Monday 27 January 2020

***Cover Reveal*** Sticks & Stones By Dianne Beck



Sticks & Stones
Dianne Beck
Published by: Acorn Publishing
Publication date: March 18th 2020
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
When fifteen-year-old Emily Greene wakes up to police banging on her door, she is shocked to see her mother arrested on drug charges.
Uprooted and in disbelief, Emily moves to a new town to stay with her grandmother, known as Crazy Carol for her outspoken faith and quirky behaviors. As if the arrest isn’t enough, kids at her new school immediately begin to stereotype and judge her based on the news they’ve heard about her mom.
Emily is sure her mother’s fiancĂ© is to blame for the crime. He has conveniently disappeared since the day of the arrest. She’s determined to find him, and prove he’s at fault. But something awful happens, shaking her world yet again.
After this string of tragedies, Emily starts to question God, but is gently and consistently reminded by her grandmother, through stories she tells of all the sticks, leaves, and stones she collects, that God is her good and faithful parent.
Emily must learn that the words others say about her don’t matter, that her mom’s mistakes don’t define her, and she is always deeply loved by her heavenly father. If only she can learn to forgive herself.
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Author Bio:
Dianne Beck has spent the majority of her career teaching students ranging from Kindergarten through adult. No matter what age, her biggest goal is to encourage her students to be their own unique selves, to have confidence in who they are, and to follow their passions.
Dianne’s debut young adult novel, Sticks and Stones, was inspired by her years of teaching, where she saw so many students struggle with varying issues, and also experienced how an understanding ear and relevant literature could make a significant impact on their lives. She hopes young people as well as adults can find faith and strength, like her main character Emily does, even when things seem to be falling apart.
Dianne is motivated daily by her faith in God, her husband, and her four adult children. When she’s not writing, she can be found reading, sipping coffee, browsing a bookstore, or pursuing a part-time faith and fitness ministry at www,ofcommonground.com.

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Saturday 25 January 2020

***Book Blitz*** Lace and Lies By Melanie Munton (Brooklyn Brothers #1)



Lace and Lies
Melanie Munton
(Brooklyn Brothers #1)
Publication date: January 21st 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
We are the Rossetti’s.
The exiled “sixth family” of the New York mafia. We’re the good guys.
People don’t fear us…much. They respect us.
The five of us? We’re the Brooklyn Brothers.
And we protect what’s ours.
Jasmine Kingston should run from me. I mean, she should literally pick up her dress, toss away her heels, and haul ass in the complete opposite direction. Because for the last few months that she’s been in New York and taking the fashion world by storm, I’ve been watching her. From my ivory tower, from the shadows. Wherever she’s been, I’ve been only feet away, and she hasn’t even realized it.
Until now.
I can’t stay away and watch one more man take his shot with her. She needs to know what she’s doing to me. Especially since things are heating up with my family’s enemies. I just pray those enemies don’t discover my only weakness.
Maybe it was the wrong way to go. Maybe I should never have touched her. Never treated myself to her addictive taste. But I can’t alleviate this obsession I have with her any more than I can put a bullet between my own eyes.
She’s mine to protect now.
I’ll burn my entire fortune to the ground and take ten of those bullets before I let anything happen to her.
I just hope she doesn’t find out what I’ve done.
EXCERPT:
Cris
I took a step toward Jasmine, noting the worry line on her forehead. That would be gone by the end of the night. I’d make damn sure of it.
“I would have killed that man tonight if he’d touched you,” I bit out. “I almost did for even talking to you. For threatening to take you away from me. For pointing a deadly weapon anywhere near you. That would have been illegal because I wouldn’t have been able to claim self-defense in the end. Not with the way I beat him. But I’d still have done it if he’d laid his filthy hands on you. Does that make me a vicious criminal?”
I watched her swallow as I took another step forward. She retreated until her back hit the fireplace. I crowded against her, caging her in by placing my hands on the mantle beside her head.
“And if you’re concerned about me being a violent person, I think you got your answer tonight,” I continued. “But I’m not violent toward innocent people. I reserve violence for those who deserve it. Specifically, those who threaten people I care about.”
I let those words sink in for a moment. She could take that comment however she wanted, though the implication was anything but subtle.
“Is that something you think you can handle?” I whispered against her parted lips. “Because that’s who I am. That’s what you get when you’re involved with me. So, now I have a question for you.”
She licked her lips.
With that one small movement, I was hard as steel.
“What’s that?” she breathed.
I know that voice, sweetheart.
She was ready to get fucked.
I angled my head, acting like I was going in for a kiss. With maybe a millimeter separating our lips, I stopped. Our hot breaths mingled together, no doubt driving her as mad as it was me.
But I had to make a point here.
She had to be sure of her decision before we went any further. I didn’t want her doubting herself at the critical times or thinking I’d coerced her into anything.
“Do you still want me?”
I didn’t have to wait for an answer.
The second the last word left my lips, hers crashed against them.



