of him with his tablet. He touched the screen, pulled something up, and waved it like Dalton could see it from fifty feet away. “You gave everyone a raise?”

“Jess, can you please excuse us?” Dalton shoved his hands in his pockets and tried not to think of all of the ways he was going to kill Harmony.

“You bet.” The computer guy left his laptop on the desk and strolled out of the office. “I’ll just see if Eleanor has any of that pie left.”

Wait a minute. Harmony had brought his assistant a pie? All he’d gotten were chocolate chip cookies, and Harm had taken those with her before he’d even gotten one. Which, come to think of it, didn’t seem fair considering all the havoc she had wrought.

“A raise …?” Barry was a domineering control freak who liked to think that he ran the world. “Son, what were you thinkin’?”

“My computer was hacked and an email was sent out without my knowledge or consent.” He’d gotten and kept this job by not backing down. “I’ll fix it.”

He couldn’t exactly say that he’d handcuffed Lyric Montgomery’s evil twin in his office and it was payback. Especially not after the meeting they’d just had with the commissioner.

“You’d better, or start looking for a new job.” Barry stormed out just like he’d stormed in.

Dalton took a couple of deep breaths and pulled up his sent emails. Harm had given everyone except the players, coaches, and cheerleaders a five-thousand-dollar-a-year raise. He scrubbed his face with his hands. With a few keystrokes, she’d added six hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars to his annual budget. How exactly did he revoke an almost company-wide raise without angering his employees?

Yes, he could send out another email explaining the situation, but people were funny about their money. They wouldn’t care that it had all been a joke.

What a big fuckin’ mess.

It looked like he’d be spending the rest of the afternoon finding a way to squeeze an additional six hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars out of the budget—which was not at all what he’d had planned.

Then again, nothing had gone as he’d planned since Five-Alarm Harm had walked into his life. The woman was a force of nature, and trying to control her was proving was fruitless.

What surprised him the most was that he didn’t want to control her. Even after everything she’d done, he wanted to sit back and watch her in action.

About the Authors

Tracy Wolff

tracy-wolff

Tracy Wolff collects books, English degrees and lipsticks and has been known to forget where—and sometimes who—she is when immersed in a great novel. At six she wrote her first short story—something with a rainbow and a prince—and at seven she forayed into the wonderful world of girls lit with her first Judy Blume novel. By ten she’d read everything in the young adult and classics sections of her local bookstore, so in desperation her mom started her on romance novels. And from the first page of the first book, Tracy knew she’d found her life-long love. Now an English professor at her local community college, she writes romances that run the gamut from contemporary to paranormal to erotic suspense.

And for all of those who want the unedited version:

Tracy Wolff lives with four men, teaches writing to local college students and spends as much time as she can manage immersed in worlds of her own creation. Married to the alpha hero of her dreams for twelve years, she is the mother of three young sons who spend most of their time trying to make her as crazy as possible.

You can find Tracy also on Twitter, www.tracywolff.blogspot.com and www.sizzlingpens.blogspot.com.

Tracy Wolff also writes as Tessa Adams

Katie Graykowski

katie-graykowski

I write romantic comedy with lots of heart. I like scuba diving, Mexican food, chocolate cream cheese frosting, movies where lots of stuff gets blown up, and sparkly things. I have a husband, a daughter, and three K-9 kids. I’d love to hear from you. Shoot me an email at katiegraykowski@me.com

http://www.katiegraykowski.com

REVIEW

*** ARC kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. ***

harmony-and-high-heels I really loved the first part in this series and it’s the same with book 2.  What a fun read!  I love how strong Harmony is.  But deep inside she’s insecure too.  The chemistry between Harmony and Dalton was great.  I also loved the humor in  this book.  It was also more realistic then book 1 but I did love that too in book 1.

Harmony is Lyric’s twin sister and we already met her in book 1.  To the outside she seems to be the good, decent sister but who knows who she really is.  She wants the world to know that she’s a bad-ass baker instead of the good girl her mother thinks her to be.  Dalton finds out soon enough how she really is but he loves every thing about Five-Alarm Harm.

I’m giving this second fun book in the series 4 stars too. What I missed (again) is an epilogue especially since it took so long for them to get their HEA.

I haven’t read many MM books yet but I would love to read Tre’s story.

