Liz's Reading Life: August 2017

31 August 2017

Excerpt Reveal ~ When We Touch by Tia Louise

Sneak Peek of When We Touch, an all-new sexy, second chance standalone from Tia Louise is coming September 5th!

Excerpt

Ember

Jackson Cane tastes like red-hot cinnamon, salt water, and sin.

When he concentrates, his long fingers twist in the back of his dark hair, right at the base of his neck, and he tugs.

Tugs… tugs…

I like to weave my fingers between his and pull.

Then ocean-blue eyes blink up to mine sending electricity humming in my veins. He smiles. I smile, and it isn’t long before our lips touch. I climb onto his lap in a straddle as I open my mouth, and his delicious tongue finds mine heating every part of my body. Our kisses are languid and deep, chasing and tasting. We sizzle like fireworks on a hot summer night…

Eventually, with a heavy sigh, I pull away, but hours later my mouth is still burning. I taste him everywhere I go.

Lying in my bed in the dark room, my heart aches, heavy and painful in my chest. Every breath is a burden. I blink slowly at the ceiling and slide my tongue against the back of my teeth thinking about hot cinnamon, tangy salt, caramel and sugar, sunshine and the best summer of my life…

The instant I hear it, I’m on my feet and tiptoeing to my open window. The low growl of an engine tells me he’s there in the darkness, out on the street in the shadows just past the streetlight.

It’s late summer, and the humidity hangs heavy in the air. Bugs scree from the limbs of the mighty oak tree outside my window. Their damp wings make them too heavy to fly, and the sadness in my chest is replaced with breathless anticipation.

I’m panting. I’ve never felt this way for anyone, and I’m desperate to hold onto it. I somehow I know I’ll never feel this way for anyone ever again.

Quiet as a mouse I scamper to my bedroom door and listen. The only sound is the hum of Mama’s oscillating fan pushing the warm air around her bedroom. I can’t hear her breathing. I can’t hear anything… except the noise of Jackson’s engine on the street below, waiting.

Red-hot cinnamon.

Salt water.

Sin.

Pressure tingles around the edges of my skull, and a bead of sweat tickles down the side of my neck, dropping past my shoulder, slipping between my breasts.

I’m at my window slowly lifting the glass, and I don’t care if she hears me. I dive through the space, out onto the cedar shake roof in my bare feet. I’ll get a splinter if I’m not careful…

So many reasons to be careful—I ignore them all.

Synopsis

From international bestselling author Tia Louise comes a new Stand-alone second-chance romance…

Ember Rose was spicy-sweet seduction.

My biggest temptation.

My biggest regret.

I thought she’d always be waiting for me.

I was wrong.

Now I’m back in Oceanside searching for peace, hoping to escape what my life has become.

She isn’t supposed to be here…

Dark hair blowing in the ocean breeze,

Luscious curves barely hidden by thin cotton.

I didn’t come back for her.

But when we touch, I know I’ll do whatever it takes to make her mine…

Pre-Order When We Touch at the special 99 cent price now

Price will increase to $3.99 on Weds., 9/6!

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About Tia Louise

Tia Louise is the award-winning, international bestselling author of the One To Hold and Dirty Players series and co-author of the #4 Amazon bestseller The Last Guy.

From “Readers’ Choice” nominations, to USA Today “Happily Ever After” nods, to winning the 2015 “Favorite Erotica Author” and the 2014 “Lady Boner Award” (LOL!), nothing makes her happier than communicating with fans and weaving new tales into the Alexander-Knight world of stories.

A former journalist, Louise lives in the center of the USA with her lovely family and one grumpy cat. There, she dreams up stories she hopes are engaging, hot, and sexy, and that cause readers rethink common public locations...

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Cover Reveal & Giveaway ~ The Attraction File, Cake Love #2, by Elizabeth Lynx

The Attraction File

A Cake Love Series Novel

Author: Elizabeth Lynx

Genre: Romantic Comedy
Cover Design: Elizabeth Lynx

Re-release Date: September 21, 2017

Blurb

She's Cold. He's Hot. When they get together they burn.

Evaleen Bechmann is too busy running Human Resources for the billion-dollar company, Mimir, to even consider dating. As for emotions, she refuses to discuss that too. It doesn't matter anyway. She's invisible to men, especially one man in particular. Evaleen is fine with that. Not everyone gets their happily ever after, that’s only for novels.

