Friday, January 7, 2022

The Lies You Love by Rachel Robinson {cover reveal}

 

Release Date: February 3

Auden
In a quest to forget my ex left me to marry a man, I turned to a few flings. Okay, more than a few, but I dare anyone to judge me after the life I’ve endured. Then, a one-night stand gets a little blurry in the emotions department. He’s muscular, smooth talking, and the chemistry is so hot that thinking about him makes me buzz. The catch is he can only commit to a one month fling. It’s so good, I agree, but it’s obvious there’s something between us that can’t be ignored. His secrets are deep, and I don’t want to get burned again yet, walking away is impossible.

Beck
I spend one month on duty guarding my Principal, and one month off letting loose. That’s my schedule, and I’m okay with it until I meet her. The night we meet is a little fuzzy, but our connection is not. When I wake up in the morning and discover my life-altering one-night stand is my Principal’s best friend, I know I’m doomed, but I make excuses to keep Auden for as long as I can. That is until both their lives are in danger and I can only save one.
My duty and honor, or the woman who I’ve fallen mercilessly for?

Always protect the heartbeat. 


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Meet Rachel Robinson

Rachel grew up in a small, quiet town full of loud talkers. Her words were always only loud on paper. She has been writing stories and creating characters for as long as she can remember. 

CRAZY GOOD and SET IN STONE, and TIME AND SPACE, three of her Navy SEAL novels are INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERS.

After living in San Diego, Virginia Beach, and then Fairfax, VA, she now resides in colorful Colorado with her badass husband, two children, her Sphynx cat, & her dog, Polly.

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Thursday, January 6, 2022

Just a Kiss by Samantha Lind {a review}



Just a Kiss is the fourth book in Samantha Lind's Lyrics and Love series. If you are a fan of friends to lovers romances, then prepare yourself for Allison and Lee's story. 

As the story begins we are 10 years in the past. Allison, Lee, and their friends are all in high school and are preparing for the prom. Lee ends up asking Allison to attend with him, and that gets the ball rolling. Even then you could feel the attraction between them. At the prom they share a kiss that is etched into their memories. Jump forward to present day. Allison and Lee are both single. Lee doesn't do relationships, and is perfectly content finding someone just for the night. That is until he makes a move on Allison. He's finally taking his shot, and he is determined not to mess it up. After an amazing night together, they decide to enter a friends with benefits relationship. Which isn't usual for either of them. So what happens when feelings are caught? Can their friendship survive what happens?

He kisses me deeply. So deep I practically feel it down to my soul. He kisses me in a way that no man, other than when he was seventeen years old, has kissed me.

This was a pretty good friends to lovers story. I liked how it all played out. From their kiss at prom, to them reconnecting 10 years later, to everything that unfolded with their FWB relationship. A minor complaint I have is that I would have preferred for the story to be a bit more involved versus being a quick (short) read. I don't feel as though I got to know the characters that well.

I liked how open Lee was about not wanting anything permanent. He knew what he wanted, and he had it in his head that he wasn't worth a happily ever after. Yet here was Allison trying to convince him otherwise.

"I'm a one-night kind of guy, Allison. You know that. If I was dancing all up on you, it would get people talking and thinking about something else." 

When the moment of conflict happened I was curious as to how they would find their way back to each other. Wit how set in his ways Lee was, I wasn't certain what would happen. How it played out was good. I liked that Lindsay (Allison's best friend) inserted her into the situation and said what she did. Lindsay spoke her truth, and left it for Lee to figure out how to proceed. Now here's the thing...I feel like Samantha Lind could have used Lee's profession as a firefighter in their reunion. I just feel that going that route might have had a bit more of a dramatic feel to it all. Make him realize how quickly his person could have been taken from him. But she didn't go that route. She could have even used both their careers (firefighter & nurse) to bring them back together. It just felt like a lost opportunity. Yes the way it went down was FINE, I just wanted something more elaborate.

"Some woman is going to rock your world one of these days, and you're going to fall head over heels in love with her, and I can't wait to watch. It's always the ones that protest the most that fall the hardest."

