A Holiday Warrior Cover Reveal

For four years Justin Wilson and Cassi Olivier have been dancing around their attraction to each other. Neither one willing to budge on what they want from the other. When an undercover assignment goes horribly wrong for Cassi, Justin is sent in to rescue her.

Justin dedicated himself to fighting terrorism in the desert for years and now those same terrorist have tortured and almost killed the woman he loves.  Cassi never needed to depend on a man for anything, but now she needs Justin as he keeps her demons at bay after her rescue.

Adjusting to their new reality, Justin and Cassi realize that the future they’d planned on is forever changed and together they have to build a new one.

Coming soon from Desert Breeze Publishing.

Heather Lire

Sharing Happily Ever After One Story at a TIme

www.heatherlire.com I @heatherlire I Facebook I Goodreads I Pinterest

Facing the Music

In this sizzling and hilarious contemporary e-book romance, pop sensation Ivy Hudson returns to her small town to face her ex. Only trouble is, she made her Taylor-Swift-like career with the hit song “Size Matters”—and the football hero has had to live it down ever since.

Five years ago, high school sweethearts Ivy and Blake’s relationship imploded and both their lives were changed forever. Ivy became a rock star and Blake lost not only his dreams of a successful NFL career, but his reputation. Ivy’s angry song about their breakup, called “Size Matters,” hit the top of the charts and Blake became a national laughingstock. He’s salvaged his career and returned to Rosewood to be the high school football coach, regaining his status as town hero and leading the boys to the state championships.

When a tornado whips through town and destroys the high school gymnasium and stadium, a committee is formed to help rebuild and plan some charity fundraisers. Blake’s grandmother requests that Ivy return to Rosewood for the events. Forced back together for the good of their hometown and their careers, Ivy and Blake have no choice but to put aside their differences, stop running from their pasts, and finally face the music.

For fans of Kristen Proby and Colette Auclair, Facing the Music hits a perfect balance between small-town romance and big-time success. Follow Ivy and Blake as they fall back in love and figure out what does matter in the end…

Andrea Laurence

Pocket Star

Release Date 9/15/14

Facing the Music is the newest release from Andrea Laurence. I was lucky enough to get a review copy through NetGalley thanks to the publisher.

I really enjoyed Facing the Music. Ivy and Blake were both really fun characters and I loved that after 5 years they still had pretty amazing chemistry. I especially loved that Blake's grandmother was the one to bring Ivy home, hoping Ivy and Blake could work things out. I wanted Blake and Ivy back together, yet knew they had so much to work through to make it happen. 

I grew up in a small town and so much of this story resonated with me. I'm sure the small town rivals occur in larger towns, but I know in small towns, very little ever changes. Lydia Whittaker and Ivy had been rivals since middle school and still didn't get along in the present. Lydia was completely opposite of Ivy, yet had been in love with Blake pretty much her whole life. Lydia hates Ivy and wants Blake for herself. Honestly, Lydia was a total witch and she was totally the perfect love-to-hate character in this book. I honestly felt a little sorry for her, as she continued to live in the past and even live in a bit of a dream world.

Facing the Music is a strong and sweet small town romance. I loved not only Ivy and Blake, but also many of the characters from Rosewood. I look forward to future books taking place in Rosewood.

Barefoot in Lace

Kick off your shoes and fall in love again in with the Barefoot Bay Brides! Destination wedding planner Gussie McBain needs a man...specifically, a wedding photographer. Just her luck that the shutterbug she runs into is more used to snapping pictures of glamorous models in couture gowns than brides in white lace. But Gussie's never been one to let bad odds stop her from a good gamble, so she asks for a favor she never dreams superstar TJ DeMille will actually grant. 

Tom DeMille lives his life exactly as he pleases--always alone. In fact, he’s got that motto tattooed in Greek on his arm. But when Tom is suddenly saddled with guardianship of his twelve-year-old niece, he'll lose more than his freedom if he can't figure out how to take care of her. Then an alluring young woman with pink hair and a sassy mouth shows up at his door, and he agrees to do the unthinkable...photograph a wedding in exchange for some help with his niece. 

As they work together, Tom begins to take down the walls Gussie has erected around herself to discover a truly beautiful and tender woman he knows he could love. But will his own heartache and refusal to lay down roots prevent him from giving Gussie the family life she craves...or could she be the one woman who can finally break his vow of solitude? 

Release Date 9/5/14

Roxanne St. Claire

South Street Publishing

I've loved Roxanne St. Claire's books since I first discovered her Bullet Catcher series years ago. I found I love her contemporary romances every bit as much as her romantic suspense books. Barefoot in Lace is one of my favorite books ever from Roxanne St. Claire.

Barefoot in Lace was a very emotional read for me. I openly admit to crying multiple times while reading this book. I wanted to know more about Gussie from the moment we met her. Gussie wears wigs of every color and style all the time. After learning why Gussie wears her wigs, I just wanted to hug her and it made me love her even more. I loved the meet-cute between Gussie and Tom (TJ) in the convenience store. It made me laugh and I could already feel the attraction between them.

