Thursday 30 April 2015

Review - Benjo by Shira Ohayon



Title: Benjo
Series: The Power Couple #1
Author: Shira Ohayon
Release Date: March 31, 2015



Jordan is the hot young starlet who has appeared in several successful films. While she is just in her early 20s, Hollywood is hers for the taking.

Benjamin is her older leading man. A well-respected and successful actor in his own right, he is also known for dating – and ditching – his co-stars.

Even as sparks fly during their first encounter, their mutual attraction is undeniable. On set, their chemistry sizzles.

But in “real life” things are a bit more complicated.

For one thing, they are each dating other people. Then there’s a considerable age difference. Should they be content with a good working relationship? Can they be just friends? Should they even attempt taking their friendship to the next level?

The inspiration for this story is taken from actual people; but the occurrences mentioned – even the real ones - are just my imaginative variation.

*Mature Content* contains sexual situations and language.





AMAZON US / UK




Friendship is good but love is so much better…

From the minute Benjamin Connor and Jordan Linden meet on the movie set, they become instant friends. Jordan’s career is off to a great start and working with, and learning from, the more experienced actor is a dream come true.

Benjamin is impressed by the talent and charm of his younger co-star, and their professional and personal lives continue to intertwine after their first movie is done.

Romance is really not on the horizon as the two are involved with other people and the timing never seems right. Will love conquer or all or is that only ever found on the silver screen?

I admit the original cover for this story didn’t attract me at all, but luckily the blurb intrigued me enough to give it a chance. And what a treat awaited me! Be prepared to meet the nicest people you will ever hope to meet in Hollywood. This is fiction, of course, but the author admits to some truth in the pages. I wonder if the “nice” is real or fiction?

Regardless, Jordan and Benjamin are wonderful together as their friendship is marked with love, support and great conversations. They don’t want to lose each other by changing the dynamic of their friendship but love is always the trump card. Their road is not without bumps and we are taken along for an entertaining ride.

Sweet, a touch of steam, and a “feel good”, non-cliffy ending has me happily on team Benjo and looking forward to the next in the series.

~ Review by Diane






Born and raised in central Israel, in a beach-side city named Rishon le Zion, it's a shame I burn so easily.

Writing is my favorite form of expression, although it is hard to shut me up when I start talking...

I'm adding books to my to-read instead of actually sitting down and reading, and I'm coming up with many half-baked ideas instead of just sitting down and writing.

I've been a fangirl since I was 12 and haven't been able to stop... this reflects in my first book, Benjo :)

Currently working on finishing my first screenplay for a suspense/action movie called Protection and writing my second novel - a second installment to The Power Couple series.




Release Week Blitz - A Match Made on Main Street by Olivia Miles




Title: A Match Made on Main Street
Series: Briar Creek  #2
Author: Olivia Miles
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: April 28, 2015



Anna Madison has faithfully avoided her old flame for six years, even though their Main Street restaurants are only a few blocks apart. The sting of his rejection was enough to make her swear off dating for good, but when her successful restaurant is damaged in a fire, she's left to the mercy of the one man she's spent years proving she doesn't need...and convincing herself she doesn't want. Mark Hastings can't say he's happy being alone, but at least his heart is safe. Burnt out from running the Briar Creek diner, he's ready for a change. He tells himself he's just being neighborly by letting Anna use his kitchen, but being by her side again stirs up temptations he might not be able to resist a second time around.



