Review: Bounce

BOUNCE
Boomerang #3
Noelle August
Contemporary New Adult
304 pages
William Morrow
Available August 25th
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Amazon)
When you have one chance to become a star, you can't let love get in the way . . .

Playing the occasional club gig just isn't cutting it for twenty-two-year-old cellist Skyler Canby, who's trying to support herself and her mother back home in Kentucky. When she accompanies her best friend Beth on an audition for the first feature film launched by Blackwood Entertainment, she figures, Why not? Beth's a shoe-in for the lead, but maybe Skyler's newly dyed pink hair will help her stand out enough to score a small speaking part.

Never in her wildest dreams does Skyler imagine she'll land the lead role or that she'll have her socks knocked off by the kiss her audition partner, Grey Blackwood, plants on her—a kiss that feels very real and not at all like acting.

Reckless musician Grey Blackwood spends his days fetching coffee and doing odd jobs on the set of his CEO brother's newest project, but he lives for nights when he performs with his band. He knows that if he can stay focused, success as a singer is just around the corner. But that's tough with a distracting pink-haired girl occupying his every waking thought. Skyler and Grey have every reason to resist each other. But, like a song neither of them can get out of their minds, they have no choice but to go where the music takes them.

MY THOUGHTS
Bounce continues in the same vein as Boomerang and Rebound before it, delivering a sweet, low-drama New Adult romance between to people with whom it's a joy to spend a few hours. Unlike the previous two books however, a faint love triangle comes into play as things between Grey and Skyler progress, and though it's not a major source of angst for any of the parties involved, Skyler spending time with another guy when it's obvious she and Grey are going to get together is still somewhat off-putting for those of us who like the path to love to be a straight line between two points rather than three.

Our relationship with Grey starts out a bit rocky as we're reunited with him when his older brother Adam comes home to find his beautiful home trashed thanks to a party thrown in his absence, but the writing team of Noelle August does a beautiful job of growing him up over the course of the book. Grey proves he's capable of learning from his mistakes with each chapter, putting forth a valiant effort to stand and meet his problems head-on rather than running away and licking his wounds, becoming a young man we want to see achieve whatever goal he sets for himself by the end. Skyler doesn't quite have the same maturity hurdles to overcome as Grey, but she does learn a few things about herself thanks to a business that's brutal on even those with the thickest of skins, taking some of Grey's newfound strength to prop herself up when her legs get knocked from underneath her.

The romance itself is perhaps the slowest burning of all three Boomerang books due in large part to the aforementioned triangle and Grey's younger age (he's nineteen), leading us on a merry dance of hesitation and flirtation until the very end when things finally heat up between them. Overall, Bounce is another hugely enjoyable tale from Noelle August, giving us plenty of depth and complexity in our lead pair (and a standout secondary character in Garrett Allen) to have us feeling as though we've learned a great deal about them by the time we reach the last page, and leaving us with a satisfied smile as we take comfort in the knowledge that good things lie in store for them both.

Rating: 4/5

Find Noelle August:

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Interview + Giveaway: Katie McGarry and Nowhere But Here

I couldn't be more excited today to be a part of the promotional tour (thanks Hannah and HarlequinTEEN!) for Nowhere But Here, the latest release from Katie McGarry. I have been a complete and utter Katie fangirl from page one of Pushing the Limits, and when I found out Katie's new series focused on a motorcycle club, I may or may not have dropped dead of swoon. All Katie's boys are magnificent book boyfriend material, but when she went ahead and added biker to the book boyfriend makeup my little heart nearly exploded in anticipation.

I had the pleasure of asking her a few questions about motorcycle clubs and of course Oz in particular, so I hope you all enjoy the interview. Don't forget to check the bottom of this post for a full list of participating blogs as well as a chance to win a finished copy!

You spent a lot of time researching the ins and outs of motorcycle clubs for Nowhere But Here. What's one small thing about them people might be surprised to learn?

Motorcycle clubs can be extremely family oriented. The club that I shadowed for my research for NOWHERE BUT HERE had a family style potluck dinner several Friday nights during the month. In general though, this club required that anyone under eighteen years of age leave around eight in the evening. After this, the party would go into full swing.

Just for fun, what would Oz or the members of Reign of Terror have to say about the portrayal of motorcycle clubs in Sons of Anarchy?

Oz especially would shake his head. It’s shows like this that shape the public’s perceptions of motorcycle clubs. Oz wouldn’t argue that there are motorcycle clubs that dabble in illegal activities, but those are referred to as 1% clubs—meaning that out of all the clubs there are, only 1% of those clubs participate in illegal activities. This means that a good majority of motorcycle clubs abide by the law. A club like Oz’s is a brotherhood of men.

You've written a number of swoon-worthy book boys over the years. If each of them was asked to describe you in one word, what word would that be?

