Showing posts with label Exclusive Excerpt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Exclusive Excerpt. Show all posts

Friday, 22 February 2019

Release Boost - Overture by Skye Warren




Title: Overture
Series: North Security #1
Author: Skye Warren
Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance
Release Date: February 19, 2019



Blurb

Forbidden fruit never tasted this sweet…

The world knows Samantha Brooks as the violin prodigy. She guards her secret truth—the desire she harbors for her guardian.

Liam North got custody of her six years ago. She’s all grown up now, but he still treats her like a child. No matter how much he wants her.

No matter how bad he aches for one taste.

Her sweet overtures break down the ex-soldier’s defenses, but there’s more at stake than her body. Every touch, every kiss, every night. The closer she gets, the more exposed his darkest secret.

She’s one step away from finding out what happened the night she lost her family. One step away from leaving him forever.







Purchase Links

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU






Exclusive Excerpt

I crouch down in front of her, the same way I did when she was twelve years old. Even then she would clutch her violin for comfort. She does it now without even realizing. “Samantha, I told you that your father had enemies. If they think you know something—”
“I was just a child.”
Children can be dangerous. This one had always terrified me. “A child who might remember something from when she was hiding under her father’s desk. Not only from the day he died. From before that. A phone call. A conversation.”
She stares at me, bewildered. “What could I have heard that’s dangerous?”
Because her father was a diplomat between politicians who aren’t in power anymore. That’s what she means. But what she doesn’t know is that he was a traitor to his country. That his actions disrupted governments—this country’s government—with repercussions that continued past his death.
Yes, people would kill to keep those kinds of secrets quiet.
“I’m going to ask you to do something, Samantha. When you do the press for the tour, when the reporters ask you about this, say you don’t remember anything.”
She blinks. “They’re only going to ask about the music.”
“Kimberly Cox didn’t only ask about the music.”
Her brown eyes turn dark. “Are you sorry she came here?”
She isn’t asking about the damn questions. She wants to know about the kiss. I should say yes. I should be sorry that the woman kissed me, that I kissed her back for even a split second, wanting her to be someone else. But that led to me walking in on Samantha. As wrong as it was, it was the single most erotic experience of my life. It was more than I dreamed I’d ever have of her.
To my shame I’ve jerked off to the image of her in my head every single night. Every morning. My cock throbs in my slacks right now, eager to push through the fabric. To shove aside her skirt and press itself into her warm, welcoming body. She’d let me. She’d beg me to keep going.
“No,” I say, my voice rough. “I’m not sorry.”
Hurt flashes through her eyes, but I can’t begin to explain the complexity of my feelings for her. The way I shouldn’t want her. The way I want her anyway. My father always said I had the devil inside me. Part of me never really believed him—at least until I saw her masturbating. It took every last, torn shred of decency I have left inside me to walk away.
Her chin rises, because she’s always been so damn strong. She’s always deserved better than me. “I’ll agree to your rule if you answer one question. Honestly.”
My insides tighten. I don’t want this bargain, but her safety is worth it. It’s worth anything. “What’s the question?”
I expect her to ask something about her father, to finally back me into a corner and demand the truth. She deserves that much. Why did you get custody of me? What happened to my father? I would have to tell her.
“Did you ever want me?” she asks. “Really want me.”
I swallow hard. “That’s what you want to know?”
The milestones are coming at me fast, and they’re coming hard. Soon she’ll graduate from high school. She’ll turn eighteen. Those milestones are taking her away from me, bit by bit. None of them compare to what happens when her tour begins. Then she moves to Tanglewood for two months of practice for the tour and the opening show. She’ll travel the whole world.
“Yes, I want you,” I say, my voice hard. “No, that doesn’t even begin to describe… I need you. I crave you. I dream about that kiss in the club.”
“Then why won’t you—”

“Because you’re not eighteen, for one thing. Almost doesn’t count.”






Author Bio

Skye Warren is the New York Times bestselling author of contemporary romance such as the Chicago Underground series. Her books have been featured in Jezebel, Buzzfeed, USA Today Happily Ever After, Glamour, and Elle Magazine. She makes her home in Texas with her loving family, two sweet dogs, and one evil cat. 