4 stars for “Maiden Lane – 01 – Wicked Intentions” by Elizabeth Hoyt

*** ARC kindly provided by the publisher Forever (Grand Central Publishing), via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. ***

How I didn’t discover this author’s book earlier… It has been some time since I read an historical romance and I loved it!  And did you know that in the early 1737 there were men with a kinky side too?  Or at least in this book 😉

Temperance has been a widow since 9 years.  She helps her brother run a Home for Unfortunate Infants and Foundling Children.  She has her secret and thinks she has to suffer because of it.  The home has been her life for many years but she tries to stay as detached as possible from the children.

Lazarus grew up in an unloving family and has never loved anyone.  When his mistress of 2 years gets killed he wants to find the murderer even though he doesn’t feel anything.  To roam the streets he needs help.  This help he gets from Temperance.

While spending time they get closer … much closer.  Will they find the murderer or will the murderer catch them first?

I really enjoyed this book and the way it was written also felt historical.  I also loved the short pieces with POV’s from other characters around them.

I already marked Silence’s book and Winter’s as ‘need to read’ 😉  I’m also curious about her brother Asa whom is still a mystery …

4 stars for “Behind Closed Doors – 01 – Behind Closed Doors”

*** ARC kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. ***

behind-closed-doorsA famous poker player being blackmailed and a woman who’s afraid of taking risks. What will she do when Trouble crosses her path? Or is it a man in trouble? A story of earning trust, betrayal and suspense. Another wonderful book from LRJ.

This one can be read as a stand-alone but it gives a little bit more insight in Ella so if you plan to read the ‘Carless Whispers’ series I would advise to read books 1 and 2 of that series first.

Both characters were wonderful and strong. You could feel the chemistry between them. And even though I didn’t really like Daniel at first, I would love to read his story.

I loved this story but would have really enjoyed if there were some small parts with Jason’s POV.

4 stars for “Careless Whispers – 02 – Demand”

*** ARC kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. ***

demand-by-lrjI really love this author and have already read several of her books. As for Demand… it was great!! I read the first part in this series ‘Denial’ in October 2015 but it took me no time to get into the story again. I hope to read the next part sooner 😉

The story of Ella and Kayden continues. Ella’s memory is coming back piece by little piece. She still doesn’t know what happened but is an extremely, brave bad-ass!! Let’s just hope when Ella’s memory is back completely that she doesn’t turn out to be one of Kayden’s enemies … The last part ‘Surrender’ will be available in January 2017.

Read my Interview during the Blog Tour : Fort Worth Wranglers – 01 -Lyric and Lingerie by Tracy Wolff & Katie Graykowski

Check out my interview with the Tracy Wolff.

ll-tour-banner

picture1

Release Date: September 27, 2016

Blurb

From New York Times Bestselling author Tracy Wolff and International Bestselling author Katie Graykowski comes a sexy tale of love, laughter and lingerie …

Lyric Wright is an off-beat astrophysicist whose life is falling apart around her. After losing her fiancé to a hula dancing astrologer and losing her dress to an ill-fated leap of faith, she’s sure there’s nowhere for her life to go but up. At least until she sits down on a trans-Pacific flight next to the one man she never wanted to see again—the boy she’d lost her heart and her virginity too back before she’d learned that friendship and football don’t equal true love.

Broken down quarterback Heath Montgomery is on a plane ride to nowhere. Dodging the phone call he’s certain will end his professional football career for good, he might be Texas bound, but he knows there’s nowhere for him to go but down. But that’s before his childhood best friend and confidante plops back into his life wearing nothing but duct tape and a bad attitude. Determined not to lose her again (especially since he isn’t sure why he lost her the first time) and desperate to outrun his own shadowy future, Heath sets out to take Lyric on the ride of her life. Too bad she only dates men who actually know what her butterfly nebula is … and can find it without the help of a star chart.

Add in one passive-aggressive flight attendant with delusions of couture, a cherry red car with a crush on Neil Diamond, an over-protective sister with a black belt in Krav Maga, two parents determined to marry their spinster daughter off to the hometown hero no matter the cost, and a whole lot of lingerie popping up in all the right places at all the wrong times and you’ve got an unforgettable love story that fans of Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Rachel Gibson won’t want to miss!

