BLOG TOUR: The Thrill of It by Lauren Blakely

A new adult story of Love. Sex. Addiction. Blackmail. And Power...

Some say love can be an addiction. Others say it's the thing that makes life worth living. Let me tell you everything I know about love...Love isn't patient, love isn't kind. Love is a game, a chase. A thrill. Love is wild and war-like, and every man and woman must fight for themselves. At least that's how it was for me. A high-priced virgin call girl by the time I started college, I was addicted to love and to sex. Even though I've never had either. I controlled love, played it, and held the world in the palm of my hands. Then I fell down from those highs, and I'm being blackmailed for all my mistakes, forced to keep secrets from everyone, except the only guy I don't regret.

Trey...

With all the other women, I knew what they were. They were temporary. They were pills, they were bottles, they took away all the pain, and numbed the awful memories that wore down my ragged, wasted heart. Until I met Harley. She's the only girl I ever missed when she walked away. But now she's back in my life, every day, and there are no guarantees for us, especially since I don't know how to tell her my secrets. What happened to my family. All I know is she's the closest I've ever come to something real, and I want to feel every second of it.

How can you love with no regrets when regret is all you know?
 

Let me start off by saying that I LOVE LOVE LOVE me some Lauren Blakely! So I was super excited when I was asked to be on this tour and was able to read The Thrill of It! 

This book is a little different from other Lauren Blakely books. This one actually has a cliffhanger and will be made into a Series. 

Like all of Lauren's books, you get well rounded, complex yet down to earth character that take hold of you and just won't let go. When reading this book, I just could not put it down! Trey and Harley are broken and even though they both know that they should stay away from each other, there is this chemistry that pulls at them around every bend.

I was amazed by this book! And can not wait for Book #2 - 4.5 Stars!

      

The Start of Us is a FREE Novella that takes you through Trey and Harley's first meeting!

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She parts her lips as if she’s about to say something, then stops herself. She looks down, breathes out hard, then takes a sip.

“What is it?” I ask softly.

“Is it because they were easy or you were so good?”

I bite my lip for a second, trying not to let her question make me all crazy inside for her. But I am that way. Even more so because she’s blushing now. Red is rushing to her cheeks in splotches. 

“You think I’m good?”

“Yes,” she says in a breathy voice that sends a buzz through my whole body. “But you knew that.”

I shake my head. I did know that. But I don’t know that either. I don’t know anything with her. I don’t know what’s real and what’s a game.

“I didn’t know that,” I say, and maybe I’m lying, but I can’t help it. I want to hear her say it, even though this is the riskiest thing to do in the world. To tread on this territory of us, of the almost-sex we had. I’m already burning up, I am hot all over.

She raises her eyes, meets my gaze. “You know what I told you that night. I mean, I don’t have anything to compare it to –“

I cut her off. “–Good.”

“But I’ve never let anyone do that to me before.”

She said that the night we were together. It made me feel electric all over hearing it from a hot girl I wanted to have a one-night stand with, a last fling before I went on the wagon. Hearing it now, knowing her, understanding her, being privy to all her deep, dark secrets is the biggest fucking turn-on of my life. I’m dying for her to touch me right now, even though I know we won’t go there, but I want it so badly. I want to feel her hands on me, I want her to unzip my jeans
and do something about how fucking uncomfortable I am right now with my dick straining hard against the fly.

“Yeah?” I say in a hoarse voice because I can’t manage sentences, much less coherent thought. I can’t move either, because if I shift an inch, I will lunge at her, pull her under me, and fumble at all our zippers to get our clothes off. And I can’t, can’t, can’t do that to her. She’s a virgin, and she’s messed in the head, and if I take her virginity because she winds me up with a few words then I am more of an ass than those pathetic men who hired her.

“I told you that, Trey,” she says softly, and there’s something about this moment that feels like a confessional, like she needs to tell me these things, like she has to say them. “No one has ever made me come. I’ve never let anyone touch me. I never wanted to be touched. I never even knew what it would feel like to have someone do that,” she says and licks her lips, and I am dying. Completely dying right now. My hands are twitching, and I grip hard on the beer bottle, so hard I could break it, but I have to hold onto something, because all I want right now is to touch her. The whole living room is burning, the space between us is hot and humming and full of all this hazy desire I feel, and it’s taking over my body, my brain, my heart, and the air between
us.

If I weren’t already sitting down, I might collapse. Because this feeling is knocking breath out of me. It is staggering.

“Harley,” I say in a low voice.

“Trey, what happened last night?