I may have struggled with the fact that Just a Kiss was a shorter story (105 pages), but ultimately it still was a catchy friends to lovers story. Also, this book has me wanting to read Rumor Going 'Round so that I can find out how Lindsay and Tucker came to be!

Thank you for taking time to read my thoughts on Just a Kiss.
Laura

 

Cover Design: Oh So Novel
Cover Image via Deposit Photos


It all started with just a kiss.

The first was ten years ago in high school.

Our second was in a bar on the dance floor.

We agreed to keep things casual.

But we were like a fire burning behind closed doors.

Those sparks had me wanting more.

When I took a shot in the dark and asked for more, it brought us to the ultimate crossroads.


Do we do things right, with just a kiss goodbye?

Or do we do things right, with a kiss goodnight?


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Meet Samantha Lind

Samantha Lind is a contemporary romance author. Having spent the first 27 years of her life in Alaska, she now calls Iowa home where she lives with her husband and two sons. 

She enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, reading, watching hockey (Go Knights Go!), and listening to country music.



Connect with Samantha Lind

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Thank you to Samantha Lind, and Wildfire Marketing Solutions, for providing me with an advanced copy of The Final Period.






The Hustler by Gina Azzi {a review}



The Hustler is the eighth book in Gina Azzi's Boston Hawks hockey series, and it is now available. If you've read the other books in the series and think you're ready for Theo's (Eddie) story, you're wrong.

Let's travel to Maui for the wedding of Preston and Heather. Sofia Carpenter happens to be planning it, and her life is about to change. Sofia is engaged to Don Servino, and she works for the family's resort (Lely Prive). However it turns out that Don's family has looked into Sofia's past, and it isn't going to work any longer. Not with her dad having served time in prison. Don ends things with Sofia, but then has the nerve to ask her to stay on until the Lawrence wedding is over. Flash forward to the week of the wedding. Sofia is out for a swim, and Theo is out surfing. Sofia catches his eye, and Theo is entranced by her. He cannot turn away. 

She's an anomaly in a paradise filled with beauty, laughter, and excitement.

 

The night before the wedding, Theo finds her again, and he's determined to meet her. They strike up a conversation, and that leads to a night spent together. Theo asks her to be his plus one to the wedding, and Sofia agrees. That is until the next morning when she finds out Theo Lawrence is really Eddie Sims. He lied to her. Or did he? Sofia's been hurt in the past, and she's struggling with this. So she leaves a note saying goodbye. Except it isn't goodbye, as Sofia will soon learn when her brother (Jesse) is traded to the Boston Hawks organization. Sofia and Theo are about to get their second chance. But will an issue from the past come back to hurt their chances for a happily ever after? Also, will Theo tell his teammates who he really is? They know Eddie Sims, can they accept him as Theo Lawrence? Will they feel betrayed?
 
Gina Azzi gutted me with this book! Oh the emotions.😭


Having read the description for the book, I wasn't certain what was going to happen. I was NOT expecting Sofia and Theo to meet at Preston's wedding, nor was I expecting it be after Don the dumbass broke off their engagement. Basically all I knew going in is that Eddie Sims was going by an alternate name, and I had no clue why. Well now I do! Of course I also knew that Sofia was a cancer survivor, and that experience had shaped her views on certain things.  

I loved how everything unfolded with their relationship. From the introduction in Maui, to Sofia's brother being traded to the Hawks, to everything that happened next (relationship/history/family).

The storyline involving Sofia's dad, and her cancer treatment? Oh my heart. I think anyone can understand why he did what he needed to. But at the same time you can see why the other party did what they had to do. It just goes to show how messed up health care truly is. Ugh. Also, I want to say that I called this aspect of the storyline pretty early on. So throughout the story I was waiting for it to be revealed, and I was waiting to see how both parties responded to the situation. But then that next bombshell was dropped, and my eyes became extremely blurry due to the tears that were about to be shed.