I think each of them would describe me as hopeful. Noah, Ryan, Isaiah, West, Logan, and even Oz know that I like to put each of them in very difficult situations, but I always have hope that they will find themselves better by the end of the story over where they started.

If Emily could reach out to any of the young women from the Pushing the Limits series and ask for relationship advice as things progress with Oz, who do you think would be the most helpful to her?

Emily would definitely reach out to Echo of PUSHING THE LIMITS and Rachel of CRASH INTO YOU. Emily and Oz of NOWHERE BUT HERE share that attraction yet hate at first sight like Echo and Noah did in PUSHING THE LIMITS. But like Echo and Noah, Emily and Oz end up with a love that is epic.

I believe that Emily would eventually reach out to Rachel of CRASH INTO YOU because there is a connection between Isaiah and the NOWHERE BUT HERE crew. Careful readers will be able to make the connection in NOWHERE BUT HERE, and for those who don’t pick it up right away, stick with the THUNDER ROAD series and it will be explained.

Motorcycle clubs seem to embrace nicknames for their various members. If Reign of Terror was to consider you one of theirs, what nickname might they give you?

That’s a fantastic question! Examples of two of the nicknames of the people I hung out with were Fluffy and Mother.  Maybe my road name would be Writer Girl? Sometimes that’s what I would overhear me explained as when people asked. Road names aren’t something members get to choose for themselves. It’s a name that’s given to the member by the club. I met several members whose nickname was a reminder of a moment that made many people laugh.

Thanks so much for answering my questions Katie!

• • • • • • • • • • • 

NOWHERE BUT HERE

Seventeen-year-old Emily likes her life the way it is: doting parents, good friends, good school in a safe neighborhood. Sure, she's curious about her biological father—the one who chose life in a motorcycle club, the Reign of Terror, over being a parent—but that doesn't mean she wants to be a part of his world. But when a reluctant visit turns to an extended summer vacation among relatives she never knew she had, one thing becomes clear: nothing is what it seems. Not the club, not her secret-keeping father and not Oz, a guy with suck-me-in blue eyes who can help her understand them both.

Oz wants one thing: to join the Reign of Terror. They're the good guys. They protect people. They're…family. And while Emily—the gorgeous and sheltered daughter of the club's most respected member—is in town, he's gonna prove it to her. So when her father asks him to keep her safe from a rival club with a score to settle, Oz knows it's his shot at his dream. What he doesn't count on is that Emily just might turn that dream upside down.

No one wants them to be together. But sometimes the right person is the one you least expect, and the road you fear the most is the one that leads you home.

Amazon • B&N • Goodreads

 • • • • • • • • • • • 
 

KATIE McGARRY 

Katie was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

Katie is the author of the full-length Young Adult novels PUSHING THE LIMITS and DARE YOU TO, and the e-novella CROSSING THE LINE. Her debut novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS, is a 2012 Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction and an RT Book Reviews 2012 Reviewer’s Choice Awards Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel.

Writing has given Katie an excuse to pursue her passions. Research for her books has provided her with the amazing opportunity to train with baseball players, ride along in a drag car at ninety-six miles per hour and experience boxing and mixed martial arts. The most memorable moments for Katie are when she speaks to groups of teenagers about her research, writing and the truth that no dream is out of reach. Katie would love to hear from her readers.

Website • Goodreads • Facebook • Twitter

Don't miss out on more amazing books by Katie McGarry!

Pushing the Limits: Goodreads | Amazon
Crossing the Line (e-novella): Goodreads | Amazon
Dare You To: Goodreads | Amazon
Crash Into You: Goodreads | Amazon
Red At Night (Harlequin More Than Words) eNovella - Free from Amazon
Take Me On: Goodreads | Amazon

• • • • • • • • • • •

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to the generosity of HarlequinTEEN, I have a finished copy of Nowhere But Here to give away on the blog today. WOO HOO! To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is open to US addresses only.


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WEEK ONE:

5/18 - Supernatural Snark (Interview)

5/19 - Step Into Fiction (Review)

5/20 - Novel Ink (Review)

5/21 - Mundie Moms (Guest Post)

5/22 - Book Rock Betty (Kiss & Tell Post)

WEEK TWO:

5/25 - The Irish Banana Review (Review)

5/25 - Jenuine Cupcakes (Interview)

5/27 - No BS Book Reviews (Review)

5/28 - Once Upon A Twilight (Guest Post)

5/29 - Fiction Fare (Review & Interview)

Rebound Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

REBOUND
Boomerang #2
Noelle August
Contemporary New Adult
288 pages
William Morrow
Available Now
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY
At Boomerang, one night can change everything…

Noelle August has taken the New Adult genre by storm, and readers can’t wait to see what chaos, confusion, and connections arise at the Boomerang offices next.

