Barefoot in the Sun

Barefoot in the Sun is the 3^rd book in the Barefoot Bay series from NYT bestselling author Roxanne St. Claire. The publisher is Forever Grand Central Publishing, and the release date is set for April 30, 2013. From the back cover.~

A Barefoot Bay Novel

When running is all you've ever known . . . 

Caught between fight and flight, Zoe Tamarin has always picked flight. Since she was rescued from a nightmare childhood by her great-aunt Pasha, they've been on the move, never staying in one place long enough to risk exposing their precarious past. But now that they've reached the sun-baked shores of Barefoot Bay, Zoe may have to stay and fight-for her aunt's life . . . and for a love she ran from years before.

Sometimes the bravest act of all is to stand still.

Oliver Bradbury came to Florida to start over, as both a doctor and a father to his eight-year-old son. He never expected life to hand him a second chance with the woman he lost years ago-but one look at Zoe Tamarin and he knows he'll do whatever it takes to prove that this time, he can be the man she needs. But when demands of family and friendship threaten to shatter their rekindled passion, Oliver must heal Zoe's lifelong wounds with more than hot kisses . . . but will that be enough to keep her from flying off with his heart?

I’ve wanted Zoe’s story since we first met the best friends in Barefoot in the Sand. When I saw Barefoot in the Sun available on NetGalley, I jumped at the chance to read it early. I can’t say thank you enough to the publisher for approving me for an early review copy.

I really have enjoyed all 3 books in this series so far. That being said, Zoe’s is my favorite to date. I’m a huge Roxanne St. Claire fan and probably say each book of hers I read is my favorite, but there really was just something about Zoe and Oliver’s story that made me love it best.

Zoe has never shared with her 3 very best friends in the world that Zoe Tamarin isn’t her real name…nor is her great-aunt Pasha her real aunt. She has only ever opened up and shared that information with one person, namely Oliver Bradbury. When Oliver didn’t immediately agree with her decision to protect Pasha, Zoe disappeared from his life. 9 years later Zoe needs Oliver to help save Pasha’s life, and keep her secret.

Both Zoe and Oliver still love one another all these years later. Oliver is much more open about his feelings, but even if Zoe wouldn’t say it out loud, it was obvious she loved Oliver. Zoe also fell just as hard for Oliver’s 8-year old son, Evan. I loved how Zoe and Evan connected just as much as Oliver and Zoe. Also loved how Evan gave Pasha a bit of happiness as she was suffering from cancer.

As with all read friends, when Zoe finally shares the truth with her 3 best friends, they are all in full support mode. Zoe, Tessa, Jocelyn, and Lacey are so much like my friends and I, and I love watching their friendship grow stronger and stronger with each book.

Zoe and Oliver still have amazing chemistry 9 years later and I loved watching them each fall all over again. Whether they are making love or working to figure out how to save Pasha, Zoe and Oliver are perfect together.

I think I loved Barefoot in the Sun best because it pulled so many emotions out of me while I was reading it. I love a book that makes me feel big emotion and I went from laughing to crying many times while reading this book. Barefoot in the Sun is another winner from Roxanne St. Claire, and I’m already counting down the days until we get Tessa’s book in October.

Blue Lines Cover Reveal

Blue Lines coming in August 2013!!! From the back cover.~

Opposites do more than just attract in Toni Aleo’s latest Nashville Assassins novel about a very bad boy and the good girl he can’t resist.

The instant Piper Allen sees Erik Titov, she wants him—wants his rock-hard body, sure, but the strength and mystery that lie behind that superstar hockey jock demeanor, too. So when he sidles up to her at a bar and slinks his arm around her waist, she’s lost. What follows is the wildest night of her life . . . followed by inevitable heartbreak the next morning. And then, a few weeks later, a very big surprise: two blue lines on a pregnancy test.

Only a check to the head could make Erik fall for a nice girl like Piper. But since their crazy-sexy night together, he’s been trying to forget about her alluring body by falling into bed with every woman in Nashville, and it’s not working. So when Piper shows up at his house with a baby-bomb to drop, it doesn’t take much for Erik to suggest the nuclear option: marriage. While it’s supposed to be all for show, the second they say “I do,” the ice between them starts to melt into sizzling steam.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Lines-Assassins-Contemporary-ebook/dp/B00BH0VTUW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1366653309&sr=1-1&keywords=Blue+Lines%3A+The+Assassins+Series+Toni+Aleo 

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blue-lines-toni-aleo/1114852590?ean=9780345547330&itm=1&usri=9780345547330 

iBookstore: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blue-lines-toni-aleo/1114852590?ean=9780345547330&itm=1&usri=9780345547330 

Random House and other retailers: http://www.randomhouse.com/book/227840/blue-lines-the-assassins-series-by-toni-aleo 

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The Assassins Hockey Hop

Toni Aleo a wife, mother of two and a bulldog, and also a hopeless romantic is the author of the fabulous Assassins Hockey Series — Join us for the celebration of the re-release of The Assassins Hockey Series including: Taking Shots; Trying to Score and Empty Net – on sale 4/23/13.

