Wednesday, January 31, 2018

UNRAVELED (WHISKEY SHARP #1)

The sharpest ache comes from wanting what you think you can't have

Maybe Dolan has lived independent, free-spirited and unattached since leaving home at sixteen. Whiskey Sharp, Seattle's sexy vintage-styled barbershop and whiskey bar, gave her a job and a reason to put down roots. Cutting hair by day, losing herself drumming in a punk rock band by night, she's got it good.

But a longtime crush that turns into a hot, edgy night with brooding and bearded Alexsei Petrov makes it a hell of a lot better.

Maybe's blunt attitude and carnal smile hooked Alexsei from the start. Protecting people is part of his nature and Maybe is meant to be his even if she doesn't know it. Yet. He can't help himself from wanting to protect and care for her.

But Maybe's fiery independent spirit means pushing back when Alexsei goes too far. Still, he's not afraid to do a little pushing of his own to get what he wants her in his life, and his bed, for good. Maybe's more intoxicating than all the liquor on his shelf and he's not afraid to ride the blade's edge to bind her to him.

Release Date: January 30, 2018
Harlequin Books
Contemporary Romance
Whiskey Sharp #1
Review copy provided by publisher

Nikki’s Review:

Lauren Dane is an auto-read for me. Always! I can truly got lost in whatever world she has created for her book. Exciting is an understatement!

Maybe Dolan (yes, that's her name, and there's an explanation for it in the book) is a firecracker. I really liked her character. She rambles, but it's not annoying. It's more enchanting, I think. She knows what she wants. She's independent, but under her "go get em' " exterior, there's a lot of vulnerability. Her father is a real jerk. He's emotionally abusive. Maybe puts up with it for a few reasons, but it was hard reading sometimes. 

Alexsei Petrov is a sinfully sexy Russian! He owns the barbershop, Whiskey Sharp. He's Maybe's boss and friend. Over the course of time that friendship morphs into hot nights and filthy whispered sweet nothings! Yum!

I adored these two as a couple. Alexsei wants to protect and coddle her, but Maybe is too independent to let him take over. There's a few funny disagreements between them. However, said funny disagreements usually turn into sweaty monkey sex...yay!

There's lots of family moments in this book. Alexsei has a fairly large and boisterous Russian family who love to interfere in a good-natured way. Maybe is not use to this. Her family is dysfunctional at best. I love books that have quirky families with lots of banter! The family have decided that Maybe is one of them, so she has little choice but to join in on all their loud gatherings. 

This book, like all other Lauren Dane titles has stellar writing. But the one thing that felt a little off for me was the lack of conflict or a climax where their relationship is either going to make it or not. It just all felt too easy. I love those dark moments when I'm holding my breath to see what happens to the hero and heroine. That didn't happen here. There was a ton of conflict with Maybe and her parents. Perhaps, Ms. Dane thought that was enough for poor Maybe to deal with. I still loved the book though!

This was a great start to what promises to be a phenomenal series!


Rating: 4 Stars (A)

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

HOLD ON TIGHT RELEASE BLITZ


HoldOnTight-ReleaseBlitz copyHold On Tight, the newest standalone in the Man of the Month Series by #1 New York Times bestselling author J. Kenner is LIVE!


2 - February - Hold On Tight



Title: Hold On Tight


Author: J. Kenner


Genre: Contemporary Romance


Publishing Date: January 30th



A hard body.  A dangerous past.

Meet Mr. February.


Reality-TV star and reformed bad boy Spencer Dean doesn’t trust women. Not after his fiancĂ©e, Brooke, left him at the altar five years ago, breaking his heart and hardening his soul.


Now, Brooke is close to a deal for her own show that will launch with the remodel of a popular Austin bar. The problem? The network insists that Spencer step in as her partner.


He’s tried to forget her—but he can’t deny that he still wants her. More than that, he wants to punish her. And so he agrees, but only on terms that are provocative, demanding, and wildly sensual.


It’s the perfect set-up for extracting revenge. But he doesn’t expect to fall for Brooke all over again…


Revenge never looked so hot.




**Hold On Tight is part of a binge read series by New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, and #1 International bestselling author of the million copy Stark series, J. Kenner.HoldOnTight-AvailableNow


Read Today!




Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2i3hyei


Start the Series of Standalones Today!


Down On Me

Amazon Universal: myBook.to/DownOnMe

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2iNkziM

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About J. Kenner

J. Kenner (aka Julie Kenner) is the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal and #1 International bestselling author of over seventy novels, novellas and short stories in a variety of genres.

Though known primarily for her award-winning and international bestselling erotic romances (including the Stark and Most Wanted series) that have reached as high as #2 on the New York Times bestseller list, JK has been writing full time for over a decade in a variety of genres including paranormal and contemporary romance, “chicklit” suspense, urban fantasy,  and paranormal mommy lit.

JK has been praised by Publishers Weekly as an author with a “flair for dialogue and eccentric characterizations” and by RT Bookclub for having “cornered the market on sinfully attractive, dominant antiheroes and the women who swoon for them.” A five time finalist for Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA award, JK took home the first RITA trophy awarded in the category of erotic romance in 2014 for her novel, Claim Me (book 2 of her Stark Trilogy). Her Demon Hunting Soccer Mom series (as Julie Kenner) is currently in development with AwesomenessTV/Awestruck.