Adam Blackwood has it all. At twenty-three, he’s fabulously wealthy, Ryan Gosling-hot and at the top of his game in the business world. His life is perfect, until a scandal from his past resurfaces and threatens to knock the tech wunderkind down and throw his company, Boomerang, a hook-up site for millennials, into chaos.

Alison Quick, the twenty-one-year-old daughter of a business tycoon—and the very ex-girlfriend of Boomerang’s former intern, Ethan—has a problem of her own. After nearly flunking out in her senior year of college, she has one chance to redeem herself to her father by proving that she deserves a place in his corporate empire. That means spearheading her father’s plan to sink big money into Adam’s company and launch it into the stratosphere—provided Adam has no skeletons in his closet.

When the two meet, their sizzling chemistry makes it tough to keep things strictly professional. But when Alison discovers Adam’s secret, she knows she should bring it right to her father, who’ll leverage it for his own gain and use it to ruin Adam. The only problem: she’s falling for Adam—hard.

Will earning her father’s approval come at the price of losing her first real love? Or can Adam and Alison leave behind past mistakes and conquer the world—together?

MY THOUGHTS
Rebound takes everything that was successful about its predecessor and improves upon it, keeping the levity but deepening the emotional element as Ali and Adam struggle to get out from underneath the guilt of past actions. While there are plenty of light moments, thanks mostly to a team of standout secondary characters and an absolutely hilarious team building instructor, there's an extra layer of tension to this tale that wasn't present in Boomerang. It's easy to tell early on how things are going to go bad for our lead couple, the business partnership Adam is trying to form with Alison's father causing red flag after red flag to wave madly in our peripheral vision as we prepare to steel ourselves for the inevitable fallout. Luckily for us however, the team of Noelle August never allows their stories to be weighed down too heavily with drama and angst, freeing us from unnecessary entanglements and allowing all that's good about Adam and Ali to shine through.

Ali has some difficult hurdles to overcome in terms of earning reader affection given that cheating for many like myself is a nearly unforgivable offense, but Ali quickly proves she is so much more than a single mistake and it's impossible not to love her after just a few chapters. She never makes excuses for her past actions with Ethan, owning them completely and showing a great deal of remorse, but she also focuses on moving forward and making sure history never repeats itself. Adam is every bit as enjoyable as Ali, largely free of the ego that would typically accompany someone who's experienced the kind of success he has at so young an age, and though it takes him longer to cut free the ties keeping him tethered to his past, by the end he's embraced the totality of his life and is only looking to the future. The two of them together are sweet, vulnerable and oh-so sexy, ensuring they easily find their way onto our shelf of favorites.

In addition to an outstanding lead pair, Noelle August also gives us a cast of secondary characters who beautifully challenge the protagonists for their share of our love, nearly coming out on top a number of times. So many of them, Grey and Cookie in particular, clearly have stories to tell, and here's hoping this series sees them all have their moment in the limelight.

Rating: 4/5

Want a little more Adam and Ali? Then you're in luck because I have a short except to share:

Ali laughs. Her gaze feels like sunshine on my back, but I don’t turn around. I pull my wetsuit up to my waist, adjusting myself so I’m comfortable. The cool Neoprene layer feels familiar and my body responds, my heart thumping hard, anticipation rushing through my veins. The prospect of the ocean always does this to me. This has nothing to do with the girl behind me.

“Adam?”

Ali’s voice is close. Turning, I almost bump into her.

Her wetsuit is all the way on, which is good. And terrible.

“What’s up?” I ask.

She smells like suntan oil and peaches. This close, I see that her cheeks are turning slightly pink from the sun. With her hair pulled back, no makeup, and the wetsuit covering her completely, she looks better than she has all week at the office. Better than she did in the Catwoman costume. There’s something powerful about her now. The way her slender legs are planted firmly on the swaying boat, like she’s not trying at all. She’s at home on the water. This from an admitted equestrian. I can only imagine what she’s like with her horses.

“Sorry, but . . .” She smiles and points at her back. “My zipper’s jammed.” She turns around and pulls her ponytail up. “Can you help me out?”

“Sure. You want this on, right? Just want to be sure.”

I can’t see her face, but I know she’s smiling. “Yes. On please.”

I allow myself a moment to enjoy the way she looks right in front of me. Then I take the zipper leash, letting my knuckles drift over her back, just above the knot of her bikini.

If I weren’t completely focused on her, I’d have missed the way she curls slightly toward me.

Focus, Blackwood. Zip the wetsuit up.

Amazon • B&N • IndieBound

And get ready to Bounce in August of 2015 when the third book in Boomerang series releases!