The Assassins Hockey Hop runs from April 23, 2013 to May 1, 2013.

About the books:

Taking Shots: In Toni Aleo’s exhilarating debut, the first in a series featuring the hockey hunks of the Nashville Assassins, a reformed bad boy helps a charming, willful woman face off against the demons of her past. No matter how hard she tries, Eleanor Fisher never thinks she’s good enough, from her job to her weight to her love life. After enduring years of abuse at the hands of an ex-boyfriend, Elli has been drifting through life in a daze. Until, that is, she meets Shea Adler on a promotional shoot for the NHL’s Nashville Assassins. Before Elli knows what’s happening, the gorgeous Shea breaks the ice and shatters her world. A brilliant athlete inside the rink, Shea Adler is tired of the life he’s living outside of it: the girls, the money, the drinking. But everything changes when he meets Elli. After laying eyes on this feisty, witty, beautiful woman, he feels like he’s just taken the hardest hit of his life. No matter how skeptical she is, Shea knows they are meant to be together—if only he can convince Elli to put her insecurities aside throw her insecurities out the window before she misses out on a shot at love.

Trying to Score: In a captivating novel of hockey and healing hearts, the newest member of the Nashville Assassins pulls a power play to make things right with the one that got away. Fallon Parker’s dream has always been to turn her family’s wine company into a runaway success and eventually to start a cellar of her own. Since graduating from college, she has worked relentlessly to make that dream a reality, especially after taking a chance on love—and losing. By the time Fallon becomes an official sponsor of the Nashville Assassins, she feels like all her hard work is finally paying off. And then the man who broke her heart skates back into her life. On the ice, Lucas Brooks is the NHL’s leading scorer—at least when he’s not in the box. Off the ice, he’s a mess, with all his anger and misery bottled up inside. He threw away the most important person in his life and has regretted it ever since. But when Lucas returns to Nashville in a trade, he’s determined to convince Fallon that he’s a changed man. The attraction is still there. The tension is electrifying. But the odds are stacked against them—especially after Lucas finds out that Fallon has been keeping a devastating secret.

Empty Net: The chiseled men of the Nashville Assassins can make anything happen when they go all-out for the women they want—even turn a one-night stand into a happily ever after. Audrey Parker is up against the boards. She’s stuck in a job she hates and pining for a total jerk. Meanwhile, her sister Fallon is moving out and getting married to hockey star Lucas Brooks. Where is Audrey’s Prince Charming? Nothing she does has ever seemed to be good enough for any of the men in her life. Audrey’s about to hit rock bottom . . . until she wakes up next to Tate Odder. The thrill of moving up from the minors to the Nashville Assassins was a welcome distraction. But not even becoming the first rookie goalie to tally three shutouts in the Stanley Cup Finals alleviates the pain. With the loss of his parents and sister weighing as heavily on his soul as ever, Tate Odder can’t keep pretending he’s okay. That’s when he meets smart, sexy Audrey. Her gentle warmth and quirky sense of humor make him feel whole for the first time in too long. But to stay that way forever, Tate must find a way to accept his past and learn to live for love.

Each site listed is participating in this fun hop: Using rafflecopter so peeps can enter to win! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Taking Shots

Taking Shots is the 1^st book in the Nashville Assassins series from author Toni Aleo. The publisher is Random House - Loveswept and the release date is set for April 23, 2013. From the publisher’s website.~

In Toni Aleo’s exhilarating debut, the first in a series featuring the hockey hunks of the Nashville Assassins, a reformed bad boy helps a charming, willful woman face off against the demons of her past.

No matter how hard she tries, Eleanor Fisher never thinks she’s good enough, from her job to her weight to her love life. After enduring years of abuse at the hands of an ex-boyfriend, Elli has been drifting through life in a daze. Until, that is, she meets Shea Adler on a promotional shoot for the NHL’s Nashville Assassins. Before Elli knows what’s happening, the gorgeous Shea breaks the ice and shatters her world.

A brilliant athlete inside the rink, Shea Adler is tired of the life he’s living outside of it: the girls, the money, the drinking. But everything changes when he meets Elli. After laying eyes on this feisty, witty, beautiful woman, he feels like he’s just taken the hardest hit of his life. No matter how skeptical she is, Shea knows they are meant to be together—if only he can convince Elli to put her insecurities aside throw her insecurities out the window before she misses out on a shot at love.

