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Thursday, April 30, 2020

The Billionaire's Fake Fiancée

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The Billionaire's Fake Fiancée by Annika Martin

Release Date: April 28th

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The Billionaire's Fake Fiancée, a sexy romantic comedy by New York Times bestselling author Annika Martin.


I’m no Prince Charming, and the last thing I want is a Cinderella.


My instructions were simple: scour the city for a fake fiancée who’s not my type at all. Have her on my jet Monday morning, dressed appropriately for a yacht vacation.


I need a woman believable enough to convince a certain client that I’ve changed my playboy ways…yet nothing like the supermodels and socialites I usually have on my arm.


Somebody too annoying to tempt me—no emotional entanglements, thank you very much. This is business only.


If she’s unfazed by my looks and wealth, all the better.


Should be easy. Right?


Apparently not, because my people go and hire Tabitha. My hairdresser.


What were they thinking? Yes, I said annoying, but I didn’t mean her, the most frustrating woman in the world.


Tabitha is sunshiny. She has a pet hamster. She loves Hello Kitty, and she gets under my skin like nobody else.


As if that’s not bad enough, the minute we step on deck, she thinks that certain people on the yacht are up to something shady—based completely on her soap opera knowledge.  


She won’t listen when I tell her she’s being ridiculous.   


But as the days go by, I find that we’re actually having fun. And our fake kisses are heating up. And suddenly her wild theories aren’t sounding so strange after all…

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Download your copy today!

Apple Books: https://geni.us/nCpIs

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/39XpK80
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Excerpt:


     “We need a practice kiss.”

     My gaze falls to her lips and my mind goes blank. “Did you not read the contract?” I bite out. “This relationship is to be purely platonic.”

     “Oh, I know. And before you think I’m jonesing to kiss you, please know, I’m just trying to do a professional job at this, and the kiss is important. Because I can tell you right now, when people do the fake engagement ploy and get busted, it’s often because they’re forced to do a first kiss in front of suspicious people. Everybody can tell a first kiss.”

     “Have you been involved in other fake engagement situations?” I ask.

     “No, but, you know, it’s a thing. Trust me.”

     “It’s a thing?” I ask, incredulous.

     “Well, on soap operas,” she adds.

     I groan. “Jesus Christ, save me from your ridiculous soap opera wisdom.”

     “What? There is a lot of life wisdom in soap operas.”

     I give her a hard look.

     “And the fact is, with people who have never kissed, there’s a lot of trepidation. They’re like, How do I start off? Where do I put my hands? Which way should I tilt my head?”

     “Those are not questions that would cross my mind during a kiss. Ever.”

     “Please. Spare me from the knowledge of what crosses your mind when you kiss a woman,” she says. “I’m just telling you, people aren’t stupid. They’re capable of recognizing a first kiss. We need at least one practice round. Unfortunately.”

     I swallow. Somewhere down on Wall Street, trading is in full swing. I have rates to check, reports to analyze, spreads to monitor, but the idea of pulling her to me and kissing her crowds all of that out. My hands flex.

     A practice kiss. I can’t think of a worse idea. “We’re not a couple who enjoys public displays of affection.”

     She does her playful wince. “Okay, buuuuuut…what happens when they toast our engagement? We can’t exactly shake hands.”

     Will people do that? Gather around and expect us to kiss in front of them? I focus on the window. The whole idea here was not to be tempted or distracted.

     “If I decide we need a practice kiss,” I inform her, “then and only then will we have a practice kiss. And I’ll do the kissing.”

     “It has to be more than a peck,” she says. “Just in case that’s what you’re imagining.”

     “Rest assured, a kiss from me would be the opposite of a peck.”

     “The opposite of a peck,” she echoes, as though she finds it funny.

     “The polar opposite.” My gaze has gone back to her lips. They’d taste like some sort of sugary berry. Her dark hair would be thick and cool in my grip, her ass soft and firm. My mind won’t stop spinning on kissing her, now.

     “I’m trying to help you pull this off,” she says. “Think of the times you’ve had a first kiss. The wild rush of it. The buzz of it. It’ll be so obvious.”

     I frown. Who the hell has she been sharing these mind-altering first kisses with?  

     “Don’t worry, I get this is business,” she says. “You’re not at all the type of guy I go for, either.”

     “No? Do tell—what type of guy do you go for?”

     “For one, he would scoff at the idea of a private jet. And he would never wear or even possess cufflinks. Or if he did, there’d be a string attached to the cufflinks because he would’ve made them into an awesome toy for little Seymour. That would be a guy for me.”

     “Sounds like a loser,” I growl.



