Monday, August 31, 2015

STARK INTERNATIONAL TRILOGY SPOTLIGHT

I never let anyone get too close—but he’s the only man who’s ever made me feel alive.

Meeting Jackson Steele was a shock to my senses. Confident and commanding, he could take charge of any room . . . or any woman. And Jackson wanted me. The mere sight of him took my breath away, and his touch made me break all my rules.  

Our bond was immediate, our passion untamed. I wanted to surrender completely to his kiss, but I couldn’t risk his knowing the truth about my past. Yet Jackson carried secrets too, and in our desire we found our escape, pushing our boundaries as far as they could go.

Learning to trust is never easy. In my mind, I knew I should run. But in my heart, I never felt a fire this strong—and it could either save me or scorch me forever.

Say My Name
Release Date: April 7, 2015
Stark International Trilogy #1
Random House Bantam

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Jackson Steele and Sylvia Brooks continue to thrill in the second novel of a scintillating, emotionally charged new trilogy that returns to the world of J. Kenner’s beloved Stark novels: Release Me, Claim Me, and Complete Me.

I never thought I’d lose control, but his desire took me right to the edge.

Powerful, ambitious, and devastatingly sexy, Jackson Steele was unlike any other man I’d ever known. He went after what he wanted with his whole mind, body, and soul—and I was the woman in his sights. One touch and I surrendered, one night together and I was undone.

Jackson and I had secrets, dark pieces of our pasts that threatened to swallow us both. We couldn’t outrun our demons, or the people trying to tear us apart. But in our passion we found salvation, and in each other’s arms we found release.

I was scared to trust Jackson fully, to finally let go. Yet no matter the dangers that lay ahead, I knew I was his—and now that we’ve laid claim, there’s no more holding back.

On My Knees
Release Date: June 23, 2015
Stark International Trilogy #2
Random House Bantam

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Jackson Steele and Sylvia Brooks are back in the powerful finale of a provocative, sizzling-hot new erotic trilogy set in the world of J. Kenner’s beloved Stark novels: Release Me, Claim Me, and Complete Me.

He’s the only man I’ve ever loved, and the one man I can’t bear to lose.

Jackson Steele is my light in this world. Charismatic, bold, and always in control, he knows what he wants and how to get it—and absolutely nothing stands in his way. His hold on me is magnetic, his claim on me complete, his kiss my ultimate escape.

We both harbor dark secrets that could tear our lives apart. Though we’ve tried to bury our pasts, there are certain people who won’t let us forget. But the closer danger comes, the brighter the fire between us burns—our ecstasy consuming and soothing us both.

There’s no telling what lies ahead, but I know that Jackson never gives in without a fight. I’d do anything he wants to keep him safe, give him anything he needs. And now that we’re in deep, nothing can make me run.

Under My Skin
Release Date: September 1, 2015
Stark International Trilogy #3
Random House Bantam

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Sunday, August 30, 2015

TREASURED BY THURSDAY GIVEAWAY, EXCERPT, & REVIEW


TREASURED BY THURSDAY
The Weekday Brides Series, Book Seven
Montlake Romance, Contemporary
August 18, 2015, First Edition
Paperback & Kindle

The seventh and final tale in the dazzling, heartwarming, and pulse-racing Weekday Brides series.

Gabriella Masini: She’s a woman haunted by her past, with the scars to prove it. She believes that fairy tales are for other people. An elite matchmaker at Alliance, she’s great at crunching numbers, but something doesn’t add up with her latest prospective client: a billionaire bad boy with his own secrets. When Gabi refuses to be his temporary wife, Hunter forces her hand with an offer she can’t refuse. But marriage to a man like that could never last…or could it?

Hunter Blackwell: Only his bank account is bigger than his ruthless ability to obtain anything he wants. These days, he has a secret reason to settle down, at least for a while—and he thinks the sensual and sassy Gabi will fit the bill perfectly. But when their marriage of convenience becomes downright dangerous, Hunter must decide how far to take his vow to honor and protect Gabi forever.




Praise for Treasured by Thursday
“..an exquisitely written and complex story brimming with pride, passion, and pulse-pounding danger... Readers will gladly make time to savor this winning finale to a wonderful series.” –Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
“Bybee concludes her popular Weekday Brides series in a gratifying way with a passionate, troubled couple who may find a happy future if they can just survive and then learn to trust each other. A compelling and entertaining mix of sexy, complicated romance and menacing suspense.” –Kirkus Reviews
The Weekday Brides never disappoint and this final installment is by far Bybee’s best work to date..” –RT Book Reviews, 4 ½ Stars, Top Pick!