I’d heard other taking about Toni Aleo’s new series, and was pretty excited to give it a try, especially since it takes place in Nashville where I currently live. I was very lucky to get approved for a review copy thanks to the publisher through NetGalley.

I absolutely loved Taking Shots. I really loved Ellie and totally got her issues with her weight based on her history. Regardless if it is true or not, most women who are a size 10 or larger feel like they are fat even if they are really at a healthy weight. I battle my weight every single day of my life and even have a family member who isn’t nice about anyone who gains weight, so Ellie’s issues with her family really spoke to me. I’m lucky that my family member would never take the steps Ellie’s family did, but felt her pain completely. I was so glad Ellie had her dad and her uncle always in her corner about everything in her life.

I’ll admit I fell very hard for Shea Adler the minute he appeared on the page. I could tell he was gob-smacked when he first saw Ellie and loved that he was willing to do everything in his power to prove to her how much he cared. Not saying he didn’t screw up on occasion, but what romance doesn’t run into some major bumps along the way. However, he proved himself over and over again and I loved how much he loved Ellie. I especially loved that he loved her exactly for who she really was.

I have to say Ellie’s mother and sister are about the biggest villains I’ve ever read in a contemporary romance. I really wished at one point they were real people so I could totally slap each of them across the face. I couldn’t believe anyone could ever be that vindictive and cruel to a family member. I’m so glad Ellie was able to learn the truth about them both so that she could try and work things out with Shea.

I’m lucky enough to already have the 2^nd book in the Nashville Assassins series and am already reading Trying to Score. The first 3 books in the series are all set for re-release on April 23, 2103 from Loveswept (books were originally self-pubbed). Taking Shots, Trying to Score, and Empty Net are the first 3 books and are all being released in digital format.

Waking Up to You

Waking Up to You is the newest Harlequin Blaze release from Leslie Kelly. The official print release date is April 23, 2013 and the digital release date is set for May 1, 2013. The May releases from Blaze include a free reader's favorite from the author, and Overexposed is your freebie with Waking Up to You. From the back cover.~

Waking Up to You: A new sizzling Forbidden Fantasy story

Hollywood costume designer Candace Reid would do anything for her gay best friend—even marry him! But before giving up on sex for a while, she needs that last fling. Only, when her injured grandfather asks for her help with his struggling Napa vineyard, her plan for Nooky Time is completely kiboshed….

Then she meets the mouthwateringly hot new groundskeeper, Oliver McKean, and it's a case of instant lust. And damned if Oliver doesn't seem as hungry as she is….

Before long, Candace is gettin' naughty with the hired help. But her secret is bound to come out eventually. And when it does, she'll have to choose between a promise to her dearest friend…and the man whose body she can't live without.

I’m a huge Leslie Kelly fan and was super excited to see she had a new Blaze coming out. I was lucky enough to get a review copy from NetGalley thanks to the publisher.

Waking Up to You is one of my favorite Leslie Kelly books ever. That’s saying a lot since I own every single book she has ever written and have even had to replace a few copies because I’d re-read them so many times.

Candace has agreed to marry her gay best friend, and he even offers to pay for her to go to Paris to hook up to her hearts content, since she will have to go without sex while they are married. The fact that he will give her half his earnings at the end of the marriage is a pretty good deal for her. Of course, once she finds out her grandfather is injured all those plans go right out the window and she heads to Napa to help him out.

Enter Oliver McKean, her grandfather’s groundskeeper. He is oh-so-sexy and Candace can’t get him off her mind. She is instantly attracted to him and the attraction is reciprocated. Candace and Oliver have amazing chemistry throughout the entire book. As with any Leslie Kelly, there are plenty of super sexy scenes and I have to say the “just one kiss” scene was one of the sexiest. However, my most favorite scene in the book is when Candace finds a spider in the kitchen and Oliver must get rid of it. As I have a huge fear of spiders, I totally got her “Green Goblin” description of the spider. Seriously most spiders could totally live in the Forbidden Forest from Harry Potter in my mind.

Oliver and Candace as a couple totally worked for me and I loved how understanding Oliver was when he discovered Candace’s plans to marry her gay best friend, Tommy.

Leslie Kelly gives her reads a funny, sexy, fast-paced story and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book in this series. We met Candace’s twin sister Madison towards the end of this book and I can’t wait to read her story. 

You can currently purchase both the print and the digital copy directly from Harlequin. If you want to purchase digital copy directly from Amazon, B&N or other online ebook retailers, they will be available for purchase on May 1, 2013.