• • • • • • • • • • • 

Question: What do you get when friends pen a story with heart, plenty of laughs, and toe-curling kissing scenes? Answer: Noelle August, the pseudonym for renowned editor and award-winning writer Lorin Oberweger and New York Times bestselling YA author Veronica Rossi, the masterminds behind the Boomerang series.

Website • Facebook • Twitter

• • • • • • • • • • •

GIVEAWAY

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Waiting on Wednesday: Asa

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine and is a fun way to see what books other bloggers just can't wait to get their hands on!

ASA

Jay Crownover

Contemporary New Adult

Releases from William Morrow/ HarperCollins on April 21st, 2015

Starting over in Denver with a whole new circle of friends and family, Asa Cross struggles with being the man he knows everyone wants him to be and the man he knows he really is. A leopard doesn’t it change its spots and Asa has always been a predator. He doesn’t want to hurt those who love and rely on him, especially one stunning arresting cop who suddenly seems to be interested in him for far more than his penchant for breaking the law. But letting go of old habits is hard, and it’s easy to hit bottom when it’s the place you know best.

Royal Hastings is quickly learning what the bottom looks like after a tragic situation at work threatens not only her career but her partner’s life. As a woman who has only ever had a few real friends she’s trying to muddle through her confusion and devastation all alone. Except she can’t stop thinking about the sexy southern bartender she locked up. Crushing on Asa is the last thing she needs but his allure is too strong to resist. His long criminal record can only hurt her already shaky career and chasing after a guy who has no respect for the law or himself can only end in heartbreak.

A longtime criminal and a cop together just seems so wrong . . . but for Asa and Royal, being wrong together is the only right choice to make.

Amazon US • iBooks • Barnes & Noble • Kobo

Whew. Asa is looking GOOD! I think this is my favorite cover yet:) I absolutely adore this series, Jay Crownover writes such great characters and her romances have just the right amount of tension and drama to keep me on the edge of my seat without making me want to tear my hair out in frustration. I've been waiting for Asa's story for a long time, so April can't come fast enough!

• • • • • • • • • • •

JAY CROWNOVER

Jay Crownover is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men series. She also introduced the dark and sexy world of The Point that started with BETTER WHEN HE's BAD and is currently working on her newest series The Saint of Denver. Like her characters, she is a big fan of tattoos. She loves music and wishes she could be a rock star, but since she has no aptitude for singing or instrument playing, she'll settle for writing stories with interesting characters that make the reader feel something. She lives in Colorado with her three dogs.

Website • Blog • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads

Breaking the Rules Blog Tour: Letter from Katie McGarry + Giveaway

I'm ridiculously excited today to welcome author Katie McGarry back to the blog as part of the promotional tour for her newest release, Breaking the Rules. I fell madly in love with Echo and Noah (as so many did) back when I read Pushing the Limits, and I'm so thrilled Katie decided to give readers a chance to revisit the two of them. I have the pleasure of sharing with you today a very special letter from Katie to Echo and Noah, and I hope all of you are as moved by it as I was.

Dear Echo and Noah,
 
I want you to be happy.
 
I’m not sure I’ve written truer words. I want your happiness so much that at times it hurts. Why is this so important to me? Because combine the both of you together and you have me.
 
Not all of me, but parts of me. The parts that have been bleeding for so long that I wasn’t sure healing was even possible anymore.
 
All three of us understand what it means to hurt, to lose, to grieve, and to be let down. We don’t trust easily and we don’t love easily, but when we do trust and when we do love, we do it unconditionally and to a fault.
 
We would literally hand the clothes off our body, give our last dime to the people we love. But the truth is, because at times we are so closed off, we often have a very limited amount of people who we let completely in and, sometimes, that’s sad.
 
I should use “was” instead of “is”. It was sad because we’re healing. All three of us are. You two are learning not only how to love and trust each other and how to let other people into your world, but you are also teaching me how to love and trust beyond my normal scope.
 
You’re teaching me that there is room for forgiveness. You’re teaching me that it’s possible to set up boundaries with some people in your life, yet still have a relationship. You’re teaching me that it’s okay to take all the passion that’s inside me and let it soar into the world.
 
The two of you have made me brave and you’ve helped me figure out who I really am. You’ve made me comfortable in my own skin and you’ve made me see the talents that I always downplayed. You’ve made me feel like a teenager all over again with my husband and damn my heart still skips a beat when he smiles at me.
 
I love the two of you and I want your happiness. This is the reason why I wrote Breaking the Rules. It’s why I couldn’t keep it a short story and instead let it flow into a full length novel.
 
I wanted your happiness. No, I demanded your happiness and I can’t wait for everyone else to read how you two find yourselves and each other.
 

Love you forever,

Katie

 *Jenny wipes away tear* I couldn't love Echo, Noah or Katie more!

