DOING IT OVER REVIEW & GIVEAWAY

DOING IT OVER

Most Likely To Series, Book One

Montlake Romance, Contemporary

April 19, 2016, First Edition

Paperback & Kindle

One small town. Three close friends. True love to last a lifetime.

Voted Most Likely to Succeed, Melanie Bartlett ended up anything but. The down-on-her-luck single mom wants a complete do-over—is that too much to ask? With her family long gone from River Bend, strong, independent Mel is as surprised as anyone to end up in the quaint small town she once called home. But with her friends, Jo and Zoe, by her side, and a comfortable room at Miss Gina’s quirky bed-and-breakfast, she just might have turned the corner on a new life.

Wyatt Gibson never liked the big city. River Bend suits the ruggedly handsome builder just fine. Wyatt knows he’s home, even if that means being charmed by the appearance of Melanie and her spunky, adorable daughter. Is Wyatt’s calm devotion—even amid a coming storm—enough to convince Mel she may have found a home to call her own, a family that never leaves, and a true love to last a lifetime?

Praise for Doing It Over

“The romance between fiercely independent Melanie and charming Wyatt heats up even as outsiders threaten to derail their newfound happiness. This novel will hook readers with its warm, inviting characters and the promise for similar future installments.” –Publishers Weekly

 “This brand-new trilogy, Most Likely To, based on yearbook superlatives, kicks off with a novel that will encourage you to root for the incredibly likable Melanie. Her friends are hilarious and readers will swoon over Wyatt, who is charming and strong. Even Melanie’s daughter, Hope, is a hoot! This romance is jam-packed with animated characters, and Bybee displays her creative writing talent wonderfully.” –RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars

BUY LINKS:

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Doing-Over-Most-Likely-Book-ebook/dp/B0177XH2IK/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1459454842&sr=8-1

B&N:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/doing-it-over-catherine-bybee/1122954977?ean=9781503950726

BAM:  http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Doing-Over/Catherine-Bybee/9781503950726?id=6464629525307

BOOK DEPOSITORY:  http://www.bookdepository.com/Doing-it-Over-Catherine-Bybee/9781503950726?ref=grid-view

My review:

I've always enjoyed books from Catherine Bybee in the past, but have to say without a doubt that Doing It Over is my favorite book ever from Ms. Bybee.

I loved Melanie, Jo, and Zoe from the very first page. I loved they had been friends their entire life and remained best friends 10 years after they graduated from high school. Mel was voted most likely to succeed in high school, and with the exception of a wonderful daughter, not much else has gone as she has planned since high school. I loved that Jo and Miss Gina were the locals who immediately took Mel and Hope in once they arrived.  I have to say Miss Gina is one of my favorite characters ever. She has always been the one person Mel, Jo, and Zoe could always depend on, and nothing about her has changed. I really love the Zoe and Jo both are always there when Mel needs them, even after Zoe had left after the class reunion.

You hear about the perfect meet-cute, and I have to say while Mel and Wyatt's wasn't the average one, it continued to give them much to laugh about the more time they spent around each other. Wyatt had moved to River Bend after Mel had left and is now happy to call River Bend his home. I thought the chemistry between Mel and Wyatt was really strong from the beginning and I really liked them as a couple. I especially liked that Wyatt seemed to fall for Mel's daughter Hope every bit as much as he fell for Mel. 

There was a bit of suspense in Doing It Over that was different from other books I've read from Ms. Bybee. While I figured out pretty quickly who was behind everything, the why behind it was the real mystery. I did have issues with some of the choices the person behind everything made, but quickly figured out this individual really didn’t care about anyone else honestly. I enjoyed the suspense aspect of the story, and feel like we will see more of it in future books in the series. Doing It Over was a great start to the Most Likely To series. I'm excited to see where Ms. Bybee takes both Zoe and Jo in their stories.  

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:

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AFTER WE FALL RELEASE DAY BLAST

Join us in celebrating the release of AFTER WE FALL by Marquita Valentine!

Title: After We Fall (Take the Fall #3)

Age Group: Adult

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: April 26, 2016

Goodreads

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1Mf3VR3

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Google Play: http://bit.ly/1Mf4vyf

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Book Description:

A tough cop with an even tougher past, Hunter Sloan has never let anyone stop him from getting what he wants—and he wants Evangeline Ambrose bad. With her gentle curves and raw vulnerability, Hunter’s beautiful, mysterious new neighbor awakens his protective side. Determined to do right by a woman who’s gone through hell and back, Hunter could be the one to take away the pain—so long as his own secrets don’t sink their relationship before it begins.

Having escaped an abusive marriage, Evangeline simply wants to start over in the small, quiet town of Forrestville. She’s also avoiding all contact with the opposite sex, because she just can’t trust her instincts when it comes to men—not even with the sinfully sexy cop next door. So why can’t she stop thinking about him? Hunter has darkness in his soul, and yet no one ever made her feel so safe. For all her best laid plans, Evangeline didn’t count on choices this hard—or temptation this hot.