Links

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31921673-lyric-and-lingerie?ac=1&from_search=true

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2c5EEkY

ll-teaser-1

Interview

I got the opportunity to ask Tracy Wolff some questions and I used the letters of the title as the first letters for my questions … Here they are:

L – Last book you had ugly tears? Hmm… can it be a movie? Playing by Heart made me cry like a baby a couple of days ago.

Y – Your favorite Cover?  Lovegame or Shattered

R – Romance or suspense?  Romance

I – I prefer to write with a glass of … ?  Cup of tea

C – Character in your books which you would love to have as a friend:  Theo from Doomed (YA under my Tracy Deebs pen name) or Ash from Shattered

A – A day in the life of … What does an average day look like?  I’ m a mom, so most of my average days revolve around work and kids. I get up at 4, write a couple of hours, then do the mom thing of getting the kids ready for school. After they’re at school, I come home and do an episode of Classical Stretch or Zumba or I go to the gym for an hour (which I HATE). Then I chat with my bff on the phone while I do a few chores, before settling down to work for a couple hours before running out the door to meet a friend (usually ten minutes late because I got caught up writing) for a late lunch.  Lunch usually goes a couple of hours, then I pick my youngest up, we do homework, then my middle one comes home and we chat as he does homework. Then I make dinner, do whatever else need to be done, watch an episode of whatever show we’re currently streaming with my kids, take a bath, put them to bed and then work until midnight or so.  Then I read for an hour before falling asleep for a couple of hours, then  wake up and repeat 🙂  Pretty boring, I guess, but it’s what gets the work done 🙂

N – Nighttime reading or during the day?  Bathtub/nighttime reading

D – Dominant male characters … Yummy or not?  Oh so yummy.  As long as they aren’t total asshats.

L – Last book you read:  Currently reading Summer of Supernovas by Darcy Woods (it’s adorable) and just finished Sadow Game by Christine Feehan

I – I would love a meet and great with …?  Matt Damon. The answer to any question about a famous person I want to meet is ALWAYS Matt Damon

N – Name of your favorite book boyfriend?  Zsadist from JR Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood

G – Greatest author?  Romance: Nalini Singh. Literary: Sandra Cisneros

E – Earliest reading memory?  Put Me in the Zoo

R – Reading or writing?  Both– can’t live without either

I – Inspiration for your latest book?  The one that just came out? Football.  The one I’m writing? Tinder

E – Ebook or paperback?  SO HARD. I’m a bathtub reader so I say paperback for that. Otherwise Ebook.

About the authors

Tracy Wolff

tracy-wolffTracy Wolff collects books, English degrees and lipsticks and has been known to forget where—and sometimes who—she is when immersed in a great novel. At six she wrote her first short story—something with a rainbow and a prince—and at seven she forayed into the wonderful world of girls lit with her first Judy Blume novel. By ten she’d read everything in the young adult and classics sections of her local bookstore, so in desperation her mom started her on romance novels. And from the first page of the first book, Tracy knew she’d found her life-long love. Now an English professor at her local community college, she writes romances that run the gamut from contemporary to paranormal to erotic suspense.

And for all of those who want the unedited version:

Tracy Wolff lives with four men, teaches writing to local college students and spends as much time as she can manage immersed in worlds of her own creation. Married to the alpha hero of her dreams for twelve years, she is the mother of three young sons who spend most of their time trying to make her as crazy as possible.

You can find Tracy also on Twitter, www.tracywolff.blogspot.com and www.sizzlingpens.blogspot.com.

Tracy Wolff also writes as Tessa Adams

Katie Graykowski

katie-graykowskiI write romantic comedy with lots of heart. I like scuba diving, Mexican food, chocolate cream cheese frosting, movies where lots of stuff gets blown up, and sparkly things. I have a husband, a daughter, and three K-9 kids. I’d love to hear from you. Shoot me an email at katiegraykowski@me.com

 

http://www.katiegraykowski.com

 

 

 

Excerpt

The second they stepped into Austin Bergstrom Airport, Lyric took off in a knees-together, Gangnam-style trot. He didn’t know where in the hell she was going, but she sure was in a hurry.

“Lyric?” Heath ran after her, his bad knee turning his own run into a shuffling gallop.

“I gotta pee now …” she sing-songed and picked up the pace. “And I can’t put a hold on it.”

“But how are you going to—” He watched her disappear into the women’s bathroom. “—get out of that dress?”