Edgar Mirmir is a Nordic god to some, a tech-savvy genius to others, and to women – he is everything they desire. His life should be perfect, and everything he has ever dreamed of… only it’s not. One woman haunts him. When he first saw her, her electric blue eyes shone with defiance, fear, and sorrow. He wanted to reach out to her, but she disappeared. Until one day he turned around and there she was.

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Excerpt

“It’s ten forty-five, almost time for the Brooks Bomb. I told Payne on Friday that this would be your first day back but he had meetings out of the office all morning.” I said.

I turned to head back to my office but stopped as Morgana yelled out for me. “Maybe I’ll take an early lunch. You up for it?”

I was about to tell her no, that I had some work that needed to get done when the elevator doors opened and out walked the last person I wanted to see, ever, Edgar.

Then I would be forced to talk to him about the new hire for his department. Something easily done via email. Instead of face-to-face where I would have to try desperately to control my hormones. It was hard to not turn into a giggling mess with his deep voice acting like a Siren song. I always tried to be aloof, but I had a feeling he didn’t care anyway.

Before he saw me, I turned back toward Morgana and nodded my head. “Sounds great.”

“Okay, let’s go. Oh wait, is that Edgar? Hey, Edgar.”

I was surprised by how fast Morgana could move considering her height. She was like a red blur blazing past me and before I knew it, she had Edgar deep in conversation. His perfectly sculpted blond hair just brushed the tops of his ears as he ran his fingers through them.

He had long hair when I first started to work here, but last year he cut it. I appreciated both styles, but I missed his long hair. Something about it made me want to run my fingers through it, fist it in my fingers, and scream “mine” to anyone who passed.

I sounded barbaric. And sad. Mostly sad.

Holding my ground, I refused to move closer, not on principle because what was I arguing about? Lunch? No, I was hungry, but I lacked the strength to resist Edgar’s charm. Especially when he smiled and those dimples appeared.

Dimples of sin I called them. I wanted to lick them so much.

“Hey, Evaleen, Edgar is going to join us for lunch.” Morgana waved me over with happiness radiating out of her pores. I wish I could glow with happiness. The only time I glowed was after I had danced a few songs at a club. Also, my makeup usually melted by then, and my pit stains were large enough by that point that tadpoles had been known to form, even when I wore a tank top.

What I’m saying was I got swamp pits but, hey, I glowed.

Edgar’s dimples were on full debauchery mode. That was, until he saw me. I guess Morgana left that part out when she invited him to lunch. He probably would have declined the offer if he knew I would be there.

“Dreary Evaleen Bechmann? No, thank you,” he’d say. I was always surprised when he knew my name considering how unhappy he appeared around me.

It wasn’t just his dwindling smile but how his eyes gazed at anything but me. Like he was trying to find an escape from the worst thing ever, me.

“Great.”

It wasn’t great. It especially wasn’t wonderful when Morgana conveniently stood by the elevator buttons when we were moving down to the bottom floor, forcing Edgar and me to stand next to each other. I could smell his cologne.

His mouth watering, manly man scent.

I took deep breaths, not because I was about to hyperventilate (but that was an idea to get out of this lunch), but because I wanted to inhale all of him.

My mouth watered and I knew my neck was red without even glancing into the reflection of the metal elevator doors.

I turned my head to face the wall and tried to fill my lungs with non-sex god air, but it wasn’t working. Perhaps if I scooted toward the wall, inching farther away from him, I wouldn’t want to lick him so much?

Thankfully, I didn’t have to make that decision as the elevator dinged and opened on the ground floor. Cool, platonic air breezed around me and I began to feel human again.

That was until he placed his hand on the small of my back to guide me out of the elevator, causing my lady parts to spasm uncontrollably. I think they were having a seizure from too much hotness.

I coughed. Actually, I tried to suppress an eruption of humiliating giggles that would have embarrassed twelve-year-old girls, with a cough.

It worked. He dropped his hand and the lower half of my body went into a deep depression. The top half of my body felt relief tinged with bitterness.

The chill of the Chicago air solidified me. What if I’m not sexy or beautiful enough for him to notice like he did every other woman he came in contact with? He slept around anyway. Even if he did seduce me, I would just end up heartbroken anyway.