Meet the Author:

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:
Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/AnnikaMartinFabulousGang/
Stay up to date with Annika by joining her mailing list: http://www.annikamartinbooks.com/newletter/





Liza’s Review:

The Billionaire's Fake Fiancée is the newest release from Annika Martin. This is the first book in the Billionaires of Manhattan I've read, and it reads really well as a stand-alone. This rom-com features Rex O'Rourke a finance wiz and Tabitha Evans, who has been his hairdresser for the last 2 years. Rex has the chance to win the biggest account of his career, but only if he goes on a two week vacation on Gail Driscoll's yacht with his fiancée. There is just one little problem...he doesn't have one. Enter hairdresser Tabitha who fits the bill perfectly for Rex's future wife as she is the complete opposite of his idea of a perfect woman.

I adored both Rex and Tabitha. Rex is very growly and set in his ways, whereas Tabitha always seems to have a smile on her face. I adored how she shared so many theories she had about people and scheming based upon her love for soap operas, especially Days of our Lives and One Life to Live. I haven't watched a soap opera in years, yet found myself laughing each time Tabitha mentioned one as they are the same now as they were when I used to watch. I loved that Tabitha totally accepted Rex exactly as he was and didn't really try to change him. Honestly it made the fact that he slowly changed himself for her even sweeter. 

The back and forth banter between Rex and Tabitha was foreplay to their physical relationship. I loved the more time they were together, the more time they each wanted to be in each other's company. It was especially refreshing with Rex, as he was taking a break from working around the clock for the first time in years to spend more time with Tabitha. Rex and Tabitha as a couple gave me all the happy feels and I absolutely adored their journey.

Annika Martin gives her readers a fun and fast-paced rom-com and I can't wait to read more books from her in the future. Luckily she has an extensive back list to keep me reading for a while. I highly recommend The Billionaire's Fake Fiancée to contemporary romance readers who love a bit of comedy with their romance.


Rating: 4.5 Stars (B+)
Review copy provided by publisher

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

THE ART OF THEFT (LADY SHERLOCK #4)

As "Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective," Charlotte Holmes has solved murders and found missing individuals. But she has never stolen a priceless artwork—or rather, made away with the secrets hidden behind a much-coveted canvas.

But Mrs. Watson is desperate to help her old friend recover those secrets and Charlotte finds herself involved in a fever-paced scheme to infiltrate a glamorous Yuletide ball where the painting is one handshake away from being sold and the secrets a bare breath from exposure.

Her dear friend Lord Ingram, her sister Livia, Livia's admirer Stephen Marbleton—everyone pitches in to help and everyone has a grand time. But nothing about this adventure is what it seems and disaster is biding time on the grounds of a glittering French chateau, waiting only for Charlotte to make a single mistake... 

Release Date: October 15, 2019
Berkley
Lady Sherlock #4
Historical Mystery
Review copy provided by publisher

Liza's review:

I absolutely adore the Lady Sherlock series from Sherry Thomas. The Art of Theft is the latest release in the series, and it was every bit as wonderful as I was expecting. I love spending time with this cast of characters, and love even more it grew a bit with this installment. As The Art of Theft picks up where the last installment left off, it is best to read the books in this series in order.

I love the way Charlotte's mind works. I'm always at least 3 steps behind her in figuring out what is going on in every single book. Ms. Thomas has written a character with such depth in Charlotte, that she keeps me guessing with each new installment. I have to say I did love learning more about Mrs. Watson's past along the way in this book. She seems to reveal just a bit more about her past to Charlotte with every book. The fact that Charlotte's sister Livia is the one telling each new tale to the readers have me loving her more with each new book. She is much quieter than Charlotte in every way, yet I feel like she is starting to come into her own the more time she spends with Charlotte and Mrs. Watson. I absolutely adored the time with Lord Ingram (Ash) and continue to want Charlotte and Ash to be more. 

There were so many twists and turns in The Art of Theft I was even more off my game in figuring out the mystery than I normally am with this series, and I absolutely loved it kept me guessing. I find myself loving this series more and more with each new installment. The Lady Sherlock series has become one of my favorite series in the historical mystery genre and I anxiously await each new installment.

Rating: 4 Stars (B+)

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Release Blitz The Billionaire's Fake Fiancée

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The Billionaire's Fake Fiancée, a sexy romantic comedy by New York Times bestselling author, Annika Martin, is LIVE!

TBFF_ebook_amazon_kobo_ibooks.jpg



I’m no Prince Charming, and the last thing I want is a Cinderella.


My instructions were simple: scour the city for a fake fiancée who’s not my type at all. Have her on my jet Monday morning, dressed appropriately for a yacht vacation.


BFF - AN.jpg
I need a woman believable enough to convince a certain client that I’ve changed my playboy ways…yet nothing like the supermodels and socialites I usually have on my arm.


Somebody too annoying to tempt me—no emotional entanglements, thank you very much. This is business only.


If she’s unfazed by my looks and wealth, all the better.


Should be easy. Right?