It didn’t take long for him to figure out that she was going to be right back out. She might not have been thinking about the mechanics of stripping off that damn dress, but he’d spent entirely too much of his adult life getting women out of their clothes to know that it was going to be a problem. A serious problem.

He glanced around, saw a small station of plastic flatware a few feet away near the restaurants. He wasn’t sure what good a plastic knife was going to do against tightly wrapped duct tape, but he was willing to give it the old Wrangler try. But when he got up to the institutional silverware holder, the only things left were a bunch of sporks and one sorry looking plastic knife. He grabbed them all, along with a couple of straws and a handful of mayonnaise packets for lubrication. He decided to leave the mustard where it was.

He made it back to the bathroom just as Lyric limped out, a look of crestfallen agony on her beautiful face. With a smile, he held up his plundered booty. “I’ve got you covered.”

She stared at the mismatched selection he’d picked up, then rolled her eyes. “I’m not a cheeseburger, Heath.”

“Yeah, well, the selection was limited. I did the best I could.” He crouched down next her. “Let’s get you out of this dress.”

She glanced around wildly. “Not here.”

“Why not here? I thought you had to go to the bathroom.”

“I’m not wearing anything under this duct tape.”

He froze, even as his heartbeat went wild. “Nothing?” She’d said so earlier, but he’d thought she was kidding. He swallowed. All that lovely white skin, and the only thing between it and him was a thin veneer of tape. There wasn’t a man alive who hadn’t had that dream a time or two.

“My dress ripped, remember?” She shuffled from foot to foot. Lyric hummed the chorus of Beyonce’s “Put a Ring on It.” Huh?

“Yeah, but what about your underwear?” “The dress was too tight. I didn’t want a panty line.” She sucked in air like it was going out of style.

“Lyric Wright, are you telling me you weren’t lying when you told me you were traveling halfway across the Pacific in nothing but duct tape?” He might have a heart attack himself, especially now that he was picturing all the bare skin just beneath his hands.

“Well, it wasn’t by choice. Believe me.” Standing up, he propelled her back through the bathroom entrance. They were already attracting a fair amount of attention, and there was no way in hell he was stripping Lyric down in front of half the men in the Austin airport.

“Heath. This is the ladies’ room.” She sounded scandalized. “Would you rather go into the men’s room and do this?” Over his dead body, but she didn’t need to know that.

“Well, no. But you’ll get in trouble.” She looked around like she was waiting for some sort of bathroom bouncer to appear and toss him out.

“By who? The bathroom police?” He laughed. “Sweetheart, we’re in the Lone Star State now. Short of losing the Super Bowl or wearing 49ers colors, there’s not much I can do in this state that will get me into trouble.”

“Seriously?” She eyed him with disgust.

“This is the great state of Texas. When people talk about the Holy Trinity, they’re talking about Jesus, the NRA, and the Fort Worth Wranglers. So yeah, you and I could drop down right here on this surprisingly clean tile and go for it, and the only comments people would make would be to offer suggestions … to you. And they’d still want me to sign their tits.”

“You know this from experience?” She glanced at the floor, and he could just see that huge brain of hers filing away the facts.

Despite the potty dance she was doing, it was really an example of Lyric at her finest. Never judgmental, simply interested in gathering information. At least, until she said, “Well, just so you know. If it gets to that, I’m taking the top. And if you hurry and get this dress off, I just might be willing to give it a shot.”

It was the wrong thing for her to say. Now his mind was filled with all kinds of inappropriate images, namely of Lyric and her double Ds above him as she followed the advice of T-shirts everywhere: Save a horse. Ride a Cowboy.

But he could tell things were getting critical, and he really didn’t want her to have an accident, so he ushered her to the large handicap stall at the back of the restroom.

As he locked the door behind them, one of the women who’d been primping at the mirror called, “When’s my turn, Deuce?”

“One at a time, ma’am. The line forms to the right,” he called over the stall door. He turned to Lyric. “All right,” he said, laying out his improvised tools on the ledge created by the toilet paper holder like a nurse preparing a tray of sterile implements. “Let’s get to work.”

Examining the duct tape like it was a medium-rare New York strip, Heath grabbed the spork in his left hand and took the knife in his right. Then he stepped back and spent a moment taking stock. Did he start at the top and work down or at the bottom and work up? Both had appeal.

Lyric danced from side to side, humming Beyoncé louder. “Do. Something.”