Author Bio:
Traveler. Reader. Beach-goer. St. Louis Cardinals fan. Pasta-obsessed. North Carolina resident. Sarcastic. Bit of a nerd.
Author of the Cruz Brothers, Possession and Politics, and Timid Souls series, Melanie loves all things romance, comedies and suspense in particular because it’s boring to only stick to one sub-genre! From light-hearted comedies to sexy thrillers, she likes to mix it up, but loves her some strong alpha males and sassy heroines.
Go visit Melanie’s website and sign up for her newsletter to stay updated on release dates, teasers, and other details for all of her projects!


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Saturday 18 January 2020

***Book Blitz*** What Are Friends For? By Sarah Sutton



What Are Friends For?
Sarah Sutton
Publication date: January 14th 2020
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
FALLING IN LOVE ISN’T COMPLICATED…UNLESS IT’S WITH YOUR BEST FRIEND.
A close, easygoing friendship can all change with just one kiss. Seventeen-year-old Remi Beaufort learns this the hard way when she plays a blindfolded kissing game at a party.
She thinks she’s kissing Jeremy, the totally hot basketball player she’s been crushing on. And the kiss…it’s amazing. Heart-stopping, world-changing, toe-curling. The kiss makes her forget about her overbearing mother, the next-door neighbor’s drama, and the probability that she’ll fail her senior year. The best kiss of her life makes all that fall away.
Until her blindfold falls off, and she realizes that instead of kissing her crush, she’s kissing Elijah, her best friend since third grade.
Though she manages to convince Elijah that he was kissing his girlfriend, Remi can’t get the thought of his lips on hers out of her head. As things between them grow more and more complicated—because it turns out her fantasizing about his mouth is more of a problem than it sounds—Remi has to make a choice: does she live the rest of her life loving her best friend in secret? Or does she tell the truth and risk ruining their friendship forever?
Heart-melting and romantic, What Are Friends For? is a swoon-worthy best-friends-to-lovers story that will leave you crushing hard.
EXCERPT:
There were times between us that felt totally normal—like, almost the entire time we’d been cutting out snowflakes, things had felt normal. I hadn’t been staring at his mouth or imagining his body heat enveloping me into a hug. We joked like normal, laughed like normal. But the quiet moments between us had my heart aching, wanting.
“See you tomorrow,” Elijah said, and I saw from the corner of my eye the shadow of him rising to his feet. He pressed his hand once against the spot between my shoulder blades before walking off, his socks silent on the wooden floors. I counted each of my breaths as I waited for the sound of the door to open.
It took seven slow inhales and exhales and then Elijah was gone, leaving me with a torrent of thoughts and a hurting heart.



Author Bio:
Sarah Sutton is a YA Romance author, bringing you stories about teenagers falling in love (sometimes with magic)She spends her days dreaming up ideas with her two adorable puppies by her side being cheerleaders (and mega distractions).