The one thing I haven't figured out is where that magazine came from that allowed Sofia to find out Theo's "true identity". I don't feel like I glossed over that, but maybe I did. 

No matter what, I loved this book! It very well might be my favorite out of the all of them. From their initial meeting (and subsequent hookup), to the reunion in Boston, to friendships formed thanks to the awesome wives and girlfriends, to the meeting of Theo's parents, to everything that happened next, to the revelation of the past, and so forth. I was all in.

I think I need a few days to recover from all the tears I shed. Oofta Gina's writing hit me hard with this storyline. 

Go read this story! Go fall for these two, and see how being together impacts both Sofia and Theo. Because these two definitely change with the influence of the other. Also, I need for Gina to write a story featuring Jesse Carpenter. Please and thank you.

Thank you for reading my thoughts on The Hustler. I hope you'll check out this fake identity, second chance romance.
Laura




Theodore Edward Sims was supposed to be my hot summer hook-up, a stranger I slept with in Hawaii. Now, he’s my stepbrother’s new hockey teammate.

When we met, Theo was a sexy surfer in Maui, riding waves by day and rocking my world at night. After being played for a fool by my ex-fiancé, Theo proved to be a source of instant gratification.

He was refreshingly honest, engaging, and incredibly charming. Theo built me up when it felt like my world was crumbling down.

Turns out, he’s just like my ex. A liar.

To avoid the gossip of my failed engagement, I hightail it to Boston, where I’m forced to cross paths with a new version of Theo, aka Eddie Sims, Boston Hawks right wing. Here, he isn’t the well-connected, alluring surfer but a determined, angry hockey hunk with something to prove. Especially to me.

Except I’ve written him off. Once a liar, always a liar.

But Theo isn’t backing down. Instead, he’s hustling for my forgiveness.

If I give him another chance, will he live up to his apologies? Or am I just lying to myself?



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Meet Gina Azzi


I’m Gina Azzi, a book-obsessed, coffee-drinking, globetrotting, mama of soon-to-be three! I write sweet with a dash of spicy New Adult and Contemporary Romance full of good men putting in work to win the hearts of even better women.

A total Jersey girl at heart, I struggle with insatiable wanderlust and currently reside in Ontario, Canada with my family. 

 

When I’m not dreaming up storylines or writing all the words, you can find me hanging with my littles, attempting to bake, or planning my next adventure.

 

Connect with me on social media or at ginaazziauthor@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you!

 

Happy Reading!

Xo,

Gina


Connect with Gina

Website | Newsletter | Facebook | Reader Group | Twitter | Instagram | BookBub | Goodreads    Amazon Author Page



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Thank you to Gina Azzi, and Wildfire Marketing Solutions, for providing me with an advanced review copy of The Hustler.

Ruin by Caitlyn Dare {cover reveal}

 

RUIN by Caitlyn Dare is coming February 3!

Ruin is the first full length book in the Red Ridge Sinners series, and it is all about River! If you read the Savage Falls Sinners series, then you may recall meeting her when she first moved to town. You may also remember her and Jax getting close before things went south. I remember it, and I CANNOT wait to dive into Ruin.

Also, similar to Sadie's series, RUIN is a full length dark enemies-to-lovers/bully romance. This is a why choose novel, meaning the main character has more than one love interest. It is book one in the series. It will end with a cliffhanger.

Pre-Order Now!


My whole life I’ve been treated like some innocent naïve girl. Shielded from the dark and dangerous world my big brother inhabits.

But not any longer.

Now, Savage Falls is my home, the Sinners MC, my family. I’m the new club princess, a burden I neither want nor need.

Because I’m not as innocent as they all think.

Not by a long shot.

Not when I spend most of my days dreaming of them. Club prospect Jax Pitman, my best friend’s older brother Diesel Walker, and the Red Ridge Chapter’s newest bad boy Zach Stone.

One of them broke my heart.

One refuses to fix it.

And one of them is slowly bringing me back to life.

But together…

Together, they might just ruin me.


 

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Meet

Two angsty romance lovers writing dark heroes and the feisty girls who bring them to their knees.