Author Links

Wednesday, 3 June 2015

Exclusive Excerpt, Giveaway & Reviews - Killer Instincts Series by Elle Kennedy




Title: Midnight Captive
Series: Killer Instincts #6
Author: Elle Kennedy
Publisher: Signet
Release Date: June 2, 2015



Former CIA agent Bailey Jones has spent months trying to forget her night of passion with mercenary Sean Reilly. An elite and methodical assassin, she has no room in her life for a reckless, rule-breaking Irishman, and she’s vowed to steer clear of the tempting bad boy who lured her into his bed under false pretenses.

When Sean is implicated in the robbery of a Dublin bank, Bailey knows something isn’t right. So what if she can’t trust him? There’s no way Sean would end up on the wrong side of the law. In fact, he’s stuck in the middle of a dark and dirty conspiracy that could put his twin brother’s life at risk with one wrong move. And Bailey’s life too when she agrees to help.

As the stakes are raised and Bailey finds herself torn between two brothers, the fine line between danger and desire is crossed…and it’ll take more than a killer instinct to survive.






AMAZON US / UK




This book followed Sean Reilly and Bailey. First, let me say, who doesn’t love an Irish bloke?!?!? Okay, now that we have that out of the way, Sean is in trouble and Bailey comes to save him...or so she thinks. What we see is not always what it appears, right?

Alas, Bailey doesn’t do love or relationships. Sean is determined to have her as his and get her out of the shit he’s into, but Bailey is a strong, single woman who takes care of herself.

I have to say, I needed more Oliver in this book, so I hope he gets his own story. The whole time I was reading this, I had this great picture of Sean in my head...and this doesn’t happen very often. Sigh. The story felt so real to me. Having been to Ireland, I could picture the city and more. I could hear the accents in my head with the dialogue. I was totally transported.

The sex was sizzling and the action super fun! This girl loves some hot Alpha men and there was no shortage here!! I’m TOTALLY in love with Liam and Sully and will BEG Elle for more...like, NOW!
 
~ Heather, 4 stars





Sean couldn’t fathom what he was seeing. He had to be imagining it. Imagining her.

He blinked rapidly, feeling like a thirst-ridden desert nomad hallucinating a mirage. A beautiful, confusing mirage featuring the woman of his dreams.

Jesus Christ. This was no hallucination. She was actually here. Four feet away from him.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” By some miracle, he managed to keep his voice to a whisper, but he couldn’t conceal his anger. Or his horror.

She was clad in all black—long-sleeve shirt, tight pants, sleek boots. Her hair was pulled into a tight knot at the nape of her neck, emphasizing her classic features and big gray eyes, and she looked as enraged as he felt.

“Me? Goddamn it, Sean! What are you doing here?”

He didn’t answer. Couldn’t answer. His vocal cords were paralyzed, and his brain had turned into a jumble of spaghetti noodles trying to make sense of her presence. How had she infiltrated the bank? And why, for Christ’s sake?

He had no answers for that, and all he was capable of focusing on was the fact that she was here. Bailey was here. His Bailey.

Not yours. Never yours.

The swift reminder brought a jolt of pain. No, she wasn’t his. She was Ollie’s.

“You need to go,” he said urgently. “Right now.”

“I came here for you,” she replied in a fierce voice. “And I’m not leaving without you.”

“Bloody hell, Bailey, you need to go.” He stalked forward and grabbed her arm, trying to drag her toward the kitchenette. “You can’t be here.”

Frustration burned in her eyes. Those beautiful gray eyes that were too big for her face, giving her a perpetual doe-eyed air of fragility. But she wasn’t fragile. She was tough as nails, exceedingly intelligent, and highly trained. She held her weapon with ease, and Sean knew damn well that her lithe, curvy body was probably concealing many more dangerous goodies.

It was so easy to see why his brother loved her.

He banished the thought the second it surfaced, along with the bitterness that coated his throat. Bitterness that transformed right back into rage when Bailey shrugged his hand off her and slammed her fist directly into his solar plexus.

The blow landed with a thud, making him grunt. For such a small woman, she was insanely strong. “Why are you doing this? What on earth compelled you to rob a bank?”


ALSO AVAILABLE IN THE KILLER INSTINCTS SERIES


#1 Midnight Rescue

AMAZON US / UK

OUR REVIEW

"Dangerous. Ruthless. Savage. And she's the good guy."