BUY LINKS:
Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Treasured-Thursday-Weekday-Brides-Catherine/dp/1477828044/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1438396416&sr=8-1&keywords=treasured+by+thursday

B&N:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/treasured-by-thursday-catherine-bybee/1121311952?ean=9781477828045

BAM:  http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Treasured-Thursday/Catherine-Bybee/9781477828045?id=6165479539816

BOOK DEPOSITORY:  http://www.bookdepository.com/Treasured-by-Thursday-Catherine-Bybee/9781477828045




EXCERPT

“I think we should talk about what’s going on here.”

She swallowed. “We’re cooking.”

“Gabi, look at me.”

She shook her head, taking the coward’s way out. If she noticed the lock of hair falling into his eyes a second time, she might have to push it back in place.

“Gabriella?” The smooth texture of his voice was like chocolate on her tongue.

His sticky hand tucked under her chin and forced her to meet his gaze.

He stepped closer, his frame molding to hers and pressing her back against the counter.

She couldn’t breathe.

His thumb traced her bottom lip. “This is a bad idea,” he mumbled her thoughts.

She nodded. “Very poor choice.” Her hands gripped the side of the counter to keep from touching him.

Hunter sucked in a deep breath. “You smell like flowers.”

“I’ll change my shampoo.”

He started to dip his head and she kept talking. “Something musky, so you won’t notice me.”

“I don’t think that’s going to work.”

He was close enough to catch the scent of mint on his breath. “I don’t even like you.” One of her legs lifted and rubbed against one of his.

“I don’t trust you.” His hand moved from her lip the side of her neck.

“You blackmailed me.”

“You tricked me into cooking with your mother.”

She smiled. “The two hardly compare.”

Instead of dropping his lips to hers, he detoured to the side of her neck and kept talking, his breath brushing her skin. “Have you met your mother?”

“That’s sill—”

His lips found her neck.

She moaned and closed her eyes. Such a deliciously bad idea.


Liza’s Review:

Treasured by Thursday is the final book in the Weekday Brides series from Catherine Bybee. I've enjoyed each and every book in the series to day and was a little bit sad as I read knowing it was the end of the series. I love getting to visit with favorite characters with each new installment of the series, and loved we got to see everyone in Treasured by Thursday.

I have to be honest and admit while I really liked Gabi from the very beginning; it took some time for me to warm up to Hunter. I just felt like he was keeping too many secrets from Gabi and he really seemed almost cold when they first met. Luckily, it quickly became apparent that there was so much more to Hunter than what he initially let Gabi see. I really did love watching both Hunter's and Gabi's feelings change the more time they spent together. I liked their chemistry took time to grow, and it felt real to me.

I loved once Hunter realized his true feelings for Gabi he became even more protective of her than even her brother. He would do anything to keep her safe, and he proved it over and over again. I also could tell Gabi had real feelings for Hunter when he shared his secret reason for wanting to marry her and she did everything in her power to make everything work out.

Treasured by Thursday was a wonderful end to the Weekday Brides series. Readers were treated with appearances by all the other couples in the series. I honestly felt like each of the 7 books in the series were great reads and as a series were even better. 

CATHERINE BYBEE

BIO:
New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee was raised in Washington State, but after graduating high school, she moved to Southern California in hopes of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full-time and has penned the Weekday Brides Series and the Not Quite Series. Bybee lives with her two teenage sons in Southern California.  

CONTACT LINKS:
www.catherinebybe.com
catherinebybee@yahoo.com
catherinebybee.blogspot.com
facebook.com/AuthorCatherineBybee
twitter.com/catherinebybee
pinterest.com/catherinebybee
instagram.com/catherinebybee

 Giveaway Code: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/8a8544f625/" rel="nofollow" data-raflid="8a8544f625" data-theme="classic" data-template="" id="rcwidget_wtzcyv7z">a Rafflecopter giveaway

Saturday, August 29, 2015

A TASTE OF SUGAR EXCERPT, REVIEW & GIVEAWAY

A TASTE OF SUGAR by Marina Adair (August 25, 2015; Forever Mass Market; Sugar, Georgia #3)
A blast from her past…
Charlotte Holden, Sugar’s favorite pediatrician, knows better than anyone that love only leads to heartbreak. Instead, she’s focused on creating the Grow Clinic, an outpatient center for children. All she has to do now is to host the best Founder’s Day Parade in the history of Sugar, Georgia, to win over a big-city donor. Easy as peach pie. Then sexy Jace McGraw blows back into town and utters those three words every woman dreads: we’re still married.