Lauren Blakely writes sexy contemporary romance novels with heat, heart, and humor, and her books have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iBooks bestseller lists. Like the heroine in FAR TOO TEMPTING, she thinks life should be filled with family, laughter, and the kind of love that love songs promise. 

Lauren lives in California with her husband, children, and dogs. She loves hearing from readers! Her novels include Caught Up In Us, Pretending He's Mine, Playing With Her Heart, Trophy Husband, and Far Too Tempting. 

WEBSITE | BLOG | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOODREADS

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BLOG TOUR: True Bliss by BJ Harvey

She watched her best friend find her superhero.

Now she wants her turn.

Despite a run of bad dates with Mr. Wrong, Mr. Boring, Mr. Bad Breath, Mr. Grabby Hands, and even Mr. Say I Love You After One Date To Get Into Your Pants, Kate McGuinness is more determined than ever to find the one.

Having tried everything else, she turns to the internet in a last ditch attempt to find her elusive prince.

But Kate doesn’t want an everyday, run of the mill love.

She wants the kind of love that makes your heart skip a beat. The kind of love that makes you dance in the rain and bottle up the sunset. The once in a lifetime kind of love that authors write about, musicians sing about, and lovers dream about.

Could a certain police officer in training, who has come to her rescue in the past, be the one to swoop in and save her heart? 

What if the love Kate desperately seeks has been in front of her the whole time?

She just needs to open her eyes to see it... 

*Disclaimer: This book contains a hot as hell stripper with a penchant for public sex and exhibitionism who may or may not succeed in bringing out the inner firecracker in all of us. Oh, and don't forget the batteries.*

 

 Kate is tired of always coming up in second. Always getting stuck with the guys that are anything but Mr. Right. There has only been one guy, who she thought might fill her fantasies, the only problem is he use to be her best friends casual hookup and she doesn't want to be sloppy seconds to anyone.

Zander is ready to find true love. The only girl that he has had eyes for, is messing around with internet dating and he can't stand watching her go on bad date after bad date. Plus she won't come near him after a one time night of drunken night where she threw herself at him and he decided to pass, leaving her feeling rejected. The last thing he wanted to do was make her feel rejected. He just thought she was better than a one night stand. So with the help of Kate's best friend, Zander sets himself up on the online dating site to get to know her better.

This was a fun and super hot book. The sexual tension between Kate and Zander is on the scale steamy! A quick and easy read that keeps you captivated, making it hard to put the book down. We get to see lots of Daniel and Mac too from book #1. ~ 4.5 Stars!!

Kate

“Girl’s night with Mac?” Nathan asks around a mouthful of his sandwich.

“Yep. Usually she’s at Daniel’s place or they’re at ours. We haven’t had a girls night in a long time.”

“Are handsome gay men with a love of rom coms and chocolate allowed at girls nights?”

“Maybe, depends what the handsome gay man is willing to bring to the table,” I say with a cheeky grin.

“Normally it would be two out of the three important c’s, cronuts and chardonnay, but lucky for you, it promises to be a very lucky night for me. I have a date with a six foot tall, hard as rock body, Puerto Rican man who has expressed an interest in all things Nate. So it looks like I might get a C of my own tonight.”

I clap my hands in glee like a barking seal at Sea World. “Nate, that’s great. That’s definitely a better offer than drinking with me while I gossip with my bestie.”

Nate is a man whore who seeks out fellow man whores. We bonded instantly over a love of hair and cronuts. Cronuts are the genius combination of a donut and a croissant filled with vanilla cream. Seriously, he introduced me to the glorious pastry and my ass has been cursing him ever since. Of course Nate says my ass has never looked so good, so I keep him around as my personal ass motivation coach. Every girl needs one of those.

“Yes well one can only live in hope that the promise of him is just as good as the reality. You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?”

Indie Author hailing from the most beautiful country in the world, New Zealand.

Avid reader, television watcher, and facebooker. Having been writing off and on for a long time but started writing fiction in 2012. I love music too, like REALLY love music, if there isn't music playing, something is wrong. And it’s a wide range of music too, I might surprise you. 

I'm a wife to one husband, mother of two gorgeous girls, self-employed doing communications and business consulting as well as studying accounting full time.

Addicted to energy drinks, chocolate, cronuts, Vampire Diaries and pickles with mustard. 

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OTHER WORKS OF BJ HARVEY

TEMPORARY BLISS (BLISS #1)

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COVER REVEAL: Drew + Fable Forever by Monica Murphy

Monica Murphy returns with her most beloved characters, Drew and Fable, in this eBook original short story that brings her bestselling New Adult series full circle.