This is just the beginning of the synopsis of Midnight Rescue by Elle Kennedy. Sexy thriller, is what I would call it. Hot women, even HOTTER MEN, ready to take on the criminals. Saving those who can’t save themselves…

Abby Sinclair is an assassin by trade. Non-feeling, ever thinking and doing the job that needs to be done. Kane Woodland isn’t much different than Abby; a deadly mercenary who does anything needed for the mission.

I’m a huge fan of crime/thriller type books and movies. Elle did an amazing job with this book. There is just enough sex for me to keep the heat level up, and the adrenaline level is high also! I’m in love with the power struggle between Abby and Kane, and with the way the story unfolds. This isn’t your ideal love affair between two tortured souls. This is so much more!

~ Heather, 4 stars





#2 Midnight Alias

AMAZON US / UK

OUR REVIEW

In this installment we visit NYC where Jim Morgan's crew of misfit mercenaries are looking for an undercover DEA agent who has gone missing. Luke DuBois is the one tasked to do surveillance inside of Diamond Mine to get a better read on Vince Angelo’s business. What he doesn’t expect is to find Livy Lovelace, aka Olivia Taylor.

I’m a huge fan of Elle’s style of hot, hunky, Alpha men and the wild, crazy, strong women in their lives. Sometimes they are part of the team, sometimes they aren’t, but either way they lead us down a dark, dangerous, thrilling road. The action leaps off the page and keeps you turning pages as fast and furiously as possible. The sexual chemistry and tension leaves you wanting more and panting.

While each story could be read as a standalone, they are better read as a series.

~ Heather, 4 stars




#3 Midnight Games

AMAZON US / UK

OUR REVIEW

At the end of Midnight Alias, Isabel leaves NYC and heads to Paris. Upon returning from Paris after a five month stint undercover, she heads for Mexico, to Morgan's compound. While there, the compound is ambushed…except for Jim Morgan, who is conveniently on a mission and can’t be reached.

While the teams contact Noelle for help and put out a BOLO for Morgan, they spread out all over the world from Costa Rica to California. From Baja to Monte Carlo, the adventures are plentiful in this book.

Since we’ve already established I’m a huge fan of romantic suspense books, it goes without saying that I’m really loving this one. Isabel and Trevor are fighting the ‘feelings’ they have for each other every step of the way. The chemistry is HOT and so is the angsty passion that follows.

We get to know more of the team in this installment and I love it. The suspense, action, thrills and chills are fabulous. As we navigate the waters of Morgan and Noelle’s teams, and the chameleons that they all are, we take a wild sexual, adventurous ride!

~ Heather, 4 stars





#4 Midnight Pursuits

AMAZON US / UK

OUR REVIEW

Juliet Mason finds herself in a predicament and calls her old pal, Isabel, for help. What she doesn’t expect is Ethan Hayes to show up instead.

Ethan is one of Jim Morgan’s bad boy mercenaries and Juliet is one of Noelle’s chameleon assassins, who always works alone…until now. After the death of someone close to her, Juliet needs help to stop the man who directed the attacks.

Ethan is the rookie. Young. Hot. Sexy Marine. Juliet is hung up on the fact that Ethan is younger than her and Ethan is determined to sway her to his side; that his age isn’t a negative but will work to their advantage. Stamina is always a winner.

I really liked the banter between Juliet and Ethan. The sex was seriously HOT! The action was phenomenal. We even got to glimpse some of the other characters a bit more... Sexy Suspense, that’s what I would tag this series! <3

~ Heather, 4 stars




#5 Midnight Action

AMAZON US / UK

OUR REVIEW

Again we find ourselves in a race against time with Jim Morgan and Noelle, when Noelle is hired as an assassin to kill Jim. She has a short time to complete the task before the job goes open on the live market.

Together Jim and Noelle travel to Paris to find the man who hired her. What they don't expect to find is a rekindled romance, oh so much blood, sweat and even some tears along the way.

The chemistry between Jim and Noelle has never faded despite years of anger, frustration and being wronged by each other. The sex is amazing. The fast paced, never say die, follow the puzzle mystery was just what the doctor ordered. The characters that make up Jim's band of mercenaries help them out along the way. I'm excited to see what the next book brings and who it will feature!

~ Heather, 4 stars






A USA Today bestselling author, Elle Kennedy grew up in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, and holds a B.A. in English from York University. From an early age, she knew she wanted to be a writer, and actively began pursuing that dream when she was a teenager.