“Here we are. Chuck’s Sausage Shack. I am so thankful I can get a good sausage right next door anytime I want.” Morgana smiled as she held the door for us.

“I sure do love to suck on tubular meat during my breaks at work,” I said without hesitation.

That time I coughed for real. I hadn’t meant for that to come out of my mouth. It was there in my head and then my mouth decided it was the perfect time to give it a voice. I blame Morgana. Who says they are thankful to get good sausage? She was practically begging me to embarrass myself like that.

“Let’s hope,” Edgar said. My eyes narrowed at him but he had turned from me.

Cool as always. Nothing fazed him, not even a frumpy co-worker making blatant and not very good penis jokes.

He was just casually glancing around the place scoping out a table.

“Crap. Looks like I got to head back to work. I just got a text from Mr. Payne telling me he needs to meet with me since it’s my first day back. Sorry.” Morgana frowned, shoving her phone back into her purse and pushing out the door.

After watching the door close, I turned to Edgar. He was staring at me, grimacing.

“Look, if you have something to do we can just order food to go,” I said, trying to offer him a way out. It was obvious back at the office he was only agreeing to lunch because he thought it would be him and Morgana. I’m not blind. Morgana was gorgeous and sexy and exactly what a player like Edgar would be into. I think it’s a little shitty that he would go after someone his best friend, Payne, was obviously into, but that was none of my business.

Now we can order food for lunch since we are already here and then go our separate ways.

Edgar smirked. His dimples deepening as his gaze drifted languidly to my lips. “Now why would I miss out on the chance of watching you suck on some tubular meat?”

My lady parts were seizing again.

Author Bio

Elizabeth Lynx writes romantic comedy with steam. She's a recovering comedian. Wife and mother of the male species. Believer in love & laughter. Her life consists of preventing small catastrophes and wondering if a day will exist when she doesn't have to fold laundry.

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Save The Date Announcement ~ Sick Fux by Tillie Cole

When Ellis Earnshaw and Heathan James met as children, they couldn’t have been more different. Ellis was loud and beautiful – all blond hair, bright laughs and smiles. Heathan was dark and brooding, and obsessed with watching things die.

The pair forged an unlikely friendship, unique and strange. Until they were ripped apart by the sick cruelty of others, separated for years, both locked in a perpetual hell.

Eleven years later, Heathan is back for his girl. Back from a place from which he thought there was no return. Back to seek revenge on those who wronged them.

Time has made Heathan’s soul darker, polluted with hatred and the thirst for blood.

Time has made Ellis a shell of her former self, a little girl lost in the vastness of her pain.

As Heathan pulls Ellis out of her mental prison, reviving the essence of who she once was, down the rabbit hole they will go.

With malice in their hearts and vengeance in their veins, they will seek out the ones who hurt and destroyed them.

One at a time.

Each one more deadly than the last.

Tick Tock.

Dark Contemporary Romance. Contains explicit sexual situations, violence, disturbingly sensitive and taboo subjects, offensive language and very mature topics. Recommended for ages 18 and over.

Tillie Cole hails from a small town in the North-East of England. She grew up on a farm with her English mother, Scottish father and older sister and a multitude of rescue animals. As soon as she could, Tillie left her rural roots for the bright lights of the big city.

After graduating from Newcastle University with a BA Hons in Religious Studies, Tillie followed her Professional Rugby player husband around the world for a decade, becoming a teacher in between and thoroughly enjoyed teaching High School students Social Studies before putting pen to paper, and finishing her first novel.

Tillie has now settled in Austin, Texas, where she is finally able to sit down and write, throwing herself into fantasy worlds and the fabulous minds of her characters.

Tillie is both an independent and traditionally published author, and writes many genres including: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance, Young Adult and New Adult novels.

When she is not writing, Tillie enjoys nothing more than curling up on her couch watching movies, drinking far too much coffee, while convincing herself that she really doesn’t need that extra square of chocolate.

30 August 2017

Blog Tour ~ Shift, Hearts & Arrows #2, by Staci Hart

Bestselling author Staci Hart brings you the second installment of an addictive romantic mythology series where love is the ultimate game, and Aphrodite always wins.

Shift
by Staci Hart

Publishing Date: August 24th, 2017

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Synopsis

Even the gods cannot betray the will of the stars.