Her books have sold over three million  copies and are published in over twenty languages.

In her previous career as an attorney, JK worked as a clerk on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and practiced primarily civil, entertainment and First Amendment litigation in Los Angeles and Irvine, California, as well as in Austin, Texas.  She currently lives in Central Texas, with her husband, two daughters, and two rather spastic cats.jkenner



Connect with Julie:


Website: www.jkenner.com



HOSTAGE RELEASE BLITZ

SBPRBanner-Hostage-RB.jpg

Hostage by Skye Warren & Annika Martin
Publication Date: January 30th, 2018
Genre: Romantic Suspense


Hostage-hires.jpg

I never knew when he’d come to me. Only that he would.

I’d never even kissed a boy the night I met Stone. The night I saw him kill. The night he spared my life. That was only the beginning.

He turns up in my car again and again, dangerous and full of raw power. “Drive,” he tells me, and I have no choice. He’s a criminal with burning green eyes, invading my life and my dreams.

The police say he’s dangerously obsessed with me, but I’m the one who can’t stop thinking about him. Maybe it’s wrong to let him touch me. Maybe it’s wrong to touch him back. Maybe these twisted dates need to stop. Except he feels like the only real thing in my world of designer labels and mansions.

So I drive us under threat, until it’s hard to remember I don’t want to be there.

Until it’s too late to turn back.

HOSTAGE is a dangerous standalone romance by New York Times bestselling authors Skye Warren and Annika Martin. It’s set in the same world as PRISONER, but can read separately!

 



Read Today! 

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2Frpn6P
Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2Cf39V3






Read Prisoner for FREE! Limited Time Only
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2rP7SLM



  
Meet the Authors:

Skye Warren:

Skye Warren is the New York Times bestselling author of dangerous romance such as the Endgame trilogy. 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, sweet dogs, and evil cat.

Connect with Skye:


Annika Martin:

Annika Martin loves fun, dirty stories, hot heroes, and wild, dramatic everything. She enjoys hanging out in Minneapolis coffee shops with her writer husband, and also likes birdwatching at her bird feeder alongside her two stunningly photogenic cats, especially when she should be writing. She’s heavy into running, music, saving the planet, taking long baths, and consuming chocolate suckers. She’s worked a surprisingly large number of waitressing jobs, and has also worked in a plastics factory and the advertising trenches; her garden is total bee-friendly madness and her most unfavorite word is nosh or possibly fob. A NYT bestselling author, she has also written as RITA award-winning author Carolyn Crane.

Connect with Annika:
Stay up to date with Annika by joining her mailing list: http://www.annikamartinbooks.com/newletter/

Monday, January 29, 2018

ABOUT THAT KISS (HEARTBREAKER BAY #5)

When love drives you crazy . . .

When sexy Joe Malone never calls after their explosive kiss, Kylie shoves him out of her mind. Until she needs a favor, and it’s a doozy. Something precious to her has been stolen and there’s only one person with unique finder-and-fixer skills that can help—Joe. It means swallowing her pride and somehow trying to avoid the temptation to throttle him—or seduce him.

the best thing to do . . .

No, Joe didn’t call after the kiss. He’s the fun time guy, not the forever guy. And Kylie, after all she’s been through, deserves a good man who will stay. But everything about Kylie makes it damned hard to focus, and though his brain knows what he has to do, his heart isn’t getting the memo.

… is enjoy the ride.

As Kylie and Joe go on the scavenger hunt of their lives, they discover surprising things about each other. Now, the best way for them to get over “that kiss” might just be to replace it with a hundred more.

Release Date: January 23, 2018
Avon
Heartbreaker Bay #5
Contemporary Romance
Review copy provided by publisher

Liza's Review:

About That Kiss is the 5th book in the Heartbreaker Bay series from Jill Shalvis. Jill Shalvis is a go-to author for me when I want a fun, sexy, and even sweet story.  About That Kiss was all of that and kept me pulled in from the very first page. 

I have to say when I saw About That Kiss was going to be Kylie and Joe's book, I initially had some reservations about them as a couple. They just seemed so different from each other, which isn't a bad thing ever, but Joe has always seemed so standoffish unlike the other characters in the series. Like he didn't think he deserved to have happiness in his life. Both Joe and Kylie had rough starts, but Joe seemed to let his define his future where Kylie decided she could have anything she wanted despite her rough start. I felt like Kylie's attitude rubbed off a bit on Joe the more time they spent together.

I loved that when Kylie needed Joe's help, she demanded she be in on the investigation every step of the way. Kylie has taken care of herself for so long, it would have gone against everything in her character to sit back and let Joe do all the work. I also loved the more time they were together, the more time Joe wanted to be around Kylie. Yes they had amazing chemistry, but it was really more like Joe finally found someone who made him feel like he was safe. 

I have to say I loved that both Kylie and Joe seemed so drawn to one another, and once they finally gave into their mutual attraction, I felt like they really started moving more toward being a couple. There was still the bit of hesitancy you would expect for Joe, who still doesn't believe he deserves happiness, but he also started to listen to valuable advice on his relationship with Kylie.

About That Kiss was another winner in the Heartbreaker Bay series. I love spending time with each of the characters in the series and almost feel as if they have become my friends. 

Rating: 4.5 Stars (A-)