…leads to tantalizing trouble
Jace McGraw was making an offer on his dream business in Atlanta when he was told that his wife had some credit issues. Wait, his wife? The annulment went through years ago—or so he thought.  He’d walked away only to keep his troublemaker reputation from ruining her dreams. But now that they have a second chance, Jace offers Charlotte a deal: he’ll grant a discreet divorce in exchange for 30 days and nights of marriage. Because this time he isn’t going to let her go without a fight.

Buy the book!


SUGAR ON TOP by Marina Adair (April 28, 2015; Forever Mass Market; Sugar, Georgia Book #2)
She's sassy and sweet
The last thing Glory Mann wants is to become chairman of the Miss Peach Pageant in Sugar, Georgia. Spending months hearing nothing but the clinking of pearls and judgment? No thank you! But when Glory is forced to take the rap for a scandal she didn't commit, the judge sentences her to head the committee. Even worse, her co-chairman is rugged, ripped . . . and barely knows she's alive. 

He's ready and willing
Single dad Cal McGraw can't take any more drama in his life. After a difficult divorce, his little girl became a boy-crazy teenager and his hands are full. The last thing he needs is to spend his down time with the town bad girl. Glory is pure trouble-tempting and tantalizing trouble. But he can't deny the strong chemistry between them-or how her touch turns him inside out. Now as squabbles threaten to blow up the contest and the town of Sugar itself, Cal must risk everything on the sexy wild card to get a second chance at love . . .

Buy the book!



SUGAR’S TWICE AS SWEET by Marina Adair (November 25, 2014; Forever Mass Market; Sugar, Georgia Book #1)
He’s trouble she doesn’t need…
Thanks to a cheating fiance, Josephina Harrington’s perfect life just crashed and burned. Moving in with her overbearing parents is definitely not an option. No, she needs to prove she can make it on her own. And she will—by turning her great-aunt’s old plantation house into a destination getaway. She’s just not expecting her contractor to be so hands-on—and so totally irresistible. 

…but everything she wants
Bad-boy golf champion Brett McGraw figured his hometown of Sugar, Georgia, was the perfect place to lay low and get his life back up to par. The leggy blonde with a pint-sized pup is the kind of sweet ’n’ sassy trouble he never saw coming. She doesn’t know a nut from a bolt and before long, he’s renovating her house…as she steals his heart. Can he convince Josephina that his womanizing ways are in the past and he’s ready for forever?

Buy the book!

About the author:
Marina Adair is a lifelong fan of romance novels. Along with the Sugar series, she is also the author of the St. Helena Vineyard series and the upcoming Shelter Cove series. She currently lives in a hundred-year-old log cabin, nestled in the majestic redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains, with her husband and daughter. As a writer, Marina is devoted to giving her readers contemporary romance where the towns are small, the personalities large, and the romance explosive. She also loves to interact with readers and you can catch her on Twitter at @MarinaEAdair or visit her at www.MarinaAdair.com.

Connect with the author!


 EXCERPT:

“Morning, Dr. Holden,” he said, unfolding himself from the car.
“You’re late.” Charlotte stood and swished her way down the steps toward him. No good morning, no thanks for coming, just a you’re late as though they had plans, as though he’d disappointed her again.
“Sorry,” he said coolly, tapping the face of his watch. “Forgot to set it to Charlotte Standard Time.”
She stopped a few feet from him, and he could see the hesitation in her expression. Hesitation and something else. Something that looked an awful lot like vulnerability. Oh, there was a good portion of irritation and hostility glaring at him through those baby blues, but behind it all was definitely vulnerability. Interesting.
“You’re the one who said we had to go to Atlanta today.”
“I believe you told me you were too busy to make the time,” he said, not sure how he was going to handle six hours in an enclosed space with her. Just standing downwind taking in her floral scent was making him hard.
“I changed my mind.”
Jace looked at her for a long moment, then laughed. She was serious.
“Darling, you don’t change your mind. Ever.” Charlotte Holden might be a Southern belle, but her Kevlar wall of stubbornness could rival a Southern granny’s—and having been raised by the most mule-headed granny in the world, that was saying a lot. Oh, he believed that Charlotte had changed her mind, he just didn’t know why. “So what happened with your debutante sisters yesterday that has you desperate enough to call me?”
“Sugar Peaches,” she corrected. “And since when do you keep up on Sugar gossip?”
“Since you started calling yourself a Sugar Peach. I mean, weren’t the Peaches your mom’s thing?”
Charlotte had once confided in him that she moved to Atlanta to escape the pressure of following in her mother’s footsteps. The pageants and parties and social ladder climbing were Babette’s dream for Charlotte. Charlotte’s dream was to save lives—and she was a master at it.
“Well, it’s my thing now,” she said, and he couldn’t help but notice the resignation in her voice. He wanted to know what else had changed, then realized it didn’t matter anymore. “And that means I have to be back as soon as possible. Founder’s Day is only three weeks off, and I have a lot to do.”
“Yeah, me too.” He had to get an annulment, convince his buddy to fix Hattie’s car, and secure that loan before Dale pulled his offer.
“Good, because as the current regent of the Sugar Peaches it falls to me to plan the Founder’s Day Fair, so this trip needs to be a quickie,” she said, her bossy, take-charge tone making him smile.
“Quickies aren’t really my specialty,” he said. “But who am I to argue with a lady?”
“Easy and discreet, Jace. The last thing I need right now is to explain this to my parents,” she clarified as though he was slow, as though he didn’t know just how anxious she was to put the past behind them. Which shouldn’t have pissed him off, because that was what he wanted, too. But it did.
“Easy and discreet? Kind of like our marriage?” he mused.
She looked at him for a long moment and then slowly shook her head. “Nothing about our marriage was easy, Jace,” she said, and the absolute certainty in her voice made him want to prove her wrong.
“There was one easy thing between us,” Jace said, stepping into her and closing the distance, trapping her between the car and his body. He reached behind her neck, crushed his mouth to hers, and kissed the hell out of her.
Only one touch, and she was kissing him back. No hesitation, no second-guessing, just—pow —debutante to seductress. Not interested to tongue down his throat in two seconds flat.
And holy fucking God, it was perfect. The way she felt, the way she tasted, the way she crawled up his body and demanded more...How had he forgotten this side of her?
That insane pull between them, which he’d convinced himself didn’t exist, wasn’t only burning a hole through his clothes—and his mission—it also wasn’t one-sided. Which told him that he should a) back the hell up, and b) immediately cancel this field trip they had planned. Before things got crazy.
But then she made this sexy little sound in the back of her throat—the one that used to drive him batshit crazy, that still drove him batshit crazy—and he was a goner.
So he deepened the kiss, because why the hell not? Charlotte had her prim and proper hands all over him, and he was certain that this was the best kiss he’d ever had. Hot and needy and raw and so damn desperate it was like driving down the track at three hundred miles per hour with no breaks.
Then he realized that this was not only the best kiss ever, but probably also their last kiss ever, and he slowly pulled back, tugging her lower lip between his teeth as long as he could until the connection finally broke. And damn, he wished he hadn’t stopped.
That one second of uncharged air was all Charlotte needed. Sure, she was breathing heavily, and her gaze was dazed and confused. A mirror image of his own. But within a split second her eyes frosted over and that unflinching fortitude was back.
Not that he was fooled. Jace knew that they had chemistry, remembered how electric they were together, but what had arched between them just now floored him. And it had floored her, too.
Charlotte cleared her throat. “This changes nothing.”
Jace lowered his gaze to her hands, which were resting on the buckle of his belt. “Oh, it changes something.”




Liza's Review:



I have enjoyed each of the Sugar, Georgia books in the series so far. I do have to say Jace and Charlotte's story might just be my favorite of the 3 though.

Let me just say that I loved Jace and Charlotte together so much. I knew there was something up with Jace and Charlotte from her reaction to his name being mentioned in earlier books, but have to say the fact they eloped 4 years ago never crossed my mind. I love that Jace calls Charlotte Charlie and I started thinking of her as Charlie the longer Jace was around.

With the exception of marrying the town's bad boy, Charlotte has always done what is right when representing her family, the hospital or the town. She has always put everyone else's needs above her own, and I loved that for the 30 days she and Jace would live together before the divorce, she actually put herself and her needs above others. I felt like both Jace and Charlotte had never stopped loving each other in the 4 years they were apart. However, it was so fun to watch them fall in love all over again with one another as they spent each day together. 

A Taste of Sugar was a fast, funny and sexy read. I loved there was so much humor to go with the romance as well as a little bit of town drama. I grew up in a small town and have to say the small town description of Sugar, Georgia is absolutely perfect.


Review copy provided by publisher 

Giveaway:

***One (1) free print copy of A TASTE OF SUGAR also available for one commenter on this site. Limited to US and Canada residents only (no PO Boxes)***