• • • • • • • • • • • 

BREAKING THE RULES

A summer road trip changes everything in this unforgettable new tale from acclaimed author Katie McGarry.

For new high school graduate Echo Emerson, a summer road trip out west with her boyfriend means getting away and forgetting what makes her so... different. It means seeing cool sights while selling her art at galleries along the way. And most of all, it means almost three months alone with Noah Hutchins, the hot, smart, soul-battered guy who’s never judged her. Echo and Noah share everything — except the one thing Echo’s just not ready for.

But when the source of Echo’s constant nightmares comes back into her life, she has to make some tough decisions about what she really wants — even as foster kid Noah’s search for his last remaining relatives forces them both to confront some serious truths about life, love, and themselves.

Now, with one week left before college orientation, jobs and real life, Echo must decide if Noah's more than the bad-boy fling everyone warned her he'd be. And the last leg of an amazing road trip will turn... seriously epic.

Goodreads • Amazon • B&N

Don't miss out on more amazing books by Katie McGarry!

Pushing the Limits: Goodreads | Amazon
Crossing the Line (e-novella): Goodreads | Amazon
Dare You To: Goodreads | Amazon
Crash Into You: Goodreads | Amazon
Red At Night (Harlequin More Than Words) eNovella - Free from Amazon
Take Me On: Goodreads | Amazon

 • • • • • • • • • • • 

KATIE MCGARRY

Katie was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

Katie is the author of the full-length Young Adult novels PUSHING THE LIMITS and DARE YOU TO, and the e-novella CROSSING THE LINE. Her debut novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS, is a 2012 Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction and an RT Book Reviews 2012 Reviewer’s Choice Awards Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel.

Writing has given Katie an excuse to pursue her passions. Research for her books has provided her with the amazing opportunity to train with baseball players, ride along in a drag car at ninety-six miles per hour and experience boxing and mixed martial arts. The most memorable moments for Katie are when she speaks to groups of teenagers about her research, writing and the truth that no dream is out of reach. Katie would love to hear from her readers.

Website • Goodreads • Facebook • Twitter

• • • • • • • • • • •

GIVEAWAY
 

Katie is generously offering up a number of different prizes for this tour:

• Four lucky winners will each receive ONE signed copy of Katie’s print books: Pushing the Limits, Dare You To, Crash Into You and Take Me On
• One grand prize winner will receive a $100 gift card to Amazon, B&N or iTunes as well as a zodiac necklace.

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Be sure and check out the rest of the participating blogs for more unique content from Katie!

• Monday, December 1st - Book Rock Betty
• Tuesday, December 2nd - Page Turners Blog
• Wednesday, December 3rd - Fiktshun
• Thursday, December 4th - Refracted Light Reviews
• Friday, December 5th - Supernatural Snark
  
  

• Monday, December 8th - Xpresso Reads
• Tuesday, December 9th - Bewitched Bookworms
• Wednesday, December 10th - WhoRU Blog
• Thursday, December 11th - Swoony Boys Podcast
• Friday, December 12th - Mundie Moms

Wild Blog Tour: Excerpt + Giveaway

Today I'm excited to be a stop on the promotional tour for Wild, the last book in Sophie Jordan's Ivy Chronicles series. I had such fun with the first two books, and I simply can't wait to see what trouble Logan is going is going to stir up with Georgia in this final installment. For those of you who have yet to read The Ivy Chronicles, I hope you enjoy a little taste of Wild!

“I gotta go,” I said hurriedly, turning to walk around the Jeep, ready to climb in the backseat, not even caring how obvious I was in trying to put distance between us by unnecessarily circling around the vehicle.
 
I felt him move behind me before I felt his hands on my arms. “No, you don’t,” he growled. “You don’t get to run away again.”
 
I squeaked as he hauled me back against his chest. My spine stiffened iron-rod straight against the wall of his broad chest. I felt my eyes go huge in my face. He was touching me. Again. And I was freaking out on the inside. I sucked in a deep breath, determined that my freak-out stayed internal only.
 
“Let me go. They’re coming.” My heart hammered violently in my chest and I didn’t know if it was because we were about to get busted by my friends or because his body felt so unbelievable against mine. Okay, fine. It was both.
 
His mouth brushed my ear as he spoke, spiking sensation to every nerve in my body. “Are you embarrassed, Georgia? You don’t want them to see me with you? Don’t want Pepper and Reece to know about us?”
 
“There is no ‘us.’ ”
 
“Oh, but there will be. We both know why you came tonight.” His fingers flexed, each digit a burning imprint on my forearms.
 
“Yeah?” Was that breathy croak my voice? “Why?”
 
“Because you haven’t been able to forget what it felt like to kiss me, and you want to know if the rest of it will be that good, too.” He bit down on my earlobe and a whimper escaped my lips. “It will be.”
 