EXCERPT:

HUNTER

It’s late when I get home, but since it’s August, the sun hasn’t completely set yet. Orange and yellow lights filter down through the huge leaves in the front yard. For once, the small parking lot to the right of the building is filled. All six spots taken.

Looks like someone finally rented the last apartment available. It just so happens to be the one across from mine.

My apartment is one of six in a huge mansion built in the early 1900s that was recently converted. It’s quiet. Peaceful. People are friendly but aren’t all up in your business.

All in all, it’s the perfect place. Though this neighborhood doesn’t hold the best memories for me. I’d gotten into a lot of fights. Fights with other kids and the man who couldn’t keep his hands off my mom.

I think that’s why I had to come back—to face my demons. To show the people who do remember my family and me that I’ve done something with my life. That I am one of the good guys now, that I’ve stopped fighting to stay alive to be a man who fights against crime. Like a superhero. Only without the cool costume or billions in the bank.

Two out of three isn’t bad.

Just as I step onto the brick path that leads to the side entrance, I get a glimpse of a woman with light brown hair. She’s attempting to balance moving boxes while unlocking the door.

For no logical reason, my heart speeds up. I jog over to her while calling out, “Hey there. Need some help?”

“Gosh, yes,” she says with a laugh that makes my groin tight. Now this in an improvement. I can’t see her face, but if that laugh is enough to make me stand up and take notice . . . my imagination runs wild. Maybe I don’t have to get her out of my head after all.

I pick up a couple of boxes. “Hey, I’m Hunter, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Evangeline,” she says, turning to face me. Her body freezes—only for a moment or two—but it’s long enough for me to notice.

Besides, I’d recognize those gorgeous blue-green eyes anywhere. “I know who you are.”

“You do?” She scrunches her brow as if she’s deep in thought. “I’m sorry that I can’t say the same.”

“Maybe I’m mistaken.” Maybe the pope will get married tomorrow. Taking the boxes, I wait for her to open the door.

Another peal of laughter has me rock hard in two seconds flat after it leaves her mouth. “I have one of those faces. Last week, at the grocery store, someone mistook me for Scarlett Johansson. She’s filming a movie here, so . . .”

The only thing the woman in front of me has in common with Scarlett Johansson is the fact that they are both female. I don’t know why she’s pretending like she doesn’t know me, but what I do know . . . She’s a damn liar.

The woman standing in front of me is Evangeline Ambrose, the same woman I haven’t been able to get out of my head for months. The same woman I escorted to a battered women’s shelter. The same woman I had no business asking after.

“What a coincidence, someone mistook me for her, too,” I reply drily.

She blinks up at me, her mouth twitching at the corners, but she doesn’t laugh again. I know it’s because she sees the serious look on my face.

“You’re not that pretty,” she says, giving me a whole other side to her. One I like.

“Most women think I am,” I disagree. What the hell has just left my mouth?

Walking in front of me, she leads the way to her apartment. “Good for them. You, too.”

As she begins to ascend the stairs, my gaze goes right to her ass. The faded denim cups her just right as it stretches with her movements.

“Lived here long?” I ask, trying to keep my thoughts aboveboard, or above her plump ass anyway.

“Nope.”

That’s all she says until we arrive at her apartment. If I weren’t carrying these boxes, I have no doubt she would have run from me by now.

She stops in front of a blue door and unlocks it, before turning to me. “I can take it from here.”

“I’m happy to help you. It’s in my job description.”

Her lips part, and the urge to kiss her rides me hard. She’s so damn pretty. So delicate. What man in his right mind would ever try to harm someone so much smaller than himself?

A man like your father, that’s who, I remind myself.

“You’re the onsite manager?” she asks with false cheerfulness. “How nice.”

I can’t believe she’s going to continue this lie. I know it’s a lie. She knows it’s a lie, and she has to know that I know it’s a lie.

“Nope,” I reply, hoping that my answer grates on her nerves as much as hers did mine. “Not the manager.”

“Okay, then.” She nods, opening the door and taking the boxes from me. “Thanks again. Maybe I’ll see you around.”

“Count on it,” I say with a grin, and walk to the door directly across from hers.

“Dream on,” she mutters loud enough for me to hear.

Oh baby, I don’t have to dream.

“What are you doing?” she practically screeches.

“Going home.” Glancing over my shoulder at her, I unlock my door. “That’s what I do each day after work.”

“But you can’t.”

Turning around, I cross my arms over my chest. “But I can.”

“No.” She shakes her head, her chin becoming mutinous. “I refuse to—” She smashes her lips together and whirls around, slamming the door behind her.