   

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Wednesday, January 5, 2022

Sincerely the Puck Bunny by Maren Moore {a review}


Sincerely the Puck Bunny is the second book in the Totally Pucked series from author Maren Moore! We met Briggs in Change on the Fly, and well he didn't leave such a favorable first impression. But don't fret my friends, that is going to change in Sincerely the Puck Bunny.

Briggs Wilson has had a tough few year. From family drama to off ice antics, he's been through the ringer. Not helping matters is this anonymous blogger called The Puck Bunny. She keeps posting about his life, and he's had it. When news comes out that Beau Wilson is going to be a dad, Briggs has had it. His agent arranges a quick trip out of town for him to just relax. When he arrives at the B&B, he is bowled over by a woman. Literally. She runs into him as she walks in the building with enough force to knock him down. That woman would be Maddison Thorne. Needless to say Maddison makes quite the impression on Briggs. From that point a weekend tryst is had with the couple not seeing each other again. Heck they never even shared last names, or any contact info. But Maddison did know who Briggs was, so she had a little unfair advantage. Flash forward nine months later...Maddison is getting closer to her due date. She still thinks about Briggs from time to time, but he's made his thoughts known regarding her and the pregnancy. Briggs wants nothing to do with her. Or at least that's what she was told. It isn't until she runs into Briggs that she finds out otherwise. Can these two reconnect and have a relationship? Or would it be best to just coparent their daughter? When will she tell Briggs that she's the writer behind The Puck Bunny blog? How will he respond?

OH THIS BOOK!

Now I'll be honest, the accidental pregnancy trope isn't my favorite. Will I still read it? Oh absolutely I will!  That being said, I don't go searching for books that fit the trope. 

I wasn't certain what to think about Briggs at first, or at least not after having read Change on the Fly. I had this image in my head, and it wasn't flattering. 
How everything transpired with Maddison though, that kept my attention. I found myself wondering how their relationship was going to work out, AND when her secret was going to be revealed. Once it was, how would Briggs handle that? How would they overcome that to achieve their HEA?

I was so glad when Maddison found herself a few girlfriends to talk things through with. Those women took her under their wings, and made sure that Maddison knew they were there for HER. Yes they were friends with Briggs too, but they were focusing on her. Then there's the teammates of Briggs. Oh those men. They just grabbed my heart. Especially with how much they loved Olive. 

I was proud of Briggs when he met with his Mom. He was taking steps forward all while laying down boundaries. Much respect to him. I would have loved a follow up on what happened next in the relationship with his parents after that entire scene was over. Especially with the words Maddison spoke. Oh to be a fly on the wall after they left.

When the reveal finally happened, I was expecting a bit more. To me it was a bit tame. Yes I know it doesn't need to be explosive. It doesn't need to be over the top in dramatics. But with the way it was built up, and how much Briggs detests that blog, it was underwhelming. I guess I just had this scene built into my head, and it didn't match what came out. So that is why I say it wasn't what I wanted. I will say that I appreciate how they communicated, and how their relationship bounced back from the secret. 

Maren Moore knows what she's doing, and took me through the paces with our couple. It was so good. Also, this story has me curious about Graham! Which is perfect since his story is rumored to be next in the series!

You need to go read Sincerely the Puck Bunny! You won't regret it.
Laura




Spoiler alert…Briggs Wilson, the NHL’s most notorious bad boy isn’t actually who everyone thinks he is.

He’s kind, compassionate, loyal.

And plot twist?

The best baby daddy ever.

Yep, you read that right.

One night.. One mind blowing night that ended with me having a baby with someone I barely knew.

We had a plan.

Co-parent, raise our son and put him first. Always.

Too bad I never considered actually falling for my charming baby daddy.

Even better?

He wanted our family, more than anything.

The problem?

I have a secret.

One that could destroy everything.

Sincerely,
The Puck Bunny



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Where to find Maren Moore

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Thank you to Maren Moore, and Wildfire Marketing Solutions, for providing me with an advanced review copy of Sincerely the Puck Bunny.