An invisible band squeezed around my chest. I swallowed against my constricting throat. “Arrogant much?”
 
“It’s okay. I haven’t been able to forget either. I can still remember the way you taste.”
 
Oh. My. God.
 
I swallowed a moan and lurched free from him. Swinging around, I faced him and felt my knees go weak at the look in his eyes. Heavy-lidded and deep, his blue eyes looked almost indigo as they stared down at me.
 
“I know you probably think it’d be some great joke to bang one of your brother’s friends, but I’m not going to be another notch on your bedpost . . . some girl you screw once and forget about the next—”
 
He moved fast then, closing the space that I had established between us. Oh, yeah. He was a jock with ninja-fast reflexes. I needed to remember that.
 

• • • • • • • • • • •

WILD

A good girl goes fabulously bad in the final book in New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan’s sexy New Adult romance series, in which three Ivy League suite-mates seek higher knowledge of just how far they can go.

Months after her boyfriend dumped her, Georgia can still hear the insults he hurled at her. Boring. Predictable. Tame. Tired of feeling bad, she’s ready to change her image, and go a little wild. What better way to prove her ex wrong than a hot night of sexual adventure at the secret campus kink club?

In the shadowy den of the kink club, she unexpectedly runs into Logan Mulvaney, her friend’s little brother. A player extraordinaire too hot for his own good, he may be younger, but the guy is light years ahead when it comes to sexual experience. Now he’s telling her to go home—“good girls” don’t belong here!

Georgia is tired of having others define her. She’s going to teach Logan a lesson he won’t forget—one white hot, mind-wrecking kiss . . . that leads to another . . . and another . . . and. . . . Realizing she’s way in over her head, Georgia runs.

Only Logan won’t let her go. Everywhere she goes he’s there, making her want every inch of him. Making her forget who she is. Who he is. And just how wrong they are for each other.

Amazon • B&N

• • • • • • • • • • • •

SOPHIE JORDAN

Sophie Jordan grew up in the Texas hill country where she wove fantasies of dragons, warriors, and princesses. A former high school English teacher, she's also the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Avon historical romances. She now lives in Houston with her family. When she's not writing, she spends her time overloading on caffeine (lattes and Diet cherry Coke preferred), talking plotlines with anyone who will listen (including her kids), and cramming her DVR with true-crime and reality-TV shows. Sophie also writes paranormal romances under the name Sharie Kohler.

Website • Twitter • Facebook 

• • • • • • • • • • • 

GIVEAWAY

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Caged In Winter Blog Tour: Excerpt + Giveaway

Some of you might remember seeing Caged in Winter on my blog previously, I chose it as a Waiting on Wednesday feature a few weeks back and now I have the pleasure of being part of the promotional blog tour! Today I get to bring you another excerpt as well as a fantastic giveaway, so be sure and check out the bottom of the post for all the details. For now though, enjoy a little taste of what awaits you in between these pages:

*NOTE: This excerpt is adult both in terms of language and sexiness (*fans self*), and may not be appropriate for everyone.

I bend my knees so we’re eye level and tug on her hand until she meets my gaze. “I don’t know what we could have. It might be nothing. But I’ll be honest . . . I haven’t felt like this in a long time, and that’s enough for me to know I want to see where it goes. Can’t we just see where it goes?”

With a deep sigh, she says, “I’m not right for you, Cade.”

“How about you worry about if I’m right for you. Let me decide the other.”

And then before she can stop me, before she can utter another word of opposition, I slide my hand up her arm, over her shoulder, until it’s wrapped around her neck. With my other hand, I swipe a piece of hair back with my fingers, and then lean in, brushing my lips against hers. After only a moment, I pull back just enough for her to be able to tell me to stop. When nothing comes, I close the distance between us once again, taking her bottom lip in between mine. I brush my tongue against it, coaxing her mouth open, and she breathes this sexy little gasp as I slip inside. She tastes like cookies and wine, and I want to fucking devour her.

She grips my shirt with both hands, clutching me to her, and I stop holding back and press every inch of my body against hers, groaning as my cock presses fully against her. The moment a whimper comes from her, I know she feels it. And I can’t muster up any embarrassment, because I want her to feel it. Even with all her brass balls and fuck-everything attitude, something tells me she needs reassurance, so I give it to her. In every stroke of my tongue against hers, every brush of my thumb along her jaw, I show her how much I want her.

When her chest is heaving, her lips parted and swollen and so fucking hot, I trail kisses down her neck, seeking out every inch of skin that’s uncovered. Her head thumps back against the wall, one of her hands gone from gripping fistfuls of my shirt. Instead, she’s holding my head to her, and I don’t want to stop. I want to kiss and lick every inch of her, slip my hands under the material of her sweater, unbutton her jeans, and not stop until I feel her soft wetness against my fingertips.