Apparently not, because my people go and hire Tabitha. My hairdresser.


What were they thinking? Yes, I said annoying, but I didn’t mean her, the most frustrating woman in the world.


Tabitha is sunshiny. She has a pet hamster. She loves Hello Kitty, and she gets under my skin like nobody else.


As if that’s not bad enough, the minute we step on deck, she thinks that certain people on the yacht are up to something shady—based completely on her soap opera knowledge.  


She won’t listen when I tell her she’s being ridiculous.   


But as the days go by, I find that we’re actually having fun. And our fake kisses are heating up. And suddenly her wild theories aren’t sounding so strange after all…



Download your copy today!

Apple Books: https://geni.us/nCpIs

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/39XpK80

Release Blitz Teaser.png

Meet Annika:

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:
Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/AnnikaMartinFabulousGang/
Stay up to date with Annika by joining her mailing list: http://www.annikamartinbooks.com/newletter/








Monday, April 27, 2020

SNEAK PEEK: RECKLESS MEMORIES


I loved him before I knew what the word meant.
But he was never mine to love.

Reckless Memories, an all-new emotional friends to lovers standalone from Catherine Cowles is releasing May 12th, and we have the first peek inside this not-to-be-missed romance. 
Reckless Memories Cover

Prologue
Isabelle

PAST

“I would rather sit on a hill of fire ants in my underwear while eating ghost peppers.” I leaned against the counter and popped a cracker into my mouth. My nose wrinkled. It was one of those multigrain ones that tasted more like cardboard than actual food.

“Isabelle Marie Kipton, I have had just about enough of your snarkiness, young lady.”

But I wasn’t a young lady, at least not in my mother’s estimation. Young ladies were poised and put-together and never questioned the dictates their parents set for them. I questioned everything, never went along easily, and was far too disheveled to gain any sort of approval from my parents.

I stared unblinkingly at my mother, not giving an inch.

“You will sit at that dinner table, and you will be composed and polite to our company.”

I let out a snort. “Like their daughter is composed and polite to me?” Lacey was more like the Devil incarnate, but she wore her pretty, polite mask perfectly. So, my mother might as well have thought she was the Second Coming.

Violet looked up from where she was arranging a platter of hors d’oeuvres. “Lacey snaps back because you bait her. Maybe you two are just more similar than you’d like to admit, and you ruffle each other’s feathers.”

I glanced up at my older sister. The perfect image of the young lady my parents wished I would be, with her impeccably styled hair and future-doctor composure. She might as well have been a stranger. When had that happened? I searched my mind for the date the switch had been flipped, when Violet had gone from friend and confidante, the sister who’d always had my back, to someone I couldn’t even begin to understand most of the time.

“You can be friends with her all you want, Vi. I’ll take a pass on having vicious snakes in my circle.” I glanced at my mother. “Or sharing a dinner table with them.”

Red crept up my mother’s neck and seeped into her face. “What is wrong with you?” I stayed silent. The list of what my mother found wrong with me would take us all night to get through. “That’s it. Hand over your phone.”

My fingers tightened around the edge of the counter. “Are you seriously taking my cell because I don’t want to have dinner with someone who’s awful to me? Who bullies my friends, and is cruel to everyone who isn’t in her little gang of followers? I’ve tried to tell you time and again that she’s not who you think she is.”

My mother held out her hand. “Perhaps if you kept better company, these things wouldn’t be an issue. You are who you spend time with, Isabelle. And those girls you run around with are not what I want for your future.”

My back teeth ground together as I slipped my hand into my back pocket, pulling out the device she’d requested and placing it in her palm. No phone meant no emergency line to my best friends, to Ford, to the people who kept me sane amidst the insanity that my mother brought about. I kept my face carefully blank. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of knowing that she’d impacted me in any way. She didn’t deserve to know she had that power.

“Since you insist on acting childish, you’ll be treated as one. Your curfew is now nine p.m.”

I gave her nothing. I was already a prisoner in this home full of people who’d rather judge me than try and understand where I was coming from. 
Want more? Click here: https://bit.ly/2xb9naQ 



Synopsis
I loved him before I knew what the word meant.
From skinned knees to first dates and everything in between.
But he was never mine to love.
I settled for friendship, even though I always wanted more.
That was before.
Before he ripped my world apart and didn’t bother sticking around to help me pick up the pieces.
I knit every last shred back together all on my own.
And I’ve all but forgotten his name.
Now, he’s back, and everything is torn apart once more.
But he’s not the only one doing the tearing this time.
And there might be no stopping the person who has it out for us both.