It’s been a hundred years since she’s warmed my bed, a hundred years spent waiting for her. Now we’ll compete again in a game that matters little to me. But my prize is far greater than a token to be paid for a favor — I want her.

And for the first time in a very long time, I have the chance to keep her.

Because now the ground has shifted, tilted in my favor, and with her footing unsteady, she will fall.

I will catch her.

This time, I won’t let go.

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Excerpt

Ares

The city stretched up like quartz against the fading sunlight, the colors of the sky deepening with every second that slipped by. Ares’s eyes were on the horizon, slashed with the darkening skyscrapers at the southern tip of Manhattan, but his mind was a thousand years behind him, and her face filled the space in between.

They were Mars and Venus. Man and woman. Ares and Aphrodite. The bond between them was unbreakable, undeniable, no matter how she had tried to reject it, tried to stay away. She’d never quite succeeded. She never would.

Even the gods could not betray the will of the stars.

It had been a hundred years since she warmed his bed, a hundred years of waiting for her. Now they would compete again in a game that mattered little to him. His prize was far greater than a token to be paid for a favor — he wanted her. And for the first time in a very long time, he had a chance to keep her.

Adonis had been in the way far too long — even murdering the human hadn’t removed him from the equation — but now the ground had shifted, tilted in Ares’s favor, and with Aphrodite’s footing unsteady, she would fall.

He would catch her.

This time, he wouldn’t let go.

Ares had already chosen his human player, and soon he would make his way down to the throng of gods who waited for the game to begin. She would be there. She would make her choice, and the fire between them would ignite as it always did — first with a spark, then a flicker. Then, she would be consumed, and so would he.

It would be the same as it ever was, and he was so starved for her, his body tensed from head to heart to heel in anticipation of what was to come.

From a hundred years down to a few days, the distance traveled worth every second of longing, and with every moment that passed, the stars moved closer to alignment and to his favor. And there was nothing she could do to fight it.

He’d see to that.

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About the Author

Staci has been a lot of things up to this point in her life -- a graphic designer, an entrepreneur, a seamstress, a clothing and handbag designer, a waitress. Can't forget that. She's also been a mom, with three little girls who are sure to grow up to break a number of hearts. She's been a wife, though she's certainly not the cleanest, or the best cook. She's also super, duper fun at a party, especially if she's been drinking whiskey.

From roots in Houston to a seven year stint in Southern California, Staci and her family ended up settling somewhere in between and equally north, in Denver. They are new enough that snow is still magical. When she's not writing, she's reading, sleeping, gaming, or designing graphics.

Cover Reveal ~ At Your Service, Masters and Mercenaries: Topped #4, by Lexi Blake

New York Time bestselling author Lexi Blake brings us the cover for At Your Service, the next book in the Masters and Mercenaries: Topped series releasing on November 14th!

Juliana O’Neil’s promising future was burned away in the heat of battle. She had been an officer with a bright future in the military, but now she is struggling to survive. Her husband gone and her career in shambles, she finds a job at Top as a hostess and tries to put together the pieces of her life. The last thing she needs is any kind of male attention, but she can’t help but be amused at her neighbor and coworker’s lothario antics. Not that she would have anything to do with him, at least not for more than one night.

Javier Leones doesn’t understand monogamy. No woman could ever be enough for his endless libido, but he has to admit Juliana has his attention. For reasons he doesn’t fully understand, he can’t seem to get the gorgeous redhead with the sad eyes out of his head. After one scorching night together, he realizes he’ll never be able to get her out of his system. But with his reputation, he fears she’ll never see him as more than a one-night stand.

When their passions collide, these new lovers will be forced to confront Juliana’s past and come to terms with Javier’s present. Will they find their way or will this reservation be canceled at the last minute?

Click to Pre-Order!

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Smashwords and Kobo: Coming Soon!

About The Author

NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and the laziest rescue dog in the world. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance and urban fantasy that she found the stories of her heart. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings no matter how odd the couple, threesome, or foursome may seem.

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Release Boost & Giveaway ~ Heartthrob, Exposé Collection, by Willow Winters

Heartthrob
Author: Willow Winters

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: August 24, 2017

Blurb

Nathan Hart is charismatic with a beautiful smile that makes women weak in the knees. A former bad boy with a mysterious past. He was made to be in Hollywood, on the cover of magazines and the star of movies.

He’s what dreams are made of … and tabloid gold.