While I loved Gussie right away, Tom was harder for me to love. He was totally honest with Gussie that he came with an expiration date, as his motto was  "Always Alone", yet he needed Gussie to help him learn how to connect with his 12-year old niece Alex. Tom's sister had died suddenly and he was named as Alex's guardian. Tom and Alex have such a hard time connecting, yet Gussie and Alex connect as soon as they meet. I honestly loved the relationship between Gussie and Alex from the moment they met. I think I connected very quickly to Alex because my mom died when I was 12 and I understood every feeling Alex was having about her mom. I loved how Gussie stepped in to help Alex deal with her loss and help Tom to learn to connect with his niece.

Gussie and Tom did work for me as a couple. They had really great chemistry and I loved they got each other so quickly. As I said before, I was a bit hesitant to believe Tom would get past his "Always Alone" motto, especially once he shared his reason for his feelings. I knew that Tom loved both Alex and Gussie, yet was afraid to admit his feeling and risk losing them because of his past.

I highly recommend Barefoot in Lace to any readers who love contemporary romances. Barefoot in Lace can be read as a stand-alone story, I think you see more about the characters if you read the books in order.

Rock Addiction (A Rock Kiss Novel)

A bad boy wrapped in a sexy, muscled, grown-up package might be worth a little risk… 

Molly Webster has always followed the rules. After an ugly scandal tore apart her childhood and made her the focus of the media’s harsh spotlight, she vowed to live an ordinary life. No fame. No impropriety. No pain. Then she meets Zachary Fox, a tattooed bad boy rocker with a voice like whiskey and sin, and a touch that could become an addiction. 

A one-night stand with the hottest rock star on the planet, that’s all it was meant to be… 

Fox promises scorching heat and dangerous pleasure, coaxing Molly to extend their one-night stand into a one-month fling. After that, he’ll be gone forever, his life never again intersecting with her own. Sex and sin and sensual indulgence, all with an expiration date. No ties, no regrets. Too late, Molly realizes it isn’t only her body that’s become addicted to Fox, but her heart…

Nalini Singh

September 8, 2014

I was lucky enough to be approved for a review copy thanks to the author through NetGalley. I openly admit to being a monster fan of Nalini Singh's paranormal books, and now can add her contemporary books to my must-buy list.

I was completely drawn into this book from page one and didn't want to put it down. I love the entire band and absolutely loved watching Fox and Molly fall in love with one another. Molly wants to blend in thanks to a scandal from her past. Falling for a rock star is so not in her plans, yet the more time she and Fox spend together, the easier it is to love him. I loved that Fox knew from day one that Molly was his. I love when the guy falls first in a romance and watching a bad-boy rocker fall is even more fun. I've come to expect a pretty steamy level of romance from Nalini Singh, and she more than delivers in this book.

I'm already counting down the days for the next book in this series. Once again a series by Nalini Singh becomes an auto-buy for me.

The Best Kind of Trouble

She has complete control…and he's determined to take it away 

A librarian in the small town of Hood River, Natalie Clayton's world is very nearly perfect. After a turbulent childhood and her once-wild ways, life is now under control. But trouble has a way of turning up unexpectedly—especially in the tall, charismatically sexy form of Paddy Hurley…. 

And Paddy is the kind of trouble that Natalie has a taste for. 

Even after years of the rock-and-roll lifestyle, Paddy never forgot the two wickedly hot weeks he once shared with Natalie. Now he wants more…even if it means tempting Natalie and her iron-grip control. But there's a fine line between well-behaved and misbehaved—and the only compromise is between the sheets!

Lauren Dane

Release Date 8/26/14

Harlequin HQN

I'm a pretty big fan of Lauren Dane, yet seem to have so many of her books in my to be read folder on my kindle. After reading The Best Kind of Trouble, I wanted to immediately read any of her books that I'd missed so far.

I'm a big fan of reunion stories, and have to say this one made me laugh so hard in the beginning. Natalie totally acts like she has never laid eyes on Paddy in her life, yet they spent 2 incredible weeks in bed together right before she started college. Paddy chasing after Natalie also made me laugh, as you really never think of a rock star having to work to get a date.

I really loved both Natalie and Paddy as individuals and as a couple. Paddy helps Natalie to loosen up just a bit, but still accepts that she needs to maintain control. Natalie makes Paddy work hard for something...he has never had to work to get women. I loved that he chased Natalie for weeks before she would agree to have dinner with him. The chemistry from before is still strong all these years later. While I loved how steamy they were together, I loved they could be tender with one another as well.

I did want Natalie to not compare her dad and his actions to Paddy and his quite as much. I almost felt like Paddy had a couple of strikes against him because of her dad. I wanted them to work so much and loved when Natalie finally got it about talking things out with Paddy. Not that Paddy was without faults. He acted like a total jerk a few times and I really wanted to smack him on the back of the head and tell him to get his head out of his butt...luckily he had brothers and parents to do it for me.

I really loved the story overall and am looking forward to Ezra's and Vaughn's stories.