Fantasy. How I ended up with NFL player Drew Callahan, the guy every woman wants, is beyond my wildest dreams. All I know is that once he chose me as his one and only, I sure wasn’t looking back. I had past wounds and he showed patience and concern—even accepting responsibility for my messed-up kid brother. Now, yet again, he's found a way to blow my mind: an exotic wedding and honeymoon miles and miles away from home. What else could a girl ever ask for?

Reality. Except now the honeymoon’s over. Drew's football schedule takes him on the road constantly, while I need to stay put and look after my brother until he finishes high school—because God knows our sorry excuse for a mother won’t. I know Drew loves me with all his heart, and I’ll always be over the moon about him. This just isn’t how I imagined life as newlyweds . . . dealing with the distance, missing him constantly. But we’ve gone through hard times before. We can get through this, too, right? We’re Drew and Fable, together forever. At least I hope so. . . .

“We should check out Ocean Avenue tomorrow,” Drew whispers close to my ear, amusement tingeing his deep voice.

“What? Are you serious?” Even though I’ve come to terms with being here, it doesn’t mean I want to linger and make it a serious vacation. Besides, Drew needs to get back home so he can resume practice.

“Well yeah, remember the spot where we kissed?” His eyes are warm as they search my face, filled with so much love I feel my heart swell.

“Yes,” I whisper achingly. “Of course I remember.”

“I want to go back there.” He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, his index finger lingering on my skin. “I want to kiss you again in that little alley and remember how wet we were from the rain. How nervous I was. I was scared you might reject me.”

I’d felt the same way. We’d dealt with much of the same feelings and fears and hadn’t even known it.

“I want to take you to that store where you got the dress that just about killed me and buy you whatever you want,” he continues, his fingers drifting across my jaw. My eyes flutter closed as memories rush back at me. “I want to sit outside the dressing room and have you come out to show me every single thing you’re trying on.”

That he remembers all the little details sends a thrill of pleasure spiraling to the very depths of my soul.

“And then I want to wander off for a bit and let you do whatever you want, secretly hoping that you’ll send me a text that says marshmallow. Though if you don’t that’s okay because I’ll send you one instead.” He offers up a crooked smile and the sight of it cracks my heart wide open, overflowing with so much pure love for him I want to cry. “Because we made a deal. Whenever we see or hear that word, the other comes running. I’ll always be the one to rescue you, Fable. You never have to worry about that.”

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Monica Murphy is a native Californian who lives in the foothills below Yosemite. A wife and mother of three, she writes New Adult and contemporary romance for Bantam and Avon. She is the author of One Week Girlfriend and Second Chance Boyfriend.

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REVIEW: Christmas Catch by Chelsea M . Cameron

Two years ago, when Ivy Emerson bailed from the tiny fishing village she’d grown up in to go to Columbia, Sawyer McCallister was the only thing she was sad to leave behind, and she still didn’t look back. But when her mother guilts her into coming home for Christmas, she crashes headfirst into Sawyer, who’s also returned after being away.

Now that they’ve both been dragged back to Saltwater, Maine, they might just realize it’s where they belong. Together. 

Goodreads link:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18106783-christmas-catch

“Need some help?” This is not happening.

I turn around slowly. The first thing I see is a truck I haven’t seen since high school. The second is the guy I haven’t seen since high school.

“Ivy?” His hair’s a little longer, and his face is a little leaner. He looks . . . older. But his eyes. They’re still the same.

“Sawyer,” I whisper, because I can’t believe it’s him. What the hell is he doing here?

A car drives behind Sawyer, honks, and he waves them on. The two of us are frozen, unable to move. At least I am. He recovers first.

“I have a chain in the back. I can get you out of there.”

“Okay,” I say as he pulls in front of my car and then gets out. He seems taller, but that can’t be. He’s wearing a thick blue Carhartt jacket, torn jeans and work boots. He moves to the back of the truck and gets a chain out, which he hooks to the tow hook on the back of my car and then to his truck. He hasn’t said a word.

“Okay, get in,” he says and I get back in my car. With a minimum of revving of his engine and mine, we get my car out of the ditch. I get out to thank him.

Instead, I say, “What are you doing back here?” He wraps up the chain and doesn’t meet my eyes.

“My dad died,” he says as he tosses the chain in the bed of the truck. “Bye, Ivy.” And as quickly as he appeared, he’s gone, and the only remnant of is being here is the cloud of exhaust from his truck.

I slump against my car and raise my head. Snow is just starting to fall, melting as soon as it hits the pavement.

This goddamn town.