Elle currently publishes with Signet Eclipse, Harlequin Romantic Suspense, Samhain Publishing and Entangled Brazen. She loves strong heroines and sexy alpha heroes, and just enough heat and danger to keep things interesting!




Thursday, 12 June 2014

Exclusive Excerpt - Beauty in the Ashes by Micalea Smeltzer

 
 
Title: Beauty in the Ashes
Series: Beautifully Broken #1
Author: Micalea Smeltzer
Release Date: July 15, 2014
 

 
Standalone Dark Contemporary Romance
 
Some stories are a fairytale...but this isn't one.

Caelan Gregory’s life fell apart the night he went home and opened the door to find his whole family murdered. Since then, his life has held no meaning. He’s angry. He’s bitter. He’s barely human anymore. There’s nothing left to remind him of the straight A student, and football quarterback he once was…but he wasn’t a good person then, and he’s certainly not a good person now. He’s retreated into a world where all that exists is numbness and his passion for painting.

When Sutton Hale moves into the apartment across the hall from Caelan she’s not prepared for her reaction to him. Something in his broken blue eyes calls to her—after all she’s always had an irrational need to fix everything.

But Caelan doesn’t do relationships or feelings. He does drugs and alcohol. However, he can’t ignore his desire to get to know the raven-haired woman across the hall.

Two broken souls trying to mend one another.

But not everything can be fixed.

In the end, Caelan and Sutton will have to learn that there is beauty in the ashes.

 
 
 
 
 
 