But the knowledge that she’ll regret it if I don’t stop forces me to slow down.

I pull back, loosening my grip on her and putting an inch of space between us. I kiss the corner of her mouth, her cheek, and then her ear. Against it, I whisper, “Don’t say no.”

There’s a beat of silence. Two. Three. And then she says the sweetest word I’ve ever heard.

“Okay.”

• • • • • • • • • • •

CAGED IN WINTER

In this emotional and sexy New Adult debut from Brighton Walsh, the only thing more frightening than commitment is hope…

Aspiring chef Cade Maxwell is immediately, viscerally attracted to Winter Jacobson. But it’s not her mouthwatering curves he’s drawn to—it’s the strange emptiness in her eyes. When Cade saves her from a drunken customer with grabby hands, he’s shocked at her response…

Winter doesn’t need Cade’s help. After a lifetime of getting by on her own, she’s happy to rely on herself. She’s exactly seventy-six days away from graduating college, and if she can hold it together that long, she’ll finally be able to rise above the crappy hand she was dealt.

But now, every time she turns around, Cade is there, ready to push her, smile at her, distract her from her plans. Winter knows she can’t afford to open up—especially to a man she’s terrified to actually want…

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• • • • • • • • • • • 

BRIGHTON WALSH

Brighton Walsh spent nearly a decade as a professional photographer before deciding to take her storytelling in a different direction and reconnect with writing. She lives in the Midwest with her husband and two children.

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Waiting on Wednesday (+Giveaway!): Caged In Winter

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine and is a fun way to see what books other bloggers just can't wait to get their hands on!

 CAGED IN WINTER

Brighton Walsh

Contemporary New Adult

Releases November 4th from Berkley

In this emotional and sexy New Adult debut from Brighton Walsh, the only thing more frightening than commitment is hope…

Aspiring chef Cade Maxwell is immediately, viscerally attracted to Winter Jacobson. But it’s not her mouthwatering curves he’s drawn to—it’s the strange emptiness in her eyes. When Cade saves her from a drunken customer with grabby hands, he’s shocked at her response…

Winter doesn’t need Cade’s help. After a lifetime of getting by on her own, she’s happy to rely on herself. She’s exactly seventy-six days away from graduating college, and if she can hold it together that long, she’ll finally be able to rise above the crappy hand she was dealt.

But now, every time she turns around, Cade is there, ready to push her, smile at her, distract her from her plans. Winter knows she can’t afford to open up—especially to a man she’s terrified to actually want…

Confession: I cannot cook to save my life. Okay. That's probably an exaggeration. I probably COULD cook if I wanted to, but I so dislike it (it causes me stress!) that I avoid it at all costs. It comes as little surprise then that a favorite trait in a book boyfriend is someone who's good in the kitchen. Well hello there, chef Cade! I also thoroughly enjoy reading about strong, self-sufficient women who have to learn to lean on other people every now and then, so this book seems like an all-around winner to me.

As a special add-on to my Waiting on Wednesday feature, I have an excerpt to share with you!

CADE:

“Okay, now add the flour, but—” It’s too late, a puff of white exploding in Winter’s face before I can get the words out or reach to flip the switch. “You need to turn the mixer to low.”
 

She spins around, her cheeks covered in random white spots, some of the flour dusting her hair. “You couldn’t say that before, ‘Now add the flour’?” Her voice is low, her eyes narrowed, and I take a step back.
 

“Well, yeah, I guess I could’ve, but I just sort of figured you’d know enough not to add loose flour to a wildly spinning mixer.”
 

“Oh, you figured I’d know enough for that, huh? Even after I told you I’ve never made cookies before? Even then?”
 

She’s advancing on me now, and I shouldn’t be retreating like a scared animal. I have more than a foot on her, a hundred-plus pounds, but she looks pissed. And that glint in her eye tells me she’s up to something. I glance down at her hand, seeing a measuring cup half filled with flour, and I realize what she’s going to do a split-second before she does, but not soon enough to dodge it.
 

A cloud of white powder hits me straight in the face, and I cough as I inhale some. Wiping away the dust from my eyes, I say, “I can’t believe you did that.”
 

“Oh, well, I just figured you’d know enough to duck.” She shrugs and offers me a saccharine smile.
 

“I don’t think you want to start this with me, baby.”
 

“In case you missed the flour in your face a second ago, I already started it, baby.”
 

I stare her down, then reach over, grabbing the bowl of melted chocolate—my mom’s secret ingredient in her cookies—and dip my fingers into it. Winter narrows her eyes at me and takes a step back. “Don’t you dare.”

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• • • • • • • • • • • 

BRIGHTON WALSH

Brighton Walsh spent nearly a decade as a professional photographer before deciding to take her storytelling in a different direction and reconnect with writing. She lives in the Midwest with her husband and two children.