CHRISTMAS CATCH BUY LINKS:

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CHELSEA M. CAMERON’S AUTHOR LINKS:

Website: http://www.chelseamcameron.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/chel_c_cam

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chelsea-M-Cameron-Official-Author-Page/304422529610919

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5752359.Chelsea_M_Cameron

Ivy Emmerson is not looking forward to going home to her small hometown of Saltwater, Maine. Everyone knows your business and after spending time at Columbia, it's the last place she really wants to be. On her way home, the last person Ivy expected to run into was him...Sawyer McAllister. What was he doing in town? Wasn't he suppose to be at Georgetown working his way to becoming Dr. McAllister. Well life doesn't always pan out to be what we want. Sawyer was the guy she let go but being back home and spending time with Sawyer makes Ivy rethink her master plan. Could she have been wrong?

I loved Ivy and Sawyer. They didn't instantly fall back in love. There were disagreements and it wasn't an easy road. And when that other person is your first love, you can be full of regret. Ivy learns the importance of what she needs in her life and it proves to be the opposite of what she always thought was true. 5 stars for this great Christmas love story.

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COVER REVEAL: Their Merry Little Christmas by Jessica Ingro

Title: Their Merry Little Christmas (Love Square #2.5)

Author: Jessica Ingro

Tentative Release Date: December 2013

Cover Designer: Cover It! Designs

 

 

Add to Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18480109-their-merry-little-christmas

 

 

Synopsis

With the past behind them and all their skeletons out of the closet, the couples have just begun to settle into their relationships when they find things shaken up yet again. Will Sam and Aiden’s marriage be able to survive the demands of work, shopping, decorating, and of course… baby Tessa? Will Jacob make a good first impression with his future in-laws and secure Kara’s position by his side until death do them part? Join your favorite Love Square couples as they deck the halls and have themselves a Merry Little Christmas!

 

 

Excerpt

**Disclaimer: This content is unedited and subject to change** Copyright © Jessica Ingro

“Fine. Bring me the damn suit,” I grumble begrudgingly. “You’re the best! You know that?” Kara kisses me chastely. Her father is still there after all. Bill laughs once Kara bolts up the stairs. “Laugh now. Next thing you know she’ll make you be my elf!” I threaten good naturedly. “I’d love to see that,” he says in between chuckles. “Ah crap!” I pull my hands through my hair, seriously wanting to throw a child-sized temper tantrum at this turn of events. “Think of it this way, son. It will be good practice for when you have kids. And you’re making those girls’ night.” “Yeah… alright. I guess I can try to look on the bright side of things,” I concede. The last thing I need is for my soon to be father-in-law to think I’m a big baby. Kara returns twenty minutes later with a giant red bag. I drag it into the bathroom and take my time changing. Part of me hopes that if I take too long the girls will fall asleep or something. Stranger things have happened. “It’s Christmas Eve, Jacob. The girls won’t want to fall asleep regardless, so don’t think you can get out of this,” Kara calls through door. How the hell does she do that? It’s worse than the eyes in the back of her head. “I’ll be out in a minute,” I yell through the door. After I velcro the giant pillow onto my belly, I turn to the side and stick my stomach out further, poking at my now enlarged gut. I roll my abdominal muscles making the pillow bounce and ripple. Chuckling at my nonsense, I step into the red, velvet pants. I pull the black suspenders over my shoulder and do a little jig watching as my stomach bounces around. Apparently this suit sucks the seriousness out of you. Maybe it’s a magic suit… I stop my musings and proceed to put the jacket on and button it up. I look damn good in red. Even with a giant stomach. Next comes the wig and beard, followed by the hat. Now I have absolutely no reason to walk out of this bathroom. Damn. Opening the door, Kara is the first thing I see. Her face lights up and she graces me with a wide smile. She lifts her arm, and then she does the unthinkable when she snaps a picture with her cell phone. “Lump of coal for you!” I shout and make like I’m going to attack her. When I lunge for her, she screeches and runs across the room. Once I catch up with her, she reaches out and rubs red shit on my cheeks. “Really?” I ask not wanting to deal with this shit. “You are so going to get lucky later,” she mumbles so only I can hear her. “Damn straight. You owe me one creative session, Sunshine.” “There is this new position I heard about that I’ve been curious to try.” “It’s a good thing this suit is big, otherwise my sister would think Santa was a giant perv. What do you think you’re doing telling me that now?” I gripe, knowing my nieces can’t sit on my lap while I’m turned on. “Sorry. I forget,” she says like that explains it all. “You’re lucky I love you.” I kiss her forehead and start towards the stairs. “Let’s get this over with.”