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Pre-order your copy today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2QDwvo9
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/recklessmemories
Apple Books: https://apple.co/2QjXYw2
Nook: http://bit.ly/39vwkUl
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2QhJcpG

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2FdqQzB 
Be notified FIRST when Reckless Memories is live: http://bit.ly/2JZE0DH



About Catherine
Writer of words. Drinker of Diet Cokes. Lover of all things cute and furry, especially her dog. Catherine has had her nose in a book since the time she could read and finally decided to write down some of her own stories. When she's not writing she can be found exploring her home state of Oregon, listening to true crime podcasts, or searching for her next book boyfriend.

Connect with Catherine
BookBub: http://bit.ly/2J3dWWF
Stay up to date with Catherine by joining her mail list:
http://bit.ly/2JZE0DH

CHASING CASSANDRA (THE RAVENELS #6)

Everything has a price...

Railway magnate Tom Severin is wealthy and powerful enough to satisfy any desire as soon as it arises. Anything—or anyone—is his for the asking. It should be simple to find the perfect wife—and from his first glimpse of Lady Cassandra Ravenel, he’s determined to have her. But the beautiful and quick-witted Cassandra is equally determined to marry for love—the one thing he can’t give.

Everything except her...

Severin is the most compelling and attractive man Cassandra has ever met, even if his heart is frozen. But she has no interest in living in the fast-paced world of a ruthless man who always plays to win.

When a newfound enemy nearly destroys Cassandra’s reputation, Severin seizes the opportunity he’s been waiting for. As always, he gets what he wants—or does he? There’s one lesson Tom Severin has yet to learn from his new bride:

Never underestimate a Ravenel.

The chase for Cassandra’s hand may be over. But the chase for her heart has only just begun...

Release Date: February 18, 2020
Avon Books
Historical Romance
The Ravenels #6
Review copy provided by publisher

Liza's Review:


Chasing Cassandra is the latest book in the popular Ravenel series from Lisa Kleypas. I've enjoyed each of the stories in this series and was so excited to get Cassandra's book at last. 

Cassandra is such a sweet and charming character. She truly seems to look for the good in pretty much every part of life, and was such a refreshing character. She is a bit at loose ends since her twin Pandora just got married, and is now heading into the season pretty much needing to find a husband.

Tom Severin always gets what he wants, and after meeting Lady Cassandra, he wants her...not as a love match, but because she needs a husband and he needs a wife. The fact that Cassandra will only marry for love and they were so opposite in so many ways, only made me love them more with each page I read. Cassandra challenged Tom in a way few had ever done in his life. The banter between Cassandra and Tom was delightful at times and totally felt like foreplay at other times. I seriously fell hard for them as a couple long before they became one. 

I adored Tom's protective instincts when it came to Cassandra as it was something even those he claimed as friends never thought possible. I loved watching Tom fall in love with another person for the first time in his life, and I especially loved he fell for Cassandra just as she was and didn't want her to change anything about herself. Especially as she seemed to need to change everything about herself to be with any other man. I also felt the chemistry between them from their first meeting, and loved it grew stronger with each meeting. I really was completely charmed by this couple, and loved seeing them find one another.

Chasing Cassandra was a completely charming story. I really loved all aspects of the story and couldn't put the book down once I started reading it. Lisa Kleypas gives her readers a wonderful addition to the Ravenel series with Chasing Cassandra and I can't wait to see what she brings us next with her next release.

Rating: 4 Stars (B+)

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Friday, April 24, 2020

WILD FOR YOU

Wild for You
By Kendall Ryan
Release Day: April 20, 2020


About the Book

He’s growly. Grumpy. Stubborn.

And now, my new roommate.

Walking away from my disastrous last relationship was an easy decision, but moving in with a friend-of-a-friend hockey star who’s rarely home? Not quite as simple, because Grant makes me feel things even I don’t understand.

One thing’s for certain, though. I definitely shouldn’t have crawled into his bed that night.

• • •

There’s a brightness to her eyes I can’t seem to look away from.

She’s beautiful. Smart. Tempting.

And a little fragile.

I’ve never been anyone’s knight in shining armor, but when Ana needed a place to stay, it was easy to move her in with me.
Not so simple, though, is keeping my hands—or my mouth—to myself. And the night she crawls into my bed and shares her body with me has me conjuring up all kinds of ideas about our future.

Until a big surprise I never saw coming changes everything.

If you like sexy, confident men who know how to handle a stick (on and off the ice), and smart women who are strong enough to keep all those big egos in check, this series of athlete romances is perfect for you!

(Books can be enjoyed in any order.) 


Amazon US  https://amzn.to/2RW1Jat
Amazon Intl.  https://geni.us/QzwCZt

Add to Goodreads  http://bit.ly/2Rx1Dr3



About Kendall Ryan

A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than three dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold over 3 million books and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world.
Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than 100 times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine.

She lives in Texas with her husband and two sons.

Visit her at: www.kendallryanbooks.com for the latest book news, and fun extras.

Subscriber to the newsletter: http://www.kendallryanbooks.com/newsletter/