“Nice talking to you,” I say, loud enough to reach her ears. I know she won’t answer me, but I can’t help but push her. I want her to open the door and acknowledge me. To tell the truth, actually, and admit she knows exactly who I am.

That I’m the guy who helped save her life.

ALSO AVAILABLE!

TAKE THE FALL

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1EeO7uI 

B&N: http://bit.ly/1w7kPgs

iBooks: http://apple.co/1RW7oVg

Google Play: http://bit.ly/22QCJyb

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1AttPuT

WHEN WE FALL

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1Lo7aEZ 

B&N: http://bit.ly/1FKI9Oy 

iBooks: http://apple.co/1IeMgJ1 

Google Play: http://bit.ly/1AWFAgG 

 Kobo: http://bit.ly/1DCErLy

 About the author:

Marquita Valentine is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of the Holland Springs and Boys of the South series.

Since first taking the plunge in July of 2012 to self publish, Marquita Valentine has sold over a quarter of a million books around the world. She's appeared on the Top 100 Bestselling Ebooks Lists on iBooks, Amazon Kindle, and Barnes&Noble. She's been called "one of the best new voices in romance" (Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews) and her books have been accused of being "a sexy, fun, and slightly addicting contemporary read" (The Book Queen).

When she's not writing sexy heroes who adore their sassy heroines, she enjoys shopping, reading, and spending time with her family and friends. Married to her high school sweetheart, Marquita lives in a seriously small town in the south with her husband, two kids, and a dog.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | GoodReads | Pinterest | Boys of the South Pinterest Board | Holland Springs Pinterest Board

DOMINATED (THE ENFORCER #2)

Title: Dominated

Series: The Enforcer Series #2

Release Date: May 3, 2016

Author: Maya Banks

Publisher: Berkley Penguin Group

Genre: Erotic Contemporary Romance

Review copy provided by publisher

Blurb :

To save her, he had to betray her...

In Drake’s shadowy world, his enemies would exploit any weakness he had in order to bring him to his knees, and so he’s never allowed himself to care about anyone...never exhibited any vulnerability, and it made him a force to be reckoned with. Until Evangeline—his angel. A woman who slipped past his defenses like no one had ever managed. She was his to protect and ultimately, to do that, he had to do the unthinkable and drive the only good thing in his world away.

But he will stop at nothing to get her back...

Devastated and destroyed, Evangeline doesn’t know what made Drake turn on her in such a shocking manner. She only knows she’ll never be the same. He once freed her from all her inhibitions, only now she is a prisoner to never-ending pain. But when Drake finds her again, she realizes there is more to his world than she ever imagined, and she must decide if she can once more trust—and submit—to the man who holds her wounded heart in his hands. And he must convince her of just how far he’ll go to regain her love and forgiveness.

Nikki’s Thoughts:

I have been a huge fan of Maya Banks, for what seems like forever. When the first book in this series ended on a serious cliffhanger, I was beyond pissed. I was utterly savage for this book, I needed to see where Drake and Evangeline ended up. Needless to say, I gobbled this book right up!

This series has a much different feel than anything else, Maya has written. It's darker. Drake isn't exactly a good guy; he's definitely the antihero. Evangeline rubbed me the wrong way so many times. She was often spineless and way too forgiving. Their dynamic was more of a 24/7 Dom/sub relationship. Drake controls every aspect of her life. This works for them, it's what they both wanted and needed. So no judgement there.

I like to see a hero mess up and have to grovel for forgiveness. I love the emotion that typically comes from that situation. But holy hell...Drake screws up in monumental ways! A lot! He is cruel when he feels betrayed and he unleashes so much anger, it's a little disconcerting. And yet, Evangeline comes back each and every time. It gets old. 

I was relieved when she finally grew a spine and left him. She was devastated and broken, but she did it. I was still rooting for these two, I wanted them together, but I knew that Drake had some serious begging to do. And beg he does!

The sex scenes are HOT HOT HOT! Like most, Maya Banks books, I was breathless while reading the juicy stuff! These two are combustible...scorching!

I loved the supporting characters in this series, and I really hope Ms. Banks gives them each a book...but without the bloody cliffhangers. I went all "hulk smash mad" the first time. The dialogue was interesting and kept me wanting more. Maya never fails in delivering a story that can twist your emotions in so many directions. At times I hated both, Drake and Evangeline, yet I wanted to keep going. I wanted to go on this journey with them. That there is good storytelling folks! Whether you love the characters or certain situations, if you can't put it down...the author has done it right! 

I look forward to the next book in the series. I'm glad that Drake and Evangeline's story is wrapped up. I'm not sure my emotions could handle much more. In true Maya Banks style, I was laughing on one page, angry the next, loving the sexy times on another, and then having a good ugly cry! I was dragged through the mud with these two...and I would t have it any other way!

Grade: A (4 stars)