 

 

About the Author

Jessica is the author of the Love Square series. She grew up in Central New York, where she spends her days as a Security Analyst at an IT consulting company. In her free time, she enjoys reading books and developing ideas for her own stories. Writing is her secret passion that she's been fostering since elementary school, when she wrote her first book about a puppy. It has always been a dream of hers to be able to share her stories with the world. Jessica currently lives in New York with her husband and three dogs.  

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Love Square (Book #1) Information

Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17662870-love-square  
Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E0N09ZO  

Barnes and Noble – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/love-square-jessica-ingro/1116093468?ean=2940045154345

 Kobo - http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/love-square

 Smashwords - http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/337746  

 

 

His Ever After (Book #2) Information

Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18217626-his-ever-after  

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G9JHP5E  

Barnes and Noble – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/his-ever-after-jessica-ingro/1117255623?ean=2940148561255

 Kobo - http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/his-ever-after-love-square-2 Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/371929  

GIVEAWAY

5 ARC’s of Their Merry Little Christmas

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REVIEW: Off the Market by Magan Vernon

Etta Davis didn't have showing a house penciled into her Christmas plans, but with the other realtors already off enjoying their holiday, she'd been stuck with the task. It wasn't all bad though, the house up for grabs used to belong to the family of her high school sweetheart, Andrew Lawson. Though now dilapidated, thanks to its current owners, it still held the power to bring back forgotten memories and turn the routine showing into something else entirely.

Particularly when Andrew shows up, wanting to buy the house. Now Etta must decide whether a second chance is worth taking the house, and her heart, off the market.

Goodreads link:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18106538-off-the-market

I looked over the garage at the now rusted backboard. It seemed like only yesterday that Andrew stood on the ladder, wearing his new Bulls jersey, forcing me to stand in the driveway to make sure he got it centered over the garage. The backboard was still crooked, just like it always was since I didn't have a keen eye for getting it level. But Andrew didn't move it. He said he loved it just the way it was because it was my version of straight and he loved me.

Love. That was a word I hadn't heard in a long time. I had a brief string of bad dates in college and my mom always tried to set me up on dates with her friends’ or co-workers’ sons, but none of them worked out. None of them had that spark. That thing that made my stomach do somersaults.

I stepped out of the car, shaking the thoughts of my past life out of my head while my heels dug into the freshly fallen snow. I cursed myself for not putting on some sort of winter footwear. It was a holiday after all, so the client couldn't have complained about my footwear when he was the one inconveniencing me.

I walked up the small path way, now lined with broken solar powered lights, to the big white door. Quickly, I swiped my broker card in the realtor lock box. The green light blinked and I pushed open the door.

There hadn't been more than a handful of showings in the year the house had been listed, but I never once showed it. I was always afraid to come back. Afraid it would have the same feeling as it had now. Like I was coming home.

I'd spent more time in the now faded foyer, underneath the broken chandelier, than I did in my parents’ house. There were prom pictures taken on the grand staircase and nights I spent cuddled with Andrew on the living room couch across from the now dilapidated fireplace.

Mrs. Lawson used to keep the house so nice. She always had candles burning and every single light fixture would shine. The owners after the Lawsons obviously didn't have as much pride in their home. It didn't take long for the bank to foreclose on it and for my real estate company to get tapped to re-sell it. I almost wished I could buy it myself, fix it up and restore it back to its former glory. But I had neither the money nor the time for such things. My life had become my work and without a family of my own there was really no need for the grand four-bedroom house.

A soft knock came at the front door.

"That must be the client. He'd better put in an offer," I muttered, smoothing out my skirt and walking to the front door.

"Hello, I'm —"

I stopped, my mouth still wide open, because standing in the doorway was one of the former residents of the house, Andrew Lawson.

OFF THE MARKET BUY LINKS:

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MAGAN VERNON’S AUTHOR LINKS:

Website: http://www.thepunchingbagfightsback.blogspot.com/

Facebook Fan Page:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Magan-Vernon/215620155165079

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/MaganVernon

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5237606.Magan_Vernon

 

 I absolutely loved this cute novella about past love and Christmas. Etta and Andrew grew up together and were high school sweethearts. But when it was time for Etta to go off to school she didn't think she could handle the long distance relationship with Andrew staying in St. Louis and her heading off to California. Now 2 years later, she is back in St. Louis and hating that she let the love of her life go. So when a Christmas Eve call reunites her with Andrew, she is ready for the sparks to fly. The only thing is she doesn't know if Andrew feels the same way.

I was smiling throughout the read and absolutely loved this short story about second chances at love. 5 stars!

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