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• • • • • • • • • • •

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Review: Echoes of Scotland Street

ECHOES OF SCOTLAND STREET
On Dublin Street #5
Samantha Young
Contemporary New Adult
384 pages
NAL/Penguin
Available Now
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Shannon MacLeod has always gone for the wrong type of man. After she drifted from one toxic relationship to the next, her last boyfriend gave her a wakeup call in the worst possible way. With her world shattered, she’s sworn off men—especially those of the bad-boy variety.

Cole Walker is exactly the sort that Shannon wants to avoid—gorgeous, tattooed, charming, and cocky. But his rough exterior hides a good man who’s ready to find “the one.” He’s determined to pull Shannon from her self-imposed solitude and win her heart.

As Shannon opens up in the face of Cole’s steady devotion, the passion between them ignites to blazing levels. But when Shannon’s past comes back to haunt her, her fears may destroy the trust Cole has built between them—and tear them apart for good…

MY THOUGHTS
Echoes of Scotland Street is yet another sweet, sexy, and moving addition to the On Dublin Street series, finally allowing a young man who’s been prominent in the periphery of all the previous books his chance to really shine. The setup of the romance between Shannon and Cole is nothing if not familiar in terms of the baggage each brings into the relationship, but Ms. Young has the extraordinary ability to take what’s been done before and infuse it with the perfect amount of emotion and conflict. She knows exactly when we need the quiet moments to bring a smile to our faces, when we want to feel the heat flare between them, and when we wish for the conflict to find a satisfying resolution.

Shannon arrives at INKarnate’s doorstep with a heart sporting scars she wants to remain unseen, determined to break the cycle of abusive men in her life and start fresh on the straight and narrow. When we first learn of her trust issues–able to decipher from the hints she drops that she’s been cheated on and far worse–we can’t help but worry those issues are going to be what cause the crash and burn of her relationship with Cole, and that her tendency to make snap judgments is going to hurt him in ways we might not be able to forgive. That worry sits like lead in our guts as we watch them slowly make their way toward one another, loving the way they make the other feel while at the same time bracing for Shannon to make the Big Mistake that’s going to cause Cole to question the rightness of their relationship.

What’s so delightful about this story (other than the beauty of Cole and Shannon together) is how Shannon surprises us at every pivotal moment, proving that though her past relationships left invisible and permanent marks, they are no longer all she sees about herself. She allows Cole to oh-so carefully dismantle her defenses, and though he scares her in so many ways, she doesn’t let that fear blow up in either of their faces. When that inevitable relationship moment comes toward the end, Shannon impresses once again, immediately recognizing the effect her careless words have on Cole and seeking to make amends any way she can. She reaches out to Cole in a number of ways, but when she finds herself face to face with his rejection, instead of taking it to heart and throwing her defenses back up, she confronts that rejection head on, making sure she gets all the facts from the source instead of filtering what she sees and hears through the twisted prism of her past.

Overall, Echoes of Scotland Street delivers on every level, Shannon and Cole a steamy couple in the bedroom and a supportive one out of it, and my only wish for this series moving forward is that it never ends.

Rating: 4/5
 

Find Samantha:

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This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Cover Reveal: Fall With Me by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Today I'm thrilled to be a part of the cover reveal for the fourth book in Jennifer L. Armentrout's fantastic Contemporary New Adult Series, Fall With Me. I've read and loved the first two books in this series (still need to read the third, but can't wait!) so this book has been on my list from the moment it was announced. If you haven't had a chance to give this series, or Jennifer, a try, I can't recommend the With You saga enough!

You're not here to read through my fangirl ramblings though, so I'm going to move on to the cover. Let me know what you think in the comments!

FALL WITH ME

Releases March 31st, 2015 from Avon

Eleven months ago, bartender and weird-shirt-wearing extraordinaire Roxy and Officer Reece Anders had a one night stand. Well, kind of. She’s been in love with him since she was fifteen, and he wishes that night they shared never happened. She’s sworn him off forever, but the past and future collide, forcing her to rely on the one man who broke her heart not once, but twice.

Her best friend since birth has been in a long-term care facility since he became a victim of a hate crime years ago, and the person who put him in there is out of prison and wanting to make amends with him and Roxy. She’s not sure she has room for forgiveness in her and when she begins to receive frightening messages and is on the receiving end of escalating violence, she thinks she knows who is to blame. The man who already destroyed one life already.

But Reece isn’t convinced. The threats are too personal, and even if Roxy doesn’t believe him, he’s not willing to let anyone hurt her. Including himself. He’s already messed up more than once when it comes to Roxy and he’s not going to let history repeat itself.

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JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT 

# 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV.

She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

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