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Friday 10 January 2020

***Book Blitz*** Beautifully Broken By Bailey B



Beautifully Broken
Bailey B
Publication date: December 20th 2019
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Piper
Most people don’t think about the day they’ll die. They coast through life, blissfully unaware of how their time is ticking away. I wasn’t like most people. I welcomed death, wanted her to take me away from the prison I called life, but she refused. I tried twice only to survive. And then, when I thought I had nothing left it came.
A reason to live.
Rex was a small, unexpected ray of light my world of darkness that blossomed into a beam of sunshine. I thought, maybe this was why Death didn’t take me. Maybe she knew that if I held on a little longer things would turn around. But the third time Death came to my door wasn’t by choice. Someone else brought her, and I fear this time she might take me.
Rex
Being the son of a country star sucks. My parents are never around, I move every year or so, and I have no real friends. Everyone around me has an agenda. Everyone except Piper Lovelace. I can’t get that girl to notice me. Trust me I’ve tried.
Thankfully, fate stepped in and gave me the break I needed. I’ve got her attention, now I need her to give me a chance.
EXCERPT:
Everything about Rex is too good to be true. Sooner or later, the hat will drop and the way he’s got me feeling, I’m not gonna land on my feet. “If you keep hanging out with me, Rex, people are gonna start talking.”
He shrugs, slipping his hand in mine. He brings my palm to his lips and plants a featherlight kiss on my knuckles. “They already are. I don’t care what anyone thinks, Piper. I like you.”
“You shouldn’t.” The words taste like crow because I want Rex to like me. Goodness, I want him to like me. “Whatever this is between us, it will only end in heartbreak.”



Author Bio:
Bailey B is an up and coming New Adult author. She lives in Lehigh Acres Florida with her husband, twin girls, and two fur babies. She enjoys (but doesn't get to take part in because of her crazy daughters) the simple things like Disney+ binge watching, Netflix romcoms, reading and sleeping. She reads two to three books a week and thinks if narwhal's are real animals then unicorns might be too.

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Wednesday 8 January 2020

***Book Blitz*** Shadowed By Michelle Areaux



Shadowed
Michelle Areaux
Published by: Kingston Publishing Company
Publication date: January 2nd 2020
Genres: Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
Sixteen-year-old Henley Abbott is just trying to make it through high school in the small town of Edison, Washington where she has lived her entire life. Constantly feeling alone, she’s surprised when she finds herself intrigued by the new boy in town, Cohen Davenport.
With the entire town talking about the new and secretive family, Henley refuses to join in on the rumors swirling about them and attempts to keep her distance.
However, as Cohen becomes intrigued by Henley, the pair seems to find a spark in a kindling friendship.
As the intensity of their relationship builds, Henley discovers a dark secret plaguing Cohen and his elusive family. He reveals a twisted past that has kept his family on the run…for decades.
Cohen should keep his distance. It is too dangerous to bring Henley into his life, but he can’t stay away from her.
And, Henley doesn’t want him to.
As Henley overcomes her own fears and trepidations, she finds herself engrossed in a battle that could destroy them both. Only their connection could help them all survive.
Intensely romantic and extremely thrilling, this novel will pull readers in from the very first page.
Fans of Twilight, The Guardian Series, and the Marked Saga will instantly fall in love with this new paranormal series.
EXCERPT:
As much as I liked to pretend, I wasn’t completely and totally intrigued by the thought of new people moving here; I couldn’t control myself. I tried to convince myself it was all because of my mom; but as I stood there, whispering the words, I knew there was no fooling myself.
“Henley, don’t you know it’s not polite to stare?” she asked, but her own hypocritical words hung heavy in the air as she raced to join me in the living room again.
Standing next to me, we watched intently as the driver’s side door opened. With large eyes, we strained to get a glimpse of who would be our new neighbor. To our surprise, the rest of the car doors opened and the family emerged.
A tall man with dark hair closed the driver’s side door as a woman emerged from the passenger’s side. The back two doors opened and three teens, roughly around my age, tumbled out. A girl with short, dark hair and legs-for-days gave the house a disgusted look. A boy who seemed to be uninterested in it all, stared down into his phone, which he held tightly in his grip. Finally, a tall boy with the same dark hair stood behind the rest of his family. With his hands tucked deep into his jeans pockets, he seemed reluctant to move any closer to the house.
“Well, they look like a nice family,” my mom said. I turned to look at her and I could see the eagerness twinkling in her baby blues to get to her phone and be the first one to spill the news that the new neighbors had arrived.
It was almost like they had landed in a spaceship and were from outer space!
“Maybe,” I grumbled, still unsure about these people.
Suddenly, the boy, standing alone behind his family, turned and caught me snooping on them. Our eyes connected for a brief moment before he gave me an angry snarl that had me stumbling backward.
What was that?
“I need to go call Susan,” my mom stated, as she rushed to the kitchen to retrieve her phone.
I dared to look back out the window again; and when I did, the entire family was gone.
Just disappeared, like they had never been standing there in the first place.
I blinked, just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. When I looked again, the SUV was still parked along the curb, but the family was gone.
Lights glowed from inside the house.
“That’s weird,” I said aloud to myself. How did they have time to get inside and turn on the lights? I literally just turned around for a second.
I shook my head, unsure of what to think. Peeking out of the window again, something in the far, second-floor window caught my attention. As my gaze moved up, I felt my cheeks burn and nervous energy flow through me. As my gaze finally landed on the window, I caught a pair of red eyes staring back at me. It was the same boy who had given me the nasty stare just moments before.
I closed the curtains and took a step back. My heart was racing so fast, I feared it might jump right out of my chest. With labored breathing, I slowly walked into the kitchen where my mom was blabbing the news to anyone who would listen.