But there’s more to him that he hasn’t told a soul. Even the gossip columns will never know.

Something that draws me to him unlike anyone has before.
Something that could ruin us both.
He whispers to play along; he promises it will all be alright.

I can’t tell him no, even if I wanted to.
The moment he locked his light blue eyes on me, I was ruined.
I never stood a chance. I only pray our pasts don’t rip us apart.

Heartthrob is just one of six scandalous romances from Best Selling Authors.
Read all about it in Exposé, the gossip column to sink your teeth into.
Each story in the Exposé Collection is a Standalone with an HEA.

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99c for a limited time

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Excerpt

Nathan

10 Years Ago

She’s always running her fingers through her dirty blonde hair. The simple motion sends the sweet smell of lavender and something else my way. It’s faint, but I know it’s her. It’s something sweet and soothing. If I think about her, even if I see her across the lunch room or in the school parking lot, I swear I can smell that scent.

I like sitting behind her in geography. I can watch the cute little things she does and it looks like I’m actually paying attention.

This is the only class I haven’t gotten kicked out of this year. The stupid shit doesn’t bother me as much when I can watch her. Even if she never looks at me twice.

The bell rings and the sound rips my eyes away from her and towards the classroom door as a few more students file through. Adam Waynes is the last in and his chair screeches across the floor as he crashes into his seat. He’s loud as fuck and gets all the attention. At the thought, I look to her, to Harlow May expecting her to be watching the spectacle that would usually piss me off, but instead those gorgeous blue eyes are on me. She’s quick to look away, again her fingers flying to her hair and twirling her locks nervously as a bright pink creeps into her cheeks.

She can be shy all she wants, but I caught her. I caught her looking. Even better I made her blush. I did that.

It almost gives me enough courage to pull on her backpack straps as she walks in front of me to leave. I could give it a tug and force her to look back at me, but I don’t. I stay behind like I have for the last few months and let her walk away.

But the next time she looks back at me in geography, she doesn’t avert her gaze when I look back.

And a few days later, she’s the one tugging on my backpack.

I keep telling her I’m not good for her, she doesn’t listen though.

That’s the very thing that will ruin us and we knew it from the start.

Author Bio

Willow Winters is so happy to be a USA Today, Wall Street Journal and #1 Contemporary Bestselling Romance Author. She likes her action hot and her bad boys hotter. She certainly doesn’t hold back on either one in her writing!

Willow started writing after having her little girl, Evie, December 2015. All during her pregnancy with Evie she continued to read and she only wanted to read romance. She was reading a book a day — sometimes two.

In January 2016 Willow was staying up late with Evie and just thinking of all these stories. They came to her constantly so she finally sat down and just started writing. She always wanted to do it so she figured, why not? Today Willow cannot be happier for making that decision!

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Sale Blitz ~ Tainted By Love by Gillian Jones

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Tainted By Love

by Gillian Jones

Genre: Contemporary Romance

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Available Now for 99 cents

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My name is Hendrix Hills.

When I was twenty-nine, I fell in love with a girl.

We loved fast. We loved hard.

But our love was tainted.

My name is Trinity Adams.

When I was twenty-seven, I fell in love with a boy.

We loved fast. We loved hard.

It's too bad my blood was tainted.

Warning: Not your traditional HEA. May contain emotional triggers for some. There will be things that you won't like and some you will, but I hope that you have fun finding out!

"There is a time once in your reading life that you will have the pleasure of reading a truly phenomenal book in all ways, the writing, the characters, the plot, the 'feels' will all mix together and create a masterpiece. Well this book is that for me..." ~ Domini, Amazon reviewer

"This is amazing. It touches on a topic that is not talked about in any other book I read. This book is so much more than a romance novel. I feel like it opened my eyes to the world around me. It made me cry and it made me feel joy." ~ Kristina, Amazon reviewer

"This was a beautiful, heart-wrenching, emotional flawlessly written book that I wish I could give it 10 + stars. A story that made my heart sing and fill clear full of love." ~ Hellmouth's Book Blog

Gillian’s Other Books

Amazon US | UK

Release Date: September 25, 2017

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About The Author

Wife, mother, proud Canadian. Shoe addict, red wine connoisseur, lover of laughter and the friendships that cause it. I'm a sucker for those epic romances that steal my breath and leave me always wanting more.