He hadn’t remembered her ever humming before. He knelt in front of her—genuflecting to Mistress Duct Tape—and pain shot through his bad knee at the awkward position. Gritting his teeth, he ignored it and sawed lightly at the dress’s hem. The pathetic plastic knife bent and twisted under his hand with each slice, but he didn’t want to hurt her so he kept the pressure light.

“Hurry.” She clamped her thighs together. Christ, the way she said that word—like he was inside her and she couldn’t come fast enough—turned him on.

Great, now he had a bum knee and a hard-on from hell to deal with.

Instead of focusing on the pain, he concentrated on freeing her bare bottom. Her round, lush, sexy-as-hell bare bottom. Sweat broke out on his upper lip, and he shifted, determined to concentrate on the problem at hand. “Open your legs.” It came out a little short, but seriously, if he had a nickel for every time he’d said that, he’d have a shitload of nickels. “Sit on the toilet.” Now that was a new one.

Lyric looked at him in horror, then leaned over and pulled several handfuls of toilet paper from the holder before she began arranging them as a seat cushion. Heath scooted closer to her.

“Jesus, I thought you were in a hurry.”

“I am, but there are rules. A lady squats but never sits on a public toilet. Did you know the average public toilet has two million bacteria per square inch?”

She piled more toilet paper into what could only be called a wreath arrangement on the seat. Was it a centerpiece or a toilet? He was getting confused. Especially when his old pal Lyric referred to herself as a lady. He’d never thought of her like that before.

Then again, now that he’d been this close to her luscious thighs, he’d probably never be able to think of her as anything but. He rubbed his knee. “I’ll file that little tidbit under Lyric’s Fun Facts. Right up there with the one in twenty shot of a meteorite striking a plane.”

“Okay.” She half sat, half dropped onto the seat. “I’m ready.”

Heath didn’t have the heart to tell her that most of her fluffy seat cushion had landed on the floor.

“Here,” she inched her legs apart, “whatever you’ve got planned—GO FASTER.”

“Usually when I’m going at a woman from this angle I like to take my time. But in your case, I’ll make an exception.”

With all the force he could allow, he stabbed at the tape. The knife broke in half. “Damn.”

Lyric’s legs started to vibrate. “What’s taking so long? Prisoners with the intelligence of spider monkeys are able to dig out of Alcatraz with nothing but a spoon, but you can’t break me out of this dress?”

He shook his head. “There’s never a convict with a shiv around when you need one.” He had two Super Bowl rings, a Heisman Trophy, and more wins than he could count. There was no way in hell a few strips of duct tape were going to break his winning streak.

With all the murderous intent of Norman Bates’s mother with a butcher knife, Heath rammed the spork at the tape. The spork cracked down the middle and bit into his palm.

He stared at it for a second, then decided fuck it. It was past time to go old school. “Hold on honey, I’m going in.”

Licking his lips, he stuck his head between her thighs and clamped his teeth down on the tape. But the second his jaw scraped against her inner thighs, Lyric shrieked.

Her surprisingly strong thighs—who knew an astrophysicist could be so toned—clamped down on his ears and she giggled. “What are you doing? That tickles.” Lyric wiggled against him.

“My dad always taught me to use the tools at hand, and right now these are all I’ve got left.” Heath bit through the bottom edge of the dress, then spit out a chunk of tape and went for the next layer. It wasn’t the first dress he’d chewed through, but it was the first one that had stuck to his teeth.

 

 

ll-teaser-2

Review

*** ARC kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. ***

 

Well this was something else… I was really in the mood for a light and fun read and this was it.  With moments a little bit unrealistic but great!  This is the fun story of Heath and Lyric.  Best friends when they were children.  Heath was in love with his best friends twin sister Harmony.  Twelve years ago he lost his girlfriend and his best friend and he never new why.  Years later fate brings Heath and Lyric on seets in the same airplane.  Heath with his sports carreer shattered and Lyric litterally taped together on the way to her father who had heart problems.  Heath has missed Lyric all those years and doesn’t want to loose his Lyric again.  He even plans a fake engagement.  But how can he make Lyric see that this is real and NOT fake.  Can he get her to trust him? Can you build a relationship built on little white lies?

I’m giving this fun read 4 stars.  I would love it if the next book was Harmony’s story because she’s really a tough, wonderful woman…  What I missed is an Epilogue.  Maybe we’ll read more about them in the next book…