Author Bio:
Michelle Areaux is a wife, mother, and seventh grade Language Arts teacher.
She earned her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Kentucky and a Master’s degree in Literacy from Asbury University.



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Monday 6 January 2020

***Book Blitz*** Stranded At Night By Rebekah Dodson (California Express, #1)



Stranded At Night
Rebekah Dodson
(California Express, #1)
Publication date: January 4th 2020
Genres: Adult, Romance, Suspense
Two days after Christmas, two in the afternoon, two passengers must face the storm to prevail against the darkness.
Maggie Espinoza needs to get away from Portland, Oregon, from a blown out past and a bleak future. She figures taking the Express train to balmy Southern California to start over is just what she needs. Two days after Christmas while everyone is preparing for the New Year, she makes her escape during the worst blizzard the state has ever seen.
Jesse Cabot senses a darkness in fellow passenger Maggie when he sits next to her on the train.
Why is she so haunted and broken?
When the train suddenly stops in the middle of the blizzard weird things start to happen.
Random disappearances, an assault, a body in the snow.
It becomes clear it’s up to Jesse and Maggie to find the culprit or face the music on the stranded California Express.
EXCERPT:
Jesse hoisted himself on top of a stack of suitcases and his legs swung under him. Maggie continually surprised him and had been strong this entire time, but he should have known this was coming. It was in her file, after all.
Why hadn’t he been prepared?
He flipped his phone out and lit up the flashlight, setting it upside down so he could see her better. The baggage car was pitch black otherwise and utterly freezing.
Exhaling heavily, Maggie leaned back against some backpacks and nearly slumped down. She clutched the shoulder strap of a bag until her knuckles turned white. She said nothing, but Jesse knew this would get worse before it got better. He waited.
He watched as Maggie’s panic erupted into rage. Her face purpled again, and she heaved for breath, but this time she was pacing up and down the far end of the car – away from the bodies.
“What did he do?” she asked the nearly empty car. “He was innocent!”
“Perhaps he saw something…” Jesse offered, but clammed up when she glared at him.
“He didn’t deserve it!” she shrieked. “Beth, oh God, his sister. What if she finds him? We have to go back… we have to…” she paused suddenly and fiddled with the pocket of her coat. She finally yanked out her vape pen and sucked heavily, exhaling an acrid plume of marijuana.
Jesse coughed and waved the vapor away from him.
“Feel better?” he asked her, mostly sarcastically. “And is now really the time to be getting high?”
She glared at him with a venomous look of ‘shut up.’ He could take a hint.
A few more puffs and she stilled, finally sinking to the floor and pulling her knees to her chest.
Jesse leapt down from his perch and finally rushed over to her, pulling her into his arms. He wasn’t sure if he should, but he didn’t know what else to do. He’d seen more than a few dead bodies in his time, but he wasn’t ready to divulge that to Maggie.
He should have known it would trigger her – most people wouldn’t be okay with seeing a freshly dead body, and why would she be any different?
She’d been okay with the bodies in the snow, with seeing the fatal gunshot wounds, but Damon had been different. He saw it in her face; she knew what killed him, just like she knew what killed Nick.
He also suspected he knew what was in that syringe, but the question really was, did she?
“Nick… Jay… Maurice… Damon…” the way she murmured the names of the dead pierced his heart.
He gulped hard, trying to hold her, knowing it wouldn’t, or rather shouldn’t, make a difference. He felt like an asshole because as she shook under his grasp, all he wanted to do was kiss her.
Distracting him, she clung to him and trembled through her panic attack, and he wondered again who had damaged her so much that she would react like this. While there were other people on the train were mostly blissfully unaware of all the carnage, Maggie seemed to be taking it worse than the others, and yet another murder – plus losing the engine car – was shaping up to be hell on earth. But something told him it wasn’t just about the body – whether it was his instinctive intuition, or his years of training, he didn’t know. But she was smart, capable, and curious – he needed her to help solve these murders, if they were going to get to the bottom of this and try to get rescued.
“Maggie?” He brushed her hair away from her face. “Are you all right?”