AMAZON US / UK





Mark leaned in, catching a whiff of her sweet scent as he did. He closed his eyes briefly, trying to capture the single sense. When he looked up, Anna was staring at him, her gaze hooded. He could lean in, just another inch, remember what it felt like to kiss her mouth, to feel her soft curves pressed against him.
He pulled himself back in the stool instead. He was here to find her friendship again. Nothing more. “The bookstore’s doing fine now; I see people in there all the time. It’s never looked so great.”
Anna sighed through a small smile. “It does, yes. But…that’s not what has me worried.  I took out a loan to match Grace’s investment. She’s covering rent and the bookstore renovation; I’m covering well…everything else. For now. It was all going to be fine. More than fine. And then--”
“The fire.”
She nodded. “The fire.”
“How bad is it?”
She met his stare. “Bad.”
He let out a low whistle. It was exactly the kind of situation that made Hastings to appealing. The place was paid up; they owned it outright. A new venture, of any kind, could never offer the same security. One day it could be booming, the next…
“Does Grace know?”
“No,” said quickly, “and I don’t intend to tell her.”
He leaned into his elbow. “So what’s your plan, then?”
She looked at him quizzically. “I intend to win this contest!”
He burst out laughing, hearing his own foolish desires in her preposterous statement. Until now, winning had been a vague notion, not something he was banking on, but hearing her say it aloud, a desire to not only compete but to win, made him suddenly believe it was possible. That anything was possible.
“I do intend to win!” Anna cried, but even she couldn’t stop from laughing. The sound rolled through the room and pulled at his heart, filling holes he didn’t even know were there.
He didn’t realize he’d stopped laughing until she did. The air went still, punctured only by the sound of his heart beating in his chest, and he knew he couldn’t hold back any longer. Without thinking, or daring to consider the consequences, he leaned into her and her eyes flashed with surprise, her lashes fluttering quickly as he slid off his stool and closed the distance between them.
A gasp of surprise escaped her throat as he brought his lips to hers and his hands came around her waist, pulling her close to his chest until he felt her body relax on each kiss. He sensed her hesitation, but he couldn’t pull back, not when her lips were on his, her sweet taste filling his senses. She parted her mouth, and he pulled her closer, feeling the soft swell of her breasts against his chest. His groin pooled with warmth as her thighs rubbed against his. He pressed his palms deeper into her back, and lower, resisting the urge to explore her hips, knowing if he did he wouldn’t be able to stop.  And he should stop--he should. But…he couldn’t.
He kissed her, as if for the first time, tasting the forbidden fruit, knowing it was wrong, wrong, wrong, even thought it felt so damn right. He tore his lips from hers, letting his mouth roam her neck, burying himself into her hair, that coconut-scented hair, and breathed into her ear, wondering if she would run, if she’d push him back, tell him to go.
He pulled back, watching the way her eyes searched his. He should say something, explain himself, but there was nothing to say.
Anna’s cheeks were dotted with pink as she picked up a knife and pulled the vegetables from the basket. His gaze lingered her on a few moments more, watching the way she expertly chopped and diced, the way they’d been instructed in school, fingers tucked.
“Anna.” His voice was low and husky.
He should tell her it was a mistake, that it couldn’t happen again. That he wanted to be friends, to make her understand once and for all that it was all they ever should have been. 
“We should get to work,” she said abruptly, and he hated the slight quiver in her voice. “We still have a lot do and we leave for Cedar Valley tomorrow afternoon.”
They’d be at the lodge for two nights; he’d have time to talk to her then. For now, she was right. It was time to get to work, put all personal matters aside, and focus on winning this contest. And getting what they wanted at long last.







Having grown up in New England, Olivia Miles attended McGill University in Montreal, Quebec before settling in Chicago where she lives with her husband, their daughter, and two ridiculously pampered pups. When she is not chasing after her little ones, she is hard at work creating feisty heroines and alpha heroes with a heart. A city girl with a fondness for small town charm, Olivia enjoys highlighting both ways of life in her stories.



Release Day Blitz - Fervent by Gemma James




Title: Fervent 
Series: Condemned #3
Author: Gemma James
 Release Date: April 30, 2015


Synopsis

I never imagined things could get worse, but they do. The men who took us show no mercy. They won’t stop until they’ve destroyed Rafe for something he has no memory of, and I’m their weapon of choice.
 
Tortured and defiled, they make me wish I was back in that cabin where death was favorable to drawing another breath, but our captors can’t break what’s already broken.
 
What scares me is the madness I see festering inside Rafe. I’ve taken his freedom, his career, his reputation, yet despite all I’ve done, he’s determined to fight for me, kill for me, give everything he is for me.
 
He’ll even die for me.

 
NOTE TO READERS

FERVENT is a new adult dark romance with disturbing themes and explicit content, including sexual scenes and violence that may offend some. Intended for mature audiences. Part three of the CONDEMNED series. This is not a stand-alone read! Please begin with TORRENT and RAMPANT, otherwise, FERVENT might not make much sense.









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Author Bio

Gemma James is the multi-genre author of several novels and novellas, from new adult suspense to dark erotic romance. She loves to explore the darker side of human nature in her fiction. She’s morbidly curious about anything dark and edgy, from deviant sex to serial killers. Readers have described her stories as being “not for the faint of heart.”

She lives in Oregon with her husband and their four children—three rambunctious UFC/wrestling-loving boys and one girl who steals everyone’s attention.



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Release Day Blitz - Hard by Eve Jagger




Title: Hard
Series: Sexy Bastard #1
Author: Eve Jagger
 Release Date: April 30, 2015


Synopsis


Strong. Arrogant. Hard.

Ryder Cole is the King of Atlanta’s nightlife — and the one man who can erase my past.

I’m running from secrets that could destroy me and there’s no room in my life for someone like him: too damn cocky, and sexy as hell. I should keep my distance, but smart goes out the window the minute he looks my way. And when he puts his hands on me…

A girl could forget her own name. But what happens when the past catches up with me, and all the things I’m hiding from tear our lives apart again? I can’t keep running forever, and Ryder always wins.






Links to Buy

AMAZON US / UK





Author Bio


Eve Jagger is a native of Georgia and is a true southern girl at heart. A stay at home mom to two kids, she's married to a sexy man who doesn’t mind being used as research for those naughty scenes.

Eve cut her teeth writing in high school and college, but it wasn’t until recently that she got the itch to write a full length novel. She loves complex, emotionally-charged characters and wild, sexy leading men. Hard: A Sexy Bastard Book releases at the end of April 2015 and she can’t wait for you to meet her characters that occupy her mind 24/7! Eve loves to talk and meet people on social media, so be sure and touch base with her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/evejaggerbooks or Twitter https://twitter.com/evejwrites.


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