Unedited and subject to change

Sutton's POV

I typed his name into the search engine, hoping I spelled it right, and waited for it to load.
Almost immediately a news article popped up.
I didn’t bother reading the tagline. I just clicked on it. It was an article about some high school, local to where we were now, and the football team. Skimming the article, I came across Caelan’s name highlighted. Apparently he was the quarterback. I didn’t know what the heck a quarterback did. I was not a sports person. Scrolling further down, I found a picture of the team. In the front, kneeling on the ground with his helmet in his hand was Caelan. His hair was even lighter than it was now. He was smiling widely. A huge, genuine, happy smile. There was a cockiness in the way he held himself. He was more muscular in this picture and a little heavier. Even in the picture, his eyes were piercing.
I pressed the back button, searching for anything else.
I stopped, an icy shiver making the hairs on my back stand on end when I read the headline.
Gregory Family Murders—One Survivor.
Swallowing down the sudden lump in my throat, I clicked on it.
I was immediately assaulted with a picture of a family—Caelan’s family.
They looked so happy. The guy in the picture, a teenage Caelan, looked nothing like the man I knew. His smile was genuine and he had his arm wrapped around a girl that had to be his sister they looked so much alike. With a gasp, I realized she was the girl in many of his paintings.
I forced my eyes away from him and his sister to look at his parents. They looked kind and so in love. His mother looked like she could have been a movie star with blonde hair that matched her children’s. Caelan had the exact shade of blue eyes that she had. His father had light brown hair and a proud narrow nose that he’d given his son, along with the same jaw and small dimple in their chin.
I couldn’t help but look back at his sister. Her golden hair was long, falling over her shoulders. She was smiling widely and her blue eyes were wide, sparkling with happiness and excitement.
It killed me looking at Caelan’s image and noting the differences in the man I knew now.
His eyes were cloudy looking and he certainly didn’t smile like that—so carefree and content. His hair hung limply in his eyes now, not styled back like in the picture. Even his skin tone was different now. While in the picture he glowed with a tan like he’d recently been to the beach, he was now so pale that he resembled a vampire…he kind of acted like one too.
The guy I saw in the staring back at me from the computer screen didn’t seem anything like the one I knew now.
While old Caelan glowed with warmth and light, new Caelan was dull and gloomy.
Scrolling past the picture, I began to read the article, and was quickly overcome with horror.
Eighteen-year-old Caelan Gregory walked in to what first appeared to be a home invasion only to discover his family murdered. Despite the fact that he was found covered in blood, he is unharmed and has been removed from the suspect list. Marcia, Paul, and Cayla Gregory all sustained multiple stab wounds.
I paused in my reading, stunned to have stumbled across the name I had been searching for.
Cayla Gregory.
His sister.
The vibrant, joyful, smiling girl in the photograph had had her life cut tragically short in such a gruesome way. No wonder he cried her name in his sleep and painted her picture repeatedly.
Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to continue reading.
Police are not releasing further details at this time while the perpetrator is still at large. If you have any information concerning the Gregory murders, please contact the police immediately.
At the bottom of the page there was an asterisk and I squinted to read the small font.
*At this time the Gregory murders still remain unsolved
It was dated only six months ago.
I pushed away from my computer and went running for the bathroom. I collapsed to my knees, heaving over the toilet bowl. Nothing came up though.
No wonder Caelan acted the way he did. I knew there had to be a reason, but this was beyond anything I had believed. This was…there were no words.
I couldn’t imagine losing your family in such a grisly way.
I mean, I had lost my real family in a fire, but I’d been a baby. I hadn’t known them. To come home and find your family like that…it had to haunt him. How could it not?
I suddenly, desperately, needed air.
I headed for the door that led to the roof, not wanting to stand on the street and have to face anyone. I couldn’t handle it right now. I needed to be alone to breathe in the fresh air and gather my thoughts.
When I stepped onto the roof I stopped in my tracks.
“Not now,” I muttered, recognized Caelan’s familiar shape.
The door slammed closed behind me so it was too late to turn tail and run.
His head turned in my direction as I took a few more steps closer.
A gasp escaped me as my eyes zoned in on him.
“What are you doing?”  I asked him fearfully as I watched him walk the side of the roof like a balance beam.
“Testing death,” he answered simply, “daring it to take me…to sweep me away.” He purposely leaned further over the side where he could fall to the street below.
“Don’t do that!” I cried, running towards him. I reached out to stop him, to do something.
He looked down at me and stopped moving, but he still stood on the ledge.
“Don’t worry, I won’t jump. I never do,” he laughed humorlessly. His eyes were vibrant and there was no slur to his words. For once, he wasn’t drunk or high on Lord knows what. “Staying alive is the punishment. Death is the reward.”
“What do you mean?”
“When you’re alive,” he spread his arms wide, and where he stood with the sunset behind him it made it look like he had wings, “you feel. Feelings are a painful son of a bitch. But death, that’s easy. It’s peaceful. It takes away your pain and reunites you with the ones you love.” He looked up towards the sky, his lips lifting in a small smile. Knowing about his family, I couldn’t help but wonder if he was imagining their faces.
“But isn’t life worth fighting for?” I responded, squinting from the brilliance of the sunset.
“Life is about surviving,” he crouched down, still on that damn ledge. I was so afraid that at any moment he would lose his balance and fall three stories below.
“Would you call what you’re doing surviving? I call it being a coward!” I stomped my foot, my fists clenching in frustration.
“You have no fucking idea what I’ve been through,” he growled and spittle flew from between his lips. “What I saw…” His voice dropped below a whisper. “I have to numb myself so that I don’t remember.”
“What happened to your family, it was awful Caelan, but they wouldn’t want you to have turned into this,” I waved my hand at him.
His eyes threatened to pop out of his head and his face turned so red I thought a blood vessel had ruptured.
“Oh shit,” I mumbled, realizing my mistake.
I wasn’t supposed to know about this.
“How do you know about my family?” He roared, jumping off the ledge and stalking towards me. I found myself backing up. “Tell me!”
I flinched from his tone.
I swallowed thickly, moisture clinging to my eyes. “I-I was curious. So, I—uh—Googled you.”
“Haven’t you ever heard the saying, ‘Curiosity killed the cat?’” he pushed me roughly so that my back was against the wall beside the doorway leading to the roof. The brick stung my hands where they’d scraped against the rough surface but I refused to show any sign of pain or emotion. “You had no right to research me like I’m some fucking science experiment. I know what I am, and I know why I’m this way, I don’t need you to save me. I’m beyond saving, Sutton,” he pointed a finger as he pulled himself away from me. Shaking all over, his jaw clenched tightly, he growled, “Stay away from me.”
I turned my head, watching as he roughly swung the door open, and descended down the stairwell.
I knew after that experience I should have felt afraid, but I didn’t.
If anything, I was only more determined to know him.
I wanted to see him smile again like he had in those photos—and I wanted those smiles to be directed at me.
 




Micalea Smeltzer is a bestselling Young and New Adult author from Winchester, Virginia. She’s always working on her next book, and when she has spare time she loves to read and spend time with her family.