To his surprise, she reached up and braced against his shoulders and pushed him away.
Caught off guard, he stumbled backwards and tripped over a suitcase. Catching himself before it was too late, he stepped over it and landed on his feet.
“Who are you?” She screamed at him, wrapping her arms around her in the freezing cold emptiness of the baggage car.
“I told you I’m a—”
“Yeah, a builder from Haiti, and a tattoo artist; which is complete and utter bullshit.”
Jesse’s left eye twitched. Had she pegged him already? He’d clearly underestimated her.
She held up her hand. “One, you have a gun. Not a regular one people around these parts carry.”
“Everyone has a gun these days,” he tried to protest.
“Two, you are so formal when you talk – not like an idiot from California.”
“I’m not from here…”
“And that’s another thing. Your accent? Totally fake. And this?” She stalked forward and tried to snatch his sunglasses from his face. “What are you hiding behind this…”
He couldn’t have her uncovering at least one of his secrets, maybe the least deadly of them all. But she was in for a surprise if she thought she’d guessed everything. He side stepped her nimbly, and reaching out, snatched her arm and spun her around, pinning her hand behind her back and shoving her against the baggage. She yelped as he did, and his other hand pressed her face against the luggage. He was careful to only apply a gentle amount of pressure, so he didn’t hurt her.
“I’m not just a simple builder, but you’re not an art major, either,” he hissed into her ear.
He expected her to fight, to break free, maybe even take a swing at him – which she’d miss of course. He’d had a few years of training and was faster, smarter, and as a last resort, he had a weapon. She did not.
Instead, she froze, and all he could hear was her breath coming ragged again. Her spine stiffened, and he knew she was going right back into a panic attack.
Jesus Christ, who could have done this to her? he thought, and at her distress he immediately let her go and stepped back.
He expected her to collapse again, but instead, her eyes flashed at him as she turned around.
“I said don’t fucking touch me!” She launched herself at him, and the full force of her body slammed him to the cold, metal ground.
“What are you hiding?” she yelled, shaking his shoulder. “You have a gun … you can shoot… Are you a fucking cop? Who. Are. You?”
He let her straddle him with his arms pinned to his sides – better for now she didn’t know he could kill her in a dozen different ways if he wanted – but he certainly wasn’t expecting her to reach down and rip his sunglasses away and toss them into a corner. The gasp that rolled over her didn’t shock him, in fact, he should have anticipated it. Even his own boss at the agency was uncomfortable looking at him most days. He’d grown so accustomed to wearing his sunglasses everywhere they were like a second skin, now.
Maggie scrambled off him slowly and turned and slid to the ground, grasping the cold, metal floor beneath her. In the light from Jesse’s cellphone, her cold breath expelled in airy puffs. “Your eyes…”
Realizing she was smarter than he thought, just based on the fact she’d let him hold her a few minutes ago but then flipped at a moment’s notice, he waited. He knew well enough when an intelligent criminal was about to confess, and part of him was excited she was so close. It was either that, or she was just plain crazy. But in all his years he hadn’t been wrong about a case.
If only he didn’t want to protect her, to save her. He’d never fallen for a suspect, and he wanted to curse at these feelings she’d awoken in him. He hated himself for how he felt, but he couldn’t deny it.
Did she feel the same way?
He crawled over and sat next to her, pulling one knee to his chest.
“It’s called heterochromia iridium, in case you’re wondering,” he told her gently. “One blue, one brown. It’s hereditary, or so I’m told.”
“Who are you?” she asked again, looking at him. “No more lies.”



Author Bio:
Rebekah Dodson is a prolific author of over 30 romance, fantasy, and science fiction novels. Her works include the series Postcards from Paris, #1 bestselling Curse of Lanval series, Life After Us series, and several stand alone novels and short stories. She has been writing her whole life, with her first published work of historical fiction with 4H Clubs of America at the age of 12, and poetry at the age of 16 with the National Poetry Society. With an extensive academic background including education, history, psychology and English, she currently works as a college professor by day and a writer by night.

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